Review of last recipe (photo above) - A big disappointment ... I thought freshly baked bread ...ah..., but it was just okay.  Even though there was parmesan and thyme in it, I really didn't taste any particular flavoring.

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS WITH TARRAGON
                                            AND SHALLOT BUTTER


Serves 4

8 drumsticks (about 2 lbs)
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Tarragon Shallot Mixture
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1 tbsp minced shallots
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 egg yolk

2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup white vermouth
3/4 cup heavy cream

Rinse the drumsticks lightly and pat dry.  On the bottom, flatten surface of each drumstick and make a 2" vertical cut right beside the bone.  Using the tip of the knife, scrape a little along the side of the bone to make a small pocket about 1/2" deep and 1 1/2-2" long.  Mix the minced shallots, dried tarragon, salt and pepper.  Cut the butter into eight pieces.  Stuff the pocket of each drumstick with some of the tarragon-shallot mixture and a pat of butter.

Heat a saute pan and add the oil.  Heat the oil to approximately 375 degrees and place the drumsticks, pocket side up, in the pan.  Fry the drumsticks over high heat until golden.  Turn the legs over and add the vermouth.  Cover and reduce the heat to low.  Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the drumsticks are cooked and tender.

Uncover the pan and transfer the drumsticks, stuffed side down, on a serving platter, arranging them like the spokes of a wheel with the tips out towards the edge.  Cover to keep warm.

Turn the heat up under the saute pan and cook the sauce about 3 minutes, reducing it to a coating consistency.  Using a whisk, lightly beat the egg yolk and heavy cream together.  Slowly add 1/4 of the hot reduced sauce to the cream mixture, whisking continuously.  Add the egg yolk-cream mixture to the pan and slowly heat, mixing continuously, until the sauce is thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauce over drumsticks and serve.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - My sauce verte was lumpy, and not emulsified enough, but was SO GOOD anyway!  This would be great with the addition of other seafood and/or salmon.  My re-engineering of the recipe was a success!

TODAY'S RECIPE - LITTLE BRAIDED HERB BREADS
I'm not much of a bread baker, but here goes!

Makes 6 loaves, each 4 servings

1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
3 pkg active dry yeast
about 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
6 tbsp butter
3 eggs
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp thyme leaves

About 4 1/2 hours before serving or 1 day ahead:

In a large bowl, combine sugar, salt, yeast, and 2 cups flour.  In a saucepan over low heat, combine milk, water, and butter until very warm (120-130 degrees).

With mixer at low speed, gradually beat liquid into dry ingredients until just blended.  Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  Beat in eggs, parmesan cheese, thyme and 1 cup flour to make a thick batter, and continue beating 2 minutes, scraping bowl often.  With wooden spoon, stir in 3 cups flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic; about 10 minutes, working in more flour while kneading (about 1/2 cup).  Shape dough into a ball and place in greased large bowl, turning dough over so that the top is greased.  Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place (80-85 degrees), away from draft, until doubled; about 1 hour (dough is doubled when two fingers pressed lightly into dough leaves a dent).

Grease six 5 1/4" x 3 1/4" loaf pans.  When dough is ready, punch down and turn onto lightly floured surface; cover with bowl and let rest for 15 minutes for easier shaping.

Cut dough into 9 equal pieces.  With floured hands, roll one dough piece into an 18" rope.  Repeat with 2 more dough pieces.   Place 3 ropes side by side and loosely braid, beginning in the middle and working toward each end.  The braid should be about 12" long.  Cut braid crosswise in half.  Pinch cut end and tuck ends under to seal to make two small braided loaves.  Place each loaf, seam-side down, in a prepared pan.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Cover with towel and let rise in warm place until doubled; about 30 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes or until golden and loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped with fingers.  Remove from pans immediately, and cool on wire racks.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - When I quickly read the ingredients to buy for this recipe, I thought it was a recipe using chicken breasts, which is what I bought; not a whole chicken.  I used scallions and kept them in the sauce, and forgot that I had no white bread with which I would have normally made the breadcrumbs out of, and ended up defrosting a hamburger roll from the freezer to use (hence the larger than normal breadcrumbs).  But ... this was really delicious!  Another dijon chicken recipe to keep!

