Garlicky Goodness

My mother came for a visit this weekend and while she was in town my brother requested she make one of his favorite dishes - Garlicky Chicken.  Think breaded chicken pieces, pasta, and a butter sauce loaded with garlic...This is not a diet dish.

This is a dish that Mom created for us when we were kids and it was a hit from the start.  It was no different this time.  If you love garlic, you are gonna love this.

Garlicky Chicken
Serves 6 to 8

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
4 to 5 cups of breadcrumbs
5 cloves of garlic or more to taste
olive oil
butter
1 lb spaghetti
4 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Slice chicken into small pieces.  Be careful not to make the pieces too thick because it will take them longer to cook through and the outside breading will get too dark.

Beat eggs, and mix with water.  Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture.  (You may need to add one more egg and a bit more water for your batch.  Have the eggs on hand.)  Then, dredge in breadcrumbs.  Again, you may need to adjust the amount of breadcrumbs to ensure adequate breading for your chicken.  NOTE:  My brother likes to season the breadcrumbs and my mom does not.  You decide for yourself.  That is the joy of being a grown-up.

Melt butter in large skillet with olive oil and garlic.  Notice I didn't provide measurements.  It depends on how large your skillet is, how long you are cooking the chicken, and your personal taste.  You want to make sure the bottom is generously covered and you need to decide if you want more butter than olive oil or vice versa.  Add the garlic after the butter is melted or it will burn.  Brown chicken in garlic seasoned oil and butter.

Set aside on paper towels to drain.  Before you are finished with all the chicken pieces, start cooking pasta according to directions on package.

Once you brown all chicken, add a bit more butter, garlic, and olive oil to skillet.  Before you start, you may want to remove the skillet from the heat and wipe it clean if there is a lot of breading debris in the bottom of the pan.  If you leave it in there, the breading crumbs will turn black and it make your dish look unappetizing.  Heat this long enough to melt butter and slightly brown the garlic.

Heap cooked and drained pasta on a large platter.  Spoon half of the butter, olive oil, and garlic mixture over the pasta.  Add the chicken pieces then drizzle with remaining butter mixture.  Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.

Thanks, Mom!

No Excuses for Eating Lousy Bread

I didn't eat store-bought bread until I was in high school.  This is gonna sound like the start of a Martha Stewart story, but I promise it is not.

My mother baked bread for our family every week, except for one week when I was very young and our air conditioning didn't work.   She understandably didn't want to turn on the oven.  That week she bought a loaf of bread for the four of us and I'm fairly certain she ended up using most of it for breadcrumbs later.  I hated it.  I hated it more than the heat.  I wasn't even in school yet, and I knew that bread was just wrong.  Bread should not taste that way; it should not have that texture, or that lack of smell.

Mom taught my brother and I how to bake bread, but our loaves were never as good as hers.  I think it was just the practice.  Once I was old enough to truly recognize the amount of effort it takes to bake several loaves of bread every week for a busy family, I was also old enough to take on a lot of the cooking responsibility.    We all took turns trying to bake, but it didn't happen every week.  We filled in the gaps with store-bought loaves.  I still hated the taste, but I understood the trade-off for our schedule that we made by having store-bought bread.

In the years since establishing my own household, I still only make bread haphazardly.  I've never thought of it as difficult (and neither should you).  I tell myself it is more about the time needed for multiple risings.  However, that is still only a lame excuse.

My mom has starting regularly baking bread again.  She had homemade bread there for us during our visit, and it reminded me of how much I enjoy it and how much it can be worth the time and effort.  Feeling inspired, I skipped the bakery section and bread aisle at the grocery store.  Then, I came home and baked bread.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

Makes two 9 x 5-inch loaves

3 ¼ cups warm water (no more than 110 degrees F)

1/3 cup honey

2 packets or 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

canola oil or Crisco for the bowl and pans

4 cups, all purpose flour

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup wheat germ

2 Tbsp fine sea salt

In a large liquid measuring cup, combine the warm water, 1/3 cup honey, and yeast.  Stir until dissolved.  Set aside to proof.  The mixture will become creamy and foamy, it took less than 5 minutes.  If it doesn’t, your yeast is likely dead.  It could be that the water was too hot water and killed the yeast or it was dead in the package.

Lightly oil or grease the inside of a large bowl.

To make the dough, combine flours, wheat germ, and salt in a bowl.  I used my Kitchen Aid mixer fitted with a dough hook, but a wooden spoon will work just fine.  Pour in the yeast once it has proofed and knead on low speed until well combined.

To shape the dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.  I found it pretty sticky still so have the flour near by to coat your hands.  Knead the dough by using the heel of your hand to compress and push the dough away from you, and then fold it back over itself.  Give the dough a small turn and repeat until the dough is smooth and elastic, it was a little over 5 minutes for me.  The dough is ready when it bounces back when pressed with your fingers.

Place the dough in the oiled bowl.  Cover with a dry towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

While you are waiting, lightly oil or grease the insides of two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.

