Lidia's Chicken Breast with Oranges and Olives

'tis the season - where candles are lit to ward off darkness. Where sparkle is called for and the usually-muted Claudia looks for a bit of glitter. And for dinner - I want flavor - more than the riches of fats and sugar so prevalent in December - I want the bright tang of oranges coupled with some briny salt. So I brought Lidia Bastianich's chicken with oranges and olives to the table. And was promptly told I could make it again.

So should you. 

Ingredients - serves 6 (I halved it and it served two just fine)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1-1/2 pounds thinly sliced chicken cutlets

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Flour - for dredging

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large red onion, sliced

1 cup pitted Gaeta or Kalamata olives, whole or halved

Juice and zest of 1 orange

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon fennel powder (I used fennel seeds)*

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh Italian parsley 

For fennel powder: put 1/2 cup of fennel seed in spice grinder and mill until you have powder. Makes 1/4 cup. Store at room temperature, sealed.

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat olive oil. Season chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and lightly dredge chicken in flour. Lightly brown the chicken in oil (until it has a blonde crust), about two minutes per side. Cook chicken in batches. Remove chicken to plate.

2. Add butter and onion to skillet and cook until onion is softened - 3-4 minutes. Add olives, orange juice, zest white wine and fennel. Add chicken back into skillet and simmer until chicken is cooked through and the sauce coats the chicken - about 4 minutes. Season with remaining salt, sprinkle with parsley (I used some fennel frond) and serve.

We had a trim-the-tree dinner. 

It will never be a designer tree. The ornaments come from our travels, our quirks - all the stages of our lives. Trimming the tree evokes all the threads of our Christmases -  Past, Present and Future.

This little beauty was from my parent's earliest Christmas together.

And this came from a neighbor when I was five years old. I am willing to bet some of you have him.

Paul (who prefers to direct the trimming of the tree) noted that the lower third of the tree was bare.

And it still is. Because ...

Wild Rice Apple Salad and Sausage with Grapes

What happens when a journalist-marketer-graphic designer for the culinary and agricultural industries (Tracey Ryder) joins forces with a photographer-advertising executive (Carole Topalian)? A lot. They co-founded Edible Communities in 2002 and spawned the local-seasonal movement in the USA. The company currently has 70 published titles all devoted to eating local. The movement has also rolled out local magazines featuring recipes for food grown locally as well as articles devoted to the artisan farmers who make it happen. You can out more about the movement in your hometown by going to Edible Communities. It's quite a feat to transform the way a large country such as the USA eats. But partly because of Ryder and Topalian, this is a movement that grows every year. It's not surprising that Gourmet listed these two women as "game-changers."

Without knowing who Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian were, I  had been picking up Edible Twin Cities at the St. Paul Farmer’s Market for a few years. The St. Paul Farmer’s market would be approved by Ryder and Topalian – you must be within a certain radius of St. Paul to sell your items – unlike Minneapolis which has vendors selling bananas and oranges – decidedly not local!

National Public Radio released food trends for 2012. Eating local was one of them. I had to smile. I thought it had been a trend for ten years. Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian are proof of that. I am not a locavore. To do so, I would have to give up stone fruit! Not happening. But I am mindful of the seasons. 

Wild rice and apples are two of Minnesota's most lauded products. When we travel and want to bring something local to our hosts, wild rice is always included. I was happy to see a recipe for wild rice that wasn't "Drowned Wild Rice in Cream." Wild rice is hearty enough - it doesn't need to be doused with anything. 

Wild Rice and Apple Salad
3 cups cooked wild rice
1 apple, chopped
2-3 celery stalks, chopped
1 small red onion - chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
salt and pepper to taste
*optional, 1/4 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinaigrette (below or use your favorite vinaigrette)

Apple Cider Vinaigrette
1 tablespoon apple cider
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Whisk all.

As much as I would have loved to have presented this as dinner to "Husband-on Diet-which-means-Hell-has-frozen-over." I knew I need to supply a bit of protein and by the end of the week - another broiled chicken breast just wouldn't cut it. It was time for some winter flavor. (And sausage and grapes are local here - but not so much in January!)

I turned to Lidia Bastianich and her skillet sausage and grapes. This hails from Umbria. Only local in my heart.

Sausage and Grapes Skillet Meal by Lidia Bastianich

(I halved the recipe)

1/8 up extra-virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves

1-1/2 pound Italian Sausage links (I used 5)

1/2 teaspoon peperoncino flakes

1-1/2 cups seedless green grapes

Under low heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and when the garlic is just starting to slowly sizzle, add your sausages. Cover and keep under low heat. Turn them every five minutes or so - to let them work their way into a deep, warming brown. After ten minutes, add the peperoncino flakes - in-between the sausages. Cover and let cook for another 20-25 minutes - continuing to turn them every once in a while.

When sausages are cooking (this slow browning is just the most delectable way to serve sausages), drain the fat and add the grapes. Cover and continue to cook under low heat until the grapes start to just wrinkle and pucker and release a juice or two. Uncover and raise the heat to high. Stir the grapes so they are covered with the leftover deeply browned oil in the pan allowing them to take on the earthy flavor. After ten-minutes, serve.

Husband was happy. Daughter was happy. And while the sausages and grapes might have been miffed about the flash on the camera - I consoled myself with the fact that one must organize priorities and if cooking doesn't start until dusk - so be it. Photographing the food the next day was not an option. There were no leftovers!

Please check out what the other bloggers are doing for Week 32 of Female Chef Gourmet Game Changers. And if you want to join in the fun, e-mail Mary at  One Perfect Bite. Mary started this delectable journey. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed

Susan - The Spice Garden, Heather - girlichef,

Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living, 

Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me

Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts

Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds, 

Linda A - There and Back Again, Martha - Lines from Linderhof, 

Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen

Annie - Most Lovely Things, Alyce - More Time at the Table; Amrita- Beetle's Kitchen Escapades