Barefoot Bloggers: Lemon Rosemary Chicken on Panzanella Salad

Two! Two! Two mints in one!

This month the Barefoot Bloggers made Panzanella (tomato bread salad) as chosen by Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen and Butterflied Chicken chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution.

When this month's recipes were announced, my mind did a quick calculation:

1) a big tub of bread salad is too much for one person
2) an entire grilled butterflied chicken is too much for one person
3) I don't have a grill
4) I don't have a patio
5) None of this matters because
6) I can adapt the chicken to a serving for one because it's so basic; and
7) I can make a small portion of the salad; and
8) I can put the chicken ON the salad for a COLD chicken salad!

Jeffrey! Lunch is ready!

When you deconstruct classic and basic recipes such as these, you're left with a concept that is very easy to adapt. Ina's recipe for Grilled Butterflied Chicken is just a paste of lemon, garlic, olive oil, and rosemary, rubbed under the skin and then grilled. I had a container of recently made Moroccan preserved lemons from my bounty of meyer lemons earlier this summer and that is nothing more than lemons and salt. Add some garlic and olive oil, blend it in a blender cup, and you're good to go. I rubbed it on a chicken breast, marinated it, and then grilled it in a panini pan and let it chill.

Onto the salad. I made it almost as called for, although I typically despise cucumbers and bell peppers. Not a huge fan of capers either, but I was game because often, a dish is a success based on the sum of its parts. I made the salad and dressing as written, except I wouldn't budge on the bell peppers -- nasty.

I tossed it all, chilled, layered the grilled chicken on top, and served. This was a mighty fine tasting salad!

About this challenge:The Barefoot Bloggers join forces and cook or bake recipes by Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten each month, chosen in order by members, and present them for discussion on two Thursdays each month. Our Next Challenge: Ina's Smoked Salmon Spread. Hungry? Please join us at the table!

PSA: Rite Aid Thifty Style Ice Cream Scoop

I'm calling this a "PSA / Public Service Announcement" for the benefit of the foodie community.

If you've ever had an ice cream cone from a Thrifty Drug Store, now known as Rite-Aid Drugstores, you know they are well-known not just for the inexpensive ice cream cones (when I was a teenager in the 1970s, a single scoop was 10 cents), but for the interesting cylindrical shape of the "scoop" -- which wasn't a scoop at all, but rather a slice of a "tube shape."

I don't know why the shape intriques so many, but I'm right with those customers who have asked many a scooper, over time, where and how they could get a Thrifty Ice Cream Scoop.

All one used to hear in reply was "They are made for and patented by Thrifty" (or Rite-Aid) and there was no further discussion. I'm sure over the years there has been many an employee who adopted one out to a family member, and now, from time to time, they show up for sale on eBay at astronomical prices. I've seen the bids open at $50.00, and it isn't unusual to sell at over $100.00, and the buyers are happy to get them. What price, nostalgia?

This PSA post is for the benefit of all. Hope is on the Horizon. Just by sheer luck I stumbled across the right search terms when I was trying to find another one of the scoops. The Thrifty version is actually a stainless steel trigger-mechanism device, not unlike an "ice cream caulk gun" as seen here.

As I said, these turn up on eBay starting at $50.00 on a fairly regular basis.

What you're looking for, however, is a reasonably priced alternative. This is called the Ice Cream Stacker. They, too, show up on eBay, but they are a reasonable facsimile, accomplish the same task in the same shape as the Rite Aid Ice Cream Scooper (see how I'm using all the right key words in my PSA?) and in keeping with Alton Brown's rule of "no single task gadgets", can be used for many things in the kitchen, from cookie and biscuit cutting to making stacked appetizers and sandwiches. Assemble your canapes or filo pastries, press, cut, and eject your stacked snack. Voila!

You can find an Ice Cream Stacker at a few sources online. I bought mine at Wrapables for $14.95. Fast shipping, I had it in 3 days. You can also find them at Nieman-Marcus, exact same product, for $15.00 each.

Now, I need to make space in my freezer for my ice cream freezer bowl, which is never ready because my freezer is always jammed. Then, I need to browse my Perfect Scoop cookbook.

Or I could just head to Rite Aid and buy a brick of ice cream to play with, which is much more likely.

SpaFlyer Sunday Brunch: Grilled Turkey Cheese Sandwiches

A simple and healthy sandwich of Swiss cheese, homegrown tomato, and smoked turkey, on hearty wheat bread, dipped in egg white and grilled until warm and toasty. Very tasty. Recipe made for SpaFlyer Sunday Brunch -- head on over for healthy spa cuisine.

