Chicken Webster

This is such an easy, quick and tasty dish to make for dinner; especially if you are short on time.  We named it after Lovey's best friend who made it for us one evening.  We also make this using cod.


In fact, this is such an easy recipe I am not going to write a 'formal' recipe below.


Crush up a couple handfuls of potato chips.  Whenever I get down to the bottom of a bag of chips that are mostly crumbles, I save them in a baggie.  Most times when I plan to make this dish I already have my potato chip crumbles ready to go.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt several Tbsp. of butter in a baking dish.  Pat dry boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (preferably without the rib meat, or that little tenderloin - it sometimes makes the breast a little too thick).

Coat both sides of the breasts in the butter.

 

Dredge both sides of each breast in the potato chips

Place the breasts back in the buttered baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.

That's it.  Dinner in no time at all.

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie is a dish I make more often in the winter months. Night before last we had a wonderful rain storm and it really cooled us down; almost like Autumn. Good night to make this one more time before the 100° + temperatures return and stick around for a couple of months. Classically made with lamb (and what I prefer), the version in our household is made with a lean ground sirloin or ground bison.  Lovey prefers it that way.




It's full of all sorts of wonderful produce.  Instead of the potatoes being a part of the filling they become the topping, or crust, of the pie.

There are a lot of ingredients in this recipe but it is a simple one to put together.  A word on the red wine. Don't use a super expensive wine yet don't use one you would mistake for vinegar. 

If you live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area Burgundy Pasture Beef is a great option for your meats. In Midland I use Midland Meat Company. Seek out a local grass-fed beef source in your area.  It will be well worth the $$$$$$.

Prepare the mashed potatoes for the topping and set aside while you prepare the filling. Put on a pot of water with a Tablespoon of salt to boil.  Peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2" cubes. 

 While the potatoes are cooking gather together the rest of the ingredients you will need for the potatoes.  The mashed potatoes are a little different for this dish than the fluffy, buttery ones I make to eat with, say, fried chicken.  These need to have a little more substance so they stand up nicely on top of the meat mixture.  The egg yolks lend to this, as well as the half and half.  Note in the photo there are two egg yolks. Normally, I use one but the yolks that were coming out of the eggs I had on hand were so tiny!

Whip them up and set them aside until you are ready to spread on top of the pie.




Prepare the rest of your ingredients and have them ready to go.  Here is how I remove the corn kernels off the cob. When you are prepping all of your ingredients for the filling, rinse the frozen peas and combine with the corn and hold in the refrigerator until they are ready to be added.



 
Sauté the onion, carrots and garlic. Add the ground beef and cook until it is browned then
sprinkle flour over the meat mixture and mix to coat

 
After the flour has cooked for a minute, add the stock, wine, Worcestershire and the herbs and  bring to a boil.


 
Cover, reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens. If you don't have a lid large enough for your skillet, use a cookie sheet like I did


 
Fold in the corn and peas 


 
and pour into a 2 to 3 quart baking dish



Spread the mashed potatoes over the meat mixture.  Make a good seal between the potatoes and the sides of the casserole dish



With a fork make a decorative pattern in the potatoes.



 
I normally make this wavy pattern.  The ridges will brown nicely. Bake in a 400° oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.

This is another pattern

 

A great one-dish meal.  We add a small dinner salad on the side.


Shepherd's Pie
Adapted from Alton Brown
Serves 8

Ingredients:
potatoes--
2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cups Half-and-Half
1 egg yolk
filling--
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
1 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground sirloin or bison
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce 
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 ears fresh corn on the cob, kernels removed
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsps. ground black pepper
1 tsp. Kosher salt

Method:
Potato Crust:
In a medium saucepan bring water (enough to cover the potatoes) to a rolling boil.  Add salt to water and add the potatoes. Return to a boil then turn down to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10-15 minutes. Drain and transfer potatoes to a mixing bowl. Throw in the butter and slowly begin to dry whip potatoes. Add the half & half and whip until smooth and creamy. Add the egg yolk and mix until incorporated. Set potatoes aside.

 Filling:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Heat the canola oil in a 12-inch sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the onion and carrots and sauté for several minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the ground meat and cook until browned and broken up, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the meat mixture with flour and mix to coat; continue to cook for 1 more minute. Add the broth, red wine, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme and stir to combine. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer slowly for 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Season with the salt and pepper, to taste (you may not need any salt depending on how salty you make your potatoes).

Fold the corn and peas into the meat mixture and spread evenly into a 2 to 3 quart glass baking dish. Using an offset spatula, spread the mashed potatoes, creating a seal around the edges to prevent the mixture from bubbling up. Smooth top then make a decorative pattern in the potatoes with a fork.

Place on a baking sheet in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until potato crust it golden. If you need you can the broiler in the last  minutes to brown the potatoes more. Remove to a rack and rest for at least 15 minutes before serving.  

