Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

All I can say about this meal is Wow! I am visiting my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter. They had been to a birthday party all Sunday afternoon and when I arrived Kristen put this meal together in no time at all. The chicken chilaquiles should be on everyone’s rotation of quick meals. It starts with a rotisserie chicken. Need I say more? But the end results are worthy of any company dish you would want to make. Kristen is a fantastic cook. I remember the time, shortly after she and Michael were first married, when they ate the lettuce wraps at P.F Changs. She has a very sophisticated palate and figured out what was in them and started making them at home. Every meal at their home is an adventure in wonderful flavors; exotic pizzas, complex salads and flavorful Mexican dishes like this one. Kristen got the original recipe from epicurious but she tweaked it to suit her taste. The guacamole salad is from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa at Home. I have been buying Kristen the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks for Christmas and she loves them as much as I do. This is one of my favorite summer salads. It is colorful with grape tomatoes, yellow peppers, black beans and avocados and paired so well with the chicken. It was a lovely Summer evening and we enjoyed this feast on the deck with a bottle of chardonnay. Life is good.

CHICKEN CHILAQUILES

1 cup sour cream
3 to 4 Tbls milk
1 3/4 cups Green salsa ( Pace has a good one, as does Trader Joe’s)
1 can reduced sodium chicken broth
Coarsely shredded chicken from a rotisserie chicken, skin removed
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups coarsely crushed tortilla chips plus a few more for the top
6 ounces grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Stir together sour cream and just enough milk to get a thick pourable consistency.

Bring salsa and broth to a boil in a heavy pot over moderately high heat. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, until chicken is heated through, 1 to 2 minutes, then stir in 6 cups tortilla chips and cook until chips are softened (but not mushy), about 1 minute.

Transfer chilaquiles to a large platter. Sprinkle with grated cheese, sour cream, broken chips and cilantro. Serve rest of sour cream on the side.

GUACAMOLE SALAD

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2 inch diced
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup small diced red onion
2 Tbls minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (2 peppers)
1/2 tsp freshly grated lime zest
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled and 1/2 inch dice

Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeno peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well.

Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature.

Printable recipe – Chicken Chilaquiles
Printable recipe – Guacamole Salad

Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails is having a Great Cookbook Giveaway. She has too many cookbooks and is giving them away to fellow food bloggers. The only stipulation she has is that the recipient needs to blog about a recipe from the book they win and mention her blog when they do, so that others will be aware of this opportunity. I was lucky enough to win her first giveaway. The book that I won was Entertain by Ed Baines. Ed Baines is a hotty. He is the chef and co-owner of Randall & Aubin champagne and oyster bar in London’s Soho. He appears on his own TV show, Ed Baines Entertains and for a time he was the official Armani chef and a model on the side. What’s not to like about the guy? He has a passion for food and grew up in a household where fresh local ingredients were the norm. My only problem was trying to figure out which of his wonderful recipes to try.

The recipe I finally chose was Chocolate, Pear & Almond Tart. For those of you who have followed my blog, you probably know that I am partial to pastries and tarts. I would be in my element in a French Patisserie. What I loved about this tart was the first burst of chocolate and orange zest in my mouth when I tasted it. To me chocolate and orange were made for each other. The almonds and pears were more subtle but balanced well with the stronger flavors. The one thing I had a problem with was the pastry. It did not brown as much as I would have liked. I think this problem could be solved by baking the tart at a higher temperature. Even though it did not brown well the pastry was excellent due to the addition of powdered sugar. Ed Baines is an excellent chef and I am pleased to own his cookbook. Thank you Kate for the gift and for inscribing a message to me. Now, all of you need to go over to her blog to take advantage of the cookbook giveaway.

CHOCOLATE, PEAR, & ALMOND TART

For the Pastry:
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
a pinch of salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 egg
1 Tbls orange zest

Sift the flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl and mix together. Add the softened butter and using your fingertips, rub it into the flour until you have a breadcrumb consistency. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and orange rind together with 1 tablespoon of water. Add this to the flour mixture and stir, then work the mixture together until you have a dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Tart Filling:
1 stick of cubed butter, softened
3 -4 fresh pears (or canned pear halves, drained) I used canned
2 ounces ground almonds
2 ounces slivered almonds
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
zest of one large orange
9 ounces dark chocolate, shredded ( I used mini chocolate chips)
1 Tbls apricot jam

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees ( I say 350 degrees). Butter a 10 inch tart pan. Peel and core the pears if fresh, then cut them into halves lenghwise. Roll out the pastry and use to line the tart pan. Prick the base of the tart with a fork several times ( this stops the pastry rising through the filling ).

