Poultry

Larry is making more things out of this new cookbook than I am. Tonight he made this stew, made up of turkey thighs, steel-cut oats and lots of spices. The flavors are really nice in the stew and I love the addition of oats.

• Oat and Turkey Soup with Tex-Mex Flavors (Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, p. 126)
• Whole Wheat Tortillas

For dinner tonight I made Jay and Larry something pretty simple and easy to make. I've made these turkey cutlets and the mashed potatoes before, both are really good. We love these shortbread bars. So buttery and delicious, I could eat a lot of them.

• Turkey Cutlets with Mustard Cream Sauce (Fine Cooking #55, December 2002/January 2003, p. 98C)
• Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Goat Cheese & Fresh Sage (Bon Appetit, November 2004)
• Lemon-Cornmeal Shortbread Bars (Fine Cooking #68, Holiday Baking 2004, p. 64)

Wine: Dingac Plavac Mali (Dingac, Croatia). We brought this wine back from Croatia when we were there last year. Really good, different but good. Juicy.

Larry made dinner again tonight (yay!), and he bravely chose something from a cookbook I just got for Christmas from his dad. He did a great job finding ingredients (Whole Foods had amaranth) and the chili was really delicious. I loved the sour cream and we were surprised that we really liked the amaranth crunch.

Neither one of us had tried amaranth before, but the description in the cookbook says it's earth and kind of grassy - and compares the texture of cooked amaranth to okra. Yuk! But this is toasted and it's delicious. It's about the size of mustard seeds. The amaranth crunch also calls for hulled pumpkin seeds, which we didn't think we'd ever seen in a store, but now we think they're labeled pepitas.

Larry also inadvertently discovered a shortcut in the recipe. As he added the two cups of uncooked pearl barley to the chili, he couldn't figure out how it was going to cook in only 5 minutes (described in the recipe). I had just gotten home from work, and when I looked at the recipe I noticed that it called for two cups of cooked barley. Whoops! No big deal, we added some homemade vegetable broth I had on hand so the extra barley had something to soak up. It only took 20 minutes for the barley to finish cooking. I loved whole grains.

• Barley & Turkey Chili with Jalapeño Sour Cream and Amaranth Crunch (Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way, p. 186)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

This chicken was really good, and fast to make. Another lemon dessert, these little cheesecake squares are good. Not outstanding, but good.

• Caribbean Chicken Stir-Fry with Mint (Hot Chicken, p. 54)
• Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Chile (Fine Cooking #67, November 2004, p. 49)
• Lemon Cheesecake Squares (Fine Cooking #86, July 2007, p. 53

This sounded better than it tasted. I learned that I don't like chicken that's been browned in bacon fat. Odd, I thought everything was better with bacon. The chicken was okay, and the potatoes were fine, but I prefer my fingerlings roasted. These were boiled, then the instructions said to peel the potatoes. I don't think so. What a waste of time! Larry had requested peas. I'm not a fan of frozen peas, because I think they're mushy. But Larry liked these.

• Garlic-Roasted Chicken with Fingerling Potatoes and Bacon (Bon Appétit, November 2007)
• Peas with Pancetta (Bon Appétit, December 1997)

It's been cold, and I haven't made this hearty, yummy, healthy dish in a while. We used chicken pesto sausage - yum.

• White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale and Zucchini (Cooking Light, January 2005)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

We spent Christmas with our neighbors Chris and Assana and Assana's boyfriend Dan. Assana, always a terrific hostess, made excellent appetizers, supplemented by Chris's signature clam dip. We snacked all afternoon and sipped hot cider with rum and hung out. We had an early dinner of chili and cornbread, and Chris brought a cheesy spinach dish. The chili was good as usual. I had cornbread issues but in the end it turned out okay. It needed to cook a little longer. And I don't know why, but I added crumbled bacon to the top. The recipe says to do this, but I never have because it sounds weird. But I did it anyway and it was okay.

I hadn't made this cheesecake for this audience before. It's always a hit. Chris said it's my best dessert. It's really rich but so good. The recipe is under the "Sheri's Recipes" link on the right.

We had packaged up our s'mores kits and handed them out at dinner. I think they turned out okay. The graham crackers are stacked on the bottom of the container.

• Chicken & White Bean Chili (Bon Appétit, October 2005)
• Corn Bread (The Bread Baker's Apprentice, p. 151)
• Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake (Sheri's recipe box)

I've become a huge fan of cooking with boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They're slightly more work than chicken breasts because there's more to trim, but they're much more moist, flavorful and forgiving. I expected tonight's dinner to be really good, but the chicken was kind of blah.

• Lemon-Garlic Chicken Thighs (Cooking Light, August 2002)
• Orzo with Lemon, Garlic, Parmigiano & Herbs (Fine Cooking #90, p. 44)
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad

Larry made dinner for us tonight. He did most of the prep last night, and threw everything in the Crock Pot at lunchtime. We had a discussion about the chorizo. The recipe doesn't specify what kind of chorizo. He picked up chicken chorizo at Trader Joe's, which worked fine and is less greasy than standard Mexican chorizo. But I wondered if Spanish chorizo would work also - I think the spices would be really nice in this stew. The recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs, which are added whole to the mix but stay moist and kind of fall apart during the cooking.

• Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken & Chorizo Stew (Cook's Illustrated Best Make-Ahead Recipes, p. 150)

Wine: Roshambo 2000 Syrah (Dry Creek Valley, California). From a now-defunct winery. Not bad.

Jay was over tonight for an early Thanksgiving, since we'll be in Italy over the holiday. I made the usual turkey I've been making for years. The Brussels sprouts were good, but I think we've had better.

• Butter-Rubbed, Cider-Glazed Roast Turkey (Fine Cooking #53, November 2002, p. 46)
• Poultry Dressing (Sheri's Recipe Box)
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Brown Butter and Lemon (Fine Cooking Web-Only Recipe
• Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Chives (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 61)

Wine: Copain 2004 Hacienda Secoya Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley, California). The Copain I've been buying for the past few years is finally loosening up and is really nice.

Excellent dinner tonight. It seems like whenever I try to slap something together at the last minute, it turns out really good. We both really loved these chicken thighs, and I plan on making them again soon. Larry is becoming a fan of chicken thighs - as long as they're boneless.

• Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs (Cooking Light, March 2007)
• Garlicky Roasted Potatoes with Herbs (Cooking Light, December 2006)
• Butter Lettuce with Creamy Black Pepper Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)

Larry and I kept it simple for dinner tonight - this is a typical pre-race meal for us. I learned long ago that my tummy can't handle things like Mexican food the night before a race. Tomorrow is the second annual San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon.

• Grilled Chicken Breasts
• Orzo with Parmesan
• Roasted Green Beans with Lemon, Pine Nuts & Parmigiano (Fine Cooking #82, December 2006, p. 55)

Jay came over for dinner, and we all really liked the meal tonight. I love a good roasted chicken. Larry and Jay both really loved the gratin, which isn't creamy but has lots of layers of very thinly sliced potatoes (I used my v-slicer). The pound cake is one of the better cakes from Whole Grain Baking.

• Rosemary Split Chicken (Restaurant Favorites at Home: A Best Recipe Classic, p. 170)
• Potato, Thyme & Olive Oil Gratin (Fine Cooking #74, November 2005, p. 50)
• Garlicky Braised Kale with Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001, p. 49)
• Lemon Cornmeal Pound Cake (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 386)

Wine: Martin 2002 Rattlesnake Rock Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). This is a nice Zin - now called Rattler Rock.

Sunday Dinner was a little different this week, since our house is somewhat torn up from plaster repair and painting. We've got a kitchen, but the dining room and living room are awash in fumes, plastic and tape. So I made up a casserole, Larry prepared some garlic bread, and we gathered stuff to make a quick salad, then took everything over to Jay's house to eat.

• Polish Lasagna (Sheri's Recipe Box)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)
• Butter Lettuce and Radiccio with Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)

Wine: Ridge 2002 Teldeschi Ranch ZInfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Yummy wine.

We're experiencing our first rain of the season, so Cincinnati sounded perfect. Plus, our house is a bit torn up because we're having some plaster repair and painting done. Luckily they haven't done any major work in the kitchen yet so I can still cook (we just have nowhere to sit since the dining room and living room are both completely blanketed in plastic and tape).

• Snows Chili (alias Cincinnati Chili) (Hollyhocks & Radishes, p.104)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Larry made dinner for me tonight since I've had my head in a book, studying for a professional certification. I hinted that this sounded good (by leaving the cookbook open to the recipe!). And it was. I thought it might be odd, braising chicken in oil, but it was good and not greasy at all. The garlic and shallots were really good too.

• Chicken in Garlic & Shallots (I'm Just Here for the Food, p. 125)
• Smashed Potatoes
• Butter Lettuce and Radiccio with Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)

Our neighbors Chris and Assana came over for a casual Labor Day dinner. We used the grill for the appetizer and chicken, and did the rest inside. The grilled crostini was pretty good. We liked the five-spice chicken thighs better, although these were also good, as was the corn saute. I don't usually like tiramisu, but I loved this dessert.

• Grilled Goat Cheese Crostini with a Tangle of Marinated Roasted Peppers (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 42)
• Grilled Rosemary Chicken Thighs with Sweet & Sour Orange Dipping Sauce (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 31)
• Corn & Mushroom Sauté with Leeks & Pancetta (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 37)
• Summer Wheatberry Salad (Fine Cooking #28, September 1998, p. 39)
• Fresh Berry Tiramisu (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 406)

Wine:
- Rafanelli 2001 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California)
- Gamba 2004 Estate Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). The favorite of the night.
- Valdez 2004 Rockpile Road Zinfandel (Rockpile Road, California). Delicious, but also big and boozy.

I was in the mood for something comforting, like chicken soup. This suited me perfectly, and I loved the spiciness for the ginger.

