Maple-Prosciutto Chicken with Brown Sugar Carrots

Can't get the kiddos to eat their veggies? Here's a fail-safe method for ensuring optimal veggie consumption: drench them in brown sugar & butter. I never was a terribly picky eater as a child, but there were one or two things I turned my nose up at (Raw tomatoes, no way! Olives, forget it!!). These sugary carrots were not among my food rivals.

I'd forgotten about these sweet little gems until recently. I was standing in the aisles of Trader Joe's with a giant bag of baby carrots in my hands trying to justify the purchase to myself ... well, I'll never eat this whole bag on my own ... they almost always go bad ... what would I even cook with baby carrots ... brown sugar carrots, of course!

The next dilemma, what on earth to eat with sweet veggies? Well, fried chicken & mashed potatoes are often teamed up with them, but I wanted to dress it up a bit. Adult-ify them, if you will. Crisp, salty-sweet, maple-y prosciutto wrapped chicken turned out to be the perfect partner for these sugary little carrots. Not to mention, if I may say, super yummy!!

Maple-Prosciutto Chicken, for 2
2 chicken breasts, boneless & skinless
4 slices prosciutto
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/4 c. white wine
salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F. Meanwhile, wrap the chicken breasts in cellophane & pound them (the back of a heavy skillet works wonders) until they're about 1/2" thick. Heat an oven proof skillet over medium heat and melt the butter.

While the butter melts, wrap the chicken breasts in prosciutto -- two slices of prosciutto per breast should be enough -- & press well. Simply pressing firmly should keep the prosciutto secure on the chicken, but use a tooth pick or two if necessary.

Next, toss in the shallot & a pinch of salt in with the butter. After a minute or so, add 1 tbsp. of the maple syrup. Brown the chicken breasts on each side, about 4 minutes per side. Then transfer the skillet to the oven for 2 - 3 minutes to cook through.

Finally, remove the skillet from the oven & set the chicken aside. De-glaze the pan with white wine & add the remaining syrup. Drizzle over the chicken & serve.


Brown Sugar Carrots, for 2
1/2 lb. baby carrots
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
a pinch of salt

In a medium sauce pan melt the butter. Once melted, toss in the sugar & combine. Then add the carrots & cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 15 minutes.

One year ago: Suprêmes de Volaille aux Champignons & Melanzane alla Parmigiana with Zucchini & Asparagus Crudi

Zebra Cake

I don't remember the first time this ice-box cake landed on the dinner table. All I remember is trying to wrap my young mind around the strange concoction. Was it ice cream? No. Was it some sort of pudding? No, not really. Was is cake? Well, I guess, but this was no ordinary cake. Creamy, cool, chocolaty - almost coconuty & zebra striped to boot, I was in love. How could simple whipped cream & thin chocolate wafers, after just a few hours in the fridge, turn into this!?

I assumed my mother possessed some magical dessert spell book (sometimes I still think she does), but it turns out, this cake has been gracing dinner tables for a better part of the 20th century. Sadly, the Famous Chocolate Wafer's popularity has waned & they're becoming nearly impossible to find in stores. After hitting up three different supermarkets I finally came across a cache of the cookies on the very top shelf of a cookie aisle in a local Albertson's. Not an easy thing to spot for a gal of just 5 feet, but well worth the hunt.

Zebra Cake or Famous Chocolate Wafer Cake
3 c. heavy cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 (9 oz.) packages chocolate wafer cookies, 2 or 3 cookies reserved (for topping)

In a large bowl, beat cream, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Set aside.

Start with three or four cookies & spread a dollop of whipped cream between each, making something like little sandwiches -- think triple, quadruple, quintuple, decker oreos. Lay each cookie "sandwich" on its edge on a large platter. Continue the process, making rows of cookie & whipped cream "sandwiches," until you have a log shape.

Cover the cookie & whipped cream "sandwiches" with a layer of whipped cream, smoothing with a spatula. Crumble 2 or 3 cookies on top. Refrigerate for 4 -6 hours, then serve.

One year ago: Lemon Pepper Pappardelle with Parsnip Ribbons & Capers & Mother's Enchiladas

Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes

Not to reinforce a girly trope, but I do not do taxes. 1040. 1040EZ. 1040 Schedule C. Schedule M. Form XYZ. If A, then B, on line C, minus line D ... come on! So confusing. After splurging on an accountant last year, Ray & I assumed we could simply follow her steps & do our own taxes this year - thereby saving $300! Sure, there would me much gnashing of teeth, but it seemed worth the 300 bucks. An hour or so in & several forms deep I was lost. My brain was fried & my nerves were frazzled, but Ray decided to plug on ahead. I knew he'd need some serious fuel to keep him afloat in a sea of deductions, calculators & woe. Lo & behold, nothing can make taxes more painless than a toasty marshmallow milkshake. Nothing! Except maybe an accountant.


