Figs

One of the things I love about cooking club is that it makes me cook with ingredients I wouldn't normally buy. A few highlights from the last cooking club was the walnut oil (thanks to Miss Nemmie at Cast Sugar) & figs.

Figs are kind of like raisins, at least they were in this dish I made. I wasn't sure what to expect out of the figs, I mean, I like Fig Newtons so I figured I would like figs. I did not tell the Hubs that the topping for the chicken was made with figs until he tried it.


Chicken with Balsamic Fig Sauce
Cooking Light
Ingredients
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped dried figs (such as Mission)
Preparation
Sprinkle both sides of chicken evenly with 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium; add butter to pan. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Add broth, vinegar, soy sauce, and figs. Simmer until sauce is reduced to 1 cup (about 3 minutes). Add 1 tablespoon thyme and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut chicken breast halves lengthwise on the diagonal into slices. Serve sauce over chicken.

This was good, healthy & a nice alternative to your standard grilled chicken with pan sauce. I still have some figs left & I think I am going to bake something with them instead of cook. Any recommendations?

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

I hope I have some New Orleans readers out there b/c I have a question. What is the difference between a Gumbo & a Jambalaya? We love both, but I was trying to find recipes for smoked sausage (it was on sale, I stocked up) & this gumbo came up and it made me wonder, what is the difference really?

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo
Yield
6 to 8 servings

Ingredients
1 (16-ounce) package Cajun-style smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 (32-ounce) container chicken broth
1 1/4 cups uncooked long-grain rice
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
Garnish: chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
Cook smoked sausage in a Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until browned. Add celery, onion, and bell pepper, and sauté 6 to 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Stir in chicken and next 3 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes or until rice is done and liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Garnish, if desired.

If you omit the rice from this or use a brown rice, this is a very healthy meal. I used turkey smoked sausage in mine. But I made it unhealthy by using a box of Zatarain's Garlic & Herb rice. But wow, it was so good! I had more gumbo than rice, so I froze half of the recipe for post-baby time.

Creamy Spinach, Mushroom & Chicken Enchiladas

We love Mexican food. Problem with Mexican food is that its sooooo bad for you, especially if you eat out. I am sure I am only taking out about a quarter of the fat when I make it at home, but for some reason I just feel like its a ton better for us.


Creamy Spinach, Mushroom & Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
Sauce:
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (10-ounce) can condensed reduced-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 (8-ounce carton) fat-free sour cream (I used low fat)
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained

Enchiladas:
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
10 (6-inch) corn tortillas
**diced cooked chicken**

Garnish:
1/2 cup chopped seeded plum tomato
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare sauce, combine first 4 ingredients; stir well.

To prepare enchiladas, heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and jalapeño; sauté 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms; sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic powder, cumin, salt, and spinach; cook 5 minutes or until heated. Combine spinach mixture and 1/4 cup cheese in a large bowl; stir to combine.

Spoon 1/2 cup sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup spinach mixture down center of each tortilla; roll up. Place filled tortillas seam sides down in the baking dish. Spread remaining sauce evenly over tortillas; top with 3/4 cup cheese.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Top with tomato and green onion.

While we liked the taste of this recipe, we didn't like the spinach part. Frozen/thawed spinach tends to stick together in clumps. So when you would get a "bite" of spinach, it was more like a big clump. I would recommend using fresh spinach leaves & just letting them cook with the mushrooms. And b/c my husband doesn't believe a meal is a meal without some form of meat in it, I sauted some chicken & added it to the enchiladas as well.

The best part of this meal, I pulled out some of our homemade salsa from the freezer for chips & salsa. It almost made it feel like summer.

Cake Cookies

I have a few boxes of cake mix in my pantry from the holidays. They were on sale for something like $.99/piece so I picked up a few (ok 4) without any intention of using them. I don't make cakes all that often. So when I came across this recipe, I was thrilled! Cake cookies-what a brilliant idea.

The hubs & I were headed to my 7 yr old nephew's basketball game so I the perfect reason to make some cookies & not keep them in my house.

Chocolate Cake Cookie Sandwiches
Yield: 10 sandwich cookies (using a medium-sized dough scoop)

Ingredients:
For the cookies:
1 package chocolate cake mix (or other flavor of your choice)
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

For the frosting:
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp. milk

For decorating:
multi-colored non-pareils, or other sprinkles or candy of your choice

Directions:
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake mix, egg and butter. Beat on low speed until just combined and all dry ingredients have been incorporated. Roll the dough into 1- to 1 1/2-inch balls, place on the prepared baking sheets and press down to slightly flatten. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool completely on the cookie sheets.

To make the frosting, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the powdered sugar, and beat until incorporated. Add vanilla extract and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated. Add 2 tablespoons of milk and beat on medium-high speed until smooth. If the frosting too thick, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of milk and beat until incorporated.

To assemble, pair the cookies based on size on a work surface. Frost the flat side of one cookie from each pair. Place the other cookie of each pair on top of the frosting, flat side down. Lightly press down so that the frosting reaches the edges of the cookies. To decorate, place sprinkles in a small bowl. Dip the sides of each cookie in the sprinkles, pressing down gently and rotating to cover the sides completely

Now, I don't know why mine were thinner than the original recipes-maybe b/c I used premade frosting & not my own. These were super sweet but the kids loved the shapes. To do the shapes, I made the cookies in circles, after they were cooled, I used the cookie cutters to cut out the shapes. So much easier than trying to make the shapes beforehand.

