Chicken Breasts with Blackberry Brandy Cream Sauce. . .

This recipe is great for fall.  Although I originally designed this recipe with Chicken in mind, the sauce works wonderfully with Turkey and Pork as well.  I hope you enjoy it.

Chicken Breast with Blackberry Brandy Cream Sauce

6 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 Scallions finely chopped, including white and green part of scallions
1/3 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1 Large Red Apple cored and chopped with skin left on
1/4 Tspn. Sea Salt (for sauce) + Salt to taste to prepare Chicken Breast
1/4 Tspn. Ground Black Pepper (for sauce) + Pepper to taste to prepare Chicken Breast
1/4 Tspn. Ground Dried Mustard
1 Tblspn. Dried Parsley
1/8 Tspn. Freshly ground Nutmeg
2 Tblspn. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tblspn. Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Chicken Stock
2/3 Cup Blackberry Brandy
1/3 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tspn. Cornstarch
1.5 Tblspn. Water

Rinse Chicken Breasts and pat dry.  Lightly sprinkle each side of each breast with salt and pepper and set aside.  Heat extra virgin olive oil and unsalted butter in heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Place chicken breasts in the skillet after it is up to temperature and cook until breasts are golden brown on each side.  Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add Chicken Stock and Blackberry Brandy to pan, stirring to deglaze pan and incorporate the pan drippings.  Add scallions, walnuts and apples to pan and allow the stock and brandy to cook down by half.  Add cream, salt, pepper and dried mustard. Stir and allow to cook for approximately 1 - 2 minutes.  Mix cornstarch and water together in separte bowl and mix.  (This is a cornstarch flurry for thickening).  Add cornstarch flurry to sauce.  Stir and allow sauce to remain at a low boil until sauce begins to thicken.  (The sauce should coat a spoon, but should not be paste like in consistency.)  Add chicken breasts back to the pan.  Sprinkle with the Parsely and fresh ground Nutmeg.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.  Spoon sauce over each breast for serving.

Serves 6

Note:  Either steamed rice or Rosemary Roasted potatoes accompanies this dish well.

Gluten Free Salsa

There are some gluten free bottled Salsa on the shelves, but can anyone argue that fresh homemade isn't better?  Of course not!  I put this recipe together over the years and it is delicous.  You can adjust the type of peppers that you use for the desired heat.  This recipe is a medium hot.  It catches you in the back of the throat, but doesn't make your eyes water and your forehead sweat.

I am not a big fan of Cilantro, but I do like Coriander, which is the seed of the plant.  Therefore, I use Coriander in this recipe.  You can add a couple tablespoons of chopped Cilantro to the recipe if you choose to have a more predominant presence of the flavor.

Here is a link to a site that is great for describing the flavor and heat of the various peppers you can choose from for this recipe  http://www.foodsubs.com/Chilefre.html

Donna's Spicey Salsa

1/2 Cup of fresh hot peppers chopped.  I use a mix of equal amounts of Jalepeno, Hot Cherry Peppers, and Guero (also known as Caribe Chili Pepper) and I add one small Habanero Pepper.  (I remove the seeds from all of the hot peppers, but you can add some for extra heat.
3 Cups of chopped mild Peppers to include 1 Red Bell Pepper, and equal amounts of Poblano Peppers, Yellow Bananna Peppers and Anaheim Peppers
1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion chopped
3 Cans of Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz. each)
1.5 Tspn. Kosher Salt
2 Tblspn. Tblspn. Fine Ground Black Pepper
1 Tblspn. Crushed Garlic
1 Tspn. crushed Coriander seed.  (I use a pestle and mortar to crush them.)
3 Tbspn. Dired Parsley
3 Tblspn. Grape Seed Oil
3 Tblspn. White Wine Vinegar
1 Tblspn. Corn Starch
3 Tblspn. Water

Heat the Grape Seed oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.  Add the chopped peppers and onions.  Allow to cook until onions begin to sweat and peppers become slightly tender.  Add the white wine vinegar and allow to cook for 1 more minute.  Add the crushed garlic, kosher salt, pepper and coriander. Stir to incorporate and allow to cook for 3 minutes.  Add the fire roasted diced tomatoes and dried parsley.  Stir to incorporate ingredients thouroughly.  Reduce heat to medium but maintain a low boil and allow to cook for 15 minutes stirring frequently.  Taste and ajust salt and pepper to your liking.  In a small bowl mix Corn Starch and Water and stir to a smooth liquid.    Add the Corn Starch slurry to the salsa and allow to cook at a low boil for an addition 5 - 7 minutes.    Remove from heat and allow the salsa to cool.  Once cooled, add the salsa to a food processor or blender and pulse to desired consistency.