TODAY'S RECIPE - MUSSELS WITH SAUCE VERTE
I can say that I'm getting tired of mussels.  After reading over the recipe, there are so many things I don't like about it.  It only uses 18 mussels; meaning 3 mussels per serving as an appetizer  (that's not enough).  Also, the mussels should be kept on the half shell and sauced, and then the mussels in their shells placed atop dressed pasta salad.  To me, that is strange, so I am adapting this to be a mussel pasta salad, since all the ingredients will end up together anyways.  I normally would not do this, but I'm taking the liberty here.

Serves 2-4

I plan to buy a bag of mussels .. usually 4 lbs.

Sauce Verte:
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup chopped watercress
1 tbsp snipped fresh chives
1 tbsp snipped fresh dill
2 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1 tbsp lemon juice
dash of salt

1/2 cup water
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 lb medium shells or other pasta
1/2 cup Italian-style dressing

Make the sauce verte by combining all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Turn into a small bowl and refrigerate, covered.  Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Debeard mussels and rinse in cold water.  Place in a large skillet and add 1/2 cup water and garlic.  Cook covered over high heat for 5-8 minutes.  Shake skillet frequently so mussels will cook uniformly.

With slotted spoon, remove mussels to dish.  When cool enough to handle, remove mussels and place in a bowl.  Refrigerate covered for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, cook pasta al dente and drain.  Toss with Italian dressing and refrigerate 1 hour.

Add mussels to the pasta and add sauce verte to taste.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - My buttercream came out nasty looking, and this dessert really was a project, so I wouldn't make it again.  It was quite decadent and maybe abit too rich for me; one-half of a serving would have been enough, but I had a whole one (much to my dismay afterwards).

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN DIJON
This was from a series called Fast French.

Serves 4

1 - 3 1/2 lb chicken, split with backbone removed
1/2 tsp pepper
salt
2 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp bread crumbs
Sauce:
3 tbsp dry white wine
1 tbsp sliced shallots or scallions
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp cornstarch, mixed with 1 tsp water
1 tsp coarse-grained mustard

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Season insides of chicken with pepper and 1/4 tsp salt.  Place chicken on an oiled baking pan, skin up and brush with 2 tbsp dijon mustard.  Bake 15 minutes.  Mix butter and crumbs and pat onto chicken.  Raise temperature to 425 degrees and bake chicken 5 minutes more, until crumbs are brown.  Put chicken on a serving platter and cover loosely with foil until sauce is ready.

Sauce:  Boil wine and shallots in a small stainless saucepan over high heat until liquid has almost completely evaporated.  Add cream and cornstarch mixture; whisk until boiling.  Strain out shallots.  Bring sauce back to a boil and whisk in coarse mustard, 1/8 tsp salt and remaining 1/2 tsp dijon mustard.  Serve sauce separately.   

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Really good ... I can see this as a make ahead and baking right before serving.  A couple of points:  I didn't soak the mussels, and could that be why opening them raw was really almost impossible and so time consuming.  After using an oyster knife on two of them, I decided to steam the rest for 1 minute so that most the the shells would be popped open and the mussels were only slightly cooked.  There was no difference in eating the two that had started in the oven as raw vs. slightly cooked.  I didn't have anisette and not crazy about the flavor, so I omitted it.  A little Cholula as my hot sauce made these divine.  And, as far as the portion, I bought my usual 5 lbs of Maine mussels (the mussels were larger this week), and I would think that amount would be more appropriate for four servings as a sit-down appetizer than a mere 1 1/2 lbs.  This would work really well as one of many appetizers at a cocktail party since they can be made ahead.  Also, I only used 2/3 of the filling; and that was for the 5 lbs. of  mussels, so I'm not sure why so much needed to be made in the recipe.  Cut down appropriately.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BOMBE ABBEY WITH RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM
Another gem from Family Circle ... or what I hope will be a gem ... it certainly sounds delicious!

