Dinner #6: Fresh Chicken Wantons, Chicken Stir Fry, Mini Cherry Pies

Step 1: Appetizer -- Fresh Chicken Wontons

Ingredients:
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Small Scallion
1 Jalapeno Pepper
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Ketchup
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Tbs soy Sauce
1 Tps Fresh Cracked Pepper
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
Wanton Wrappers (or, you can make your own)

Directions:

Cut up Chicken into smaller pieces. Chop Scallion and Jalapeno into several smaller pieces. Add Chicken, Scallion, Jalapeno, egg, Mustard, Ketchup, Garlic, Soy Sauce, & Pepper into a food processor and pulse several times until thoughtfully blended but not too liquidity. Place oil in a frying pan and heat on medium heat. Separate wanton wrappers, as many as you want to use. Spoon some of the chicken filling into the center of a wanton wrapper. wet the edges and then fold the wanton wrappers from corner to corner. Fry until golden brown and then serve with spicy mustard dipping sauce or soy sauce.

Step 2: Main Course -- Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients:
2 Boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 zucchini, chopped
1 squash, chopped
3 mushrooms, chopped
3 Tb Asian salad dressing
3 Tb soy sauce
3 Tb Olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper


Directions:

Heat oil in fry pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add dressing, garlic powder, soy sauce and vegetables. Cook for about 10 minutes until vegetables are soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!=

Step 3: Dessert -- Mini Cheery Pies (Taken from www.brooklynfarmhouse.com)

Ingredients:
For the crust:

2 1/2 cups pastry flour or all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and well-chilled
6-8 tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
3 cups sour cherries, washed, stemmed, and pitted
3/4 cup raw or granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

For the crust:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Pulse once or twice to blend.
2. Add the butter and pulse several times, or until the the mixture has a course, sandy texture but still has chunks of fat about the size of a pea.
3. Add 6 tablespoons of the ice water, and pulse again to combine. Pinch a bit of the dough mixture between your fingers. If it holds together, the dough is ready. If not, add additional tablespoons of ice water, one tablespoon at a time. The dough will not form a ball (you will do that later).
4. Dump the mixture on a large piece of parchment or wax paper and divide the pile roughly in half. Combine each half of the dough bits into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Roll the disks’ sides on the counter to smooth (this will keep your dough from forming cracks when you roll it out).
5. Wrap each dough disk in plastic wrap, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray, or lightly butter each muffin cup.

For the filling:

1. Combine the pitted cherries, the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Stir gently to combine.

To assemble and bake:

1. After the dough has chilled in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, take one dough disk out.
2. Roll out to 12-inches in diameter (I roll my dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to make life a little bit easier).
3. Cut out as many 4-inch circles as you can, then re-roll the scraps and cut additional circles until you have 12. If it is very hot in your kitchen, you may have to periodically refrigerate your dough to keep it from sticking. (Note: if you don’t have enough dough with the first disk to make 12 four-inch circles – it’s OK. You can use the second dough disk to finish making the rest.)
4. Fit each 4-inch dough disk into the muffin cups, gently fitting the dough into the corners of each cup. Refrigerate the muffin tin while you roll the remaining dough.
5. Take the remaining dough disk out of the refrigerator. Roll to 12-inches in diameter.
6. Cut out as many 3-inch circles as you can, then re-roll the scraps and cut out additional circles until you have 12. Refrigerate the dough disks if they become too soft to work with.
7. Remove the dough-lined muffin tin from the refrigerator. Spoon in the prepared filling (I used a size 40 ice cream scoop).
8. Top each cup with a disk of dough. As best you can, pinch together the top and the bottom dough disks. (I just sort of gently pushed them together as best I could.)
9. Cut vents in the top of the dough with a sharp knife.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the crust is golden brown.
11. Cool completely on a wire rack. Run a flexible, sharp knife around the sides of the muffin tin to release your mini-pies.

Closing Remarks:

Brian: I really had a good time with this dinner. The Wantons were great! My favorite for this meal. The Chicken Stir Fry was also really good. Although the Cherry Pies really tasted good, the presentation was not too great. I attribute that to the poor muffin pan that we have. I really need to buy a new one. The live tweets worked out much better this time, although I cannot wait to have a better following.

