5:01 Dinner Club

Glenn & I have been taking French for 3ish years.  We have traveled to France once since our lessons began…  We find the French people to be playful and fun.  We thought France was lovely and we can’t wait to go back.  And we LOVE French food!!

So, when in Miami, over the Christmas holiday, we were delighted to find that we had 2 French cafes right around the corner from our hotel.  One of these cafes included several “Paillasons”-or literally straw potato pancakes.  I had one of these and loved it.  I have been thinking about it ever since and I decided to (based on the texture, flavor of the one I had) come up with my own version.  The Paillason that I had had sour cream and smoked salmon on top and I think this would be great for any meal at any time of day and it doesn’t take long to throw together at all so it is very 5:01 Dinner Club friendly!!

Serves 4 in about 30 minutes (8 Cakes)

1. 2 Medium-large white potatoes-grated and them submerged in a bowl of cold water
2. 1 Egg
3. 1 Small sweet onion, finely chopped
4. ¼ C All purpose flour
5. 1 Tsp Kosher salt
6. ½ Tsp Ground black pepper
7. Olive oil-as much as you need to sauté the cakes (6ish Tbs)
8. ½ C Sour cream
9. 8 Small pieces of smoked salmon (I bought 1 small package at the grocery store for $6.99) I cut out the center, sort of gray strip, because I think it’s fishy…

•  Drain potatoes and then squeeze the water out with a clean kitchen towel- get as much of the water out as you possibly can!
• In a large bowl, mix ingredients 1-6 until well combined
• In a large sauté pan over med-high heat, heat oil
• Use ½ C size measuring cup to form each cake squeezing out excess liquid
• In batches, careful not to overcrowd the pan, place cakes in hot oil and pan fry the cakes until the are cooked through and golden brown (this took me about 8 minutes on each side and I had to keep the heat no higher than medium because the cakes would begin to burn on the outside before being done on the inside)
• Drain cakes on a paper towel if necessary and then then keep the first cooked cakes in a warm oven until ready to serve
• Plate the cakes, then spread top of each cake with about 1 Tbs sour cream (I used reduced fat)
• Place 1 piece of salmon on top of each cake and then serve aside a mixture of field greens that have been dressed with a simple, basic white wine or mustard vinaigrette

 

I recently posted comments on our home grown sweet potatoes.  It’s the coolest thing ever really.  Glenn cuts up a couples of sweet potatoes, plants them in the garden and BOOM we have more sweet potatoes than we know what to with!  When I made the chips I wrote about a couple of months ago, I found them to be slightly sweet but not as sweet as I expected.  Glenn later read that sweet potatoes should sit out for a couple of weeks after being harvested so that the can develop their sugars.  And OH MY GAH- these aged sweet potatoes which I used for soufflé were perfection!  You can see it in the pictures.

They were so perfect in fact-that after researching beaucoup sweet potato soufflé/pudding recipes-I cut way back on the sugar.

I just kept thinking, why do you have to dump sugar (and then put marshmallows on top????)  into a dish where you are supposed to appreciate the naturally sweet flavor of the feature ingredient!

P.S.   Sweet Potato Souffle is really not a souffle at all-it’s a custard/pudding-

Serves 6-8

• 3 C Sweet potatoes, mashed until smooth (about 5 medium sweet potatoes)
• ½ C Milk
• ½ C Heavy cream
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Tbs Unsalted butter, melted
• ½ C Sugar
• 1Tsp Vanilla
• ½ Tsp Cinnamon
• ¼ Tsp Nutmeg
• ¾ Tsp Kosher salt (½ Tsp if you use iodized salt)
• 1-2 C Mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix everything but the marshmallows in a large bowl until smooth
3. Pour mixture into a casserole dish that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray
4. Bake soufflé until firm in the middle (anywhere from 40 minutes to 60 minutes depending on how deep the dish in which you cook the soufflé is)
5. Spread marshmallows over the top of the soufflé and then place back in oven on broil
6. Watch marshmallows carefully as they brown-after about 5 min-the top will be golden brown

 

I love “Father Of The Bride”!!  I smiled today as I thought of Mr Banks telling Frank-the very German-very feminine wedding planner- that instead of the chic seafood, he wanted the “chipper chicken” at his only daughter’s wedding because the chic seafood was not in the budget!!  Truth is- the chic seafood isn’t the budget for most of us these days so tonight I found my self with the just thawed “chipper” chicken, a plate of left over cornbread and buttermilk (we need to use it for something before it goes bad)  and I came up with “Buttermilk & Cornbread Fried Chicken” with a memory of something Micheal Symon taught me to guarantee tender/flavorful chicken.  And I would have posted a pic of the finished product sliced up all pretty but the truth is it was a clean plate night!!  This chicken was soooo good that it was  GONE before I could get pictures.   An important part of this recipe, I’m convinced is what Micheal Symon taught me about flavorful chicken or meat in general:  rub with a mixture of salt, pepper and sugar-allow it to soak in over hours if possible and then prepare.   And last, I did not measure anything tonight-no time. So, if you test this, taste this and disagree with the measurements I have estimated-no hard feelings!!!  Make it your own!!

