Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

You don't mind easy recipes, do you? If not, I'll keep them coming! Been a busy spring, not much time for fancy or complicated here. But I am still coming up with some tasty new creations, like this Grilled Chicken with Pineapple Salsa. I also used the salsa with mahi mahi I grilled the same night, which also worked nicely too.

Chicken Marinade
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
½ of a lime, juiced
1/4 tsp salt

3 chicken breast fillets, rinsed and patted dried

Pineapple Salsa
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped into small pieces (I cut a typical pineapple chunk size into quarters).
1 small red onion & ½ green bell, coarsely chopped & grilled (see grilling note below)
bit of cilantro, chopped
juice of ½ lime
tsp chipotle in adobo sauce (optional, you could also add a pinch of cayenne for kick, or add a jalapeno to grilled onions and peppers)

Start by combining the marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the chicken breasts, toss them to get the chicken well covered with the marinade. Cover and put the chicken in the refrigerator, unless you are doing a quick marinade (e.g. 15 minutes or less.  I marinaded for about an hour, which was came out well, but I'd say you could do up to 4 hours if you wanted.

Pre-heat the grill to medium high. Toss the onion and peppers with olive oil, then spread them into a grill pan. Grill them for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, so that get nicely cooked and a tad charred all over. If you don't have a grill pan, you can wrap the peppers and onions in aluminum foil to cook on the grill, though I really prefer the grill pan for the charring effect.

You can start combining the salsa ingredients as the peppers and onions are grilled. Toss those in with the rest of the ingredients when they are done and have cooled a bit. Set the salsa aside while you grill the chicken. You could also make the salsa in advance, it tasted great the 2nd day after the flavors had a chance to meld.

Get the chicken ready to grill by shaking off the excess marinade, reserving the extra in the bowl. Put the chicken on the grill, flipping the chicken after about 5 minutes. Brush the chicken with the extra marinade after flipping it to help keep the chicken moist. The chicken takes about 10 minutes to be ready, check for doneness at that time. I simply cut it open a bit to see that it is white all the way through, though you can use a thermometer too. Remove the chicken from the grill. Plate the chicken topped with plenty of pineapple salsa and enjoy!

The photo below is actually of the salsa served on the mahi mahi, along with some greens and blackeyed peas. We concluded the chicken came out better and more blog worthy, after eating it sans photo!

Quick No-Cook Chipotle Sauce for Chicken

I love the chipotle taste, but these flavorful peppers tend to be used in small doses. I often find myself buying a can of the chipotles in adobo sauce, and only needing a small amount for the original recipe. So I was eager to find another use for what I had on hand this week, and hit upon this quick and easy sauce. Just a few minutes to whip it up, and it was very tasty served over plain baked chicken breasts. The next night I added some to a refried bean burrito and that was good, too. This is a handy one to have in your repertoire if you are a chipotle fan.

Here's the simple ingredient list:

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
pinch cinnamon
1 clove garlic

Simply place all these items in a food processor, puree, and voila! You've got a tasty sauce that's a nice flavor boost to your meal. I served this with a bit of cheese, a tortilla and a side of kale with bacon. If you find another way to use it, I'd love to hear about it!

A Taste of Saratoga Springs

When Jodi came home from a conference with the surprise that she'd won a stay at Batcheller Mansion Inn in Saratoga Springs, New York, I looked forward to the chance to get away and relax in a nice setting. I was pleasantly surprised by the way our recent stay there turned into quite a nice treat for this foodie, too! Let me share some of the highlights in case you find yourself visiting--or, if you're weighing options for a long weekend destination, perhaps this taste of Saratoga might nudge you in that direction.

After four hours of driving to get to our destination, we were ready for a stroll into Downtown Saratoga to quench our thirst. A brewpub called Druthers was our first stop, and Jodi and I both enjoyed our beers. I opted for their All in IPA, and liked its lively hoppiness.

