One of the many reasons I look forward to going to Race Point a few weeks each summer, is because I get to cook every meal on the grill. I plan for weeks ahead of time to make sure I get to cook everything that I want to try. My favorite challenge is figuring out what side dish I can make on the grill. I am not too proud to admit that it almost always includes corn on the cob or some variation of potatoes.

This year, I had another challenge thrown at me. I received the beautiful Bobby Flay Grill-to-Table Sizzle Platter from Kohl’s to test and review. Although an obvious choice would be to make something akin to fajitas, I instantly wanted to make a variation of my favorite potato side dish in this pan. Note – I did not season the platter first. Big mistake. It definitely made it much harder to clean the platter. However, soak it in some warm soapy water, and use some steel wool, and every last scrap comes off of this dish.

Happy grilling!

Grilled Potatoes and Peppers

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 large Idaho potatoes (washed, cubed)
• 1 small red pepper (washed, seeded, cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 small green pepper (washed, seeded, cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 small vidalia onion (peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions

• Pour 1 Tbsp olive oil into your grill-safe pan and spread the oil to cover the bottom of the pan (I used the Bobby Flay Grill-to-Table Sizzle Platter)
• Place your pan on the grill
• Light the grill and heat it up to about 450 degrees
• Meanwhile, place your prepped potatoes, red & green peppers, and onions in a mixing bowl
• Pour the remaining olive oil over the vegetables and mix well
• Sprinkle the seasonings over the vegetables and grill well
• When your grill has reached the correct temperature, pour the vegetable mixture into the pan (Be careful not to touch the metal with your hands, it will be hot!)
• Pour the diced tomatoes over the top of the veggies in the pan and close the grill
• After 15 minutes, stir the veggies making sure to get to the bottom of the pan
• Allow to cook for an additional 30 – 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through, stirring occasionally
• Serve with your favorite grilled protein and enjoy the great outdoors!

Disclaimer: Thank you to Kohl’s for providing me with a Bobby Flay Grill-to-Table Sizzle Platter in exchange for using it as inspiration for a recipe. As always, all opinions are my truthful own.

The good news about all the rain is that it makes it okay to make a hot, hearty, homey meal in the middle of summer. I had picked up some bone-in chicken breast earlier in the week, but hadn’t been able to commit to it because of the heat. But after the fourth straight day of rain…man was I ready!

I have made this recipe a couple of times now, and have gotten to the point where I am very comfortable that it will come out perfectly every time. The secret is making sure to rub the seasoning in under the skin, as well as on top of it. But if I am going to be honest here, the real story is the carrots and potatoes. They are ridiculous and I could easily eat triple the amount. There is something about a pseudo-vegetable soaking up the drippings of a baking chicken…drool…

Baked Chicken Breast, Carrots and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in, split chicken breasts
• 3 medium carrots (peeled and sliced)
• 1 large Idaho potato (peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks)
• 1 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 Tbsp Adobo Seasoning
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 380 degrees
• Bring a 4-quart pot of salted water to a boil
• Add cut potatoes and carrots to the boiling water
• Boil potatoes and carrots for 10 minutes, drain and return to pot
• In a separate bowl, mix together Adobo Seasoning, salt and pepper
• Pour 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1/3 of the seasoning mix over the potatoes and carrots and mix well
• Set potatoes and carrots aside
• Rinse and pat dry your chicken breast
• Raise the chicken skin so you can reach the chicken underneath, but so that the skin stays attached
• Sprinkle half of the remaining seasoning mix under the skin of the 2 breasts
• Rub the seasoning in
• Sprinkle the remainder of the seasoning over the skin of the 2 breasts
• Rub the seasoning in
• Place the potato/carrot mixture on the bottom of a deep baking dish sprayed with cooking spray
• Place the chicken breasts on top of the potato/carrot mixture
• Drizzle the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil over the top of the breasts and rub the oil into the chickens
• Place dish in oven and cook for 40 – 55 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through
• Half-way through the cooking time, stir potato/carrot mixture and drizzle with more oil if needed
• When chicken is cooked through, you may want to put it under the broiler for 5 minutes to crisp up the skin, just make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
• Plate and enjoy!

I have a problem. When I have a slab of bacon in the fridge it is game over. Everything WILL be made with bacon. But is that necessarily a bad thing? I think not. Plus, when you add spinach, it completely counter-acts the bacon, right?

