Chicken and Mushrooms in White Wine Garlic Sauce

Ping! Alert. Meow, Meow! Alert. Bzzz. Alert. Chirp, Chirp. Alert. 

No, the above does not indicate that my robot self is currently malfunctioning, it is my calendar alerting me of my next meeting/call/appointment/dinner engagement/happy hour/I think you get the point. 

Side note: I still can't decide on which ringtone provides a less threatening and more serene notification when receiving said alerts. 

I am leaning towards meow, meow.

Basically, what I am trying to say is... right now, I do not have time to cook a braised, succulent and tender dinner for two.  I do have time to use techniques such as delivery and take out, but the idea of low and slow does not apply to my kitchen activities as of lately.   

However, I was getting tired of outsourcing my meals and missed my stove.  That doesn't necessarily mean that my schedule screeched to a halt, it just meant that I had to stick super fast and super easy.  

A perfect example of a super easy and fast meal is Chicken and Mushrooms in White Wine Garlic Sauce.  It's not only quick to make (less than 20 minutes), but also very budget friendly.  

Chicken and Mushrooms in White Wine Garlic Sauce 

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light Magazine

serves 4 

Ingredients

4 ounces uncooked medium egg noodles

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 (8-ounce) package presliced exotic mushroom blend (such as shiitake, cremini, and oyster) 

1/2 cup dry white wine 

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 

1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon

1/4 cup shaved Parmesan cheese 

Preparation

1. Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.

2. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Place chicken breast halves in a shallow dish. Combine 1 tablespoon flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper, stirring well with a whisk. Sprinkle flour mixture over chicken; toss to coat.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until browned. 

4. Remove chicken from pan. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add garlic, tarragon, and mushrooms to pan; sauté for 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates and mushrooms darken. Add white wine to pan; cook 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper; cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring frequently.

5. Return chicken to the pan. Cover and simmer 2 minutes. Uncover; cook 1 minute or until chicken is done. Stir in noodles; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Place about 1 1/2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 1 tablespoon cheese.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Ever since I got my food processor, I am convinced that I can turn anything into a soup.  I had 2 pounds of asparagus and a half box of mushrooms left over from an event last Friday, and I thought to myself, why not whiz this up with some broth and cream and see what happens! The result? A soup mug full of creamy delight! 

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

* Since this was for a quick weekday supper, and I was starving, I didn't bother cutting off the tips and reserving them for garnish.  Nor did I run the soup through a sieve.  Since we are being honest, I didn't add vermouth either, because I didn't have any on hand.  But it still tasted amazing!  Okay, fine. Maybe I didn't even do the recipe. I just copied and pasted the picture from the website. JUST KIDDING!! I diiiidddd.... hehe.   

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs asparagus, trimmed of woody stem bottoms
1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups chopped)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water
Leaves of 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp dry vermouth
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper


METHOD
1 Cut tips from the asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick. Reserve for garnish. Chop the remaining asparagus stalks into 1/4-inch rounds.

2 Melt the butter in a 4 to 5 quart pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped asparagus (not the spear tips) to the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 5 minutes.



3 Add the broth, water, and thyme to the pot. Increase the heat to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer, covered, until the asparagus are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. At the end of cooking, stir in the chopped parsley.

4 While the soup is cooking, blanche the asparagus tips in a small pot of boiling, salted water (about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water), until the tips are just tender, about 2-4 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus. Drain. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside.



5 Use an immersion blender to blend the soup until smooth. (If you use an upright blender, work in small batches, fill no more than a third the blender bowl at a time, and hold down the lid while blending.) For a creamy texture, if you want, press the puréed soup through a sieve or food mill. Stir in the cream. Stir in the vermouth and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with asparagus tips. 
Yield: Serves 4-6.

Extreme Makeover: Risotto Edition

Egad, it is the beginning of December and it was only 56 degrees outside last night.  In my early years, I would have been gallivanting around town like a stilletoed banshee thirsty for fancy fizzy drinks, savoring the unseasonable warm(ish) nights that has been gifted to us before we had to endure the inevitable violent winters ahead. But since I passed the big 3-0 mark,  my desire for urban exploits are now limited to only culinary adventures that will allow me to remain nestled comfortably within the confines of my own toasty kitchen, wearing my favorite fuzzy pink socks. 

I had a ton of shiitake mushrooms left over from the last dinner party I hosted, so I thought to myself, why not finally try to make risotto?  I've seen it done multiple times on my favorite food competition shows, but never tried to do it myself. The ingredients were basic pantry staples, so all I needed was to purchase the abboro rice.  

Don't throw away the stems! Use them to flavor
 your broth!

Why I waited so long to make this dish, is beyond me.  The preparation was fairly easy and the result was beautiful and complex.  The trick is to keep it simple! Use beautiful, fresh, fragrant ingredients and let them do their thannng. Have left overs? The next day, mix in more parmesan cheese, panko and eggs, drop into hot oil.  Serve with a delicate poached egg, boom. Brunch. 

Shiitake Mushroom Risotto 

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp butter
2 cups flavorful mushrooms such as shiitake, chanterelle, or oyster mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed, and cut into half inch to inch pieces
2/3 cup brandy, vermouth, or dry white wine
5-6 cups chicken stock* (use vegetable stock for vegetarian option)
1/3 cup of peeled and minced shallots (OR 1/3 cup of yellow or white onion, finely chopped)
1 3/4 cups arborio rice or other risotto rice
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or chives
*If cooking gluten-free, use homemade stock or gluten-free packaged stock.

