Sun-dried Tomato Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 3.5 oz. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 1 slice bread (suggest Pepperidge Farm® Farmhouse Sourdough)
• 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta
• 1 tablespoon whole milk
• 1 large egg
• 3-4 large cloves of garlic
• fresh rosemary (~1 large spring)
• fresh thyme (~6-8 stems)
• fresh sage (~5-6 leaves)
• 1/2 teaspoon Redmond's® Real Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormack's® Peppercorn Medley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Directions:

Mince garlic and set aside.  Strip rosemary and thyme leaves and mince them, along with the sage, and set aside.  Pulse the bread in a food processor to make fine breadcrumbs and set aside.  Lightly beat egg and set aside.  Drain (but preserve the oil) and rough chop the sun-dried tomatoes.

Put the tomatoes and garlic in the food processor and pulse.  Add in the bread crumbs and pulse.  Put this mixture to a large mixing bowl.  Then add the rest of the ingredients, except for the saved oil and mix well.

Shape into 21 meatballs and place on a large metal pan.  Brush with the olive oil from the sun-dried tomatoes container.  Bake until done (165 degrees), approximately 16 minutes.

Myrtle's Note:  I have wanted to try chicken meatballs for a while and went looking for a recipe.  This was close to what I wanted, although I changed the herbs and switched to fresh breadcrumbs.  Since the original recipe called for 1.5 pounds of chicken and I wanted to have a recipe for a 1 pound container, I had to work out reducing some of the ingredients.  The mixture feels really wet and I was worried, as I rolled out the meatballs, that they would not set, but the end result were really tasty, firm meatballs.

Yield:  6 servings

Source:  adapted from http://www.bhg.com/recipe/chicken-meatballs-with-sun-dried-tomatoes/

Lemon Thins

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/3 cup lard (or shortening)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla paste
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350.


Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter, shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract and vanilla paste.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well.   Once the dough comes together, turn it out onto the counter and shape into a 12 inch roll.  Wrap the roll in plastic and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Unwrap dough.  Cut into 1/4th inch slices, cutting only enough for your pans and then put the roll back into the refrigerator.  Place two inches apart on stoneware or an un-greased baking sheet.

Bake until the edges are just starting to lightly brown (approximately 11-13 minutes).  Half way through, rotate the pan.  Cool 1-2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Myrtle's Note: The two substitutions I did was to use lard and vanilla paste.  The one thing I found, again, with my oven these cookies took 12-13 minutes, when the original recipe says 8-9 minutes.  I was surprised the cooking time was so off.  Because they are such a thin cookie, I also learned that it is important to rotate the pan half way through.  Otherwise, the back ones become too browned.  I am not a browned cookie kind of person.  In short: these are really, really, really tasty ... thin, crispy, and lemony.  Mmmm!

Yield: 4 dozen

Source:  http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/lemon-thins

Eggplant Involtini

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants (~1.5 lbs each)
• 1 small red onion
• olive oil
• 1 quart whole tomatoes in juice (not puree)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 pinch dried red pepper flakes
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• pecorino cheese
• 1 slice bread
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped, or 1 large dollop Gourmet Gardens® basil paste
• Redmond's® Real Salt
• McCormack's® Peppercorn Medley

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees


Directions:

Prep.  Line two large baking pans with greased parchment paper and set aside.  Grate pecorino cheese (about 3/4 cups rounded) and set aside.  Mince onion and set aside.  Mince Garlic and set aside.  Use a food processor to create breadcrumbs from the slice of bread and set aside.  Drain the tomatoes into a bowl.  Rough chop the tomatoes.  Put the pieces into the bowl of tomato juice and set aside.

Roast the eggplants.  Peel the eggplants.  Trim a small bit from each side so that all your ensuing slices can lay flat.  Slice into 1/2 inch slices.  Lay out the slices on the pans.  Brush olive oil (about 5 tablespoons) on the slices, then salt and pepper.  Flip and repeat.  Place into the oven and roast for approximately 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest, flipping after 5 minutes lest condensation form beneath the slices.

