It's Good Though…

Yield: 6 Servings

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Very similar to my normal Chicken Parmesan, just add cheese, sauce and pasta.

• 6boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1cup AP flour
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2extra-large eggs
• 1¼cups seasoned dry bread crumbs
• ½cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• butter
• olive oil
• baby salad greens for 6, washed and spun dry
• Lemon Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Pound the chicken breasts until they are ¼-inch thick. You can use either a meat mallet or a rolling pin. Put plastic wrap above and below the chicken or place the chicken in a gallon freezer bag.

Combine the flour, 2 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper on a dinner plate.

Beat the eggs with 1 TBS of water in a large shallow bowl.

On a second dinner plate, combine the bread crumbs and the ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese.

Coat the chicken breasts on both sides with the flour mixture, dusting off the excess, then dip both sides into the egg mixture and finally dredge both sides in the breadcrumb mixture, pressing lightly.

Heat 1 TBS of butter and 1 TBS of olive oil in a large (12-inch) sauté pan over medium-low heat and cook 2 chicken breasts at a time for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Remove the cooked chicken to a plate (or keep warm in the oven; see below). Add more butter and oil and cook the rest of the chicken breasts.

Toss the salad greens with the lemon vinaigrette. Place each chicken breast on a plate and pile mound of salad on top. Serve hot with shaved or grated Parmesan on top.

To keep the cooked chicken breasts warm, place on a sheet pan in a 200-degree oven for up to 15 minutes. Toaster oven is great for this.

Lemon Vinaigrette (Makes 3/4 Cup)

• ¼cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• ½cup good olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Measure the lemon juice in a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Add the olive oil, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper and whisk together. A stick blender works great for this.

Yield: 6 Servings

Adapted from Food52

I’ve always thought macaroni and cheese’s 20% crunch to 80% soft ratio was all wrong. The ratio should be more like 50:50. The soft part, delicious though it may be, wears you out. You need lots of crisp bits to stay interested in the dish. This recipe combines three ideas of par-cooking the pasta, folding it together with a few cheeses, spreading it on a baking sheet, and finishing it in a 475°F oven.– Amanda Hesser

• 1TBS butter
• 1lb pasta spirals (Cellentani / Cavatappi, or other small shape)
• 12oz extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• 12oz sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• ⅛tsp cayenne, plus more as garnish
• salt
• ⅔cup whole milk

Heat oven to 475° F.

Use the butter to thickly grease a 11- by 17-inch rimmed baking sheet.

Combine the grated cheeses and set aside 2 heaping cups for topping.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 6 minutes. Drain.

In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, cayenne, and salt to taste.

Spread the mixture in the baking sheet and evenly pour the milk over the surface. Sprinkle the reserved cheese on top, sprinkle on a little extra cayenne, and bake, uncovered, until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes.

Yield: 6 Servings

Adapted from Carla Lalli Music / Bon Appétit

Making one giant pancake instead of a bunch of smaller ones means that everyone will sit down to pancake breakfast at the same time. And because it’s no flip, you don’t have to worry about your spatula “skills.” Use the 10 to 20 minutes when the pancake is in the oven to locate your maple syrup and butter and get plates onto the table.

• 1cup AP flour
• ⅓cup cornmeal (not coarse, medium- or fine-grind works)
• 2large eggs
• ¼cup sugar
• 1TBS baking powder
• ½tsp baking soda
• 1tsp kosher salt
• 1½cups buttermilk, divided or ¼ cup plus 1 TBS Saco buttermilk powder and 1½ cups water, divided
• 4TBS unsalted butter, melted, divided, plus more room temperature for serving
• 1cup fresh blueberries
• 1TBS vegetable oil
• pure maple syrup (for serving)

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Dry ingredients: Whisk 1 cup AP flour and ⅓ cup cornmeal in a small bowl. If using buttermilk powder, add ¼ cup plus 1 TBS buttermilk powder, whisk.

Wet ingredients: Whisk 2 large eggs, ¼ cup sugar, 1 TBS baking powder, 1 tsp salt, and ½ tsp baking soda in a medium or large bowl until eggs are lightened and smooth, about 30 seconds.

Mix ingredients: Add ¾ cup buttermilk (or water if using dry buttermilk) and half of the dry ingredients to the wet bowl and whisk very gently just to barely combine.

Add remaining ¾ cup buttermilk (or water if using dry buttermilk), 2 TBS melted butter and remaining dry ingredients and whisk just to combine (some lumps are okay). Adding the dry ingredients in two batches, rather than all at once, lessens the risk of over-mixing (which would deflate and toughen the batter).

Using a wooden spoon, fold in 1 cup fresh blueberries.

Cook in skillet: Heat 1 TBS vegetable oil and 2 TBS melted butter in a 10-inch or larger oven-safe nonstick skillet over medium. Using a combination of oil and butter raises the smoking point of the butter.

When foaming subsides, scrape in batter and use the back of a spoon to gently nudge it all the way to the edges.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, shaking pan back and forth occasionally to ensure pancake will eventually slide out freely, until bubbles appear across surface of pancake, 4–6 minutes (it will still look quite wet and uncooked in the center, but you should see some browning around the outer edge).

