Pappa al Pomodoro

My most memorable meal in Italy is what is considered to be peasant food and was thrown together in a small kitchen nestled inside of a one bedroom – or really, studio – apartment in Florence, Italy. The evening began with three roses placed on a single bed, one for each of the girls that would be sleeping in it that night. No, it was not some sort of menage trios romance but rather a kind gesture from my sister’s Italian boyfriend at the time, welcoming my two friends and I into his home where we would be crashing for the next couple nights. This Italian man was not only a percussionist in a popular Italian reggae band, he was also a chef. A man that can pull out talents in both music AND food, well that’s quite a wonderful combination. While he did not serenade us that evening, he did cook what ended up being an incredibly simple and INCREDIBLY tasty meal. In Italy they call it Pappa al Pomodoro – essentially Tomato Bread Soup. The two key ingredients? Tomatoes and Bread. Though I was busy sipping on cheap Italian wine while he cooked and was not able to see how he made it, I fulfilled my role in completely devouring the soup, served with a simple green salad, Italian wine, and (likely) ended with gelato (isn’t that how every meal – i.e. breakfast, lunch, and dinner – is supposed to end? )

More than four years after my first and only taste of Pappa al Pomodoro, I inspired to try my own attempt at this simple soup. You may think, “tomatoes, bread, basil, garlic…simple, you can’t go wrong, can you?” however, this is the PERFECT example of how simple dishes beg for fantastic quality ingredients. If the tomatoes are sub-par, there is absolutely nothing that can cover that up. Thus, when I saw in our latest shipment two pounds of varied organic heirloom tomatoes – I was beckoned to pulverize them and turn them into a tasty Italian soup.

I used Mario Batali’s recipe on Food Network as my base - recipe link here and tweaked it – as always.

Pappa al Pomodoro

3 T. EVOO + more for drizzling
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
pinch red chili flakes
2 lb. tomatoes (mixed heirloom and cherry), peeled, seeded, roughly chopped, juices reserved
2 1/4 cups water
8 slices day-old ciabatta, cut about 1/2 in thick, torn into small pieces
1 cup basil, torn
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
parmesan cheese, shredded

- Heat the EVOO in a pot over medium heat – I recommend using a ceramic dutch oven or something that will not react to the acid of the tomatoes. NOTE: Do not use aluminum or copper whenever you cook tomatoes – not even for the utensils. Aluminum is a reactive metal, so will react with the acid in tomatoes resulting in bitter flavors and duller colors for the tomatoes, and possibly damages and discoloration for your cookware.

- Add the onion, garlic, and chili flakes. Cook until the onion becomes translucent, making sure to stir every now and then to reduce any potential browning.

- Add the tomatoes and their juices (NOTE: to peel the tomatoes – just use a knife to put an X on the bottom of the tomatoes blanch them in some boiling water for about 30 seconds or until the skin start to peel up. Remove and let cool – then peeling will be easy!). Cook for about 7 minutes.

- Add the bread and water and keep simmering for another 10 minutes.

- Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.

- To serve, ladle the soup in bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (I used a mix of parmesan and pecorino romano) an drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Voila! Served with a simple green salad with balsamic vinegar.

I enjoyed this soup due to the fresh, simple ingredients. It wasn’t perfect though. I would recommend using either the canned (gasp!) San Marzano tomatoes or perhaps some cherry or plum tomatoes. The heirlooms were delicious but I’m not sure they were sweet and red enough for this soup. I added the balsamic vinegar at the end because I felt that it needed a touch of sweetness and the balsamic did the trick. I want to try this again with different tomatoes and see how it turns out. It’s a keeper recipe but is completely dependent on the quality of ingredients, so I’ll keep that in mind next time I see some beautiful bright red tomatoes in the store.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with Passion Fruit Butter Sauce and Pineapple Swiss Chard

I laughed after taking my very first bite of this meal. Not because it was bad - quite the contrary. After 8 days in Hawaii dining at various restaurants, checking out local, fine dining, casual establishments, the best "Hawaiian" meal that I had came the day that we flew back into San Francisco and was cooked by our very own Chef Derek.

I was against this meal from the beginning as I had said the day before that I would be eating vegetarian for the upcoming week. However, I knew I would be coveting Derek's delicious halibut while sitting across the table digging into my mundane salad or soup...therefore, my plan for the week went out the door before it was even in place - good decision.

The star of the meal, the halibut, was purchased from Marina Meats just minutes before it closed at 7 PM on Sunday. We were lucky to purchase the final two pieces of halibut left in the case - it was as if they were saved just for us. I'd like to say that the macadamia nuts were straight from Hawaii but I would be lying. We made the mistake of not bringing anything back from the islands - nothing at all - and knew macadamia nuts are not a cheap item in the grocery store - such is life. $7 later for the nuts (not a terrible deal - surprisingly at Real Food Company) + $19 for the two pieces of fish + about $10 for the other ingredients for the meal (passion fruit juice, swiss chard, dried pineapple, panko breadcrumbs) comes to about $36 total, or $18 per person for the food portion of the meal. Add another $27 for the bottle of wine we are looking at $33 per person for an incredible meal - no tipping required! I can say with certainty that I spent at least double that for some of my meals in Hawaii and was not nearly impressed. This is why knowing your way around a kitchen is a great budget-friendly feat.

The recipes were simple and perfectly executed:

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut
from http://www.fishalaskamagazine.com/recipes/2004/9_04.htm

2 6- to 7-oz. Halibut Filets
1/2 cup Macadamia Nuts—crushed
1/2 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1 Eggs
1.5 tsp. Water (mixed with eggs)
Flour for dredging
Peanut Oil for sautéing
salt
black pepper

Place macadamia nuts and panko in food processor bowl fitted with a work blade. Using pulse, crush nuts and panko together until you achieve a medium coarseness. Do not over grind nuts or you will extract oil. Beat eggs with water until smooth. Heat a large saute pan or skillet on medium-low to medium heat. Lightly season halibut, dredge in flour, shake off excess then dip in egg mixture, then place in macadamia nut mixture and coat well. Press nuts on and lightly shake off excess. Add oil to pan and place halibut in pan. Let brown 3 to 4 minutes then turn over. Continue cooking halibut until golden brown on both sides—approximately 6 to 8 minutes total time. If using thick filets (one inch or more), finish cooking in a 350 degree F oven for 7 to 10 minutes.