Make the tomato sauce (whilst the eggplant slices are roasting).  In a sauteause pan (one that can go into the oven), put one teaspoon of olive oil and brown the onions.  Part way through, add the garlic and finishing browning.  Add in the tomatoes and their juice.  Add oregano, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon peppercorn medley, and pinch of red pepper flakes.  Let simmer whilst making the cheese filling.

Make the cheese filling.  In a medium bowl, add together the ricotta, a well rounded (heaping) 1/2 cup of pecorino, the breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (about 1/2 of a large lemon), the basil (I prefer the paste) and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Mix until well-blended.

Roll the eggplant slices. Distribute the cheese mixture evenly amongst the slices by placing a hefty soup spoon of cheese mixture onto the large end of the eggplant slices.  Starting from that large end, roll up the eggplant slices around the cheese mixture.  Place each slice into the sauce, with the seam side down.  Put one eggplant roll into the middle of the pan and fan the rest around it into a circle.

Finish.  Simmer on the stove for 12-15 minutes (look for the cheese mixture to melt).  Remove from the stove and top with more grated pecorino.  Finish in the oven beneath broil to brown the top.


Myrtle's Note:  I saw this on America's Test Kitchen and wanted to make it immediately.  Whilst I did tweak the tomato sauce a bit, I found the recipe rather easy to follow (once I transcribed it from the video).  This was one of the absolute best eggplant recipes I have ever had.  And was a bit hit with guests.  Over all, none of the steps are complicated and the end result is an impressive dish.  The key is to do all your prep beforehand so that you can smoothly go from prepping and roasting the eggplant slices to the sauce to the cheese mixture to the rolls.


Yield: 4-6 servings

Source:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngU9ke0ykNc

Poached Chicken (Forgotten)

Ingredients:

• chicken breast
• Redmond's® Real Salt
• McCormack's® Peppercorn Medley
• aromatics of your choice
• water (or liquid of your choice)

Directions:

If your chicken is not even thickness, pound it a bit, but do not over do it and end up with thin chicken.  Salt and pepper each side.

Place chicken breast(s) in a lidded pot.  If poaching several breasts at a time, use a pot that will hold them in a single layer. Add your aromatics and enough cold water to cover the chicken by two inches.

Bring to a simmer then cover and simmer for 1 minute only.  Remove from heat and leave to cool for 90 minutes without removing the lid. 

When ready to use, strain poaching liquid and reserve for later use as stock.

Myrtle's Note:  I was initially worried about this method, because when I tried it the first time, I thought the meat looked pink on the bottom.  However, it was ever so slightly brown from resting on the bottom of the pan, I guess.  Anyway, I panicked and poached it some more using the traditional method.  The second time, I put one of the two sprigs of thyme that I used beneath the chicken and actually brought it to a hard boil before turning the heat back down.  I am sure that was probably not necessary.  I am calling this method the forgotten method because it sits in the warm water for so long.  I think I prefer the traditional method, but this would be helpful when you have lots of other things to cook since you can set it aside and forget about it for a long while.  This method does result in the most aromatic chicken of the three methods.

Source:  http://www.annabel-langbein.com/recipes/aromatic-poached-chicken/491/

Poached Chicken (Traditional)

Ingredients:

• chicken breast
• Redmond's® Real Salt
• McCormack's® Peppercorn Medley
• aromatics of your choice
• water (or liquid of your choice)

Directions:

If your chicken is not even thickness, pound it a bit, but do not over do it and end up with thin chicken.  Salt and pepper each side.

In a lidded pot large enough to have your chicken in one layer, lay the chicken on the bottom.  Add your aromatics.  [Again, I used lemon slices, smashed garlic, and sprigs of fresh thyme.]  Gently cover the chicken until the water is a good one inch above your chicken.  [Another cook I watched suggested the liquid be two knuckles.]

Put the pot on the stove on high heat and bring to a boil.  As soon as it is boiling, cover the pot and turn the temperature down to low.

Let cook until the chicken reaches 165 degrees in the thickest part.  Depending on how many breasts you are poaching, this might be 10-14 minutes.

Remove from the poaching liquid and let rest on a plate for 5 minutes before cutting or shredding.

