Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake #SundaySupper

Colleen of The Redhead Baker invited us all to take a trip down memory lane this week as we waxed nostalgic remembering the summers of our childhood and the food memories it provokes.

I am the 5th of 6 children born to my mother.  The eldest in my family is 17 yrs my senior and the youngest was born 6 years after I.  It is funny when you have an age span of 24 yrs between siblings, how their memories differ.  My brothers recall my mother toiling in the kitchen, canning, making homemade breads and pastries, cooking a lot of one pot meals that could stretch a little meat to feed 4 growing boys and hard working husband.

My mother was 38 when I was born.  Still a very young woman but at that point had been married for 21 yrs and was getting tired.  I was born in 1958, the beginning to the processed food era that released women from slaving away in the kitchen.  My mother was happy to throw off the apron.  My memories of childhood were frequent frozen entrees, casseroles made with condensed soups and packaged desserts.  But sometimes, Mom would still bake pies using the bounty from our fruit trees, or make a dessert using store bought ingredients like this cake that I am sharing with you today.

My mother made this cake often.  She also made another version of this cake that was made in a Tupperware bowl that was very good as well but I don't have that Tupperware bowl so I made this version instead. 

When you make this cake you will see immediately why our Moms were so enamored with it.  It takes less than a half an hour to put together, it is visually stunning and it tastes awesome!!

You start with a store bought Angel Food Cake.  Cut off the top and hollow out the center.  Eat the cake you removed to keep your strength up.  This is a lot of hard work!

Make up a box of strawberry gelatin, using the fast set method of adding ice instead of cold water.  Divide the gelatin into 2 portions.  One goes into the refrigerator as is.  The second portion gets whisked into a container of Cool Whip and then goes into the refrigerator.  Wipe the sweat from your brow, grab a cold glass of water and catch your breath for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, slice up strawberries to make 2/3 cup.

Mix the cut strawberries into the plain gelatin and spoon into the hollowed out cake. Return the top of the cake to it's rightful position.

Remove the Cool Whip mixture from the refrigerator and plop it onto frost the cake.  Garnish with additional strawberries.  It is now ready to present and serve.  Go stand in front of the stove for a minute or two, until you are flushed and sweaty.  Carry the cake platter out to your guests, put it down and smile as you wearily wipe the sweat from your brow. 

Enjoy the accolades along with the cake and never, ever tell anyone how simple this dessert is to make.  Let them be in awe of your untiring hard work every day in the kitchen.  It worked for our Moms, it can work for us too!!!

Happy Sunday Everyone.  Let's take a look at the memories being shared by the rest of the #SundaySupper family.

Please join me as we step back in time!!

Beverages
• Blueberry Lavender Lemonade by Beauty and the Beets
• Natural Pink Pineapple Lemonade by Food Lust People Love
Breakfast
• Rhubarb Muffins by Wholistic Woman
• Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
Appetizers
• Gazpacho Shooters by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Grilled BLT Kebabs by Eat, Drink and be Tracy
• Strawberry Fruit Dip by Books n’ Cooks
Main Dishes
• Classic Shrimp Roll Sliders by Crazed Mom
• How to Cook Hot Dogs by Life Tastes Good
• Wiener Schnitzel by Caroline's Cooking
Side Dishes
• Baked Beans by Magnolia Days
• Creamy Ranch Potato Salad by Dash of Evans
• Grilled Zucchini Salad by Sunday Supper Movement
• Seven-Layer Salad with Bacon and Peas by The Hungry Goddess
• Southern Fried Squash by Peaceful Cooking
• Spätzlesalat (German Spaetzle Pasta Salad) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Summer's Best Tomato Cucumber Salad by Delaware Girl Eats
Desserts
• Ambrosia Salad by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
• Bavarian Almonds by Palatable Pastime
• Blueberry Cobbler by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Boardwalk Funnel Cake by The Redhead Baker
• Buttermilk Pound Cake by Renee's Kitchen Adventures
• DIY Drumsticks by A Mind Full Mom
• Double Corn Buttermilk Cake by What Smells So Good?
• Frosted Grapes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Gluten Free S'mores Magic Bars by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Homemade Banana Pudding by Cooking with Carlee
• Homemade Drumsticks by Pies and Plots
• Japanese Melon Ice Cream by Ninja Baker
• Lemon Coconut Bars by The Finer Cookie
• Lemonade Pie with Sugar Cone Crust by Dizzy, Busy and Hungry
• Lime Poke Cake by Our Good Life
• Maple Sugar Candy by Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Mom's Rhubarb Cake by Monica's Table
• Nana’s No-Bake Cheesecake Squares by The Crumby Cupcake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake by The Freshman Cook
• Pudding Pops by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Sherbet Float by Cookin' Mimi
• Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Strawberry Jello Pie by Tramplingrose: Cooking, Baking & Ranting in Small-Town South Dakota
• Tita’s Fruit Dessert by Basic N Delicious
• Toasted Coconut Puppy Chow by Helpful Homemade
• Watergate Salad by Flavor Mosaic

