most recent burger creation...

With this warm weather upon us... I'm reminded of my favorite summertime tradition.

So with that in mind... I whipped up a Caprese Burger last night. (I admit, I was not in the corned beef and cabbage mood last night. So we went italian instead.)



Easy layers... I spread my favorite pesto on both halves of the toasted bun and topped the burger with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese! Simply amazing...


Yes, amazing...




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

another vacation breakfast with hubby...

He usually eats a frozen/microwaved breakfast sandwich... now he's being spoiled.

And so am I...

I love mornings at the house with my hero-of-a-hubby!





Especially when it starts out with a yummy breakfast. Bacon and cheese omelet with tomatoes and green onions! Doesn't get much better than this... oh, except for the scrumptious biscuit!


Off I go for a bike ride now...



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Chicken Jerusalem

Chicken Jerusalem: The sauce and chicken is cooked like a simple casserole dish. For years it's been a long-running tradition in my parents' home... based on a dish my Gramma H made back in the day. And now we're making it in our home...

To me, this is reminiscent of the 1950's casserole dishes... based on the condensed soups made by Campbell's Soup Company. What an imprint the soup company made on kitchens of the time.


In our household, "Chicken Jerusalem" is comfort food. Creamy and good. Savory and rich. One of my hubbies favorites around here...

We start with our ingredients...



Oh, and I forgot one ingredient... paprika. Sorry Lil' Miss Paprika... how could I ever forget you?!



Next we pull out a trusty Pyrex dish and a pat or two of butter.



We place it under the broiler... about 6 inches from the hot flame.



Once the butter is melted...



We add the chicken to the dish... I start with the boneless/skinless chicken thighs...



Then I layer in the boneless/skinless chicken tenders...



And since I've become a fan of seasoning every layer, we do a little bit of kosher salt...



And some black pepper...



Then the casserole dish goes back under the broiler. I leave it there until the chicken just starts to brown. Stay tuned...

Next I start the sauce mix on the stovetop. I put two cans of Cream of Mushroom soup and one can's worth of chicken broth into a medium saucepan. Heat and stir until combined well...





It's probably about time to check the chicken. Sure enough! Turn them over so they can brown on the other side(s) as well. Back under the broiler...





And then comes the sour cream and another pat of butter (just because)...



Stir it in... and if you feel like you got more exercise today than usual then you can add an extra dollop, like I did.



The second side of the chicken should be just browned... so it's time to get this show on the road.



Pour the yummy sauce over the chicken...



Make sure all of the chicken is covered with sauce (otherwise the chicken will get dry while cooking in the oven).



And sprinkle on that paprika...



Set the timer for 1 hour and go wash some dishes... the whole house will begin to smell yummy very quickly!!!




We serve up our Chicken Jerusalem over white rice and alongside some vegetables.



For the hubby and I, this makes enough for two night's dinners. So we get to have this again real soon!

Disclaimer: I didn't have any mushrooms when I made this... but you'll notice in the recipe below that it calls for crimini mushrooms and a quick saute. You can also use canned mushrooms (stems and pieces). I just love the fresh mushroom flavor...

And some people don't like mushrooms at all. You can leave them out like we did tonight... it's still scrumptious!



Chicken Jerusalem
Recipe adapted by Lori Tisdale, from Gramma Haraldsen

Ingredients
6 chicken tenders, boneless/skinless
4 chicken thighs, boneless/skinless
½ cup crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced and sauteed
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
Chicken broth, 1 soup can’s worth
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil and additional tablespoon of butter (for mushrooms)
Salt/pepper to taste

Instructions
Clean and slice mushrooms and sauté in a pan with butter and oil until tender.

Salt and pepper both sides of chicken. Melt butter in casserole pan under broiler. Place chicken in one layer in casserole pan and under broiler for about 4-5 minutes, until lightly browned. Flip chicken and brown on the other side.

While chicken is under broiler, add ingredients to medium saucepan: cream of mushroom soup, 1 can’s worth of chicken broth, sautéed mushrooms and sour cream. Mix well and remove from heat.

Once chicken is browned on both sides, pour soup mixture over the top and return to stove. Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Serve over white rice.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

vacation time = breakfast with hubby during the week!

