Bruschetta with Crunchy Jalepeno Topping

I went to a farmer's market the other day, and I had this random thought to make some interesting bruschetta to have with dinner. We had leftovers of chili and pasta salad in the fridge to eat up, and lots of fresh vegetables to also use in the bruschetta topping.

Huge baskets of fresh jalepenos looked perfect at the market, so that's what I thought I'd use as the main ingredient for the fresh salsa-like topping for the fresh focattia bread I got at the Hearvest Bread Company. I really wanted sourdough, but they didn't have any made that day.

This is not a recipe really, I just chopped everything pretty tiny and threw it in the bowl until I was satisfied with it. I wanted lots of jalepenos, so I used only the outside flesh of the pepper, no ribs or seeds, and it wasn't very spicy. On the last pepper I chopped (I used 5 I think) I did add a little bit of the ribs because it needed a little heat though. Since I had celery and cucumber I threw them in and they added lots of cool crunch. Red onion and grape tomatoes, salt, pepper, a tiny splash of each olive oil and red wine vinegar, and done! If I had herbs like basil, cilantro, or mint, I would have thrown some in - dang I do have a mint plant on my porch but I totally forgot about it! Oh well, my point is use whatever you have... or think you have. Chop it fine or use the food processor and add ingredients until you like the balance of tastes. Tomatoes are the classic ingredient. I wouldn't put those in the processor, but if you use them, leave in all the juices and everything. If you think it needs a little perk up, throw in the olive oil, your favorite vinegar, lemon or lime juice and it will make a world of difference. Don't top the bread ahead of time if you're serving people, but when you spoon it on the bread do get the juices onto the bread because it's yummy!

Cut the bread in slices, toast, and then rub with a cut piece of garlic and drizzle olive oil, salt, and pepper on top. That is bruschetta. It's great with many types of bread; focaccia would never be my first choice, but it was good, this one had stuff like fennel seeds baked in. Whatever topping you like - could be simply chopped tomatoes in a dressing, is a bonus! If you make this, leave a comment and let me know what you used!

Cream Cheese & Scallion Stuffed Chicken, and Beige Food

I'll start with my discussion on beige food. It's usually delicious, and not necessarily unhealthy. The end.
I love cooking chicken. Lots of foodies think boneless and skinless chicken breasts are worthless pieces of poultry, but I beg to differ! You can do anything with chicken; the sky's the limit when it comes to seasoning and flavor, type of cuisine, kind of dish, and method of cooking.

Every time I make chicken it's always Erol's "FAVORITE!!" This time he said he takes back all the other times he's ever said that because this is truly number one. I think he really believes it each time he says that, but I know he'll say it next time too.

Doesn't the name of this recipe just make your mouth water! I insist you make this if you like cream cheese, and of course you do because everyone does! Make it for guests and they will be so impressed simply because it's rolled and seems kinda fancy. Let them think you slaved over it, but it is so easy and most importantly when you have company: it can be completely assembled ahead of time and clean up is as easy as tossing a piece of foil in the trash!

The prep, however, will turn your kitchen into a very messy one, but no one has to see that.

I get lots of compliments when I make chicken, and besides the fact that I've had a lot of practice at knowing when it's done, I don't mess around and almost always use a digital cooking thermometer. It is easy to overcook chicken, and I still do sometimes, and no recipe can help that by providing a cooking time because the size and shape of each piece is unique. A digital thermometer is a must and there's no way around it. I have mine set to beep at 165 degrees, the lowest acceptable internal temperature for cooked poultry. I let it get to 168 degrees most of the time before removing the pan from the oven or the stovetop. The very very very worst way to check a piece of meat to see if it's done is to cut into it. If you are on a desert island cooking chicken without a digital thermometer and you absolutely must cut into it, do it only to the piece you will eat yourself and don't let on that it's dry, which is what will happen. (Sorry for getting a little fired up there, I've got the presidential debates on and I guess I'm feeling the tension!)

