Baked Chicken, Tomatoes & Olives with Roasted Asparagus

I cried during my commute this morning. Nothing bad happened. I was listening to the latest This American Life which is centered around fathers and their opening story was about a dad showing how much he cared for his daughter by assembling a terrorist attack kit for her to take with her to college in New York. He apparently spent quit some time assembling special equipment for "the box": a NASA blanket, self powering flashlight, potassium iodide pills in case of nuclear fallout.... When she moved into her dorm, her dad brought "the box" tightly sealed and labeled "Winter Coats". She kept the box with her through her first and second year and then decided to open it on her third year to use the emergency $200 to go tanning before a big trip. On top of all the disaster equipment was a letter from her father. It said: "If you are reading this, then something very bad has happened But don't worry because you're going to be fine."

I love this whole story. It makes me cry now just thinking about it. It's just so frigging sweet. Maybe it's because it reminds me of my own dad. Not always knowing how to verbally or physically show his affection, but making a huge effort to not only provide, but to protect his family. My mom has always said that if she was ever stuck on a desert island, or was in an emergency, the one person should would want by her side is my dad.

I would too.

I was going to post about this recipe anyway and it turns out this totally something my dad would eat, following his strict diet rules of no starch, carbs or sugars. But he would have this for lunch the next day, cold, and slathered in french mustard. With a glass of wine.

Dad: "I'll est 11h du matin et la vie est belle."

Baked Chicken, Tomatoes & Olives with Roasted Asparagus
Adapted from Donna Hay's No Time to Cook
Serves 2
From the pictures you can see that I cheated and used what I had on hand- so no mozzarella or proscuitto but bacon instead- and who can argue with that? This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. The chicken, tomatoes and olives are great the next day too- reheated or not.

• 8oz pack cherry tomatoes
• 8oz olives, marinated & pitted
• 2 tbl olive oil
• 2 chicken breasts, boneless (or 4 cutlets)
• 1 ball mozzarella
• 8 slices prosciutto
• basil leaves
• 1 bunch asparagus
• 1 tbls olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 3 tbls parmesan, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place cherry tomatoes and olives on a cookie sheet and drizzle olive oil and seaon with salt & pepper. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the chicken: if using 2 chicken breasts, slice them in half so you have 4 thin chicken breasts. Cut 4 thick slices of the mozzarella and place them on top of each chicken breast with a few basil leaves on top. Wrap 2 slices of procsuitto around each piece. Remove the tomatoes & olives from the oven and add the chickent breasts on top, seam side down. Bake for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the asparagus: bend each stalk until it breaks naturally and discard the bottom half. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, salt & pepper and scatter on a cookie sheet. Top it all off with some parmesan. Cook in the same oven for about 12 minutes.

Sichuan Beef with Ginger-Soy Greens

This is one of those dishes that seems too simple and then I had my first bite and was blown away. Coming to you from the amazing Donna Hay (hey!), this meal is fantastic and will literally take you 17 minutes to make. This means that my buying habits have changes and I buy baby bok choy whenever I see it. Much like Meyer lemons or the first ripe strawberries.

If you've never cooked with bok-choy before, don't be detoured- it's an Asian cabbage and has a bit of a bitter taste but the sauce they cook in is very savory and has enough sweetness to really play off the bitter greens.

And the steak is coated in toasted sea salt and Sichuan (or regular... ) peppercorns which adds a bit of spiciness to the dish. The whole combo really hits it out of the park for me. I make this often enough that I will toast extra of the sea salt and peppercorns and save it in a jar along with my spices. That way the only prep I need to do is grate some ginger and wash some bok choy!

Easy-peasy Japanese-ey

Sichuan Beef with Ginger-Soy Greens

Adapted from Donna Hay's No Time to Cook

Serves 2

• 1 tblsp sichuan peppercorns (or regular)
• 12 oz baby bok choy (cut in half, lengthwise or chop off the root and separate the leaves)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbls soy sauce
• 14 oz beef filet
• 2 tbsl oyster sauce
• 1 tblsp vegetable oil
• 1 tblsp sugar
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp grated ginger

Heat a pan over high heat. Add peppercorns and salt to pan and cook until fragrant (2-3 min). Place mixture in mortar & pestle (or spice grinder) and pound until fine. Sprinkle on all sides of beef. Add oil to pan and cook beef. Remove beef and keep warm. Place sesame oil & ginger in pan and cook for 1 min. Add bok choy and cook for 1 min. Add combined soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar & water and cook for another 2-3 min or until tender.

