Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons

The chicken is cooked to perfection -- tender, white, and the juices are yellow. The sauce is absolutely to die for. Fast and easy, too!

Ingredients:

4 supremes (boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

1/2 tsp lemon juice

5 Tbs. butter

1 Tbs. minced shallot, or green onion

1/4 lb sliced fresh mushrooms

1/8 tsp salt

big pinch of white pepper

FOR THE SAUCE

1/4 cup beef bouillon 

1/4 cup dry white vermouth

1 cup whipping cream

salt and pepper

lemon juice, as needed

2 Tbs. minced fresh parsley

~Heat the butter in a 10-inch covered, fireproof casserole dish, over moderate heat until foaming. Stir in the minced shallots or green onion and sauté without browning. Stir in the mushrooms, and sauté lightly for a minute or two without browning. Sprinkle with salt.

Heat oven to 400° F.

Rub the supremes with the lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with pepper. Roll the supremes in the butter and mushroom mixture; lay them in the mixture. Butter one side of a 10-inch diameter piece of waxed paper. Lay the buttered side over the supremes. Cover casserole and place in the hot oven; bake for 6 minutes. 

After 6 minutes, remove supremes from the oven and press the top of them with your finger. If they are still soft, return them to the oven for another two minutes, or so. Take out and press with your finger again; if the meat is springy to the touch it is done. 

Remove the supremes from the casserole dish, and put on a warm platter and cover while making the sauce.

Pour the bouillon in the casserole with the butter and mushrooms, and boil down quickly over high heat until liquid is syrupy. Stir in cream and boil down again over high heat until cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste carefully for seasoning; add drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the supremes, and garnish with parsley.  

Chicken Parmesan with Roasted Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large garlic clove
12 oz grape tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
6 supremes (boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
5 oz of fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

~ Preheat oven to 500 F.
Put the olive oil in a small bowl. Put the garlic through a garlic press and add to olive oil. Put the tomatoes in another bowl. Add 2 Tbs. of the oil and garlic mixture to the tomatoes along with the oregano. Mix well.
Coat the chicken on all sides with remaining oil and garlic mixture. Put 1 cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese on a large plate. Dip one side of each of the chicken breasts in the cheese. Lay chicken, cheese side facing up, on half of a rimmed baking sheet. Place the tomatoes on the other half of the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is just firm to touch.
Overlap the slices of mozzarella on top of the chicken, and put back in oven until the cheese is melted.
To serve: transfer chicken to plates, top with tomatoes and sprinkle with remaining Parmigiano- Reggiano cheese.

Serves 6

Green Bean Soup with Swirled Pesto

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb tender green beans
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 cup heavy cream

FOR PESTO SAUCE
3 large garlic cloves
2 Tbs. pine nuts
1 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
olive oil

~Heat the 2 Tbs. of olive oil in a Dutch oven. Cook the onions in the oil and 2 Tbs. of stock/broth until onion is tender.
Bring a pot of water to a boil, and throw in the beans. Cover and boil the rapidly until they are almost fork-tender. Drain the beans.
Bring the remaining broth to a simmer in the Dutch oven; add the beans. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Puree in a food processor or blender. Add the cream and taste for seasonings. (Soup should be quite thick.)
To make pesto, combine all "For Pesto Sauce" ingredients in a food processor. Add enough oil until it has reached the desired consistency. Puree until smooth.
Serve soup with a dollop of pesto. Serve warm.

Sesame-Glazed Green Beans

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of green beans
1/2 cup of water
1 Tbs. of soy sauce
1/2 tsp. of cornstarch
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. dark sesame oil
1 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds (optional, but I recommend using them)

~ Put the green beans and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer the beans, uncovered, until they are tender and all of the water has evaporated. Take the pan off the heat.
While the beans are cooking, combine the soy sauce, cornstarch, dry mustard, and honey in a small bowl. Put the green beans back over medium heat, and add the soy mixture. Toss until the vegetables are well coated, letting the sauce boil and thicken a bit.
Take the pan off the heat. Drizzle on the sesame oil, and sprinkle on the toasted sesame seeds (if you are using them). Serve immediately.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Looking for something to do with all of those garlic scapes?  Here's and idea!

