Chef Jorge's Gourmet Chicken in White Wine and Garlic

My Spanish roommate, Jorge, is a natural European in the truest form. As I have spent nearly a year learning to make things that are close to edible, in one swift move Jorge will whip up the most mind-blowingly phenomenal gastronomical wonder this side of the Atlantic. After each bite of every "simple" meal he makes, I am left wondering how the hell I got so lucky. I rarely have the chance to take pictures of his creations, as my roommates and I inhale them within seconds but these things need no image. They are beautiful in and of themselves. Here is Jorge to present his masterpiece:

Chef Jorge's Gourmet Chicken in White Wine and Garlic

ingredients:
Chicken- Jorge prefers wings, but he believes chicken breasts will work
olive oil
salt
whole bottle of white wine
lemon
whole head of garlic

method:

Lightly salt the chicken and set aside.
Thickly slice garlic. Cook garlic over low heat in the largest skillet you own. Do not let all of the pieces "take color." Just as a few of the pieces begin to lightly brown add the chicken to the skillet.

Cook the chicken just until it starts to cook on the surface. Do NOT cook the chicken through. When chicken begins to brown, add the entire bottle of white wine-yes please!- covering the chicken completely. If you do not have enough wine to cover the chicken, you can add a bit of water, but really, has more wine ever been a bad idea? (well, we can just declare that question rhetorical and move on...)Once sufficient amounts of wine have been added, put the heat on high and bring to a boil. Allow the wine to boil until there is very little left in the pan--about half an hour--occasionally stirring so as not to burn. When no liquid remains, remove from heat, stir once more, add the juice of an entire lemon and go crazy.

Spinach and Water Chestnut Chicken

My Oma is having her birthday party this weekend. I will not tell you how old she is, so as to protect her privacy...(let's just say she's been dancin' this green earth since, well God himself was a boy...) So anyway, it's a substantial one, and we are going to party like there's no tomorrow. (Quite a fitting phrase, since the lady of the hour has taken to reminding me of her own mortality like it's going out of style.

"Goodnight, Oma, see you in the morning!"

"Perhaps, dear, or perhaps I will be looking down on you with a smile, as I sit next to your dear, dear Opa, while you eat your morning eggs...")

Woah.

Anyway, we are going to blow the roof off, if you haven't already put that together. So, naturally, as the event of the year creeped up, I started to prepare. And prepare I did, while at work this morning. I decided I should start hunting around for some intruiging looking recipes for an hour or two and stumbled on some definite prospects. Feta Cheese Puffs, anyone? How 'bout an Artichoke Spinach Dip-Stuffed Mushroom? Yum.

While I was looking, I came across a harmless enough looking recipe for spinach dip. Spinach, cheese, butter, etc. However, while perusing, I saw that you could put said dip on chicken? and roll it in breadcrumbs? With one ear perked, and my head cocked in confusion, I read on with the tenacity of a 6th grader and a new Harry Potter. Truly intruiged, I decided I'd try this sucker out. And deeaaaaammnn! It was good! I fixed mine with rice and voila! With no hesitation and no reservations, I have turned into a younger, female Anthony Bourdain!

Spinach and Water Chestnut Chicken

ingredients:

PAM

2 T butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T flour

1 1/4 c milk

1/2 c fat free half and half or milk

2 9oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 8oz pkg dry veggie soup mix

1/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese, divided

Breadcrumbs

Small chicken breasts

Pre-heat oven to 350. Coat casserole dish or cookie sheet with PAM.

In large saucepan, over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic and onion. Stir for 5 mins.

Stir in flour and cook while stirring an additional minute. Add milk and half and half and cook until thick. Remove saucepan from heat and add spinach, water chestnuts, cheddar, soup mix and two T Parm.

Put breadcrumbs on a plate.

Roll/smash chicken into spin dip. Make sure to gently pat the spin dip into the chicken, cradling chicken in palm. Gently coat chicken w/ dip into breadcrumbs, so as not to lose any of the dip.

Place on casserole dish/sheet and bake for about 30 mins.

When finished, sprinkle w/ remaining parm.

*I eliminated the half and half and substituted 2% milk instead to cut down on calories and to avoid having a bunch of half and half sitting in the fridge.

In one serving of the dip (1/9 of final product) there are:

137 Calories

8g Protein

9g Fat--again, this will be less if milk is used

5g Carbs

3g Sugar

120mg Sodium

Ta ta!

Chicken Pot Pie

I am blogging from my apartment on a normal weekday night. Nothing noteworthy or exceptional, just a mundane Monday in the heartland of America. I am writing my first blog post with a feeling of content that only comes from the regular routine of Fall and a good meal in my stomach. With inspiration from Josh Ritter, I bring you Chicken Pot Pie.


Servings = 4 Serving size =1 pie
Cooking Time = 60 Minutes
This recipe can be multiplied by 2, 3, 4.
Leftovers are fair.
1 tsp
extra virgin olive oil
1 cloves
garlic (minced)
1 small
yellow onion (diced)
2 medium
carrots (peeled and diced)
4 Tbsp
all purpose flour
1 cup
low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1
10 ounce package frozen peas with pearl onions
3 cups
2% milk
2 large
red potatoes
1/4 tsp
salt
1/4 tsp
fresh ground black pepper
8 ounces
boneless skinless chicken breast (cubed)
1 tsp
dried basil
1 tsp
dried thyme
2 Tbsp
curley parsley (minced)
3
buttermilk biscuits (from the dairy case)
Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet and add garlic and onion. Cook slowly so that the garlic and onion soften but don’t turn brown.Add the carrots and cook until they are slightly soft. Add the flour and cook for about 3 minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock stirring constantly to keep any lumps from forming. Reduce heat to low.Rinse the frozen peas and onions in a strainer under warm water. Drain well and add to the pan. Add the milk, chicken breast, salt, pepper and herbs to the pan. Cook over low heat stirring occasionally.Microwave the potatoes for 5 minutes on high setting. Cut them into 1/2 inch cubes. Add to the sauce and cook for about 30 minutes Ladle into four oven proof bowls.Preheat the oven to 300°F.Lightly flour a chopping board and, using a rolling pin, roll the biscuit dough together and then roll out until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 4 equal pieces and roll very thin. The biscuits should be slightly smaller than the bowl the pot pie will be cooked in. Place them on top of the chicken mixture in the bowl.Place in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes until the top of the biscuit is brown. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Serving size = 1 pot pie
Servings = 4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 528
Calories from Fat 64

% Daily Value
Total Fat 7g
11%
Saturated Fat 3g
15%
Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 48mg
16%
Sodium 930mg
38%
Total Carbohydrates 84g
28%
Dietary Fiber 7g
29%
Sugars 14g

Protein 32g

Vitamin A 120%
Vitamin C 92%
Calcium 33%
Iron 29%
Vitamin K 48 mcg
Potassium 1634 mg
Magnesium 111 mg