Naan Pizza

In my continuing "clean out the freezer" mode I was able to whip together a tasty little morsel of pizza today for lunch, using a piece of frozen Trader Joe's Naan bread as the crust base.*

I'd also made a blender cup full of Pizza Sauce, another "use it up" task, over a month ago. I have too many cans of tomato paste. I'm not a big pasta fan and even when I make pasta, it's seldom a tomato based sauce. Still, when I see cans of paste on sale, I think I have to have it and I end up with too much of it in the pantry. I found a pizza sauce recipe that sounded tasty, adapted it for my taste, and my, it was EXCELLENT. Tomato pasta sauce, I don't like. Pizza sauce, I do. ::shrug::

Anyway, saw the sauce, saw the naan, saw the mushrooms -- pizza for lunch!

I coated the slice of defrosted naan with a thin schmear of butter, a thin schmear of pizza sauce, a few tablespoons of grated cheese, 4-5 shaved mushrooms, and baked. Voila, a mighty tasty pizza.

Kate's Pizza Sauce

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 ounces hot water

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
1-2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano or one handful of fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil or 2 teaspoons of pesto or one handful of fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
sea salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey and mix thoroughly. Begin to add anchovy paste and all spices, and mix, tasting as you go. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes to blend and adjust seasonings a second time. I added more anchovy paste and honey, for instance. This is a flavor that adds a complexity and saltiness I love. I think many people only think they don't like anchovies -- it's a salty briny flavor that is wonderful and complex, and not fishy when used in this manner.

My jar of pizza sauce has kept very well, for weeks at a time. Easy to spread on toast for a quick Po' Folks Pizza for kids (which is a slice of toast, sauce, and a slice of cheese melted in a toaster oven).

*Do not even consider buying the bakery aisle packages of Naan from Trader Joe's. They are an abomination. Thick, tough, stale, flavorless --- blech. The frozen variety, however (which still pales in comparison to fresh Naan from a restaurant) is a passable pre-made Naan.

Used up: Pizza Sauce (tomato paste), Mushrooms, Frozen Naan

No Flap, Jack ...

... these are pancakes.

I loved the pancake square technique suggested by Robin Sue at Big Red Kitchen so much, I wanted to leave my office and go home to make them. Immediately. I restrained myself until the weekend, but knew I'd be making these come Saturday morning, and make them I did.

I may never flap my jacks again.

This is SUCH an easy method, I wonder why it's never occured to me before, or why I've never seen it before? You simply butter a baking pan, add your pancake batter, and bake until set. Cut in squares, and serve.

As Robin Sue points out, it's easy to customize these pancakes by any number of additions (fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, etc), but I'm a purist. I like butter and maple syrup, and that's about it -- another reason recipe Robin's appealed to me. It was plain and simple.

I followed her recipe almost exactly, but for using vanilla bean sugar instead of plain, and, I wanted a thinner pancake with more crust to cake ratio, so instead of using an 8x8 pan, I used an 8x12 pan for a thinner, more crusty area bar. They cooked in 20 minutes and popped out easily.

In prepping my pancake squares to eat (I buttered the top of the entire pan), I recalled I had a jar of maple butter waiting to be used, and that was a mighty fine substitution for more butter and syrup. The maple butter is really just a big jar of maple icing, truth be told, and I ended up with Maple Bars which were scrumptious.

A huge plus: Because this is really a method more than a recipe -- really you could use your favorite pancake mix and a toaster oven and have hot breakfast before your hair is dry. Just shake up some pancake batter of your choice and pour it into your buttered pan, and if you place it into a toaster oven which shuts off with the timer, you'll bake them without burning (and get some crusty tops), and they'll be ready by the time your morning shower and toilette is finished. No standing over the stove with a spatula, rebuttering the pan, making people wait their turn for a hot pancake or lamenting over the rejects. These will also freeze like a breeze and I can pop one into a bento box for breakfast at work during the week.

Thanks, Robin!

Robin's Pancake Squares

3/4 cup milk
2 T. melted butter
1 large egg
1 T. sugar
1 cup flour
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish (for thicker bars) or 8x12 baking dish (for thinner squares). In a large mixing bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg. Add sugar, then gradually beat the flour in. Carefully stir in the baking powder and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serves 4-6.

Chili Relleno Bake

This comforting and light casserole was inspired by two things and made rather late in the evening, when my energy level was uncharacteristically high.

First, I'm clearing out my over stocked freezer, pantry and refrigerator with things gone past their prime, discovering things I'd forgotten I purchased, discovering MANY duplicates purchased because I'd forgotten I already had it, all in preparation for making a "Pantry Inventory" to post on this blog.

I seriously overshop. I think part of it is entertainment and part of it is stress reducing, but I could blog about that for pages and bore you to tears. Fellow groceryovershoppers will already know. What I plan to do is post my inventory and begin crossing off some of the items as I use them, and invite suggestions from my fellow bloggers -- e.g., Hey, Kate, did you know you have every ingredient on your list to make my Grandma Ruby's Beanie Burger Surprise?