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Domaine Daulney 2015 Sancerre for #FrenchWinophiles

This month, The French Winophiles, are exploring the Central Loire Valley.  I must admit that I am pretty lost when it comes to geography.  I barely have the US in hand, let alone France.  So the first bottle of wine I bought from Loire Valley was not from the Central region.  It was okay.  The wine didn't go to waste.  We drank it, we enjoyed it and we got to buy another bottle of wine.  This time from the correct region (I hope).

I bought a Domaine Daulney Sancerre on the advice of the woman in the wine store that said she thought it was the best value they had for the price.  I paid $22 for the 2015 vintage produced from vines that are 40 years old by Etienne Daulney.

I was told by the purveyor that this was a very dry wine with pineapple on the forefront.  I couldn't find anything on the internet regarding the 2015 vintage.  The 2014  was described as "warm wet slate and grapefruit" by Taurus wines.

The wine pours very pale yellow and the first nose is one of freshly mown grass.  It is quite dry and acidic.  I did not taste pineapple on the forefront.  Much too tart for pineapple.  I thought it was more of a citrus flavor with a grassy finish.  Maybe even a little buttery afterthought.

I served it up with a Poached Cod on Wilted Spinach with a Warm Blueberry Vinaigrette.  I wasn't sure about the pairing.  Here is the conversation that ensued.

Wendy- I think that perhaps the wine is too dry for this dish.  Maybe I made the vinaigrette too sweet.

Frank- I like the vinaigrette.  You wouldn't want a sweet wine with this dish.

Wendy- I wasn't thinking sweeter, just maybe a little less acidic.  I guess I'm wondering what you think of this pairing.

Frank- Let's have another glass of wine.  The more we drink the better the pairing will be.

Wendy-That's a lot of help (as I pour more wine)

Frank- I'm kidding.

Wendy- Too late now, it's going on the blog.

For what it's worth.  Frank was right, the wine got better suited to the dish during the second glass LOL.

I personally think this wine would pair much better with a buttery lobster tail or perhaps a fish with a buerre blanc.  I think the fruitiness of the salad competed with the wine.  That being said, the wine bottle was empty by the time dinner was done so it couldn't have been too bad.

I will be sharing my Dinner recipe with you on Monday during the Crazy Ingredient Challenge. I hope to see you again then.  In the meantime, stop by all my friends who belong to The French Winophiles and see how their pairings turned out.

• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares “To Sancerre with a Tomato Salad with Parsley & Shallots”
• Jeff of Food Wine Click  tells us about “The Red-Headed Stepchild of Sancerre”
• Jill from L’Occasion  brings us “Central Loire: Fulfilling a Fantasy”
• Martin of Enofylz Wine Blog shares “2015 Domaine Franck Millet Sancerre Rose #Winophiles”
• Michelle from Rockin Red Blog brings us “Diving into Loire Valley #Wine with #Winophiles: Sancerre & Pouilly-Fume”
• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm shares “Domaine Daulney Sancerre 2015 for #FrenchWinophiles”
• Christy from Confessions of a Culinary Diva shares “Loire Valley Reds: Domaine du Pre Semele Sancerre”

Make sure to join us for our live Twitter Chat on Saturday, June 18th at 8 am PST/11 am EST using #Winophiles and share your Loire Valley Wine stories.

Tour Dates:

July 16th - Medoc, Haute Medoc
August 20th - St. Emilion/St. Emilion Satelites
September 17th - Graves and Entre-Deux-Mers

Join us for our upcoming events by emailing your post title to Christy at culinarydiva@icloud.com or Jill at jillbarth@msn.com.

Prawns inspired by Scarlet Feather for Cook the Books #FishFriday Foodies

I want to start off by saying that I am so happy to have been assigned a book that I enjoyed.  Our last BCCBCC club choice was a bomb but it did inspire a wonderful Carribean Pork Stew that we enjoyed even if I didnt enjoy the book that inspired it. It was doubly awful because it followed on the heels of our last Cook the Books selection Burnt Toast makes you Sing Good that I absolutely adored.

