White Wine Chicken Coq au Vin

Serves 4 Time 45 minutes

• 4 ½ Tablspoon Flour
• ½ teaspoon Kosher Salt, divided
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground Black Pepper, divided
• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
• 4 slices Bacon, chopped
• 1 ½ lbs. boned, skinned Chicken Thighs
• 2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 ½ cups peeled Baby Carrots
• 3 stalks Celery
• 12 oz. Fresh Mushrooms
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 1/3 cups Chardonnay
• 2 cups Reduced-sodium Chicken Broth
• ½ cup lightly packed Flat-leaf Parsley Sprigs
• ¼ cup lightly packed fresh Tarragon Sprigs

1. In largest pan, over medium-high heat, brown Bacon (6 or 7 minutes).
2. In large bowl, mix flour with Salt, Pepper and Herbs de Provence.
3. Cut Chicken into 1 inch pieces. Toss in Flour mixture. Transfer bacon to paper towels. In batches, brown chicken in Bacon fat, stirring occasionally (3-5 minutes). Add oil as necessary.
4. Transfer to a large bowl.
5. Cut Carrots in ½ lengthwise. Cut Celery in diagonal slices. Slice mushrooms. Chop Onion.
6. Add vegetables to pan and saute until Onion is golden (@ 5 minutes). Meanwhile, microwave wine and broth in micro-safe bowl until steaming (@ 3 minutes).
7. Return Bacon, Chicken and Broth/wine to pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender (@ 15 minutes).
8. Meanwhile, chop fresh herbs.
9. Add salt to taste. Sprinkle herbs over servings.

Serve with roast potatoes, brown rice, quinoa or other hearty side dish

This recipe was contributed by Jackie Norgord

Grilled Angel Food Cake with Balsamic Strawberries

INGREDIENTS:
1 prepared angel food cake, large sliced
1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
1 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. vegetable oil
Whip cream (as option)

DIRECTIONS:
Lightly toss the strawberries, balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Set aside to allow the flavors to blend.
Preheat the grill with a medium high flame. Lightly brush the grates with vegetable oil to prevent the angel food cake from sticking. Grill each side of the cake slices for 20 – 25 seconds, or until grill marks appear. Pour the strawberry mixture over the warm angel food cake slices. Sauce serves 6 – 8 people.

This recipe idea is to not actually taste the balsamic vinegar.  It that extra layer to bring out the strawberry flavor.  Best of all, there is no need to cook the sauce at all.

Fettucchini w/ Mascopone cheese

Serves: 4 – 6

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 Cup mascarpone cheese at room temperature
• Zest & Juice of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced (or 1 tsp. jarred minced garlic)
• season-all salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes (just a pinch, or more depending on how hot you like it)
• 1 box of fettuccine
DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine the zest, lemon juice, mascarpone, and pepper in a bowl, and whisk to combine.
2. Bring a pasta pot of salted water to boil.
3. While waiting on the water, heat the oil in a skillet.
4. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two.
5. Cook the pasta until al dente, taking it off the heat about 1 to 2 minutes before you would normally remove it.
6. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
7. Return the pasta to the pot, and set over medium heat.
8. Stir in the mascarpone and lemon mixture.  Add the satated garlic.
9. Loosen the sauce with about 1/4 cup of the water and toss all over the ingredients together and everything is piping hot, adding a little additional pasta water if needed.
Serve immediately, topped with grated cheese or sautéed breadcrumbs.

Raspberry Squares

INGREDIENTS:
1¼ c. all-purpose flour
⅓ c. granulated sugar + 1 tbsp.
¼ tsp. salt
10 tbsp. (1¼ sticks) unsalted butter, cubed
⅓ c. old-fashioned rolled oats
4 tbsp. pecans, chopped
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 tsp. corn starch
¼ c. raspberry jam
1½ c. (12 oz.) fresh raspberries, washed
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice + 1 tsp. zest

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8 X 8″ baking pan with a foil or parchment.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, ⅓ c. granulated sugar, and salt. With a pastry blender cut in the 10 tbsp. of butter until the mixture resembles wet sand. Reserve half of the mixture for the topping.
3. Sprinkle half of the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake the crust until the edges begin to brown (15-17 minutes). Remove and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, combine the reserved flour mixture, oats, nuts, and brown sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. butter and mix until small clumps begin to form. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl using a rubber spatula, combine the jam, raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and zest together.
6. Spread the berry mixture evenly over the warm crust, then sprinkle with the streusel topping. Place in oven and bake until the filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown (24 to 26 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
7. Remove from oven and let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack for about 1 hour. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.

