Chicken Piccata

This recipe was made with lemons from Carolyn and Scott's lemon tree. Thank you to the both of you, they cooked up nicely in this recipe. I love using fresh ingredients from family and friends. I cannot wait until spring is here so I can get my garden planted and in progress. Serve this with some asparagus.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, butter flied and then cut in half
salt and pepper for seasoning
all-purpose flour, for dredging
2 tbsp unsalted butter
olive oil
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken stock/broth
1/4 cup white wine
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup brined capers, drained and rinsed
parsley, chopped for garnish

Season chicken both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in the flour, shaking to remove excess flour.

Drizzle a large non-stick sauté pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Place flour dredged chicken in the sauté pan and brown to a crisp on both sides. Remove chicken and place on a plate covered with foil to keep warm. Add garlic and wine. Slightly brown garlic and cook until wine is almost evaporated. Add chicken stock/broth and butter. Melt butter completely. Arrange lemon slices on the bottom of the sauté pan in a single layer. Add chicken back to the pan. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, turning chicken occasionally to coat. Add capers and cook for a couple of minutes just until they are warmed.

On a plate, lay chicken down and drizzle the top with caper lemon sauce and garnish with parsley. Enjoy!!!

Wine Pairing....Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay or Pinot Gris.

Weekend Events for February 4th – 6th

Friday:
Lots of Malbec – Bacchus Wine Market - 4:00pm – 8:30pm
http://www.bacchuswinemarket.com/events.html

Dunn Cabernet Vertical Tasting – Alternative Wines – 6:30pm – 8:00pm
http://www.alt-wines.com/index.htm

Prix Fixe 3-Course Menu and Wine Flights – Wine Vault & Bistro – 5:00pm – 10:00pm
http://www.winevaultbistro.com/calendar.html

Cali Blends Tasting – La Costa Wine Company – 5:00pm – 8:30pm
http://lacostawineco.com/store/content/12/Tasting-Events/

Saturday:
Just Malbec – Bacchus Wine Market - 2:00pm – 8:30pm
http://www.bacchuswinemarket.com/events.html

Wine Dinner – Orfilia Winery – 6:00pm – 8:00pm
http://www.terrasd.com/pdf/specialeventflyer.pdf

100 Mile Dinner 2011 Fund Raiser for Temecula Slow Foods – 6:00pm – 10:00 pm
http://www.temeculavalleyslowfood.org/

Chef’s 5-Course Tasting Menu and Paired Wine Flight – Wine Vault & Bistro – 5:00pm – 10:00pm
http://www.winevaultbistro.com/calendar.html

Sunday:
Super Sunday – Salerno’s – 12:00pm – 6:00pm
http://www.salernowinery.com/index.htm

Valentine’s Wine & Food Tasting Tour – La Jolla Wine Tours – 3:00pm – 6:00pm
http://www.lajollawinetours.com/

Shrimp with Chili Garlic Sauce

This is not for the weak, these shrimp pack some heat. Serve these up for the big game!

1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
cilantro, chopped for garnish

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (chili garlic sauce through sesame oil). Whisk together until mixed completely. Add shrimp and place in the refrigerator and marinate for about an hour.

Heat a large non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat.

Once sauté pan is hot, place shrimp (do not add sauce). Shrimp will cook quickly, so you will need to keep an eye out so you do not overcook the shrimp. During the last couple of minutes (right before shrimp are done), add the sauce and mix together.

Serve shrimp and sauce garnished with cilantro.

Enjoy!!

Wine pairing.....Pinot Gris.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Think Super Bowl!! Super easy and would be great as a snack for the big game.

tortilla chips (I used Gluten free chips from Trader Joes)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper for seasoning
olive oil for drizzling on the chicken
3/4 cup buffalo sauce (store bought or homemade)
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese (I used a combo of cheddar, jack and pepper jack cheeses)
3 green onions, sliced/diced
1 jalapeno, finely diced (remove seeds if you want less heat)
1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
1 avocado, diced
salsa for serving

Preheat grill. Season chicken with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil and buffalo sauce (about half of the buffalo sauce).