Suzy: I thought this meal was great. My favorite part was the wantons. They were so good! You can serve the stir-fry over rice but I left it out since we were having wantons and cherry pie, as well as a bottle of wine :)=

Dinner #5: Zucchini Mushroom Mini Quiches, Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs, Gourmet Apple Biscuits with Fresh Cream

Step 1: Appetizer -- Zucchini Mushroom Mini Quiches

Ingredients:
2 store bought biscuits (in a can in the refrigerated section)
½ zucchini, chopped in small pieces
4 large mushrooms, chopped in small pieces
2 eggs
½ C cheddar cheese
¼ C parmesan cheese
2 Tb olive oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper


Directions:

Roll out biscuits so they are very thin, cut each one in half so you have 4 pieces of rolled out dough. Grease cupcake tin. Lay each of the pieces of dough into a cupcake holder. Press the inside of the pan so they line up against the sides. Some of the dough will be overlapping onto the cupcake pan. In a medium pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add zucchini and mushrooms. Heat for about 5 minutes, until soft. Beat two eggs in a bowl with salt and pepper, add cheddar cheese and stir. Pour eggs evenly between each of the 4 cupcake holders. Divide zucchini and mushrooms between each of the four cupcake holders. Top with parmesan cheese. Fold over the excess dough to cover the quiches. Bake 20 minutes at 375 Degrees.

Step 2: Main Course -- Hawaiian Chicken Kabobs

Ingredients:
2 Lbs Chicken Breasts (ideally vegetarian raised and organic)
3 Tbs Soy Sauce
3 Tbs Brown Sugar
2 Cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbs Pineapple Juice
10 2 oz pieces of Fresh Pineapple
1 tbs Pepper


Directions:

Cut Chicken Breasts into square pieces about 1" thick. In a separate bowl, mix together Soy Sauce, finely chopped Garlic, Brown Sugar, fresh crushed pepper and Pineapple juice. After thoroughly mixing, add Chicken Breast pieces, cover in plastic and marinate for 1 hour. After Chicken is finished marinating, place Chicken Breasts pieces and Pineapple pieces on a skewer in alternating pieces. If using wooden skewers, heat grill or place oven on broil. Cook about 10 -12 minutes until chicken is done and is golden brown. This is a great dish that is sure to please. If you line, you can serve the chicken skewers over a bed of rice.

Step 3: Dessert -- Gourmet Apple Biscuits with Fresh Cream

Ingredients:
2 apples, chopped into small pieces
2 store bought biscuits (in a can in the refrigerated section)
2 Tb butter
¼ c sugar
½ c water
1 Tsp cinnamon
3 Tb whipping cream (sweetened to taste with sugar)

Directions:

Bake biscuits at 375 for about 10 minutes. In a medium saucepan, heat sugar and water until boiling. Add apples, butter and cinnamon. Cook for about 10 minutes until apples are soft. Whip whipping cream with blender until stiff. Add sugar to taste. Separate biscuits in half so you have a top and bottom. Spoon apple mixture over the bottom half of biscuits, top with whipped cream, and then cover with top half of biscuit. Enjoy!

Closing Remarks:

Brian: The Hawaiian Chicken was fantastic and I really liked the Apple Biscuits with fresh cream sauce. Suzy invented this recipe and it was wonderful. This was the first meal where we Tweeted live while we were cooking. It was a bit difficult to get into the groove but I know we will continue to improve as we move forward, especially when we develop more of an audience.

Suzy: The Hawaiian Chicken was one of my favorite dished so far. I also really liked the live Tweets, but it was more difficult than we imagined. I know we will get the hang of it. Lucky, we can also Tweet from our phones int he Kitchen.

Dinner #4: Turkish Salad, Baked Italian Pasta with Squash & Mushrooms, Raspberry Pastry

Step 1: Appetizer -- Turkish Salad

Ingredients:
1 large cucumber--chopped into bite sized pieces
3 large tomatoes--chopped into bite sized pieces
1/4 c chopped red onion
10 leaves of fresh green lettuce chopped (any type you prefer)
1 Chopped Green pepper
1 Chopped Red Pepper
Dressing:
3 Tb olive oil
1 large lemon juiced
5 Tb chopped Mint
2 cloves of chopped garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions:

Mix chopped lettuce, cucumber, red onion, green pepper, red pepper and tomatoes in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix olive oil, lemon juice, mint, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the salad and mix well. Allow to marinate together for about 15 minutes. This is really refreshing, especially during the summer. Enjoy!

Step 2: Main Course -- Baked Italian Pasta with Squash & Mushrooms

Ingredients:
8 ounces of pasta (we used Elbow Macaroni, but you can use any type you like)
2 Tb of Olive Oil
5 Large Mushrooms chopped
1 Yellow Squash chopped into bite sized pieces
1 Zucchini chopped into bit sized pieces
3 cloves of minced Garlic
12 ounces of Pasta Sauce (make your own if you prefer)
1/2 teaspoon of dried red pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
Salt and Pepper to tasts

Directions:

Boil pasta for about 8-10 minutes and drain. Heat olive oil in medium skillet. Add chopped mushrooms, zucchini, squash, garlic, and dried red pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add pasta sauce and cook for another 2 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Combine vegetables with pasta in baking dish. Stir in half the cheese and pour the rest on top. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until top is browned. Enjoy!

