Spicy Chicken Skewers ~ Thighs

If you or members of your family are not huge fans of boneless, skinless chicken thighs this might be the recipe that will change minds. :D

Often the boneless/skinless thighs will go on sale around here for well less than $2.00 per pound. I don't mind dark meat at all, but the boneless/skinless thighs left me cold. Other than stir-frying I didn't really care for them until I found this recipe, adapted from Donna Hay.

After a 30 minute marinade, the thighs are skewered and grilled either on an outdoor grill, or indoors on a stove top grill pan.

The aroma as they are cooking is irresistible, and I have proof...

Our neighbor was over visiting as I was preparing these and was he was absolutely raving about the aroma ~ it would have been absolutely cruel not to offer him a sample.

We all gave them a big THUMBS up!

Reading over the ingredients of the marinade ~Olive oil, paprika, dried chili flakes, crushed garlic and Worchestershire Sauce~ it is difficult to imagine how flavorful it makes the grilled chicken taste, but Donna has come up with another winner.

And the good news is that you can reduce (or increase) the amount of chili flakes depending upon how spicy you like your food. I add only 1 teaspoon, rather than the 2 teaspoons in the recipe, which made mine only slightly spicy.

After grilling the chicken is sprinkled with fresh mint leaves. If you don't have access to fresh mint I would suggest using almost any fresh herb; oregano leaves, marjoram, thyme, cilantro, or flat leaf parsley. Be sure to serve with plenty of fresh lemon wedges so each person can add as much as they like ~ the squeeze of lemon juice is the perfect finishing touch.

Incidentally, we liked the chicken thighs prepared this way so much I'm going to serve them again, prepared the same way on this holiday weekend.

If you try this method, I hope you like it too~

For a printable copy of the recipe you'll find it on my recipe blog ~ click HERE.

Thank you for stopping by today, I always welcome your comments!

xo ~m.

Into the Heart of Italy ~ Winner is Announced!

Photo: Bertolli website

We have a WINNER for Bertolli's

Into the Heart of Italy Give Away!

Congratulations to KAIT of ...Cooking with Kait..!!

Kait, please email me your mailing address so we can get your gifts off to you right away. I hope you enjoy them!

Thank you everyone for entering~

And a big thank you to the folks at Bertolli for hosting this give away.

Into the Heart of Italy ~ Give Away & A Chance to Win a Culinary Vacation in Italy!

Exciting News!

Recently I was approached by representatives for Bertolli to participate in a give away in conjunction with segment 5 of their 6 part series "Into the Heart of Italy" discovering "Secrets of the Cantina". The adventure features Rocco DiSpirito, Marisa Tomei and Dan Cortese. (Video link below)




The folks at Bertolli have allowed me to host the most generous give-away to date on my blog, and when you click the link above you can also enter to win a chance to win a culinary vacation in Italy!




THE GIVE AWAY

Bertolli sent me a VERY generous gift box filled with wonderful gifts, and requested that I host a food and wine paring party (featuring Bertolli Frozen meals for two) matched with complementary wines then blog about it. I was delighted to participate!

It was so much fun, and the GOOD news is that the lucky winner of "Into the Heart of Italy" Give-Away will receive identical gifts as those that I received, valued at $175.00!:

Here is what the winner will receive:

VIP coupons for four Bertolli Frozen Meals for two that will transport you to Italy in just 10 minutes. [Those equals 8 FREE servings of Bertolli's delicious and easy to prepare entrees!]

PLUS the following:


Two, CB2 (Crate & Barrel 2) "Verona" Pasta Serving Bowls
Four, Crate & Barrel "Rotate" Plates
Crate & Barrel Marble Wine Chiller
Crate & Barrel Wine Decanter
Bertolli Wine Pairing Guide
$50 of gift cards; you can use them to purchase wines complimentary to your meals if you wish.

I incorporated the surprise gifts into the food and wine paring we hosted for 4, and you can see them throughout pictures of our party table.

Following my pictures you'll find details of how to enter the give away.

The winner will receive an envelope like this one, containing the Bertolli Wine Parings chart, as well as Fifty dollars in American Express Gift Cards.

~*~*~*~*~

Here is how I used my gifts:

It was a beautiful afternoon, which compelled me to set the table out on the lawn so we could enjoy the outdoors.

This was such an easy way to host a party, and I would have no hesitation serving the complete meals for two as party entrees again.

One of the Bertolli entrees I served was Chicken Florentine & Farfalle. (Bowtie shaped pasta and white chicken meat with spinach in a delicious Parmesan cheese sauce), and to my surprise all of this delicious flavor it is prepared in a skillet and ready in just 10 minutes.