Foursquare's "discover" feature helped us find our dinner spot. Maestro's at the Van Dam Hotel got a lot of good reviews, and we weren't disappointed at picking this spot for our dinner.  They have a creative menu focusing on fresh local ingredients and seem to make as much as they can themselves. We opted for the three course prix fixe, which is just $33. That turned out to be a good choice. I started with some homemade mortadella, served along with very tasty mustard that they also made (if you like mustard, order something that will give you an excuse to try theirs!). The Qupe Chardonnay was a nice pairing for this dish. I'd previously enjoyed some Qupe zinfandel, I liked the nice clean taste of their chard.

I had a Faroe Island salmon dish for my main course that night, served with a 2010 Evening Land Pinot Noir from Oregon. A nice combination! My biggest critique of Maestro's is they could improve their lighting so us food bloggers could do their food more justice! They nicely offered to substitute a cheese course at the end of the meal in place of the regular dessert. I was more in the mood for savory to enjoy with the remainder of our pinot, so appreciated their accommodating my whims.

Breakfast both mornings at the Batcheller Mansion both mornings was a treat. Dining room is gorgeous, and Jodi and I got a nice window seat that gave us a good view of the early spring morning, not to mention better light for my food photos (see omelette top of page). Our gracious host cooked our meal to order as we nibbled on tasty homemade scones. I could get used to that!

We headed to the Spanish restaurant Boca Bistro for lunch on our one full day in town. Tapas and a salad sounded like a light choice after a hearty breakfast. It was tasty but we could have ordered one less plate! Definitely a good spot for lunch or dinner, with some good Spanish wine selections.

We stopped by the Wine Bar for a glass before heading to dinner. They do have a full menu there, too, but we wanted to try a place recommended by my sister and brother-in-law for our meal. The Wine Bar has an interesting list of wines, so I wanted to try something different and ordered a glass of Zilavka, a grape native to the around the former Yugoslavia. Nice views of Downtown Saratoga as we sipped our drinks!

Our final foodie stop for the day was dinner at Chianti Il Ristorante. The picture of the salad was better, so that is shown below. But the highlight there was definitely the main course risotto with filet mignon. Very extravagent, and as tasty as it sounds! After conferring with our knowledgeable server, we landed on a Nebbiolo to go with our meal. As is often the case, getting a bit outside the pricey Barolo region led  us to a good value with this wine choice.

As you can see, we managed to pack a lot of good eating into less than two days in Saratoga! I hope if you find yourself there you too enjoy a good taste of the town.

Super-Quick Pasta with Tomato Onion Sauce and Leftover Chicken

This dish is so simple I almost wasn't going to post it. But perhaps you, too, find yourself with a bit of leftover cooked chicken on hand and are looking for a little inspiration. The combination of onions, tomato and chicken, with some feta and olives tossed in, came out very nicely. You might want to duplicate this or make up you own version.

I started by chopping one sweet onion and sauteeing it in some olive oil until it started to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Added two cloves garlic, minced, and sauteed for another minute. Then in goes a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes and a tsp of dried oregano, simmered on medium heat. I started cooking the small pasta shells at the same time I started cooking the tomatoes. After the tomatoes simmered for about 10 minutes, I added the leftover chicken breast along with a handful of sliced kalamata olives. I had about 8 ozs or so, cut into bite sized pieces. I just wanted the chicken to get heated up but not really cook any more.

Once the pasta was cooked and drained, it gets tossed with the tomato/chicken sauce, along with a 1/2 cup or so of feta cheese. Then you've got a quick, tasty meal ready to enjoy!

Ile de France Brie with a Côtes du Roussillon Red Wine

I'm always up for some wine and food pairing fun! So when the folks at Ile de France Cheese ask me on Twitter if I'd like to try to come up with a wine pairing for one of their cheeses, I readily accepted. There were a couple bottles of French wine I had on hand that I thought I might try, which I had in mind when selected the cheese. We've always been brie fans here, so I opted for that over the goat cheese and blue cheese that were available at the grocery store.

