Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I posted a recipe at Girlfriends Coffee Hour today. It's for my favorite salad, and is a great way to use up turkey leftovers. I always think of that scene in "A Christmas Story", when the narrator talks about all his favorite ways to eat leftover turkey - and none of them sound very light or healthy. Try this one, with a fresh Mexican twist, for a great dose of veggies. Enjoy, and God Bless!
If it were my last day on Earth, I would have something with hollandaise for every meal. My Mom made a dish called Chicken Falbrook, which was a pan-fried chicken breast with hollandaise sauce and sliced avocado. It was rich and delicious, my first encounter with hollandaise sauce, and it was love at first bite! Unfortunately, making hollandaise can be tricky - I remember Mom stirring and stirring the sauce over a double-boiler, fingers crossed that it wouldn't curdle. Needless to say, we only ate it on special occasions, since the sauce was so finicky.
My Mom never learned the greatest innovation in French sauce technology: Julia Child's Blender Hollandaise! What a revelation! No more double-boiler, no more whisking and praying! Once I discovered it online, I searched for Mom's recipe, but couldn't find it. Chicken Falbrook is nowhere to be found in Mom's cookbooks or online, so I'm guessing it's something she and my Dad had at a restaurant, and she reverse-engineered it at home. In any case, Julia, Mom and I have collaborated to make the richest, most delicious, and easiest Chicken with Hollandaise ever. I always serve it with steamed broccoli, because broccoli and hollandaise are a treat in themselves. Asparagus would also be great - use fresh and steam it til it's just tender.
Chicken with Hollandaise
Ingredients:
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup flour
- oil for sautéing
- 1 1/2 pound broccoli
- 1 stick butter
- 3 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 egg yolks
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 avocado
Directions
- Place each breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound down to 3/8-inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the oil, and brown chicken on one side, for about 10 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low and brown the other side, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken from heat and keep warm on a plate under a tent of foil.
- Meanwhile, steam the broccoli - I always do this in the microwave. Keep warm.
- In the microwave, melt the butter. You want it hot and liquid! In a blender or food processor, blend the egg yolks, lemon juice and cayenne pepper for 30 seconds. Then add a tiny bit of the melted butter, blend for ten seconds, and repeat, adding the butter in a thin stream, or a bit at a time, and blending in between additions. When all the butter has been added, blend for 20 seconds.
- To serve, pour a generous amount of hollandaise on the chicken breast, top with 1/4 avocado, sliced, and a side of broccoli. Try not to lick the plate when you're done!
On Monday, my friend asked if she could come with us when I said I was going to the Korean grocery store. She'd been toying with trying some Korean recipes, but didn't know where to start. I said, Sure! We went aisle by aisle as I pointed out the staples that she'd need to make most dishes. We had a great time, and my friend went home and felt ready to try something new!
So after writing a few Korean recipes here at Frugal Girlmet, I decided I'd put the cart before the horse for long enough. Here is my quick and easy Korean primer (with bonus Indian recipe shopping tips). If you've ever wanted to dabble in Korean food but were intimidated, please! Don't be! It's cheap to get started, the ingredients are pretty easy to find, and they last forever in your pantry and fridge. Read the full article at Girlfriends Coffee Hour. Explore, experiment, enjoy!
I'm honored and pleased to announce I'll be blogging on Thursdays for a website called Girlfriends Coffee Hour. Under the category Recipes, you'll get a new one each day - some Southern favorites, some gluten-free recipes, and my contributions - I'm the "ethnic food" blogger! So join me Thursdays for some Korean favorites, different Indian curries, maybe some Mediterranean and Thai, too!
This week's recipe is Moroccan Vegetable Stew. It's a great choice for a fall day, with hearty lentils and festive butternut squash. Check it out here: http://girlfriendscoffeehour.com/2012/11/08/whats-on-your-plate-moroccan-vegetable-stew/ And enjoy!
I have a debilitating popcorn addiction. However, after all the news reports my husband emailed me of people contracting "popcorn lung" from their 4-bag-a-day microwave popcorn habit, I don't eat as much anymore. And now I pop it on the stove, instead of in the bag with all those weird chemicals. Salt and butter are all I usually need, but sometimes I want something more.
Like what? Furikake! If you tried my recipe for Spam Musubi, you might have furikake already. If not, it's Japanese funky flavor in a can - shredded seaweed, salt, sugar, and sesame seeds that make plain white rice a treat. Why not use it to spice up plain popcorn? I knew I'd need to add melted butter to give the furikake something to stick to, so I added a little more flavor - soy sauce and a pinch of sugar. And I ate the whole batch already. I told you I had a problem!
Furikake Popcorn
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (or use peanut, canola, soybean, whatever)
- 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- furikake!
Directions:
- In a large pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add 3 kernels of popcorn to the oil.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, melt the butter in the microwave with the soy sauce and sugar. Stir to combine.
- When the 3 kernels pop, add the rest of the corn and shake every few seconds, for about 2 minutes. When the popping sounds stop, turn off the burner. Shake in some furikake, replace the lid, and shake vigorously. Pour in the butter mixture, shake again with the lid on, and then shake in more furikake and shake again.
