Week 31, Recipe 1: Lemon-Thyme Chicken with Sauteed Tomatoes & Mushrooms

unsalted butter
olive oil
3 sprigs of thyme
juice of half a lemon
salt
pepper
one large tomato
one shallot
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced

I salted the chicken and added pepper & thyme then sauteed the chicken in butter and olive oil.  I also sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil & butter until browned, added salt & pepper, then added thyme and tomatoes for about 3 minutes until just a bit soft.  You don't want to cook these too far.  Salt again to taste.

You know what?  I didn't love this... at all.  It's beautiful but I clearly needed to use way more salt.  The lemon was the awesome part so don't forget the juice.  Make this however you want, make it better than mine.  BUT YOURS WON'T BE PRETTIER!!

Coming Back!

Forgive my absence for the last week!  I've been moving and working and generally trying to get acclimated to my new city.  But this week?  I'll be back!

week 29, Recipes 3 & 4: Simple Split Chicken Breast & Fresh Corn Chowder with Roasted Peppers

Simple Split Chicken Breast

2-3 lbs Split chicken breast
1 tsp Olive oil
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp Garlic or onion powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper (or paprika, if you prefer)

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Wash the chicken breast and pat dry with a paper towel

Use your hands (or a brush) to coat the skin lightly with olive oil

Season (on both sides) with the kosher salt, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper

Roast on a rack or tin broiler pan for 1 hour
Let sit 10 minutes and serve!

Results: Very tasty!  I served mine with black beans seasoned with salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder & garnished with a little cilantro.

Fresh Corn Chowder with Roasted Peppers (Crema de Elote)

• 2 large fresh poblano chiles
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1 small white onion, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 1/2 to 3 cups corn kernels, cut from about 5 cobs or frozen
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup whipping cream
• Salt to taste
• feta for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish

I don't feel like typing this recipe out but there are many many slightly varied versions of the Rick Bayless recipe I used from his book Authentic Mexican.  This one is similar.

Results: VERY AWESOME!!!

Week 29, Bonus recipe: Licuado de leche y fruta

For you non-Spanish speakers (like myself... LOL), that's a fruit & milk smoothie...
Recipe courtesy of Rick Bayless

• 1 cup cold milk
• 1 to 1½ tablespoons sugar, plus more if necessary
• 3 to 5 ounces (½ to ¾ cup) fruit (banana, cantaloupe, mango, persimmon, papaya, strawberry, watermelon or guava), peeled, hulled, seeded and/or cored, as necessary, and cut into small cubes

1. Blending: Combine all the ingredients in a blender jar and blend until very smooth.
2. Straining: If there are seeds, skins or stringy fibers, strain through a medium-mesh sieve, taste for sweetness and serve in tall glasses.

Results: I used fresh mango and subbed agave syrup for the sugar and it was quite delicious!  I did wish I'd saved a piece of mango for garnish, though.

Week 29, Recipe 2: Turkey Burgers with Grilled Onions and Toasted Curry Sriracha Ketchup

Burgers:

1 vidalia onion, sliced into rings
1 1/3 lbs. ground turkey
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 tbsp. Italian seasonings
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 slices of mozzarella
baby spinach
4 whole wheat buns

Toasted Curry Sriracha Ketchup:
1 1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1 cup ketchup
1 tsp. sriracha

Preheat grill pan to high.  Rub 1 tablespoon of oil on pan with a paper towel.  Grill onion until softened and lined, about 2 minutes per side.  Combine turkey, salt, pepper, Italian seasonings, garlic & Worcestershire sauce.  Don't over mix.  Score with your hand.  Divide into four equal portions, make 4 burgers.  Rub remaining tablespoon of oil on pan with a paper towel.  Cook burgers for 5 minutes on each side until cooked through.  Top with mozzarella for the last minute of cooking and tent with foil. 

Toast curry in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant.  Combine with ketchup and sriracha.

Toast buns.  Put spinach on the bottom bun, top with burger.  Put ketchup on top bun & enjoy!

Results: DELICIOUS!  Recipe by?  Me!  And I served it with a side of oven fries.

Week 29, Recipe 1: Brown Butter Banana Muffins

Courtesy of Claire Robinson of 5 Ingredient Fix

• 4 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup raw agave syrup or honey
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper muffin liners.
 Peel the bananas and add to a large bowl. Add the agave syrup and mash the bananas with a fork until very liquefied but still a little lumpy.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan or skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the milk solids have turned a nutty golden brown.

To the brown butter, add about 1 cup of the mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine. Cook for a few more minutes until a darker golden color is achieved. Add to the remaining mashed banana mixture and whisk to combine, then whisk in the egg. Fold in the flour, in 2 batches, with a rubber spatula, until just combined; do not over mix. With an ice cream scoop, evenly divide the batter among the muffin tin cups.

Bake in the center of the oven until golden brown and the tops spring back when pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer the muffins to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Results: I only had 3 bananas and should've lessened the amount of flour but I didn't and these were dense and gross.  My bad.  I put honey on top to make them sweeter as well and that didn't really work.

Week 28, Recipe 11: Tyler's Ultimate Mussels

This recipe on foodnetwork.com is very close to the one in his book that I used that produced some really delicious mussels!  I loved them!!  I served them with a garlic bread and a zucchini tomato pasta that was a take on this spaghetti with summer squash and tomatoes I made earlier this summer.  My mom, Rashan & my sister all loved it, too!  11 recipes in one week is most certainly a record for me & I'm very proud!!