Second, I had a package of Sargento Ultra Thin Cheese to use and I do mean ultra thin. That stuff is like "Cheese Paper" -- which appeals to my delicate sensibilities. You can see your hand through it. I wanted the calorie content of this gossamer cheese slices, so I visited the Sargento website and landed on a recipe for Chile Rellano Bake. As I scanned the recipe, it occurred to me I had every single ingredient and best of all, many of them were on my "use it up quickly" list.

In a word: Delicious.

It's a cross between a lasagne-tamale pie and a chile rellano quiche. The torn tortillas mixed throughout make a masa flavored layer which helped puff up and support the eggy quiche. The ultra thin cheese I told you about? I used three slices to lay across the top before it baked. You can see how thin it is because all the ingredients show through.

This could be breakfast, lunch or dinner -- it's so versatile. I'm hoping it freezes well, as I'll have only a slice or two myself, and then cut it into portions to freeze for portable breakfast on weekday mornings.

On with the recipe!

Chili Relleno Bake

Ingredients
1-1/2 cups (6 oz.) shredded reduced fat Mexican flavored cheese, divided
(I used 1 cup of reduced fat mozzerella, 1/4 cup of low fat diced cheddar, and 3 ultra thin slices of cheddar)
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated skim milk
3/4 cup (6 oz.) Egg Beaters®
6 (6-inch) corn tortillas, torn into 2-inch pieces
(I had three kinds of small, 4-5 inch soft handmade corn tortillas almost past their prime. I used two each of plain, green chili, and mild red chili flavored tortillas)
2 cans (4 oz. each) chopped green chilies
(I used 2 whole, canned, green chilis, chopped and it was plenty)
1/2 cup mild chunky-style salsa
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
Fat-free or light sour cream (optional)

Directions
Coat 10-inch deep dish pie plate or 8x8-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Combine 1 cup cheese, milk, Egg Beaters, tortillas, chilies, salsa and salt, if desired, in medium bowl; pour into prepared dish. Bake in preheated 375°F oven 35 minutes or until set. Remove from oven; sprinkle with remaining cheese and cilantro. Bake 1 minute more or until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, if desired.

(I chose to mix all of the loose cheese in the custard, and only used 3 slices of thin cheese for the top, because the custard seemed awfully wet to me and I thought the cheese would help thicken it up. I need not have worried, the tortillas did their job. I'm not sorry I made this adaptaton, however. The filling was light and fluffy and just cheesy enough without melting into goo. I used an 8x16 inch pan so it was thinner, which made it cook and set more easily. I don't feel it required any sour cream -- skipped it).

Verdict: Seriously delicious
Skill: Not much (as if anything on this blog would require skill)
Repeat: Absolutely
Use It Up Factor: High. Used up stale tortillas, egg beaters, canned chilis, a few spoons of salsa left in a tub, and an oldish can of evaporated milk. Only the cheese was a recent purchase.

Nutritional Stats, compiled using my adaptations, and cut into 10 portions (cut the 16inch pan down the center, long direction, and then across, 4 times, for 10 pieces)

Calories 102.3 per serving
Fat 5.5 g
Cholesterol 18.2 mg
Sodium 187.4 mg
Potassium 203.4 mg
Carbohydrate 4.8 g
Dietary Fiber 0.2 g
Sugars 3.8 g
Protein 8.4 g

French Toast and Sausage

My Mother was recently talking to my oldest brother about his high school years. I don't remember what prompted the conversation, but she asked him for his favorite or best high school memory. His answer, without hesitating first, was "The field trip lunches." Whenever we went on school outings and field trips, Mom would pack us elaborate lunches that included extra-special touches that didn't appear on normal school days. As if getting the day off to take a bus to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco or an Amusement Park or Swimming Pool wasn't fun enough, we'd unpack more than just a lunch -- it was a Child's Dream Picnic.

I remember those lunches of course, but that conversation prompted an examination of own food memories. Forget my high school memories. As soon as my brother mentioned lunches, I began to think what my favorite FOOD memories were, growing up.

My answer came just as quickly: Breakfast.

Breakfast at home, breakfast out while running errands. Breakfast next to a river for day camping, breakfast at the beach while on vacation.

Breakfast was a big deal in our family, and we had wonderful home cooked breakfasts every weekend. Weekdays were cereal and fruit, sometimes toast, but seldom the Full Monty. That came on the weekend when everyone joined in our big dining room. Eggs cooked over easy, toast, bacon, sausages, cinnamon rolls, boxed donuts, sometimes pancakes, and usually whipped orange juice. We had one of those vintage ice cream shake mixers on the counter and we'd throw in the orange juice and whip it until it was frothy.

When we went on vacation, we'd usually have a vacation rental house at the beach and my poor mother -- she gets to go on vacation and what is she doing? Making eggs and bacon in some other person's ill-equipped kitchen with funky bent frying pans and no spatula. Some mornings we'd get up early and go down to the beach and start a fire in one of those beach-side grills when it was still chilly and foggy, and make eggs and fried ham.