Serves 10

1 frozen pound cake (10 3/4 oz), thawed
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen raspberries, thawed, drained with the syrup reserved
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
5 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate, melted
1 tbsp dark rum
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 egg
1 cup heavy cream
Chocolate Ganache (recipe follows)
Raspberry Buttercream (recipe follows)

Cut pound cake horizontally into 6 even slices.  Cut ten 3 1/4" circles from 5 of the layers.  Wrap and reserve.  Cut ten 2" circles from the remaining layer and scraps.

Reserve 10 raspberries for garnish.  Place remaining drained raspberries into bowl and puree with electric mixer.

Beat butter in medium sized mixing bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Beat in chocolate and rum until well mixed.  Mix in confectioners' sugar, and beat in egg until well blended and glossy.  Whip cream in medium sized bowl until stiff peaks form.  Stir about 1/4 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture to lighten.  Fold in remaining whipped cream until very well blended. 

Set 10 foil cupcake liners in medium sized muffin pan cups.  Spray with no-stick vegetable cooking spray.

Spoon a little of the chocolate mousse mixture into each cupcake liner.  Spoon 1 tsp of the raspberry puree on top, cover with the 2: cake round.  Spoon remaining chocolate mixture into liners to fill and smooth tops.  Cover and refrigerate 4-6 hours, or until firm.

Place the 3 1/4" cake round on wire racks.  Peel off foil liners from each chocolate mousse.  Invert onto cake rounds.  Pour Chocolate Ganache over each dessert to completely cover mousse and cake.  Pipe Raspberry Buttercream around the bottom of each mousse and pipe a rosette on top of each and garnish with a whole raspberry.

Chocolate Ganache:  Stir together 10 squares (1 oz each) semisweet chocolate melted with 1/3 cup heavy cream until well blended.  Gradually mix in about 3 tbsp vegetable oil to make a good pouring consistency.

Raspberry Buttercream:  Beat together 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) softened unsalted butter with 2 tbsp confectioners' sugar and 1 tbsp raspberry syrup (drained from the frozen raspberries) in a small bowl and, with an electric mixer, mix until well blended.

Review of last recipe (photo above)  - Really delicious!

TODAY'S RECIPE - MUSSELS ROCKEFELLER
This should actually have been in the appetizer section.

Serves 4 (as an appetizer)

4 cups loosely packed, washed spinach leaves
1 cup coarsely chopped celery
4 scallions
4 tbsp butter
1 cup bread crumbs
2 anchovy fillets, mashed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp anisette
1 - 1 1/2 lbs mussels, scrubbed, debearded and soaked
lemon wedges
tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Chop the spinach, celery and scallions together very finely in a food processor.  They should measure 2 cups.

Saute the vegetables in the butter.  Add the bread crumbs, mashed anchovies, pepper and anisette. Remove the pan from the heat.

Open the mussels and remove the top shells.  Spread about 1 tbsp of the vegetable mixture on each mussel.  Place them on a wire rack over a baking sheet and bake them for 10-15 minutes or until the mussels bubble freely.

Serve the mussels very hot with lemon wedges and tabasco sauce.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Kinda scary ... the custard was not set enough so I couldn't take a good single serving picture.  This isn't representative as the chocolate layer is rather thin (half of the dark portion is actually crust), and the vanilla custard/meringue layer should have been taller.  I used graham crackers for the crust instead of gingersnaps so my crust wasn't as firm.  It was really tasty, but not something I would feel comfortable making for guests.

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN CHEESE ROLLS
A Women's Day Magazine Silver Spoon Award winning recipe ...

Serves 6

3 large chicken breasts, boned and split
8 oz whipped cream cheese with chives, divided
1 tbsp butter, divided
6 slices bacon

Place split breasts between waxed paper and pound to 1/2" thickness.  Spread each with about 3 tbsp cream cheese mixture and dot with 1/2 tsp butter.  Fold ends over filling (some will ooze out during baking).  Wrap 1 slice of bacon around each roll. 

Place seam side down in shallow baking pan.  Bake on top rack in 400 degree oven for 40 minutes or until chicken is tender and juices run clear when meat is pierced.  Broil about 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp and golden.

