Archives for posts with tag: capers

Chicken Francese with Noodles + Roasted Asparagus

July 17, 2015 //

Chicken Francese with Noodles

This is such an Italian-American dish. I grew up eating francese from the local pizza place. Since our move I’ve been pretty disappointed with my chicken francese take-out options. So, I had to find a recipe to make it myself and was super happy to find this recipe, which is based on Tyler Florence’s recipe. I added capers and skipped the scallions. Tried the corn starch, but I’m not sure that it really made that much of a difference.

4 skinless, boneless, thin chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Cornstarch, for dredging (or use flour)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
3 TB. water
1/4 cup avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon, with rind, cut in thin rounds
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
capers, to taste

On a plate or wide bowl, beat the eggs with 3 tablespoons of water. Heat the oil over medium-high flame in a large skillet.

Dredge both sides of the chicken cutlets in the cornstarch or flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in the egg wash to coat completely, letting the excess drip off. When the oil is hot, add the cutlets and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden, turning once. Remove the chicken cutlets to a large platter in a single layer to keep warm.

Toss the lemon slices into the pan and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the wine, broth, lemon juice and capers simmer for 5 minutes to reduce the sauce slightly. Roll the butter in some cornstarch or flour and add it to the skillet, this will thicken the sauce. Whisk to incorporate and dissolve the cornstarch/flour. Reduce the heat to medium-low and return the chicken to the pan; place the lemon slices on top of the cutlets. Simmer gently for 2 minutes to heat the chicken through. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

Noodles

Follow directions on the package

Roasted Asparagus

My go-to method of preparing asparagus.

1 bunch of asparagus – ends trimmed
olive oil
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss trimmed asparagus with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 15-20 minutes until tender and a little bit browned. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over to serve.

Tags asparagus, capers, chicken, lemon, noodles, white wine

Categories Meals

Endless Bounty

July 17, 2015 //

Last time I was 8 months pregnant the average temperature outside was 32 degrees. I felt pretty good, and my biggest complaint was that I didn’t always get a seat on the subway because I had to wear a big, winter coat which made it hard to tell that I was pregnant. Now, it’s a different story. It is hot and humid and I feel HUGE. I pretty much always get a seat on the subway, but I am exhausted!

Meanwhile, the markets are packed with produce and I am dying to cook. This week alone, I’ve picked up blueberries, cherries, nectarines, cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes and even the first corn. It is awesome, but some nights after work I am just too tired to make anything. Fortunately, fruits and vegetables this time of the year are so delicious and fresh that you don’t have to do too much to enjoy them. Hopefully easy summer recipes will get me through the next few weeks!

The kitchen counter will look like this for the next few months.

Meal #1: Soy Lemon Skirt Steak with Arugula + Salted Potatoes
Meal #2: Swordfish Parmesan and Roasted Broccoli
Meal #3: Chicken Francese with Noodles + Roasted Asparagus
Meal #4: Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce + Sugar Snap Peas

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

broccoli – 1 large head
shallot – 2
garlic – 1 head
lemons – 5
sugar snap peas – 1 lb.
cherries – 1 cup
arugula – 1 bunch
asparagus – 1 large bunch
potatoes – 1 1/2 pounds
rosemary – 1 bunch
eggs – 1 dozen
white wine
red wine
low-salt chicken broth – 1 cup
butter (if you don’t already have it)
brown sugar (if you don’t already have it)
soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
garlic powder (if you don’t already have it)
capers (if you don’t already have it)
flour (if you don’t already have it)
Parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
butter (if you don’t already have it)
swordfish steaks (6-8 ounces per person), skin removed
skirt steak – 1 1/2 pounds
skinless, boneless, thin chicken breasts – 1 1/2 pounds
pork chops, bone-in – 1 per person, approx. 6-8 oz each

Tags arugula, asparagus, beef, broccoli, capers, cherries, chicken, fish, lemon, noodles, Parmesan, pork, pork chops, potatoes, red wine, rosemary, seafood, shallots, skirt steak, soy sauce, sugar snap peas, swordfish, white wine

