Buffalo Chicken Salad

I hope everyone had a healthy and grateful Memorial Day weekend!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of our soldiers for everything you do.

We finished putting in the garden and actually ate the first fresh salad of the season. It is so amazing how completely refreshing and different fresh greens taste compared to the lettuce and greens available in the grocery store all winter long; each leaf in the salad had so much flavor that a simple drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and a little salt and pepper was all it needed.  Thank goodness for the growing season up here to begin!

And our farmer finally has chickens again. When I get chickens from the farmer, they usually come to us either whole or in halves.  The extra processing (cutting) costs more, so our farmer tries to keep it as economical as possible for his customers by only allowing minimal "processing".  That means no "boneless, skinless chicken breasts" for us.  Which is fine, because I think it's important to remember that meat is not a commodity, but a life, and should be respected as such, and purchasing the chicken whole makes it that much more tangible for us consumers.

In order for us to get to the "boneless, skinless chicken breast" stage, we reserve the darker meat on the chicken for other recipes that better feature dark meat, and then cut the breast meat from the bone (keeping the bones for broth).  I hesitate to give a number regarding how many chicken breasts will make up the 1 1/2 lbs called for in this spicy chicken salad recipe because all chickens are different, so just use your judgement (or your scale).

Be sure to choose cool flavored veggies to offset the heat of the chicken.  Sweet pea pods, bell peppers, and carrots, along with crunchy, cool celery and cucumbers work beautifully to offset the spicy bite of the chicken.  Choose a rich, creamy dressing for the same purpose. With regards to the hot sauce, look for a brand that lists only water, hot peppers, and vinegar as the sole ingredients on the label.  Better yet, make your own.  I haven't made my own yet, but I'm looking forward to using the recipe listed in The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making written by Alana Chernila of Eating From the Ground Up.

Buffalo Chicken Salad
serves 6

• 1/4 c butter, melted
• 1/4 c hot sauce
• 1 1/4 c  dried bread crumbs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne (or up to 1/2 tsp if  you prefer it very spicy)
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
•  1 1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into approximately 1 inch cubes
  
• 8 cups salad greens (including baby spinach, baby chard, arugula, red and/or green leaf lettuces)
• pea pods
• green onions (seasonal)
• sliced celery
• shredded carrot
• sliced cucumbers (seasonal)
• sliced bell pepper (seasonal)
• Your favorite Ranch-style or Bleu Cheese-style dressing

Preheat oven to 425F.  Lightly oil two rimmed baking sheets with olive oil.

In one shallow bowl, combine the melted butter and hot sauce.  In another shallow bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, paprika, salt, cayenne, onion powder and garlic powder.

Dip several pieces of chicken into the hot sauce and butter mixture. Coat well. 

 Toss the coated pieces in the breadcrumb mixture.

Place on the prepared baking sheets.  Continue with the rest of the chicken.

Bake chicken for about 20-25 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and coating is beginning to lightly brown.

Meanwhile, prepare plates by dividing the salad greens between 6 large salad bowls or plates.  Toss with the pea pods, green onions, celery, carrot, cucumber, and/or bell pepper.

Drizzle with dressing.

Top the prepared salad plates/bowls with chicken pieces.

Enjoy!

Mushroom Ravioli

Making ravioli can be tedious and time consuming...if you let it. Since I like to have a freezer full of little stuffed pastas for easy and delicious meals even the kids can make, I choose to look forward to making them.  I mean, I purposely find it enjoyable.  I'm not going to kid you - while it's not difficult at all, it is a bit time intensive; the dough takes time, the filling takes time, then putting it all together takes time.  It can easily take up to three hours if you choose to do everything all at once. But here's the thing - you can choose to enjoy the cooking time with your family, or you can plug your ears with a good audio book or album while you prepare several meals of ravioli.  You can also make it a fun social gathering by inviting some friends over for a ravioli making party; each person brings [a bottle of wine and] enough ingredients to make different fillings to share with everyone.

You can split the time by making the filling and dough when you have time and just pop it in the fridge until you are ready to assemble everything. Regardless of how you choose to enjoy your time making the ravioli, you will end up with several delicious homemade meals (even more if you choose the friend option) for what essentially comes down to not a lot of work (just a fair bit of time).  To keep it simple to follow, I've broken the recipe down into three parts: the dough, the filling, the meal.