Beer Can Chicken

Serves 4

4 lb whole chicken
2 Tbs olive oil or other vegetable oil
1 opened, half-full can of beer, room temperature
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbs onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, smashed

Prepare your grill for indirect heat. If you are using charcoal, put the coals on one side of the grill, leaving another side free of coals. If you are using a gas grill, fire up only half of the burners.

Remove neck and giblets from cavity of chicken, if the chicken came with them. Rub the chicken all over with olive oil. Mix the salt, pepper, and thyme in a little bowl, then sprinkle it all over the chicken.

Make sure the beer can is open, and only half-filled with beer (drink the other half!) If you want, you can put a sprig of thyme (or another herb like rosemary or sage) in the beer can. Lower the chicken on to the open can, so that the chicken is sitting upright, with the can in its cavity. Place the chicken on the cool side of the grill, using the legs and beer can as a tripod to support the chicken on the grill and keep it stable.

Cover the grill and walk away. Do not even check the chicken for at least an hour. After an hour, check the chicken and refresh the coals if needed (if you are using a charcoal grill). Keep checking the chicken every 15 minutes or so, until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160°F – 165°F. The total cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken, and the internal temperature of the grill. A 4 lb chicken will usually take around 1½ hours. If you don’t have a meat thermometer, a way to tell if the chicken is done is to poke it deeply with a knife (the thigh is a good place to do this), if the juices run clear, not pink, the chicken is done.

Carefully transfer the chicken to a tray or pan. I say “carefully” because the beer can, and the beer inside of it, is quite hot. One way to do this is to slide a metal spatula under the bottom of the beer can. Use tongs to hold the top of the chicken. Lift the chicken, beer can still inside, and move it to a tray. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Carefully lift the chicken off of the can. If it gets stuck, lay the chicken on its side, and pull out the can with tongs.

Valentine’s Day Breakfast;-)

Ingredients:
4 Eggs
4 Hotdogs
1 Green onion
4 Cherry tomatos
4 Wheat toasts

Cowboy Caviar

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• 2 c. cooked black-eyed peas
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 Roma tomato, diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, diced
• ¼ c. red onion, finely diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 jalapeno, finely diced (leave the seeds & veins if you like it spicy)
• ¼ c. cilantro, roughly chopped
• ½ t. ground cumin
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 T. olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine first eight ingredients — black-eyed peas through cilantro.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together cumin, lime juice and olive oil. Pour over the vegetable mixture and toss until evenly coated. (Ok, if you’re lazy, skip the bowl and just drizzle the lime juice, cumin and olive oil over the veg).
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve as a salad or with tortilla chips as a dip.

Crispy Kale

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 18 mins

Total time: 23 mins

 Ingredients

• 1 head flat-leaf (Tuscan or Lacinato) kale leaves separated, rinsed and thoroughly dried
• (I’ve used curly Kale varieties and it’s just as good!)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese

 Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Cut away the thick center stems from the leaves, leaving long strips. Cut the strips in half.
3. Put leaves in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss well to coat all leaves.
4. Arrange the leaves dark side up in a single layer on baking sheets.
5. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.
6. Bake about 15-18 minutes, until the leaves are crisp and the cheese is lightly golden.
7. Serve warm or let cool.

chili roasted chickpeas

4 cups cooked chickpeas

3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or grape seed oil

5 teaspoons of chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt

*optional chives to garnish, lime for an extra kick!

the how:

preheat oven to 400 degrees

spread chickpeas on a baking sheet and coat in olive oil, chili powder and sea salt (use more of less of the recommended salt/chili powder to your taste preference!)

bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until chickpeas are crispy!

serve hot.  eat immediately, with abandon.  enjoy!