I was ready for a good read but was also in the middle of packing up the house as we are moving and working from dawn to dusk so I ordered up this month's selection Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy from audible.com.  This unabridged version was performed by Barbara Caruso and ran for over 20 hrs.  I was glad I ordered it up on audible because I never would have had time to sit and read this. Barbara Caruso did a good job at narrating however sometimes her voice could get sharp and grating. This did not detract from the enjoyment I got from the story.  I want to thank Claudia of Honey from Rock for choosing this novel.  You still have a month and a half to join in the fun, go to Claudia's invitation post to learn how.

This is the story of  Cathy Scarlett and Tom Feather who met in catering school and have decided to go into business together.  They find a building on New Years Eve and the story covers their lives and the lives of those surrounding them for a full year, until the following New Years Eve, as they work on getting their business up and running.  

I thought the story was very realistic.  It would be nice if when you are starting a business the rest of your life could be put on hold but it can't and Cathy and Tom's didn't.  They still needed to deal with relationships, bills, responsibilities and social engagements.  

The results are a year in their lives much like a year in ours.  There were tears of joy, laughter, sadness and frustration.  There were good times and bad and you felt like you were with Cathy and Tom through it all.

Talk about food.....there was food of every shape, size and description.  You could pretty much make anything you wanted and find inspiration in it from this book.  Prawns were mentioned several times and since Fish Friday Foodies was coming up I decided to make some.

What is Fish Friday Foodies?  Well it is another great group that I started and have had a couple dozen of my blogging friends join.  We take turns hosting and choosing a theme, then on the third Friday of each month, we share our recipes with each other and our readers.  

This month my friend, April of Angels Home Sweet Homestead, is hosting and chose the theme of  pan or deep fried.  We would love to have your blog included at FFF.  You can request membership through our facebook page or by commenting on this post, leaving your email address and the name of your blog.

These Coconut Prawns fit the bill for both clubs this month!!! It's the little things in life that get me excited.  I love when I can kill two groups with one post LOL

They are relatively easy to make but time consuming, unless you buy your shrimp pre cleaned.  I did not, so I had to peel and clean them prior to dredging them in flour, then in a beer mixture and lastly in the coconut.  Then you get to rest for a half hour while they chill out in the fridge.  I poured myself a glass of Louis Latour Pouilly Fuisse.  I will tell you more about that tomorrow when you visit my #FrenchWinophiles post.  You are going to read my post tomorrow, right?  Thank you, I knew you would.

Ok, so they aren't prawns....just large shrimp but I won't tell if you don't.  Prawns and shrimp are not the same.  They are, however, both decapod crustaceans.  Meaning they both have 10 legs and ecoskeletons, they both live near the bottom of the ocean,  they taste the same and they are used interchangeably.  Both are primarily called prawns in Europe and shrimp on this side of the pond.

Scarlet Feather is located in Ireland so I am taking blogger privilege and assuming that they used what we would call shrimp and they would call prawns.  Frank just called them terrific!! I served them with a vegetable fried rice as a side and made a dipping sauce of orange marmalade and hoisin garlic marinade.

Coconut Prawns

taken from AllRecipes. com, submitted by LindaV10

1 egg

1/2 c. flour

2/3 c. beer

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 c. flour

salt and pepper to taste

2 c. unsweetened, flaked coconut

24 Prawns or Jumbo Shrimp, peeled and cleaned, tails intact

3 c. oil for frying

Set up a dredging station of three bowls.  In the first bowl, place 1/4 c. flour seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.  Whisk together the 1/2 c. flour, beer and baking powder in the second bowl and place the coconut in the third bowl.

Holding the shrimp by the tail, dredge first in the flour.  Shake off excess and dredge in the beer mixture.  Allow excess to drip off before dredging in the coconut.  Place onto a baking sheet covered with parchment and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a deep pot (I used my cast iron dutch oven) to 350*.  Fry the shrimp in batches until golden brown about 4 minutes per batch.  Print Recipe

Let's move on....we have more fish to fry!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Good Times,Good Byes, Good Wishes, Good Eats

Tomorrow we are taking our Little Miss to Belle Isle for the afternoon and then back to her house where we will stay with her while her Mom gets a break.  We are watching her at her house instead of ours because Tingting is in the middle of sleep training her to stay in her own bed at night and we think it will be less confusing to keep her home at bedtime for a while.  Wish us luck....Good Times for sure LOL.

