Shop and Cook ~ Cornflake Chicken

Cornflake chicken is old favorite of mine. My mother made it a lot when I was in middle school. In high school; she stopped.

I have mentioned my brother-in-law, before,  in this blog. He liked to steal my brown bag lunches from my locker. Always curious about what homemade cookie my mom had included, or to take one of the amazing turkey sandwiches she had made that morning. After they had dated for about a year, he became a regular at our kitchen table. He was the youngest of four and his parents weren’t cooking things he “liked”, so he joined us. Actually, I think called around to different homes, to find out who was making the best dinner that night, and it was usually on Hope street. He loved my mom’s food but he was very vocal about what he didn’t like; he didn’t like cornflake chicken.

My brother-in-law, to this day, continues to baffle me with his food likes and dislikes. He can appreciate any type of beef, slow cooked and covered in manly barbeque sauces, for breakfast lunch or dinner. His reaction to this type of food makes you feel like the greatest cook on earth. So that is what you cook him. Give him a piece of chicken or fish, and you’ll never want to cook it again. I have to give him credit because he has angled himself quite nicely, no one wants to disappoint him in the kitchen. Bravo, but I am on to you.

I tweaked my wonderful mother’s cornflake chicken just a tad, for bit more flavor. Three ingredients — chicken, russian dressing, cornflakes. I made a great homemade russian dressing that is to die for delicious. I included the recipe for those of you who want to keep it thoughtful. I like having my own dressings on hand, and this one serves triple duty — use it for the chicken, dipping sauce, or salads. You could always make the dressing over the weekend and then use it during the week. It takes about 5 minutes to whip up and the ingredients are simple pantry items. You will get more flavor on your chicken if you let the dressing rest overnight for flavor development.

Cornflake Chicken

Click here to print your shopping list and recipe

Serves 4

Cook Time: 35 minutes at 375 degrees or until internal temp is 165

(cook time depends on size of chicken breasts – check internal temp)

Ingredients:

 2 cups of cornflakes

1 cup of russian dressing

4 chicken breasts boneless or bone in

Directions: For best flavor, place chicken breast in a bowl or ziplock bag with the russian dressing, 30 minutes before cooking. If you don’t have the time just coat the chicken with the sauce and continue to the next step. In a ziplock bag crunch the cornflakes up with your hands. You don’t want crumbs, just smaller pieces. Remove the chicken from the bowl (you want a lot of that sauce on the chicken) and roll the chicken around in the cornflakes. Place in an oven proof baking dish and continue with the other pieces. Bake for about 35 minutes — until the internal temp is 165. 

Russian Dressing

 Ingredients:

 1 cup of mayonnaise

1/2 cup of sour cream

1/2 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons of grated onion 

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

5 drops of hot sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk

2 tablespoons of relish

Directions: Add all of your ingredients to a bowl and whisk until it is evenly combined and a smooth creamy consistency. If you have a food processor use that, and mix until combined. 

Homemade Bagels

It is that time of the year! Bagel season is here. There is nothing better than the smell of fresh bread in your home, we had that smell fill our apartment and then hang around all day Saturday. My bagel making endeavor began last fall and when people hear that I am making bagels, they usually look at me like I am crazy (maybe it’s not the bagels). But honestly, some cake recipes I have are more time-consuming than these bagel. Who wudda thunk it?

Last fall, I happened upon a book at the library called the Bread Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. I began  flipping through the pages and came across the recipe. Really? I thought to myself. I can actually make bagels at home? I took the book out of the library and decided that if I was successful with the bagels, I would eventually purchase the book. Dozens and dozens, and dozens of bagels later (and a very crinkled page in the book) I returned it and bought my own.

I was making the bagels as many weekends as I could — batches for my family and for deliveries around Walpole. I loved surprising friends with homemade bagels early in the morning. Some weeks I didn’t get around to starting the dough and then Saturday would roll around. My father would come up stairs asking, “where are my bagels?” I don’t blame him. They have a beautiful yeasty flavor, delicate yet chewy, and will put your grocery store bagel to shame.

