Sunday, June 26, 2011

Brown Butter, Bacon & Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
14 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
4 oz semisweet chocolate bar, diced into 1/4" pieces
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chops (I like Ghirardelli 60% cacao)
3 tablespoons milk chocolate, grated
1 cup bacon that's been fried until crispy and diced into roughly 1/4" pieces

Adjust your oven rack so it's in the middle position. Pre-heat to 375 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.

Heat 10 tablespoons of butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly. Watch this carefully - butter can go from brown to burned very quickly. When butter is dark-golden brown and has a nutty aroma, remove from heat and immediately transfer to a heatproof bowl. Stir the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into hot butter until melted.

Add granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, salt and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until completely mixed. Add egg and egg yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth and there are no lumps of sugar remaining.

Let sugar/egg/butter mixture stand for a few minutes. Then whisk again for 30 seconds. Do this several times - you want to make sure that the sugar has "melted" into the liquid. When ready, mixture will be smooth, thick and shiny.

Using wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in grated chocolate, chocolate chunks, chocolate chips and bacon pieces. Don't overmix but make sure no flour pockets remain.

Using a teaspoon, place a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough on the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. I get about 14 on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-14 minutes (my oven takes 11 minutes) until cookies are golden-brown and set along the edges but the middle is still soft. Remove from oven and set baking sheet on a wire rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Chicken Lasagna Casserole

Start to finish: 45 minutes (20 minutes active)

Servings: 8

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella

16-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained, patted dry and diced (about 2 cups)

1 egg

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

1-1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat an 8-by-11-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, mozzarella, red peppers, egg, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high, heat the oil. Add all of the chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. It does not need to cook through. Transfer the chicken to the prepared baking pan. Pour the cheese mixture over the chicken, then stir gently to combine.

In a small bowl, mix together the panko and butter. Sprinkle the panko over the chicken, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are browned and the chicken is cooked through.


Nutrition information per serving (values are rounded to the nearest whole number): 330 calories; 110 calories from fat (33 percent of total calories); 12 g fat (5 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 145 mg cholesterol; 14 g carbohydrate; 39 g protein; 1 g fiber; 690 mg sodium.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Chicken Biscuit Pot Pie

Ingredients
Filling:
1 pound bulk-style chicken sausage
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 ounces all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/4 pounds shredded, cooked chicken, about 5 cups
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon freshly chopped sage
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Biscuit Topping:
12 ounces all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
1 teaspoon freshly chopped sage
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 ounces extra-sharp white Cheddar
4 ounces unsalted butter, frozen
7 ounces low-fat buttermilk
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

For the filling: Set a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Crumble the chicken sausage in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Add the butter and melt, stirring to coat the sausage. Sprinkle the flour onto the sausage and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour in the milk and chicken broth and scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce thickens, about 2 minutes. Add the shredded chicken, salt, sage, and pepper. Stir to combine and set aside while preparing the biscuits.

For the biscuits: Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, thyme, sage, and cayenne pepper in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

Grate the cheese and butter using the large shredding disk of a food processor or the large side of a box grater. Immediately add the cheese and butter to the flour mixture. Stir to combine. Pour in the buttermilk and stir just to combine. Dump the dough onto a floured work surface and start folding the dough over on itself, gently kneading for 30 seconds, or until the dough is soft and smooth. Press the dough into a 1/2-inch thick round. Use a 3-inch round cutter to cut out the biscuits, being sure to push the cutter straight down through the dough to the work surface. Make your cuts as close together as possible to limit waste. Gather together any remaining dough, pat out again, and cut out as many biscuits as you can in order to get 9 total.

To build the pie: Set the biscuits on top of the filling, placing 8 around the edge of the pan and 1 in the middle. Bake until the biscuits are tall and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving.