Sunday, September 24, 2017

Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie

Even though it's still really hot and humid in Houston, everyone is getting in the autumn spirit. I truly miss living in the Midwest during this time of the year because I miss the cold/crisp air in the morning and am starting to get tired of the humidity. I'm sure my tune will change when winter rolls around and everyone else is knee deep in snow and we're swimming in our pool. Anyway, to get in the autumn spirit, I made a delicious Chicken Pot Pie from scratch. It's the ultimate comfort food and soooo delicious. Dr. Sweetpea said it's the best Chicken Pot Pie he's ever had. This is something that I'll make again during the cooler months.


Double Crust Chicken Pot Pie
(Source: Cooks Country)

CRUST
1/2         cup sour cream, chilled
1            large egg, lightly beaten
2 1/2      cups (12 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 1/2      teaspoons Salt
12          tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled

FILLING
4              tablespoons unsalted butter
1              onion, chopped fine
2              carrots peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (2/3 cup)
2              celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1/2 cup)
1/2           teaspoon Salt
1/2           teaspoon pepper
6              tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/4        cups chicken broth
1/2           cup half-and-half
1              small russet potato (6 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (1 cup)
1              teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1              (2 1/2-pound) rotisserie chicken, meat shredded into bite-size pieces (3 cups)
3/4           cup frozen peas
1              large egg, lightly beaten

FOR THE CRUST: Combine sour cream and egg in bowl. Process flour and salt in food processor until combined, about 3 seconds. Add butter and pulse until only pea-size pieces remain, about 10 pulses. Add half of sour cream mixture and pulse until combined, 5 pulses. Add remaining sour cream mixture and pulse until dough begins to form, about 10 pulses. Transfer mixture to lightly floured counter and knead briefly until dough comes together. Divide dough in half and form each half into 4-inch disk. Wrap disks tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (Wrapped dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If frozen, let dough thaw completely on counter before rolling.) Let chilled dough sit on counter to soften slightly, about 10 minutes, before rolling. Roll 1 disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter. Loosely roll dough around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge. Ease dough into plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Roll other disk of dough into 12-inch circle on lightly floured counter, then transfer to parchment paper–lined baking sheet; cover with plastic. Refrigerate both doughs for 30 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING: Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper and cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 6 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly stir in broth and half-and-half and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Stir in potato and thyme. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until sauce is thickened and potato is tender, about 8 minutes. Off heat, stir in chicken and peas. Transfer filling to dough-lined pie plate. Loosely roll remaining dough round around rolling pin and gently unroll it onto filling. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch beyond lip of plate. Pinch edges of top and bottom crusts firmly together. Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate. Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate using your fingers. Cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough. Brush top of pie with egg. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until top is light golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate sheet, and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes longer. Let pie cool on wire rack for at least 45 minutes. Serve.


Saturday, September 9, 2017

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread with Hawaiian Chicken

Dr. Sweetpea loves cornbread so much that he could have it as a side to everything everyday and not get tired of eating cornbread. So of course whenever I see a recipe that looks good, I always save it so I can make it for him. I saw this Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread recipe in my Cooks Country magazine so I made it as a side to go along with our grilled Hawaiian Chicken. It shouldn't be a surprise that he loved everything about his meal and he devoured everything in no time flat. I'm definitely keeping both these recipes in my recipe collection.


Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
(Source: Cooks Country)

1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) yellow cornmeal
1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
6 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
4 jalapeƱo chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced (3/4 cup)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease light-colored 9-inch round cake pan, line with parchment paper, and grease parchment. Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk milk, eggs, and melted butter together in second bowl. Stir milk mixture into cornmeal mixture until just combined. Stir in 1 cup cheddar and jalapeƱos until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top with spatula, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheddar. Bake until cornbread is deep golden brown, top is firm to touch, and paring knife inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cornbread cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cornbread from pan, discarding parchment, and let cool completely, about 1 hour. Serve.

Hawaiian Chicken
(Source: Damn Delicious)

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons ketchup
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Sriracha, optional
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and Sriracha. Reserve 1/4 cup and set aside. In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine soy sauce mixture and chicken; marinate for at least 1 hour to overnight, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade. Preheat grill to medium-high heat and grill chicken until it’s cooked through while basting with the reserved sauce. 


Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Glazed Salmon with Dilly Mustard Sauce

Salmon is a hit or miss in our household. Sometimes I'll try out a new salmon recipe and Dr. Sweetpea will either hate it OR he'll love it so much that he'll devour everything in one sitting (which is what happened when I tried this recipe). I buy salmon regularly because it's healthy and more affordable than Halibut (which Dr. Sweetpea LOVES). I saw that our local H-E-B had center cut salmon on sale recently and decided to try this recipe the day I bought the fish. Dr. Sweetpea was a huge skeptic about the salmon recipe but it literally took only one bite for him to go over the moon. Dr. Sweetpea repeatedly told me to keep the recipe and to never ever lose it because the salmon was amazing. This is also another keeper for us. 


