complications

dear mom,

If there is one thing in my life I don't mind being complicated, its food.  Salty, sweet, spicy, fatty, mmmm, you name it, I want it all!  Of course food can be simple and delicious as well.  In general, I would say that I spend about 75% of my brain power thinking about food.  When is my next meal or snack?  What will I eat at said meal or snack?  What should I make for dinner?  What did I eat yesterday?  What's in the fridge?  What's that smell (food smell!)?

Food is very much a part of my life and an enjoyable one at that!  Which is why two weeks ago I thought I was going to have a complete meltdown.  The hubs and I were feeling our standard, annual, post-holiday fat-funk.  We were bloated and low-on-energy; our clothes had all mysteriously shrunk in the washer.  It was time to make a change, to start eating healthier and exercise more.  Well, every two weeks we say we are going to eat healthy, but then lasagna calls...  We needed to do something drastic.

My research-loving hubs started reading up on this diet/cleanse/detox called Whole30.  No gluten, grains, dairy, sugar, legumes, booze, joy, etc. for 30 full days.  Needless to say my reaction was less than positive.  Cheese, for one, is pretty much at the bottom of my food pyramid.  Cheese in my opinion, can easily be treated as a meal on its own, it is also a condiment; a food staple, integral to health and happiness, and my sole source of calcium, it cannot be eliminated!  Well, that was my initial reaction.  This Whole30 also made claims that I had to do things like make my own ketchup and mayonnaise, because there was sugar in the store-bought variety.  Vinaigrettes for my salad dressing could not include things I always put in them like honey, because it was an added sugar.  In fact no added sugars or sweeteners were allowed at all!  No stevia in my coffee, no brown sugar in my oatmeal, no maple syrup on my pancakes.  Arrrgh! No pancakes!  How the heck will I ever survive on this diet???

Well, I am happy to report I'm still alive and its been over two weeks!  I feel great and I've lost some lbs!  This "diet" is tolerable - if you like to cook, which is why I've been able to stick with it.  I'm actually enjoying coming up with new recipes based on the restrictions of the diet, its more challenging.  When you realized that while on this "diet" you are allowed to have things like steak, potatoes and bacon, you realize it doesn't feel like a diet at all!  I hate to say it, but its changed the way that I think about food.  Especially sugar and cheese.  I didn't realize how often I was eating sugar until I eliminated it, I also realized that fruit is super sweet and delicious on its own.  Instead of adding that sugar to my vinaigrette, I threw some strawberries on my salad and that added the sweetness that the vinaigrette was missing.

I also was surprised to learn that I can survive without adding cheese to most meals.  Which brings me to this recipe.  The old K would have topped this off with melted provolone, which you can still do and I'm sure it would be wonderful - but I like it just fine as is.  Salty olives and prosciutto with juicy chicken breast and tangy sauce on top, I don't even miss the cheese.  And yes, this does work with the diet!

chicken saltimbocca

for the chicken
2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4" thickness
8 fresh sage leaves
2 thin slices prosciutto
1 cup olive tapenade, see note
1 cup almond meal flour (Not doing Whole30? Use AP flour.)
1/2 tsp. granulated onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
salt and pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp. of water
2 tbsp. ghee or veggie oil
8-10 wooden toothpicks
cooking spray

for the sauce
1-1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp. ghee or butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 small shallots, minced
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
2 tsp. capers

Preheat oven to 350.  Lay both chicken breasts out on a cutting board.  Split the tapenade between the two breasts and spread in an even layer, it should be around 1/8" thick.  Top tapenade with sage leaves, 4 on each breast spaced evenly, and then the prosciutto.  Starting at the thin end of the breast, roll up the chicken with all the goodness inside.  Secure with toothpicks.

In a shallow bowl combine almond flour, granulated onion, garlic powder, paprika and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add ghee or veggie oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Working with one at a time, dip chicken wraps in egg wash, roll around to coat completely in the egg, then transfer to almond flour mixture.  Coat completely in the almond flour mixture, shake off excess and put in the hot skillet.  Brown the coating on all sides, turning as necessary.  Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and bake in hot oven for 40-45 minutes (I tested mine with an instant read thermometer, when it hit 160 in the middle it was done).