I remember once taking just a Day Trip up into the woods, when we lived in Colorado. We were surrounded by Aspens on a beautiful Rocky Mountain morning, and my father set up a green, folding, propane Coleman camp stove, and my mother fried eggs and ham and pancakes next to an ice cold rushing river. We placed a whole cantaloupe in a little eddy in the rocks to get it chilled, and the water washed away my Mom's melon. Off we went, trying to chase that melon down the rapids so it didn't get away from our breakfast. I remember kids screaming and laughing, chasing a bobbing melon while smelling food cooking.

Breakfast was always was a happy event for me. If we were at home, it meant the weekend was here. We'd usually run errands to thrift stores or hardware stores for Dad's weekend project supplies (which I strangely loved), go shopping or swimming, or just play. If we were on vacation, it meant the perfect start of a perfect day at a perfect beach in a perfect week.

One of the knacks my mother had, when she cooked our weekend breakfasts at home, was to give us the impression that certain entrees were Special Occasion only. I didn't really understand this until I was an adult, but I had it exactly backwards as a child. The normal breakfast was the special event -- laboriously frying up an entire pound of bacon for a family of six, an entire dozen eggs over easy, and then toasting half a loaf of bread, and bringing it all to the table at the same time, HOT -- or goodness, the sheer number of pancakes she had to make for a family of six -- that was the labor of love.

What I considered special, however, was the French Toast and Italian Sausage meal. My mother didn't take out a loaf of sandwich bread and just dip and fry perfect square slices. No, when we had French Toast, it was because she had a stale loaf of french bread -- usually a baguette -- left over from diner the night before. She'd bake these thick, small slices of eggy bread, butter and dust them with powdered sugar, and then give us a thick, brown piece of Italian Sausage. This couldn't be more simple and short-cut, because the entire pan of baguette slices and sausage baked and came to the table at the same time on a tray. EASY, right? THIS was my favorite, and I realize I overlooked how hard the others mornings had been. We'd oooh and ahhh and exclaim "French Toast! Our favorite!" and she'd must smile. Frankly, I'm glad she figured out a way to use up stale bread and give herself a much-needed break.

We didn't fuss around with silly things like Chocolate Chip Pancakes or Blueberry French Toast or Apple Cinnamon anything. That's not breakfast, that's silliness. We didn't feel neglected in any way by this. In fact, we probably felt we had better taste than anyone who would ruin French Toast by stuffing it with cream cheese or peanut butter.

When we did have French Toast or pancakes, we always had the same toppings. Butter, maple syrup, and a dusting of powdered sugar. You really don't need anything else. Leave the berries, whipped cream, and foolishness to the restaurants. In fact, even now when I see huge portions of French Toast cut into triangles from Texas Toast or large slices of bread, slathered in some gooey fruit sauce, I think it's gauche. It needs to be small, oval pieces of baguette or isn't "right."

The most remarkable thing about my mother's wonderful home cooked meals (with a few exceptions -- there are meals every child is bound to feel offended by), hearty, and cooked and served graciously, was this: My mother doesn't like to cook. She never let that affect the meals she served to her family, but she never minded taking a day off, either, if my Dad suggested we go out. Pity she got so few days off, even on vacation.

Here's to you, Mom. Breakfast with you is still my favorite meal.

Barefoot Bloggers: Seafood Salad, Two Ways

This week's Barefoot Bloggers Challenge is Smoked Salmon Spread, chosen by Ashley of The Spicy Skillet . I love most seafood so I didn't have the "oh oh" feeling many of my fellow bloggers had. Plus, I knew immediately I'd be dividing it up between two seafoods, because I had some crab to use. It was an "ah hah! That's what I'll make with that crab" moment. Like one ever needs help figuring how to eat crab.

This is another recipe which proves many spreads and dips are just as easy to make as they are to buy. I only had to pick up a small package of salmon from Trader Joe’s and I had everything else, and it came together very quickly.

That said, I thought it was under-seasoned as written, and I felt it needed more of all the basic flavor — salt, pepper, lemon, horseradish and dill. I added a little bit more of each of those things. In retrospect, I should have made it as is, and then seasoned it again later, before serving, giving the dill and lemon a chance to dance. By adding more dill and lemon immediately, I came to regret it because it was too dilly later on, when it ripened.

Finally, I split the recipe between two seafoods. I made the “base” and then divided it in half. To one half, I added the minced salmon. To the other half, I added jumbo lump crab meat. Between the two, I much preferred the crab dip. That’s the one I tucked into immediately, with crackers. The salmon will go to work with me tomorrow, with some bagels if my co workers are lucky.

And away we go: Making the base.

Smoked Salmon and Dill with Smokehouse Pepper

Lump Crab Meat Spread with Chives

About this challenge:The Barefoot Bloggers join forces and cook or bake recipes by Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten each month, chosen in order by members, and present them for discussion on two Thursdays each month. Our Next Challenge: Ina's Smoked Salmon Spread. Hungry? Please join us at the table!