Tip: If you can't find baby bok choy, use the full grown kind but chop into large pieces and when cooking it, cover the pan for just a few minutes to help steam it.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Corn and Blueberries

Want a way to use up all those blueberries that isn't in muffins or a smoothie? How about something savory! While you may not believe it, this here salad does in fact contain blueberries! No, they're not hiding, I just started making it and realized a little too late that my stash had diminished somewhat. NO matter- it's good with a few blueberries and it's great with a lot of blueberries!

This is such a great mix of unexpected flavors and textures- bonus? It's a lot of veggies! And I do love veggies. It was great on it's own, but I'm sure it's pretty good piled onto a piece of toast nestled into some butter lettuce.

Give it a go! Blueberries won't be here forever!

Grilled Chicken Salad with Corn and Blueberries

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

• 
  
• 4 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt & pepper
• 3 stalks celery finely diced
• Kernels from 2 ears of fresh corn
• ¼ whole medium red onion, finely diced
• 1-½ cup blueberries
• 3 tblsp fresh dill, minced
• 4 tblsp mayonnaise
• 4 tblsp sour cream
• ¼ cups milk
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¾ cups crumbled feta (or goat cheese)

Start by heating a grill (or in my case, a grill pan) to a very high heat. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until done, about 7 minutes per side. Remove and allow to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the celery, corn, red onion, blueberries and dill. Stir to combine. In a small bowl make the dressing by combining the mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, lemon juice & feta. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Once chicken is cool, tear into bite-size shreds and add to the vegetable mixture. Add half of the dressing to the salad and taste. Add more dressing if necessary.

EAT Superfood Salad

When trying to come up with a handful of healthy recipes I could just keep making over and over again, I wanted to make sure they were delicious. I don't see the point in eating something that isn't awesome. I wrangled together some of my favorites (which I shall be posting soon, I swear) and sought to recreate some tasty dishes I had eaten elsewhere. I started thinking about all the great sandwich shops in London and how they understood the quick and healthy lunch better than the US.

When I was living in London a trend was towards the "super food" salad. Each sandwich shop had their own version and although it seems like most of them didn't last and aren't on their menus anymore, I vividly remember the Superfood Salad from EAT.

I am so glad that I was able to recreate this salad because it is awesome. It has all you could hope for in a salad: crunchy, creamy, earthy, sweet, salty and tangy! There is so much going on and it all goes together so well. I think I could eat this everyday but I don't ever want to burn out on it so I've been cutting back to twice a week. I'm not even kidding you. I'm a master beet peeler now. And did you know sweet potatoes still taste good in the spring? That's rhetorical. Maybe you're not like me and can think of the sweet potato beyond thanksgiving casserole. Way to go! I diced this sweet potato and roasted it until tender and then tossed them with some of the dressing and- wait for it- poppy seeds. Doesn't that's just make you smile? I love poppy seeds.

Also this salad has been a great way to use up an old bag of frozen edamame that has been sitting in limbo for quite some time... And I hear they're healthy too!

EAT Superfood Salad
Adapted from a defunct salad at EAT.
Serves 2
Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 bunch broccolini
• 1/3 cup peas, frozen
• 1/4 cup edamame, frozen
• 2 small beets
• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 handful spinach
• 1 handful alfalfa sprouts
• 1-2oz goat cheese
• 2 tbsp toasted seeds: pumpkin, sesame or sunflower

For the dressing:

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 lemon
• 2 tsp honey
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 375. Peel and dice sweet potatoes. Toss with some olive oil on a cookie sheet and spread out evenly. Roast until tender- 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Mix together the ingredients for the dressing. Toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tbls salad dressing and poppy seeds.

Heat a pot of salted water to a boil and add in broccolini. Simmer for 2 minutes and add peas and edamame. Simmer everything for another 3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water. Trim beets of roots and shoots. Remove skin with a vegetable peeler and grate the beets through the large holes of a cheese grater (or use shredding attachment on food processor). Toss shredded beets with 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar. Taste and add more vinegar if needed. Arrange salad in soup bowl starting with the spinach in one group, tuck in 3-4 stems broccolini, clump together some sweet potatoes and beets, fill in with the peas and edamame. Fit in a chunk of goat cheese and top it all off with alfalfa sprouts in the middle and seeds tossed on top of everything. Drizzle the dressing over top.

