Asiago Chicken with Bacon Cream Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 small chicken breasts or 2 large chicken breasts halved
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 8 slices bacon, cooked and drained of fat, chopped
• 5 lemon slices
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup asiago cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  Coupons

Instructions

1. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Cook chicken breasts on medium-high heat - about 2 minutes on each side, to brown a bit. Chicken doesn't have to be cooked through - you'll continue cooking it later. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
2. Add minced garlic to the same skillet - cook on medium heat for about 30 seconds, scraping the bottom of the pan. Deglaze the pan with the small amount of chicken stock. Add the remaining chicken stock (total of 1 cup).
3. Add half the bacon (cooked, fat should be drained off, and chopped into small chunks) to the chicken broth.
4. Add the chicken back to the pan, on top of bacon and in the chicken broth. Arrange 5 thin lemon slices around chicken breasts - and cook, simmering on low heat, covered, for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked through, and is no longer pink in the center.
5. After the chicken is completely cooked, remove it from the skillet. Remove lemon slices from the skillet - it's very important that you remove them now, do not leave them in for the sauce otherwise it will be too sour. Add 1 cup half and half to the skillet. Bring to boil and mix everything well, scraping from the bottom. Add 1/2 cup shredded Asiago cheese and stir to melt completely, about 30 seconds. Immediately reduce to simmer, add chicken breasts back to the skillet and reheat.
6. To serve, spoon some of the sauce over the chicken breasts, and sprinkle with the remaining chopped bacon and chopped parsley.

 Tiffany 2017

Butternut Squash Spinach Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette

 Ingredients for  Salad:
 5 cups (1 1/2 lbs) cubed butternut squash, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
10 oz baby spinach
1 1/4 cups pomegranate arils (I used cranberries)
 4 - 6 oz goat cheese or feta, crumbled

Dressing
: 1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbsp minced shallot
2 1/2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions For the salad: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place squash in a mound on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste and toss to evenly coat in oil. Spread into an even layer. Bake in preheated oven 15 minutes then remove from oven and toss. Return to oven and bake until tender, about 10 minutes longer. Allow to cool several minutes before adding to salad. In a large salad bowl toss together spinach, squash, 1/2 of the pecans and 1/2 of the pomegranate arils. Drizzle with desired amount of dressing and gently toss. Sprinkle with remaining pecans, pomegranate arils and goat cheese and serve immediately. For the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and season with salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper). Process until well emulsified.

Mozzarella Cheese

How to Make Homemade Mozzarella

Taken from thekitchen.com

Makes about 1 pound of mozzarella

What You Need

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoon citric acid
• 1/4 rennet tablet or 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet (Not Junket rennet, see note below)
• 1 gallon milk, whole or 2%, not ultra-pasteurized*
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• Equipment
• 5 quart or larger non-reactive pot
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Thermometer
• 8" knife, off-set spatula, or similar slim instrument for cutting the curds
• Slotted spoon
• Microwavable bowl
• Rubber Gloves

