Once upon a time, there was this magical world where we could safely gather in large groups and enjoy each other’s company while we shared fancy foods and strong drinks. But then darkness befouled the land, and those visits became virtual.
While I’m not missing the commute to see our friends in the Cedar Valley, I am missing their company and the ability to share tasty treats with them on a semi-regular basis.
Some foods are just better shared with friends, and only partially because having that many calories in the house is a terrible idea. However, this week’s decadent loaded baked potato dip sounded too delicious to wait until we can again share physical space with our friends.
Loaded baked potato dip ingredients.
It was pretty easy to make, and honestly, it wasn’t much of a challenge for two people to eat it over a few days, though I’m not sure that was the healthiest move. But it was a tasty choice.
As its name suggests, it’s a mix of potatoes, bacon, cheese, sour cream, and green onions. To make it slightly healthier, I did serve it with sweet pepper wedges and bread, rather than a saltier vessel. Still, you could taste extravagance in every wonderful bite.
2 ¼ lb. Yukon gold or other small potatoes, quartered
Salt
4 slices bacon
10 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 ½ c. shredded sharp cheddar
½ c. sour cream
2 to 3 green onions, chopped
½ t. garlic powder
Bread and/or sweet peppers, for serving
Directions
Heat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large saucepan, bring a lightly salted pot of water to a boil and then add the potatoes. Cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender, and drain.
Meanwhile in a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon to drain on paper towels. When cool enough to touch, crumble bacon, reserving about 1 T. for topping.
In a large bowl, mash the still warm potatoes, add the remaining bacon, cream cheese, 1 c. cheddar cheese, the sour cream, green onions, and garlic powder. Stir to combine.
Spoon mixture into a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet. Bake the mixture for 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat and turn on the broiler.
Top the potato mixture with the remaining ½ c. cheddar cheese and the reserved bacon. Broil 4 to 5 inches from the heat for about 1 to 2 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve warm with the bread and/or peppers, and enjoy (even if it’s just you, treat yourself!)!
Apparently I didn’t have enough of using booze to make food after last week.
This week’s excuse is only that I have been wanting to make this peach and bourbon jam recipe for years and for some reason didn’t think about the fact that although it called for a saucepan that it would almost certainly fit in my little Le Creuset.
Peach and bourbon jam ingredients.
Plus, I really like bourbon and peaches. Especially as I both mourn the end of summer and welcome the first hints of autumn.
This wonderful peach bourbon jam offers a good balance of both summer’s sweetness and cooling fall flavors.
I love bourbon pretty much any time of year, but with the cool comes the welcome sensation of a good whiskey burning through my insides. Peaches, of course, are peaking, and I can’t get enough of one of my favorite summer fruits while they’re in season.
The only thing I forgot about is my anxiety when it comes to getting things to an exact temperature.
From the first time I tried to make salt water taffy as a tween to my first personal blog on peanut brittle, I have a long habit of mostly screwing up this type of thing.
While the end result worked great (whew!), it was supposed to get to temperature in 6 minutes … but the recipe also warned to adjust the temp as needed. Me, I read that as turning things down, but I was disappointed when after 10 minutes, I was still about 15 degrees shy of the goal. I turned things back up and voila, I could literally see the change in texture to something that actually resembled a jam.
So, I did cook things down a little bit more than the 2 cup yield, but I got a peachy vanilla-y jam, and that’s just peachy keen for me.
All that’s missing is the peanut butter.
Here’s what I did, following an Epicurious recipe I’ve had saved for years:
Ingredients
½ vanilla bean
1 lb. ripe but firm yellow peaches, pitted and cut into ½-inch pieces
1 c. sugar
½ c. peeled and grated Granny Smith apple
1 c. bourbon
1 T. bottled lemon juice (the recipe specified the bottled for the preservative qualities)
Directions
Place two small plates in the freezer to chill (for testing thickness later).
Cut vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape out seeds into a 9-inch coated cast-iron skillet. Add the rest of the vanilla bean, and then stir in the peaches, sugar, apple, bourbon, and lemon juice. Mix together, cover, and let sit for 20 minutes.
Turn on stovetop to medium-high heat, and bring the mixture to a boil, stirring often. Once sugar is dissolved, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are softened, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, and crush the fruit with a potato masher until mostly smooth.
Return mixture to the stovetop, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring often and adjusting heat if necessary, until the mixture reaches 217 to 220 degrees, about 6 to 10 minutes.