White Bean and Pork Toss

I have to admit right from the start that I love the name of this dish. I'm so hilarious.

I've been on a health kick lately- trying to not "treat" myself as much which can be hard when you like to bake as much as I do. But I've always eaten pretty healthy so it's just been a matter of focusing on all those delicious savory dishes I do and then forget about almost immediately. That's why I started this blog in the first place! Well it's been a really fun adventure thus far. I've had some crazy delicious food this week that has kept me pretty giddy about this "diet" I'm on.

This dish came about from leftovers. Personally, if I'm going to caramelize onions for a recipe, I'm always going to make extra which is exactly what I did last week. I shredded up a leftover pork chop, opened a can of which beans and chopped some marinated olives and finished off a bag of sun dried tomatoes (that have been lingering in the fridge since... i wanna say last summer when my mom bought them? don't judge..). I even had some leftover shallot dressing and all that combined with caramelized onions was just off-the-charts delicious. I thought I would want it slightly re-heated for lunch, but it was awesome cold, straight out of the fridge.Go try it and I promise you won't regret it!

White Bean and Pork Toss with Shallot Dressing
Serves 2

• 1 16oz can white beans
• 1 pork chop, cooked
• 1 onion, caramelized
• 8-10 sun dried tomatoes
• 8-10 green olives, marinated

Shallot Dressing:

• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 tbls balsamic vinegar
• 3 tbls olive oil
• 1 tbls dijon mustard
• salt & pepper

To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a mason jar and shake vigorously.

For the salad: shred the pork chop, rinse and drain the white beans and chop the olives and sun dried tomatoes. Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and add half the dressing. Taste the salad and add more dressing if necessary.

Keeps for a few days in the fridge.

Pork Chops with Honey Mustard Sugar Snap Peas and Radishes

I made a gargantuan effort on Saturday morning to get up before 9am. Full disclosure- when my alarm went off I decided it really wasn't worth the effort to get up after all. But the rest of the house was getting ready and so off we went to the first farmer's market of the year. I had forgotten how much I love it there. And I'm not sure I've ever made it out this early in the year because I can't recall ever buying spring produce like this. Radishes, asparagus, strawberries, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, the first tomatoes and the best damn fresh Mozzarella I've ever had. I'm a lucky girl. 

I've realized recently that although I eat really healthy on a day to day basis, my blog mostly shows off my efforts with butter and cream. A lot of sweets- not much in the way of healthy or savory. I think it has to do with the fact that a cake is a lot easier to photograph then say a salad which can start wilting immediately or that I might devour before I can grab my camera. Also- the European in me is never in a hurry to get dinner on the table before 8 o'clock which is not peak photography time.. so all of this is to say that I'm going to put my baking on hold for a while and try to bulk up my savory recipes on this here website and get a better representation of what's actually cooking in my kitchen.

This meal is a good example of that: making due with what I have in my fridge. At the farmer's market I bought what looked good, without planning ahead to what I would be making but it's not hard to come up with pork chops and a side of veggies. I adapted the recipes from Martha Stewart and just now realized that I was supposed to add some white wine to the onions- supposedly to make a glaze. I did not but I love caramelized onions any why way so these were very good on their own. As for the sugar snap pea and radish side, I have to admit that I haven't had much of these vegetables and after having a bad experience with some raw veggies for lunch, I felt the need to cook these slightly and add a sure-fire sauce. I usually makes this honey mustard sauce with sauteed asparagus but it worked quite well here. Give it a go- healthy but tasty!

Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serves 2 with extra onion compote

• 2 small onions, sliced
• 4 tbls butter
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 2 pork chops (preferably bone in)
• Salt & pepper

Heat 3 tbls butter and 2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium, almost low, heat. Add sliced onions and cook, stirring occasionally until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Turn heat to medium low if the onions start to burn or brown too quickly. 

Meanwhile, salt and pepper the pork chops. If they still have the bone, turn your oven on to 375 degrees. Once the onions are caramalized, remove from pan and keep warm. Heat the remaining 1 tbls butter and 1 tsp olive oil over medium high heat. Add the seasoned pork chops and sear until golden, about 3 minutes per side. If they aren't quite done yet, place them in the oven to finish cooking until desired doneness. Let stand before serving.