Categories Meal Plans

White Fish Fillet on a Potato Raft

May 15, 2015 //

White Fish Fillets on a Potato Raft

A couple of weeks ago thekitchn.com featured a week’s worth of sheet pan recipe from Molly Gilbert’s cookbook Sheet Pan Suppers: 120 Recipes for Simple, Surprising, Hands-Off Meals Straight from the Oven. I LOVE sheet pan recipes because they are usually easy to prepare and often feature your main and sides in one dish. Unsurprisingly, I put this cookbook on my wish list. I’m sharing two of these recipes in this week’s meal plan, starting with this fish recipe. I used lemon sole, but you can try any firm, white fish.

(Clearly I am craving crispy potatoes with this baby because here they are again!)

1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes (about 2 medium), unpeeled and scrubbed, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
2 TB. extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 ts. kosher salt
1/2 ts. freshly ground black pepper
4 skinless sole fillets or other firm white fish (5 ounces each and 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
4 TB. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 lemon, thinly sliced
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons capers, drained

Preheat the oven to 425°F with a rack in the center position. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, toss the potatoes with the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper until thoroughly coated.

Assemble 4 potato rafts by overlapping potato slices on the prepared pan in rectangular mounds. Each raft should consist of 3 or 4 shingled rows and be roughly 4 x 6 inches; use 3 or 4 slices of potato per row.

Roast the potatoes, rotating the pan halfway through, until golden brown and beginning to crisp, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven.

Blot the fish fillets dry with a paper towel. Place one, skin-side down, centered on top of each potato raft. Top each piece of fish with 1 tablespoon butter, 2 lemon slices, and 2 sprigs thyme. Scatter the capers atop the fish and around the pan.

Return the pan to the oven and roast until the fish is flaky and opaque, about 15 minutes.

Transfer the potato rafts and accompanying fillets to individual plates, ideally with a big spatula. Serve hot.

Tags capers, fish, lemon, potato, thyme

Categories Meals

Distractions

May 15, 2015 //

It has been a long time since I’ve posted to this blog. I’m so sorry about that, but I swear I have several good excuses for my absence. We moved to a new apartment – toddler in tow; I planned an international conference for 400 people and I am currently 23 weeks pregnant! So as you can see, my winter/spring have been very busy. Fortunately, things are back to normal, for the most part, and I am back to cooking 3-5 times a week. My timing is pretty good at least! Asparagus is back at our local farmers markets which means the rest of my beloved fresh fruits and veggies are also on their way. I promise more frequent posting, at least until Baby #2 arrives, featuring new, exciting recipes to celebrate the new market season!

Asparagus – where have you been all winter?!

This week I’m sharing two recipes each from the New York Times and thekitchn.com. I am in love with the new New York Times recipe app “Cooking“, which you can access on your desktop, iPad and smart phone – check it out!

Meal #1: Roasted Chicken Provençal + Crispy Potatoes
Meal #2: Margarita Pizza with Quick Pizza Dough
Meal #3: White Fish Fillets on a Potato Raft
Meal #4: Broiled Steak and Asparagus with Feta Sauce

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

asparagus – 2 bunches (about 2 lbs.)
russet potatoes – 1 1/2 lbs. (about 2 medium)
yukon gold or red bliss potatoes – 4-6 medium
lemons – 2
shallots – 4-6 medium
fresh thyme – 1 bunch
fresh chives – 1 bunch
herbes de Provence
dried rosemary (if you don’t already have it)
crumbled feta cheese – 1 cup (about 6 ounces)
fresh mozzarella – 1 lb. (you will probably use less, but it isn’t like the rest won’t get eaten)
sour cream – 1 small container
bread flour
active dry yeast – 1 packet
whole tomatoes – 1 large can
capers (if you don’t already have them)
skinless sole fillets or other firm white fish – 4 (5 ounces each and 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick)
steaks – 2 (each 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick; about 2 1/4 pounds total)
bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs – 8
dry vermouth

Tags asparagus, basil, beef, capers, cheese, chicken, chives, dough, feta, fish, herbes de Provence, lemon, mozzarella, pizza, potato, potatoes, rosemary, shallots, sour cream, steak, thyme, tomatoes, vermouth

Categories Meal Plans

Back to School

September 5, 2014 //

By the looks of everyone’s Facebook posts most of your kids went back to school this week. Next week Eliza starts a two-day a week, morning preschool program and I gearing up for the excitement and nervousness that starting school will bring – more so for me than for her!