Chardonnay was the first idea that came to mind for pairing with brie, and that was one of the more frequently mentioned suggestions in my quick online research. I was more in the mood for red wine, however, and lighter wines with acidity like Pinot Noir were often recommended. Enough with the web research, I was ready to open up the cheese and some wine and try for myself!

First, I opened a Beaujolais, which I'd also come across on the web as a suggested pairing. It has a similar body and acidity like Pinot, making if food friendly. Should work great with the brie, right? Well, this wine was very austere, and that acidity seemed to clash with the creaminess of the brie. I tried decanting the Beaujolais. It opened up a bit, I like the wine better, with some blackberry fruit showing, but alas, not a winner for this brie.

Then I found a winning pairing for the Ile de France Brie. The 2009 Domaine Gauby Les Calcinaires Côtes du Roussillon Villages had nice plummy fruit and a touch of spice. But what really made it work in my estimation was the silky smooth mouthfeel with a long finish. That silky mouthfeel matched very nicely the creaminess of the cheese, so going between bites of cheese and sips of wine was a continuous, pleasurable experience.

This Côtes du Roussillon is a blend of Syrah (50%), Mourvedre, Grenache Noir, and Carignan. The bottle goes for an average price of about $25. I suspect you'd do well pairing this Brie with other reds from Roussillon with a similar blend, and you might also enjoy it with a Côtes du Rhone with Syrah and Grenache.

This experiment is a good reminder that with wine and food pairings, you've got to let your own taste decide. On paper (or the web), the Beaujolais should have worked according to the expert commentary. But I branched out, tried something that I thought might work, and found a very nice pairing! Be willing to try different combinations, and pay attention to how the two work together for YOU, and you'll be well on your way to discovering great pairings for yourself.

Anna's Dolcetto with Pasta and Abruzzi-Style Lamb Sauce

Last Friday evening I was finding so many great recipes browsing through the current Food & Wine anniversary edition. Then I remembered Pairings Wine & Food was planning to have Anna Maria Abbona, a winemaker from Italy's Piemonte region, pouring samples on Saturday. That helped me narrow down my food plans. I decided on making the Pasta with Abruzzi-style Lamb Sauce, figuring I'd likely sample a wine that would work well with it.

As suspected, there Anna was pouring a great lineup of six wines when I arrived at Pairings. We started by tasting their entry level Langhe Dolcetto, from young vines Anna planted herself. She shared her grandfather's wisdom that "You don't plant a vineyard for yourself. It's for your grandchildren." Well, I liked the way this first Dolcetto was drinking right now as a nice everyday, food-friendly bottle. The next two in the lineup seemed to have potential to pair with our meal. There was a Barbera was good, but I simply liked the fruit forward Dolcetto Di Dogliani Doc "Sori Dij But", a bit better and chose that for our pairing. The tasting also included a well-structured Nebbiolo, and a Dolcetto from the vineyard that Anna's grandfather planted for her--the Dogliani DOCG "Maioli". This provided a nice example of the quality of older vines, creating a more austere and complex wine.

So I left Pairings with some food-friendly Italian wine, ready to make the meal I chose with the wine in mind. You can pop over to the Food & Wine site for all the Abruzzi-Style Lamb Sauce recipe details, but I'll give the visual highlights of the simple recipe below. After sauteeing some onions, you add pancetta and chopped rosemary and start getting some great smells!

Then brown the finely diced lamb shoulder (1 good size lamb arm chop gave me the amount of meat I needed).

After the lamb is browned, some wine gets added, followed by a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes.

For a good measure, I put the bone in to simmer for awhile, getting some extra flavor from the fat and meat I had managed to cut off. After the tomatoes simmer for about 20 minutes, you stir in the pasta and a nice portion of cheese. The recipes calls for pecorino, but I had some great Parmigiano Reggiano on hand that I used instead, with good results.