This week, I wanted to try to only by my meats and use everything else from my pantry. So this stuffed chicken breast seemed like the perfect idea. Meatballs and roasted chicken also made the menu. All three of these recipes, while looking lengthy, really use staples that people usually have on hand. Don’t you hate it when recipes “say” they are using things you have on hand, and then list something like milk-weed in the ingredients?

I am not going to act like this is an incredibly inventive and brand new idea. I will just say that it is delicious and worth trying. You may want to also mark this as a potluck recipe, because the stuffing that you put in the chicken, that stuff is GOOD! It can easily be used as a dip with some tortilla chips for a great potluck dish! I have actually put it on my list for the next potluck I attend. I am thinking instead of mixing the bacon into the dip though, I will crust the top of the dip. And now I am drooling…

Bacon & Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients

• 2 split, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices of thick cut bacon (diced)
• 1 large garlic clove (chopped)
• 3 oz fresh baby spinach
• 3 oz cream cheese (I use low fat)
• 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup fresh shredded parmesan
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper + 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4  tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp of your favorite all-seasoning (I use Adobo)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 egg (beaten, in a bowl you can dip your chicken into)
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• Cooking spray
• 6 wooden toothpicks

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• Add your diced bacon to a hot frying pan
• Cook bacon until crispy and use a slotted spoon to remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate
  

  This is the method in which I cut the chicken in order to stuff it.

• Set bacon aside
• Pour out bacon grease until only about 1 tbsp of grease remains in the pan
• Place pan over medium-high heat and add garlic
• Cook garlic until it begins to become translucent
• Add spinach to the pan, tossing to coat the spinach
• Continue to stir the spinach until it wilts down to approximately 1/2 cup
• Place spinach in a mixing bowl and set aside
• Meanwhile, mix together salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and paprika
• Sprinkle the seasoning onto both sides of both chicken breasts and rub in the seasoning
• Take a small, sharp knife, and make a horizontal slit length-wise through the middle of the chicken, this is where you will place the stuffing
• Go back to the spinach and stir in the cream cheese, 1/4 tsp pepper, and bacon
• Stuff each chicken breast with half of the spinach mixture
• Close the opening of the chicken with the wooden toothpicks
• Pour flour onto a flat plate
• Place the beaten egg next to the plate
• Mix the panko w/ the all-seasoning and place them onto a flat plate and place that on the other side of the egg, so you have an assembly line
• Place your baking dish at the end of the assembly line and spray it with cooking spray
• Carefully take a stuffed breast and place it on the flour, turn over so both sides are coated
• Place the breast in the egg, turn over so both sides are coated
• Place the breast in the panko, turn over so both sides are coated
• Place the breast in the baking pan
• Repeat with the 2nd breast
• Spray the top of both breasts with cooking spray
• Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 12 minutes
• Remove the foil and cook for another 25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through
• When chicken is done, move to a serving plate and REMOVE THE TOOTHPICKS
• Enjoy!

Being that I am so excited for salsa season, I knew exactly what I was going to do when Palmolive Soft Touch challenged me to create 3 dishes to match their new springy colored dish soaps, I knew this would be a salsa challenge for me! The challenge was to figure out what type of salsa I could make to match the Vitamin E scented pink, aloe scented green, and coconut butter scented orangish-creamy colored soaps.

The pink was easy. My traditional salsa comes out with a beautiful pink hue. One down. At the grocery store, I was excited to see that corn on the cob is starting to come into season. The only thing more exciting than salsa season is corn on the cob season! So the orangish-creamy color would be a citrus corn salsa. For the green dish, it had to be tomatillos! But to make it a little different, I wanted this one to be a roasted salsa, and naturally that led me to including poblanos as well.

Each salsa turned out with its own distinct, delicious flavor. And the fun part…mixing and matching the salsas to create different flavors. A little tomatillo into the traditional to cool the heat a little. A little corn in the tomatillo for texture. And lets not talk about what these three will do for taco night! The corn salsa specially would be a great topping for a taco, or even on a grilled steak!

Naturally, when I was done cooking, I then got to have some dish scrubbing ”fun” with the lovely smelling Palmolives. And yes, my hands thanked me!

Disclaimer: I was compensated for incorporating Palmolive Soft Touch in a blog post creating recipes to match their new colors and scents. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. I actually am a faithful user of Palmolive Dish & Sponge Fresh, and am always happy to work with brands I enjoy.

