Pecan Crusted Chicken

Pecans are an often overlooked nut that are saved for use in baking cookies, brownies and of course pecan pie.  I love the flavor of a roasted pecans and the way it pairs well with the chicken. Try this recipe, it is easy and yummy. The addition of cinnamon, smoked paprika and salt to the pecan mixture adds a nice depth of flavor to the pecan mixture.  It will take boneless chicken breasts to a new level. If you like a little sweet to off set the savory drizzle some honey on top of the chicken breast after it comes out of the pan or oven. 

I like to gently toast my pecans then grind them in a food processor.  If you don't have a food processor a blender or coffee grinder can do the job.

Ingredients:

Four Boneless Chicken Breasts approximately 8oz. each
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp half and half
1 tbsp  brown sugar
Salted Butter
1 cups of Pecans whole or pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika 
2 tbsp honey (optional for drizzling on chicken just before serving)


Preparation

1. Beat egg, half & half and sugar in a medium size bowl
2. Process pecans with cinnamon, smoked paprika, and salt to a rough chop, do not over process.  The consistency should be about 1/8th to 1/4 inch chop. Pour mixture into a 8x8 shallow baking pan.
3.  Dip chicken breast into the egg wash and fully coat then transfer to the pecan mixture.  evenly coat the breast and place on a baking pan with wax paper.  Repeat for each piece
3. Melt about 2 tbsp of butter into a 12 inch skillet heated on medium heat.  Place chicken breasts and gently saute for approximately 7-8 minutes a side.  After flipping the chicken, add two more tablespoons of butter. 

You can bake this instead of cooking in a pan.  Preheat oven to 400 and bake for approximately 25 minutes.  This is a more healthful alternative, but it will not be nearly as tasty.

Lamb Burger-Spice Crusted and Sublime

Over the past couple of months I have perfected my Lamb Burger that arguably tastes better than any Lamb Burger I have eaten anywhere.  Modesty eludes me on this effort as it is hard to imagine a more satisfying taste explosion that includes savory flavors such as; rosemary, garlic, and onion fused with Mediterranean and Asian flavors of cumin, feta, and yellow curry, and finished with a little added heat with a Sriracha Aioli.  The lamb burger is a great alternative to the tired and dry turkey burger that leaves one wanting and wondering if the calories ingested was really worthy. 

When I first started experimenting with Lamb Burgers, I started out by using two pounds of ground lamb that is about 80% lean-the only ratio that should be considered for any burger- and mixed in fresh mint, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, rosemary and kosher salt.  The intent was to have the lamb meat fused throughout with the various flavors.  Flavor wise it was a decent burger, but I felt that mixing in the herbs and spices was causing me to have to work the meat too much, which as my blog below The Hamburger-Plain and Simple instructs, the patty should be formed gently, which doesn’t mean after it has been worked like one might work a meatloaf. 

Elk Run Winery- Maryland Wine Surprise

Recently, we had dinner with my parents and my dad ordered a bottle of Maryland wine from Elk Run Vineyards. www.elkrun.com The bottle he ordered was a 2008 Syrah, Cold Friday Vineyard.  Being somewhat of a wine snob, I have to say (embarrassed to admit really) that I expected the wine to taste at best average and for sure that I would not remember the wine or where it is from except that I would be sure to avoid ordering any wine made in Maryland in the future! Seriously, ask yourself or the person sitting next to you what they think of Maryland wines and the look will be first one of bewilderment as they likely don’t even know wine is made in Maryland and if they do, it will not be the type of enthusiasm one can expect from areas such as California, Washington State or Oregon. Consider me a convert and a believer.

I lifted the glass and was greeted with a very aromatic nose consisting of earth, wet stones, smokiness and berries.  Not sure what type of berries, as I am not a super taster and do not have that kind of sniffer I guess.  The flavors were prunes, smoked meats and other wonderful flavors for which I have no words to describe except-Wow! I was I blown away!  I would personally rate the wine in the low to mid 90’s based on a 100 point system.  The wine was made in the old world style with an alcohol content of 12.5%.  The point of me explaining the alcohol content is to juxtapose this wine with new world style wines that are being made everywhere, including the old world.  Most wine today starts in the 14% range and pushes upward to 17%!  This style of wine creates what many wine tasters refer to as being a fruit bomb-jammy, rich tasting and very dark red.  Even Pinot Noirs are being made this way. 