It is quite astonishing how very simple the recipe is. What may scare people off is that in order to create the best flavor in the bagels, you start the dough on Wednesday in order to bake them on Saturday. A lot of homemade breads need time for flavor development, but most of that time is hands off. I know, three days ahead — this sounds crazy. But each night you spend only 5- 10 minutes with the dough. It then goes into the refrigerator until the next night and the next step.  Saturday morning is when the boiling and baking happens and the finished product is quite satisfying. Water, flour, yeast, three days = bagels. I like to make a couple of batches, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and put them in the freezer. They are great with cream cheese, as a sandwich, or on the side with a salad.

Rose Levy’s directions are flawless and since making the bagels, I have made a number of her recipes from the Bread Bible. Some of my favorites are the ciabatta bread, focaccia bread, and prosciutto ring to name a few. And no, they don’t ALL take three or four days. Unfortunately, I can’t post the recipe for my dear readers (there are some rules in blogging). This post is to inspire you to take a risk and try making something you never thought you could. If you think you want to take on this very fun baking project but don’t want to go out and buy the cookbook, get it at the library. This is a great way to get to know a cookbook’s style, it’s recipes, and decide if you want to throw down 30 dollars for it. But if you would like to purchase it now, Rose’s book is available online here or at your local Barnes and Noble.  Happy exploring everyone!

(Photo by Roslyn Street)

Hamburgers Galore

Last night was amazing! P and I attended the 2nd Annual Hamburger Hop, here in Chicago. This was the first of a number of events, taking place this weekend in Millenium Park. The weekend, hosted by Chicago Gourmet, is filled with amazing food, beers and wines from all over. The Hop had 17 chefs, from restaurants all over the city, geared up for a burger throw down. As we presented our tickets we were given a bottle cap to cast our vote  for our favorite burger. I have never seen so many cheeseburgers! Blue Moon and Allen Brothers Steaks sponsored the event. The beers were great and the burgers were delicious. Our first stop was the Four Seasons table for a burger created by Kevin Hickey.

(Kevin Hickey with his bacon and bearnaisse cheese burger)

The Four Seasons had waitresses passing around peachy vanilla milkshakes, that were topped with a splash of prosecco, and served in a slurp sized shooter. Slurp we did, and headed over to the Four Seasons table. I was hungry and fired up. I ate one whole mini burger and enjoyed every bite of it, down to the last morsel. The bread: perfection. The bun consisted of a thin crust that had a slight chew to it, followed by a melt in your mouth crumb that did not overpower the treats in between. It was soft, yet sturdy, and able to carry its contents beautifully: bacon, cheese, arugula, and a blissful little surprise — fried béarnaise sauce. My bite consisted of a perfectly cooked patty (soft and juicy), a chewy piece of bacon, and a béarnaise popper that when bitten, melted into all the other flavors of the burger. In all, it was fun to eat, the flavors were original, and I still felt like I was eating a classic american cheeseburger. I took bites of a handful of other burgers in the contest and did my best to sample as many as I could, but eventually hit a wall. I compared every bite I took my Four Seasons experience. In the end, the Four Seasons was not Hamburger Hop champion of 2011, but they got my bottle cap.

Some of our other favorite burgers came from Dirk Flanigan at Henri and the People’s Choice winner, Colleen McHugh at Bandera.

(Photos by Roslyn Street)

Shop and Cook ~ Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Fish

I am in love with this week’s shop and cook — oven roasted tomatoes and fish. I am really trying to find great tasting food that takes a minimal effort to cook, and this weeks recipe is hands down the easiest so far. This recipe is inspired by a dish that was featured in Food and Wine magazine by Nikole Herriott at  Forty-Sixth at Grace.

