Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts

The recipe creators at ATK are geniuses! They figured out how to make a naked chicken breast taste like it has a crispy layer of skin. Hubs was fooled. He didn't realize the chicken was skinless until I told him. The secret was the combination of cornmeal and cornstarch. We served the chicken with a vegetable tart.

If you are a regular to my blog, you may have noticed that quite a few of the recipes lately come from the Light and Healthy issue. We have tried many dishes from this magazine, and have loved most of them. There are still a few more we want to taste.


Pan-roasted Chicken Breasts with a Lemon Parsley Sauce
adapted from America's Test Kitchen
Light and Healthy

1/2 c cornmeal
1 Tbs cornstarch
4 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbs canola oil

Sauce
1 tsp canola oil
3 Tbs finely minced onion
1 tsp all purpose flour
3/4 c low sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
1 Tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbs fresh chives, minced
1 Tbs unsalted butter, chilled
Salt and Pepper


Adjust oven rack to the lowest position. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the cornmeal and cornstarch in a shallow dish. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in the cornmeal mixture, coating well.

Heat the oil in a large, oven-safe skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Carefully place the chicken in the skillet, meaty side down. Cook until golden brown on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and continue to cook until light brown on the other side.

Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake until the thickest part of the chicken registers 160-165 degrees on a meat thermometer, about 15 minutes. Remove skillet from the oven, and transfer chicken to a platter. Tent loosely with foil.

For the sauce: Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until softened. Stir in the flour and cook for 30 seconds. Whisk in the broth, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened and reduced to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat, and stir in the lemon juice, parsley, chives, butter, and any accumulated juices from the chicken on the platter. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

Vegetable Tart

I have a thing for vegetable slices arranged in an attractive layer. This tart was published in the Light and Healthy issue of America's Test Kitchen. We have tried several recipes from this magazine, to much satisfaction. The crust of this ended up being very delicate - probably because it used olive oil instead of butter. In the future, I may just substitute the crust for my favorite pastry dough.


Vegetable Tart
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen,
Light and Healthy issue

Crust:
1 ¾ cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 Tbs sugar
½ tsp salt
6 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
¼ c ice water
½ c fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Filling:
1 small zucchini, sliced ¼ inch thick
3 plum tomatoes, sliced ¼ inch thick
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
½ c part-skim ricotta cheese
2 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 Tbs chopped fresh basil

For the crust:
Process the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Drizzle the in the oil and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse grains. Add 3 Tbs of ice water and continue to process until large clumps of dough form. If the dough doesn’t clump, add the remaining tablespoon of water and pulse to incorporate.

Press the dough into the bottom and ¾ inch up the sides of a tart pan with a removable bottom. Smooth out bumps. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer until firm, about 30 minutes. Make sure the tart pan is resting on a flat surface (place on a cutting board or plate if necessary.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Set the tart pan on a large baking sheet and remove plastic wrap. Press a double layer of foil into the tart shell and over the edges. Fill tart shell with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until dough is golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack and remove weights and foil.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese evenly over the bottom of the tart shell and continue to bake another 5 minutes. Cool tart shell while making the filling.

For the filling:
Increase oven to 425 degrees. Spread zucchini slices and tomato slices in a single layer over several paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and let sit for 30 minutes. Blot the tops of the zucchini and tomatoes dry with a few more paper towels.

In a small bowl, combine 1 tsp of the olive oil with the garli. In another bowl, mix the remaining 1 tsp of oil, ricotta and mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the tart shell. Arrange zucchini and tomatoes in a layer on top of the ricotta. Drizzle the vegetables with the garlic-oil mixture. Bake the tart on the baking sheet until the vegetables are slightly wilted, about 20 minutes.

Let the tart cool for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with basil. Remove the outer metal ring of the tart pan. Carefully cut into wedges and serve.

Burgers with Lemon-Herb Butter

I am becoming a "burger" person. Until I met my husband, I had never cared for them much. He has since converted me. We have burgers regularly, and search out different ways to make them interesting. We have used all types of meat - beef, turkey, black beans, lamb.

This recipe comes from the current issue of Bon Appetit. The original directions were much more intricate. They involved rolling the butter into a log and freezing it. I cut out a few steps to simplify the recipe, and we were very happy with the results.