Traditional Salsa Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb tomatoes (I used campari, but use your favorite type)
• 1 jalapeno (deseeded, or include some seeds if you like heat. If you don’t like heat at all, sub a poblano pepper.)
• 1 small vidalia onion (peeled and quartered
• 3 cloves of garlic (peeled)
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• Juice of 2 large limes
• Salt to taste

Directions

• Place all ingredients, except the lime juice and salt, in a blender or food processor
• Blend to your desired consistency. If you like a chunky salsa, just pulse it a couple of times untill it gets to your liking.
• Place the salsa in a mixing bowl and add you lime and salt to taste. Do not over salt, as the salsa marinades, the flavors will become stronger, including the salt.
• Cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
• Salsa will be good in the refrigerator for about 1 week

Roasted Tomatillo & Poblano Salsa

Ingredients

• .75 lb (3 quarter lb) tomatillo (peeled, washed and halved)
• 1 large poblano (stem removed)
• 3 garlic cloves (do NOT peel)
• 1 small vidallia onion
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions

• Turn your oven onto broil
• Place the tomatillo (cut side down), poblano (whole) and garlic (in the peel) on a cookie sheet and place on the top rack under the broiler.
• Keep an eye on the veggies so they don’t burn to a crisp.
• When the poblano begins to blister, flip it over.
• When the 2nd side of the poblano begins to blister, remove it from the oven. Remove the garlic at this time as well.
• When the tomatillo begins to blister, remove it from the oven as well.
• Peel the skin off of the poblano. Remove the peel from the garlic.
• Place all of your roasted veggies in a blender or food processor.
• Add the onion and cilantro to the blender.
• Blend the mixture to the desired consistency.
• Stir in salt.
• Refrigerate and eat when cold.
• Salsa will be good in the refrigerator for about 1 week

Citrus Corn Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 cups corn kernels (about 2 cobs if you are using fresh)
• 1/2 large granny smith apple (peeled and chopped to corn kernel size)
• Juice of 1 orange (1/4 cup)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp grated lime zest
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Salt to taste

Directions

• Mix corn and apple in a bowl
• In a separate bowl, mix orange juice, lime juice, lime zest, sugar and cayenne pepper
• Pour liquid over the corn mixture
• Salt to taste
• Allow to marinade for at least an hour before serving

My non-cooking also equaled no grocery shopping…which equals what the heck do we eat. All I can say is thank goodness for the folks over at Evol Foods. Thanks to them, my freezer has been stalked with all natural, sustainable meals that let me take the brain-break that I needed.

We all know that frozen food doesn’t have the best reputation. Preservatives, excess packaging, chemical tastes…its just not great. But Evol has changed all that. With a mission to “Inspire people to care about where food comes from & how it is produced by making real food that tastes delicious. Love what you eat.” Evol is definitely rebelling from the frozen food status quo.

I tried a lot of what you see in the picture above. As a kid, I used to love those 5o cent frozen burritos. As an adult, not so much. The Evol burrito looked very similar to one of those, however the nutritionals don’t give you a heart attack. And when you bite into it, the ingredients taste like the ingredients…and amazing concept. Let me warn you though that if you don’t like cilantro, make sure to read the ingredients. All of the meals I tried tasted like fresh cilantro…which is fine by me because I love it!

Yes, that is fresh guacamole that comes with the burrito…

Look. Just because you are eating a frozen meal doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice ingredients and taste. Evol has proven that, and served it all up in a compostable bowl!

Another month has gone by, which means its time for another Secret Recipe Club reveal! This month I had the privilege of checking out Jenn’s blog “A Cook’s Quest“. Jenn started her blog when she realized she was ignoring one of her true loves, cooking…I can completely relate! Jenn has quite a bit of delicious baked goods on her blog, like Strawberry Cream Puff Cake, Stuffed Divine Bread Sticks, and Cinnamon Swirl Bread. But I knew Jenn and I were kindred spirits when I found a section of slow-cooker recipes at the bottom of her recipe index.

Well, I have been looking for a recipe for orange chicken for quite some time, and it just so happened that I had all of the ingredients for an adjusted version of Jenn’s Slow Cooker Orange Chicken. The only thing I didn’t have…time to slow cook! So I made a few more adjustments and had a delicious orange chicken dinner in under 30 minutes!