• Clay Pot Ginger Chicken (Food & Wine, March 2005)

Jay was here for dinner (Sunday night, of course). We all loved the chicken thighs - excellent flavor, easy to make, and very moist. We also liked this corn saute better than the last one. The mashed sweet potatoes were good, and the tomatoes came from the garden.

The chocolate stout cake was an experiment, since I made the Fine Cooking version a few months ago. I believe this one is the winner - Larry really loved it. This one was a little more difficult to put together, since it involved slicing a standard 9-inch cake round into two. It also made too much ganace, and frosting it was kind of messy. But it turned out great.

• Grilled Five-Spice Chicken Thighs with Soy-Vinegar Sauce & Cilantro (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 31)
• Corn Sauté with Ginger, Garilc & Fresh Cilantro (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 37)
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Marsala (Cooking Light, December 2000)
• Heirloom Tomato Salad with Fresh Mozzarella, Basil and Olive Oil
• Chocolate Stout Cake (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 422)

Wine: Rafanelli 2001 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Delicious. Rafanelli has been kind of hit-and-miss over the past few years, but this is drinking really nicely.

This chicken was pretty good, and we really liked the corn saute. Jay and Larry were happy to have grilled asparagus (even though I despise it). I hadn't made this tart in a while, and it's delicious. Love the mascarpone topping.

• Oven-Fried Chicken (Cooking Light, October 2006)
• Corn, Sweet Onion & Zucchini Sauté with Fresh Mint (Fine Cooking #87, September 2007, p. 36)
• Grilled Asparagus
• Butter Lettuce and Radiccio with Chives, Tomatoes & Lemon Poppyseed Dressing (Fine Cooking #51, July 2002, p. 48)
• Chocolate Truffle Tart with Whipped Vanilla Mascarpone Topping (Fine Cooking #68, Holiday Baking Winter 2005, p. 54)

Wine: Williams Selyem 2004 Feeney Vineyard Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). Pretty good, but I think Williams Selyem excels with their Pinots, not necessarily their Zins.

This chicken is good and so fast, but the tomato salsa was a bit acidic. Lots of potential, but next time I'll add the sherry vinegar a little at a time. I whipped up the biscuits first, and was able to make the chicken while they were baking. They're really good, light and fluffy and flavorful.

• Grilled Chicken Breasts with Sun-Dried & Fresh Tomato Salsa (Fine Cooking #65, July 2004, p. 86C)
• Parmesan-Pine Nut Biscuits (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, p. 77)
• Trader Joe's Pear & Gorgonzola Salad

Wine: Bartholomew Park 2002 Estate Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California). A marginal Zin.

Jay, Edith and Ron joined us for Sunday dinner this week. We had a party to go to in the afternoon, so I made the pie and prepped everything in the morning. The menu was made up of things I make quite a bit, because I knew I'd be pressed for time.

The pie is really good. The filling isn't as firm as I'd like, but the crust is a buttery shortbread and really tasty, and the raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in the filling are delicious and very summery. It was also really simple to make - the filling was done in about 15 minutes.

Today also marks the four-year anniversary of Pork Cracklins, and incidentally, the 500th entry as well. That's a lot of cooking. And eating.

• Smoked Trout Rillettes (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001, p. 44)
• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach & Goat Cheese (Fine Cooking #69, January 2005, p. 62)
• Potatoes Fondantes (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 59)
• Fennel & Red Onion with Arugula (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 48)
• Bumbleberry Pie (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 70)

Wine:
- Heritage Vineyard 2004 Zinfandel (Oakville, California). This is the wine that's sold at the annual ZAP festival. It's made by a different winemaker every year. The 2004 was made by Kent Rosenblum, and is really nice right now.
- Biale 2004 Aldo's Vineyard Zinfandel (Napa Valley, California). Big and hot. We decanted and it opened up a little, but it was still kind of tight.

We both liked this a lot, although the stuffing was a little too mushroom-y for me. But I liked the twist on roasting a butterflied chicken.

• Stuffed Roast Butterflied Chicken (America's Test Kitchen)
• Mushroom-Leek Bread Stuffing with Herbs (America's Test Kitchen)
• Sauteed Spinach with Garlic

Wine: Ridge 2000 Buchignani Ranch Carignane (California). This is kind of Zin-like, smoky and fruity. Yum.

I love Chinese chicken salad, and this is a good one. Larry and I both really liked it.

• Chinese Chicken Salad (Fine Cooking #86, July 2007, p. 59)

Another Sunday night dinner - tonight we used the grill for both the chicken and the salad. The chicken wasn't anything special. The effort making the brine and the spice rub was wasted, because it tasted just like grilled chicken. Good, but nothing special. I cut back on the salt in the brine since I was using a Kosher chicken.

Jay and I both liked the salad, which involved a quick grill of halved hearts of romaine. Larry wasn't so crazy about it, but he doesn't especially like blue cheese dressing, either. The beans were excellent, though. I used huge runner cannellini beans from Rancho Gordo, which took forever to cook but they were worth it.

