Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

This dish was inspired by Mary of One Perfect Bite.  Mary consistently turns out one beautiful dish after another on a daily basis on her food blog.  Everything she posts is worthy of consideration and her photography is stunning.  She recently posted a recipe for minced chicken with oyster sauce that was served on a bed of rice.  I loved the presentation and the flecks of red and green peppers which studded the meat.  She mentioned using the meat mixture in lettuce wraps and I knew I had to try it.  Although I love white rice, for the foreseeable future, we are avoiding white rice, white bread, white potatoes etc.  My guiding principle in serving food is COLOR.  Bright orange, bright red, bright green, dark leafy vegetables and vibrant red strawberries, blueberries and navy blue blackberries are all in my current lexicon.

I decided to use a package of organic ground beef that I had just purchased to make Mary’s recipe.  The only other change I made was adding water chestnuts to it for added crunch.  We loved it and there was even enough left over for a whole wheat tortilla wrap the next day.  I will be making this often.  With it I served roasted butternut squash which I seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and ground cumin.

GROUND BEEF LETTUCE WRAPS

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of lean ground beef
6 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced water chestnuts

Leaves from one head of Bibb lettuce, washed and spun dry.

Heat a wok or large fryig pan over medium high heat.  Add oil and heat until it shimmers.  Add onion and garlic and saute briefly being careful not to burn the garlic, about 2 minutes.  Lower the heat to medium and add the ground beef.  Cook, breaking up pieces until it is no longer pink.  Drain off fat.  Stir in oyster sauce, soy sauce and pepper.  Dissolve conrstarch in chicken broth.  Add to pan and cook and stir until thickened.  Stir in diced peppers and water chestnuts.  Serve in lettuce cups.

Speaking of colorful food, what do you think of pink?  Pink grapefruit that is.

This is our neighbor Bill’s tree.  Here is the sign that he posted by his mailbox.

How lucky we are to have such a great neighbor.  His pink grapefruits are delicious.  And guess what?  Mary of One Perfect Bite even has a recipe for Pink Grapefruit Salad Dressing on her blog today.  Think I will give it a try.  Thanks Mary.

Printable recipe Ground Beef Lettuce Wraps

While in Atlanta we had dinner at Brio Tuscan Grille.  Although it is a chain restaurant, it has the feel of a traditional neighborhood restaurant.  The ambiance is enhanced by dark green walls adorned with a multitude of oil paintings that appear to have been collected over the years.  One of the reasons I wanted to have dinner there was because I was craving pasta; in particular pasta carbonara.  I remember having the best carbonara in a small Italian restaurant in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Instead of bacon, the creamy carbonara was studded with speck.  Speck is a juniper flavored Italian ham.  The dish was wonderful and I have had an obsession with carbonara ever since.

Now granted, I did not expect an Italian chain restaurant to have a carbonara to rival my favorite, but I was willing and anxious to give it a try.

Even though it does not look as creamy as the original, it was moister than my first attempt.  With the addition of all that extra butter, it should be.  I compensate for all of that richness by eating less.  The next time I make this I will add the alfredo sauce while the pasta is fresh from the pot and I have a feeling I will be closer to  what Brio did.   This was a good experiment.  I like the concept and the flavors, but a classic carbonara will always be my favorite.

GARGANELLI CARBONARA  (ala Brio Tuscan Grille)

3 strips of bacon
1/2 pound of chicken tenders, cubed
1 clove of garlic
1 10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
Splash of white wine

Alfredo Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cream
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound penne pasta

Cook cubed bacon in a large saute pan until crisp.  Remove to drain.  Add cubed chicken and saute until no longer pink.  Add garlic and cook a minute more.  Add chopped spinach and cook until warmed through.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions.

Beat together the eggs and Parmesan cheese.

Make the alfredo sauce.  Melt butter in a sauce pan.  Add the flour and stir together for a minute to let flour cook.  Slowly add the cream and whisk until thickened.  Add the cheese and continue cooking until cheese is incorporated.

Drain pasta and add to skillet.  Immediately add the egg mixture and toss to cook the eggs.  Add the alfredo sauce and stir to combine.  Pour pasta into a serving dish and sprinkle with bacon and extra Parmesan cheese if desired.

While staying with my Brother and SIL in Michigan, Barb made this delicious chicken casserole.  It was one of those times when the family needed to be elsewhere for other obligations and Barb had the foresight to put together the main components of it so that we could pull it together when we needed to.  The chicken and the ham were assembled ahead of time and the cheese was added to it.  All we had to do later was to make the sauce and topping and put it in the oven. 

I have blogged about Chicken Cordon Bleu before.  Here is my favorite recipe for the real thing.  The only bad thing about the real thing is that it is not crowd friendly.  Sometimes you just don’t have time to roll and assemble individual chicken packages for lots of people.  We had lots of people on the evening in question and this was the perfect solution.  It has all of the good flavor of chicken cordon bleu but is easy to dish up for a crowd.  Everyone loved it from the kids to my picky Brother. (Sorry Bill, but you are kind of set in your ways about food.) 