Barefoot Bloggers: Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread

I was looking forward to making this month's Barefoot Bloggers selection. It's Ina Garten's Jalapeno Cheddar Scallion Cornbread, selected by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking With the Kids.

I'm a big fan of cornbread, and, as far as the two camps (sweet or plain), I'm usually in the sweet category, but I like most varieties: Sweet, savory, crumbly, firm, yellow, white, baked, or skillet. I've never made my OWN cheese based cornbread, however.

I wasn't gung ho to use Jalapeno peppers. I don't like peppers, particularly Jalapeno, although I DO like the cooked/pickled green chili that you'll find in eggs or so-called "Monterey" style dishes. I thought I had some, so didn't bother to shop for them. Turns out I had a can of pickled Jalapeno Peppers, whole, seeds and all. Not what I had in mind, but I did chop one up and use it anyway, to keep an open mind.

My adaptation, below, took into account the comments made by my fellow Barefoot Bloggers -- that the original recipe was not very corny. I made the ratio of corn flavor to AP flour more level, and, I scaled the entire recipe by half, using less butter as well, as suggested by another blogger.

BAREFOOT CONTESSA JALAPENO CHEDDAR CORNBREAD

1 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of fine cornmeal
1/4 cup of corn flour
1/8 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup of milk
1/3 cup egg beaters
3/4 stick of melted butter
4 oz sharp, grass fed New Zealand White Cheddar Cheese
Scallions
Jalapeno, pickled, chopped
Penzey's Southwest Seasoning

Combine all dry ingredients and set aside. Combine the milk, egg beaters, and melted butter in a blender cup and whip. Pour into dry ingredients and gently mix. Add most of the grated cheese, a generous teaspoon of chopped Jalapeno (or more if you actually like it), and diced scallions to taste. Spread in a greased 8 inch square pan, and let it sit for 20 minutes. Just before baking, sprinkle with additional reserved grated cheese, more diced scallions, and I added a sprinkle of Penzey's Southwest Seasoning for color and smoke. Bake for 25 minutes at 350, or until browned and a skewer comes out clean.

***

I liked the bread, but if I made it again (on the fence on that one) I'd leave out the Jalapeno and just stick with the scallions. The cheese and scallions added quite a bit of flavor and "bite" and that would be enough for me. Or, if I had them, I'd use the pale green, very mild canned chili peppers that I *do* like. I'm not sure what the distinction is, other than no seeds and a much paler color.

Ok, if you're still reading this far, I've got to tell you a funny cornbread story. I went to a potluck hosted by the soul-filled Southern Family of a friend of mine, and the "Aunties" were lording over the buffet table, loading it with some fierce chicken, beans, greens, cornbread, you name it. I was eating Auntie's cornbread and said "Oh my, this is the best I've ever tasted. It's so light and fluffy, but grainy at the same time. How did you make this?!" She responded "Oh honey, that's 'jes a couple boxes of mix." "A mix? Which one!" I was really excited I could recreate this. "Oh you just take any cornbread you like, I used Jiffy this time, and you make up one box of cornbread mix just like the box tells you, and then you take one box of yellow cake mix, and you mix that up just like the box tells you, and than you just stir it all up and bake in a pan. That's my special cornbread!"

Well no, um ... that would be corn CAKE courtesy of Betty Crocker. And no wonder I liked it so dang much. No, I never made it. I can't fool myself into believing I'm not just eating a pan of cake.

About this challenge:
The Barefoot Bloggers join forces and cook or bake recipes by Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten each month, chosen in order by members, and present them for discussion on two Thursdays each month. Our Next Challenge: Ina's Smoked Salmon Spread. Hungry? Please join us at the table!

Eat the Rainbow! BLT and Fruit

I was going to back a bento lunch today which had a Harriet the Spy style homegrown tomato sandwich, but then I remembered I had some pre-cooked bacon, and that was all she wrote.

Fruit Salad (Berries, Nectarine, Tangerine), 2 cubes of sharp cheddar cheese
Bacon
Lettuce
Mayo
Toasted bread
Slice of homegrown beefsteak tomato


I'm reminded that a B L T is the best sandwich. Ever. Even without homegrown tomatoes. WITH homegrown? It's almost sexual. Don't even try to deny it.

Simple Suppers: Egg Salad on Toast

It's really hot today. No cooking can be done tonight, so it's egg salad on toast with fresh tomato from my garden.

This simple sandwich always makes me think of my Mom. The men in our family wouldn't touch egg salad, so when she and I went up to the corner donut shop for lunch from time to time, this is what we ordered and split. They didn't muck it up with mustard or, Heaven forbid, pickle relish (which, although I like it, has NO place in tuna salad or egg salad), or even the tomato. It was just eggs, mayo, salt, pepper, lettuce, and do you want your white bread toasted, or untoasted? Pickle spear served on the side, with a baggie of chips. Nothing complicated.

