Chicken Vesuvio ~ a Chicago Specialty!

 

Chicken that's “Vesuvioed,” tastes better than you could ever imagine!  It’s a meat-and-potatoes dish from meat-and potatoes Chi-Town, it’s indigenous to Chicago.

 

Ummm, mmm!  Delicious!

It's still a little chilly and rainy so this dish hit the spot!

 

Dolly Parton and Her Casserole

                                                 

She's a country music singer, guitarist, philanthropist, and actress known for pioneering the country-pop crossover.

 

Easy Baked Chicken Breasts with Brown Sugar and Garlic Rub

 

You all know how the nursery rhyme goes:

"Sugar and spice and

everything nice."

That describes this delectable rub when sugar meets garlic...

We’re all aware that chicken is a great source of protein, it’s a smart food choice.  And we all know that eating it often gets old after a while. 

Hungarian Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Potatoes and Cabbage

 A chilly winter-time day calls for comfort food: 
potatoes and cabbage roasted alongside
pork tenderloin for a tasty meal. 

I’m a big fan of pork tenderloin, it’s an excellent cut of meat for cooking, simply because it’s versatile, fairly inexpensive, tasty and friendly with a wide variety of spices...

Perfect Baked Chicken Breast

Looking for a recipe for baked chicken breast?  
This is the only recipe you'll need!

The ubiquitous chicken just might be the most popular meat around.  Cooks love it for its versatility and folks, young and old, love the flavor of it.  I’ve cooked a lot of chicken in my lifetime, and we think this is one of the best!

A SIDE OF ROASTED REDSKIN POTATOES WITH ONIONS

This isn’t a fancy or complicated recipe...

Flavorful and irresistible, these garlic potatoes are good for any meal of the day.

 
I'm a fan of potatoes made about any way, with the exception of potato soup ~ found something else for dinner when Mom made that years ago. 

Lightened up Chicken Parmesan

I love the Italian-American classic, Chicken Parmesan ~ breaded, then fried and smothered in mozzarella cheese and served alongside a plate of pasta.  

This recipe is sort of like it, just lightened-up.

The Best Salmon I Have Ever Baked!

Bill told me way back when, that he was part of the "I really don't like salmon" crowd.  Those were fighting words to me, and I was determined ~ and on a mission ~ to change his mind.  I figured he had a bad encounter with salmon once, just like I did many years ago with a catfish dinner at Mammoth Cave, when I cut into the fish and fat streamed out of it.  

I've been off on a long journey over the years for the best salmon recipe, and I'm sure I finally found it:  I'm just not sure though how I acquired this great recipe.  

Salmon has a great strong flavor and it's meatier than most fish. This rich, tender, flaky, and nutrient dense salmon gets slathered with a savory flavorful Dijon mustard sauce, then baked at a high temperature to perfection for our taste buds.

It's Stuffed Peppers with Grits and Italian Sausage!

You ask, “What could possibly make a cheesy grits and Italian pork sausage combo taste better?”  

Southern Living magazine has the answer:
It’s seasoned cheesy grits and Italian pork sausage, stuffing a tender bell pepper with mozzarella cheese sprinkled over all and baked!  

Deliciousness comes together in this flavorful and easy meal for your family and friends too, it's that good! 

Surprisingly, all bell peppers contain more Vitamin C than an orange, ranging from 95 mg in a green to a whopping 341 mg in a yellow.  They're also super low-cal, containing just 45 calories per cup, making them the the perfect snack.  Maybe we should be eating bell peppers instead of of reaching for a glass of sugary orange juice to ward off a cold!

And who doesn't like grits?

Here's the Ten Commandments of Grits:

1. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
2. Thou shalt not eat Cream of Wheat and call it Grits; for this is blasphemy.
3. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors Grits.
4. Thou shalt only use Salt, Butter and Cheese as toppings for thy Grits.
5. Thou shalt not eat Instant Grits.
6. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
7. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
8. Thou shalt not put syrup on thy Grits.
9. Thou shalt not put sugar on thy Grits either.
10. Thou shalt not put sugar or syrup on thy Grits.

Amen, right on!

There are 8 colors in the bell pepper family.  Besides the usual green, red and yellow, the family includes orange, black, brown, ivory and purple.

Any color bell pepper could be used in this slightly adapted Southern Living recipe, I opted for red peppers simply because red is my favorite color.  The important thing is to make sure the peppers are large enough to be stuffed with the cheese and grits filling, 3 of them should total about 20 ounces.

After stuffing the peppers with the savory filling, and baking them, whisk a simple vinaigrette, then toss in a few grape tomatoes to drizzle over the peppers before serving.

We all really liked this savory and satisfying version of stuffed peppers, so the recipe is a keeper!

