Sunday Roast Chicken and Winter Sides

February 26, 2010 by 35 Comments
Sunday is a good day to roast a chicken, the smell permeates the air and all is good. There are virtually thousands of ways to roast a chicken and we all have our favorites, mine will always consist of fresh herbs like thyme and rosemary, lemon, and roasted heads of garlic, the sweet garlicy pulp gets smeared all over your chicken or you can use it in your pan gravy, amazing!
But no matter how you cook up your chicken, your going to need some sides to go along with it.
The following are some sides I made throughout the fall and winter but never posted, they’re great not only with chicken but with any cut of meat. Some I saw in a magazine and tried, and some my own, either way you’ll love the taste!

Green Beans and Walnuts with Lemon Vinaigrette. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of shallots, 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard, 1/3 cup of olive oil and the juice of one lemon. Pour over 1 pound of cooked green beans that are still warm, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Garnish with 2/3 cup of coarsely chopped toasted walnuts and lemon zest.

Thyme Roasted Apples and Onions with Cider Glaze. Reduced down apple cider makes a syrupy sweet glaze that flavors and coats the apples and onions perfectly, this goes great with pork!
This can be done a day ahead. Boil and reduce 4 cups of apple cider for around 1/2 an hour, then whisk in 5 tablespoons of butter, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Toss apples and onions in a bowl along with fresh thyme and some of the glaze, place in a shallow baking dish and roast at 425F. The last 10 minutes of roasting raise the temperature to 475F, pour the rest of the glaze all over, add more thyme, cook till fork tender but not mushy.

Fontina Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers. I don’t know the proper name of these peppers, but they are very thin fleshed and really long, like 5 or 6 inches. I love them and they make a quick side dish for chicken or pork cutlets or any type of grilled meat, and they look pretty too! Carefully cut the pepper lengthwise, take out the seeds, place on a baking sheet and roast at 400F until slightly tender, they don’t take very long to cook. Remove from oven and place your fontina cheese inside, back in the oven till melted. Garnish with sliced kalamata olives and fresh chopped parsley.

Enjoy your weekend!
Buon Appetito

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35 Comments Filed Under: Poultry, Side Dishes Tagged: , ,

Mini Ricotta, Eggplant and Pasta Timbales

February 19, 2010 by 33 Comments

Want to fancy up that one lonely eggplant you have left? Do you have a tiny bit of ricotta sitting in your frig, a little leftover pasta and sauce? If you do, you can make these individual mini timbales.

They look so special when they’re unmolded that those you serve them to will think you spent all day in the kitchen, I won’t tell!

I also like them because they’re portion controlled, something I’ve been really getting in to lately, just serve with a salad and some crusty bread and your meal is complete!
I used one large eggplant for 4 ramekins, or you could use two smaller ones. The eggplant was cut 1/4 of an inch thick and preroasted in a 4o0F oven.
Next, you’ll want to rub some olive oil in your ramekins then line the base and the sides with the eggplant. Start layering your pasta, sauce, and ricotta mixture of chopped basil and parmesan, pressing down firmly as you go. I topped mine off with a dollop of basil pesto and then closed it all up by folding over your hanging eggplant.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350F, or until heated through. Let it sit for 5 minutes, unmold.
I then put a slice of fresh mozzarella on top of the timbale, placed it on a baking sheet, and stuck it under the broiler until it melt. Serve topped off with more sauce and grated cheese!

Enjoy and Buon Appetito!
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33 Comments Filed Under: Side Dishes, Vegetables Tagged: ,

Pesto Fish Roll-Ups and a Clafoutis

February 16, 2010 by 26 Comments

I try to make fish at least once a week, it’s quick, healthy and light. This fast preparation is great for mid week, it couldn’t be easier to make, and you’ll love the simple flavor combinations. Make sure you use fillets about 1/2 inch thick, you could use sole, flounder, tilapia, or as in this case I used a pacific cod.

Spread one side of each fillet with a generous amount of basil pesto. Sprinkle each with shredded carrot. Roll up starting on the short side. Secure with toothpicks. Place seam side down in a baking dish. Toss together plain panko bread crumbs, grated lemon peel, finely minced garlic, salt and pepper, and brown until crispy in a small saute pan that was drizzled with olive oil. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of fish rolls and another quick drizzle of olive oil. Bake 375F oven for 20 to 25 minutes or till fish flakes easily with a fork.

This can be served along with rice, a pasta with lemon sauce, or just a nice green salad.

Now that you have dinner covered, how about a Pear, Apple and Fig Clafoutis for dessert? Simple to put together because the batter is made with your food processor, takes seconds to whizz up!

A clafoutis is basically a custard rustic style baked dessert that traditionally has cherries in it, but really any fruit or berry will do, I even put a few dried figs in mine and that worked well also.

In food processor add; 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cupsugar, 3T of ground almonds, a pinch of salt, 4 eggs, 1 1/2 cups of milk, (not skim) 1T vanilla, grated orange and lemon zest. Whizz everything together, then set bowl in frig while you’re cutting up some peeled and thinly sliced fruit of your choice, or whole berries.

Lightly butter a medium sized cast iron pan or bakewear of your choice. Pour 1/4 inch layer of batter in pan and place in a 350F oven until the batter sets. Pull out of oven, then layer all your fruit on top of that and pour remaining batter all over. Bake around 40 to 45 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately!

Enjoy and Buon Appetito!

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26 Comments Filed Under: Fish, Fruit Tagged: , ,