Rather than the fruit salsa that accompanies the recipe, Derek came up with his own sauce, a Passion Fruit Butter Sauce:

1/4 cup passion fruit juice
3 T. butter
1/2 lime, juiced

Simmer juice and butter on the stovetop until it forms a silky consistancy - stir in lime juice to finish.

We served this with a side of our own creation consisting of the following (measurements are not exact):

Pineapple Swiss Chard

2 tsp. EVOO
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped dried pineapple (no sugar added)
1 bunch rainbow chard, stems removed, leaves slices into strips about 1/2 in. thick
1/8 cup white wine
salt and pepper

Heat oil in a large pan (we used a dutch oven). Add the onions, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add the pineapple and stir. Add in chopped chard and white wine. Stir until the chard starts to break down and wilt. Turn down the heat to low and cover. Let cook for about 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

I obviously loved this meal. It was relatively simple and was fabulous because it contained great ingredients and was perfectly executed. Derek made an observation that everything in the meal was organic or at least "natural" by food standards - maybe that had something to do with the final result.

The swiss chard was nice, though maybe a little spicy to be paired with the delicate fish. The pineapple plumped up and took in all of the flavors of the garlic, onion, and wine.

The fish - oh the fish - it was a melt in your mouth, lick your lips experience. I typically like small servings of fish because I get sick of eating it. This was a definite exception because I was actually sad when the meal was over.

I tried to take a picture of the fish to show how tender and moist it was - not sure the camera can do any justice:

I guess it is a good thing to know that I don't have to go out to a fancy restaurant and spend a bunch of money to get a truly memorable meal. This could have easily been a $36 dollar dish in a restaurant - for the fish alone - and I would have been happy to be served it at that price. That says something.

Kudos Chef Derek.

Garden Vegetable Ravioli in Tomato "Brodo"

Sometimes concepts SOUND better than they appear. And sometimes they LOOK better than they taste. In the case of this dinner, both controversies were in play.

Here is my inspiration recipe for this meal: Pasta with Corn, Burrata, Pancetta, and Chiles

I wish that that had ultimately been my dinner.

Instead, Derek went off exploring and found that recipe on another blog site which then lead him to the final recipe that we ended up making: Garden Vegetable Ravioli in Tomato "Brodo" - as you can see, on the original site HERE, it looks like a delictable dish - fresh, healthy(ish), capturing the flavors of the season.

Our ending result wasn't exactly that and I will attribute that to two main factors:

1) our bowls were simply horrible for the display and feasibility of this dish.
2) the past that we used was too thick and unforgiving that we had to cut larger than life ravioli (and with a pizza cutter at that)

I will not take responsibility for screwing this dish up because individually, the elements were really tasty. The filling for the ravioli was awesome and fresh, the soup/broth was so flavorful and light...if I had put the vegetables in the soup, and spread the goat cheese on a crostini rather than mixing with the vegetables, it would have been a perfect and well constructed meal. It was just that PASTA that got in the way of it all!

Here's what we did:

Ravioli Stuffing:
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off the cobs
3 baby summer squash, chopped
2 green onions, dark green parts removed, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
Small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
4 oz. (or so) package of Laura Chenel’s Chabis goat cheese
Sea salt, fresh ground black pepper

Chop each ingredient relatively small. If the pieces are too big they will poke a hole through the dough. Heat up a large saute pan and add two swirls of olive oil. Add the spring onion and cook for two minutes. Add the corn, carrots, squash, broccoli, sea salt and black pepper. Cook on medium-low for about 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Stir every few minutes so they don’t brown. Add chopped parsley, stir and turn off heat. Let cool for about 5 minutes. Empty veggies into a large glass bowl and gently mix in goat cheese until combined. Taste for salt and set aside.

Tomato Brodo:

FYI - Brodo is Italish for broth, so I've read...

2 ripe, organic tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
Extra-Virgin olive oil
Sea salt, fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup leftover homemade heriloom tomato sauce (just keeps making an appearance!!)

Set a large pot of water to boil. Using a sharp knife, make an “X” on the bottom of each tomato, just cutting through the skin. Add the tomatoes to the boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, until the skins start to peel back. Transfer tomatoes to a bowl and cover with a cotton towel. When cool enough to handle, remove the skins. Crush each tomato with your hands into a medium pot set on low heat. Add crushed garlic cloves, 1/2 cup of water, salt and pepper. Cook on low for about 25 minutes. (Here is where we added the leftover marinara sauce - otherwise, just up the amount of tomatoes like the original recipe calls for). Heat for another 5 minutes or so. Just before serving strain the broth into a bowl, leaving garlic and tomato seeds behind.

Ravioli: Purchased in full sheets from "The Pasta Shoppe" in Berkeley.

Directions:
Take about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the filling, and place it in heaps about 2 in apart on the sheet. Place a second pasta sheet over the base pasta and filling. Using a pizza-cutter (or ravioli-cutter if you have one), cut between the filling, creating individual ravioli.

Cook the ravioli in boiling water for about three minutes. Strain the tomato broth and ladle into a bowl with a few of the ravioli. Garnish with fresh basil (we didn't have this so that added to the ugliness of our dish).

The final ugly duckling:

Haha I laugh when I see that. The ravioli just take over the bowl. And disappointed with the result, we did not try to clean up the bowl for its photo shoot.

