Crispy, Herby Chicken & Braised Brussel Sprouts

What I had for dinner last night:

Crispy, herby chicken with Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend and braised brussel sprouts.  But I don't like brussel sprouts, you say.  Wrong! I reply.  You DO like brussel sprouts.  Check it out:

BRAISED BRUSSEL SPROUTS

2 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 pint brussel sprouts, sliced or shredded

1 t. allspice

1 T. sage

1 c. chicken stock

1) Melt olive oil and butter in saucepan.  Saute onions for about 5-6 minutes or until translucent.  Add brussel sprouts, allspice, sage, and salt & pepper to taste.  Toss.

2) Add stock.  Bring to a bubble.  Reduce and simmer for about 15 minutes.  If you are feeling like a rascal, stir in a handful of chopped radicchio in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking - it will add color and crunch to your side dish. 

CRISPY, HERBY CHICKEN

4 chicken cutlets, pounded to quarter-inch thickness

2 T. olive oil

1/4 c. white wine

1 T. lemon juice

1/2 c. bread crumbs (unseasoned)

1 t. oregano

1 t. parsley

1 t. paprika

3 cloves garlic, grated

1/4 c. parmesan

1) Preheat oven to 400.

2) Grease baking dish.  Set up two dipping stations.  In one bowl combine olive oil, white wine, and lemon juice.  In the second bowl combine bread crumbs, oregano, parsley, paprika, garlic, and parmesan.

3) Dip each chicken cutlet into liquids and then into the bread crumb mixture.  Make sure that each cutlet is completely covered in the bread crumbs. Place coated chicken into the baking dish. Sprinkle remaining bread crumb mixture over the chicken.

4) Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, but still juicy.

ENJOY!!



Sauce Aïoli

Happy Friday the 13th to all of you!  In honor of such a superstitious day, I am going to talk about the garlicky goodness that is Sauce Aïoli.  This is a french-style dipping sauce that is, essentially, garlic and olive oil.  It's amazing.  It will keep vampires at bay. (Take THAT, Kristen Stewart!  She's a vampire by now, right?)  It's also hard work, not gonna lie to you.  You will get one heck of an arm work-out by making this, but it's totally worth it and you can reward yourself later with a leftover cupcake.

SAUCE AÏOLI

1 thick slice french bread, crust removed

(I used one half of a Thomas-brand bagel and scooped out the soft part)

3 T. milk

6 cloves garlic, grated

(Grating the garlic is a super short-cut.  Traditionally, you would take the whole clove and crush it into paste using a mortar & pestle)

1 large egg yolk

1 1/2 c. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Soak the soft bread in milk for about 5 minutes.  Then lift out bread and squeeze out as much milk as possible.  You will be left with a really unappetizing lump of doughy mush.

Mix wet dough with grated garlic using the tines of a fork.

Using some serious muscle, whisk in your egg yolk to the bread/garlic mash-up.

Now comes the fun part.

Add olive oil one drop at a time.  Go slow.  Fully incorporate each small part of oil before adding more.  Start out still using the fork.  Really mash it all in.  It's important to go slowly.  If you add too much oil at the beginning, the sauce can separate.  That means that your sauce will look all curdled and nasty.  When the sauce becomes creamy, you can start going a little faster with the oil additions and can switch to a whisk.  After all of your olive oil has been added, squeeze in the juice of one lemon and whisk to incorporate.

Aïoli is really good as a dip for sweet potato fries.

Toss sweet potato strips with about 2 T. olive oil and a hefty pinch of coarse salt.  Bake at 425°F for about 15-20 minutes, or until crispy.

Aïoli is also delicious when added to ground turkey to make burgers. 

Add about 1 T. sauce to 1 lb. ground turkey.  Season with 2 t. chipotle pepper flakes, handful chopped peanuts (about 1/4 c.), and a couple handfuls of shredded asiago. 

ENJOY!!

Outrageous Roasted Broccoli

I am about to give you all two posts in one day.  Outrageous! you cry.  Yes.  It is outrageous.  But I haven't blogged about anything in more than a week, so I figure, I kind of owe it to you.  This first post is about spicy roasted broccoli.  If you have never roasted broccoli, here is your chance.  I promise you will love it.  I used frozen broccoli for both ease and nutrition.  Broccoli is not in season up here in the great north.  We barely have asparagus and lettuce.  (I think we must be Zone Arctic Circle...) The broccoli in our grocery stores is probably from somewhere warm and sunny all year long, like California, so by the time it hits the produce section here it's already lost a lot of its nutritional value....this is why I use frozen.  I digress. 

Roasted Broccoli

1 bag frozen chopped broccoli OR 1 head chopped broccoli if it is fresh

4 T. olive oil, divided

2 large garlic cloves, grated (or finely minced)

1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Pour chopped broccoli on to a rimmed baking sheet and toss with 3 T. olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  Roast for 15 minutes.  Stir remaining tablespoon of oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.  Drizzle over broccoli; toss to coat.  Roast until broccoli is beginning to brown, about 8 minutes more.  Scrape up all the yummy brown bits from the bottom of the pan (these are called FOND) and serve immediately!