Sunday, December 22, 2013

Strawberry Holiday Salad

Every Thanksgiving and every Christmas, our family has a pretty set menu: turkey, green beans, dressing, sweet potato casserole, and strawberry salad. Sometimes we jazz it up with biscuits or muffins. If we're feeling really adventurous, the green beans will become the green bean casserole that I've previously referenced. But for the most part, our menu is set. We've figured out what tastes good. Strawberry salad is our traditional pseudo-dessert. It gets served alongside everything else, so you can eat it as a side dish if you want, but pretty much everyone eats it as dessert. After a lot of rich food, it's sweet enough but not too sweet, and it satisfies everyone's urge for a palate cleanser after turkey and gravy. An hierloom recipe in our house, for good reason.


Strawberry Holiday Salad


2 boxes strawberry jello
1 box frozen strawberries (do not defrost)
2 mashed bananas (you can also slice the bananas if you like your bananas chunkier)
1 1/2 cup boiling water
1 small can crushed pineapple

Stir jello and water together until jello is dissolved in boiling water. Add frozen strawberries, stir until strawberries are all separated. Add pineapple and bananas. Pour into 3 qt pyrex  baking dish, refridgerate until set.

Serves: 6-8

Quick Sour Cream Rolls

These are addictively tasty, and they're fast to make. The one caution I would give is that they're buttery. So if you usually serve your biscuits in basket with a bread-cloth (this is how I was brought up, and is a staple for serving biscuits or muffins in the South), your bread-cloth may get stained with the butter in these rolls. So better to serve these with paper towels that can soak up any buttery residue instead of ruining a breadcloth on these tasty, tasty, TASTY rolls.



Quick Sour Cream Rolls

2 1/2 cups bisquick, DIVIDED (I always use bisquick, but you can use the biscuit mix of your choice)
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine 2 cups of the biscuit mix with the sour cream and butter. Stir well. Place the rest of the biscuit mix into a small bowl, and use it to flour your hands as you roll out tablespoon-sized balls from the mixed dough. Use two lightly-greased muffin tins (VERY lightly greased, as in, I usually don't actually grease the muffin tins because I don't need to. But if you really want to grease your muffin tins, err on the side of VERY LIGHT), and deposit three balls of dough per muffin cup.

Bake at 350F for 15-20 min, or until tops of rolls are golden brown. Turn them out of the muffin tin, and serve immediately.

Serves: 4-5. The yield here is 1 dozen rolls (two muffin tins' worth), but I'll guarantee you that everyone you serve will eat at least two of these things.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Mom's Pork Chops

The 'mom' in the title is actually my grandmother, from whom this recipe comes. It's simple, but tastes good and makes a great accompaniment to mashed potatoes on a night when you don't want to spend that much time making dinner.


Mom's Pork Chops

3 bone-in pork chops (you can use 2 or 4, just one chop for each person you intend to serve)
1 tbsp butter
1 small sweet onion, diced
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp prepared yellow mustard (whole grain mustard also works, but I prefer a smooth kind)
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
Salt
Pepper

Salt and pepper pork chops, then brown on both sides in butter over medium-high heat. Remove from pan. Using same pan and remaining butter, brown onion. Add next four ingredients, and stir to make a sauce. Add the pork chops back in, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes. Serve pork chops immediately with gravy for rice or mashed potatoes.

Serves:2-4

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Egg Noodles

These are the perfect noodles for chicken noodle soup. I was surprised how easy they were to make. It really does take both cups of flour, even though that sounds like a lot. The first time I made this I tried to half it and soon realized that the whole recipe doesn't make as much as you'd think.


Egg Noodles

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1 whole egg
2 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Make a well in center of flour, Add egg yolks, egg and salt; mix thoroughly. Mixture will be crumbly, with pea-sized crumbs. Mix in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is stiff, but easy to roll. Knead for about 5 minutes adding additional flour if necessary to make a dough that is not sticky. Dough should be relatively stiff.

Divide dough into 2 or 3 equal parts. Roll dough, one part at a time, into a thin rectangle layer on well floured board. Don't skimp on the flour here, you'll need it to get the noodles off the board later. Slice dough into 1/4" thick noodle-shaped strips. Place cut noodles onto a clean towel to dry, for about 1 to 2 hours. (Drying keeps the noodles separated when you add them to your broth to cook)

Extra noodles can be frozen for future use.

Chicken Marsala

This is one very, very delicious chicken recipe. Served with simple sides like mashed potatoes and green beans, it really does taste like a million bucks. Definitely a 'serve it for company' kind of meal!


Chicken Marsala

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 small boneless chicken breasts (two large breasts butterflied in half)
3 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 small sweet onion, finely minced
12 oz white mushrooms, cleaned and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 1/4 cups Marsala
1 cup chicken broth
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 cup heavy cream (milk is also acceptable)
Salt
Pepper


In a small bowl, stir together the flour, salt, and pepper. One at a time, coat both sides of each chicken breast with the flour, and set aside. Reserve any flour that doesn't stick to the chicken, you'll use it later.

In a large non-stick saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1 1/2 tbsp of the butter with the olive oil. Working in batches, cook the chicken about 2 1/2 minutes on each side, or until there's a nice golden-brown sear. The chicken doesn't have to cook all the way through, if your chicken breasts are too thick to get done in that time it's okay. Remove the chicken to a plate for a moment.

Add the remaining butter to the pan to melt, then add the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent (this shouldn't take long), then add the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms saute until they've not only softened, but have begun to caramelize on the edges. It should smell really nice and almost beefy at this point, and the mushrooms should have rendered back out most of the butter/oil that they soaked up when they first began sauteing.

