Lemony Chicken Piccata

Five years ago, I picked up Rachel Ray's magazine for the first time. Much to my delight, there were recipes everywhere I looked and even a section for meals in under 30 minutes. That is where I found the inspiration for this recipe. Even though it took me twice as long, each minute was well worth the final taste. Over the past five years, this has been my signature dish. As I continue to add more recipes to my repertoire, this beloved one has fallen to the back burner. R-R-R. The other day I thought I should make this again and much to my surprise, found I had not put it on the blog. This recipe is the beginning of me really trying to cook. Thank you, Rachel Ray. And thank you, parmesan cheese. I sure love to cook and this one started it all.

Serves 6 and great for company

INGREDIENTS
6 chicken breasts, flattened to 1/2"
3 eggs, whisked and placed in a gallon plastic zip bag or pie plate if you don't like to litter
3/4 cup flour & 1/4 cup Wondra, placed in another gallon zip bag with Kosher salt and pepper to taste
12 oz shredded parmesan cheese & 6 oz shredded 5 cheese combo in another gallon zip bag
3/4 box angel hair pasta, cooked al dente and set aside
10 oz fresh spinach
6 cloves garlic, minced
Extra virgin olive oil
4 TBSP unsalted butter, cold
1 cup flat leaf (Italian) parsley, rough chopped
1 cup dry white wine
3 lemons, sliced
6 more oz. parmesan cheese
1/4 - 1/3 cup lemon juice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Sea Salt
Ground pepper

STEPS
1. Dip each breast in flour, then egg mixture. Then dip breasts in the zip bag with the cheeses. Press cheese firmly into each breast. Stack beasts on plate until all breasts are ready to cook.
2. Heat large skillet on medium high with enough extra virgin olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When heated, cook the breasts in two batches. 5 minutes each side until golden brown. To be sure the chicken isn't pink, cut each breast in half while cooking the second side. Remove cooked breasts to platter and cover with foil.
3. While breasts are cooking, heat water in large pot and cook angel hair al dente. Drain and set aside, cover to keep warm.
4. After all breasts have cooked, add more olive oil to skillet if necessary and then add the garlic and lemon slices. Cook 3 minutes, turning lemons once. Whisk in wine and parsley. Lower heat and cook til reduced, another couple of minutes.
5. Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth and butter, cook til butter melts (3 more minutes). Add the lemon juice and briefly heat. Generously spoon this over each breast on platter and recover/
6. Add spinach to skillet mixture 5 oz at a time and cook til wilted. Add the remaining chicken broth. Stir in the drained pasta and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper. Then add the last parmesan cheese and toss again.
7. Serve! Scoop the pasta on your plate, top with a breast and enjoy.

4 paws. Spot didn't even move as I fell over her. How a 10 lb dog can become an anchor is beyond me. "The Posse" (teen guy eaters) was here tonite and loved it. The hour in the kitchen was worth the taste, and my Hubby even flattened the breasts. Definitely a family fav!

Seattle Nanaimo Bars

The Sunday Seattle Times posted a "you've gotta try this" dessert recipe a few years ago. It was named after an area island or town, I forget. But what I can never forget is how worth it this one is to make for something special. These are very rich so cut them very small.

BOTTOM LAYER
1/2 cup unsalted butter
5 TBSP Cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup coconut flakes

Melt butter, sugar and cocoa together in top of double boiler over simmering water. Add the egg and stir constantly til thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, coconut and almonds. Press firmly into ungreased 8 x 8 pan.

MIDDLE LAYER
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp
3 TBSP whipping cream
2 TBSP Vanilla custard powder (Like Jell-O)
2 cups powdered sugar

Cream butter, cream, custard and sugar. Beat til light and spread over bottom layer.

TOP LAYER
4 squares (1 oz each) semi-sweet chocolate
2 TBSP unsalted butter

Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. When cool but still liquid, spread over middle layer and chill in refrigerator about 15 minutes. Cut into bars before serving. Small bars. Like 1 x 1.

You can make this 3-4 days ahead of time. Keep covered in refrigerator if there are any left.

Spot loves chocolate and loves standing in hope at my feet while making this one.

Homemade Chips N Dip

Thank you Michael Symon! Last weekend I was channel surfing and on a cooking channel found he has a new TV show. After he showed a pork recipe (I am allergic), I froze. He was making homemade poto chips with a blue cheese fondue complete with rosemary. Hold the phone!

To make the CHIPS:
We used a deep fat fryer, and once the oil was hot tossed in three whole garlic cloves, peeled and smashed a bit. Use one and a half large russet potatoes for each eater. Since we made this as our dinner, we made even more. Slice them thin and chip-like. Toss into a large bowl of water to keep fresh til frying. Keep the outer skin on.

Cook chips til medium brown. We have an older deep fat fryer so that meant about 9 minutes.

Layer paper towels over a flattened paper bag. Once the chips come out of the fryer, pat them dry with another paper towel and generously salt with Sea Salt. Move the chips to a larger pasta-style bowl lined with paper towels and toss with 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary (pictured). Continue this until all potato pieces are cooked and tossed.

In order to make this recipe, I needed a new kitchen implement! This is the thing I've seen in other people's houses and on the "gadget wall" in cooking sections for years and just wondered about.

Still don't know what it's called, but it worked great tonight and I want to kiss it.

Okay, the recipe Symon mentioned called for a Blue Cheese Fondue dip. My son and I love, love, love the nip of Blue Cheese, so that's what I made. My hubby shudders at the idea, so I bought him some salsa and chilled it. He loved the chips and his version of the dip.

To make the Blue Cheese FONDUE:
In a heavy bottomed pot, cook 1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil with 5 minced cloves of garlic, one minced shallot and 2 sprigs of rosemary, removed from the stem. Add a nice fat pince of Kosher salt. Cook til garlic and shallot are softened. Just a couple of minutes. Whisk in 1/4 cup white wine and reduce. About another minute. Then add 3/4 cup heavy cream, stir and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat. Add a generous dose of ground pepper to taste and stir in 8 oz. crumbled Blue Cheese. Let sit a minute.

If there are any chips left, serve this with them.