Grilled "Marbella" Chicken

Serves 2-3

Chicken thighs were on special. Awesome focaccia bought on impulse. When I got home the grilled terriayki/sate chicken I had planned just didn't seem to go with the focaccia. I didn't have the olives for Chicken Marbella and it was a good night to grill. Ergo:

In a shallow dish, just large enough to hold the meat in one layer, mix

2 T olive oil
4 T white wine
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 t brown sugar
1 T Italian seasonings

Place in the marinade and mix well to coat all sides:

6 boneless, skinless (trim off any visible fat) chicken thighs

Marinate 1 hour to as long as overnight (assuming the chicken is very fresh)

Before or while chicken is cooking, in a small saucepan combine:

1 T olive oil
2 T white wine
1 t capers, with some juice
1 T lemon juice
zest from 1/2 lemon

Cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced by at least one-half.

Thread chicken on skewers (optional) and grill over medium heat for about 12 minutes, depending on hotness of fire and size of thighs. Turning and basting with the marinade every three minutes.

Serve topped with sauce and:

zest of one half lemon
fresh thyme (optional)

Reviewed 5/13/17

Poblano Chili Stuffed with Pumpkin

Another successful attempt using some of our 2009 Jack-o-Lanterns.

Serves 2




Stuff:

2 large roasted poblano chili peppers (see Roasted Chili)

With a mixture of:

1 c fresh (or fresh frozen) pumpkin puree
1/4 c dried cranberries
1/4 t cumin (or more to taste)
1/8 t cinnamon

Place stuffed peppers on a non-stick surface and bake at 400 degrees 10-20 minutes (longer if chilies and stuffing are at room temperature to start, shorter if the filling is still warm). About 5 minutes before the peppers are done, on top of each place:

2/3 - 1 oz of goat cheese

Continue cooking until the cheese is soft and slightly browned.

Top with Firey Pumpkin Seeds (optional).

Reviewed 10/1/2017

Three Thymes, Four

Fresh herbs really make a difference. But until I expand my indoor herb garden (this year!) or find a vendor that sells herbs loose, I am stuck buying herbs in packages that contain enough herbs for several recipes. Yesterday flounder was on special and the first spinach of the season has just made an appearance; I wanted fresh thyme for Sole Florentine... how else to use the rest of the package (other than drying it/or freezing it)? Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms are best with fresh thyme (and also use spinach) and fresh thyme would be a great addition to Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach, Mushrooms and Goat Cheese. So I did these recipes this week and still had thyme left as well as two fresh artichoke hearts.

We miss Alex in many ways; one is when eating artichokes. She is a huge artichoke heart fan and an artichoke heart is most appreciated and quickly disappears when she is around. Ed and I enjoy the leaves of a steamed artichoke but slow down as we reach the heart. Looking at two huge hearts in the refrigerator, I decided to make Pasta with Artichokes and Carrots, photo at left, using fresh rather than canned artichoke hearts. An awesome improvement; will definitely go this route again. This recipe also calls for fresh or dried thyme. Since I had fresh on hand I used this too, a second plus.

Sole Florentine

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach....

Reviewed 6/19/2017

Pork with Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce

Serves 4.

Make marinade by mixing together:

1 T Stonewall Kitchen Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce*
1 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 T Tamari/Soy Sauce
1 T Orange Juice

Pour marinade over:

~ 1- 1 1/4 pound pork tenderloin or 4 small boneless pork medallions

Turn pork to be sure all surfaces are well coated with the marinade. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours; remove from refrigerator one-half hour before cooking.

Before or while cooking pork make Onion Sauce:

In a small skillet heat:

2 t olive oil

Add:

1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and very thinly sliced.

Sauté until onion is wilted and golden, then add:

2-3 T Stonewall Kitchen Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce

Grill or roast pork until done (150 degrees F), basting with any remaining marinade; time will vary given hotness of grill; medium temperature for ~ 20 minutes for a tenderloin. NOTE: If using a tenderloin it is best to let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing, temperature should rise about 5 degrees in this time so set meat thermometer accordingly.

Serve pork medallions or sliced tenderloin topped with Onion Sauce.

VARIATION:
Add 1 thinly sliced pear half-way through cooking onions.










VARIATION:
Use just the marinade without the additional sauce:

* Goal is to make my own fig sauce, but until I do, I use this which is available at many markets both in the East and the West.






Reviewed 6/13/2017

Mashed Potatoes with Parsnips

With just a small group for Thanksgiving dinner 2008, we decided to have a menu with many fewer options than when we typically share the meal with a larger group: almonds, turkey and chestnut stuffing, Cranberry Ice, potatoes, salad and at the last minute I caved in and did a few Creamed Onions for Ed. Christopher suggested instead of just having the traditional whipped potatoes, we have a combination of potatoes and parsnips. Loved it and have made it many times since sometimes using Yukon Gold potatoes as we did at Thanksgiving, sometimes red potatoes.

Serves 2 (expand to accommodate group you are serving)

Boil until tender:

2 medium potatoes, cut into 4-6 pieces; no need to peel - just wash well
1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch lengths
2 cloves garlic, whole and not peeled (optional)

When vegetables are tender and easy to mash, drain off all the water. Remove garlic, cut end off bud and squeeze paste-like garlic into mixture. If garlic is not cooked enough to squeeze easily, peel and mash or chop finely. Mash with a potato masher* until there are no lumps.

