Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Garlicious Rice Krispie Treats

Garlicious Rice Krispie Treats
Made by Ryan Dietzen, Carmel, N.Y.
2 tablespoons butter
Pinch of tumeric
2 cups mini marshmallows
2 heads of roasted garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
3 cups of Brown Rice Crisps (or Kellogg’s Rice Krispies)
2 cups crushed salt & pepper potato chips
Paprika as desired
Melt butter in med-sized sauce pan. Add tumeric as butter melts. Add marshmallows, stirring until melted. Add roasted garlic and garlic powder, then rice crisps and potato chips. Press into 8” x 8” dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Cut into 1” cubes to serve.

Garlic Soup au Gratin

Garlic Soup au Gratin
Original recipe by Laurie Buzzard, Cuba
6 cups chicken stock (canned or homemade)
2 cups dry white wine
6 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and lightly crushed (keep cloves whole)
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
2 cups half and half
3 tablespoons butter
8 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
8 slices French bread, about 3/4 inch thick
2 cups shredded Swiss gruyere cheese (about 8 oz)
Heat chicken stock in large pan until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and add wine and next 5 ingredients. Simmer on low for 30 minutes. Strain garlic and herbs out of broth. Add half and half and simmer on medium heat until heated through.
While soup base is simmering, prepare garlic slices. Heat butter on low in non-stick pan until melted. Add garlic slices in single layer and cook until garlic is tender and golden color, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.
Bake French bread slices on cookie sheet for 10 minutes per side in 350 oven. Remove and cool on rack.
Shred gruyere cheese. Preheat broiler in oven. Put 8 one-cup ramekins or other oven proof bowls on cookie sheet. Spoon 1/8 of garlic slices/butter in each bowl. Put one slice of toasted French bread on top of garlic slices in each bowl. Top with some of the gruyere. Ladle hot soup broth over bread.
Top with remaining gruyere cheese. Broil 6 inches from broiler for 3 minutes or until cheese melts and is slightly browned. Serve immediately

Garlic Jelly Cheesecake

Garlic Jelly Cheesecake
Made by Shannon Halsaver, Cuba
1 jar (10.5 oz) Garlic Jelly available from The Garlic Shoppe http://GarlicShoppe.com
8 oz. garlic cheddar cheese (shredded)
2 eggs
1-2 tsp. fresh garlic, minced
16 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
Preheat oven to 325. Butter 8” spring-form pan. Wrap outer sides and base with aluminum foil.
In a food processor combine garlic cheese, garlic and eggs. Process until blended. Add cream cheese and process until smooth. Add ½ jar of garlic jelly and process briefly until incorporated. Pour filling into prepared pan.
Place spring-form pan into a baking dish and place on oven rack. Pour 1” warm water in baking dish. Bake 45 minutes until cheese cake is set but still jiggles slightly when shaken. Remove cheesecake from water bath and cool on wire rack. Remove foil and chill at least 4 hours.
When ready to serve, remove ring from spring form pan. Top cheesecake with remaining garlic jelly and serve as a sprea

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Barbacco Chicken


Braised Chicken Thighs With Castelvetrano Olives & Toasted Almonds

Serves 4

From Staffan Terje of Barbacco.
Ingredients
20 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 large chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
-- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
-- Olive oil as needed
1 yellow onion, cut into medium dice
1 lemon, cut in quarters
2 medium-size rosemary sprigs
4 cups low-salt chicken broth, reduced to 2 cups (or 2 cups double-strength broth)
1 cup dry white wine
1 large bunch escarole (about 1 pound), rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 cup Castelvetrano olives, pits removed and halved (see Note)
1/2 cup Marcona almonds, toasted and chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
-- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions: Place garlic cloves in a small saucepan along with the extra virgin olive oil. Cook over low heat until soft, stirring occasionally, about 15-20 minutes. Remove cloves and set aside, reserve the oil.

Pre-heat oven to 375°. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place skillet large enough to hold all 8 thighs over medium heat; add 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Place chicken thighs in skillet, skin side down and cook over medium until skin is golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Turn thighs and cook for another 2 minutes. Reserve oil and chicken drippings in the skillet as you move the thighs to a deep baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer; set aside.

