Archive for April, 2010


Chicken Cutlets with Tomatoes and Capers

Have you all ever heard of In Praise of Leftovers? Cause it’s my newest favorite food blog! There are so many times I stand in front of my fridge starring at everything trying to decide what in the world I should make. Then I close the fridge and open it back up 5 minutes later in hopes that something good has magically appeared ;) You know you do it too! Sarah, the woman behind In Praise of Leftovers, saw this “issue” and bases her blog around the idea of pulling the random bits you find in your fridge and pantry to create wonderful dishes.

As I was looking at her site the other day I saw a recipe for Chicken Cutlets with Tomatoes and Capers ) that looked and sounded so delicious! I was craving capers, I was actually eating them straight out of the jar and figured I should just make a real meal with them! I checked out the ingredient list and realized I had everything in my pantry and fridge except sage and tomatoes so I headed to the grocery store to pick them up… so simple!

Here’s what you need:

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• About 8 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced
• 2 cups halved and washed cherry/grape tomatoes
• salt
• 8 thinly sliced boneless chicken breasts (or chicken cutlets or chicken tenders)
• flour for dusting
• 8 fresh sage leaves (I ended up using more!)
• 1/3 cups white wine or water (I used Sweet Pea apple wine… so good, it has hints of apple in it)
• 3 Tablespoons drained capers
• 4 handfuls of fresh greens
• crushed red chile flakes (if desired)

Here’s what you do:

• Lightly dust the chicken with flour on both sides and set aside.

• Heat half of the oil with garlic in a large nonstick frying pan. Add tomatoes and a little salt and fry over high heat until tomatoes start to pucker. Pour the oil and tomatoes out together in a bowl and set aside.

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• Add the rest of the oil to the same pan. Heat over medium heat. Add sage and place chicken directly on top of sage leaves.

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• Fry the chicken until the underside is golden and the sage is sticking

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• Turn over and season with salt. Cook until the other underside is golden. Add the wine, tomato mixture, and capers. Allow everything to bubble up and evaporate a bit then place the lid on and let sit for a couple minutes.

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• Lay chicken atop greens and top off with some of the tomato caper pan sauce. Garnish with red pepper flakes.

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As I was eating this I was excited just thinking about eating the leftovers the next day for lunch… I guess that’s a sign of a good meal, right?! :) This is a nice and light dish (I went back for seconds, yum!) and also the perfect Summer dinner with the fresh tomatoes and heaps of greens.  Muy delicioso!

Also… don’t skip the sage. I got a little nervous my grocery store wouldn’t have it since that’s happened before, but this dish neeeeeds the sage. When it turns nice and golden brown on the edges it’s just lovely!

[Chels]

Books, Cooking, and Technology: I’m Book-Obsessed

I’ve been a self-confessed book nerd since the day I learned how to read. Actually, probably since the first day my parents read a book to me. Last night I sent out a tweet saying, “Paying my library fines online. Yup, library fines.” and I started thinking… How far have books and reading come, while at the same time, staying so traditional? I mean, I’m still going to the library, but now I’m paying my fines online. Luckily, there hasn’t been much of an inflation in library fees… My library charges 30 cents a day for overdue books!

I always longed for a job where I could just sit around and read. Which is pretty much exactly why I went to grad school at Emerson College to get my Master’s in Writing and Publishing. And while I do currently do some editing work, I became much more of a writer… and a pleasure reader.

These days, I get most of my recipes off the Internet, but I still say there’s nothing like a good old hardcover (or paperback, really) cookbook. That’s why I’ll continue getting most of Martha Stewart’s cookbooks, even though I can get every single one of the recipes online.

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A long time ago, I posted about my parents’ love for cookbooks… And you can clearly see where I got my addiction from:

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But I read so, so much more than just cookbooks. And I absolutely love how reading has come to the Internet and social media. People are simply talking about books more online, whether it’s sharing what they’re reading or writing book reviews. I recently joined the social networking site Shelfari, and there are even more book sharing sites, like Good Reads, where you simply share what you’re reading with your friends. I started a “what I’m reading” series on my tumblr, where I just post a photo when I start reading a new book. Like so:

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I utilize my library , independent bookstores, and all they have to offer. Boston has a totally beautiful public library, along with tons of branches, making it always easy to get to one (making it somewhat confusing why I’m always paying late fees).

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The awesome thing about libraries in this age? You can sit at home and add the books you want to read right from your computer. Since a lot of the books I like to read are in high-demand and are never readily available in the library, I simply request the book and wait until my library emails me to tell me I can come and pick the book up. Does it get any easier than that?

And while I admit I’m Amazon-obsessed (I have an Amazon credit card and have prime membership, 2-day shipping!), I try to shop at my local bookstore when possible. My independent bookstore of choice is Brookline Booksmith and I’ve been known to hang out here whether I’m in the market for a book or not.

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My favorite thing about the Booksmith (besides the books!) is the author events they hold. And they get some pretty awesomely, huge authors. Last year Chels and I attended an event with Chris Kimball of Cook’s Illustrated where we got to listen to a presentation and meet Chris Kimball and the cast of America’s Test Kitchen. So, I urge you to check out your local independent bookstore; you never know who’s going to be there! Take advantage of it.

The future? I’m at the point now where I have way more books than I can handle. I’ve lived in the same apartment for 5 years… One of the reasons? How the heck will I ever move all my books with me? But, even now I don’t have enough room for all of them and they’re scattered all around my apartment:

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School books have been sent to a storage bin. I’ll likely never read most of them again and should probably just sell or donate.

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And this is exactly why I’ve been doing my best to utilize the library more. Someday I’ll have a house with a room like this (Ladders are a MUST!):

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But for now, I’ve forced myself to only buy the books I need and to borrow all the others. Tomorrow, I’ll be the lucky owner of an iPad 3G (thanks to my amazing boyfriend, Chris!) which has me seriously thinking about tablet books. I’ve always been pretty against them (there’s nothing like holding a real book in your hands!), but I’ll definitely be giving them a try. And of course, I’ll report back.

I’ll also certainly be pulling up tons of recipes and uploading lots of cooking apps on the iPad and bringing it into the kitchen with me (don’t worry, Chris, I will keep the case on and won’t let oil splatter on it… Sheesh). Check out how Helen of Foodista is using hers in the kitchen:

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Of course, I’ll continue buying the cookbooks I really want to have in my library. But this is going to be pretty awesome, too. I’ve heard really fabulous things about the Epicurious app and can’t wait to check it out.

How have you changed your reading style over the last few years? And more importantly, what cookbooks do I absolutely need to own? And what novel should I read next?

[Sues]