Cilantro Chicken

After having beef, corned beef, a casserole and crab, we were ready for some chicken. I flipped through more of my to-try recipes and this was the ticket. I had all the ingredients, which made it an instant winner! And it had citrus (it calls for lime juice; I had lemons instead), garlic and cilantro. If I’d started it several hours ahead, or even overnight, it likely would have been even better. But I did it at the last minute. It was delicious. I really enjoyed the garlic (6 cloves for 4 servings . . . wow), and the tang of lemon juice.

The recipe came from Sunset, in March of 2006, submitted by Cheryl Brown of Englewood, Colorado. The recipe blurb said Cheryl and her husband Rick once owned a restaurant in Littleton, Colorado, and this dish was a popular favorite.

Cook’s Notes: Start this a day ahead to get the best garlic flavor. Remember to pound the chicken so it’s mostly an even thickness (you’ll get more evenly cooked chicken). Use the remaining lemon juice in some rice to give it a nice zip too. A great combination.

Cilantro Chicken
Recipe By: Sunset, March 2006
Serving Size: 4
2 pounds boned and skinned chicken breast halves -- 4 pieces
1/4 cup lime juice -- or lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 whole garlic cloves -- chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1. Pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness (about 1/2 in.) and place in a shallow baking pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix lime juice, cilantro, garlic, honey, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Pour over chicken and turn pieces to coat evenly. Cover and chill at least 30 minutes or overnight.
3. Lay chicken on a grill over medium heat (you can hold you hand over the surface only 4 to 5 seconds) and cook, turning once, until no longer pink in the center, 4 to 6 minutes per side.
Per Serving: 307 Calories; 6g Fat (18.9% calories from fat); 53g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 132mg Cholesterol; 416mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain (Starch); 7 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
Printer-friendly PDF recipe.

Lemon Sponge Pudding and the joys of shopping in England

Warm lemon sponge pudding with a bit of heavy cream poured over.


Lemon sponge pudding hot out of the oven.

As probably with many of you, recipes come your way from so many different places. From people you've met along the paths of life (as in this case), or from a magazine at the doctor's office, the grocery store even. And from friends and relatives, of course.

DH and I were fortunate to meet some very dear people, Rita and Roy, many years ago. They're related to some friends of friends. They're from England, but come to the U.S. with some frequency to visit. DH and I were invited to their home in England (actually three different homes over the years) to use as a base for traveling in the area. They always made us so welcome, and we were very grateful for the hospitality.

One year, probably 10 years or so ago, my friend Cherrie and I decided to take a trip to England together. She'd never been, and since I had some experience driving on the left side of the road, we rented a car at Heathrow and set out on our journey. It's through Cherrie that we knew Rita and Roy, and they'd kindly offered to let us stay in their home in Reading (pronounced red-ding). Every time I get behind the wheel in a right-hand drive car I have to familiarize myself with the mysteries of relearning some but not all of my driving motions. The gear shift is on the left, but the gas pedal is still on the right side. Most cars are stick shift in Europe. Not many people have taken to automatic. That part was fine with me, but it does take a bit more concentration. The turn signal is still on the left side of the steering column, but you have to remember to look at the rear view mirror on the left (inside the car), and the outside mirror on the right. All very confusing. You do get used to it, but the first few days can be very frustrating and stressful until you get into the swing of it.

When DH and I travel, he usually drives, and the first few days the passenger is responsible for navigation AND coaching the driver. As when approaching an intersection, reminding the driver to turn right, but keep in the left lane once you make the turn. Like turn left ahead, but keep left. Or when entering a roundabout, a reminder that we don't have right of way. So Cherrie was my navigator and scout. She took on the role well through the whole trip. Only once did I come out of a parking lot where we'd been shopping, shopping, and I got into the right side of the road. Fortunately nobody was coming. She was johnny-on-the-spot to correct my error. We had a wonderful time on this trip, driving all over.