Nutritional Information:  400 calories, 40 G protein, 1 G carbohydrates, 24 G fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 194 mg sodium

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Better than I expected, since there aren't that many ingredients in it.  The lemon really boosts the flavor, and I made brown rice which added some healthy starch.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BLACK BOTTOM PIE
Another recipe from Family Circle ...
Serves 8

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnaps
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp rum
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Blend crumbs and butter in a a small saucepan.  Press evenly over bottom and side of 9" pie plate.

Bake in a 300 degree oven for 5 minutes; cool, then chill.

Combine gelatin, 1/2 cup of the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks in a large saucepan, and beat until blended.  Stir in milk until smooth.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until custard thickens.  Blend 1 cup of the custard with the chocolate and vanilla; pour into crust and chill.

Stir rum into remaining custard; chill until it begins to thicken.

Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy.  Beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar gradually until meringue forms soft peaks.  Fold into thickened custard. Spoon over chocolate layer. 

Chill for 2 hours or until firm.  Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Really, really good and so easy to make.  I used half and half, instead of the heavy cream, and it was still rich and delicious!

TODAY'S RECIPE - MEDITERRANEAN FISH STEW

Serves 4

1 1/2 lb firm fleshed fish
2 lg onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil for frying
2 - 15 oz cans tomatoes
2 tbsp white wine
6 tbsp chopped parsley
2 lemons, sliced
boiled rice for serving

Clean fish and cut into 2: pieces.  Fry the fish, onions and garlic lightly in a little olive oil.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, wine, chopped parsley and half the lemon slices.  Cover and simmer slowly until the fish is tender; about 15 minutes.

Remove the lemon slices and serve on a bed of hot boiled rice, garnished with the remaining lemon, cut into wedges.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Oh my goodness, these are good (!), and really easy to make!!  I would say two tortoni equal one serving, as I filled 12 muffin tins.

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN BREASTS WITH MUSTARD AND CREAM
From Family Circle Magazine of May 31, 1983 ...

Serves 4

2 whole chicken breasts (about 12 oz each), halved, skinned and boned
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp chopped shallots or green onions
1/4 lb mushrooms, thickly sliced
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp Pommery mustard
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Pat chicken breasts dry with paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Saute chicken in butter and oil in a large skillet until lightly golden, about 6 minutes.  Turn, lower heat and saute until chicken is just tender; about 4 minutes longer.  Chicken should feel springy, with no pink remaining.  Cover skillet and cook 2 minutes longer to steam.  Remove to warm platter, cover and keep warm.

Remove all but 2 tbsp of fat from pan.  Saute shallots for 30 seconds.  Add mushrooms, and cook and stir until mushrooms are lightly golden, about 1 minute.

Add wine and bring to boiling, scraping browned bits from bottom of pan, until sauce is syrupy; about 3 minutes.  Add cream and any juices from chicken.  Cook until lightly thickened; about 3 minutes.  Stir in mustards, taste, add additional seasonings, if needed.  Add parsley.  Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - I decided to plate it on a lettuce leaf.  Delicious, but I always think mussels are alot of work for tiny bits of meat.  Our local mussels come from Maine, and they tend to be small; not like those on the west coast, which I think are the best.  I can't see five pounds of Maine mussels being enough for 12 servings.  Based on the quantity plated in the photo, you would get six servings from the recipe.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BISCUIT TORTONI

Serves 6

1 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg white
2 tbsp light rum
1/3 cup crushed dry macaroons
1/4 cup minced, toasted, blanched almonds

Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until soft peaks form. Beat egg white to soft peaks and fold into cream, along with the rum and macaroons.  Spoon into paper cups, sprinkle with almonds, cover with foil circles, and freeze until firm.

Note:  You can buy the little paper cups used for tortoni in Italian delicatessens, also in some gourmet shops.  If unavailable, substitute cupcake papers (which I will do), but set in muffin tins to give them extra support.  Once tortoni are frozen, lift from tins.

Nutritional Information - 273 calories, 3 G protein, 20 G fat, 5 G carbohydrates, 23 mg sodium

Review of last recipe (photo above) - I would never surround an entree with mushrooms, but that's how it was pictured with the recipe.  It was really delicious; the sauce being fantastic.  Although I'm assuming the carrots and shallots were supposed to be tossed, I threw them over the chicken prior to saucing it.  Why throw away all that flavor!