Makes approximately 2 quarts of salsa. 

Vodka Sauce. . .

This is a wonderful  Tomato Cream Sauce that works best with heavier pastas such as Gnocchi or Penne, Ziti, or Rigatoni. . .(Gluten free for Celiac's remember!!!)

Vodka Sauce:

2 Large Shallots chopped
1 Small Red Onion chopped
1 Medium Clove Garlic finely minced
8 oz. Pancetta diced
1/4 Cup Pignoli Nuts (Pine Nuts)
4 Large Fresh Basil Leaves roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 Tblspn. Olive Oil
3 Cups Crushed Tomatoes (No skins or seeds)
1 Cup Vodka (Plain with no flavor added)
1/4 Cup Heavy Cream

Heat Olive Oil in a skillet over high heat.  When hot, add chopped Pancetta and allow to brown until a light crisp starts to form at the edges.  Add the chopped Shallots, Red Onion and Garlic.  Stir and reduce heat to medium high.  Cook until Shallots and Onions begin to sweat. Add Pignoli nuts and allow the nuts to toast for a minute or two until they begin to turn a light golden color.  Remove pan from heat and add the Vodka.  Return pan to the heat and allow the Vodka to deglaze the pan while stirring and scrapping up the bits attached to the pan to incorporate the flavor into the sauce.  When Vodka is reduced by half, add the Crushed Tomatoes and stir to incorporate all ingredients.  Add heavy cream and stir to incorporate.  The sauce should be a rose color.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Add chopped basil.  Stir and reduce heat to low to medium and allow the sauce to cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Stir frequently to avoid sticking.

The above Recipe is enough for 1 pound of pasta.  Recipe can be doubled if necessary.

NOTE:  This sauce is delicious with the homemade pasta recipe that I previously posted on February 16, 2010 which can be found in the Archives. 

Cutlets Milanese

Chicken Cutlet Milanese

The beauty of Cutlets Milanese is that they are delicious with many types of meat.  The recipe is the same whether you use pork loin chops, beef cutlets, veal cutlets or chicken. . .

Just remember to pound your meet very thin and tender. 

Chicken Cutlets Milanese 

6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

2 Cups Gluten Free Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs  (See recipe below)

1/2 Cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese

1 Cup of Gluten Free All Purpose Four

4 Eggs

3 Roma Tomatoes

1 Cup of Lettuce of your choice (preferably Romaine, Endive, Frisee or Arugula)

1 Cup Grape Seed Oil (I prefer this over Olive Oil because it has a higher smoke point and therefore less splatter)

2 Tblspn. Balsamic Vinegar

Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts.  Place each breast on a sheet of plastic wrap and place another sheet of plastic wrap on top of the breast.  Use a meat mallot to pound the chicken to desired thickness.  This process also tenderizes the meat.  Once all breasts are pounded, place the flour in one shallow sided dish (a pie plate works well) and the eggs (beaten with a touch of water) in another shallow sided dish.  Mix the Italian seasoned gluten free bread crumbs and the grated Parmigiano Reggiano and place the mixture in a third shallow sided dish.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium high to high heat.

Dredge each cutlet in flour, coating both sides thoroughly.  Next, dredge the floured cutlet into the egg wash coating thoroughly.  Then press the cutlet into the bread crumb mixture.  (You can at this point redredge in the egg and bread crumbs if you wish to have a thicker batter.  However, one dredging in each is more than sufficient.

Cook the cutlets in the heated oil until they are golden brown on both sides.  (Depending on the meat choice and thickness, 4 to 5 minutes on each side.  Veal cooks faster while chicken and pork take a little longer.)

Remove cutlets from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb any excess oil.  Once cutlets are all done, transfer to a serving tray.  Top with chopped lettuce and chopped Roma tomatoes and drizzle with Balsamic Vinegar.

Italian Seasoned Gluten Free Bread Crumbs

I make my own gluten free bread crumbs by running a loaf of brown rice bread in a food processor with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried parsley, dried basil and dried oregano. You can also mix these ingredients into packaged gluten free bread crumbs. Per two cups of bread crumbs I add 1 Tspn. salt, 1 Tspn. pepper, 1/2 tspn. garlic, 2 Tblspn. dried Parsley, 1 Tblspn. dried Basil, 1 Tspn. dried Oregano.