I admit, I like the new world style, but I think it takes less skill and precision for the wine maker.  I always tell my friends that serving their red wine at approximately 55-60 degrees is proper form and even more important with the high alcohol wines being made today.  If the wine is served at say 70-75 degrees (unfortunately this seems to be the regular temperature of wines by the glass in most restaurants) the wine will be hot on the palate because of the high alcohol content.  This will cover up any of the nuisances of the wine being tasted and certainly is disagreeable when being paired with food.  Elk Run stays true to old world wine making style, resulting in an elegant wine that is worthy of special occasions and priced to drink any occasion- not to mention a long list of awards to back up what I am sure locals have known about for years, this wine is the real deal.

Elk Run Vineyards  started this venture 32 years ago!!   The use of the word vineyard indicates they grow and use their own grapes to make their wines, unlike a winery that sources their grapes from vineyards.  The years and years of painstaking journal entries, studying effects of plantings, weather effects etc., have paid off for Fred Wilson who is both the wine maker and vineyard manager.  The labor of love ensures even colored and consistently high quality grapes from which excellent wines are being made for drinking pleasure. The names of Elk Run’s two vineyards are Liberty Tavern and Cold Friday Vineyard.   Liberty Tavern is the original vineyard that borders Liberty road Near Libertytown, Md. so named for the Sons of Liberty who met there prior to the Revolution, and the old house on the property was in fact once upon a time a tavern. The second vineyard’s name comes from the deed name of the property Resurvey of Cold Friday.  It was a land grant from the King of England to Lord Baltimore.   There are now 24 acres being grown upon ensuring even more great wines to come for all to enjoy.

Having only tasted the Syrah and Pinot Noir, and being impressed by both, I can say at least for these two offerings that Fred Wilson along with his Assistant wine maker, Neill Bassford, that they have produced enough award winning wines for them and their wines to be taken very seriously.  Other varietals grown are Chardonnay, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.  www.elkrun.com

Chicken Tagine (Chicken with Honey, Almonds and Prunes)

My wife was craving a chicken dish this past Sunday that she recalled having prunes as one of the ingredients.  I could not recall having  had such a dish before so I ventured to the internet and discovered a dish called Chicken Tagine- a Moroccan dish that is made in a tagine. The tagine, pictured below, is a clay pot that is used in this region to make various stews and braised meats.  I have seen these before at Williams Sonoma, but never gave it much mind, and truthfully I will likely never buy one as I feel a 7 or 8 quart Dutch oven does the trick for such preparation.  I realize the risk I may be taking by dismissing the tagine as a cooking vessel, but truthfully, I just have no where to store such a vessel.   

Tagine Pot

 

I found myriad recipes for Chicken Tagine on the internet.  Common elements are cinnamon, almonds, prunes, and onions with variations using honey and others sugar, lemon zest, turmeric or saffron, and even tomatoes and olives.  

After surveying multiple recipes I crafted my own interpretation that I found suited what I felt would be the best tasting and pleasing to the eye (we ate the dish so fast that I did not have a chance to take a picture.  Next time I will photograph the final results and upload). I like the use of saffron over tumeric, as tumeric is merely for color, while saffron imparts a unique earthy quality that adds such wonderful depth of flavor and matches well with the other ingredients.  The major modification that I made was the use of evaporated milk as a braising liquid instead of water.  This to me made the dish taste rich without being too heavy, rather the evaporated milk balanced beautifully  with all the flavors and added to the depth of flavor.

Now for the purist, this may not be how someone from Morocco would prepare this dish as they would likely make it more like a stew and include other ingredients that comes with the local knowledge of this wonderfully delicious cusine, but  my version is an American take on this dish, that I promise  will not disappoint.  My wife and oldest daughter say it is 4 out of 4 stars and are eager for me to prepare this dish again. 

