Chicken Cordon Blue with Pesto Couscous

My mom would make chicken cordon blue quite frequently when we were growing up.  What's not to love about this dish?  Chicken... yum.  Ham... yum.  Cheese... double yum.  

A few years ago, I caught a Tyler Florence show in which he rolled the stuffed chicken breast up in saran wrap and eliminated the use of toothpicks in this dish.  Whoa!  I tried it and let me just tell you, it is an amazing trick.  No toothpicks to remove after cooking.  No cheese and ham spilling out the ends.  After you roll up the chicken and it sits in the fridge for a few hours, you are left with perfect, little round logs of cordon blue! 

I whipped up the pesto couscous on a whim.  I had a ton of spinach and arugula that needed to be used so it worked out perfectly.  

When I do this, I put saran wrap on EVERYTHING.  Pounding chicken can get messy and no one wants salmonella... so wrap it up.  Look at that pretty chicken breast... it almost looks like a heart!   

Be sure to get all of your stuffing out prior to rolling.  You don't want to have to touch anything after your hands handle the raw chicken.  I have made a bunch of variations of this dish; prosciutto, arugula, sun dried tomato, mushroom, etc.  Make it your own!  Salt and pepper the inside of the chicken before rolling.

Here is where the magic happens.  I wish I could have taken more pictures of the rolling process but my hands were covered in raw chicken.  Once you have the stuffing in the cutlet, roll it up as tight as you can.  Then, bring the chicken to the bottom of the piece of saran wrap and roll it up very tightly.  Start twisting the ends  of the saran wrap while pushing the ends of the chicken in as you go.  You want those loose ends to seal the cutlet.  

All done.  Now go wash your hands and countertops.  (Can you tell raw chicken freaks me out?) Pop these babies in the fridge and let them do their thing.  They need to be in there for at least 4 hours or overnight if you have time.  

This is the prefect way to use up greens instead of letting them go to waste.  I used arugula, spinach, almonds, garlic, olive oil and ricotta.  The ricotta just makes the sauce a bit more mild and a touch creamier for the couscous.  

Put the spinach, arugula, garlic and almonds in a blender or food processor. Turn on and slowly drizzle oil in.  You can also use pine nuts or walnuts. At this point, you have pesto.  

This is what it looks like after I added the ricotta so now you have a creamy pesto! You can use this for pasta with grilled chicken, over spaghetti squash... it's a great little sauce.  Pour in a bowl and transfer to the fridge.  

Now it's time to bread the chicken.  See how beautifully the chicken holds it's shape?  For the breading, I have a bowl of each flour, egg and panko/parmesan.  Remember to season each with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  

While you are breading, preheat some oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  Don't use olive oil for this.   You want a flavorless oil like vegetable or peanut or grapeseed   I used grapeseed because it has a a high smoke point.   

All breaded and ready to brown...

Use tongs to turn the chicken.  For these, you will want to brown the chicken on four sides so you will turn them 3 times.  Don't walk away from this.  It only takes a minute to go from golden brown to burnt.  

Time to go in the oven to finish cooking the inside of the chicken.  

I boiled the couscous while browning the chicken.  When you put the chicken in the oven, assemble the couscous. I used the Red Mill Whole Wheat Pearl Couscous.  While the couscous is still warm, mix some pesto and chopped cherry tomatoes in and cover.  

Do you think I said couscous enough times?  Couscous.  

Chicken Cordon Blue
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 lb. black forest ham
1/2 c. spinach
1 block of Swiss cheese, cut into thin strips
1 c. flour, seasoned lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder
2 eggs, beaten with 2 T. water and seasoned with salt an pepper
1 1/2 c. panko bread crumbs, seasoned lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder
1/4 c. fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c. oil, grapeseed, peanut or vegetable

Line counter and cutting board with saran wrap.  Pound chicken breasts out thin until about 1/2 inch thick.  Place ham, spinach and cheese on bottom half of chicken and roll up tightly.  Take chicken roll and firmly roll up into a large piece of saran wrap.  Twist ends until chicken forms a tight log.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  

Remove chicken from fridge.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees and heat oil in pan over medium heat. Place flour, beaten eggs and panko/parmesan mixture in 3 shallow dishes.  Bread the chicken in this order; flour, egg and finally panko.  Place on baking sheet until each piece of chicken is ready to fry.  

With tongs  place chicken in preheated oil. Do not put more than 2 pieces in at a time.  Once golden brown, turn with tongs and brown on all 4 sides.  Place chicken on a foil lined baking sheet and finish cooking in oven.  About 20 minutes.  

