Chicken Scarpariello

I think chicken "scarpariello" typically involves chicken thighs, but since my husband does not care much for the dark meat, I used chicken breasts, and this turned out very delicious in my opinion.

Ingredients:

4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3-4 large boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves, cut up into slightly bigger than bite sized pieces
1/3 pound Italian sausage
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2-4 Tablespoons white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar (adjust to taste; increase for more tanginess)
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the kosher salt and pepper over the pieces of chicken. Working in batches if necessary (don't crowd the chicken too much or it won't brown well), add the chicken to the hot oil and toss after a minute or two. Add the sausage (break the sausage into small chunks in the pan.) Cook the sausage and chicken in the pan until the sausage is done and the chicken is browned all over, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the slices of garlic to the pan and stir to distribute. Let cook and caramelize about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the vinegar and stir to coat. Let this cook about 3 minutes. The chicken should be browning nicely on all sides and becoming coated in the all the cooking liquids.
4. Stir in the oregano and turn heat to low. Cover and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 5-6 more minutes.

This should make about 4 servings!

Chicken and Artichoke Panino

This is really good if you like artichokes and basil. I love them. Make sure you get really soft and delicious bread from the bakery (or make some yourself!) I suggest a french boule, which can be purchased at Wal-Mart! This recipe is for two sandwiches. The ingredient amounts are really up to you, and you will be able to tell how big you want to make your sandwich and how much bread you want to use. These are more like guidelines.

Ingredients:

4 pitted Kalamata olives
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
pinch of lemon zest
1-2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise (not MiracleWhip) 

1/2 (12.5-ounce) can premium white meat canned chicken, drained
1/4 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained
one good squeeze fresh lemon juice
ground black pepper to taste
1-2 teaspoons torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 roma tomato, diced
2 teaspoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 loaf white french boule or other soft white bread (sourdough would be excellent)

In a food processor or mini-chopper, combine the olives, oil, garlic, and puree until well combined. There may still be small pieces of olive; that is ok. Add the mayonnaise and pulse a few more times.

Preheat a panini maker or skillet.
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, artichokes, basil, tomato, lemon juice, cheese, and pepper.

Cut the bread to make four slices (to make two sandwiches) and hollow out a bit of the bread from each piece so that there will be more room for filling. Spread the olive and mayonnaise on one side of each piece of bread. Divide the filling evenly among the two sandwiches.

Lightly brush oil on the panini maker and place the sandwiches on it. Press the top down onto the sandwiches firmly and allow to crisp for a few minutes. Do not let get too brown or too hot. This should be slightly warm, but not piping hot. Carefully transfer the sandwiches to a plate and serve!

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake

Oh, yes. This one is worth it. (Worth the money and the calories, that is...) It IS expensive to make, which is why it was a Christmas gift to my brother, who loves cheesecake. The reason this one is a snickerdoodle variety is because he also LOVES snickerdoodle cookies. I wanted to make this one special, so I decided to combine the two. I made a snickerdoodle cookie crust (yum) and then flavored the cheesecake portion with a bit of cinnamon. Here goes:

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

For the cheesecake:
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
7 large eggs
3 (8-ounce) containers sour cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
ground cinnamon


To make:
1. First mix up the cookie dough crust. In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar and beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer, and then mix the rest in by hand. Cover and chill dough about one hour or until firm.
2. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Once the dough has been chilled, lightly (very lightly) butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with about 3 inch sides. Roll the entire blob of dough in the sugar and cinnamon mix, coating it thoroughly. Evenly press the cookie dough on the bottom and about half-way up the sides of the pan . Make sure it isn't too thick, you may not use all of the dough. The bottom should be about 1/3 inch thick. Bake the cookie crust in the oven until lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. The cookie should feel slightly firm but still soft. The dough you pushed around the sides will likely have fallen a bit; that is okay. Don't worry if the cookie crust doesn't seem perfect, it should still turn out great. (I thought for sure that the cookie part wouldn't work because it rose up and fell back down when I took it out of the oven.) Let that cool slightly while you make the cheesecake batter.

3. Beat cream cheese at medium-high speed with a heavy-duty stand mixer until fluffy. Gradually add 1 3/4 cup sugar, beating well and scraping sides with a flexible spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla, and a couple of dashes of cinnamon; beat at low speed until smooth, remembering to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Pour batter into prepared pan with cookie crust. It will come all the way up to the top of the pan. Place half-teaspoons of cinnamon in a few places on the top of the batter and swirl with a knife or spoon to create decorative swirls.

4. Bake at 300ºF for 1 hour 25 minutes. Turn off oven, and leave cheesecake in oven 4 hours. (DO NOT open oven door to peek)

5. Remove cake from oven carefully. Run a knife or small metal spatula around the very edge of the cake to help prevent cracks (this allows the cake to contract freely when cooling) Cool completely on a wire rack, about 3-4 more hours. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 8 hours.

6. When ready to serve, remove sides of springform pan carefully. Store in refrigerator.

Yields about 12 servings.

*You don't even want to know how many calories my husband and I figured up in this total cake. Also be warned, this is pretty expensive to make and takes a lot of time and patience. Like I said though, it is worth it.

Braised Chicken Breast with Provolone

This one comes from a cookbook I recently received as a gift; Lidia's Italy in America, by Lidia Mattichio Bastianich. (There is a slight ingredient change, since smoked provola was not available at my grocery store.)

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon kosher salt
All-purpose flour, for dredging
2-3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
8 large fresh basil leaves (or 2 teaspoons dried crushed basil)
4 thin slices prosciutto
1/2 cup dry Marsala 
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 slices provolone cheese

Slice open the chicken breasts crosswise to butterfly, so they open to a flattened, even thickness. Season the chicken all over with salt. Lightly dredge the chicken in flour, shaking off the excess.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter is just melted. Add the chicken to the pan, and brown each side for about 2-3 minutes.

Once it is browned, top each breast with a basil leaf or sprinkle even amounts of dried basil over each breast and add a slice of prosciutto. Increase heat to medium high. Push-aside the chicken to make a clear spot in the middle of the pan, and pour in the Marsala and the white wine. Drop in the remaining basil leaves. Bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by half, about two minutes. Add the chicken broth and cover, simmering to blend the flavors, about three minutes.

Uncover, top the chicken with the sliced provolone and cover again. Adjust heat to a simmer, cooking about five minutes to melt the cheese, then uncover. Bring to a boil and cook until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is reduced to your liking, about 8-10 minutes more. 

Serves 4.

Banana Bread

I made a few changes to this recipe from  The Martha Stewart Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 medium banana, medium diced

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, beating well.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and then combine with the butter mixture. Blend well. Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Stir well. Fold in the nuts and diced banana and pour into the prepared pan.

Bake 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean. Turn out onto a rack to cool.

Makes 1 loaf.