Pan-Fried Rainbow Trout Filets

When Lovey and I moved back to Midland to take care of Papa my repetoir in the kitchen changed up a bit.  One of those changes was making pan-fried rainbow trout.... a lot.  Papa loved trout and wanted it all the time.  Luckily it's one a dishe that is simple, easy and can be made in a flash.




I make a simple dredge of corn meal, flour and garlic salt. Be sure to run your fingers over the filet and remove any bones

 Pat filets dry, sprinkle with salt and pepper then dredge



Once the butter/canola oil  combo becomes very hot place filets meat side down first for 4 minutes.  Carefully turn and finish cooking for 3 more minutes.

That's it.  Nothing else.  So simple and so good!! 


Pan-Fried Rainbow Trout Filets
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fine corn meal
1/4 cup alll-purpose flour
1 tsp. Lawry's Garlic Salt
4 rainbow trout filets
salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 Tbsp. butter
lemon wedges

Method:
In a pie plate, combine corn meal, flour, and garlic salt. 

Remove any bones in filets and pat dry.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Dredge each filet in the cornmeal/flour mixture.  Melt oil and butter in large skillet.  When oil is very hot place 2 filets, skin side down, and cook for 4 minutes. Carefully turn each filet and cook for 3 more minutes.  Repeat with last 2 filets. Serve with a lemon wedge.

Lemon Spaghetti

This is a wonderfully light and bright dish to make as a side or an entreé.  Most of the time Lovey and I make this as an entreé and serve with a grilled chicken breast or poached fish.

It is so simple and easy to throw together and although it only takes minutes to prepare you can still make the sauce ahead of time, set in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours so all you have to do at dinner time is boil your water for the pasta.



Ingredients are few.  You have spaghetti (naturally), grated fresh Parmesan Reggiano, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 



Simply throw the olive oil, lemon juice, Parmesan, and salt and pepper into a large enough mixing bowl to easily toss a pound of cooked spaghetti.  Set that aside.

When I think of it I'll toss one of the juiced lemon halves and a basil stem into the salted water.  


 

Drain and pour into mixing bowl that has the sauce.  Sprinkle with the lemon zest.  At this point you may also add chopped basil if you choose to use.  Toss to coat the spaghetti and season to taste, if needed. Add some of the reserved cooking liquid from the spaghetti at this point.

 

If this is going to be the main dish you can serve as is...



or top the spaghetti with the sliced grilled chicken breast...



or poached cod.


Lemon Spaghetti
Adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis
Serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side dish

Ingredients:
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
3/4 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 pound dried spaghetti
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)
1 Tbsp. grated lemon zest (from about 2 lemons)

Mise en Place:

• grate Parmesan
• grate zest from lemons
• squeeze juice from lemons
• chop or chiffonade the basil if using

Method:
In a large mixing bowl mix together the Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.  Whisk together and set aside.  NOTE:  If you make this sauce ahead of time mix in a smaller bowl, cover with plastic wrap then store in refrigerator for up to 8 hours.  Bring the sauce to room temperature before using.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil.  Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.

Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the spaghetti to the bowl lemon sauce, toss with the lemon zest (and basil if you are using). Toss the pasta with enough of the reserved cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten.

Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to bowls and serve.

Serving Options: Top with sliced, grilled chicken breast or poached or sauteéd fish such as salmon or cod.

Party Like a Mad Man With Betty Draper's Swedish Meatballs

I have been anxiously waiting for the new and final season of Mad Men; and it's here at last.  Tomorrow is the beginning of the end of, what has been for me, a trip back into my childhood.  The clothes, the hairdos, the furniture, the cocktails, the kitchens that were decked out in harvest gold and avocado green appliances.  Oh, and the food we grew up on in the 60's.

In celebration of all things Mad Men I'm gonna #PartyLikeAMadMan !!!!

Without a doubt these Swedish Meatballs would have made an appearance at the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce Christmas Party.  They would have been eaten as an appetizer with cocktail toothpicks.


Betty Draper offered these to Don in Season 3 as a dinner option, although he elected to go with the chicken salad.  When I was a youngster in the 60's they were prepared for dinner and served over egg noodles.

 They are easy and as yummy as they were when I ate them as a child.

Moisten fresh white bread crumbs in a little milk

 

 Mix your ground beef, grated onions, egg, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a mixing bowl, then mix in your moistened bread crumbs.

Form into 1-inch balls

 

Brown in a little butter

Remove browned meatballs to a holding dish and begin your sauce by adding the flour to make a roux.  Add the beef bouillon and whisk until smooth.


 

Add the cream and mix thoroughly.

 

 Return the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring every once in a while.

If you are going to serve the meatballs as an appetizer, transfer sauce and meatballs to a chafing dish and pierce each meatball with a cocktail toothpick.

If you are going to serve as a main course, cook egg noodles while meatballs are simmering in the sauce.  You can also serve this over rice.

If serving as a main course, I would suggest doubling the sauce recipe given below.  The sauce is good and you'll want a lot of it for your noodles or rice.