The beginning of the school year means that all of our lives get a lot busier. Along with the daily grind, many of you are probably juggling sports practices and games, music lessons and scout meetings. Finding time to meal plan, grocery shop and cook is even more difficult and ordering pizza is very tempting. I get it, I’m with you too. But, if you can swing it, it is nice to sit down a few nights a week to a home-cooked meal, and I promise you that this week’s meals are quick. I mean really quick. At least three of them can be thrown together in well under 30 minutes. Give it a try and if you’ve got bigger kids, enlist their help to put dinner together – they can use those burgeoning math skills to measure!

Big kids will love chopping (carefully!) all of the ingredients for this quick, delicious Greek Salad

Meal #1: Grilled Shrimp with Greek Salad + Corn on the Cob
Meal #2: Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri + Cucumber Salad
Meal #3: Caprese-Stuffed Peppers + Steamed Green Beans
Meal #4: Italian Sausage, Panzanella, Corn on the Cob

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

tomatoes – 6
cucumbers – 4
red onions – 2
corn – 2 ears per person
shallot – 1
red pepper – 3
green beans – 1 lb.
basil – 1 bunch
cilantro – 1 large bunch
parsley – 1 bunch
oregano – 1 bunch
jalapeño – 1 (or use hot red pepper flakes)
feta – 2 oz.
mozzarella – 1 large ball
Italian bread – 1 loaf
red wine vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
apple cider vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
kalamata olives – 1 jar (if you don’t already have them)
capers – 1 jar (if you don’t already have them)
Italian sausage – 1 or 2 per person, depending on the size
skirt steak – 1 1/2 lb.
shrimp – 1 1/2 lb.

Tags basil, beef, bread, capers, cilantro, corn, cucumber, cucumbers, feta, green beans, kalamata olives, mozzarella, parsley, peppers, red onion, Sausage, shrimp, steak, tomatoes, vegetarian

Categories Meal Plans

Italian Sausage, Panzanella and Corn on the Cob

September 2, 2014 //

Italian Sausage

You can use pork, chicken, turkey – whatever you prefer. If you have a grill, by all means use it! We don’t, so I broil the sausages for about 10 minutes, turning them over halfway through.

Panzanella (Tomato and Bread Salad)

3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups of stale Italian bread, cubed
6-8 kalamata olives, halved
1 TB. capers
2 TB. red wine vinegar
4 TB. extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together and let sit for about 20 minutes. Add more vinegar, oil, salt or pepper to taste.

Corn on the Cob

Boil water in a pot, put shucked corn in the water, turn off the heat and put a lid on your pot. Wait 10 minutes or so. Eat with lots of butter, salt and pepper.

Tags bread, capers, corn, cucumber, kalamata olives, red onion, Sausage, tomatoes

Categories Meals

Summer’s Best Sides

July 31, 2014 //

We’re going to Martha’s Vineyard on Friday for a week and I can’t wait! My girlfriends from college and I are taking turns vacationing at a rental over three weeks, but this weekend we will all be there together. Between our upcoming trip, a recent day-trip to Jacob Riis Park to enjoy NYC’s surf and sand, and multiple trips to the farmers market I definitely feel like I am in the midst of summer. And, I love it.