In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground almonds, flour, sugar, and cubes of softened butter with your fingertips, until you have a crumble. Now add the eggs and mix well, again using your fingertips, until you have a paste. Add the vanilla extract, orange rind, shredded chocolate, and slivered almonds, and fold this mixture together.

Place the pear halves over the base of the tart shell and pour over the mixture. Bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

While this is cooking, put the apricot jam in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water and heat gently to form a light syrup.

To test if the tart is properly cooked through, push in a small knife tip and remove; if nothing is sticking to it, the tart is done. Remove from the oven and lightly brush wih the apricot glaze.

This tart is best served hot, with either ice cream or custard flavored with a dash of Amaretto.

Printable Recipe

David has gone on a two week fishing trip to Canada. He will be staying at a remote fishing camp and fishing for Walleye. Walleye are found in the Northern United States and Canada and are considered to be one of the best tasting fish. He took a mason jar of my homemade lemon viniagrette with him to sprinkle on the freshly caught fish.

I love any excuse to cook something special, so before he left I made this hazelnut-crusted chicken with raspberry sauce and baby greens. This is the kind of meal I like; a little bit decadent, a little bit healthy. The brilliantly pink hued (wouldn’t you call that hot pink?) raspberry sauce is made with fresh raspberries pureed in a blender with an infusion of safflower oil to emulsify. It was wonderful on the chicken and on the salad. The chicken was rich with a coating of mustard and mint flavored mayonnaise topped with panko crumbs and finely chopped pecans. I could not find hazelnuts. Somehow I feel it would have been even better with the hazelnuts.

The recipe came (via Bon Appetit) from Anna Pump’s new book Summer on a Plate. I love that title and looking at this colorful dish you can see that the title is appropriate. I am ordering the book from Amazon today. Anna’s previous book, Loaves and Fishes, is out of print and is currently selling for over $50.00! Get this one while it is reasonable. If the rest of the recipes are as good as this one, you can’t go wrong. Now I wonder what I am going to be eating for the next two weeks. Cooking for one is a challenge.

HAZELNUT-CRUSTED CHICKEN WITH RASPBERRY SAUCE

Raspberry Sauce:
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh raspberries (about 3 1/2 ounces)
3 Tbls white wine vinegar
1 Tbls sugar
1/2 cup safflower oil
3 to 6 tsps water (optional)

Chicken:
1 cup chopped hazelnuts (about 4 1/2 ounces)
3/4 cup panko crumbs
1 Tbls plus 1 tsp coarse kosher salt ( I did not use this much)
3 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, divided
1/3 cup honey mustard
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts, butterflied (I cut them all the way through to make 2 thin breasts out of 1)
4 Tbls unsalted butter
3 Tbls peanut oil
4 cups baby salad greens
1/2 cup fresh raspberries

Puree raspberries, white wine vingar, and sugar in blender until smooth. With blender running, gradually add safflower oil. Add water by teaspoonfuls as needed to thin to desired consistency. Season raspberry sauce to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix hazelnuts, panko, 1 tablespoon coarse salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper in shallow bowl. Mix honey mustard, mint leaves, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, remaining 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon pepper in bowl. Add chicken; coat.

Dip chicken pieces, 1 at a time, into crumb-nut mixture, coating both sides and pressing to adhere. Transfer coated chicken pieces to baking sheet.

Divide equal amounts of butter and peanut oil between 2 large nonstick skillets; heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 chicken pieces (in my case 4) to each skillet; reduce heat to medium and cook until chicken is light brown, about 4 minutes per side. Place chicken on rimmed baking sheet; transfer to oven. Roast chicken until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

Divide salad greens among 4 plates; top with chicken. Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve raspberry sauce alongside.

Printable Recipe

Printable recipe

Princess Rachel turned 3 this weekend. She is such a girly girl. Her Dad has signed her up for soccer (his favorite sport), but I’m afraid she will want to kick the soccer ball in her high heeled princess shoes. She knows the Cinderella movie, sings all of the songs and dramatically reenacts the weeping scene when her ugly step-sisters make her do all of the chores. “Oh woe is me”.

 

 

Our son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Kristen, hosted a wonderful birthday party for her. The weather was beautiful, and the food was delicious. The birthday cake was a buttercream cake with strawberry cream filling and vanilla fondant icing. There were also cupcakes with princess crown rings for decoration. It was such a fun and lively addition to the day.

We had a memorable weekend. I will be back with my usual posts tomorrow. Happy Birthday dear Rachel. We Love you!