Yield: 6 servings    Author: Pam

Stuffed Peppers with Grits and Sausage

Cheesy grits and Italian sausage provide a savory and satisfying filling for bell peppers!

prep time: 15 MINScook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 15 mins

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large red bell peppers (about 20 oz.)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 hot Italian pork sausage links, casings removed
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup stoneground grits (or regualr)
• 11/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 3 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup), divided
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Microwave bell peppers on HIGH 2 minutes to soften slightly. Cut bell peppers in half through the stem. Remove seeds and white membranes using a serrated tomato corer or melon baller. Discard seeds and membranes.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add sausage to skillet; cook 4 minutes, stirring to break into small pieces. Add onion to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until sausage is cooked and onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Remove sausage mixture from pan.
3. Add grits to skillet; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth, milk, and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt to skillet; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir in sausage mixture, and half of the cheese.
4. Divide mixture evenly among bell pepper halves. Place side by side on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Bake in preheated oven until cheese is browned and peppers are tender, about 30 minutes.
6. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. 
7. Add tomatoes; toss to coat. Serve over peppers.

Enjoy!



Our Prayers and Best Wishes to everyone in the path of the hurricanes!

And let's remember, honor and pay tribute to all those affected by the events of 9/11...

Let Us Honor Memorial Day, and Kick Start Summer with a Cucumber, Mustard and Dill Salad

Get out your white shoes, and let's celebrate the start of summer by honoring our nation's veterans!

Let us pay tribute to all veteran's who have given their lives to our nation's wars...

Gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery decorated with American flags on Memorial Day

On Monday ~ Memorial Day ~ according to the "The National Moment of Remembrance Act," passed in December, 2000, we Americans are encouraged to pause wherever we are at 3:00 p.m. local time, for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to our nation.  

It's a way we can all help put memorial back into Memorial Day.

Now for the cucumber salad...

It's super quick, super easy and, you guessed it:  super good and tasty!

You won't find a fresher-tasting salad than this simple stunner.

It's a Cool, Refreshing, Summertime Salad!


Cucumber, Mustard and Dill Salad

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large seedless cucumber, peeled
1 small white onion, sliced thin

2 tablespoons chopped dill

Method:

Whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt and sugar. 

Add oil in a slow stream, stirring constantly.

Halve cucumber lengthwise, cut halves crosswise into ⅛"-thick slices.

Toss cucumber with onion, dill and vinaigrette.

Serves 4 
Printable recipe

Enjoy!

Here’s wishing you all

a

Safe and Happy

Memorial Day Weekend!

Mojo de Ajo

 I am hooked on this stuff!

A while back, I was watching “Mexico – One Plate at a Time” on PBS when Chef Rick Bayless of Frontera Grill in Chicago, along with his daughter, made Mojo de Ajo.  The title of the show was “Liquid Gold” and believe me, it is!

If you are crazy about garlic infused olive oil and haven’t made it yourself, now is the time!  This is soooo good!  Rick says that he always has a jar of it in the refrigerator and from now on I will also.  It can be used to sauté about any meat, vegetables, pasta dishes or even on pizza.

Mojo de Ajo (garlic sauce) keeps in the refrigerator for 3 months.  It is easy to make and definitely worth its weight in gold. 

Here are some suggestions for using it:

• Dipping sauce for bread.
• Spread over pizza crust and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
• A brushetta topping.
• Add it to soups.
• Toasted French bread.
• Brown a roast in it.
• Add it to salad dressings.
• Over most meats:  steak, chicken, pork.
• With vegetables:  roast potatoes slathered with mojo de ajo.
• Add it to pasta sauces.
• With fish and seafood, such as shrimp scampi.
• Marinades.
• On popcorn!

You can use it for practically anything.  If you really like garlic the way I do, you have got to try this!  In Rick’s words:  “take it out of refrigerate and enjoy some deliciousness.” 

Mojo de Ajo
(Garlic Mojo or Liquid Gold) 

Ingredients:

4 large heads garlic 

OR 10 ounces (about 1¾ cups) peeled garlic cloves
2 cups fruity olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup lime juice

Method:

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Break the heads of garlic apart, then mash each clove (a fist against the side of a knife is what I do) to release the clove from its paper skin.

If using already-peeled garlic, scoop the cloves into a heavy recloseable plastic bag and use a rolling pin to mash them slightly.
Stir together the garlic, oil and salt in an 8x8-inch pan (make sure the garlic is submerged).

Slide it into the oven and bake until the garlic is soft and lightly brown, about 45 to 55 minutes.  (Mine browned in 40 minutes.)

Add the lime juice and return to the oven for 20 minutes for the garlic to absorb the lime and turn golden brown.

Using an old-fashioned potato masher or large fork, mash the garlic into a coarse puree.
Pour the mixture into a wide-mouth storage container and refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it.
This mojo will keep for up to 3 months in the refrigerator as long as there’s enough oil to keep the garlic covered.

When you want to use it, you can let it come to room temperature (because the oil solidifies in the fridge) or just use scoops of the solid oil, which melts when it starts to heat up in the pan.

Makes about 3 cups 

If you really like garlic the way I do, you have got to try this!

Be sure to visit my friend Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!

Wild about Mushrooms

I remember my Mom and Dad foraging in the yard and woods for various wild mushrooms when we lived on the farm in Pickerington.  

Then later, when we moved to Louisville, the neighbors all thought they were crazy for picking wild mushrooms.  They always gave Mom and Dad warnings about how risky it was.  Thankfully, that didn’t stop my parents.

