Chicken Marbella

I was served this scrumptious dish at a dinner party several years ago and was in love with it!  But, alas, the recipe somehow got moved to the back of  my collection and I only recently rediscovered it.  This is my version of the classic dinner party dish from the Silver Palate cook book that was all the rage in the 1980's.  Though the combination of ingredients may sound strange, the end result is chicken so tender in a sauce that you just want to drink!  If  you're lucky enough to have left-overs, it's just as good served cold over a salad!  I served it with creamy parmesan orzo, zucchini & squash gratin provencal, chopped green salad with red wine vinaigrette, and an artisan loaf of crusty rosemary olive oil batard.

Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup pitted dried plums (prunes!)
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives, some sliced & some whole
1/4 cup capers with some juice from the jar
6-8 cloves of minced garlic
2 Tablespoons oregano
Salt & pepper to taste
6 boneless & skinless chicken breasts (can mix it  up with boneless chicken thighs too)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/8 cup finely chopped parsley

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the oil, vinegar, plums, olives, capers & their juice, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and chicken in a Ziploc bag.  Seal the bag and massage so that the marinade covers all of the chicken breasts.  Refrigerate & let marinate overnight.

When you're ready to bake this beautiful entree, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the chicken mixture in a large roasting pan in a single layer.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and pour the wine around the edges.

Bake, basting every now & then with the juices in the pan, for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Sprinkle with parsley and voila; you're ready to impress your guests!

A song about home grown tomatoes!

I was thinking about writing my own "ode to the tomato" but then I came across this song, written by Guy Clark and performed by John Denver that says it all!  Click here for the YouTube video.

One of my early childhood memories is that of a tomato sandwich made with home grown tomatoes of course!  This is simplicity at its finest & tastiest & is the essence of summer!  For those of you who have never experienced this Southern treat, here's how to put your tomato sandwich together:

You need two slices of the freshest white bread that you can find... Sunbeam is perfect.*
 You need a good quality mayonnaise to spread on the top of each slice of bread .. our family is partial to Hellman's but many Southerners swear by Duke's.  Slice your home grown tomatoes - I leave the peel on but my sisters decidely peel theirs!
As I've said before, tomatoes love salt, so liberally salt and pepper the tomato slices and place them on the mayo on one slice.  Slap the two slices together and voila you have summer between two slices of bread!  I know you'll have a smile on your face too!  I'd love to hear your thoughts & recipes to compare notes!

*OK, I know that the tomato sandwich of my childhood was made with white Sunbeam bread.  It's delicious made with home baked bread, whole grain bread, or just your favorite bread whatever that is!  But, there's NO substitute for the home grown tomatoes... store bought won't work so if you don't grow your own, head to your farmer's market!

Now here's the lyrics to that song "Home Grown Tomatoes"

There aint nothin in the world that I like better
Than bacon n lettuce n home grown tomatoes
Up in the mornin, out in the garden
Get you a ripe one, don't pick a hard 'un
Plant 'em in the spring, eat em in the summer
All winter without em is a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin and the diggin
Every time I go out and pick me a big un

Homegrown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

You can go out to eat an that's for sure
But there's nothin a home grown tomatoe won't cure
Put em in a salad, put em in a stew
You can make your own tomato juice
You can eat em with eggs, eat em with gravy
You can eat em with beans, pinto or navy
Put em on the side, put em in the middle
Home grown tomatoes on a hot cake griddle

Home grown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without home grown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

If Is to change this life I lead
You could call me Johnny Tomato Seed
Cause I know what this country needs
Home grown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cold dark cemetery
Out in the garden would be much better
Cause I could be pushin up a home grown tomatoe

Homegrown tomatoes, home grown tomatoes
What would life be like without home grown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love and home grown tomatoes

Slow Cooker Fresh Tomato Basil Soup

Oh how I love tomato soup...well I just love tomatoes!    I’ve been buying bushels of fresh summer tomatoes from our farmer’s market and have been having such fun trying new recipes that use these tasty morsels.  I tasted as I made this & added more spices as needed,   so feel free to adjust it to your liking… that’s the beauty of this recipe.  Make it your own; if you want it spicy, add some spicy peppers.  If you want to add more veggies, add some carrots or roasted red peppers.  If you want it chunky, don’t puree it too much.  

 Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

3 Tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil

2 medium sweet onions, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 Tablespoon Kosher or sea salt (tomatoes love salt so you may need to add more)

1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper or to taste (I like more!)

2 teaspoons sugar (I used Splenda)

8 pounds tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped (10-12 large tomatoes)

  (if you don’t have fresh tomatoes, you can use 4 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes)

1 quart chicken broth

1 small can evaporated milk

2 Tablespoons Wondra (or flour) to mix with ¼ cup water for thickening

10 basil leaves (plus more for garnish) or liberal amount of dried basil

Freshly grated Parmesan for garnish, optional

Sour cream for garnish, optional

Directions:

Peel the tomatoes and using a fine mesh colander (or strainer) that is placed over a bowl, squeeze out the juice & seeds.  Coarsely chop the tomatoes and reserve the juice… and discard the seeds.

Combine all ingredients except the evaporated milk, Wondra (or flour) & water in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.  Add evaporated milk, stirring until well blended.  Whisk together the 2 Tablespoons of Wondra (or all purpose flour) with ¼ cup water and stir into the soup; this will thicken it a bit.  Continue to cook for about 30 minutes more.  Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth or puree in batches in a blender.  Serve immediately or keep warm in the slow cooker until your guests arrive!

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Chocolate Nutella Ice Box Cake

Nutella is wonderfully delicious!  As Rachael Ray would say "yummo"!   On a recent visit to Costco, I found a package of two large containers of Nutella.  So my new cooking project is to find yummy recipes that use this decadent chocolate hazelnut spread.  

Serves 12
3 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
8 ounces lower fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 box (14 ounces) chocolate graham crackers
1 small jar (14 ounces) Nutella

Whip cream, vanilla, and sugar until soft peaks form. Slowly add in cream cheese until well blended.

Spread Nutella on graham crackers in a thin layer.

Place a layer of crackers, Nutella side up in 9 x 13 inch pan, cutting crackers if necessary to fit in a single layer. Spread 2/3 cup of whipped cream mixture on top of crackers.

Repeat until all crackers and cream are used up, ending with whipped cream on top.  Sprinkle with some chocolate graham cracker crumbs, shaved chocolate, or chocolate jimmies for garnish.

Place in refrigerator for at least 8 hours over overnight.  The crackers will become soft & “cakey”.  Cut into squares and serve immediately.  

Summer Zucchini & Squash Gratin Provencal

Since this would be the 100th birthday of Julia Child, I am cooking French style this week!  Also since my fridge is loaded with fresh summer squash and zucchini and I have loads of garden fresh tomatoes, I made this wonderfully yummy recipe, which I adapted slightly from Fine Cooking.   I added a Panko crumb topping which gave it a nice "crunch" and accompanied the vegetables nicely. 

For the onions:
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 medium onions (14 oz. total), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

To assemble the gratin:
1-1/4 lb. ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
3/4 lb. (about 2 small) zucchini or other green summer squash, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias
3/4 lb. (about 2 small) yellow summer squash or golden zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch slices on the bias
3 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. coarse salt
1-1/4 cups freshly grated parmigiano reggiano
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Panko bread crumbs (about ½ cup to sprinkle on top)

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To cook the onions: In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until limp and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low if they're browning too quickly. Add the garlic and sauté until soft and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes Spread the onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of an oiled 2-qt. shallow gratin dish (preferably oval). Let cool.

To assemble the gratin: Heat the oven to 375°F. Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate to drain for a few minutes and then discard the collected juices. In a medium bowl, toss the zucchini and squash slices with 1-1/2 Tbs. of the olive oil, 2 Tbs. of the thyme, and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Reserve half of the cheese for the top of the gratin. Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the thyme over the onions in the gratin. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish and sprinkle with a little of the cheese. Next, lay a row of zucchini, overlapping the tomatoes by two-thirds, and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat with a row of squash, and then repeat rows, sprinkling each with cheese, until the gratin is full.

Season lightly with pepper and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Drizzle the remaining 1-1/2 Tbs. olive oil over all. Combine the reserved cheese with the remaining 1 Tbs. thyme and sprinkle this over the whole gratin. Sprinkle Panko bread crumbs over top.  Cook until well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 65 to 70 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 min. before serving.