So thanks Barb for the recipe.  The original recipe called for cheddar cheese and both Barb and I agreed that Swiss made more sense.  We had it with Cheddar the first time, but this time I used Swiss and the results were great.  There are some interesting ingredients in the recipe;  dill weed, dry mustard, nutmeg and walnuts, but they all work together to make a great casserole.  And if you have followed this blog for awhile you know that I have a problem with most chicken casseroles.  This one is a winner.

David and I will be traveling for the next few weeks.  He is leaving on Saturday on his two week motorcycle trip out West with stops at a few Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives when he can.  You can follow him on his blog on my sidebar.  I am spending a long weekend in Atlanta with one of the Biker Babes.  We hope to shop, eat good food, and take in the ambiance of Atlanta.  Let me know if you have any suggestions about where to go and things to do.  Then I will be going to Cary, NC to spend time with family.  But I will be blogging.  I have a new camera, so I am looking forward to improving my skills.  We will see.  Stay tuned.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU CASSEROLE

6 cups cubed, fully cooked chicken
3 cups cubed, fully cooked ham
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese ( Or cheddar if you prefer )

1 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp to 1 Tbsp dill weed
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Topping:
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
3 Tbls melted butter
1/4 to 1 tsp dill weed
1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup choppped walnuts

1.  In large bowl, combine chicken, ham and cheese.
2.  In saucepan, saute onions in butter until tender.  Add flour.  Stir to form a paste and cook for a few minutes.
3.  Over low heat, gradually add cream stirring constantly.  Bring to a boil and  add dill, mustard and nutmeg and mix well.  Remove from heat.
4.  Butter a 9 X 13 inch casserole and add chicken mixture.  Top with cream mixture and mix gently. 
5.  In the large mixing bowl, toss together bread crumbs, butter and dill.  Stir in cheese and walnuts.  Sprinkle on top of casserole.
6  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly and brown.

Michigan in early Fall is a place of beauty.  It only gets better with the cool nights that nip at the trees and turn the leaves to wondrous shades of red, gold, and yellow.  Southwestern Michigan is replete with apple orchards.  At one time in my life I thought that living on an apple farm was my destiny.  I dated a wonderful guy whose family owned an orchard.  I became familiar with the seasons of apples, cherries and asparagus.  I skipped school with a group of my girlfriends right before graduation in order to help his family bring in the asparagus crop.  We got in trouble for our largesse, but our principal, Mr. Smull, understanding the importance of the harvest, forgave our sneaky quest and let us graduate anyway.  He was prepared to give us trouble if our Mothers’ wrote an excuse that was not the truth.  My Mother wrote, ” Please excuse Penny from school yesterday.  She was picking asparagus.  Thank you.”  I was safe and I have never looked at asparagus again without remembering those innocent days.

Our recent trip to Michigan brought back all of those memories.  The trees were laden with apples and the countryside was so familiar.  Driving the backroads of my childhood was comforting and meeting childhood friends was enlightening.  Who knew that the boy who lived in the corner house on my block and who was four years younger than me had always had a crush on me.  He and his lovely wife now live in Traverse City and had come to our get together because he wanted to tell me so.  They were both delightful and the kind of people that I would welcome in my house at any time.

Spending time with my brother Bill and SIL Barb was the real reason for our visit.  In spite of being my little brother, who showed  all of the guys my naked baby pictures, he is special.  He is the kind of guy who everyone can count on and has been selfless in his support of and sponsorship of  mentally challenged adults.  He lost one of those friends while we were there and the support from the community was heartening.  Barb cooked for the whole family and I will share one of her casseroles with you next time.

We brought back apples.  Not the lady apples in this recipe, but great tart Michigan apples.  Apple cider is also one of the products of a Michigan Fall.  In honor of Michigan, I cooked this chicken and apple recipe last night.  It was delicious.

BAKED CHICKEN AND BACON-WRAPPED LADY APPLES ( Gourmet Magazine)

8 thin slices bacon
12 lady apples (about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter)  I used 4 small apples
6 chicken thighs with skin and bones
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 sprigs fresh marjoram plus 2 teaspoons chopped fresh marjoram
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, turning over once, until edges are lightly browned but bacon  is still flexible (it will continue to cook in oven), 6 to 8 minutes total.  Transfer to paper towels to drain, reserving fat in skillet.

While bacon cooks, core apples, if desired, from bottom, with pointed end of  a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, leaving stems intact.  Wrap a slice of bacon around each of 8 apples, securing ends of bacon by piercing with stem or using half a wooden pick.

Brush a 3 quart (13-by 9-inch) shallow, baking dish with some bacon fat, then add apples to dish and bake, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, pat chicken dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat bacon fat in skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook chicken, turning over once, until browned, about 8 minutes total.  Transfer chicken with tongs to baking dish, rearranging some apples so that chicken fits in bottom of dish, and bake, uncovered, 5 minutes.  Pour sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring cup, pressing on and the discarding solids.  Add butter and chopped marjoram to sauce, stirring until butter is melted.  Pour sauce over chicken and apples and continue to bake uncovered, until chicken is cooked through and apples are tender, about 20 minutes more.  I cooked it longer.

Printable recipe