Parmesan Crusted Chicken

I'm always on the lookout for something that's quick and easy for dinner, and this yummy chicken (which is not to be confused with Chicken Parmesan) fits the bill. Easy as it is, I did manage to mess it up one night. I took it out of the oven, and it was lovely and browned; it looked delicious. It was nice and moist...and yet, it didn't have the usual flavor.

I'd left out the Parmesan. Oops. (At least I'd added the garlic and oregano, so it wasn't completely bland.)

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use lowfat)
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry
1/2 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings or oregano

Preheat oven to 425˚F.

Put bread crumbs in a shallow dish – a pie plate works well.

Combine mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic, and Italian seasonings in small bowl. Coat chicken breasts with mixture.

Dip coated chicken in bread crumbs to coat, and place on baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 425˚F.

New York State of Mind

I've just returned from a trip to New York, Manhattan to be exact. Besides hanging out with Vikings at a pizza parlor, I attended ToyFair, went to a bar where my college roommate's husband was playing, and saw a revival of The Fantasticks, the world's longest-running musical, after which I met one of the original actors as well as the playwright. All in all, a pretty darn fine weekend.




While hanging out with my rather silly Viking friends at World Famous Ray's Pizza, I tried pizza with ziti on it, just because I'd never before seen pizza with pasta on it. It was an interesting combination. (I was informed by said friends to avoid the bathrooms. They might be silly, but I took their advice anyways.)

We went from there to Ben & Jerry's for dessert. They had some decent looking chocolate chip cookies, so I got an ice cream sandwich made with Cookie Dough ice cream sandwiched between two of the aforementioned cookies. Mmm.

There are lots of great delicatessens in New York; sadly I didn't get to any of the renowned ones this weekend. We stayed in midtown Manhattan and depended on the Majestic Delicatessen for our post-show cup of tea and dessert and for our bagels and cream cheese in the morning, as it was two blocks from our hotel. It's not the best deli in NYC (I don't think it's even a proper Jewish deli), but I do highly recommend their cheesecake - and I'm not a huge fan of cheesecake. I like it, but I'll usually choose cake or pie or something chocolaty. Their plain cheesecake (I had a slice with cherries on top) looked so scrumptious and luscious that I had to try it, and I was not disappointed.

The other review I have for the weekend is not a New York location, but it is a delicatessen. Rein's Deli in Vernon, Connecticut, is a longtime favorite of mine; we stopped there today on our way home from New York. I had a lovely pastrami sandwich, and tried a knish for the first time, which I liked enough to purchase a couple for dinner tonight. They make their own wonderful half-sour pickles, too. I cannot recommend Rein's highly enough.

Valentine's Day 2008

Because the rest of the country likes to go out for Valentine's Day, I prefer to stay in. Crowds, inferior food due to said crowds, inflated prices and/or altered menus - I'd much rather go out some other night.

I perused my options at the grocery store. I wanted to make something a little different, not one of our typical dinners. Dessert was simple: chocolate fondue with strawberries, pineapple, pound cake, and marshmallows. Easy peasy. But the main course?

I wandered around a bit, and had a package of filets mignons in my hand, when the boneless leg of lamb caught my eye. Chuck and I are both big fans of lamb, but I've never made it. Truth be told, until tonight, I'd never roasted anything other than poultry. However, that was a minor detail.

The final menu:
Roast lamb (boneless leg)
Green Beans Amandine
Roasted Garlic Bread
Chocolate Fondue

Roast Boneless Leg of Lamb

1 lamb leg, boneless (4-6 lbs.)
2 garlic cloves slivered
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon dried rosemary (or several sprigs of fresh rosemary)
2 onions sliced
1 carrot peeled, cut in 1/2" pieces
2 celery stalks, cut in 1/2" pieces
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Cut slits in the lamb leg and insert slivers of garlic. Rub leg with salt, pepper and dried rosemary (unless using fresh). In skillet, cook onion, carrot and celery in olive oil for 5-10 minutes. Place vegetables (and whole sprigs of fresh rosemary) in shallow roasting pan; pour in water. Place lamb leg on top. Roast in preheated 325˚F oven for 20-25 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 140-145˚F for medium rare. Remove lamb from oven, cover and allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Geophagy

There's an old adage that claims you eat a peck of dirt before you die. If that is true, please make sure that at least some of it is "Heavenly Dirt." A friend gave me this recipe about 800 years ago (okay, really, about 15), and it's a favorite of mine to make for a potluck. It's such fun to show up at a gathering with a "potted plant," stick it on the buffet table as a centerpiece...and then, at dessert time, stick a serving spoon into it.