Swedish Meatballs
Adapted from The Boston Globe Cookbook for Brides, 1963
Yields 24 to 36 meatballs

Ingredients:
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/3 cup milk
1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup finely grated onion
1 egg, beaten
3/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 beef bouillon cube, dissolved in 1 cup of boiling water
1/2 cup light cream or half and half (I use cream)

Mise en place:

• tear up bread crumbs in small bowl and add milk
• grate onion
• beat egg
• measure out salt, pepper and nutmeg
• place butter in large skillet
• measure out flour
• boil 1 cup water and dissolve bee bouillon cube
• measure out cream

Method:
Place ground beef in medium mixing bowl.  Drain excess milk from bread crumbs and add bread crumbs to ground beef.  Add onion, egg, salt, pepper & nutmeg to the ground beef.  Mix up thoroughly with your hands.

Form into one-inch balls.  Melt butter in large skillet over medium low heat.  When butter stops foaming add meatballs and brown on all sides.  Remove meatballs to a holding dish.

Add flour to drippings in skillet and whisk until smooth.  Slowly add the beef bouillon and whisk until smooth.  Add cream and whisk until smooth.  Continue cooking for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Return meatballs to the sauce, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally until sauce is of desired consistency.  Serve warm or over noodles or rice.

Baked Salmon Croquettes

Lovey and I have been long time fans of salmon croquettes (cakes, patties - whatever you grew up calling them).

I used to use canned salmon but I thought it might be fun to try them with fresh salmon.  And am I glad I did!

 
I started with making some poaching liquid of water, white wine, celery leaves, Italian parsley and black peppercorns



Once the poaching liquid comes to a boil it's lowered it to a simmer and the salmon is added. I prefer wild caught salmon. Poaching time is about 12 minutes; possibly shorter if you slice the salmon into smaller filets.

When the salmon has cooled enough to work with it it gets gently shredded; by hand or with a fork

Seasoned dried bread crumbs are tossed with the salmon.  I used crumbs from a stale French baguette.

The mayonnaise mixture is what will give these croquettes a creamy moist inside. I find it easier to use an 8 ounce jar of Hellmann's rather than measuring it out; I tend to use too much mayo if I measure it myself.

It will be evident that this is a wet mixture. I usually put the mixture in the refrigerator for awhile and let it firm up a little.



Just before you put them in the oven, form the croquettes and coat them in Panko crumbs. You can also form the patties and let them rest, on waxed paper, in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake (don't dredge in the Panko crumbs until you are ready to put in oven - the crumbs will get soggy if you do).




The cooking time is about 40 minutes because the croquettes are cold when placed into the oven .  Be sure to watch yours so they don't brown too much.  I found that by the time the exterior was browned to a nice golden color the croquettes were nice and hot in the middle.

Perfectly crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Baked Salmon Croquettes

Yields 8 croquettes, serving 4

Adapted from Sheila Lukins' "U.S.A. Cookbook"

Ingredients:

For the Poaching Liquid

4 cups water

1 cup dry white wine

4 sprigs celery leaves

6 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp Kosher salt

6 black peppercorns

1 pound salmon fillet

For the Croquettes

1/4 cup dried bread crumbs

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried mustard

1 cup Hellmann's mayonnaise (an 8 ounce jar is easy)

1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1 Tbsp drained tiny capers, coarsely chopped

1 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, lightly beaten

 Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 cup Panko crumbs

Method:

Prepare the poaching liquid by combining all the ingredients, except the salmon, in a large saucepan.  Gently rub your fingers along the surface of the salmon filet and remove any bones that may have been left. Bring poaching liquid to a boil then reduce to a simmer. 

Add the salmon to the poaching liquid and simmer until it can be easily flaked with a fork, about 12 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon remove salmon from liquid to a dish and set aside to cool.  When the salmon is cooled enough to handle, remove any skin and bones and flake the fish into  large bowl.  Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl combine the 1/4 cups dried bread crumbs, the thyme, oregano, and mustard. Gently combine this with the cooled, shredded salmon.

Measure 1 cup of Hellmann's mayonnaise in a medium mixing bowl.  Finely dice onion and celery; add to mayonnaise.  Coarsely chop the capers and parsley; add to mayonnaise.  Measure the Worcestershire into the mixture and lastly add the lightly beaten egg.  Mix well.  Combine the bread crumb/salmon mixture with the mayonnaise mixture. Salt and pepper to taste

Place the mixture in the refrigerator to firm up a bit. Using a 1/4 cup scoop you should get around 8 patties. You can make smaller hors d'oeuvres - sized patties as well to serve as appetizers

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°.  Pull croquettes mixture out of refrigerator, form patties and gently roll both sides with plain Panko crumbs.  Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes until the Panko begins turning  a golden brown.

 NOTES: 

These can easily be prepared to the shaping stage and covered with plastic wrap and cooled overnight, putting Panko on prior to putting in oven. 

A nice side salad of iceberg lettuce and marinated pear tomatoes would round out the meal.