Instructions

1. Prepare the Citric Acid and Rennet: Measure out 1 cup of water. Stir in the citric acid until dissolved. Measure out 1/4 cup of water in a separate bowl. Stir in the rennet until dissolved.
2. Warm the Milk: Pour the milk into the pot. Stir in the citric acid solution. Set the pot over medium-high heat and warm to 90°F, stirring gently.
3. Add the Rennet: Remove the pot from heat and gently stir in the rennet solution. Count to 30. Stop stirring, cover the pot, and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
4. Cut the Curds: After five minutes, the milk should have set, and it should look and feel like soft silken tofu. If it is still liquidy, re-cover the pot and let it sit for another five minutes. Once the milk has set, cut it into uniform curds: make several parallel cuts vertically through the curds and then several parallel cuts horizontally, creating a grid-like pattern. Make sure your knife reaches all the way to the bottom of the pan.
5. Cook the Curds: Place the pot back on the stove over medium heat and warm the curds to 105°F. Stir slowly as the curds warm, but try not to break them up too much. The curds will eventually clump together and separate more completely from the yellow whey.
6. Remove the Curds from Heat and Stir: Remove the pan from the heat and continue stirring gently for another 5 minutes.
7. Separate the Curds from the Whey: Ladle the curds into a microwave-safe bowl with the slotted spoon.
8. Microwave the Curds: (No microwave? See the Notes section below for directions on making mozzarella without a microwave.) Microwave the curds for one minute. Drain off the whey. Put on your rubber gloves and fold the curds over on themselves a few times. At this point, the curds will still be very loose and cottage-cheese-like.
9. Microwave the Curds to 135°F: Microwave the curds for another 30 seconds and check their internal temperature. If the temperature has reached 135°F, continue with stretching the curds. If not, continue microwaving in 30-second bursts until they reach temperature. The curds need to reach this temperature in order to stretch properly.
10. Stretch and Shape the Mozzarella: Sprinkle the salt over the cheese and squish it with your fingers to incorporate. Using both hands, stretch and fold the curds repeatedly. It will start to tighten, become firm, and take on a glossy sheen. When this happens, you are ready to shape the mozzarella. Make one large ball, two smaller balls, or several bite-sized bocconcini. Try not to over-work the mozzarella.
11. Using and Storing Your Mozzarella: The mozzarella can be used immediately or kept refrigerated for a week. To refrigerate, place the mozzarella in a small container. Mix a teaspoon of salt with a cup of cool whey and pour this over the mozzarella. Cover and refrigerate.

Recipe Notes

• Adapted from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company
• Making Mozzarella Without the Microwave: Instead of microwaving the curds to make mozzarella, warm a large pot of water to just below boiling (about 190°F). Pour the curds into a strainer and nestle the strainer into the pot so the curds are submerged in the hot water. Let the curds sit for about five minutes. Wearing rubber gloves, fold the curds under the water and check their internal temperature. If it has not reached 135°F, let the curds sit for another few minutes until it does. Once the curds have reached 135°, lift them from the water and stretch as directed.
• Milk for Mozzarella: Almost any milk can be used for making mozzarella: whole, 2%, skim, cow, goat, raw, organic, or pasteurized. Pasteurized milk is fine to use, but make sure that it is not ultra high temperature (UHT) pasteurized. The proteins in UHT milk have lost their ability to set into curds.
• Melting Homemade Mozzarella: I've found that homemade mozzarella doesn't always melt as completely as store-bought mozzarella, especially if I've overworked the cheese and it has become very stiff. If you're planning to make pizza or something else where melting is desired, use a whole-fat milk and make extra-sure not to overwork the cheese. It can also help to grate the cheese rather than slice it.
• Using Junket Rennet: Junket rennet is less concentrated than other kinds of rennet and isn't ideal for making cheese. If this is all you have access to, try using 1-2 whole tablets to achieve a curd.
• Using Leftover Whey: Making mozzarella leaves you with almost 3 1/2 quarts of whey! You can use this whey in place of water in bread recipes and other baked goods, mix it into smoothies, or add it to soups.

3 Leche Cake

3 Leche Cake

I got this recipe from a friend when I was in Belize for a humanitarian trip!

1 tin sweetened condensed milk

2 cups evaporated milk

2 cups whip cream or heavy cream

Mix well.  Chill for 1 hour.

Mix, and bake for 30-35 mins at 325 degrees:

1 package vanilla cake mix

3 egg yolks (keep the whites)

1/2 cup oil

1 1/4 cup water

Remove the cake from the oven.  while still hot, pock small holes with a fork all over the cake. Then pour the milk mixture on the cake.  

Beat 3 egg whites and 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tsp. vanilla till stiff peaks.  Spread over the hot cake and return it to the oven till the meringue browns for at least 5 minutes.  

Cool and Chill

Ann