Drunk chicken, Fay, and cleaning out the freezer

So tropical storm Fay is brewing, about to hit Cuba. We, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, are now officially on alert.... to stay vigilant, prepared and watchful. Been thru this many times after living on Gulf Coast for 30 years. My best advice and # 1 rule is: EMPTY OUT YOUR FREEZER! Even if a little tropical storm hits one can be without power for quite a while. Makes no sense to have a FREEZER fill of expensive meats and goodies. Yesterday I thawed out a flank steak, marinated it, and we had had a yummy steak and fresh green bean dinner.

Today, I looked in freezer to see what was there....a whole chicken. I never buy these, don't even know how to cook a whole chicken. 3 weeks ago, I came home from grocery store with this whole chicken...free. It was obviously someone else's that was left and put in my cart. Felt bad for that person that was gypped out of their chicken but I was not about to drive back to the grocery store to be honest over a $8 chicken. So in the freezer it went.

The only way I know to cook this Bad Boy is beer can, drunk, or ass can chicken....which ever lovely term you prefer. Daughter taught me this. So after thawing, I rubbed on some Chipotle dry rub, plopped in the oven, 2 hours later....
Some sauteed zucchini, red onion, and yellow peppers.....

Yum! Got lots of leftover chicken for lunch. And my freezer is almost empty...which is a blessed thing thing here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!

Watermelon, Mache, and Pecan Salad

We had the usual hamburgers and potato salad last night for 6 guests. But the hit was this watermelon salad I tried from Southern Living. It was delicious and light, not a drop was left. I obviously couldn't find Mache so I used organic Bibb lettuce. 3/4 C chopped pecans
5 C seeded and cubed watermelon
1 6 oz package mache or bibb lettuce
Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
1/2 C crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

Toast pecan for 5-7 min
Make Red Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette:
1/4 C rice wine vinegar
3 T lime juice
1/2 C Red Pepper Jelly
1/4 C olive oil
Whisk all ingredients

Combine watermelon, lettuce and vinaigrette in large bowl. Toss to coat.
Transfer lettuce and watermelon on large platter,
Sprinkle on Gorgonzola and toasted pecans.

I also tried the Green Bean, Grape, and Pasta Toss from the same Southern Living article a few days ago. It was wonderful also.

TODAY'S LUNCH

I love tomatoes, especially sweet grape and campari. I was so happy to find campari tomatoes at Walmart today. I hope they keep stocking them. Campari's are perfect if you want to make something that looks pretty, tastes great, healthy, and easy. I stuffed mine with roasted walnuts, goat cheese, and little feta. Such flavors....the tomatoes are so sweet and juicy, the stuffing was so savory and tart. I've made campari's stuffed with crab meat or chicken salad.

Great for a ladies lunch or as a side with a meal.

Don't Do What I Did

I used the wrong cheese. All I had was Kraft's 5 cheese which has Parmesan..... OK, Romano...OK, Mozzarella...WRONG, Provolone....WRONG, Asaigo.....WRONG!!!! I didn't have a block of Parmesan to shred and now I realize that is the only type you should use to make these. It still worked but the bowls were not crisp because of the softer cheeses. They tasted good despite my subustition but would have been better if I had the correct cheese. Next time!

Parmsean Cheese Bowls

At our reception tasting at the Petroleum Club last Wednesday, we were treated with not only delicious food....but beautiful presentation for each dish. I wished I had taken pictures of everything...daughter would not have let me even if I tried. It was during the busy lunch hour and the dining room was packed. We stood out from the git go as Jennifer, the catering manger, dressed in a beautiful red business suit, donned a white apron to serve us. Everyone else was served by the usual wait staff in their black and whites. Regardless, it was still perfect.


The first item that Jennifer brought out was a lovely baby spring mix salad with fresh Louisiana strawberries.....yes, Louisiana is famous for strawberries very early in season....toasted pecans, drizzled with a very mild warm honey balsamic reduction served in a toasted crisp Parmesan bowl. It was so pretty...the bowl was lacy and had totally nonuniform which added to the visual delight. It was served on a pretty white square dish with a sliced strawberry or two on the plate, then a few dots and squiggles of the reduction vinaigrette. So pretty and delicious. David, who normally doesn't eat salad, loved it and ate every bite. Below are 2 pictures I found online that at least have the Parmesan bowl.