Add onion, lemon and rosemary to the now-empty skillet. Brown gently over medium-low heat, using a wooden spoon to scrape up and incorporate the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until onions are golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

Add chicken broth and white wine, and bring to a simmer. Pour over chicken thighs and place in the oven. Braise until juices run clear and chicken is done, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, pour reserved garlicky extra virgin olive oil into the skillet. Turn heat to medium. Add escarole with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the escarole is tender - about 2-3 minutes.

Place escarole on a warm serving platter. Remove thighs from braising liquid and place on the escarole. Lightly tent with foil to keep warm.

Remove rosemary and lemon wedges from braising liquid, and discard. Pour braising liquid into a sauce pot over high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until 1 1/2 cups remains. Add the reserved garlic cloves, olives and almonds. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the butter, then spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve hot.

Note: To pit whole olives, place them in a heavy plastic bag. Use a heavy skillet to gently crush the olives, which makes it easier to pit them.

Per serving: 582 calories, 25 g protein, 15 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat (8 g saturated), 84 mg cholesterol, 371 mg sodium, 6 g fiber.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Chicken Marbella


Chicken Marbella

Ingredients
6 boneless chicken breasts with skin (about 5 to 6 ounces each)

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives

3 tablespoons capers (with a little bit of juice)

6 large cloves garlic, peeled, crushed through a press

2 tablespoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 small to medium portabella mushroom, cleaned and sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Directions
Place the chicken in a large, plastic resealable bag.

In a large glass measuring cup, stir together the olive oil, vinegar, apricots, olives, capers, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken, and work the marinade into the chicken. Seal the bag and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

On a large, sided baking sheet or in a baking dish, arrange the chicken in a single layer. Arrange mushroom slices around the chicken. Drizzle the marinade over the chicken and mushrooms. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the brown sugar, and pour the white wine (or broth) around them.

Bake, basting frequently with the pan juices, until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken, apricots, olives, capers and mushrooms to a serving platter. Drizzle a little of the pan juices over them. Sprinkle with the parsley.

Place the remaining pan juices in a serving bowl, and serve on the side.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010


The authentic version of this sweet, fragrant bean salad requires about three times as much olive oil. In Turkey, borlotti beans or red beans would be used; I prefer pink beans, available in many supermarkets. The salad is adapted from a recipe by the cookbook author Clifford Wright.

Recipes for Health
Martha Rose Shulman presents food that is vibrant and light, full of nutrients but by no means ascetic, fun to cook and to eat.
Ingredients
1 pound pink beans, borlotti beans, cranberry beans, kidney beans or pintos, washed, picked over, and soaked for at least four hours in 2 quarts water

1 yellow onion, cut in half across the equator

8 garlic cloves, 2 lightly crushed, the rest coarsely chopped or sliced

1 bay leaf

Salt to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 large red onion, cut in half lengthwise, then in thin slices across the grain

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pound tomatoes

1 bunch fresh dill, stemmed and coarsely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

Leaves from 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional), plus 2 lemons, cut into wedges, for serving
Directions
1. Combine the beans and their soaking water with the two crushed garlic cloves, the halved yellow onion and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Add salt to taste, and continue to simmer until tender but intact, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat. Discard the onion halves, garlic cloves and bay leaf, and carefully drain the beans through a colander or strainer set over a bowl.

2. Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes in half across the equator. Set a strainer over a bowl, and squeeze out the seeds from the tomatoes into the strainer. Rub the gelatinous seed sacs against the strainer to extract the juice, and discard the seeds. Grate the tomatoes against the large holes of a box grater set in a wide bowl, and discard the skins. Add the juice from the strained seeds to the grated tomatoes, and stir together.

3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until very soft but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic, and continue to cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Stir in the sugar, half the tomatoes and half the herbs. Reduce the heat to low, and cook, stirring often, until the mixture has cooked down to a fragrant sauce, about 15 minutes. Stir in the beans, 1/2 cup of broth and the remaining tomatoes. Cover and simmer for another 25 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, stir in the remaining herbs and olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and allow to cool. Stir in the lemon juice if desired, and serve with lemon wedges. If the beans seem dry, add more of the bean broth to taste.

Variation: You can use canned beans for this dish. You will need 5 cups beans (three cans). Drain them and rinse well, and substitute water for the bean broth.

Yield: Serves eight.

Advance preparation: This will keep for four or five days in the refrigerator.

Nutritional information per serving: 285 calories; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 43 grams carbohydrates; 9 grams dietary fiber; 11 milligrams sodium (does not include salt added during preparation); 13 grams protein