The Italian Cook dishes up poulet

I no sooner finished my August Cover Girl dinner then I turned around and made a huge French dinner the following evening. Partly because it just dawned on me that in a few years I will be sixty and I am apt to get quite dotty. (I know - I've had fifty-something years to get used to the number 60 and I cannot. So I thought I would start practicing now.) I also had starving-graduate-student-son home for the weekend and thought I would feed him royally while I could.
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I have a lot of herbs. They're calling to me. "Use me, use me. Why haven't you used me." All summer, it's been their plaintive soft cry but lately they've started to shriek.

And then August Bon Appetit had some Julia Child recipes in honor of her birthday and there it was: Poulet Saute aux Herbes de Provence! Say that three times - with an Italian accent! So I picked my herbs (who became quite indignant after being snipped) and went to work.

Below is my emulsified Provencal sauce. (I know the "c" has a squiggle - I cannot figure out how to do accents on blogger. Anyone know?) That sauce will make you salivate in a way Pavlov's dogs could not. For you are salivating for French food only. Laden with wine (but, of course!) and basil, fennel fronds (I actually have huge, honking fennel fronds). Anyone ready to book Air France pour moi? Oh dear. I hope eating French food does not make me pretentious.

And the sauce is drizzled over these golden, succulent, sun-spiced chicken. (I need to go to the South of France now.)

Can you feel the bistro atmosphere? Poulet saute aux herbes de Provence beckons.

With some roasted potatoes, I do declare - I heard someone say, "It's good enough for company."

And because zucchinis are still plentiful, we ended the meal with chocolate zucchini muffins. From Barbara Bakes blog. There's nothing like getting a serving of vegetables in your dessert! Deep and rich, zucchini never had it so good. I sweat I tasted a touch of Nice in every bite. It's all French to me!

Cooking On An iceberg

You spend four days in a theatre and what happens? Winter returns to Minnesota in June. Now, I admit I haven't paid a lot of attention - to anything lately. But I did notice when walking back to my car that wearing a sweatshirt wasn't cutting it. It's freezing here! 47 degrees F on Saturday. Fifty on Sunday. I turned the heat on in my car! Did a meteor hit the moon when I wasn't looking? After ridding my fridge of winter comfort food, it's winter - another winter of my discontent. It snowed in northern Minnesota!
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So I sit at my computer catching up - in sweats, sweatpants and gloves with fingertips removed. Not a pretty sight. On the other hand, I can stop bemoaning the fact that I have not lost twenty pounds this past year - because I'm still in baggy sweats!
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Pulled out my chicken and turned to Giada's lovely recipe for Chicken Saltimbocca. Next thing you know, I'll be baking a yule log.





CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA
1 10-oz frozen chopped spinach - thawed (I used fresh from frigid Farmer's Market)
3 T olive oil
1-1/2 t salt plus more to taste
1 t freshly ground pepper (or - you know - more - to taste)
6 chicken breasts pounded flat (I cut them in half)
6 slices of prosciutto (she says paper-thin - but I like these a wee bit thicker)
1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 14-oz can low-sodium chicken broth or what's in your freezer
3 T fresh lemon juice
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Squeeze and drain spinach of excess water. Dry. In a small bowl, coat with 1 T of the olive oil. Season with 1/4 t of salt and pepper
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Place cutlets on work surface and sprinkle with 1/2 t of salt and 1/4 t of pepper. (I just liberally sprinkle.) Lay 1 slice of prosciutto atop each cutlet. Arrange an even layer of spinach on each prosciutto-laden cutlet and sprinkle Parmesan evenly over each. Beginning at the short tapered end, roll up each cutlet as a jelly roll and secure with toothpick.
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In heavy skillet, heat remaining 2T of olive oil over high flame. Add cutlets and cook until golden brown - about 2 minutes per side. Add the broth and lemon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer till cooked through - about four minutes. (Mine usually take a wee bit longer). I know "wee bit" isn't scientific.
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Transfer cutlets to platter. Increase heat and cook the sauce until it is reduced to about 1/2 cup. (Five minutes?) Season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle sauce over chicken and serve.
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Excuse me while I dig out my ski cap and long underwear.

Work... Family.... Ahhh Food...

There it is - my dieting progress! Great white blobs of fresh mozzarella. I could eat it without the tomatoes or chicken. And as you can see, it is not low-fat. To my credit, there's a lot less of the cheese than it looks. I cut three 1/4 inch pieces and threw it on the chicken and while baking it - it doubled in size! Just like bread. Really! I never lie.

