Ben's Half Birthday: Construction Cake

Easy Chicken Tacos

Brian saw this recipe on Cooks Country and wanted me to give it a try.  It looks incredibly easy, and much yummier than traditional chicken tacos from a package, so here goes...

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

We like the convenience of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in our Easy Chicken Tacos, but they were so lean that an unsuitable cooking method guarantees they’ll wind up dry and rubbery. Poaching proved the best method, producing meat that was tender and moist. Chipotle chiles gave our poaching liquid a smoky, full-bodied flavor, and orange juice, instead of chicken broth, offered a touch of sweetness that tempered its vivid acidity.

For more robust flavor from our chicken, we called on Worcestershire sauce and mustard, two (surprising) Latin American staples. Worcestershire mimicked the complex flavor of dark meat, and mustard added sharpness that balanced the sweet orange juice and smoky chipotle.

Serves 6

To warm the tortillas, wrap them in foil and heat in a 350-degree oven for 15 minutes. Top the tacos with shredded lettuce, grated cheese, diced avocado, tomato, and sour cream.

INGREDIENTS

• 3tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4garlic cloves, minced
• 2teaspoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/2cup orange juice
• 1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 4boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1teaspoon yellow mustard
•  Salt and pepper
• 12(6-inch) flour tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. POACH CHICKEN Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and chipotle and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in orange juice, Worcestershire, and ½ cup cilantro and bring to boil. Add chicken and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until meat registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking. Transfer to plate and tent with foil.
• 2. SHRED AND SAUCE Increase heat to medium-high and cook until liquid is reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in mustard. Using 2 forks, shred chicken into bite-sized pieces and return to skillet. Add remaining cilantro to skillet and toss until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with tortillas.
  
  
  
  I am planning to try it with Creamy Avocado Yogurt dip:
  
  

  1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
  2 ripe avocados, peeled and seeded
  1 clove garlic, minced
  3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
  2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  Pita chips, tortilla chips, cut up veggies-for serving

  directions:

  1. Place the yogurt, avocados, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice, and cumin in a blender or food processor. Mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

  2. Scrape dip into a serving bowl and serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or cut up veggies.
  
  
  The VERDICT:
  
  These were delicious!  Not as easy as Brian said they'd be, but absolutely delicious.  Jack gobbled his taco up right away, which is a huge endorsement, since he is a pokey eater.  ONly with things he actually LOVES will he eat quickly.  The avocado dip was yummy, too, but a little too spicy for Jack and Ben (Ben tried it but whined and called it spicy).  Brian and I loved it though.
  
  
  

Snail Sandwich

For the pokiest eater in the family, I made a snail sandwich.  Will it help him pick up his speed?  We'll see...

Owl Cupcakes

When Jack told me he wanted an owl party for his fourth birthday, I wasn't sure where to go with the food, but thanks to Pinterest, I found some great ideas for cupcakes.  And Brian suggested that I try the Hostess cupcake recipe from America's Test Kitchen.  So, in an effort to please both of my June birthday boys, that's what I did.  I only used the cake portion of the cupcake -- I told Brian he'd have to wait until Father's Day to get the whole cream cupcake -- so I topped it with green tinted buttercream frosting and the result (in spite of me accidentally forgetting to add the eggs -- I got distracted, okay?) was delicious.

Blooming cocoa in boiling water and adding chocolate chips and espresso powder gave our Chocolate Cream Cupcakes recipe plenty of chocolate depth. Simply plopping a marshmallow into the batter created moonlike craters in our cupcakes. Combining marshmallow creme and the right amount of gelatin gave us the perfect creamy filling.

The Chocolate Cream Cupcakes were too delicate to allow us to inject the filling with a pastry bag. Instead, we used a paring knife to cut inverted cones from the tops of the cupcakes, added the frosting, and plugged the holes.

Makes 12 cupcakes

To ensure an appropriately thick filling, be sure to use marshmallow creme (such as Fluff or Kraft Jet-Puffed Creme), not marshmallow sauce.

