When I left home I copied all of my favorite recipes from my mother’s recipe box. Strada is one of those easy to make and infinitely flexible dishes that can be adapted to breakfast, brunch, lunch, potluck, or dinner. One of Jan’s friends invited us to a “bring a dish” New Year’s party, so I decided to make a strada.
Karl’s Chicken Sausage Dinner Strada (Strata)
Filed under California Fusion, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry
Jan is having her stitching friends over for a Christmas get-together. She requested a clay pot chicken, something with noodles and a vegetable soup. As I thought about what dishes I would make the theme became, sort of, Italian.
Karl’s Stuffed Chicken Breasts in a Clay Pot
Filed under Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry
My original plan for this year was to get a small turkey (10 pounds) and to spatchcock it. I was planning to lay the turkey over the dressing so that the turkey juices would drip onto the stuffing. However, for the second year in a row, Whole Foods got my Kosher turkey order wrong. I still got a turkey, but it was 16 pounds—way too big to lay over the pan if I opened it up. I would have to go with a more traditional approach.
Karl’s Thanksgiving Orange and Sage Roast Turkey
Filed under Holidays, Main Dishes, Poultry, Turkey
Baked chicken? Boring. I ate a lot of baked chicken as a kid, and it was boring. (Sorry dad). But stuffing baked chicken can be awesome. It transforms a boring, bland and surprisingly tricky dish into a delicious and spiffy one. This is the spirit behind the butcher counter pre-stuffed chicken: easy peasy elegance. Except for the fact that every pre-stuffed chicken I’ve ever bought has suffered from vague cooking directions, watery chicken, and too much stuffing. I’ve also screwed up a plethora of stuffed chicken recipes all on my own: over stuffing, over cooking, under cooking, simply falling apart.
So tonight when I made an awesome stuffed chicken, it was a Eureka Moment. All of my past mistakes were made clear, resolved by serendipity and hindsight. I had everything I needed, I treated the ingredients right, I listened to my gut when cooking, and I served right away.
Jan wanted “roasties” for dinner. I had thought that Eilene was going to eat out with her friends. Two hours before dinner, she announced that she was bringing two friends over for dinner. Roasties for two had suddenly become dinner for five. Time to get creative.
Karl’s Honey Lemon & Herb Chicken and Roasties
Filed under Chicken, Main Dishes, Potatoes, Poultry, Vegetables
I am finally getting around to posting the meal I served Jan’s childhood friends last Saturday. This is basically my noodles Florentine recipe with meat added. While this is a dish is a meal in a bowl, I served it with a side of steamed broccolini.
Karl’s Chicken Florentine
Filed under Chicken, Main Dishes, Pasta, Poultry
When I left home I copied all of my favorite recipes from my mother’s recipe box. Strada is one of those easy to make and infinitely flexible dishes that can be adapted to breakfast, brunch, lunch, potluck, or dinner. One more of Jan’s friends from high school is joining us for breakfast, so I decided to make a breakfast strada.
Karl’s Chicken Sausage Breakfast Strada (Strata)
Filed under bread, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry
I based this recipe on a Mario Batali recipe that Richard May posted. The original recipe called for a massive amount of fennel pollen, not an ingredient that you can pick up at any supermarket. I went with the alternative, toasted fennel seeds, and—perhaps being less fond of fennel—I used a lot less. I also thought that Mario’s recipe used way too much salt.
Karl’s Pollo al Mattone
(Chicken Under Brick)
Filed under Barbeque, Chicken, Main Dishes, Poultry
My potato plant died this week, so I harvested the potatoes. This was actually a sport from the year before, but if it really wanted to grow who am I not to water it? I ended up with five small potatoes. These were not enough to make a dish by themselves, so I would have to add them to something.
Karl’s Minestrone with Mini Italian Meatballs
Filed under Chicken, Main Dishes, Pork, Poultry, Soups, Stews, Vegetables
Miriam was working in Rome this week and she was coming back through Chicago. Needless to say, it took her two days to get back and she is exhausted. As a result, the kids are not coming over this Sunday for dinner. Instead of my usual feast, I will be making a gumbo, a Louisiana signature dish.
Karl’s Filé Gumbo
(Andouille, Chicken & Shrimp)
karllueck
Miriam
Jabberwocky Stew 