Step 3: Dessert -- Raspberry Cream Pastry

Ingredients:
Filo Dough
10 fresh Raspberries
2 Tb Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Tb butter (melted)
2 Tb of melted chocolate
1 Tb powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure your Filo dough is thawed and cut 10 layers into any shape you like. I chose about a 3 x 4 rectangle. Take 5 layers of the dough and place on a cookie sheet and place the other 5 layers next to the original 5 layers. Brush the top layers with butter. and bake until golden brown and until flaky. Take out of the oven an let cool. In a separate bowl, add the heavy whipping cream, regular granulated sugar, vanilla, and raspberries and whip with an electric hand mixer until creamy. Place 5 layers of bakes Filo dough on a plate, spoon on fresh cream. Place other 5 layers of bakes Filo dough on top. Drip melted chocolate sauce over the top of the pastry. Dust with powdered sugar, and decorate with two fresh raspberries. Enjoy!

Closing Remarks:

Brian: I really enjoyed this meal. It was a bit difficult for me to work with the Filo dough since this is the first time I ever worked with it. In the recipe above, I recommended using less dough int he layers than I did. The dessert is meant to be light and refreshing. the pasta was wonderful although I would add a bit more salt and perhaps a bit more sauce.

Suzy: I really enjoyed the pasta and the dessert, but I did think we used too much dough. The salad was really good and refreshing; it was one of my favorite salads so far! From now on, we are going to start twittering during our meal preparations, please join in the fun!

Dinner #3: Fresh Tomato & Cucumber Pita Salad, Grilled Garlic and Savory Butter Salmon, Baked Strawberry Tarts

Step 1: Appetizer -- Fresh Tomato & Cucumber Pita Salad

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber--chopped into bite sized pieces

2 large tomatoes--chopped into bite sized pieces

1/4 c chopped red onion

1 pita

2 Tbls olive oil

1/2 tsp honey

1 Tb lime juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 teaspoon Cumin

Directions:

Mix cucumber, red onion and tomatoes in a bowl. In a separate bowl mix olive oil, honey, and lime juice. Pour over the vegetables and mix well. Toast pita in a toaster and cut into small pieces. Add pita to salad and mix. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!

Step 2: Main Course -- Grilled Garlic and Savory Butter Salmon

Ingredients:
Two Fresh Pieces of Salmon (ideally wild caught rather than farm raised)

Two tablespoons of butter (softened)

1 tablespoon of fresh finely chopped Savory

2 cloves of finely chopped Garlic

1 teaspoon of rock salt

1/2 teaspoon if fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Add the chopped garlic, savory, salt and pepper into a small bowl. Add softened butter and mash all the ingredients together with a fork until mixture is smooth end thoroughly blended. Heat grill on high in order to sear the Salmon. Place Salmon fillets, skin down, on the grill. Rub butter mixture generously over the top of the fillets. Cook until Salmon filets are tenter and flakey. Enjoy!

Step 3: Dessert -- Baked Strawberry Tarts

Ingredients:

2 store bought biscuits (they come in a can of 8, you can freeze the remaining 6)

About 10 strawberries (sliced)

2 Tb powdered sugar

2 Tb butter (melted)

1 Tb granulated sugar

Directions:

Flatten biscuits with a rolling pin or glass. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Top with sliced strawberries. Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve hot.

Closing Remarks:

Brian: To me, this whole dinner went together very well. My favorites where probably the tart and the Salomon. I enjoyed the salad as well, but next time, I probably would not add the cumin as I am not a huge fan of the spice. With regard to the Strawberry Tart, next time, we intend on making our own dough, which I believe will not only make the tart taste better, but will also be more cost effective.

Suzy: I liked everything! If you don not have n outdoor grill, you can probably make the Salmon in a regular grill pan or even bake it in the oven, although a grill pan would be preferred.

Dinner #2: Feta Cheese Crustini, Chicken Cacciatore & Mint Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Cream Sauce

Step 1 -- Appetizer: Feta Cheese and Bacon Crustini

Ingredients:
Mini French Roll Sliced in ½ Inch Slices
Bacon
Fresh ground pepper
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Olive Oil





Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut mini-French bread loaf into about 8 even slices about ½” thick. Brush each slice with olive oil. In a separate pan, fry 4 slices of bacon until it is crisp but not overcooked. Place bacon on paper towel to cool and to drain. Immediately sprinkle each piece of bacon with fresh ground black pepper. Place pieces of French bread in a shallow oven pan and place in oven until firm but not too toasted – about 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and sprinkle each piece evenly covering French bread pieces with crumbles feta cheese. Cut each piece of bacon in half. Place one piece of bacon on top o each piece of bread with feta cheese on it. Place back in the oven and bake for 5-6 min until cheese melts. Take out of the oven, allow to cool for 3 minutes and serve.