Orange Chicken Recipe – Adapted from A Cook’s Quest

Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (cut into bite-sized pieces)
• 1 tsp orange zest (grated peel of 1 medium orange)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
• 6 oz orange juice (I juiced 3 medium oranges)
• 3 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• crushed red pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place raw chicken in a bowl
• Sprinkle chicken with orange zest, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic. Rub them into the chicken
• In a separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients and set aside
• Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a medium sauce-pan over medium-high heat
• When oil sizzles, add chicken to the pan
• Cook until chicken is well browned on all sides (about 7 minutes)
• Slowly add the sauce mix, adding a little at first to loosen the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. When that is done, add the remainder of the sauce.
• Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and let cook for 20 minutes
• Optional: At the end of 20 minutes, if the sauce needs to reduce more, take the lid off, bring to a boil and allow to boil until sauce is desired thickness.
• Serve the chicken and sauce over your favorite rice or grain.

Is it propaganda to open a post with bacon as beautiful as this?

That’s right. I said best. That is a big title to give out. Especially when you are competing with heavy hitters like Cafe Fleuri at The Langham who does an outstanding job at a brunch buffet. But brunch at The Blue Room cannot really be compared to just a “brunch buffet”, can it?

My love affair with the Blue Room started several years back when I attended the brunch with some of my sorority sisters, and continued through several work events. I am happy to report that when I returned with The Boston Brunchers this month, The Blue Room stood up to my memories.

But what makes a buffet stand out like the Blue Room? Well I am glad you asked! First, let’s talk set-up. You will not find pans of food set out to be dry on top and burnt from sterno lights on the bottom. The Blue Room’s buffet is set-up directly on the kitchen line. Each dish is made in a small batch and served in skillets, platters or baking dishes. While this does mean that if you time it wrong, some things will be empty, it also means that a fresh batch will be out shortly there-after.

Lets talk meat. More specifically, pork. The Blue Room makes their own sausage AND their own bacon…and it is spectacular. Now, I may get some hazing for this, and I’ll take it, but the sausage actually outshined the bacon! Not that the bacon wasn’t perfect, it was. The sausage was just out of this world good.

From one extreme to the next, lets talk veggies. There was a white bean and sweet potato dish that was out of this world. That dish, and the braised winter greens, both saw a second round on my plate.

Honestly, everything I ate at the Blue Room (with the exception of a bulgar salad that did nothing for me) was delicious. You can tell that the Blue Room loves what they do, and completely respects every dish that they produce.

Oh, and let’s not forget the dessert table! The brunchers oohed and awwed over the brunch table, and it was said to be outstanding. However, once I had a bite of the pain perdu that Chef Robert Grant brought out for us, nothing stood a chance. If you ever see this dessert on The Blue Room’s menu, don’t even think, just order it. Order 2 or 3 actually. 

Brunch at the Blue Room costs $27 per adult and is served on Sundays from 11am – 2:30 pm. The Blue Room is located at 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA 617-494-9034.

Disclaimer: Brunch was provided free of charge to the Boston Brunchers in exchange for a TRUTHFUL review of our event. As always, all opinions are my own.

For my second month in the SRC, I was given assigned the blog Oh! You Cook! to peruse.  As soon as I realized that Dena was a kosher cook, I had to bring Lara in on the fun to help me choose what recipe to make. We had a tough time choosing between Mock Chopped Liver, Passover Almond Cake with Lemon Honey, and all types of other yummy recipes that are just in time for the upcoming Passover holiday!

But there was no question when we found it, the winner was the Gold Potato and Chicken Salad Mold…if for no other reason than pure curiosity. The pictures were not showing up when we tried to view this recipe, so you can imagine the things that popped into my head! Think 1960′s floating jello mold made out of chicken…

But then I read further and saw that this dish is based on a traditional Peruvian dish called Causa Rellena. The traditional version looks more like arepas than a jello mold…but I didn’t let that stop me!

This recipe involves 3 “sub-recipes”. A chicken salad, a mashed potato salad and a tapanade. I have listed each recipe separately, then instructions on how to put it all together. Enjoy!

Causa Rellena

Chicken Salad Ingredients

• 2 cups cook chicken breast, shredded (I boiled 1 ld of chicken breast and shredded)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp yellow mustard
• 1/2 tsp brown mustard
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika

Chicken Salad Directions

• Place all ingredients in a bowl
• Mix well with a fork, breaking the chicken down further as you go
• If using in Causa Rellena, set bowl aside. If eating on its own, refrigerate until cold.