Glazed Salmon with Dilly Mustard Sauce
(Source: Cooks Country) 

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar (I used white balsamic vinegar)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish
4 salmon fillets, each about 6 ounces
Salt and pepper

Adjust oven rack so that it sits about 6 inches from heating element and heat broiler. Line rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup.

Whisk mustard, honey, and vinegar in medium bowl. Whisk in oil, then transfer 3 tablespoons mustard mixture to small bowl and stir in soy sauce. Whisk dill into mustard mixture in medium bowl.

Arrange salmon fillets on baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and brush top and sides with mustard-soy glaze. Broil salmon until tops are just browned and a peek at inside of fish with paring knife shows that they are just cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes (I cooked the fish for 7 minutes and it was perfect). Transfer salmon to serving platter, garnish with dill sprigs, and serve with mustard-dill sauce.

(Note: Since we didn't have any dill at home, I sprinkled some dried thyme leaves and crushed red pepper flakes on top of the fish.)




Monday, September 4, 2017

Skillet Roasted Chicken in Lemon Sauce

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! This is one of the best and easiest chicken dinners to make. The skin is super crispy and the sauce is just amazing! Dr. Sweetpea couldn't stop raving about this meal while he was eating it. Also, both of us loved the lemon sauce so much that we used our baguette bread pieces to sop up all the sauce from our plates. Yes, it's that. good. I served the chicken with some mushroom risotto and it was the perfect pairing. This will definitely be in our regular meal rotation.


Skillet Roasted Chicken in Lemon Sauce
(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

1/2 cup salt
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (I used just chicken thighs)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
4 teaspoons grated lemon zest plus 1/4 cup juice (2 lemons)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves

Dissolve salt in 2 quarts cold water in large container. Submerge chicken in brine, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels.

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Heat oil in ovensafe 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place chicken skin side down in skillet and cook until skin is well browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Flip thighs and continue to cook until browned on second side, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Transfer thighs to plate. 

Pour off and discard fat in skillet. Return skillet to medium heat; add butter, shallot, and garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Sprinkle flour evenly over shallot-garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until flour is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in broth and lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to simmer. Cook until sauce is slightly reduced and thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon zest and remove skillet from heat. Return chicken, skin side up (skin should be above surface of liquid), and any accumulated juices to skillet and transfer to oven. Cook, uncovered, until thighs register 175 degrees, 10 to 12 minutes.

While chicken cooks, chop parsley, oregano, and remaining 1 teaspoon zest together until finely minced and well combined. Remove skillet from oven and let chicken stand for 5 minutes.

Transfer chicken to serving platter. Whisk sauce, incorporating any browned bits from sides of pan, until smooth and homogeneous, about 30 seconds. Whisk half of herb-zest mixture into sauce and sprinkle remaining half over chicken. Pour some sauce around chicken. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.



Saturday, September 2, 2017

Union Square Cafe's Chocolate Biscotti

Want a great chocolate biscotti recipe? This is it! I made these on whim a few weeks ago and they were a massive hit. Dr. Sweetpea couldn't stop eating them and when he brought them to work, his coworkers were raving about how good they were. These are fancy enough to add to my Christmas Cookie tins that I gave away to family and friends every year. Definitely a keeper and one that you'll enjoy just as much as we did. 


Union Square Cafe Chocolate Biscotti
(Source: New York Times)

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cups lightly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 ounces (4 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon double-strength brewed espresso
3 large eggs
7 1/2 ounces (1 rounded cup) small milk chocolate chips
1 large egg, beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
2 tablespoons raw sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12- by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick liner. Sift together the flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda; set aside.

Using a heavy-duty electric mixer, cream together the brown sugar, granulated sugar and butter for 3 to 5 minutes at medium speed. Add vanilla extract and espresso. Mix for 10 seconds. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 10 seconds at medium-low speed after each addition. Add sifted flour mixture and mix at low speed until dough comes together, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chocolate chips and mix just until chips are evenly incorporated, 15 to 20 seconds.

Transfer dough to a work surface and divide in two, shaping into balls. Form each ball into a log 1 1/2 to 2 inches wide. Transfer logs to prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Brush tops of logs with egg wash and sprinkle each log with 1 tablespoon raw sugar. Bake until biscotti have spread, have a few cracks and bounce back slightly when pressed with fingertips, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut logs into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch slices. Place each slice with a cut side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or nonstick liner. Bake until firm, crisp and slightly dry, about 15 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days, or freeze for up to three months.