Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter

 

This dish does double duty...

It's a quick and easy weeknight meal...and...it's elegant enough to serve company.  

What's better than that?  You can whip up a quick dish any night of the week and treat your family to a restaurant style meal.  Or, you can save a load of time when you entertain friends by making this dish and still leave them impressed by your ability to make a wonderful tasting meal.

The key to quickly cooking this dish are the thin slice chicken breasts, often called cutlets.  You can buy them thin sliced in the store or you can make your own by taking a half chicken breast and slicing it through the width of the breast so you have two full thin pieces.  Thin cutlets cook up really quick so you need to watch them and not over cook them or they will dry out and become tough.

The other thing that makes this dish special is the sauce.  It's not made with Almond Butter (a different version of peanut butter) as the name implies, but with BUTTER, and slivered almonds.  It's okay!  You can live a little and use butter to make this wonderful sauce.  Just don't eat this everyday!  The sauce is silky and smooth and is wonderful over the chicken.  This pan sauce makes this dish!

Served beside roasted potatoes and green beans this is a wonderful meal!  Stay tuned for the side dish recipe up next.

Enjoy!

Chicken Cutlets with Almond Butter

serves 4
adapted from Cuisine at Home

Ingredients

2 T flour

4 boneless skinless chicken cutlets (thin sliced breasts)

salt & pepper

1 T canola oil

1/4 c almonds, slivered

1/2 c dry white wine or chicken broth

4 T butter

2 T chives, chopped

Place flour in a pan.  Season cutlets with salt and pepper.  Dredge cutlets in flour, shaking off excess.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat; saute chicken until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side; remove and set aside.

Add almonds to pan and toast, about 3 minutes.  Add wine or chicken broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan; allow to simmer until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.  Off the heat stir in butter until melted and sauce thickens.  Add chives to sauce.  Divide sauce among each serving of chicken. 

 

MGG and I spent the weekend looking at an investment property.  

We found a massive house/mansion tucked inside a hill high above the valley.  Oh the views...and oh the STAIRS!  87 to be exact.  87 slippery, tall, concrete steps leading to the front door.  Since the garage was at the bottom, and the only access are those lovely steps, you have no choice but to get some exercise.  

I couldn't imagine carrying two arms full of groceries in the rain, let alone moving furniture up those steps. Holy cow, what a workout!  But once there, the view....oh my!

Let me tell you, fixing up a property won't be a pretty task.  The shape that this house was in was shameful.  Beautiful marble floors worth salvaging, but the ceilings and walls had holes and structural damage from earthquakes.  Man, it's sad what a mess this house was left in.  So it's giving us something to think about.  A large money investment that would have a huge payoff, and a large time investment to fix it.

So, I came home to make a soothing soup that was not so much of an investment.  This is a soup that I made before in one of my Williams-Sonoma cooking classes.  Spicy and satisfying, just what we needed after taking in that house!  This isn't your average tortilla soup as it starts out with a chili and spice paste/puree which is added as the base of the soup.  So delishhhh!  It takes a little bit of time, but is well worth the effort.

Enjoy an investment in this wonderful soup!

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 5 dried ancho chilies, soaked in boiling water, drained, seeded and chopped
• 4 fresh Anaheim chilies, seeded and chopped
• 3 cups chopped peeled tomatoes
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 7 garlic cloves, minced 
• 2 corn tortillas, torn into pieces
• 2 Tbs. canola oil
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 1 1⁄2 lb. cooked chicken, cut into 1⁄2-inch dice
• 2⁄3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus leaves for garnish
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying
• 6 corn tortillas, cut into strips 2 inches long
• 6 oz. crumbled queso fresco or shredded jack cheese
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the ancho and Anaheim chilies, the tomatoes, onion and garlic, and the two corn tortilla pieces. Working in batches, coarsely puree in a food processor. Transfer to another bowl.

In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the canola oil until almost smoking. Add the chili mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Stir in the stock and water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the chicken and chopped cilantro.

Meanwhile, in a deep fryer, pour in vegetable oil and heat to 375°F according to the manufacturer's instructions. Working in batches, fry the tortilla strips until crisp, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.

Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Garnish with the tortilla strips, cilantro leaves, cheese and avocado slices and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Source:  Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

 

Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

It's been 103, 107, 105 degrees for days and days...

It's too dang hot to cook!  So when you want something a little more substantial than a salad I go for a quick 20 minute meal.

Weeknight dinners don’t get much easier than this. Pasta is a quick go-to meal.  What’s the secret to a speedy pasta sauce? A great jarred version plus a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes.  Check out my red basil.  Isn't it pretty?  Smells great too!

Try this dish for a super quick meal.  You'll be pleasantly surprised!

Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Sauce

Serves 4 to 6

Kosher salt
1 lb. spaghetti
8 oz. cherry tomatoes
1 jar tomato-basil pasta sauce
Finely grated Parmesan cheese for sprinkling
6 oz. fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese, torn into bite-size pieces
Fresh basil leaves for garnish 


Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to the package instructions.

Cut most of the cherry tomatoes in half. Reserve a few whole tomatoes for garnish. Pour the pasta sauce and the cut tomatoes into a large skillet over medium-low heat and allow to simmer. Once the pasta is done, drain and add to the skillet. Stir pasta until coated. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Arrange the reserved tomatoes and mozzarella on top. Garnish with basil leaves and serve immediately.