Rita's sister Sandy lives here in the U.S., and Sandy had always told Cherrie that there wasn't "a thing" to buy in England. So Cherrie went on that trip with nary any space in her suitcase for anything to buy. Hmmm, I thought. The second day we drove to Salisbury. We had fish and chips at a local stand-up bar. They were absolutely delicious. Since it had taken us a couple of hours to get to Salisbury, we couldn't dilly dally, as I wanted to get back to Reading before dark. It was winter when we were there, so there were shorter daylight hours. But, I wanted Cherrie to see the Cathedral in Salisbury, which is so magnificent. She enjoys English history just like I do, so we found a carpark (a pay parking lot) and headed off toward the Cathedral. There was a wide walking street from the carpark to the Cathedral, with solid stores left and right. We walked about 30 feet onto this walking street and passed a window of Boots, the well-known "chemist" (drug store) that is all over the United Kingdom. I paused at the window to look at some cute coffee mugs. Some of the Boots stores carry some lovely gifts and pottery things. Cherrie looked over and immediately was looking closely at the window display too. We went inside. Well, what can I tell you other than we never made it to the Cathedral. Cherrie laughed and roared. What in the world did [her friend] Sandy mean there wasn't any to buy in England? Ha! The dollar was worth a whole lot more then, so exchanging dollars for pounds bought us more value than today. We bought things. We shopped. And we shopped some more.

As time went on, on this trip, Cherrie was filling up the boot (the trunk) of the car with her purchases. There were bags and bags and a couple of boxes in there. Because we were staying with friends, she hadn't had to figure out what she would do with all this stuff because it just lived in the car. Eventually we headed off on our own, driving many directions, including to London too. Cherrie had to fit things in her suitcase. Oh, there was trouble in River City. She stuffed. She pried. She pushed and pulled. She found room for a lot of things. She tossed out some things too. As we approached the last few days of our trip Cherrie was still buying. She still kids me to this day about my remark, but I said to her, Cherrie, if that doesn't fit in your purse, you can't buy it. She bought a second small bag of some sort (a carry-on), which was mighty full when we got to Heathrow to fly home. But she managed. How, I don't know, but she did. She was big-time motivated!

So, I need to get back to this wonderful pudding. This is Rita's recipe. It was actually Cherrie's and my second trip to England that Rita had this in the refrigerator waiting for us when we arrived. We got there late on that trip. She had a couple of plates of food saved for us too, which hit the spot. Then she pointed to the dessert and said help ourselves when we were ready. Cherrie and I were jet lagged and way off-schedule. Rita went off to bed and we had a couple cups of lovely tea to calm down. Finally, we scooped out a serving of this lemon sponge and poured on some light cream (like half and half) on top. Oh yes, was it good. I'm a huge lemon fan anyway, so this hit the spot, as it has every time I've made it since.

If you're not familiar with sponge pudding or pudding cake, it's kind of a cross between lemon curd, lemon pudding, and a sponge cake. You don't make separate batters - the preparation and baking process makes layers - a lemony pudding layer and a very light spongy cake layer. So, you get two desserts in one. I used Meyer lemons in mine, so cut down just a little bit on the sugar.

Thank you, Rita, for sharing the recipe.

Lemon Sponge Pudding
Recipe: from our friend, Rita A., from England
Servings: 6 or 7
2 ounces butter -- or margarine
4 ounces sugar [I use half Splenda]
2 whole lemons -- juice and grated rind
2 whole eggs -- separated
1 cup milk
2 ounces self-rising flour
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream butter (or margarine) and sugar with grated lemon zest until mixture is pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks and beat well. Stir in half of the milk, then the flour. Pour in remaining milk and lemon juice.
3. Whisk egg whites until firm and then fold into the egg mixture.
4. Pour into a greased (buttered) 2 pint glass or ceramic baking dish. Place in a large roasting pan half filled with hot water.
5. Bake in center of oven for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and firm to the touch. Serve hot or warm with ice cream or heavy cream drizzled over.
Per Serving: 226 Calories; 11g Fat (41.3% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 30g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 97mg Cholesterol; 242mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 Fat. Printer friendly recipe.

Almond Crusted Orange Roughy with Lemony Leek Sauce

Whew! That's a mouthful of a title, isn't it? Nah, I didn't dream it up. Phillis Carey did, and in the cooking class she laughed at herself and how she titles recipes she's developed. She wants to make sure you know at the outset exactly what kind of good stuff is going to be included in the recipe.

Here's a shot of the classroom at Great News, in Pacific Beach (San Diego). It's by far the most glamorous and functional demonstration class kitchen I've ever seen. Six large screens are mounted above so you won't miss anything of the prep going on below.














