Chicken Piccata Because Everything Tastes Better Crumbed

Robert Byrne claims "Anybody who says that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, flunked geography." Nigel Slater says "It is impossible not to love someone who makes toast for you." Fellini says that "Life is a combination of magic and pasta." And Mark Twain adds "Eat what you like and let the food fight it out on the inside." But the most pertinent piece of wisdom for today is that "Everything tastes better crumbed". Comedian Dave O'Neill, has published a book under this title - one of his big statements about life. I'm not sure I agree entirely, although my children probably would. Lucky for them that Chicken Piccata was the first of this months' Barefoot Blogger recipes. (For newcomers to this site, the Barefoot Contessa has spawned a motley crew of Barefoot Bloggers who cook from the collected wisdom of Ina Garten a couple of times a month.)


I have made this recipe before (here) but last time I subbed in veal for chicken. We also had a similar Barefoot Blogger recipe in September when we made Parmesan Chicken. This time I made it just as Ina instructed, although I cooked some thigh fillets as well as the breast fillets (husband regards chicken breasts as the work of the devil). If I had to compare the recipes, I think I would pick the Parmesan chicken - the extra flavour from the cheese really lifts it, although I really liked the lemon sauce from the piccata - maybe the solution is to marry the two?? If you are planning to make this, try pounding the fillets from the middle out, to make for less raggedy edges. And just in case you are left with some, the leftovers make great sandwiches. I served the chicken with some steamed asparagus - which also went very well with the lemon sauce. Thanks to Lindsay of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings for her choice.


Chicken Piccata from the Barefoot Contessa at Home by Ina Garten
2 chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 extra-large egg
1/2 tablespoon water
3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
Good olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
Sliced lemon, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.


Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley.

Marinated Pork Ribs - A New Family Favourite

While we were eating these ribs, my husband told me at least half a dozen times "these are really good ribs". A good sign, I thought. Because, although we have eaten ribs fairly regularly, I usually buy them pre-marinated. In fact it is usually a meal I make when I can't be bothered thinking about what to cook and / or arguing with the children about their table manners. (Has anyone else noticed how when you are eating with your hands, the arguments about table manners evaporate?) The downside of pre-marinated ribs, is that when the butcher puts them in a bag, you are left with only the remnants of marinade clinging to the ribs, which I don't think is enough for a moist tasty rib.

Honey soy is usually a winning combination for a marinade because of the simultaneous sweet and salty hits. When I found this recipe at Cookbook Recipes, I knew it would be a winner because the garlic and ginger add a bit of strength to the flavours, and star anise always adds an amazing background note. If you have never cooked with star anise, get some to throw into a marinade, or an asian hotpot - it is definitely worth trying. And cooking ribs is definitely a two step process - bake them first then whack them under the grill to caramelize / char them a little. It makes them so much yummier! Then simply slice them up and serve. I did a side of corn on the cob (when you are already eating with your fingers why not continue?) and rice to soak up the marinade. And apologies about the photo - it was all eaten before I thought to take another picture....

Marinated Pork Spare Ribs

1.5kg pork spare ribs

1\4 cup (90g) honey

1\2 cup (125g) Kecap Manis (a thick sweet soy sauce)

2 tsp sesame oil

2 star anise

3 cm fresh ginger grated finely

1 clove garlic crushed

Combine the marinade ingredients. Tip marinade either into a very secure tupperware that can be shaken around a bit, or into a plastic bag that you can seal. Add the ribs and make sure they are well covered with some marinade. Allow to marinade for three hours or preferably overnight. I usually turn them or give them a shake every few hours to make sure everything is really soaking in the marinade.

Heat oven to 180C. Put the ribs into a large baking tin so they can lie flat. Tip the marinade over them, cover with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours. Remove the ribs from the baking tin and put on a grill tray, and grill each side under high heat until caramelized and starting to char. Slice ribs between each bone and serve with cooking juices and remaining marinade from the baking tin tipped over the top.

