Yep, this is the recipe of the week for last week!! I am finally caught up. Well, kind of. The week of 9/20, I made a really good Mexican dish, which I kind of made up myself. I clearly remember writing down how I did it after the fact, but I can't find the document. So, I will have to make it again sometime and post it then.
Anyway, I made last week's recipe on Monday.
Yogurt Parmesan Chicken
from Stirring Performances by The Junior League of Winston-Salem
Ingredients
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/4 c. green onion, chopped
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
8 chicken breasts
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 t. thyme
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 375.
For the sauce, blend well the yogurt, mayonnaise, onions and Worcestershire sauce.
Place the chicken in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Pour lemon juice over it.
Pour yogurt sauce over chicken. Then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 1 hour.
The Verdict
There is a photo of this, but my husband left the card reader at work, so I can't get it off the camera.
This dish was so yummy and really quite easy! I used Greek yogurt, because it was the only kind of plain yogurt that came in a single-serving container. I didn't want to buy a big thing of it knowing I wouldn't use it all in a timely manner. The single serving was 6 oz., and I used all of it. The recipe doesn't specify dried or fresh thyme; I used dried. I didn't really measure, I just sprinkled it over the chicken. Same with the lemon juice - I just used 2 small lemons and squeezed them right over the chicken. Then, I just used my microplane grater to grate some Parmesan over it. Although I only made 3 chicken breasts, I still made the full recipe of sauce. If I was going to do 8 breasts, I might double, or even triple the sauce recipe. It's so good, you'll want extra!
I served it over cous cous, with a side of broccoli.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Birthday Party and Recipe of the Week for 9/13
For my husband's birthday, I made a dish I've been wanting to try for quite some time. But, I knew it wasn't the sort of thing you'd make for just two people, so I had to wait for an occasion where we'd have guests. I invited a few friends for a small dinner party and eagerly pulled out this recipe!
It's a baked pasta dish, but with a twist - you bake it in a puff pastry shell, using a springform pan.
In the interest of time, so I can get caught up, I'm just posting the link:
Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant
from Giada DeLaurentiis, The Food Network
The Photo
A close-up of the place setting. I used my New Yorker cartoon plates as the salad plates.
It's a baked pasta dish, but with a twist - you bake it in a puff pastry shell, using a springform pan.
In the interest of time, so I can get caught up, I'm just posting the link:
Baked Angel Hair with Eggplant
from Giada DeLaurentiis, The Food Network
The Photo
Here's a photo of the dish, before I cut & served it. The glass bottom of my springform pan fit perfectly onto my pewter tray. I initially had a cake knife out out to cut it, but we ended up having to use a chef's knife. The cake server worked well, though! I wish I'd taken a picture of a slice; it looked really cool!
The Verdict
I made one change, which was to leave out the eggplant. Neither of us is really a fan. I considered artichoke hearts as a substitute, but ultimately decided the turkey sausage would be enough. (If you have an idea for a substitute, leave me a comment and maybe I'll try it next time!)
One mistake I made was that I didn't read the recipe thoroughly enough and I missed the part where you are supposed to let the pasta mixture cool before you put it in the pastry shell to bake. We ended up having to shove it in the fridge (which I know is a bad idea, as it brings down the temp in there but I didn't have time to wait).
I suggest putting a sheet pan on the rack below the springform pan. I guess some grease from the sausage dripped into the bottom of my oven. I didn't notice, until the next time I went to use the oven and smelled an awful burning smell. That resulted in two rounds with oven cleaner and a couple of nights of baking dinner in the toaster oven. Basically, it was a huge mess, which could be avoided by having something to catch the drips!
We ended up letting it sit for longer than 20 minutes and I was concerned it would be cold, but it was still hot & steamy.
Everyone at the party raved about the dish! There were 2 portions left over and I had them for lunch over the next couple of days, heating them up in the toaster oven (I don't think using the microwave would be successful.
More Photos
Here are a few more photos of the event.
The table, set for dinner
The Verdict
I made one change, which was to leave out the eggplant. Neither of us is really a fan. I considered artichoke hearts as a substitute, but ultimately decided the turkey sausage would be enough. (If you have an idea for a substitute, leave me a comment and maybe I'll try it next time!)
One mistake I made was that I didn't read the recipe thoroughly enough and I missed the part where you are supposed to let the pasta mixture cool before you put it in the pastry shell to bake. We ended up having to shove it in the fridge (which I know is a bad idea, as it brings down the temp in there but I didn't have time to wait).
I suggest putting a sheet pan on the rack below the springform pan. I guess some grease from the sausage dripped into the bottom of my oven. I didn't notice, until the next time I went to use the oven and smelled an awful burning smell. That resulted in two rounds with oven cleaner and a couple of nights of baking dinner in the toaster oven. Basically, it was a huge mess, which could be avoided by having something to catch the drips!
