Chicken with roasted red pepper sauce

 

Sometimes you need a really fast weeknight supper. This one definitely qualifies, and it's pantry friendly. In my case I had just roasted a big batch of red peppers from the farmers market and had those on hand, but bottled would certainly be fine.

 Chicken with red pepper sauce

From "The 5 in 10 Chicken Breast Cookbook: 5 Ingredients in 10 Minutes or Less," by Melanie Barnard and Brooke Dojny.as published in the Star Tribune Taste section in March 2003.

Ingredients

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons olive oil

12-ounce jar roasted red peppers

¼ cup cream

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

Method

Pound chicken breasts to flatten slightly. Season with some salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Cook chicken until browned on the outside and white inside, about 4 minutes a side. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Meanwhile, combine drained red peppers, cream, salt and pepper in a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Add garlic to chicken cooking pan and saute until fragrant. Stir in red pepper cream sauce to heat through. Serve chicken with sauce spooned on top.

Rating: Definitely repeatable. Consistency-wise it's reminiscent of Romesco sauce, but milder in flavor. Blessedly fast. Did I mention that it was yummy?

 

Cobb salad with green goddess dressing

 

When the snow starts sticking, everything gets thicker: sweaters, soups, sauces, you name it.

 In this case, it even includes the salad dressing. I'm usually more of a vinaigrette type of salad dresser than anything thick and creamy, but it does make for a heartier salad.This recipe makes a fair amount. It was originally scaled for 6 servings, but I suspect even if I was serving six people, there would still be leftover dressing.

I used the last of the mixed greens from the farmers market and some kale from the garden that doesn't seem to mind snow. The original recipe called for romaine lettuce and watercress, but since it's fall, locally harvested options are limited.

Cobb salad with green goddess dressing

From Cooking Light

Ingredients

½ cup plain yogurt

¼ cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons chopped green onion

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

2 teaspoons fresh tarragon leaves

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 garlic clove, chopped

¼ ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon salt

Mixed greens

Chopped cooked chicken

Hard cooked eggs, cut into wedges

Fresh tomato, cut into wedges

Chopped avocado

Crumbled blue cheese

Method

Combine yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar, green onion, parsley, chives, tarragon, anchovy paste, garlic, pepper and salt in a food processor and whir until smooth. Refrigerate if not using right away.

Put a layer of salad greens on plates. Divide chopped chicken, eggs, tomato and avocado on top. Sprinkle with blue cheese and serve with dressing.

Rating: Fine. Still not a fan of thick dressings, but it helps hold the layered salad together.  That and a cup of golden cauliflower soup made a fine lunch. We just kept the shades closed so we couldn't see it snow.

Followup rating: That dressing makes an absolutely killer dip that is clearly going to have to go into the rotation. I don't know how much of that is due to the fact that it had a few hours curing time in the frig before I used it that way or if it's just its highest and best use, but that's a keeper.

 

Winter flowers

 Fall was pretty at our house, what there was of it. Bee-thronged wild asters and sedum were the main attraction, but it was a good fall color show throughout the neighborhood on our post-work walks. 

Sadly, I didn't get around to taking any pictures before 9 inches of snow put an abrupt end to fall. Much of the snow has melted, but it's still wintry and our plants are icicle fodder.

Our Henri clematis put out another cloud of blooms and buds just before we got clobbered with snow. Some of the blooms still look pristine, just encased in ice as if frozen in a time to which we wish we could go back.

But the sturdy kale just shrugged off the snow, so we're still in harvest mode.

When the bush is dripping ice, you just have to imagine next summer's blueberries.

 

Cherry tomato bolognese and smashed tomato sauce

 

Every year it seems like the tomatoes won't start and then it seems like they just won't stop. At some point, you realize that you need to start taking outside a bigger bowl for the haul we pick after we stop work each day. 

Mind you, the big tomatoes have yet to really get with the program. But the cherry cherries? They're insane. Especially the Candyland red tomato I got as part of Totally Tomatoes Little Bites collection.

I've never been one of those people who have so many cherry tomatoes they don't know what to do with them, even when I bring in multiple pints a day, because there are so many delightful things to do with them. Fresh tomato salsa, vats of tomato confit to put up in the freezer, and innumerable pasta options. Here are a few more I tried recently.

 

 

Late summer Bolognese

Adapted from Bon Appetit Sept. 2020

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 pound ground chicken or turkey

¼ white wine

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 pints cherry tomatoes

1 red chili (I used Fresno) thinly sliced

1 pound rigatoni or bucatini

1 tablespoon butter

¼ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish

1½ cups basil leaves, torn if in large pieces

Method

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. Add chicken, season with salt, and cook until only a slight bit of pink remains, stirring occasionally to break up chicken.

