Chicken Stew

This chicken stew recipe makes enough to serve a crowd and can be served alone or with biscuits.  It is a hearty stew and the perfect meal for a crisp fall day.  Sometimes I serve this from the pot the first day with salad and then I pour the leftovers into a baking dish for the next day.  I simply bake it in the oven for 20 minutes before topping with these biscuits and baking an additional 20-30 minutes for an easy dinner.

Chicken Stew
4 T butter
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, diced (boneless thighs work really well too)
1/2 cup flour
5 cups chicken stock
1 bouillon cube
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup whole milk
2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper

In a large dutch oven or heavy pot melt butter over medium heat.  Add onions and celery and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes.  Add cubed chicken breast and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, don't worry about chicken being cooked completely as it will continue to cook.  Add flour and cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Heat chicken stock (either on the stovetop or pour into a glass measuring cup and heat in the microwave), add to chicken mixture.  Stir and bring up to a simmer.  Add all remaining ingredients, cover,  and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.  (Optional)Add 1/4 cup fresh minced parsley before serving.

American Flag Cake

We hope you had a happy Fourth of July! We had a wonderful holiday with family and friends and were lucky enough to celebrate multiple times over the long weekend. We are currently hosting a foreign exchange student from Spain for the month and we are trying to fit in as much "American" culture as possible. She came just at the right time!We've eaten hot dogs, burgers, fries, potato salad, marshmallows, watermelon and more. We've also attended a birthday party, 2 t-ball games, played beach volleyball, watched fireworks, went to a carnival, sprayed each other with the hose, went to Target, picked raspberries, went to a farm, went fishing, and made a big batch of chocolate chip cookies...all in 6 days. That is a lot of "America." Last week we made this flag cake to take to the exchange student "Welcome Party." I thought this was the perfect occasion for this American-style cake. It is definitely a cake you want to make when serving a crowd since it is about the size of a football field! This is also a project to do with the kids. The 3 kids, ages 3, 5, and 14, loved helping me decorate this monster cake. I thought it turned out pretty good for having so much "help!"Flag Cake
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten


18 Tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar (I reduced this from the 3 she listed)
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 t vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 t salt
1 t baking soda

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a full sheet pan with cooking spray. Cream the butter and sugar in your mixer with a paddle attachment on high speed. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time and then the sour cream. Sift the dry ingedients together and add them on low speed. Mix until just incorporated. Spread into prepared pan and bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out of center clean.

Frosting
4 sticks butter, room temperature
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese
1 lb confectioners' sugar, plus more
1 1/2 t vanilla

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add additional powdered sugar if frosting seems too thin.

Spread a thin layer of frosting over the entire cake. Then use a toothpick to draw a flag design on the cake. Place blueberries in the top corner and then place two rows of raspberries near the top. Pipe two rows of icing, using a large star tip. Repeat for remaining cake. Pipe stars on top of blueberries to finish off the cake.

Barefoot Contessa Clam Chowder

This is another recipe adapted from Ina Garten. I love her style, her recipes, and cookbooks. They all have such honest, good food. The only thing is that some of her recipes call for much more fat (butter, usually) than I want to use. So, I normally cut it by quite a bit, and amazingly, the recipes still work and the food is still great. This chowder was the best, it beat all the chowder that we ate in Key West last week - hands down. Try it, it is easy and really tasty. Toast a piece of ciabatta with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and you'll love it even more!

Clam Chowder

adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style by Ina Garten

3/4 stick of butter

1 large onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, diced

3 carrots, diced

3 potatoes, diced

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 cups clam juice

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1 small can chopped clams - drained

Melt half the butter in a large pot over medium. Add onions and saute for 6-8 minutes. Add celery, carrots, potatoes, and thyme. Continue cooking for another 8-10 minutes until vegetables are starting to soften. Add clam juice and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

In a separate pan melt remaining butter and whisk in flour. Cook a few minutes to make sure the raw flour is cooked a bit. Add a cup or so of hot broth to flour mixture and then whisk everything back into large pot of hot liquid. Cook until thick and then add in the milk and clams. Leave on low for a couple of minutes or until clams are cooked through.