Saturday, we are helping to host a Good Bye reception for our Associate Pastor who is moving on to his next assignment.

Sunday is Father's Day and most of the kids will be here to spread their love on Frank.  He is such a great Dad.

Wednesday is my dear friend, Kirsten's birthday.  We hope to get together with her one day this week to celebrate and offer Good Wishes.  I am very excited about the gift we are giving her.  We are not available on her birthday as we are helping our friends, the Greens, with their boat that day and having dinner with them in the evening.

Friday morning we are having a Mass celebrating the life of Mom Klik.

So there is lots of celebrating this week and lots Good Eats.  Here is the Weekly Menu, please stop by each day for updates, photos and recipes.

Saturday

Reception for Fr. Slaton

Sunday

Burgers on the Grill

Assorted Salads

Meatless Monday

Tortellini Salad

Tuesday

Chicken Tacos

Wednesday

Out with the Greens

Thursday

Grilled Italian Sausage Sandwiches

Fish Friday

Ukha (for Food n Flix)

Mexican Breakfast Bundt for #BundtBakers

Our challenge this month for Bundt Bakers is Savory Bundts, chosen by PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds, who is hosting this month.

I tossed around a lot of ideas when choosing what I would make.  I had made a lemon and rosemary bundt when our theme was weird flavor combinations.  The rosemary lent a savory feel to the cake, even though it was sweet.  I thought about going with an herbal concoction of some sort.  Then I remembered that for the Cinnamon Bundt challenge, I had made Monkey Bread, which is very sweet but used biscuits.  This got me thinking of different pull apart breads.  I had made some amazing Garlic pull apart rolls using biscuits, so I was thinking of maybe something pizza like.  I was pretty set on that idea and then I was planning a brunch and wanted to make a Mexican Strata.  Palm strike to the head moment.....why not make a strata using biscuits in the bundt?  Well, why not, I thought.  So, I did.

I started out browning up some chorizo and onions.

Transferred the Chorizo to a bowl.

Added cheese, salsa and green chiles.

Added biscuits from a can, that I cut into quarters.

And 9 eggs that I had seasoned with salt and pepper and whisked.

Why 9?...That's how many I had LOL...use 10, 11 or 12 if you want.

Poured all of it into a bundt pan that I had sprayed very liberally with cooking spray.

Baked at 350* for 30 minutes.

It came out fluffy and beautifully browned.

I let it cool in the pan before attempting to remove it to a platter.

Praying the entire 15 minutes or so.

I ran a spatula around the edges before turning it onto a plate.

It stuck a little as you can see but not too badly.

I cut it into slices and served it by the plate since I was a little disappointed with the presentation.

It may not be beautiful but it is absolutely, mouth wateringly, delicious.

You know it is a hit when everyone went back for seconds and a couple of them went back for thirds.

It does a cook's heart good to see their food enjoyed and appreciated.

Serve this up at your next brunch, it's good for your heart.

Mexican Breakfast Bundt

1 lb. Chorizo, removed from casings

1/2 small onion, diced

1 c. salsa

1 (3 oz) can diced green chiles, drained

2 c. Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese

1 can biscuits, cut into quarters

9 eggs, whisked

salt and pepper to taste

Brown chorizo and onions in med skillet over med high heat.  Remove to a bowl and let cool slightly.  Add salsa, chiles and cheese, stir to combine.  Add the biscuits and eggs that have been seasoned with salt and pepper. Fold into sausage mixture and pour into a bundt pan that has been treated with cooking spray.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 30 minutes.  Let cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes.  Run a spatula around all edges and turn onto a plate.  Serve with extra salsa and sour cream, if desired.  Print Recipe

Look at all these wonderful savory bundts being shared today!!

• Bacon Cheddar Beer Bundt by The Queen of Scones
• Blue Cheese and Pear Mini Bundt Cakes by Patty's Cake
• Breakfast Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Dukkah, Herb & Cheese Monkey Bread by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Ham, Carrot & Beer Bundtlettes by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Mexican Breakfast Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mini Meatloaf Bundts and Sliders by Magnolia Days
• Rosemary, Olive Oil & Polenta Bundt by The Cinnamon Scrolls
• Sausage & Apple Cornbread Bundt Cake with a White Gravy Drizzle by The Freshman Cook
• Savory Zucchini Cheesecake by Food Lust People Love
• Southern Honey Drenched Jalapeño Cornbread by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Stromboli Bundt Cake by Palatable Pastime
• "Tastes Like Pizza" Bundt by Sew You Think You Can Cook

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the BundtBakers home page.

