Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

The Barefoot Bloggers are on a leisurely summer schedule.  Normally we post recipes from the Barefoot Contessa on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, but our fearless leader Tara of Smells Like Home has decreed that as long as we get our recipes posted by the end of each month, we are still in the game.  And what a great time to be a member of The Barefoot Bloggers.  Ina Garten has a new cookbook coming out in October called How easy is That?  Tara received an advanced copy of it and had a phone interview with Ina in mid August.  She will be posting about it on October 11th on the Barefoot Blogger website. It is nice to know that Ina recognizes our little group and is supportive of us.

One of our recipes for this month was Ina’s oven-fried chicken.  It was chosen by Vicki of My Fare Lady.  I am happy that she made this choice because I gave up on frying chicken a long time ago.  I decided that fried chicken just wasn’t good for us and  that it was a messy task.  Leave it to The Barefoot Contessa to simplify the process by frying the chicken briefly in oil and then baking it until it is done.  It still comes out crispy and delicious.  I have also come to the conclusion that enjoying fried chicken occasionally is no worse for me than any other food indulgence.  It is all about moderation and variety.

I followed the recipe closely other than skinning the chicken.  I used all thighs, but whole chicken pieces are fine too.  The chicken marinates overnight in buttermilk.  This makes the chicken very juicy and succulent.  So don’t forget this important step.  The next time I make it, I will add some interesting spices.  The chicken was delicious, but it would be even better with a punch of garlic, paprika or whatever The Colonel puts in his famous chicken.  So feel free to indulge in this great dish.  How bad can that be?

OVEN-FRIED CHICKEN

2 chickens, cut in eight serving pieces
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Prehieat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture.  Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1 inch and heat to 360 degrees on a thermometer.

Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will contiune to brown in the oven).  Don’t crowd the pieces.  Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan.  Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees before frying the next batch.  When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside.  Serve hot.

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Blogging has many benefits. Among them is meeting other bloggers. Add to that meeting other bloggers and being asked to dinner. Last summer I met fellow blogger Penny of Comforts of Home and Lavender Hill Studio. You can read about our get together here. Not only do we share a name, but we are both from Michigan originally and now live very close to each other. Penny and her husband live in Asheville and have been working on remodeling their new home. I have been following her progress on her blog and was so excited when she emailed and invited my husband and me to dinner. Her house is even more beautiful in person. She is a very talented decorator and her home is warm and welcoming. She is also an excellent cook.

Our dinner was Cornish Hens with Pancetta, fresh asparagus, and roasted baby new potatoes. The cornish hens were absolutely delicious and the presentation was stunning. They were stuffed under the skin with mascarpone cheese and pancetta was draped over the top. They were succulent and flavorful. My picture below does not do them justice. Here’s the thing about being a blogger. There are no etiquette rules for our obsession with snapping pictures of food. I usually have to take several pictures to get just the right angle and lighting. It just didn’t seem right to be standing in Penny’s dining room, shooting picture after picture while everyone was waiting to eat. So I shot just one. It will have to do. The other two pictures are courtesy of Penny. She is a blogger. She understands.

You can’t get much better than that. I love Penny’s plates too.

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This chicken dish began with a mistake. Our only local supermarket is about 15 minutes away around the lake. Sometimes we try to combine trips. David needed to go to the hardware store so I reluctantly turned over my lenghthy grocery list to him. I wanted to try the recipe for Chicken Cordon Bleu that was in the latest issue of Cook’s Country. It called for boneless chicken breasts, black forest ham and swiss cheese. It seemed simple at the time, but David came home with thin boneless chicken breasts. Of course I was very understanding. Afterall, I am always even-tempered and perfect. . . . enough said. To his credit, the store was actually out of boneless chicken breasts when he was there and he figured I could make do with the thin ones. But what he didn’t know was that the whole premise of this recipe was to cut a pocket into the chicken breasts and insert two cylinders of cheese stuffed ham. There was no way that was going to happen. So I improvised and I think the results were great.

