Lyon's Chicken Marsala

Feeling inspired, and having most of the right ingredients, I made Nathan Lyon's fabulous chicken marsala tonight. I pulled some chicken breasts out of the freezer and dashed off to buy the key ingredient at the liquor store--where I encountered someone else running in just for marsala. Once defrosted, I flattened two chicken breast halves til they were approximately even in thickness, and I dropped them into some seasoned flour. From there it was into the olive oil, where they became lightly brown and par-cooked. Then the chicken came out, and the mushrooms and shallots went in, eventually followed by marsala and chicken broth. The chicken was then added back in, and it all cooked down til the chicken was done and the sauce had thickened. Instead of the usual pasta, this was served over a saute of leeks, carrots, asparagus, and zucchini, and we had a simple salad of spinach, perfectly ripe pear, and toasted pecans on the side.

From the farmer's market

The farmer's market was filled with eggplant on Sunday. While I'm not actually a huge fan of it by itself, these were just too pretty to ignore. And the "noodle" beans were just so purple, not sure if they're the same or related to Chinese long beans.

Happy New Year!

The cooler weather appeared just in time! To mark the beginning of Jewish cooking season, err Rosh Hashanah, I cooked up a storm last night, with many sweet accents to ensure a good new year. We had roast chicken glazed with an apricot glaze, honey-glazed carrots with ginger, green beans, roasted beets with goat cheese and toasted almonds, noodle kugel with dried cherries, homemade challah, and a puff pastry variation of apple strudel. The other half of the challah dough I turned into cute little rolls.

More Fattoush

In living color ... yum

Fattoush

I'm still here ... really! The hot weather has hit, though, and cooking almost anything is hard to imagine at times. However, one thing I did discover in the July issue of Bon Appetit was a great recipe for fattoush. I grilled some zucchini, summer squash, mango, and yellow bell peppers--enough to give them grill marks but not enough to make them mushy--as well as onions and halved pita rounds. These were all chopped or broken into pieces and added to cubed feta (the fabulous kind from the farmer's market), halved cherry tomatoes, a little cumin, salt, pepper, cilantro, lots of fresh mint (very important and tasty), fresh lemon juice and olive oil. Toss together and serve. I served this with chicken kabobs that had been marinated in lemon and lime juice, chardonnay, salt and pepper, cumin, and olive oil. Grill the chicken til just tender and serve on top or next to the fattoush.

Happy Memorial Day!

It's almost a requirement to cook on Memorial Day, no? So not wanting to anger the holiday gods, I made a menu from Michael Chiarello on the Food Network. Really this could have been two meals, since we weren't biking through Napa like he was, but it's very good. Grilled chicken on a bed of grilled and marinated mushrooms on top of a spinach salad, and a rice salad with asparagus, sugar snaps, zucchini, diced ham, romano cheese, and lots of other good flavors. He made his chicken into sandwiches, but left the bread, in this case a fresh French boule, on the side.

Red curry with shrimp

The other night I made a Thai red curry with shrimp and loads of vegetables. Kinda looks like a million shrimp, doesn't it? I think they all swam to the top to get in the picture, though it's possible that not everyone wants as many shrimp as we do, too. Curry is so quick and easy, but I forget about it sometimes. Combine a few spoonfuls of red curry paste in about half a can of coconut milk. Once they are combined, stir in a spoonful of brown sugar and then the rest of the coconut milk. Add the carrots, since they take a while to cook, then bring the mixture up to a boil, and then let it simmer on low for about 15 min. At the very end, add the rest of the veggies and the shrimp, and cook it all til the shrimp are just cooked through. Serve with rice. I also made a vegetarian version with tofu instead of shrimp.

And now the veggies...

Mediterranean madness

It's March. It snowed yesterday, and the hot, sticky summer (thankfully) seems so far away. But inside we had a taste of Greece, which helped to warm things up a bit. We had baked chicken with oregano, spanakorizo with fresh feta, and roasted artichoke hearts with lemon and garlic.

Khmer pork with green beans. From Cambodia, by way of Hot Sour Salty Sweet and my kitchen, this dish is meant to be an accompaniment to a soup or stew, but I served it on top of jasmine rice and added a little sweet chili-garlic on top for a bit of spice instead. The dish is quick and the pork is flavorful, offset by crunchy-tender green beans.

One of my favorite salads. Baby lettuces, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and sauteed pears, drizzled lightly with a dijon balsamic dressing. 

Sweet potato fries. I'm thinking they count as a vegetable, right? Crispy but soft, slightly sweet, with a little salt and a hint of garlic ... yum. 

Party food, p. 2. The big salad, an assortment of cheese and wine, more salmon, homegrown heirloom tomatoes and basil (sooo good!), and corn salad. Some of the leftover salmon was turned into fabulous sandwiches with sliced avocados, crispy bacon, and mayo on Iggy's brioche rolls.

Party food, p. 1. Clockwise from the top left: corn salad (fresh corn sauteed with onions, red peppers, and cumin), lemonade (of course), a very big salad of mixed greens and other good things, a more simple corn salad, some of the NINE pounds of baked salmon, cucumbers and radishes in rice wine vinegar, and perfectly grilled chicken 

Summer sides. A mix of cherry tomatoes (including fabulously sweet Sun Golds), fresh green beans, and couscous with carrots, dried cranberries, and almonds. 

Lemony Asparagus

Asparagus with lots of lemon zest and olive oil

Roasted Beet Salad With Gorgonzola and Hazelnuts

Mixed greens with roasted red and golden beets, Gorgonzola, and toasted hazelnuts in a creamy lemon dressing, based on a recipe from Bon Appetit

Peter Piper Picked a Peck ...

Peppers ... what a lovely present. Thanks M!

Beets With Blood Oranges

Roasted beets with blood oranges