Although there are a few quick steps involved, this dish doesn’t take too long to pull together and is perfect for a busy week night.  If any of your offspring are loitering around the kitchen looking bored, enlist their assistance in flattening the chicken breasts.  Hand them a meat mallet (or a small saucepan) and let them go to town – unless of course, you need to vent your own aggressions – then by all means, save this fun step for yourself.  I just got back from vacation, so my personal aggressions are at a seasonal low.

Common sense reminder:  make sure all of your sous chefs wash their hands when they’re done helping out!  I don’t want salmonella on my conscience today.

We like this chicken with buttered egg noodles or smashed redskin potatoes, and a big Greek salad on the side.  Enjoy!

PANKO-CRUSTED LEMON CHICKEN

Serves:  6

Source:  adapted from epicurious.com

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (Smart Chicken is on sale)
• 5 T. lemon juice, divided (lemons are on sale)
• 2 eggs (Sparboe brand Grade A’s are on sale)
• 1 ¼ c. panko breadcrumbs (find these on the bottom shelf of the Asian aisle)
• ½ c. good-quality grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 t. grated lemon peel

• 4 T. butter (or equal parts butter and olive oil, which is what I always do)
• Lemon wedges and parsley sprigs for garnish, if desired

Place each chicken breast between sheets of wax paper and set them on a flat surface.  Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a small saucepan, pound each breast to an even ½ inch thickness.  Place the chicken in a shallow baking dish.  Pour 4 tablespoons of lemon juice over chicken and turn to coat.  Let stand 10 minutes.

Beat eggs with remaining 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in a medium bowl.  Combine panko, Parmesan, and lemon peel in a shallow dish.  Dip 1 chicken breast into the egg mixture.  Dip into panko to coat; gently shake off excess.  Season breasts with salt and pepper.  Repeat with remaining chicken, egg mixture, and panko.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a heavy large skillet over medium high heat.  When butter is hot, add two chicken breasts to skillet and sauté until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side (don’t fiddle with them or scoot them around during this time, trust me!).  Transfer chicken to a platter and keep warm.  Repeat with remaining chicken in 2 more batches, adding 1 tablespoon of butter with each batch.  Garnish platter with lemon wedges and parsley and serve.

Pork tenderloin is on special this week and that makes me happy.  I know, it’s the little things in life, right?  I love pork tenderloin.  It’s one of the favorite meats served ‘round these parts.  I’m forever trying to find different and exciting ways to jazz it up – I have an old standby (the Honey-Gingered recipe that can be found in the archive on your right), but if I made that ev’er single time pork tenderloin came on special, you’d all be ‘bout ready to string me up.

Today’s version is a riff on Ca’lina barbecue (that’s whah I’m tawking in a Suthehn’ ac’see’ent).  Eastern Carolinians are known for their vinegar based sauces and mops.  This thin and tangy version is purty good, although it wasn’t a home run with the entire DamFam.  No Thank You Boy turned up his nose and immediately went the pb&j route (which honestly, I don’t have  a problem with, as long as he makes it himself and doesn’t leave a sticky purple knife on my counter).  The middle child liked it ‘okay’, but the youngest scarfed up an en-tire sandwich in five minutes flat.  A direct quote from her:  “Wow, this chicken (gulps milk) is really good!” (wipes nose)

The milk gulping and nose wiping were because this sauce packs some heat, so watch out.  I think it’s mellowed a bit as it’s sat in the fridge overnight; last night I thought it was a weeeeee bit vinegar-y.  Maybe next time I would tweak it with a smidge of brown sugar to cut the tang.  The lemon coleslaw is a nice, cool contrast to the spicy pork – I highly recommend it!

The original recipe calls for wrapping the shredded pork in lavash, which is Middle Eastern-style flat bread; you can find it on the shelf at the deli counter at Sendik’s.  I had large flour tortillas I needed to use up, and the punks had theirs on hamburger buns.  You can use whatever honks yer’ hooter!

Happy Tuesday!

SHREDDED PORK WRAPS WITH LEMON COLESLAW

Serves: 4

Source:  epicurious.com

• 1 onion, chopped (sweet onions are on sale)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 T. olive oil
• 2 T. cider vinegar
• ¼ c. ketchup
• 2 T. ketchup-style chili sauce
• 2 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t. Tabasco
• ¾ c. water
• ½ t. salt
• ¼ t. black pepper

• 1 – 12 oz. pork tenderloin, cut in half (on sale)

• Lavash, large flour tortillas, or hamburger buns for serving

• Lemon Coleslaw, recipe follows

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a 3-4 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring, until golden brown, about 8 minutes.  Stir in remaining sauce ingredients and simmer (covered) 10 minutes.  Add pork and simmer, covered, turning occasionally, until tender, about 45 minutes.