Bubble Bath Birthday Cake

I have been looking on enviously at all the beautiful cakes that appear on the web, feeling somewhat intimidated by the artful fondant decorations... However a recent family birthday seemed a great time to try my hand. I had the cake I wanted to make in mind: a girl in a bubble bath. This meant no carving of the cake into intricate shapes - I could just use a loaf tin. I then iced the cake in butter cream, and the fondant icing went on over the top. I also used fondant icing for the tiled squares under the bath, the taps, and for the little girl and her feet. Sugar pearls gave me the bubbles, and a rubber duckie candle finished it off. I know there is enormous room for improvement, but I am excited enough to keep trying. And, if like me you feel a bit nervous, it actually was a bit like playing with play-doh for grown-ups: a little frustrating when the shapes you wanted weren't coming together right, but mostly good fun. And a big thank you to Chris from Mele Cotte for her advice!

Pissaladiere - Take Tarts While Tarts Are Passing

I grew up lucky enough to have two wonderful grandmothers with me all the way through to adulthood. One was a really wonderful cook, who passed her handwritten cookbook on to me, and I feel a very strong link with her in my kitchen. The other grandmother was an appalling cook (possibly deliberately), who left me with a lot of colourful sayings that still float through my mind in all sorts of situations. Among her collected sayings and wisdom was:

- mad as a ha'penny watch (a watch that sold for half a penny was obviously not going to be anything other than silly)

- miserable as a bandicoot (bandicoots are native Australian animals. I am unaware of whether or not they are miserable)

- you catch more flies with honey than vinegar (ie be nice)

and my favourite

- take tarts while tarts are passing (or grab whatever life sends your way because you may never get another chance)

I cannot make a tart (or more particularly serve a tart) without instructing everyone to "take tarts while tarts are passing". And this tart is definitely worth taking. A traditional French tart from Nice, the pissaladiere uses minimal ingredients and effort (thanks to sheets of pre-rolled puff pastry). The only requirement is a fair bit of time to allow the onions to caramelize and become a bit jammy. I love it as a Sunday night dinner with a green salad. So if you are the sort of person who starts wondering at three or four in the afternoon what you will make for dinner, pop some onions on to start caramelizing. The rest of the tart takes minimal time to assemble, and then 20 mins in the oven to bake, leaving lots of lazy sunday afternoon time to do other things. This recipe comes from the incredible Stephanie Alexander cookbook, which is constantly referred to in my kitchen for her insights on what to do with every ingredient under the sun.

And I will leave you with a little wisdom from my other grandmother - "never let anyone be as wise as yourself". If you have some grandmotherly wisdom to pass on, I'd love to hear it, just leave me a comment.

Pissaladiere

adapted from Stephanie Alexander in the Cook's Companion

3-4 brown onions thickly sliced

olive oil

1 sheet puff pastry

16 anchovy fillets halved lengthwise (or 32 anchovies if you would rather have them thicker)

12 black olives

Slowly cook onion in 2 tbls olive oil until it is very soft and caramelized (if it seems to be getting a bit too browned and not jammy enough, add a tbl of water and cover the pan with a sheet of foil, pressed onto the onions to help it get to the right texture). Preheat oven to 220C. Lay pastry sheet on a baking tray. Leaving a 1cm border untouched, prick the pastry all over with a fork, then spread the onion in a thick layer on it. Arrange the anchovies in crisscross rows to form large diamonds. Sit an olive in each diamond and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for 20 mins until pastry is brown and crisp. Serve warm.