I'm going to try to make these bowls tonight for husband and I. He was is Stone Mountain, GA Tuesday through Friday, flew to West Palm Beach, FL Friday morning and home today. So we are celebrating being back together since I left to fly to Shreveport on last Sunday. I'll post my feeble attempts at Parmesan Cheese Bowls tomorrow!!

FOR ONE FABULOUS MOM

New Orleans Cuisine: Creole Gumbo and All That Jazz by Howard Mitcham

I promised the Mrs. that I would share my crab meat casserole/spread. It takes me awhile to write recipes because I lost all my beloved culinary bibles to Katrina. Since they were all stored in an under cabinet, they were ruined with the nasty, foul water that overtook my home. A few of my favorites that I used often were "The Joy of Cooking" & "Creole Gumbo and All That Jazz". This book is heralded as the premier seafood cookbook for this area. Not only does it teach, it has great stories and factual historical tidbits and a lot of crazy tales. I've got to just order these online.

My crab meat recipe came from this book. I've made it so many times, sometimes tweaking it a bit and it is still delicious. It can be served as a spread or as a meal. I've served it many times along with a marinated flank steak, surf and turf style to stretch the meal. Either way, it's a hit.

Start with fresh white "special" lump crab meat. We are lucky to be able to get this in my area. I used the larger container, not sure of the ounce size. It costs around $24 here. Make sure to check for any leftover shell. Mix with one package of really soft cream cheese, 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 4-5 chopped stalks of green onion, salt, 1/2 cup of Monterrey jack cheddar mix shredded cheese, and 1/2 cup of chopped & TOASTED pecans. Mix well, put in a baking dish. I sprinkle a little bit of the cheese on top. Bake for about 10-15 minutes at 375 degrees. Crab meat should not be baked or cooked too long, just make sure it's hot and bubbly. Then serve. Enjoy!

SEARED SCALLOPS

Oh how I love scallops. Bay scallops or sea scallops, either one is fine with me. Scallops rank a B+ on the nutritional analysis chart, they don't get an A because they are slightly high in cholesterol. But they are low in calories, high in essential nutrients, and low in fats. But don't add the calories and fat in the cooking process.

This is how I've learned to cook them simply. Use a large flat pan, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil and heat on high. Salt and pepper one side of the scallop.

Place scallop, salt and pepper side down, wiggle slightly so scallop does not stick. Sear for about 2 minutes, salt and pepper that side.

Flip scallop over, another 2 minutes. The scallops should have a nice golden brown crust.

They're done. I put mine on a bed of spinach fettuccine, and served with sauteed baby carrots, broccoli, and shallots.

Really yummy!

Anyone else have a good scallop recipe to share?

Artichoke Pesto Torta

Last night I made Giada's Artichoke Pesto Torta.

It was fairly easy to put together.

I put the ingredients in bags to pipe them into the mold bowl. Refrigerated overnight.

This morning I inverted the torta. Slipped out easily. I liked the idea that it can be made 2 days in advance. Love the roasted pine nuts, artichoke, and Italian parsley pesto layer. Serving in with vegtables and crackers.

Something I have not made in years

For some crazy reason, I decided to make a quiche for dinner tonight. Despite the 80 + temps, which interprets: we shouldn't have the oven running for over an hour since the AC is running nonstop, despite the cholesterol factor....this is what my mouth watered for. It was a spinach, mushroom, 5 Italian cheese from Kraft, and Swiss cheese. OMG. we both loved it. Sorry I didn't take the picture before we ate half of it.

What's For Lunch?