Chicken Tagine (Moroccan Chicken with Honey, Almonds and Prunes)

Serves 4

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, skin on with bone, or four leg quarters

1 large sweet onion

24 prunes, pitted (I used Sunsweet prunes that are already pitted, found with the dried fruit at your grocery store)

4 ounces of slivered almonds

¼ cup of honey

8 ounces of skim evaporated milk

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. saffron

1 cinnamon stick

Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1.       Preheat a 7 or 8 quart Dutch oven

2.       Add 1 to 2 tbsps. Olive oil

3.       Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.  Add chicken thighs skin side down and brown the skin-5-7 minutes.  Turn and heat for another 5 minutes, then remove chicken from the pan to a large plate.

4.       While the chicken is browning, finely chop the onion, then after removing the chicken, add the onion, cinnamon, cinnamon stick, saffron, and additional salt and pepper (1/2 tsp. each), sauté for approximately 15 minutes.

5.       Place chicken back into the pot skin side up

6.       Add evaporated milk

7.       Cover the pot and set the temperature to low and let cook for 30-40 minutes

8.       Dry toast the slivered almonds in a pan till golden brown, being careful not to burn them

9.       Remove chicken from pot with a slotted spoon

10.     Add honey, almonds and prunes, reduce on high for approximately 10 minutes, lower heat to medium then add back the chicken, skin side down for another 10 minutes.  The sauce should be fairly thick in the consistency of heavy cream and the chicken will become glazed

11.     Meanwhile prepare some whole wheat couscous to serve with the dish.

12.     Plate the chicken, one to two pieces, liberally pour the sauce on top of the chicken and serve with couscous and asparagus.

Wine recommendation for this dish is a Rhone Style Red such as an E. Guigal, Cotes du Rhone, which cost approximately $15.00 and is widely available. 



Maryland Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes.





 Recipes for crab cakes vary widely from recipe to recipe. Some are made only with Jumbo Lump crab meat and a few other ingredients and broiled to perfection (my preference), while others are made with special, and back fin crab meat, and lots of filler, thus producing a heavy crab cake that is not calorie worthy.  Crab meat is a delicate yet rich flavor that does not hold up well to ingredients such as peppers, and as such, recipes that include strong flavors like peppers, regardless of color, should be avoided.  Preparation of a crab cake can be either pan fried or broiled.  Both result in a tasty crab cake so it comes down to preference on how one prepares their crab cake.  As for the star of the show, the quality of the crab meat is not to be taken lightly.  If you are fortunate enough to live in an area where finding high quality jumbo lump is easy then you are in luck, but if you live is say, Iowa, you may need to rely on pasteurized crab meat, which will do if that is all that is available, but fresh is always the best.  If you are really in want of fresh and cannot find it local where you live, or the crab meat is not to your liking where you live, then turn to the internet.  The following sites will ship crab meat to you and it will be the real deal, fresh, tasty and best of all from Maryland, the crab capitol of the world! http://www.jmclayton.com/, or www.marylandbluecrabexpress.com  are two very good souces.  I personally would go with jm clayton as they are a member of the Maryland Crabmeat Quality Assurance Program.

Tuna Tartare

 Tuna Tartare is a dish that most home cooks are reluctant to try since the fish is raw.  If eating sashimi is not on your list of favorite foods, then clearly tartare is not for you. If however, a really fresh ahi tuna, also known as yellowtail, is a must have when ordering in a sushi restaurant, then tuna tartare is a great dish to serve to family and friends who enjoy raw fish. 

The most important ingredient of course is the tuna.  Ask your fishmonger if the tuna is sushi grade, meaning it is to the highest level of freshness and has come from a reputable source, which the fishmonger will know.  I was in a high end store where I assumed the fish would be sushi grade and the fishmonger waved me off telling me the tuna was not suitable for making tartare, so always ask!

When you buy your tuna steak for making tartare, there will be a section of the tuna that has a white muscle tissue that will need to be removed.  Ideally the tuna should be trimmed, which you can ask your fishmonger to do, so that the tuna has no white tissue and is basically the filet mignon cut of the tuna steak.  Or if you are lucky to have a friend like my  good friend Jim, who with his son Kevin hooked a 50 pound tuna you can be assured of the upmost freshness and get a prime cut from the tuna.

I have experimented with a variety of preparations for tuna tartare and have come up with a recipe that really is fabulous-just the right balance of flavors and texture.  Below is my recipe that serves four appetizer portions or two entrée portions.

