5 Cups peeled and chopped apples (preferably Braeburn or Gravenstein)
1 Tsp chopped fresh sage
1/4 Tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 Tsp ground nutmeg
4 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 Tsp salt
Cooking or olive oil mister
8 Chicken thighs
1/4 Tsp fresh ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 475
Combine apples, sage, cinnamon. nutmeg and garlic. Add salt and stir. Spread the apple mixture on the bottom of a pyrex roasting pan coated with olive oil or cooking spray.
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and arrange on the top of the apple mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is done and apples are tender. Remove chicken and set aside; use potato masher to slightly mash the apple mixture and serve with the chicken.Chicken Thighs with Roasted Apples
We’re in the spirit to celebrate Summer in hopes of inspiring the sun to appear in San Francisco and burn off the marine layer! The following recipe for Toasted Orzo with Peas and Mint jumped off the page when we flipped through America’s Test Kitchen and now it is a house favorite! Really easy and really good. Give it a shot and see for yourself!
2/3 Cup Orzo
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 Cup onion, diced
1 Garlic clove, minced
2 Cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 Cup water
1/3 Cup frozen peas
1 Tbsp fresh mint, minced
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 Tsp grated lemon zest
Pinch of salt and pepper
Toast the orzo in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Be sure to keep a close eye on the orzo as it toasts because it may take a moment to get going, but like anything else, once it starts browning get ready to pull the orzo off the heat before you burn the pasta!
Add the toasted orzo, broth, and water to the skillet; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring every few minutes (but not too frequently or it will turn into mush) until the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is tender. All told it should take roughly 15 minutes.
Stir in peas, mint, lemon juice and zest and ensure the peas are heated through (about 1 minute). Season with salt and pepper if desired and serve.
1 Box of frozen puff pastry
2 Heirloom tomatoes sliced into bite sized sections or 1 basket or grape/cherry tomatoes halved (your choice)
1 Tablespoon of White Balsamic Vinegar
2 Cloves of Garlic, Chopped or Pressed
1/4 Tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Quarter Cup of Fresh Basil, Minced
1 Container of crumbled goat cheese (fresh is fine but we think it can be harder to spread)
Combine ingredients from tomatoes to basil in a bowl and set aside.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Defrost puff pastry as instructed on the box. Lay out pastry and cut into even squares leaving one section to cut into 1/4 inch strips for edges. Lay 1/4 strips along the border on each side of the chart. Brush the raised edges of each puff pastry tart with egg-wash (1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp of water). Bake tarts for 20-22 minutes and remove from oven. Use fork to gently poke holes and deflate the center of the tart.
Layer goat cheese in the center of each tart (roughly 1-2 Tbsp, or to taste). Spoon tomato mixture on top of cheese and place in the oven for an additional 5 minutes. Remove and enjoy!
1 Medium yellow or white onion
2 Cloves of garlic
1 Lb of potatoes, preferably russet potatoes (roughly 2-3 potatoes)
1 Tsp of kosher salt
1 Tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 Tsp of smoked paprika
4 Large eggs
2 Cups of olive oil for pan frying
1 Large plate for help flipping
Peel potatoes and slice thinly making sure to be uniform to ensure potatoes cook evenly. In medium to large frying pan heat olive oil to medium-high heat. If you are unsure, try dropping a single piece of potato in the oil and see if the oil is hot enough to fry. Once the oil is hot enough, place the potato evenly in the oil making sure the oil almost covers the potatoes. Here is a brief video that shows our potatoes frying in the oil. If you are using a medium sized pan, you may have to cook the potatoes in shifts; once the potatoes become soft you can remove them and place them on a paper towel to drain and season with smoked paprika. While the potatoes are cooking you can slice up the onion in to 1/4 inch pieces and also prepare the garlic by mincing. Once the potatoes are done use the remaining oil to cook the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, when ready remove the onion and garlic and spread across your potatoes. It is important to let the potatoes, onion and garlic mixture to cool so that the ingredients can be mixed with the egg without cooking the egg mixture.
Next remove the excess oil from the pan, but make sure you still have a nice coat on the bottom to prevent the egg mixture from sticking. Heat the pan to a medium-high temperature to help prevent the egg mixture from sticking to the pan. In a bowl, crack the eggs and scramble adding salt and pepper. Place the potato, onion and garlic mixture in to the pan using a spatula to spread out the mixture and try to eliminate any air space between the slices, quickly pour the eggs into the pan and fry the tortilla for about 3-4 minutes lowering the heat slightly. Periodically shake the pan and/or use a spatula to make sure the tortilla is not stuck to the bottom or sides of the pan. When you are ready to flip, use the large plate you have set aside and lay it upside down over the top of your pan. Make sure everything fits and place your palm on the center of the plate and your other hand on the handle of the frying pan. Quickly invert the pan and the tortilla should come right out. Now return the pan to the heat and slide the tortilla off of the plate and back into the pan to finish cooking for another 3 – 4 minutes. If you had any potatoes come loose in the flip, just lift the tortilla and slide them underneath as the loose eggs will pull them back into form as it cooks. Remove the pan from the heat and let the tortilla rest for a few minutes before removing from the pan.
Prepare sliced baguette to accompany the tortilla presentation.
Slicing Potatoes into 1/8 inch Slices
Frying Potatoes for Tortilla Espanola
Drain Potatoes on Paper Towel and Sprinkle with Smoked Paprika
2 Bone-in chicken breasts (with skin)
2 Sprigs of rosemary (or one large one halved)
1 Clove of garlic
1 Sprig of sage
1 Fresh lemon
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 Tsp kosher salt
1/4 Tsp freshly ground black pepper
Prepare the chicken by trimming off excess fat. Slightly separate skin from flesh and lightly brush both breasts on the flesh with olive oil. Add salt, pepper and coarsely chopped garlic. Slice lemon into whole rings thin enough to slide under the skin. Insert rosemary and sage sprigs between the skin and the flesh and then add one to two lemon slices, press the skin and all ingredients to the flesh slightly to secure. Refrigerate for several hours if possible to increase flavor.