My take on how we could make this dish work:

IF using pasta...roll it out a little more (or try to make our own) OR purchase wonton wrappers and make the filling as directed. Since Derek and I agreed that the tomato brodo was simply overpowering for the delicate flavors of the vegetables and pasta, instead, simply use some goat cheese with lemon zest and maybe a little vegetable broth or something to slightly thin it out (though not necessary as it will melt once in contact with the hot pasta).

IF not using pasta....throw the other elements together and it would be delicious.

Good idea, not so good result.

Red Curry Rice Noodles with Eggplant, Squash and Tofu

Having gone to SF Chefs 2010 the day before and sampled an over-abundance of food and drink, I thought to myself, "tonight - all I want is brown rice and tomato sauce" - something so simple that bland that could set my stomach back on track. For an idea of what I had put myself through the day before...

30 Restaurants - each with at least one to four bite sample of delicious gourmet cuisine to try - I tried all but maybe 3 or 4...that's at least 26 samples of this and that...lamb, shrimp, vegetable, dessert, cheese, soup with foam, gelee...

28 Wineries + Beer + Liquor - unlimited tastings. I'll leave it at that.

Surprisingly, or not so surprisingly, Derek and I focused on the food and stopped for wine only to break up our eating binges. This was a delicious and incredible experience that wasn't AS gluttonous as I am making it seem (or perhaps it was and I can just handle it...) - still after coming home at 6 PM , taking a 5 hour nap (wtf) to wake for pizza and go back to sleep...somehow bland rice sounded great.

However, I knew my tatesbuds would not be as please if I served them rice – so I decided to kick it up a notch, use some leftovers and treat them to something a little more exciting.

Derek had made a fabulous homemade red curry paste the week before so with that and a little coconut milk left in our refrigerator, I had my alternative meal set: Red Curry RICE Noodles. I got the rice in there somehow.

I used the following recipe as my base: Eggplant and Kabocha Squash Red Curry

My recipe:

Ingredients:

4 ounces light firm tofu (first time trying, tasty)
1.5 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 round summer squash
1 medium Chinese eggplant
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ginger juice
1.5 tablespoons dry vermouth
1 cup vegetable broth
1/4 light coconut milk
Kosher salt to taste
1 block of rice noodles (not sure the size, it was a decent amount)
Green onion thinly sliced to garnish
Cilantro sprigs to garnish

Instructions:

1. Cut tofu into large dice and combine with soy sauce and fish sauce. Set aside.

2. Cut squash into bite sized pieces; reserve. Trim ends from eggplant and cut into bite-size pieces.

3. Add oil and curry paste to a large pot over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until paste sizzles and becomes aromatic - about 30 to 45 seconds. If the paste sticks to the pot, add a little bit of water and scrape to incorporate.

4. Add shallots and cook until partially translucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger juice; when aromatic, add dry vermouth, broth, coconut milk and squash. Bring to a simmer, cover, lower heat and cook about 3 to 4 minutes.

5. Add eggplant and cook, covered, about 5 more minutes. Add water chestbuts and tofu along with any marinade. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until squash and eggplant are just tender but easily hold their shape - about 3 to 5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt. Remove from heat until noodles are ready.

6. Meanwhile, soak rice noodles for 5 minutes in water that has just been boiled. Drain and set aside. When ready to serve, add noodles to the pot. Bring back to a simmer a couple more minutes, tossing noodles frequently until they absorb some of the liquid and are fully cooked but not too soft.

7. Garnish with green onions and cilantro. Serve immediately.

OK so not the bland rice dish that I had anticipated, but it was just enough pasta and coconut milk to be comforting without feeling gross and heavy again. I could have used even more red curry paste as it was so delicious but it asted more as a compliment and less of a POW - in your face curry, which was good for this evening.

This was also my first time having "light firm tofu" - and I'm not sure what makes it much different than the regular stuff - I am still somewhat exploring the tofu world.

I had leftovers two days later for lunch and was still pleased.

Yes I bought a bottle of $5.50 unflitered sake to accompany this dish...and yes, I felt a little bit ill again the next day :)

Whoopie Pies, Test #1: Fudge Whoopie Pies with Three Filling Variations

In my hopes to one day be my own boss and have my own little niche company, I continually try to think about what my outlet from the corporate world would be. Eventually, I can see a vineyard, or wine bar/cafe in the future...or perhaps some kind of event or travel planning gig...the issue with those is overhead, aka money...that which I do not have an excess of at the moment.

I am continually drawn back to my first love, baking. Since I was 6 or so I have been baking cookies, my gateway bake, if you will. I remember having my neighbor pay me for my peanut butter cookies when I was just a wee little thing. I would bake weekly - with frozen chocolate chip cookies being my absolute favorite treat. For me, there are only three kinds of cookie forms that I like: Dough, Freshly Baked, and Frozen. Let them sit for a day or two and I am less interested. I find that the Frozen cookies retain the delicious flavor and contain some kind of tatesensation that is simply incredible. This is especially true with cookies that are pulled from the oven just before they are fully cooked - this, for years, was my specialty.

Lately I have been taking a bit of a hiatus from baking for two simple reasons:

1) Derek isn't huge into sweets and Lord help me if I eat a whole batch of something
(FIX: Bring the treats in for scavenger-esque co-workers)
2) I am not an owner of a Kitchen Aid, the machine I learned to bake with and swear by - in fact, my hand mixer is a hand-me-down from my parents, and if my parents are giving something away...you know it's OLD.
(FIX: Buy a Kitchen Aid - oh, one day)

However, there is something so wonderful about a lazy Sunday afternoon spent in the kitchen baking up some kind of delicious creation. And this is exactly what I did this past Sunday, though not completely recreational.