My husband had it over noodles. I was virtuous and had it snuggled up to my salad. It's been a "just a salad is not going to do it kind of a day." I had this idea (which can be frightening to some) that to generate excitement for my Summer Theatre Program at Lakeshore Players - the theatre could post a link to my Kids and Theatre blog (which they did) and I would update my blog 5 days a week with tidbits about The Magic Fishbone, scene excerpts, what I was now incorporating into the play and whatever my little head could think of that might be of interest to my actors and their parents. And that's great! Except for the days when you can't think of anything. Except for the days when you are busy reading blogs and dreaming about delectable dinners and baked goods... wait! No baked goods till June ... dreaming about pasta, and breads.... wait! Dreaming about salads and lentils and mineral water.
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I had one of those days today. What could I post?
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Dear parents and young performers:
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I know I should be updating my blog today but I'm reading recipes and drooling over photos of food.
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It might generate excitement if they were coming to dinner ... but it hardly makes them line-up to do my play.
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So - dinner was easy. I could clear my head of food and fill it with lines worthy of a character from Charles Dickens. Even if Charles Dickens didn't write the character. (I love Public Domain)
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Chicken breasts
2 T olive oil
oregano or thyme or other herb to taste
tomato
fresh mozzarella
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Pound or slice chicken breasts till thin. Salt and pepper them - add some thyme or oregano and saute them in 2 T of olive oil. When almost done, put a slice of tomato and a slice of fresh mozzarella on top of each breast. Stick pan in a 350 degree F oven for about 6 minutes.
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Serve with salad or pasta or both.

I may christen it the "blob meal" because it certainly has blob tendencies. Or I may christen it the "clear your mind" meal because it was so easy, I could research Victorian melodramas (don't ask) on the computer while doing this.

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As is the journey of life, the winter and spring has given our family some ups and downs. Yesterday, this appeared in the sky:

I take that as a sign (I'm Italian - I love "signs") that things are indeed looking up.

A double rainbow= double-luck. My son graduates from college on Mother's Day. I don't know how that happened - he was just born - but he insists he is 22. So, I may not blog about blobs or any such nonsense till Monday. Have a grand weekend, all. May a double rainbow come your way.

Red River Valley Daze

We are all waiting. For the Red River to crest. First it was supposed to happen Friday night. Now, it's Saturday afternoon. The Red River Valley flooded in 1997. Coming from NYC, I had never seen anything like that. Of course, I was also new to the ways of tornadoes and what "wind chill" really means. I paid no attention to weather in New York City. Sure, there were days I should have worn gloves, but in general, I never felt as if my life was in danger from weather. It's different in Minnesota and these days - it's different in North Dakota.

My son went to Fargo on Tuesday to help sandbag. (You know - it's amazingly low-tech and it works.) They were figuring on the river cresting at 41 feet. Then the blizzard came. And now it may crest at 43 feet.

Having just survived my son's road trip (and mishaps) roundtrip from central Minnesota to San Diego, I was not prepared for another day of worry. But that blasted blizzard blew into the Dakotas. And my son was in the middle of it.

So, I went back to baking. It was Tuesday and I had decided to follow Tuesdays with Dorie and made her Blueberry Crumb Cake. Not hard and it took my mind off of things.

I awaited news on Facebook. Yes. That's how parents get a lot of their kid's news these days. Luckily, my son is "my friend!"

Nothing. I knew he was busy and without any horrid phone calls, I knew he was safe. I had used all this lemon zest for the crumb cake and now had a lemon begging to be an ingredient. So, I fashioned my mother's chicken piccata after this necessity. It may not be a traditional piccata but it is beloved in this house. It's one of those recipes - where all is done to taste. Sorry - no real amounts. (Although I like it lemony - even with floods and blizzards and a return to winter - I hold on to thoughts of spring and lemons enhance that.)

You need:
2 tbls butter
1 tbls olive oil
chicken breasts
flour
lemon
white wine or chicken broth or both

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet. Dredge chicken breasts in flour. When oil and butter are merged and beautifully hot, drop the chicken in the skillet and let it brown. Turn over when browned nicely. Remove chicken briefly and dot that tenting stuff. Deglaze with chicken broth and/or wine or a little of both. Sprinkle lemon juice into the mixture. Return chicken to pot. Cover and simmer till chicken is done and all the flavors meld. (About fifteen minutes). I am a convert to brown rice but I really prefer white rice with this one.



And as suggested by UnconfidentialCook, I roasted some oil-brushed broccoli in a 400 degree oven till just cooked and served it all.

On Wednesday, my son's Facebook status announced "home." Today, I received this:

"Well the situation got a lot worse since we got back. The river is supposed to crest at 43 feet now, and not 41 feet like the dikes were built for. We helped build a dike in Moorhead first (at one of our classmate's house) and the dike is 8 feet tall there. We spent almost 3 hours Wednesday morning (1:30am-4am) in the Fargodome making sandbags, and then Wednesday afternoon was the coldest...We were in a Fargo neighborhood that day. The cold wasn't too bad overall, because we were moving so much.The house we stayed at is really in danger of being flooded...It's in the Rose Creek neighborhood and the dike is only a few blocks from their house. My friend Laura, who drove us there and is from Fargo, said some of her friends have already lost their houses and her grandmother had to be evacuated from her nursing home."