• Beer-Brined Butterflied Chicken (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 55)
• Grilled Hearts of Romaine with Blue Cheese Dressing (Fine Cooking #73, September 2005, p. 58)
• White Beans with Garlic, Lemon & Parmesan (Fine Cooking #58, July 2003, p. 45)

Wine: Atelier 2004 Rockpile Zinfandel (Rockpile, California). Yum. I don't think I've ever had a bad wine from Rockpile.

I haven't made this easy mole in a while. It's really good. I cut back on the orange this time and I liked it better.

• Easy Puebla-Style Chicken Mole (Cooking Light, May 2005)
• Black Beans

These chicken breasts use the same technique as the ones I make that are stuffed with spinach and goat cheese. So far, I like the spinach and goat cheese version the best. These were good, but probably not something I'd make again.

• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Chiles & Jack Cheese (Fine Cooking #69, January 2005, p. 62)
• Roasted Cauliflower
• Black Beans

I finally made the chicken salad that Amy loves. She's right - it's really good. I followed the recipe since it was the first time making it, but next time I'll just eyeball the amounts. I was unsure about the smoked almonds, but I chopped them up pretty good and it was a surprisingly good addition.

Larry is the sandwich maker - he lightly toasted whole grain bread and added avocado to the sandwiches. Yum.

• Rosemary Chicken Salad Sandwiches (Cooking Light, April 2005)

Jay was here for dinner tonight. This chicken was very easy to make and also very tasty. The brown sugar-cumin rub created a nice carmelized coating on the chicken, and the guacamole sauce complimented it well.

• Cumin-Dusted Chicken Breasts with Guacamole Sauce (Cooking Light, January 2007)
• Mixed Greens with Poppy Seed & Tarragon-Crème Fraîche Dressing (Fine Cooking #86, July 2007, p. 49)
• Creamy Parmesan Orzo (Cooking Light, March 2004)

Wine: Sapphire Hill 2002 Winberrie Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). One of Sapphire Hill's better wines. A good everyday Zin.

We had a light dinner tonight, just this yummy soup. About a half hour to make, it's got a little spice in the broth from Asian chile paste and crushed ginger. A full batch makes four servings, but split between the two of us it was just right for dinner.

• Ginger Chicken Soup (Fine Cooking #85, May 2007, p. 84a)

Ron and Jay came over for a spur-of-the-moment end of the week dinner. We delivered Ron's Rafanelli to him - he usually takes part of our allocation. I shopped at lunch so dinner was pretty quick to make. We loved this salad. I'm obsessed with butter lettuce.

• Goat Cheese Crackers with Hot Pepper Jelly (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 63)
• Chicken with Marsala, Mushrooms & Gorgonzola (Fine Cooking #63, March 2004, p. 43)
• Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta (Fine Cooking #57, May 2003, p. 86C)
• Butter Lettuce with Poppy Seed & Tarragon-Crème Fraîche Dressing (Fine Cooking #86, July 2007, p. 49)
• Bourbon-Chocolate Mousse (Fine Cooking #85, May 2007, Back Cover)

Wine:
- Gamba 2004 Estate Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). One of our favorites.
- Amphora 2003 Mounts Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). Delicious.

Jay and Jeff came for dinner last night. Dinner was good - I love this chicken. And the potatoes. The cake is super moist and kind of different because of the stout and the molasses. I'm eventually going to make a whole-grain version of this cake and see which one we like best. The recipe is also in Fine Cooking's Chocolate 2006 special issue.

The only issue I had with the cake is that my ganache broke. Yet again. Chocolate-to-cream ratio too high? I should have fixed it by whisking in some warm cream but I didn't.

• Goat Cheese Crackers with Hot Pepper Jelly (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 63)
• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Spinach & Goat Cheese (Fine Cooking #69, January 2005, p. 62)
• Lemony Salt-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (Food & Wine, October 2006)
• Hearts of Romaine with Caesar Dressing (The Best Recipe, p. 42)
• Chocolate Stout Cake (Fine Cooking #61, Holiday Baking 2003, p. 46)

Wine:
- Sea Smoke 2004 Botella Pinot Noir (Santa Barbara County, California). Sadly, our last bottle of Botella. Absolutely wonderful, as usual.
- Gamba 2004 Moratta Zinfandel (Russian River Valley, California). This wine is settling down and is really delicious. The good news is we have several bottles left.

This was another test recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It was good, but I don't think I'd make it again. I didn't mind the mushroom-y stuffing because the mushrooms were chopped up. It wasn't really a stuffing since it was cooked separate from the turkey breast. At any rate, it's nice to have some leftover turkey breast for sandwiches.

The potatoes were good, but not as good as my usual stuffed baked potatoes. The recipe for the potatoes is also in FIne Cooking's Side Dish 2007 special issue.

• Turkey Breast with Mushroom Stuffing (Cook's Illustrated Test Recipe)
• Twice-Baked Potatoes with Crème Fraîche & Chives (Fine Cooking 76, p. 46)

Wine: Rosenblum 2003 Lyon's Reserve Zinfandel (Napa Valley, California). Absolutely delicious.

Jay was here for dinner tonight instead of the usual Sunday since we have plans tomorrow night. We had a long-ish, very wet bike ride this morning followed by a visit with friends in the area, so we got home somewhat late. At 6pm I headed to Trader Joe's for a few things, and still had dinner ready by 7:30.

I made one change to the chicken recipe - I used sun-dried tomatoes in place of olives since Larry's not so crazy about olives. They both liked the whole meal. The whole grain pilaf from Trader Joe's wasn't bad either and was easy to make. The chicken recipe is also in Fine Cooking's 2004 Quick & Delicious special issue, and the carrots are also in Fine Cooking's 2006 Quick & Delicious special issue.

• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Goat Cheese (Fine Cooking #26, May 1998, p. 90)
• Glazed Carrots & Shallots with Thyme (Fine Cooking #55, January 2003, p. 54)
• Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend

Wine: Williams Selyem 2002 Central Coast Pinot Noir (Central Coast, California). Yum.

Jay came over for dinner tonight - I wasn't planning on cooking until we realized it's Easter, and most restaurants are closed. So I did as little as possible, and ended up with a chili that Larry really loved and wants again.

We had plenty of cake left over from this morning, so we even had dessert after dinner.

• Chicken & White Bean Chili (Bon Appétit, October 2005)
• Napa Valley Pantry World's Best Cornbread
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad
• Lemon-Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting (King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, pp. 375 & 430)

Wine: Carol Shelton 2003 Rocky Reserve Florence Vineyard Zinfandel (Rockpile, California). Good, not great. I'm a fan of Carol's wines (and of Carol).

This recipe is a test recipe sent to me from Cook's Illustrated. It was pretty easy to make, especially compared to the version I made last year from Fine Cooking. Not only was it easier to make, but I think it tasted better. Really tasty, and less butter and cream, too. I'll definitely make this again.

In my notes back to Cook's Illustrated, though, there are a couple of things I'll mention: I made a half recipe of the chicken and sauce, but still needed a full recipe of the spice rub and yogurt coating for the chicken. The onions for the sauce needed to cook at a lower temperature, also.

We liked the cabbage okay. Good, but not make again good.

• Chicken Tikka Masala (Cook's Illustrated Test Recipe)
• Curried Cabbage (Cooking Light, October 2002)
• Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Naan

Wine: Limerick Lane 2000 Collins Vineyard Syrah (Russian River Valley, California). A decent Syrah, kind of herbal.

Chris and Julie came for dinner tonight. I had everything prepped as much as possible last night, so it wasn't too bad putting together dinner after work. The smoked trout was especially good tonight. The meal consisted of reliable stand-bys, things I've made a million times so I don't need to think about it. Julie loved the potatoes, and Chris was crazy over the pot pies.

• Smoked Trout Rillettes (Fine Cooking #42, January 2001, p. 44)
• Chicken Roulades Stuffed with Goat Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 86C)
• Potatoes Fondantes (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 59)
• Fennel & Red Onion with Arugula (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 48)
• Chocolate-Raspberry Pot Pies (Just a Bite, p. 228)

Wine: We opened several bottles of Zinfandel, since we're all Zin lovers:
- Rockpile Ridge 2002 Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel (Rockpile, California). One of the best Zins I've ever tasted. Perfect balance, lots of fruit, but not a huge fruit bomb.
- Valdez 2004 Rockpile Road Vineyard Zinfandel (Rockpile, California). We opened this second wine without even thinking it was another Rockpile. This wine is still a bit hot and closed, even though we decanted it. We bought a case so we'll continue to wait and drink. Still good, though.
- A. Rafanelli 2000 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). One of the better Rafanelli vintages. A bit earthy, but still with bright fruit, kind of mellow.

Jay was here for dinner tonight. Yet another night of good recipes from Cooking Light. I cancelled my subscription, but I've been searching for recipes that have high ratings and it's been working so far. Larry loved the orzo. I wasn't crazy about the green beans tonight - not roasted enough.

• Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Cooking Light, March 2004)
• Creamy Parmesan Orzo (Cooking Light, March 2004)
• Roasted Green Beans with Lemon, Pine Nuts & Parmigano (Fine Cooking # 82, December 2006, p. 55)

This mole got a good review on a cooking forum I was on - one I can't remember anymore, but since I love mole I thought I'd give it a try. Larry and I both liked it. It's not as good as traditional mole, but for a reduced calorie/fat recipe that comes together quickly, it's a keeper. I think next time I'll add a bit less orange rind. I wasn't that crazy about the black beans.

