Chicken Club w/ Garlic Aioli

This is one of those really simple and delicious dinner options that only takes 30 min to make. There really isn't much to say about this, so how about we cut the chit chat and get to the recipe! 

Ingredients:

• 4 Boneless chicken chicken breasts
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 3/4 Cup mayonnaise
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 6 slices of bacon
• 4 Kaiser rolls 
• Lettuce
• Tomato

Directions

For the garlic aioli, add the mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy, cover and set aside in fridge (You can also make this of time so that all the flavors infuse). 

Take your chicken breasts and dry with a paper towel to remove all moisture. Lay the chicken breasts on a large piece of parchment paper, fold the parchment paper over top the chicken so that they are covered. With a flat meat mallet or heavy pan, pound the chicken thin, making them as close to the same thickness as possible for even cooking. Then season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken in flour, making sure to remove excess flour. 

Heat a large saute pan, over medium high heat. Once heated add in the oil, you'll know the oil is ready when the oil shimmers. After heated, add in the chicken breasts, you may have to work in batches depending on the size of your pan. Once golden brown on side, flip and brown the other side. Cook the chicken until the internal temperature reads 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, you may have to turn down the heat to prevent burning. Once cooked through, transfer the chicken breasts to a cooling rack and let rest. 

Heat another large saute pan over medium heat, add in the bacon and cook until crisp. Leave the bacon drippings in the pan and add in the buns and toast. 

After everything has been prepared, you are ready for assembly. Spread some of the garlic aioli on the top bun. Place a chicken breast on the bottom, top with 1 1/2 slices of bacon, lettuce and tomato (or whatever toppings you please). Enjoy!

Song of the Recipe

Anybody that knows me, knows that I'm a big Batman fan. Saw The Dark Knight Rises this weekend and just hearing the music at the beginning made me giddy with excitement....I'm a nerd. If this soundtrack doesn't get you jacked up, then I don't know what will!

Did I also mention that Lee and I were in The Dark Knight Rises?? Ohh yeah...we were. We drove to Pittsburgh for the football stadium scene...You might not be able to see use, but I really feel like our acting skills brought something to the film. 

Polish Feast

I've been a bad blogger lately, so sorry it has been awhile since I last posted something. I've been cooking...but been kind of lazy about posting. I also had a little bout with food poisoning (not my food!) which set me back a day...it was a horrible 24 hours. Anyways, onto the Polish Feast! Lee's mom came to visit from Fort Wayne, IN not too long ago. It was also right after her birthday and she requested polish food for her meal. I've never really dabbled with polish food much, except for eating it....so I figured this would be a great opportunity to make some polish food! Enjoy :)

Homemade Galumpkis w/ Sweet & Sour Tomato Sauce

Sauce Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 quarts crushed tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Galumpkis Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• Splash dry red wine
• 2 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cup cooked white rice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Coat a 3-quart saucepan with the oil and place over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and sugar; simmer, until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

Place a skillet over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Sauté the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the tomato paste, a splash of wine, parsley, and 1/2 cup of the prepared sweet and sour tomato sauce, mix to incorporate and then take it off the heat. Combine the ground meat in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, the cooked rice, and the sauteed onion mixture. Toss the filling together with your hands to combine, season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the large, damaged outer leaves from the cabbages and discard. Cut out the cores of the cabbages with a sharp knife and carefully pull off all the rest of the leaves, keeping them whole and as undamaged as possible, (get rid of all the small leaves and use them for coleslaw or whatever.) Blanch the cabbage leaves in the pot of boiling water for 5 minutes, or until pliable. Run the leaves under cool water then lay them out so you can assess just how many blankets you have to wrap up the filling. Next, carefully cut out the center vein from the leaves so they will be easier to roll up. Put about 1/2 cup of the meat filling in the center of the cabbage and starting at what was the stem-end, fold the sides in and roll up the cabbage to enclose the filling (like a burrito). Cover the bottom of the casserole pan with sauce. Then place the cabbage rolls side by side in rows, seam-side down, in the casserole pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour the remaining sweet and sour tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls. Bake for 1 hour until the meat is cooked.

Homemade Pierogies

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour, plus extra for kneading and rolling dough
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• 5 large red potatoes 
• 1 large onion 
• 8 oz. grated cheddar cheese

Directions

In a food processor, combine the flour and salt, pulse to incorporate. Beat the egg and add it to the flour and salt mixture, pulse again to incorporate. Add the sour cream and the butter pieces and mix until the dough loses most of it's stickiness. Remove the dough and give it a few quick kneeds, form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or overnight (the dough can be kept in the fridge for 2 days). 

For the filling, peel and boil 5 large potatoes until soft. Red potatoes are especially good for this. While the potatoes are boiling, finely chop 1 large onion and saute in butter until soft and translucent. Mash the potatoes with the sauted onions and 4-8oz of grated cheddar cheese (depending on how cheesy you want your pierogies), adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also add some fresh parsley, bacon bits, chives, or other enhancements if you desire. Let the potato mixture cool and then form into 1" balls.

Roll the pierogi dough on a floured board or countertop until 1/8" thick. Cut circles of dough (2" for small pierogies and 3-3 1/2" for large pierogies) with a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place a small ball of filling (about a tablespoon) on each dough round and fold the dough over, forming a semi-circle. Press the edges together with the tines of a fork.

Boil the perogies a few at a time in a large pot of water. They are done when they float to the top (about 8-10 minutes). Rinse in cool water and let dry.

Saute chopped onions in butter in a large pan until onions are soft. Then add pierogies and pan fry until lightly crispy. 

Nothing says Pittsburgh like polish food! Since the Pirates are playing so well and this is a polish food post...I figured I'd share this nice little blast by Andrew McCLUTCHen!

Focaccia Bread

As some of you know, I am a Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Major at Penn State University. One of the classes we have to take is actually running a restaurant/kitchen. It's a really fun class, especially being a foodie like myself, we get to mess around a lot in the kitchen and create a lot of great stuff. Today we made up some sun dried tomato focaccia bread which turned out delicious, so I figured I might as well snap some pics of it and share with you all. The recipe below is just a straight focaccia recipe, but we added in some sun dried tomatoes. You can add in whatever you want (i.e. sun dried tomatoes, olives, pepperoni, etc). Just make you don't add in more than 10% of the weight in flour, in other addition ingredients. So if you are adding in sun dried tomatoes, you should take 10% of the 2.5 lbs (4.0 oz) and only add in around that much sun dried tomatoes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 24 oz. Water
• 1.0 oz. Yeast 
• 2.5 lbs. Bread Flour
• 3.5 tsp Salt
• 1.25 tsp Sugar
• 2.0 oz. Olive Oil

Directions

Place a cast iron skillet in your oven and Pre-heat to 425 degrees F

Measure out your water, being as precise as possible, and mix in the yeast. In a bowl combine the flour, salt and sugar until incorporated. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the dough hook attachment fitted, place your flour mixture in and add the water/yeast mixture and olive oil in. Start the mixer on a low speed and mix for 8 minutes. If you are adding in extra stuff, throw that all in the last minute of mixing to incorporate into the dough.

Once your dough has reached a proper consistency transfer dough to an oiled bowl, cover with a dish towel and let proof for 1.5 hours in an 80 degree F area (2 hours in 75 degree F). Once proofed transfer to an oiled sheet pan and mold dough to the shape of the sheet pan and let proof for another 30 minutes. Once proofed, take your pointer, middle and ring finger and gently push holes down into the dough the whole way around (this is to have little pockets for the olive oil). Generously drizzle the top of the focaccia dough with olive oil coating the whole thing and then sprinkle with kosher salt (You can also use some chopped fresh herbs on top as well, be creative!)

Place the dough in the oven and throw a few ice cubes into the hot cast iron skillet to create steam. Bake for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 

Why Steam Bread??

Ever wonder how professional bakers get those beautifully domed loaves a bread with glossy brown crusts? The secret - at least one of them - is steam...

In the first few minutes of baking, loaves of bread will rise rapidly as the gases trapped inside expand and the yeast has a final burst of activity (this is called "ovenspring"). Steaming within this time helps keep the crust soft. This allows the bread to continue expanding freely.

The steam that has settled on the surface of the bread also dissolves sugars in the dough. As the bread stops expanding and the steam begins to evaporate, the sugars are left behind to caramelize (yum!) and create a glossy crust.

Steaming is really only useful during the first 5-10 minutes of baking while the yeast is still active and the internal structure hasn't set. After this time, the crust needs its own time to set and dry out.

There are several different methods for getting steam inside your oven and the trick is always doing it without losing too much heat. Personally, I prefer to set a cast iron pan on the oven floor and let it preheat along with the oven. When the time comes, I slide the loaves in and then I either quickly pour a cup of very hot tap water into the pan or toss in a handful of ice cubes.

Some bakers advocate using a spritzer bottle to spray a mist of water into the oven, but I feel that this lets out too much heat and doesn't really generate the same amount of steam as using a pan with water or ice cubes.

Also, you can add steam when baking any bread, whether it's a simple white sandwich bread or a hearty country round loaf. You learn something new everyday!