A little at a time, stirring constantly, add the flour mixture that you didn't use to coat the chicken to the mushrooms and butter in the pan to make a roux. Leave it long enough to cook the flour in the roux (about 2-3 minutes tops), then add the Marsala and chicken broth to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits and stirring them into the sauce. Add the oregano, stir, and allow the whole thing to simmer for a moment. Return the chicken to the pan, cover it, turn the heat down to low, and allow the whole thing to simmer for 30 minutes.

When you're ready to serve, remove the chicken to your serving bowl. Add the 1/2 cup cream to the sauce, and turn the heat up to high. Stir and simmer for five or so minutes to allow the sauce to thicken, then taste and adjust seasonings. Pour the sauce over the chicken in the serving bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves: 4




Johnnycake

Not really sure why this one is called Johnnycake (a perversion of journey cake, perhaps?), but it's a recipe that my family has had for a long time. It really goes well with soup.


Johnnycake

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening. Add the milk all at once. Stir until moistened. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out smooth. 

Serves: 4-6

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Deconstructed Ratatouille

This medley of roasted vegetables is easy to make and tastes just like summer to me. It gets its name and flavor inspirations from the classic French dish, but instead of the Julia Childs casserole approach, this version goes for a fast and laid-back chunky style that makes for a no-fuss side dish with tons of flavor. You can play with what vegetables and herbs you add here; I didn't use any eggplant because I dislike the texture, but half an eggplant with the seeds removed would fit in just fine. I used rosemary because I have a huge rosemary plant next to my kitchen door, but if you've got fresh basil or marjoram or parsley or thyme those would work also. The key for both vegetables and herbs is fresh. This dish is supposed to taste like it just walked out of the garden, dusted off its pants, and sat down at your dinner table.



Deconstructed Ratatouille

1 squash
1 zucchini
1/2 sweet onion
6 oz white mushrooms
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely chopped
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper


Preheat the oven to 350F.

Begin by chopping the squash, zucchini, onion, and mushrooms into approximate 1/2 inch cubes. It doesn't have to be perfect, you're just going for bite-sized chunks. Dump them all into a bowl and pour a little less than a tbsp of olive oil over them, just enough to coat all the veggies when you stir them around well. Line a 13x9 baking pan with tin foil, and spread the vegetables into a layer on top. Sprinkle rosemary, salt, and pepper evenly over the veggies.

Cook for 1 hr uncovered, stirring every 20 minutes. When you take it out to stir at the 40 minute mark, add the tomatoes so that they only cook the final 20 minutes (tomatoes don't take nearly as long as the other veggies to roast). The roasting time here is flexible depending on how big your vegetables were and how you cut them, so just use your best judgement. The juices at the bottom of the dish should be mostly evaporated and the veggies should be soft and have that characteristic roasted look to them. Remove from oven and serve.

Serves: 3-4


Stuffed Tilapia Florentine in Mornay Sauce

Wow, doesn't that title sound all fancy? I was in the mood to make something a little more involved for dinner tonight, and my refrigerator contained a lot of fish thanks to a buy-one-get-one sale, so I went searching for a recipe that would dress up the fish into something upscale. This recipe (which combines beautifully with my Deconstructed Ratatouille for a loosely French meal theme) was the result. The fish is flaky and light, and the Mornay sauce really set off the spinach and cheese stuffing. You could do this recipe with most white fishes, I imagine: flounder would probably be great here too. This recipe takes a little more time and fuss than a lot of what I post here, but the taste and presentation is restaurant-worthy, and very worthwhile!



Stuffed Tilapia Florentine in Mornay Sauce

Stuffed Tilapia:
4 tilapia fillets
1 bag baby spinach (12 oz bag, and make sure it's baby spinach instead of the large kind)
1/4 red bell pepper, finely minced
1/4 sweet onion, finely minced
4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
2 oz feta cheese
1/4 cup veloute sauce (see below)
Olive oil

Mornay Sauce:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken stock, heated
1/2 cup milk (heavy cream is also acceptable)
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
Salt
Pepper


Preheat the oven to 350F.

Start by making the stuffing mix, so that it has time to cool while you do other things. Heat a dash of olive oil in a nonstick pan, and add the onion and red bell pepper. Cook for about 2 minutes over medium high heat, then add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is completely wilted. Remove from heat and pour into a colander, to help start getting the water out of the spinach. Set aside for the moment and let the spinach cool a bit in the colander.

Next, start on your sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add the flour a little at a time, stirring until it's smooth, to make a roux. Let the roux simmer over LOW heat (not high, or you'll overcook the roux and your sauce will end up strangely dark colored) for about 5 minutes to thicken and cook the flour. Add the heated chicken stock to the roux, still stirring to keep things smooth. At this point, your sauce is a bechamel. Add the milk to the bechamel, and let it cook for a few more minutes (more stirring!) until it thickens a bit. Your sauce is now a veloute sauce.

Reserve 1/4 cup of the veloute to use in your stuffing mix. Add the cheddar cheese to your sauce, stir until melted, add salt and pepper to taste, and you've got a Mornay sauce. Set it aside and let it cool.

By now the spinach should be cool enough to handle, so use the colander and folded paper towels to press as much water out of the spinach mixture as you can. Moist is okay, but wet is not. Transfer the spinach to a bowl and mix in the mozzarella and feta. Add the veloute sauce you reserved earlier, and mix the whole thing up until homogenous. This is your stuffing; it should be soft but not runny. If it's too dry, add a little more sauce.

Finally we can begin assembly! Divide the stuffing between your four fillets. Make a rough 'ball' of stuffing to place in the middle of each fillet, then roll the ends of the fillet up around the ball of stuffing like an envelope. Place your fillets, seam side down so that they don't open back up, in a baking dish. You want to use a dish that will hold all four fillets closely, without a lot of room left over for them to move around. Add about 2 tbsp water to the dish, then stick it in the oven and cook for 15 minutes at 350F.