While the chicken bakes prepare the sauce.  In a shallow pan (you can use the same as the one you used to brown the coating on the chicken, just wipe it out), over medium high heat, add the 1 tbsp. ghee, garlic and shallots.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until reduced by half.  Stir in lemon juice, capers and season to taste.  Serve chicken topped with sauce.

note: The lovely hubs was allowed to go to Costco all by himself a week ago...  Big mistake, when he walked in the door I quickly remembered why he needed me as a chaperon.  The rest of the evening I had to try to jam a life-times supply of seltzer water, canned tomatoes, dog treats, eggs, olives and a bunch of other random items in our tiny apartment.  It worked out though, because I took one look at the gallon of olives he brought home and immediately thought, "Oooo! Olive tapenade!"  This particular blend had green olives, pearl onions, garlic and red bell peppers in it.  I drained a little over a cup of this mixture and threw it in the food processor with a little drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and voila!  Olive tapenade!  You could also get store bought tapenade or make your own blend.  If you don't like olives, make a pesto instead!  Basil and sun dried tomatoes comes to mind - in this case omit the sage in the above recipe.

st. valentine's day

Dear Mom,

While "cranberry gastrique" sounds "cosmo culinary chic," as you so eloquently put it, its really just a relatively simple cranberry sauce, although it will not come out in cylindrical form.  To be honest, I find myself cooking more towards the "comfy" side of things.  It could be partly because its winter, but lately soups, chilis and stews are really what I'm craving.  That and my chicken parmesan.  Conveniently, chicken parmesan was what was requested by my lovely hubby for Valentine's Day, and don't worry, I offered to cook. 

I should add that the hubs was almost named Johnny Valentine.  Why, you ask?  Because his birthday is on Valentine's Day.  God bless his mother for switching out the Valentine for his father's name.  Although it would have been hilarious, I don't think I would have married a Johnny Valentine.  Can you imagine?  Mr. & Mrs. Johnny Valentine?  I just threw-up a little. 

Alright, let's settle our stomachs so we can move on to the good stuff!  My chicken parmesan is so loved by John because a) his Italian-American heritage gives him a great appreciation for anything smothered in "gravy" (marinara) and melty mozzerella and b) because my chicken parmesan has two beautiful secret ingredients.  And because I love you, Mom (and all you readers out there), I will share those two ingredients with you:  prosciutto and ricotta. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

chicken parmesan

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup panko Japanese breadcrumbs
2 tsp. Italian herb blend (such as McCormick's)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 cup flour
1/2 cup ricotta
1 tsp. Italian herb blend
1 clove garlic, minced
2 thin slices prosciutto 
1/2 cup shredded sharp provolone
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce (feeling ambitious? make your own)
salt & pepper

extra-virgin olive oil
cooking spray

Heat 1-1/2 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet, over medium heat.  Add the garlic, cook until fragrant and starting to brown slightly. Add the panko, 2 tsp. Italian herb blend and salt & pepper, stir so that the olive oil gets distributed in the bread crumbs.  Toast the breadcrumbs in the pan, stirring occasionally, until they are lightly browned through out.  Place toasted breadcrumbs in a wide shallow bowl and put in the freezer to cool.

Pound out the chicken breasts to about a 1/2-inch thickness.  In another shallow bowl place flour and season with a little salt & pepper.  In a third shallow bowl, beat the egg and about 1 tbsp. cold water together.  Remove the breadcrumbs from the freezer and stir in the 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.  (Make sure the breadcrumbs are cool enough, so they don't melt the cheese.)

Heat about 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Working one at a time, coat the chicken in the flour, shake off excess.  Then dip in the egg, then coat in the breadcrumb mixture.  Put the chicken in the hot pan and cook until golden brown and nearly done.

While the chicken is cooking, in a small bowl combine the ricotta, 1 tsp. Italian herb blend, 1 clove garlic, and salt & pepper.

Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Lay on the top of each chicken breast 1 slice of prosciutto.  Divide the ricotta cheese mixture between the two chicken breasts and carefully spread the ricotta over the prosciutto. Top each chicken breast with shredded provolone and mozzarella. Broil on high until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

 Heat the marinara in a microwave safe dish. 

