These chicken breasts are so yum and easy. I used to make them often when my kids were growing up, and they were a fave. Since this is all about the chicken, I recommend going to Harrison’s Poultry in Glenview. They have the freshest most wonderful poultry around. If you are not inclined to seek out Harrison’s due to distance proximity, at least go to your local butcher and buy good quality – they may even carry Harrison’s as they supply many shops and restaurants in the Chicago area. Quality is important. I don’t care what you put on it or in it, if you have tough, stringy chicken…well, what’s the point of wasting your other ingredients?

Chicken Breasts – Breaded and Baked

4 -5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved – rinsed and dried
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup Durkee fried onions – crumbled
1 stick of butter (or oil if you don’t want to use butter – but, ya know? butter’s better!)

Melt butter and place in a shallow bowl. In a plastic zip lock bag, add the parmesan, bread crumbs, and crumbled onions. Shake up to distribute evenly. Take each breast, roll in melted butter, and shake in crumb mixture. Place on a rimmed cookie sheet, sprayed with cooking spray, or in a shallow casserole dish large enough to hold all of them. Drizzle any remaining butter over all. Sprinkle with paprika for color. Bake at 400* for 40 minutes, or until cooked through and browned. Carefully turn once during baking time. I serve them with roasted potatoes and onions or au gratin potatoes.

Once upon a time there was a little cafe in Winnetka, Il. called “The Pretty Good Cafe”. This was a comfy, cozy neighborhood cafe with the most wonderful homemade food and desserts. The owner, Gail, ran it with the help of her son and a few friendly staff. It was a frequent meeting place for breakfast or lunch for me and my friends. I can’t tell you how many times I went in there for the English Toffee Pudding alone. Each time I would beg Gail for the recipe, and if she was in the mood she’d give me a hint, but never the recipe. Eventually, due to unfortunate circumstances, Gail closed the doors on the Pretty Good Cafe. But…not before she did the most wonderful thing! She printed a cookbook containing all of the recipes she served in the cafe for all of her loyal customers to enjoy! O.M.G.!!! I now had the recipe for the E.T.P. I adored. But wait…was that a good thing?? I could now whip up a batch whenever I felt like it. This, of course, led to a diet once the novelty wore off. But I am forever thankful to her for this warm, homey, amazing recipe. I have tried several others, but trust me, this one is the best.

English Toffee Pudding

3 1/2 cups boiling water
1 Tbls. baking soda
12 oz. pitted dates, chopped
3 Tbls. flour
1 1/2 sticks of butter
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 eggs
3 cups flour, sifted
1 Tbl. baking powder

Bring water to boil in a saucepan. Chop the dates with the 3 Tbls. flour in the food processor. They need to be chopped fine or they will show up as pieces in the final product.
When the water is boiling, turn off the heat, add the baking soda and the date mixture. Stir to combine and set aside to cool to room temperature (you can refrigerate to speed the process).

In a large mixing bowl or mixer, cream butter, sugar and eggs, beating well. In a separate bowl sift flour with baking powder.

When date mixture is at room temperature (not before or you will ruin the pudding) add to egg mixture, alternating with the flour mixture until both have been incorporated.

Pour into a 9×13 greased pan and bake at 375* until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean – about 1 hour.

Toffee Topping

6 Tbls. butter
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup + 1 Tbls. whipping cream

Put all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until combined and bubbling. Remove from heat.
Poke holes in the top of the warm cake with a the handle of a wooden spoon. Spread toffee mixture over the cake as evenly as possible, making sure it gets into all the holes. Place the pan under the broiler for about 1 minute until the top is bubbly – keeping watch so it doesn’t burn. Remove and cool or serve immediately. This also freezes well. If you freeze it, defrost and then reheat in the oven until warm. You can then slice it or scoop it out into bowls and serve with vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche. Thank you Gail!

Note: If you have never had English Toffee Pudding, it is really a cake, not what we think of as a pudding. It is rich, dense and caramelly. And, oh, so delicious!

Fall is here and I’m looking forward to months of warm, nuturing comfort foods, and sharing some of my favorite recipes with you. Years ago a good friend of mine gave me her favorite chutney recipe, and it soon became mine. It’s so versatile. As an appetizer, you can spoon it over a brick of cream cheese or goat cheese, or brie, and serve with crackers. Or you can serve it alongside a roast pork, or poultry. It combines all the wonderful fall / winter flavors I love; apples, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. So delicious! So easy!

Since I am making these for part of my son’s birthday dinner this weekend, I decided to post about them. First, let me say, the dilemma in our house is always “are they better hot from the oven, or are they better cold the next day”? The answer is…we can’t decide. We love them hot and we love them cold. Maybe we lean a teensy bit toward cold which is good news for any of you who decide to make them – you can do them the day before and clean up the mess in advance.

