Recipes - Something Different

 

Ganesh enjoying the great Outdoors

 

Ganesh now has two rivals for Most Photogenic Cat.

 

Buffy

Willow

 As delicious as the two recipes below are, I fear they can't compete with this Regency dessert featured on the Facebook group, Lady Catherine's Salon.

How can one possibly cut into such perfection?

 and . . .

 There's actually a mold that turns out like that???

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RECIPES - SOMETHING DIFFERENT

As regular readers of this blog know, I am a recipe addict, and even though I'd sworn never to buy another cookbook . . . I fell off the wagon with two new ones recently, both from Better Homes and Gardens:  Fast & Fresh and Veggie-Full. And, sure enough, the first two recipes I tried proved worthy of passing along, though I had to play with the chicken recipe a bit.

What makes these recipes special? The taste of each is unique enough to be called "gourmet," without the hours of work that usually go into that sort of thing. Give them a try - and enjoy!

MANCHEGO STUFFED MUSHROOMS

 Grace note:  an online search told me that no grocery store in my area carried "button" mushrooms. When I did an in-store search, I discovered portabellas specfically marked "for stuffing" (6 to a package), even though they were not quite as large as I would have liked." A second store carried similar portabellas and what appeared to be even larger "stuffable" cremini mushrooms So it's safe to say you should be able to find mushrooms suitable for stuffing.

 

 

½ cup panko crumbs

2 oz. Manchego or Parmesan cheese, finely shredded

6 TBsp extra virgin olive oil

2 TBs chopped fresh leaf parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tspn smoked paprika

1 lb. 2 to 2½-inch button mushrooms, stemmed

¼ cup chopped pitted Castelvetrano olives*

3 thin slices Ibérico ham, cut into strips** 

* I used plain old sliced green olives

** I used packaged deli ham

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl stir together panko, cheese, 2 TBsp olive oil, parsley, garlic, paprika, and ¼ tsp salt. Spoon filling into mushroom caps, pressing it in and mounding for very full caps. Arrange in prepared pan. Drizzle 4 TBsp oil over mushrooms. Bake 25 min. or until mushrooms are tender and filling is golden. Cool slightly.

3. To serve, top with olives and ham.

 

ROAST CHICKEN SALAD WITH CURRY & COUSCOUS 

Grace Note:  The photo below is for the original recipe that used roast chicken from the Deli. Since I've found these usually contain preservatives to which I'm allergic, I adapted the recipe for uncooked chicken breasts. Oddly enough, the cooking instructions are nearly the same. The differences:  slicing the raw chicken before cooking and the very different look of the end result (in the photo, the slices are clearly made after cooking).

Special note:  the sauce can be prepared well ahead, the veggies cut up early as well, making this a meal assembled in minutes when it's time to eat. (I was still using the truly fabulous sauce four days after I made it.)

 

1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous*

6 green onions

¼ cup white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1 TBsp honey

2 cloves garlic, peeled & halved

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut in ½" slices

1 tsp Madras curry powder**

2 cups sliced fresh kohlrabi, carrots, and/or celery***

2 TBsp vegetable oil

Salt & fresh ground pepper 

*the larger-size couscous

 

**I used what I had on hand, which happened to be curry bought on a trip to Istanbul

 

***I used just the celery, very thinly sliced, plus chopped fresh herbs from my garden.

(FYI, kohlrabi is an odd-looking member of the cabbage family.) 

1. Cook couscous according to package directions.

2. For dressing, in a blender, place green onions, ¼ cup olive oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, ¼ tsp salt and ground black pepper, to taste. Cover and blend until smooth.

3. In a plastic baggie, toss chicken slices with curry powder.

4. Using a baking pan large enough to accommodate chicken slices in a single layer, line pan with foil, lay out chicken. Drizzle with 2 TBsp vegetable oil. Season with salt & pepper.

5. Place in a COLD oven. Set temperature to 450° and bake 25-30 minutes or until chicken reaches 165° F.

6. To serve, top couscous with chicken & veggies (& herbs, if available)

 

Leftovers. Slice chicken thin. Use with drizzled sauce & veggies in a sandwich. (Add a layer of mayo or Miracle Whip to the bread, if desired.)

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Don't forget the final book of the Wolfe series:  Matthew Wolfe - Revelations

   

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Thanks for stopping by,

Grace/Blair Bancroft