Step 2 -- Main Course: Chicken Caccatori

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
5 large mushrooms, cut into pieces
1 bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup pasta sauce (I used mushroom flavored)
½ tsp basil leaves
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp crushed red pepper (use more if you like it a little spicy)
¼ c dry red wine
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 TB Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Sprinkle chicken with basil, oregano and red pepper. Pour the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 3 minutes until browned. Add the bell pepper and mushrooms and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add the pasta sauce and wine and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Step 3 -- Dessert: Mint Strawberry Shortcake with Fresh Cream Sauce

Ingredients:
½ pound of Fresh Strawberries
1/8 cup raw sugar
1 Tb Fresh Mint, finely chopped
½ Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
2 slices of Angel Food Cake

Directions:

Wash and slice strawberries. Place strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar. Chop fresh mint finely and stir into strawberries. In a separate bowl, add heavy whipping cream, remaining sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix with an electric hand mixer until thick. Place slices of Angel Food Cake on a plate. Spoon a generous portions of strawberries over the cake and top with fresh cream sauce.

Our First Feast for Two: Lemon Garlic Romain Salad, Poulets Grilles A La Diable & Fresh Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

A word before we get started: The purpose of this blog is to enjoy and to experience foods which can be shared on a smaller scale. The writers, Suzy & Brian, share not only a love of food, but also really enjoy spending time in the kitchen together preparing and experimenting on these meals. Each meal is meant to be shared in groups: an appetizer, a main course and a dessert. When possible, please buy locally and organic if possible. It makes all the difference not only in your cooking but also to the environment and our health.

Step 1 -- Appetizer: Romaine Lettuce Salad with Light Lemon and Garlic Olive Oil Dressing

Ingredients:
1 Head of Romaine Lettuce
1 regular sized lemon (you don't need the mammothed sized lemon some grocery stores now sell.)
3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Minced Cloves of Garlic (not through a press)
1 Teaspoon of Crushed Black Pepper
A pinch of Salt to Taste
2 Tablespoons of Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

This recipe is our own invention, although something similar has been done many times by many other people. The ingredients are classic and fresh. This is a really fun and fresh dish and ideal for a date night. The idea behind this salad is to really get in and get your hands dirty. First, thoroughly wash the head of Romaine Lettuce. Then pat the leaves dry and put in a salad spinner to get all the excess water off the leaves. When the excess water is removed from the leaves, tear the leaves by hand into small bite sized pieces. Place them in a bowl. In a different and smaller bowl, take the lemon and squeeze the juice out. Be sure and remove the seeds. Then, take all the rest of the ingredients and mix them together. Pour the delicious sauce over the Romaine Lettuce pieces and blend well with your hands. Viola!

Step 2 -- Main Course -- Poulets Grilles A La Diable (Chicken Broiled with Mustard, Herbs & Bread Crumbs)

Ingredients:
Two Chicken Breasts: Ideally Free Range and Veg. Fed
3 Tb softened butter
Salt
3 Tb prepared mustard of the strong Dijon type
3 Tb finely minced shallots or green onions
1/8 tsp Fresh basil
1/8 tsp pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup of Italian Style Bread Crumbs
A broiling pan with rack

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees. Wash both of the chicken breasts and place them in a baking pan which you have rubbed with a little bit of butter. Place the chicken breasts in the oven for five minutes, then remove. The idea is just to get them warm. Rub a little bit of melted butter on each of the chicken breasts and then coat them in Italian Style Bread Crumbs. Place the chicken breasts back into the baking pan and put them back the oven. In a small bowl, mix the chopped shallots, basil, pepper, Dijon Mustard, salt and softened butter together. Open the oven and evenly distribute the mixture across each of the chicken breasts by dropping little spoonfuls on each one. Continue to bake until chicken breasts are done, about 10 minutes. This meal will not disappoint!

Step 3 -- Dessert -- Oatmeal Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pecans
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose four
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1 1/2 cups raisins

Directions:

This recipe makes lots of great cookies. Our suggestions is to make the cookie dough, then divide it in thirds. Freeze 2/3 in separate bags and freeze for another night. We got this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, "Back to Basics" cookbook, but we changed it up a little. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the pecans on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes. Chop the pecans. In a large bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together. You can use an electric mixer but it worked fine for me to blend by hand. Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until combined. Pour in the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix. I used a large tablespoon to scoop the cookie mix into about 2 inch cookies. Leave enough room between cookies because they will expand a little. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, and enjoy!