Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

I went through one of my new cookbooks, Fast Fresh and Delicious: 150 Quick and Healthy Everyday Meals  (if you follow that link you'll notice the title is slightly different, but the book I have is the one with the salad on the front. The picture is there so the link will stay) and flagged all the recipes I liked. I color coded them so prioritize the recipes I wanted to try. My categories were: I can't wait to try this! This sounds yummy! and This is a little weird but I think I'm intrigued and would like to try it... My feelings were very precise as you can see. This sandwich recipe fell under the "I can't wait to try this" category, and guess what, it is delicious! It would be perfect for a soup and sandwich day. I'm dreaming of French Onion soup right now... Yum.

Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

Ingredients

1/4 c fine, unseasoned breadcrumbs - I just ran some bread through my food processor, nobody wants the heels anyway

1/4 grated Parmesan plus extra for sprinkling - I love shredded Parmesan so I threw that into the processor as well to grate it up instead

3/4 t oregano

1/4 t pepper

4 chicken cutlets (about 1.25 lb)

Sandwich/kaiser rolls

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Mayonnaise

Olive Oil

Directions

1. Combine the breadcrumbs, 1/4 c Parmesan, oregano, and pepper in a plastic bag. Add the chicken and toss to coat lightly.

2. In a large skillet, warm a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken and saute until browned and cooked through (2-3 minutes/side) then remove. Feel free to add more oil if necessary.

3. Slice your rolls in half if they aren't pre-sliced, and cut up your tomatoes.

4. Dip half your roll in the hot olive oil to season the bun. On the other half, spread on some mayonnaise if desired, and layer your tomato, lettuce, and chicken. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and serve.

I made the chicken with the intention of serving it for dinner tonight or tomorrow at room temperature instead of serving hot since I had the time to cook today. It's a nice cook-ahead time saver. I served my sandwich (to myself for lunch...) with a slice of red bell pepper because I like peppers on my sandwich - this chicken would be delicious with various sandwich toppings so use the vegetables you like (or the ones the kids will eat).

If I were to make this again (and I think that I will!) I would consider slicing up the chicken before sauteing it to better accommodate the size of the buns and to allow for faster more even cooking. I would also maybe coat the chicken with a little water or milk before tossing with the breadcrumbs so more would stick to the chicken because that seasoning was wonderful and I just wanted there to be more of it. Yum. This one is definitely just good enough for the kids to eat!

Wednesday - Lemon Pound Cake

I teach a small group on Wednesdays and I like to bring treats. I don't usually work on Wednesday, so it has become my laundry and baking day. Unfortunately today my washing machine is apparently broken, so laundry is failing. I hope to make up for it with a delicious lemon pound cake with a lemon glaze.

I got this recipe off of MarthaStewart.com where I have been spending too much time lately. I love everything about her website and have spent hours absorbing her methods and philosophies. I think this is largely in preparation for moving out on my own; I'm nesting without really nesting because there's no space for it yet.

Here's the recipe. Since that's faster than me typing it out... I chose this recipe because a lot of the recipes I was finding required lemon extract and I wanted to use fresh lemon juice since I had the lemons and did not want to run to the store for extract. Plus, I had lemons, why you would not want to use the fresh ingredient is beyond me.

So you've looked at the recipe and you're wondering about the buttermilk? Wondering what you're going to do with the rest of the buttermilk you're considering buying because you never use it?! You can substitute the buttermilk using half non-fat milk, and half non-fat plain yogurt (that is a tip from The Eating Well Dessert Cookbook by the way). You will probably find more use for those ingredients than buttermilk, or may be more likely to have them lying around. Either way, it's something to keep in mind.

She mentions tenting the loaves to counteract fast browning. I decided to be proactive and tent my loaves from the beginning for about 30 minutes, then removed the foil, similar to making lasagna and such. It turned out beautifully golden and crisp on the top. Gorgeous and delicious! It is wonderfully sweet and tart. Too good for kids!

Valentine's Dessert

My mom always chose dessert first, then decided what to make for dinner as an afterthought - a practice I have apparently inherited. While my own boyfriend was busy with work and class, my family had late activities so they were free for dinner. A self-admitted chocoholic, I chose to make a chocolate mousse found in one of my new cookbooks, The Eating Well Desert Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Bring Dessert Back into Your Life. (p.s. I love this book!)

Let me talk about this book, just as a sidenote. This book uses healthy ingredients focusing on fresh flavors and a variety of ingredients. All the recipes are given using low/non-fat milk/sour cream/yogurt etc, and share the nutritional information. They suggest variations and give random notes helping both your methods, and letting to customize the flavors to your liking. I've made a couple recipes already (despite only getting the book last week!) and have paged through the book drooling several times. I definitely suggest buying it, especially if you need to reintroduce dessert to your life. Dessert does not have to be ridiculously decadent forcing you to go to the gym for 5 hours; dessert can be yours again and you don't have to feel guilty!