METHOD
1 Bring stock to a simmer in a saucepan.

2 Melt the butter in a deep, heavy, medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and shallots and sauté about 5 minutes (if using chanterelles, dry sauté first for a minute or two and let the mushrooms cook in their own juices before adding the butter). Add the rice and stir to combine.

3 Add brandy, bring to a boil, and reduce liquid by half, about 3-4 minutes. Add simmering stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring enough to keep the rice from sticking to the edges of the pan. Stir the rice almost constantly — stirring sloughs off the starch from the rice, making the creamy sauce you're looking for in a risotto. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding the next 1/2 cup. This process will take about 25 minutes. The rice should be just cooked and slightly chewy.

4 Stir in the Parmesan cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.

Yield: Serves 4-6.

Crispy Risotto Cake with 

Poached Egg

Ingredients

Leftover Risotto

3 Eggs

2 cups of Panko

1 cup of Parmesan Cheese, Shredded

Canola Oil 

Chopped parsley for garnish

1. Pour oil in skillet, at lease 1 inch deep.  Turn pan on High/Medium. 

2. Mix risotto with 1 egg, 1/2 cup of panko, and cheese, form into patties.

3. Spread the rest of panko on a flat plate, and whip two eggs in another bowl.

4. First dip patty in egg, then coat with panko, gently place patties in skillet with oil.  Repeat with other patties. Make sure you don't crowd your pan.  Flip once one side is brown. Lay patties on plate layered with two paper towels and keep in a warm oven until ready to serve. 

5. Top with poached egg. Sprinkle with parsley, serve immediately.    

Chambord Soaked Berries Shortcake with Vanilla Whip

I am not the biggest sports fan.  All of my sports trivia knowledge comes from watching basketball, football and boxing with my dad, circa 1990 - 1996.  

What do you mean?!  Patrick Ewing doesn't play for the Knicks anymore?  Really??  Jim Kelly isn't the quarterback for the Buffalo Bills? Wait a second, why does Charles Barkley look so hefty*? Why is Michael Jordan walking around with a golf club and not a basketball? What in the world is going on!?!  

*I was informed by Clara Mae James that Charles Barkley is a Weight Watcher's member and is no longer hefty.  Sorry, Charles. You are not fat, you look fabulous. Keep up the good work! 

I am pretty much clueless about anything that happened in sports after the second millennium.  I guess you can call me sport's own Encino Man! Speaking of a true classic from the nineties! 

Even though I've never in my adult life watched a game in its entirety on TV, I do love a good ole fashion sports outing! I love the comradery that takes place amongst spectators while mutually witnessing a sporting event live in a stadium. I always get caught up by the infectious team spirit and applaud  with gusto whenever the home team scores a point or makes a winning play. Who cares that my cheers come with a two second delay? I am never entirely clear on what is exactly happening on the field. Whooo cares. Shouting boisterously with a large crowd is always good fun! 

Sometimes, to shake things up, I would use outings as an opportunity to proclaim my love for other things not related to sports.  For instance...

Devoted Jets fans - 

"Go Jets, Jets, JETS!"

Me -

"I love ICE CREAM!!"

Fun, right?

Anyway, when my friends suggested a trip to the MetLife Stadium to not only watch the NY Jets play the Carolina Panthers, but to also have a serious pregame tailgate feast, I enthusiastically said yes! The only problem was, because we all lived in Manhattan, neither one of us owned a car. 

No car? No problem!

Equipped with a parking lot pass.... 

We decided to have a tailgate picnic right there in a parking spot! 

Sure, there were some heckling from people tailgating out of their hummers and SUVs. Much to my surprise, one fellow gas guzzling tailgater even had the audacity to call our picnic "sad"! 

I thought our tailgating picnic was far from sad! Don't you? On the contrary, I thought a more accurate description would be innovative and exceptionally earth friendly! Losers. 

Besides, who needs a car when you have Popeyes fried chicken?

Oh, and Coronas.

Despite the light heckling from passersby, I had an amazing time at MetLife stadium.  Don't ask me who won or how many touchdowns so and so made, all I know is that Popeyes is always awesome and oh, yeah, Tebow was there (thanks, Karen). 

Chambord Soaked Berries Shortcake with Vanilla Whip

This recipe requires absolutely no cooking and is super easy.  Perfect for a tailgate! Beware, football fans will stare and make fun of you due to its "bougie" presentation. 

"What is this?? Organic tailgating??" 

1 small carton of mixed berries

1 travel sized Chambord bottle

1 package of store bought shortcake 

1 tub of whipped cream

1. Soak the berries in Chambord overnight. 

2. When you're ready to eat dessert, top soaked berries on a shortcake and top with whipped cream.  Done! Go Jets! 

Introducing... Thrifty Thursdays!

Hi, everyone! In addition to my most favorite food memories, I've decided to include a new segment called... wait for it... THRIFTY THURSDAYS! Every Thursday I will feature fancy, oohhhs and ahhhhhs worthy meals that you can make on the cheap.  Get excited!!