Better Than A Snickers Bar Pie

The more I write this blog, the more I want to push myself and my cooking into new areas. After all, no one, myself included, is interested in hearing about something that was bland or boring in both conception and execution. Everyone wants to know about the more interesting stuff - the successes, the failures (when I am not too humiliated to write about them...) and the 'extreme sport' end of cooking. And for me, I am a little embarrassed to admit, this pie sat at the extreme sport end of the cooking spectrum. Now before you raise your eyebrows in disgust at my lack of experience in what is clearly a fairly popular and commonplace dessert, let me confess a few things which made this a bit trickier for me:

1. Pies at my house are usually savoury, not sweet

2. I usually use pre-rolled pastry

3. When I make pies they usually have only one filling, not what felt like eleventy (OK three)

4. Making anything where peanuts are a major ingredient feels like you are tearing up the harbour on the trapeze of a skiff (where I live the allergy issues associated with peanuts are fairly extreme)

5. I had never cooked anything like this before and was making it for a dinner for old friends we hadn't seen in months and months and I had no Plan B for dessert.

So I was feeling the pressure, but eventually wound up with a pie that was pretty amazing. Reminiscent of a snickers bar but better. So good that I am showing you two photos of it. I think desserts are probably the only area where you shine with pride when someone says "it looks as if you bought it in a shop." But, if you are thinking about making it, keep in mind that it is very, very rich - a sliver as shown in the picture is plenty. The recipe came from Bon Appetit magazine (January 09), and is the first thing I have made since I got a subscription for my birthday (thanks Dave and Weeza!). And incidentally, if you are using a Bon Appetit recipe, I have just noticed that they have a "ask the test kitchen" button at the bottom of their recipes, in case you have any problems. Nifty.

Peanut Butter Honey Tart With Ganache Glaze from Bon Appetit

1. Crust
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/4 cups plain flour
5 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
125g chilled unsalted butter, diced
1 large egg, separated
2 (or more) teaspoons ice water
2. Filling
125g unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup pouring cream
1/3 cup honey
1 cup lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts
1 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup creamy (smooth) natural peanut butter (made with only peanuts and salt)*
2 tablespoons plus 1 to 2 teaspoons milk
3. Ganache Glaze
180g bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons lightly salted dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preparation
crust
Spray 27cm square or 30cm diameter tart pan with removable bottom with nonstick spray. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter and blend until coarse crumbs form. Add egg yolk and 2 teaspoons ice water. Blend until moist clumps form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into square or disk (depending on shape of pan). Wrap and chill 1 hour (you can do this up to 1 day ahead).

Roll out dough to 27-30cm square or round. Transfer dough to prepared pan. Cut off all but 1.5 cm of overhang. Fold overhang in, creating double-thick sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake crust until pale golden, checking every 5 minutes and pressing bottom if bubbling and pressing sides up with back of fork if slipping, about 28 minutes.
Beat egg white in small bowl until foamy. Brush some white over hot crust to coat inside. Bake 1 minute longer. Cool on rack. Increase oven temperature to 375°F.

filling
Melt butter in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown sugar and salt, then cream and honey. Bring to rolling boil, swirling pan occasionally. Boil 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup peanuts. Pour filling into crust. Bake tart until filling is bubbling thickly, about 15 minutes. Cool on rack until firm, about 2 hours; freeze 15 minutes.

Beat icing sugar and peanut butter in medium bowl until blended. Gradually beat in 2 tablespoons milk, then more by teaspoonfuls to thin slightly; spread evenly over peanut filling. Refrigerate tart while preparing glaze.

ganache glaze
Place chocolate in medium bowl. Bring cream to simmer in small saucepan; pour over chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Spread glaze over tart. Sprinkle chopped peanuts around edge. Chill tart until glaze sets, at least 1 hour.

Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving. Using tip of small knife, gently loosen crust from pan. Push up pan bottom, releasing tart. Cut square tart in half and cut each half crosswise into 7 or 8 slices or cut round tart into wedges.

Curried Chicken Salad aka Coronation Chicken Salad

When I was studying at university, I had a job in a fairly rough pub, making counter lunches. We used one end of the Front Bar as a makeshift kitchen, with a pie warmer, fridges and a microwave, all jammed into a tiny corner. The clientele was largely railway workers and people who lived in the nearby Salvation Army men's hostel, and the food we served was substantial blokey food - pies, bakes, rolls and so on - always good food but definitely no frills. But once a year on Melbourne Cup Day the whole place went decidedly upmarket. The office workers from nearby would descend on the Ladies Lounge for a cup lunch, and we would serve a fixed price meal, to go with their cheap champagne and cask wine. The owner of the pub always insisted that we include Coronation Chicken in the menu. Having little experience of Cup lunches at the time, I just presumed that this meal must be "de rigeur" for a day of hats and horse racing. Needless to say, I have never since seen Coronation Chicken served on Cup Day.

