Lemon Chicken Breasts (or Thighs, if you’re feeling rebellious or just cheap)

This recipe comes from Barefoot Contessa:  How Easy is That?

If I had actually followed the directions, it would probably look a lot more like the photo in the cookbook.  Instead, I substituted garlic scapes for cloves of garlic and summer savory instead of oregano and thyme.  I also substituted chicken stock for wine, and used way too much of it, both because I’m too lazy to go out and buy wine, and not motivated enough to actually measure anything.  And of course, I used thighs instead of breasts because that’s what we had.

These are garlic scapes. They look weird, don't they?

The results were still good, if ugly.  It has been deemed worthy of repeating, at the very least.  It’s great to have another use for chicken, and we’re always looking for something (hopefully a protein) to go with our vegetables in the summer.  I think that these ingredients would make a nice marinade for the grill, too, if you didn’t want to heat up the oven.

Weeknight Bolognese

My husband and I consider ourselves well-qualified tasters of bolognese, or spaghetti with meat sauce.  We’ve eaten it at restaurants, at home, and even (I will admit) a doctored-up version of the jarred variety from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods.  It’s a staple at our house, and in our ordering rotation at restaurants.  This is, bar none, the best either of us has ever tasted.  I’ve made it twice in the last week, and it’s a testament to the health of our marriage that we split up the leftovers without a fight.

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

My husband calls these (from How Easy Is That?) “fancy grits.”  They aren’t so different from the other polenta recipes in the previous Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, but they’re a nice reminder that we’re not limited to potatoes and rice if we want a starchy side dish with dinner (or lunch, or breakfast).  They tend to get slightly stiff when reheated, so you may want to make a small batch if you’re not feeding a crowd, or just anticipate adding some extra liquid when eating them as leftovers.

Now, I don’t specifically recall allowing a drunk monkey into my kitchen, but that’s the only explanation for the horrible quality of this photo.  But it’s polenta – it’s not like a fancy (or even focused) photo is going to make it any more exciting, you know?

Zucchini with Parmesan

This zucchini recipe (Barefoot Contessa Family Style) most closely represents how we ate zucchini at my house when I was growing up.  I’ve abandoned my parents’ fascination with seasoned salt, using fresh garlic or onions instead.  I love how zucchini browns a little at the end of the cooking process, and I could eat this by the bowl full.  The joke in Midwestern small towns is to keep your car doors locked, not for fear of burglary, but for fear that a gardener will leave his or her extra zucchini in your car when you’re not looking.  Bring it on, I say.

Brisket with Carrots and Onions

Continuing with our Jewish theme from yesterday, I made this brisket (Barefoot Contessa Parties!).  I don’t know why or how beef brisket became associated with Jewish holidays, but I can see why the tradition continued.  Based on my previous disappointments (here and here) and advice from my more brisket-experienced friends, I changed the cooking directions from the recipe (3.5 hours in the oven at 350 degrees) and cooked the brisket (and all of the other recommended ingredients) in the slow cooker for 10-11 hours instead.  This time, I was not disappointed, and I would not hesitate to make this meal for guests. We served it with steamed green beans on the side.

Even though I’d never actually cooked brisket at home before (with the exception of corned beef), we have a silly little family song that we sing to the tune of Laurie Berkner’s “Victor Vito”:

In our family, though, we made up new words using the names of our dogs:  “Hey Georgia, Hey Tippet, let’s eat some beef brisket!”

Eli’s Asian Salmon

I love soy sauce marinades on salmon, and this recipe (Barefoot Contessa at Home) was no exception.  I could not find fish sauce at the grocery store (my limit is now to search at two grocery stores for any given ingredient, and then find a substitute), so I just added more oyster sauce instead.  You’ll see it here served with sauteed spinach, to which I added some soy sauce and sesame seeds to fit the Asian theme of the meal.

This particular piece of fish was caught by my brother in Alaska, and lovingly delivered to our home by his awesome wife and children, who are visiting before their big move to Hawaii next month.  My brother and I are only 16 months apart in age, and I’ve known his wife since we were kids at church camp together.  Many of my late-night cooking adventures have been with them, and I credit my brother with being my first guinea pig in the kitchen – he would eat anything, but then give an honest review.  I kind of hate that they live so far away, but at least we have great places to visit wherever they live.

Tuscan Lemon Chicken

This chicken (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics) was supposed to be a whole chicken, cut up and grilled.  As I made it, it was chicken pieces (thank you, Trader Joe’s) made in the oven (thank you, Minnesota spring winds).  It was delicious.  Not pictured:  the chicken breasts that were still cooking in the oven, which were frozen after they cooked to be used in another recipe calling for cooked chicken.

Bay Scallops Gratin

Much like the Baked Shrimp Scampi, this recipe (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics) worked just as well family style as it would have in individual servings.  The bay scallops were available from Trader Joe’s, even here in the far-from-the-bay Midwest.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

So, this is not nearly as pretty as it would have been had I followed the instructions and used a proper gratin dish.  Still, there were no complaints as we liked the Pyrex clean.

Barefoot Contessa at Home

Creamy Rosemary Polenta

Consider this a dressed-up version of grits.  Yum.  I made a half-batch, and it only took half of the recommended time to cook, so this was a very quick side dish.  Next time, though, if I make a half-batch, I’ll be sure to saute the garlic first.  The cornmeal cooked so quickly that the garlic was still pretty crunchy by the time it was served.  Still, this was excellent.

Barefoot Contessa at Home