We just got back from our annual lab ski trip, where stayed in a huge house up in New Hampshire and hit the slopes and snowshoeing trails at Mount Sunapee. We all had a great time relaxing, hanging out, and enjoying some incredible meals. Everyone signed up to make a dish over the course of two days and I volunteered to organize our shopping list and go to the grocery store with my labmate Libby. It was quite the adventure navigating an unfamiliar store with a two page list and two full shopping carts, but definitely worth it because everything was so tasty! The first night we had pizzas with crusts made from scratch and the second night I decided to tackle the main course.

I was actually a bit nervous when I first got into the kitchen because I’ve never cooked for 10 people before and certainly didn’t want to disappoint anyone or mess anything up! But, I quickly settled into my groove once I started prepping all the ingredients. I’ve always enjoyed the challenge of multitasking in the kitchen and my goal was to finish all the dishes at the same time so nothing would get cold. Luckily, everything came together perfectly, and at one point I had all four burners going, which was a first for me (stirring risotto, cooking asparagus, searing chicken breasts, and keeping my eye on the simmering soup)! My menu included crab bisque (which I will post about next!), gruyere risotto with asparagus and peas, and these lovely stuffed chicken breasts.

I decided on chicken as the protein because everyone likes it and I knew it would be easy to find high quality chicken at the small local grocery store. There was no great inspiration for the filling – I just combined all my favorite ingredients! I mixed together caramelized shallots, garlic, pancetta, sun-dried tomatoes, and parmesan cheese, and then stirred in just enough mascarpone cheese to hold it all together. I think everyone enjoyed the meal and I’m already thinking about menu possibilities for next year!

Pancetta and Sun-Dried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup diced pancetta
2/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts
1/4 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium low heat and sauté shallots for 10 to 15 minutes or until caramelized. Add garlic and sauté 1 additional minute. Remove from heat and place in a medium bowl. Add pancetta to the same pan and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until browned. Place pancetta in the same bowl with the caramelized shallots and allow ingredients to cool completely to room temperature. Add sun-dried tomatoes, parmesan cheese, and mascarpone cheese to the bowl and mix until well combined.

Meanwhile, place chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Place filling evenly lengthwise down each chicken breast, roll up the sides, and secure with toothpicks.  Mix almond meal, flour, and salt in a shallow baking dish and evenly coat stuffed chicken with the flour mixture.

Heat oven to 350˚F. Heat butter and 1 remaining tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat and place chicken breasts seam side down in the pan. Use large tongs to rotate the chicken and sear it on all four sides. Place seared chicken breasts seam side down in a large baking pan and bake at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes or until cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Allow to rest 5 minutes, then remove toothpicks, and cut on a bias. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 318 calories, 17.1g fat, 1.0g fiber, 32.6g protein per serving
Cost: $1.56 per serving

I was super excited when my good friend Eva asked if we would like to use her family’s farm share while they visit her parents in Austria for the next few weeks. Eva is inspirational because she works full time as a pulmonary pediatrician and is raising the two most adorable one year old twins you’ve ever seen. She somehow does it all and still finds time to cook most nights! We are always trading tips and food magazines (my Bon Appetit for her Fine Cooking) and I’m hoping she’ll treat us to a guest post at some point!

Anyway, I thought it was a perfect chance to see if we could actually use all the veggies in a farm share every week before getting one for ourselves. Look at the haul – organic red onion, baby spinach, Swiss chard, lettuce, grapefruit, apples, parsley, golden beets, sweet potatoes, Yukon potatoes, and carrots! Apolinaras immediately claimed the grapefruit and sweet potatoes, and then I set about the task of figuring out what to do with the rest of the goodies!

I set the potatoes and golden beets aside so I could make a mash of them to serve alongside Tom Colicchio’s braised short ribs on Valentine’s Day (which the carrots and onions went into). The short ribs were amazing by the way, and I highly recommend the recipe! My next order of business was tackling the Swiss chard, which I was curious about but had never used before. I knew it could be cooked similarly to spinach but tends to a little bitter, so I decided to use it in a quinoa side dish with my sweet leftover sweet golden raisins. Eva also suggested pine nuts went well with the greens, so I tossed some of those in too, along with garlic, onions, and a bit of lemon juice for some acid.

I settled on pairing the quinoa with champagne poached salmon, which was one of the entrée choices at our wedding, because I stumbled upon a super old bottle of sweet champagne at the back of our liquor stash when I was looking for the ingredients for our Valentine’s Day cocktails. I used to like sweet champagne but my tastes have changed and I’m a fan of the dryer stuff now – I think this particular bottle moved with us from Chicago over 2 years ago! This was a wonderful way to finally finish it off. The champagne flavor is subtle, but you can definitely taste it, and the salmon paired well with the quinoa. Thanks so much to Eva for the farm share – I’m already looking forward to picking up next week’s box!