Going back to my - I want to have my own "business" - thought, my latest and greatest idea is Whoopie Pies. These are a combination of two baking concepts, cookies and cupcakes, today's current craze in the market. I came to this middle-ground idea after thinking about cupcakes and how creative you can be with the flavors, fillings and frostings. Cookies have slightly less creative room. However, when you take cookies as the base and have the ability to add fillings and frostings, then the doors to creativity are opened! My thought is that whoopie pies can and should be the next big craze - so I thought I'd take my Sunday afternoon to begin my Whoopie Pie research.

I used a Dark Chocolate Cookie as the base:

1 oz. bar unsweetened baking chocolate
3 oz. bar dark chocolate 60%
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whoopie Pie Filling (see recipe with variations below)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with a silpat (or parchment paper if you don't own a silpat). Place chocolate in a microwave safe bown and microwave on medium setting for about 60-90 seconds, removing the chocolate periodically to stir. Be careful not to burn the chocolate!!

Use a mixer on medium to medium-high speed to cream the butter and sugars together until light in color.

Add one egg and thoroughly incorporate - stopping to scrape as needed; repeat with second egg.

Add the warm, melted chocolate and mix completely, scraping down the sides.

Combine milk and vanilla extract into the mixture.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt; add to the mixing bowl and blend in, stopping to occasionally scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.

Portion dough with a 1-ounce scoop and place about 2-inches apart on prepared baking sheet. You should have 24 cookies. Bake until tops spring back lightly when touched, about 8 minutes.

To assemble: When cookies are thoroughly cooled, match up evenly-shaped pairs. Spread or pipe 1 1/2 -2 tablespoons filling onto the flat bottom a cookie, then top with its mate.

Basic Whoopie Pie Filling with Variations:

1 tub (7 oz) of marshmallow fluff (brought me back to my childhood!)
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup), room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Using an electric mixer, blend all of the ingredients until thoroughly incorporated and the texture is light and fluffy.

This is the basic whoopie pie filling.

Variations:
The measurements would depend on how big of a batch you are making, I cut the single filling batch into four different flavors. This is where you get to taste test and keep adding until it is perfect!

Strawberry and Chocolate: Add finely chopped strawberries that have been mascerated in powdered sugar and quality cocoa powder (I used Frontier's Cocoa Powder - incredible!).

Ginger: Add Ginger juice and chopped crystallized ginger

Adult Coffee: Add Van Gough Double Espresso Vodka (should probably be cooked down to elminate the alcohol, but I like the taste).

Honey and Vietnamese Cinnamon: Just that - honey and vietnamese (or regular) cinnamon

Other variation: Sprinkle some sea salt on top of the cookie before baking or just after they are taken out.

The four creations:

My critique on my "test":
- The flavors were killer
- The cookie baked up to the size and "puffiness" that I wanted but was a little dense and fudge-like which tasted great but wasn't exactly what I was looking for. This is likely due to the melted chocolate addition.
- The chocolate strawberry filling was the tastiest but got slightly runny with the addition of the strawberries
- I could use a little less sugar in the filling
- Super successful first round

Goal for next round: Lighter and fluffier cookie

Grilled Squid and Sweet Onion Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Green Chile Vinaigrette + Pimientos de Padron

Inspiration Ingredient: Padron Peppers aka Pimientos de Padron

An odd inspiration if you continue reading and see what the actual dish ended up being - however, it was the true inspiration! While in Spain my boss turned me on to "pimientos de padron" a tapas dish that I had surprisingly never tried while living over there. They were, however, FABULOUS. I knew that I'd be able to make it since it was essentially peppers cooked in oil and sprinkled with salt. Easy. The catch with recreating this dish is the difficulty in finding the main ingredient, the peppers! You can't use just a simple jalapeno - no, these padron peppers are unique and essential to the dish. To my surprise, I found some at our local farmer's market and instantly picked them up and was ready to create a delicious meal to go with these peppers.

I think subconsciously I have been on an extreme squid salad kick so I naturally went this direction in creating the padron pepper compliment. I wanted something substantial but not too heavy. I went through a bunch of authentic Spanish recipes and then decided that squid was the direction that I wanted to go. This recipe contained a pepper vinaigrette so that would be the tie-in between the two dishes.

It was a Bobby Flay so I knew Derek wouldn't oppose.

I'll begin with the simple recipe for the Pimientos de Padron. I've pretty much alread explained it.

Padron Peppers (or you could use the Japanese alternative, Shishito Peppers)
EVOO to coat a pan
Sea Salt (the coarse stuff)

Head the EVOO in the pan. Once hot, add the peppers and cook for about 4-5 minutes until the skins are blistered and they become tender. Make sure to keep "shaking" the pan while you are cooking them to make sure the peppers are being evenly cooked.

Remove from the pan and put on a paper towel. Pat off any excess oil. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and serve immediately!

Just as I had remembered! This would be a real crowd pleaser for a tapas-style dinner or get-together. Or simply, if you have a few friends over and are having a beer, instead of pulling out the potato chips, why not whip some peppers up - it's much better and impressive!

Now for the rest of the meal:

Grilled Squid and Sweet Onion Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Green Chile Vinaigrette
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay, adapted for Katie & Derek

The original recipe said that it served 8 - we did about half of the recipe and it served two very large portions...what you see below is the original recipe with my modifications in italics.


Ingredients

Roasted Tomatoes:
•8 plum tomatoes, halved (2 heirloom tomatoes - 1 yellow, 1 red, cut into thirds)
•2 tablespoons pure olive oil (we used the misto to spray the EVOO)
•Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Rub (or spray!) the tomatoes with the olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until soft. Remove seeds and dice. (we left them whole)

Squid:
•16 whole squid, cleaned (1 lb total - so about 8 squid or so)
•Olive oil
•Salt and pepper
•2 large sweet onions, (Walla Walla, Vidalia), peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick (we did about 1/2 in. thick which leads to longer grilling time - used 1 onion)

Preheat grill or grill pan. Brush squid with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill the squid for 3 minutes on each side. Cut into 2-inch pieces. Brush the onions with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes (or longer) on each side until almost tender.

