A few weeks ago we bought some bi-color corn (our favorite) with small kernels on a small cob…. perfect for saying goodbye to the summer. (OK, it’s still almost 90 deg every day, but officially, summer is over.) I really wanted to “Potter” the corn, but that is all but impossible down here. I also saw a method for nuking the corn. I am a traditionalist (husked corn in boiling water, or de-silked corn, soaked in water and wrapped in foil before grilling) but flexible and always willing to try new ideas. This time, I microwaved the cord. Cut off the bottom of the stalk and remove any loose silk. (Apparently the loose silk can ignite.) Cook for 3 min (depending on your microwave efficiency you might need to experiment) and then let sit for another minute. The husks come off easily (but are very hot) and the silk just slides off the ear, very easy and very clean. The flavor was superb, maybe not a good as “Pottering”, but equal to grilling, better than boiling and easier than any of them.

Enjoy!

I had the craving for some Chicken Alfredo last week, but usually shy away from heavy Alfredo sauce. Last week I succumbed to the craving, but to appease my guilty conscience made a lighter Alfredo sauce. It uses skim milk, no cream or cream cheese and a minimal amount of butter.

Ingredients

• Chicken fillets (I used 4 thin fillets)
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 2 tbl butter
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

Cook the chicken any way you prefer. I used a tablespoon of EVO on a non stick pan and cooked over medium high each side for 4-6 min.

In a saucepan over low heat, blend flour,  butter, skim milk, and chicken broth. Add minced garlic, salt and pepper. Continue to cook over low heat stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Combine sauce with chicken and mushrooms.

Place cooked chicken over a bed of mixed greens and spoon Alfredo sauce over the chicken and greens.

Serve immediately. If sauce is too thick, adjust with more skim milk and chicken broth.

Pan Sautéed Chicken with Vegetables and Herbs: trying to hide the vegetables in the main dish so Fran will eat them is a challenge. I wanted something reasonably quick to make after work. I call these Jeopardy meals, not because you take you health into jeopardy but because they should be ready to eat by the time Jeopardy comes on the TV at 7:30. This is also the recipe where I discovered I had no thyme. (It was subsequently added to the grocery list.) I actually made this dish a week ago, before the medallions but forgot to post it so they are slightly out of sequence.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 2 bone-in chicken breast halves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small red onions, cut into quarters
• 1/2 pound new potatoes, cut into quarters
• 1/4 pound fresh whole baby carrots, green tops trimmed to 1-inch
• 3/4 cup Swanson® Chicken Stock
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the black pepper, paprika and flour in a small bowl. Coat the chicken with the flour mixture.
2. Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it’s well browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
3. Add the onions and potatoes to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes. Add the carrots, stock, lemon juice and oregano and heat to a boil. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover the skillet.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Uncover the skillet and bake for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with the thyme

The supermarket had eye round roasts on sale last week, but I wasn’t in the mood for a roast, anyway Fran bought me two new non stick pans for Father’s Day and I used the small one for some excellent cheddar cheese omelets and wanted something to justify the large one. Originally I was going to use Madiera wine instead of Burgundy but we couldn’t find it in the supermarket. Necessity is the mother of improvisation.

Ingredients

• 1 pound eye of round steaks cut into four pieces (about 1″ thick)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup Burgundy Cooking Wine
• 1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 clove garlic finely minced
• 1/4 cup finely minced onion
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

How to make it
Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Heat nonstick skillet on high then add steaks and cook 2 minutes on each side or until nicely seared. Reduce heat to medium high and cook 3 minutes longer until there is a good amount of juice in the pan, then remove from pan and let rest. Add wine, Madeira and tomato paste to pan and stir to detach any bits stuck to surface. Bring to a boil and let it reduce for 2-3 min then add garlic, shallot and thyme then reduce heat to medium and cook 4 minutes stirring often. Serve steaks with sauce spooned over top.

Late breaking news… An updated Bat’s Hit Brewing list was released moments ago. A second batch of Anchor Steam is in the primary fermenter and a home made recipe Chocolate Stout is on deck. Thanks to Marc Sitkin for his help on the current Anchor Steam batch. Here is the full listing:

Want to know one of the basic facts of life? No… not that kind!! This kind – Men like to barbecue. This recipe was sent to me by “Health Bites” and thought this might be a nice alternative to my “Famous Rosemary Roasted Potatoes” so I made them last night a few minor changes to suit my own tastes. (Of course the absolutely spectacular grilled 1 1/2″ thick rib eye steak perfectly cooked didn’t hurt the dinner any either)

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Ready In: 30 Minutes
Servings: 2

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large baking potatoes, quartered
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons roasted garlic
• 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the potatoes into a large pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, or until tender.Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Drain potatoes and toss with olive oil, black pepper, rosemary and salt to taste.
2. Place the potatoes skin-side down over indirect heat on the grill and reserve liquid. Grill for 15 -20 minutes rotating them to the skinless side for the last 5 minutes. Remove potatoes to a serving plate and sprinkle with the reserved olive oil mixture.
3. Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Ok, here is a test… what does not belong in this set: Red, Blue, Triangle. If you guessed Red, Blue or Triangle go to the next question which is, what does not belong in this set: Strawberry, Balsamic, Chicken. If you guessed Strawberry, Balsamic or Chicken please read on. If you didn’t guess any of the above, please read on. If you answered both questions incorrectly you need more help than I can give you.