Here's another shot of the other side of the classroom. Phillis is the chef up front in red.

So, what's the deal about this fish dish? The lemon leek sauce is the clincher. Absolutely wonderful. This can be made with any kind of mild white fish. Or even chicken. But the lemony piquant flavor lends itself very well to fish.

Phillis poured a bunch of sliced almonds in a big plastic bag and used her flat pounder to crunch the almonds. Do not use a food processor as it will make the almonds too much like meal. You want chunky, crunchy. You dip the fish in flour, egg, then the almond/parsley/lemon zest mixture, then pan fry it in a tiny bit of oil until done. Meanwhile you will have made the sauce first - leeks, butter, lemon juice and whipping cream. Oh yea. Whipping cream. This is a company-type meal; certainly not something you'd want to serve for everyday family cooking. The leek sauce is pureed in a blender, then you sieve it to remove the leeks. Use a medium gauge sieve; otherwise you'll never get the sauce to strain through.

Cook's Notes: be sure to dry off the fish fillets before you start dredging. If using a thicker kind of fish, like halibut, for instance, do the frying process, but just brown the fish, then put them on a parchment-lined pan in a 375 oven for 15 minutes. Thicker fish is harder to cook correctly in a pan saute. You can make the sauce ahead of time, but the dredging and frying have to be done at the last minute. Oh yes, and don't use a food processor for the almonds. If you are in a hurry to puree the leek sauce, be very careful because a hot sauce will explode right out of the blender. Best advice: puree in two smaller batches instead of just one.

Almond Crusted Orange Roughy with Lemony Leek Sauce
Recipe By: Phillis Carey, author & instructor
Serving Size : 4
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks -- halved, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons lemon juice -- fresh
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sliced almonds -- finely chopped
6 tablespoons Italian parsley -- chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons grated lemon peel -- using a Microplane
4 large orange roughy fillets
2 whole eggs -- lightly beaten
3 tablespoons butter -- for frying the fish
1. LEEK SAUCE: use only white and light green parts of the leeks, halve them, rinse well, then chop. Cook leeks in 2 T. butter over medium heat until very tender, about 15 minutes. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir until liquid evaporates. Mix in cream. Simmer until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes, maybe longer. Cool for 10 minutes, then pour in batches into blender and puree until smooth. Strain the sauce, using a coarse strainer, back into the saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. DREDGING MIXTURE: if you're using sliced almonds, place them in a plastic bag and using a pounder, hit nuts until they're reduced to a coarse mince. Do not use the food processor for this, as the nuts will be too fine. Mix almonds, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper to taste in a pie plate. Place flour on a plate and eggs in another pie plate. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in egg, then in almond mixture to coat.
3. FISH: Melt half of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add 2 pieces of fish to pan and cook 3 minutes per side or until cooked in the center and brown on the outside. Repeat with remaining butter and fish. Reheat sauce and spoon a bit over, and the rest around fillets to serve.
Per Serving: 695 Calories; 59g Fat (74.2% calories from fat); 30g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 249mg Cholesterol; 233mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 3 1/2 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 11 Fat.
Printer-friendly recipe, click title at top.

Ina Garten's Lemon Cake

At our brunch on Saturday, my friend Joan L. brought the most delicious, flavorful, lemony cake imaginable. Come to find out it's Ina Garten's recipe. From her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Parties! (which I don't have), but the internet, being the internet, I found dozens of copies of it on multiple websites. Lots of other food bloggers have done a write-up about this, but my copy came from Oprah, when she had Ina Garten on her show some while back.

It uses the zest from 6-8 lemons plus a LOT of fresh squeezed lemon juice. Not only in the cake, but in the syrup and the frosting. No wonder it's lemony flavored. And it has the lightest texture. Most likely from the addition of buttermilk. These are made in loaf pans, then you dribble a lemony syrup all over the cakes that sinks in, and once completely cooled you drizzle it with a white icing.

No question, this is a great cake. If you're blessed with a lemon tree, this is a must-bake for you. Our Meyer lemon tree doesn't have ripe lemons yet. I have juice in the freezer, but not any zest. And have you seen the price of lemons, even here in Southern California? I think I paid 89 cents apiece for them. Joan, thank you for bringing this wonderful cake!