Green Chile Vinaigrette:
•1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped (used about 3/4 pasilla pepper)
•6 cloves roasted garlic (used about 4 cloves - roasted along with the tomatoes)
•1/2 cup red wine vinegar (1/4 cup)
•3/4 cup pure olive oil (1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon honey (1.5 tsp)
•Salt and pepper

Place pepper, garlic and vinegar in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until emulsified. Add the honey and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Assembly:
1 pound mixed arugula, frisee, green leaf lettuce
Grilled Squid
Grilled Onions
Green Chile Vinaigrette
Roasted tomatoes
12 fresh mint leaves (used more), chiffonade

Combine the greens, squid and onions in a large bowl and toss with some of the vinaigrette (we omitted this step and just drizzled the dressing once assembled). Place on a large platter and top with the tomatoes (we put this as a base layer for the squid) and fresh mint. Drizzle with additional dressing.

This was filling!! Maybe the serving size WAS correct. I felt good eating it but it was deceivingly filling! The roasted tomatoes and grilled onions were, surprisingly, my favorite part. The squid was great, don't get me wrong, but there was so much flavor in the onion and tomato that they really became the perfect compliments, if not stars of the dish. Derek was pleased, I was as well. The only change that we both agreed on (besides the large serving size) would be to throw in a bit of roasted jalapeno into the dressing to spice it up a bit. The pasilla pepper was tasty but the dish could have used a bit of an extra kick.

Roasted Eggplant with Saffron Yogurt Sauce

I was really hoping that this would taste as good as it looked in the original picture that peaked my curiosity (and also that I could make it look somewhat as pretty as the original picture...). It seemed to be chock-full of ingredients that I love - eggplant, saffron, basil, yogurt...yum!

I made this while Derek was playing in tournaments so it was all my cooking - and I was slightly nervous that he would hate it given that he is not huge into eggplant as a main dish ingredient, and that it was a pure Katie meal, from start to finish. Still, I crossed my fingers and put on my imaginary chef's hat and went to town.

Roasted Eggplant with Saffron Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients
3 medium eggplants, cut into slices 2cm thick, or into wedges
olive oil for brushing
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
a handful of pomegranate seeds (did not have so used 1 segmented orange)
20 basil leaves
coarse sea salt and black pepper

Saffron Yogurt
a small pinch of saffron strands
3 tablespoons hot water
3/4 cup Greek yogurt, strained if somewhat liquidy
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. For the sauce, infuse the saffron in the hot water in a small bowl for 5 minutes. Pour the infusion into a bowl containing the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and some salt. Whisk well to get a smooth, golden sauce. Taste and adjust the salt, if necessary, then chill.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the eggplant slices on a roasting tray, brush (misto) with plenty of olive oil on both sides and sprinkle with salt and pepper (I add pepper AFTER roasting so it doesn't burn).

Roast for 20-30 minutes, until the slices take on a beautiful light brown colour. Let them cool down.

3. To serve, arrange the eggplant slices on a large plate, slightly overlapping. Drizzle the saffron yogurt over them, sprinkle with the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds (orange segments!) and lay the basil on top.

I served this with some whole wheat roti that I had picked up at an Indian restaurant/grocery store that came in pre-made unbaked discs. All I had to do was place the dishs on a heated griddle for about 30 seconds on one side, flip it and keep it on for about 30 seconds on the other side...and do it once more on the first side so that the bread gets nice and puffy:

This is what Derek and I had tried to achieve last time we tried to make homemade roti. They didn't quite puff up like this...perhaps the store-bought stuff is easier :)

And the complete meal:

I was so relieved when I tried this and it was FANTASTIC. I used the orange segments to take the place of the pomegranate seeds since pomegranates are not in seasons. I figured the orange segments would provide the nice burst of flavor that the seeds would have. It went so well with the roasted eggplant and toasted pinenuts and cool/slightly sweet (from the saffron) yogurt.

I thought I had made a ton of eggplant (you saw that grill pan in the photo above) and I was thinking that I'd have some leftovers for lunch the next day. Nope! Guess we'll just have to make it again!

Goat Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

I find it funny to hear my co-workers' reaction to the sometimes odd meals that I am heading home to. When I shared with them that Derek would be making goat meatballs that evening, the reaction was precisely as expected - a mix of disgust and curiousity. I'll choose the latter as my typical response. I've already learned that most foods that are typically seen as "disgusting" are actually just a figment of the eater's imagination and are really quite good! I had this mental war about 4 years back when I faced my first bite of sushi. This was the beginning of my "I'll eat anything with a glass of water on the table" mentality, but believe me, my actions were not completely uninhibited. The battle that took place the moment before placing the raw fish (roll, of course) in my mouth was nothing compared to the war that ensued while I was taking in all of the textures and flavors of this foreign food. My "Mind A" - the mind that is biased and had been made up prior to any actual interaction with the sushi, the "closed mind" if you will - had already told me YUCK - how gross. However, my newly formed "Mind B" - the one that had been previously tucked away, not allowed to come up for air to provide an opinion - actually was saying "hmm...this isn't so bad, actually, it's kind of tasty!"

My realization of this internal conflict and the presence of two minds has changed my life and leads me to believe that all of the picky eaters out there are simply refusing to let Mind B come out to play. What a shame.

It is hard to believe that this was only four or five years ago that this life-changing transformation took place. In those few years I've evolved into, what I would call, an adventurous foodie. Sure, I will think twice before ordering innards and other oddities that probably are not quite up to par as the actual meat that came from the animal, but heck, I'll try it - with a glass of water, of course.

My progression has been on the fast track, largely due to the presence of Derek in my culinary life. For him, the gamier and rarer the food item, the better. Thus, when he told me he was making goat meatballs, I thought nothing of it. "Yum! Great idea" was more of my response. Not the same as what I received from my co-workers who were anxious to hear the result the next day.

