Forty-fourth Post ~ Chicken in Bleu Cheese Cream Sauce Topped with Sauteed Mushrooms

This meal might sound gourmet, but in all honesty, it was born from determination to use (and use and use and use) leftovers that I might already have in my fridge. You all remember the chicken from last night - well, here was a good way to use part of it up. This is a pretty easy meal to make with substitutions - any meat would do, really.

Here's what you'll need:

~ Pasta (I used zitti)

For the mushroom topping

~ Mushrooms (I sliced up some baby pearls using my Chef's Knife - that's right - I've got one now, as part of a gloriously beautiful set in a wooden block, courtesy of my absolutely wonderful dad - or Santa... not quite sure, but I know they were given to me by a jolly man who loves me!)

~ One scallion, chopped

~ Bit of garlic (jarred or pressed, your choice)

~ White wine (Vetter Vineyards Brig Niagara was a perfect cooking and drinking companion)

~ Salt

~ Olive oil

For the cream sauce:

~ Chicken (preferably cooked leftovers, for ease)

~ Cream

~ Blue cheese

~ Any other cheese you might want to add (I had some grated parm on hand, so in it went)

~ White wine

~ Paprika

~ Thyme

~ Salt

~ Butter

Start your water boiling for your pasta, and cook and drain as you make the rest of the food:

In one pan (the only pan you'll need, if you work the sequencing right) start some olive oil heating. Add your chopped mushrooms and scallions, then some white wine. I'm starting to learn that I really like New York whites to use for sauteeing mushrooms. Other less-sweet wines can give the mushrooms a tart taste, but New York whites make them sweet and savory, all at the same time. Add salt and garlic to taste. Once they've sautéed, put them into a prep bowl to wait patiently.

In the same pan (now empty) add some butter and your chopped chicken. Add salt, thyme and paprika to taste. Once it's nicely golden, add the blue cheese crumbles (I used a crumbled Danish bleu from Wegmans) and some heavy cream and wine. Stir the mixture 'til it melds, adding more liquid as needed.

Top the pasta with the chicken in blue cheese cream sauce and top THAT with the mushrooms. I paired tonight's meal with Vetter Vineyard's Brig Niagara. It was sweet enough to par down the sharpness of the blue cheese, yet smooth enough to cleanse the palate, as this meal is a rich one. It had a soft finish, which made it a nice match, rather than contrasting pair, to the meal.

All in all, a nice dinner, and a nice re-use of leftovers!

Yours in the love of good food and wine,

AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Forty-second Post ~ A Quick Rejuvenation for Leftover Pork

The other night my mom and I got a pork tenderloin from Wegmans. It was a honey mustard marinade, and quite honestly, we were a little underwhelmed with the mustard quality and a little overwhelmed with the black pepper. We agreed that we liked other Wegmans pork marinades (teriyaki RULES) but this one was a bit lackluster.

I got the rest of it as leftovers, and decided that this "leftover treatment," tried and true on other such meats, just might tone down the pepper and enhance some of the other more subtle flavors. It certainly worked for me.

So now, fine readers, I pass this trick on to you. I believe it would work well on pretty much any white meat, marinated or un-marinated, flavorless or flavorful.

Here's what you'll need for a pork-or-poultry-pick-me-up:

~ Brie

~ Jam of your choice (I think apricot jam and brie are a match made in heaven)

~ Fresh herb of your choice (tonight I used rosemary, but thyme works just as wonderfully)

Set your oven or toaster oven to pre-heat on 350. Prepare your side (I made Uncle Ben's Wild Rice fast-cook recipe and added a healthy dose of ginger and cinnamon) then the meat. Here's all you do:

Lay the meat slices out on a sheet of parchment paper (or tin foil). Lay one sprig of your fresh herb of choice over the meat. Next, set an ample slice of brie on top (I used Wegman's medium brie, which has a perfect texture for baking) and top it off with several spoonfuls of jam. Pop it in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, until the brie is melted.

