Homemade Fettucini with Pesto, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Chicken

I had a day off from work last week and felt compelled to use my time towards culinary purposes. I had hoped to mimic a wonderful recipe from my friend Bobicus, which is deliciously entitled "Angel Hair with Grilled Chicken and Macadamia-Arugula Pesto" and which fails to mention that it also contains mango. But this is me we're talking about. There was no arugula in the grocery store, and when it came down to a tiny bottle of Macadamia nuts versus a large bag of walnuts for half the price, you know which I went for. I did try getting a mango. But apparently I don't know how to tell if a mango is ripe. Because when I sliced it open it was a hard, unappetizing white and I mourned the loss of such a wonderful fruit. Le sigh.

So I dug up this recipe for homemade pasta and this recipe for homemade pesto sans lemon juice and went to work. I tossed some chicken in a pan with a bit of salt, pepper, and brown sugar, then let it simmer in white balsamic vinegar. On a whim, I added sundried tomatoes at the end. And it was kind of all of alot of delicious.



Homemade Fettucini with Pesto, Sundried Tomatoes, and Balsamic Chicken
Serves 2

1/2 batch of fresh fettucini
1/2 batch of fresh pesto (or your favorite jarred pesto), about 1/4 of a cup
1 TBS olive oil
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1" chunks
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp brown sugar
2 TBS white balsamic vinegar (red would work too)
1 1/2 TBS sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and minced.

1) Fill a large pot half way with water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
2) While water is coming to a boil, heat olive oil in a medium sized non-stick skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken, salt and pepper, and sprinkle brown sugar over top. Sauté chicken until starting to brown, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add vinegar and turn heat down to low. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes, until liquid in pan has thickened and reduced.
3) Once water is boiling, add fettucini. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until tender. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Transfer fettucini back to warm pot.
4) Put pesto in a small bowl. Add 2 TBS of reserved cooking liquid and stir until creamy. Add more liquid if necessary. Add pesto to the pasta and stir until thoroughly coated. (I didn't add quite all the pesto, I had a couple TBS left over).
5) Add chicken and sun-dried tomatoes to the pasta and toss. Serve with crusty italian bread!

Challah

And I'm back! With what the nerd and me can only term a "flurry of blows." Meaning I will probably follow my usual M.O. of posting many tasty recipes all in a row and then going off into hiding.

But what a recipe to come back into action with! Yes, ladies and gentleman, I, the professed "non-baker" have, in fact, baked bread. Not just any bread, but the delicious challah bread of Jewish fame. My cousin asked me to bring a challah to their break fast post-Yom Kippur, and not knowing where to buy a challah in my new neighborhood, decided to bake one.

Yes, I'm a little crazy. Please don't call the men in the white coats. Unless they are professional chefs, come to whisk me away to a glorious fantasy cooking land. Then please. Give them my number, even.

But believe it or not, I did bake a challah and it didn't suck! In fact, my family was very much impressed an my mother was totally shocked. "I would never bake a challah," she said, "Good for you."

Not that it's hard or rocket science. Well, baking is a bit like rocket science to me. I am very interested in rocket science, but the math/physics of it are completely beyond me. Same with baking. No matter what I read or watch about baking, I am still in the dark about how adding eggs HERE instead of HERE will make something tough or runny or fluffy. Or how too much liquid/flour/mojo can make something rise or fall or have a "nice crumb."

So when I misread The New Best Recipe's directions and began to add an extra quarter cup of flour, even though the dough didn't need it, so I then began to add tablespoons of water to get it to stick together again, I was fearful. I was also afraid that our yeast was not going to be fast rising enough, as the date on it was from July. However! I Persevered. And baked a very challah-looking and tasting-challah. I think the crust was a little tough (perhaps due to the extra flour/water mishap?) and the first bout of rising didn't result in much, er, rising, but when I left it out the next day, it just about tripled in size.

I did all the work the night before, then fridged it overnight, and took it out the next morning to rise some more and come to room temperature. I did this, knowing I was coming home early from work. I'm not sure if you are really supposed to leave it out for a WHOLE day, but according to Smitten Kitchen, if you fridge it you should leave it out for 5 hours to come to room temp so I did.

It was tasty! I made mine in a round shape for the Jewish New Year and we ate it with honey. Mmm.

Challah
Makes 1 large loaf
from The New Best Recipe with mods.

3-3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting (I think I actually used regular all-purpose and it came out fine)
1 envelope instant yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg seperated (reserve white for eggwash)
4 TBS unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 1 TBS water, room temp

1) In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 cups of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix together the 2 eggs, egg yolk, melted butter (cooled!!), and 1/2 cup water. Add the flour mixture; using the dough hook, knead at low speed until a ball of dough forms, about 4-5 min *adding the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 TBS at a time if necessary*
2) In a small bowl, whisk th egg white together with remaining 1 TBS water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.
3) Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large owl, turning the dough to coat it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Gently press the dough to deflate it, cover again and let rise until doubled in size again, about 1 hour.
4) Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2 pieces, one roughly half the size of the other. Divide the large one into three pieces. Roll each piece into a 16" rope, about 1 inch in diameter. Line the ropes up side by side and braid them together, pinching the ends of the braid to seal. Twist into a circle and pinch the two ends together. Repeat this process with the smaller piece of dough, with ropes of dough about 1/2 inch in diameter. Place the smaller braid circle on top of the larger one. Then loosely drape the loaf with plastic wrap and either:
a) (For baking today) ...let rise in a warm place for 30 -45 min, un til increased in size by about a third.
b) (For baking tomorrow) ...refrigerate overnight! The next day, take the dough out about 5 hours before baking and let come to room temperature and rise (mine doubled in size! though it didn't rise much during the first rising periods)
5) Adjust oven rack to middle-lower position and pre-heat to 375ºF. Remove plastic wrap from dough and brush with the remaining eggwash.
6) Bake the loaf for 30 -4 0 minutes or until an instant read thermometer inserted in thes ide of the loaf reads 190º. Allow loaf to cool completely over a wire rack before slicing and devouring!

Recent additions to the cookbook library...

Mayo-free Tuna Salad

Again, no photo, but bear with me, it's tasty!

So I'm not big into mayonnaise. Occasionally I'll mix it with a little Dijon on a sandwich, or put it into a pasta salad, but when I can substitute something else, I try to. That's why, when I was craving a tuna melt, I considered my options. Tuna salad is one of the few foods I really don't mind mayo in, but I didn't feel like buying a big jar of the stuff just for the couple of tablespoons I would use for this one application.

So considering other options, I came up with the idea to use plain yogurt! Now I doubt I'm the first person to think of this, but I felt pretty proud of myself. I actually tried it with a Greek-style yogurt, since they now come in handy single serving containers, but regular yogurt would work just fine. For my tuna melt, I packed all my ingredients separately and assembled at the office, with a little help from the office toaster oven. Very tasty. The yogurt adds a certain tang which is really unique. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it! Definitely something to experiment with.

Mayo-Free Tuna Salad
2-3 servings

1 can of tuna, drained
3 TBS plain regular or greek-style yogurt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TBS minced dill pickle or dill pickle relish
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp paprika
dash or two of ground red pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mash together with a fork, until fully incorporated. Add more yogurt and seasonings to desired consistency/flavor.


Tuna Melt
Serves 1

1 plain english muffin, split open into halves
4 TBS Mayo-Free Tuna Salad (see above)
4 thin slices of tomato
2 thin slices of cheese (Cheddar, American, Monterey Jack, you really can't go wrong)
a drizzle of balsamic vinegar (optional)

1) Top each english muffin half with 2 TBS tuna salad and two slices of tomato. If using, drizzle balsamic vinegar over tomatoes and tuna. Top with a slice of cheese for each half (make sure the cheese covers the enter half... use more slices if necessary).
2) Place on a toaster oven tray and toast in the toaster oven for about 3 minutes, until cheese is melting and starting to brown.

Classy Vegetable Stir-Fry

No picture, my apologies. The hard drive with all our photos on it is not yet set-up, but will be shortly. Once it is I will include some super photos of us attempting to unpack the kitchen. Which I am sure you are all dying to see.

In the mean time, here's a dish we whipped up in honor of my sister coming to dinner for the first time in the new house! She is vegetarian and so I have made it my mission to find some tasty vegetarian dishes to make for her when she visits that she, as a college student, may not have time/money/facilities/motivation to. Alas, she is not big into pasta, so that eliminated about 90% of my initial ideas, but Mr. Heart suggested a vegetable stir-fry. So we took it up a notch by including a wide variety of vegetables, and made it simple by only adding the bare minimum of seasonings. It came out delicious. We served it up with couscous and a dark rye bread. And then we ate cookie dough and played cribbage like old people.

"I'm so proud of myself," Mr. Heart said, as we drove back from dropping off Sister Heart, "Before I met you I wouldn't have even touched a dish like that." And he liked it! Excellent. So I AM having a positive culinary influence. My main challenge with him? Legumes. Some day, some day...

Classy Vegetable Stir-Fry
Serves 2-3

1 Portabello mushroom cap, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (or half of a red and half of a yellow)
3-4 green onions, chopped
1/2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch crescents
1/2 cup sugar snap peas, cut in half
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 lb spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cashews
1 - 2 TBS olive oil
a good squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper

(for omnivores: add a link or two of your favorite chicken sausage, sliced)

1) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering, but not smoking.
2) Add bell peppers and green onions. Sauté until peppers start to brown, stirring often.
3) Add zucchini, mushrooms, and garlic. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper to taste. Continue to sauté, stirring often, until vegetables are just tender.
4) Add spinach, snap peas, and lemon juice. Toss together, then cover for 1 -2 minutes, or until spinach is wilted and cooked down.
5) Add cashews toss to combine. Cook for 1 -2 more minutes, until cashews are heated through. Add more salt and pepper as desired.
(For omnivores: Transfer vegetables to a separate dish and cover to keep warm. Add sausage and a splash of oil. Sauté until lightly browned, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add vegetables back to pan and toss to combine. Cook an additional minute to heat through.)

Pesto Salmon

Mr. Heart and I are not big seafood eaters, but we have been braving the new world of fish with small baby steps. First tilapia, now salmon. This recipe is ridiculously easy. Below I've listed a whole wonderful pesto recipe, inspired by The New Best Recipe, but ultimately, I just used jarred pesto. Classico to be precise. Serve with lemon slices.

Pesto Salmon
inspired by Prevention's Ultimate Quick and Healthy Cookbook and The New Best Recipe
Serves 2

¼ cup walnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, or almonds
3 medium garlic cloves
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
6 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
1 TBS lemon juice
¼ cup grated Parmesan
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ lbs skinned salmon fillet, cut into 2 pieces
Lemon wedges, for garnish

1) Toast the nuts in a small heavy skillet over med heat. stirring frequently until just golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
2) Put nuts, garlic, basil, oil, lemon juice, Parmesan, salt and pepper into a food processor and process until puréed.
3) Preheat broiler. Spray a jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
4) Place the pieces of salmon on a plate. Spoon 3 TBS of pesto over the salmon and coat both sides of each piece. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for 15 minutes. Reserve remaining pesto at room temperature.
5) Place the salmon in the prepared pan, spreading any extra pesto from the plate onto the fish. Broil the salmon 4 to 5" from the heart for 6-8 minutes, or until just opaque (cooking time will depend on the thickness of the fish).
6) Transfer salmon pieces to dinner places and top each with some of the reserved pesto. Garnish with lemon wedges

"Succotash"
Serves 2

1 cob of corn, cooked and de-kerneled (or 1 1/2 cups frozen corn)
1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 -2 TBS butter
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
ground red pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp salt

Melt butter in a hot pan, over medium heat, until frothy. Add corn, peas, and seasonings to taste. Toss to coat. Cook until corn begins to brown and peas are thoroughly cooked (4-5 minutes).

La Raison

*blink blink* Anyone still there?

I should have known better than to attempt to get all involved with this blog and make you all think that I actually could actively keep it updated on a weekly basis. This is completely untrue and a misrepresentation. I tend to post in random, sporadic, guilt-ridden bursts.

I enjoy this blog and I want to give it my all, I really do. But things keep getting in the way. Much like my realtor in this picture.


Welcome to the new Salle de la Cuisine Heart. This is what we've been doing all summer: house hunting. Oh yes, and water-skiing, graphic designing, writing classing, driving, traveling, and planning 85th birthday parties (okay, just one). In fact, this is the first week in just about FOREVER than I am actually home every evening and cooking. Well, mostly. Sunday we had Trader Joe's Mandarin Orange Chicken and frozen potstickers. Last night I made steak and cheese subs. Tonight we have leftover pasta salad, more potstickers, and... maybe an avocado? We are minorly obsessed with avocados right now. More on that later.

Needless to say, this is what passes for cooking these days. Geez!

We've also been shopping for necessities for the new abode. Because I am a nerd, I have photoshoped the photo below to show you roughly what it will look like:

I blame Mr. Heart for taking in sufficient photos, as that is all I am able to show you of our kitchen-to-be. Imagine a large island in the middle. And that door there? That's a pantry. I didn't think one could get excited about a pantry. But I am. Oh I am.

I also desperately want these, since I suspect our dishes may have to be stored in drawers rather than the cabinets. However, it looks like IKEA has discontinued them in the U.S. and only sells them... in Australia. Any ideas? Where can I get these sorts of plate holders/caddies in the states? Pretty please?


More pictures eventually, je promise. For now, a recipe!