INGREDIENTSCUPCAKES

• 1cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4teaspoon Salt
• 1/2cup boiling water
• 1/3cup cocoa powder
• 1/3cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1tablespoon instant espresso
• 3/4cup sugar
• 1/2cup sour cream
• 1/2cup vegetable oil
• 2large eggs
• 1teaspoon vanilla extract

FILLING

• 3tablespoons water
• 3/4teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 4tablespoon (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
•  Pinch salt
• 1teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4cups marshmallow crème (see note)

GLAZE

• 1/2cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 3tablespoons unsalted butter

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. MAKE BATTER Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup muffin tin. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Whisk water, cocoa, chocolate chips, and espresso in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla and mix until combined. Whisk in flour mixture until incorporated. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out with few dry crumbs attached, 18 to 22 minutes. Cool -cupcakes in tin 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
• 2. PREPARE FILLING Combine water and gelatin in large bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave until mixture is bubbling around edges and gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Stir in butter, vanilla, and salt until combined. Let mixture cool until just warm to touch, about 5 minutes, then whisk in marshmallow creme until smooth; refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Transfer 1/3 cup marshmallow mixture to pastry bag fitted with small plain tip; reserve remaining mixture for filling cupcakes.
• 3. ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES Microwave chocolate and butter in small bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool glaze to room temper-ature, about 10 minutes. Following photos 1 to 3 at left, cut cone from top of each cupcake and fill cupcakes with 1 tablespoon filling each. Replace tops, frost with 2 teaspoons cooled glaze, and let sit 10 minutes. Using pastry bag, pipe curlicues across glazed cupcakes. Serve. (Cupcakes can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.)

Leftover Ham Casserole

In an effort to get rid of our Easter ham, I made this casserole tonight.  It was simple, easy and surprisingly delicious.  

Ingredients

• 1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild rice mix
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 
• 2 cups chopped cooked ham 
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimiento, drained
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Preparation
2. Cook rice according to directions.
3. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add ham, onion, and bell pepper, and sauté until tender. Stir in rice.
4. Combine soup and next ingredients; add to skillet. Spoon into a lightly greased 2-quart baking dish.
5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds, and bake 5 more minutes.

Roasted Broccoli

Total Time:

25 min

Prep

5 min

Cook

20 min

Yield:

4 servings

Level:

Easy

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Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel the outer layer of the broccoli stalks. Cut the broccoli lengthwise keeping the stalk and broccoli florets intact. (The longbroccoli spears should resemble trees.) Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to coat and roast until nicely caramelized, about 15 minutes. Turn broccoli over and sprinkle with grated theParmesan. Cook until the Parmesan melts, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and serve immediately

The Best Risotto of 2012

Brian received an "America's Test Kitchen" cookbook for Christmas, and I've been trying new recipes for several days now.  Tonight's dinner, however, blew us away.  In addition to a ribeye steak from the free-range cow we got through Ryan and Kelly, we had a modified risotto recipe that Brian averred he would marry if he wasn't already married.  The beauty of the risotto is that it combines the bright, creamy flavors of my favorite Giada recipe, without the exhausting constant attention (a real bonus in light of the kids, who seem to reject the idea of me stirring anything for 40 minutes straight).

Hands-Free Lemon Risotto: A Brain-Child of Giada, America's Test Kitchen, and Me
4-6 servings (depending on how much you love it)

2 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup of water
2 Tbsp butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 medium garlic clove, minced through a garlic press
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc from Trader Joe's - $4 a bottle)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon, grated and juiced
1/4 cup ricotta (or marscarpone) cheese
1 tsp parsley

1.  Combine chicken broth and water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low, just to keep warm.

2.  Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in Dutch oven over medium heat (the Dutch oven is essential in order to make this a "hands-free" risotto, as opposed to the kind you have to stir constantly).  Add shallot and salt, and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add arborio rice and toast until ends are translucent, about 3 minutes.

3.  Add wine.  Cook until almost entirely absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.  Add 2 1/2 cups of broth-water mixture to rice.  Stir, then cover and simmer on medium low heat for about 16-19 minutes, until almost all liquid is absorbed and rice is al dente.

4.  Add 3/8 cup of broth-water mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is almost absorbed and rice is creamy.  Stir in parmesan and remove from heat.  Sit, covered, for 5 minutes.

5.  Stir in ricotta, lemon zest and juice, parsley, and remaining tablespoon of butter (although I forgot the butter tonight, so clearly it's not that necessary).

6.  Enjoy.