Here's the recipe along with my comments.

Chocolate Mousse a l'Orange

Ingredients

3/4 c low-fat milk
6 2in-long strips of orange zest*
1 t unflavored gelatin
2 T orange liqueur - Grand Marnier etc. **
1 large egg and 4 egg whites
1 c packed brown sugar, divided
2/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder***
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 t vanilla
1/2 t cream of tartar

Notes:

*I just used my zesting tool and had a couple teaspoons, this is just used to infuse the milk so as long as it is zesty who cares about the size and shape!

**I shop for deals and couldn't bring myself to splurge on the orange cognac, but it seems Grand Marnier is always the liqueur mentioned in recipes... Triple Sec worked just fine!

*** They specify a preference for Dutch-process, but I used Hershey's.

Directions
6 servings

50 minutes + chilling time

I tend to like more, but shorter, steps rather than paragraphs calling themselves one step, so I'll try to do so.

Chocolate Mix
1. Infuse milk with zest by heating both in a small saucepan until steaming. Remove from heat and let steep 10 minutes. Discard zest (using a sieve if you have zest shreds like I did) and save milk in a saucepan.
2. While waiting for the milk to steep, sprinkle gelatin over liqueur in a small bowl and let sit until softened. This is also a good time to chop your chocolate or wash your dessert dishes.

3. Add to your milk saucepan: the whole egg, 1/4 brown sugar, and cocoa. Whisk until smooth. Cook over low heat whisking constantly until thickened (5 minutes). Do not add your egg to a hot saucepan without other things in it  while you read the rest of the step like I did- it will start to cook!

4. Remove from heat and add gelatin mixture stirring until dissolved. Stir in chocolate and vanilla until melted. Set aside to let cool (30 minutes).

Meringue

5. While that's cooling, cook your meringue: bring an inch or so of water to a simmer in a wide saucepan. In a heatproof bowl that will fit over the saucepan, combine egg whites, cream of tartar, 3 T water, and remaining brown sugar. Make sure to choose a bowl large enough to hold the meringue after it expands.

6. Set the bowl over the water, not in the pan, just over it (similar to a double boiler) and beat with an electric mixer on low speed, moving constantly, until an instant-read thermometer reads 140 degrees F (3-5 minutes).
7. Increase the speed to high and beat for another 3.5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat until cool (4-5 minutes longer).

8. Whisk 1/4 of the meringue into the chocolate mixture until smooth.

9. With a rubber spatula, fold the chocolate mixture into the meringue until fully incorporated. Spoon into 6 dessert glasses and chill until set - about 3 hours. The mousse can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 2 days.

I garnished with a Triple Sec flavored whipped cream, candied orange zest, and chocolate shavings. Next time I will hopefully be prepared with better pictures. The mousse is very rich so the lightness of the whipped cream was appreciated. I also thought it added more of that subtle orange flavor. This recipe definitely was not overwhelmed by a citrus flavor, but had a subtle hint so the main taste was still delicious chocolaty goodness. I think this mousse would also be worth trying with different flavors - perhaps peppermint, coconut, almond? I love chocolate mousse. This was fabulous and only 250 calories per serving. It was perfect for a nice Valentine's dessert, and certainly was much too good for kids.

Welcome!

I recently moved back home and have taken to making dinner for my family of five several nights a week. This has been VERY different from cooking for myself in college, but in a good way I believe.

1) I can make side dishes! There was a time when my one main dish would feed me for several days, which I only enjoyed when it was lasagna... Now A main dish won't fill my family, but combined with side dishes I can have leftovers for lunch or to bring to work the next day. This also means I can cover the food pyramid (is that even still a thing?) Hooray for side dishes!
2) I have to make side dishes... Now I have to plan to have enough food where before this was never a concern.
3) It's not just me. With younger siblings involved, I have to remember they do not like the same things I do. My younger brother is currently going through a phase where he really just wants to eat pizza and hotdogs, and tomatoes and onions are untouchable. I'm working on expanding his palette, but I think there's a little something new for everybody.
4) I was a vegetarian for twelve years. Being that I just graduated college, this means I didn't learn to cook meat during my "learning to cook" years. A couple months ago I was making lasagna and decided to put ground beef in it. I searched browning beef on wikihow and discovered apparently that it is too easy to be on the site in the first place. That was a sad day. I am no longer a vegetarian and am learning the art and skill of carnivorous cooking!

Those are just a few of the differences I am dealing with. I will try to find an easy layout that helps you understand the recipes, but there will be some experimenting to see what works, and I of course welcome comments. That being said, I would love to hear if you try any recipes as well as any changes or adaptations you try.