Fresh Morels

We are big fans of chicken. It's light, cooks fast and is extremely versatile. We were shopping at Whole Foods and saw fresh morels. I recently read an article that they grow here and can be found for about three weeks in the spring. There are apparently false morels too, so you need an experienced morel person to teach you where to find them and how to identify them. They were $39.99/lb. Wow! Well, you don't need many of them for this dinner for 2, only and ounce or two, so we bought them. You can rarely find them fresh and you only live once.




Chicken with Morels and Spring Vegetables was the result.

2 chicken breasts halves, pounded between 2 sheets of plastic wrap
flour for dredging
salt and pepper
2 T butter
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sherry
1 ounce morels
3/4 cup green peas
1 cup chopped ripini
1/4 cup fat free half and half
3 T chopped parsley
2 T chopped chives
1 T chopped tarragon


Par boil the ripini for about 2 minutes. Drain and cool. Salt and pepper chicken.
Dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Heat oil in a skillet large enough to hold all
of the chicken. Melt butter in skillet. Add chicken and brown a minute or two on each side. Remove. Add the chicken stock and sherry to the pan. Cook 2 minutes. Add morels, ripini, peas, chicken, half and half and herbs. Simmer for about 5-8 minutes until the sauce thickens. Serve over rice or pasta to sop up some of the delicious sauce.



This is being submitted to weekend herb Blogging hosted this week across the pond by Ulrike of Kuchenlatein. Be sure to go for the round up on Monday.

Relishing your opinions!

There's something fishy going on..

Something's fishy. The truth be known, they didn't smell fishy. ‘Twas the husband's birthday and he loves fish so I headed out to Kroger and couldn't find anything that looked appetizing so I went to Whole Foods and found some great fresh flounder fillets and bought them. Then I saw some sea trout and bought them too. And they had fresh shrimp for $4.99/lb and I bought that too. We had a friend here for the birthday dinner. I fixed the flounder the birthday boy's favorite way: salted and peppered, dredged in buttermilk, then in cornmeal and lightly sautéed. It was really tender and fresh tasting, not fishy at all. They were out working in the vineyard and on the trip to and from, discovered some broccoli rabe that was still good, so plucked it up and sautéed it with garlic and served over some soft polenta. For lunch the next day, we had the shrimp. Have you ever tried a recipe that turned out to be good, but you'll never do it again? That was how I felt when we had this shrimp for lunch. It was beautiful and tasty but waaaayyyyy too much trouble for me to make again, like this.
Last but not least, we grilled the trout and served it with a tomato vinaigrette, roasted asparagus and roasted potatoes.
Lovely. I should note that the moon rising in a full eclipse was the coolest thing to happen on one's birthday and why I didn't get a picture of that dish.

Cheers,

For recipes, check out the website and if it's not there, send me a note. It will get me motivated to get it on the list.

Crabby

No, I am not crabby. For the most part, I rarely am crabby; however, I do love crab and I DO mean Blue crabs. I HAVE tried the others, and I still think the Blue Crabs are the best. Way better than any lobster I have ever eaten. I'll take crab any day of the week.

I love food. As I started typing to discuss our latest dinner, I started to write I love crab. Then I thought that I love Broccoli rabe and pasta and garlic. I love food, almost all of it. I love to cook. I love to entertain. I love to find new recipes. I love to try new food. I love to feed other people. I love to grow
my own food and buy local. How lucky am I?

Which leads me to crab. Growing up in Virginia with wonderful parents that have the most perfect garden in the world, was and is a blessing. We have been part of the slow food movement before there was a slow food movement. Although we lived in central Virginia, my father had the number one slip at the Lynhaven marina at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay until the day he retired. I was on a fishing boat before I could walk. Although he doesn't fish much anymore, he is still an avid hunter, and we get loads of venison, which we love. And the garden is beyond belief, after putting manure on it for close to 60 years. It sits on a bluff in perfect soil which dries so you can walk through it an hour after a driving rain. Yes, we have a garden, in clay soil and it will never be as weed free and rich as my parents.

What does this have to do with where I started? Well, it has to do with crab. I remember the first time I ever ate crab, after crabbing in the Rappanhanock River with chicken necks. I was appalled at the sound of them clawing for their life after being dropped in the steamer. But after the first taste, I have spent many years on tables outside, covered with newspaper picking out crabs, dipping them in butter. I could and would do it for hours, ending with a huge pile of crab mung in the middle of the table. Oh, are the wonderful; and now EXTREMELY pricey. I didn't even have any last year, maybe the first year ever. There is nothing like it. #1 jimmies! Yum. Needless to say, I was a crab snob and would have never, never bought pasteurized crab. Then I went to assist a chef at a party that was making crab cakes for 300 (or was it 500). We made a lot of crab cakes using the canned, pasteurized crab from Costco. I couldn't believe it. It had big pieces of crab and in at least 20 pounds of crab, I didn't see one piece of shell and everyone raved over the crab cakes. I was hooked; and trust me, it beats shelling all that crab, although I will never pass up the opportunity. If you've never had it, go to a crab house sometime and try it. Get someone to show you the technique and be prepared for a feast as well as little cuts all over your hands.



Back to crab. We made crab cakes with Costco crab and they were yummy. We had it with broccoli rabe and pasta. The crab cake recipe is on the website.




Broccoli Rabe and Pasta

4 slices pancetta, minced

1 T extra virgin olive oil

1 bunch broccoli rabe, coarsely chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 T fresh thyme, minced

1 14 oz can low fat low sodium chicken stock

3/4 lb pasta (I like the shape and size of Campanelle to go with the broccoli)

Parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Sauté pancetta in olive oil until very crisp. Remove. Add garlic to pan and sauté for about 1 minute. Add thyme. Stir. Add chicken stock and cook until it cooks down, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli rabe and cook until done, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper. Serve with pasta topped with pancetta and shaved parmesan. Serves 4 healthy servings.

Enjoy and until next time, Cheers!

Be sure to check out Entree Vous if there's one in your neighborhood!