Serves 4 in about 30 minutes

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded so that they are even thickness
• 1 Tsp Kosher salt, 1/2 Tst ground black pepper & 1 Tsp sugar
• 3/4 C Buttermilk
• 1 Egg
• 1/4 C Canola or vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 C Cornbread, crumbled completely in a large shallow dish with salt & pepper to taste

1. Before you leave for work or at least  2 hours ahead of time, mix ingredients salt, pepper & sugar and then  sprinkle on chicken and then cover and refrigerate
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Heat oil in a large saute or frying pan
4. In a medium bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk and then salt & pepper to taste
5. Dip seasoned chicken into buttermilk mixture, coat in cornbread crumbs and then place in hot oil
6. Brown chicken-about 5 minutes each side
7. Place chicken in an oven safe pan and then bake until cooked through- about 15 minutes
8. Remove chicken from oven and then allow it to rest for 5 minutes

 

 

Forgive me because this weeks meal idea is not rocket science so if you look over and say-DUH-you won’t hurt my feelings.  Basically-the idea is that, if you are living a busy life during which you are not making a decision about what to make for dinner until after 5:01 pm and you have chicken, you can pound it out, stuff it with whatever (cornbread stuffing, ricotta cheese, spinach, veggies, ham & Swiss cheese, dried fruits & wild rice, etc), roast it, and slice it into pretty little slices.  So at least you can feel all fancy and culinarily (not sure that’s a word)  gifted even though it is just too easy!!  Good for company too…make it ahead, refrigerate and then roast last minute…

ANYWAY…   With the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday in mind-this post is meant to do two things.  #1-to encourage you to indulge in the crazy delicious Thanksgiving fare ANY time of year and to #2 bring the warm and loving attitude to dinner when you do-ALL YEAR LONG!

Why just wait for the last Thursday in November to eat (come on let’s face it-everyone says they love the turkey BUT we all know it’s really ALL about the sides!!!!!)  sweet potato souffle, green bean casserole, corn bread dressing, macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, jello salad,  dinner rolls & gravy?????  And why wait until the last Thursday in November to gather the family around the table?  To think about what you appreciate in your life?  To let others know how much they are appreciated??

No, no.  I say, be Thankful all year.  Gather the family around the table at least once every couple of months and never, NEVER let people forget how they enhance your life!  Making sure others know how much you appreciate them will make YOU feel good.  I promise!

Happy Thanksgiving to any and all 5:01 readers!  I appreciate YOU!  And the time you take to share in my culinary obsession!!

Serves 4 in about 40 Min

• 4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/4  inch thinkness
• Salt & pepper to taste and whatever dried herbs you’re in the mood for (think thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary)
• 1 Box store bought instant cornbread stuffing (or whatever type of stuffing you’re in the mood for)-cooked according to pkg directions
• Whatever veggie, salad you can throw together quickly-I did steamed broccoli

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Season chicken generously with salt, pepper & dried herbs
3. Spoon stuffing into center of chicken cutlets and then roll the chicken around the stuffing
4. Place stuffed chicken cutlets in a lightly greased baking dish
   

   What your stuffed chicken will look like pre roasting

5. Place in 350 degree oven and cook until chicken is cooked through-I ended up cooking mine for about 40 minutes
6. Remove chicken from oven and allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing
7. If you want, you could add a little chicken broth to the dish in which the chicken was cooked.  Put said dish on stove over medium heat use the chicken stock & a whisk to get the caramelized bits of chicken/juice off the bottom of the dish and then add a mixture of 1 Tbs each butter and all purpose flour (which you have mixed together in a separate dish).  Whisk into the broth mixture until mixture thickens slightly.  BOOM-Gravy-

I actually found myself dashing in the grocery store this evening to shop quickly before heading home to make dinner.  I outlined the following recipe over the weekend and then tested out the taste, ease and timeliness of it tonight.

• Taste:  Really good.  I am surprised at how awesome the cous cous was.  Most Moroccan recipes I looked over during the weekend called for raisins but because I was not feeling the raisins, I used dried apricots instead.  Good call on my part-in my opinion.  The salty/tangy olives against the sweet apricots makes a very well balanced bite.
• Ease:  Very easy-if you didn’t feel like or have the spices to give the chicken that Moroccan flavor-it wouldn’t be the end of the world.  The cous cous is so good it can carry the dish.
• Timeliness:  Cutting the chicken was not something I did tonight and it will take a little extra time but it’s a worthwhile investment.  The way I did it tonight with big pieces of chicken left it feeling like not enough of the chicken got kissed by the Moroccan spices.  You’re gonna cut it when you eat it anyway, right?

Serves 4 in about 30 minutes

1. ½  Tsp of ground cumin
2. ½  Tsp of ground ginger
3. ¼ Tsp ground cinnamon
4. ¼ Tsp ground black pepper
5. 1 Rotisserie chicken, skinned & cut into bite-sized chunks
6. 1 ½ C Chicken broth or stock
7. ½  C Green olives, pitted& rough chopped
8. 1 Lemon, washed & sliced
9. ½ C Dried apricots, roughly chopped
10. ½ C Green onion, chopped
11. 1- 7.6 Oz box of  quick cooking Cous Cous (I used whole wheat for the extra protein/fiber)
12. 2 Tbs Flat leaf parsley, chopped

•  In a medium bowl, mix ingredients 1-4 and then toss chicken in the spice mixture, set aside
• In a deep sauté pan, bring chicken stock to a simmer, add ingredients 7-10 and stir for 30 sec-then add cous cous-stir
• Place chicken on top of cous cous mixture, stir gently, and then simmer until chicken is heated through and cous cous has absorbed all of the broth
• Turn heat off and let dish stand (covered) for another 5 min
• Plate & then garnish with additional flat leaf parsley