Grill chicken until cooked completely through. Wrap grilled chicken in foil and allow resting for about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. Spread a layer of tortilla chips on a sheet pan and then top with half of the cheese.

Chop cooked chicken and place in a bowl. Pour the rest of the buffalo sauce on the chicken and mix well.

Top tortilla chips with chicken, the remaining amount of cheese and jalapeno.

Place in the oven and bake until cheese is melted (about 10 minutes or so, but keep an eye on it because you do not want to burn the tortilla chips).

Remove from oven and top with cilantro, green onions and avocado.

Serve with salsa and ENJOY!

Wine pairing......Chardonnay or a nice cold Mexican beer or even throw together a quick Margarita.

Weekend in the Desert - January 29th, 2011

Hogs, camels, and jeeps.....ohh my!
Artful rust....

Welcome to the Borrego Springs zoo!

This is a must see.  We were delighted to find these hidden treasures.  Although, they were not exactly hidden, you just need to keep your eyes open and you are sure to see them. 

http://www.galletameadows.com/

All of this sight seeing made us thirsty and a bit hungry.  We came up on a busy Mexican restaurant called El Borrego.  The outdoor patio was filled with more of these free standing art statues.  We knew we had to check this out.  Ordered a margarita for each of us and some taquitos to share.  I have to say, they serve a pretty darn good margarita and the taquitos were great too. 

Back to Vallecito Stage Coach (where we were calling home for the weekend). 

The Desert is so beautiful this time of year.  Weather was perfect, mid 70's.  Check out some of the sights we enjoyed during our weekend in the Desert.

Bacon and Spinach Frittata

This makes a great dinner paired with a salad.

Olive oil
Salt and pepper for seasoning
8 slices of bacon, chopped and fully cooked
1 red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 oz. chopped spinach (you can use frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed to remove excess moisture)
8 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded asiago/parmesan blend cheese (or Italian blend)

Preheat oven to 425.

Use a 10" oven proof non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add chopped bacon and cook until crisp and fully cooked. Turn off heat and remove cooked bacon and allow to rest on a plate covered with paper towels. Let bacon fat cool. Disgard bacon fat.

Using the same skillet, drizzle with olive oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper and sauté onions until they begin to caramelize. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another 5 minutes (stirring frequently). Add chopped spinach, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook for another 2 minutes, stirring to mix well. Remove from heat. Allow spinach mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.

While spinach mixture is cooling, in a meduim sized bowl, add eggs and milk. Beat eggs and milk with a whisk.

Once spinach mixture has cooled, pour eggs in the skillet. Gently mix eggs and spinach mixture. Add the shredded mozzarella and gently mix together. Top with the shredded Italian blends cheese and ground pepper.

Place in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until top starts to brown and eggs are fully set.

Slice, serve and ENJOY!!!

Wine pairing.......Try some sparkling wine (who says you need a special occasion to enjoy this).

Chicken Sandwiches with Onions and Peppers

This kind of like a Philly cheese steak sandwich, but using chicken. Serve with French fries or roasted potatoes. For a lighter meal, serve with a salad.

Olive oil
1 red onion, halved and then sliced thinly
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
1 garlic glove, minced
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Italian seasoning
Cayenne pepper, for seasoning
1 slice of Swiss cheese (low fat if you want to try and cut back on the fat or skip it all together)
boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
Sundried tomato pesto (I purchased this at Trader Joes - you could use mayonnaise, but this was a healthier and tastier option)
whole wheat buns

In a non-stick sauté pan, drizzle with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add onion, bell pepper and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until just half way caramelized. Add garlic and sauté until cooked through and caramelized. Be sure to stir frequently. Once they are done, remove from heat.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and cayenne. Grill both sides of the chicken until the chicken is cooked through. A couple of minutes before chicken are done; place cheese slices on the chicken.

Toast buns and spread sundried tomato pesto on top and bottom half of the bun. Top with chicken and then with the caramelized onion and pepper mixture.

Serve and ENJOY!!!

Wine pairing..........Chardonnay or even a Pinot Noir.