Chicken Pomodoro with Garlic Spaghetti

I am a sucker for a cream sauce.  That's why when this recipe arrived in my email from Cuisine at Home, I tried it within a week!

It was everything I hoped it would be.  Not too complicated, but delicious enough to make me think I was eating out in my own dining room!

The Garlic Spaghetti was also very good as a side dish.  Next time I might serve the chicken over the spaghetti instead, and put the cream sauce over the entire dish.  (The cream sauce is FANTASTIC!)  I have no clue what ricotta salata is, so I skipped it.  I think it probably adds quite a bit to the dish, so I'll scope out the specialty cheese section next time I grocery shop.

One lemon is perfect to make enough lemon juice for the sauce and lemon zest for the spaghetti.

Cuisine at Home is a great cooking magazine with no ads at all.  Some of the recipes are a bit exotic, but the step-by-step instructions are so thorough, they are usually very easy to follow.  And I've learned a lot about techniques, ingredients, and complicated recipes that turn out not to be so complicated after all!

Chicken Pomodoro

If you don't like to cook with alcohol or don't have it on hand, you can replace the vodka with an equal amount of chicken broth.

Makes: 4 servings; Total time: 30 minutes

2	boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved, pounded to ¼-inch thick (8 oz. each)
	Salt and black pepper
2	Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2	Tbsp. olive oil
1⁄4	cup vodka
1⁄2	cup low-sodium chicken broth
1⁄4	cup heavy cream
1	cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes
2	Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1⁄4	cup minced scallions

Season cutlets with salt and pepper, then dust with flour. Coat a large sauté pan with nonstick spray. Add oil and heat over medium-high.

Sauté cutlets until brown, 2–3 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a plate.

Off heat, deglaze pan with vodka and cook until liquid evaporates. Add broth and cream and reduce until thick, 2–3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Return cutlets to pan and cook to warm through, 1 minute per side.

Serve cutlets with sauce and garnish with scallions.

Nutrition Information
Per serving: 301 cal; 16g total fat (5g sat); 93mg chol; 149mg sodium; 6g carb; 1g fiber; 25g protein

Garlic Spaghetti

Ricotta salata is a salty, mild-flavored cheese with a crumbly texture similar to feta.

Makes: 4 servings; Total time: 25 minutes

8	oz. dry spaghetti
2	Tbsp. olive oil
2	Tbsp. minced garlic
2	Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1	Tbsp. minced lemon zest
	Salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste
1⁄2	cup crumbled ricotta salata

Cook spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve ¹⁄₂ cup pasta water; drain remaining water.

Heat oil in same pot over medium-high. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds. Stir in pasta water, parsley, zest, and spaghetti; toss to coat. Season spaghetti with salt, black pepper, and pepper flakes, then stir in ricotta salata.

Nutrition Information
Per serving: 329 cal; 12g total fat (4g sat); 17mg chol; 211mg sodium; 43g carb; 1g fiber; 10g protein

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

Chris made this amazing cheesecake for our Valentine's Day dinner!  

The recipe comes from the website My Baking Addiction.  It calls for making adorable little individual cheesecakes, but we didn't have enough small bowls to use up the filling.  So Chris just put it in a pie pan and made a big cheesecake instead.

This recipe is DIVINE.  Make it.  It's rare to find a recipe that is so simple and this good!!!

No Bake Nutella Cheesecake

For the Crust
12 Oreo cookies, crushed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) tub frozen whipped topping, thawed

For the Garnish
whipped topping, optional
chocolate shavings, optional
toasted, chopped hazelnuts, optional

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter. Evenly divide the crumbs between your individual serving dishes and press into the bottoms of the dishes to form a crust layer.

2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and Nutella until smooth. Add vanilla and mix to combine. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped topping until well blended and no streaks remain.

3. Evenly pipe or spoon the filling into individual serving dishes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4. If desired, garnish with additional whipped topping, chocolate shavings, and/or toasted, chopped hazelnuts.

Lemon Sage Chicken

I saw this while flipping through the new issue of Taste of Home and it sounded fantastic!  And you know what?  It WAS!

Yes, you really do need 3 eggs for the egg wash.  Because you dip the chicken in flour first, a lot of the egg sticks to the chicken.  I thought it was too much, but I actually could have used a little more.

One tip -- make sure the oil is HOT.  If you don't, the coating will not stick like you want it to.

Lemon Sage Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Parmesean
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced (I used 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

2 Tbsp chopped shallot
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced (I used 1 tsp dried)
1 tsp sage
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp cold butter, cubed

1.  Flatten chicken to 1/2 inch thick.  In shallow bowl, combine eggs, cheese and seasonings.  Place flour in another shallow bowl.  Coat chicken with flour, then dip in egg mixture.

2.  In large skillet, brown chicken in oil in batches (don't cook it completely -- you will bake it).  Transfer chicken to greased 13 x 9 inch pan.  Bake, uncovered, at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until done.  (Our oven may be off a bit -- I had to cook it for about 25 minutes)

3.  In another skillet, sautee shallot until tender.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.  Add wine, lemon juice, herbs and lemon peel.  Cook over medium heat until liquid is reduced by half.  Add cream.  Cook until thickened, stirring ocassionally.  Stir in butter until melted.  Serve sauce over the chicken.