At this point, remove the dish from the oven and carefully drain off as much water and juices from the dish as you can. Add the Mornay sauce until it comes about 3/4 the way up the fish rolls. Depending on the size of your baking dish, this may or may not require all the sauce. Return the dish to the oven to cook a further 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Cast Iron Roasted Chicken

A very simple recipe, but it yields a really moist chicken with great flavor and pretty brown crispy skin. Serve it alongside some fresh vegetables like corn and green beans, and this makes for a simple, satisfying summer meal. Plus it's great for leftovers, since you can pick the leftover meat off for chicken salad and boil the bones to make chicken stock for future recipes.



Cast Iron Roasted Chicken

1 whole chicken, thawed (4-5 lbs)
1 russet potato, sliced into thick chunks
Salt
Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Rinse and dry your chicken thoroughly, removing the innards. The chicken should be as dry as possible so that the skin will crisp up nicely. Salt the chicken liberally all over. Use more salt than you think you'll need, especially on the breast regions where the salt will have to penetrate through a lot of meat. If you think you've salted enough, add a little more just to be sure. Place chicken in a cast-iron dutch oven.

Pour 1 tbsp olive oil into a bowl with the potato slices and stir so that the slices get coated. Place potato slices in dutch oven around chicken, poking them down to get them as close to the bottom of the pot as possible.

Cook for 1 hr 15 minutes UNCOVERED, then check the chicken. Return to oven and cook for between 5 and 30 minutes more as necessary (mine usually take about 1 1/2 hrs all told). Before serving, check the meat temperature of the chicken to make sure it's above 160F.

To serve, lift the chicken out of the dutch oven and arrange on a platter, surrounded by the potatoes.

Serves: 6-8 if you intend to eat all the chicken in one sitting. I make this one for 4 though, then use the leftover meat for a quick meal the next day.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Chicken With Bacon And Honey-Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

This recipe is adapted from a description my father gave me of a dish he'd eaten at Outback Steakhouse. Apparently they do a salmon dish involving a honey-balsamic vinegar glaze, and he wondered if I could do something like that at home. This was a twist on what I imagined that recipe would have tasted like, though I used chicken since it was what I had in the freezer and added bacon because everything is better with bacon. Fast, simple to make, and really good flavors here.


Chicken With Bacon And Honey-Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

4 thin sliced chicken breasts (what I actually do here is take 2 whole chicken breasts and butterfly them)
4 slices of bacon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp honey
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, very finely minced
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, very finely diced
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

To make the sauce, measure out the balsamic vinegar then add the honey, ginger, rosemary, and 2-3 Tbsp water to the measuring cup. Whisk thoroughly to incorporate the honey, then set sauce aside for a moment.

Slice a shallow cut down the center of each chicken breast. Lay a slice of bacon on top of this little channel for each breast. Heat a non-stick pan with just a very small dash of olive oil -- you won't need a lot, since the bacon will contribute its own fat to the process. When the oil is hot, lay the chicken breasts in the pan bacon side down and turn the heat on the pan down to medium. Salt and pepper the exposed non-bacon sides of the chicken. Shake the pan occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks, and allow the chicken to cook until there's a nice sear on that side and the bacon has cooked through and started to crisp at the edges. Flip the chicken breasts, and give them another 3-4 minutes to cook through. Remove to a plate and pat with a paper towel to take off any excess fat or oil.

Drain the grease from the pan you cooked the chicken in, and set it back on medium-high heat. Whisk the sauce again to make sure that the honey hasn't settled to the bottom, then pour it into the pan. Reduce for 3-4 minutes or until sauce thickens somewhat, then pour sauce over the chicken. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Blackened Tilapia and Creamy Grits

This is my take on a Southern staple concept: you mix spicy fish or seafood with creamy grits, and trust the grits to cut the spice on the meat and turn the whole thing into something flavorful and delightful. It's down-home cooking at its simplest and best.

The blackening mix is what I call my "teaspoon of everything" mix. You take one teaspoon, and then add about half your spice cabinet to the bowl. Amazingly enough, it's really tasty and doesn't overwhelm the fish. This is not a burn-your-mouth-out hot blackening mix, you're still going to get the fish flavor in here nicely with this recipe. I'm more about the flavors than I am about dead heat, so it's meant to be flavorful with a definite kick, but not kill-your-tastebuds hot. If you like things hotter, add a tsp or two of cayenne or even a tsp of dried ghost peppers to the mix to kick up the pepper-heat on it.

I served this with slow-cooked collard greens for an AMAZING meal. No really, this one will make your tastebuds stand up and shout. Just fantastic flavors. The only thing I'd caution is that if anyone among your diners doesn't like spicy or hot foods, then blackening is not for them. Just hold a piece of fish in reserve and simply salt and pepper it before pan frying, so that they can have the fish with none of the spices. I personally think they'd be missing out, but to each his own, and this is an easy compromise to make. Blackened fish and grits, though. Trust me, it's MM-mm good.

I should also note: this makes for really spectacular leftovers. So if you're the type with a family that can eat the same meal twice in one week, it's worth doubling this. The fish and grits get better with age, and if you serve them with collards, the collards will too.


Blackened Fish

Blackening Mix:
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp ancho chile powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp dried thyme leaves

Fish Fillets:
4 tilapia fillets. completely thawed (Any white fish will do, here. Catfish is great, flounder would be fantastic, whiting would be fine, you could even use salmon or swordfish if you adjust the cooking times for a thicker fish. Tilapia, catfish, or flounder would be my go-to fish for this one, though.)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

Mix all the blackening mix spices together in a small bowl, stirring thoroughly. Yes, it looks like a lot for only 4 tilapia fillets. It's not. Trust me on this. In a wide but shallow dish, coat the tilapia fillets with at least 1 tbsp of the mixture per fillet. Rub it in on both sides. You want a generous coating here, the fish should look like it's turned dark red. Let the fillets sit for 15 minutes while coated as you do other things (like mix up the grits).

