Tuscan Chicken Wings!

While Parker and I were out Christmas shopping, we ate at Bertucci's and I had their Tuscan Chicken Wings. They were terrific, so I asked our waiter for the recipe. He said he was not supposed to give it to me - but he did anyway. I made them and they were a hit!

I usually buy whole chicken wings and cut them into pieces. (I do not use the tips and I also cut off any excess fat.)

Ingredients:

Chicken Wings
Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Fresh Rosemary
Garlic Salt
Grill Mates® Montreal Chicken Seasoning

Directions:
Marinate chicken wings in the lemon juice and Rosemary over night or at least a couple of hours.

Get grill ready - I usually brown the wings and then move them off the direct heat until tender.
While grilling sprinkle the wings with the garlic salt and Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

Serve warm.

Popovers

A friend of ours, Judy Jacobson made popovers that were great, so I asked for the recipe.
When I got it - I made them right away and they were the easist thing to make and they turned out perfect!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons butter melted, plus softened butter for greasing pan
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk at room temperature

Directions:
Preheat over to 425.
Grease pan.
Put pan in the oven for 2 minutes to preheat.
Whisk togethr flour, salt, eggs, milk and melted butter until smooth. The batter will be thin.
Fill the popover pans half full and bake for 30 minutes.
Don't peek.

Three secrets to great popovers: make sure pan is hot before you pour in batter; fill each section not more than 1/2 full; don't peek.


I got the pan from Sur la Table.

Rosemary Walnuts or Pecans

A friend of ours, MaryAnn Hill serves these at her annual New Year's Day Party and they are scooped up fast. They are very tasty and are spicy.


Ingredients

2 1/2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Teaspoons Dried Rosemary crumbled
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 Cups Walnut or Pecan Halves

Directions

Melt butter
In a large bowl, mix melted butter with spices.
Toss with Walnuts or Pecans until the nuts are well coated.

Layer evenly on a cookie sheet

Bake for 10 Minutes at 350 degrees.

Can be frozen and reheated.

Slow Cooker Cassoulet

My sister-in-law, Deb Edwards sent me this recipe and said it was great for a cool fall dinner.

Adapted from Mable Hoffman’s Crockery Cookery
A hearty French peasant dish with chicken, sausage and beans.

Serves 5-6

1 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 lb broiler/fryer chicken, cut up.*
1 small leek, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup chopped fresh Italian flat leaf parsley
1Tsp. salt
½ Tsp. pepper
2 15 oz. cans white kidney beans, drained (Cannellini beans)
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into ½ inch thick slices
1/2 cup dry white wine

In a slow cooker, combine chicken, leek, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Top with beans and sausage. Add wine. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours or until chicken is tender.

*I think the flavor would be even better with all dark meat.

Rhubarb Crisp

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Serves 8 unless you are feeding the Kelly Family - then double it.

Ingredients:

Topping
1 cup Flour
3/4 cup Oats
1 cup light Brown Sugar
1/2 cup melted Butter
1 teaspoon Cinnamon

Filling:
4 cups diced Rhubarb
1 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1 cup Cold Water
1 teaspoon Vanilla

Directions:

Mix together all the Topping Ingredients except the Oats until crumbly.
Mix the Oats in.
Press half of the Topping Ingredients in a greased 9 inch square pan. (If doubling - use a standard 9 by 13 cake pan.)
Cover with diced Rhubarb
In a small pan combine Cold Water and Corn Starch until Corn Starch is dissolved.
Add sugar & vanilla.
Heat on medium heat until thickened and clear.
Pour over Rhubarb.
Top with remaining Crumb Topping.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 to 60 minutes.

Creamy Baked Chicken Breasts

This is one of the easiest best tasting chicken recipes ever! I modified the original based upon trial and error.

From the cook book – “Wild about Texas, a Bouquet of Recipes, Wildflowers and Wines” by the Cypress-Woodlands Junior Forum

Preheat Oven – 350 degrees

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Chicken Breast cut into pieces (Approximately 10 pieces per breast)
8 ounces Swiss Cheese – either slices or shredded
(2) Cans of Campbell’s Cream of Chicken soup
1 cup White Wine
(1) 6 ounce Box of Stove Top Stuffing Mix (any Variety)
¼ cup melted Butter

Directions:

Arrange Chicken pieces in a lightly greased 13 by 9 inch baking dish (I use a small lasagna pan)
Top with Swiss Cheese
Combine Soup and White Wine
Spoon over Chicken and Swiss Cheese
Bake for 1 hour, 20 Minutes
Cover with Stove Top Dressing
Drizzle butter over Dressing
Bake for 10 Minutes More

Guinness Draught Chocolate Cupcakes / Cake

This recipe is a very easy to make and tastes great!

It is based upon the Dave Lieberman recipe on www.foodnetwork.com.

The major differences are: I use Guinness Draught and he uses Guinness Stout. His recipe is for cupcakes only. Judy and I changed the recipe for a cake and loved it. Just so you know ahead of time – the batter is very runny.

