Homemade Croutons

Who doesn't love a crouton?

Making homemade croutons is a great way to use bread that’s no longer fresh.  I like to make a big batch and then keep them in a airtight container.  They are good for snacking as well as great on salads.  


Simple to make, you just cube day old bread.  French bread is perfect, but you can also use a country wheat, and my favorite, sourdough.  You can then either bake them up, or place them in a freezer bag for later use.  

Kitchen Tip:  Cubed bread keeps really well in the freezer.  This allows you to bake a whole bunch or just a few at a time.  (Great time saving tip)

To bake them you just want to toss the bread crumbs with either olive oil, or melted butter.  Now comes the fun part.  You can flavor them with anything you like.  Here are a few examples:  minced garlic, Parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, spices.  Or you can use dried herbs in a pinch and create a variety of flavors.

NOTE:  Southern Sundays will return this Sunday June 3rd.  Featured recipes will also be awarded...Hope you will all join!

Homemade Croutons
3 cups cubed bread
2 T olive oil or melted butter
herbs, cheeses, or spices (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In large bowl combine bread and olive oil. Toss well to coat. If using herbs or spices sprinkle on and toss to coat.  Spread our onto a large baking sheet. Bake in oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring after five minutes to brown evenly. Cool completely before storing.  Keeps 1 week.

Memorial Day weekend in San Diego

Hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend!

MGG and I spent the weekend away in San Diego.  A little rest was in order..

We had a wonderful time exploring different areas of the city.  The picture above is our view from lunch on Coronado Island, looking back at downtown San Diego.  Beautiful!

We started off the weekend at Powerhouse Beach in Del Mar.  Del Mar is a quaint little beach town south of Los Angeles near San Diego.  This has got to be one of the best parks I've been to.  Look at this place!  It was so wonderful hanging out here for the afternoon.  The weather was a cool 70 degrees, with a light wind.  Just perfect!

On to our hotel located on Shelter Island, which has a Marina on one side, and the Harbor shoreline on the other side.  Here's our view from our room.  Gorgeous!

A beautiful park next to the shoreline.

A view from Shelter Island looking at Coronado Island and downtown San Diego in the background.  The Naval base is visible as well.

Off to Balboa Park we went to enjoy some of the museums there.  First off was the Space and Air Museum.  Some wonderful plane there.

After that we started walking through the park and boy was it crowded!  Thinking that it was just the holiday weekend we discovered that they were having an International food festival.  Booths with food from all sorts of countries were set up and selling like crazy!  We saw food from Peru, Hungry, France, India, Pakistan, Greece, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Philippines, you name it....it was there!  So much fun!  We sampled a lot as you could believe and enjoyed comparing the different flavors from the different countries.  Would you believe that we saw at least 10 variations of Baklava??  So delishhh!  Unfortunately we didn't stop to take pics during the feast...hard to sample and snap shots...you understand.

So as this is a food blog, I can't forget to show you some luscious food....!

We had lunch yesterday on Coronado Island at the Village Pizzeria.  We sat outside and had a wonderful view of the bay and downtown San Diego in the background.  Here's a wonderful view of the aircraft carrier, Midway.

We shared a Pear and Gorgonzola Salad...I have to make this soon!  We also tried one of their famous pizzas.  Heaven!  A light and crispy crust, with a spicy sauce, and fresh toppings.  Try this restaurant out if you are ever in San Diego.

We had an excellent time in San Diego.  We'll definitely be back soon!

Chicken Marsala

Italy is one of my favorite places and so I goes without saying that I also love it's cuisine.

My mom and I were fortunate enough to travel to Italy and fell in love with the people, the country, and it's food.  We spent 5 wonderful days in Rome, wandering the streets, shopping, site seeing, and eating!  I can't begin to describe the feeling of being in a city that has so much history.  To be able to stand where the ancient Romans stood, to walk where they did, and to dream of another era, but also to be able to see their achievements in monuments, and ruins, that decorate this magical city.  We did a lot of walking...I mean A LOT of WALKING!

Which made us work up an appetite!  We had made quick friends with a local restaurant owner and would visit him nightly for the special dinner he would have prepared for us.  Each day was something different, not from a menu, but made special.  Oh...the risotto...to die for!  And every meal ended with a Baci or kiss!  Such good memories of our time there. 

One dish I adore, and my mom does as well, is Chicken Marsala.  There is something special about the flavors in this dish.  The wine and the cream marry so well and turn out a delicate but full of flavor sauce that tops a simple chicken and mushroom dish.  

The technique is simple, by sauteing chicken and then creating a pan sauce.  Deglazing the pan is important step so that you pull up the little brown bits (fond) that are in the bottom of the skillet, which lends great flavor to the sauce.  To really get good brown bits use a stainless steel pan which allows for a little sticking in the pan.  

Kitchen Tip:  Pound chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4" thickness if desired.  This will reduce the cooking time for the chicken by several minutes.

Here's my ode to Rome and my take on Chicken Marsala.  I hope you enjoy it.

Some step by step pics.

 stainless steel pan

 

  See the brown bits?

 

scrape up the brown bits...

add the cream

Heaven in a pan!!!

Chicken Marsala

serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1/4 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 c flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 pound sliced button mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Marsala wine

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.  Add flour to a pan for coating.  Take each piece of chicken and dredge it in the flour, shaking off any excess.  In a large skillet, cook chicken in 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side (4-5 minutes for thin breasts)  Remove and keep warm.  (refer to Kitchen Tip above for pounded chicken breasts.

In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in remaining oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits from pan. Bring to a boil; cook until liquid is reduced by a third. Stir in cream.  Return to a boil; cook until slightly thickened.

Return chicken to pan and cook to warm through spooning sauce on top of chicken.  Garnish with parsley.