His Birthday: Pollo Parmigiana (Breaded Chicken Breast with Parmesan)

I would like to wish my amazing husband a very happy birthday! We both have long work days ahead of us, and he has class in the evening, but we’re going to steal a quick hour in between for an elegant dinner together.

Chicken Parmesan is one of his favorite foods. He’ll order it out, and I’ll make it occasionally. I’ve tried a few different recipes over the years, and while I don't make Chicken Parmesan frequently, I try to make it each year around his birthday. Last week I tried one from my new Main Street Ventures cookbook. My husband loved it, and it may have been one of his favorites.

I have the recipe listed below as it is in the book, however I’d like to point out that the recipe for the tomato basil sauce makes much more than you need. If you’re not looking for leftover sauce, I’d cut what is listed below into a third. (Or, you can always freeze the remaining sauce in two-cup portions.)

Happy Birthday, Old Man Sweetheart!

Pollo Parmigiana (Breaded Chicken Breast with Parmesan)
(From Mainstreet Ventures Distinctive Recipes)
Ingredients
1 egg
¼ cup milk
¼ cup flour
3 cups Panko bread crumbs
1 Tbs. garlic, minced
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 Tbs. fresh basil, chopped
1 Tbs. fresh oregano, chopped
¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
4 (5 oz.) skinless, boneless chicken breast
Coarse salt and ground black pepper

Cooking and assembling the chicken
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups Tomato Basil Sauce (see recipe below)
½ lb. Spaghetti, cooked al dente
4 slices mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
2 Tbs. Parmesan cheese, grated
4 fresh basil leaves, as garnish

Directions
Heat oven to 400°F.

In a large mixing bowl combine the bread crumbs, garlic, Parmesan, basil, oregano, and parsley, and mix well. Set aside. In a separate bowl beat the egg with the milk. Set aside. In another bowl add the flour and set aside. Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper. Dust the chicken breast lightly in flour, then dip in egg wash. Coat the chicken breast on both sides with breading and press lightly with hand to adhere. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sauté on each side for approximately 3 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove the chicken from the heat and place on a baking sheet. Top with mozzarella slices and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in oven for 2 minutes or until cheese melts and chicken is cooked.

In a large sauce pan, heat the Tomato Basil Sauce along with spaghetti. Transfer the spaghetti with tongs to individual plates and top each with a chicken breast.

Sugo di Pomodore (Tomato Basil Sauce)
(Makes 2 Quarts)
Ingredients
3 (24 oz.) cans chopped tomatoes (recipe recommends Hunts)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
6 medium size garlic cloves
1/3 cup tomato puree
2 cups fresh basil leaves, loosely packed, coarsely chopped
1 ½ Tbs. coarse salt
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbs. honey or pinch of sugar (optional)

Directions
In a food processor or blender, puree the olive oil and garlic. Pour mixture into a medium size sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Stir in chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, salt and pepper. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in honey and fresh basil. Makes about 10 cups.

Mom's Favorite Orzo: Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas

I made this recipe for the first time a couple years ago when my husband and I had my parents over for dinner one night. My mom (a fellow pescatarian) loved it, and started making it herself all the time. It is delicious as a side dish, but can also work as a vegetarian entrée.

I like to rotate the menu for my Christmas dinner each year, and I decided that this family favorite should have a place on the table this year. It worked well for the holiday, but is also good any night of the week! Serve it alongside a meat entrée, like Baked Chicken, or as an entrée itself with a simple side salad.

Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas
(From Giada's Kitchen)
Ingredients
4 cups chicken broth (Kate uses vegetable broth)
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons butter, plus more to grease the baking dish (Kate uses cooking spray)
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (Kate uses cremini mushrooms)
1 cup Marsala wine
½ cup heavy cream
4 ounces shredded fontina cheese (about 1 cup)
4 ounces diced fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
½ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.

Bring the chicken/vegetable broth to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium saucepan. Add the orzo and cook until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Pour the orzo and the broth into a large bowl. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter over medium heat in a medium skillet. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to sauté until the mushrooms are beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 7 minutes. Add the Marsala. Scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and cook until the Marsala has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture to the orzo in the large bowl. Add the cream, fontina, mozzarella, peas, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a small bowl combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, and dried thyme. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the pasta. Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

Sister's Spinach Dip: Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Happy New Year! I hope that you had an exciting New Year’s Eve, and a peaceful start to your new year. I am excited to see what 2010 will bring!

New Year’s Eve is a holiday that I have mixed feelings about. It holds a special place in my heart, as my husband proposed to me on New Year’s Eve eight years ago. Some years I feel like getting dressing up in a little black dress and attending (or hosting) a fabulous party, while other years I prefer sitting on my couch in my pajamas. This year we found a happy medium.

My sister hosted us and another couple (who are such good friends we consider them to be family) at her house. We set out a couple appetizers and played with her young kids. After we put them to bed, we dined on a lovely meal (she made surf ‘n’ turf with beef tenderloin and shrimp) followed by chocolate fondu. We wore comfy clothes and lounged around until the ball dropped.

The day before New Year’s Eve, my sister and I divided up a list of grocery items. She would be visiting a specialty grocery store to purchase the meat, seafood, and wine, while I was planning to go to a basic grocery store for everyday items. My sister was planning on making her go-to spinach dip, but as it was necessary for me to pick up practically all of her ingredients during my grocery run, she suggested that I just make it instead.