The dough for the ravioli  is prepared exactly the same as any pasta dough; you can see the photos for the preparation method in my post for Lemon Fettuccine.


Ravioli Dough:

• 2 c unbleached all purpose flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 2-4 Tbs water, as needed

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade.  Pulse to mix. With the machine running on dough speed, pour the olive oil down the chute.  Drop the eggs down the chute one at a time.  Add water, 1 Tbs at a time, until the dough catches and forms a ball.  Turn the machine off, remove the dough to a lightly floured surface.  Knead a few times until the dough is smooth.  Form the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour (or up to 8 hours).

Meanwhile, make the mushroom filling.


Mushroom Filling:

• 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms plus 1 cup boiling water
• 3 Tbs butter
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 c onion, finely diced
• 1 1/4 lb assorted mushrooms (portobello, cremini, shitake, oyster, button, etc...), stems removed, wiped clean and chopped
• 1/3 c dry red wine
• 1/4 c water from porcini mushrooms (above)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 c fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 2 Tbs heavy cream

Place the porcini mushrooms in a small bowl.  Pour boiling water over and set aside for about 20-30 minutes or until mushrooms are hydrated and tender.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the porcini water. Finely chop and add them to the rest of the mushrooms. 

Melt the butter in a 12" skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onions and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant.

Add the mushrooms.  Cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until tender and volume has reduced by about half, stirring often.

Pour the wine and porcini water over the mushrooms.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook another 5-6 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally.

Mix in the Parmesan, parsley, and cream.  Cook for 1 minute more.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to assemble the ravioli.

Mushroom Ravioli
makes about 60 ravioli

• 1 recipe ravioli dough (see above)
• 1 recipe mushroom filling (see above)
• flour for dusting
• Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce (optional)

Line 2-3 baking sheets with waxed paper.  Set aside.

Lightly dust working surface with flour.

To roll out the dough, tear off 1/4 of the dough (cover the rest with the plastic wrap or towel).  Press the dough into a rectangle with your fingers.  Run it through the widest setting of your pasta machine (on mine it is #7) about three times, folding it into thirds each time.  If it's misshapen, don't sweat it - you'll fix it shortly. Turn the setting one notch thinner, fold the dough into thirds, and feed it through again.

The dough should be about 14" long.  Cut it in half.

Fold each half into thirds one more time and feed through. Continue lowering the setting each successive time (no more need to fold, just feed) until dough is thin enough (about 1/32, or  until you can see a nice shadow when you hold your hand behind the strip of dough).  *If dough gets sticky while working with it, dust it lightly with flour before running it back through the pasta machine.

Place the dough strips on a lightly floured surface.

Trim the wonky edges, and cut each strip of dough with a sharp knife or pizza cutter lengthwise, leaving one half slightly larger than the other (you will fill the thinner strip, and cover with the wider, so we are allowing the extra room to cover the filling).

Starting about 3/4" in from the edges, mound about 1 heaping teaspoon (the measuring kind, not the the soup kind) of filling on the thinner dough strip.  Continue down the length of the strip, leaving about 1 inch between mounds.

With a pastry brush dipped in water, carefully wet the edges. Don't be too messy with it because if the water leaks off the sides, it will make the dough stick to the counter and it will be hard to pick it up (or scrape off).

Carefully lift the larger dough strip over the filling.  Seal by pressing down around each mound, taking care to press any air out before finally sealing each mound.  Brush any excess flour from the dough with a dry pastry brush.

Using either a knife, pizza cutter, or fancy ravioli cutter, cut each of the mounds into squares.  If you'd like, use a fork to decorate the edges (just take care not to puncture the pasta with the tines).

If you do puncture or tear the pasta, you can try to fix it by twisting the dough to seal calzone-style.

 Place the ravioli in a single layer on baking sheets lined with waxed paper. Continue these steps with the rest of the pasta dough.

To freeze, place the filled baking sheet in the freezer for a few hours. When the ravioli is frozen, remove the pastas to a freezer bag or other freezer safe container.

To boil (fresh or frozen), bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Carefully add the ravioli and gently boil 3-6 minutes for fresh, 5-8 minutes for frozen, or until the pasta is tender and they all float to the top.

Drain and serve with your favorite sauce.  Try it with Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce...so good!

May is #pastalove month!

Please join in on the #pastalove fun by linking up any pasta recipe from the month of May 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #pastalove event! The twitter hashtag is #pastalove :).

Cohosted by:

Astig Vegan, Badger Girl Learns to Cook, BigFatBaker, Bon a Croquer, Cake Duchess, Elephant Eats, Hobby and More, Mis Pensamientos, No One likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Rico sin Azucar, Simply Reem,Soni's Food for Thought, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegetarian Mama, You Made That?, Vegan Yack Attack. 

Sundried Tomato Alfredo Sauce

The garden beds are finally in and planted.  We decided to go with some old barn boards and a lot of reinforcement.

In the front bed is an assortment of lettuces and salad leaves, arugula, spinach, spring onions, chard, and eggplant. The second bed has broccoli, cauliflower and some Roma tomatoes.  The third bed contains some more Roma, a few San Marzano, and plenty of Beefsteak tomatoes (the cherry tomatoes will be in pots near the kitchen). The last bed has garlic, white and red onions, carrots, and bell peppers (including those cute little cherry peppers that I love so much in summer salads).

We tilled the 16' x 24' bed below, but need to till it again and then greatly amend the soil, and it will contain corn, green beans, pie pumpkins, kidney and cannellini beans, potatoes, and leeks.  This is the spot where my old garden was before we had the bright idea to till it under and plant grass.

Those are my three apple trees in the upper left corner of the picture, and I'm hoping like crazy they produce more than a collective 20 apples in their 4th year.

Unfortunately, the fence I was hoping to use to grow the peas, cucumbers and green beans won't be installed until the first week of July.  I guess I'll just have to fashion a make-shift fence around the new plot for this year.  Oh well.

But I've got a compost bin now.

Oh, and here is my kitchen herb garden, filled with parsley, rosemary, thyme, basil, cilantro, and chives:

The sage, oregano, and lavender is out in the perennial garden along with the roses and lilies (which is behind all of the beds in the top picture).

Tim wants to order shitake and oyster mushroom spores to inoculate some logs and hopefully we will have some fresh (and dried) mushrooms.  We need to look into portobello mushrooms, too, because those are my favorite and so versatile to work with in the kitchen.

So, my friends, that is what I've been doing all week (month, really).  That, and wagging my finger at my kids who are not exactly going to be done with school the first week of June (just like I told them they wouldn't be if they didn't follow the schedule and went along with their schedule - but that's another story, and this is a recipe and food blog, not a homeschooling blog written by a mother who has no problem with saying "I told you so").

Today, however, I spent in the kitchen making bread and my favorite mushroom ravioli.  I made enough ravioli to freeze and we also enjoyed some for dinner topped with this amazing, rich, slightly sweet, creamy sauce.  The sauce is dreamy over any pasta, really, but the cream and sundried tomatoes really compliment the assorted mushrooms in the ravioli (which will be my next post).  This alfredo also makes an awesome dip for bread - so yummy!


Sundried Tomato Alfredo
makes a little over 1 cup

• 3 Tbs butter
• 1/4 c chopped sundried tomatoes (not oil packed)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
• 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  When it's ready to sizzle, stir in the tomatoes and garlic.  Saute for about 2 minutes, or until garlic becomes fragrant and tomatoes soften.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Whisk in the cream.  Return the pan to the heat.  Heat just until the cream begins to bubble (do not boil), whisking often.  Remove from heat.

Stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and nutmeg until the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve over hot pasta or use as a dip for baguettes.  Yum.

Pasta Primavera

Primavera translated from Italian means springtime, or spring-like.  A pasta primavera is a simple dish of pasta (usually fettuccine or penne or farfalle) and lightly sauteed spring vegetables, tossed with a light sauce usually made from broth, butter, cream, and cheese.

As I mentioned in my Lemon Fettuccine post, while out for dinner, I ordered what should have been some pasta with seasonal vegetables and a cream sauce (in the case of this particular restaurant, the cream sauce is thicker, like an alfredo, and is usually a richer sauce than a traditional Primavera, which I knew because I had eaten it there before).  Instead, what arrived was a repulsive mix of fettuccine tossed with an obviously microwaved frozen broccoli/cauliflower/carrot mix plopped into a puddle of corn oil an inch deep and smothered with what I think was canned Parmesan.  We called it "I Can't Believe It's Not Alfredo" (or, more accurately, "I Can't Believe You Thought This Could Pass For Alfredo").  My fancy-pants phone was broken and I was waiting for the replacement to show up, or I would have taken a picture of it for you - it was pretty unbelievable.

