Lemon Pasta

LEMON PASTA

I had seen this recipe on Brooke's blog today and just had to try it. The 'original' version of this recipe comes from Lovestoeat.

I made a few changes to the original recipe and it turned out delicious. Such a light, flavorful dish that went great with our blackened chicken. We'll definitely be making this again!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 box whole wheat thin spaghetti

2/3 cup lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil

1-2 tbsp dried basil

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/4 cup Pecorino Romano

Crushed red pepper, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Whisk all other ingredients together. Toss pasta with the lemon sauce and serve immediately.

Chicken Francese

CHICKEN FRANCESE

I had to try this recipe after Ally raved about it. Oh my, this was so good! Most definitely a pan-licker! Matt and I both really loved this dish. It really hit the spot! I followed Ally's recipe exactly. The only thing I didn't do was halve my breasts horizontally, so Ally's are much thinner. The breasts I was dealing with were oddly shaped, so halving them would've been nearly impossible. This recipe originates from Cooks Illustrated's website.

Be sure to check out Ally's page for this and other great recipes. She has a bunch!

INGREDIENTS:
SAUCE:
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 small onion, minced (about 1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine or vermouth
1/3 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons
2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Table salt and ground black pepper

CHICKEN:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Table salt and ground black pepper
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced
fresh parsley leaves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack on a foil-lined, trimmed baking sheet and place sheet in oven.

2.FOR THE SAUCE: Heat 1 tablespoon butter in medium nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour and stir until light golden brown, about 1 minute. Whisk in wine, lemon juice, and broth; increase heat to high and bring to boil, whisking constantly. Lower heat to medium-high and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Strain sauce through mesh strainer, return to saucepan, and set aside.

3. FOR THE CHICKEN: Whisk together flour, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk eggs and milk until combined. Season both sides of each cutlet with salt and pepper. Using tongs and working with 2 cutlets at a time, coat cutlets in seasoned flour; shake off excess flour. Transfer cutlets to egg mixture; coat evenly and let excess run off. Return cutlets to seasoned flour; coat evenly and shake off excess flour.

4. Heat 1 tablespoon each butter and oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides, place 4 cutlets in skillet. Cook until well browned, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Carefully flip cutlets and continue to cook until lightly browned on second sides, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer chicken to wire rack in oven. After transferring chicken to oven, wipe out skillet with paper towels.

5. TO FINISH SAUCE AND SERVE: Transfer sauce to now-empty skillet and set over low heat; cook until sauce is heated through, about 1 minute. Whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons butter; adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove baking sheet with chicken from oven; transfer 4 cutlets to skillet, turn to coat with sauce, then transfer each serving (2 cutlets) to individual plates. Spoon 2 tablespoons additional sauce over each serving and sprinkle with parsley. Serve immediately, passing extra sauce separately.

Spinach Pies!

SPINACH PIES

I have been wanting to make spinach pies for the longest time, but the thought of using phyllo dough scared me. I'm so glad I came across Elly's recipe. She used puff pastry instead of phyllo dough. As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to try it.

Definitely check out Elly's blog for her original recipe...an authentic Greek version!

The recipe below is my take on spinach pies from my favorite local Lebanese Deli, Emily's. These little pies turned out so well. Matt was very impressed and I'm sure they'll be gone in no time!!

INGREDIENTS:
a little olive oil
9-ounce bag of fresh spinach
1/4 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 egg
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper
pepper 1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry dough, thawed


DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat a little bit of olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and saute until tender. Stir in the spinach and then turn off the heat. The spinach will start to wilt down, but not much.

Toast the pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Shake the pan to toss the pine nuts until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, roll the puff pastry dough into a square, making it slightly thinner and then cut each sheet into 9 equal squares by making 2 horizontal cuts and 2 vertical cuts.

To the spinach mixture (you can move it to a bowl if you like), add the feta, lemon juice, pine nuts and salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon about 1-2 Tbsp. of the spinach mixture in each puff pastry square. Brush the sides of the square with a little water and then bring 2 opposite sides together to form a triangle. Press with your fingers to seal. Place on a baking sheet. Beat the egg and then brush the tops of the triangles with the egg. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Shrimp Scampi

SHRIMP SCAMPI

What a great dinner! I haven't had shrimp in forever. With my picky husband, shrimp is the closest thing I can get to fish.

This was my first Emeril recipe and I was very impressed. We'll definitely be making this again. My changes are bolded below.

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil

1 small onion, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1 lemon, juiced

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup shrimp stock, recipe follows (I used chicken stock)

2 tablespoons cold butter 2 tablespoons

chopped parsley leaves (I used dried parsley)

Lemon slices, for garnish

Rice, as accompaniment (I used 1 box of linguine)

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the linguine as directed.

Season the shrimp thoroughly with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add enough oil to lightly coat the pan. Add the shrimp and quickly saute until just starting to turn pink, but not cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add the onions and saute just until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, white wine, and stock, and reduce by 2/3, about 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp back to the pan and swirl in the butter. Finish with the parsley and check for seasoning. Toss everything together and top with Parmesan cheese.

Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

Thanks to Ashley for her great pan sauce recommendation. This recipe is so versatile. My recipe it noted below.

This chicken was wonderful and easy to make. Matt really liked it, so we'll definitely be making it again!

My version didn't have much of a sauce because I dredged the chicken in flour. If you like it more saucy, just omit the dredging in this receipe.

Be sure to check out Ashley's blog for her version, which I'm sure is just as tasty!

CHICKEN WITH LEMON & GARLIC SAUCE

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1lb chicken tenderloins
1/2-3/4 cup flour for dredging
1 small cooking onion, thinly sliced
3 large cloves of garlic, pressed
1 1/2 tablespoons parsley
Juice of 1 medium lemon
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon butter
Salt
Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Dip chicken tenderloins in flour mixture to coat and shake off excess.

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken to the pan and cook about 4 minutes per side, or until done. Remove the chicken from pan and keep warm.

Add the onions to the pan and saute until tender (you may need to add an extra teaspoon of olive oil at this point). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the white wine and cook until it's reduced by half. Add the chicken broth, doing the same. Add the lemon juice, butter, parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Return the chicken to the sauce and simmer for 10 minutes, flipping the chicken half way through.

Lemon Cake

Well, lemon is not something I typically crave. However, 2 large lemons were staring at me in the fridge, so I decided to search for a recipe to use them up. I love lemon chicken, but I wanted something sweet instead.

This cake-like loaf came out great! The texture is great and the flavor from the lemon-sugar glaze is so satisfying. Can't wait until Matt gets home to try this one!

I found a variety of recipes online, and took a little something from each one.

Enjoy, because I know I did!

LEMON CAKE

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 ounces sour cream

1 1/3 cups sugar, divided

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (approximately 1 1/2 - 2 lemons)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 2 large lemons)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup of sugar, sour cream, eggs, lemon zest and vanilla.

Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it is mixed together well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking in the oven, cook 1/3 cup lemon juice and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Cover a baking rack with wax paper and carefully place the loaf on the rack. While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon-sugar mixture over the cake and allow for it to soak in.

Cool and serve.