Spinach dip seams to be a well-loved appetizer in whatever form it may come in. I have many good memories with high school friends picking up a pre-made container from the grocery deli section and eating it with a loaf of Hawaiian bread. My sister’s version is from Cooking Light and is best when served bubbling hot with tortilla chips.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
(Adapted from Cooking Light, September, 2007)
Ingredients
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
½ cup fat-free sour cream
¼ cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1 (12-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine 1 ½ cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 ½-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining ½ cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve with tortilla chips.

Road Trip: Kate's Caprese Pasta Salad

One and one half years ago, my husband and I took our first cross-country road trip. We drove 4,400 miles (exactly), and visited 14 cities in 13 days. Our first day consisted of driving as far as we possibly could before stopping at a roadside motel in the middle of nowhere, to then make it to our first destination the next day. In an effort to save time from having to stop for food, and in fear of not knowing what kind of food we’d be able to find, I decided to make our meals for that day so we could eat while on the road. I really wanted to avoid traditional “car food” and come up with something a little more creative than sandwiches. I also needed something that could be served a room temperature (or the temperature of inside our cooler). I decided to turn one of my favorite foods into a pasta dish.


I added all of the elements of a caprese salad and tossed them with Fusilli pasta. (I have since adjusted the recipe to use Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta, which looks nicer, but the Fusilli was really easy to pick up with a plastic fork while driving and attempting to not drop pieces of pasta all over the car.) I added some grilled chicken breast for my meat-eating husband. I also added some lemon juice and zest to bring out the flavors, and some toasted pine nuts for more texture.


Wow! The end product was a success! We loved it so much that this has made it into our regular rotation. I have brought this dish to a number of pot-lucks, and it is a hit. When we set out for another road trip last summer, there was no question of what we’d be eating our first night driving down I-80.

Kate’s Caprese Pasta Salad
Ingredients
1 box of Farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced
¼ cup fresh basil, coarsely chopped
2 lemons (zest and juice)
1 container (or 1 large ball – approximately 8 oz.) of fresh mozzarella, cubed
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
Kosher or Sea Salt, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Crushed red pepper, to taste
Cook pasta in large pot of salted boiling water, per instructions on box.

Meanwhile, in large bowl combine olive oil, zest and juice of lemons, a pinch of salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper each. Wisk ingredients together.

Drain pasta, but do not rinse, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Add pasta to bowl and stir. Allow pasta to cool, and then add remaining ingredients to pasta and stir. Add more seasoning to taste.

Optional: Grill or bake chicken breasts, slice, and serve on top of pasta. Chicken can be seasoned with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning; or marinated in Italian salad dressing.

Staple Hors d'Oeuvre: Kate’s Tomato Bruschetta

I think that we all have our “staple” dishes. The one that we’re called upon to bring whenever there is a family dinner, birthday party, or other kind of gathering. This staple makes us feel good, because it means that others enjoy our dish again and again. (Or, it alternatively could mean that no one else wants to make a particular dish that is necessary for a gathering, and we get stuck with it – Thanksgiving anyone?)

My staple genre happens to be hors d'oeuvres. And I love it. If my dinner every night merely consisted of hors d'oeuvres, I’d be a very happy woman. I love that you can try little bites of so many different foods, and go back for seconds on the ones you like. When my sister sent out the food sign-up for my nephew’s last birthday party, I asked if I could bring all of the hors d'oeuvres. After ensuring that no one else would contribute to the pre-dinner snacks, I went all out and put out quite the spread!

My go-to hors d'oeuvre happens to be one that is rather seasonal, and best enjoyed in the late-summer, early fall months. (If you’ve read my previous posts, you’ve by now garnered that it must include tomatoes!) I won’t disappoint, it does, and it is my version of bruschetta. There are so many different versions of this bite-sized treat. My take on bruschetta is the simple, yet delicious ingredients of a Insalata Caprese on top of a crostini. While I’ll admit to making this recipe year-round, the fresh ingredients are the star, and it tastes best when you’re using fresh baked bread, basil picked from the garden, tomatoes from the farmers’ market, and fresh mozzarella made that morning. I prefer to purchase my baguette and mozzarella from Zingerman’s, although your local grocery store should stock fresh mozzarella (check the deli section), along with a fresh baguette. Roma tomatoes are the perfect size to slice and place on top of your baguette rounds, but if I’m at the market, I’ll buy whatever kind of tomato looks the ripest and then cut the slices accordingly.

This is a huge crowd pleaser. I’ll put these out at a party, before a meal, and on an occasional summer night (like tonight!) I’ll make a platter and my husband and I will call it dinner. If you happen to have any leftovers – albeit highly unlikely – pop them in a 350°F oven for about 8 minutes. The cheese will melt and the bread will regain it’s crusty texture. It is a completely different snack that is equally delicious!

Kate’s Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients
* 1 fresh French baguette, sliced into small ½ inch rounds
* 4-5 Roma tomatoes, thinly sliced (amount depends on the size of your tomatoes)
* ¼ cup fresh Basil leaves, thinly sliced
* 8 oz. fresh Mozzarella, drained, patted dry, and thinly sliced
* Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
* Sea Salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place sliced baguette on large baking sheet and drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, until bread is golden and firm, but not burnt. Allow bread to cool for several minutes. Top bread with one slice of tomato, each. Sprinkle with sea salt. Top bread with one slice of mozzarella each, and sprinkle with basil. Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and serve.