chicken and prosciutto rolls

These take a little work, but not an inordinate amount of time for what you get when they're done.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4-8 slices Swiss cheese (or 6 oz. goat cheese -- your pick)
2 cups sauteed spinach (can use frozen, too)
8 slices prosciutto

Put the chicken breast on the cutting board, cover it with a piece of plastic wrap or waxed paper and pound it out into an even thickness of about a quarter of an inch. Place a slice of Swiss cheese (two, if they're square) in the middle of the chicken and then put a layer of spinach. If you're using goat cheese, mix the cheese and spinach together and then spread the mixture on top of the chicken. Roll the chicken breast up like a jelly roll, tucking in the sides to seal it. Wrap one slice of prosciutto long ways around the chicken and the other sideways so the roll is enclosed. Repeat for all four breasts.

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet and cook the chicken rolls over medium heat, turning about every three minutes until prosciutto is crispy and chicken is done.

Serves 4. (I think it would go really well with the brussels and berries.

Peace,
Milton

asapargus whatzituya

Here's a good pasta dinner that's easy to make.

1 pound dried fettuccine

1 1/4 pounds asparagus, cut in 1 inch lengths
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 c olive oil
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 basil leaves, chiffonade

2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup Romano cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

Boil pasta according to package directions.

Combine asparagus, mushrooms, wine, olive oil, garlic, fennel seeds, and pepper flakes in skillet and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until asparagus is tender -- about ten minutes. Stir in basil, salt, and pepper. (To chiffonade the basil, stack the leaves on top of each other and roll them up from the bottom to the top as tightly as you can. Then cut the roll in small strips from side to side.)

Drain cooked pasta and toss with melted butter. Divide into four servings and top with asparagus mixture and shredded cheese.

Peace,
Milton

brussels and berries

I'm doing a cooking demonstration today for a group at our former church. We talking recipes as well as what feeds our souls. Here is what I'm making:

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup aji-mirin rice wine
1/4 c orange juice

2 cups Israeli couscous
1/2 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved longways

Heat the cranberries, wine and OJ, until it comes to a boil, Then turn heat off and let it rest. Heat chicken broth to boiling; add couscous, cover, and turn off heat. In large skillet, heat oil and butter and add shallots; cook until soft and translucent. Turn heat up to high and add sprouts, cooking until bright green – about two minutes. Add cranberries and wine and reduce heat. Cover and cook for about ten minutes. Uncover, turn heat to high and cook until liquid is evaporated. Add couscous and serve. Serves four.

(If you want to serve this a just a vegetable, leave out the couscous. It will work either way.)

The other recipe I'm making is an old family favorite I posted here.
I've also got another great brussels sprouts recipe here.
You can read the post that goes with this recipe here.
Peace,
Milton

beef wellington

Or my version of it, at least, which I served last night at the Inn.

2 red onions
2 cups sliced portobello mushrooms
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup red wine
olive oil
1 egg, beaten

4 6 oz. fillets
frozen puff pastry sheets

heavy cream
butter

Slice the onions in half and then cut into thin half moon-shaped slices.Pour enough oil into a hot skillet to cover the bottom and add the onions. Cook until they begin to caramelize -- about ten minutes on medium high heat -- and add mushrooms and another tablespoon or two of oil. After mushrooms have begun to soften, add the red wine and the basil and stir. Let the mixture cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Leave in the skillet and set aside to cool.

Heat another skillet or a stove top grill and sear each of the fillets on all sides. Set aside to cool.

Let the puff pastry thaw and then cut each sheet in half. When the mushroom mixture is cool, put a couple of tablespoons in the center of one of the pieces of pastry and then place the fillet on top of the mushrooms. Pull two of the opposite corners of the pastry over the top of the steak and then do the same with the other two corners, making sure the pastry is well sealed. Invert the whole thing on to a baking sheet where the seams are on the bottom.

Beat the egg and paint the top of each packet before putting in the oven. Cook at 350 for about twenty minutes, or until an instant read meat thermometer reads 140 in the center, which will mean it's medium rare.

About ten minutes before the steaks are done, put the skillet with the leftover mushroom mixture back on the stove and add about a cup of heavy cream -- more if needed. Heat the sauce on medium high heat until it begins to bubble and then lower the heat a bit so it doesn't burn. Take the Wellingtons out of the oven when they are ready and let them rest for a few minutes while you add one tablespoon of butter (coated with a little flour) to the sauce and stir until it thickens a bit.

Cut each Wellington in half and put it on the plate and then pour the sauce over it.

I know this sounds like it takes awhile, but it's worth the trouble.
Serves 4.

Peace,
Milton

roasted salmon with lemon sage sauce

I'm posting this recipe in response to a request last week.

Let's start with the sauce:

2 shallots, peeled and sliced into thin pieces
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 lemon slices
12 sage leaves
1 pint heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter

Put everything except the cream into a saucepan and cook on medium high heat until the liquid is almost completely gone (there should be just enough left to cover the bottom of the pan). Add the cream and let the mixture heat all the way through. Puree the sauce in a blender or using a Braun hand mixer and return it to medium heat, so that it simmers but doesn't boil. The sauce gets better if it cooks for awhile so you can let it simmer while you cook the fish. When the fish is done and you're ready to serve it, add the butter to finish the sauce (making sure it's melted and stirred in well) and pour it over the salmon.

Speaking of salmon, here's the easy part:

6-8 oz salmon fillets (however many you need)
lemon pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the salmon fillets on a baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with lemon pepper. Cook for about fifteen minutes. The fish should be a little flaky, but not dry. Plate them and pour the sauce over the top. At the Inn we serve the salmon with garlic mashed potatoes; at home, Ginger likes it with fettuccine and snow peas.

For an added touch, garnish with some fried sage leaves, which can be done easily by heating some olive oil in a small skillet and frying the leaves for about fifteen seconds, so they are crisp but not burned.

Peace,
Milton

caramelized onions and portabello mushroom tarts

This is an adaptation of something we do at the Inn where I work.

Caramelized onions are one of my favorite things. They take some time to make, but they're worth it.

3 lbs onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Use a pot deep enough to hold all the onions. Put it on the stove and over medium heat and let it get hot. Melt the butter, add the oil, and, when both are hot, add the onions and stir. I cover the mixture for the first ten or fifteen minutes to let the onions sweat because that's crucial to their caramelization. Then uncover the pot so the water evaporates and continue to cook another thirty minutes or so, until the onions have cooked down and are dark and sweet.

For this recipe, after the onions get close to done add

3 portabella mushroom caps, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red wine

Cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the wine has reduced and there is not much liquid left. Spoon into the puff pastry cups (Pepperidge Farms makes good frozen ones that are easy to use) and serve. This mixture would also make a great pizza topping.

Serves 4-6.

Peace,
Milton

southwestern chowder

I had about an hour to come up with a soup for a meeting at church tonight, so I tried to come up with something that mostly involved opening cans. It turned out great. Go figure.

4 10 oz. cans of Ro-tel Chunky Tomatoes and Green Chilies
3 15 oz. cans black beans (I used Kuner's Southwestern Beans with Cumin and Chili Spices)
2 1 lb. packages of frozen corn kernels
1 quart chicken broth
1 quart light cream

6 tablepoons (1/2 stick) butter
6 tablespoons flour

Open the first five items and put them in a stockpot. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the flour to make a roux. When the flour is absorbed, the mixture should be fairly stiff. Add to the soup and stir well until it's dissolved. Continue to simmer for about ten minutes, until the soup thickens.

Serves 12.

Peace,
Milton

dijon chicken

This is a really tasty dish that is quick and easy to make -- my kind of meal.

1/2 cup canned unsalted chicken broth
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoons dried thyme, crumbled
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, well trimmed

Combine the first 5 ingredients in heavy large skillet. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Add the chicken and season with pepper. Cover and poach until the chicken is just cooked through, about 20 minutes. (If you pound the chicken to about a half inch thickness, you can reduce the cooking time.) Transfer chicken to platter. Turn the heat to high and boil the remaining liquid in skillet until it is reduced to a sauce consistency, which will take a couple of minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Serves 6. (If you don't want to serve six, use fewer pieces of chicken; I often make it for just the two of us and halve the other ingredients.)

roasted corn and crushed pineapple risotto

Risotto is Italian rice and is, as my friend Patty says, "rice you stir." It's also something that easily adapts to different added ingredients. The following version is a favorite around our house (and something I'm serving for a leadership appreciation lunch at church on Sunday).

2 cups frozen kernel corn
1 6 oz can crushed pineapple
1 3 oz can diced green chiles (optional)
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups chicken broth (or water)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
olive oil

Put the skillet on the stove (I use one that has high sides since you have to deal with a lot of liquid). You can use a saucepan, but I like the wider bottom of the deep skillet. Heat on medium high heat. Put the chicken broth in a saucepan on high heat and let it warm up whjile you begin the risotto. When the skillet is hot, add enough oil to cover the bottom, wait a minute for the oil to heat, and then add the corn. Cook until the corn begins to caramelize and turn brown, and then add the pineapple and the chiles -- with all their juices. Cook an additional three or four minutes. Stir in the dry rice and keep stirring for two or three minutes, then add the white wine and lower the heat to medium. Stir regularly until the wine is almost all absorbed and add one cup of the broth. Follow the same pattern: let the rice soak up the liquid and then add another cup. Don't let yourself get in a hurry -- this takes a little time. By now the rice should be getting soft, but still holding its shape. Stir in the cheese, if you want, and turn off heat. Cover and let stand for ten minutes before serving.

Serves 4-6. (Four at our house.)

Peace,
Milton

tear jerkers

Here's my favorite new recipe from the holidays (and from my mother):

3 16 oz jars of sliced jalapenos, drained
2 cups sugar
1 9 oz can of crushed pineapple

Mix the ingredients in a large saucepan and heat until sugar is melted and mixture is bubbling. Set aside and let cool completely, then return jalapenos to jars (unless you have something else you want to keep them in) and fill jars with remaining liquid. They are ready to eat, but get better if they sit for a day or two.

They go well on anything from steak to eggs to crackers.

Peace,
Milton