Chicken Marsala

4 skinless chicken breast fillets

3 T. Olive oil                          ½ cup flour

4 T. butter                       2 tsp. minced shallots

1 tsp. minced garlic             12 oz. sliced mushrooms

1 cup Marsala wine (red)    1 cup beef broth

1 tsp. cornstarch (more if needed)

½ cup heavy cream              Chopped parsley garnish 

Chicken Seasoning

1 ¼ tsp. salt                            1 tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. garlic powder           ¼ tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. dried thyme               ½ tsp. dried parsley

¼ tsp. marjoram 

Mashed potatoes or noodles

Directions:  Place chicken breast flat on a cutting board, with your hand on top to guide, cut the chicken breasts in half horizontally to get two pieces.  Slightly pound/ tenderize.  Sprinkle with chicken seasoning and wrap in plastic.  Let rest 10-15 minutes for spices to absorb.

Place flour on large plate and dredge chicken.  Heat the olive oil and 2 T. butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side.  They should be well-browned and cooked.  Remove them to a plate, cover.

In same skillet, add mushrooms and shallots.  Stir and cook for 5-6 minutes.  Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute.  Pour in wine and beef broth.  Stir and scrape plan.  Cook for 203 minutes, reducing the liquid by half.

In a small bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the cream.  When the sauce has reduced, add the cream mixture.  Let thicken for another 1-2 minutes.  Turn off heat.  Add remaining 2T butter and stir.

Serve chicken over mashed potatoes or noodles.  Add sauce.  Garnish with parsley.

Comment:  Usually make more chicken with same amount of sauce.  Can also grill the seasoned chicken separately and then serve with sauce.

Chicken Paprikash & Spaetzle

Paprikash                          

8-12 pieces thighs/legs                

2 tsp. Hungarian paprika     

2 red bell peppers, seeded          

2 tomatoes                      

1 tsp. chicken consommé power

6 cloves garlic

Olive oil

2 onions (peeled and sliced)

¼ cup fresh chopped parsley

Salt & Pepper

2 T. cornstarch

Spaetzle

2 large eggs

¾ cup tepid water

½ tsp. salt

2 cups flour (more or less)

Paprikash Directions:  Using mostly skinless thighs, sprinkle the chicken pieces generously with paprika, salt and pepper.  Let rest.

Place the bell peppers, tomatoes, chicken consommé powder and garlic into a food processor or blender.  Blend to form a sauce.  (To kick it up, add ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes or a little cayenne pepper.)

In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium.  Sauté the onion slices in olive oil until tender.  Once onions soften and start to caramelize, add the seasoned chicken to the pot.  Sauté for a few minutes.  

Pour the blended sauce over the chicken pieces.  Add water till the sauce just covers the chicken.  Sprinkle with 3 T. chopped parsley, season with salt and pepper to taste, and a little sprinkle of Hungarian paprika, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low simmer.  Cover the pan, vented slightly.  Cook the chicken for 1 hour or to desired tenderness.  The longer it simmers the more tender it becomes.

When the chicken is finished, add salt and pepper to taste.  Mix together 2 T. cornstarch with 3 T. cold water.  Gently stir the corn starch mixture into the chicken sauce and simmer for a minute or two to thicken.

Serve chicken and sauce over warm spaetzle or the starch of your choice -- rice, egg noodles, mashed potatoes, gnocchi.   Garnish with remaining 1 T. chopped parsley.

Spaetzle Directions:  Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil.  Beat the eggs and tepid water together with the salt.  Slowly beat in the flour ¼ cup at a time to make a soft, sticky dough.  You may not need all the flour, or you may need more – stop adding flour when the texture of the batter is soft and pliable.  Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.  Beat the mixture again.

Push 1/3 of the batter through a spaetzle maker, cheese grater or pasta strainer over the pot of salted water to create small egg noodle bits that drop into the boiling water.  (I had trouble making this work and created a sticky mess.  Instead, on a floured surface, I rolled the dough between my hands to form long strands and then cut off tiny pieces to make a pile of small bits that I then added into the pot.)