Toasted Marshmallow Milkshakes, makes 1
adapted from Gourmet & Stand
3 scoops vanilla ice cream (the best you can find!)
1 tbsp. whole milk
I large dollop plain yogurt
5 Kraft Jumbo Jet-Puffed marshmallows
Whipped cream (optional)

Toast marshmallows under a broiler, or, if you're frisky, over a flame (think gas stove) until they just start to blacken evenly (the trick is to make sure it's evenly toasted and dark, but not turned to charcoal).
Put the milk, yogurt, & then ice cream in the blender. Blend carefully, just until you get a "donut"—when you see the shake holding to the sides of the blender with a hollow core. Then add 3 of the toasted marshmallows to the blender, & whirl it just until they're all broken up and distributed evenly. Be careful not to over-blend it, making it too melty.

Pour shake into a glass, top with a dollop of whipped cream, break the last two marshmallows on top, and serve with an extra-wide straw. Repeat if necessary. And it will probably be necessary.

One year ago: Strawberry Thyme Butter Cookies & Rosemary Boursin

Roasted Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives or "Loo Chicken"

Rayme chicken is my favorite. Ray has a way with simple chicken. Toss in an onion, a bit of garlic, simmer some white wine, reduce the whole thing & Ray comes out of the kitchen with the most beautifully understated chicken breasts. It's his food calling card, if you will. Well, that and gravy, the man makes a mean gravy. His go to chicken dish always impressed me & I've been hunting for my own ever since his hit out table. Something easy, light, relatively quick & with a bright, robust flavor. So, Rayme chicken, meet Loo (as in "Laura-Loo," my childhood pet name) chicken.

Roasted Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives or Loo Chicken, for 6*
adapted from Real Simple
1 lemon
2 pints grape tomatoes1 head garlic, cloves separated & peeled
1 cup pitted kalamata olives, halved
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 small loaf country bread, warmed (optional)

Heat oven to 425° F. Using a vegetable peeler, remove strips of zest from the lemon. (Reserve the lemon.) In a large roasting pan, toss the tomatoes, garlic, olives, thyme & lemon zest with 1 tbsp. of the oil. Nestle the chicken, skin-side up, among the vegetables & drizzle with the remaining tbsp. of oil. Season the chicken and vegetables with ¾ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. pepper.

Roast until the chicken is cooked through, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the chicken from the hot roasting pan. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the roasting pan & add the wine. Gently stir, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan. Serve the chicken & vegetables with the pan juices and bread (if using).

*For fewer diners, just use chicken legs (thigh & drumstick) & cut the rest of the ingredients in half.

One year ago: Seared NY Strips with David's Zucchini & Potato Fondantes with Rosemary Beurre Blanc

Simple Supper: Ravioli with Caramelized Fennel & Red Onion

Fennel grows wild on the hills near us. Walking around you smell clean ocean air, eucalyptus & a crisp note of anise; quite different from the heat, dust & occasional hint of oak or moss you grab back in central Texas. You can pick the wild fennel & nibble on it too. It tastes perfect, almost like licorice. Though I never was much of a licorice fan, somehow, despite that fact, it tastes right.

Ravioli with Caramelized Fennel & Red Onion, for 2 - 3
1 package prepared ravioli (cheese, spinach, or mushroom work well)
1 large red onion, sliced
2 bulbs fennel, whites only, sliced thinly (reserve a few fronds for garnishing)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 - 3 sliced prosciutto, sliced thinly (optional)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Once warm, toss in the onions & fennel & salt them. Cook until the begin to caramelize, about 15 minutes, then toss in the garlic & cook 5 minutes more. Salt & pepper to taste.

While the onions & fennel caramelize, prepare the ravioli according to package directions (usually boil for 5 minutes or so). Top the raviolis with the onions, fennel, a few fennel fronds, & if you like, prosciutto.

Kitchen to table time: 25 - 30 minutes

One year ago: Sweet Pea, Spinach & Basil Bisque

Cioppino-Style Roasted Crab

Ouch. Typing kind of hurts. My left middle finger is all wrapped up & looks like a cocoon. Sadly, no butterfly type business going on under there, just 5 little stitches trying to hold my finger together. Let's just say in the battle between cheese knives & fingers, cheese knives come out unscathed. Every time.