To round out the meal I made a simple salad and served bread sticks to nibble on.

Using the wine pairing chart, I chose Pinot Grigio ; a crisp and clean tasting medium-bodied white. Perfect pairing for the chicken dish.

The other pasta dish I served was Italian Sausage Stuffed Shells (with four cheeses in the filling), served in a flavorful tomato-basil sauce. It is from Bertolli's Oven-Baked selection, and grated Parmesan cheese is included to sprinkle over the shells after they have baked. Just arrange the shells and sauce in an oven safe dish, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes (or 30 minutes in a convection oven), uncover and sprinkle the cheese over and allow it to melt.

The time-saving entrees allowed me more time to take photos, and visit with our guests!

I love the square plates and how they automatically arrange themselves in a spiral shape when stacked. (These are the "Rotate" plates from Crate & Barrel, four are included in the give-away.)

The beautiful marble wine chiller on the left is also one of the gifts.

I can also picture using this as a vase; imagine a big bouquet of white hydrangeas with deep green foliage as a centerpiece ~ striking!

I chose a classic Chianti to complement the flavorful Sausage-4 cheese Shells in Tomato-Basil Sauce. Chianti is Italy's famous Tuscan red wine, full flavored but just mildly acidic. Bella!

Wine pours beautifully from the elegant Crate & Barrel glass wine decanter, another of the gifts the winner will receive.

Serving from a decanter is also a very civilized way to serve (even inexpensive) wine!

I served our salad in the big serving bowls from CB2.

Our winner will receive 2 of these, they make great pasta serving bowls, too.

I served tomatoes and ciliegine (small fresh-mozzarella balls) on skewers atop the spring greens. This method makes for easy serving (and eating) at a casual buffet; each person can grab a skewer, then serve themselves the dressed greens.

I garnished the Sausage & Cheese Stuffed shells with a little fresh oregano, snipped from the herb garden. I also offered additional freshly grated Parmesan (but it wasn't necessary, because everything you need to serve comes in the Bertolli entree pouch.)

Store-bought Italian Grissini (very thin bread sticks). You could make your own, but this kind of party is designed to be easy on the cook!

I honestly couldn't believe how simple this little party was to throw together at the last minute. The food was delicious and I can't say I would have enjoyed the gathering more if I had spent a few hours in the kitchen. A big thank you is in order to the folks at Bertolli!

I believe there are at least 21 Bertolli entree choices; pasta and vegetables combined with meat, chicken, or shrimp ~ so there are plenty of choices to please everyone.

If you follow my blog, you know I'm very much dedicated to serving fresh, homemade, "from scratch" foods, but I must say that the Bertolli frozen entrees I tried have truly impressed me with their high, restaurant quality and ease of preparation.

The Bertolli entrees could easily pass for homemade.

I hope I've helped whet your appetite...
To enter the Give Away:
1.) Watch the following video.

2.) After watching the video leave a comment here describing your favorite part.

3.) If you are a Google-friend follower of my blog (side bar), mention it and your name will be entered twice.

"In this episode, celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and actors Marisa Tomei and Dan Cortese explore Italian wine cellars, learn how to taste wine, visit Montepulciano and prepare Chicken Marsala. But you don’t need to search a wine cellar to enjoy the authentic taste of a slow-simmered wine sauce in your Chicken Marsala. With Bertolli Frozen meals you’re just minutes away from a luscious Italian experience in the comfort of your own home."

All entries for the giveaway must be located in the US.

Entries will be accepted up until May 22nd, 9PM, Pacific time.

Winner will be chosen randomly and announced Sunday, May 23rd.

Good LUCK to all who enter!!

Announcing our Barefoot Contessa-Style Contest Winner!!

*Sigh* The only thing I regret about these Give Aways is that EVERYONE can't be chosen to receive a gift, but THANK YOU ALL for entering for the chance to win.


I'd like to send a big CONGRATULATIONS to our Barefoot Contessa-style Give Away winner:

Bellini Valli from "More Than Burnt Toast"

Val, if you'll email me with your name and delivery address and let me know which gift you'd like, we'll have the wonderful Counter Stool company forward your gift of choice sent off to you right away.

And GOOD NEWS everybody!

I hope you'll check back in the next couple of days~

I have another exciting give-away announcement coming up.

This time gifts worth approximately $175. will be

awarded to the lucky winner.

Stay tuned for details!

Hint?

Think Italian.

Last Minute Mother's Day Recipes & THANK YOU to ivillage!

Happy Mother's Day!


I'm so thrilled that my blog was chosen along with ten others by ivillage.com to be featured in their "Best Mother's Day Brunch Recipes from Our Favorite Food Bloggers" feature!

