Spring Salad



I was watching Giada at Home day before yesterday and the large-chested Italian wonder (sorry...it's true) made a California Chopped Salad that looked delicious. I was craving it all day yesterday and today, so after Zumba I went to Kroger to pick up some delicious romaine lettuce. If you look closely at the photo above, you will see NO delicious romaine lettuce. Nor will you see any romaine lettuce. That's because every bit of lettuce in the dang store was rotten (except for the boxed arugula and one head of boston red leaf...which are found in the photo above). Boooo. I think I'll be shopping at Publix from now on.

Anyway, back to the salad. It was pretty darn simple and so very tasty (even without the romaine)! I used me golden rule (except for the lettuce) and used what I had! I chopped up an avocado, a tomato, a mango, and a few strawberries. I put them in the salad bowl. There they be:

Then I added the lettuce and some leftover chicken breast and drizzled on some homemade dressing (fresh squeezed orange juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, and EVOO).

Then I tossed it all together and topped it with some toasted slivered almonds! The avocado and chicken added protein and the fruit added vitamin C and other goodies! It was quite healthy and very delicious. The perfect spring salad!

 Happy Spring everyone! :)

~ Mari

Chicken with Goat Cheese and Spanish Couscous

I would be lying if I told you that Chicken is my favorite meat. It's definitely not. In fact, it can get pretty boring. But, they had some nice-looking organic chicken breasts on sale at Kroger and I figured I could come up with something tasty to make with them. So, I looked through Ina Garten's (she's pretty amazing) "Barefoot Contessa at Home" cookbook and she had a great recipe for Chicken stuffed with goat cheese that I decided to make. I made a few minor adjustments, but here it is:

Chicken with Goat Cheese and Basil

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 heaping Tbsp. of goat cheese

6 fresh basil leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

kosher salt and ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Finely chop three of the basil leaves and mix it with the goat cheese in a small bowl with a fork. Then add some salt and pepper. Put a Tbsp. of the goat cheese mixture into each of the three basil leaves. Put the chicken breasts on a cutting board so that the tenderloin is facing up. Take the basil leaves with goat cheese inside and stuff each little basil "package" underneath the tenderloin on each breast. Next, rub each breast with extra virgin olive oil. If you have "Silpat" (a nonstick surface for cooking on), you can use that, but if not, put parchment paper down on a sheet pan. Then place the chicken breasts on the sheet pan and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Put them in the oven and allow to bake for 35 minutes, basting them with olive oil (or spray with olive oil cooking spray) frequently.

After the 35 minutes, check that the internal temperature of the thickest part of the breasts is at 165 degrees F. Once it is, turn off the oven and turn the broiler on high. Watch the chicken closely as it will brown very quickly! Once the breasts are golden brown, take them out and allow them to cool.

While the chicken is cooking, you can make the couscous (it's so nice, they named it twice!):

Spanish Couscous

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup chopped onion or shallots

3 cups chicken stock or broth

1.5 cups couscous

1 ear, grilled corn, off the cob

10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 cup frozen, chopped spinach

1.5 tsp. chili powder

Melt the butter in a large pot and add the olive oil once it's melted. Add the onions/shallots and saute them over medium-low heat for about three minutes - until they become translucent. Next, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, stir in the couscous, add the frozen spinach, cover the pan, and set aside for about 10 minutes. The couscous will soak up all that yummy liquid and the steam will cook the spinach.

In a smaller pan, saute the corn and tomatoes with a little olive oil and some chili powder. After the couscous has soaked up the liquid, add the corn and tomatoes and stir until mixed well.

Now that your chicken and couscous are perfection, plate, eat, and enjoy!

Here's what the inside looks like with the melty goat cheese and flavorful basil leaf:

Hope you like it! Happy eating and buon appetito!

