Wednesday, July 29, 2009

What's to Eat? Wednesday: A Hit and A Miss

Welcome to What's to Eat? Wednesday! Around here, Wednesday is all about food so if you want to join in just put your site in Mr. Linky below so we can read all about it. Do you need topic ideas? Try these…favorite/worst recipes, kitchen disasters, restaurant experiences, kitchen gadgets, food memories, or dinner parties….really anything about or related to food goes here!


A Hit and A Miss

I'm always on the lookout for new "keeper" recipes to add to my repertoire, and last week I found both a keeper and a trasher. I'll share both and maybe you guys will have some ideas on the second one.

The Hit: Barefoot Contessa's Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese

Ingredients

  • 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone-in, skin-on
  • 12 ounces Montrachet goat cheese, with garlic and herbs
  • Fresh basil leaves
  • Good olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Directions


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers, leaving one side attached.. Cut 12 thick slices of the Montrachet and place 2 slices plus a large basil leaf under the skin of each chicken breast. Rub each piece with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake the breasts for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked through. Serve hot or at room temperature.


It was super easy, minus the fact that our Kroger's does not have boneless chicken breasts with skin. My husband did end up butchering that himself without too much of a problem though. Also, my husband isn't a fan of goat cheese, but really didn't seem to mind it in this particular recipe. Definitely give it a try! I didn't change a thing except for the brand of goat cheese.





The Miss: Southern Living's Summer Squash Stacks with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 medium-size yellow squash, cut diagonally into 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices (about 3/4 lb.)
  • 2 medium zucchini, cut diagonally into 16 (1/4-inch-thick) slices (about 1 lb.)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 (8.8-oz.) package fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 16 basil leaves
  • Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce
  • Garnish: freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Brush squash and zucchini with oil; place in a single layer in a jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.

2. Cut mozzarella into 8 (1/4-inch-thick) slices. Cut each slice in half. Place half of zucchini on a serving platter. Layer with half each of mozzarella and basil. Top with yellow squash. Layer with remaining mozzarella, basil, and zucchini. Top with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce. Garnish, if desired.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 (7-oz.) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preparation

1. Process all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.

I wasn't impressed with this one and I love squash and zucchini. I believe really I was disappointed with the cheese. It just didn't have any taste to it all. They did turn out pretty though and would be great for entertaining if I could just find the right ingredients to suit my taste. The only thing I changed here was that I didn't have ALL the basil required.



4 comments :

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. I don't know if I would have wanted a roasted red pepper sauce over my veggies. I love the two, but I like to keep it separate!

    I'm adding my favorite homemade brownie recipe this week, and a simple, yummy pasta dish!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gotta love the Barefoot Contessa. Chicken looks great. Also, I am believer in the conspiracy theory that both Southern Living and BHG put bad recipe's in to see if anyone is reading. I remember running across some sort of bizarre hot dog pizza casserole once and it's kind of freaked me out ever since.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Chicken looks yum. Okay, I have to tell you what I made...

    Cashew encrusted Salmon over some spring greens!

    I just crushed cashews. Coated the salmon with honey mustard, then the cashews and baked. Then, made a pomegranate vinagrette for the salad. It was YUM!

    ReplyDelete

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