You can save the poaching liquid for a broth or stock.  Bring back to a boil and let it reduce a bit before saving.


Myrtle's Note:  I think that I might like this method better.  I had trouble bringing it to a boil on medium-high, so I plan to go straight to high next time (instructions are adjusted).  I have an electric, flat top stove and the constant cycling of the burner drives me nuts.  I like that there is no outer layer to the chicken, as opposed to the slightly rougher texture there was on the outside of the Inside Out Poached Chicken.  I also think it is a tad bit more flavorful, although by flavor I mean the essence of flavor.  I will say that with my struggle to get the chicken to boil, I clearly over-cooked this in the fact that it was 192 degrees when I checked it at 8 minutes.  I do like Inside Out Poached Chicken because it is a bit more precise in method.  Even so, I found this poached chicken the closest to that which you get on Panera salads.  I very much enjoyed it!


Source:  (the recipe, not the video) http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-poach-chicken-breasts-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-28367

Poached Chicken (Inside Out)

Ingredients:

• chicken breast(s)
• olive oil
• Redmond's® Real Salt
• McCormick's® Peppercorn Medley
• Aromatics of your choosing

Directions:

You will need a pan with a lid in which the number of chicken breasts you choose to cook fit in one layer.

If your chicken breast is not even thickness, pound it, but do NOT keep pounding it until it is thin.  Salt and pepper each side.

Heat your pan on medium high.  Once it is really hot, drizzle in some olive oil.  Turn the heat down to medium and put your chicken in the pan.  Cook for about a minute, until the chicken is a little golden, no more.  Turn the chicken over.  Put your aromatics in the pan.  [I chose smashed garlic, fresh thyme, and lemon slices.]  Cover with the lid.  Turn the heat down to LOW.  And cook for 10 minutes.  Do NOT lift the lid.

Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for an additional 10 minutes.  Do NOT lift the lid.

Remove the chicken from the pan and let rest for 5 minutes before cutting.

Works well when making chicken salad or putting chicken on a salad.


Myrtle's Note:  This is one of three different methods of poaching chicken that I wanted to learn.  The link below is to a different method, but in the middle of the page is a video advertisement that is this method.  All I did was add aromatics, since the other two poaching methods include them.  I had read that cold will set the flesh, so I was worried refrigerating it would change the outcome.  I used half the breast on my salad and put the other half in the refrigerator, dripping the juices from the plate onto the remain chicken pieces and putting them into the refrigerator whilst still warm so there would be some condensation in the container.  When I ate the leftovers later, they were incredibly moist.  I was well-pleased with this method.


Source: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-poach-chicken-breasts-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-28367 (video on the page, not the recipe)

Stove-to-Oven Fillet Mignon

Ingrediants:

• Fillet mignon
• olive oil
• butter
• salt
• pepper
• aromatics of your choice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Directions:

Set the steak on the counter for a half hour in order to come to room temperature.  Oil both sides, safflower has the highest smoke point.  Then, salt and pepper very liberally both sides.

Heat a pan to really, really hot by allowing it to rest in the oven as it is preheating then putting on a medium high flame.   Sear both sides (2-3 minutes each depending on the thickness of your fillet), without touching the meat as it sears.

Add aromatics and some butter to the pan.  Suggested aromatics are garlic, thyme, rosemary, bayleaves, etc.

Finish in the oven (5-7 minutes, from medium rare to well done).

Move to the plate.  Scoop some of the butter from the pan and drizzle it atop the steak.  Let rest 5 minutes.

Do not cut into the meat at any time during the process.

Myrtle's Note:  I absolutely stink at cooking steaks.  Since all my grilling efforts have been failures, I wanted to explore the stove-to-oven method and have, as I am now wont to do, been watching YouTube videos and Googling lots.  I settled on information from two different sources and started.  Pictured is a fillet pinwheel.  I wanted to try it before I did the plain fillet mignon.  It was rather tasty, although a bit more done than I wanted.  I need to remember just how much a steak will finish once it is taken away from its heat source.

Sources:  http://www.noreciperequired.com/technique/how-cook-perfect-filet-mignon#  AND http://www.floatingkitchen.net/how-to-cook-the-perfect-filet-mignon/