oysters!

Dear Mom,

Well I completely agree with you when it comes to oysters!  I'm not a terribly picky eater, but I just cannot tolerate those nasty little boogers of the sea.  I realize I'm probably offending a lot of mollusc-munchers out there, but I just am totally repulsed by them.  I really wonder what the first oyster eater was thinking when he picked up one of those things and said "Hey, maybe if I wrench this rock open there will be something edible inside..."  Perhaps he first watched an otter eat one?  I just don't know.  I suppose the same could be said for a lot of foods, lobsters and shrimp honestly look like the insects of the sea.  Although a lot of cultures eat land insects like grasshoppers, which to me seems like more of a stretch than a shrimp. 

Don't forget about the weird fruits or vegetables that make their way on to our plates.  Things like mushrooms, rambutans, romanescu, celeriac.  I think what makes these things slightly easier to digest is that they don't have eyes and they can't really get away.  Then again I don't think oysters have eyes, nor are they capable of escape; so I guess by that logic I would love oysters.  There was a time when I didn't really care for mushrooms, they are odd, when cooked improperly they can be very slimy, and they're a fungus (as is athlete's foot).  So, ew.  But I have grown up and grown to like them. 

This was a very round about way to get to a recipe, and I realize at this point you all are totally grossed out.  But, this recipe is quite delicious and not too difficult to prepare.  I'm not going to try to salvage this post, so just check back in a day or two, skip reading the post again and just make the recipe. :)

chicken marsala

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 tbsp. flour
salt & pepper
extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint presliced white button mushrooms
3 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
1-1/2 cup marsala wine (the real deal, its a fortified wine should be near the ports/sherries)

Thoroughly rinse and pat dry chicken.  Place the chicken in a zip-top plastic bag and pound to a little thinner than 1/2-inch thick.   Add the 4 tbsp. flour and salt and pepper, zip up the bag and shake until the chicken is completely coated.  Heat a large non-stick skillet, add a good amount of the olive oil.  When the pan is hot place the chicken in, turning once, cook until done (8-10 minutes).  When the chicken is done, set aside on a plate and cover with foil.

In the chicken drippings, melt the butter.  Add the onions, garlic and mushrooms, and saute over medium-high heat until the mushrooms are golden and the onions translucent.  Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently for 3 minutes.  Add the chicken stock and marsala wine, scraping the bottom of the pan and stirring.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until the sauce gets thick. 

Plate the chicken and divide the sauce between the two plates.

comfy goes cosmo

Dear Kristin,

I don't recognize my kitchen anymore, and I think I have you to blame. Goat cheese has replaced velveeta, I've got a bottle of both regular and white balsamic vinegar next to the old stand-by white, and what's this? A jar of sun-dried tomatoes next to - can it be?..an actual live basil plant? Where is the Chef Boyardee and Kraft macaroni & cheese?

I was recently asked whether I was comfortable with change - well, duh - just take a look at my kitchen shelves & you'll see how I have adapted to the times. I've always believed that change, whether for the better or worse, is just an opportunity to explore new things, or to correct mistakes when things don't go quite as you expect them to. If we were all afraid of change, I think that no children would ever be born, man would not have stepped on the moon, and we would all still be living in caves and eating swanson tv dinners cooked over an open fire. So I say bring it on! I for one, am up to the challenge.

This is a nice dinner when you want something for just the two of you - it is an adaptation of a recipe from Cooking Light - but I'm afraid my version is not quite so light. You can make the shallot-cheese mixture and slit the chicken breasts ahead of time. Then, just stuffing and cooking the chicken and sauce can be done really quickly right before serving.

What I really like about this recipe is how the vinegar cuts the richness of the goat cheese. Covering the skillet as the chicken cooks really helps keep it nice & moist. I like to serve this with mashed potatoes - you really want something to soak up all of the good sauce!

So - hurray for trying new things! (But I still refuse to try an oyster.)

chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and goat cheese

1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes* chopped
1 tsp. + 2 Tblsp. olive oil, divided
2/3 c. chopped shallots, divided
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 Tblsp. balsamic vingar, divided
2 oz. crumbled goat cheese
2 Tblsp. chopped fresh basil
3/4 tsp. salt, divided
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
3/4 c. less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tblsp. cornstarch
2 Tblsp. water

*You can use either the dry-packed or oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. If using the dry-packed, rehydrate them in a bowl of warm water for 30 minutes. If using oil-packed, blot off as much oil as you can.

Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add 1/3 c. shallots, sugar and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon into a small bowl.  Add 1 1/2 tsp. vinegar.

Combine chopped tomatoes, cooked shallot mixture, cheese, basil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix well.

If chicken breasts are uneven in thickness, pound with a mallet to a uniform thickness - but don't pound them too thinly. Cut a horizontal slit in each breast, forming a pocket. Stuff each breast with 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Secure open side of breasts with toothpicks.

Heat 2 Tbslp. oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cover and cook 7 minutes on each side, or until done. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Add broth, remaining shallots, 2 Tblsp. vinegar and thyme to pan drippings. Bring mixture to a boil, scraping all of those good bits from the bottom of the pan. Combine cornstarch with water, forming a slurry. Add this to the chicken broth and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute more, or until slightly thickened.

Serve sauce over chicken and a bed of mashed potatoes.