I placed about 1/2 cup of grated swiss cheese on a stack of two ham slices, rolled it up and placed the roll in the center of one of the chicken breasts. I pounded a second chicken breast in wax paper to make it slightly larger than the first and placed it over the top. I pressed gently on the meat to make it stick together. When all of the breasts were stuffed they went in the refrigerator for a half an hour. I then proceeded with the breading and the baking. The seal worked very well, with just a little of the cheese oozing out. I loved the breading which included bread crumbs and Ritz crackers. This is one of those dishes you can prepare ahead and bake when you are ready. Great for company. You can do it my way or follow this recipe.

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I want to love chicken casseroles, but there are few that do anything for me. I love chicken and dumplings, a Mexican king ranch casserole, and chicken pot pie, but that is about it. Most casseroles start with a can of cream of “something” soup and I am not being a snob by avoiding these recipes. For health reasons we are trying to avoid processed foods. That eliminates a whole slew of recipes. One of the chicken casseroles I used to like was chicken divan. The last time I made it with cream of chicken soup and mayonnaise I could hardly eat it in spite of the presence of the broccoli and chicken. Mayonnaise does not belong in a casserole! I’m sure some of you will disagree. I have adapted some recipes that call for cream of chicken soup by thickening chicken broth with butter and flour so it is doable, but I am still underwhelmed. I tried this recipe yesterday because it sounded promising. It is Chicken and Green Onion Cobbler.

It sounded promising. It included saffron, ham and lots of green onions with a cornmeal and cheese crust. The chicken stock was thickened with flour and butter and there were lots of vegetables in it. I halved the recipe for the two of us. I had high expectations. I was disappointed. Saffron is expensive and it did nothing for this casserole. It called for such a small amount that it disappeared, neither flavoring nor lending a yellow hue to the finished product. I will save my saffron for paella which I do love. The raw green onions were overpowering and the cobbler crust was bland. I expected that the ham would be a nice touch but it seemed out of place for some reason. I am including the recipe here if you would like to try it. I could be wrong. It could be tweaked. If you have a chicken casserole that you love, please email me with the recipe and I promise that I will try it. I want to love chicken casseroles.

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It is Barefoot Blogger Thursday and time again to duplicate one of Ina Garten’s great recipes. I never worry about what choices are made by our group members every other Thursday because in my mind, there is no bad Barefoot Contessa recipe. Ina has a way of combining simple ingredients in a way that makes for an extraordinary dining experience. This week’s recipe was chosen by Karen of Shortbread and I can just see taking this wonderful sandwich in a picnic hamper on a drive along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway and stopping at one of the overlooks, spreading a blanket, and eating a leisurely picnic with this as the centerpiece.

The idea for this sandwich came from the ingredients in a caesar salad. Ina uses a caesar dressing for the spread and toasted ciabatta bread in place of croutons. I used romaine lettuce to be true to the original salad. Ina used arugula. She included shaved Parmesan and added roasted chicken breasts, crispy pancetta, and sun-dried tomatoes to make this a substantial sandwich. The recipe can be found in her Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. If you have that book check out the picture of the sandwich. I tried to copy it in my picture below. How did I do? If you don’t have the cookbook here is the recipe.

CAESAR CLUB SANDWICH

2 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
good olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces thinly sliced pancetta
1 large garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-lear parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup good mayonnaise
1 large ciabatta bread
2 ounces baby arugula, wahed and spun dry (I used chopped romaine)
12 sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2 to 3 ounces Parmesan, shaved

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan skin side up. Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. Cool slightly, discard the skin and bones, and slice the meat thickly. Set aside.

Meanwhile, place the pancetta on another sheet pan in a single layer. Roast for 10 to 15 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towels.

Place the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until minced. Add the anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice, and mayonnaise and process again to make a smooth dressing. (Refrigerate the Caesar dressing if not using it immediately.)

Slice the ciabatta in half horizontally and separate the top from the bottom Toast the bread in the oven, cut side up, for 5 to 7 minutes; cool slightly. Spread the cut sides of each piece with the Caesar dressing. Place half the arugula on the bottom piece of bread and then layer in order: the sun-dried tomatoes, shaved Parmesan, crispy pancetta, and sliced chicken. Sprinle with salt and pepper and finish with another layer of arugula. Place the top slice of ciabatta on top and cut in thirds crosswise. Serve at room temperature. Serves 3.

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