True to our ongoing struggle to try to eat healthier this recipe is from Allrecipes Healthy Bites. As usual I modified it to use products we had available and to suit our tastes (less carb loading and lots of chocolate.)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (8 ounce) container strawberry yogurt (we had Greek Blueberry which worked just fine. I added some strawberries to the final step. See below)
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 large strawberries
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh mint leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)

DIRECTIONS for 1 serving which was big enough for both of us:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, balsamic vinegar, sugar, pepper, cinnamon and salt. Place chicken breast halves in a shallow baking dish, and pour the sauce over them. Refrigerate for 1 hour, turning chicken over half way through.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape the marinade off of the chicken breasts, and place them into the hot oil. Quickly brown the chicken on both sides, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and let rest for 3 minutes.
3. While the chicken is cooking, transfer the marinade to a saucepan. Bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Add 3 or 4 sliced strawberries to the marinade just before removing it from the heat. The strawberries should be slightly cooked and tender. Remove stems from strawberries, and slice thinly so they will fan nicely. Set aside.
4. Slice chicken breasts on the diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. If you can use an electric knife to slice the chicken. It makes much nicer presentation when the chicken is not all torn apart as if it was attacked by a predator.
5. Mound baby lettuce on the serving plates, add a few sliced of chicken to each and sprinkle with lemon juice. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the marinade over each chicken breast, and fan one sliced strawberry over the top. Garnish with a sprinkle of fresh mint and parsley and a few more strawberry slices. If you really love balsamic vinegar, finish the dish off with an artful drizzle.

Oh, sorry. Although I live 90 miles from Cuba my home town is 90 miles from Quebec, Canada where French is the official language. Let’s make it Cinqo de Mayo!!! Chicken/Cheese enchiladas and margaritas!! A nice day!!

INGREDIENTS (for 4 Enchiladas):

• 2 teaspoons butter or margarine
• 1-1/4 medium onions, chopped
• 5/8 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour (add a little more of you want it thicker)
• 2/3 cup chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1-1/4 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chilies (one whole jalapeno from the garden
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded 4 cheese Mexican cheese (could have used another half cup)
• 1-1/4 green onions with tops, thinly sliced  (not being big onion fans i used a hand full of chives from the garden)
• Sour cream (optional, we don’t really like sour cream)
• Salsa

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender. Blend in flour. Stir in broth, milk, chilies, salt and cumin. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
2. Grease a  baking dish. Spoon a little sauce in the center of each tortilla; spread to edges. Place about 2 tablespoons meat down the center of each tortilla. Combine cheeses; sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons on top of meat. Roll up tortillas and place in baking dish, seam-side down. Pour remaining sauce over. Sprinkle with green onions and remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Serve with optional sour cream and salsa.

TBO Library Committee Book Review of Albert Brooks’ 2030, March 26th, 10am. What to make, what to make? I know, we haven’t made a cake in months. I decided on personal, 2 layer cakes in both Heavenly White (recipe below) and the Extreme Chocolate cake. I made them in ramekins to keep them small, trimmed the edges, leveled the tops and did a crumb coat with buttercream frosting (see below) and let them sit overnight in the fridge. To make then as cylindrical as possible it is important to trim the sides. To allow them to stack as straight as possible be careful to level the top when you trim it. I did the final buttercream frosting this morning and made some gum paste flowers to decorate. I was going to make little books for each, but ran out of time. Along with my new “portion control” diet, I need better time use management in the bakery. (No to answer your question, I did not eat any cake and only tasted little bits to be sure I had the ingredient balance correct.

Recipe: Heavenly White Cake

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 egg whites ( or substitute)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Measure sifted flour, baking powder, and salt; sift together three times.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add 1/2 cup sugar gradually, and continue beating only until meringue will hold up in soft peaks.
3. Cream butter or margarine. Gradually add remaining 1 cup sugar, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add sifted ingredients alternately with milk a small amount at a time, beating after each addition until smooth. Mix in flavorings. Add meringue, and beat thoroughly into batter. Spread 6 greased and floured ramekins. Leave 1/2 to 1 inch from the top to allow for the cake rising.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool cake in ramekins for 10 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. This cake may also be baked in two 9 inch round pans for 30 to 35 minutes, or in three 8 inch round pans for 25 to 30 minutes

Basic Crusting Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup solid high ratio shortening
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 tablespoon of meringue powder
• 1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract (or extract of choice)
• 4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (approx. 1 lb.)
• 2 tablespoons milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla and milk. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating on a slow speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. Keep bowl or covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Don’t overwhip or it will bring air to the icing and is impossible to smooth. If you have a kitchen Aid use white attachment, not whip attachment.

YIELD: Makes about 3 cups.