Arugula, Prosciutto & Gruyere-Stuffed Chicken with Caramelized Shallot Sauce

Alternate post title: Why I am not a recipe writer!

This recipe has been on my "list" for quite a while, and now that I have fresh arugula from the garden, I thought it was time to try it. However, I didn't exactly follow the recipe and therefore am sharing two takes on this dish - my version and the original Cooking Light recipe. The biggest difference is that I left out a few sauce ingredients - I didn't want to use cornstarch and I didn't think tomato paste would really be a good addition. If anyone tries the original version with tomato, let me know how you like it (and sorry for the imprecision of my version of the recipe)!

Arugula, Prosciutto & Gruyere-Stuffed Chicken with Caramelized Shallot Sauce - my way:

Pound out 2 chicken breasts to 1/4-inch thickness (I accomplish this by wrapping them in wax paper and beating with a rolling pin). Top half of each piece of chicken with a couple slices Gruyere cheese, a few arugula leaves, and a piece of prosciutto. Fold the other half of the piece of chicken over the "toppings" and attempt to press together the edges. Sprinkle sea salt and freshly ground black pepper over both sides of chicken. Dredge chicken in flour; shake off excess.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken to skillet. Brown approximately 5 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a baking dish and place in preheated oven. Bake approximately 10 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Meanwhile, saute thinly sliced shallots in original skillet (add extra olive oil if necessary). When shallots have browned, pour in a little dry white wine (use something you'd actually drink, not the cheapest bottle you can find - I used Pinot Grigio), then add a little chicken stock. Boil until reduced by half. Pour onions/sauce over chicken breasts to serve.

The original recipe from Cooking Light:

Chicken:
6 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
6 (1/2-ounce) slices prosciutto
6 (1/2-ounce) slices Gruyère cheese
1 1/2 cups trimmed arugula
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil

Sauce:
1 cup thinly sliced shallots
2 teaspoons tomato paste
2 cups dry white wine
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the chicken, place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Discard plastic wrap. Top each chicken breast half with 1 slice prosciutto, 1 slice cheese, and 1/4 cup arugula, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edges. Fold in half, pinching edges together to seal; sprinkle with salt and pepper. (The chicken can be prepared up to a day ahead and refrigerated at this point.)

Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side. Place chicken in a shallow baking pan; bake at 350° for 5 minutes or until done. Keep warm.

To prepare sauce, add shallots to skillet; sauté 4 minutes over medium-high heat or until browned. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 6 minutes). Add broth; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half (about 8 minutes).

Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to sauce; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Calories: 300; Fat: 9.8g (sat 4g,mono 4g,poly 0.9g); Protein: 29.7g; Carbohydrate: 9.7g; Fiber:
0.5g.

Chocolate Chess Pie

Now that you know how to make pie crust, here is a very simple and very, very delicious pie recipe:Chocolate Chess Pie

4 heaping tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup pecans (halves or pieces)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened evaporated milk
optional: 1/2 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into 9-inch unbaked pie shell. Bake 30 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

(Note to my friend B.: this would be a great way to use that pie crust I left in your freezer. It is very easy and wonderful . . . just get the pie crust out of the freezer about 30-45 minutes before you bake the pie.)

Shortbread Sugar Cookies

My contribution to the Friday Night Football tailgate this week was shortbread sugar cookies. The recipe comes from The Pastry Queen cookbook by Rebecca Rather. In the cookbook, the recipe is actually Pretty-in-Pink Shortbread Pigs, and the cookies are cutout pigs with pink icing. I turned the dough into squares decorated with orange and white instead (to save time and because orange is the color of the Palmyra Panthers).

The first thing I need to tell you about this recipe is that it is EASY. Much easier than any other sugar cookies I have made before. The hardest part is remembering to leave the butter out long enough to reach room temperature. The results were much better as well; the cookies are tender, sweet, and buttery. I'm contemplating the addition of a pinch of salt next time I make this recipe, but otherwise I wouldn't change a thing.

Shortbread Sugar Cookies
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Powdered Sugar Icing
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring

1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats, or grease generously with butter or cooking spray. Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. In a separate bowl, stir together flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture slowly to the butter mixture, beating on low speed. Stop beating as soon as the flour is incorporated (overbeating will make cookies tough).
2. Form the dough into a ball, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes (I was in a hurry and only refrigerated for 15-20 minutes and it was fine) before rolling it out. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. On a flat, smooth, floured surface, roll chilled dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut the cookies with desired cookie cutter (or cut them into squares/rectangles - I used a pizza wheel for this). Use a spatula to transfer to prepared baking sheets, placing 1/2 inch apart. Combine dough scraps and reroll to cut more cookies (reroll only once, otherwise cookies will be tough due to overhandling). Any subsequent scraps can be formed into a log, wrapped with plastic wrap, and frozen . . . cut 1/4 inch thick slices off the log to make round cookies.
4. Bake cookies 10-12 minutes, or until light brown around the edges. Cool cookies 10 minutes on the baking sheet; remove with a spatula and transfer to cooling racks.
5. When cookies have cooled, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and food coloring to make icing. Either dip cookies in icing or spoon icing onto cookies and smooth with back of spoon.