Easy Puebla-Style Chicken Mole

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 stemmed dried seeded ancho chiles, torn into 2-inch pieces (about 1/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 1/3 cups coarsely chopped tomato (about 1 medium)
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted
3 (1/2 x 2-inch) orange rind strips
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook 5 minutes or until almost tender. Combine cumin, coriander, and cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle over onion in pan. Cook 1 minute. Add chiles and garlic to pan; cook 2 minutes or until chiles soften. Add broth and next 4 ingredients (through rind) to pan; bring to a boil. Add chicken to pan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan; shred with 2 forks. Set aside.

Add chocolate to chile mixture; let stand until chocolate melts. Using an immersion blender in pan, puree the chocolate mixture until smooth. Cook over medium heat 20 minutes or until reduced to 3 1/2 cups. Add shredded chicken to sauce; stir in salt and pepper.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 cup chicken mixture)

CALORIES 211 (29% from fat); FAT 6.8g (sat 0.0g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.0g); PROTEIN 27.2g; CHOLESTEROL 80mg; CALCIUM 50mg; SODIUM 380mg; FIBER 2.5g; IRON 2.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 10.5g

• Easy Puebla-Style Chicken Mole (Cooking Light, May 2005)
• Spicy Black Beans (Cooking Light, January 1998)
• Whole Wheat Tortillas

Sunday night, so Jay was here for dinner. The chicken was good, but just your regular everyday roasted chicken. Nothing exceptional. I love butterflied roast chicken. We all loved the potato salad, and the escarole was pretty good too (both can be found in Fine Cooking's Side Dish 2007 special issue).

• Yogurt-Marinated Butterflied Chicken (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006, p. 53)
• Braised Escarole with a Parmesan Crust (Fine Cooking #18, January 1997, p. 43)
• Roasted New Potato Salad with Dijon & Rosemary (Fine Cooking #15, July 1996, p. 40)

Wine: David Bruce 2004 Pinot Noir (Central Coast, California). Good, as are most David Bruce Pinots. I've really been drawn to Pinot lately.

Scott is in town for a few days, so I picked something relatively easy I could make after work for dinner. It's probably a lot easier to just make this the day before. Again, I shredded the meat off the thighs because it just seems weird to serve entire thighs in this dish. The recipe is also in the cookbook Cooking New American.

I made packaged cornbread, and it was by far the best packaged cornbread we've had.

• Southwestern Spiced Chicken & Black Bean Stew (Fine Cooking #56, March 2003, p. 38)
• Napa Valley Pantry Worlds Best Cornbread Mix

Again, Larry to the rescue since I was at work again today. He picked the menu, did the shopping, prepped and made the guacamole and beans so dinner was just about ready when I got home. I love chilaquiles. This is so easy to make once everything is prepped.

Chilpotle Chilaquiles (Food & Wine, March 2007)

Guacamole

Black Beans

Wine: David Coffaro 2002 Estate Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). I think our last bottle of Coffaro Zin. His wines aren't meant to age, in my opinion. But this one still had some fruit and isn't over-the-top.

Larry picked out this recipe. He did most of the prep for the whole meal, since I had to go into work. We loved the chicken. The snap peas were just okay, but the sauteed veggies were really good. The chicken recipe is also in the Fine Cooking's 2003 Quick & Delicious special issue and Cooking New American. The recipes for both vegetable dishes are both also in Fine Cooking's 2006 Fresh special issue.

Sweet & Spicy Sticky Chicken (Fine Cooking #35, November 1999, p. 40)

Slightly Spicy Sugar Snap Peas with Mint & Lime (Fine Cooking #72, July 2005, p. 72)

Braised Carrots, Red Onions & Bell Peppers with Ginger, Lime & Cilantro (Fine Cooking #71, May 2005, p. 44)

Wine: Christopher Creek 1999 Estate Reserve Syrah (Russian River Valley, California). At one time, this was one of our favorite Syrahs. I think we drank it just in time.

This was a somewhat quick dinner - the chicken needed to marinate for at least an hour, but other than that it was easy to make and really tasty. The recipe is also in Fine Cooking's 101 Deliciuous Chicken Recipes special issue.

Lime & Coconut Chicken Paillards (Fine Cooking #23, November 1997, p. 44)

Steamed Bamboo Rice

Trader Joe's Spinach Salad

Jay was here for dinner tonight, even though it's not Sunday. We thought we'd share the first meal on our new dining room table with him. The chicken breasts were good, although I ended up with way too many breadcrumbs.

I'm experimenting with ways to cook sweet potatoes in the oven that will result in a crispy-ish exterior and a creamy interior. These were good (cut into thin rounds instead of wedges), but the oven heat wasn't high enough. After I turned up the heat, some got a little too crispy. My next experiment will be with wedges in a generous amount of oil in a cast iron pan.

I loved the kale this way. Who would have thought that kale would be delicious raw. Only change I'll make next time is to go easy on the cheese. I bought Greek dry ricotta instead of Italian ricotta salata - I don't know if the Greek version is saltier than the Italian version, but it made the salad a bit on the salty side.

