Chicken Cordon Bleu en Croute

Ingredients
2 large 1/2 chicken breasts
2 thin slices of deli ham
3-4 thin slices of deli swiss
2 sheets Pillsbury Puff Pastry
1/4 c Soy
1/4 c Balsamic Vinegar
Olive oil (for coating top of pastry)
Dry Thyme (for topping)

Instructions
preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Place chicken breasts in a 1 gallon plastic back with soy and balsamic vinegar. Massage a bit and place in a container in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
2. Defrost puff pastry per instructions.
3. When chicken has marinated, remove the chicken and place each in a separate empty 1 gallon plastic bag. Make sure to remove the air and center the chicken inside the bag.
4. Now using a pan or mallet, place the chicken in the bag on a cutting board and pound the meat to about 1/4" thick. Be careful to get an even thickness. Repeat for both chicken breasts.
5. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Coat with olive oil or cooking spray. Remove each pounded chicken breast from it's bag and one at a time, brown both sides for 5-7 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on a plate.
6. Place one sheet of the puff pastry on a a floured surface. Roll out to even thickness and to flatten the folds. Add a layer of swiss cheese to a 6" square in the center. Cover swiss cheese with a slice of ham. Now add one of the chicken breasts broken into pieces to cover the cheese and ham. Now take each corner of the pastry and fold it to the center, overlapping each time to form a closed square package. Place seam side down into a well greased glass 9x13 pan. Repeat for the second package.
7. With a pastry brush coat the top and sides of each package with olive oil. Sprinkle with dry Thyme.
8. Bake in 400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes until pastry is puffed and browned.
9. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Remove each package from the pan, and cut in 1/2 (each serving is 1/2 of a package.)  Serve immediately.

Twice baked potatoes with crimini and bleu cheese

Ingredients
4 large white baking potatoes
8 oz crimini mushrooms
2 T butter
4 oz crumbled bleu cheese
1/2 c unflavored yogurt
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Parmesan cheese (for topping)
Dried Thyme (for topping)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Wash potatoes, puncture with a fork and bake in the oven for 1 hour
3. Wash mushrooms, remove stems, slice into 1/4 slices then cut again to make smaller pieces
4. Heat a saute pan on medium heat and add 2 T butter
5. Add mushrooms to saute pan. Salt to taste.
6. Saute for 10 minutes or so until liquid is sweated out and mushrooms are softened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
7. In a large bowl mix yogurt, 1/4 c Parmesan cheese and bleu cheese. Then when cooled, fold in the sauted mushrooms.
8. When finished, remove the potatoes from the oven and allow to cool 10-15 minutes (until you can handle them).
9. Cut each potato in half, length-wise.
10. Using a large spoon, carefully remove the inside of the potato into the bowl containing yogurt, cheese and mushrooms. Do not break the skin and set each emptied skin aside for refilling.
11. Once all of the potato is in the bowl, fold the mixture together breaking up any large chunks of potato.
12. Using a large spoon, divide the potato mixture into each of the eight 1/2 baked potato skins, smoothing the top.
13. Place refilled skins on a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with parmesan cheese and thyme.
14. Bake in the 400  degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Remove and serve.

Green Beans with Black Bean sauce

Ingredients
1/4 c low-sodium Soy Sauce
2 T Black Bean Garlic paste (Lee Kum Kee)
1 qt fresh green beans
1 T butter

Instructions
1. Wash and cleanup green beans
2. Whisk Soy Sauce and Black Bean paste in a mixing bowl
3. Heat saute pan over medium high heat
4. Melt butter then add green beans
5. Saute until they begin to brown and wilt - 10 minutes or so
6. Deglaze with Soy/Black Bean paste mixture
7. Make sure all beans are well coated with sauce.
8. Remove from heat and serve

Bacon-wrapped Grilled Asparagus

Ingredients
Fresh Asparagus, washed and stem bottoms removed
1lb bacon
Short wood skewers

Instructions

1. Layer bacon with double thick paper towels on a microwave safe plate.
2. Microwave for 5-8 minutes on high to par-cook bacon.
3. Allow to cool so you can handle it safely.
4. Take 3-4 asparagus pieces in a bundle and wrap a strip of bacon around. Insert a wooden skewer to hold in place. Repeat for all asparagus pieces and bacon strips.
5. Place each bundle on the grill and allow to cook until grill side begins to brown. Flip bundles over. Brown second side.