Ingredients:
2 cups of garlic scapes cut into 1 inch lengths, tough tips removed
1/3 cup of pine nuts (they may be toasted)
1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 - 2/3 cup of olive oil
8-12 fresh basil leaves, optional

~ In a food processor, pulse the garlic scapes and optional basil leaves until fine. Add pine nuts and cheese, turn on food processor and drizzle in olive oil until the desired consistency has been reached.
Seal tightly, and refrigerate.
You may also add 1 Tbs. of lemon or lime juice to help the pesto retain it's color. Add this when adding the oil.

Strawberry Meringues

These little meringues are bite-size and and can be eaten without utensils, so they are perfect for parties. The Meringue tastes a bit like roasted marshmallows, and goes wonderfully with the whipped cream and the strawberries.

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/8 tsp. of salt
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/3 cup of icing sugar

TOPPING:
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
sliced strawberries


~ Beat egg whites, cream of tartar, and salt in a medium bowl until foamy. Slowly add the granulated sugar until soft peaks form. Slowly add icing sugar, 1 Tbs. at a time, until the meringue is glossy and stiff.
Heat oven to 275 F.
Cut parchment paper to fit on baking sheets.
Use a piping bag to pipe the meringue onto the parchment in little disks (about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter, and about 1/2 inch high), 1 inch apart.
Bake for 45-60 minutes (turn the tray halfway through baking), or until golden. Leave in oven overnight, or at least 4-6 hours to crisp up.

Whip whipping cream, and pipe (with a piping bag) onto the crisp meringues. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top.

Kvaefjord

This is not a classical representation of Kvaefjord, or "World's Best Cake", I took a recipe and made a few changes.  It makes two cakes, so it's perfect for potluck or party (I brought it to a potluck a few weeks ago and got great reviews!).

Ingredients:
CAKE LAYER
7 Tbs. of butter, or 3 1/2 oz.
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder

ALMOND MERINGUE
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup sugar
3 large egg whites

PASTRY CREAM
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

TOPPING
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
4 Tbs. of sliced almonds (optional)
1 quart of fresh strawberries, sliced


~ For the cake layer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks and milk (if milk is too cold, or is right out of the fridge, it will make the butter harden and clump up), blend well.  Add the flower and baking soda, mix until smooth.
Spread out the batter in two 9 inch circles on parchment paper placed on a baking sheet. Circles will be 1/4 - 1/3 inch thick.

~ For the meringue, preheat oven to 300 F.
Put almonds and powdered sugar in a food processor, and pulse until the almonds resemble bread crumbs.
Beat a 1/4 cup of sugar and the egg whites together until stiff. Add the rest of the sugar and beat well. Fold the almond "flour" into the meringue with a spatula. Don't work it too much, because the meringue will get loose.
Using a piping bag, pipe the meringue in the form of a spiral onto the circles of cake batter.
Bake 17-25 minutes.
Allow the layers to cool before you take them off of the parchment paper.

~ For the pastry cream, bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy bottomed saucepan. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add the hot milk to the cornstarch mixture, whisking constantly. Transfer the milk mixture back to the saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens slightly, 7-10 minutes.
Whisk in the egg yolks, then cook, stirring, until slightly thicker (about 2 minutes longer). Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the butter.
Cool at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Add the vanilla, cover and chill thoroughly. Pastry cream will keep, tightly covered, in the fridge for 3 days.

~ For the topping and assembly:
Peel the cake and meringue layer off the parchment paper, and lay (meringue side up) on a plate. Spread half of the pastry cream on the meringue. Place the sliced strawberries in top of the pastry cream, cover the strawberries with half of the whipped whipping cream. Sprinkle the sliced almonds on top.
Repeat assembly for the other cake.

This is a more traditional version, omit the whipped cream and place the other cake layer on top of the strawberries.