Which is not to say that it shouldn't be. I had completely forgotten how charming this salad is, especially in the hot and sweaty months of the year, however a column from Jill Dupleix in last month's Delicious Magazine (Feb 09) reminded me. It really is a lovely cold salad. Even better, I put it together using up some leftover cooked chicken (part of my ongoing 09 crusade against leftovers). Served in a hollowed out papaya shell, it was easily winning enough for a day at the races.

(And why is it called Coronation Chicken? Apparently the recipe was conceived as a lunch for the Commonwealth Heads of State who gathered for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953. Cold salad was easy to serve to a multitude and the curry spices were a diplomatic nod at some of the far flung reaches of the empire).

Coronation Chicken adapted from Jill Dupleix in "Delicious"

1 poached, roasted or BBQed chicken (or leftovers - if less than one whole chicken, adapt amounts accordingly)

6 cooked potatoes chopped (I think I would leave this out next time and serve with a lovely bread on the side instead)

1 Lebanese cucumber chopped

1 tbs chopped chives, plus extra as garnish

1 butter lettuce (or 1 bag mixed summer lettuce leaves)

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 papaya, cut into chunks

Dressing

2 tbs mayonnaise (use the best you can)

1/3 cup yoghurt (low fat is fine)

2 tbs mango chutney

1 tbs mild curry powder

1 tsp tomato paste

Tabasco to taste

1 tbl of lemon juice

Whisk dressing ingredients together until smooth then season to taste. If it is too thick, water it down a little by whisking in 1 tbl of water. Cut chicken into bite size chunks. Toss the chicken, potato, papaya, and cucumber in the dressing. Put a bed of lettuce on each plate and top with the chicken salad. If you are serving in a papaya shell, slice a tiny bit off the bottom so it sits flat on a plate and serve the salad into it. Sprinkle with cumin seeds and chives.

Snazzy Sausage Rolls

So that the catering burden does not fall solely on one pair of shoulders, a lot of our school functions tend to be "bring a plate". There is good and bad in this (good: chicken sandwiches are usually excellent; bad: way too much sushi has been served up over the last few years to the point where I can no longer look at a maki roll). This week we had the first function for Year 7 parents, and I was under instruction to bring a plate of hot savouries eg sausage rolls or pies. Both sausage rolls and pies can be either delicious or dodgy depending on the quality of the meat and pastry. If I could have mustered more energy, I might have attempted some baby pies, but February is hot, humid and exhausting enough without making pies as well. NZ's Cuisine magazine came to my rescue with a brilliant take on sausage rolls: this recipe featured in the November edition.

Simple: buy the best chipolatas you can (any flavour you like). Roll in honey and mustard. Twirl a strip of pastry around it. Drizzle with honey and mustard. Serve with BBQ sauce or chutney. Perfectly easy. Easily perfect. (And I am still shocked as I reread this post to think of myself as a Year 7 parent. High school - how on earth did I get here so fast?)

Chipolata Twists With Honey and Mustard

1 kg small chipolatas

3 tbls honey

3 tbls wholegrain mustard

1 egg beaten

2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted and sliced into 2cm strips

Preheat ove to 180c. Toss mustard and honey together in a large bowl. Add the sausages and make sure they are well covered all over with the honey mustard (it will help the pastry to stick). Wind a strip of pastry around each sausage and place on a baking try, ends underneath the sausage. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and bake until the pastry is puffed and golden (around 30-40 mins). Meanwhile warm the leftover honey and mustard in a small saucepan, and drizzle it over the sausages once they are cooked.