Transfer chicken to plates, top with marinara and serve with your favorite pasta shape.

chicken FRENCH

Dear Mother,

A couple of weeks ago you posted a recipe for Lemon Chicken.  Lemon chicken???  Later in your post you mention your recipe by its true name "Chicken French," yet you do not give the famous Rochesterian dish its due credit by titling the actual recipe Chicken French!  As a former resident of Rochester, NY, having been born there and enjoyed my youth in the snowy city, I am very disappointed in you...  Granted you were not born there, but you've lived there for quite some time and raised a very happy family there, and I thought that you considered yourself a Rochesterian.  

We Rochesterians are a proud people, we shovel lake-effect snow like all good Western New Yorkers and we relish our short lived summers. We still buy Kodak film... well if we needed film we would.  We enjoy baking with flour (like our good city used to be famous for producing) and we love our flowers, especially lilacs.  And what do we eat besides baked-goods with flour and an occasional garbage plate?  We eat Chicken French!  

So as a former proud Rochesterian, I present to you my recipe for Chicken French.  That delightful local dish from my hometown, that blends pan-fried chicken with a light lemon-white wine sauce.  My version isn't completely traditional because I add prosciutto, but that's ok, the addition was completely inspired by one of my favorite little restaurant/bars in town, Lola Bistro.  Lola Bistro actually has a special place in my heart, on John's first visit to Rochester I took him to here for dinner, drinks and to see an amazing local band.  The band so impressed John that he assumed I had good taste in music, and reportedly "fell in love with me more."  (Awwwwe!  How cute.)  He also fell in love with Chicken French, and when he found out that I could make it, well lets just say the rest is history...  (By the way, our dog's name is Lola.)

In the picture below it looks a little like that's raw chicken, its not.  That's just the prosciutto.  I would highly recommend serving the dish with steamed broccoli, asparagus or sauteed spinach and a starch.  Pasta or rice is good, but what's really good is Gruyere mashed potatoes (recipe below). 
Also I should mention that I'm not working for the Rochester board of tourism or anything, its just home-town pride!  :) 

chicken french
(serves two)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. granulated garlic
1 egg, lightly beaten
extra virgin olive oil
2 thin slices of prosciutto
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tbsp. salted butter
juice from 2-3 large lemons
1/2 cup white wine (like pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc) 
salt 
fresh ground pepper
fresh lemon slices

In a bowl combine the lemon juice and white wine.  Set aside.

In a shallow dish whisk together the flour, granulated garlic and salt and pepper.  In another shallow dish mix together the beaten egg and about 2 tbsp. water.  Rinse and pat dry the chicken.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-medium high heat until oil is hot and shimmering.  Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture, then into the egg mixture, and then back again into the flour mixture.  Place the chicken in the pan, and cook until its golden brown on one side (about 10 minutes).  Flip chicken, and lay one piece of prosciutto over each chicken breast.  When the chicken is done (about another 10 minutes) remove from pan and keep warm. 

In the same pan over medium heat, combine the 2 tbsp. butter and 2 tbsp. flour stirring until it combines into a dry, crumbly paste.  Cook, stirring lightly, 1 minute.  Whisk in the lemon juice and white wine.  Continue lightly whisking over medium heat until sauce is thick and bubbling. Remove from heat and strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.  

Transfer the chicken to the serving plates and pour the sauce over top.  Garnish with lemon slices.

cosmo's cooking notes:  As mentioned in the post I highly recommend serving this with broccoli, asparagus or spinach, and Gruyere mashed potatoes (or pasta or rice), because the sauce is very good on all of these things as well as the chicken.  So when your plating, if you've made any of these side dishes, just go ahead and pour that sauce over everything! 

gruyere mashed potatoes

1 lb. yukon gold potatoes, skins on, washed and quartered
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup milk (I usually use 2%)
1/4 cup light sour cream
1 cup shredded gruyere cheese (packed lightly)
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt
fresh ground pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil.  Boil until potatoes are soft, and can easily be poked with a fork.  

While the potatoes are boiling, in a large bowl put all of the other ingredients.  When the potatoes are done remove from the water with a slotted spoon and add to the other ingredients in the large bowl.  Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency, add extra milk or butter for additional creaminess, and season with salt and pepper.

cosmo's cooking notes:  I always try to make mashed potatoes for two, but it usually ends up being mashed potatoes for twelve.  I can never get the portions right, so if my measurements look off, feel free to add or subtract where ever necessary.

too many eggs, too little time

Dear Mom,

So this is what happens to your fridge after you host a party and get your delivery from your CSA box.  