TODAY'S RECIPE - MARINATED MUSSELS (Cozze all'Agro)

12 appetizer servings

2 cups dry white wine
1 small carrot, chopped
1 small onion, sliced
2 parsley sprigs
1/8 tsp pepper
5 lbs. mussels, scrubbed and debearded

1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tsp chopped capers
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Combine the first five ingredients in a stockpot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Add mussels, cover and cook until opened; about 5 minutes.  Remove opened mussels from pot using slotted spoon; discard any that do not open.  Remove mussels from shells and set aside.

Meanwhile, blend lemon juice, chopped parsley, basil, capers, salt and pepper.  Whisk in oil slowly.  Add mussels and refrigerate several hours or overnight.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - I thought I would have a nice banana bread pudding type of thing, but it took longer than the 20 minutes at 275 degrees, so I upped the temp to 350 degrees and baked it until the knife came out clean.  Only the whipped cream was edible.  It was difficult trying to get the right amount of sweetness needed; I tasted the batter and it seemed ok to me, but it probably needed to taste super-sweet in order to get enough flavor after baking.  I'm not a test kitchen so I won't be trying this again to try to get it right.  I have too many other recipes in my files to worry about one lousy one that could use tweaking.


TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN BREAST TARRAGON
From McCall's Magazine June 1983 ...

Serves 8

4 whole chicken breasts (skinless, boned and cut in half)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
6 shallots, chopped
2 carrots, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1/4 cup cognac or brandy
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup fresh tarragon or 2 tsp dried
1 1/2 tbsp fresh chopped chervil or 1/2 tsp dried
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 cup light cream
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp flour
1/2 lb mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 tbsp butter
sprigs of fresh tarragon

Heat oil and 2 tbsp butter in dutch oven.  Add chicken breasts (only enough to cover bottom of the pan), saute; turning until brown on all sides.  Remove chicken as it browns and add the rest of the chicken to the pan until all are browned. 

To the drippings, add shallots and carrot and saute; stirring for 5 minutes or until golden.  Return chicken to the pan.  When hot, slightly heat the cognac or brandy in a ladle and ignite.  Add the cognac, then the white wine, chopped tarragon, chervil, salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently, covered for 30 minutes.  Remove chicken to heated serving platter and keep warm.  Strain drippings from the pan.  In a small bowl, combine cream, egg yolk and flour and mix well with a whisk.  Stir into drippings and bring just to boiling, stirring constantly.  Add more wine if the sauce seems too thick. 

Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in hot butter for 5 minutes until tender.  Spoon sauce over chicken, and garnish with tarragon and mushrooms.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - What can I say ... just like I remembered it (even though I had to substitute shrimp).  The egg adds just the right amount of richness, and it makes a perfect light lunch or dinner with the addition of a green salad.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BANANA PUDDING
This was handwritten on the same kind of paper as the last recipe.  Thinking it's circa 1977ish...

Serves 6

12 small bananas
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsp dark rum
1 tsp nutmeg
sugar to taste
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
whipped cream for garnish

Peel and mash bananas.  Combine pulp with eggs, butter, rum, nutmeg and sugar to taste.  Stir flour with baking powder and blend into banana mixture.  Pour into a buttered casserole and bake in a 400 degree oven until bubbly, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 275 degrees and continue cooking until a knife comes out clean; about 30 minutes. 

Cool before serving with whipped cream.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - For some reason, I'm just not good at cooking a coated breast of chicken and alot of the coating fell off.  I kept it in the pan for a good amount of time, with plenty of oil and butter, but in turning it over, lost some of it.  I don't know why this didn't end up tasting better.  I even bought an organic chicken breast so that I could buy just one (since there will be chicken on the menu at least once a week for a while, and I don't want any leftovers).  I just expected more.

TODAY'S RECIPE - LANGOSTINOS IN NEWBURG SAUCE
A handwritten recipe without any measurements ... I don't know if I can even estimate, but will try.  This recipe comes from my mom, but I've made it countless times over the years and just know what it needs by instinct.