Pesto Couscous
1 c. arugula
1 c. spinach
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/3 c. almonds
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. whole wheat pearl couscous
1 1/4 c. water
1/2 c. grape tomatoes, quartered

Add arugula, spinach, garlic, almonds to a blender or food processor.  Pulse until chopped.  Turn on and slowly drizzle olive oil until combined.  Add more olive oil if needed.  Mixture should be like a thin paste.  Add ricotta and blend until combined.  Salt and pepper as needed. 

Cook couscous per the directions on package.  Once cooked, add 1/2 cup of pesto mixture and chopped tomatoes.  Mix and cover to keep warm. 

Quinoa and Carnitas Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Last night I had some of my dearest girlfriends over for dinner.  I am so fortunate to have such an amazing group of friends that have been in my life for over 15 years.  Throughout the years, we have all had such different walks of life but always pick up right where we left off.

Due to the time constraints, I didn't have time to take a ton of pictures of the process but I was very pleased with the end result.  To save more time, I picked up a side of carnitas (pulled pork) from our local Mexican restaurant.  For my vegetarian girls, I simply omitted the pork.

Broiled poblanos prior to removing the skin and seeds.

Getting ready to assemble.  I used black quinoa and mixed in some homemade salsa, sour cream and chipolate adobo sauce for the filling.

All stuffed and ready to bake!

Quinoa and Carnitas Stuffed Poblano Peppers
8 Poblano Peppers, broiled with skin and seeds removed
1 c. corn kernels
1. can of black beans, rinsed
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1/2 c. sour cream
1 T. chipotle adobo sauce
1 1/2 c. quinoa
3 c. chicken broth
1-2 c. pulled pork
2 c. shredded colby jack cheese

Turn on broiler on high.  Line baking sheet with foil and drizzle olive oil and salt on peppers.  Broil on high for 5-7 minutes and turn over with tongs to broil over side of pepper.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Once peppers are cool, remove outer skin, slit down middle and remove seeds.

In large mixing bowl, combine corn, beans, onion, tomatoes and cilantro.  Season with a liberal pinch of salt and lime juice.  Set aside to marinate.

In a medium saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil.  Pour quinoa in pot, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  If all of the liquid is not absorbed, strain.

To make filling, add about 2 cups of homemade salsa, sour cream and chipotle sauce to quinoa.  mix until combined.  Stuff quinoa mixture in pepper, top with carnitas and finally shredded cheese.  Bake in a 375 degree oven until cheese has melted and filling is warm.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and fresh cilantro.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Happy Easter everyone!  Since the Easter Bunny eats carrots, I decided to make these carrot cake cupcakes to bring to my Mom's Easter dinner and boy are they delicious! 

For those of you who don't know, I work in the hospitality industry.  Right now I am the Director of Sales at a smaller hotel but my last position was with the Hyatt Regency Princeton.  Although I was in the sales department, anytime I could find an excuse to go hang out in the kitchen, I was there.  With just under 400 rooms and a good amount of meeting space, the kitchen was pretty large.  I loved watching them get ready for large events.  It was like a well oiled machine. When I left the hotel, our head chef gave me a chefs coat as a goodbye gift.  Sometimes I wear it when I'm cooking... It makes me feel special.  

This recipe comes from a friend who was a server at our restaurant in the Hyatt.  I am very grateful that he shared this with me because it is a keeper.  The cupcake is very moist and dense and cream cheese frosting is the perfect compliment.  

On a side note, I used this same recipe to make two 9 inch cakes a few months ago and it didn't turn out too hot.  I don't know what I did wrong but figured I'd warn you.  So just stick with the cupcakes.        

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.  I just love the smell of cinnamon.

   
The recipe calls for 3 cups of shredded carrots.  I use my food processor to do this as it does the job in record time.  Sirius and Gryffindor like carrots as well.  They were waiting patiently for a few to drop...

All of the wet ingredients in the mixer.  The crushed pineapple really makes these cupcakes extra delicious.

I used pecans but you could also use walnuts.  Save a little to garnish at the end.  

A tip I picked up from Barefoot Contessa a while ago... Use an ice cream scoop to portion out cupcakes and muffins.  You will get the same size every time for even cooking.  

When they come out of the oven, the tops are slightly flat.  Don't be alarmed.  They don't rise like normal cupcakes because they are so dense.  Let these cool completely (I even put mine in the fridge) because you don't want to top hot cupcakes with a cream cheese frosting or it will melt right off. 

  
You can see the flecks of vanilla bean in the frosting.  That is because I used my fancy-shmancy vanilla bean paste.   Once this is all whipped and the cupcakes are cooled, you are ready to frost!

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
preheat oven to 350 degrees
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 c. shredded carrots
4 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 16oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1/2 c. golden raisins (optional)

Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.  

Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a large bowl and whisk together until blended.  Set aside.

