Day 11. Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chicken

I just finished the newest book about Julia Child, "Dearie" by Bob Spitz. The book had lots of detail about Julia's (and her husband Paul's) lives; their growing up years, even great details about their courtship - it was a long courtship since it took Paul a bit of time to figure out he was in love with Julia.  The book carries through to the bitter end, when Julia Child died at the age of 91 in 2004.  I wanted her to keep on living and never wanted age to catch up with her because she had such vitality, but eventually, when she realized that the treatment for the sepsis would not return her to health, she decided to go out on her own terms.

And that reminds me that I looked up Rosie Daley - and apparently she made enough money from her "In the Kitchen with Rosie" cookbook that she was financially set for life, and now Oprah has a different personal chef.

And tonight's meal was Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chicken.  Excellent recipe, and actually pretty straight-forward to put together. I was debating whether to cook a real dinner or just make Malt-0-Meal, having had a long, busy day but thought I could at least cook the chicken for the pasta, and make the dish another night.  But once I got started with the chicken I realized it was a simple meal to make and I forged ahead.  The dish took about an hour to prepare, which included roasting the chicken breast.  I am putting a couple of stars by the title of this recipe.

Penne with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Chicken

1/4 C sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 C boiling water
6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breats
1/4 C dry white wine
3 T chopped shallot (my only deviation, since I used gr. onions)
1 T Italian seasoning (Ha! I guess I lied on the deviation thing.  I made up a T. of what I thought Italian seasoning must be)
1 1/4 C chopped fresh portobello mushrooms
1/2 C fresh or frozen peas, thawed
8 oz. penne pasta
Light vegetable oil cooking spray (Olive oil worked well, instead)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
 1 T flour
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t crshed red pepper flakes
1/2 C chopped fresh basil
5 medium Black olives, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Put the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl, add the boiling water, and set the bowl aside for the tomatoes to reconstitute.

Combine the chicken and wine in a shallow baking dish.  Sprinkle the Italian seasoning on top.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes (took my chicken 25-30 minutes), until the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear.  Remove and shred the chicken, reserving the cooking juices.

Fill a pot with water (for the pasta) and bring it to a boil while proceeding with the recipe.

Drain the sun-dried tomatoes and slice them thinly.

Pour the reserved cooking juices from the chicken into a saute pan.  Add the shallots, mushrooms, peas, and the sliced sun-dried tomatoes.  Saute over low heat for a few minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the vegetables are wilted. Remove the pan from the heat and over it to keep the vegetables warm.

Add the penne to the water in the large pot, which by now should be at a full boil.  Cook over high heat to desired doneness, 8-12 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.  Preheat a small, heavy saucepan for about 1 minute over medium heat, then spray it twice with the vegetable oil (I added 1 T of olive oil, instead).  Toss in the garlic and flour, then whisk in the evaporated milk.  Add the nutmeg and red pepper flakes.  Whisking constantly, bring the mixture to a boil and continue to cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened.  Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and stir in the basil.

Drain the cooked pasta and transfer it to a warm serving bowl.  Add the shredded chicken, vegetables, and sauce.  Toss and garnish with the sliced olives. 
 

Day 10. Skewered Shrimp on Wild Rice Pilaf

We ate this last Sunday evening, thinking the weather was going to cooperate for grilling.  Weather was marginal but Swen gamely BBQ'ed the shrimp outside. The vegetables on the kebabs were fantastic, shrimp was okay but not a recipe I will use again.  In fact, what I would do is use Leaf's recipe for "Amazing Spicy Grilled Shrimp" that she made over Christmas; but add some vegetables to the marinade and include them on the skewers. The flavor of Leaf's marinade was marvelous, a piquant flavor that suited the shrimp but didn't overpower it. mmm.

The rice pilaf was soggy, but that was more my not cooking it long enough or adding too much water - who knows. I have never successfully made Rice Pilaf unless it was a box mix.

So I am posting Leaf's Grilled Shrimp recipe (from Allrecipe website, submitted by Pat Rota), instead of Rosie's. 


Amazing Spicy Grilled Shrimp
Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil 1/4 cup sesame oil 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons hot sauce 2 tablespoons minced garlic 1 tablespoon ketchup Directions: 1. Whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, parsley, hot sauce, minced garlic, ketchup, chile sauce, salt, pepper, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Set aside about 1/3 of this marinade to use while grilling. 2. Place the shrimp in a large, resealable plastic bag. Pour in the remaining marinade and seal the bag. Refrigerate for 2 hours. 3. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Thread shrimp onto skewers, piercing once near the tail and once near the head. Discard marinade. 4. Lightly oil grill grate. Cook shrimp for 2 minutes per side until opaque, basting frequently with reserved marinade.

1 tablespoon Asian chile paste 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 3 tablespoons lemon juice 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined 12 wooden skewers, soaked in water

Day 9. Vegetable Barley Stew with Lentils. Hmm.

Let me just say that we ate this last night, will force ourselves to eat some more tonight unless we can't face it and opt for oatmeal, and then I am tossing the remainder in the trash. No need to post this recipe.  After Swen's first spoonful of soup, he asked how we could flavor it up, then proceeded to "eat to live".  I liked the barley and lentils, but the soup needs life. The end.

3-6-2013.  Not quite the end.  After sitting for 4 days, the soup acquired a bit more flavor.  A friend suggested adding some lemon juice and yogurt, to spice it up.  And I added some chicken bouillon.  It was a decent meal on Tuesday night.  One more cup of it, then it is out of my life.
 

Day 8. Cream of Broccoli Soup. Bravo.

This soup was so tasty that I am going to post the recipe. Easy to make, lots of flavor, nothing to get mushy after it sits so the soup is even better for leftovers the next day.  As per usual, I used whole evaporated milk instead of the low-fat evaporated skim milk called for in the recipe.  And the soup did not curdle.

Cream of Broccoli Soup (from "In the Kitchen with Rosie" p.14)
 1/2 C water
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 C broccoli florets and stems (1 large bundle)
24 ounces (2 cans) evaporated skim milk (I used whole evaporated milk)
Light vegetable oil cooking spray (Yes, I used 2 T olive oil)
1 1/2 C chopped liik, white part only (2-3 leeks)
2 T all-purpose flour
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
3 T chopped fresh basil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Dissolve the bouillon cube in theboiling water.  Add the broccoli and cook for 5 to 6 minutes (7-8 minutes, for me), until it is bright green and fork tender.

Put the evaporated milk in a small saucepan.  Warm over low heat, just until bubbles begin to form around the edge.  Remove the pan from the heat.  

Preheat a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Spray it twice with the vegetable oil (I used olive oil).  Add the leeks and saute, stirring often, for 7 to 8 minutes, until limp.  Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Whisk in the warm evaporated milk.  Continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the four has dissolved and the mixture is smooth. 

Reduce the heat to low.  Add the nutmeg, the garlic, and the broccoli, along with its cooking liquid.  Simmer for 5 minutes more, taking care not to bring the soup to a boil.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil and black pepper.