All posts filed under: Entertaining

Chicken with Cognac and Mushroom

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Sunday dinner features chicken more often than not.  This afternoon I watched The Hundred-Foot Journey, a movie starring Manish Dayal which tells the story of an East Indian start-up restaurant right across the street (exactly One Hundred Feet) from a Michelin-starred French restaurant owned and operated by Helen Mirren.  A cute movie that made me want to cook some delicious Indian food right then, even though I don’t have a clue how to do it, nor do I have their amazing spices.  It did motivate me enough to get off the couch and make something traditional and tasty for Sunday dinner.  And yet….I have a feeling there will be Indian cooking lessons in my future! Ingredients: 4 whole legs (leg and thigh) 12 large cremini mushrooms, sliced 3 Tbls Cognac 3 Tbls unsalted butter 1 Tbl flour 1 Tbl olive oil 2 garlic cloves, minced Kosher salt and fresh ground white pepper 1.5 cups chicken broth (low sodium) Method: Preheat oven to 375 degrees On medium high heat, add olive oil to non-stick frying pan …

Goat Cheese and Kalamata Olive Crostini

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When I think of Weekend Football, hearty appetizers come to mind.  To me a good-sized piece of crostini is like eating a mini sandwich.  Except you get to see what you are eating and I fill up quickly on just 3 or 4 of these – okay maybe 5 or 6, cuz I like them. I have a reputation for not being able to keep anything green alive (although green happens to be my favorite color).  I purchased one of those bags of fresh “living” basil that has roots and dirt attached and sits in a plastic bag.  This I knew would not be difficult to keep alive so quickly brought it home and placed it in a tall glass on my kitchen window ledge.  Needless to say I was pretty self-satisfied that I had a “live” plant that I could count on being around for a couple of months or so.  I didn’t realize I was supposed to take it out of the plastic and water it weekly. I went to get some fresh …

French Bread Pudding Soufflé with Grand Marnier

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Days of fresh fruit desserts and long hot summers are gone and Fall has definitely arrived.  Loving it!   Time to switch gears and make warm, cozy desserts and a bread pudding soufflé makes that request easy to fulfill.  You can use all types of bread for this (Challah, Italian, Brioche, or any artisan-style bread) but I prefer to use to be traditional Sour Dough French Bread which adds a more acidic and tangy taste to the desert. It also helps to make the bread pudding rise similar to a soufflé, but without all that extra work and worry associated with it.  Same flavors, but a different texture from a bread pudding recipe where you end up with a very dense, moist pudding – this is light and airy, and lovely.  Make sure whatever bread you choose, that it should be at least a day old (up to a week).  Sprinkle some powdered sugar on top, set a bowl of freshly whipped cream on the side, and you are ready for a lovely, cozy, dessert to enjoy cuddled up …