I served the pasta with a green salad and extra cheese at the table. This was a very flavorful sauce despite a relatively short cooking time. I can see why it made the Food & Wine favorites list! As anticipated Anna's Dolcetto enhanced the flavors of the meal chose anticipating her visit, a nice balance of fruit and acidity. I enjoyed the wine on its own when I sampled it, but it really shines with the right food, as is so often the case with good Italian wine! Not the first time I've picked a recipe based on the wine I wanted to serve, and it won't be the last.

Note: I wasn't originally planning to blog about this so limited photos from the winemaker visit and I don't have the vintage years in. Will try to update with that info.

Almost Spring Risotto with Parmigiano Reggiano

Hungrily wandering the narrow streets of Florence, I spied a simply adorned trattoria packed with locals clearly enjoying their meal. Looked like a promising spot for dinner. Upon entering, gestures from the hostess told me to take the one empty seat at a long table filled with wizened Italian men whose faces suggested many years of working in the Tuscan sun. No sooner did I get a few friendly nods and Buona seras, I had a hearty plate of meat lasagna plopped in front of me. This clearly wasn't a menu oriented place, you ate what they cooked and you liked it.  The primi piatti was served along with my personal bottle of Chianti complete with the straw basket. And of course, the gentleman to my left passed the bowl of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano, which I eagerly heaped onto my lasagna. This was clearly a very different cheese than the powdered stuff in the green dispenser I'd grown up with! Somewhere into the meat course, during another passing of the Parmigiano, one of my dining companions and I realized we both spoke a similar amount French (un peu), and struck up a conversation.

found great fettuccine while exploring the canals!

After completing my whirlwind post-college European tour, I began learning to create my own meals, many of them hearty Italian pasta dishes. A few years into my cooking journey, Jodi and I began planning to honeymoon in Italy. I eagerly awaited more memorable meals in Florence, hoping to inspire my own cooking to a higher level. I was curious to sample fresh Italian pesto, one thing I'd mastered in my own kitchen. But when we arrived, I was disappointed not to see pesto mentioned on the short list of options scrawled on chalkboards in the restaurants we visited. I found other things to enjoy, but was a bit perplexed by the absence of what I thought was an Italian staple.

Finally, I met a server who spoke just enough English to respond to my quest for pesto. She shrugged, and said emphatically, "The basil ees not FRESH!". But another dish captured my attention. Fettuccine Alfredo at a restaurant in Venice featured perfectly cooked, homemade fettuccine noodles coated in a luxurious cream, with a nutty taste and just a hint of sweetness. Perfection on a plate--and my curiosity was piqued. Why was this dish different than the version I'd prepared back home? I eventually discovered that classic Italian Alfredo doesn't use the cream I did. Only three ingredients are involved: homemade noodles, plenty of butter and a generous 1/2 pound or so of top quality Parmigiano Reggiano.

Coming to understand why the Italians wouldn't serve pesto in early March and how three ingredients could make a great dish marked an important stage in my development as a cook. Focus on what's fresh, and let a few great ingredients like great Parmigiano Reggiano shine. These lessons have served me well.

plenty of Parmigiano @ Whole Foods!

When I heard that Whole Foods was looking for bloggers to share recipes that celebrate Parmigiano Reggiano, as they seek to shatter the world record for Parmigiano cracking, I tried to keep in mind the lessons I'd learned in Italy. I wanted to be sure my dish put the cheese was central to the dish, to let it shine. I also wanted my creation to be in keeping with the rhythm of the seasons.