What does my story of woe have to do with this yummy crab? Not much honestly. I just knew that I needed something special to heal my wounds, so to speak, & buttery, roasted crab seemed to be the right medicine.

Cioppino-Style Roasted Crab, for 4
adapted from bon appetite
1/4 c. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 c. dry white wine
2 c. bottled clam juice
1 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes (in juice)
1 c. water
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. dry oregano
pinch old bay seasoning
pinch white pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 c. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
salt to taste
2 2 lb. cooked Dungeness crabs or 2 lbs. Alaska king crab legs (I used the latter)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Heat the oil in a large, deep oven proof dutch oven. Add onion & garlic & cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Season the onions with the old bay, oregano, white pepper, red pepper flakes & smoked paprika. Add wine; increase the heat to high & boil for 2 minutes. Add clam juice, tomatoes & their juice, 1 c. water, bay leaves, & parsley. Bring to a boil then season to taste with salt.

Reduce heat & simmer for 15 minutes. Add crab pieces; nestle into sauce. Transfer dutch oven, covered, into the oven & roast until the crab is heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, you can take out the crab legs/crab, crack the meat out, & return it to the tomato "soup" or simply severe it in the shell & crack as you eat. Serve the crab in bowls with crusty bread, rice or even pasta.

* A special note of thanks to my ever patient sous chef, Ray. With a heavily bandaged digit it's pretty tough to do things like crack crab legs or do the dishes!!

One year ago: Coq au Vin & Roasted Tomato Bisque

Ultimate Lemon Butter Bars

Anything to get me away from the internet. Anything. I need something to kill time. Something productive. This is how I wound up in the kitchen for an hour & a half last night. I emerged smattered with powdered sugar, with lemon curd stuck to my jeans; the victor, lemon bars in hand! No better way to spend an hour & a half, trust me.

Ultimate Lemon Butter Bars, about 1 1/2 dzn. bars
adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum
Shortbread Base
10 tbsp. unsalted butter, cold
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 1/4 c. bleached all-purpose flour
Lemon Curd Topping
4 large egg yolks
3/4 c. sugar
2 - 2 1/2 large lemons, juiced
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
pinch of salt
2 tsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. powdered sugar for dusting

Cut the butter into 1-inch cubes, wrap it, & refrigerate. In a food processor with the metal blade, process the sugars for 1 minute or so, until the sugar is very fine. Add the butter & pulse until the sugar disappears. Add the flour & pulse until there are a lot of little moist crumbly pieces and no dry flour particles remain. Then, dump the mixture into a plastic bag & press it together. Remove the dough from the plastic bag & knead it lightly, until it holds together.

Place 1 oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 325°F. Pat the dough into an 8" x 8" foil lined pan. Use a fork to prick the dough all over. Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned & the top is a pale golden (do not brown).

While the shortbread bakes, prepare the lemon curd. Have a strainer, suspended over a bowl, ready near the range. In a heavy noncorrodible saucepan, beat the egg yolks and sugar with a wooden spoon until well blended. Stir in the lemon juice, butter, & salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 6 - 8 minutes, until thickened & resembling hollandaise sauce, which thickly coats a wooden spoon but is still liquid enough to pour. (A candy thermometer will read 196°F.) The mixture will change from translucent to opaque and begin to take on a yellow color on the back of a wooden spoon. It must not be allowed to boil or it will curdle. (It will steam above 140°F. Whenever steaming occurs, remove the pan briefly from the heat, stirring constantly to prevent boiling.) When the curd has thickened, pour it at once into the strainer. Press it with the back of a spoon until only the coarse residue remains. Discard the residue. Stir in the lemon zest.

Once the shortbread is baked, remove it from the oven, lower the temperature to 300°F., pour the lemon curd on top of the shortbread, and return it to the oven for 10 - 12 minutes. Cool the lemon curd–topped shortbread completely in the pan on a wire rack. Refrigerate the pan for 30 minutes to set the lemon curd completely before cutting into bars. Place the powdered sugar in a strainer & tap the strainer with a spoon to sprinkle a thick, even coating, entirely covering the lemon.

To remove from the pan, use the foil to lift out the lemon curd–covered shortbread onto a cutting surface. Use a long, sharp knife to cut the shortbread into around 1" x 2" bars. Wipe the knife after each cut.

One year ago today: Spiked Sweet Potato Soup