Sauteed Chicken Breast w/ Roasted Beets, Celery Root, Apples, & Pears

I recently became the proud owner of a Vitamix blender.  Working in the restaurant industry, I've been exposed to these blending beauties for quite some time, but never splurged on one for our home.  That day finally came about a month or so ago.  And what a glorious day it was.

Andy seems to think it's main use is to make a variety of milkshakes.  I constantly find quarts of ice cream in the freezer labelled "milkshakes, please".  But for me, it means I can make silky smooth purees, vinaigrettes, and a plethora of other culinary delights. 

So for this dish, I paired the savory roasted items with a tart parsley-dijon vinaigrette and a smooth parsnip puree.  Andy cleared his plate in a matter of minutes and said that I could make this dish over and over again without any complaints from him.  Sounds like a winner in my book!

Ingredients:

2 skin-on chicken breasts
salt and pepper
olive oil, for sauteeing

1 red beet, peeled and diced
1 celery root, peeled and diced
1 pear, peeled and diced
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 large shallot, diced
olive oil, for tossing
salt and pepper, to taste

Parsnip Puree:

1 lb. parsnips, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
salt and pepper, to taste

Parsley-Dijon Vinaigrette:

1 cup fresh parsley
juice from 1 lemon
4 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 to 1 & 1/2 cups vegetable oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F.

In a medium bowl, toss the beets, celery root, pear, apple, and shallot with olive oil to coat.  Season with salt and pepper.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast for about 20-25 minutes, turning vegetables and fruit halfway through.

For the parsnip puree, combine the parsnips, milk, heavy cream, and butter in a medium sauce pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the parsnips are fork-tender. 

Strain the liquid from the parsnips, but reserve it, don't throw it away.

Place the parsnips in a Vitamix (or you can use an immersion or regular blender, too) and blend on low speed, adding the reserved liquid until you get your desired texture.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

For the vinaigrette, place the parsley, lemon juice, dijon mustard, honey, garlic, and apple cider vinegar in Vitamix (or regular blender).  Turn on medium speed and slowly add the oil until completely emulsified.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Heat a large saute pan under medium high heat and add oil.  Season both sides of chicken breasts with salt and pepper.  Add the chicken to the pan, skin-side down.  Cook until skin is golden brown, then flip chicken over and cook until white throughout.

To plate, place a good amount of the roasted vegetables on the center of the plate.  On one side, spoon some of the vinaigrette.  On the other side, place a good dollop of the parsnip puree.  Place the seared chicken breast, skin-side up on top of the vegetables. 

And there ya have it!  One tasty chicken dish!

Hope you guys have a great rest of the week/weekend!

Duck Breasts w/ Ginger Gastrique

Could have rested just a tad bit longer to prevent those excess juices from escaping, but still delicious =)

Duck has gotta be on the top of my list when I think of my favorite proteins.  Something about it just makes me salivate every time.  A crisp and tasty skin just really does it for me!

I've been trying to get rid of some items on our bar shelf so that we can make room for newer and tastier things.  There's been a bottle of ginger liqueur sitting there for quite some time.  I just haven't had the opportunity to do anything with it... until now.  A quick and easy gastrique was just the thing to pair with our duck breasts!

Ingredients:

2 large duck breasts
salt and pepper, to taste

Gastrique:

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ginger liqueur
1/2 cup veal or beef stock
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter.

Roasted Carrots & Turnips, diced (optional)

In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar on medium low heat.  Cook until sugar caramelizes and turns into a syrupy liquid... like you're going to make caramel.  When the sugar is dissolved and has a nice amber color, deglaze the pan with the vinegar and ginger liqueur.  Whisk constantly to remove any clumps.  Reduce by about 3/4 and then add veal stock, star anise, cinnamon, juniper berries, and salt.  Continue to reduce until mixture is at a syrupy, sauce consistency.  Keep warm until needed.

Heat a large saute pan under medium heat.  Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.  Add the duck breasts to the dry pan, skin-side down.  Slowly render the fat from the skin until it is nice and crispy, about 7-9 minutes.  You don't want to rush this if you want to get the perfect duck skin!

Flip breast over and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until duck is at a nice medium rare-medium.  Let rest for about 4-5 minutes before slicing.

Reheat sauce and mount with 1 tablespoon of butter.  Spread a nice bit of sauce on the plate.  Top with desired vegetable or starch (I had roasted from carrots and turnips for this).  Slice duck breasts into thin strips and arrange over top of the vegetables.  Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Another simple, but elegant meal. Take the time to splurge on some duck breasts once in a while - you won't be sorry!

Garlic & Dill Roasted Root Vegetables

If you haven't noticed, there's a couple of changes around these parts!  Obviously, the header is new - I couldn't resist using some of our engagement photos (with our photographer's permission of course!) to make a new header for the blog!  These two are definitely two of my favorites!

Also, thanks to all of you for the input about a possible blog name change in the future - Feeding Andy is definitely a top contender.  

Anyway, let's get to why you came!  The food!  

Every now and then, my crisper drawers and pantry get overloaded with vegetables.  What's my favorite thing to do with vegetables?  Roast them!  It's so easy, and I just love the way roasted vegetables taste.  Throw in a few herbs and even better!