Transfer pork with tongs to a cutting board.  Puree cooking liquid in a blender until smooth (USE CAUTION when blending hot liquids; start the blender on low and leave the lid slightly ajar to allow the steam to escape before you ratchet up the speed) and return to pot.  When pork is cool enough to handle, shred lengthwise with your fingers and add to the sauce.  Simmer just until pork is heated through.

Divide pork mixture among lavash, tortillas, or buns and top with some coleslaw, then wrap up and serve.

LEMON COLESLAW

Serves: 4

Source: adapted from epicurious.com

• 1/2 – 14 oz. bag of coleslaw mix (cabbage and carrots)
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• ¼ c. chopped fresh parsley (because I am a fool for it, I used cilantro)

• 2 T. sour cream (Daisy brand is on sale)
• 2 t. mayonnaise
• ½ t. lemon zest
• 1 t. sugar
• 3 T. water
• ¼ t. salt
• 1/8 t. pepper

Place the coleslaw mix, scallions, and parsley in a mixing bowl and toss to combine.  In a small mixing bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest, sugar, water, salt and pepper and stir until sugar dissolves.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  Pour over coleslaw mixture and toss to combine.  Chill for one hour to allow flavors to blend.  Serve with shredded pork.

We’ve been eating a lot more fish at our house since I started writing this blog.  It’s been good for our family, too.  Not only does fish feel much lighter than meat, it’s given me a great chance to experiment with different preparations, and my kids have decided that salmon (“yay, pink fish!”) is all right — except for No Thank-You Boy, of course … but if you’ve been following along, you know that we’ve determined there’s not much in the way of food that he enjoys these days.  Teenagers.  Let’s not talk about him please.

Let’s talk about dinner!  This meal comes together in a skinny minute; there’s minimal prep work followed by a short cook time.  The sauce of red onion, lemon juice, and capers is light and bright at the same time.  If you’re not crazy about those flavors, you could easily pass on the sauce.  Truth be told (and keepin’ it real), my husband wasn’t nuts about the sauce.  I liked it though, and thought it was a nice compliment to the fish.

You could also punt and whip up a box of rice pilaf if you weren’t feelin’ it for the risotto, but as far as risotto goes, this one is a cinch, and a perfect recipe to get the hang of the technique if you’ve never made risotto before.  Give it a try!

Enjoy your Monday, everyone!

ROASTED SALMON & ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON-CAPER SAUCE

Serves:  4

Source:  epicurious.com

• 2 T. fresh lemon juice
• 2 T. minced red onion
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 T. capers, chopped
• pinch dried thyme
• ½ t. grated lemon zest

• 1 ½ lb. skinless salmon fillet (on sale)
• 1 lb. asparagus (also on sale)
• 1 T. olive oil

Preheat oven to 450.  Whisk first six ingredients in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

Cut three ½” deep slits crosswise in top of salmon (as if dividing into 4 equal pieces but don’t cut all the way through).  Arrange asparagus in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet.  Drizzle with oil and turn to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Place salmon atop asparagus; sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast until salmon is just opaque in center, about 20 minutes.

Transfer asparagus and salmon to platter.  Spoon sauce over salmon.  Cut into 4 pieces along slits and serve.

RISOTTO WITH PARMESAN

Serves: 6 as a side dish

Source:  epicurious.com

• 5 c. chicken broth
• 4 T. butter (I cut this to 2 T. with no trouble)
• 1 ½ c. finely chopped onion
• 1 ½ c. Arborio rice
• 1 c. grated Parmesan (if you opt for the green can, I’m afraid we can’t be friends anymore.)
• 2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Shaved Parmesan cheese (on sale)

Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to low; cover saucepan.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium low heat.  Add onion, sauté until very tender but not brown, about 15 minutes.  Increase heat to medium.  Add rice and stir 1 minute.  Add 1 ½ cups of broth.  Boil gently until broth is absorbed, stirring frequently.  Add another cup of broth; stir until broth is absorbed.  Add remaining 2 ½ cups of broth, ½ cup at a time, patiently allowing broth to be absorbed before adding more and stirring frequently until rice is tender and mixture is creamy, about 25 minutes.  Patience, people.  Stir in 1 cup of grated cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.  Transfer to serving bowl, garnish with parsley and shaved Parmesan.

