Baby, where's my meat?

This post is about the best chicken recipe from my friend Pete. Pete cooked this dish and now has a new group of friends who remain loyal to him for as long as he cooks this awesome dish. The photo above is his masterpiece. No kidding! Credit is given to his mom who cooks the best tasty treats in this planet and to Lidia, the famous TV chef.

4 boneless and skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
salt
black pepper
all-purpose flour
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil, or as needed
3 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and sliced thin
6 oz. fresh mozzarella or Italian Fontina cheese, sliced thin

FOR THE SAUCE:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling over the finished dish
6 cloves garlic, peeled
8 ripe tomatoes or plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

Makes 4 servings

Cut off any fat, bone, and gristle remaining on the chicken thighs. PLace thighs between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them lightly with the toothed side of a meat mallet to a more or less even thickness. Don't overpound the thighs or they will shred and be difficult to bread and cook. Season the chicken thighs lightly with salt and pepper. Spread out the flour and bread crumbs on two separate plates. Beat the eggs in a wide shallow bowl until thoroughly blended. Dredge the chicken in flour to coat lightly and tap off the excess flour. Dip the thighs in the beaten egg and hold them over the bowl, letting the excess egg drip back into the bowl. Transfer the chicken, one piece at a time, to the plate of bread crumbs, patting gently and making sure that each thigh is well coated with bread crumbs.

Heat the vegetable (or light) oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add to the oil as many of the chicken pieces as fit without touching. Fry, turning once, until golden on both sides and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet lined with paper towels and drain well.

Remove the paper towels from the baking sheet. Top each chicken thigh with overlapping slices of tomato, dividing the tomato evenly. Drape the sliced cheese over the tomatoes to cover the chicken completely. (The chicken parmigiana can be prepared up to this point up to several hours in advance. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve).

PREPARE THE SAUCE:

Heat 3 Tablespoons of the olive oil in a wide skillet. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and drop them into the oil. Cook, shaking the pan, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the chopped tomatoes into the skillet, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until lightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Bake the chicken (400 degrees) until the cheese is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. While the chicken is baking, reheat the tomato sauce to simmering, stir in the basil, and taste, seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary. Spoon the sauce onto a heated platter or plates, and place the chicken over the sauce. Drizzle the remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over the sauce and serve immediately.

Deanna’s Wild Wild West Sausage Dish

Conserve energy and keep the house cooler by using your slow cooker instead of the oven. You can also add potatoes to make this a one-pot meal. Serve sausage dish with a tossed salad or sliced fresh tomatoes.
Ingredients:
• 4-6 medium potatoes, boiled and cut (Optional)
• 12 to 16 ounces smoked sausage, whole
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 1 can vegetarian chili
• 1 tomato, chopped
• ½ bag of baby carrots
• ½ red bell pepper

Preparation:
Toss all ingredients except the potatoes together in a 5 to 7-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH until carrots are tender. Then add the potatoes (Optional).

Test Lab: Herb and Garlic Spread

HERB AND GARLIC BUTTER

1 lb. salted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. dried each of thyme, tarragon and marjoram
2 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients until blended, use on bread, for broiling fish, or chicken, for sauteing beef or veal, or for tossing with hot vegs, pasta, or rice.

This modified recipe originally came from cooks.com. I bought Garlic Butter from Whole Foods so that took care of 2 key ingredients and I just had to add the herbs from my pantry.

Photo credit: momssoapbox.com

Manila - March 2010: Shrimps in Herb and Garlic Butter

I know this is just too mouth-watering to ogle at but this is so easy to do. Would I make it difficult for you? Here's the recipe:

2 kgs shrimp, shelled but keep the head!

Marinade:
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
Escal herb and garlic butter
6 kalamansi

Mix the marinade and lather the mixture on the shrimp. Allow the shrimp to sit, maybe even nap, on the marinade. Grease the baking pan with butter so the shrimp will not stick on the baking pan. Place in the shrimp in a neat row just like I did in the photo.

Bake until shrimp is done.

Serve with pan-fried garlic potatoes.

Manila - March 2010: Tropical Fruits Parade

We stayed in Manila for only 8 days with family time as priority. So we have no pictures of landscapes, sunsets or romps in the beach but pictures of food, the kitchen, gatherings at the dining table and many, many happy faces of family members. No landscape photo or sunset photo can replace the family togehterness captured in photos during those 8 short days.

But I am not going to write about family in this blog. I am writing about another "F" word - Fruit. Tropical fruits, specifically. Mangoes, mangosteen and the largest dragon fruit I have ever seen so far. As large as a little girl's head. Even Gumby and Pokey, friends of mine who accompanied me on this trip, can't get over these strange fruits.

A Word from our Sponsors: Multi-Tasking Cookers

Is there such a term? I coined the word because I usually work with two, sometimes three slow cookers in one cooking session. Here are my proud hard-working beauties - Large Marge for fish, Green Goblin for meats and Mini Me for sauces, dips and fondue!

Mussels with Tomato- Wine Broth

I love shellfish - oysters, mussels, scallops, etc. This recipe does not use a slow cooker. Just your usual boiling routine.

This recipe (which I slightly modified with ingredients I have in my pantry, i.e. red pepper) and photo came from http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=630136

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1 cup spicy dry red wine
3 cups chopped stomato
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 pounds small mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Preparation
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine; simmer 3 minutes. Add tomato, salt, and black pepper; cook 1 minute.

Add mussels; cover and cook 4 minutes or until shells open. Remove from heat; discard any unopened shells. Stir in arugula; serve immediately. Bon appetit!