I must sound like a spokesperson for the Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, but I swear I’m not. My latest recipe from this cookbook is Stuffed Chicken Breasts. Chicken cordon bleu is one of those things that was always on the menu 20 years ago. And you always got a really bad version of it banquets. So I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this recipe.

Filling:

1 tbsp butter

1 small onion, minced

1 small garlic clove, minced

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tsp minced thyme

2 ounces cheddar, shredded

4 slices deli ham

Chicken:

1 (5-6 oz) chicken skinless boneless chicken breasts

3/4 cup flour

2 eggs

1 tbsp plus 3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 slices white bread, made into coarse crumbs and dried

Melt the butter and add onion and cook 15-20 min. Add garlic and cook 20 seconds.

Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until fluffy, 1 minute. Stir in the onion mixture and add thyme and cheddar and salt and pepper to taste.

Butterfly the chicken and then pound it to 1/4 inch thickness. Place the chicken smooth side down and spread with 1/4 of the cheese mixture. Salt and pepper it. Place 1 slice ham on top. Roll up the cutlet from the tapered end, folding in the edges to form a neat cylinder. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 450. Beat egg with 1 tbsp oil. Dip chicken in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs. Place on a wire rack and let it rest 5 min.

Heat 3/4 cup oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat until shimmery. Add the chicken, seam side down, and cook 2 min until golden. Turn and cook the other side 2-3 minutes. Transfer seam side down to a baking sheet and baked at 450 about 15 min until the center is 165 degrees.

Wow. It really worked. The chicken had an incredible crunchy outside and a divine creamy center. A couple of things I would do differently: I would use less cream cheese and more of some other cheese. It was a little bland. I would also use less oil for the pan frying aspect of this. Other than that, I highly recommend this recipe!

I must sound like a spokesperson for the Complete America’s Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, but I swear I’m not. My latest recipe from this cookbook is Stuffed Chicken Breasts. Chicken cordon bleu is one of those things that was always on the menu 20 years ago. And you always got a really bad version … Read more →

I watched with a grumbling stomach as the owner of the Clinton St Baking Company made his pancakes for Martha on a recent episode. I have to say I am pretty committed to my own pancake recipe (which was also my mom’s) and to my oatmeal pancake recipe, which I love. However, these pancakes looked great. And apparently people line up in the street to get them, so I had to try them! The main difference is that you whip the egg whites for this recipe, which is supposed to make them fluffy and light.

Honestly, I didn’t really think these were much fluffier than the kind I usually make. I think the trick to truly fluffy pancakes is a professional griddle, which I don’t have. However, the pancakes were good. Everyone enjoyed them, Dude Martha especially, since there is vanilla in them and he likes that flavor a lot. I’m glad I tried them, but will probably stick with my own recipes for pancakes.

For a really fun, and EASY breakfast recipe, check out my crescent roll and egg muffin tin recipe on No Pot Cooking.

I watched with a grumbling stomach as the owner of the Clinton St Baking Company made his pancakes for Martha on a recent episode. I have to say I am pretty committed to my own pancake recipe (which was also my mom’s) and to my oatmeal pancake recipe, which I love. However, these pancakes looked … Read more →

If you’re looking for next week’s Martha Mondays project you can find it here:

http://marthaandme.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/updated-martha-mondays-picks-and-some-news/

If you’re looking for next week’s Martha Mondays project you can find it here: http://marthaandme.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/updated-martha-mondays-picks-and-some-news/

I love the flavor of apple with chicken. There’s something warm and homey about it. So I created this recipe so I could enjoy the tastes with no mess!

4 boneless breasts of chicken
2 apples, grated (peeled or unpeeled, whatever you prefer)
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp olive oil
8 tbsp cider or apple juice
2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Place the breasts on individual pieces of parchment. Salt and pepper them. Divide the apple among the packets. Sprinkle 1/8 tsp of onion powder and 1/8 tsp of cinnamon on each packet. Drizzle each with 1 tsp olive oil, 2 tbsp cider and 1/2 tsp vinegar. Seal the packets and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

The apple roasts to softness and all of the flavors meld with the chicken to create a lovely fall dish.