Turn the dough out onto the floured surface, and punch down.  Halve the dough; flatten one piece an oval and roll up lengthwise.  Place the roll, seam side down, into one of the prepared pans.  Repeat with the remaining dough.  Cover the loaves with a dry towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

To bake the loaves, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Bake until deep golden brown, it took just over about 50 minutes.  The loaves will sound hollow when tapped on the top.  Transfer the pans to a wire rack, and let cool for 5 minutes.  Invert the loaves onto the rack to cool completely.

Once cool, be sure to wrap the loaves securely, (if you don’t eat it all in one sitting) so it doesn’t go stale quickly.  You can also wrap in aluminum and plastic wrap to freeze.  This is really easy.  You are going to want to do it again.

 This recipe is from a cookbook by Virginia Willis.  It is one of those cookbooks filled with stories and warm descriptions that I like to read in bed.  Weird, I know... Regardless of where it is read, I think you will enjoy this book.  You will also enjoy how wonderful your house smells when you bake your own bread.

We Find Ourselves in a Pickle

Husband and I are back in Texas for a few days visiting my parents.  When asked what we want to do while we are here, we both replied "Eat." We share the goal of eating as much Gulf shrimp, Texas barbeque, and Mexican food as possible.

It is a real dilemma trying to facilitate so many meals of all the South Texas goodness while still fitting into our clothes and conversing with family.  I mean, we were raised to not talk with our mouth full, but we keep filling our mouths, so it is tricky.

Upon hearing our request, Mom wisely chose a light, refreshing meal for our first homemade dinner.  She knows how to help us pace ourselves through a weekend of gluttony, and she knows I only like shrimp fresh from the Gulf of Mexico.

Mom made pickled shrimp, or Camarones Estilo Barbachano Ponce.  She modified a recipe from the New York Times Menu Cookbook by Craig Claiborne.  It was fairly easy to put together and she was able to prepare it for us the night before so she could focus on visiting with us.

Camarones Estilo Barbachano Ponce (Pickled Shrimp)
6 to 8 servings

2 lbs raw shrimp
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 celery rib with leaves
1 bay leaf
1 small dried hot pepper
6 peppercorns
1 tsp salt, or more
1/4 cup thinly sliced onion (slices should be almost transparent)
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley
1 ripe avocado,  peeled, seeded, and cubed

Remove the shells and tails and discard.   Rinse the shrimp under water and set aside.

Put enough water to eventually cover the shrimp in a saucepan and add the carrot, celery, bay leaf, hot pepper, peppercorns, and salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

While simmering, combine the onion slices, oils, vinegar, garlic, tomatoes, and salt to taste in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Add the shrimp to the boiling water and cook for no more five minutes after the liquid returns to a boil.  It took Mom about 4 minutes this time.  (You can't rely on color because some shrimp is already pink, but it should no longer be translucent.)   Drain the shrimp and while still warm add them to the mixing bowl with the oil and vinegar mixture.  Gently mix together.  Cover and chill for about 12 hours.

Before putting it on the table, sprinkle the shrimp mixture with black pepper and parsley.  You could mix in the cubed avocado, but our fruit was really ripe and we feared it would get mushy in the mixture.  So instead, we put the cubed avocado directly on our plates and spooned the shrimp mixture on top, or you could do the reverse.  We served it with French bread with garlic butter and fresh melon.  If you have any leftover shrimp, you can serve the next day on plates of lettuce for a nice starter salad.

On to our next meal...stay tuned.

Brown Bananas

I didn't like bananas as a kid. Even when my grandmother told me how good they were to eat and attempted to ply with me her homemade banana pudding with Nilla wafers. I just didn't like them.

Defying logic, however, I did like my mother's banana nut bread. Maybe it was the pecans, maybe it was the change to the chemistry of the fruit with baking, or maybe it was the cream cheese she spread on each slice. Regardless, I was hooked.

I've improved my attitude about bananas somewhat since reaching adulthood, and even willingly purchase them at the store, especially since my husband likes them in his lunch. I still don't like eating them straight out of the peel, though, and I absolutely cannot stand the mushy texture of an overripe banana. But, that is the perfect texture needed for Mom's banana nut bread.

Apparently, I was a bit exuberant in my last food shopping trip and I noticed several quickly browning bananas on the kitchen counter last night. What a perfect way to end our weekend....filling the house with the smell of banana bread. Yum.

Here's how to do the same at your place...

Banana Nut Bread

3/4 cup oil

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp sour milk (or buttermilk or yogurt) (See Note)

2 large mashed bananas

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cream sugar and oil. Add the egg and stir to blend. Sift dry ingredients together and add to the wet mix. Add the sour milk and bananas. I usually mash my bananas in a separate bowl with a potato masher before adding to the mix.

Pour the mixture into greased 5x9 loaf pan. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

NOTE: Sour milk does not equal spoiled milk. To make sour milk, add a couple of drops of white vinegar or lemon juice to the three tablespoons of milk. Let it stand about 5 minutes. Carbon dioxide is created by the reaction of the acid in the sour milk and the alkali of the baking soda. It makes the batter lighter and more airy. You can certainly use regular milk for this recipe, but the bread turns out a bit more dense.