Prepare charcoal for medium to medium-high heat or pre-heat your gas grill to medium or medium-high heat. Place breasts on the grill bone side down, positioning the thicker part of the breasts over the hotter portion of the grill. After about 5-7 minutes flip the breasts so they are skin side down and position the breasts so the thicker portion is still over the hotter portion of the grill. The skin should be fine, but in case it creates flare-ups it may be good to keep a spray-bottle full of water nearby to extinguish flare-ups. After 6 Minutes flip the breasts back to bone side down position and continue to grill them for another 8-10 minutes depending on thickness. On average you will need to grill medium sized bone-in breasts for 22-25 minutes. If the meat is charring slightly you can move the meat toward the cooler sections of the grill. Remove meat from the grill and let rest for several minutes. Remove skin before serving, leaving lemon and rosemary for presentation.
Chicken Breasts, Lemon Slices, Garlic, Sage and Rosemary
Ingredients Stuffed Between Skin and Flesh
Ready for the Grill after Time in the Refrigerator
Lemon, Rosemary, Garlic and Sage Chicken Breasts Fresh from the Grill
Take care to snip the spikes off of the leaves by cutting off the very tips. Also cut the stem off of the artichokes, and be sure to level the cut so that the artichokes will sit flat in the bottom of the pot. Push down on the top of the artichokes slightly to open up the internal leaves slightly.
Place the artichokes in a pasta pot and fill the pot with water until the level covers roughly 2/3 of the artichokes. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a steady boil for 45 minutes or until tender and leaves can be easily pulled from the base. Cooking artichokes is an inexact science that varies based on size of the artichokes, so as you approach the 45 min pull leaves to see how done they are. Remember, practice makes perfect so fire up artichokes as often as you can and be sure to check out our favorite Lemon Basil Curry Aioli for dipping. Another option is a basic garlic and melted butter dipping sauce. Boiling Artichokes
This is a recipe we are extremely excited about because we discovered an easy DIY pizza recipe to replace Boboli and costs about $5 less as a result. If you don’t want get involved with rolling out dough, we completely relate and would still recommend using Boboli’s whole wheat crust.
1 (16 oz) whole wheat pizza dough (uncooked) from Trader Joe’s or a similar shop
1/2 Cup of flour
2 Cups of tomato sauce either store bought or home-made
2 Cloves of garlic peeled and minced
1 Cup of sliced artichoke crowns (or artichoke hearts if preferred)
1/4 Cup fresh basil minced
2 Links of Italian style (hot or sweet) chicken sausage – uncooked
1 Cup of part-skim mozzarella shredded
1/2 cup of fresh mini mozzarella balls
Remove dough from the refrigerator and let rest for several minutes (Note: If using a silicon rolling pin, place it in the freezer for a few minutes prior to use). Heat a skillet over medium-low flame and cook chicken sausage for about 8 minutes, rotating frequently. Remove from heat and let the meat rest. When cooled, slice sausages into 1/4 in slices or thinner if preferred.
Prepare a shallow roasting pan or cookie sheet by spraying or brushing a light layer of olive oil over the surface. Another option is to put down a thin layer of cornmeal to prevent sticking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
For this recipe, we cut the dough into two even portions and roll out 2 pizzas. Prepare to roll out the dough by sprinkling a pinch flour over the surface you will be rolling the dough on. Sprinkle flour on the first portion and set aside the second; slowly knead the dough and work into a rectangular shape. Place dough on the counter and use the rolling pin (sprinkled with flour) to roll out the dough into an evenly portioned rectangle. Place the dough on the baking sheet and use your fingers to keep the rectangle stretching so that it doesn’t shrink back to a smaller size. Repeat process for second portion of dough.
With dough now on the backing sheet, coat each rectangle with tomato sauce. Be sure to coat the rectangle evenly and leave a 1/4 inch border of plain dough around the sides. Now add minced garlic and basil, sprinkling each evenly on top of the sauce. Next comes the shredded mozzarella, sprinkle evenly around the pizza in a single layer. Add sliced chicken sausage and sliced artichoke crowns in even rows and add as much or as little as you desire.; each rectangular dough should hold the equivalent of roughly one sausage link. Finally, cut the mini mozzarella balls in half and add them to the pizza, roughly 8 halves to each rectangle.
Place baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool; handle with care when transferring to a cutting board to slice as the cheese may slide easily when fresh from the oven.
1 Cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt (or regular)
1/2 Cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 Tsp coarse kosher salt
1 Large garlic clove, pressed
1/2 Cup roasted, unsalted cashews
1 Roasting chicken, or 2 breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drum sticks (all bone-in)
1 Large onion, cut into 1/4 inch rings
For the yogurt option, you can use whatever your prefer. We used non-fat Greek, and you can learn more about the specifics here.
Combine yogurt, cilantro, olive oil, garam masala, salt and garlic in medium to large rectangular pan or glass dish. Remove skin from chicken and trim extra fat. Add chicken to marinade one piece at a time, take care to coat each piece thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 2 + hours.
Preheat oven to 400 and place onion rings on the bottom of a freshly oiled roasting pan and place individual pieces of chicken on top of the rings, spread evenly. Discard remaining marinade. Roast chicken for 50 minutes; serve chicken on top of onion rings from the pan.
Prepping Marinade
Adding Cashews to Marinade
Marinating Chicken
Spread Onions on Roasting Pan
Postition Chicken on Onions
Place Chicken in Serving Dish and Cover with Onions from Pan