I love the flavor of apple with chicken. There’s something warm and homey about it. So I created this recipe so I could enjoy the tastes with no mess! 4 boneless breasts of chicken 2 apples, grated (peeled or unpeeled, whatever you prefer) salt and pepper 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp cinnamon 4 tsp … Read more →

Well, as you can see, I didn’t exactly end up with cheese straws! Thanks to Megan at Megan’s Cookin for choosing this one. This was really easy to make – dump it all in a food processor and away you go. I couldn’t get the dough to come together though. I tried pressing it with my hands, but I could not get it to make logs which I could roll out. So I ended up making little crackers instead, which worked out fine. I really, really liked the way these tasted, but next time I would to make them thinner. These would be great at a party. I’m keeping this recipe!

Well, as you can see, I didn’t exactly end up with cheese straws! Thanks to Megan at Megan’s Cookin for choosing this one. This was really easy to make – dump it all in a food processor and away you go. I couldn’t get the dough to come together though. I tried pressing it with … Read more →

Mr. MarthaAndMe’s grandmother was known to her great grandchildren as Gaga. Gaga was a character. Mr. MarthaAndMe has nice memories of her, but even when he was a kid, she was a lovable kook. Her name was Matilda, or Tillie for short, but when she died, her birth certificate and marriage license had a completely different name (Melinda, I think). Gaga was a bit of an anxious gal and relied on Valium to get her through. Once we arranged to visit her and showed up and she stumbled out of bed, hair sticking out, having forgotten we were coming. She had taken a Valium and had a little nap. You never knew what to expect from Gaga. She told stories of relatives in the “home land” (no one is sure what country) who were royalty and how her family gave it all up. She was born dead and miraculously came back to life. And her husband was a no good you know what.

She lived in a tiny mother-in-law apartment behind her daughter, with a tiny kitchen, living room, and bedroom. Gaga did not have many material possessions, but those she did have had meaning, or were at least iconic. She had a big picture frame on the wall where she stuck in photos. At Christmas, she had a wreath made of hard candy that had scissors hanging from it so you could snip a piece off. She had a stuffed Alf (I don’t know why). She had an ashtray that was a weird guy in a monocle with his mouth open. She had a beautiful drop front desk/secretary that now sits in our living room (and, strangely, is an exact duplicate to one my parents have). I love that desk, but associate it with the photo of her mother in a casket that she kept inside it (apparently people used to take treasured photos of corpses “laid out”). And then there was her tiny, stained, Formica kitchen table. Whenever we visited her, she would get us into the kitchen at that table and make tea (with an old, used teabag) and water heated in a saucepan and scoop sugar out of a bin. And she would always have a batch of cheese bread for us.

No one knows where the recipe came from, but she had been making it as long as anyone can remember. I have a photocopy of the recipe card in her handwriting with its vague directions (and to add to the kookiness, it’s called “cheese rolls” although she always made it as bread). It seemed that whenever she made it, she altered it, so it was never quite the same.

The cheese bread has two variations. First is an actual cheese bread, made with golden raisins and farmer’s cheese. I think she always used some cheddar too, although the recipe does not suggest that. Then there is the poppy seed version, which has no cheese at all. Once she made me a batch of cheese bread with no raisins because she remembered I didn’t like them. Often her batches had burned edges or black bottoms, which we cut off when we got it home. Even so, it was always delicious.

Gaga has been gone for quite a few years, but I still remember her fondly. And I make her bread a few times a year and think about her when I make it. Somehow, like hers, each batch seems to have its own personality, but that quirkiness just reminds me of her.

Gaga’s Cheese Bread

6 cups flour (I use 2 cups whole wheat and 4 regular)

3 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 packet yeast

1/2 cup warm water

Mix the dry ingredients, then mix in the butter, eggs and sour cream. I usually end up using my hands to combine this. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit for 5 minutes, then mix that into the bread.

Now you need to decide what kind of bread you want to make.

For cheese bread:

Add in 1 lb of farmer’s cheese (you can substitute cheddar for half of it) and 2 egg yolks, and a cup of golden raisins.

For poppy seed bread:

Mix in one can of poppy seed filling.

Form into a long loaf on a greased baking sheet and allow to rise one hour. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

The bread is a very moist and slightly sweet bread. It’s great with dinner, but it also yummy toasted for breakfast. The poppy seed version is sweeter. Sometimes I divide the recipe in half and do half cheese and half poppy seed.