Serves 2

package of langostinos (harder to find now; used to be in the frozen food
                                    section; substititute shrimp)
butter
half and half (or milk)
cornstarch
salt and pepper
celery salt
1 egg
toast or cooked patty shells

The langostinos are cooked, so once thawed in the package, place in a saucepan with butter to warm.  You can also use a bag of precooked small shrimp.

Once warmed, remove from the pan, add another tab of butter and add half and half and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat.

Make a cornstarch batter with about 2 tbsp cornstarch to 1 tbsp or so of half and half.  Add to the pan and thicken the sauce.  Add salt, pepper and celery salt to taste.  Then reduce the heat to medium low.

Beat the egg. 

Place the langostinos back into the pan for a minute or so to rewarm, remove the pan from the heat and add the egg mixture, stirring quickly so that it doesn't scramble.  Cook on low heat until the sauce leaves the pan.

Serve over toasted buttered bread or patty shells

Review of last recipe (photo above) - I used triple sec instead of kirsch and slivered some chocolate instead of cocoa.  Nothing I would ever make again ... I like my yogurt with fruit and granola for breakfast, and my desserts fattening!

TODAY'S RECIPE - CHICKEN BREASTS HELENE
From The Boston Globe, September 7, 1983 ...

Serves 6

3/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated romano cheese
4 whole chicken breasts, split, skinned and boned
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp minced parsley

In a large shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper.  Place the beaten eggs in a second shallow dish.  Combine the breadcrumbs and romano cheese in a third dish.

Taking one half chicken breast at a time, dust each lightly with flour, shaking off any excess.  Next, dip the breast on both sides in the beaten eggs, and finally, coat it lightly wit the breadcrumb/cheese mixture; making sure all surfaces are covered.  Transfer to a cookie sheet and repeat until all the chicken breasts are coated. 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Place butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  When the butter and oil are foaming, add chicken breasts to the pan (do not crowd), and saute them about 5 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and resilient to the touch.  As they are completed, transfer them to another cookie sheet and place in the warm oven.  Repeat until all the breasts are cooked, adding more butter and oil if needed.  Sprinkle with parsley and serve hot.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Just ok ... not as flavorful as I had hoped.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BANANA MOUSSE

Serves 4

2 tbsp skim milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp kirsch
1 tsp vanilla
1 medium banana, cut into chunks
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
8 thin banana slices or cocoa for garnish

In a blender or food processor, puree milk, sugar, kirsch, vanilla and banana.  Pour into bowl.  Fold in yogurt and chill well.  To serve, spoon into dessert dishes and garnish with banana slices and cocoa.

Nutritional Information:  68 calories, 3 G protein, 13 G carbohydrates, 1 G fat, 5 mg cholesterol

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Really good and would be even better on an outdoor grill!

TODAY'S RECIPE - ITALIAN STEAMED MUSSELS

Serves 4

1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
3 tbsp fresh basil or 1 1/2 tbsp dried
2 cups dry white wine
1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
4 slices italian bread, brushed with oil and garlic and toasted in the oven until crisp
grated parmesan cheese (Don't real Italians say to never put cheese on
                                         seafood?)
           
In a tall soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add the parsley, basil, wine and tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the mixture over low heat 15 minutes or until the broth has come together.

Add the mussels and cover the pot.  Steam the mussels for 5-10 minutes, or until the shells have opened.

Place a piece of garlic toast in the bottom of a soup plate.  Add the mussels and pour the sauce over them.  Serve the mussels with freshly grated cheese.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Well, baking has never really been my forte.  Sure I can bake cookies and certain desserts, but have never mastered pastry dough and pie dough.  I realize my baking equipment is quite old and, in some cases, non-existent (for example, I had to go out and buy a bundt pan for the rum cake a few blogs ago, and my muffin tins which I used in the last dessert recipe are at least 25 years old).  So I didn't expect to have a tart pan, never mind two 4" tart pans, so made this in a pie plate.  To break it down, my crust is not pretty (but was very tasty), the filling was scant and not as flavorful as I would have liked.  Will not be making this again ... we'll see how the husband likes it.