To test consistency, place a teaspoon of the jam on the chilled plate, and freeze for 2 minutes. Then, drag your finger through the jam; if your finger leaves a distinct trail, it is ready, but if it’s still runny, continue to simmer the jam for another 1 to 3 minutes, and test again.
Meanwhile, place two 1-cup mason jars, or large mason jar under hot running water until heated through, 1 to 2 minutes, and shake dry. Use a funnel and ladle to portion out the hot jam into the hot jars. Let cool to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate until the jam is set, about 12 to 24 hours later. (Jam can be refrigerated for up to 2 months.) Enjoy with some toast, or use it to make a tasty PB&J sammy.
Of course, now that I’m an old and immunocompromised, I haven’t seen the inside of a bar since I can’t remember when, but well enough before the pandemic hit Iowa that I can’t be sure of my last stop in my preferred ye olde saloon. The GOP, OTOH, is lately a constant source of making me think about the drink. (I thought about linking to separate articles for everything, but I don’t need the higher blood pressure or swollen liver.)
But I’m a baker at heart, and I have a blog to do, so I turned to my old favorite cookbook of “Booze Cakes” to find the perfect recipe for this week.
Amaretto cake ingredients.
Though there are many wonderful recipes, few work in a little 9-inch skillet, and I’ve already made one this year.
I’ll admit to some initial skepticism about the amaretto cake. It was simple but not necessarily my idea of a great cake. I’ve never been happier to concede I was wrong.
I loved it. I loved it a lot.
I had an inkling it might be good when the mixture yielded a wonderfully spongy batter; I was a little more concerned when to cook it through the top was rather darkened. By the time I used my silicone spatula to loosen the cake from my Le Creuset and turn it onto a large plate, I was sold.
The topping of a boozy glaze (amaretto simmered with apricot jam!) and some toasted almond slices only made it better.
It also had the benefit of being a simple boozy cake. Just one layer. Mixed in a stand mixer. A simple glaze. Simmered for just a few minutes (a little longer for me because I was convinced the apricot pieces were just jelly that hadn’t broken down rather than the obvious pieces of fruit that they were).
All in all, a pretty great way to spend a bit of time away from news and in the comfort of a kitchen.
Pretty, tasty, pretty tasty.
Here’s what I did, sticking to the recipe:
Ingredients
For the cake:
¾ c. (1 ½ stick) unsalted butter
¾ c. sugar
1 (7 oz.) tube almond paste
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 orange
¼ c. amaretto liqueur
1 t. vanilla extract
3 eggs
½ c. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
For the amaretto glaze:
2 T. apricot jam
¼ c. amaretto liqueur
For finishing:
¼ to ½ c. sliced almonds, toasted
Confectioners’ sugar, to desired level
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch coated skillet (or springform cake pan if you’re traditional).
For the cake, in a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Mix in almond paste, orange and lemon zests, amaretto, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, flour, and baking powder. Pour into prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool.
For the glaze, in a saucepan over low heat, stir jam and amaretto together until smooth.
To finish, Unmold the cake onto a large plate or serving dish, pour glaze over the top. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Enjoy, perhaps even with an amaretto sour!
It was a close thing when our power was out after the derecho that I almost made this week’s recipe of homemade beanie weenies hobo-style on a campfire. My sweetie rightfully reasoned, however, that the canned food would keep; the hot dogs and other freezer meat wouldn’t.
Beanie weenie ingredients.
We had the campfire (read: firepit) going and were T-minus about 20 minutes from having a meat feast when the branches were removed from our power lines and the refrigerator started running again. Many people haven’t been as lucky.
While I was slightly bummed I was spared from making this on open flame, especially since the recipe even called for a campfire dinner, I must admit that it was nice to have the power back, the ability to control the temperature on the stove, and use my fancy Le Creuset and not worry about ruining its beautiful lilac finish. So, I opted for an indoor dinner. Plus, fewer biting bugs were a bonus!
What I found is not only a delicious, if sorta trashy, meal but also my favorite baked beans recipe to date.
The meal, while it worked perfect for the little skillet, did not leave any room for leftovers, and was rather hot dog-y. However, I am considering doubling it up, so I can have a better beans to hot dogs ratio, and just more of these yummy beans.