Mr. MarthaAndMe’s grandmother was known to her great grandchildren as Gaga. Gaga was a character. Mr. MarthaAndMe has nice memories of her, but even when he was a kid, she was a lovable kook. Her name was Matilda, or Tillie for short, but when she died, her birth certificate and marriage license had a completely … Read more →

John Barriceli, I heart you. John is occasionally on Martha’s show and is one of the hosts of Everyday Food. I’ve got his new cookbook, Sono Baking book and so far I’ve had 3 good recipes and one terrible one.

My latest is cheddar chive scones. Oh yes, a savory scone. Super, super simple to make. I didn’t roll and cut mine out and instead just made hand-formed rounds. They worked perfectly. I did not taste the chives as much as I expected to, but other than that, this was great. I doubled the recipe and froze some for another night.

 

2 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 chopped chives

1 cup grated cheddar

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

 

Mix flour, baking powder, salt and chives. Stir in cheese with a fork. Add 1 cup of cream and fold with a rubber scraper or your hands until just absorbed. Continue adding cream, 1 tbsp at a time until it just comes together and there are no dry patches.

Press the dough with your hands into a 3 x 10 rectangle and cut into 8 triangles. Refrigerate on the baking sheet for 1 hour. Then brush with 1/4 cup additional cream and sprinkle each with a pinch of cheese. Bake at 400 for 16-20, rotating halfway through.

John Barriceli, I heart you. John is occasionally on Martha’s show and is one of the hosts of Everyday Food. I’ve got his new cookbook, Sono Baking book and so far I’ve had 3 good recipes and one terrible one. My latest is cheddar chive scones. Oh yes, a savory scone. Super, super simple to … Read more →

Reminder that the next few picks are up here: http://marthaandme.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/updated-martha-mondays-picks-and-some-news/

Reminder that the next few picks are up here: http://marthaandme.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/updated-martha-mondays-picks-and-some-news/

I know you’re supposed to save the best for last, but for my first recipe, I’ve got to share one that my family thinks is absolutely incredible.

I called this Party in a Packet because the flavors of this dish taste like party snacks to me. You’re going to LOVE it.

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I always use organic when available)
4 tbsp French onion dip (the kind in the dairy case)
1 cup semi-crushed cheese crackers (like Cheez-Its or Goldfish – I actually used Late July organic cheese crackers which are the same thing)
Salt and pepper

Yes, that’s right. 4 ingredients.

Prepare this dish as 4 individual packets. In each packet place one chicken breast in the center. Salt and pepper it. Brush 1 tbsp of the dip over it. Cover with 1/4 cup of the crackers. Repeat for the other packets. Seal up the packets and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Open it up and enjoy your party! This has a rich, deep flavor that makes you feel like you’re snacking on high calorie party snacks, when actually you’re enjoying a healthy chicken dish. Ssh – don’t tell the kids!

*Reader favorite: This appears in The Parchment Paper Cookbook

I know you’re supposed to save the best for last, but for my first recipe, I’ve got to share one that my family thinks is absolutely incredible. I called this Party in a Packet because the flavors of this dish taste like party snacks to me. You’re going to LOVE it. 4 boneless skinless chicken … Read more →

I totally love puff pastry. A few years ago my mom bought a ton of it from a bakery supply place and it was SO much better than the Pepperidge Farms stuff I get at the grocery store. That’s long gone though and I’m back to Pepperidge Farms, oh well.

This tart sounded so good to me – puff pastry with ham and cheese inside. It was easy to make, once you get the puff pastry to defrost. Roll the two sheets out to 10 x 13 size. Put one on the baking sheet. Cover with 6 slices of ham, 1 cup Gruyere and a cream sauce made with 1 tbsp butter, 1 1/2 tbsp flour (melt butter then cook with flour till golden) and a pinch of nutmeg with 1 cup milk (whisk it in and cook until thickened). Cover with the top sheet of puff pastry, brush with egg, and cut some vents. Bake at 400. The recipe says 30 min but mine was done in 20 min.

This was good, but it desperately needed mustard. If I ever made this again I would either mix some Dijon into the cream sauce or maybe just slather a thin layer on the pastry. Other than that it was good. It smelled good, looked good and tasted good, if a bit bland. We had it for dinner with salad and soup.

I totally love puff pastry. A few years ago my mom bought a ton of it from a bakery supply place and it was SO much better than the Pepperidge Farms stuff I get at the grocery store. That’s long gone though and I’m back to Pepperidge Farms, oh well. This tart sounded so good … Read more →