So back to this recipe - one day last week my shopping list included 1 lb of chicken for another recipe, and my frugal husband scored a 4 lb pack for only $3 more than the cost for only 1 lb. Yesterday I had three huge chicken breasts and not much else by way of other ingredients to make a recipe, so being unable to get to the store, I perused my fridge and found four scallions and a package of cream cheese. It made me think of the flavor of a dip or something, I can't remember exactly how I've had chicken and cream cheese together, but it just seemed like it would work.

I rolled and breaded this like chicken Kiev, but this is easier because Kiev is filled with butter and the chicken must be sealed tight or it will all leak out before it hits the plate. As you can see in my pictures, the cream cheese can leak out and puff up and it's still perfect and actually made it more appealing to me since it gave a little preview of what's waiting inside!

It took a lot of hand washing, but I took pictures of each step of assembling this recipe to make it more helpful because I really want everyone to try this! I will write the recipe for 3 large chicken breasts because that's what I had to use, but you can follow the same technique for any number of them. If your chicken breasts are this large, one will feed two people (or if you're Erol, one and a half will feed you. Just kidding, honey!) To make ahead of time, completely assemble them and place on the oiled baking sheet and refrigerate. They can go straight from the fridge to the preheated oven, just drizzle the olive oil on the top before placing in the oven.

Cream Cheese & Scallion Stuffed Chicken
Chicken and filling:
3 large boneless and skinless chicken breasts
8oz cream cheese
4 scallions, chopped
olive oil
9 toothpicks

Breading:
1 cup flour
2 eggs beaten with a splash of water
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prep breading ingredients in three separate bowls and season each bowl with salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly oil it.

Mix together the cream cheese and chopped scallions. Inside the bowl make a little mound for each chicken breast so it's easy to pick up with your hands.

Using a sharp knife, cut each chicken breast in half and spread open to create a larger, flatter piece. One at a time, place the pieces in a large freezer Zip Lock bag and pound out to make it even larger and flatter.

Lay out the pieces one at a time, cut side up and tapered end closest to you. Pick up a mound of the cream cheese and spread it on the lower 3/4 of the chicken.

Roll up the piece of chicken from the tapered end up, tucking in the edges as best you can. It's perfectly fine if there are some holes! Secure shut each piece with three toothpicks.

Once all the pieces are rolled up, bread them by dipping into the flour bowl, then egg bowl, then roll in the panko breadcrumbs. Place them on the oiled baking sheet, and drizzle olive oil on the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes and then insert a digital cooking thermometer into the center of the largest piece. It's done when it reaches 165 to 170 degrees, which may take up to an hour.

Don't forget to remove the toothpicks before serving.

Turkey Meatballs

Alright, moving on from Fakesgiving, I have 3 dinner recipes I'm ready to post. I can't find the magazine with the recipe for the sweet potato biscuits we made anyway, but when I find it I'll post it.

My family eats dinner very early in the evening; actually you could prob call it late afternoon. Erol gets home from work by 4:00 usually, and is always starving. We had been having a lot of take out, and one day wanted a home cooked meal, so when he got home I ran to the grocery store with no idea about what to buy. I first stopped by the magazine aisle to find inspiration in the food magazines, but didn't find them helpful. So I wandered over to the meat section, and ground turkey was on sale, so I thought: Meatballs!

Meatballs are quick, healthy, satisfying, and I didn't need to buy too many ingredients. Erol's a rice man, so I knew I'd be serving them over rice for dinner, but what kind of sauce to use? I searched around in the condiment and bottled marinade section and a sesame and ginger flavored one caught my eye. There were many brands to choose from of this, and tons of other flavors, but I got Paul Newman's because it was cheap. Picked up an onion and red pepper to add moisture and flavor to the ground turkey, and I was all set to make dinner!

Erol noted that these could be made a little smaller and they'd be a great appetizer with toothpicks.

Taste the marinade before you use it, I have a feeling that different brands will taste very different. It will have a very strong, vinegary flavor. You may want to adjust the amounts of marinade and honey to balance the flavors for your taste.
Turkey Meatballs
1 lb. ground turkey (or chicken - do not substitute beef)
half an onion, diced
half a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 t. salt
pepper
2 T. olive oil
1/2 cup sesame and ginger flavored marinade, such as Paul Newmans' brand
2 T. honey

In a large bowl combine the ground turkey, diced onion and red bell pepper, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper; do not over mix. Roll into balls and place them on a separate plate. (I wear latex-type gloves to mix and roll meatballs because it feels yucky.)