Mashed Potato Salad Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes (about 4 potatoes)
• water
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Juice of 1 large lime
• Salt & pepper to taste

Mashed Potato Salad Directions

• Place potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water
• Place on medium-high heat and bring to a boil
• Once boiling, continue to cook on a slow boil for 12 minutes until potatoes are cooked through
• Drain potatoes and place in a mixing bowl
• Add chili powder, crushed garlic, oil and lime
• Mix, using a spoon, crushing the potatoes as you stir
• Add salt and pepper to taste
• If using in Causa Rellena, set bowl aside. If eating on its own, may be eating chilled or warm.

Tapanade Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 20 Stuffed Manzanilla Olives
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil

Tapanade Directions

• Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender
• Pulse 10 -20 times until parsley is blended into all ingredients

To make the Causa Rellena:

• Potato salad and chicken salad should still be warm
• Line the bowl you would like to use as your mold with plastic wrap. Make sure plastic wrap comes up over the sides of the bowl.
• Place the potato salad into the bottom of the bowl
• Smooth down potatoes so the top is smooth and even
• Spread the tapanade over the potato layer
• Smooth chicken salad onto the top of the bowl. Make sure to smooth this layer down
• Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator
• When dish is cold, remove plastic wrap from the top of the bowl
• Place your serving dish, upside down, on top of the bowl
• Flip bowl over so that mold is now on the serving dish. Pull on the plastic wrap a little if the mold doesn’t come right out.
• Once mold is out of the bowl and on the serving dish, remove the rest of the plastic wrap
• Traditioinal toppings you may want to sprinkle over the top are parsley, olives and hard boiled eggs.

This is a great way to use up some left-over chicken. And Dispite the long list of ingredients, it is surprisingly easy! The only tip you really need is to make sure you cut all the veggies the same general size. Other than that, jus follow along and you will have this belly warming meal ready in about 30 minutes!

Chicken & Dumplings Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (I boiled chicken breast. You can use left overs, rotisserie, etc)
• 3 Tbsp butter or butter substitute ( I used Brummel & Brown)
• 1 large russet potato (peeled, chopped into 1/4 inch cubes)
• 2 stocks of celery (chopped)
• 2 carrots (peeled and chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 1/2 small vidalia onion (chopped)
• 3 dashes of worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp Thyme
• 1/3 cup flour
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup brocolli flowerettes
• 1 cup Bisquick
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika

Directions

• Place a large stock pot on medium-high heat. Add butter to the pot.
• When butter melts, add the potato, celery, carrots, garlic and onion.
• Add worcestershire sauce, pepper, salt and Thyme.
• Continue cooking until carrots begin to become tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add flour and stir well for 30 seconds.
• Add 1 cup of the broth and stir well to get brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
• Add remaining broth and water and stir well.
• Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer
• Add chicken and broccoli to the pot
• Meanwhile, in a seperate bowl, mix together the Bisquick, milk, pepper, garlic and paprika. Stir until combined.
• Using a teaspoon, drop the Bisquick mixture into the soup, one spoon at a time.
• Continue to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Stir and simmer for 10 more minutes.
• Enjoy!

Helene & Thomas of Swissbakers

Now, I have been a fan of Swissbakers since the first time I took a bite of one of their sandwiches from a farmers’ market. It was a pretzel bun, butter, salami and a cornichon pickle. Essentially it is the definition of what I would call a perfect sandwich.

If that wasn’t enough, biting into a Choco Weggli sealed the deal. A Choco Weggli is a brioche-like roll laden with swiss chocolate chips. Yeah, I know. But wait, there’s more! Swissbakers likes to call themselves “grandchild sustainable“, which means not only do they use the best, all-natural ingredients, but they also work to have a zero to positive effect on the environment!

The care Swissbakers puts into their baked goods doesn’t stop with the all-natural ingredients, it also carries into their baking methods. Take the berliners for instance. This donut-like pastry is made with a buttery dough, which keeps the treat from absorbing oil when it is fried! The result is a light and delicious donut-like treat with only 150 calories!

I was lucky enough to get a behind the scenes tour of Swissbakers before they opened with the Boston Brunchers. The enthusiasm and love the owners have for this business is infectious. They make good, wholesome Swiss food. Nothing more, and nothing less. At the new location in Allston, in addition to baked goods, a coffee bar and catering,they also serve a daily hot-plate, a daily soup, and sandwiches either by their design or yours. Not to mention Swiss Muesli, which is a blend of fresh fruit, nuts, yogurt and granola.