The recipe was adapted from a Country Living recipe that just called for beans but had hot dogs with buns as part of the meal. Me, I saw hot dogs and beans and immediately knew I needed homemade beanie weenies. Frankly (pun most definitely intended), if we didn’t like it so much, there may have been leftovers.
*drool*
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
1 T. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
15 oz. can small white beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. molasses
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 t. red wine vinegar
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
6 hot dogs, cooked and sliced (I cooked them in oil in the Le Creuset before cooking the beans, but you can cook the hot dogs however you prefer)
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the beans, tomatoes, garlic, molasses, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes break down. (I covered the skillet for part of the time to reserve some sauce, but I don’t think it was as necessary as I assumed it might be.)
Add the hot dogs, and cook for another 5 minutes or so until the hot dogs are reheated and the flavors have slightly combined.
Remove from heat. Stir in the vinegar and Worcestershire sauce, and enjoy!
Well, this was a trying week, after weeks of trying weeks. My 2020 Bingo card did not have my first derecho on it, and it was not a welcome addition.
However, at this point, with no loss of life nor limb, no property destroyed, few groceries lost, and power restored, it’s quite easy for me to feel grateful for this week. Plus, I had so much unexpected free time to binge through my favorite lesbian necromancer fantasy series.
For those still suffering through the fallout from the storm, my thoughts are with you.
This week has also given me a new appreciation for having shelf-stable items in our pantry. Before the pandemic, I wasn’t a survivalist, and I am still not there yet, but I have been thinking more about being adaptable and having on-hand items that will keep. That’s part of what made this week’s recipe of three-ingredient (plus salt, optional) mac & cheese from Serious Eats such a draw.
Mac & cheese ingredients.
It’s quick, it’s easy, and two of the three ingredients will last a very, very long time, and one will merely last a long time and is pretty easily replaced. Just keep some macaroni, or other small pasta, and some evaporated milk on your shelf, and some cheese in your fridge, and you’ll almost always have a dinner that takes just 10 minutes to make.
It is great.
Since I wanted to make it in my 9-inch skillet, I could only use half of the evaporated milk — which is as the recipe called for — but if you really wanted to double it, I’m sure it’d work in a larger skillet or Dutch oven.
The proportions are pretty easy to remember (though it helps to have a scale) as it’s 6 oz. each of the evaporated milk, dry pasta, and cheese, and a pinch of salt, plus some water to cover the pasta. The evaporated milk, for us, came in a 12 oz. can, so doubling would I assume/hope come up with 12 oz. of each, but only the 6 oz. amounts will fit in a 9-inch skillet.
Plus, since I made it twice, I did learn that you can either buy a block of cheddar (or other cheese) or buy pre-shredded cheese, and both work just as well. Though I only played with sharp cheddar, it does say you can use any other cheese that would melt down well.
It’s nothing fancy, obviously, but these days, simple and shelf-stable are so welcome.
So simple. So satisfactory.
Here’s what I did, following the recipe:
Ingredients
6 oz. evaporated milk
6 oz. shredded cheddar
6 oz. dry macaroni pasta
Pinch of salt, for boiling, optional
Pepper, for serving, optional
Water, to cover the pasta
Directions
In a 9- to 10-inch skillet, pour in the dry pasta, and add water to just cover the pasta. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, if using. Bring to a boil over high heat, and continue to cook on high to medium-high heat, stirring often to prevent sticking, until the water is mostly evaporated and the pasta is al dente, about 6 minutes (another easy to remember number!).
Add the milk and bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cheese, and cook until melted, and the sauce has cooked down, another 2 to 3 minutes.
Season with more salt, if desired, and pepper, to taste, and serve immediately and enjoy!
I figured it’s the appropriate time of year to make a cobbler. In fact, I think it’s only because my sweetie now does the shopping for us that I haven’t stopped to stare at the summer produce and be reminded sooner.
Peach and blackberry cobbler ingredients.
Since I didn’t grow up with a family cobbler recipe—our desserts tended to be store-bought cookies—every time I make it, I go searching for anything that strikes my fancy. This time, I happened to be going through Taste of Home when I came across a recipe from an Iowan. (Yay!)
I was intrigued but was ultimately won over when the recipe included my two favorite summer fruits: peaches and blackberries (it was actually a berry mix but blackberries were listed first, and honestly, I just made it with blackberries).
Plus, it had cardamom, and I almost never have excuses to use this most exciting of spices.