Oh my gosh, Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman is there, too!

I'm honored to be in such great company.

If you're looking for something special to prepare for Mom on Mother's Day, head on over to ivillage.com ........ to see the slide show and get the recipes. (click link)

You'll find links to all of the delicious recipes there.


Thank you ivillage.com!

And thank you, faithful readers, for stopping by today.

I hope you have a lovely Mother's Day celebration.

Extra Tall and Tender Homemade Biscuits

Biscuits don't make an appearance on our table very often, so when I do serve them I want them to be the lightest and most tender I can find. So I make them myself.





If you've never made homemade, "from-scratch" biscuits you may be surprised at how EASY they are to prepare.









This time I modified my all-time favorite biscuit recipe to make it a bit more healthful by substituting half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour for a little additional nutrition. Although I doubt biscuits can really be defined as "healthy", this seems to make me feel a little better about eating them!








Biscuit dough needs fat; shortening, butter, lard, etc. I used Crisco solid shortening (the green label), as it contains reduced amounts of trans fats. And unlike some whole wheat biscuits which are heavy and tough, these had a very nice tender texture.

What a pleasant surprise. :D

The key to light, tall biscuits is to start with a great recipe (like the one I am sharing today), handle the dough gently and as little as possible, pat or roll the dough out to about 1" thick and cut the biscuits out by pressing straight down through the dough (don't twist the cutter), then bake them in a hot (425*F) oven until lightly browned.

And two more little tricks-up-my-sleeve that help with my pastry-making:
The rigid design of this pastry blender makes biscuit and pie crust making so much easier. Forget the other wire-models, the 2-knife method, forks, food processor (such a pain to clean)... this little tool is very effective with minimal effort.


This is the pastry scraper I cannot part with ~ it facilitates lifting and moving the dough on the board without having the dough to stick to your hands. It also cleans the pastry board thoroughly, and makes a great "taxi" to transport chopped food from cutting board to cooking pots and pans, too.

I like to serve the biscuits hot from the oven with butter (or any favorite creamy spread) and jam or honey. Try them in your favorite breakfast sandwich recipe, or biscuits and gravy!

I never throw any leftover biscuits away because I like them just as well the next day ~ split, then lightly toasted using the oven broiler (they are a little too tender and crumbly to place in the traditional style pop-up electric toaster.) When toasted they acquire a lovely tender, crispy crunch and are delightful spread with butter and jam with a cup of coffee or tea.

If you would like a copy of my favorite biscuit recipe, you can find it on my recipe blog by clicking HERE.

Happy Foodie Friday, friends!

Please click the logo to visit "Designs by Gollum" to see all of this weeks participants.





Thank you for stopping by today!

Cream of Spinach Soup

Although the calendar indicates we're well into the first week of May, I was dismayed by weather warnings that overnight temperatures were predicted to fall to 32 degrees a day ago. Not a good thing for the young plants and emerging seedlings in the vegetable beds.

Before sunset we were out scurrying to cover the beds to protect the new plants from the freeze.

It was well past dinnertime when we finished the task and we were famished.

I needed to get something on the table quickly using ingredients on hand. This soup came to mind, it is one I used to enjoy at a restaurant located in my hometown in northern California. I have fond memories of that wonderful restaurant; we ate there often for lunch or dinner and our son worked there during his high school years. The place was owned and operated by a young German man and his wife and was known for the incredibly delicious soups they served. A different one was offered each day; diners were offered a choice of soup or salad with each entree. Even back then, homemade soup from scratch was a rarity while dining out so I usually chose the soup.

Over the years I was inspired to duplicate most of them at home and my family loves them. This is one of my favorites.

I'm glad to have them in my recipe repertoire as it fit the requirements of the evening ~ Quick, easy and most importantly I had everything I needed to make it:

A bag of fresh baby spinach, milk, and couple of staples I always have on hand (onion, chicken stock, butter, flour and some simple seasonings, the cream is optional) and we were enjoying a satisfying dinner within 20 minutes.

Usually I puree the spinach but I skipped that step this time, that final step is just a matter of personal preference. For a more elegant presentation I puree ~ but elegance was far from my mind this night... we were HUNGRY! :D

When I skip the cream in the recipe (as I did this time) I like to garnish each serving with a half a teaspoon of butter for a little extra richness.

Once you make this you'll probably be able to make it without looking at the recipe again. Try substituting any cooked vegetable for the spinach for a change ~ (lightly sauteed mushrooms with a little thyme and sherry is a fabulous variation.)

If you would like a printable copy of the recipe, you can find it on my recipe blog (click)

Thanks for stopping by today!

xo ~m.

P.S. The plants and seedling survived with no damage from the freeze. Whew!