Barefoot Contessa's Parmesan Chicken & Rosemary Polenta

Last year we had the nicest grocery store open up right across the way from our home. I was thrilled to say the least. Upon entering it was apparent that this market was different than the usuals...each department had it's own separate room. for instance there were rooms for Baking, Seafood, Canned Goods, Bakery, Deli, Meats, Baby, Laundry, etc. They carried quality goods, however they came at a quality price. Needless to say most shoppers were more price-conscience than quality conscience and went elsewhere. So, this market, one of the few places that carried fresh mozzarella, parmigiano-reggiano, quality baked breads, and made to order sushi closed it's doors. I was so disappointed that I refused to go to the closeout sale, and I sent my husband instead. I remember him calling me while in the store reporting how the shelves were half barren and did I want whole wheat flour because there were a couple of bags left. Sad. All summer I've been trekking to another market miles away to get needed goods...and turning away as I drove past the old building that was no longer alive. Partway into the summer months I learned that another grocer had purchased the building. My spirits were lifted a bit, knowing that we would once again have something closeby, although I was sure it wouldn't be the same. For the past few months I actually brought myself to drive by the old store to spy in the windows hoping for some progress. Then, at last, I noticed a sign go up, then a job fair, and then a sign marking the opening day. For weeks I've been waiting...and finally it came. Wednesday the new store opened it's doors and it didn't take long for me to make my way there.
Walking in I was apprehensive, but as I peeked in the windows I could see that almost everything looked the same in terms of structure. A little relief set in and I continued on and was thrilled to see how much of the old store was still intact, and that it may even be an improvement. Things had been organized slightly different to accomodate additional products and the organic section was moved across the store...but the deli was spectacular. I've never seen a selection of meats and cheeses quite like it. As I made my way through the store I was pleased to find out that it was actually started by an Italian family and they import many goods from overseas. They also offer a huge amount of freshly made products such as fresh ricotta, fresh desserts, breads, arrancini (these are cooked balls of breaded risotto...I tried my hand at these last month...I didn't write a post so you can imagine how that experiment went), pannatone, etc. It was remarkable. I actually returned later in the day, after the crowds died down, to take a second look. The second time was even more pleasing than the first and I feel a sense of happiness after months of feeling a small heartache.
Here is our celebratory meal.

Parmesan Chicken
Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

3 boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
3 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan chesse
Unsalted butter
Olive oil
Salad greens
Lemon Vinaigrette (1 squeezed lemon, 1/4 c olive oil, salt and pepper.)

1. Combine the flour, salt, and pepper on a dinner plate. On a second plate, beat the egg with 1 T water. On a third plate, combine the bread crumbs and cheese. Coat the chicken in flour, then dip into the egg mixture, and finally dredge both sides in the bread crumb mixture. Heat 1 T of butter and 1 T of olive oil in a large saute pan and cook the chicken breasts on medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Toss the salad greens with the vinaigrette. Place a mound of salad on each hot chicken breast. Serve with extra grated Parmesan Cheese.


Rosemary Polenta
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

1/4 stick unsalted butter
2 T c olive oil
2 t minced garlic
1/4 t crushed pepper flakes
1 t minced fresh rosemary
1/2 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 c chicken stock
3/4 c half-and-half
3/4 c milk
3/4 c cornmeal
1/4 c Paresan Cheese
Flour, olive oil, and butter, for fying

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Saute for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, half-and-half, and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the hot milk while stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes, until thicken and bubbly. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan. Pour into an 8 X 8 pan and refrigerate until firm and cold.
Cut the chilled polenta into 4 squares. Make a diagonal cut through each one. Dust each triangle with flour. Heat 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook the polenta for 3-5 minutes or until browned on each side.

We really enjoyed this meal...although I was partial to dipping my polenta in ketchup, much to my husband's disgust!

Barefoot Contessa Chicken Stew

Today was the first crisp autumn day that we've had and I jumped at the chance to make a large pot of soup. I enjoy having a warm, bubbling pot of soup on the stove on days like this. I referred to Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook for my favorite chicken stew recipe. It was so delicious that I am looking forward to tomorrow when I can have it again for my lunch. This recipe also makes a great filling for Chicken Pot Pie.

Chicken Stew with Biscuits
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter (I reduced this to only 1/2 stick and it turned out terrific.)
2 onions chopped
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups carrots diced
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh parsley
2 potatoes, peel, and cubed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside and cool enough to handle, then remove them from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You should have 4-6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add carrots and potatoes, simmer over medium-low for 15 minutes or until tender. Add the chicken, peas, and parsley. Mix well.
At this point I leave it on the lowest setting and allow everything to marry together until it is time to eat. I also made a small batch of buttermilk biscuits to go along with the stew. These were very yummy with the soup and would be terrific with jam on them for another day.

Barefoot Contessa's Outrageous Brownies

Barefoot Contessa is one of my favorite Food Network shows. I love the way Ina uses ordinary ingredients and makes very do-able dishes. Although many of her recipes are not healthly - they always look very yummy. I received one of her cookbooks from my husband a year or two ago and I have made many of her savory dishes. This was my first attempt at one of her desserts. We only kept the amount in the picture - since I'm sure there are 5 gazillion calories in it, so I sent the rest to work with Joseph.

Outrageous Brownies
adapted from Foodnetwork - Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I used special dark instead)
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups diced walnut pieces
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.
Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

These were indeed very delicious. They are not cake-like and not too heavy. They were something inbetween and very delectable. I would make these for a speical occasion where everyone else eats them and I just get compliments - not calories.