Tag Archives: dried fruit

Chicken Stuffed with Brie and Walnuts – An Experiment

Posted on April 29, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 2 Comments

Back in the 80′s when I lived in Chapel Hill, NC, there was a restaurant called McCarthy’s Grill. They served a stuffed chicken breast with a flavor that haunts me still, and I have absolutely no idea what was actually in it. I remember walnuts, a mustard sauce, perhaps some kind of cheese. This recipe is NOT it. It wasn’t even close, but I get points for trying. If anyone out there remembers McCarthy’s chicken, please send me your ideas!

Although this isn’t the fabled McCarthy’s chicken, it wasn’t too bad for an experiment. However, the brie I had was a little too “earthy” for this combination…it seemed to beg for mushrooms. When I try this again, I will use a different cheese for the stuffing. A soft-ripened goat cheese, cream cheese, or a Gorgonzola would pair better with the walnuts and dried fruit. I liked the mustard-cream sauce – the mustard was subtle, and hit it off with the fruit and walnuts. A more robust grainy mustard would probably also be good and might just get me closer to finding a stand-in for McCarthy’s chicken.

I don’t have specific amounts for the ingredients. First of all, it was a few weeks ago when I made this and I didn’t write anything down (d’oh). Also I didn’t really measure anything. It’s not baking, so improvise as you will and let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients (as prepared):

3 chicken breast halves, butterflied and pounded to even thickness
Brie, sliced into strips (or other cheese)
Chopped walnuts, toasted
Mixed dried fruits
Fresh rosemary, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Butter or olive oil
2 tablespoons shallot, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
~ 1/2 cup white wine
~ 1/2 cup chicken stock
More butter
Heavy cream

Preheat oven to 375F.
Place a strip of cheese down the center of the chicken breast half; sprinkle with nuts, rosemary, and dried fruit. (Perhaps not as much fruit as pictured…I got carried away.) Leave space at each end of the breast.
Fold the ends in, and roll the chicken around the filling – much like rolling a burrito. Tie with butcher’s twine to secure. Repeat for each breast half.
Season the chicken bundles all over with salt and pepper.
Heat oil or butter in a skillet or saute pan over medium high heat. Brown the chicken bundles on all sides.
Place browned chicken in a baking dish. Bake until thickest part of chicken reaches around 165F (around 30 minutes). Remove from oven and tent with foil until ready to serve.
While chicken is baking, prepare the mustard-cream sauce. Remove all but about 2 tablespoons of oil from the skillet. Saute shallots over medium high heat for about a minute, then add wine. Reduce heat; stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Simmer until wine is reduced by about half.
Add the chicken stock and mustard. Also add any chicken juices that have accumulated in the baking dish, if desired. Simmer until reduced by about half and sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from heat if chicken is not ready.
When ready to serve, reheat sauce and finish by whisking in a tablespoon or so of butter and a touch of cream. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Serve the chicken breasts with the sauce.

No experimenting with the evening soundtrack- just pure soul goodness. First up, an album called by many “the ultimate soul album”- and you won’t hear me disagree- Lady Soul from the magnificent Aretha Franklin. “Chain Of Fools”, “Money Won’t Change You” and “Natural Woman”? What more do you need? Sing it, Lady Soul!

And for a follow-up, spin Be What You Are the the great Staple Singers. Anything from them on the Stax label is priceless, and this is just a grand gospel/funk/soul groove from start to finish. Dig in!

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Posted in Entrees, Poultry

Tagged Aretha Franklin, brie, Chapel Hill, chicken, dried cherries, dried fruit, gorgonzola, McCarthy's, mustard, recipe, rosemary, sauce, soul, Staple Singers, stuffed, walnuts

Stuffed Bell Peppers and Pecan-Stuffed Dates

Posted on April 15, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 7 Comments

If you’ve been following this blog, you know we recently acquired a Tagine. Every couple of days I try to cook something different in it…not only because it is a great new vessel to cook in, but also because I don’t want to figure out where to store it when it’s not in use! Every cabinet and flat surface in our house is overflowing – but not yet to the point where intervention is required. Right, honey? Honey?

Stuffed peppers are very festive, and certainly are a party for your palate with all the different textures and flavors in every bite. According to Claudia Roden in The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, both the Turks and the Greeks claim to have created stuffed vegetables, which most likely developed as part of a court cuisine meant to impress the rich and powerful. These stuffed peppers are impressive looking, especially considering they don’t take a huge amount of effort to prepare.