Bake: Transfer pan to oven and cook until pancake is puffed and set, 10–15 minutes for a 10-inch skillet. Using a pot holder or oven mitt, shake the pan to make sure the center is set. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Leave the mitt or holder draped over the handle to remind everyone it is very hot!

Invert pancake onto a large plate or platter. Admire the crispy, burnished top—its pock-marked surface contains all your lacy-edged pancake fantasies.

Cut into wedges and serve with room-temperature butter and maple syrup.

Yield: 4 Servings

Adapted from theKitchn and InstantPot

If you want the juiciest, most tender wings you’ve ever tasted, you’re gonna want to reach for your Instant Pot. Not only does pressure cooking chicken wings mean they’re ready to eat in record time, but it also rewards you with wings that are way more tender than oven-baked, with meat that falls off the bone. Slather them with your favorite sauce, crisp the skin under the broiler, and dig in.

Wings & sauce:

• 2-3lb chicken wings (18 to 24 separated pieces)
• 1tsp kosher salt
• 1cup BBQ sauce
• ½cup water
• ½cup honey
• ⅓cup brown sugar
• 2TBS Worcestershire sauce
• 1TBS garlic , minced
• ½tsp cayenne (optional)

To finish:

• ⅓cup BBQ sauce

Cook the wings: Add Sauce Mixture ingredients to the Instant Pot and stir to combine. Add the wings and stir to coat.

Seal Instant Pot and set to MANUAL HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. When the cook time is up, use the quick-release method to bring the pot’s pressure back to normal. Unlatch the lid and open the cooker.

Quick release any remaining pressure.

Crisp the wings: Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Position the oven rack about 4 to 6 inches from the broiler and heat the broiler. Use tongs to transfer cooked wings from the cooker to the baking sheet. Brush the wings with the remaining sauce. Broil the wings until crunchy, basting several times with the pot’s juices and turning once, 3–5 minutes.

Recipe notes:

Storage: Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

For an 8-quart instant pot: you must increase all the ingredients by 50 percent.

Yield: 4 Servings

Scott Nowell

The original recipe for Chicken and Rice Curry is from The New Butterick Cook Book, by Flora Rose, co-head of the School of Home Economics at Cornell University. It was published in 1924.

The rice should NOT be mixed into the sauce.

For white sauce:

• 4TBS butter
• 4TBS flour
• 3-4cups milk
• 1tsp (heaping) Better than Bouillon, Chicken
• salt & pepper
• 2-5tsp curry-powder

Chicken & rice:

• 3cups chopped cooked chicken
• 2cups cooked rice
• 8oz sauteed mushrooms, quartered or sliced
  

Rice Prep: Add 1 cup of water to medium sauce pan. Add uncooked rice, 1 TBS butter or oil, and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Optional mushrooms prep: Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add 1 TBS butter or oil and heat until foaming stops. Add mushrooms and saute for 6 to 8 minutes, until they are browned and exuded water has evaporated.

Prepare white sauce: Heat butter in a medium sauce pan until foaming stops. Whisk in flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Whisk in Better than Bouillon.

Whisk in 2 cups of milk and bring to a boil until sauce thickens. If sauce is too thick, whisk in additional milk until desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Whisk in curry-powder starting with 2 tsp and add more to suit.

Mix in cooked chicken and mushrooms. Stir until heated through.

Serve over the rice with naan on the side.

Side dish suggestions:

Yield: 4 Servings

Adapted from Mexican Food Journal

Pico de Gallo is an uncooked salsa known as a salsa fresca, or “fresh salsa,” in Spanish. It is a delicious combination of plum (Roma) tomatoes, white onion, cilantro, Serrano peppers and a splash of lime juice. Pico de Gallo translates as “rooster’s beak?”

I made this with one jalapeño, but that isn’t enough.

• 4plum tomatoes (Roma tomatoes), seeded, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
• 1white onion (optional red onion), finely chopped
• 12fresh cilantro sprigs, leaves only, finely chopped
• 1-2Serrano chilies, seeded, minced
• 1TBS lime juice
• Sea salt to taste (½ to 1 tsp)

Assemble: Add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Add sea salt to taste.

Sprinkle with the lime juice.

Gently mix until the ingredients are evenly dispersed.

Serve immediately.

Preparation notes

Pico de Gallo is best eaten fresh but will keep for a day or three in the refrigerator.

To freeze, place in a sieve and drain for a while, then freeze in covered plastic dish.

Presentation counts. It such a simple dish, so make sure that the ingredients are chopped evenly.

Choose the Mexican lime, also called the Key lime when making Pico de Gallo. It is the traditional lime for making Mexican food. Standard lime doesn’t add the same bright flavor. Purdue University has some in-depth information on the Mexican Lime which is quite interesting if you want to geek out on limes.

Substitutions:

You can substitute jalapeño peppers for the Serrano’s. The taste will be similar, but the salsa won’t be as hot.