White and Black Cake #TheBookClubCookbookCC

It's hard to believe that this year long venture of the BCCBCC is coming to a close.  Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla began this group last June by inviting a dozen likeminded bloggers to join her as she cooked her way through some of the recipes in the Book Club Cookbook.  She assigned each of us a month and we got to choose the chapter of the Cookbook from which the others would make a recipe.  We could read the book that was being discussed, just read the discussion in the cookbook, watch the movie if the book had been made into one, or just make one of the recipes in that chapter of the Cookbook.

Most of us chose to read the books but not all of us and not every month.  We did all have fun and we did try recipes, read books and watch movies that perhaps otherwise we wouldn't have.  I am so glad that Cam was given this opportunity by the authors and publisher of the Book Club Cookbook and that she shared that opportunity with us. 

The host for each month was also given a free copy of the Cookbook to give away.  Our host this month is Sarah of Things I Make (for Dinner).  You can find her invitation post here and you can join us or just enter to win a Book Club Cookbook of your very own.  In fact, Sarah is giving away 2 copies of the book this month so make sure you get to her site and enter. 

Sarah chose the book Chocolat by Joanne Harris.  Sarah had seen the movie but had never read the book. I had not read the book nor seen the movie.  I decided to do both.  I ordered the book up on Kindle and ordered the dvd up from the library. 

I liked the book.  I didn't love it but I liked it.  I liked it well enough that when I found there was a sequel, I ordered it up.  I didn't hate the movie but I liked the movie.  However, I didn't like it enough that I have any desire to ever watch it again.  As is normal, with me, I thought the movie lacked depth and was unable to portray the characters with the same intensity and emotion as the book.  That being said, I will review the book, not the movie since this is, after all, a Book Club Cookbook.

The book begins with a young mother and her child arriving in a small town in France.  This town is very set in it's ways and not very welcoming to strangers, especially strangers who refuse to obey the rules set upon the town by a very conservative and perhaps mentally ill priest and his followers.  It is a story of tolerance vs intolerance, kindness vs coldness and good vs evil.  It bothered me some that the evil was portrayed in the person of a priest, not that I am naïve or stupid enough to believe that all priests are good or bad, just like any other profession, but in the same way I don't like for the cop or judge or firefighter to be the bad guy. 

I did like the strength, love, kindness and determination shown by Vianne, the protagonist of the novel, and I loved how she brought out the best in the townspeople.  I wasn't satisfied with the ending and felt like I was left hanging but perhaps that is what the author wanted since I ordered up the sequel to see what happens next LOL. 

Vianne buys an old bakery and proceeds to turn it into a Chocolaterie.  Vianne doesn't care that it is the beginning of the Lenten season which causes all the better than thous in the village to take an instant dislike to her.  Vianne holds her head high and treats all she meets with compassion and kindness.  She befriends other outcasts in the village and welcomes one and all into her shop and her home.  Vianne is used to being an outcast having been raised by a gypsy mother who claimed to have magical powers and did her best to pass that magic and mysticism onto Vianne.  There were insinuations in the novel that Vianne's mother may have suffered mental illness and perhaps this is why Vianne is so empathetic to others.  This, however, is my take.  I would be interested in hearing what you think.

Onto the food....CHOCOLATE.  Hot chocolate, pain au chocolate, chocolate bunnies and eggs, chocolate coins, chocolate cake, chocolate truffles of every shape, size and description.  Chocolate each morning for breakfast, for snacks between meals and for dessert.  There was other food as well, seafood, croissants, bread, but mostly there was CHOCOLATE.

One of the chocolates that caught my attention was a White and Black cake that Vianne made shortly after moving into the village.  In my minds eye, I saw this as a layer cake with one white cake layer and one chocolate cake layer covered in chocolate.  When I punched in White and Black cake, however, I came across this fantastic recipe from The Food Network that I couldn't resist.  I am sharing my adaptation with you today.  I hope you enjoy it.

You still have plenty of time to read this book and join us.  We would love to see what chocolatey goodness the book inspires in you.

I am also sharing this recipe at Foodies Read 2016.  Check it out.

White and Black Cake
slightly adapted from The Food Network

Cake:

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 c. 2% milk
3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 t. each, baking powder, baking soda and salt
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Combine butter and milk in a sauce pan and heat just until butter is melted.  Pour into the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.  Add the cocoa and sugar and whisk until smooth.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Combine flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a small bowl.  Whisk the eggs and vanilla into the chocolate then add the flour in two portions mixing just until incorporated.