These little babies are addictive. Crispy, flavorful, just plain yummy. You can serve them as the main meal or as an appetizer. If serving as a main meal, we like to add twice baked potatoes with cheddar cheese and corn on the cob to complete the menu. Mmmm.. you are going to love these!

Now, the hard part…telling you how to make them, because it’s not one of those measure the ingredients kind of recipe.
I will do my best…here goes…I’m just going to talk it out:

Our Favorite Chicken Wings

8-10 lbs. of chicken wings, disjointed, tips discarded (or freeze and use to make chicken stock)
Rinse chicken off and let drain in a colander.

Mazola oil

Flour – fill a quart size zip lock bag about 1/3 full of flour or Wondra – season the flour liberally with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, garlic powder, and pepper. You want to put enough seasoning in so you can smell it.

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 375*

Line cookie sheets, with sides, with heavy duty aluminum foil

Pour oil in a shallow bowl. Shake 5-6 wings in the bag of seasoned flour, then roll in the oil (yes, I know the opposite of what you would normally do) let some of the oil drain off the wing and place on the foil lined cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the wings, adding more oil to the bowl as needed – taking care not to crowd the wings too tightly together on the cookie sheets. Depending on how many wings you make, you will need 2-3 large cookie sheets.

Bake in oven for 1 1/2 hours, turning once, or until both sides of the wing are deep golden brown. When you turn the wings, be careful to go underneath the wing and loosen it from the foil without leaving the skin stuck to the foil – that’s where all your flavor is, and the best part!

When they are done, remove to a platter or bowl lined with paper towels and drain. Then dig in! Hee hee hee…I can almost hear the moaning going on Please let me know your verdict…better hot or cold??

Imagine your favorite pecan pie…ooey, gooey, sweet and chewy, loaded with toasted pecans. Mmmm. Well, these are like miniature pecan pies only in cookie bar form. Serve them on a sweet tray or make up a tin to take as a hostess gift. So easy and delicious!

Pecan Squares

Crust:

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 sticks salted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350*

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sift sugar and flour together. Cut in butter using your fingertips or a pastry blender until fine crumbs form. Press dough into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

11 Tbls. salted butter, melted
1/2 cup maple syrup (the good kind…not Aunt Jemima!)
3 Tbls. heavy cream
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans, toasted (spread out on baking sheet and toast at 350* for 10 minutes – cool)

Mix melted butter, maple syrup, cream and brown sugar together. Stir in pecans, coating them completely. Spread over crust. Return to oven and bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars or squares.

If you want to impress your guests, look no further…this is your recipe. It looks and sounds hard to do, but I promise you it is easy. The question I am most often asked is “how do the potatoes stay on the fish? Don’t they stick to the pan and make a mess?” The answer to that question is no they do not! They stay right where they are supposed to stay…on the fish. And, it is a beautiful presentation. You have the golden brown of the potatoes, and through that you see the leafy green sprigs of dill, and then the pink of the salmon. Beautiful! Delicious!

This is recipe I will have to talk you through, as it is more procedure than anything else. So, here goes…

Potato and Dill Crusted Salmon

Center cut salmon filets however many you need. Remove the skin from the back of the filets and then butterfly them (cut through horizontally) but don’t slice all the way through.

Idaho potatoes – 1-2 should be more than enough. Slice long, thin slices from the potatoes with a vegetable peeler. Soak the slices in a bowl of ice water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.

Fresh dill sprigs

Procedure:

Take each butterflied filet (leave open) and pat with a little vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place a few dill sprigs across each filet. Then overlap thinly sliced potatoes across the entire filet. Add enough of the vegetable oil to a large fry pan to coat the bottom and heat on a medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the filets potato side down. Then pat a little oil on the top side, add the dill sprigs, and the overlapping potato slices. Continue sauteing the filets on the first side until the potatoes are crisp and golden brown. Gently, with a spatula, flip the filets (no, the potatoes won’t fall off) to the other side. Continue sauteing the second side until the potatoes on that side are golden brown. And viola! The fish is cooked through, the potatoes are crisp and golden, the dill sprigs are peeking through and you are a genius! Really, it is such a pretty dish to serve and truly delicious. I hope you will try it and report back.

P.S. Depending on the size of your pan, don’t saute more than 2-3 filets at a time – you don’t want to crowd them.