The tomatoes in this recipe are baked in the oven similar to the cool weather vegetables, but with a few more bells and whistles for flavor. I served the roasted tomatoes with pan seared tuna steaks, but these tomatoes can accompany a type of fish (swordfish or tilapia would be two great options), chicken, pork, or even a starch; like risotto, polenta, or grits. The tomatoes burst in your mouth with an abundance of deep concentrated flavor that you’ll want in every bite.

Find a piece of fish your family enjoys, something on sale, or a few chicken breasts from the freezer, but be sure to roast a few extra of these cherry tomatoes!

Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Tuna Steaks

 (Adapted from Forty -Sixth and Grace)

Print off your shopping list and recipe here

serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Fish

2 lbs of tuna steaks

kosher salt

black pepper

olive oil for drizzling

For the Tomatoes

2 – 9 ounce containers of cherry tomatoes or small sweet tomatoes

1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil

3/4 of a teaspoon of dried thyme

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

Directions: Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Cut all of your cherry tomatoes in half and place in a bowl. In a bowl add the olive oil, vinegar, thyme and salt. Mix gently with your hands so all the tomatoes are evenly coated. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and try to turn as many as you can so the skin is facing down and the seeds are up. Put the tomatoes in the oven for about 30 minutes. The tomatoes will be sizzling and blistering and will deflate when you remove them from the oven.

Five minutes before removing the tomatoes from the oven, set a large skillet on the stove over med high heat. On a plate liberally cover both sides of your tuna steaks with salt and pepper.  Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your pan and swirl it around to coat the bottom. Add the tuna steaks. Cook for 1 1/2 – 2 minutes on each side. If you try to turn it too soon the fish will stick to the pan. Wait until a little bit of a golden brown crust has formed, turn them gently and continue cooking the other side. Remove the tuna from the pan, the tomatoes from the oven and serve hot! Rice or risotto would be a delicious accompaniment. Or keep it healthy and do an extra veggie and side salad.

(Photo by Roslyn Street)

Fall / Winter Vegetables

Well I don’t mean to get people down and out with this post. I figured I wanted to put this out there early — let’s embrace the underdog vegetables, the cooler weather brings.

When I think of October, I think of pumpkins, and pumpkins have been on my mind since the October Bon Appetit showed up on my mailbox. There is an article, by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer, about a last-minute fall gathering they hosted in 2010. With ease, they served 30 people, a gorgeous pumpkin and Gruyère cheese soup, straight out of an enormous pumpkin. Honestly, how fun is that?  They wrote about braising lamb, ragú sauce, and papardelle pasta; all slow cooking, guest friendly, and screaming cool weather. It got me thinking about other winter vegetables like butternut and acorn squash, as well as the root veggies, turnips, carrots and yams.

I think you are more likely to get your little friends to eat these baked treats than summer veggies; like zucchini, squash, broccoli, or asparagus. Did you know that a butternut squash is actually a fruit? Low in fat, high in fiber, these winter vegetables are packing a healthy punch.

The simplest way, for me, to cook these underdogs is to chop and bake. Turn any fall winter veg into table-side finger food.  Or don’t use your fingers. Where are my manners? Baking them in the oven with a bit of olive oil and salt brings out the sweet flavor of the vegetables. They are quite sturdy and can take too long to bake if you don’t cut them small enough — I like 1/2 inch – 3/4 inch cubes. This to me is the  most delicious way to get your nutrients from these season friendly vegetables. I cooked up these little treats last night to accompany our weekly roast chicken, along with some extras to go on salads. Also a great school snack for the kids.

Butternut Squash Bits by Roslyn Street

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

(substitute any squash or root vegetable)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

Directions. With a knife or sharp peeler, remove the light brown skin from the outside. Chop the squash into equal size pieces, about 1/2 inch – 3/4 cubes. Toss them in a bowl with the olive oil and salt so that all the pieces are lightly coated. Spread out on a baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. You want them to be soft and beginning to brown on the edges. If you want to go crazy, chop up some bits of kale and throw it on there to bake. You never know who might end up liking them! 

(Photo by Roslyn Street)