Note the three cartons of eggs.  Three...  And not just three cartons of a dozen eggs, but the clear carton at the bottom actually has 18 eggs in it!  Yes, indeed, that means our fridge currently is housing 42 eggs!  I'm sure you have already guessed what is going on here.  My husband and I have decided to quit our jobs and become urban farmers.  We have installed the closest urban chicken coop to Chicago's Loop! 

Just kidding, although I think I had you going there for a minute.  We ended up with all of these eggs after a recent egg drought in our fridge, which happens quite infrequently considering my husband insists on eggs prepared some way or another almost every weekend morning.  It started a week ago, a Friday evening when he stopped at his favorite butcher shop, and sensing the impending doom of waking up Saturday morning sans eggs, picked up a dozen locally raised, organically fed eggs.  Then, Sunday, we were at Costco, where we usually purchase eggs, and I suggested purchasing the 18 pack considering we may blow through the current dozen residing in the fridge.  And, finally, Wednesday's CSA box arrives at my front door with, you guessed it, the final dozen.  Voila, 42 eggs.

And what does one do with 42 eggs you ask?  You make quiche of course.  A very logical and fridge depleting endeavor I believe, and boy, does my fridge need depleting, stat.  Of course I adore, and grew up on your lovely Quiche Lorraine, but I have recently invented my own quiche that was inspired by a recipe that my husband discovered on Epicurious.  Truffled Cauliflower, Gruyere & Prosciutto Quiche is laborious, but well worth it.  With a nice green salad dressed in a light vinaigrette to help cut the richness of the quiche it makes a wonderful dinner.  If, however, you are hosting a fancy brunch, I think this would be killer with mimosas or just plain Champagne.  At any rate, whomever you serve this to, will leave impressed, I guarantee it.

The original recipe from Epicurious was actually a tart and it was extremely rich, but in a decadently, delicious way.  To lighten it up, I took the basic ingredients added more eggs and nixed the cream, sub milk, and ta-da: a stellar quiche.  Oh, and I added prosciutto, inspired by the bacon of your Quiche Lorraine and the fact that pork fat makes everything better.  I do have to say that the prosciutto was a bit of a stroke of genius, you just add a single layer to the top of the quiche which allows it to get a slight crisp/chew that adds some texture and a nice salty, almost crust-like top to the quiche.

truffled cauliflower, gruyere & prosciutto quiche

1 small head Cauliflower, florets only, broken into bite sized pieces

2 tsp. Truffle Oil

1 medium Onion, sliced

Pinch Sugar

1 Pie Crust

2 tsp. Dijon Mustard

1 cup Gruyere, shredded

2 slices Prosciutto

5 Eggs

2 tblsp. Milk

1/4 cup Marscarpone

Salt & Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 400. 

Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.  On baking sheet mix together cauliflower, salt & pepper, and enough olive oil to lightly coat each floret.  Spread cauliflower out on sheet and roast in oven 10 minutes, stir, and return to oven for 10 minutes.  Cauliflower should be slightly browned.  Toss roasted cauliflower with truffle oil.  Set aside.

Prepare pie crust according to package to pre-bake crust, put the crust in for about 3/4 of the recommended time so that it is under baked.  Brush crust with dijon mustard.

Lower oven heat to 375.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tblsp. olive oil in a pan over medium heat, add onions.  Cook onions, stirring occasionally.  Add salt to taste and pinch of sugar.  Continue cooking until carmelized, about 20 minutes.

Whisk together eggs, milk, marscarpone, and S & P.  Keep whisking until eggs and milk are blended, and marscarpone is broken up into small chunks in the mixture, like small curd cottage cheese.

Assemble the quiche:  layer the carmelized onions at the bottom of the crust, then top with the cauliflower, and shredded gruyere.  Tear the prosciutto into strips and cover the top of the quiche in a single, loose layer of prosciutto.  Slowly pour the egg mixture over the other ingredients, allowing it to percolate to the bottom.  Be careful not to go over the edges of the pie crust and onto the underside of the crust.  

Place quiche on baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes, until set in the center (check with a butter knife).  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

cosmo's cooking notes:
A lot of this recipe is in the preparation, but its worth it.  If you can find prepackaged cauliflower florets, it will save time.  If you want to make your own pie crust, it will not, but more power to you if you want to!