Chicken with Rosemary Dijon Mustard Sauce

I'm always searching for new ways to prepare chicken. Plus the fact that my fresh herbs are growing and are quite abundant.

This dish is very easy to make, it takes about 20 minutes and will serve two people. It is tangy and zesty. The ingredients you will need are: boneless skinless chicken breasts, olive oil OR coconut oil, white wine (I used Sauvignon Blanc), garlic, fresh rosemary, Dijon mustard, salt & pepper.

If you don't want to use wine in this recipe, chicken stock would be a great substitute.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pound them down to 1/4" thick)

2 Tbl. olive oil OR coconut oil

1/2 Cup white wine (use a wine you would drink--not "cooking wine")

2 Tbl. fresh rosemary sprigs

1 clove garlic minced

2 Tbl. Dijon mustard

salt & pepper

 

Directions:

• After pounding the chicken to 1/4" thick, season with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet, add the chicken and cook until done on both sides, about 5 minutes per side.
• When the chicken is done, set it on a heat proof plate and keep it warm in the oven
• To the same skillet, add the wine, rosemary, and garlic.  Simmer and reduce by half.
• Take the skillet off the heat, add the Dijon mustard and stir in.
• Slice the chicken breasts on a diagonal and pour the sauce over.  Serve.

Enjoy friends!

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

We were in Wisconsin recently and one must buy and bring home cheese!  I bought a nice wedge of asiago cheese and then proceeded to find a recipe in which to use said cheese.  And here it is!

Courtesy of The Midnight Baker Blog.

Mushroom Asiago Chicken

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 large)
• 2 cups mushrooms, cut in half
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 1/2 cup seasoned flour
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4-1/2 cup shredded asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)
• seasoned flour:
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Pound chicken breast with a meat mallet between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap until meat is uniform thickness; about 1/4-inch. Cut into serving-sized pieces (2 or 3 pieces per breast)

Heat the butter with *1* tbs of olive oil in deep, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium heat.

Dredge chicken in seasoned flour.  Add to hot oil/butter in skillet.  Saute until golden on each side, about 5 minutes per side.  Remove from pan.

Add remaining olive oil to hot skillet.  Saute mushrooms and garlic until mushrooms begin to brown.

Add white wine to skillet, scraping up all the browned bits that are at the bottom of the pan (this is called "deglazing"). Bruise the fresh thyme by twisting it between your fingers or hitting it with the dull side of a knife in a few places.  Add thyme to mushroom/wine mixture in pan.

Add the chicken back to the pan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove chicken from pan.  Add the cream and heat through. Add the asiago cheese (if you like it strongly flavored, use 1/2 cup; not as strongly flavored, use the 1/4 cup--asiago is a powerful cheese and you can even use less for just a whisper of flavor.  I like it strong so I used 1/2 cup).

Cook, stirring constantly over low heat until cheese melts. Continue cooking until sauce is reduced by about 1/2.  If you wish to skip the reduction step, you may thicken the sauce slightly with about 1 tbs instant flour or 1 tbs cornstarch mixed with 2 tbs water...however, the reduction will taste better.

Add chicken back to pan and heat through.

Garnish with sprigs of fresh thyme.  May be served over any pasta.

About 4 servings.

Here is how it looks courtesy of The Midnight Baker Blog!

Enjoy friends!!

Tilapia en Papillote (in Parchment)

I have known about this technique for years, but this summer I watched Mario make Halibut en Papillote on "The Chew" tv show.  It seemed like a light delicious way to prepare fish and especially for a summer dish.  So here it is:

Gather the ingredients and let's get cooking!

4 (4 ounce) tilapia fillets

salt and fresh ground pepper

1 large tomato, chopped

1 clove garlic thinly sliced

1 shallot thinly sliced

4 fresh basil leaves thinly sliced

1 1/2 tsp. capers, drained

4 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 Cup white wine

1 Tbl. butter

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Oil a baking sheet with some olive oil so that the bottoms of the parchment packets will brown when baking.

Prepare four sheets of parchment paper by folding each sheet in half and placing a tilapia fillet centered onto one of the sides.  Season the fillet with salt and pepper.  Top each of the four fillets with equal amounts of tomato, garlic, shallot, basil, and capers.  Sprinkle with lemon juice.  Dot one Tbl. of butter on top, drizzle with white wine.

Lay the other half of the parchment over the half with the fillet.  Start folding and creasing, folding and creasing until the entire fillet is sealed up. One chef brushes the edges of the parchment with egg wash to help it stick together.  (So that's what I did.)  Place the parchment packets on the oiled baking sheet you prepared earlier.  Drizzle the tops with a little olive oil.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Look at this beauty after baking for 20 minutes.

To serve, cut a slit with a sharp knife in the center, then tear the packet open.  The steam will escape so be careful.  When the packet is opened, the aroma of the fish and all the toppings will knock your sox off!  Serve immediately in the parchment packet.  If you have guests, let them open their own packet and be amazed at what a great cook you are!

Enjoy friends!

Scallop Gratin

Oh my gosh!  These are just fabulous.  You gotta try 'em, we had these for an appetizer tonight and wow!!  Scallops don't have a lot of flavor -- so they need some help.  This is the recipe. 