Ingredients

¾ to 1 lb. of Sushi Grade Tuna

2 tbsp. of minced chives (fresh only)

1 tbsp. Lemon infused olive oil*

1 egg yolk

½ tsp. sea salt

½ Haas Avocado

1 tsp. Black Truffle Oil plus more for crostini

Sriracha Aioli **

Directions

1.       Trim tuna steak

2.       Cut into a ¼ to ½ inch dice

3.       Finely mince fresh chives

4.       Cut ½ avocado into ¼- ½ inch dice

5.       Place items 2-4 in large bowl

6.       Add egg yolk

7.       Add lemon olive oil*

8.       Add salt

9.       Add truffle oil

10.   Toss ingredients gently  till combined

11.   Place in freezer for 5 minutes

Meanwhile cut a baguette on the bias for crostini.  Cut 12 pieces about a 1/4 inch thick, place on backing sheet drizzle with black truffle oil and broil for 3 minutes, being sure not to burn the crostini.  Salt the crostini with sea salt after removing from the oven.

To plate the tartare, place a 3 inch flan ring in the center of the plate and spoon in the tar tar to the top, and then gently pack the mixture down so it will hold together.  Slide off the flan ring, add sriacha aioli to plate and three crostini and serve.  For a bit more color  on the plate, sprinkle the plate with some minced chives. 

*lemon infused olive oil can be found at whole foods, but if you cannot find it you can just add juice from half a lemon with similar results

**See my Spice Crusted Lamb Burgers for the Sriracha Aioli recipe

Wine Recommendation

Tuna pairs very well with Pinot Noir.  A widely available Pinot Noir that will drink well with this dish is either Acacia or La Crema.  Both under $25.00 

Buttery Banana Bread

I am not a baker per se, but every now and then I like to give it a go.  I was inspired the other night to make banana bread after my wife had made a loaf using a Better Homes and Garden recipe.  We were low on white flour so she had to augment the flour with wheat flour, making more dense bread-I liked it, but the rest of the family scored the bread high for flavor and lower for its heavier density.  I would have happily devoured the entire loaf and moreover, I thought that the denseness allows for toasting of the bread in the rare chance that some may be left over.  Sure it is yummy on its own, but who can resist the melting butter on the hot banana bread? 

The next night I pulled out my mom’s banana bread recipe to give it a whirl.  I modified her recipe-sorry mom- to make it richer and ensure a nice buttery crustiness to the top and edges of the bread-no need to butter this bread, but hey I am not here to tell you how to eat your banana bread!

My mom’s recipe, which to be sure is amazing, calls for 1/3 cup of shortening.  I don’t have any shortening on hand ever, so I substituted butter for the shortening.  I could fill an entire page on why all butters are not created equal, but that will be for another post.  However, to make a truly remarkable loaf or banana bread that is rich and buttery with a nice butter crust, choosing butter other than Land-O-Lakes is in order.  I used President Butter-a mix of salted and unsalted, though unsalted only would have been fine I am sure.  President butter is my favorite and can be found in most major super markets…sometimes it is shelved along with the various gourmet cheeses as I have found in stores like Giant and Harris Teeter so if you don’t find it where the Land-O-Lakes is shelved, look there.   I figure any butter that is alongside a wheel of creamy brie must be great!

Below is the recipe that has wowed all tasters for years with a new twist.

Buttery Banana Bread (one loaf)

9x5 Loaf Pan

Pre-Heat oven to 350 degrees

1 cup  Pureed very ripe bananas-about three  (best to use bananas that are about a day away from throwing out)

2/3 stick of Butter (President or other high quality butter), unsalted

2 Eggs (well beaten)

2/3 Cup of Sugar

1 tsp. of Vanilla

1 ¼ Cup of Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 tsp. Cream of Tartar

1 tsp. Salt

1.      Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl and set aside

2.      Add eggs to mixer and beat well for approximately two minutes to add volume to the eggs.

3.      Add sugar, vanilla, and butter and continue to beat at medium speed for another two minutes

4.      Gradually mix in dry ingredients

5.      Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.

6.      After taking the bread out of the oven turn the loaf pan onto a wire rack to allow the bread to cool, but only some as it is best eaten warm!