You can switch up the vanilla pudding - I made it with chocolate pudding the other day. My friend Carla, upon seeing it, told me that she's made it with vanilla cookies/pudding, instead of Oreos, and knew it as "Sand Cake." Making that in a kids' beach bucket, with a shovel to serve it, would be adorable for a beach-themed party.

I made this Thursday night for one of my students. He requested it have gummy worms. You can put them right in, a few on each layer, but I like to keep them separate. I've been known to scatter a few gummy frogs around the flowers.


Heavenly Dirt

Note: for all dairy products, low-fat may be substituted.

2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 3.5-ounce packages vanilla or chocolate instant pudding
3 cups cold milk
16-ounce container of Cool Whip, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla (which I forgot, and it still tasted great)
18-ounce package Oreo cookies (original recipe called for 20-ounce package; use your judgement)

1 8-inch plastic clay-colored flowerpot
silk flowers
gummy worms

Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until creamy. Set aside.
Mix pudding and milk until thick. Combine with cream cheese mixture, using wire whisk. Add Cool Whip and vanilla.
Crush Oreos; a food processor works well, but you can also put them in a zippered freezer bag and use a meat tenderizer or a rolling pin.

In the flower pot, put a layer of cookie crumbs, then a layer of the creamy mixture. Continue layering, ending with a good layer of crumbs, to look like dirt. Add silk flowers and gummy worms, if desired.

It's magic

Did I grab your attention yet?

We're heading to a Superbowl party in a few hours.  I offered to make my Buffalo chicken dip, of course, but I decided to make something sweet, too.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I have an insatiable sweet tooth, particularly when chocolate is involved.  Sadly, my Other Half can take it or leave it - he likes sweets (mostly chocolate stuff), but he can have a bar of chocolate or a package of cookies lying around for weeks without consuming it.  I wish I had half his willpower.

So, when a baking opportunity presents itself, I take full advantage of the fact that I won't be the one consuming most of the final product.  I decided to make Magic Bars, aka Seven Layer Bars, for the party this afternoon.  More like a candy than a cookie, the crust is layered with all manner of stuff. If any of the ingredients don't appeal to you, you're crazy you can replace them with whatever floats your boat: peanut butter chips, mini m&m's, toffee bits...

I use the basic recipe from the Eagle Brand website, but I've tweaked a few things.  The recipe calls for nuts; what with allergies being more common these days (not to mention that Certain People in this house don't like nuts in their baked goods), I chose to omit them.  I also put most of the coconut directly on top of the sweetened condensed milk, but put a bit of it on top for a nice toasty-coconut flavor.

This recipe still needs a little tweaking. The crust could be a little thicker, or maybe it needs to be baked for a few minutes before it's topped; it could be a bit sturdier. Also, VERY IMPORTANT: Let these cool THOROUGHLY (maybe even refrigerate them) before you cut them, or you will have a gooey (though delicious) mess. If you just can't wait to try them, hot out of the oven, you'll have to use a spoon (and maybe a scoop of vanilla ice cream).

Magic Seven Layer Bars

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
1 cup (6 ounces) butterscotch-flavored chips
1 cup (6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut, divided
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for glass baking pan). In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly (I used the back of a bamboo spoon, with excellent results) on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with 1 cup coconut, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips; sprinkle top with remaining 1/3 cup coconut. Press down firmly with fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store leftovers covered at room temperature.

Tip: For perfectly cut cookie bars, line entire pan (including sides) with a sheet of aluminum foil first. When bars are baked, cool and lift up edges of foil to remove from pan. Cut into individual squares. Lift off of foil.