Get 6 gratin dishes ready.  Pour 1 Tbl. dry white wine in the bottom of each dish.  Use a wine you would actually drink, not a "cooking wine".

2 pounds of sea scallops.  Pat them dry--very dry.  Cut the scallops in half if they are large.

6 Tbl. butter, softened
2 shallots minced
4 tsp. parsley
2 Tbl. lemon juice--fresh
2 Tbl. bacon bits
2 tsp.salt
1 tsp. pepper
6 Tbl. olive oil
1/2 Cup panko bread crumbs

Mix in the bacon bits and panko right before you are ready to assemble the dishes.

Here is the final mixture.

Arrange the scallops in each dish on top of the tablespoon of white wine.

Smear (or spoon) the topping over the scallops.  At this point you can put them in the fridge until time to bake and serve.  That is the cool part of this dish--it can be made a few hours ahead of time.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes.  The panko will make the topping really crispy.

Tonight I served this as an appetizer with some crusty bread-- oh my gooooodnessss!

Thanks Food Network for the recipe!  Enjoy Friends!

Chicken Breast Amandine

Chicken, chicken, let me count the ways!  I had the ingredients on hand and decided this recipe sounded good.  Thank you Epicurious.  (By the way, the Epicurious app is way cool!)

Here's what you will need for two hungry people:
2 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 Tbl olive oil
1/4 C sliced almonds
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 C water
1 garlic clove minced and mashed into a paste with a pinch of salt
1 Tbl unsalted butter
2 Tbl parsley
fresh lemon juice to taste
A bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed off.
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Prepare the asparagus ahead of time by trimming off the tough ends, place in a foil lined baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a skillet until hot but not smokin!  Brown the chicken which has been patted dry and seasoned with sea salt and ground pepper.  Saute for 2 minutes on each side.  Reduce the heat to low and cook until cooked through.  Transfer to heated plates.

Meantime in a 400 degree oven roast the prepared asparagus until it's tender crisp.  

Add the water, wine, garlic paste to the skillet.  Boil and reduce to half.

Take the skillet off the heat, add the butter, parsley, almonds, and a squeeze of lemon.  Stir to make a nice sauce.

Spoon the almond sauce over the chicken!  Oh My!

Tonight I added a crisp romaine salad with tomato wedges and ranch dressing.  The Simply line of dressings are just that, Simple.  No added stuff!

Oh, and the "Pots of Creme" that I made last night---Not pronounced

Pots of Cream, instead, Po Deau Creahm, Po Deau Creahm.  So French! 

So delicious! Thanks Pioneer Woman Blog!

Dessert!  Oh, Stop Right Now!!!

Ok, don't stop!

The Little Black Dress Merlot complimented the Pots of Creme --- deliciously!

Just one more shot of that dessert.  Sorry! I can't stop!

Enjoy friends!!

Crock Pot Pheasant

Pheasant hunting went very well this year!  Thanks to my hubby!  So with lots of pheasant in the freezer, tonight I made pheasant in the crock pot.  Actually, the pheasant went into the crock pot at about 12:30 this afternoon and "crocked" (a made up word for time in the crock pot) for about 7 hours on low.

The two pheasants in a food saver bag, thawed overnight in the fridge.  

Glad we bought the food saver!

Cut the pheasants into serving size portions.  

Get some seasoned flour ready in a large bowl.

Dredge the pheasant pieces in the seasoned flour.

Put a large skillet on the stove on medium heat.  

(This is my new ceramic non-stick skillet).  

Drizzle in some oil, I used light olive oil.  

Add the pheasant pieces, but don't crowd the skillet or they won't sear nicely.

When the portions are browned, flip them over to sear/brown on the other side.

Place the seared pheasant on a plate.  

Then slice some mushrooms, dice some onion, and mince some garlic.

In the same skillet where the pheasant was seared, 

add a little more oil and saute the mushrooms, onion, and  garlic until tender and slightly browned.

Next you will need some white wine and some chicken broth, 1 cup of each.  

I use an inexpensive wine, one you would drink, but NOT cooking wine, 

don't buy wine that is labeled "cooking wine".  

Pour the wine over first and let it boil and reduce to about half, 

then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.

While the sauce is boiling and flavors are blending, place the pheasant portions into your crock pot.  I like to use crock pot liners, because my crock pot doesn't have the removable center, so it's very hard to clean.

Next pour the mushroom, onion, wine, chicken broth mixture over the pheasant.  This is gonna be good!

Cover the crock pot, put the dial on low and let it do it's magic.  If you don't have 7 hours on low, you can amp it up to high for 4 hours!

Ok, I do not, repeat DO NOT usually like instant anything in the cooking world, but....since we have changed over to brown rice, I found this instant brown rice and it's partner instant brown and wild rice that takes one minute in the microwave.  

It is just delish.  Really!  

Please don't microwave it in the plastic tub it comes in.  

Put the rice in a microwave safe bowl instead.  Thanks!

Since this is in the crock pot until dinner time, 

there's time to do whatever else you need to do!

When time is up, take the pheasant out of the crock pot and plate it.

  Tonight we also had the brown and wild rice and some steamed green beans.

Sometimes the breast meat on the pheasant can come out kinda dry, but mmmmmm as you can see, that didn't happen using this method.

Enjoy, friends!