Add oil, carrots, eggs, vanilla, pineapple,  together in another large bowl and mix until blended.  Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.  This will be a heavy batter.  Do not over mix.  Once mixture is combined, slowly add in nuts and/or raisins.  

Grease and flour pans or line with cupcake tins. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  About 20-25 minutes.  

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 t. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until creamy.   Add the vanilla and vanilla bean seeds, then gradually add in the confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time.  Mix with a whisk attachment until fluffy.   Store in the refrigerator after use.

Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna with Cucumber Salad

Matt took me on our fist date in January of 2007.  We went to a restaurant called The Lighthouse right by Sanibel Island.  I ordered a glass of red wine.  He ordered pineapple juice and vanilla vodka... I kid you not. After he ordered his drink and certainly saw the look of shock on my face, he coyly turned to me and said, "What?  It's Paris Hilton's favorite drink!  And it's delicious!". I was smitten.  

This dish reminds me of our first date because I ordered seared ahi tuna, raw.  It was delightful.  It was so good that I INSISTED that Matt try a bite.  After a bit of persuasion, he tried a piece and told me he liked it.  Fast forward to after we had been dating a few months... I ordered raw ahi tuna at another restaurant and tried to make Matt taste it again.   His response... "Hell no!".  He told me that he absolutely hated it and when I made him eat it on our first date, he felt like he was on Fear Factor (like I was making him eat bull testicles or something like that).  

When I think back to that first date, it makes me smile because I now realize how difficult it was for him to take that bite.  But he did.  Because he wanted to impress me.  Now we are going on almost 5 years of marriage and to this day, he has never eaten another bite of raw tuna.  But I still love it so on to this fabulous recipe... 

Mix up the vinaigrette for the cucumber salad first and set aside. 

Fresh veggies for the salad.  Add the vinaigrette right before serving so the veggies don't get too soggy.  

There will be two sauces to serve with the tuna.  This is the sriracha remoulade.  

This is the reduced soy-honey glaze.  

Aren't the black and white sesame seeds pretty?

 The seeds stick beautifully to the raw tuna.  From here, you sear all sides in a pan with a little coconut oil and let rest for 5 minutes.  

Cucumber Salad
1/2 cucumber, sliced thin
1 carrot, grated
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped

Soy Vinaigrette
1 T. low sodium soy sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar 
1 T. honey
2 T. coconut or grape seed oil

Prepare vegetables.  Mix soy sauce, vinegar and honey together.  Slowly drizzle in oil and whisk until combined.  Pour over cucumber mixture about 5 minutes before serving.  

Soy-Honey Glaze
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 t. fish sauce
2 T honey

Heat in a small saucepan over medium high heat and reduce until it forms a thick glaze.  Set aside.  

Sriracha Remoulade
1/2 c. light mayo
1 t. sriracha 
1 t. low sodium soy sauce
1/2 t. fish sauce
1/4 t. sesame oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lime, juiced

Whisk all ingredients together.  Let sit a room temperature until ready to serve.  

Seared Tuna
1/2 lb. ahi tuna
3 T. white sesame seeds
3 T. black sesame seeds
1 T. coconut oil

Preheat coconut oil in a saute pan over medium high heat.  In a deep plate, mix both black and white sesame seeds together. Roll tuna in seeds and pat to set.  Place in pan and sear on all sides.  Be sure to check so the seeds do not burn.  Once all sides have been seared, remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Slice tuna and serve with sriracha remoulade and soy-honey glaze drizzled over the top and cucumber salad on side.  Garnish with scallions or cilantro.  

Asian Vegetable Soup with Soba Noodles

Back to my soup addiction.  You know when your veggie drawer gets so full and you don't  know if you are going to be able to eat all of them before they go bad?  My answer to that is make soup!  Take-out Asian is so bad for you but it is so easy to make... and you can control what you put in it.   And this was a perfect dinner for the "spring" weather we are having in Cleveland... 25 degrees and snowing! 

From the left; kale, cilantro, red pepper, carrots, shitake mushrooms, garlic, ginger and scallions.  I wait until last minute to throw the scallions and cilantro in the broth so they don't lose their color.  

Soba noodles go in after the veggies have cooked for a bit.  

Asian Vegetable Soup with Soba Noodles
4 c. chicken broth
3 c. water
1 T. low sodium soy sauce
1 t. sriracha sauce
1/2 t. sesame oil
1/2 t. rice wine vinegar
pinch of kosher salt
(Use your own discretion for the portions below)
shitake mushrooms
red bell pepper
carrots
ginger
garlic
kale
scallions
cilantro
soba noodles
1 egg, scrambled

In a soup pot, add broth, water, soy sauce, sriracha, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and salt.  Bring to a simmer and add mushrooms, pepper, carrots, ginger, garlic and kale.  Simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes

Add soba noodles and cook for another 5-7 minutes until soft.  Bring soup to a rolling boil and slowly drizzle in scrambled egg to cook.  Finally, add scallions and cilantro and serve immediately.  

