Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Using thin sliced chicken breasts is an easy way to get dinner on the table in a hurry on those days when  you have too much going on.  We are finishing the downstairs area of the cottage.

The lower level of the cottage has a sitting area and the guest bedrooms.  The sitting area is an awkward shape because it is part of the original cottage and we had to add a stairwell to the upper floor which is all new.

This was my problem corner.  Originally I wanted to put a chair and a half sleeper here but there just wasn’t room.  I finally found a comfortable leather chair and ottoman that fits the space perfectly.  Across from this is a flat screen TV and a “future”  TV console table.   I am still looking.  I love the pictures of our Granddaughter above the chair.

This gives you more of a perspective on where the stairs changed the shape of the sitting area.  The french doors lead to the sleeping porch.

So, I have been shopping this week and have had little time to spend in the kitchen.  The chicken recipe is a very loose adaptation of one that appeared in Gourmet years ago.  There is a lot of flavor in this dish even though it goes together quickly.  The wine, garlic, balsamic vinegar and honey are reduced to a glaze which is drizzled over the breaded chicken cutlets.  David went back for seconds.

CHICKEN CUTLETS WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR AND HONEY GLAZE

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons honey
4 thin sliced chicken cutlets
3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used half Panko crumbs and half whole wheat dried bread crumbs)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten and thinned with a little water
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup white wine
Parsley for garnish

Mix the balsamic vinegar with the honey in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Dip the chicken cutlets into the egg wash and then into the seasoned breadcrumb mixture to coat.  Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Fry the chicken cutlets in two batches until they are browned on each side and cooked through.  Remove to a platter.  Wipe out the skillet and add the butter.  Cook the garlic in the butter for about 1 minute.  Stir in the wine and boil the mixture until the liquid is reduced to about 2 tablespoons.  Stir in the reserved vinegar mixture and boil the mixture until it is syrupy.  Spoon the glaze over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.  Serves 2.

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In my previous post I mentioned the beautiful large sage leaves in my herb containers.  Some of the leaves were large enough to almost cover the tops of my chicken breasts.  They are hard to see in the above photo, but were a perfect layer to the prosciutto wrapped chicken breasts.  Saltimbocca is an Italian dish that is most often made with veal.  But it is easily adapted to thin chicken breasts.

The chicken saltimbocca makes an impressive company meal.  The lemony sauce adds moisture and a bright flavor to counterbalance the earthy sage and the salty prosciutto.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend to everyone.  Thinking of my Dad who was a Marine hero on Guadalcanal Island during World War II.

Never forgotten.

CHICKEN SALTIMBOCCA

• 4 (4 oz.) chicken cutlets
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 4 to 8 fresh sage leaves, depending on size
• 4 very thinly slices of prosciutto.  I bought a 3 oz pkg. in the Deli
• 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• ⅓ cup reduced sodium chicken broth
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (juice of approx.1 large lemon)
• ½ tsp cornstarch
• 4 lemon wedges (optional)

1. Sprinkle salt on each chicken cutlet evenly. Place sage leaves on top of each cutlet. Wrap each cutlet with prosciutto slices to keep sage leaves in place.
2. In a small bowl combine chicken broth, lemon juice and ½ tsp cornstarch. Whisk until smooth.
3. Over medium heat heat a large skillet. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Place chicken in skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Flip chicken and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and place on a platter (keep warm).
4. Re-whisk cornstarch mixture and add to remaining 1 Tsp. oil in a pan, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened (approx. 1 min.) stirring constantly. Spoon sauce over chicken. Serve with lemon wedges ,if desired.

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I haven’t been posting as often these days.  We have been busy getting the Florida house in order so that we can sell it.  We have come to the conclusion that owning two houses is not in our best interest.  But before I get to all of that, I wanted to share this recipe with you for Chicken Marsala.  Several people have mentioned this dish recently; Monique in particular.  Monique tried David Lebovitz’s recipe for the dish.  About a month ago, I tried a rendition from allrecipes.com.  But after Monique’s rave about David’s recipe, I decided to give it a look.  This time I ended up combining the two recipes for my own version of the dish.

From the allrecipe recipe I added the chopped tomatoes.  They add color to the dish.  From David’s recipe I added more Marsala.  You can never have too much Marsala.  I think I ended up with a winner.

Here is our house as it used to look.  We called it “Big Pink”.  Pink houses are not uncommon in Florida.  Plus the color seemed to work with the roof tiles.  We decided that it might sell better if it were more neutral; to be quite frank, I hate neutral.

Here is the new paint color.  The beige has a bit of pink in it but is subdued.  We also added some landscaping to the front of the house.

We painted the front double doors black because I like black.  The painter and hubby did not like that idea, but I prevailed.  We replaced the garage light fixtures with larger black lanterns.

Here is a close up of the front door.  The only problem with having glass doors is that our dog Daisy is usually sitting right in front of the doors barking at anyone who walks by.  But it does give the entrance area lots of light.