I have no problem putting up with some of the out-there meat dishes that are put in front of me because of the simple fact that they are literally put in front of me = I don't have to step into the kitchen.

Here's the recipe that Derek used as his general base for the meatballs - pretty simple.

Goat Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
(Serves 4-6)

1b lean goat meat, ground
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
½ cup fresh breadcrumbs
½ tsp pepper
1 egg, beaten
flour
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Combine the meat, onion, mint, parsley, breadcrumbs, egg and pepper.
2. Roll into small balls. Place in refrigerator and chill for 30 minutes.
3. Dust the meatballs in corn flour.
4. Fry on medium heat in oil for approx 6-8 minutes.
5. Heat tomato sauce in a pan (we used our homemade tomato sauce that was handy)
6. Season to taste and add back the meatballs and heat through for 5 minutes

We served this with a side salad (ok so I guess I did step in the kitchen...this was my only contribution) that had a homemade mustard/lemon/honey/EVOO dressing.

The complete meal:

What sounds like a production due to the odd ingredient was really quite easy - and delicious!!! The goat was MOIST and had a well-rounded flavor.

Goat is nowhere near as gamey as some other meats such as lamb and mixed up in a meatball with delicious tomato sauce, you really can't tell you are having something slightly "funky." Best part of goat, is it is good for you! Check out the comparison table with other common meat:

Per 3 oz. Cooked
GOAT* CHICKEN** BEEF*** PORK**** LAMB*****
Calories 122 162 179 180 175
Fat (g) 2.6 6.3 7.9 8.2 8.1
Sat Fat (g) 0.79 1.7 3 2.9 2.9
Protein (g) 23 25 25 25 24
Cholesterol (mg) 63.8 76 73.1 73.1 78.2

This is why having an open mind about food can be a good thing - you have a whole range of healthy options at your fingertips!

Homemade Curry Roasted Vegetables with Whole Wheat Israeli Couscous

RESTAURANT QUALITY

That's precisely what I was thinking as I savored each bite of this incredible creation that Derek whipped up from some ingredients that I had picked up at the store. My goal for the night, or my "inspiration ingredient" I should say was...zucchini. We had a lot of it and I read that we are about to get more in our next shipment of fruits and veggies, so it was time to use them!! I was thinking of throwing together some kind of moroccan stew over couscous or else some kind of fresh cold zucchini/israeli couscous salad - I wandered around Berkeley Bowl with only slight direction in search of the key ingredients for the meal. To my surprise, I came across whole wheat israel couscous...score! I'm a big fan of israeli couscous (a more pasta-like grain traditionally made of semolina) so I was set on picking that up and using that as the base of whatever would be made.

Then somewhere between the time I got off work and got home I lost all inspiration to make anything remotely unique or interesting...or really to make anything at all. That's when my prince charming comes in and offers to make dinner with the ingredients that I bought. Saving grace. Not only did I get off the hook for chef-duty (OK I did make the couscous but that was so minor), I was treated to an incredible meal that was completely worthy of being on a restaurant menu. Thank you Chef Derek.

Best part of it all? He actually contributed to this blog in that he wrote down the ingredients AND instructions (this is big).

So straight from the mind of Derek:

Homemade Curry Roasted Vegetables with Whole Wheat Israeli Couscous

Part 1: Roasting the vegetables

4 small summer squashes (sliced 1/4 inch thick) Optional: peel some of the skin off the end slices
2 small red bell peppers (cut into 1 inch strips)
1/2 medium red onion (split vertically and cut into chunks)
6-7 small carrots (peeled) OR 2-3 medium carrots (peeled but cut vertically in half so they can roast easily)
10 or a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes


1. Heat oven to 425. Lightly coat vegetables in olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper on both sides. Lay out vegetables on foil covered baking sheets as needed. Bake for 25 minutes (they will start to shrink and brown depending on the vegetable). Begin making the curry powder now!


Part 2: Making the dry curry powder

1 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3/4 tsp ground tumeric
1/2 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
1-2 hot dried red chilies, crumbled (I used dried chile de arbol; seeds removed)
1/2 teaspoon ground clove

1. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat. The recipe said, "When it gets hot, add coriander, cumin, peppercorns, mustard seeds, cloves and chilies".* Keep moving the pan constantly, to make sure the spices do not burn, the spices will begin to begin to get toasted and become fragrant. Keep moving the pan over the heat until they begin to darken slightly in color. Add tumeric and fenugreek and stir constantly for 10-15 seconds.

2. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Allow to cool. Once cool, place into a spice grinder and grind until fine. Store in an air tight container.

* Notice it also included mustard seeds and the spices it is referring to are all supposed to be whole. If you have whole spices, use those over the ground and add some extra, as air will take up more space while measuring then in the ground spices. I just threw in all my spices to the pan, however, I would recommend toasting the whole spices first then adding the ground spices, as the ground will toast up faster.

Part 3: Saffron Scented Whole Wheat Israeli Couscous

1 T. EVOO
1 glove of garlic
3/4 cup whole wheat israeli couscous
2/3 cup water or vegetable broth (I did a mix) - add more if necessary
6 strands of saffron
1/4 cup golden raisins, roughly chopped
salt
pepper

1. Heat the EVOO in a saucepan/pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds to infuse the flavor.

2. Add the dry couscous and stir to coat with the oil. Toast for about 2 minutes.

3. Add the liquid and saffron, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover. Let simmer for about 10 minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Add golden raisins and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Part 4: Making the curry dish

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
cilantro, for garnish

1. Over medium-high heat, in another medium saucepan put 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped garlic and let it sweat for a minute. Then add the curry powder and cinnamon. Heat for 3 minutes.

2. Remove the vegetables and let cool a few minutes. Roughly chop the squash and peppers. Chop the carrots and onions a bit more then the squash and peppers so they are smaller.

