Italian Wedding Soup...chickenized.

Dear Ina,

I have but one request...

Will you marry me?

Love,
Tan

Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa) has never let us down.  We've been having crazy up and down weather.  Like...really, really, ridiculously crazy temperature changes.  Today we should get into the 90s but yesterday we were in the 60s...but the day before in the upper 80s and the day before that in the lower 60s.  I think you get it.

I've been dying to try the Italian Wedding Soup out of her Back To Basics cookbook.  I've made my own before, but what I had to try was her meatball recipe.  Girlfriend makes a chicken meatball...1/2 ground chicken & 1/2 Italian chicken sausage.

So, I did...and to marvelous reviews and loud slurping.  Another successful Ina creation!

On a side note, make sure you don't buy cooked Italian sausage.  I, of course, being so careful & meticulous would never run through Trader Joe's after not finding chicken sausage in the military commissary, find Italian chicken sausage in TJs, do a quick celebratory dance, load up on many non-essential TJ items, & waltz through check-out.  I would check the item carefully and make sure that I was getting an uncooked meat item since it was to be mixed up with other raw meat and only get what I needed and then check-out

But, since Mama loves her Vita-mix, you can be darn sure that I ground up that cooked sausage and mixed it in with the raw chicken...FABULOUS.

ENJOY!!!!!!

From Tanya Eats

Tyler Florence's Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumber, and Cilantro

A while back I published a post on buttermilk chicken tenders which were inspired by Tyler Florence's Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumber, and Cilantro. I've used a bunch of Tyler's recipes straight from Food Network...but never bought his book. Why? I dunno...since every recipe I tried was fabulous. I had every one of Ina's but none of Tyler's. So, this Xmas/birthday I received 4 of his books and loving all of them!

I promised Melissa that I would post the recipe. I omitted the red pepper flakes since the kiddos don't tolerate heat so well. Also, I would start with LESS than 1/4 soy sauce and add more to taste...or use less-sodium soy. We served up our's with a side of Momofuku Ginger Scallion noodles...mmmmmmmm.

So, without further ado...

Tyler Florence's Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumber, and Cilantro

from Tyler Florence (Tyler's Ultimate)

Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

I. Love. Fried. Chicken.

But, guess what?

Besides french fries (from the *gasp* BAG)...I can't fry worth a damn.

But, guess what?  Panko crumbs make EVERYTHING better.

Over the weekend we were trapped inside the house due to the winter storm that swept through the mid-Atlantic.  I believe that was a biggest snow storm this area has received in a long time.  Anyhoo...after making Tyler Florence's Crispy Sesame Chicken & Spinach Salad a couple of weeks back (which I still have to post), I still had a major hankering for fried chicken tenders.  My hankering deepened after my friend Melissa posted a blog entry about healthy chicken nuggets.  But, I wanted to be bad...so bad.  I wanted oily, greasy, not-as-good-as-baking-it-in-the-oven-coated-in-ground-oatmeal-flax-wheat-germ chicken tenders.  

So, I marinated some breasts for several hours...then made them and enjoyed the silence of ravenous carnivores horking down some good arse chicken.

I love you greasy food.

Soy Sauce Chicken

From Tanya Eats

Soy sauce chicken. Its name denotes this is a simple meal that is anything but simple...well, except in preparation. Its simplicity in preparation is ridiculous and its intricate flavors are equally ridiculous. And that, my friends, is fabulous! Soy sauce chicken is Cantonese in origins...see yu gai is what our family calls it...my father's side, so in Toishan (Toy-san) you'd say see yu gai. You have now learned almost half of my Chinese vocabulary.

See the lovely star anise above? Well, if you haven't used or tried it before, go out and get yourself some! You can get a good-sized bag of these puppies pretty cheap at your local Asian/International market. They're sweet licorice-ish flavor is an integral part of this dish. You cannot...CANNOT make it without. Well, at least my version.

From Tanya Eats

Another fun ingredient our family uses...rock sugar. See the boulders sticking out in the soy sauce soupy goodness? You need them. I guess you could use brown sugar, but I was raised using these bad boys and will stick to them. Plus, I just remember my paternal grandma giving my sister and I little pieces of these to eat when we were kids. I've continued that tradition with my little rugrats.

Alrighty, enough babbling...