Season with:

Salt and pepper to taste.
Olive oil or butter to taste

*August 2017:  If a smoother texture is desired, use an immersion blender instead of a potato masher.

Reviewed 8/24/2017

Salmon with Red Miso Sauce

Believe it or not this recipe comes from Christopher (more or less, he never gives me actual measurements) who gave up fish from the summer he caught a bluefish off the Annisquam Canal (in 1992 and we ate it for most of the next week) until the chefs at Google convinced him that fish could be tasty (2000).






For 2 people

Marinate

~2/3 pound skinless wild salmon. pin bones removed (I opt for the thicker end, and usually cook with skin on), in a well blended mixture of:

1 T red miso
1 t soy sauce
1 t sesame seed oil
1 T orange/lime juice
2 T dark brown sugar


If cooking with skin on, place salmon on a piece of aluminum foil with edges of foil slightly turned up to contain any dripping marinade.

Cook on grill or broil basting frequently for about 5 minutes a side or 10 minutes total if cooking on foil (a little more or less depending on thickness). If the fish is not skinless, remove from aluminum foil leaving cooked skin on the foil.

Serve sprinkled with:

Toasted sesame seeds (my addition).

I love serving this in the spring topped with:

1 bunch baby scallions, bottoms trimmed, basted in olive oil and lightly grilled (if baby scallions are not available, (uncooked) chopped scallion greens also work).


VARIATION:

Use orange juice not lime juice and instead of salmon use 21-25 count shrimp, 6-7 per person; skewer and grill or broil  ~3 minutes per side, about 5- 6 minutes total, until firm and pink.







Reviewed 5/23/2017

Jack-o-Lanterns 2009

Halloween started for us in early October when we went with Alex to the CSA Farm outside of Portland that Alex and Dan have contracted with for weekly vegetable (and sometimes flower) deliveries. The occasion was an Open House, or farm as it were, to see the fields and harvest a pumpkin. We watched while Alex chose a pumpkin and had a chance to visit with the husband and wife who run the farm as well as a few of their children. Alex said that while she and Dan would probably carve the pumpkin for Halloween, they planned to use battery "candles" so she could subsequently use the pumpkin to make pies.



When Alexandra and Christopher were growing up, Jack-o-Lanterns were a big deal. Carefully selected days ahead of time in order to get the "perfect ones", and carved with care and imagination. One year we had a particularly large one with a strobe light, instead of a candle inside. After Alex and Chris went their separate ways, Ed and I dismissed the Halloween Jack-o-Lantern, settling for the strobe light in the bushes and a couple plastic bats stuck near the entrance where the few trick-or-treaters we attracted knocked. We did finally start buying candy after Dan told us our idea of offering apples, pretzels (they were in the shape of Jack-o-Lanterns and in Halloween wrapping) and pencils (they did have a Halloween decoration) reminded him of the dentist on his street in Michigan that handed out toothbrushes for Halloween. In all fairness we usually included some stickers or black spider rings. At Christopher's suggestion, next year we are going to offer light sticks.

But back to the Jack-o-Lanterns.....

This Halloween, Christopher was unexpectedly at home. The afternoon of the 31st, I got the idea it would be fun to do Jack-o-Lanterns and Christopher agreed. Easier said than done. I quickly found that the farms where we used to get pumpkins were either now out of business or out of pumpkins, except for very small ones. I finally found two large sugar pumpkins (small by Jack-o-Lantern standards, but sweet for cooking), the biggest pumpkins apparently available at this late date and took them home. None too soon. Christopher designed the faces, a "happy" and an "angry" Jack-o-Lantern and carefully carved the features with the surfaces slanting back into the interior of the pumpkin. Christopher got one Jack-o-Lantern finished and outside on our deck and was working on the second when our first trick-or-treaters arrived.

After he had finished both Jack-o-Lanterns and they were both glowing with the battery powered "candles" I had purchased along with the pumpkins, Christopher reminisced on Halloweens past. "What I really remember", he said, "is how you used to leave the old Jack-o-Lanterns in the garden by the terrace and how they would sit there and rot. It was really disgusting." Motivated by my recent resolutions to eat as locally as we could and a desire not to leave any more disgusting memories, I resolved we would eat all of the pumpkin. I had already saved the seeds to roast and the cut out parts for pie, and the battery powered "candles" would not blacken the pumpkin interior.

At any rate we enjoyed the Jack-o-Lanterns for three or four nights (they spent the day wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator); then Christopher commented, "Mom, are you going to let these pumpkins rot just like the others?" So next morning, I peeled and cut up the pumpkins into slices or into chunks which I cooked and pureed to use in pies. I was feeling pretty good about this, until Christopher came down for breakfast and said, "Mom you cut up the pumpkins!". Then it hit me. I, I who saved everything Alexandra and Christopher had ever made (well, not dinners) or written, after many photographs and making a template of the faces, I cut up the pumpkins Christopher had carved. Seeing my reaction, Christopher began to unmercifully pull my chain. First, I discovered Christopher really didn't like pumpkin which didn't help me feel any better about hacking up the Jack-o-Lanterns. Then every pumpkin recipe I served would be met by Christopher saying, "Is this the happy or the angry pumpkin?" Of course, after Christopher greeted the Thanksgiving pie with this comment, I had to retell the story for all present

Anyway I did discover some new pumpkin recipes which I've also posted. Even Christopher declared the muffins a success.

Reviewed 9/19/2017