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As I posted last week, I spent a few hours updating and reorganizing my Pinterest recipe boards last week. I made a pledge to cook more recipes from Pinterest, and this is a round-up of my week.
Sunday- I tried a new recipe, Firehouse Chicken Bleu. I enjoy taking dishes we like and deconstructing the flavors, putting them together in a different way and this one was a winner. Instead of a whole chicken breast with ham and Swiss cheese rolled inside, it is a pasta dish with chunks of chicken and cheese in a swiss cheese sauce.
The Pros- It had good flavor. I bought a 1/2 lb. of glazed ham from the prepared foods section of our Italian grocery store and shredded gruyere cheese to give it a flavor boost. I also used fresh penne instead of boxed. It's even better the next day as leftovers, as the original poster mentioned.
The Cons- I thought this would save a lot of work- pounding, rolling the chicken- but I used so many pots! One to cook the chicken, one for the pasta, one to make the sauce, and a baking dish. Whew! I thought it would be easier than making cordon bleu, but it wasn't.
Tweaks-I added paprika instead of cayenne pepper, and I would maybe cook in 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, then broil for 4 minutes to brown. When I took it out from the broiler I had to microwave to heat it through.
Verdict- My husband really liked it, and I know my sons will enjoy it.
Served with- Jamie Oliver's Corn Chowder (foolproof!), Trader Joe's banana bread, caesar salad.
Monday- Firehouse Chicken Cordon Bleu leftovers- yay, no cooking!
Tuesday- We had company and tickets for the Broadway show Chaplin, so we had dinner at The Capital Grille on West 51st St. We got the $39 Pre-Theatre Dinner, a great bargain and the Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake for dessert was the highlight.
Wednesday- Still had company and had a kgb deal for Tony DiNapoli's restaurant. The meal was terrific, especially the White Sangria and Pear & Gorgonzola Salad and we have a new favorite dessert- Tartufo Exotic, four slices of fruit gelato covered with white chocolate and whipped cream. It was delightful!
Thursday- A new Pinterest recipe- Outback Steakhouse Aussie Chicken.
The Pros- I had all the ingredients on hand, so no need to go to the grocery store. The recipe was easy to follow, not a lot of chopping, very few ingredients. It has cheese, bacon and mushrooms, so it tastes good.
The Cons- It calls for bacon, which I don't like to cook because the apartment smells like bacon grease all night. The cheese and bacon add a lot of calories, so this is a dish I wouldn't serve very often.
Tweaks- The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of cheese on each chicken breast, I cut that down to 1/4 cup and the flavor was still there.
Served with- Smashed potatoes would be great with this, but my husband had a craving for rice, so it was rice and Trader Joe's crescent rolls.
Verdict- My husband enjoyed it, and I would make it again, but not too often.
Friday- Another new Pinterest recipe- Honey Beer Chicken. I was looking for a quick, easy recipe since I got home late and the Yankees playoff game began at 5pm.
The Pros- This one was very easy, and used ingredients that I had on hand. It only took about 30 minutes total. The sauce was full of flavor, and the soy sauce gave it a beefy taste. You only use 1/2 cup of beer, so you can finish the can while you cook. The recipe came from Cooking Light magazine, so it is lower in calories. I used to cook from that magazine all the time, they have many terrific recipes.
The Cons- The chicken itself was a tad bland.
Tweaks- I didn't add the parsley at the end; my husband is not a fan of parsley (or cilantro).
Served with- Leftover rice (the sauce was good over that) and we started with Rachael Ray's Pumpkin Soup with Chili Cran-Apple Relish, which had honey in the relish that echoed the honey in the chicken sauce.
Verdict- This is a good, healthier entree and I would make this entire dinner again. My husband gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Did you cook any new recipes this week? Let me know in comments.
