Pear and Blueberry Bread Pudding with Lemon Sauce

Pear and Blueberry Bread Pudding with Lemon Sauce

Ingredients:

5 cups stale bread cubed
2 pears thinly sliced
1 cup blueberrys
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 cups half and half
1 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
   In a lightly buttered baking dish place bread, pears, blueberrys and almonds.  In a large bowl whisk all the other ingredients and pour over the bread and fruit and toss.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Lemon Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp corn starch
2 tsp vanilla

Place in a sauce pan over medium heat and reduce to half or until syrupy.  

Pork Loin Chops with Fig Jam Glaze

Pork Loin Chops with Fig Jam Glaze

Ingredients:

4 Pork loin chops
1 Bulb of fennel thinly sliced
2 Granny Smith apples thinly sliced
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup fig jam
1tbls dijon mustard
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix fig jam, mustard and garlic then coat the chops.  Reserve a bit of the fig mixture.  Place the chops into a roasting dish coated with olive oil.  Core and thinly slice the fennel and apples.  Coat the fennel and apple with the remaining fig mixture and scatter around the roasting pan. Bake for 1/2 hour then flip the chops and bake another 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.

Comments please

Please send comments.  What would like like to see me experiment with?  What kitchen disaster or triumph would you like to witness?

Chicken Florentine in Puff Pastry

I've never attempted anything like this, but it was fun to create.

Ingredients:

4 thin sliced chicken breasts

1 box frozen puff pastry (thawed)

1 10 ounce box frozen spinach (thawed)

1 large shallot

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms of choice

2 gloves of garlic minced

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp coarse ground mustard

2 tbls butter

1 egg

1/4 cup gruyere cheese

1 bunch flat leaf parsley

Salt and Pepper

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

   In a high sided skillet over medium heat add the chicken stock, heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  Then add the spinach, mushrooms, butter, lemon juice, garlic, mustard and shallot.  Reduce until the flavors are concentrated.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool a bit while you prepare the breasts.  After the breasts are prepped then add the grated gruyere, nutmeg and mix.

   Rinse off the chicken breast and pat dry.  I found breasts already sliced so there was no need to butterfly them.  Season with salt and fresh ground pepper. 

   Divide the spinach mixture into fourths and add a dollop into the center of each breast. Roll the chicken up over the sides and place it on a plate.  

   The puff pastry will come in 2 large sheets.  Divide each sheet in half.  Wrap each breast in a piece of pastry and place into a lightly greased baking dish with the seam side of the pastry facing down. Beat an egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the egg wash over each pastry. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Place on a platter and garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

   I thought that this would serve only 4 people but the portions are large.  Depending upon what side dishes you choose this could actually serve 8.

   I regretfully added some tarragon to the herb mix since tarragon is usually so tasty with chicken, but I would completely leave it out.  It fought with the subtle flavors of the spinach.

I look forward to experimenting with this recipe again!

Chicken Florentine in Puff Pastry. Recipe to follow soon.

Tim's Tips

Tim's Tips

The next time you make instant oatmeal for breakfast make it with apple juice instead of water.  Its amazingly tasty.

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots

   Baked tarragon chicken last night.  Pretty basic.  But I needed a side dish.  I rifled through the fridge and thought I'd roast some carrots.  Before I popped them into the oven I thought, "How boring".  I looked in the cupboard and wondered what honey and maple syrup mixed together would taste like as a glaze.  Turns out its great!

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots

6 Carrots peeled and diced
1/4 cup honey
2 tbls maple syrup
2 tbls butter
1/2 lemon
Olive oil, salt and ground pepper

   Peel and dice the carrots.  Dice them at a slant.  (Its just prettier.)  Place them in a baking dish that is drizzled with olive oil.  Scatter bits of the butter over the top.    Mix the honey and maple syrup in a bowl and pour over the carrots.  Toss the carrots to coat thoroughly.  Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.  5 minutes before  they're done squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon over the carrots and return them to the oven to finish cooking.  Cook for 5 more minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Another happy accident!

New Blog Name

Computer hell trying to switch the blog name and retain access.  Please stand by.

Website Title

I've learned that my last title belongs to somebody else.   I'm no longer accidental.  I bumble.

Dressing a Salad. Off the Rack vs. Couture

Don't buy those bottled salad dressings.  Ugh!  Salad dressings are so easy to make yourself.  I'm just gonna throw this one out there.

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 half cup mayo
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 handful gorganzola cheese
Large salad of choice.
   
    Mix it all up in a bowl and pour over a large salad of your choice.
    Don't buy that bottled stuff full of chemicals.  No need.  Salad dressings are easy to make, much less expensive, and  much healthier than that bottled drek full of ingredients that you can't pronounce.
    How much easier can it be?

New Soup

    Soups are really fun and easy, and you can really use your imagination. I whipped this one up the other day.

Bok Choy Soup with Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 32 ounce boxes of low/no sodium chicken stock
1 head roughly chopped bok choy cabbage
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 medium diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves grated garlic
1 tbls soy sauce
1 bunch chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 egg
2 tbls olive oil

    In a large pot over medium/high heat olive oil and add onions, carrots and celery and heat until the onions are translucent. Add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Add garlic, soy sauce and ginger.
    In a bowl mix the ground turkey with the egg and salt and pepper to taste. Form the turkey into meatballs, a bit smaller in size than a golfball and drop them into the simmering pot. 
    When the soup comes back up to a simmer start adding the bok choy a handful at a time.  With a wooden spoon push it down into the broth.  It will wilt quickly.  Keep adding the cabbage until the whole head is wilted into the stock.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  At the last minute add the parsley and serve.

    I had never made this before and I admit I think it can be improved.  As you know I cook with whatever I have on hand.  I would have added rice noodles if I'd had them.  I also think it needed a bit of sweetness, but not sugar.  I'll have to think about that.  But overall it was a pretty good effort.  Enjoy!