Remove and serve immediately.

Oven Roasted Potato Wedges

Oven Roasted Potato Wedges

Ingredients
about 1 dozen golf-ball sized new potatoes (skin on)
1t cumin
1t garlic powder
1t dry minced onion
2T fine grated parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
3T unsalted butter


Instructions

1. Boil potatoes (skin on) until a fork pierces easily. Remove and cool under cold water. Cut in quarters and distribute evenly on a foil lined baking sheet, cut side up.
2. In a small dish, mix spices and parmesan cheese.
3. Melt 3T butter
4. Brush each potato wedge liberally with melted butter
5. Gently sprinkle on spice & cheese mixture making sure each wedge is lightly coated
6. Bake in a 450 degree F oven for 10-15 minutes or until coating and potato edges begin to brown lightly.

Remove and serve.

Balsamic Glazed Onions

Balsamic Glazed Onions

Ingredients
1 and 1/2 lb golf-ball sized spring onions (or cippolini onions if available)
1/3 c of sugar
4 T unsalted butter
2 T water
1/2 c balsamic vinegar
zest of 1 lemon
4 bay leaves
3 c chicken or vegetable broth (I used beef broth I had on hand)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Par boil onions in a pot of boiling water for about 1 minute, drain and rinse in ice water to stop cooking. Remove the outer skin. (if you peel the outer layer off while trimming you can omit this step. I just helps loosen the outer skin layer.)
2. Mix the lemon zest with the bay leaves and set aside.
3. Put 1/3 cup of sugar in a large saute pan in a little mound. Add 2 T of water to it.
4. Gently melt the sugar water under a moderate heat without stirring it. Move the pan so the undissolved sugar circulates around until it forms a light amber colored caramel... Take the pan off the heat and carefully stir in the butter... ...and the balsamic vinegar. (The caramel will harden up and you'll have hard crunchy bits of sugar. This is okay as you'll see.)
5. Put the pan back on the heat and stir until the caramel is melted again. When the caramel has melted down again, add in the onions, the lemon zest, and the bay leaves. Stir everything around, and add in the broth.
6. Bring the whole thing to a boil, then add salt and pepper to taste, turn the heat down and let everything simmer over a low heat until the onions are glazed and the liquid is syrupy.

This takes about 1 and 1/2 hour.

I would make the balsamic reduction without the onions as a sauce for steak, pork tenderloin, even fried potatoes!

Irish Soda Bread with Guinness Butter

Okay, this is NOT my own recipe, but the making is the fun part (credit shown below).

Bread Ingredients
2 c Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 c Unbleached general purpose flour + flour for kneading
1 t baking soda
dash salt

1 3/4 c Buttermilk

Butter Ingredients
1 - 12oz bottle Guinness Stout
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 T molasses
1/2 t sea salt

Preheat oven to 425 F

Bread Instructions
1. whisk together dry ingredients
2. add 1/2 buttermilk and mix together with a wooden spoon
3. add remaining buttermilk and mix until dough forms into large chunks
4. turn out onto a floured surface and knead just enough to get dough to come together.
5. pull dough inside itself until you form a smooth ball.
6. place ball on parchment covered baking sheet. flatten to about 2" thick. score with a cross about 3/4 - 1" deep
7. bake in 425 F oven for 20-30 minutes
8. Cool and serve

Butter Instructions
1. put Guinness and dark brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat
2. bring to a boil, then simmer until remaining liquid is about 1/2 c (20-30 minutes)
3. cool to a syrup
4. blend softened butter, molasses and salt until smooth.
5. slowly add Guinness syrup, mixing until blended.
6. chill, removing from refrigerator 10 minutes before serving.

Serve this with a Guinness and maybe your favorite Corned Beef & Cabbage recipe on St Patrick's Day!

I found this at Edlible Times

Photos (c) 2015 Jay Mumper