After 15 minutes is up, heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan until the oil is hot but not smoking. Drop in two or three fillets (depending on the size of your skillet, don't crowd them), and cook 2-3 minutes per side, or until the fish is white and flaky. The blackening seasonings should turn dark and look a little charred; it's okay, this is desirable. When the fish is finished, use a spatula to remove it from the skillet and sit it on paper towels to absorb any oil, then drop in the next batch of fillets to cook. Tip: if you have someone who doesn't want their fish spicy, cook the non-blackened fillets in the first batch so that the oil won't have seasonings mixed up in it.

When all fish is cooked, serve immediately with creamy grits.

Serves: 4




The creamy grits aren't just good for serving with fish. This is my personal favorite way of making grits, and it's really flexible. If you don't have heavy cream on hand, substitute milk. If you want a little more flavor, grate some cheddar cheese to melt in or add a teaspoon or so of dried basil. This is a really good staple grits recipe, thick and delicious and not-quite-sweet when you taste it. Plus, it goes with EVERYTHING. Collards, spicy stuff, black bean soup, cheese, omelettes, bacon, shrimp, hot hamburger steaks, grilled corn. You really can't go wrong here, it's the kind of 'momma cooked like this' recipe that makes everything good.


Creamy Grits

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup water
1 1/4 cups quick grits
2 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
Salt
Pepper

Mix the cream and the water, then bring the mixture to a slow boil. Add the grits slowly, stirring to avoid lumps. Add the butter. Turn the heat down to very low (below a simmer), and stir frequently for 10-15 minutes to allow the grits to thicken. Taste, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a little milk if the grits are too stiff when you go to serve them, you want these fairly creamy.

Serves: 4


Collard Greens

Collards are a staple of the South. Unlike kale or more delicate greens, these stand up well to the long-low-slow cooking mantra that permeates much of staple Southern cooking. Here's the recipe for collards that works for me. One thing to note: with collards, you want to go from field to pot as quickly as possible. If you're buying them out of somebody's truck because they picked them that day and you'll cook them that night, you're doing it right.


Collard Greens

1 medium videlia onion
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 smoked hamhock
1 qt. low-sodium chicken stock 
3-4 lbs collards with stems included (after the stems are removed and the greens are chopped, these will reduce down to about 2 lbs of raw greens for the recipe)
1/4 -1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (Eyeball it.)
2 tbsp sugar
Pickled whole jalapeno (more peppers if you like more heat to your greens)
Salt
Pepper


Begin by heating the olive oil in a 4 qt or larger pot over medium-high heat (I use a 4 qt cast iron dutch oven, but a large stock pot will do just as well, you'll just have to stir more often to keep things from sticking). Slice the onion in half from root to tip, then into thin half-rounds. Add the onion to the warm oil. Smash the garlic, then add that too. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add the hamhock, the chicken stock, and 2 cups water. Stir, and leave over medium-high heat until the stock begins to simmer. Turn the heat down until the whole thing is just at the edge of a boil, then cover the pot and let simmer covered for 45 minutes. Stir it once or twice, but in general just leave it alone.

In the meantime, you can be prepping the collards. Collards often are quite dirty, which means you need to wash them. I like to rinse them under water, then cut the thick stems out of the large leafs. Slice the leafs into 1 1/2 inch ribbons, and then further into fork-manageable pieces. After slicing, run a decent quantity of water into a large bowl or a sink and dunk your collard pieces. The collards will float, the dirt will sink. Leave them to sit for a few minutes, stirring very gently. This will get the rest of the dirt possibly left over from the fields off your collard leaves, and keep your dish from feeling gritty. After a few minutes, skim the collard leaves off the top of the water, leaving the dirt and grit on the bottom of your sink/bowl. Place your clean leaves in a colander to drain while they wait for the hamhock to simmer.

After 45 minutes, add the collard greens to the hamhock and stock mixture. Pour in the sugar, the vinegar, and a little salt (I usually go for about a generous teaspoon here. Don't oversalt it, you can correct the seasonings later). Add a pickled whole jalapeno or two depending on how much bite you like with your greens. DO NOT COVER THE POT. You want some of that liquid to evaporate, to concentrate the pot liquor. Wait until the mixture resumes a low boil, and leave it at that temperature for at least an hour. The timing here is not precise, you can go for up to two or even more hours depending on how large/old your greens were, how much greens you're cooking, how tender you like your collards, etc. Cook them for at the very least an hour, though, until the stems are tender and melting and there's no trace of bitterness in the greens. Taste, and adjust for salt and pepper about ten minutes before you intend to serve. You can add more vinegar or sugar here too, if the tang of the greens needs adjusting.

To serve, fish the hamhock out of the pot and pull the meat off it with a fork, throwing the ham in small chunks back into the greens. Discard the rest of the hamhock. Stir to mix the ham bits evenly with the greens, then use a slotted spoon to fish the ham-and-greens out of the pot liquor and into a serving dish. Serve with a bottle of pepper vinegar and hot sauce on the table, so that diners can adjust their collards to their preferred tang and heat.

Serves: 4-5

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Roasted Okra

Okra is a wonderful veggie. If you've never had good fried okra, your life is less for the experience. In soups and stews, okra is a fantastic thickener that's still a veggie. Okra is a great, great summer veggie for the South, don't get me wrong.

There's only one problem: when cooked the wrong way, okra is slimy. REALLY slimy. I've read bits where it gets compared to cooked mucus. Which, let's face it is gross, but there is a key thing here that needs to be said: the South loves okra because it's tasty. As in, it's very easy to cook okra in a way that isn't slimy, and isn't gross, and tastes amazing and summer-y and really really good.

This is one way to do okra right.

Before the recipe, some criteria. When you buy okra, buy the shortest, smallest pods possible. Large okra are bad, because they get woody. So try to buy the smallest okra you can. Also, before you cook your okra, rinse it first. Not because it will affect the slime factor, but because it often is planted in fields that border cotton or corn or soy that get sprayed with other pesticides, so it never hurts to rinse those off. Remember: small okra, and rinse the okra. 