Here's the deal:  one cannot make a Primavera sauce without using real, fresh ingredients.  In any case, especially in the case of one with a thicker type sauce, real butter, real cream, and real Parmesan (or, more ideally, Parmigiano Reggiano) must be used.  Margarines or other oil-based spreads just won't cut it; they ultimately separate and leave your dinner drowning in an unappetizing pool of icky oil (as is evidenced in my dinner out).  And since that canned Parmesan isn't allowed in my humble home kitchen, I fully expect a chef charging $15 for a plate of pasta not to be using it, either.

So, here is how I make our Pasta Primavera.  Try to use a combination of the freshest vegetables you can find.  In this one, I used what I had on hand: asparagus, spring onions, pea pods (and frozen peas because little sweet peas are so yummy!), baby zucchini, carrots, and a few broccoli florets.  In the depth of summer, go ahead and use fresh green beans, cauliflower, and whatever else suits you.  Shoot for about 4 cups of those vegetables for 1lb of fettuccine.  Keep the size small and thinly sliced so they will cook quickly and fit nicely on a fork without needing to cut them on the plate.

I like to keep the frozen peas frozen so it will cool the simmering broth and vegetables, allowing for the cream to be safely added without risk of separation.  Don't be worried about the thinness of the sauce after adding the cream and cheese; it will be thick enough to coat the vegetables and pasta will absorb some of it - it will be lovely.  I promise.

And don't forget the salt and pepper.  Since everyone has a different idea about how much salt makes a dish taste good, and some broths, butters, and cheese have a higher salt content than others, I have left out the measurements.  Keep in mind that salt naturally brings out the flavors of every single ingredient in this dish, so be sure to give it a taste test to be sure you've added enough.

Pasta Primavera
serves 5-6

• 1 lb lemon fettuccine
• 2 Tbs butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups assorted fresh, seasonal vegetables, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 c vegetable broth
• 1/2 c frozen sweet peas (no need to thaw)
• 1 c heavy cream
• 1/4 c fresh basil, roughly chopped
• 1 c grated Parmesan cheese (the real stuff, please)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/4 c fresh parsley, roughly chopped

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the garlic and stir until fragrant; about 1 minute.

Toss in the fresh vegetables.  Pour the broth over all, cover, and cook until the vegetables are crisp tender; about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, add fresh fettuccine to the boiling pasta pot.  Cook about 3-6 minutes, or until al dente.  Drain.

Uncover the steaming vegetables.  Add the frozen peas and give it a stir.  Slowly add the cream and basil.  Bring to a low simmer. Stir in the Parmesan cheese until melted.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toss the cooked fettuccine with the cream and vegetable mixture and parsley.

Serve immediately.

And don't forget to check out all the #pastalove recipes all May long!

May is #pastalove month!

Please join in on the #pastalove fun by linking up any pasta recipe from the month of May 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #pastalove event! The twitter hashtag is #pastalove :).

Cohosted by:

Astig Vegan, Badger Girl Learns to Cook, BigFatBaker, Bon a Croquer, Cake Duchess, Elephant Eats, Hobby and More, Mis Pensamientos, No One likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Rico sin Azucar, Simply Reem,Soni's Food for Thought, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegetarian Mama, You Made That?, Vegan Yack Attack. 

Homemade Pasta (Lemon Fettuccine)

Tim and I went out for dinner the other night, which is something we don't regularly do.  I ordered the Vegetable Primavera, knowing full well that it wasn't so much a primavera as an alfredo with vegetables because I had ordered it at this restaurant before.  Usually it was rich and creamy, packed full of veggies and pasta.  But the delivered dish was so repulsive, swimming in corn oil, peppered with microwaved vegetables, and topped with canned Parmesan. I feel nauseous just thinking about it. This experience has spurred not just one post, but two to fully explain how a decent Primavera is made.  This first post will deal with the pasta, and in the next (later this week), I will explain to you just exactly how to achieve a lovely, lightly creamy, super flavorful, seasonal Primavera using these lemony noodles that looks exactly like this one:

Dried pasta is my friend, and I use it often.  However, in a dish that relies primarily (or at least equally with its sauce or other ingredients), fresh is sometimes best.  This recipe is one I like to use for my Pasta Primavera because the fresh tasting lemony fettuccine adds so much brightness and zing to the final dish, but you can always adjust it to plain fettuccine by leaving out the lemon and lemon juice (make up for the lack of lemon juice with water if extra hydration is necessary).  This particular Lemon Fettuccine is also lovely just tossed with butter or extra virgin olive oil, fresh herbs, salt and pepper.