I may have overdone it by adding a full 1 t. of cardamom when the recipe called for just ¼ t., but I *really* like it, so I didn’t mind and my sweetie has been enjoying bowlfuls for breakfast (don’t judge!) alongside me without complaint. My other adaptation was using lemon zest in place of orange zest in the topping, and that worked well for my tastes as well.
I also went ahead and used my Le Creuset that measures 9 in. not 10 in., as the recipe called for. It all fit like a charm, though the liquid did bubble over a little in the oven and we got the delightful aroma of burnt sugar. Not the worst deal but perhaps a 10 in. skillet is the wiser course.
There’s fruit underneath all that, I promise!
Here’s what I did, adapting slightly:
Ingredients
For the fruit mix
½ c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
1 t. ground cinnamon
¼ to 1 t. ground cardamom, to taste
6 c. peaches (6 to 8 peaches), sliced
2 c. blackberries (about 12 oz./two small containers)
Juice from ½ lemon
For the topping
1 c. all-purpose flour
¼ c. sugar
Zest from 1 lemon
¾ t. baking powder
¼ t. salt
¼ t. baking soda
3 T. cold butter
¾ c. buttermilk
Vanilla ice cream, for serving, optional
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and spices. Add the peaches, blackberries, and lemon juice. Toss to combine, and then transfer to a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet (10-inch probably preferred).
In a medium bowl, bring together the first six topping ingredients (flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, and baking soda). Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or two knives or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the buttermilk, and stir until just moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls over the fruit mixture.
Bake uncovered until topping is golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream, and enjoy!
OK, I think I’m officially on board with the bread-baking phenomenon. It just took me a little longer to get there than everyone else.
I’ve long liked the calming effects of kneading and the comforting aroma of bread rising, so I’m surprised I haven’t satisfied my soul sooner. Besides, as I have shown, I’ve long loved being a baker.
Even better, after making Serious Eats’ focaccia, I perused their other bread options and was delighted to find the double comfort of pizza and bread.
Pizza bread ingredients!
It sounded pretty easy, and because it called for a pound of pizza dough, and my measurements for my favorite dough don’t lead to exactly a pound, I just made a double batch and hoped there would be some leftover to have a homemade pizza later in the week. I was not disappointed.
With ingredients like garlic, dough, pepperoni, Parmesan, and red pepper flakes, it’s impossible for it to have turned out bad.
My only issue was pre-cooking the pepperoni with the garlic resulted in slightly crunchy pepperoni pieces in some cases after baking. It still didn’t taste bad, but I question if it’s totally necessary to pre-cook the meat, or maybe I’d just cook it for the barest minimum amount of time or on a lower setting to ensure the garlic gets cooked into the butter and crisps a little.
Still, we had no problem eating all 24 knots in just a few days.
Pizza bread!
Here’s what I did, mostly sticking to the recipe, only making my own dough:
Ingredients
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 oz. pepperoni, cut into ¼ in. squares
Red pepper flakes, to taste
6 cloves garlic, minced
¼ c. chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 T. chopped fresh chives
¾ c. Parmesan cheese, grated, divided
Flour, for dusting
1 lb. homemade or store-bought pizza dough (I used about ⅔ of a double recipe of my favorite dough recipe here and reserved the rest for a thin-crust homemade pizza)
Pizza/Pasta sauce, for serving
Directions
Heat butter and oil in a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until butter melts. Add pepperoni and cook until it starts to crisp, about 2 minutes (see note above about doing this for slightly less time). Add pepper flakes and garlic, and cook for about an additional 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the parsley and chives, and stir to combine. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in ½ c. of the Parmesan. Do not wipe out the skillet.
On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half. Take one piece and roll or stretch into a rectangle about 8 in. long by 4 in. wide. Use a bench scraper or sharp knife, and cut crosswise into 12 strips. Repeat with the other half, to yield 24 total strips.
Tie each strip into a knot and transfer to the bowl with the pepperoni, etc. mixture. Use your hands to toss and fold to coat the knots in the mixture. Place the knots in the skillet in a single layer, and drizzle with more olive oil.
Cover the skillet with plastic, and set aside until doubled, about 4 hours. Or, do as I did, and refrigerate for about 12 to 16 hours.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 425 degrees, and place oven rack in the center. Remove the plastic wrap. Sprinkle on the remaining ¼ c. cheese. Place skillet in the oven and bake until golden brown and crisp, about 25 to 30 minutes. Brush on additional olive oil and enjoy with pizza sauce!