Honey Mustard Sugar Snap Peas and Radishes

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Serve 2

• 8 oz sugar snap peas
• 3 large radishes
• 4 scallions
• 2 tbls butter
• 1 rounded tbls sour cream
• 1 rounded tsp coarse ground mustard
• 1 tsp honey

Prep the sugar snap peas by pulling the strings off and trimming the ends. Cut the radishes into equal segments. Chop scallions crosswise. Heat butter in a large saute pan. Add snap peas and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the scallions and radishes and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Add the sour cream, mustard and honey, flipping the veggies to combine the sauce. Let it simmer until the veggies are tender (just another minutes or so). 

A Royal Wedding

I didn't get caught up into the whole royal wedding frenzy until yesterday. I knew I was going to bake something for the event and then I figured I could probably rig the big screen TV in our reception area at work to stream the event. Yesterday I went about figuring out when the whole she-bang was going to commence and was faced the realization that it was going to be an early morning affair...

Cut to my alarm going off at 5:30am this morning (after Kris woke me up at 4:30am thinking we had overslept....) and me frosting two cakes all the while trying to catch the first glimpse of THE dress. And while I'm not usually one to get excited for such things, it really was fun to watch such pageantry with 1 billion other people.

Princess Kate Paper Doll is kinda awesome

So why two cakes? Well one of my colleagues passed along a newsletter with a recipe for Prince William's famous groom's cake AND she happened to win a couple giant chocolate easter eggs last week, the remnants of which were still laying around the office. And I had pretty much already decided to make a Victoria Sponge cake since an old colleague from a job in London had passed her recipe along and I still hadn't tried it. Also- I saw someone decorate the top with berries to look like the Union Jack and that is just too freaking cute to pass up.

Prince William's Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Adapted from The Daily Candy
Makes enough for at least 15 people

For the cake

• 1 box graham crackers
• ¼ cup raisins (or more!!)
• ¼ cup nuts, chopped (or more!)
• 5 oz. dark chocolate
• 5 oz. milk chocolate
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 14-oz. can condensed milk

For the frosting

• 5 oz. dark chocolate
• 2 tbls. butter
• 1 tsp. milk

Start by breaking all the graham crackers into bite size pieces and putting them all in a large metal bowl. Then for good measure take a wooden spoon and smash that into the graham crackers a few times to really break everything down. Add the raisins and nuts and mix.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk chocolate, dark chocolate, butter and condensed milk, stirring frequently until melted and combined. Add the chocolate mixture to the graham cracker mixture and mix very well. The original recipe has you put the "cake batter" into a 11" X 3" lasagna dish covered with wax paper, but I think this would look much better in a cake pan or two. Whatever receptacle you choose, just be sure to first lay down a layer of wax paper. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

For the frosting, melt the remaining chocolate and milk in a small saucepan, stirring constantly until mostly melted, add the butter and continue stirring off the heat until combined. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting over and around the cake. Serve in small slices- this thing is like a giant candy bar.

Victoria Sponge Cake (a l'Americaine)
Adapted from a friend's recipe
Makes enough for about 8 people

For the cake

• 8 oz. butter, softened
• 8 oz. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 8. oz self-raising flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 4 tbsp berry jam (or more to taste)

For the frosting

• 1/2 bar of cream cheese
• 4 oz. butter, softened
• 1-2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• About 5 strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and paper two 8" cake pans.

In a large bowl combine the butter, sugar, eggs, flour and baking powder. Mix well (I did this by hand and it was a cinch). Divide the batter between the two cake pans and spread the batter out evenly.

Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes before flipping them. Allow to cool completely before spreading the jam between the two cake layers, making sure to level the cakes if needed.

For the frosting, combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mix and beat for about 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the sugar 1/2 cup at a time until you are happy with the taste and texture. Add the vanilla once you are satisfied.

Spread the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake and decorate the top with berries. If doing the Union Jack, it's easiest to start with the strawberry halves and work outwards in sections.

Lemon Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis

To my boyfriend's family, Easter is a big deal. They all get together for a huge pot luck worthy of Christmas and just enjoy each other's company. There is an easter egg hunt where you can rack up some serious dough (especially if you find the gold or silver eggs). There is a grand prize winner. There are little girls in new easter dresses and little boys with new toys to keep them occupied.