TODAY'S RECIPE - CALIFORNIA BARBECUED STEAK
From Family Circle Magazine, which I believe is still in circulation.

Serves 10

1 2" thick top sirloin steak (about 2 1/2 lbs)
3/4 cup catsup
3/4 cup chili sauce
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp hoisin sauce (optional)
3 tbsp minced green onions
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Put steak in a plastic food bag.  Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour mixture into the bag with the steak.  Fasten securely.  Place bag in a shallow pan and let marinate in refrigerator 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Lift steak out of marinade, pat dry and broil 4" from the heat, brushing several time with the marinade; about 8 minutes on each side for rare.

Review of  last recipe (photo above) - I bought shucked oysters from my fishmonger as I'm not much of a shucker.  These were good, but the sauce is more caloric than I'd like, so I won't be making this again.  And, frankly, I really prefer my oysters raw.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BANANA CREAM TARTS

Pastry:
6 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
3 tbsp well chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cold water
1/8 tsp vanilla

Filling:
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp flour
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp dark run
1 tsp butter

1 small banana
whipped cream
2 tbsp shredded coconut, toasted

For the pastry:  Sift flour, sugar and salt into medium bowl.  Cut in butter using pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Blend yolk, water and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to flour and blend with fork until mixture just holds together.  Shape dough into ball.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Lightly grease two 4" tart pans with removable bottoms.  Divide the dough in half.  Roll out half on lightly floured surface inot 6: circle, 1/8" thick.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Fit into pans; trim and crimp edges.  Refrigerate until firm.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line pastry shells with greased parchment paper and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights.  Bake 8 minutes.  Remove paper and weights.   Prick bottoms of shells with fork in several places.  Continue baking until shells are golden brown; 7-8 minutes, covering the edges with foil if rims brown too quickly.

For filling:  Blend sugar, flour, salt in top of double boiler set over gently simmering water.  Gradually whisk in milk and continue whisking until thickened; about 15 minutes.  Cover and cook 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.  Remove from heat.  Blend yolk and rum in small bowl.  Whisk small amount of milk mixture to saucepan.  Place over gently simmering water and whisk 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp butter.  Cool.

Slice banana and arrange in bottoms of shells. Pour cooled filling over.  Refrigerate until firm.  Just before serving, pipe cream decoratively over tops, and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - With a hunk of spinach ... for all the prep work and basting needed, it wasn't as good as I had hoped.

TODAY'S RECIPE - HUITRES EN PAQUETS (Wrapped Oysters)
Georges Paineau, owner of Le Bretagne, a Michelin-starred restaurant and inn in Brittany (he's still alive and the establishment still open) presented these when he was the guest chef at Maison Robert in Boston in the 1980's. 

Serves 4

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cut up
16 very large fresh spinach leaves
16 large oysters, shucked with juices saved
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Use 1 tsp of the butter to grease the bottom of a large skillet.  Set the skillet aside.

Remove the stems from the spinach and wash the leaves.

Wrap up the oysters as you would wrap a package, tucking in the edges first, then rolling the package over onto itself to close it.  Set the packages, seam side down, in the skillet and cover the pan with a lid.  Set the pan over high heat and cook the packages for 3 minutes, or until the spinach is bright green.  remove the pan from the heat at once and set it aside.

Combine the water, lemon juice and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a saucepan.  Bring the liquid to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat, and let the pan cool off.

Lower the heat to medium and return the pan to the heat.  Whisk in the butter a piece at a time, moving the saucepan on and off the heat as the butter is added; the pan should never become hot enough for the butter to turn oily before it is incorporated into the sauce.

When all the butter has been added, coat the bottom of 4 salad plates with some of the sauce.  Then lift the oyster packages from the skillet with a large metal spatula, pat them on paper towels to dry them at the edges and arrange 4 oyster packages on each plate.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - These are scrumptious even though I messed up the recipe.  Initially, I put white sugar in the muffin tins with the butter instead of brown sugar, so I added some brown sugar (but not enough), never measuring it out, which was a big mistake.  They're not caramelized enough, but still are delicious.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN
                           (with Mustard and Herb coating)

Serves 8

2 - 3 1/2 lb broiler/fryers
3 tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Mustard Herb coating:
1/3 cup dijon mustard
3 tbsp minced scallions or shallots
1/2 tsp tarragon or mixed herbs
5 drops hot pepper sauce
4 tbsp fat/juice drippings from chicken
1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs

To butterfly a chicken:  With a heavy knife or sturdy shears, cut down close to the backbone from neck to tail on each side to remove it.  Spread the chicken skin-side up on your work surface and bang the breast with your fist to break the collar bones and some of the ribs.  This flattens the chicken.  Fold the wings akimbo behind the shoulders, then make a slit in the skin at either side of the breast tip.  Push the knee of the drumstick firmly up under the armpit to loosen the joint, then insert the tip of the drumstick through the shin slit.  Repeat on the other side. 

Brush chicken all over with a combination of the butter and oil.  Arrange chickens skin-side down (flesh side up) in a broiling pan (not on a rack), and set them so the surface of the meat is about 5" from the hot broiler element.  After 5 minutes, brush the flesh, which should just be starting to brown, with butter and oil.  Baste again in 5 minutes ... use juices in the pan as butter mixture is used up.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and turn the chickens skin-side up.  Broil and baste 10 minutes more.

For mustard-herb coating:  Drain fat and juices out of the pan into a small bowl.  Skim off and discard all but about 4 tbsp of fat from the top of the juices.  Blend the mustard and other ingredients in a bowl.  Beat one half of the reserved fat drippings into the mustard. 

Spread the mustard over the chicken, then pat on a coating of breadcrumbs.  (Make the breadcrumbs by cutting the crusts off white bread and putting them in a food processor.)  Baste crumbs with the remaining fat/juice drippings.

Final cooking:  Roast in the upper third of a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  Crumbs should brown lightly.  Chicken is done when drumsticks are tender when pressed.

Review of last recipe - I made the tartar sauce instead, and my fries look greasy in the pic (not my best effort) ... the fish was quite good, however.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BANANA-CARAMEL BISCUITS
From Woman's Day September 2, 1980 ... These can be prepared to baking point in the morning or the day before.  If so, refrigerate and bake a little longer.  Can also be reheated after baking.

Homemade biscuit mix (will keep at room temperature for several months)
6 cups flour
3 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
1 cup shortening

In large bowl, mix the dry ingredients well.  Cut in shortening until particles are fine.  Store at room temperature in a large glass container with tight cover.  Makes about 7 cups.

1/2 cup butter, melted, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
2 cups homemade biscuit mix
2 small ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp cinnamon

Put a generous tsp butter in each of 12 muffin cups and top each with a generous tsp of brown sugar.  Set aside.

Mix biscuit mix and bananas.  On lightly floured surface, knead until well blended.  Roll out in 12" long rectangle.  Spread with remaining butter, and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and the cinnamon.  Roll up jelly-roll fashion and cut into 12 slices.  Place each slice, cut side down, in a muffin cups. 

Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until light brown.  Immediately turn out upside down and serve hot.  Makes 12.

Nutritional information:  223 calories, 2 G protein, 26 G carbohydrates, 13 G fat, 24 mg cholesterol

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Wow, what a great dish! I only wish my husband liked peppers, because I would make this more often.  For some reason, as I was eating this, I thought capers would be a nice addition to add another layer of flavor.  


TODAY'S RECIPE - FISH & CHIPS
This recipe has no serving size ... I would say  there's enough batter to coat about 1 1/2 lbs of fish.  Make your usual fries.  Normally, I fry the potatoes first, then put them in the oven to keep warm as I cook the fish.  After I remove the fish, I return the fries into the oil to crisp them up again.  Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that great and the fries tend to be soft.   

Batter:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients, then add milk and egg and beat. 

Heat oil to 365 degrees.  Coat fish and place in pan.  Turn after approximately 4 minutes and cook on the other side.  Keep turning the fish over until it is cooked.  I usually just push my fork into a piece to make sure it's done.  Serve with fries and hot sauce (for a change from tartar sauce).

Hot sauce:
1 cup catsup
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup horseradish sauce
2 tbsp prepared mustard