Interestingly, another sandwich which I also identify with my mother and my youth involves eggs. She used to cut Armour Dried Beef (from a little jar) into strips with a pair of scissors, cut onions into long strips, saute them together with butter, and then add beaten eggs. This "Scrambled Egg with Chipped Beef and Onion" served on toast as a sandwich was absolutely delicious, but probably a sodium nightmare.

Tonight, my homegrown tomato was so vibrant and juicy, I may eat that as a sandwich tomorrow with nothing but mayo, salt and pepper. A Harriet the Spy Special -- from one of my favorite books as a young child.

What sandwiches instantly remind you of your youth?

Pretzel Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce

I would never have attempted something like this concoction of my own imagination (albeit a very simple concoction) had it not been for Barefoot Bloggers. One of our assigned recipes was Parmesan Chicken and it was the first time I'd ever breaded a cutlet in a three step process and cooked it myself. I confess -- in the past, it's just been too damn easy to defrost some Trader Joe's breaded chicken tenders. How much better could they be? Well, a lot better in fact, and "tender" like a chicken tender should be. Which got me to thinking ... I love pretzel flavored anything, wouldn't pretzel crumbs make an excellent Pretzel Chicken?

Yes. They do.

What's also interesting to me, is, I don't like "honey mustard" or "ranch" or typical restaurant industry bottled dressings, chips, pretzel nuggets, infused in anything like that. There is a restaurant near me that my boyfriend LOVES and they use Honey Mustard on every sandwich. I hate it. Give me Best Foods or nothing. I'm a purist. There are virtually no good pre-bottled salad or sandwich dressings in my opinion (don't even get me started on the abomination which is Miracle Whip).

That said, I thought honey mustard would be a good combo with pretzels and chicken, so I gave my own sauce a whirl, and I confess, it was tasty as heck and really complimented the chicken. I'd still never buy it in a bottle, but I'd make this again, as well.

Pretzel Chicken
4 chicken tenders
1 cup of pretzels, whirled in a bullet blender until finely crumbed
Pepper
Flour
Egg

Pound the chicken tenders (if you like) to an even thinness. Crumb the pretzels. Season flour with pepper. Beat an egg with water until frothy. Dip one chicken tender first in the flour, then the egg, and then the pretzel crumbs. Quick fry in a hot skillet with veg oil and a tidbit of butter for flavor, until deeply brown. I thought, because the pretzels were salted, no additional salt would be required, but after frying and tasting, I was wrong. I needed to grind a bit of sea salt for more flavor. Do so to taste, and set aside.

Honey Mustard Sauce
Small blob of yellow mustard
Small blob of Dijonaise
Small blob of Best Foods Mayo
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Many grinds of peppercorns
A few shakes of Penzey's Green Goddess spice blend, although you can add any spices you like

In a small bowl or cup, whisk together all ingredients, tasting as you go, to taste. That's it.

Verdict: My my, very tasty, tasty.
Skill: Moderate, more time consuming than usual
Repeat: Absolutely.
Cost: Minimal.

Tea Sandwiches with the Slice a Slice

Hooray, it's here! The vintage Slice a Slice which I first saw on Robin Sue's Big Red Kitchen blog is now mine, courtesy of eBay.

I knew, as soon as I saw her post, that was something I had to have. I can't stand thick, messy, so-called "Four Napkin" style sandwiches or burgers. The Carl's Jr. commercials with the "If it's not all over your face" or "the place" or whatever that tag line is, and the dripping ketchup and meat juice, are an abomination to me.

I love thin, delicate sandwiches. I may eat more than one, true, but I'd rather eat two very thin sandwiches than one monster sandwich that I have to open my mouth like a python to take a bite. No one looks good doing that.

The appeal of this vintage sandwich slicer is two-fold. First, I can't get thin-sliced bread in my area. Thin sliced varieties are available to East Coasters in the grocery store, but for some reason, brands like Pepperidge Farm won't sell them in California. It's difficult to slice your own that thin, unless the bread is sturdy. Bakeries don't slice it thin enough for my taste either, and when it's really fresh, it tends to mush and tear when they try. Second, the effect of reducing your sandwich to one slice of bread is a calorie and carb savings. Unless you eat more than one sandwich of course!

It has rubber feet which keep it solid on the counter. There is a wooden rod at the base, where your knife travels down. The holes in the device are slightly jagged, so the bread stays put (but doesn't get punctured) and believe it or not, the knife slides very easily down the center of the bread when it's being squeezed fairly tight. I'm thinking I'd get an even cleaner cut if the bread was slightly frozen.

So here it is ... one slice of bread, one slice of ham, one slice of cheese. Perfect!

When you don't pick your artichokes in time ...

... you get these beautiful thistle flowers. From my community garden plot. Now sitting in a vase.

Rotisserie Chicken Stock

I am mighty pleased with myself, with just a very basic chicken stock! I was reading a cookbook this week which pointed out something so obvious, it really never occurred to me:

"Every time you buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, eat the chicken and throw away the carcass, you've just thrown away a pot of chicken stock."