Roasted Okra

1 or 1 1/2 lbs okra (Smallest you can find, freshest you can find)
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

Rinse your okra, then cut the stem end off all okra. Slice the okra pods in half vertically down the middle to expose the seeds on both sides, and place okra in a medium mixing bowl. THIS IS KEY: if the okra pods are longer than 2 inches, slice the pods into shorter parts before slicing them down the middle. This helps the longer pods, which are potentially woody, roast more effectively.

Once you've got the okra sliced into no longer than 2 1/2 inch bits and chucked into a medium mixing bowl, pour the tbsp of olive oil over the whole thing. Mix until all the okra is oiled (trust me, a bit of oil goes a long way. Just stir it around a bit, and 1 tbsp will coat all that okra fine).

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil for easy cleanup, then spray the tinfoil with non-stick baking spray. Spread the okra on the tray evenly, doesn't matter whether it's the inner or the outer side facing up.. Sprinkle salt and pepper over okra to season gently. DO NO OVER-SALT, you don't want your salt to drown out the taste of the okra itself.

Place baking sheet in oven and roast okra for 15-20 minutes. Stir/turn the okra halfway through. Serve immediately.

Serves: 3

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Spicy Pulled Pork

Look, I live in the South. Pulled pork is a religion here. Family feuds have been started over barbeque recipes. And I'm not about to step into the BBQ wars, but I recently tried to do spicy pulled pork, and it was phenomenally successful. It was spicy, and tender, and tasty, and everything that good pork should be. This is that recipe.

Look: the pork is great. It will work with burger buns as an almost-sloppy-joe recipe, it will work with (mustard!) BBQ sauces, etc. But I made this for pulled pork tacos, and it works REALLY well for those. For tacos, serve it with a red bell pepper that's been julienned into thin strips of tasty, crunchy, sweet goodness. Add avocado for a bit of fat to cut the spice and add a creamy texture (seriously, the avocado is really good in this. Do not avoid the avocado, it takes the pork to a whole other level). Add sour cream to tie everything together, and wrap it all up in a tortilla to keep your hands clean while you devour the deliciousness.

Pulled pork tacos with this pulled pork are amazing. I'm not kidding. Totally worth it.



Spicy Pulled Pork


1 pork butt (I used a 4 lb pork butt, yours may be heavier or lighter and that's okay. Many grocery stores call this a Boston Butt. In reality, it's a part of the pork shoulder. All "pork butts" are actually shoulder, not butt. You could try this with other cuts, but the pork butt has enough fat to help keep everything moist, and is often on sale in my grocery and is therefore cheap to buy, so I recommend that one)
1/2 sweet onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with chiles (don't drain the can, add the juice too)
1 cup apple juice
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp diced chipotle peppers in ancho
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
Salt
Pepper

For Tacos:
1 pkg flour tortillas
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 avocado, sliced into thin slices
Sour cream (This is almost essential. If you serve spicy pulled pork tacos without sour cream, you are a cruel and unusual cook.)


Preheat the oven to 350F. Yes, I know it seems high. Yes, trust me, it works.

Combine the onion, garlic, tomatoes with chiles, apple juice, lime juice, and the diced chipotle in ancho in a bowl.

Take the pork butt and salt and pepper it thoroughly. Place the pork butt in a 4 1/2 qt pot with lid (or a 4 qt dutch oven, doesn't really matter which), then pour the mixture of tomatoes and stuff over it. Cover the pot (or dutch oven) and stick it in the oven for 3 hrs.

Remove the pot and roast from the oven. Take the pork roast out of the pot and leave it on a plate to cool. Strain the tomato/onion/pepper mix through a strainer into a medium bowl. Reserve the liquids in the bowl, and return the peppers/tomatoes/onions/etc to the pot or dutch oven.

Pull the pork. This will take at least 15 minutes. Plan for time to pull the pork when you plan your meal. Just like you returned the solids from the mix to the pot/dutch oven, return the pulled pork to the pot/dutch oven.

When you're finished pulling the pork, stir the pot to mix the tomatoes/onions/peppers with the pork, then add about 1/4 of the reserved liquid mixture back to the pork. You're looking here to make sure that the pork has enough liquid to reabsorb it and become really soft and tasty. Add the ancho chile powder. Stir. Taste. Add salt, pepper, and Tobasco as appropriate. Stir. Taste. Adjust the salt, pepper, or Tobasco until the pork is as spicy as you want it. Taste again to make sure the salt is right (and because pulled pork is damned tasty, why wouldn't you want to try it?). The pork will likely absorb all of the liquid and needs to be stirred a lot to distribute the spices, that's okay. After the tastings, add more liquid then repeat until you get to the point where you feel like the meat can't possibly absorb more. Usually I add more than 1/2, but less than 3/4 of the liquid back to the pulled pork. Err on the side of more liquid, since you can get pork that's too dry but you can't get pork that's too juicy.

Once you've got the pork to the point that you want it, cover the pot/dutch oven again, and stick it back in the oven for 20 minutes. During those minutes, you can julienne your red pepper, slice your avocado, pull out your sour cream, nuke your flour tortillas, and set the table. When the pot/dutch oven comes out of the oven, stir it to make sure all the juices are incorporated, then serve immediately. These are really tasty.

Serves: 10-14 tacos











Sunday, June 16, 2013

Pound Cake

My mother always told me that the pound cake got its name from the way that, way back when, the recipe involved a pound of all the ingredients. A pound of flour, pound of sugar, pound of butter. I don't know if that's true, but this is one of my favorite cakes. It doesn't come out oily like some pound cakes (ick), it has a heavenly crust on top that goes perfectly with summer ice creams or sherbets, it's not too sweet and it's not too heavy. It's sort of the perfect cake. (It also freezes well for future consumption, if you're like me and can't eat a whole cake in just a few days)


Pound Cake

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature or microwaved on low power until soft (for most of my recipes I use unsalted sweet cream butter, but go with the salted version for this)
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups sifted flour
1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 300F.