Note (1): Cookies can be stored (when icing is completely dry) in an airtight container for up to a week or tightly wrapped in the freezer for 1 month. Prior to baking, prepared dough can be kept in ghe refrigerator 1 week or freezer 1 month.
Note(2): If you are going to bake all the cookies at once, I recommend doubling the icing recipe.
- Recipe from the Pastry Queen/Rebecca Rather

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

Tonight was the first time I have cooked quinoa. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I have always thought it sounded good (particularly this recipe), so I gave it a try. The verdict? It was easy to cook and very tasty! I had only one complaint about this recipe - I did not like the cilantro cooked into the dish. It added a nice flavor, but the texture of cooked cilantro didn't really mesh with the other textures. Next time, I'll just use the fresh cilantro after cooking. This recipe is adapted from Bon Appetit; the original recipe can be found at epicurious.com.

Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup chopped white onions
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
Crumbled Cotija cheese or feta cheese (optional; I used feta)

Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and red pepper; sauté until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in next 4 ingredients. Add water; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until quinoa is almost tender, about 14 minutes. Add beans and 1/4 cup cilantro (I will omit this next time); cook uncovered until heated through and liquid is fully absorbed, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup cilantro and cheese, if desired. 4 to 6 servings.

Nutritional analysis per serving: Analysis is based on using 1 ounce crumbled Cotija cheese per serving. Calories 391; Fat (g) 13.16; Cholesterol (mg) 25.23; Carbohydrates (g) 53.04; Fiber (g) 10.24; Total Sugars (g) 5.56; Protein (g) 16.20.

Did I mention . . .

. . that I also made the Pioneer Woman's/Pastor Ryan's Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes last week? No? Hmm, I guess I forgot to add those to the anniversary dinner post. Or perhaps I didn't include them in that post because we didn't actually eat them with our anniversary dinner. Here's the truth: I made a small batch and ate them (ALL) before dinner, while I was cooking. I don't think Ken would have liked stuffed and cooked tomatoes. I'll just keep telling myself that . . These tomatoes were very tasty. Looking back (and comparing my pictures to those on the Pioneer Woman's blog [which is never a good idea, really, for your self esteem]), I should have added more fresh herbs, and maybe salt and pepper. Otherwise, a very delicious way to use some Roma tomatoes!

Happy Anniversary

It's good to have your anniversary fall in the middle of the week - we got to celebrate twice! Last Saturday night, Ken took me to eat at the Garth Mansion's Woodside Restaurant. The food was awesome and we got a tour of the mansion, where Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) was a guest. You can even sit in a chair he once sat in - how cool!

On our actual anniversary, I made dinner for Ken - "mock" beef wellington and crisp roasted asparagus with gremolata. It was a really good meal (and I got to cross two items off my list of 101, so that made me happy). I couldn't find liver pate around here, and I wasn't about to go to the trouble of making it myself, so I just did without. They turned out to be tasty without pate, and we enjoyed our dinner out on the deck . . .
For the "beef wellington," I baked puff pastry cups (as directed on the package) and filled them with beef (kabob meat) and mushrooms cooked in butter, fresh thyme, salt, pepper, and a splash of wine.

The crisp roasted asparagus with gremolata was a recipe from The Silver Palate. I didn't get a good picture of the gremolata, so you'll have to use your imagination . . .
Crisply Roasted Asparagus with Gremolata
Gremolata
2 tbsp. chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
2 tsp. garlic, finely minced

Asparagus
1 pound asparagus (woody ends removed)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
optional: 2 lemons, halved crosswise, for garnish

1. Prepare gremolata by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
3. Place asparagus (on foil) in a roasting pan in a single layer, facing the same direction. Toss with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes; remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. Place asparagus in a serving dish and top with gremolata. Serve with lemon halves, if desired. - The Silver Palate

101

Please accept my apologies in advance - this is a long post!

I have tons of recipes flagged in cookbooks and magazines . . . a few months ago I decided to make a "priority" list of recipes I want to try. This is my 101st post, which seemed like a good opportunity to share the list of my top 101 recipes/items to make. I'm sharing this with you for two reasons:

1) to get feedback on my recipe "wishlist" - especially in the "misc. items" category - if you have a great recipe for any of these items, I would be grateful if you would share it; and
2) to help me stay organized - it is easier for me to find this list on my blog than it would be if I printed it out and filed it somewhere.