Another area we worked on, besides the kitchen, was the Master bathroom.  The vanity in this room is low.  Lots of bathroom vanities were low when our house was built in the early 90’s.  Instead of replacing the vanity, we installed two tall vessel sinks with tall swivel faucets.  We also replaced the countertop with granite.  The other update was getting rid of the horrible wall to wall flat mirror and replacing it with two black framed mirrors.  There was a medicine cabinet to the left of the mirror on the adjoining wall.  That is also gone.  This has turned out to be a very user friendly bathroom.  I am happy with it.  Did I mention that the bathroom used to be painted red?  That was David’s great idea.  Somehow, I could hear prospective buyers saying “WHOA!” if we kept it that way.  Neutral seems to work here.

Here is my combined recipe for chicken marsala.  I assembled this plate after we had enjoyed the chicken last night so it is not as full as it would be if you served it to company. In other words, these are leftovers.  We are getting packed up to return to Lake Lure, so posts may be sporadic in the next few weeks.

CHICKEN MARSALA

2 pounds chicken cutlets, pounded thin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 ounces button mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2/3 cup Marsala wine
1 small tomato, diced
1 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Chopped parsley

Season chicken cutlets with salt and pepper.  Pour flour into a shallow dish.  Press chicken cutlets into flour to coat each side, shaking to remove any excess flour.  Set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in large skillet.  When hot, add sliced mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook stirring occasionally until browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Remove the mushrooms to a plate and wipe out pan.  Add 1 more tablespoon oil and butter to pan.  Add half of the chicken cutlets and saute until they are browned on each side.  Remove to a plate.  Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and butter to pan and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.  While chicken is browning mix together the chicken broth and cornstarch.  Stir until cornstarch is dissolved.  Add the Marsala wine.

When second batch of chicken is done, remove it from the pan.  Add to wine mixture to the pan and scrape up the browned bits.  Stir until it starts to thicken slightly.  Return the mushrooms and chicken to the pan.  Add the diced tomato and cook for about 6 minutes.  Add remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, the balsamic vinegar and the chopped parsley.  Stir to combine.  Serve with noodles, mashed potatoes or rice.

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I have made so many variations of chicken strips.  The first one was the one that my Mother loved.  I blogged about it here.  That was a few years ago.   Oven baked chicken strips are great, but sometimes I just want to fry them in a little oil.  Deep fat you are calling me!  Can’t help it.  I know, I know, . . . .  It is better to get along with less fat, but sometimes a nice crispy chicken piece cooked in oil is worth it.  This idea works for me.  The original recipe that gave me the idea appeared on Road Trip with G. Garvin on the Food Network.  While visiting Austin, Texas he ate at a diner that served flattened pork tenderloin pieces breaded in crackers, corn meal and flour.  They were deep fried and served as a sandwich on a bun.  I happened to have a pork tenderloin in the freezer, so the next night I duplicated the recipe without the bun.  It was not deep-fried, but cooked in a puddle of hot oil.  The pork was awesome.  It had implications for other dishes.

We loved the pork tenderloin cutlets so much that I decided to try the same method with chicken strips.  The secret to the breading on this dish is to put the dredged chicken strips in the freezer for 15 minutes before you fry them.  The breading adheres perfectly and after frying in 2-inches of hot oil,  the chicken strips come out perfectly cooked and crisp

What is not to love about this chicken?  My Mother would have approved.  She loved fried chicken.  But I have to say that, in spite of the brief saute in oil, these chicken strips are probably less caloric than most fried chicken.  Dipped into a sweet and sour sauce there is nothing better.

CRACKER CRUMB CHICKEN STRIPS

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts (About 3)

24 Ritz crackers (Crushed in a baggie with a rolling pin)
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/8 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
Salt and pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk

Cut each chicken breast into 6 strips.  Combine crackers, cornmeal, flour and seasonings in a large bowl.  Beat egg and milk is separate bowl.  Dip each breast strip into egg mixture and then into crumbs.  Coat well on all sides.  Place each breaded strip on small baking sheet.  Place baking sheet in the freezer for about 15 minutes.  Pour canola oil to a depth of about 1 to 2 inches in a large frying pan.  Heat oil.  Cook the chicken strips in batches until golden brown on all sides.  Drain and paper towels.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

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This past week there has been no time to cook.  Instead I have been spending time with my Grandchildren and trying to give their parents some much needed time to catch up on work and relaxation.  A new baby in the house is time consuming, but worth every minute of it.

I’ve mentioned before that my DIL Kristen is a marvelous cook.  She contributes to this blog on occasion and I always come away from their home with new ideas.  On a busy night while I was visiting them, she made this quick and easy chicken dish.  It can be ready in 15 minutes.  She served it with a pancetta risotto that took a little longer to make, but you could also serve it with quick cooking couscous or rice.  The cream sauce has a hit of mustard and makes the sauteed chicken cutlets an impressive company dish.

CHICKEN WITH MUSTARD CREAM SAUCE

6 to 8 chicken cutlets
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white wine
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
4 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard

Melt butter in large saute pan.  Brown chicken cutlets on both sides until cooked through.  Remove chicken to plate.  Add wine to pan to deglaze.  Stir to release brown bits from pan.  Cook long enough to reduce the wine slightly.  Add the chicken broth, cream and mustard.  Boil until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve sauce over chicken.  Garnish with parsley or fresh or dried tarragon.  Serves 4.

I am back at the cottage this week and will experiment with my mile high quiche.  I am off to visit my egg lady.

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