Begin by beating egg whites until stiff (reserve the yolks in another bowl). Transfer whites to another bowl to wait for a moment then rinse mixer bowl for the rest of the recipe. Beating the egg whites first just saves time and keeps you from having to wash the mixer bowl  and beaters later after you've mixed the other ingredients.

Next, cream together butter and sugar thoroughly. Add egg yolks one at a time. In a different bowl, add baking soda to flour. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream to creamed mixture. Gently fold in egg whites. Do not stir or overfold, you want the egg whites to add volume and lightness to your mixture here.

Spray a tube pan (or a bundt pan if you don't have a tube pan. Bread pans will also work, this recipe is flexible) with non-stick baking spray. This is a non-stick spray that has flour in it, and is perfect for cakes. If you don't have non-stick baking spray, grease then flour your pan. Pour the batter into the pan, then bake for 1 1/2 hrs at 300F. The cake should have a nice brown crust on top, and a cake tester should come out clean when inserted to the center.

Remove cake from oven and sit it on a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan. The longer it can sit and cool, the moister it gets, so let it hang out for as long as you like before inverting the pan to turn it out. Flip it back over so that the crust is on top before serving.  Goes well with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Serves: 10-12

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Fish Tacos With Corn Salsa

This is a perfect dish for summer: light, fresh and really flavorful. The corn salsa can be heated if you like your tacos warmer, or for those blistering days when the idea of putting more heat in your mouth is enough to make you think of swooning, it can be eaten chilled for a great contrast with the warm fish. Very, very tasty! The recipe looks like it calls for a lot of chili powder in the cornmeal batter for the fish, but it doesn't actually come out tasting extremely spicy.


Fish Tacos With Corn Salsa

For the fish tacos:
1 1/2 lbs tilapia, cut into 2-inch pieces (catfish, flounder, or salmon would also work)
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
2 tbsp olive oil
10 medium-sized flour tortillas
Sour cream
2 limes, cut into quarters

For the salsa:
3 ears fresh corn, COOKED then chilled
1 small red bell pepper
3/4 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
OPTIONAL: 1 or 2 minced jalapeno peppers, minus the seeds
1 1/2 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp soy sauce


Start by making the salsa. Cut the corn off the cobs and toss it into a medium sized mixing bowl. Dice the red bell pepper into smallish pieces, cut the tomatoes into 1/4s, dice the onion, and mix all that with the corn. Pour the parsley and soy sauce over the veggies, and stir until everything is well mixed. Sit that in the fridge to let the flavors meld a little while you do the rest. You can do the salsa up to a day in advance, then just pull it out of the fridge again (and heat if desired) when you're ready to serve.

For the tacos, mix the cornmeal and the next four ingredients on the list in a small bowl. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, and when it's hot dredge your fish in the cornmeal mixture to get it coated on all sides, then drop it in the pan. Each piece will only need about 2 minutes on each side, just enough to get the fish white and flaky, then remove the fish to a plate with a paper towel on it to soak up excess oil. Repeat until all of the fish pieces have been fried.

Heat the tortillas in a microwave, covered with a damp paper towel to keep them from drying out.

To serve, dip several spoonfuls of salsa onto a tortilla in a line, add several pieces of the fish, and finish it with a dollop of sour cream spread out evenly over your line of fillings and a squeeze of lime juice. Roll it up burrito style, and it's ready to eat!

Servings: 4-5 people at two tacos each (so 8-10 tacos total)

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Blackberry Sherbet

There are blackberries growing wild behind the house right now, and every few days they produce surprisingly large amounts of fruit. One has to be careful not to get scratched by the thorns or eaten alive by ants and mosquitos while picking, but it's mostly worth it for the amount of sherbets and cereal toppings and cobblers that get made during the summer. This fantastic sherbet recipe is pretty easy and tastes like heaven on a hot summer day. It can be adapted to use other kinds of berries or fruit too.


Blackberry Sherbet

4 cups blackberries, rinsed thoroughly
4 cups buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract


Begin by mashing the berries through a wire mesh strainer to separate the juices from the pulp and seeds. If you use your fingers instead of a spatula to do this, it will stain your hands a lovely purple color.

To the blackberry juice, add the other three ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. Pour into your ice cream churn and follow the manufacturer instructions on how to get that set up and churning. Ice cream churn tip: always used crushed ice to layer with salt when churning, not ice cubes. The crushed ice yields better texture in the ice cream, because it gets colder (melts more quickly) and can do a better job of closely surrounding the churn.

Servings: 8-10, or less if you get tempted to eat it all in one sitting because it's so delicious.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Comfort Meatballs

These were a huge hit with my family and there were many requests to do this again. Served with simple boiled red potatoes with salt, pepper, and butter and french-style green beans, these are basically the ultimate comfort food. They heat up well for leftover suppers, and they also work really well on bread or a spare hamburger bun with a slice of provolone as a meatball sandwich. Just a great little staple recipe.

Full confession: I made these with only 1 lb of ground beef, and cut the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs themselves (oatmeal, milk, onion) accordingly. I used the same amount of sauce, and it worked fine for four people. Accordingly, if you do end up using the 1 1/2 lb of meat, you may want to do a 1 1/2 batch on the sauce to make sure all the meatballs get covered.