Soy Sauce Chicken (Li-Lee style)

• 1bunch of Spring Onions, cut into 3-4 inch pieces
• Ginger (a good 3-inch piece or so), sliced and smashed
• Star Anise, anywhere from 3-4 pieces (like my mama) or a good handful (like me)
• Rock Sugar, 1 box (typically 14.1 oz.)
• Soy Sauce, 1.5 cups or more (I usually do enough to submerge the chicken, but you could do more or less. If doing less, flip chicken over during braising process)
• 2 T. Oil
• Chicken pieces
• Sherry, optional
• Freshly ground black pepper

To start, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil up in a stockpot. Throw in spring onions and ginger. Allow to get fragrant and watch to make sure they don't burn. Pour in soy sauce, proceeding with caution since you are adding a liquid to hot oil. Add the star anise and rock sugar. Let simmer for 10 minutes or so while you prep the chicken. Make sure all that good rock sugary goodness is dissolved too.

At this point, trim away excess fat from the chicken. I'm not sure if I'd recommend removing the skin since the meat might get too salty. But, definitely trim away any excess fat since that all melts into the pot and makes for one greasy soupy mess. My maternal grandfather (who just celebrated his 99th birthday and who studied with chefs in Hong Kong) likes to rub the chicken with sherry first to enhance the brown color the chicken gets in this dish. I do it when I remember. The final photo is reflective of chicken not rub in sherry....since I didn't remember about the sherry-rubbing until I started writing this. I definitely do it when I remember...'cause my grandpa did it.

Throw the chicken into the pool of wonderful sweet savory soy saucy goodness. Season with some fresh ground pepper.

From Tanya Eats

Bring the pot to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cover and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Serve with rice and veggies and you've made an authentic Chinese (Cantonese, if you need the specific region) dish!

Congrats!

From Tanya Eats

Tanya's Garlic Tomato Herbed Pasta & Lemon Garlic Herbed Chicken

I started cooking at a young age. My parents motto was that we'd learn how to cook by helping them out. Being cynical, even at a young age, I thought it was just a ploy for them to employ free child labor. JK. Kinda. ;o) BUT, of course, they were right. I learned how to cook from my parents and grandparents and anyone else we helped out in the kitchen.


In high school, I came up with this pasta dish. The original recipe was all butter (mainly because Mom didn't buy olive oil at that point)...and now has morphed into a more health-conscious dish that is all olive oil. In between the metamorphosis, I started using half butter/half olive oil. But, alas, heart healthy extra virgin olive oil is all I use now...which incidentally, helps your body absorb the lycopene from the tomatoes. Scizzore!



The chicken recipe I got is inspired by *gasp* Rachel Ray! This recipe is great since you can vary which flavors you'd like to have for that meal. My constant is the garlic & lemon...of course. BUT, I'll use capers or rosemary for the variants. Any herbs would be yummy with this recipe. I dredge the chicken, giving the final product a nice sauce to use. Use more wine for more sauce.

The best thing about both...SUPER SIMPLE and quick!!! Plus, you can serve both of these dishes together. If not and for some odd reason you have leftovers of the chicken, you can combine the leftovers with plain pasta to create this:

From Tanya Eats

Tan's Garlic Tomato Herbed Pasta

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

Herbs of choice (Italian, Herbs de Provence, Oregano, Rosemary, Basil, etc.)

~2 cups fresh tomatoes, diced

White wine (optional)

Lemon (optional)

Salt & Pepper

Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

Pasta of choice (long pastas work better...I used Barilla Plus pasta for it's yumminess & healthfulness)

Boil salted water for pasta. Unless you're not good at multitasking, then this can wait till after the sauce is simmering.

In a large pan, heat oil, garlic, & herbs over medium heat. Heat until garlic is heated through, but not brown (brown garlic = icky). Turn heat up to high and add tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then turn down heat. Allow to simmer until the tomatoes have disintegrated slightly. Season with salt & pepper. You may want to thin out sauce with white wine OR wait until combined with pasta and add pasta water to desire consistency.

Before tossing with pasta, add a healthy squeeze of lemon, if desired. Slicing lemons and adding to sauce work beautifully as well. Add drained pasta and toss.

Tan's Lemon Garlic Herbed Chicken
Chicken Breasts (I use boneless, skinless)

6-10 cloves garlic, smashed

1 lemon, sliced

3/4 cup white wine (or more if more sauce is desired)

Flour, for dredging

Salt & pepper

McCormick Montreal Chicken Grill Seasoning (optional...I often forget to use it)

Herbs of choice (fresh or dried)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Season chicken breasts with salt & pepper. If using grill seasoning, tone down salt usage as the grill seasoning is salty. Dredge in flour and set aside.

Heat oil up on high in oven-safe frying pan. Add chicken breasts and allow to brown on each side. Add garlic & herbs. Add lemon slices, giving a few a good queeze before adding to pan. Place pan in oven.

Bake about 5 minutes. Add white wine and cook an additional 5 minutes or until chicken is done. Spoon sauce over breasts before serving.

Serve over rice or pasta and ENJOY!