Spring Chicken Salad

I was looking to find a salad that could be served as a main dish and I stumbled across this recipe. It was surprisingly good. Normally I'm not a salad fan but I am definitely making this one again! I had actually never had a radish before until I made this dish. I don't want to eat a bowl full of them but they added a nice crunch and slight bitterness to the salad. It took literally 30 minutes to make this dish so try it on a busy weeknight after work!

Ingredients

1/2 pound small red-skinned potatoes, quartered
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
2 tablespoons rice or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 romaine hearts, torn
1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded (about 2 cups)
1 Kirby cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a small pot and cover with water. Season with salt, cover and boil until fork-tender, about 6 minutes. Drain and cool.

2. Meanwhile, pulse the chives, tarragon, vinegar, yogurt, cayenne, honey, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and pulse to make a thick dressing.

3. Toss the romaine, potatoes, chicken, cucumber, radishes and bell pepper with the dressing in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Grilled Corn, Tomato, and Red Onion Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

While bored today and trying to clean - up my blog I found this old recipe. I unfortunately never took a picture of this meal but it was really tasty and I highly recommend this dish.

I made this dish as a side dish for family when entertaining before my brother's wedding. I served it on the side of a roasted beef tenderloin. It was perfect for summer when the corn and tomatoes were in season.

Ingredients: 
8 ears of corn
1 medium red onion
1 container of cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled for garnish 
6 sprigs of basil leaf, chiffonade for garnish

Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 cup basil
salt and pepper
1/2 cup olive oil


1. Pre heat a grill. Season corn and onion with salt and pepper and a light drizzle of olive oil. Cook the corn, turning every few minutes, until the corn is cooked and there are a few grill marks on it. Turn the onion until it is softened and has grill marks.

2. While the onion and corn cool down, cut up the tomatoes and set aside.

3. In a blender, combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Do this step no more than 30 minutes before serving so your dressing doesn't turn brown.

4. About 20 minutes before you plan to eat. Toss together the corn, onions and tomatoes with the vinaigrette. Allow to sit and marinate on the counter. At the last minute top with the cotija cheese and extra basil. I like serving this slightly warm or at room temperature. 

French Baguette

I had a large bag of bread flour left over from making my Stromboli (Proscuitto and Smoked Mozzarella Stromboli). I also had some time to kill so I wanted to give baking bread another chance. I found this simple french baguette recipe online. I had some cherry tomatoes and basil and decided to have a classic and easy french dinner. Make sure to add in a good amount of salt or your bread could taste bland.
 
Ingredients: 
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/4 cups warm water (100° to 110°) 
3 cups bread flour, divided (about 14 1/4 ounces) 
1 teaspoon salt
Olive Oil 
1 teaspoon cornmeal

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 2 3/4 cups flour to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Cover and let stand 15 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; sprinkle evenly with salt. Knead until the salt is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic (about 6 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).

2. Place dough in large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in warm place (85°), 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If an indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes. Divide in half. Working with 1 portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), roll each portion on a floured surface into 12-inch rope, slightly tapered at ends. Place ropes on large baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Lightly coat dough with cooking spray, and cover; let rise 20 minutes or until doubled in size.

3. Preheat oven to 450°.

4. Uncover the dough. Cut 3 (1/4-inch-deep) diagonal slits across top of each loaf. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until browned on bottom and sounds hollow when tapped.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

My Boyfriend, Brian, requested this snack. It's the first time I've ever made pretzels and they came out surprisingly well. I was planning on serving these with a honey mustard cheese sauce but I forgot necessary ingredients for the sauce. I attempted one batch and it came out awful! Hahah. I decided to throw away the sauce and enjoy the pretzels plain. This recipe makes 8 medium size pretzels. Mine came out tasting great but looking so ugly haha. I would definitely recommend watching a pretzel twisting video before starting.

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
22 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt

Directions

1. Combine the water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. 

 

2. Add the flour, salt and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. 

 

3. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. While the dough rests go ahead and make your serving sauce if you plan on making one.

 

5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.

6. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

7. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

8. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Teriyaki Chicken

I found this recipe in Food and Wine Magazine and it's by Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. 

This teriyaki chicken was super simple to make. I literally combined 5 ingredients in a pan and then put that finished sauce over the cooked chicken. If you were in a rush you could use a precooked rotisserie chicken.

Note: Make sure to use the low sodium soy sauce otherwise your reduced sauce will be a little salty.

I served my chicken with white rice and some stir-fried broccoli, carrots, bell pepper, onion, and snow peas. I grabbed a bag of pre cut stir fry veggies from the store, sauteed them over medium high heat with a few tbsp. of soy sauce and butter. Stir until cooked through and serve with your chicken.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup low-sodium soy suace
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sake
four 6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
canola oil

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan combine the chicken stock with the soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake. Bring to a boil over low heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to moderate and simmer until the teriyaki sauce is syrupy and reduced to 1/2 cup, about 20 miunutes.

2. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides and cooked through, 8 to 9 minutes. transfer the chicken to plate and let stand for 5 minutes.

3. Cook your veggies or other side dishes.

4. When ready to eat, place your rice and veggies on the plate, place the chicken on top and drizzle a little of the teriyaki sauce on top. Enjoy!