Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin & Chicken Stuffed with Cranberry-Walnut Goat Cheese

It's a good thing I don't like food. You know how that is...

When I emerged from the basement, intent on dinner, I was lugging with me the bottom of my Le Creuset casserole. I refused to leave it upstairs lest it get attacked by metal utensils.

I put the dish in the oven and turned the oven onto 300F convection bake.

Pulled six potatoes out, washed them, poked them and put them into the microwave to partially cook. I was looking for a 3/4 cooked potato.

Then I turned to the stove. I grabbed a small saucepan and melted some butter in it. Threw in some flour to make a roux. Poured in some milk after the flour had cooked, warmed that up and then snagged every half-empty bag o' shredded cheese in the fridge. Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack. I also grabbed the block of parmagiano reggiano. Pour the cheeses in there and then used the cheese cutter to cut myself some hunkage of the mother cheese. Left that to warm up and meld flavorage together...

Turned to the potatoes. Sliced a few. Took the dish out of the oven and ladled some of the cheese sauce into it. I like a nice crispy bottom, see...

Started layering the potatoes into the dish. Actually, I layered all of the potatoes into the dish and then ladled the rest of the cheese sauce over it.

Put the dish back into the oven and set the oven on 400F convention bake.

I then turned to the chicken:

At lunch on Friday, I picked up an exceedingly delicious container of goat cheese mixed with dried cranberries and walnuts and loved all over by some honey. Thinking about what I paid for it, next time I will buy a big ole block of goat cheese and mix the rest at in at home. But, that aside...

I took my All-Clad saute pan, set it to low on the stove and brushed some olive oil in the bottom.

I took some plain chicken breasts and pounded them out to the dulcet tones of Lyle Lovett telling everyone to kiss his ass, with his pony and boat and all.

I put a mound of goat-cheese-mixture into each chicken breast and rolled up the chicken.

I dipped each rolled chicken breast into a bowl of bread crumbs moistened with some melted butter.

I put each chicken breast into the saute pan.

At this point the potato dish was getting nice brownage on top. Lovely. I put the saute pan into the oven and turned the head down to 375F.

I then set a whole stack of baby carrots to bubbling with a mixture of chicken stock, massive amounts of ginger and a 1/2 cup of maple syrup.

Ten minutes later, I took the potato dish out of the oven and let it sit.

Twenty minutes later, I took the chicken out of the oven.


I put the potatoes and carrots on the plates. Then I turned to the chicken pan -- and picked it up with my right hand. Burned it badly. So, I got no pictures of dinner.

That said, when I emerged quite a while later (having conquered the pain somewhat), dinner was quite fantastic. I highly recommend it.

Lunch & Dinner, Part 2

Lunch - the mashed potatoes and meatloaf were great. The celery root was great but I didn't have enough of it to enhance the flavor. And the potatoes were smashed, not mashed. Came out awesome. The seasoning combination I used was such that the cold (s)mashed potatoes actually taste good and have flavor. Or maybe the celery root affected things more than I thought.

Dinner:
a) cut chicken breasts into strips
b) coated them in a basil pesto
c) coated them in breadcrumbs
d) baked them in the oven

I made a quick tomato sauce with Muir Glen Fire Roasted tomatoes with chopped Vidalia onions and a smoodge of tomato paste.

I didn't like the golden beets. They weren't as sweet as I would have liked. I didn't end up roasting them. But, my folks liked them.

Dessert was a blackberry and apple cobbler. My first attempt at making a cobbler. Fantastic flavor. Needed to cook it a bit more in the middle (this convection oven thing stymies me), but it was perfect otherwise. I want to do that with strawberries. Lots of strawberries.

Oh, and french bread.

So, I'm happy with it. And once my Dad got over the green chicken, he was good.

Chicken Francese, my style

Tonight I switched to a Chicken Francese. Made my own version of the sauce -- butter, olive oil, a touch of flour, a touch of tapioca, some wine, the juice of a lemon, a bit of sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar. I also added in mushrooms and at the last minute, a chopped bunch of fresh parsley.

Seasoned the flour for the chicken with pepper and powdered coriander.

I steamed fresh broccoli in chicken broth seasoned with garlic and lemon and we had a red-lettuce salad on the side.

Outstanding. The sauce came out fantastic. Loved it. Fresh greens. Fresh herbs. Lovely. Just lovely.

Chicken Salad Veronique

Today I made an Herbed Potato Salad and this Chicken Salad Veronique, which I got from FoodTV's Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). The recipe was outstanding.

Below is the recipe as I altered it:

2 pkgs chicken tenderloins
Good olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good mayonnaise (used Hellman's)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1/2 one small Vidalia onion
1/2 bunch chives, chopped
1/2 bunch watercress, chopped
1/2 bunch chervil, chopped
1 cup green grapes, cut in 1/2


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place chicken in a bowl, pour olive oil over it, season liberally with salt and pepper and pour out onto a cookie sheet.
Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until lukewarm.

Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Place the chicken in a bowl; add the mayonnaise, tarragon, chervil, watercress, onion, grapes.

Honestly, this was fabulous, and I do NOT like to experiment with chicken salad.

Chicken Pasta Tomato Casserole

Had cooked up some chicken breasts in the crockpot on Thursday, in some diced tomatoes. Tossed in a few dried herbs and left it.

So, I shredded up the leftover chicken tonight in the remainder tomato "sauce".
I boiled up some elbows.
I chopped up an onion and sauteed that in a small can of fire roasted tomatoes.
Added some tomato paste and garlic powder.
Cooked that up for a while...
Mixed the shredded chicken in with the "new" tomato & onion mixture.
Chopped up an 8oz block of sharp cheddar.

Then, I tossed the chicken mixture and the cheese with the elbows.
Covered it with a layer of shredded mozzarella.
Cooked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350F degrees, covered in aluminum foil.
Uncovered it and then cooked another 10 minutes.

Added a salad and some garlic break and it was awesome!

Roasted Chicken with Cranberry Stuffing

Made my first roasted chicken today - it came out brilliantly! The chicken was superbly moist and was falling right off the bone. The cranberry stuffing was moist and flavorful and just right.

First, I used the Tupperware Roaster. It's blue and I got it in 2002 or so. It's Tupperware, but it goes right into the oven.

Ingredients:
a 6.75lb chicken
a bag of dried cranberries (not sweetened), about 10oz or so
what was left of a two-days-old Italian bread loaf
chicken broth
two packets of Garlic and Herb Mrs Dash
a handful of olive oil
small onion & celery stalk

1. I preheated the oven to 400F and put the convection fan on.
2. I chopped a small onion and one celery stalk and set them to saute in a little olive oil. In retrospect, I could have used chicken broth.
3. I put the dried cranberries into a medium size bowl and pour some chicken broth over them.
4. I tore the bread into small pieces, maybe an inch x inch. I didn't have patience to tear smaller pieces.
5. I put the bread pieces into the cranberries and mixed with my hands.
6. I poured chicken broth over all to wet down everything. I mixed further with my hands. (You want it pretty pulpy - this moisture will keep the breast meat moist.)
7. I put the bread-and-cranberry mixture into the microwave to get it hot. I cooked one minute on high and then stirred the mixture and then cooked another minute. I then mixed in the celery and onion.
8. I the chicken out of the fridge and removed the chicken's gizzards and tossed them.
9. I rinsed the chicken in water.
10. I scooped a little of the stuffing into the cavity of the chicken, but not much.
11. I used my fingers and a small knife to separate the breast skin from the breast meat.
12. I stuffed the rest of the stuffing under the breast skin.
13. I tore open the two packets of Mrs Dash and sprinkled them over the top of the chicken.
14. I poured some olive oil into my palm and smeared it all over the top of the chicken.
15. I put the chicken, uncovered, into the pot and into the oven for 30 minutes. The skin got all brown and crispy. We didn't eat it, but it was nice to look at.
16. I covered up the chicken with the Roaster cover and reduced the heat to 350F. It then cooked for another hour and fifteen minutes (this particular bird).

In the meantime, I made mashed potatoes on the stove and a batch of brownies from a box mix in the other oven. Woohoo! A brilliant fall dinner. The cranberries were spectacular.

Chicken and Potato soup

Alrighty then, I have arrived in CT as of 12Oct and have begun cooking. First, some basics. I'm a bit rusty as I just have not been motivated to cook for myself. But I brought the two all-clad sauciers as well as my cooking utensils.

On Thursday I made a chicken and potato soup seasoned with, of all things, Mrs Dash. It was fantastic. I took one peeled and cubed potato, one peeled and cubed sweet potato, one stick of celery, one small onion and sauteed them in chicken broth. Then, I added more chicken broth and started simmering. I added one packet of Garlic and Herb Mrs. Dash to the mixture. All of this was done on medium heat.

At the same time, I seasoned two boneless chicken breasts with a packet of Garlic and Herb Mrs Dash and started pan frying them in some olive oil. When they were done, I set them aside and chopped them up later to add to the soup.

After a while, sweet potatoes break down and turn into mush. They were the thickener for my soup - a very thick soup. I'm not much into brothy soups or bisques. The flavor of the soup was very vegetable with a hint of the spices from the Mrs Dash.

My parents are not too used to having garlic in everything, so that's why the very little garlic from the Mrs Dash. Adding the garlic slowly will be good.

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

Chicken Enchiladas with Roasted Tomatillo Chile Salsa

from Tyler Florence

I watched him make this -- I have never cooked with tomatillos before, but I'd like to....and I really like enchiladas.

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