What’s that, you say?  Isn’t bacon smack in the middle of the meat group on the food pyramid?  Why yes, it is.  I didn’t have any bacon on my sandwich though. Mine was just a Salmon LT.  You thought you busted me, didn’t you?  Naw.  I’m still to behaving myself after the naughty weekend.  Let’s please not talk about that again though.  Next subject…

…our sandwich!  So yummy, it’s the perfect light dinner for a warm evening.  The salmon has a gentle lemon flavor, thanks to a quick swim in a simple lemon-basil marinade.  Toasty bread is dressed with a terrific lemon-scented basil mayonnaise, then topped with crispy bacon, fresh lettuce, tomatoes and slivered red onion.  A healthy dinner never tasted so good!

I’m also pleased to tell you that this recipe makes great use of several sale items:  the salmon, bacon, and sourdough bread are all in the ad this week.  I happened to have a loaf of ciabatta in the freezer, so I used that in lieu of the sourdough.  Of course, you can use whatever bread you like, but I would draw the line at Wonder products.   Remember, we are counting our pennies, but we have our standards to maintain!

Enjoy!

OPEN-FACED SALMON BLT

Serves: 4

Source:  Adapted from  “Salmon Club” on epicurious.com

• 6 T. mayonnaise
• 5 T. minced fresh basil
• 1 t. lemon peel
• 3 T. olive oil
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 4 5-6 oz. skinless salmon fillets, each about ¾” thick (try the Coho, on sale this week 9/9/9 – 9/15/9)
• 8 slices bacon (I used the sale Farmland)
• ½ small red onion, julienned
• 4 slices good quality bread (again, try the sale sourdough, on sale this week 9/9/9 – 9/15/9)
• 8 tomato slices
• 8 lettuce leaves

Mix the mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons basil, and lemon peel in a small bowl to blend.  Cover and chill.

Mix remaining 3 tablespoons basil, olive oil, and lemon juice in a large glass baking dish.  Add salmon to oil mixture, turn to coat.  Cover and chill for an hour or so.

Preheat oven to 450.

Cook the bacon in a large, oven safe sauté pan until crisp; transfer to paper towels to drain.  Drain off all but 2 teaspoons of bacon drippings, return pan to the heat.  Place the salmon (skinned side up) in the pan and cook over medium-high heat for three minutes.  During this time, kindly do not fiddle with it, poke it, or scoot it around.  No peeking, either!

Carefully flip salmon, transfer pan to the oven and continue to cook for another three minutes or so.  Remove from oven, and set aside, and remind yourself that the handle of the pan is still screamingly hot!

Toast bread slices and place on work surface.  Spread mayonnaise mixture over one side of each slice of bread.  Top each slice with two lettuce leaves, two slices bacon, two slices of tomato, some of the julienned onion, and one salmon fillet.  Serve immediately.

I’m going to play along with the heat and humidity by whipping up this simple and light grilled seafood supper for the DamFam tonight.  This meal is ideal for a day like this; there is very little prep work involved, practically NO dirty dishes, and I won’t even have to fire up the oven (well, actually that’s not quite true; I think I’ll heat up a baguette to soak up the yummy sauce).  The long and the short is that I’ll have plenty of time to laze around, sipping lemonade on ice and enjoying the heat of the day.  Later on, I’ll put the Husband on grill duty.  He’s gonna be all over this recipe; I’m pretty sure the sight of foil packets will send him di-rectly down memory lane with sweet visions of his days at Boy Scout camp.

This recipe (originally found in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine) makes great use of the sale tilapia (the same I used for the tacos a few days back) as well as those ridiculously cheap redskinned potatoes (hello….39/pound?).  You certainly could use the sale Bos’n Cleaned Shrimp, but for this dinner, I prefer to use larger shimp.  I’m going to splurge and go for 16-20 count, which I can easily justify because I don’t need that many of them for this recipe.

Ask my husband – I can justify just about anything.  It’s a gift, what can I say.

The original recipe calls for a making a dill compound butter (don’t be scared!) which is really good, but because I stupidly forgot to grab dill when I was at the store, tonight I’m going to use a slightly different riff.  It’s the same basic idea, but with Old Bay seasoning instead of dill.  Directions for both butters are included; feel free to go with the one you like.  No need to thank me.  You know I live for this stuff.

Despite how simple these packets are to pull together, I would TOTALLY be comfortable serving these to guests!  In fact, I’m going to pop it into my menu rotation for entertaining out here at the cottage.

