thai pasta salad

This pasta is sooo good. My friend Hillery served this as part of the "Mommy Food" at the awesome Halloween party that she hosted and was kind enough to pass the recipe on to me too! She added chicken and spinach to it when she served it and had even made a special batch just for me that did not have chicken in it (due to my allergy). How thoughtful is that???

Thai Pasta Salad

2 cups uncooked pasta
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 TB. sugar
3 TB. creamy peanut butter
2 TB. soy sauce
1 TB. fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small cucumber, seeded and chopped
2 medium carrots, coarsely shredded (1 cup)
4 green onions, sliced
1 c. fresh cilantro, chopped

Cook, drain, and rinse pasta. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine vinegar, sugar peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic. Beat with whisk until well blended. In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, cucumber, carrots, and green onions. Mix gently. Pour dressing over pasta mixture and toss gently to coat.

** I added about 3 cooked chicken breasts, doubled the pasta (actually, I think I just used the whole box) and added 2 cups of fresh baby spinach and doubled the amount of dressing.

My hubby preferred it warm and it reheated great the next day. You may need to add just a bit of water if the pasta seems a little dry.

Loved it and can't wait to make it again!

chicken with forty cloves of garlic

Many of you know my love for reading cookbooks and even occasionally trying a recipe from them:) My MIL got me Julia Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, for Christmas which I have been reading and we recently had some delicious food at friend's house from a new recipe book of hers that is french. Now I am more than intrigued. My friend has let me borrow a couple of her cookbooks. The first recipe I tried out is chicken with forty cloves of garlic.



Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

2 celery stalks, including leaves
2 springs of rosemary
4 sprigs of thyme
4 sprigs of flat leaf parsley
1 3 1/2 lb. whole chicken
40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1 carrot, roughly chopped
2 T. olive oil
1 small onion
1 cup white wine
1 baguette, cut into slices

Preheat the oven to 400. Put a chopped celery stalk and 2 sprigs each of rosemary, thyme and parsley into the chicken cavity. Add 6 cloves of garlic. Tie the legs together and tuck the wing tips under.

Brush the chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper well. Scatter 10 more garlic cloves over the base of a large covered casserole or roasting pan. (Use a dish into which the chicken and vegetables fit quite snugly so that the flavors mingle well.) Put the remaining sprigs of herbs, chopped celery, carrot and onion into the baking dish.Put the chicken into the dish. Scatter the remaining garlic cloves around the chicken and add any remaining olive oil and the wine.

Cover and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender an the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer.

To serve, carefully lift the chicken out of the dish. Strain off the juices into a small saucepan. Use tongs to pick out the garlic cloves from the strained mixture. Spoon off fat from the juices and boil for 2-3 minutes to reduce and thicken a little.

Cut the chicken into serving portions on a platter, pour over a little of the juices and scatter the garlic cloves. Toast the baguette slices and serve the bread to be spread with the soft flesh squeezed from the garlic.

Here is my chicken before I put it in the oven. I could not find my cotton string anywhere so I just left the legs flop. Tying the legs keeps them close to the body of the chicken and they won't cook as fast. Be sure to use cotton string and not nylon, as nylon will melt in the oven.



And after it was finished baking.



My family really liked this and since I can't eat chicken, you will have to take their word:) My friend told me to use my enameled cast iron dish like a Le Crueset and it was perfect for this. She also suggested using a farm fresh or chicken from a butcher to make it even better. I also omitted the celery as Steve really does not like the flavor of it. If you don't do wine in your cooking, I am sure you could substitute some apple juice or stock. It took about 3 1/2 heads of garlic. I made a little separate roasted garlic for me in a tinfoil packet. Cut off the top of the head of garlic and drizzle a little olive oil, a dash a wine and some salt and pepper. I sealed it up and baked in the oven while the chicken was baking. I thought the roasted garlic on the bread was just delish!!

a weak moment

Trying to hold true to my New Years Resolution of actually trying recipes from my cookbooks instead of just reading about them, I think that I have found a couple of recent keepers. I also told myself that I would NOT be purchasing any new cookbooks (BUT to receive them as a gift, for example is TOTALLY OK...not that I am hinting to anyone...wink ...wink) but I did have a weak moment and found myself with a new cookbook in my hands. Before I could stop myself, I was out the door with it tucked into a cute little bag. I rationalized that I NEEDED a chicken cookbook, because as you may or may not remember...I have a problem with chicken...a chicken allergy (actually poultry in general) which both of my children find the need to remind me of several times during every chicken meal that I serve.

So I got a cookbook totally dedicated to chicken and we are well on our way out of the "chicken rut" that I have put us into. It is still hard for me to make chicken and I have to be careful on how I actually cook it- no top of the stove action for me as it sends me into an asthmatic type reaction. I rarely LOVE a recipe as written....always tweaking the "next time" for my family's specific palate, so leaving it as written and recommending it to others is always a little unnerving to me but that is my problem not yours! Maybe you can help me with the changes. My poor husband is a little tired of the 20 questions on the meal...he really just wants to eat it so please pass on the suggestions for improvement! I am counting on you for your culinary help.

Both recipes are my from my new cookbook Gooseberry Patch Our Favorite Chicken Recipes.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

boneless skinless chicken breasts, one for each person
1T chive and onion flavored cream cheese per breast
1 T butter for each breast
1 slice bacon per breast
salt, pepper
dried tarragon

Flatten each chicken breast to 1/2 inch thickness; spread 1 T cream cheese over each breast, top with 1 T butter, salt, pepper and tarragon. Roll up chicken; wrap with bacon slice and secure with toothpick. Place seam side down in lightly greased baking pan. Bake at 400 for 25 mins or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

I omitted the tarragon because I didn't have any and used thick sliced bacon which I would not recommend without precooking it some first. It never really got yummy and crispy. I served with honey mustard that I made from 2 parts honey to one part mustard and used a combo of regular and Dijon mustard. I thought that maybe you could make this with ham and cheese rolled inside. My sister Aimee tried turkey bacon and thought that she would use regular next time. She also suggested adding spinach- super idea! I flattened each chicken breast with a meat mallet between plastic wrap and it worked great. If you do not own a meat mallet you could try to flatten with a rolling pin, a heavy pan, a big can, a wine/liquor bottle or you could just save yourself a whole lot of effort and go get yourself a $4 mallet..... it is up to you!

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
6 oz package herb flavored stuffing mix
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
garlic powder, dried Italian seasoning, salt, pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Arrange chicken cubes in lightly greased 9X13 pan; season with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. In medium bowl, combine stuffing mix, tomatoes and water. Stir til just moistened. Top chicken with stuffing mix. Bake uncovered at 400 for 25 mins until chicken is cooked through.

I used 3 breasts cubed and probably added more cheese (used an Italian blend). The family really liked it. When pressed for details, Steve said that if anything needed improvement on this one, it would be the stuffing mix. Maybe a homemade crouton instead of the stuffing mix??? That ups the hassle factor but may be worth it? I served with crispy potato wedges and veggies the first night and got lazier the second night and served it with baked potatoes the second.

Enjoy! If you try them, let me know what you think.