We ended up letting it sit for longer than 20 minutes and I was concerned it would be cold, but it was still hot & steamy.
Everyone at the party raved about the dish! There were 2 portions left over and I had them for lunch over the next couple of days, heating them up in the toaster oven (I don't think using the microwave would be successful.
More Photos
Here are a few more photos of the event.
The table, set for dinner
A close-up of the place setting. I used my New Yorker cartoon plates as the salad plates.
The bar area. I lined up 3 TV trays and draped them with a full-size table cloth.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Recipe Catch-up - Week of 9/6 - Cola Cake
This recipe was inspired by a trip to Cracker Barrel. We went for breakfast one day, and my husband noticed a card on the table advertising their Coca-Cola Cake. Since we were there for breakfast, he didn't get it, but I mentioned I thought I'd made one before. I remember my friend J. had a Coca-Cola cookbook, and we tried a few recipes from it the summer I lived with her & her family. Anyway, all this led to the suggestion that I should make the cake for his birthday, which was coming up. (He is a huge fan of Diet Coke and Coke Zero!)
So, I set out on a quest to find a recipe. Ultimately, I found it in the place I should have looked to start with - the Coca Cola website! They actually have a great section of recipes using their products.
I decided I was not about to make a brand-new kind of cake for a party without testing it out first. Since we were going to out of town to see some friends, I decided to make one and take it with us.
Cola Cake
from Coca-Cola Recipes
Ingredients
For cake:
2 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. small marshmallows
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 T cocoa
1 c. Coca-Cola
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
For Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
3 T. cocoa
6 T Coca-Cola
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar (note: this is 4 cups)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, sift sugar and flour. Add marshmallows.
In saucepan, mix butter, oil, cocoa and Coca-Cola. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well.
Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well.
Pour into a well-greased 9 x 13-inch pan and bake 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and frost immediately.
To make frosting, combine butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over confectioners' sugar, blending well. Add vanilla extract and pecans. Spread over hot cake. When cool, cut into squares and serve.
The Verdict
One thing I read on the AllRecipes website while I was looking for the recipe was that this cake is very sticky, and it does best baked in the 9 x 13 pan and served from there. I really wanted it to look like a real birthday cake, though, and use my new cake-decorating skills to decorate it. So, I came up with the idea of using a springform pan. For good measure, I lined the pan with parchment paper, which I "glued" to the sides of the pan with cooking spray. I wanted to spray it with Baker's Joy, but my canister was all clogged up so I skipped that on the test cake & hoped for the best, but it worked fine. The cake was a little lopsided on top, but it still looked okay.
I only used 3/4 c. of pecans, because that's how the brand I like to buy is sold, and I had a coupon for buy one, get one free of that size. But, it was more than plenty!
I didn't take any pictures of this version, but I will have some to share in the post about my husband's party!
So, I set out on a quest to find a recipe. Ultimately, I found it in the place I should have looked to start with - the Coca Cola website! They actually have a great section of recipes using their products.
I decided I was not about to make a brand-new kind of cake for a party without testing it out first. Since we were going to out of town to see some friends, I decided to make one and take it with us.
Cola Cake
from Coca-Cola Recipes
Ingredients
For cake:
2 c. sugar
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. small marshmallows
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 T cocoa
1 c. Coca-Cola
1 t. baking soda
1/2 c. buttermilk
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
For Frosting:
1/2 c. butter
3 T. cocoa
6 T Coca-Cola
1 box (16 ounces) confectioners' sugar (note: this is 4 cups)
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, sift sugar and flour. Add marshmallows.
In saucepan, mix butter, oil, cocoa and Coca-Cola. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well.
Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well.
Pour into a well-greased 9 x 13-inch pan and bake 35-45 minutes. Remove from oven and frost immediately.
To make frosting, combine butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over confectioners' sugar, blending well. Add vanilla extract and pecans. Spread over hot cake. When cool, cut into squares and serve.
The Verdict
One thing I read on the AllRecipes website while I was looking for the recipe was that this cake is very sticky, and it does best baked in the 9 x 13 pan and served from there. I really wanted it to look like a real birthday cake, though, and use my new cake-decorating skills to decorate it. So, I came up with the idea of using a springform pan. For good measure, I lined the pan with parchment paper, which I "glued" to the sides of the pan with cooking spray. I wanted to spray it with Baker's Joy, but my canister was all clogged up so I skipped that on the test cake & hoped for the best, but it worked fine. The cake was a little lopsided on top, but it still looked okay.
I only used 3/4 c. of pecans, because that's how the brand I like to buy is sold, and I had a coupon for buy one, get one free of that size. But, it was more than plenty!
I didn't take any pictures of this version, but I will have some to share in the post about my husband's party!
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