Hot, cold and all NFL

Though I'm suffering from my first cold of the school year (thanks, DS--poor thing, he's down and out too), it's also the first NFL Football Sunday of the year. As many of you know, this is a sacred holiday in my household. Along with games on the TV, everyone in their jerseys and general merriment, there must be football food! Usually I cook up a storm, but said cold makes that idea rather unappealing (sniffle). So I scoured the pantry and fridge for a quick and dirty football food idea. Here's what I came up with!

Hot, Sweet and Savory Garlic Bread Pizza

Presliced, frozen garlic bread, 8 slices
Bottle barbecue sauce, 1 cup
Shredded cheddar jack, 2 cups
Smoked honey ham lunch meat, 8 slices cut into quarters
Sweet onion, 1/4 thinly sliced
Fresh pineapple chunks, 8 chunks cut into thirds
Serrano peppers, 2 diced

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake garlic bread slices for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Top with 1 tablespoon of barbecue sauce. 1/4 cup cheddar jack,  one slice of ham (all four slices), one pineapple chunk (all three slices), a few slices of onion, sprinkle of Serrano peppers on each piece of bread. Bake again 5-7 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Cool a few minutes then serve with your favorite football beverage.

A milder version can be made with sweet peppers instead of Serranos.

Quick and easy and the guys are loving it :)

Go Pats!
Cindy

Chicken Virginia Chardonnay

Hello, y'all! Congrats to our winner yesterday, Fedora :)

Today, I have a special treat for you. It's another recipe from my sous chef days. It's a wonderful dish for a romantic spring dinner for two!

Chicken Virginia Chardonnay

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

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp Smithfield ham, minced

1 shallot, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup Chardonnay wine (I always use Prince Michel Chardonnay bottled right here in N. VA!)

1 pint heavy whipping cream

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and white pepper to taste

Minced parsley

In saute pan over high heat, brown chicken breast cutlets in butter. Turn heat to medium, add ham, shallot, and garlic. Saute until shallots are translucent. Deglaze pan with wine. Add cream, mustard, salt and pepper. Simmer until cream thickens to coat wooden spoon. Stir in minced parsley.

Serve over rice with steamed or grilled veggies. Garnish with sprigs of parsley. Enjoy!

Pork Chops stuffed with Brandied Fruit

Today's delicacy I learned while serving as a sous-chef for a country inn in Fredericksburg, VA. It's practically infallible and wows your guests every single time.

4 Pork Loin Chops, 2" thick and butterfly cut

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon curry powder, divided in half

1 teaspoon salt

Butter-flavor cooking spray
1 cup cranberry juice

Stuffing:

1 cup of dried fruit, diced

1/4 cup brandy

2 tablespoons brown sugar

Prepare stuffing by cooking dried fruit and brown sugar in brandy with half of curry powder for 10 minutes at a hard boil, or until thick syrup is made. Stir often, be careful not to burn.

While stuffing is cooking, prepare chops. Mix together paprika, remaining curry powder, and salt. Coat chops inside and out with spices.

Heat saute pan on high. Coat with cooking spray. Sear chops on both sides. Remove pork from heat. Deglaze pan with cranberry juice. Set aside.

Fill chops with finished stuffing. Reserve any leftover syrup.

Return chops to pan. Drizzle with syrup. Cover and simmer in cranberry juice over med-low heat for 20 minutes or until chops are fully cooked.

Serve au jus over saffron rice with steamed veggies.

Yum! The perfect romantic dinner for two.

Stawberry Rhubarb Pie

Okay, I'll admit it, my entire life I have shied away from this concoction, not because I don't like fruit pies, because I love fruit pies. And not because I don't like vegetables, because I'm a big fan of the food group. However, the thought of combining fruits and vegetables in pie is what gave me pause, but I've been feeling adventurous lately so last weekend at the local farmers market, when I saw all the pints of beautiful strawberries set out next to a bin of rhubarb I thought oh why not give it a go? Guess what...the pie turned out to be delicious. It was so good I had to fight the boys in my house to get my share. Who would've thought I'd actually fight someone for a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie? But I sure enough did! Here's the recipe:

Crust:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, well chilled
3-5 tablespoons water, ice cold

Combine flour and salt. Cut butter into 1/2 cubes, toss into flour. Take out your pastry cutter and throw it away. It is an evil, evil device that will overwork your pastry. For an exceptionally flaky crust you gotta get your hands in there. Using your hands, quickly pinch the butter cubes into pieces about the size and thickness of dimes and nickels. Stir in cold water with fork until incorporated, then give the dough 2 or 3 more quick stirs. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and allow to rest in fridge while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced or quartered
3 cups rhubarb, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon lime zest, minced
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Toss all ingredients together evenly.

Assembly:
Handful of flour
9" pie pan
Pie crust dough
Filling
2 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4" cubes
small bowl of water
1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar

Dust work surface with flour and divide pie crust dough in to halves. Working quickly, roll out one half of dough on floured work surface to 1/8" thickness for bottom of pie. Gently fold into quarters, lift and place into pie pan. Unfold bottom crust, allow excess to hang over edge of pan. Roll out crust for top of pie to 1/8" thickness. Put pie filling into pie pan. Dot filling with butter. Brush lip of bottom crust with water. Fold top crust into quarters, lift and place on top of filled pie pan, sealing around edges by pressing gently. Trim excess and flute edges. Cut vents in top pie crust. Brush top of pie with egg white, sprinkle with sugar.

Baking:
Place pie onto baking sheet to catch any overflow. Put into 425 degree (F) preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn heat down to 350 degrees (F) and bake for at least another 30 minutes. When crust is golden and pie has bubbled over a little, remove from oven. Allow to cool on wire rack at least 1 hour prior to serving.

Notes:
--Don't panic if pie looks soupy when you first take it out of the oven. Once it cools it will gel nicely.
--Pair this pie with french vanilla ice cream for a delicious summer dessert!