Fried Chicken

It’s Friday night, so G&T and L joined us for dinner and Wii… For a change of pace, J fried up chicken, Southern-style in the skillet, one of our favorite meals. We boiled some potatoes up and mashed them up with a little rosemary and garlic and lots of butter, of course. In addition, we reheated the red beans and rice, cornbread and green beans from a couple nights ago, and I sautéed some asparagus in lemon and butter and steamed a broccoflower. A what? A broccoflower- the genetic mutant bastard child of broccoli and cauliflower. Steamed, and served with a little sesame oil and fresh crushed garlic, it’s quite good. G&T brought some red wine, an ’06 pinot noir from Sonoma Creek.

Chicken Breasts and Mushroom Ravioli with Al Fredo Sauce

I boiled the ravioli, grilled the chicken breasts on the George Foreman grill with some lemon pepper and salt. Then I sautéed some asparagus and crimini mushrooms in olive oil with garlic and onion, heated up the al fredo sauce, and mixed them together. I served the sauce mixed with the asparagus and mushrooms over the chicken breasts and ravioli. Yum!

Grilled Chicken and Veggies with Porcini Risotto

We have been having nice spring weather, and with the change to Daylight Savings Time, and G&T’s company, what better excuse to fire up the backyard bbq? So, prepared on the grill (over mesquite hardwood charcoal, natch): asparagus and portabella mushrooms in olive oil, which I prepped, and chicken breasts and chicken and apple sausage, all of which T grilled. I then tossed the asparagus with some balsamic vinegar.

In the kitchen, I made risotto with porcini mushrooms, onions, butter, olive oil, red wine (‘06 Rodney Strong Sonoma pinot noir) and fresh thyme from the garden that G picked, with Parmesan on top. We had the rest of the pinot as well as an ‘05 Big House Red, from Santa Cruz with dinner.

For dessert, we had some mango mochi and Ben & Jerry’s Cinnamon Buns ice cream. Oh, and as an appetizer, G&T brought a baked brie and crackers, which we served with a fresh sliced peach.

Penne with Tomato and Meat Sauce

The sauce started with some I made in January and froze that was made from patty pan squash and tomatoes from the garden (possibly those in the header!) as well as some home-made spicy meatballs. To freshen it, I fried some ground beef and crimini mushrooms in onions and garlic and olive oil, and added a little fresh asparagus left over from last week, as well a small can of tomato sauce and a healthy handful of fresh cherry tomatoes, topped it off with some fresh basil, and oregano, marjoram and thyme from the garden, and let it all simmer together for awhile to really develop some flavor. The penne’s a healthy flax/multi-grain sort, also from TJ’s. We’ve decided that the whole grain pasta tastes better, despite being healthier. Served with shaved Parmesan over the top, of course, in a big bowl.