Early Greeks and Romans are thought to be the first cultivator’s of mushrooms, using them in numerous dishes.  Today there are more than 70,000 thousand varieties, shapes and sizes of mushrooms with only a very small fraction of them being edible.  

So, if you’re not familiar with the types of mushrooms, only forage for them with someone that can identify them and whom you would entrust your life!

A much quicker way to forage for mushrooms is to go to the grocery store like I do.  Then they make their way onto the top of a pizza, into salads and casseroles or my favorite way, sautéed.  

Here’s my way of sautéing them:

Sautéed Mushrooms

Ingredients:

1 pound button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons garlic powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet over high heat.

When the butter and oil is very hot and frothy; add the mushrooms.

Do not let the butter burn; be ready to toss in the mushrooms quickly.

Sauté the mushrooms for about 5-6 minutes, tossing them, until they absorb the butter and oil.

Add garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Continue sautéing for another 3-4 minutes; shake the pan and toss the mushrooms. 

They will start to release the fat and now they should be browned nicely. 

Remove them from the skillet and serve.

Enjoy!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, at My Kind of Cooking for her great cookbook giveaway.

Balsamic Cucumber Salad with Tomatoes and Red Onions

Did you know “cool as a cucumber” isn’t just a catchy phrase? It’s actually true; the inside temperature of a cucumber is 20 degrees cooler than the outside air!

Going back to the days of Dad’s gardens, I loved cucumbers and still do. 

Summer time is great for this salad but, I can’t wait that long so spring is a wonderful time for it also!  Sweet onions such as Vidalias or Walla Wallas can be substituted for the red onions in this, just double the quantity.  

It’s a quick salad with a little olive oil, balsamic and red wine vinegars and Dijon mustard added.  If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, use more red wine vinegar. 

This salad never fails to satisfy us with all its great flavors.  I think the next time I will add a green chili to it for a little heat.  

I can’t resist a good cucumber salad and this one leaves me yearning for summer!

Cucumber Salad with Onions and Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients:

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and cut in half lengthwise

1 large red onion, thinly sliced and separated

2 medium tomatoes, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon McCormick’s Seasoned Pepper Blend

Method:

In a medium bowl, cut cucumbers into ¼” slices.

Add onions and tomatoes.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the cucumber mixture.

Can refrigerate 1 hour or so before serving.

4-6 servings

ENJOY!

Saganaki

In 1980, Bill was employed in Louisville, KY at Louisville and Nashville Railroad.  L&N merged with Seaboard Railroad in Jacksonville, FL (think warm, sunny, no snow, the South) and we were set to move to Jacksonville.  However, Bill was approached by a Chicago company connected with railroads; offered a job he couldn’t refuse and you know where we moved (think long winters, lots of snow, ice and WINDY!) 

I was looking forward to Jacksonville, having grown up in a Southern city but, the move to Chicago was the right move for Bill’s career and as he was originally from Crystal Lake, IL (Chicago NW suburb) with all of his family residing there nearby, it was fine; a good move.

Bill began working at the Chicago company a month or two before we actually moved here.  I came up for a visit during that time,  for several days, to meet people at his company, see his office and Chicago too.  I was amazed with it all!  Then, one day, we were invited to lunch at Greek Islands, which turned out to be a delicious food experience!

The gentleman we were with said we had to try this appetizer called "Saganaki."  In a short while, the waiter came to the table hoisting a tray in one hand, while he poured ouzo (Greek liquor made from anise) over the cheese with his other hand, and then torched the Saganaki to flambé the cheese, while yelling “Opaa!”  He proceeded to squirt lemon cheese over the Saganaki to dissipate the flame.  Saganaki was heaven from the first bite!

Saganaki (say sah-ghah-NAH-kee), takes its name from the two-handled shallow skillet used in the Greek kitchen.  It is very easy to make and smells heavenly.  The secret is to get the olive oil very hot, almost smoking.  Then add a slice of cheese coated in flour and pepper into the hot oil.  When it starts bubbling, remove from the skillet, pour ouzo over it, flame it, give it a squirt of lemon juice ~ Opaa!  You have a delicious, savory appetizer!

If you’ve never experienced Saganki and love cheese, you must give this a try, it is easy.  You will not be disappointed!  The aroma is breathtaking and the taste is out of this world delicious!

Photo courtesy of Ricardo DeAratanha/LA Times

Saganaki

Ingredients:

½ pound Kasseri cheese

½ cup flour

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup olive oil
½ ounce Ouzo
Juice of 1 lemon, strained

Method:

Cut cheese in wedges about 3” long and 1” thick.

Rinse with water and pat dry with paper towel.

Combine flour and pepper.

Dip cheese wedges in flour to coat on all sides.

In skillet, heat olive oil until it is very hot, not smoking.

Cook cheese in oil for 2-3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.
The cheese will begin to melt.
Drain the excess oil, keeping the cheese in the skillet.
Pour ouzo on top of cheese and set it aflame using a barbecue lighter.
When the flame calms, squeeze the lemon wedge over the cheese.

Remove cheese from pan with spatula and place it on serving dish.

Serve immediately with pita bread.

Serves 4

είναι νόστιμο!  OPAA!!!