Ina Garten's Lemon Cake
Recipe: Barefoot Contessa Parties!
Serving Size : 16
1/2 pound unsalted butter
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 whole extra large eggs -- (at room temperature)
1/3 cup lemon zest -- (6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup lemon juice -- freshly squeezed
3/4 cup buttermilk -- at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice -- freshly squeezed
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½ -inch loaf pans. Cream the butter and 2 cups granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, and the lemon zest.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, combine ¼ cup lemon juice, the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
3. Combine ½ cup granulated sugar with ½ cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves and makes a syrup. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes, then invert them onto a rack set over a tray, and spoon the lemon syrup over the cakes. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
4. For the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.

Per Serving: 416 Calories; 14g Fat (29.7% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 69g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 94mg Cholesterol; 259mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat; 3 Other Carbohydrates.

To print a PDF recipe, click title at top.

Crusted Chicken with Lemon & Garlic

When a cooking instructor says something like "this is one of my favorite recipes," I listen up. Make notes. And prepare the dish soon for my family. That's this recipe today. Phillis Carey, whom I've mentioned many times before, is a wizard with chicken (she's even published a cookbook about chicken). I've made any number of the recipes in her cookbook, and this is a relatively easy one. Dinner, with a fresh vegetable and salad, took an hour. (Sorry Rachel, I can't seem to manage 30 minute meals no matter how I try, unless I'm reheating leftovers.)

What sets this recipe apart from lots of other baked chicken breasts are the following things:

• the lemon zest and lemon juice
• the fresh bread crumb topping
• the extremely hot oven it's baked in

Lemons are a regular on my menus, all times of the year. We found a stray Meyer lemon on one of our dwarf trees a week or so ago, which made me very happy. I used part of it the other day and had a half leftover. Just barely enough to add juice to the sour cream mix and zest to add to the bread crumbs. I can't say that it was very easy zesting a cut/half lemon, but I managed.

The bread crumbs must be fresh. Do not, under any circumstances, use canned bread crumbs for this. They'll make it way too dry. You need crumbs that have some moisture. I do keep some crumbs in the freezer, but I must say they don't keep overly well once the icy particles cling to them. I've even used wheat bread for this, although I do think white bread makes a prettier crust.

First you pound the chicken breasts to make them approximately uniform in thickness. Prepare the sour cream mixture and have the bread crumbs at the ready. I use a large silpat in a pan.

I remove the chicken tenders and make them separate, small servings. Try to mush them up thicker, so they don't overbake. Then you cover the chicken with the sour cream, garlic, lemon juice and mustard mixture. That takes about 2 minutes max. Then you sprinkle the fresh bread crumbs on top and kind of pat it onto the sour cream so it sticks. Cover as much of the sour cream as you can.
Meanwhile you will have heated the oven to 475 (hot!). Pop these babies in that hot oven and watch them carefully so they don't dry out. Mine take exactly 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Chicken with Garlicky Lemon Crust
Recipe: Phillis Carey, cooking instructor and author
Serving Size : 6
6 pieces chicken breast half without skin salt and pepper -- to taste
3 whole garlic cloves -- minced
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese -- freshly grated
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 cups fresh bread crumbs
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1. Preheat oven to 450° - on convection bake, if available. Line a baking pan with parchment or with a Silpat. Trim chicken and pound it to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Lay chicken shiny side up on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl combine the garlic, Parmesan, sour cream, lemon juice and mustard. Spread this mixture over the top of the chicken breasts, covering completely. You can chill the chicken at this point if necessary. Combine breadcrumbs and lemon zest and press them lightly to mold them on top of the breasts. Cup your hand gently to press them into place.
3. Bake 12-15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bread crumbs are well browned.
NOTES : If you don't have sour cream, use yogurt or mayonnaise instead. The breadcrumbs make this dish - it's absolutely necessary to use fresh crumbs, not canned, dried ones. You can whiz up some sliced white bread in the processor. The instructor said this was one of her favorite recipes.
Per Serving: 298 Calories; 12g Fat (36.3% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 89mg Cholesterol; 333mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 4 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
To view a PDF recipe, click title at top.