Six pepper halves fit perfectly in the tagine, and it provided an excellent environment for cooking the peppers while keeping the filling moist.

Since these stuffed peppers are filled with a rich combination of meat, fruit, and cheese, they are good all on their own! Or, next time you are serving royalty, add them to the buffet.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground lamb
1 sweet onion, diced
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
~ 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
kosher salt, to taste
a few grinds of black pepper
~ 1/3 cup dried fruit (I used a mix of dried cherries/raisins/cranberries)
~ 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (or soft-ripened goat cheese)
~ 1/3 cup toasted nuts or seeds (I used pumpkins seeds because they were in the cabinet…but pine nuts would be good)
3 red and/or yellow bell peppers, split lengthwise, with seeds and ribs removed (See #6, below)
Additional chopped mint and crumbled feta, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375F.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and cook until soft and transparent.
Add the ground lamb. Brown the lamb well, while stirring to break up the meat.
Drain excess fat from the pan. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, mint, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. (Keep in mind that the feta will add salt to the dish, so salt sparingly.)
Stir in fruit, feta, and toasted nuts. (Amounts given were approximate; add more or less to suit your taste.)
Prepare the peppers for stuffing. I find it easier to split the pepper lengthwise, but you may want to just slice the tops off to make the pepper more of a “cup” than a “boat”. A vegetable peeler is useful for scraping out the ribs of the pepper from the inside. If making pepper “cups”, you may need to shave some pepper from the bottoms so they will sit upright.
Lightly oil the bottom of a baking dish or tagine. Also lightly oil the surfaces of the peppers.
Fill each pepper with the meat mixture and place upright into the baking dish.
Cover baking dish; bake for 30-40 minutes or until peppers are tender. Remove cover and bake for 10 minutes or until browned on top.
Serve with additional feta cheese and mint sprinkled over peppers.

At the end of the meal, we enjoyed a few Medjool dates stuffed with pecans. Like stuffed vegetables, these precious and delicate fruits were once reserved for royalty and their guests. Each bite of our treat was reminiscent of sweet, sticky pecan pie, without the corn syrup and pie crust. Beware, primal eaters, these babies are NOT low-carb (about 18 carbs apiece), so take it easy on the dessert!

No intervention yet, please…I still have albums to buy! Like this dandy one I picked up the other day:

cash Hits 1979-1989 from Rosanne Cash. This isn’t her best period sonically, since it was mostly from the ’80s and and despite then-husband Rodney Crowell’s best effort, it still sounds like MTV music. But the songs are great: “Seven Year Ache” and “My Baby Thinks He’s a Train”…Johnny’s daughter does good.

Now, for a record that is as near to perfect as you can get, try Shadowland from K.D. Lang. Produced by Patsy Cline’s producer Owen Bradley, this collection of honky tonkers and weepers showcases Lang’s gorgeous voice almost as sweetly as pecan-stuffed dates! Yum! lang2

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Posted in Brunch, Entrees, For the Sweet Tooth, Side dishes, Veal and Lamb

Tagged bell peppers, dates, dessert, dried fruit, feta cheese, goat cheese, KD Lang, lamb, low-carb, Medjool, mint, paleo, pecans, pine nuts, primal, pumpkin seeds, recipe, Rosanne Cash, side dish, side dishes, stuffed peppers, tagine

Stuffed Pork Loin

Posted on March 2, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 5 Comments

Pork loin, it can be such a problem-child! Unless you’re lucky enough to have good access to meat from heritage breeds, most of the pork available is too lean and can end up being dry and flavorless after roasting. There’s a couple of ways to help this – brining, and stuffing to add moisture. Before James and I stopped eating grains, I often made a cornbread stuffing with fruit and bacon. That was tasty, but no more bread for us!

This pork loin is stuffed with baby spinach, prosciutto, and dried apricots. Not only does it look gorgeous, it will give your taste buds a good working out with layers of mustard-y spinach, salty prosciutto, and the sweetness of apricots and pork.

Ingredients:

2-3 pound pork loin roast (this was from the “rib” end of the loin)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt plus 2 T kosher salt
6 cups water
Dijon mustard
Baby spinach
Dried apricots
4 slices prosciutto
Pepper or pepper blend ( I like Florida Seasoned Pepper from The Spice House.)
Olive oil or Coconut oil (for browning)

Prepare brine by mixing sugar, kosher salt, and water in a gallon-size resealable bag. Seal and shake until sugar and salt are dissolved. (Make sure the seal is good before shaking!) Put pork loin in bag, press out air, seal and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F. Remove pork from brine and dry well with paper towels. Butterfly the roast by cutting down the center to about 3/4 inch from the edge; open up like a book, then make similar cuts on each half so that the roast lies flat and has even thickness. (If you haven’t done this before, you might want to check out this excellent demonstration.)