Some pasta making instructions can seem daunting.  The truth is that it is one of the easiest things in the world to do and very difficult to mess up. Making fresh pasta is super easy - don't let anyone tell you differently. The reason it is a staple on so many old school tables is because the ingredients are meager and the work is simple.  I learned to make it on a counter top (sans a bowl) by piling the flour, making a well, cracking the eggs into the center, and mixing with my hands.  While you certainly can do this, honestly, a food processor is extremely nice because it does all the work for you.  As I was learning in this rudimentary, most therapeutic way, I also learned to pat the dough with my hands and roll it to thickness with a rolling pin, then cut it into strips or shapes with a knife.  However, a pasta machine is much, much nicer; not only does it yield a more uniform noodle, but it saves time and your arms won't ache afterward.  My el-cheapo manual pasta machine cost about $32 and came with a spaghetti and fettuccine attachment, and being the non-gadget gal that I am, I feel pretty darn good about that investment.  A drying rack is something I've never invested in though, opting for anything from wooden spoons and rolling pins to sideways cooling racks (in my pictures today) and occasionally clothes hangers to hang the pasta out to dry.  Hey, don't judge; cooking good food isn't about spending a bunch of money on something that can be done without. 

Oh, one more thing: because I use whole wheat flour in this recipe, the dough isn't immediately sticky and elastic.  Rather, it's kind of stiff.  That's okay - you haven't done anything wrong.  After it rests for a while, it's very workable and the final, plated result is lovely.

May is also #pastalove month.  Below this recipe you will find a list of the co-hosts this month and the on-going collection of pasta dishes from all over the blogosphere! 

Lemon Fettuccine
makes about 1 lb fettuccine

• 1 c unbleached white flour
• 1 c whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbs  lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp coarse salt
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 3 eggs
• 1-2 Tbs water, as needed

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, add the flours, lemon zest, and salt.  Pulse to mix.

With the processor running, add the lemon juice, olive oil, and eggs (one at a time) down the chute.  Add water, 1 Tbs at a time until dough collects into a ball.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  Knead a few times (dough will be stiff).

Form into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and set aside for about 30 minutes to let the gluten do its thing (the dough will be more pliable after it rests).

Divide the dough into quarters.  For each quarter, press into a rectangular shape with your hands.  Feed the dough through a pasta machine set to the widest setting (on my machine, that number is 7).  Each time the dough comes through, fold into thirds the long way and refeed; do this about 4 or 5 times at the same wide setting.

For each successive feed, reduce the size by one; feed the dough through.  Cut the dough in half when it gets too long to handle.  Continue until the dough is roughly 1/16" thick (on my machine, I stop at the #3 setting). *If the dough is looking less than smooth during this process, sprinkle with a little flour before passing through the press.

As you are feeding the dough, it will get longer; cut the dough into a manageable length if necessary.  Feed the thin sheets through the fettuccine slicer (or slice it with a pizza cutter or sharp knife into 1/4" strips).

Lightly toss the strips in flour, shaking off the excess.  Toss over drying rack, and continue on with the rest of the dough.

Your mess should look something like this:

To dry, just leave the pasta on the rack until fully dried.

To refrigerate, leave it on the rack until partially dry, grab a bunch, lightly wrap around your hand to form a nest, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to use (a day or two is best; if you need to store it longer, freeze it up to 3 months)

To cook (immediately or otherwise), bring a pot of salted water to a rapid boil.  Add the pasta and reduce heat to medium.  Boil 3-6 minutes, or until cooked to desired tenderness.

May is #pastalove month!

Please join in on the #pastalove fun by linking up any pasta recipe from the month of May 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #pastalove event! The twitter hashtag is #pastalove :).

Cohosted by:

Astig Vegan, Badger Girl Learns to Cook, BigFatBaker, Bon a Croquer, Cake Duchess, Elephant Eats, Hobby and More, Mis Pensamientos, No One likes Crumbley Cookies, Oh Cake, Rico sin Azucar, Simply Reem,Soni's Food for Thought, Teaspoon of Spice, That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!, The Spicy RD, The Wimpy Vegetarian, Vegetarian Mama, You Made That?, Vegan Yack Attack.