Ingredients

Cupcakes / Cake

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, plus more for dusting pan and finished cupcakes / cake
2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
12 ounces Guinness Draught, room temperature (Bottle - 12 ounces, Can – 14.9 ounces)
1 stick butter, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream

Icing

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
3/4 cup heavy cream (less if you want thicker icing - I highly recommend less)
1 (1 pound) box powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt.
In another medium mixing bowl, combine the stout, melted butter, and vanilla. Beat in eggs, 1 at time. Mix in sour cream until thoroughly combined and smooth. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

For Cupcakes
Lightly grease 24 muffin tins. Divide the batter equally between muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full. Bake for about 12 minutes and then rotate the pans. Bake another 5 minutes until risen, nicely domed, and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out. - Donot over cook!

For Cake
Lightly grease cake pan and dust with unsweetened cocoa. We used a 9 in. springform pan and lined the bottom with wax paper and greased and dusted it. Check to see if your springform is tight as the batter is very runny and may leak if it is not. To be safe – we put a sheet of tin foil on the bottom of the oven. I do think that you can use any cake pan for this recipe – you just need to adjust the baking time. Bake for about 20 minutes and then check every 5 minutes and take out of the oven when the cake is set but still soft in the center. The total time will depend on your oven and size of pan. It will continue to bake after it is out of the oven – so do not over bake. Cool before taking out of springform pan.

To make the icing:
In a medium bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. On low speed, slowly mix in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use. Icing can be made several hours ahead and kept covered and chilled.
Top cupcake / cake with a heap of frosting and dust with cocoa.

Cheddar Cheese and Roasted Garlic Soup

Adapted from a recipe from FoodNetwork.com (Emeril Lagasse - 2003)

• Can be made in about 45 minutes
• Makes about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 bulbs of garlic
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• 3 cups whole milk
• 12 ounces sharp yellow cheddar cheese, grated (about 4 cups)
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Six slices of bacon

Directions

• Take a slice off the top of each head of garlic to expose some of the cloves inside.
• Place the heads on a piece of foil in an oven proof baking dish.
• Drizzle the bulbs of garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and wrap in the foil.
• Roast the garlic at 400 degrees until cloves are lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes.
• Chop the bacon into a ¼ inch dice and then fry it up in a large, heavy saucepan till it is nicely browned.
• Remove bacon from the pan and save. Leave drippings in the pan.
• Remove garlic from oven after the 30 minutes, unwrap and let the garlic bulbs cool.
• When bulbs are cool enough to handle, remove each of the cloves of garlic and place in a bowl. Using a fork, mash the garlic up into a paste.
• In the large, heavy saucepan you cooked the bacon in, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and roasted garlic paste and saute until onions are soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Slowly whisk in the stock and milk.
• Add white pepper and cayenne pepper and stir to blend in.
• Bring soup to a low boil and reduce heat so that the soup barely simmers.
• Cook, stirring frequently, until the soup is very thick and flavorful, about 20 minutes.
• Add the grated cheese in 1/2 cup increments, stirring after each addition until completely melted and smooth. Do not allow soup to boil.
• Season with salt, to taste. Serve in shallow bowls, topped with some crispy bacon bits.

Spicy Peanut Soup with Chicken

Adapted from a recipe from Epicurious.com (Bon Appetit magazine – December 2007)

• Makes 4 main-course servings
• An intriguing, rich, and spicy soup with West African roots.

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into ¾ - to- 1-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoon hot sauce (Franks Red Hot Sauce)
• 4 cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• 2/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 can, 14oz. diced tomatoes in juice, drained
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce

Preparation

• Combine chicken cubes and hot sauce in medium bowl and toss to coat well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again.
• Whisk chicken broth, peanut butter, and tomato paste in another medium bowl to blend.
• Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chipotle pepper with adobo sauce, and sauté until onions are tender, about 8 minutes.
• Add chicken and sauté until no longer pink on outside, about 3 minutes.
• Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
• Add broth mixture and tomatoes to pot.
• Simmer until chicken is cooked through and flavors blend, about 5 minutes.
• Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Lemon Chicken Soup

Adapted from a recipe from Epicurious.com (Gourmet magazine – December 1997)

• Makes about 4 1/2 cups, serves 2
• Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Ingredients

• 3 lemons
• 1 chicken breast half with skin and bones
• 2 ¾ cups chicken stock (Kitchen Basics brand)
• 1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves

Preparation

• With a vegetable peeler remove two 2-inch-long strips zest from lemons and squeeze juice into a bowl.
• In a small saucepan simmer chicken and zest in broth, covered, 20 minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through.
• Cook brown rice according to package directions, adjust amounts to yield 1 ½ cups after cooking.
• Transfer chicken to a bowl and pour broth through a sieve into a 4-cup measuring cup.
• Chill chicken until it is cool.
• In a 2-quart saucepan heat butter over moderately low heat until foam subsides and stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add broth and cream in a stream, whisking, and simmer, whisking, 2 minutes, or until soup thickens slightly. Remove pan from heat.
• When chicken is cool enough to handle, discard skin and bones and using two forks shred the chicken.
• Add chicken and brown rice to soup and simmer, stirring occasionally for a minute or two.
• Stir in lemon juice, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.