Comfort Meatballs

Meatballs:
1-1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cups oats
1 cup milk 
1/2 of a sweet onion, VERY finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper
Approx. 1 cup flour (for coating meatballs)
1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup (I used Hunts, but go for your favorite)
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp vinegar (cider vinegar works also)
3 tbsp Worchestershire
1/4 of a sweet onion, VERY finely minced (use what you've got left over from the onion you used for the meatballs)
Tobasco to taste (I used eight or ten shakes of the bottle, but to each his own on how much heat you like)
1 tbsp soy sauce (optional, I didn't use this and the sauce didn't need more salt)


Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine ground beef with next four ingredients, add pepper to taste. This will end up in a very soft, surprisingly light mixture. That's okay. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. VERY IMPORTANT, DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP: Place sheet in freezer for at least ten minutes, to let the meatballs firm up and prepare them for cooking. (Mix the sauce while the meatballs are chilling.)

Mix all ingredients for sauce in small bowl, set aside.

In a nonstick pan, heat olive oil on medium-high until oil is hot. Remove meatballs from freezer. Immediately dredge in unseasoned flour, and brown in oil until the meatballs are just browned on either side. They don't have to be done through, the goal is just to get them started here. Place them in an oven-safe baking dish when they've had a chance to brown on each side.

Pour sauce over meatballs and bake for 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4-6

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Squash Casserole

A Southern classic, and with summer coming up and the squash finally fresh and local in stores again, I thought I'd try my hand at it. It took about an hour to prepare from when I first started chopping to the finish, but since more than half of that is oven time and cooling, it's a pretty easy recipe that leaves time to finish the rest of the meal while it's in the oven. I did it for Sunday lunch along with Cider Glazed Salmon, and the two went over very well.


Squash Casserole

2 1/2 lbs squash, sliced (this is in practice about 5-6 medium squashes)
1 small-to-medium sweet onion, diced
3 tbsp unsalted sweet butter
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated (approx. 1 cup)
1 large egg
Slightly less than 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I actually only fill the 1/4 cup measure about 2/3 of the way full)
15 Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
Salt
Pepper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and add the squash. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the squash is tender. Drain and set aside.

While the squash is on, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Saute the onions until tender and beginning to become translucent. While the onions are on, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg, mayonnaise, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add the squash, cheese, and egg mixture to the onions and stir until cheese melts. Spray a 11 x 11 ovensafe casserole dish with non-stick spray, and pour in the whole mixture. Sprinkle the top with pepper if desired.

Melt the remaining 1 tbsp of butter in the microwave, and stir it together with the cracker crumbs. Sprinkle this mixture over top of the casserole.

Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, until cracker crumbs are toasted and brown on the top. Remove from oven and allow it to sit for 4-5 minutes to set before serving.

Serves: 4

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Grandma's Crockpot Roast

My grandmother has always made a magnificent roast in her crockpot whenever the family is over for supper. It's tender, tastes wonderful, comes with a gravy that's perfect for rice, and almost tastes even better the next day as leftovers. The recipe isn't complicated, but here it is so that I don't forget.


Grandma's Crockpot Roast

Boneless chuck roast, between 3 and 3 1/2 lbs (this works best if you get your grocer to cut it for you while you wait. I find that asking them to cut you one generally gets you a good quality roast, and you want one that's thicker than the ones my grocer generally sells pre-packaged.)
1 large sweet onion, cut into 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch wedges
1/2 lb baby carrots
1 lb red potatoes, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
2 cups beef stock
3 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
Optional: 3 bay leaves, or 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Flour or cornstarch for thickening

Begin by salting and peppering the meat on both sides. Be generous with the salt here, because for a 3 lb roast that's a lot of meat for it to season. If you're really on the ball, you can season the meat up to a day in advance, and let it sit in the fridge to soak in for a while before you cook. If you're like me and usually don't think that far ahead, it's no big deal.

Next heat about 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. When the oil is hot, brown the roast on all sides (I usually cook it for about 3-4 min per side, and less time when I'm browning the edges). If possible, use rubber tongs or a large spatula to handle the meat, since these don't tear up your searing as much as metal tongs do.

Into your crockpot add the following in layers: all the carrots, 3/4 of the potatoes, 1/2 the onions, the meat, then the remaining onions and potatoes on top of the roast. Lightly salt and pepper the whole thing.

Mix the worchestershire sauce and the beef stock, bring it to a boil in a pot on the stove, then pour that on top of everything. You don't actually have to bring the liquids to a boil before you put them in the crockpot, but it helps get a jumpstart on the cooking process and cuts your time a little. If you're using the optional bay leaves or rosemary, put them in with the cooking liquids if you're boiling them and pour them over the roast when hot. Otherwise, tuck them in with the other ingredients and pour the liquids over them cold. 

Cook for 6-8 hrs on high.

When the roast is finished, fish the meat and vegetables out of the crockpot and taste the gravy. Adjust seasoning as necessary. To thicken gravy, mix a 1-1 slurry of flour (or cornstarch) and water in a separate dish, then stir into the gravy, whisking if necessary to ensure no lumps. Taste again, and adjust until the gravy is the desired thickness.

Serves: 6-8

Monday, May 6, 2013

Panko-crusted Baked Fish

This is a low-effort kind of recipe, but it produces delicious, flaky fish and was well-received by several family members that sometimes don't like fish. The recipe will work with any white-fleshed fish. I used tilapia, but catfish, flounder, crappie, or even halibut or cod would work just as well. Accompany it with fresh vegetables (I used sweet corn and zucchini) for a fast, light meal that tastes wonderful.


Panko-crusted Baked Fish

1 lb tilapia filets, thawed (this should be 4-5 small filets for individual servings. If you're using larger filets, separate them into 4-5 portions)
1 tsp lemon juice for each portion
3 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tbsp parsley flakes
Salt
Pepper
Optional: 1/4 cup grated parmesan


Preheat oven to 400F. 

Melt the butter in a small bowl, then add the panko crumbs and parsley. If you want to use the optional parmesan, mix that in here too. Stir thoroughly so that all the panko gets buttered.

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and lay out the filets on the sheet. Rub 1/2 tsp lemon juice into each portion, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the filets over, and repeat with another 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, salt and pepper on the other side.

