Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Sauteéed Shallots

Your favorite side-dish with a twist. Made it first about 2 Thanksgivings ago. My MIL has been pestering me for the recipe since then.

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Sauteéed Shallots

4 potatoes, quartered
water
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 shallot, diced

Boil the potatoes in water until done. Drain.

While potatoes are boiling, heat small skillet over medium heat. Sauteé the shallot until lightly browned. Remove from heat, keep stirring until shallot is properly caramelized. Be careful not to overcook.

Add in buttermilk and shallot to the potatoes and mash until desired consistency is reached.

Sauteéd Chicken with Country Gravy

On Sunday while we were crawling into bed, The Spouse requested chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli for dinner the next day.

One thing you should know about The Spouse is he likes his food somewhat plain. He doesn't use gravy much, never puts any ketchup or mustard on sandwiches, burgers, brats, etc. He doesn't "do" sauce. So, when I asked if he would mind horribly if I made a basic chicken pan sauce, he got this skeptical look and said "Well, ok. But I'm not putting it on the potatoes." He's a weirdo, but he's mine.

I served this with my Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Sauteéd Shallots.

Sauteéd Chicken with Country Gravy

1 tsp butter
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/4" thickness
fresh ground pepper
lavender sea salt
1 1/3 cup milk
3 tbsp flour
salt to taste
pepper to taste
poultry seasoning to taste

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Lightly season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Sauteé chicken until browned, about 4 minutes each side. Remove from heat.

Add milk to pan, whisk in flour and seasonings, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low. Place chicken back in pan, cover and let simmer until the chicken is done, about another 10 minutes.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Buffalo Chicken Calzones

The Spouse and I have a go-to recipe that we call Nuclear Chicken. It's one of those recipes we make whenever we don't know what else to make. We occasionally dress it up with dirty rice or things like that but, basically, it's a "I don't really want to cook" deal.

The following is basically Nuclear Chicken, only stuffed into pizza dough, covered with blue cheese and mozzarella and baked. It ends up tasting pretty much like chicken wings with blue cheese dip. I'm sure you could turn these into some sort of pizza bite for parties.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones

1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup Frank's Hot Sauce
paprika
cayenne pepper
Luzianne Seasoning
chili powder

1 pizza dough (we use breadsmith's whole wheat)
mozzarella cheese
blue cheese

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add butter and olive oil. Heat until butter is melted and oil is warmed. Add in chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Add in hot sauce and spices. Stir to coat. Sautee until chicken is cooked thru. Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 425.

Roll out dough, cut into quarters. Pile chicken on one side of the dough. Sprinkle with blue cheese and mozzarella cheese to taste. Seal the packets. Place on pizza stone or pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and crispy. Let sit 5 minutes. Serve.