Since the pandemic began, apparently people have been getting into bread baking. Not only are there the news stories but I have the anecdotal evidence that my sweetie had trouble finding active dry yeast during one of his recent weekly grocery trips.
However, for once, I was ahead of the curve. I have been making bread on the regular for years. And since my sweetie did go to a second store for the yeast, I am back in business now after nearly using up my stash when I made pizza a couple weeks ago.
I do get why it’s picked up in popularity, as it’s often cheaper especially than some fancier breads, and it’s a good distraction for a few hours. Those brave souls who nourish sourdough starters — which I did for a while during my bread year and beyond but didn’t survive the move to Ames — are even giving themselves ongoing time commitments.
One of my favorites is focaccia. What’s not to love about a lot of olive oil, and for me, the addition of olives and/or rosemary. While I’ve made this many times before, I couldn’t recall ever making it in a small skillet.
Thankfully, the wonderful Serious Eats had a no-knead (even better!) recipe that was designed for a 10-inch skillet. I figured my 9-inch Le Creuset would work after reading the directions. It did, but barely. I ended up with a much poofier loaf than anticipated; however, another thing I did wrong among expert breadmakers is I neglected the preferred weight measurements and instead went with the also provided cup measurements. In the end, I needed more water than the recipe called for, which likely means I used too much flour and ended up with a bigger loaf than I would have otherwise.
I could beat myself up about it … but in the end, there’s just more bread to love.
Though I’m sure weighted measurements are preferred (and given) for all but my additions, this still-somewhat-lazy baker would probably worry mostly about the flour and the water measurements in weights.
Crispy, crunchy bread.
Here’s what I did, adding my own tweaks:
Ingredients
500 g. bread flour or all-purpose flour (~3 ¼ c.)
10 g. kosher salt (~2 ½ t.)
4 g. active dry yeast (~1 rounded t.)
400 g. room temperature water (1 ½ c. plus 3 T.)
68 g. olive oil (~5 T.), divided
~3 sprigs rosemary, divided
½ c. pitted kalamata olives, chopped
Coarse sea salt
Directions
Combine the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes (if you measured by cups, you may need to add additional water to combine). Add about 1 ½ T. (20 g.) olive oil and stir to incorporate, using hands if necessary to work into the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
Remove plastic wrap (but keep!), and add about 2 sprigs worth of rosemary leaves, chopped if desired and all the olives. Then, use a lightly greased bowl scraper to fold the dough over itself by lifting and folding the edge of the dough toward the middle. Turn bowl and repeat the motion another 5 times (which should also help combine in the rosemary and olives). Re-cover with the plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes. Repeat the folding process one more time, and re-cover with the plastic wrap.
Then, refrigerate for at least 18 hours and up to 3 days.
To bake, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, and then transfer to a work surface, and shape holding it with well-floured hands, tucking the dough underneath itself and rotating until it forms a tight ball.
Add about 2 T. (27 g.) olive oil into a 9- to 10-inch cast iron skillet and spread the oil over the entire inner surface using your hands. Transfer the dough to the pan, turn to coat it in the oil, and then position seam-side down. Spread gently with your hands to mostly fill the pan. Cover tightly and let rise at room temperature until dough is soft and puffy, about 1 ½ hours to 2 hours.
Heat oven to 500 degrees and position the rack in the lower third of the oven, when the dough is nearly ready.
Use your fingertips to gently press and stretch the dough to evenly fill all corners of the pan, lifting up the edges of the dough to let air bubbles underneath escape, and then create small dimples in the top of the dough. Drizzle the remaining 1 ½ T. (20 g.) olive oil over the top of the dough, and then sprinkle with coarse sea salt and the leaves from the remaining sprig of rosemary.
Transfer skillet to oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the skillet about halfway through the baking. (It seems hot, and I deviated from the directions here since I didn’t have a baking stone, but it works with some light charring on top but perfectly golden on the bottom; however, keep a closer eye on times given the high heat.) Remove from heat and let the focaccia cool in the skillet for 5 minutes, and then use a spatula to carefully remove the focaccia from the still-hot skillet and transfer the bread to a wire rack. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving, and enjoy!
My sweetie managed to find some boneless, skinless chicken breasts so for the next two weeks, we feast!
I know for foodies that boneless, skinless chicken breast is not the mark of a true chef; however, I like its texture and blank-canvas nature. It has its place, and I’ve missed that it’s harder to come by, while I would gladly give it up entirely if we’d have done more to make meat-packing plant workers safer or, simply, kept them home for longer.