101 Things to Make:

Recipes from The Pastry Queen
1. Hill Country Peach Cobbler
2. Apple Smoked Bacon & Cheddar Scones
3. Peach Kolaches
4. Tuxedo Cake 8/27/08
5. Texas Pecan Pie Bars
6. Apple-Almond Chicken Salad with homemade mayonnaise
7. Brie & Brisket Quesadillas
8. Chicken Pot Pies 12/08
9. Pretty-in-Pink Shortbread Pigs 9/26/08
10. Bananas Foster Shortcake

Cookbook, Blog & Magazine Recipes, part 1
11. Buttermilk Frozen Custard with Bourbon-Roasted Peaches and Brown Sugar Walnuts - Visions of Sugar Plum 8/23/09
12. Cinnamon Toast Ice Cream - Epicurious
13. Braised Beef Cheeks - Gourmet
14. French Onion Soup - Thomas Keller’s Bouchon
15. Almond Cake - Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert
16. Gianduja Roulade - Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert
17. Cheddar-Polenta Biscuits with Ham Salad -Food and Wine, 2006
18. Warm Pumpkin Cake - Food and Wine, 2006
19. Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding - Paula Deen Celebrates! (Yes, this may be a little over-the-top, but seriously - doesn't it sound interesting?)
20. Butterscotch Bars with Brown Sugar Meringue Topping - Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters

Recipes from Cooking Light
21. Lemon Basil Sorbet
22. Asparagus, Ham, and Fontina Bread Pudding
23. Pork Saltimbocca with Polenta
24. Buttered Sweet Potato Knot Rolls
25. Citrus Cream Cheese Pull-Aparts
26. Lemonade Layer Cake
27. Baked Sesame Chicken Noodles
28. Peach-Glazed Barbecue Pork Chops and Peaches
29. Gruyere, Arugula, and Prosciutto-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Caramelized Shallot Sauce 5/13/09
30. Mocha Latte Freeze

Recipes from The Silver Palate
31. Green Lasagna
32. Pheasant with Leek & Pecan Stuffing 12/3/08
33. Avocado and Ham Salad
34. Brioche
35. Apple Walnut Cake with Apple Cider Glaze
36. Hummus
37. Swiss Potato Gratin
38. Marinated Beef Salad
39. Crisp Roasted Asparagus with Gremolata 8/27/08
40. Pasta Primavera Gregory

Family Recipes
41. Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Grandma Margaret
42. Spritz cookies, Grandma Margaret
43. Corn (to freeze), Ken’s family (Mom, Aunt and Grandma)
44. Deviled Eggs, Grandma Helen
45. Chocolate Chess Pie, Dad 11/08
46. Jambalaya, Aunt Nancy
47. Chicken Enchiladas, Mom
48. Georgia Peaches and Cream, Mom
49. Sugar cut out cookies, my Mother-in-Law
50. Homemade mayonnaise, Dad

Recipes I have flagged in Bon Appetit/Gourmet Magazine
51. Hot Milk Cakes with Strawberries and Cream
52. Quinoa with Black Beans and Cilantro 9/24/08
53. Chocolate Cake with Fleur de Sel Caramel Filling
54. Fried Mozzarella with Arugula and Prosciutto
55. Coffee-Marinated Grilled Pork
56. Farmer’s Market Salad with Spiced Goat Cheese Rounds
57. Basil Lemonade
58. Banana and Mango Spring Rolls with Chocolate Ganache
59. Spiced Banana Ice Cream
60. Beef and Avocado Finger Sandwiches

Misc. things to make (no recipe source yet)
61. Biscuits
62. Rice (I have problems cooking rice!)
63. Miso soup
64. Toffee
65. Crepes
66. Popovers
67. Quesadillas
68. Rosemary bread (like Twainland Cheesecake used to make)
69. White chicken chili
70. Pizza dough
71. Yeast rolls
72. Homemade donuts 5/25/09
73. Chicken or beef pot pie 3/5/09
74. Chocolate crème brulee
75. Fresh, homemade pasta
76. Mole sauce
77. Gnocchi
78. Marshmallows
79. Batter bread
80. Panna cotta 12/31/08
81. Thin Mint cookies (a replica of Girl Scout Thin Mints)
82. Palmiers
83. Beef Wellington - 8/27/08
84. Caramel corn
85. Brown sugar mojito
86. Pulled pork
87. French baguette
88. Sun-dried tomatoes (or maybe oven-dried)
89. Homemade beef stock

Cookbook, Blog & Magazine Recipes, part two
90. Creamy Chicken-Apple Chili, Everyday with Rachael Ray
91. Chocolate Flank Steak with Pineapple Salsa – Paula Deen’s Chocolate Celebration
92. Freeze-Ahead Lasagna Primavera – Everyday Food
93. The Barefoot Contessa’s Guacamole Salad
94. Hot Buttered Popcorn Bread – A Passion for Baking
95. White and Dark Chocolate Bread – A Passion for Baking
96. Stacked Crepe Cake – A Passion for Baking
97. Pheasant Ravioli with Rosemary Jus - Silver Spoon
98. Roasted Ricotta Roma Tomatoes – The Pioneer Woman Cooks 8/27/08
99. Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Tomato Sauce – The Food You Crave
100. Turkey Roulade with Apple Cider Gravy – The Food You Crave
101. Chocolate Gelato – Baking with Agave Nectar

Thanks for enduring this long post - let me know if you have experience with any of these recipes - or suggestions for any of the items I do not yet have a recipe for!