Mother Nature Hit Early This Year

All spring, summer and fall we enjoyed the fresh Herbs growing in the pots on the deck.  I have also been researching how to keep them over the winter, so I don't have to waste what I have left.  I found varying methods, and settled on what I did below.  And I did it just in time.  Nearly a month ago, an unexpected snow storm was heading our way, and I had no time to spare people, no time to spare.  Mother nature was breathing down my neck.

The chives get washed and dried.

Chop them into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces, then place on a cookie sheet and freeze, as is, for 30 minutes.

Place in a resealable bag and freeze for future use.

The parsley also gets washed and dried of course.

Remove the stems.

Lightly chop.

I placed about 2 tablespoons in each of three little bags.

Then I packed them all together and placed in the freezer.

The Rosemary and Thyme simply get washed dried and placed in resealable storage bags.

Then the storm came and I was ready.  I laughed, ha, in the face of Mother Nature.

A bientot!  See you soon.

Rock On!

Before

During

After

A bientot!  See you soon.

Potato and Eggs With Regis and Kelly

Today is the end of an era.  Regis Philbin is "moving on", which means he is leaving Live With Regis And Kelly.  I have been a big fan of the show for many years.  It is a show that makes us smile, and what a way to start the day.  UD and I decided we needed to mark the event with something special for breakfast.  Potato and Eggs got the nod.  Nothing elegant, but we love it, and it makes us smile as well.

3 large Idaho potatoes
1 large onion
3 large carrots
9 eggs

There are egg whites pictured here, but at the last minute UD went to the store and got more eggs.  Thanks UD.

This is what I did the night before the big event.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Once it reaches temperature, put the unseasoned potatoes in the center of the oven for 1 hour.  Meanwhile, place thickly sliced onions and cut up carrots on a foil lined cookie sheet.  Coat with oil, salt and pepper.  Toss around and place in the lower part of the oven.  The carrot and onion can be replaced with any veggies you might prefer.  Broccoli, mushrooms, anything you like.

Roast for 15-20 minutes, turn and roast for another 15 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, let it cool.  Then wrap and place in the fridge until the morning.

See you in the morning.

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Oh my goodness!  The big day is here!  I wonder what Regis and Kelly are having for breakfast.

Let's get started with the potato and egg.  Dice the onion and carrots, then peel and cube the potatoes.

Crack and lightly scramble the eggs.  Also add some salt and mix it in.

Preheat a pan over medium heat.  Then add some oil.  When it is hot, add the potatoes and season well.  Let them sit for 10 minutes or so and then stir them around.  if you need more oil or seasoning, add it here.  Keep heating until the potatoes are nice and hot and taste yummy even on their own.

Turn the heat up to medium high.  Then add the carrots and onion.

And continue cooking until everything is hot and starting to get nicely browned.

Add the eggs.

Stir everything together.

Remember to season as you go, and taste all along the way.  When everything is hot and tasty, serve it up!

I like it plain and simple.

With an ice cold diet Pepsi.

UD prefers it with ketchup and hot sauce.

And a hot cup of coffee.

Farewell Regis!  We will miss you.

A bientot!  See you soon.

Chicken Marsala #2

The best Chicken Marsala I have ever had, is made at Capellini's Restaurant in Tewksbury, MA.  I have never been able to duplicate it at home, much to my dismay.  Quite some time ago, my friend D gave me a recipe she uses, which was really delicious.  I wish I had blogged it when I made it, but that was my pre-blogging days.  I will call that Chicken Marsala #1.  It really was delicious, but not quite the same consistency as the one at Capellini's.  So since I have the time, and the inclination, I am going to make Chicken Marsala over and over, until I am transformed to another place, at another time.  Capellini's in Tewksbury.  Wish me luck!

Well you weren't wishing hard enough.  This chicken Marsala was only okay, and definitely nothing to write home about.  I shall call it Chicken Marsala #2.  I am going to just quickly go over it, and point out where I think the biggest problem lay.  No exact instructions today, because I really don't want you to try this at home.  Because it was (picture me shrugging my shoulders) only okay. 

You start with all the basic ingredients.

I used regular sized chicken breasts, and cut them in half horizontally.  Then I pounded them between plastic wrap just until they were just about 1/4 inch thick.

Add EVOO and 1 tablespoon of butter to a preheated pan.  Then add 3 cloves of garlic, smashed, and saute those until they are golden brown, and remove.  They have now fulfilled their garlic destiny.

Add the chicken, which has been seasoned with kosher salt.

Remove to a plate when they are golden brown on both sides.

Cover with a little foil to keep them warm.

 Add the mushrooms to the pan, and cook until they are tender.

Now here is where I think the recipe went awry.  It called for 6 tablespoons of flour.  To only 4 cups of liquid.  1 cup Marsala and 1 cup beef broth.  When I read it, I thought it seemed like a lot of flour, but I was determined to follow the recipe, to see what happens.

Add the flour and cooked it for about 1 minute with the mushrooms.  This is to remove the taste of the flour.

Then add the Marsala sauce, and deglaze the pan.

Then add the beef broth.

Cook until the flavors are blended a little.

In the meantime I added angel hair pasta to boiling salted water.

When the sauce is heated up, add the chicken back in, with any juices that may have collected on the plate.

The sauce will quickly thicken.  I am partial to a thinner sauce, so the amount of flour that is called for here, is not to my liking.

Add the cooked pasta to the pan.  At this point I changed things up a bit.  After all, we were having this for dinner.  I reserved about a cup of the starchy pasta water and added that to the pan.  It loosened the sauce up a little.

It still was not the consistency I like.  In the recipe that D gave me, you just dredge the chicken in a flour mixture, and that is all the flour you use.  I think that would have been key here.

We were both non-plussed with this dish.

Let's recap, shall we?

Chicken Marsala #1 is the clear winner in the Battle Chicken Marsala October 2011.

Stay tuned to the next edition of ...

Battle Chicken Marsala, with our newest contender, Chicken Marsala #3.

Coming in November 2011.

Have no fear, I will persevere! 

A bientot!  See you soon.