Marinated Balsamic-Dijon Chicken (Disaster!)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26TH, 2009

1 star (out of 5 - SB's rating: oopsies!)
3 stars (out of 5 - LX's rating)

I decided to try this recipe because the ingredients looked good (and simple!), and I loved the idea of the 24h marinating. Yummy! However, I was incredibly disappointed with the outcome. I made a note at the bottom for suggestions to improve this, but basically the sauce turned out to be extremely strong, and the chicken extremely overcooked. One good thing about this recipe was that I learned that another advantage of being a vegetarian was that simulated meat is way less prone to overcooking. Sorry SB!

Ingredients*:

Chicken pieces (thighs or breasts)*
Onions, sliced (~1 onion per piece of chicken)
~1/2 cup balsamic vinegar**
~1/3 cup dijon mustard**
Seasoning, as you prefer (I added Herbes de Provence, Laurel leaf, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper)
1.5-2 tsp lemon juice concentrate
3/4 cup wine**

{*Note. Please read through blog before attempting this recipe! There were some problems, as you will see.... I would first start with chicken thighs, as they will withstand longer cooking times. **The marinate is good with the vinegar and mustard, although I ended up almost doubling the amounts just to be able to cover the chicken. More importantly, there needs to be another liquid besides the wine in the sauce, otherwise it is extremely acidic. On this note, the white wine was something I was forced to do, mid-cooking, as the sauce without it was more like a paste. Suggestions, please!}.

1. First, I sliced the onion (keeping the pieces quite large).

2. I then spread the chicken out in a pan for marinating.

Chick'n version for me and LX:

3. To make the marinate, I simply mixed the balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and lemon juice together...

4. ... until creamy and smooth.

5. I then added the dried herbs to the chicken, which included Herbes de Provence, Laurel leaf, and crushed red peppers (add the spices you prefer).

6. I then topped each dish (one chicken, one Chick'n) with the onions...

7. ... and poured over the marinate, mixing it to make sure everything was coated. I then placed it in the fridge, covered, for 24 hours.

Chicken:

Chick'n:

8. The next day, I baked the chicken (saving most of the marinate in the dish) in the oven at 400Funtil it was cooked and set it aside. The recipe said to bake it for 35-45 minutes (!!) but I took it out after about 20-25 minutes.

9. I added the onions to the frying pan, which the recipe assured me would create it's own liquid (so not to add water). At first it was good:

10. However, as they softened, it was clear that this was not going to suffice as a sauce:

11. I decided to add some white wine to the mixture, which looked good. I added the chicken to "simmer", like the recipe said, for 25 minutes (I cut this down to 10-15 minutes). Big mistake!

12. And served over basmati rice...

13. ...with a side of baked asparagus.

Overall, this was another lesson for me to try out recipes before attempting them for the first time with guests. This recipe smelled delicious as it was cooking, and I loved the 24 hour marinating. However, the overall flavour was SOOOOO strong. The kind that burns the back of your throat. I was so disappointed because of all the work I put into it, and because it smelled soo good. I did add the white wine to increase the liquid in the sauce, but I think it was too strong and only added to the acidity of this dish. LX really liked it, but told me that she really likes tart things (and was probably being nice!), but SB didn't eat much of it and neither did I. In addition, the chicken was cooked WAY too long. It wasn't so much a problem for the Chick'n, but for the real meat, SB told me it was pretty bad. Oopsies.

Anyways, if anyone has any suggestions about how to improve this recipe (both the sauce and how to cook the chicken), please let me know! I think there is potential here, but I am too inexperienced to think of anything else besides the wine!

Chicken Scallopine

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH, 2009

4 stars (out of 5 - even though I had some problems: see modifications to make this even better)

I ran across another delicious looking recipe on the PW's website for chicken scallopine. It looked simple enough, so I tried it out for the first time when PTL came over for dinner. The original recipe can be found here: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/chicken-scallopine/. In the end, this recipe was very good and SB even rated it highly. However, I must say to proceed with caution, as I had quite a bit of difficulty with it (curdled a bit, runny), with the sauce ultimately being saved by PTL.

Ingredients:

1 package linguine
4 whole Boneless, Skinless, Trimmed Chicken Breasts
Salt and pepper
Flour (approx. 3 tbsp)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp butter
1-2 packages of white mushrooms, thinly sliced*
1 cup dry white wine
1 lemon
½ cups half & half* (see note)
1 tsp (heaping) capers
Fresh parley, chopped
Fresh Parmesan cheese, grated

{*Note. I used 4 chicken cutlets, plus one Chick'n breast, and it was enough sauce. The original recipe calls for heavy cream; I tried to be a bit more healthy and use Half & Half, and it was not worth it (see below). I strongly recommend using the heavy cream instead, otherwise the sauce was runny and I needed to add some butter to thicken it. Finally, I used only 1 package of white mushrooms, but the sauce could have ultimately used more. I would add an additional 1/2 package if I was making this again}.

1. Before I started anything, I first cut up the white mushrooms into thin slices.

2. I then prepared the parsley, so that I could just throw it in when everything was ready.

3. I then prepared the chicken: First, I put a generous portion of salt and pepper on each side...

4. ... and dredged each side in flour. This way, I felt that everything was in place for me to start cooking.

5. I then started the water for the pasta, and cooked according to the package. While this was cooking, I prepared the rest of the meal:

6. First, I heated the butter and oil in a frying pan. When it was hot, I added the chicken. You want a nice golden brown colour on the outside. When done, I set these aside.

7. Added the mushrooms to the pan...

8. ... and then immediately added the wine and the lemon juice from 1/2-1 lemon. I cooked this vigorously until it reduced. Apparently in 1 minute, but mine took much longer.

9. At this point, I ran into a bit of trouble. Here, you are to reduce the heat and add the cream. I don't know if it was the half and half I used or what, but mine curdled a bit. In the end, it was fine, but about here I started to panic and not feel so happy. At this point, you also want to make sure it is salty enough, and add some more pepper.

10. Eventually, PTL and myself fixed this by adding more butter to thicken (healthy!) and letting it reduce on it's own. We then added it to the pasta and stirred in the parsley.

11. Finally, the chicken was placed on the plate, and the pasta + sauce heaped over top, and sprinkled with lots of Parmesan cheese.

My Chick'n Version:

In the end, it was actually pretty delicious which makes me want to make a second attempt in the future. SB particularly liked the chicken and the way it was cooked. I probably wouldn't try this out when company is coming over... at least not until I figure out what went wrong. Next time, I will use heavy cream and see if it's better. I will post any updates on here. I would say that overall I wouldn't afraid to try this recipe with the heavy cream, even if I did have some difficulty: despite the problems I encountered, it ended up being a pretty delicious meal!

Eggplant-Feta Rolls - Appy

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH, 2009

4.5 stars (out of 5)

This was another great recipe shown to us by my sister during her visit last September. I think that they're a fabulous addition to my appetizer collection, and provide some very unique flavours. They are a bit time-consuming, but worth it in the end!

Ingredients:

1-2 large eggplants, cut into thin slices (~10 slices each eggplant)
1 red chili, cut into tiny pieces*
2-3 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
3/4 container of feta cheese, crumbled
Juice of one small-medium lemon
Olive oil
Black pepper

{Note. We could not find a red chili, so we substituted this with 1 tsp red pepper flakes (adjust to your own level of spiciness). Also see the previous post about how we used this recipe as part of the main course}.

1. First, we took our eggplants and sliced them length-wise into thin slices (see thickness in the second pic below).

2. As we heated a medium skilled over medium-high heat, we cut up the mint into small pieces. This is a bit time-consuming with a knife, so using kitchen scissors may be a good idea.

3. Then, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, we crumbled the feta, and added the lemon juice, mint, and red pepper flakes, and mixed well.

4. When the skillet was hot, added some olive oil and then grilled each side of the eggplant slices for about 2 minutes per side. You want them to be golden and medium soft (tender).

5. Once done, we added a heaping spoonful of the feta mixture to the end of each of the strips (do as they come off the grill).

6. We then rolled them up...

7. ...and stacked with the seam facing down on the plate.

Overall, these had such a different taste than many other appy's I have had, and spiced things up a bit. And they were very delicious! The only changes I would make was to use less oil (they were a bit oily sometimes), and to somehow make them easier to eat (quite messy, which might not be great at a party). We ended up eating them as appy's one night, and then as part of our main dish another night, and they worked well as both (see Caramelized Mushroom & Onion Mashed Potato post). Another great treat from Ash!

Caramelized Mushroom & Onion Mashed Potatoes with Green Bean Side

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH, 2009

5 stars (out of 5 - excellent twist on mashed potatoes!)

My sister visited last September and she honoured us with this recipe for mashed potatoes. I was a little hesitant at first, given my dislike of mushrooms, but we ended up asking her to make this for us at least 2 times during the week!! Sooo good!

Ingredients for Potatoes:

1.5-2 potatoes per person, peeled and cut
Milk and sour cream* (*as you like)
1 package mushrooms
1 onion
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
3 tbsp brown sugar
Butter and olive oil
Salt and pepper

Ingredients for Green Beans:

1 handful of green beans per person
Butter
Salt and pepper

1. First, we prepared the potatoes and added them to boiling water with a few sprigs of rosemary to taste.

2. As the potatoes were cooking, we prepared the mushrooms by washing and slicing them...

3. ... and dicing up the onion into large chunks.

4. We then cut up the rosemary (tip: kitchen scissors work well for this task!).

5. When the potatoes were almost ready, we melted some butter in a pan with olive oil (to prevent splashing and burning of the butter)...

6. ...and added the mushrooms...

7. ...followed by the rosemary...

8. ...and onions (the mushrooms were cooked for about 3-4 minutes longer than the onions).

9. Once the mushrooms and onions were soft, we added the brown sugar and stirred everything together.

10. We let this cook for a while, and at the end drained any excess liquid. This is what it should look like:

11. At this point, we had mashed the potatoes with the milk and/or sour cream and plenty of butter, salt and pepper. You can then either serve the mushroom mixture on top of the potatoes...

12. ... or stirred in. On top looks better, but stirred in tastes better!!

13. We served these with green beans, trimmed and boiled for 4 minutes with butter added.

14. Salt and pepper them and you have a super-easy but refreshing side dish!

The crew eating! Note that we served the mashed potatoes with the eggplant appy's (pictured at the centre of the table: http://etryingtocook.blogspot.com/2009/11/eggplant-feta-appy.html), which we used as a meat replacement for vegetarians. How versatile!

Overall, this was such a treat! A very very delicious meal that my sister showed me and that everyone loved. I love love love mashed potatoes, and this was such a great way to mix it up a bit. They were definitely the best mashed potatoes that I have ever had (and I don't even like mushrooms!). Thank you to MK and SB for helping out with this dish (and to Ash for showing it to us!). I have made these several times since her visit, and they have always turned out. I am thinking that the mushroom/onion sauce can be used to top other things, such as meat. Perhaps, I will try that in the future....