I love puff pastry. I could probably write an entire blog just using all my recipes for various ways in which to use these tender, flaky, little gems. So versatile, so easy! This is another good pizza type appetizer (refer back to # 1) to serve with cocktails or as an accompaniment to a main dish salad for lunch or dinner. Any way you serve it, it will be delicious, and most important…your friends will be impressed

Puff Pastry Pizza # 2

1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry – defrost according to pkg. directions
3 cups (or more – you decide) swiss cheese, shredded; divided
2 lbs. plum tomatoes, thinly sliced and blotted dry
1 cup (or more) green olives, sliced or chopped
good quality olive oil

Lightly roll out puff pastry sheets. Cut each into 1/4′s and crimp edges. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and sprinkle each square with shredded swiss cheese, sliced tomatoes and green olives. Drizzle with a little olive oil and top with remaining shredded swiss cheese. Bake at 375* for 20 – 30 minutes, or until lightly browned and cheese is bubbling.
Serve. When your guests applaud, feel free to take a bow

This easy, breezy, summer appetizer, is a perfect way to use the fresh basil and tomatoes that are in season now. So flavorful and versatile. You can also use it to accompany a large salad or a bowl of soup for a light dinner.

Puff Pastry Pizza #1

1 large bunch of basil – save some small pretty ones for garnish
2 large sweet onions – sliced, and caramelized – season with s & p
4-6 plum tomatoes, sliced
1 wedge good quality Parmesan cheese, shaved
3 tbls. good quality olive oil
1 beaten egg white
1 package (2 sheets) frozen puff pastry

Preheat oven to 375*

Chop, chop, chop basil – saving some for garnish

In a bowl combine 3 tbls. olive oil, and chopped basil
Lightly roll out puff pastry sheets – cut each sheet into 1/4′s and crimp edges. Place on parchment lined baking sheets and brush with beaten egg white.
Blot tomato slices with paper towels. Place 4 slices on each square of puff pastry.
Brush liberally with the basil / olive oil mixture
Top with some of the carmelized onions and shaved Parmesan

Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Garnish decoratively with saved basil leaves

If given a choice between a chocolate dessert or a lemon dessert, I always go for the lemon. I love the tart, refreshing, citrusy bite of lemons, especially in the summer. This dessert combines 2 of my favorite things…lemons and good vanilla ice cream. Since it’s frozen, it’s a great dessert to have on hand in your freezer for when guests stop by. I love the contrast between the tart lemon filling and the sweet vanilla ice cream. I usually make two at a time…one to share and one to have just because! This recipe calls for a 9 inch frozen pie shell, baked according to package instructions – but I usually make a graham cracker or ginger snap crust – up to you.

Frozen Lemon Pie

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker or ginger snap crumbs
6 Tbls. butter, melted
1 Tbls. sugar
Combine ingredients and press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake at 350* for 10 minutes – cool on wire rack

Filling:

1/2 cup of butter
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 Tbls. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 quart of vanilla ice cream, softened

Melt butter in top of a double boiler. Add lemon juice, lemon rind, salt, and sugar. Beat the eggs and egg yolks thoroughly. Gradually stir into butter mixture. Cook over hot (not boiling) water, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Remove from heat and chill. Press softened ice cream into pie shell and freeze. Spread lemon filling over the frozen ice cream and freeze. When frozen cover with Saran. When ready to serve, top with a dollop of whipped cream.
A great summer dessert!

Peaches can either be really good or really disappointing. When they are bad they are mealy, woody, tasteless. But when they are good, oh man, they are gooood! I find myself eating them over the sink or over a napkin to catch all the juices…sigh.
This summer has been a positive peach experience for me. Whether I buy them at the grocery or the farmer’s market, I have been in peach heaven.

This is a peach pie recipe I got from an old Cooking Light magazine and have made many times over the years. It’s really easy and fool proof. The recipe calls for refrigerated pie dough, but if you are a purist, please feel free to substitute your own favorite dough recipe. I have done both depending on how much time I have wanted to spend – and really, it’s all about the peaches, so get yourself some good ones.

Brown Sugar – Peach Pie With Coconut Streusel

1/2 (15 oz.) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar, divided
3 Tbls. all-purpose flour – ( if your peaches are very ripe and juicy, you might want use an additional 1-2 Tbls. flour to thicken the filling)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
8 cups peeled, sliced, ripe peaches (about 3 1/2 lbs. or 12 peaches)
1/3 cup regular oats
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 1/2 Tbls. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425*

Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold edges under, flute. Line dough with a piece of foil, and arrange pie weights or dried beans on foil. Bake at 425* foe 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350*. Remove pie weights and foil. Bake at 350* for 5 minutes. Cool crust on a wire rack.

Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a bowl with the sliced peaches – gently toss and arrange into prepared crust. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Combine 1/3 cup brown sugar, oats, coconut, and butter and sprinkle over peach mixture. Shield edges of crust with foil. Bake an additional 30 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or not. I love it just the way it is – no embellishments necessary. I hope you try this and if you do, please leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Now that summer is finally here, I am enjoying all the fresh flowers, fruit, vegetables and herbs that are available at the Farmer’s Markets in the area. For the last few weeks I have gotten the most amazing peonies from a vendor at the Northfield Farmer’s Market. These peonies were so lush and voluptuous and out of control gorgeous, they made me smile each time I looked at them. They are my favorite “feel good” flower. So sad their season is over for now.

But, on the bright side, I have also been purchasing lovely, aromatic basil, and juicy, ripe tomatoes, so I  thought I would post a recipe for my favorite pesto sauce along with a simple pasta sauce recipe using fresh, roasted tomatoes.

Perfect Pesto

3 cups fresh basil
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly grated, good quality Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil

Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Simple!

Roasted Tomato and Pesto Pasta

6 – 8 medium plum tomatoes
1 Tbls. good quality olive oil
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
1 16 oz. box penne or rigatoni
7 0z. pesto

Preheat oven to 400*

Cut tomatoes into 1/4′s and remove seeds. Toss tomatoes with olive oil, pepper and salt. Roast for 20 minutes turning once.
Bring large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tbls. of Kosher salt – add pasta and boil until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water, then drain pasta, put back in pot and toss with pesto sauce and roasted tomatoes, adding some of the reserved pasta water if needed. Serve hot or room temperature. Fresh, easy and delicious!

The Best Baked Beans

This is the all time best baked bean recipe. Men especially love these beans, although the women do too. I have been making these beans for years, and whenever I’m invited to a barbecue, I am asked to bring them. Again, this is something you can prepare the day before. Just heat them in a 350* oven for 45 – 55 minutes before you are ready to serve.

1 large can B&M beans
1 large can butter beans, drained
1 large can kidney (or pinto) beans, drained

2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 lb. ground chuck
s & p to taste
1 can real bacon

3/4 cup catsup
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbls. white vinegar
1 Tbls. yellow mustard

Brown ground chuck in a little oil until nice and crumbly. Drain off grease, and remove from pan.Add a little oil to the pan and saute onion until golden brown. Add ground chuck back to pan and mix in all the beans and the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, put into casserole dish and refrigerate if not serving. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350* and bake the beans for 45 – 55 minutes, or until heated through. Yum! Really, really good.

Summer Corn Salad

If you are looking for a great summer side dish look no further. This corn salad is easy, flavorful, and really attractive displayed in a pretty glass bowl. Did I mention easy? Everything is pretty much in season now, so go to your Farmer’s Market and get your vegetables as fresh as possible. You can serve this salad with almost anything – steaks, chops, chicken, you name it. It’s crunchy, colorful, and a little spicy depending on how much heat you decide to add. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount of chilies and cumin to satisfy your personal taste buds.

Summer Corn Salad

4 12 oz. cans of Green Giant corn, drained
1 large tomato, diced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
4 green chilies (or 1 small can) diced
1 small can artichoke hearts hearts, quarted

Dressing

1/2 Tbls. cumin
1 tsp. each salt and pepper
3 Tbls. minced parsley
2 Tbls. lemon juice
2 Tbls. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Mix all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl.

Blend all vegetables together in a large glass bowl and toss with the dressing. Let marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
Didn’t I tell you…easy!

Blueberry Kuchen

As we have just learned in the previous post: a blueberry dessert a day keeps the doctor away…right? So, in the spirit of good health, I would like to share with you another yummy blueberry recipe given to me by my friend Peggy. After taking my first bite, I could only say THANK YOU PEGGY for sharing! The crust on this divine tart is so buttery and delicious, and the combination of the cooked blueberries topped with the uncooked blueberries at the end is just… well, perfect!

BLUEBERRY KUCHEN

Pre-heat oven to 400*

1 cup plus 2 Tbls. flour, divided
1/8 tsp. salt
2 Tbls. plus 2/3 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 Tbls. white vinegar
5 cups blueberries, divided
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Mix 1 cup flour, salt, and 2 Tbls. sugar in Cuisinart. Add the butter in pieces and pulse until crumbly. Sprinkle in the vinegar (dough will come together) Press onto the bottom and 1/4″ up the sides of a 9″ springform pan. Place 3 cups
of the blueberries on top of the crust. Mix together 2 Tbls. flour, 2/3 cup sugar, and the cinnamon. Sprinkle over the blueberries. Bake for 50 – 60 minutes until crust is golden brown, and the blueberries are bubbling. Remove from oven and spread the remaining 2 cups of blueberries over the top. Cool.. serve with ice cream.. take your first bite..mmm.