Ingredients:

2 large new potatoes, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

1 large turnip, peeled and cubed (same as the potatoes)

2 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 large beets, peeled and cubed (again, same as the potatoes - and don't be afraid to get a little red)

Preheat oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Add potatoes, garlic, turnip, carrots, and beets to the baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat.  Spread into an even layer on the baking sheet.  Season with salt and pepper.

Roast vegetables for about 30 minutes, or until browned and vegetables are tender.

Place vegetables in a large bowl and stir in chopped dill.

The dill definitely brings this side to a whole new level.  It's such a unique flavor and I loved having it in something other than some ranch dressing or tartar sauce!

What do you do when you're overloaded with vegetables?

Curried Chicken w/ Roasted Vegetables

I have clarification from my brother, who posted on my Facebook yesterday, that I did, indeed believe in Santa.  For a short period of time at least.  I'm glad I can count on my family to put me in check in those times of forgetfulness.

And by the way, the picture with the chocolates... nobody seemed to get the right treat (but definitely made me hungry with all of your guesses!)... but they were homemade York Peppermint Patties!  Definitely going in the goodie bags!

So for today's recipe I thought I would do something comforting and oh-so-tasty.  One of my favorite types of food is definitely Indian cuisine.  I'm a big fan of curry.  Pair it with a tasty and quick naan, and I'm all good to go.  So when I saw this recipe in November's Food & Wine magazine, I knew I definitely had to try it!

It definitely reminds me of a delicious tandoori chicken, but with a deeper curry flavor.  Without all the mess of the curry gravy (not that I mind that mess at all!). 


Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's recipe

1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
1 lb. brussels sprouts, halved 
2 onions, cut into wedges
1 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
6-8 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
Garlic naan, for serving

Preheat oven to 450 F.

In a large bowl, mix together butternut squash, brussels sprouts, onion wedges, 1/2 cup of olive oil, salt, and black pepper.  Toss until well combined.  Spread onto large baking sheet in 1 even layer.

In same bowl you used for vegetables, mix together yogurt, ginger, garlic, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and remaining 1/2 cup olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken thighs and coat well with mixture. 

Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables and roast in oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until chicken is starting to develop a brown crust.

Carefully pour off any accumulated liquid in the baking sheet, then return to oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Arrange chicken and vegetables on a platter and serve with warm garlic naan and extra Greek yogurt.

I can not say how easy and delicious this meal was.  Definitely a perfect fall comfort meal and although it's not "traditional" Indian fare... the flavors are there, and it would be a great beginner dish for someone who is wary about trying new types of food!  Give it a shot because I know you'll love it as much as we did!  Enjoy!

Happy Wednesday guys, and if I don't get a chance to tell you sooner, Happy Holidays!

Pan Seared Trout w/ Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Potatoes

All I can say is TGIF! Thought for the weekend: Growing up, my parents always told me to clean my plate. And if I didn't, they'd always say "don't waste your food, there are starving kids in China, ya know" etc. And I'd always just naively shrug my shoulders and mutter under my breath, "well mail it to 'em then"... but now that I'm older, if you really think about it... How much food is actually wasted in your home? I was reading an article the other day that stated an estimated $600 per person is wasted in leftover food per year. $600!! That's 2 car payments! And that doesn't account for the food wasted in restaurants, which you can imagine is a hell of a lot more than that.

I'm not saying I'm the queen of using things up, yeah, lots of things go to waste. But I try to eat my leftover (or save them for co-workers that gladly eat them), and I try to use things up like meat bones (by giving them to my dogs or putting them in stock). If I could start a compost pile in my backyard without stinking up the neighborhood, I'd do that to, but research on my part needs to be done. What do you do to prevent food wastefulness? Do you think you fall into the average waste category of $600 annually? Do you think you're above or below?

Anyway, I've been trying to cook as much seafood as I can lately. I know the prices of things are going to skyrocket unless they can get this oil spill under wraps (which I'm highly doubting, and I just don't understand why because of all the technology we have at our fingertips). Trout is pretty cheap and it's a tasty whitefish, and pairs equally as nice with some roasted vegetables...

Ingredients:

2 trout fillets
salt and pepper, to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon paprika
juice from 1 lemon
1-2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon dried parsley
4 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
1/4 lb. Brussels Sprouts, quartered

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a medium bowl, combine potatoes and brussels sprouts. Mix in 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Mix well and place in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake in oven for about 25-30 minutes or until potatoes are soft and starting to brown.

When vegetables are about 5-10 minutes from being finished, heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add remaining olive oil.

Combine salt, pepper, garlic, thyme, basil, paprika, parsley, and lemon juice. Pour mixture on top of each trout fillet and gently rub in, if desired.

Place trout, skin side down, in skillet and cook for about 4 minutes, or until skin is nice and golden brown. Carefully flip over and cook an additional 2 more minutes, or until fish is white throughout.

Serve on top of roasted vegetables and dig in!

This was a light and flavorful meal. The trout had tons of flavor with the added spices and the simply roasted vegetables were crisp and fresh. Enjoy!