Pumpkin Pound Cake

I went on a baking/cookie extravaganza this past weekend. My house was clean, laundry was done, I didn't know what to do with my time. So I decided to bake. I had cleaned out the lazy susan and came across 4 cans of pumpkin. I went to my trusty word document that had my "to-bake" items on it & found Pumpkin Pound Cake w/buttermilk glaze.

Now this pumpkin bread/pound cake has a funny story. I'll tell you it at the end.

Ok I didn't want the cake part so I decided to make it in a loaf pan. For some reason this makes me think its ok to eat it for breakfast. Secondly I didn't want the glaze so I left that part of the recipe out. I had high hopes for this recipe. The banana bread I made a few weeks ago called for Buttermilk & it was FABULOUS!

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze
www.myrecipes.com
Ingredients
Cake:
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (about 13 1/2 ounces)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fat-free buttermilk

Glaze:
1/3 cup fat-free buttermilk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cake, lightly coat a 10-inch tube pan with cooking spray; dust with 1 tablespoon flour. Spread pumpkin over 2 layers of paper towels; cover with 2 additional layers of paper towels. Let stand about 10 minutes. Scrape drained pumpkin into a bowl.

Place 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Lightly spoon 3 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and 3/4 cup buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350° for 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare glaze, combine 1/3 cup buttermilk and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly; remove from heat. Drizzle cake with glaze.

I knew this would take longer to cook, it was more like 75-80 minutes. I think I should have turned the temp down to 325 after 60 minutes & let it cook for an additional 30 minutes. It was a little gooey but still super tasty.

Now the funny part. I was baking at about 7am on a Saturday. I cant sleep in anymore with this baby. I get too uncomfortable. Well I must have been half asleep because for whatever reason I used 2 sticks of butter. Only I didn't realize I had used 2 sticks until later in the afternoon when I made cookies. Said cookie recipe called for 1/2 cup of butter, when I set the stick on the counter, I saw the conversion thing on the side. You know, the one that says 8 Tbsp=1/2 cup=1 stick. I dug the recipe out of the trash & re-read it. I wasn't going to say anything to the hubs but I thought it was too funny to keep to myself. Needless to say, the center of the pumpkin bread is not really edible.

Chicken,, Pancetta & Bechamel Sauce

Post cooking club, I had no desire to cook, nor was I even thinking about defrosting something to make for dinner the next evening. But I was refusing to eat out. So I was determined to make something at home.

We didn't use all the chicken in the chicken, fig & pancetta bites. So those small chunks had been marinating in the balsamic vinegar sauce over night. I figured I would saute those up & toss them in a pasta. But I didn't know what kind of sauce.

I was going to do an alfredo, but I didn't have parmesan cheese. I was trying to find some kind of white wine cream lemon sauce, but I couldn't find any in my cookbooks & I didn't want to turn on the computer. So I pulled out Giada & reviewed her bechamel sauce. Easy peasy.

Giada's Bechamel Sauce
1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 quart whole milk, at room temperature
Pinch fresh nutmeg
Sea salt and white pepper

In a 2 quart saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Always stirring, gradually add the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Simmer until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in nutmeg, salt & pepper.

So I changed some things here. I had some heavy cream leftover. For whatever reason whenever I need 1 cup of heavy cream, I buy the giant container. If I need two cups I buy the little container & then have to go back to the store. This consistently happens. Anyway, I used about 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream & then 1/2 cup of 2% milk. I omitted the nutmeg & added some oregano.

I boiled whatever noodles I had in the house, I think they were extra wide egg noodles. Then I tossed the chicken, sauce & pasta together. It was delicious.

Cooking Club-Romantic Dinner for Two

Our February Cooking Club theme was in honor of the upcoming holiday-Valentine's Day. My husband often says he likes my cooking better than going out to dinner. I don't know if he is just saying that to make me feel better or if it is actually true, but I appreciate the compliment.

Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year. I can only imagine what the restaurants are going to be like. We forgo dining out on Valentine's day, opting to go out the following weekend (which happens to be our dating anniversary). I have heard many people say the same thing, why spend a romantic dinner with 200 other people? Why not just cook at home?

I decided to host Cooking Club before I got too big & too tired. We had a great time & a great turnout (15 people!) On the menu for the night:

Feta & Mushroom Bread Tarts; Chicken Fig & Pancetta Bites
Asparagus Salad with Walnut Oil Vinaigrette; Cream of Asparagus Soup
Beef en Croute with Mustard Sauce
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Marsala; Minty Mashed Potatoes and Peas
Molten Lava Cakes; Raspberries in Champagne Gelatin

Some of the recipes are at home, so I will have to update the post later. I also don't have pictures of everything, so those who attended-please post a link to your blog/pictures in my comments section.

I think this was the favorite dish of the night: asparagus salad


Minty Mashed Potatoes & Peas:


Marsala Mashed Sweet Potatoes:


I tried to use ingredients that were deemed aphrodisiacs: asparagus, almonds, avocado, chiles, chocolate, figs, ginger, honey, & oysters.

Thank you to all the members who helped clean up, wash dishes, etc... My house was completely picked up-and we had a lot of dishes!