Luscious Lemon Velvet Ice Cream or Gelato

Chapter 1 of the gelato story: After having made several trips to Italy in the last 10 years, I've come to be a real afficionado of gelato. And although I've had it here at home, it never seems to taste as good as it does there. Is it the air? Is it the fact that I'm on vacation? Is it just the romance of Italy? Or, more likely, I believe, milk in Italy is just different than ours, with a higher butterfat content, and the milk tastes different because of what the cows eat. I just picture all those Italian cows munching away on REAL grass and stuff, rather than the manufactured crap and exaggerated hormones American dairies feed their milkers in order to produce the highest possible amount of milk output. I'd love to be able to bring a half gallon of Italian milk home with me from some trip to Italy and see if there was a difference. Not likely with the TSA vigilant at the screening stations and us with 5-ounce limits of anything.

Chapter 2 of the gelato story: A few years ago when our friends Yvette & Joe were coming up to visit from San Diego, Yvette said she'd bring dessert. And, oh my goodness, was it wonderful. She frequents a little gelato store on India Street (Little Italy) near downtown San Diego. Called Gelato Vera Caffe, it's run by a ubiquitous Italian man from the old country. His shop is small, his business brisk, and his gelato par excellence. Yvette brought her favorite, banana, and left us the remaining gelato after our wonderful dinner. We've been back several times to bring home a batch, although the banana flavor must be ordered in advance because he ripens the bananas for several days. Now, another day I'll write up the more recent roasted banana gelato/ice cream I just made a few days ago, but right now we're talking about Lemon Velvet since it was my first, successful gelato conquest.

One of the reasons gelato is different is that it's made mostly with milk (whole milk), not cream as our traditional ice cream contains. So, theoretically, it's a little healthier for us than ice cream. But any nutritionist would probably question my logic there. But anyway, I love making ice cream that doesn't require making a custard (it's traditional here in the U.S. - a sauce made with egg yolks and cream simmered until thickened, then cooled and chilled before freezing). So when this Lemon Velvet recipe appeared in the Los Angeles Times some months ago, I clipped it out in a flash because it contains more milk than anything else. The Velvet Turtle restaurant chain was widely known in Southern California for many years, and this recipe was a regular on their dessert menu. The original recipe is printed below. Normally I substitute the evaporated milk and the regular milk with Trader Joe's fat-free half and half. And I usually add some heavy cream instead of the half and half called for.

So, now, we finally get the segue for what the photo is all about. Are you getting really bored wondering when I'm ever going to get to the recipe? Just a little more explanation. About 3 years ago when Dave asked me what I'd like for Christmas I said "a Cuisinart commercial ice cream machine." Now these dream machines aren't cheap (photo from Amazon.com, where you can buy this little beauty for $299). At the time they were only available at Williams-Sonoma. So, with great anticipation I began making some different kinds of ice cream and gelato every few weeks. This is one of our favorites. Okay, now you get the recipe:

Lemon Velvet Ice Cream

Recipe: Los Angeles Times

Serving Size : 10 Preparation Time :0:10

1 3/4 cups sugar

lemon zest from 2-3 lemons

1 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups half & half

1-12 1/2-ounce can evaporated milk (I use fat-free half and half)

1 1/2 cups full-fat milk (I use fat-free half and half)

1 dash salt

1. Remove the zest from some of the lemons with a microplane grater, if possible. Combine with the fresh squeezed juice in a blender. Blend well. If you don't have a microplane for the zest, blend this for awhile so none of the zest appears in big chunks. Pour into a large bowl with the other ingredients. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Taste for sweetness or tartness and adjust. If time permits, refrigerate.

2. Follow ice cream freezer directions and freeze in one or two batches, as needed. Scoop into a freezer container and freeze for at least one hour before serving.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 338 Calories; 18g Fat (47.2% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 65mg Cholesterol; 93mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Fruit; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 3 1/2 Fat; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : This is a really smooth ice cream, and with our home grown Meyer lemons, the perfect complement to their sweetness. This may be the best ice cream I've ever made in my machine. Because I like to enjoy this all year around, I freeze the lemon juice (with zest included) in 1-cup containers. Then in December when I want a little lemon pucker, it's no trouble to prepare this. If you use other varieties of lemons the mixture may need additional sugar, so taste it and adjust as needed.

If you want to print just the recipe, click on the title above.