Kitchen Conundrum

Chicken Monte Cristo Sandwich

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As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for one loaf of Nature’s Pride bread and was asked to create an award winning recipe that could win me a trip to San Francisco to attend the 2nd annual Foodbuzz festival and to be a Natures Pride Bread Ambassador at the conference. I really would love to attend this year’s festival and be a Bread Ambassador! It sounds like so much fun! But the best part would be recreating this recipe for the crowds to enjoy! Wish me luck!

My recipe is a variation on a traditional Monte Cristo sandwich. I hate to waste food, and I am always coming up with ways to use left overs in a different way. For this recipe, I used some left over grilled chicken breasts that I sliced thin and added Dijon mustard and Gruyere and surrounded it in a luxurious batter that is fried to a deep Florida tan and topped with confectioner’s sugar and dipped it into a red berry preserve. It’s a very decedent sandwich, perfect served in quarters for a Sunday brunch. Nature’s Pride Stone Ground Whole Wheat with Honey Bread is quite hearty and makes the perfect vehicle to hold this thick and gooey batter in place for frying. The bread’s honey sweetness compliments the spice of the Dijon mustard and the bite of the Gruyere cheese. All the flavors meld together and once it is fried and served, each bite consists of a crunch followed by a melty, gooey goodness.  It really is heaven on a plate.

 

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Batter

2/3 cup heavy cream

1 egg

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Sandwich

4 slices Nature’s Pride Stone Ground Whole Wheat with Honey Bread

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 chicken breasts, grilled and sliced into thin pieces

2 slices Gruyere cheese

2 tbs confectioners’ sugar for dusting

2 tbs red berry preserves (either mixed berry, strawberry or raspberry)

Method

Heat oil in a large frying pan. While oil is heating, make the batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and cream. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper; whisk into the egg mixture until smooth. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Assemble sandwiches by placing one sliced chicken breast and one slice of cheese on one slice of bread, apply mustard to other slice of bread and sandwich together. Cut each of the sandwiches into quarters, and secure with toothpicks.

Dip each sandwich quarter in the batter so that all sides are coated. Deep fry in the hot oil until golden brown on all sides. Remove toothpicks and arrange on a serving tray with the preserves on the side. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

Makes 8 quarters.

 

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato. A Fresh Tart for Summer Entertaining!

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We threw this together for an annual brunch block party. It was gone in mere minutes and we only got one tiny slice to share. We love tomatoes in the summer.  And even though it’s not officially summer, it’s been such nice weather that we thought it was time to break out this simple and delicious tart.  The best is when we find the big, sweet Jersey tomatoes. Sprinkled with a little salt, they are amazing. We grow tomatoes in our garden and they have a very good flavor but nothing compares to those Jersey tomatoes. For this recipe we just used store bought tomatoes as it is still a bit too early in the season to find good local ones.

This tart can be made with most any cheese but Gruyère is the most common cheese to use. It would be delicious with an herbed goat cheese too.  We used shredded cheddar this time, as it was all we had on hand and it was already shredded. You can also drizzle a little bit of balsamic vinegar on top right before you serve but it’s not necessary. This is a perfect meal in itself when served with a handful of salad greens on the side or it makes a nice side dish.  Sometimes, we will make small individual ones for parties. It’s very versatile!

Ingredients

1 Par-baked Tart Shell (11” Tart Shell baked for only 10 mintues), recipe below

¼ Cup Dijon, Stone Ground, or Whole Grain Mustard

1 Cup Shredded Cheese (Gruyere, Cheddar, Goat Cheese, or any other cheese you may have)

3 large Tomatoes, thickly sliced

Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Thyme

1 Tablespoon Parsley

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

Method

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bottom of the tart shell, evenly spread the mustard.

Add the shredded cheese.

Arrange the tomatoes in a circular pattern slightly overlapping them on one side.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for 30 minutes or until tomatoes are fork tender.

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, thyme, parsley and garlic.

Spread over the baked tart while it is still warm.

Tart can be served either hot or at room temperature.


Pâte Brisée (Pie/Tart Dough)

This buttery dough is our standard tart and quiche crust. It’s produces a firm crust, making it perfect to hold up well with weighty ingredients. The dough can also be made by hand by using two knives to cut the ingredients into one another or by food processor. We have given you the conversions to the weighed ingredients. It’s a good idea to make several batches at a time as it freezes really well and you will always have some on hand for a last minute meal. The key to a good crust is to use very cold butter and very cold water and to not overwork the dough.

Ingredients

200 Grams Flour

100 Grams Butter, Very Cold

5 Grams Salt

60 ml Water, Very Cold

Ingredients Conversion

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

7 Tablespoons Butter, Very Cold

1 Teaspoon Salt

¼ Cup Water, Very Cold

Method

In your food processor fitted with a dough blade, add flour and salt.

Cut butter into very small pieces and add quickly to the flour and salt. Pulse until the butter is well incorporated and resembles a fine meal, about 15 seconds.

Add the cold water and pulse a few more times until the dough comes together.

Turn dough out and form into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to rest for ½ hour. The dough can also now be frozen for future use.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to fit into an 11” tart pan. The key to making sure your dough is the right size is to turn your tart pan upside down over the dough and making sure there is at least another inch around all the sides still visible.

Transfer to the tart pan gently pressing the dough to the pan’s shape. Prick the bottom with a fork to prevent the dough from puffing during baking.

To prebake the crust, preheat oven to 400 degrees F and place rack in center of oven.

Line the unbaked crust with a round cut out of parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights or dry beans, making sure they are evenly distributed over the entire bottom surface.

Bake crust for 20 to 25 minutes or until the crust is dry and lightly browned. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack. Proceed with your recipe that calls for a prebaked crust. To par bake, only bake for 10 minutes to set the shell and ready for ingredients.

Lazy Sunday French Toast Recipe

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DSC_4332The perfect and easy recipe for left over challah bread or any rich egg bread is Lazy Sunday French Toast.  Start it Saturday night because it needs to sit in the refrigerator overnight, thus leaving your Sunday morning for lazing around instead of laboring over making breakfast. You can use this recipe as a base and make it with many additions, such as chocolate chips, nuts, cinnamon, ginger or fresh fruit. It really just depends on your tastes.

 

Ingredients

1 Cup Maple Syrup

1 Medium Loaf Challah, sliced 1 1/2 inch thick

4 Eggs

1 Cup Half & Half

2 Teaspoons Vanilla

2 Teaspoons Bourbon*

Pinch of Salt

Powered Sugar for Garnish

* You can omit or replace the bourbon with rum, orange-flavored brandy liqueur, or orange juice.

Method

In a 9×13″ baking pan pour the maple syrup to cover the bottom evenly. Arrange the sliced challah or other bread into the bottom of the pan in one layer squeezing them slightly to make them fit. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, half & half, vanilla, bourbon, and salt.  Pour over the bread. Cover and place in the refrigerator overnight, or a minimum of eight hours.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove pan from refridgerator and uncover. Place in oven and bake for 35-40 until golden brown.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve while hot.

Then go, enjoy the rest of your Sunday.