Press the panko crumbs into a layer on top of the fish filets, patting it down to form a crust. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and the panko crumbs have turned light golden. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Tortellini Soup

This is a simple take on classic Italian flavors: tomato, spinach, cheese, pasta. It all comes together in a surprisingly filling soup that doesn't take long to make and is good for nights when you're tired and want something a little rustic. An added bonus: this soup reheats beautifully, which makes is great for carry to work for lunches.


Tortellini Soup

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, julienned 
4 cloves garlic, minced
48 oz. low sodium chicken stock (I use two boxes of the Kitchen Basics brand)
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
8 oz frozen cheese tortellini
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1 can stewed tomatoes, NOT drained
1 9 oz bag baby spinach, washed
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper


In a fairly good sized soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, saute until the onions are translucent, then toss in the garlic and continue cooking for about two more minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and add the oregano. Bring the chicken-onion broth to a gentle boil, and add the tortellini. Check the tortellini bag for cooking times, but if it's 10-12 minutes like most frozen tortellini, then set a timer for 10 minutes and allow the pot to continue at a gentle boil.

About halfway through the tortellini's cooking time, add your cannelloni beans and stir the whole pot to make sure that none of the pasta are sticking to the bottom. With about three minutes left on the timer, add the stewed tomatoes and their juice. I like to use my hands as I add the tomatoes to break them up so that there aren't such huge chunks in the soup, but to each his or her own.

When the timer expires, add in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, stirring so that it wilts down a bit before the next batch goes in. Add the basil and the cheese, and let the pot simmer for another minute or so, stirring well until all of the spinach is wilted thoroughly and the cheese has melted into the mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper as appropriate. Serve immediately, preferably with some crusty bread for dipping.

Serves: 6-8


Sunday, April 28, 2013

Beef Stew

This is such a comfort food, great for cool nights when you want something filling but not time-consuming to prepare. Just chuck everything in the crock pot after lunch, let it sit all afternoon, and when the evening comes around it's ready to go, served over rice or mashed potatoes. As an added bonus, your house will smell great all afternoon as it's cooking.


Beef Stew

2 1/2 lbs stew beef cubes
1 large sweet onion
3 medium russet potatoes
1/2 lb carrots
2 cups beef stock
3 1/2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 beef boullion cubes
1 1/2 tsp thyme
2 tsp oregano
3 bay leaves
1 can tomato paste
Salt
Pepper


Begin by roughly chopping the onion, potatoes, and carrots into large chunks (1 1/2 inches or so). Place the beef, onion, potatoes, and carrots in the crock pot. Mix the beef stock and Worchestershire sauce, then pour into the crock pot on top of the beef and veggies. Set the crock pot to high, and let it all cook for 3hrs or so.

After about 3hrs, take the lid off the crock pot and stir the mixture. Add 2 beef boullion cubes, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and tomato paste, stirring all of this until the tomato paste is incorporated smoothly. A little more beef stock can also be added if necessary. Taste the mixture, and add salt and pepper accordingly. Replace the lid to the crock pot, and cook for a further 3 1/2- 4hrs on high.

Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Serves: 8 (or 4 with leftovers. This beef stew reheats beautifully, and is great for 2 days worth of meals.)

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccini Alfredo

This recipe is simple and fast, but it's also really tasty and very hearty. It only takes about half an hour if you time it correctly, and paired with some good crusty bread, it makes for an extraordinarily satisfying meal. I recommend a crusty french bread and butter as accompaniment.

One thing it's not: low calorie. But don't be tempted to skimp or substitute on the heavy cream or the cheese. Part of what makes this so good is the creamy texture and rounded taste, and those don't come from anything but the real thing. Besides, this one's tasty enough to be worth it.


Chicken and Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo

1 box whole wheat fettuccini
3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups broccoli florets 
3 tbsp unsalted sweat cream butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated 
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 1/2 tbsp fresh basil, finely chiffonade (optional)
Salt
Pepper
Additional parmesan cheese for garnish

This is one of those recipes where you need to do multiple things at once. A couple hours before you start (or in the morning if you're going to do this thing right after you come home from work), salt and pepper the chicken breasts so that the seasoning has time to soak in a bit.

About half an hour before you want to serve, start by putting the water for the pasta on. Salt it, and set it to high until it boils. Then, in a second pot, prepare the broccoli for steaming by putting on a pot with a thin layer of water and dumping in the broccoli florets, but don't turn it on yet. In a non-stick saucepan set to medium-high heat, drizzle in the oil and saute the chicken pieces. When the chicken is done (should take between 5 and 7 minutes), remove from the pan and set aside.

Turn on the broccoli to high, and set a timer for five or six minutes. When it goes off, take the broccoli off the heat. While the broccoli is cooking, taste the pasta. If it's done, take it off the heat, drain it, and set aside. If it's not done, make a note of the time so that you'll have a good idea of when you need to take it off. 

While the broccoli is cooking, use the pan that you used for the chicken to make your alfredo sauce. Melt the butter and add the cream, garlic powder, oregano, parsley, and basil (if you're using it) to that. Heat for two minutes on as high a heat as you can get it without boiling. After two minutes, add the cheese. Stir slowly but constantly until the cheese is melted. Taste it, then season with salt and pepper as appropriate. Simmer for another minute (still stirring). 

To serve, place the pasta in your serving dish. Add the broccoli and the chicken to the pan with the sauce, and stir. Once the broccoli and chicken are completely coated with sauce, add the whole pan to the serving dish on top of the pasta. You can toss it, if you wish, or just leave the broccoli-chicken mixture on top of the pasta and trust your diners to dig in enough to get both pasta and toppings. Serve immediately (this is important. You want to time all this so that you get the sauce to the table as soon as possible once it's finished), with additional parmesan for garnish if you wish.

Serves: 4