It's real, surreal, not real. So, I continue to wait. Warm my home with cooking. Grateful for my kitchen.

Queen of Odds and Ends

I work in theatre. (Read: no money.) Worse than that, I work in youth theatre. (Read: no money.) And to make matters worse, I specialize in "theatre for young performers" and not "theatre for young audiences." (Read: even less money.) Yet, I brought my kids up with Bon Appetit magazine. On a budget, I managed 1-3 Bon Appetit meals per week. (And the eves I worked, I will admit to leaving them with Hamburger Helper to dish up - I know - you needn't tell me.) It did balance the budget. Over the years, some Bon Appetit dishes became staples:

- prosciutto-goat cheese timbales

- roast beef and red pepper sandwiches with tahini dressing

- angel hair pasta with peas, prosciutto and lemon

- Spicy grilled shrimp with lime

- Tuscan steak

- and so many more

My copies of the "Best of Paris," "The Best of Italy,' "The Best of the Mediterranean" etc. are dog-eared and well-used. I could justify my splurge on a dinner by noting that it is a lot cheaper than travelling abroad for some of these meals. And to save even more money (in the olden days), I became the "Queen of Chicken." It worked nicely with my other title as "Queen of No Money."

One day when "life" did its funny detours and the planned dinner was not going to happen, I par-boiled some chicken, boiled some pasta, threw in some peas and then mixed it all together with a bit of butter and olive oil and then smothered it with Parmesan cheese. It was a hit. It became one of my children's favorite meals - enough so that it would be requested as their birthday dinner! So it was no surprise that when I had the April 2009 Tastes of Italia open to their recipe of Penne with Chicken and Rosemary, my daughter changed dinner plans to eat at home. And their recipe is even easier than mine. You don't need to cook the chicken! Just bring home a rotisserie one. However, if you do cook your own chicken, rest assured no one will report you.

YOU NEED FOR 4 SERVINGS:

1/2 pound penne pasta, cooked according to package directions (why do we always say that - will we throw it in raw?) I always cook the full pound of pasta as is my custom - but I didn't need it.

2 cups cooked rotisserie chicken, chopped (It usually comes cooked - has anyone found it uncooked - like the "take and bake" breads?)

3 T olive oil

4 T chopped, fresh rosemary (I used more)

1 garlic clove - minced (yeah, I used more)

3/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese (Okay. You know. I used more)

salt and ground pepper to taste.

Cook pasta. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and combine chicken, rosemary and garlic. Cook on medium for 5-6 minutes. When pasta is done, reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water and add to chicken. Add pasta, cheese, salt and pepper. Toss quickly to mix and serve. It's that easy and so very good. You will be treated as a Queen. Until it's time to do the dishes. And for fun - something that I came across at Noble Pig, I discovered Cream Puffs in Venice Magazine Mondays. For someone who has religiously cooked from magazines for decades, I think I will join them and submit today's meal.

Weather Alert: March Heat Wave Grips Minnesota

It's been in the 60's. THE 60'S! After twenty degrees below normal all winter, we are now twenty degrees above. I'll take it. The grill was lit when we hit 40. I almost feel like I live back in New York - where the crocuses and daffodils are up, the forsythia is budding and tulips have nudged themselves above ground.

There will be no budding for awhile but spring eating will shake me out of of my windchill mentality. And just because Giuliano Hazan's book How to Cook Italian was still sitting on my cabinet from my "salmon-daze," I leafed through it. And voila! Marinated lemon chicken - on the grill!

GRILLED MARINATED CHICKEN WITH LEMON: Serves 4
POLLO MARINATO AI FERI
1 chicken - about 3-1/2 pounds (I used boneless chicken breasts - 4)
salt freshly ground black pepper
3 medium cloves of garlic
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary (mmmmm)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 T extra-virgin olive oil

Cut the chicken into pieces or use what you have. I am an adapter - of both plays and recipes. Mix smashed garlic (I minced it, it doesn't need to be - I just like it when little pieces stick to the chicken when grilling), rosemary, lemon juice and olive oil. Put chicken pieces in a baking dish that snugly holds them (very sweet). Pour lemon mixture over. Toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2-12 hours.

Light your grill.

Place chicken on grill and let them brown well and turn them over. You can brush some of the marinade on them. Cook until juices run clear when pierced. Serve. Rosemary and lemon. It sings.

In retrospect, I could have decorated the platter. But we were hungry.

I roasted some asparagus in a 400 degree oven for about 8 minutes. First, I drizzled them with sun-dried tomato oil and put a wee bit of salt and pepper on them. When done, I chopped up a few of those sun-dried tomatoes and threw it on the asparagus.

Finally, I threw together a Greek Salad.

We are no longer "thinking spring." We are eating it.