I've never made my own stock even though I know it isn't terribly complicated just because I didn't feel like playing with an entire chicken. But I've thrown away plenty of rotisserie chicken carcasses before, and the recipe was dead bang simple. It never occurred to me to use one, other than a turkey carcass every November.

So, with a Safeway grocery store rotisserie chicken sacrificed for the cause, here is my pot of stock waiting to cool, and be divided into one quart freezer bags.

ROTISSERIE CHICKEN STOCK

1 rotisserie chicken
1 onion
1 handful of carrots
1 handful of celery
1 garlic glove
Handful of herbs as you like
Whole Peppercorns

Strip the chicken of all the meat you wish to eat, leaving the skin, bones, and meat you don't want (I don't like dark meat, for instance), intact.

Put the entire carcass into a large stock pot and fill up with as much water as the pot will hold, and covering the carcass.

Throw in a handful of celery stalks with leaves intact, a handful of carrots (I only had shredded, so I added a cup of shredded), a whole onion cut in half, several tablespoons of various herbs, whatever is complimentary or you have on hand, 1 large elephant garlic clove, and about 10 peppercorns.

Bring to a rapid boil, then reduce heat, keep the pot covered, and simmer for 2 hours. As the liquid reduces during that 2 hours, replace with more water to keep the level up. For the second two hours, remove the lid, and let the stock reduce by half or until it reached a rich, dark golden color. Remove any fat or scum which floats to the surface (I had none, really).

Strain the whole pot into a large pan to remove bones, skin, veggies, meat. Then strain again through a smaller mesh strainer, as many times as you like, to get the broth clear.

I picked out a lot of meat from that pile you see and just nibbled on it, but most of the meat had been removed prior to the stock making.

It was really easy, really rich, really delicious, and so much better than ANY canned stock I've ever purchased.

Now I just need to make room for a bunch of bags of stock in my freezer. I think I'll be eating sugar free popsicles all night.

Barefoot Bloggers: Sandwich de Parmesan Chicken with Lemon Vinaigrette Salad

Twice each month, the Barefoot Bloggers select and make a recipe by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, and post our results on our blogs, and then discuss it on the group blog. This group is a welcome option for those of us who don't necessarily turn out the prettiest cakes, brave and daring confections, or bakery wonders. Sometimes a challenge is terrific with just simple, good food, with a stick of butter.

Challenge Two for June 2008 was a Parmesan chicken recipe, selected by Megan of My Baking Adventures. At first I had a less than gung ho reaction because I pictured breaded chicken in tomato sauce and cheese. But no, Ina's recipe is lighter and livelier (unusual for her!) and, as soon as I read it, I thought would make a wonderful little sandwich.

My contribution to the challenge is Sandwich de Parmesan Poulet avec Citron Vinaigrette Salade. I don't speak a lick of French, so that's a total affectation.

Away we go!

First, we're going to bread the chicken. I wanted thin, tender strips, so I just used two chicken tenders, and flattened them a bit more. I set up a small plate of flour, bread crumbs seasoned with Penzey's and fresh Parmesan, and a beaten egg. Dip the chicken in flour, then egg, and finally bread crumbs and Parmesan. In the pic below, I've already got my salad greens chopped and dressed, with a bit of extra lemon vinaigrette on the side.

Add the breaded chicken tenders to a pan with a pat of butter and a splash olive oil. Pan fry on each side until golden brown. These cooked very quickly due to the thinness. First one side ...

... then the other. Hey, these are looking pretty good! I'm pleased with myself.

I had a toasted rosemary baguette ready, and I'd already made the lemon vinaigrette and chopped salad greens. I lightly dressed the greens, put them on the toasted roll, added a chicken Parmesan tender, and then sprinkled the chicken liberally with more vinaigrette. I put the remainder of a small portion in an egg cup.


Voila! A sandwich of Parmesan chicken with lemon dressed salad greens. It was QUITE good and I'm pleased I made it. I changed the original recipe by presenting it as a sandwich instead of an entree, however, the biggest adaptation I made was with the lemon vinaigrette. It's quite a simple recipe really, just olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. When I read it, I thought "well you know, I *just* made Preserved Meyer Lemons (May 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine), which are loaded with salt and olive oil, so I thought why not use some of my newly preserved lemon? The ingredients are spot on.

I poured a splash of olive oil in a small blender cup, added 1/8 of a preserved lemon slice (half of a lemon quarter), the juice of half a lemon, lots of ground pepper, and a tiny smidgen of garlic aoili to emulsify it. No added salt because the preserved lemon was salty. I blended it up and it was just excellent. That salty preserved lemon contrasted nicely with the rich oil and tart lemon juice, and barely any was needed. I'll use that again for sure. Mmm, on fish!

Verdict: Simple and delicious
Skill: Not much of any, really
Repeat: Definitely

Roasted Prawns

Butterflied, roasted with lemons, garlic, olive oil, and Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle, until the shells turn red. Served with iced tea. Tasty!

