Radio Kitchen

With the holidays upon us, a lot of us are looking for inspiration for the big dinners that are coming up.   If you're like me, an ordinary meat and potatoes meal just won't cut it.   You need to do something a little fun and a little festive.   So the holidays are a great time to trot out a few of those expensive, labor intensive recipes that provide such great rewards when presented to the table.  Here are three ideas:

Classic Chicken Kiev

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter   
½ tsp black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 eggs
3 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
1/2 lemon, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Combine 1/3 cup butter, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder.  On a 6x6 inch piece of aluminum foil, spread mixture to about 2x3 inches.  Place this mixture in the coldest section of your freezer and freeze until firm.  This can be done ahead of time.

2. Remove all fat from the chicken breast.  If using whole chicken breasts, cut them in half.  Place each chicken breast half between 2 pieces of waxed paper and using a mallet, pound carefully to about 1/4 inch thickness or less.

3. When butter mixture is firm, remove from freezer and cut into 6 equal pieces.  Place one piece of butter on each chicken breast. Fold in edges of chicken and then roll to encase the butter completely.  Secure the chicken roll with small skewers or toothpicks.

4. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with water until fluffy.  In a separate bowl, mix together 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, dill weed and flour.  Coat the chicken well with the seasoned flour.  Dip the floured chicken in the egg mixture and then roll in the bread crumbs.  Place coated chicken on a shallow tray and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.

5. In a medium size deep frying pan, heat vegetable oil to medium-high.  Fry chicken for about 5 minutes then turn over and fry for 5 minutes longer or until the chicken is golden brown.  To test for doneness, cut into one of the rolled chicken breasts to make sure it doesn't have a pink interior.  Serve immediately, garnished with a sliced lemon twist and a sprinkling or parsley.

Crown Pork Roast with Cranberry, Orange, Apple Stuffing
and Port Wine Sauce

Ingredients

Stuffing:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 onions, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 16-ounce package of cornbread stuffing mix
1 cup pecans, chopped
3 apples (such as Northern Spy), cored, not peeled and chopped
1/2-cup fresh cranberries, chopped
½ cup drained mandarin oranges

Crown Roast:
12 to16 rib crown pork roast
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
1/4-cup port
1 tablespoon butter

Cooking Instructions

For the stuffing:

1. In large skillet over medium heat, heat oil until shimmers.  Add onions and cook about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until translucent.  Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, pepper, and allspice.
2. In large bow,l combine onions, stuffing mix, pecans, apples, and cranberries.

Pork Roast:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper.  Add stuffing to inside cavity; do not pack it.
2. Cook for about 2 hours 20 minutes, or until a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat registers 155 degrees.  Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil.  Let rest at least 15 minutes.

Sauce:

Place roasting pan over medium heat; add broth and port.  Bring mixture to a boil, scraping up bits on the bottom of the pan.  Reduce liquid by about half.  Add butter and swirl to combine.


Teriyaki Salmon

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
4 (6 ounce) salmon steaks

Directions

In a large re-sealable plastic bag or shallow glass container, combine the first six ingredients; mix well.  Set aside 1/2 cup for basting and refrigerate.  Add salmon to remaining marinade; cover and refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours, turning once.  Drain and discard marinade. Place the salmon on a broiler pan.  Broil 3-4 in. from the heat for 5 minutes.  Brush with reserved marinade; turn and broil for 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Brush with marinade.

Just before Thanksgiving, Al and his girlfriend Vickie had a chance to go to Rome...for both, the first time.   If you haven't been, Rome is a totally delightful city.   Along with the art and the history comes the food and wine, which are first rate.   And as Jerry already knows, it's a great place to eat.

Artichoke is real big in Rome:  stewed usually, but often cut up and used as a featured ingredient.   At Zeppelin Ristorante in Orvietto, Chef Lorenzo Polegri taught us how to make pasta, and serve it with an artichoke sauce.

His technique was to simmer cut up artichoke with onions and garlic in white wine and chicken broth.   Cook it down, add a few pinches of thyme and mint, and pour over handmade pasta...the fettucine shape seems to be best.

One dish that made a huge impression was aromatic spinach, from Tempio de Bacco in Rome, done in the manner of Emilia-Romagna.   Here is Al's best guess on the recipe:

       Aromatic Spinach
A Radio Kitchen Original Recipe       
           
1 pound fresh (not frozen) spinach
1/3 stick of butter
1 tbs food grade lavender, crushed
1 tbs dried rosemary leaves, crushed   
grated parmesan cheese
salt to taste

1.  Cut up the spinach with a knife, including the stems, making the average size about 3/4 " square.

2.  Prepare a large pot of boiling, salted water, and a large pot of ice cold water.  Place the cut up spinach in a large sieve, and immerse it in the boiling water.  With a wooden spoon, push all the spinach down into the water.  Blanch for no more than thirty seconds.  Lift the sieve out of the hot water, and plunge it into the cold water.

3.  When the spinach has cooled down, lift the sieve again, and allow the spinach to drain.  Shake the sieve vigorously to dislodge the excess water.  Try not to compact the spinach.