~ Mari

Fruity Curried Chicken Salad

I love chicken salad as much as the next person, but it's just downright bad for you. All that chicken swimming in mayo makes my cholesterol shiver in its little saturated fat booties. So, I wanted to make a healthy chicken salad with flavor out the wazoo (its a technical culinary term). Here it be:

Fruity Curried Chicken Salad

1 large boneless chicken breast, chopped into 1 inch x 1 inch pieces

8 cups water

1 chicken boullion cube

2 Tbsp. madras curry powder

1 Tbsp. olive oil mayo

1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fat free greek yogurt (I used Fage brand)

1 cup green grapes

1 ripe mango

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

1 tsp. allspice

1.5 - 2 Tbsp. madras curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a large sauce pot. Add the chicken bouillon cube and the curry powder. Wait until the cube has dissolved in the water and add the chicken. Boil the chicken for 5-10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the water and set aside to cool. While the chicken is cooling, slice the grapes in half and dice the mango. Put the chicken into a large mixing bowl and add the mayo and yogurt. Stir until all of the chicken is coated. Next, add the rest of the ingredients. Mix until it looks like the curry powder is evenly distributed. And there you have it!

I spread mine on homemade bread and ate it for lunch - delish! Enjoy!

~ Mari

The Most Terrifying Test... Ever

2 hours

4-5 courses

menu must be presented within the first 20 minutes

mystery basket ingredients

all 4 proteins must be used

And that, my friends, was our final practical exam in Culinary III. Holy guacamole, batman. It was terrifying. And when I say terrifying, I mean I woke up at 5:00 am when I didn't have to be up until 7:45. Yay.

My time started at 9:00 am, so, naturally, I had my apron and hat on at 8:30. I waited by the kitchen door until Chef said I could begin. When I walked into the kitchen, none of my classmates were smiling. In fact, they looked stressed, vomit-y, and constipated. Not a confidence booster, let me tell you.

So, I went to my station and checked out my mystery tray. We had a various assortment of veggies (leeks, tomatoes, etc.), fruits (apples and pears) and four proteins (you know, those ones that we HAVE to use): yellowfin tuna, rack of lamb, chicken, and teres major (a tender cut of beef).

I wrote my menu with a shaking but confident hand, and went to work! And here, ladies and gents, is what I accomplished in those two hours (slightly interrupted by a fire alarm...):

Appetizer: Lebanese lamb meat pie seasoned with onions, cumin, and cinnamon served with grilled onions, olive oil, and a fresh mint sprig.


Salad: Seared yellowfin tuna with morrocan carot salad

Entree: Double entree with curried grilled chicken and teres major with zucchini ribbons and rice pilaf

And, the course that got me an A- .....

Dessert: Poached pear turnover with a sticky cinnamon sauce and spiced wine

Oh, you wanted to see another angle? Fine...

So, I'm done. No, not with this class, with EVERYTHING! I am now Chef Bland. HOLY CRAP. Sorry, it's exciting times! I still plan to post yummy culinary creations... and try to be better about doing it more often (mari = slacker face).

Thanks for going on the journey with me!

~ Chef Bland ;)

Offaly Good

Last Wednesday I had one of those moments when I knew I was doing the right thing - what I was supposed to be doing.

Las Wednesday was meat and poultry fabrication. Yep. We cut up raw meat and poultry. Most of the girls in the class were grossed out... and let everyone know about it. Not me! Lanna and I dove into that little chicken carcass like there was no tomorrow. I now know how to take a whole raw chicken and turn it into pieces that people might want to eat.

Justin and I made a whole roasted chicken and some smoked chicken breasts. They were delicious. One trick we learned, was that you don't have to roast an entire chicken on a rack. You can make your own rack from large-cut mirepoix (2 parts onion, 1 part celery, 1 part carrots). Just put a pile underneath the chicken, and let it cook. That way, it gets all that flavor, and air can still get up into the chicken. I thought it was quite fascinating.

Why is this post "Offaly Good," you might ask? Well, offal are all of the little bits and pieces that are a little, well, awful. Offal refers to the hearts, kidneys, sweetbreads, intestines, etc. from animals. The halloween Iron Chef was on the other night and it was "Battle Offal" in kitchen stadium. I thought it was pretty cool. One guy even made calf liver truffles. Yummmm.... We didn't get to do anything with offal in class, but we did get to talk about it a bit. In the end, it might have been better the way it was...

Sadly, no pictures today. I would have taken pictures of our beautifully roasted chicken, but my camera was dead. I'll do better next time. We'll be doing sandwiches and salads this coming Wednesday, so that should allow for some pretty pictures.