I love Penzeys. They are good to me.

I'm really impressed with Penzey's. I "discovered" this spice store (online) a year ago while reading other blog love stories, and I love most of their blends, and especially the Sandwich Sprinkle, which I keep on my stove and use just like Paula Deen uses "house seasoning."

I recently ordered my favorites, didn't spend much at all (less than $10), but even so, in my box was a recipe for Southwest Salad and an entire complimentary jar of their Southwest Seasoning. It tasted like a very fresh taco seasoning. Free is fun, but a full jar for a small order? And good stuff? That makes me love them even more.

I pounded flat a small piece of beef into a sandwich steak, and sauteed it with the Southwest Seasoning for Carne Asada, and then just mixed fat free Greek yogurt, fresh pico de gallo, and Penzey's southwest seasoning in the dressing, for a "Salsa Ranch" dressing that was really good.

15 minutes from fridge to table and it was really delicious. If I ever come back east, I'm heading to one of these stores.

In Search of Pretzel Croissants

Technically, I already have access to them, but still. I'm not sated.

Pretzel Croissants recently came to Northern California. At last. My town, outside of the Bay Area, just last year opened its first cupcake bakery, to give you an idea that we lag WAY behind New York and its cupcakeries, or City Bakery andtheir pretzel croissants, pictured at right, and other food cities -- despite being a short distance from San Francisco.

Anyway, we finally got Pretzel Croissants by way of OctoberFeast (what a great name) German Bakery, which sells them at our Farmer's Market. They are darker than your average croissant -- the exterior flaky layer is a deep, caramelized brown. The interior tastes exactly like any other croissant. This happens to be GOOD, moist, flaky croissant, but only an average Pretzel Croissant, because there is only a hint of that pretzel flavor. No salt or sesame crunch on the exterior. Worse, they are very expensive -- $3.00 per croissant means I can' t just buy a bag of them and freeze them.

So. In preparing to thaw and bake off what I consider to be a very good frozen croissant dough from Trader Joe's (which I understand uses the same baker who makes frozen croissants for Williams-Sonoma), I had an idea.

Hey. I've made Pretzel Bread before and that wasn't hard. The secret to good pretzels and bagels is to boil them in a baking soda and water bath, first. Why not try it on frozen croissants?! If it worked, I could salt them and everything!

I was willing to throw myself on that grenade for you people, my foodie friends, to find out if I could achieve a Pretzel Croissant Flavor, without the Pretzel Croissant Price. I got out two frozen croissants, brought a big pot water to a boil, threw in some baking soda, and as I started to boil them, I figured one of a few things would happen:

A) It will have no effect whatsoever. You have two Pretzels for which you did nothing more than add an extra step to what otherwise is a pretty simple process: Thaw, Raise and Bake.

B) You will ruin two pieces of frozen croissant dough by boiling what was supposed to be tender flaky dough, and turn it into strands of gooey white yeasty smelling mucus.

C) You will make two Pretzel Croissants using nothing more than your above-average imagination and ingenuity. People will exclaim "Why didn't *I* think of that? Man, I'm never buying a $3.00 croissant again. I'm going to write about this and link to Kate's blog. If Tastespotting were still available, which it isn't, which depresses the shit out of me, I would submit Kate's picture of her basket of Pretzel Croissants because it is nothing short of FOOD PORNOGRAPHY.


The results are in, my friends and the answer is.... ?





A.

Barefoot Bloggers: Pasta, Pesto and Pea Salad

For my first participation in the fairly new Barefoot Bloggers group, we made Ina Garten's Pasta Salad with Pesto and Peas.

I wasn't expecting this to be an interesting dish for me -- pasta and pesto and peas -- eh, it's okay. For that reason, I actually made a couple of salads tonight, to take to work for my lunch tomorrow. While I wasn't wowed by these traditional flavors, I was pleased with the result of combining traditional pesto with spinach, lemon and mayonnaise. The heavy, oily flavor of just straight pesto on pasta was made more light and lively by mixing in pureed spinach and adding a bit of lemon juice and mayo. I liked it well enough to use it as both a dressing for leaf salads in the future, and a more lively-than-pesto pasta sauce.

Original recipe here, but I modified it by removing a fair amount of the fats (I didn't toss the pasta with oil, and used much less mayo than called for, and I note most of my Barefoot Bloggers did the same), and I could easily scale the recipe down for two persons by just eyeballing it. Finally, rather than tossing it with additional pine nuts, I used chopped walnuts.

My lunch tomorrow: A trio of salads, including Shrimp Louie, Pasta with Peas, and Broccoli Coleslaw, with a few crackers and tangerines.

About this challenge:
The Barefoot Bloggers join forces and cook or bake recipes by Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten each month, chosen in order by members, and present them for discussion on two Thursdays each month. Our Next Challenge: Ina's Parmesan Chicken. Hungry? Please join us at the table!