During grilling, the butter seeped out of the burgers, making for frequent flare-ups. The term "flame-broiled" aptly described them. Also, the patties were very thin, so they cooked very quickly.


Burgers with Lemon-Herb Butter
Adapted from Bon Appétit
July 2010

6 Tbs butter, room temperature
1 Tbs fresh tarragon, finely chopped
1 Tbs fresh basil, finely chopped
1 Tbs fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 ½ lbs ground beef (85/15)
6 hamburger buns
Fresh tomato slices
Arugula leaves

Mix butter, herbs, lemon juice and lemon zest together to form a paste. Portion six 1-Tbs scoops of the mixture.

Divide meat into 6 equal pieces. For each piece of ground beef, separate in half. Flatten each half into equal size discs. Sandwich a scoop of herb-butter mixture between each half, and press together.

Prepare grill to high heat. Season burgers with a little salt and pepper. Grill burgers until cooked to desired doneness; toast hamburger buns on grill. Spread remaining herb-butter mixture on the top half of each bun. Place burgers on the bottom half of each bun. Top with tomato slices and argula leaves.

Tabouli

I love tabouli. Anytime I have an abundance of mint and parsley, I make a batch. I was first introduced to tabouli by a vegetarian boyfriend. He made his with bits of cucumber and tomato mixed in, and stuffed into a pita with melted jack cheese. The cafe where I worked my last year of college had great tabouli. It was loaded with chopped olive and feta, and served on a sandwich with turkey.

Most of the tabouli I've seen in the takeout section of grocery stores consist mainly of chopped parsley, with a little bulgur wheat. Munching on a mouthful of parsley does not sound appetizing. My take on tabouli incorporates the bits from past renditions that I've had. It's probably not very authentic. I'm not too specific with amounts - which makes it easy to adapt to your personal tastes.


Loaded Tabouli

1 ½ c bulgur wheat
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbs black olives, finely chopped
¼ c crumbled feta cheese
Small handful of mint, chopped
Small handful of parsley, chopped
Juice from 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper


Place bulgur in a large bowl with 1 ½ c of boiling water. Cover and let sit for 45 minutes. Pour off any excess water. Fluff with a fork. Add the tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, olives, feta, mint, parsley, and lemon. Toss. Drizzle some olive oil over the salad (a few tablespoons) and toss. Olive oil should very lightly coat the tabouli. Season with salt and pepper.

Independence Day Cookies

Tomorrow is July 4th! Normally we hang out at a friend's house, eating lots of food and watching fireworks. Sadly, our friend will not be in town this weekend. Hubs has a gig over on the east coast of the state, so the squirt and I will probably go hang with him for part of the day.

I usually make sugar cookies only in December. I'm not the kind of person who busts out the cookie cutters for every celebration, although I really wish I were. When faced with a large batch of cookies to decorate, I sometimes feel a little daunted. However, this occasion I had a patriotic design in mind, so I didn't mind the detailed work.

From my meager sugar cookie experiences, I have learned a few things. Here are my tips for the cookie decorator:

-Plan ahead for what colors you will need, and in which order you need to use them.

-Use a very small amount of water at a time to thin the icing, and mix well before adding more. To outline the edges, you want a consistency that flows easily, but still holds its shape. To flood with color, you want a thinner consistency so the icing spreads out after piping.

-Cover the mixing bowl of icing with a damp cloth while you work.

-Keep piping bags upright when not in use. Dampen a paper towel and place at the bottom of a glass. Set the bag in the glass.

-Wear gloves when adding coloring.


Hope these tips help. Happy Independence Day!


Sugar Cookies
Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe

2 c sifted all-purpose flour
¼ tsp table salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, sift flour, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined. Shape dough into a flat disk, wrap with plastic wrap, and let chill for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Dust a large surface with flour. Unwrap the dough, and roll out to ¼ inch thickness, dusting generously with flour. Cut into shapes using a cookie cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Re-roll out the scraps to cut more shapes.

Bake for about 15 minutes, until cookies are golden. Cool cookies on a wire rack and decorate.


Royal Icing

1 lb powdered sugar
5 Tbs meringue powder
½ c water (slightly less if you live in a humid climate like I do)
Small splash of almond extract (or whatever flavoring you like)

Place ingredients in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat on medium until fluffy but still dense, about 7-8 minutes. Thin with water as needed.