In the past several weeks, while on vacation, I've been reminded of the benefits of having days off with my hero-of-a-hubby. You see, his days off are during the week (while I'm typically working).

But with these weeks of vacation I'm riding out ... we've had more time together.

And more time together = more meals together. And that includes breakfast for two...

We simply love the Grands Biscuits ... I find them in the frozen section at our market. They are individually flash frozen and then sold in a bag of about a dozen or 15 of them. You can cook up just two of them to make breakfast, or four of them to go along with dinner. Makes my world so simple and so yummy!!!



We of course made the most of it and made our own breakfast sandwiches. Oh, the bliss of vacation days...



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Bistro 221 - pie by the slice on Tuesdays!

I'd like to talk to you a little bit today about carbonara. If you've never experienced carbonara you'll need to find time to seek it out and enjoy it prepared properly. From the taste of it, Bistro 221 in downtown Escondido knows how to do it just right. (I'm not even sure it's on their regular menu... but it should be!)

Here are the key ingredients: pasta (sometimes spaghetti, fettuccine, etc), bacon or pancetta, pecorino romano cheese, salt/pepper, cream and eggs. The eggs and cream are first whipped up and then tossed in with the other ingredients right at the end. The heat from the steaming pasta just cooks the eggs and the mix becomes this creamy sauce ... it really IS a perfect dish!!!

While strolling through the farmers' market last Tuesday I stumbled across a bit of gourmet pizza: carbonara pizza.



Yes, that's pasta (in this case fettuccine) on top of that pizza! I think they used slightly different ingredients (I think there was some ricotta in there - see it oozing off the side?!) And it certainly was amazing...


I clearly remember enjoying carbonara for the first time - in Geneva, Switzerland. My parents were visiting while I worked there for a few months and we were strolling around town looking for a quick bite to eat. I had never heard of "carbonara" before... but was feeling adventurous! And was I ever blown away...

I've made it a few times at home... but it's just not the same as it was that cool Spring day in Geneva. Good times...




enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Update on Lori's seedlings...

It's been a week since the last pictures of the seed pods... see the growth??? It's amazing what a little water and sunshine will do for ya...







I think I'm going to start some oregano too... there should be pictures in about a week of the beginning of that growth. Once again, stay tuned!



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

Rajas Tamales

Back in December I enjoyed a "rajas tamale" for the first time... and since then I've been hoping for another chance to have another. Yesterday, my prayers were answered... I was at a local farmer's market and stopped to read the menu at the tamale booth. And there it was ... in all it's glory... #5 "Chile and Cheese (rajas)" !!!

But what exactly is "rajas"? That was MY question! (Honestly, after tasting it, I didn't really care WHAT it was... I just wanted to know how to get my hands on more of it!)

Here is what I found:
Rajas - roasted peppers cut into strips and mixed with melted cheese

Thought to self:
Well, of course you can make a tamale out of those scrumptious ingredients!


So, I bought some... you don't have to twist my arm!

Let's unwrap this thing and see what the tamale looks like. Tamales are a very traditional mexican food.

The "filling" can be whatever you want... chicken or beef or pork, some contain vegetables only or cheese only or a mixture of some of the above ingredients. But the trick is getting just the right amount of "filling" wrapped in the right amount of masa.

What is masa?
My un-culinary-like definition is this: a dough or paste made of ground corn.
And for a more technical answer, see this link: masa



In the above picture, you see a corn husk wrapping up the masa and the filling. When you enjoy your tamale, this is what wraps it all up for the cooking process. (It kind of acts like aluminum foil around a filet of fish for the cooking process. It keeps it all together so that the ingredients don't wander too far off.)



When you are ready to eat your tamale, remove the corn husk. Or simply unwrap the package like a beautiful birthday present... and stare at it for a while.




Then when you are ready... you can cut into your tamale. You can cut it however you want... usually I start by peeling off just a little bit of the masa encasing the filling and see what I'm getting ready to eat.



In the above picture you see strips of poblano peppers (the darker strips on the left) and a half of a serrano pepper (the light strip on the tip/right, with the rib and seeds still attached). And all that gooey cheese? Do you SEE that?!

Excuse me... it's lunch time...

enjoy your time in the kitchen...