Pecans, Pralines and a touch of Craft
Thursday, February 17, 2011
New Blog
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Mac and Cheddar Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.
Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.
To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.
While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.
Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.
Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.
Chicken Dijonnaise
Monday, January 11, 2010
Yummy Steak
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Do you remember "The Next Food Network Star" season that ended a while back?
Vegetable spray
2 large russet potatoes, roughly peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
2 green onions, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
¾ heavy cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Spray 8 muffin tins with vegetable spray. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time. Invert gratins onto plate and serve.
Flexible 4-Step Chicken for Family and Company - Rustic Lemon-Onion Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves,
1 teaspoon dried thyme, plus 1 small bunch fresh thyme, leaves chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white wine, optional
1 cup chicken broth
3 lemons, juiced
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
Season chicken with dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in flour, add to the hot oil and saute until cooked through. Set chicken aside to rest on plate tented with foil.
In same saute pan, over low heat, add onions and fresh thyme and cook until aromatic.
In a measuring cup, measure out wine, if using, and broth, and add the lemon juice. Turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan with the broth mixture until starting to reduce.
Remove the pan from the heat and finish the sauce by whisking in butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.
Cinnamon Cake with Nutella Buttercream
I used this recipe for my mom's birthday cake back in July (shows how far behind I am!!) I got this idea from these wonderful little cake bites that I have made before (didn't get a picture but they are soooo good!). If you get a chance read the blog, she has some amazing stuff on there especially recipes having to do with Nutella.
Cinnamon Nutella Cake Bites
Cake recipe from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Makes approximately enough cake for 2 8/9 inch rounds
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
double pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 2- 8 inch round baking pans, and line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Place pan on a baking sheet.
I believe I almost tripled the recipe to make sure I had enough..besides, who doesn't like snacking on buttercream??
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup Nutella
Mix butter until smooth and creamy. Add in Nutella and mix until nice and fluffy.
Add sugar 1 cup at a time until smooth. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes to get the desired consistency.