Still, old habits die hard, and when my sweetie found these at the co-op, I was excited to have a couple of different simple, but delicious, meals to serve showcasing this cut.
My first foray was an oldie but a goodie. Ever since I found out about Amy Thielen, I’ve been a fan. I love her Midwest-style, and while she’s been a big-time chef, she’s managed to take her recipes from haute cuisine to stuff I can do in my kitchen.
This rosemary chicken is one of those that seems like it’d be served in a farm-to-table restaurant, but I can also make it at home without stress and with few ingredients. It also lets its few ingredients shine.
Rosemary chicken ingredients.
While it’s perfect as a main dish with a side to accompany it, I’ll be honest, my sweetie and I usually enjoy it as a sort of appetizer. It’s great to go from warmed plate to living room table, and we’ll snack as we either wait for something else or have already had a salad. Sometimes simple can be so sweet.
I’ll note that Thielen’s recipe calls for discarding the rosemary sprigs after they’ve been infused, which I did this time and felt that it could have had more rosemary flavor. My sweetie and I have both made this before where we’ve left the sprigs in (or used more than 2); your mileage may vary on how strong of a rosemary flavor you like, but consider using more or keeping it infused for longer/while cooking if you want a heaping dose of the herbal, floral flavor.
Here’s what I did, following her recipe (but downsizing the skillet slightly):
Ingredients
16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 T. (½ stick) butter
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 t. fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
Directions
Cut each chicken breast into three long, fairly equal pieces. Set aside.
Heat a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, When it foams and then turns nut-brown, remove it from heat and add the rosemary sprigs, tilting the pan so that the butter foams over the rosemary. Set aside to infuse for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the rosemary sprigs (or keep them for a stronger, more rosemary flavor).
Set the skillet back on the burner, over medium-low heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then add them to the skillet. Cook slowly, moving and turning the pieces often, until all the pieces have cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the parsley if using, and place on a warm plate, pouring the pan juices over the chicken, and enjoy!
At this point, I’ve lost track of the last time I went to the grocery store and have no idea what it looks like now.
I do, however, get dispatches from my sweetie when he makes his weekly stop, as he’s good enough to be our designated shopper given my compromised immune system. And what I know now is that while many staples are still available, and we’re in no danger of food shortages, some of the things we’re used to are getting harder to come by.
We appreciate it more when we can find the fresh herbs and vegetables we want, and especially, for me, when I can get the meat I most enjoy.
This week I was ecstatic to see that my grocery list items to make this Persian frittata all made it into the cart, and into the refrigerator at home.
Persian frittata ingredients.
I have even more reason to be grateful to my sweetie because in the before times he’d already test-driven this recipe from Bon Appetit for me, so I knew I was in for a treat.
There’s a fair amount of herb chopping, but I have these wonderful herb-cutting scissors that make the whole thing go smoothly. It’s so simple and easy that I made it with a simple Middle Eastern soup so we’d be able to enjoy the frittata for breakfast after our first meal.
If you’re able to find all the veggies and (mostly the) fresh herbs, this is a real, simple treat.
Eggy, green, and great!
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
5 T. vegetable oil, divided
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 medium leek, white and pale green parts only, finely chopped
5 large eggs
1 t. baking powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
½ t. ground turmeric
½ T. ground fenugreek
1 ½ c. finely chopped cilantro (about 1 bunch)
1 ½ c. finely chopped parsley (about 1 bunch)
1 ½ c. finely chopped dill (about 2 small packages)
Directions
Heat 2 T. oil in a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and leeks, stirring occasionally until soft but not browned, 10–12 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool. Wipe out the skillet and set aside.
Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, baking powder, salt and pepper, turmeric, and fenugreek in a large bowl. Mix in the onion mixture, cilantro, dill, and parsley. The egg mixture should look thick and very green (with bits of egg poking through, depending on how finely you chop the herbs; mine could be greener).
Heat the broiler.
On the stove top, heat the remaining 3 T. of oil in the reserved skillet. Pour in the egg mixture, and spread evenly across the pan with a spatula. Cover and cook the frittata until the bottom is just set, about 8–10 minutes. Remove from heat and take off the cover.
Broil for about 1 minute until the top is just set and starting to brown.
Let cool slightly, slide out onto a platter, cut into triangles, and enjoy!