Let the noodles cook for about 3 minutes until they float to the top of the pot and are cooked tender all the way through.  Remove from water with a slotted spoon and drain.  Toss with butter to avoid sticking together.  Repeat the process until all noodles are made.

Comment:  Can easily spice up.  If no fresh tomatoes, a large can of tomato pieces/crushed can be substituted for the sauce.  

Macaroni & Cheese; Southern Crock Pot Style

1 box large elbow macaroni noodles

1½ cups heavy cream

2 cups whole milk

½ cup sour cream

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dry mustard

¾ tsp. white pepper

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

6 T. butter, melted

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese (2 cups mix of cheddars, 2 cups mild cheddar)

Directions:  Boil noodles in liberally salted water for 5 minutes then drain well.  Do not cook noodles longer than 5 minutes.

While cooking noodles, combine cream, milk, sour cream, eggs, salt, mustard, white pepper and cayenne pepper in a large bowl and mix well.  Add partly-boiled noodles, melted butter and three cups of cheese.  Stir thoroughly to combine. 

Spray the inside of the crock pot with cooking spray.  Pour macaroni mixture into crock pot.  Top with remaining cheese.  Cover and cook on low for 3 hours or until set in the center and golden brown around the edges.

Comment:  Decadent version of mac-n-cheese.  Eric likes a little more white pepper and cayenne in our version. 

Mashed Potato Doughnuts

Doughnuts

2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup mashed potato

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 quarts (3 pounds) lard, shortening, or vegetable oil, for frying

Coating

granulated sugar or cinnamon sugar, for coating

Directions:

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, cream together the shortening and sugar. Add the eggs and mashed potatoes to the shortening mix.

Measure out the milk. Add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the creamed mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

The resulting dough will be quite soft, more like a drop-biscuit dough instead of a "rollable" dough. The dough can be covered and refrigerated overnight, if desired.

Turn the dough out onto a very well floured surface and knead a few times to make it stiff enough to roll with a rolling pin. Roll the dough using a well-floured rolling pin until it's about 1/2" thick. Dip a doughnut cutter in flour (each time you cut), and cut out the doughnuts. Save the holes; or re-roll them with leftover dough. Try to handle the dough as little as possible; the less you work the dough, the more tender the doughnuts will be.

Heat the fat to 365°F. Test the temperature with a thermometer; or with a slice of bread, as follows: lower half a slice of bread into the hot fat. If it takes 1 minute for the bottom side to brown nicely, the fat is at the best temperature for frying doughnuts.

Fry doughnuts about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on brown paper bags or paper towels. Check one of the fried donuts after it is cooled to be sure the center is cooked through.

While still warm, shake doughnuts in cinnamon-sugar or plain granulated sugar.

Yield: About 2 dozen doughnuts (plus holes), depending on the size of the cutter.

Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake

1 cup butter 1¾ cups sugar

1 tsp. strawberry extract 5 large eggs

3 cups flour 2 tsps. Baking powder

¼ tsp. salt ¾ cup milk

1 3oz. package strawberry gelatin

1 cup pureed, thawed frozen strawberries

Frosting

½ cup butter, softened

1 8oz. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup pureed, thawed frozen strawberries

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions: For cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13” x 9” baking pan with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, and extract at medium speed with a mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, gelatin, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine strawberry puree and milk.

Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with strawberry mixture, beginning and ending with flour and beating just until combined after each addition. Pour butter in prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cake cool completely on wire rack. Spread frosting. Garnish with strawberries, if desired.

For icing, in a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Add strawberry puree, beating until combined. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until smooth and right consistency.

Comment: Very dense and moist. Really good flavor! A Paula Deen recipe. Have made it without strawberry extract when I couldn’t find it, and it was still excellent.