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium-high, then add the meatballs. Don't push them around or turn them until they are nicely dark browned on the bottom; when they are ready to turn they will release easily from the pan. Let brown on all sides.

Once they are fully cooked and dark brown almost all over, turn down the heat to low and add the marinade and honey to the pan, and turn the meatballs to coat in the glaze. Serve over rice.

Glazed Carrots

During college, I was in a car accident and the air bag went off in my face. The hard contact lens in my eye busted and scratched my cornea. My optometrist thought that it would not ever heal completely, but it thankfully did. I know it's ridiculous, but ever since then, carrots have been a little specialer to me.

Hahaha - that IS a true story and I don't think I've ever revealed that to anyone before!

I used to make this recipe about once a week with baby carrots, but it is better with whole big ones. I like it because it's so simple and in addition to carrots all you need probably on your countertop right now. I don't mess with ginger, orange juice, or any of that when I cook my carrots because they have such a good flavor, and cooking them this way brings out the best the carrot has to offer, and we don't want to cover that up.
Glazed Carrots
1 lb regular or baby carrots
2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
salt & pepper
1 T. sugar

If you get baby carrots, leave them whole; if you get regular carrots, peel them and cut the ends off. Cut the first piece on a diagonal, your knife parallel to the cutting board. Roll the carrot a quarter of the way, and cut the second piece using the same motion. Continue to cut the whole carrot into these funny little chunks. (Please leave a comment if I didn't state this clearly and I can post a video, it's hard to explain.)

Heat a large sautee pan over high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Toss in the carrots and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat to medium. Stir around to coat, and then stir and flip occasionally for a few minutes; you want to give them a chance to get nice and browned on most sides (the picture above is in the beginning/middle stage of cooking). When they are about halfway browned and starting to get soft, add the sugar. You may need to adjust the heat level between medium and high throughout cooking so they cook pretty quickly, but don't burn.

I like them when they're still a bit firm on the inside, but if you like them completely soft, once they are browned add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and cover for 5 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking until the water has evaporated.

Cranberry Sauce with Blueberries and Candied Orange

This recipe is original by mistake, and was kind of an experiment, but it turned out so great! I endeavored to make a recipe called Cranberry, Tangerine and Blueberry Sauce from Bon Appetite, but encountered two major problems: cranberries and tangerines are not in season yet. The store didn't even have frozen cranberries. So I bought 2 cans of whole berry cranberry sauce, and since I thought the combination of flavors in the original recipe sounded interesting, so I got a navel orange and half a pint of blueberries. I candied small slices of the orange, heated up the cranberry sauce to melt it, and added the blueberries to cook them a little. Then combined the oranges in to the sauce and refrigerated it. I thought it was good cold, and extra good warmed up. The orig recipe also called for some minced fresh ginger, which I forgot to add LUCKILY. I stirred in some ginger to a small amount of the sauce and thought it threw off the balance of flavors, but my mom did enjoy it that way too.

Cranberry Sauce with Blueberries and Candied Orange
2 cans of whole bean cranberry sauce
1/2 pint blueberries
candied orange slices from one navel orange (recipe below)

In a sauce pan over medium-low heat, melt the cranberry sauce, then add the blueberries and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool slightly, then stir in the candied orange slices. Serve warm or refrigerate and serve cold.

Candied Orange Slices
1 navel orange
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar

Cut the oranges into halves or wedges, and make very thin slices (see pic). Boil the water and sugar together in a heavy saucepan, then add the orange slices. Continue to boil for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to medium and cook for another 30 minutes. Lay out the slices onto a sheet pan lined with non-stick foil (or wax or parchment paper) and let cool. (For the cranberry recipe, you can use while still warm.)

Note: Multiply the recipe to make extra. Navel oranges are a must, or other thick-skinned orange; the white part of thinner skinned oranges is too bitter. These would be great to add to the tops of cupcakes or other desserts, and I can't wait to try this with grapefruit!

Navel orange, sliced and ready for the pot: