Thursday, August 28, 2008

MIA


Sorry I have been MIA for the past month! Mike and I went on a 2 week vacation and then getting back into a normal routine has been a little difficult. I haven't cooked much since we got home. And I missed the first post of the month from the Barefoot Bloggers, so I made both recipes this morning for lunch.

This months recipes were brought to us by Melissa of Melissa's Kithcen and Stefany of Proceed with Caution. Melissa chose Panzanella salad and Stefany chose Ina's Butterflied chicken. I made several moderations to both.

I'll start with the chicken (since that is the one that was "due" today).


Butterflied Chicken
Courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

1/4 cup chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus 2 sprigs (I was only using 2 chicken breasts, so I used less)
3 garlic cloves, chopped (I used one HUGE clove)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Good olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 roasting chickens (2 1/2 to 3 pounds each), deboned and butterflied (I used 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced


Mix the chopped rosemary, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper together in a small bowl to make a paste.
Place the chickens on a sheet pan, skin side up, and loosen the skin from the meat with your fingers. Place 1/2 of the paste under the skin of each chicken. Rub any remaining paste on the outside and underside of the chickens.
Turn the chicken skin side down and scatter the lemon slices and sprigs of rosemary over each chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Roll each chicken up, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Heat a grill with coals. Spread the coals out in 1 dense layer and brush the grill with oil. Unroll the chickens, place them on the grill and cook for 12 minutes on each side.

I really enjoyed the chicken. It was moist and flavorful! I love rosemary/garlic/lemon combinations. I am going to try it next time on the lamb roast I have in the freezer. Mmmm!

The next recipe that I made was Ina's Panzanella salad. I have been trying to cut out carbs from my diet, so I modified the recipe. I left out the bread. Now, I am not sure that it should still be called Panzanella, but I call it delicious!

Panzanella
Courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa




3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups) (I ommited this, as sad I was to do so)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes (I used all red bell peppers)
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped (I ommited this as I do not like basil)
3 tablespoons capers, drained (I ommited these, as well)

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.
For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.

In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, basil, and capers. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.

I loved this salad. It reminded me of the best things of summer. Ripe tomatoes, crunchy bell peppers, cool cucumbers. I might need to make this again before summer is over!

Thanks ladies for wonderful dishes!!!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

looks great! and nice job getting both recipes into 1 meal. :)

Anonymous said...

This looks so good. Can't wait to try it with just chicken breasts. Much better lunch option.

Deb in Hawaii said...

Good job pairing the two. I am sure with the dressing the salad was still good without the bread. Those croutons were pretty awesome though but good for you in sticking with the no carbs!