So Sunday early morning I was viewing P. Allen Smith on a local station. He featured Kent Rathbun, an awesome chef at Abacus, Dallas, TX. He used to be a Sous Chef at Mr. B's, a 4 star restaurant in New Orleans as well as many other notable places. As I watched the video of Kent preparing his "Fajita Grilled Chicken and Green Apple Salad".... I drooled in my coffee. I knew I just had to make that for Sunday nite. So later on Sunday I set off to our local Diamondhead Grocery Store. I must explain that BK (before Katrina) we had at least 7 grocery stores and 2 Super Walmarts in about a 30 mile radius. Now we have 1 Walmart and 1 grocery store. Thank goodness for these 2 stores but "You Can't Always Get What You Want". So I had to make a few substitutes. Well, Mr. and I dined on this yummy salad last night. I loved it, I adore an infusion of many flavors, textures, and aromas. Mr. was just glad to get yet another meal. LOL. So here is my lunch today, left over from last night. I treated myself to a sitdown instead of a grab and go. Even used my pretty "Dine on the Bayou" dishes from Artist friend Susan Lumpkin to celebrate Rotten Bayou ( yes, that is really the correct name) across the street. S'cuse me while I go eat.

Grilling chicken and red pepper Sunday night.

I marinated the chicken breasts in zip lock bag for about 4 hours. The pesto sauce is made. I could not get a yellow pepper, fresh cilantro (I used dried), cotija cheese (I used goat cheese), or pumpkins seeds(I used toasted pecans) no Ancho chiles..(used canned). Oh heck! Will it taste the same?

Fajita Gilled Chicken and Green Apple Salad
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Description
You know, they say they do everything bigger in Texas and chef Kent Rathbun took this to heart when he decided to grill up some chicken to make chicken salad. Here is a transcript from my cooking lesson with Kent that explains how he made his Fajita Gilled Chicken and Green Apple Salad.
Ingredients
boneless chicken breastChicken Marinade:soy sauceWorcestershire sauceolive oilfresh cilantro, choppedlime juicejalapeño, choppedCilantro Pumpkin Seed Pesto:fresh cilantrojalapeñoolive oilgarlictoasted pumpkin seedsCotija cheese, (Mexican crumbling cheese)Ancho Honey Sour Cream:Ancho chiliessour creamhoneySalad Garnishes:Granny Smith applecilantroroasted red and yellow peppers
Instructions
Hey, guys, today we’re pool-side out in my backyard. We’re going to do a little chicken salad, Texas style. So, this is a fajita-grilled chicken salad that's very easy. We're just going to take some boneless chicken breast, and we're going to marinate them in a bit of soy sauce, some Worcestershire sauce, a touch of olive oil, some fresh chopped cilantro, a little bit of limejuice, and don't forget that spice to life, the jalapeño. A couple hours in the marinade, no problem. Overnight is even okay. And then take them out; put them on your backyard grill - charcoal or gas either one is good. And then grill them, get them nice and done, and then once they cool down, what we're going to do is kind of start tearing them instead of cutting them. What this does is it gives this nice little texture of torn chicken instead of cut. It’s just a nicer way to present the salad.Okay, so once we've finished with our chicken, it's time to move on to our cilantro-pumpkin seed pesto.In the blender I have some cilantro, a fresh jalapeño, some olive oil, a little bit of garlic, some toasted pumpkin seeds, and a little bit of Cotija cheese, which is a Mexican crumbling cheese.And then we're going to start blending this just like we would a pesto. Pretty simple.Okay, so, now we have a nice, smooth, beautiful, green dressing.So it's time to move on to our ancho honey sour cream, which is going to kind of be our finishing dressing for the salad.The first thing we're going to do is create an ancho puree. Just take some ancho chilies, re-hydrated them in a little bit of water, put them into a blender and blended them smooth. Next add just a touch of sour cream.Now take the honey, and add it to the ancho chili and make a really nice sort of sweet, hot, creamy dressing, and this is really going to be a great finish off for the salad.Just whisk the ancho chili paste, sour cream and honey together.Now we have a few garnishes that we need– julienned Granny Smith apple, roasted yellow and red peppers, cilantro leaves.Now it’s just a matter of piling it all up on the plate. Start with the chicken, then add a little of the pumpkin seed pesto. Top this with the apple, roasted peppers, cilantro leaves and a dab of the ancho sour cream. Stack it nice and tall and that is a chicken salad, Texas style.
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