3. Add the roasted vegetable, squeeze and roughly break up the tomatoes, and toss everything in with the sauce until coated. Serve over couscous. Top with cilantro

Derek's few critiques of this dish, and I am in agreement, is that perhaps it could have used a little less oil. It was no where near "oily" per se, especially in comparison to restaurant meals, but with oil in each component of the dish, it was certaintly present. I didn't have any problem with it but again, you could cut it down a bit. Derek said he drizzled the vegetables with oil when roasting them and I reminded him that we have a "misto" and that is the perfect use for it. The misto evenly sprays EVOO in a light coating so that it doesn't get too concentrated in one spot and you end up using less. We will "misto" the veggies prior to roasting next time.

Other than that, it was really truly incredible. We had just eaten at an Indian/Mexican (odd, I know) restaurant that has a whole bunch of different curry flavors. I think this has inspired Derek to make his own because there is so much variation that can be brought into a dish by straying from the traditional packaged yellow curry. While that is delicious, you could really tell the incredible depth and layers of flavor that this dish had. There was a perfect level of spice so that it lingered but did not inhibit any consumption. The sweetness of the golden raisins was a great touch. The roasted vegetables were jam-packed with flavor (even before putting it in the curry) and they were transformed to an almost stew-like medley when mixed all together.

Truly impressive. The only thing I wish is that there were leftovers!!!!!!

Homemade Red Curry

I'll admit defeat in that Derek will never give me the recipe for his homemade red curry that made our apartment smell for the next two day. The smell wasn't a bad one - and it was actually quite wonderful the night of the meal. However, who wants to continue to smell your food two days later...

The lingering effects say something about the amoung of fresh spices and flavors that went into this dish. Derek's arm got a workout as he had to manually grind up the whole spices for the paste.

Remembering the items that Derek requested for me to buy, I can pull out the following:

- dried red chilis
- galangal
- lemongrass
- cilantro
- shallots (called for Asian shallots - not sure what the difference is)
- anchovie paste (rather than common shrimp paste)
- coriander seeds
- lime
- oil

The curry paste was then mixed with vegetable broth (or chicken, but we were feeding a vegetarian) and coconut milk (lite).

Vegetables used were:
- Eggplant
- Red Pepper
- Onion
- etc.

Made with seasbass for the boys and tofu for the girls.

Served over brown jasmine rice.

Perfect level of spice - quite good!!

TOFU

SEABASS

BLTA (Avocado) Sandwiches

Simplicity, once again, for the Wednesday night meal. I had remembered enjoying a BLT when I had one last - which I must add was probably 3 years ago and was made with turkey bacon since that is all that I grew up with.

Tonight's meal was a big step for me in that I was eating REAL bacon, and not just a single slice, a whole sandwich worth! My one requirement: it HAD to be crispy. The thought of quasi soggy, fatty bacon completely grosses me out. I crafted my BLT according to what I believe to be the most important elements to the simple sandwich:
- Toasted bread: Whole wheat sourdough - two long slices
- Some layer of wetness: Mashed avocado (w/lime juice, cayenne, salt and pepper)
- Crisp lettuce: Romaine
- Juicy tomatoes: Organic slicing tomatoes (wanted heirloom but they didn't seem great at the store)
- Bacon: Niman Ranch Applewood Uncured Bacon coming in at $7 for 10 slices - YIKES

I made sure not to put the tomatoes directly on the bread so it didn't make it soggy. The lettuce served as the perfect security blanket for the juicy tomato. The bacon really does compliment the other ingredients quite well. It's salty, slightly fatty, and super flavorful - when combined with the crisp lettuce, crunch bread, creamy avocado (or mayo), and juicy tomatoes, it's really a complete flavor profile!

And my take on real bacon? It's good! Really. As long as it's crisp. And the leaner the better because I don't love biting into a taste of fat. It is a far cry from the overly crisp or burnt microwaved turkey bacon that my parents introduced me to growing up. While I love the flavor of turkey bacon and probably prefer it over the regular stuff, it is key to cook it properly - on a skillet...please, makes a world of difference!!

Curry Chicken Salad

We had some chicken that had been sitting in our freezer, unopened, since...probably November. We just don't typically freeze meat, and if we do, we are never inclined to use it. When Derek was about to throw this poor chicken away, I suggested cooking it and if it tasted OK then we could use it for a chicken salad. That is precisely what we did (and yes, the meat was still good).

Curry Chicken Salad

2 cooked chicken breasts (we used the bone-in with skin)

We poached the chicken a day or two prior to this dinner since we knew we were going to do something with it. For the poaching liquid we used water that was flavored with a variety of spices including juniper berry, bay leaves, carrots, celery, onion....sort of like making a chicken broth. The chicken was nice and tender and lightly flavored.

For the salad we threw together the following (measurements are approximate):

Dressing

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (Fage, of course)
• 2 T. mayonnaise
• 1 T. curry powder (perhaps add another 1/2 tsp. or so)
• 2 t. lime juice
• 2 t. honey
• 1/2 tsp. ginger juice (ground ginger could work too)
• salt and pepper

Salad

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces (cubes)
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup red grapes, cut in half
• lettuce, washed and torn
• pumpkin seeds for garnish

These two chicken breasts made enough of a salad for two dinners and two lunches. It was a lot of meat!! I wanted more grapes and nuts and celery to offset the meat which got a little old after a while. Still, it was very tasty. Poaching is such a healthy way to cook the meat as it didn't touch an ounce of oil in the process. It also made it really juice and tender so that part was a bonus. While poaching isn't our normal method of cooking meat, it seemed to be a common theme amongst chicken salad recipes so we went with it and it worked out!

This is another dish that you could really throw in quite a variety of ingredients. I saw some recipes that suggested mango or pineapple, some with mango chutney (I think that would be great drizzled on top - it would have to be heated first to thin out the jelly-like product). Coconut would also be great on top.

What I like the most about this recipe is that it didn't feel sinful at all - actually quite the contrary. Using yogurt instead of mayo is key. The dish still maintained its creamy characteristics without the fattiness of the mayo. It wasn't missed.

