Country Chicken Roasted Red Potatoes Green Beans Salad with Buttermilk Yogurt Dressing Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

Transcription

1 Country Chicken Roasted Red Potatoes Green Beans Salad with Buttermilk Yogurt Dressing Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

2 COUNTRY CHICKEN Yield: Four servings 2 oz flour 1 tsp salt ½ tsp pepper ½ tsp paprika 4-6 chicken thighs 2 Tbsp butter, oil, or mixture 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes 1 ½ onions, small dice 1 ½ green bell peppers, chopped 1 tsp garlic powder 1 ½ tsp curry powder, Italian seasoning, chili powder, or other spice mixture 1. Combine flour, salt, pepper,and paprika. Dredge the chicken in the seasoned flour. 2. In a pot large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer, pan-fry the chicken in the butter, skin side down, until evenly browned. Turn and cook on the other side for 30 seconds. Remove the chicken and set aside. 3. Sweat the onions and bell peppers with remaining spices just until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and bring just to a simmer. 4. Place chicken back on top of vegetables, cover the pot and simmer until chicken reaches 165 F (about 30 minutes). Add additional water as needed to keep the pot from going dry. 5. Remove chicken & hold warm. Adjust the consistency of the sauce by adding water or chicken bouillon if it is too thick, or by simmering if it is too thin. Tbsp is the standard abbreviation for tablespoon and is almost always capitalized. tsp is the standard abbreviation for teaspoon and is always in lowercase. Chicken should be fried in a single layer to develop crust and flavor. If you do not have a pot large enough to hold all of the chicken, it can be done in batches. Use a gallon-sized reclosable bag to coat the chicken with the flour mixture. This makes clean-up easy and helps prevent crosscontamination. Sweat means to cook in a pan that is lightly coated with fat, just until the vegetable begins to release moisture and looks shiny.

3 GREEN BEANS Yield: Four 4oz servings 1 lb green beans ½ onion, small dice ½ green bell pepper, chopped 1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil Salt & pepper to taste 1. Trim the stem ends from the green beans. Rinse well. 2. Blanch green beans until just barely tender. Rinse under cool running water or in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Beans can be refrigerated 2-3 days. 3. Sauté onion & green pepper until onions are translucent and soft. Add green beans and toss to reheat. 4. Serve immediately. Blanch means to cook a food for a very short time in rapidly boiling water. Green beans can be blanched for 3-6 minutes, depending on the desired crispness. The blanching process is sometimes referred to as setting the color. The color will brighten and become more intense for many blanched vegetables, especially green ones. How to Chop an Onion To chop an onion, first cut off the stem end. Place it flat on the cut side, and cut it in half straight down through the root. Peel back the top layer of onion but do not remove (this makes a nice handle). Holding your knife parallel to the cutting board, make 2-3 horizontal slices Now cut straight down through the layers. The closer together the cuts are, the smaller the pieces of onion will be. DO NOT cut completely through the root side of the onion. At this point, the onion should fan out without falling apart. Using the peeled-back layer of skin as a handle, cut straight down across the onion starting at the stem end and working back towards the root end.

4 ROASTED RED POTATOES Yield: Five 4oz servings 1½ lb small red potatoes 1 tsp dried thyme 3 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp dried rosemary or basil 1 tsp salt Garlic powder and garlic salt are not interchangeable. Garlic salt is roughly 2 parts salt plus 1 part garlic powder. For this recipe, use 1½ tsp garlic salt in place of the salt and garlic powder. 1. Wash potatoes, scrubbing to remove any visible dirt. Do not peel. Drain and let dry. 2. Small, bite-sized potatoes can be left whole. Cut larger potatoes in to 1½-2 pieces. 3. Places potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add oil & seasonings. Toss or stir to coat all potatoes evenly. 4. Bake potatoes in a roasting pan at 400 F until tender (about 45 minutes) Potatoes can be pat dry with a paper towel. If too much water is left on the surface, the oil and seasonings will not cling and the potatoes will not brown in the oven. BUTTERMILK YOGURT DRESSING Yield: Eight 2 Tbsp servings 4 oz fat-free plain yogurt 1 tsp parsley flakes ¼ cup buttermilk ¼ tsp garlic powder 1 tsp prepared mustard 1 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp lemon juice Salt & pepper to taste 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1. Mix together all ingredients until uniformly blended. Use or refrigerate immediately.

5 LEMON BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE Yield: One 9x5 loaf, about 16 slices Cake: 2 cups flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt ¾ cup sugar ¼ cup butter, softened 1 Tbsp lemon zest 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla ¾ cup buttermilk ¼ cup vegetable oil Glaze: 1 Tbsp butter, melted 1 Tbsp lemon juice ½ Tbsp lemon zest ¾ cup powdered sugar 1. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. 2. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, vanilla, and vegetable oil. Set aside. 3. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add lemon zest and eggs (1 at a time) and mix until well combined. 4. Alternately add ⅓ of the flour mixture and ½ of the buttermilk mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Stir just to combine after each addition. 5. Pour into a greased & floured pan. Bake at 350 F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about minutes. 6. Cool cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool completely. 7. As cake cools, prepare glaze by combining butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, and powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth, then pour over cooled cake. Cream means to whip together butter and sugar until it is fluffy and much lighter in color. It is impossible to overcream, but undercreaming makes a coarse, dense cake. Lemon zest is the outside layer of the lemon rind. A microplane or a fine grater is best for cutting the small zest that is desirable in baked goods. The garnishing tool called a zester cuts larger pieces. Make sure to remove only the top layer of the skin. The white portion of the rind can be very bitter. One lemon will give 1½-2 Tbsp of zest. Mix the alternating flour and liquid additions in by hand. Overmixing the liquid can cause the batter to separate, and overmixing the flour will make a tough, chewy cake. This step should be done very gently but thoroughly. Using a spatula allows you to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so no parts are left unmixed.