4.  In a small sauce pan, melt about 14 sticks of butter over very low heat.  Sprinkle about two thirds of the crushed herbs into the butter, and allow it to infuse the butter.

5.  Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, and toss the drained spinach in.  Sautee the spinach over low heat, stirring frequently, burning off any excess liquid. Before the spinach starts to wilt, pour the melted herbed butter over it, and toss thoroughly.  Sprinkle the parmesan cheese, the remaining herbs and salt over the re-heated spinach and mix thoroughly.

6.  Serve immediately, it makes four servings.

We have two days until the best meal of the year, Thanksgiving dinner.   Every year we try to come up with some helpful ideas for you, and this year we will focus on creative side dishes that take advantage of local produce.   And this year for us, it’s the season of the squash.   Of course we wouldn’t overlook a few other favorites as well.   So here are four easy recipes for the big day.

Butternut Squash Covered with Almonds and Cranberries

Ingredients:

            4 cups hot mashed butternut squash
            4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened, divided
            1/2 teaspoon salt
            1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
            1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
            1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
            1 (16 ounce) can whole berry cranberry sauce
            1/2 cup sliced almonds
            1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Directions:

1.  In a large bowl, combine the squash, 2 tablespoons butter, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg; mix well.  Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish.  Stir cranberry sauce until softened; spoon over squash.  Combine almonds, brown sugar and remaining butter; mix well.  Sprinkle over cranberry sauce.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:

            2 medium acorn squash
            1/2 pound ground turkey
            1 egg
            1/2 cup cooked wild rice
            1/2 cup chopped, peeled tart apple
            1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
            1/4 cup chopped celery
            1/2 teaspoon salt
            1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
            1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
            1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions:

Cut squash in half and discard seeds; set squash aside.  In a skillet over medium heat, cook turkey until no longer pink; drain.  Add egg, rice, apple, cranberries, celery, salt, parsley, allspice and cardamom.  Spoon into squash halves; place in an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.  Fill dish with hot water to a depth of 1/2 in.  Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.  Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until the squash is tender.


Apricot Orange Glazed Carrots

Ingredients:

            8 medium carrots, sliced
            1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced
            1/2 cup orange juice
            1 tablespoon butter
            1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
            1/2 teaspoon salt
            1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
            1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions:

2.  Place 1 in. of water in a large saucepan; add carrots.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 9-11 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Drain and set aside.  In the same pan, combine the remaining ingredients; cook and stir until lightly thickened.  Return carrots to the pan; stir until glazed and heated through.


Brussels Sprouts in a Sherry Bacon Sauce

Ingredients:

            1 tablespoon salt
            1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
            2 tablespoons olive oil
            sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
            4 slices bacon, chopped
            1 shallot, chopped
            7 cremini mushrooms, chopped, or more to taste
            1 clove garlic, minced
            1/4 cup cream sherry
            1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions:

3.  Dissolve 1 tablespoon of salt in enough water to cover the Brussels sprouts in a bowl, and soak the sprouts in the salty water for 1 hour.  Drain off the water and toss the sprouts in olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper to coat thoroughly.
4.  Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C).
5.  Place the bacon in a large, deep skillet, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown at the edges, 5 to 8 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium; stir in the shallot and mushrooms, then cook until the shallots turn translucent, about 5 more minutes.  Sprinkle in the garlic and cook 1 minute, then stir in the sherry and cream until well combined.  Bring the mixture to a boil and stir until reduced by half.  The thickened sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
6.  While the sauce is cooking, lay the Brussels sprouts, cut sides down onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until the sprouts are browned, about 15 minutes.  Transfer the browned sprouts to the sauce, toss to coat, and season to taste with salt and black pepper.

We usually don’t think too much about making sandwiches, which is a shame, because with a little imagination we can come up with some amazingly good food.   We have a friend who owns a restaurant in Southern Maryland who is an ace at dreaming up awesome sandwiches, and that would be Chef Rob Plant of the Blue Wind Gourmet, down in Lexington Park.

The Blue Wind Gourmet is equal parts café, deli and wine shop.   Rob is an ardent supporter of the Eat Local movement, and has many farmer friends in the community.   He is able to work fresh local produce into his recipes by virtue of his creativity.   A great example are his sandwiches, which offer surprising combinations of ingredients.

For Rob, the sandwich starts with the bread, and here he prefers either ciabatta or focaccia.   Spreads are also a matter of creativity, with many being available commercially.   Blending them, with say a homemade mayonnaise is a good option. 

Finally, the ingredients are limitless.  Many vegetables, such as squash and peppers, are used in their grilled form.   Slices of assorted cheeses can add flavor counterpoints, and various greens add crunch.

One of our favorites involves grilled squash and red bell peppers, with slices of havarti cheese, topped with spicy mayonnaise, all served on a grilled ciabatta.

The Blue Wind Gourmet is located at 22803 Gunston Drive in California, Maryland (indistinguishable from Lexington Park).   The phone number is 301-737-2713.