Patches of green are starting to emerge as the snow melts. We have a ways to go before spring is in full bloom here in the Boston area, but I did notice some good looking asparagus had arrived at Whole Foods from a warmer climate. So I grabbed that asparagus along with snap peas, another early spring vegetable, to use in a risotto that would showcase the big chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano, and have us anticipate the spring weather soon to come. I was quite pleased with the resulting Almost Spring Risotto, and I hope you will be too! As an added bonus, this fancy tasting dish is vegetarian.

basil emulsion
1 cup basil
2 garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

risotto
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cup sweet onions, chopped (Vidalia would fit the theme nicely)
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups arborio rice
7 cups vegetable broth
1 bunch asparagus, rough ends trimmed, the remainder cut into pieces of about 2 inches
2 cups snap peas, ends trimmed, pods cut in half
3/4 cup freshly grated Mitica Parmigiano Reggiano, plus extra to pass at table (or other high quality parm cheese)
1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Get started by taking your block of Parmigiano Reggiano and grating it. Go ahead and grate at least 1 cup or more so you have plenty to pass at the table. Be sure to nibble on a few pieces as you go to appreciate its rich nuttiness. Top quality Parmigiano from Whole Foods tastes great on its own as well as being a star ingredient in many recipes.

Next step is to make the basil emulsion. This is a bit like a pesto, without the pine nuts or cheese. This component adds a nice fresh flavor to the dish. Simply rinse and dry the 2 cups of basil leaves, and add them to a food processor along with the garlic. Puree the two ingredients together, then gradually pour the olive oil in with the motor running. Set the emulsion aside for finishing the risotto.

Now, it's time to get going on the risotto making. Bring the broth to a gentle boil and lower a bit to keep it warm, on burner handy to where you'll be cooking the risotto. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in sturdy pot for making the risotto. Add the onion, saute on medium heat until they soften, about 5 minutes. Pour in the rice, and stir to get it all well coated with the onions and oil. Cook for about one minute, then stir in the wine. Stir frequently, and cook until the wine is pretty well absorbed.

Once the wine is absorbed, it's time to begin gradually adding the stock to to pot. Add one cup, stir frequently. I keep it around medium heat, but go a bit higher if things seem to be going very slow, then lower the heat if it starts boiling. When the first cup of broth is absorbed, add another. This process continues until the stock is used or mostly used, and the rice is getting tender. You need to be stirring frequently...it's OK to briefly leave the pot to do other kitchen tasks, including steaming the vegetables, but stay nearby as it needs to get stirred every minute or two. Many recipes say this takes 15 to 20 minutes, but I usually find it takes more like 40...and my risotto always tastes great!

Steam the vegetables while you are keeping an eye on the risotto, stirring frequently. The steaming time will vary based on the thickness of the asparagus. I had thicker stocks so steamed them for about 5 minutes. Add the peas for the final minute or two of steaming, they take very little time. You want the vegetables to be tender but still crisp. When they are done, drain and rinse with cold water to keep them from cooking more.

After about 40 minutes and all the liquid has been stirred into the risotto, test the risotto, it should be tender but still a bit firm, similar to al dente pasta. You can stir in a half cup of water if you need to soften it a bit more. When the rice is ready, turn the heat down to medium low, and stir in Parmigiano Reggiano and a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the cheese is incorporated, stir in the veggies and basil emulsion. Cook on low for a minute or two so the cheese melts and the flavors are incorporated. Add a generous grind or two of pepper and stir in the lemon juice. Add a bit of salt to taste if you desire, but with the cheese you don't need much if any.

Now, you are ready to serve and enjoy the risotto. Encourage each person to sprinkle a generous amount of the Parmigiano Reggiano on top of their serving. This goes well with a green salad. Keeping with the Italian theme, I paired it with an Italian white Moscato from Manincor, a great producer from the Alto Adige region.

Help us bring the big cheese to Woburn! If you've been to a Whole Foods, you know their cheese is pretty awesome. There's a Twitter contest to bring the genius behind that cheese, Whole Foods Global Cheese Buyer Cathy Strange, to our local Whole Foods. Help us win by RTing @wfm_woburn's tweets that include #parmcrack and @wfmcheese in them! (You can find those in my @cookingchat feed too!).

Full disclosure: This post was written for a contest to write a story of our interest in Parmigiano Reggiano along with a recipe featuring the cheese. I received a gift card to buy my cheese, the recipe and story are my own!