 Add white wine and cook over medium low heat until wine is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.

 Add tomatoes and chile and cook until tomatoes begin to burst. Smash some of them with the back of a spoon to make a sauce and cook until somewhat thickened.

 Meanwhile, cook pasta until just al dente. Drain into sauce mixture, adding more cooking liquid if needed. Add butter and Parmesan. Add most of basil and toss together. Serve garnished with remaining basil and some more Parmesan.

Rating: Dave really liked this one. I thought it was a fine cross between a traditional, hours-cooked meaty bolognese and fresh tomato sauce.  It's certainly faster, and it bought me a lot more space back on my countertop that was covered with plates of little tomatoes.

 

 

Burst cherry tomato sauce

Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2020

Ingredients

½ cup olive oil

6 thinly sliced garlic cloves

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

4 pints cherry tomatoes

2 large basil sprigs plus 1 cup basil leaves

1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

12 ounces fettucine or linguine

½ cup Parmesan cheese, divided

Method

Start water to boil for pasta. Cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large pot over low heat. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until just fragrant. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs and salt. Cook over medium heat, covered, until tomatoes start to burst. Uncover and smash some of the tomatoes with a back of a spoon and cook until a sauce forms.

Add drained pasta, most of the Parmesan cheese and the basil leaves. Season to taste with salt and serve garnished with remaining Parmesan.

Rating: Couldn't get much simpler or tastier. A definite entry into the weeknight summer rotation. Feel free to toss in which ever herb you've got the most of right now.

 

Blueberry pancetta flatbread

When I think of blueberries and pie in the same sentence, this recipe isn't ordinarily what comes to mind. It struck me as just odd enough to work either really well or not at all. Luckily, it's still blueberry season in Bayfield by way of the Midtown Farmers Market.

Blueberry flatbread

Adapted from a recipe in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, in turn adapted from the blueberrycouncil.org

Ingredients

Pizza dough to make one large rectangular crust, about a pound

1 cup grated mozzarella, divided (smoked is nice, if you’ve got it)

¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola or other blueish cheese

4 ounces diced pancetta, cooked and drained (can substitute bacon)

½ red onion, thinly sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped, divided

Method

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Shape dough into a large rectangle and place on a baking stone that’s been sprinkled with cornmeal.

Sprinkle half the mozzarella over the crust, then sprinkle on Gorgonzola, pancetta and scatter red onion over the top. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crust is cooked and nearly golden. Remove from oven. Sprinkle blueberries over the top and half the rosemary. Scatter remaining mozzarella over the top and return to the oven for about 2 minutes, until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with remaining rosemary. Serve warm.

Rating: This totally worked for us. Really nice mix of savory with those nearly pie-in-a-berry blueberries. And, well, pancetta. Super fun way to make sure the blueberries don't got to waste.

Savory oatmeal with mushrooms, ginger and charred onions

Who says oats have to be for breakfast? In the time of the pandemic pantry, it's time to rethink some staple stereotypes.

Sesame-ginger oats with mushrooms and charred green onions

From Better Homes & Gardens, October 2016. The recipe notes that you could sub in other grainish-type items in this recipe, such as buckwheat, barley or quinoa.

Note: As written, this recipe would serve 1 as a main dish, or 2 somewhat skimpily as a side dish, so you may well want to double it from the get-go.

Ingredients

1 cup chicken broth (or slightly more, if you like creamier oats)

½ cup steel cut oats

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided

1 cup chopped assorted mushrooms

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger

2 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Crushed red pepper flakes

Method

In a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in oats. Cook, uncovered on medium low heat for 25 to 30 minutes until oats are tender, thickened and creamy, stirring as needed.

Meanwhile, in a skillet heat 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil over medium heat. Add mushrooms and ginger and cook 3 to 4 minutes until tender. Remove from pan to a small bowl.

In same skillet, heat remaining oil. Cook green onions a few minutes over medium high heat or until slightly charred. Remove from heat.

Stir mushrooms into cooked oats. Serve topped with green onions, soy sauce and crushed red pepper.

Rating: You wind up with something that’s risotto-like in texture, with considerably less hands-on monitoring. A quick fix, and one you can readily imagine modifying as needed. Basically, it's a blank slate for flavors. The sesame-ginger flavoring works well, but any flavor profile you like could work.