Champagne Salmon with Swiss Chard Quinoa
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
2/3 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cups chicken stock
1 bottle sweet champagne
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 dried bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 salmon filets (ours were 7 ounces each)
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard, stem removed and coarsely chopped (2 packed cups)
1/3 cup golden raisins
Juice of half a lemon

Directions:
Place quinoa and chicken stock in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on the pot, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed.

Place champagne, vinegar, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon salt in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and bring liquid to a simmer. Place salmon filets in the pot and simmer for 10 minutes or until salmon is cooked through.

Meanwhile, place pine nuts in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring frequently, or until toasted. Remove pine nuts from the skillet and pour in olive oil. Sauté red onion for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and sauté one additional minute. Stir in Swiss chard and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes or until wilted.

Place cooked quinoa in a large bowl and stir in cooked Swiss chard, pine nuts, raisins, lemon juice, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Serve poached salmon over quinoa. Makes 3 servings.

Nutrition: 684 calories, 30.1g fat, 7.0g fiber, 50.0g protein per serving
Cost: $5.54 per serving (not counting the champagne)

I just got back from San Diego, where I attended a conference for work. The days were packed with lectures and the hotel was a bit isolated on Coronado Island, so I didn’t actually get to spend any time sightseeing. Good thing I’ve already been to San Diego a couple times! I did enjoy the amazing weather and got to see my friend John, who was nice enough to pick me up from the hotel. We had seafood at Peohe’s, where I enjoyed fantastic coconut crusted shrimp and mahi mahi with a banana and Frangelico sauce – yum! The food at the hotel was actually pretty good too and I’m still thinking about the tempura wasabi tuna wrap I had for lunch one day. I was disappointed that I didn’t get any Mexican food though. After trying tamales for the first time in Phoenix, I really wanted to sample some more authentic dishes!

Since I was still craving Mexican when I got home, I decided to whip up some enchiladas. But, my plans changed when I realized we didn’t have any tortillas! Luckily I had some polenta on hand from Trader Joe’s (I impulsively purchased it a few weeks ago with no plans for it) and decided to top polenta rounds with my shredded chicken mixture. This was a really easy dish and the polenta reminded me of those delicious tamales!

Mexican Polenta Rounds
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 18-ounce precooked polenta roll, cut into 8 round slices
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded (I poached mine)
1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup frozen corn, cooked
1/2 cup prepared enchilada sauce
1 4.5-ounce chopped green chiles, drained
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and cook polenta rounds for 5 to 7 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, mix shredded chicken, black beans, corn, enchilada sauce, green chiles, and red onion in a medium bowl.

Preheat broiler. Place cooked polenta rounds on a greased cookie sheet and top evenly with chicken mixture (pile them up as high as they’ll go without toppling over – I did have a little extra chicken mixture). Sprinkle evenly with cheddar cheese and broil for 3 to 5 minutes or until chicken is warmed though and cheese is melted. Makes 2 servings.

Nutrition: 700 calories, 23.0g fat, 11.6g fiber, 48.9g protein per serving
Cost: $2.85 per serving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I’m in the lobby of the Bright Angel lodge at the Grand Canyon right now sitting next to the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate, and taking advantage of the free internet! Apolinaras and my brother Richard braved a snow and ice covered slippery trail down into the canyon today, but since I’m a bit of a klutz, I decided to walk around the South rim with my parents. Talk about gorgeous views! Phoenix was very warm though, and we all had fun hiking up a rocky Camelback Mountain trail, where a festively decorated Christmas tree and bush greeted us at the top of the peak. Richard even left a little ornament on the tree! It’s been so great spending time with everyone!

Food wise, I’ve really been enjoying all the delicious Southwestern flavors, so I was inspired to share this easy and tasty quesadilla recipe. This isn’t an authentic recipe, but it’s still one of my favorites because two types of salsa are involved! The quesadillas are filled with salsa and cheddar cheese and then served with fresh Pico de Gallo on top. So delicious! I did make Christmas dinner (chicken parm and lemon garlic shrimp pasta) and brunch (egg casserole, bacon, and pastries) with a very limited supply of dishes and ingredients in our condo in Phoenix, but I already can’t wait to get back into my own kitchen and work on some ideas that have been brewing on our trip!

Chicken Salsa Quesadillas
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 16-ounce jar salsa
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup chopped red onion
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 8-inch whole wheat tortillas
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet and sauté chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently, or until no longer pink in the center. Mix cooked chicken with salsa in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, make the Pico de Gallo by mixing chopped tomatoes, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a large bowl.

Preheat broiler. Place 3 tortillas on a large greased cookie sheet. Spread half the shredded cheese evenly on the tortillas; top with the chicken mixture, the remainder of the cheese, and the remaining 3 tortillas. Place quesadillas in the oven and broil for 2 to 5 minutes on each side, or until cheese is melted and quesadillas are heated through. Cut tortillas into 4 wedges and top with Pico de Gallo. Makes 8 servings.

Nutrition: 366 calories, 15.8g fat, 4.5g fiber, 32.5g protein per serving
Cost: $1.36 per serving