Serve with your side, and enjoy a whole new take on leftovers!

I had an Italian Pinot Grigio with tonight's dinner, and to be honest, I felt it went better with Friday's dinner of mussels in tomato and wine sauce than with tonight's dinner. I'm starting to find that Pinot Grigio is kind of a "red wannabe" - it pairs well with those meals that you might normally think to grab a red for - tomato based sauces, parmesan-heavy, any seriously savory dinners go well with a Pinot Grigio. The subtle fruitiness kind of got lost against the apricot jam, and the brie disappeared next to the wine's solid structure. I think a chardonnay would have suited this meal better - but, hey - you live, you learn, you blog!

Yours in the love of good food and wine (and the rejuvenation of leftovers!)

AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.

Ninth Post: "Golden" Crispy Chicken

So tonight I had a craving for comfort food. Which seems like an oxymoron, because I rarely have met a food that hasn't provided me with some sense of comfort. But I digress.

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Tonight's dinner was also serving the much-needed purpose of The Great Fridge Clean-Out. You know what I mean - those last lonely food items that you would normally toss because they're just so scant, but would feel really guilty about doing so: those last three tenderloins that you have to eat soon... a lonely egg... some cheese that's not really enough to do anything with... one sad little chive... some broccoli that you know you'll enjoy once you've cooked it, but sitting there in its plastic bag it's just really not screaming at you.

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So I decided to make something zesty and crispy and comforting out of it all.

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~~~PAUSE~~~

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I've tried sauteeing chicken with coating in the past, but it's never really crisped nicely for me. Tonight I learned the secret: Really hot oil. I also learned the surprisingly shocking and off-putting sensation of teensy little oil burns. So proceed with caution.

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~~~UNPAUSE~~~

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What you'll need for tonight's dinner of convenience and danger (Like a James Bond love affair...):

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~Olive oil (I use an off-brand EVOO)

~Chicken tenderloins

~Hard cheese that can be grated (I used some leftover parm and some San Joaquin Gold)

~1 Egg

~Herbs (I used my newfound favorites: fresh basil and chives)

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Add whatever side you wish to serve or is needing to be eaten. I chose freshly steamed broccoli crowns with butter.

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So. Get everything out and ready. As I said, my parm was getting low, so I grated some San Joaquin Gold into it. It came in one of my cheese flights and is really nice and tastey. I thought it would add some zip. Into the grated cheese I snipped up the chive and two large basil leaves whom I suspect are sapping all the sun and water from the rest of the plant. I broke the egg into my prep bowl and scrambled it. Into the egg mix I plopped the chicken tenderloins and moved them around a bit to coat them.

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Next, start a good amount of olive oil heating in your non-stick pan. Roll the chicken tenderloins around in the cheese herb mixture. Set them gently into the oil. Jump back and nurse your teensy little oil burns and grab a longer fork.

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Meanwhile, you've had your broccoli steaming in the microwave. Take it out to drain it and melt some butter into it.

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Turn your the chicken tenderloins with caution. Note the beautiful golden color they turn!

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Right about now, you'll start to notice how good everything smells. That's the cue for your fire alarm to go off. Turn the chicken once more and go fan the alarm.

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When the chicken is golden on each side and your broccoli is lush and green and you can hear the guys downstairs laughing over your screeching fire alarm, dinner is ready to be served.

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I paired tonight's meal with a Chambourcin by Vetter Vineyards. I haven't had any experience with Chambourcin before, so was surprised to find how tart it was. I rather liked it with the saltiness of the cheese in the chicken. It had that sort of lemon-in-your-water-makes-you-pucker-a-bit refreshing, summery quality to it.

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A fine meal for a lazy Sunday.

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Yours in the love of good food and wine,
AL

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The blogger is not an experienced chef. She takes no responsibility for the quality of the meals prepared while following her advice. Use your own judgment regarding cooking times and proper food handling.