Spread the inside of the roast with Dijon mustard (probably about 2 T). Put a layer of spinach over the mustard, covering the meat. Place the 4 slices of prosciutto over the spinach. Add a double row of dried apricots to the center of the roast.

Cut several pieces of kitchen twine, around 10 inches long or so (long enough to tie around the rolled pork). Carefully roll the roast up and secure with the kitchen twine. I tie the ends first, then the middle, then fill-in so that is it tied in about 1 inch intervals. Poke any of the stuffing back in that came out when you were rolling and tying. Season the outside of the roast generously with the pepper blend.

Heat oil in a heavy saute pan to medium-high. Sear the rolled pork roast on all sides until nicely browned. Transfer roast to a shallow roasting pan on an oiled rack.

Roast at 375F until the temperature in the thickest part of the meat is 135-140F. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for about 10 minutes. The temperature of the roast will continue to rise during this time, and it also gives the juices a chance to redistribute.

When ready to serve, slice into thick pieces (1 to 1 1/2 inches).

[Clicking on any of the photos will bring them up to full-size.]

This post is linked to Primal Cave Friday @ Primal Toad.

Man does not live by food alone…he needs wine! And guitars! In honor of NGD, spinning a few classics. First up, legendary British guitarist, former Pentangle founder, John Renbourn’s Faro Annie. Beautiful collection of largely American material (White House Blues, Little Sadie, etc), masterfully played. Something to aim for with the new Martin, certainly!

johnr

And then the one that started it all, featuring Leo Kottke, Peter Lang and the incomparable John Fahey with Fahey Kottke Lange

lang

A hugely influential record that introduced Fahey and Kottke to the masses. Mindbogglingly good, one of the largest sellers in the steel string guitar catalog. Not to mention it just sounds nice!

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Posted in Entrees, Pork

Tagged apricot, brine, dried fruit, Florida Seasoned Pepper, guitar, john fahey, leo kottke, low-carb, paleo, pork, pork loin, primal, proscuitto, recipe, spinach, stuffed pork

Chicken Pecan Salad

Posted on February 21, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 2 Comments

Chicken Pecan Salad with dried cherries and blueberries

I’m always on the lookout for good chicken salad. I like it with nuts and a touch of something sweet, like dates or other dried fruits. Sometimes I find a good tasting version in the deli section of a grocery store, only to make the mistake of looking at the ingredients to find all sorts of unpronounceable additives and preservatives. Ugh. As the t-shirt James found for me, here, says, “I don’t eat crap.”

So, it finally occurred to me – why not make my own chicken salad? I don’t know why I’ve never done it before, because it really doesn’t take much time. The added benefit, of course, is knowing that your chicken salad is full of healthy, organic ingredients…and not that other stuff.

Ingredients (All approximate amounts, because it’s a salad after all!)

3 chicken breast halves
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup dried fruit of choice (e.g. chopped dates, cherries, cranberries, apricots)
1 cup pecan halves, toasted, then chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 T apple cider vinegar
1/2 T honey
dash Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper, to taste

Put chicken breast halves in a medium saucepan and add enough chicken broth to cover well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, skimming the surface occasionally to remove flocculates. Remove from heat and let chicken sit in hot broth for another 20 minutes. Chicken breasts should be cooked through, but avoid overcooking to prevent chicken from becoming tough.

Remove chicken from broth; strain broth and reserve for another use. When chicken is cool enough to handle, chop into small pieces and place in a medium bowl. Add celery, dried fruit, and pecans.

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, and dash of Worcestershire sauce for the dressing. (This is fairly tangy…if you don’t like tangy, add less vinegar.)

Toss chicken mixture with dressing. [Note: the chicken and dried fruit tend to adsorb a lot of moisture, so it should be a bit extra-creamy at this point. You may need to add additional dressing, depending on how moist you like your chicken salad to end up.] Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with cling wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

There’s my lunches for the week, and a couple of snacks for James too!

Chicken salad? How about some chicken pickin’? (Groan!)

chet

If you’re not hip the mastery that was Chet Atkins, Guitar Legend: Rca Years is a good place to get started. His technique was flawless, his humor evident and his song selection spanned all genres. Ear candy!

