The Way to Her Heart (25 page)

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Recipes

Claire’s
Favorite Lemon Chardonnay Chicken

Ingredients

2 oz (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

4 chicken breast cutlets, pounded to 1/4 inch

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 cup Chardonnay

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 small lemon, sliced thin

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Preparation

1.
Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large, heavy skillet until foamy.

2. Stir together the flour, Panko, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a shallow baking pan. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture.

3. Add chicken to the pan with butter. Brown on each side 3–4 minutes, until cooked thoroughly, but not overdone.

4. Remove chicken to a platter; cover with foil and keep warm.

5. Add shallots to pan, sauté until nearly translucent.

6. Lower heat to medium. Add lemon juice and Chardonnay. Cook 2–3 minutes until warm.

7. Add heavy cream and stir until slightly thickened.

8. Serve chicken with hot, steamed basmati or jasmine rice. Pour sauce over chicken and rice. Garnish with twisted lemon slices. Serve immediately.

Trouvaille
Steamed Artichoke Appetizer

Ingredients

4 artichokes

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Arrange the artichokes in a steamer basket set over at least 3 cups of water and steam, covered, until the leaves can be easily removed, about 1 hour. Let cool. About halfway through cooking, check the water level and add more if necessary.

2. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to a medium skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until beginning to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

3. In a food processor, add onion mixture, red chili powder, yogurt, and parsley and puree until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve with the artichokes.

Josh’s
Green Chile Frittata

This is a rich frittata that goes well with a side of fruit. Serve it with sliced avocado and salsa for an added touch.

Ingredients

10 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon each freshly ground salt and pepper (or to taste—Josh just gives the grinders a few cranks over the bowl of eggs)

1/8–1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 to 1 cup chopped green chile (how spicy do you want it?)*

1 medium tomato, chopped (optional—if you have it)

2 green onions, sliced (optional—if you have it)

1 (16 ounce) container low-fat cottage cheese

1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to
400°F
. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the green chile, cottage cheese, pepper jack cheese, and melted butter. Pour into the prepared baking dish.

3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to
325°F
and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly and cut into small squares.

*
Josh is lucky enough to have a ready supply of roasted Hatch green chile in his freezer. If you don’t live in New Mexico, you probably won’t. You can use a 4 oz. can of chopped green chile. Use two if you really like it.

Josh’s
Chocolate Pudding

Serves six

Ingredients

2 teaspoons
vanilla extract

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 cup sugar

3 tablespoons
Dutch-processed cocoa (Josh likes Hershey’s Dark Cocoa Powder)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large
egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 1/2 cups whole milk

5 tablespoons
unsalted butter
, cut into 8 pieces

4 ounces
bittersweet chocolate
, chopped fine (Josh uses Ghirardelli Bittersweet)

Instructions

1.
Stir together vanilla and cayenne in bowl; set aside. Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together in large saucepan. Whisk in yolks and cream until fully incorporated, making sure to scrape corners of saucepan. Whisk in milk until incorporated.

2. Place saucepan over medium heat; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbling over entire surface, 5 to 8 minutes. Cook 30 seconds longer, remove from heat, add butter and chocolate, and whisk until melted and fully incorporated. Whisk in vanilla mixture.

3. Pour pudding through fine-mesh strainer into bowl. Press lightly greased plastic wrap against surface of pudding and place in refrigerator to cool at least 4 hours. Whisk pudding briefly and serve. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Mushroom
Asparagus Risotto with Shrimp

Makes 6–8 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1 quart mushroom stock, vegetable stock, or chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 medium shallot or 1/2 small onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 pound fresh asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Kosher salt, to taste

Directions

1. Heat the stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan, then lower the heat so that the stock just stays hot.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a sauté pan and sauté the shrimp, sliced mushrooms, and asparagus until they’re soft and the shrimp are pink and fully cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the chopped shallot or onion. Sauté for 2–3 minutes or until it is slightly translucent.

4.
Add the rice to the pot and stir it briskly with a wooden spoon so that the grains are coated with the oil and melted butter. Sauté for another minute or so, until there is a slightly nutty aroma, but don’t let the rice turn brown.

5. Add the wine and cook while stirring, until the liquid is fully absorbed.

6. Add a ladle of hot stock to the rice and stir until the liquid is fully absorbed. When the rice appears almost dry, add another ladle of stock and repeat the process.

Note: It’s important to stir constantly, especially while the hot stock gets absorbed, to prevent scorching, and add the next ladle as soon as the rice is almost dry.

7. Continue adding ladles of hot stock and stirring the rice while the liquid is absorbed. As it cooks, you’ll see that the rice will take on a creamy consistency as it begins to release its natural starches.

8. Continue adding stock, a ladle at a time, for 20–30 minutes or until the grains are tender but still firm to the bite, without being crunchy. When you’re down to your last few ladles of stock, add the cooked shrimp, mushrooms, and asparagus. If you run out of stock and the risotto still isn’t done, you can finish the cooking using hot water. Just add the water as you did with the stock, a ladle at a time, stirring while it’s absorbed.

9. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter, the Parmesan cheese, and the parsley, and season to taste with Kosher salt.

Risotto turns glutinous if held for too long, so you should serve it right away. A properly cooked risotto should form a soft, creamy mound on a dinner plate. It shouldn’t run across the plate, nor should it be stiff or gluey.

Bernie’s
Empanadas de Manzana

(Apple Empanadas)

Ingredients

Filling

6 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 6 cups)

1 cup chopped piloncillo (brown sugar cane), or 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons sugar

Dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus extra for rolling

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) salted cold butter, cut into pieces

1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to
350°F
. Peel, core and chop the apples into 1/4-inch chunks. Put the apples into a pot with the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Cook the apples over medium heat for 12 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Strain and discard the liquid. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes.

2. While the apple mixture cools, combine flour and sugar and then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or fork, until it looks like coarse crumbs. Toss with 1/4 cup water to moisten. Continue adding water by tablespoon and mixing with a fork until the dough holds together.

3. Form a ball out of the dough and divide into four smaller balls. Flatten each into a disk. Refrigerate dough, covered for 20 minutes.

4. Roll out one ball of dough to approximately a 9 inch circle, 1/2-inch-thick, sprinkling extra flour to prevent it from sticking. Use a 4 to 5-inch round biscuit cutter, glass, or mug to stamp out circles, rerolling scraps to finish the dough (each ball makes approximately 5).

5. For each circle, use your index finger to wet the edge with cold water. Place 1 tablespoon of cooked apples in the middle. Pick up the circle of dough, making a “boat” out of the dough, pinching together the sides to make a semicircle. Fold the edges of the pinched-together dough in toward the empanada and crimp, sealing it well.

6. Repeat until you have finished all the dough. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.