Divide between two 8" cake pans that have been treated with baking spray.  Tap the pans on the counter to remove any air bubbles.  Bake in a preheated 325* oven for 35 minutes or until a skewer removes cleanly.  Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan and allowing to cool completely.

Frosting:

8 oz. white chocolate, chopped
3 sticks butter, room temperature
pinch of salt if using unsalted butter
2 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
Shaved dark chocolate for garnish

Place the white chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until smooth.  Let cool.  Place the butter (and salt if needed) in the large bowl of a stand mixer and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in the melted chocolate and then gradually add the sugar until smooth and fluffy.  Beat in the vanilla.  If the frosting is still too soft to spread, chill for about 15 minutes. 

Place one layer of the cake onto a platter, cover with 1/3 of the frosting.  Top with the second layer and cover the whole cake with remaining frosting.  Garnish with dark chocolate.  Print Recipe

Play Date, Presents and Parmesan Chicken Salad

I got up this morning and went to watch the Angel Face take her swimming lessons. She is such a little fish.  She has no fear at all and got very excited when I walked in and she saw me.  She immediately lost interest in the instructor and only had eyes for me.  It does a Grammy's heart good to be so well loved.

After swimming, we headed off to the zoo.  Melody's favorite is the butterfly house.  We spent a long while in there.  The zoo has a new penguin exhibit that is extremely awesome.  It was our last stop before heading out and Mel was very tired and getting crabby.  The minute we walked into the exhibit she was awestruck and we spent a good 20 minutes watching the penguins swimming around.  A stop to get a stuffed penguin and off to the car we went.  She was snoozing in minutes.

When I got home, I found another wonderful sponsor gift on my doorstep.  This one is from #GourmetGardenus who is sponsoring our #GuacSquad12.  I will be sharing more about that in the next few days.  I love getting packages.  Speaking of packages, you still have 2 days to enter to win a Gourmet Garden Gift Package of your own.  You can enter at my post featuring Frutti di Mare.

Frank wasn't able to join us at the zoo today because he needed to get yard work completed before the rains that are scheduled to arrive tomorrow come in.  He was still hard at it when I got home.  I watered my flowers and chickens, gathered the eggs, spent some time with the pups, worked on some social media shares and then started dinner.

I had scheduled Caesar Chicken Salad for dinner tonight but when we went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday they had some gorgeous baby spring mix that I couldn't resist.  So I made a salad with the mixed greens and topped it with a chicken breast flavored with Italian herbs and Parmesan cheese. 

I made a lemon vinaigrette with which to dress the salad without taking away from the flavor of the Parmesan Chicken.

I pounded the chicken with a meat mallet to 1/4" thickness.  This tenderizes the chicken and also helps it to cook quickly and evenly since it is all uniform.

Set up a dredging station for the chicken breast.  You will dredge the breast in all three bowls before cooking it up over med low heat until crisp and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side.

I let the chicken rest under the heat lamp for a few minutes while Frank and I shared a cocktail and caught up on our day.

When we were ready for dinner, it was only a matter of tossing the greens with the vinaigrette, topping with the chicken breast and sprinkling with a little extra parmesan.  I originally got this recipe from Ina Garten's Family Style Cookbook.  I love Ina Garten.  Her recipes are simple and delicious. This recipe serves two but feel free to double or triple it. Enjoy.

Parmesan Chicken Salad

adapted from Ina Garten

2 large handfuls of Baby Spring Greens

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4" thickness

1/3 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 egg

1/2 T. water

1/2 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/4 c. shredded parmesan cheese plus extra for sprinkling

1 T. unsalted butter

1 T. olive oil

Wash and dry greens, set aside.  Combine lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper in a small jar with a lid.  Shake vigorously to combine, set aside. 

Place the flour in a shallow bowl, season with salt and pepper.  Place the egg and water in a second shallow bowl, whisk until combined.  Mix the bread crumbs and parmesan together in a third bowl.  Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over med high heat.  Dredge the chicken first in the flour mixture, then in the egg and finally in the bread crumb mixture.  Place in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown.  Flip over and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until browned and cooked through.  Remove to a plate and let rest.

Toss the greens with desired amount of vinaigrette.  Divide between 2 plates.  Top each with a chicken breast.  Sprinkle with additional cheese and serve.  Print Recipe