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Posted in Brunch, Entrees, Poultry

Tagged brunch, Chet Atkins, chicken, dates, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried fruit, lunch, pecan, recipe, salad

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Kale

Posted on February 13, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | 1 Comment

Sweet potatoes and kale, served with salmon (this version without dried fruit)

I promised to post a recipe for butternut squash and kale, but my friend Ed says he doesn’t care much for butternut squash. Hopefully he likes sweet potatoes! I don’t see how anyone could not like either one, since they both roast-up to be creamy inside with a sweet, caramelized crust on the outside.

I changed this up in another way from the recipe I previously posted on facebook. Since this batch accompanied a delicately seasoned crabmeat-stuffed salmon (purchased prepared at the seafood counter), I omitted the 2 cloves of garlic and replaced it with a bit of dried cherries and cranberries. That does add more carbs to this dish; my sweet tooth seems to be getting the better of me lately! However, the sweetness blends well with the kale, and complements the salmon and crabmeat stuffing.

I promise to post a non-orange vegetable without dried fruit in the near future!

Ingredients:

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ~3/4-inch dice
Bunch of kale, stems removed, coarsely chopped
butter/bacon fat/coconut oil (or your fat of choice)
2 T dried cherries and/or cranberries (optional)
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400F. In a small roasting pan, toss the sweet potatoes with salt, pepper and enough coconut oil to coat potatoes and pan. Cover with foil and roast 15 minutes; remove foil and continue to cook until potatoes are tender and slightly browned (shaking pan occasionally, about 10 minutes). Remove from oven. [This step can be done in advance and the sweet potatoes set aside until dinner time.]

In the meantime, heat ~2-3 T of butter/bacon fat in a frying pan over medium high heat. Start adding handfuls of kale and toss in pan until wilted. Keep adding kale until you have the amount you’d like, cooking until wilted and to desired tenderness. Add the dried fruit and a dash of balsamic vinegar and mix well.

Add the sweet potatoes to the kale and toss until heated throughout and well mixed. Adjust seasoning and serve!

Does a Texas troubadour go with sweet potatoes and kale? Heck yes!

James McMurtry is a songwriter in the style of Joe Ely, Guy Clark, Butch Hancock or a more rockin’ Townes Van Zandt. This 1992 release Candyland
was produced by John Mellencamp, and is a perfect example of McMurtry’s weary, jaded and world-wise art.

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Posted in Entrees, Side dishes, Vegetarian

Tagged butternut squash, dried fruit, food, kale, paleo, primal, recipe, side dish, side dishes, sweet potatoes, vegetable, vegetarian

Butternut Squash, Nuts and Berries

Posted on February 4, 2011 by She cooks...He cleans | Leave a comment

Butternut squash is so simple, there’s nothing not to love! This recipe uses the bulbous end of the squash – I reserve the rest of it for another dish, such as Butternut Squash with Kale (coming soon to the blog). The neck of the squash is easy to peel and cube, but the round end is more suitable for holding butter and other goodies.

To get started, preheat the oven to 400F.

If working with a whole squash, cut the squash a bit above the bulbous end. Reserve the neck for another day. (It seems to keep well for several days in the refrigerator.)

Split the fat-end of the squash then scoop out the seeds and stringy parts with a spoon.

Line a shallow roasting pan with aluminum foil, dull side up (less sticky). This sweet squash tends to ooze sticky stuff while cooking, and your cleaner-upper will really appreciate not having to scrub the pan. Spray the foil with olive oil or cooking spray.

Spray or brush the edges and inside of the squash lightly with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, then place cut-side down on the foil. (Not pictured…who wants to see the bottom-side of a squash.) Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

While that is happening, gather your ingredients.

Mixed dried fruits (I used a mixture of cherries, cranberries and blueberries from Whole Foods)
Walnuts, coarsely chopped
Butter
Cinnamon and/or nutmeg

After the squash has baked for about 30 minutes, take it out and flip it over (cut-side up). It should have some nice caramelization around the edges. Add about a tablespoon of butter, brush it around the edges, and stick it back in the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

Then take it back out, add the desired amount of nuts and berries, sprinkle with a little cinnamon and/or nutmeg, and put it back in the oven. Cooking time will vary with the size of the squash you are using – but it’s done when the flesh is tender and offers no resistance to being forked.

Sorta like the DJ!

Here it is served up with a cumin-dusted pork chop!

Time to eat!

Country night on the stereo, starting off with a house favorite:

byrds The classic Sweetheart of the Rodeo, the only album Gram Parsons made with the Byrds before he ran off with the Stones. A true desert island record.