Eggplant and Polenta Stacks with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Carrying on the Sunday tradition of a homemade red-sauce inspired dish (OK perhaps not a tradition, but a common occurance, if you will), Derek and I came up with a creative use of several ingredients that we had on hand, most prominently, the big, beautiful heirloom tomatoes that Derek used to make his homemade sauce. We have typically been using quality canned tomatoes for the sauce - not this time! With a mixture of yellow, orange, and red-hued tomatoes, the sauce came out a much lighter color than normal. Another result of the fresh tomato usage was the slight runniness of the sauce. Derek added a bit of chicken broth to the sauce which probably wasn't the best move. It tasted fabulous but wasn't exactly the texture quality that we had achieved in some previous batches. Still, no complaints.

The sauce was used for a recipe that was, for the most part, a non-recipe creation of on hand ingredients.

Eggplant and Polenta Stacks with Fresh Tomato Sauce

Eggplant
1 globe eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
salt
pepper
EVOO
balsamic vinegar
vegetable broth

For the eggplant, generously salt the eggplant slices and place in a colander for about 30 minutes to allow the eggplant to "sweat" - this decreases any bitterness that the eggplant may have. Rinse the eggplant and pat dry.

Heat a grill (we used a stove-top grill pan - Emeril's brand). Spray (or drizzle) EVOO over the eggplant slices to lightly coat both sides. Sprinkle with pepper (salt if necessary but there is likely salt already incorporated into the eggplant from the sweating session). Place on a hot grill and cook about 3-4 minutes. Drizzle top with balsamic vinegar while grilling. I also added some chicken broth (it's what I had on hand - though if wanting to go completely vegetarian, use vegetable broth, that's probably ideal) on the eggplant slices to make sure that they retain their moisture. After 3-4 minutes, flip to the other side and add more balsamic vinegar and broth. Remove from the grill once the slices are tender but not yet falling apart.

Polenta
1/2 cup polenta
2 cups water
1 T. butter
1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
pepper
salt

Cook polenta according to package directions. Remove from heat and stir in butter and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Divide into two greased ramekins and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Remove from ramekins (they should slide right out). Once the polenta is slightly cooled, slice into three slices per ramekin.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

To assemble:
- Spread some tomato sauce on a plate
- Top with a slice of eggplant
- Place a bit more sauce on top of the eggplant
- Add a slice of polenta
- Continue layering the eggplant and polenta slices adding some tomato sauce between each layer. Top with more sauce and a basil leaf.

I really enjoyed this meal. Derek had originally mentioned doing an eggplant parmesan to use both the sauce and the eggplant but I really wanted something different. I want to expand my eggplant recipe base and so I thought of some sort of stack since the presentation is (usually) quite beautiful! Having recently had a fantastic brunch dish that had polenta, poached eggs, fresh summer vegetables and goat cheese (ah, just thinking about it makes my mouth water right now...) I had polenta on my mind and thought that could be a good contrast and compliment to the eggplant. I was right.

Each component of this dish was so simple to make and it would be very good with variations such as roasted or grilled portobello layers, roasted red peppers, mozzarella...any of those good hearty, earthy Italian-inspired flavors would work. We made ours simple with just eggplant and polenta but the variations make this an exciting go-to recipe that looks impressive and is really easy.

Grilled Chicken with Blueberry Bourbon Barbecue Sauce and Homemade Coleslaw

Cooking on a Friday night? Yikes! That's usually a recipe for staying in (and it was) but after having had two nights of laziness and a non-desire to cook, I was dying for something quasi fresh and homemade. It was quite a strange occurance that we decided to eat out on both a Wednesday and Thursday night - and there was nothing to celebrate. Actually, quite the contrary. My car troubles led to my indesire to be creative, get ingredients, and cook....oh and then clean!! It really is quite a process that doesn't usually seem so daunting - but for these two days, I wanted simplicity. And looking at the menu items that I chose on those two days of oddity, I can see why it is so easy to get lazy and make poor diet selections - it is comforting!! Wednesday was burgers and zin (free range, non-greasy patties of course...whole wheat bun...so OK not horrible) and Thursday was Chicago Deep Dish Pizza....and zin...but served with a yummy salad so of course we weren't too much of gluttons. But thus my wanting a fresh meal at home on a Friday night.

My inspiration ingredient? Corn

What is more classic than barbecue , corn and coleslaw? Rather than a slow cooked piece of meat (which would have been completely impossible and would have pushed dinner into Saturday...) I wanted a simple piece of grilled chicken with a homemade barbecue sauce. After first leaning toward a traditional sauce, I came across this recipe for a Blueberry Bourbon Barbecue Sauce that immediately struck my eye:

Blueberry-Bourbon Barbecue Sauce
(we did about a half recipe which was more than enough!)

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small red onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1-2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup bourbon
2 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) blueberries
1/2 cup ketchup
1/3 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

Preparation
1.Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and just starting to brown, 2 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add bourbon, increase heat to high and bring to a boil; cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in blueberries, ketchup, vinegar, brown sugar, molasses and allspice; return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 20 minutes.

Our variation: after the sauce has thickened, use an immersion blender to blend the ingredients together so that it is still slightly chunky but the blueberry flavors are better incorporated and you won't be eating a whole blueberry.

We served this atop a piece of simple grilled chicken with salt, pepper and olive oil.

We also made some homemade coleslaw with green cabbage, green onions, and yellow peppers. A sauce of apple cider and red wine vinegar with a little mayo and then some lime juice and spices (Derek made it so I cannot possibly give a recipe!).

Some boiled corn and we were good to go.

One thing I've become increasingly sold on since I've been cooking is that chicken is best when it is fresh (i.e. not previously frozen). It is always so juicy without fail!!

An all-American meal, a movie, and some beer...a wonderful way to spend a Friday night.