Happy summer, all!  Enjoy!

GRILLED SEAFOOD PACKETS

Serves: 4

Source:  Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food Magazine, July/August 2007 issue.

For the dill butter:

• 2 T. butter, room temperature
• 2 T. finely chopped fresh dill, plus additional sprigs for garnish
• 1 small clove garlic, pressed or very finely minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

For Old Bay butter:

• 2 T. butter, room temperature
• ½ t. Old Bay Seasoning (adjust it to your taste)
• 1 small clove garlic, pressed or very finely minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

• 8 oz. redskinned potatoes, scrubbed and very thinly sliced (I’m serious)
• 1 lb. skinless cod fillet, cut into 4 equal pieces (I used the sale Tilapia)
• 8 oz. uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 12, which is 3 a piece…did I mention math is another of my gifts?)
• 2 ears corn, husked and quartered
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced, plus additional wedges for garnish

Heat your grill to medium.  Decide which compound butter you’d like to use (or do a little of each — whatever makes you happy!).  The instructions apply to either:  In a small bowl, combine  well 2 T. butter with either the chopped dill or the Old Bay, and the garlic.  Season with salt and pepper and voila, you just made a compound butter, you sassy thing!  Taste it, admire it, set is aside.

Fold four 14-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil in half, forming 4 rectangles.  Assemble packets:  spray on one half of each of four folded pieces of foil with a little Pam; arrange your VERY THINLY sliced potatoes in a single layer, top with the fish, then the shrimp, dividing all ingredients evenly among the foil pieces.  Place two ears of corn on the side.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a dollop of the compound butter and two lemon slices.  Fold foil over ingredients, and crimp edges tightly to seal.

Place the packets on the grill, with potato layer on the bottom.  Cook, rotating (but not flipping) packets occasionally, until fish is just cooked through and potatoes are tender, 15 minutes.

Remove from grill.  Slit packets to open, and transfer contents to individual plates.  Garnish with additional dill sprigs or lemon wedges.

Wanna make some new friends, or endear yourself to the friends you already have?  Make a few phone calls, whip up a platter of these little lovelies, and your pals will come crawling out of the woodwork in no time flat.

When I saw that these Cleaned, Super Jumbo Shrimp (‘jumbo shrimp’ – isn’t that an oxymoron?) were going on sale this week, I knew it was the perfect time to share this tried-and-true recipe with you.  The list of ingredients is short, the prep work is minimal, and the steps are few.  Delicious with a light white wine or chilly cocktail, these shrimp are the perfect summer hors’doeuvre!

Serve them at your next get-together, cocktail party, or neighborhood throw-down, and watch them disappear!

A few tips:  while you’re heating up your pan, drain off the shrimp and blot away any excess liquid.  I like to spread them on a layer or two of paper towels, then pat them dry with some additional towels.  If you throw the shrimp into the pan while they’re soaking wet, they’re going to steam instead of sauté.  Blech.  I would hate for that to happen to you.

Also, feel free to adjust the levels of lemon and lime juice to your personal taste.  The batch I just made could have stood a bit more citrus flavor, in my opinion.

CITRUS SHRIMP WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS & SCALLIONS

Serves:  4-6, Appetizer Portions

Source:  I have absolutely no idea, this recipe has been in my file for years!  I think it came from my Aunt Vickie, so we’ll just give her the credit if that’s all right with you.

• 1 lbs. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (use the sale ones, 16-20 count)
• olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T. minced ginger
• 1 T. fresh lemon juice
• 1 T. fresh lime juice
• 1/4 c. chopped chives or scallions, plus additional for garnish
• 1 roasted red bell pepper, chopped (jarred roasted peppers if you like)
• Lemon and lime wedges for garnish

Place a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan (maybe a tablespoon or so?). Saute the shrimp for two minutes, or until cooked through. Remove shrimp with a slotted spoon and set aside in a glass bowl.

Add a little bit more oil to the pan and saute the garlic and ginger until golden. Remove from heat. Add in the citrus juices; stir to combine. Pour this mixture over the shrimp, season with salt, and toss to coat. Chill for two to three hours, stirring occasionally. Add the roasted red bell pepper and scallions; toss to combine. Pour onto a pretty platter, garnish with additional chives and citrus wedges. Lastly, you’ll definitely want to sample one or two.  Put the ‘sample tails’ into a little bowl near the platter, just to show your guests where they can put their tails (shrimp tails!) too.  J