Crispy Chicken Breasts with Lemon & Capers(Fine Cooking #84, March 2007, p. 50)

Baked Sweet Potato Rounds

Lacinato Kale and Ricotta Salata Salad (Gourmet, January 2007)

Wine:

Just me for dinner tonight, but I was craving this dish. With garlic bread, of course. I'm posting the recipe here since I keep having to look it up on Cooking Light every time I make it.

White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale, and Zucchini

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 (4-ounce) links chicken sausage, cut into (1/2-inch) slices
1 zucchini, quartered and cut into (1/2-inch) slices (about 2 cups)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
6 cups chopped trimmed kale (about 1/2 pound)
1/2 cup water
2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and sausage 4 minutes or until sausage is browned. Add zucchini and garlic; cook 2 minutes. Add kale and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

• White Bean and Sausage Ragout with Tomatoes, Kale and Zucchini (Cooking Light, January 2005)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Jay came for our weekly Sunday dinner tonight. I've been wanting to make this dish ever since Julia made it and called it "heaven". I didn't have anchovies, but my trusty tube of anchovy paste saved the day.

I thought the chicken was really tasty. Jay and Larry liked it too. I wasn't sure about the cauliflower, but it turned out good - I even had seconds. I liked how the florets were sliced.

Braised Chicken Legs with Red Wine, Tomato, Anchovies & Rosemary (Fine Cooking #82, December 2006, p. 59)

Baked Potatoes

Cauliflower with Mustard-Lemon Butter (Bon Apetit, November 2006)

Wine: David Coffaro 2002 Barbera (Dry Creek Valley, California). Yum! I absolutely love Barbera. I usually think Pinot is my second-favorite grape after Zinfandel, but I think Barbera is almost even with Zinfandel. I need to try some Italian Barbera, since there aren't very many Californa producers that make a Barbera.

This chicken was good, but not so good that I'll want to make it again. The chicken itself was very good, but the sauce was a little odd. There were all sorts of goodies left in the pan when I took it out of the pan, so I made a quick pan sauce and I think Larry and I both liked that better. The salad was good, too, but again, I probably wouldn't make it again.

One thing did love about the chicken breasts was that they were perfectly cooked. I only used a small amount of oil in the pan and cooked them on high heat to brown them, then I turned the heat down and covered the pan and let them finish cooking.

• Pan-Fried Chicken with Asian-Cajun Sauce (Hot Chicken, p. 55)
• Fennel Salad with Mango-Walnut Herb Dressing (Hot Vegetables, p. 52)
• Roasted Baby Beets

Larry wanted a turkey breast for Christmas dinner this year, so we made a pretty simple meal. Trader Joe's was out of the usual Kosher turkey breasts, so we ended up with a Deistel from Whole Foods. It was good, very moist - but definitely not as good as the Kosher turkey we usually get.

• Roasted Turkey Breast
• Roasted Califlower
• Trader Joe's Spinach Salad
• Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes with Chives (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 61)

Wine: Gamba 2003 Moratta Vineyard Zinfandel (Russian River, California). Last bottle of this purple fruit bomb (this vintage). So delicious.

I picked Cincinnati chili for tonight, because I had all the ingredients already and didn't feel like going to the store. Excellent as usual.

The shortbread is really tasty. I'm still working on using up all the Meyer lemons we got from our neighbor's tree. Larry says he likes this shortbread better than the Scottish version. I like the cornmeal crunch. Very buttery. We gave some to Bea and Jim. This recipe is also in Fine Cooking's Weekend Cooking 2006 special issue.

• Snows Chili (alias Cincinnati Chili) (Hollyhocks & Radishes, Bonnie Stewart Mickelson, p.104)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)
• Lemon-Cornmeal Shortbread Bars (Fine Cooking #68, Holiday Baking 2004, p. 64)

Wine: Nalle 2002 Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). I'm not sure where we got this wine - maybe on one of our trips to the Sonoma Valley? It's an okay Zin. Kind of light without the oomph! I like so much in Zins.

I picked this out only because I happened to have this issue of Fine Cooking sitting out. I've suffered from an icky cold all week, and by the time I finished cooking I just wanted to go to bed. So Jay and Larry got to enjoy this meal without me. They said it was good - especially the ragout and the salad.

• Chicken & Shrimp Ragout with Curry Spices (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 63)
• Toasted Almond Rice (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 63)
• Spinach & Cucumber Salad with Yogurt-Mint Dressing (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 63)

For dinner tonight, I made Jay and Larry one of my favorite foods - fried chicken. It's coated in buttermilk and flour first so it formed a nice, crispy coating. The cucumber salad was also really good - the dressing also had buttermilk so it paired well with the chicken.

The potatoes had so much potential, but I was disappointed. They were good (besides needing more salt), but I like Potatoes Fondantes better. I threw the cake together quickly while I was putting the rest of the dinner together - Larry cooked the chicken for me so I could finish it up. It's really good. Very light. Larry says it's a definite do-again.