The view from the porch of our Vineyard rental

To celebrate all of the amazing produce that is available this time of year I thought I would do something a little different this week. Instead of the usual meal plan I thought I’d post a bunch of my favorite summer side dishes. I love veggies and fruit all year long, but there is nothing like August when it all seems to be at its peak at the exact same time. These side dishes are great with grilled chicken, steak or fish and can be made for as few as one person to as many as a whole party’s worth.

Enjoy!

Panzanella (Tomato and Bread Salad)
Watermelon, Tomato and Feta Salad
Cucumber Salad
Zucchini Fritters

Tags apple cider vinegar, bread, capers, cucumber, feta cheese, olives, red onion, salad, tomato, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini

Categories Meal Plans

Panzanella (Tomato and Bread Salad)

July 31, 2014 //

Panzanella (Tomato and Bread Salad)

I have wanted to try this salad for a long time and this summer I dove head first. I tried a few different recipes, but, as I usually do, I ended up tweaking them and turning them into my own. Here’s what I did:

Mix all of the ingredients together and let sit for about 20 minutes. Add more vinegar, oil, salt or pepper to taste.

Tags bread, capers, cucumber, olives, red onion, salad, tomatoes

Categories Meals

Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce and Braised Swiss Chard

June 3, 2014 //

Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce

This recipe is for two, but you can easily double it. It may not be the most beautiful looking dish, but it is really tasty and pretty fast to prepare. I used half and half instead of cream because that is what I had and it was fine.

Braised Swiss Chard

2 large bunches of yellow or red swiss chard, remove thick part of the ribs and chop the leaves and smaller ribs into large pieces
1/2 onion, chopped
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and saute onion for about 5 or so minutes until it is tender and translucent. Add swiss chard and stir until it starts to wilt a bit. Turn heat down to low and cover the pot. Every 5 minutes or so stir the chard so it doesn’t stick. Cook for about 20-25 minutes until the chard is very soft. Remove cover and let the chard saute another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, dress with good olive oil if you desire.

Tags capers, cream, mustard, pork, shallots, Swiss chard

Categories Meals

Taking Stock…

June 2, 2014 //

No, not that kind of stock.

Since I started this blog in January I have posted almost 20 meal plans and over 70 meals! It is crazy to think that I have made that many different meals so far this year, and the best season for cooking is just beginning! This is obviously a roundabout way of saying that I’m sorry I haven’t posted a new meal plan in a few weeks, but I hope you’ve been able to use the archive to pull together some tasty dinners for your family.

Fortunately, we are entering into the best time of the year to cook. I am obviously inspired by what I find when I am grocery shopping, but no shopping experience inspires me more than a trip to a farmers market. When I first caught a glimpse of those sugar snap peas you see below my heart leapt a bit. This week features a bunch of recipes that make the most of Spring’s finest; I especially love the soy-glazed chicken with asparagus and scallions. And, I promise there are more meals to come.

Meal #1: Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Meal #2: Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce and Braised Swiss Chard
Meal #3: Soy-Glazed Chicken with Asparagus and Scallions
Meal #4: Whole Baked Trout with Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

broccoli rabe – 1 large bunch
Swiss chard – 2 large bunches
shallots – 4
onion – 1
asparagus – 1 large bunch
scallions – 2 bunches
Yukon gold potatoes – 2
cherry tomatoes – 12 ounces
oregano – 1 bunch
cilantro – 1 bunch
lemon – 1
limes – 3-4
penne – 1 box
aniseed (fennel seed) – 2 tsp. (optional)
chicken broth – 2 cups
whipping cream (or half and half)
capers (if you don’t already have them)
grain dijion mustard (if you don’t already have it)
soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
honey (if you don’t already have it)
chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on – 8
pork tenderloin – 2, 8-10 ounce each
sausage – 1 lb.
trout – 2 whole fish (9 ounces each)

Tags asparagus, Broccoli Rabe, capers, chicken, cilantro, cream, honey, lemon, lime, mustard, Pasta, pork, potatoes, poultry, Sausage, scallions, shallots, soy sauce, Swiss chard, tomatoes, trout

Categories Meal Plans

Chicken Francese with Noodles + Roasted Asparagus