creamy lemon chicken

This is a quick dish to pull together for dinner, and serves 4.  It would be great served over rice.

I melted 2 Tbs. butter in a very large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 2" pieces, and 2 minced shallots.  Add a little salt and cook for 5 minutes to brown chicken, turning once.  Add 1/2 c. chicken broth, 1/2 c. white wine, 3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice, and 1 tsp. mixed dry herbs (such as herbes de Provence or an Italian blend of herbs) to the skillet.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Stir in 1/2 c. sour cream or creme fraiche and cook for a few minutes more.  Season with salt and pepper.  Garnish with fresh thyme (I love using the lemon thyme in my garden).

pork medallions with belgian endive

Pork Medallions with Belgian Endive

Serves 4.  This was in Sunset magazine a couple of years ago and an amazingly tasty 380 calorie dish. 

            1 lb. whole pork tenderloin

            kosher salt

            fresh ground black pepper

            2 Tbs. olive oil

            1 garlic clove, crushed

            1 fresh thyme sprig

            2 Tbs. butter

            6 heads Belgian endive, halved

            ½ c. orange juice

            1 Tbs. maple syrup

            ½ c. heavy cream

            2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

Remove any silverskin from surface of tenderloin.  Cut tenderloin crosswise into 12 medallions, each about 1” thick.  Season with salt and pepper.    

Set a very large plate next to the stove.  Heat oil in a very large pan (not nonstick) over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and thyme; cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is browned all over, about 1 minute.  Transfer to plate. Add pork and cook until well browned underneath, about 3 minutes.  Turn over and cook until barely pink in the center, 1½ - 2 minutes.  Transfer to plate of garlic and thyme.

Put butter in pan and let melt.  Add endives, cut sides down, and cook until browned underneath, 1½ - 2 minutes.  Turn over and cook 1 minute more.  Transfer to plate of pork.

Add orange juice and maple syrup to pan and cook, scraping up browned bits, until liquid is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.  Add heavy cream and boil, stirring, until thickened and reduced by half, 2 to 3 minutes.

Return garlic, thyme, pork, endive, and any accumulated juices to pan and heat, stirring gently, until everything is warmed through, about 1 minute.  Sauce should be reduced enough to thickly coat the back of a spoon and yield about ½ c.

Divide pork and endive among 4 plates.  Spoon on sauce; garnish with parsley.

apricot galette

This method - basically an open face free form 'pie' is one of my favorite desserts to make.  Here is a Martha Stewart recipe that came in handy as we hauled in 70 lbs. of apricots from our tree:  http://www.marthastewart.com/908598/stone-fruit-galette

spicy burgers, grilled stone-fruit salad

This came from the June 2015 issue of Food and Wine magazine  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bloody-mary-burgers

I like to make mine slider-size:

We were in the middle of the apricot harvest so I had to make this salad (thanks NY Times Cooking site!):  http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016644-arugula-salad-with-grilled-apricots-and-pistachios

sweet potato-pork belly hash

Sweet Potato-Pork Belly Hash

Serves 4.  This would also make a great brunch.  We found this recipe at the Epicurious.com site after buying a couple of pounds of pork belly now available at Costco.  Yes, it does take planning to do the prep a day ahead.  Yes, it is worth it.  For the final step, we cooked both the pork and the sweet potato a bit more than in the original recipe. 

            1 lb. pork belly (you can do skin on, or a bit less if you use skinned)

            kosher salt

            fresh ground black pepper

            1 large sprig thyme

            4 garlic cloves, smashed

            3 c. chicken broth

            3 Tbs. olive oil, divided

            2 lbs. red-skinned sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 3/4“ cubes

            3 large shallots, chopped

            2 Tbs. red wine vinegar

            2 tsp. maple syrup

            4 poached or soft fried eggs (optional)

Heat oven to 275 degrees.  Season pork belly generously with salt and pepper. Place in a large ovenproof saucepan.  Add thyme and garlic.  Pour broth over.  Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover tightly, and braise in oven until tender, about 3 hours.  Uncover; let cool.  Transfer meat to a 9” glass pie dish.  Place another 9” glass pie dish on top of pork belly.  Weight with 15-oz. canned goods.  Chill overnight.   

If using skin-on pork belly, remove the skin.  Cut meat into ½ “ cubes.  Heat 1 Tbs. oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pork and sauté until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork to a medium bowl.  Season potatoes with salt and pepper.  Add to same skillet; sauté until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl with pork.  Add remaining 2 Tbs. oil and shallots to skillet; sauté over medium heat until golden brown, 3-4 minutes.  Return potatoes and pork with any accumulated juices to pan.  Drizzle vinegar and syrup over; stir to coat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and potatoes are thoroughly cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Serve with eggs, if desired.  

cacio e pepe (pasta with pepper) and lemon

Cacio e Pepe with Lemon

Serves 2.  This was in Martha Stewart Living, and the tips about the kinds of cheese and making the sauce are perfect!

            coarse salt

            8 oz. thick spaghetti or bucatini

            4 Tbs. butter, cut into 4 pieces, softened

            3 oz. Grana Padano cheese, grated (1 c.)

            2 tsp. freshly cracked pepper

            ¾ oz. Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (1/4 c.)

            1 whole small lemon (preferably Meyer)

            olive oil for drizzling

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until very al dente (undercooking the pasta is important), about 2 minutes less than called for in package instructions.  Reserve 1 c. pasta cooking water before draining.

Transfer drained pasta to a 12” nonstick skillet.  Add butter and ½ c. pasta cooking water.  Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.  The heat helps the starch in the water meld with the fat from the butter, which prevents the Grana Padano from becoming stringy in the finished dish.    

Reduce heat to low, and mix in Grana Padano and cracked pepper.  Grana Padano is softer than Pecorino Romano; it will melt into the buttery water, creating a sauce as the pasta finishes cooking. 

Toss pasta with tongs to thoroughly coat it with sauce.  Keep everything at a gentle simmer just until cheese melts and sauce thickens slightly, about 1 minute. 

Remove from heat, then stir in Pecorino Romano (always add Pecorino off direct heat; it clumps when cooked).  Zest lemon over pasta.

If pasta looks dry, toss it with a bit more pasta water until it has a glossy coating.  Divide between 2 warm bowls.  Drizzle each with oil and lemon juice and garnish with more cracked pepper.  Serve immediately. 

chipotle shrimp lettuce wraps

Inspired from a recipe in Cooking Light's July 2015 issue. I mixed 1/2 lb. shrimp with some salt, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1 tsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. olive oil, and 1/2 tsp. red chile paste.  I cooked this in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes per side.  Then I added 1 Tbs. water and 1/2 tsp. grated lime zest to finish cooking about 30 seconds.  After the shrimp cooled I chopped it up and mixed in some chopped cucumber, chopped red bell pepper, 2 Tbs. plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 tsp. minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce, and a chopped peeled ripe avocado.  This mixture was divided amongst 4 butter lettuce leaves and garnished with toasted pumpkin seeds.  Serves 2.