• Buttermilk Country Fried Chicken with Cucumber Salad (Fine Cooking #83, January 2007, p. 82a)
• Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes (Fine Cooking #83, January 2007, p. 45)
• Velvety Cocoa Cake (Gale Gand's Short and Sweet, p. 61)

Wine: Grey Wolf 2003 Zinfandel the Jackal (Paso Robles, California). We have three bottles of this wine, picked up when we worked the Paso Robles Zinfandel festival last year. It got better after it opened up - very fruity.

Larry picked this recipe out of an old Fine Cooking he was looking at - it was pretty easy to make, and just needed time to cook so the beans could soften up and the flavors could meld. The chili was a little spicy for me, but still good. I threw together some packaged cornbread - Marie Callendar's organic, so it was without trans fats.

• Chicken & Pinto Bean Chili (Fine Cooking #29, November 1998, p. 40)
• Marie Callendar Cornbread

Wine: Rosenblum 2000 Holbrook Mitchell Trio (Napa Velley, California). This is a blend wine, a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot. Pretty tasty - rich and heavyweight. It wasn't really our choice for dinner, but we were going through old bottles tonight, tossing out bottles gone bad, and this one ended up being good, so it's what we drank.

Fiyaz came for Thanksgiving dinner, and Jay showed up just in time for dessert. It was a nice, relaxed Thanksgiving meal. Larry had asked for a stuffed turkey breast instead of a whole turkey, and he wanted apple pie instead of pumpkin pie. Everything was good - especially the squash soup. I love the croutons. My potatoes were a little thin for some reason, but they worked out okay after they were baked. We did the goat cheese crackers again, this time on Carr's whole wheat crackers, and they were much better.

• Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons (Bon Apetit, December 1996)
• Goat Cheese Crackers with Hot Pepper Jelly (Fine Cooking #64, May 2004, p. 63)
• Dried Apricot & Date Stuffed Turkey Breast with Marsala Glaze (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 49)
• Potatoes Mousseline (Fine Cooking #62, January 2004, p. 41)
• Spinach & Basil Salad with Tomatoes, Candied Walnuts & Warm Bacon Dressing (Fine Cooking #70, March 2005, p. 55)
• Apple Pie Covered with Leaves (Fine Cooking #54, Winter 2003 Holiday Baking Issue, p. 43)

Wine:
- Ramazzotti 2005 Zin-Giovese Rose (Dry Creek Valley, California)
- Inniskillin 2003 Sparkling Ice Wine (Niagra Peninsula, Canada). Fiyaz brought this wine for dessert - and it was very tasty.

This made a quick and yummy weeknight meal. I used whole wheat pasta. Yet another excellent quick meal from this issue of Fine Cooking.

• Chicken "Stroganoff" with Mushrooms, Sherry & Sage (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 98c)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Jay was here for dinner, and I made Indian food for him and Larry. I don't make Indian food very much, and when I do, it's not really traditional Indian food - more like simple curries. I wanted to bake this weekend, so I figured I'd get my baking fix by making naan.

The chicken was good. Not super fantastic, must have again, but good. It was kind of a lot of work, and so much butter and cream. Which I usually don't shy away from, but it was really A LOT of butter and cream. I might make the chicken tikka on its own again, though.

The naan. Oh, boy, was I over-ambitious about making naan. It wasn't easy to make at all. The dough wasn't easy to handle. I wanted it smooth but not too dry, and I tried not to handle it too much, but it was difficult. My first two came out very mis-shapen (I cooked them in the oven on a pizza stone). I got the hang of it after that, and the rest came out beautifully... but I live in an area with a huge Indian population. No reason not to buy naan - and it's better than what I could make, too.

• Chicken Tikka Masala (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 70)
• Homestyle Indian Naan (Fine Cooking #47, November 2001, p. 47)
• Mixed Greens with Balsamic-Olive Oil Vinaigrette
• Double Ginger Pound Cake with Brown Sugar Mascarpone Whipped Cream (Fine Cooking #82, December 2006, p. 64)

Wine: Cinnabar 2003 Mercury Rising (California). This is a Bordeaux-type blend from a local Santa Cruz Mountains producer, and oh man is it good. We finished the whole bottle.

Tonight I was in the mood for one of my favorite types of meals - American comfort food. Roast chicken, salty potatoes, and a yummy roasted veggie. I couldn't decide what to do with the chicken. I knew I wanted to butterfly it and roast it, but I couldn't decide on flavorings. I finally settled on a modified recipe from Good Eats (I roasted the chicken instead of broiling it).

The potatoes were really excellent. And easy to make. Salty, not as much lemon as I expected. Larry loved them. The butternut squash was good too.

• Roasted Butterflied Chicken (Good Eats, A Bird in the Pan)
• Roasted Rosemary Butternut Squash & Shallots (Fine Cooking #81, November 2006, p. 57)
• Lemony Salt-Roasted Fingerling Potatoes (Food & Wine, October 2006)

Wine: Peterson 2001 Bernier Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, CA). A nice, reasonably priced Zin from a small producer.