I counted 1 dessert for every 2 people: Cherry Cheesecake, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, Poppyseed Pound Cake, Coconut Cake, Vanilla Cupcakes, Chocolate Cupcakes, Turtles, Black Bottomed Pie Carrot Cake Cupcakes and the one I brought: Lemon Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis.

Now I'm not going to pretend that my dessert was the best one of the bunch (shockingly, I didn't manage to try them all) but there was a buzz about the Lemon Pound Cake- people were asking for the recipe and I was assured that the accompanying strawberry sauce was good on pretty much every dessert.

And I'm not even that big a fan of pound cake- I just think it's too heavy and cloying- but this pound cake it surprisingly light, deeply lemony and not too sweet. And I should know- I've made it twice in one week.

Lemon Pound Cake

Adapted from the Boyajian website (and from the side of their box of Citrus Oils)

• 11/2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 21/2 cups sugar
• 6 eggs, beaten well
• 3 tsp pure lemon oil
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 cups sifted flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the lemon oil and eggs and mix until combined. Add the sour cream, flour, baking soda and salt and mix very well. Grease a large bundt pan very well (I like Pam Baking). Place the batter in the bundt pan and cook for about 1 1/2 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool for at least 20 minutes before trying to flip it.

Strawberry Coulis

Adapted from Epicurious.com

• 16oz frozen strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbls lemon juice

In a medium saucepan combine the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Make sure to stir every once and a while. Let the mixture cool a little and then either puree the mixture with a handheld blender or transfer the mixture to a blender. For an extra smooth coulis, pass the blended sauce through a fine mesh strainer or chinois. Keeps in an airtight container for about a week.

Strawberry Shortcake with Strawberry Sorbet & Creme Fraiche Sauce

I love this desert. Thats' kinda all I have to say about it. 

OK I can probably muster up a few more words: fruity, buttery, tangy, cold & hot. Awesome. Does awesome work for you? because it works for me. The amount of work involved was really pretty minimal but the pay-off was huge. Just so frigging tasty!

I used the leftover creme fraiche sauce on top of a bowl of leftover strawberry sorbet. Then on top of a bowl of fresh strawberries. Then I just ate it by the spoon. Seriously addictive stuff.

Strawberry Shortcake with Strawberry Sorbet & Creme Fraiche Sauce

Adapted from the French Laundry Cookbook

Makes enough for 6 people 

• 3/4 cup chopped strawberries
• powdered sugar

To assemble:

Spoon some of the creme fraiche sauce onto a plate. Cut a biscuit in half and place the bottom half on top of the creme fraiche sauce. Top with some chopped strawberries ( as many as you can pile!). On top of the strawberries, add a quenelle of the strawberry sorbet ( or, you know, a scoop). Top the whole thing off with the top of the biscuit and dust on some powdered sugar. 

Buttermilk Biscuits

Make about 12 biscuits 

Thomas Keller's original recipe has you combine the cold butter by hand but I find that a food processor is quicker and ensures that the butter stays cold. 

• 2 cups cake flour 
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled 
• 11/2 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet that has been doubled up with another cookie sheet so you have one on top of the other. 

In a food processor combine the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and chunks of butter. Pulse as few times as possible to break down the butter so that the mixture looks like sand. 

Pour the mixture either onto your counter top or large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the buttermilk, gently folding it into the mixture with a wooden spoon. The mixture will not come together entirely but once the milk has been incorporated, roll (or just form) the dough into a rectangle of about 1/2 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits with a 2.5 inch round cutter. 

Bake in oven for 15-18 minutes or until they have risen and the tops are golden. 

Strawberry Sorbet
You're gonna have extra and it's gonna be great.

• 2.5 pounds strawberries
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup superfine sugar

Wash, hull and cut your strawberries in half. In a blender combine the strawberries, honey and sugar. Blitz until very smooth. I was surprised that Thomas Keller doesn't make you strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve- but he doesn't so- yay! Freeze the mixture in an ice cream maker as per the manufacturer's instructions. 

Creme Fraiche Sauce

So delicious and easy to make. Eat the extra (if you have any) drizzled over any kind of berries. 

• 3/4 cup creme fraiche
• 1 tbl plus 1.5 tsp sugar
• 1/4 vanilla bean

Combine the creme fraiche and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Meanwhile take your 1/4 vanilla bean and slice it in half. Using a knife, scrape the caviar inside the bean into the sauce along with the bean itself. Bring to a simmer and keep warm to serve.