Herb and Lemon Panko Crusted Salmon

This is one of my go-to meals for the weeknights.  It is so quick and easy and you can make just one portion,  if needed.  I usually have all of the ingredients for the crust in my pantry so a quick stop at the grocery store on my way home for work for some fresh salmon and I am all set.

When choosing your piece of salmon, try to purchase "wild" versus "farm-raised".  You can see a noticeable difference in the color of the wild, as it is a richer, deeper orange and is higher in nutrition.  Here are a few differences between the two:

• The fat content of farmed salmon is excessively high--30-35% by weight.
• Wild salmon have a 20% higher protein content and a 20% lower fat content than farm-raised   salmon.
• Farm-raised fish contain much higher amounts of pro-inflammatory omega 6 fats than wild fish.
• Farm raised salmon are grown in dense-packed pens near ocean shores, fed fish meal that can be polluted with toxic PCB chemicals

Once you have your beautiful piece of wild salmon, the entire process from start to finish takes only about 30 minutes.  You can even switch up the crust by changing up the herbs or adding onions or shallots. 

Check out that beautiful piece of salmon.  This is such a simple dish.  

Here is the crust once all of the ingredients have been mixed up.  

Pat the crust on top of the salmon.  Be sure to drizzle a little olive oil under the salmon so it doesn't stick.  Throw in the oven and 20 minutes later... dinner's ready! 

Herb and Lemon Panko Crusted Salmon

preheat oven to 415 degrees

2 pieces of wild salmon

1 c. panko crumbs

1/3 c. fresh parsley, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

1 lemon, zested

1/2 T stone ground mustard

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

1 egg yolk

2-3 T. olive oil

Combine panko, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, mustard, red pepper flakes, egg yolk and olive oil.  Mix until all ingredients are coated.  Add a generous pinch of salt and some fresh cracked pepper.  

Line a sheet pan with foil and drizzle a little olive oil.  Place salmon, skin side down on pan.  Top with panko mixture and pack down so it forms a crust on the top of the fish.  Place in oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes.  

Olive Oil Cake with Vanilla Orange Whipped Mascarpone

My husband and I lived in New Jersey for a bit and one of our favorite things to do was to hop on the train and head into the city.  We would wander around the streets of NYC, visit museums and enjoy all of the wonderful restaurants!  

I have a dear friend who is an accountant turned chef.  She is now a food stylist but briefly worked in the kitchen at Maialino, a Danny Meyer restaurant in Gramercy. I am so happy that she introduced me to this little gem. If you ever find yourself in New York, this should definitely be  a stop on your list.  I am not kidding when I say that EVERYTHING I've ever had there is amazing.  

Matt and I actually celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary at Maialino, indulging in course after course.  For dessert, we had the olive oil cake with vanilla bean mascarpone.  The flavor was so different than other cakes.  You could really taste the olive oil and I loved it! 

Since we do not have a Maialino near us (sigh), I recently did some research online and was ecstatic to have found this recipe.  It is straight from a former Maialino employee!   This cake is so moist and dense and the whipped vanilla and orange mascarpone almost tastes like a creamsicle.   

Some of the key players in this recipe.  The orange zest and Grand Marnier really compliment the olive oil.  

This recipe made one 9-inch pan and still had some batter left over.   I poured the remaining batter into two mini spring form pans.  They made the prefect individual size cakes, perfect for two people (or one very hungry person) to share. 

Olive Oil Cake
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon  baking soda
1/2 teaspoon  baking powder
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoon  vanilla
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup Grand Marnier

Line the bottom of a 9 inch round baking pan with parchment paper.  Spray the sides with olive oil cooking spray.

In separate mixing bowl, sift flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder together.  Set aside.  In standing mixer, beat eggs and sugar together with whisk attachment until combined.  Slowly add olive oil, milk, vanilla, orange zest and Grand Marnier.   Gradually add in the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  

Pour batter into lined pan and bake in oven until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.  About 25-30 minutes. (I forgot to monitor the time but check on it after about 25 minutes.  When the center is no longer "jiggly", the cake is done).   Loosen the edges with a knife, take out of pan and cool.  Dust with powder sugar and top with vanilla, orange whipped mascarpone.  

Vanilla Orange Whipped Mascarpone
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 cup mascarpone cheese
1 1/2 teaspoon  vanilla bean paste (or vanilla)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

Whip cream and powdered sugar together in a mixer with whisk attachment until stiff peaks form.  Add mascarpone, vanilla, orange juice and orange zest.  Whip on high until very light and fluffy.  Top cooled olive oil cake with scoop of whipped mascarpone.