Chicken escalopes stuffed with olives and capers / Escalopes de poulet farcies aux olives et aux c�pres

For 2 / pour 2 personnes

2 chicken breasts or escalopes / escalopes de poulet

100 gm black olives, chopped / olives noires, h�ch�es

2 cloves garlic, chopped / gousses d�ail h�ch�es

1 small bunch of parsley, chopped / poign�e de persil, h�ch�e

1 tablespoon capers, chopped / cuill�re de c�pres, h�ch�es

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs / cuill�res de chapelure

salt, pepper / sel, poivre

olive oil / huile d�olive

250 ml tomato sauce / sauce de tomate

Cut a slit in each of the escalopes and open out. / Couper une fente dans chaque escalope et les ouvrir.

Mix the other ingredients with a little olive oil and use to stuff the escalopes. / M�langer les autres ingr�dients avec un peu d�huile d�olive et faire farcir les escalopes.

Close, using cocktail sticks to hold the edges together. Fermer, en utilisant des piques � ap�ritif pour tenir les bords ensemble.

Oil an oven proof dish and put the escalopes in it with the tomato sauce. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in the oven at 180 degrees C for an hour. / Mettre de l�huile dans un plat � four, mettre les escalopes dans le plat et ajouter la sauce de tomate. Couvrir du papier d'aluminium et les faire cuire au four pour une heure � 180 degr�s C.

Serve with rice. / Servir accompagn� du riz.

Parm, Olive & Pepperoni Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
8 oz rotini
1/2 English cucumber, diced
2 1/2 oz turkey pepperoni, sliced
1 large cubanelle pepper, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion
10 pimento stuffed green olives, sliced

for the dressing:
2 oz olive oil
2 oz red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Directions:
Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Drain and allow to cool. Place the pasta and the remaining salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss. In a small bowl or dressing shaker, mix together the dressing ingredients until emulsification occurs. Drizzle over the salad and toss again. Serve at room temperature for best flavor.

My thoughts:

Every year around this time I really, really want to eat light, spring-like dishes. Unfortunately, living in the mid-Atlantic means that despite recent warm weather, there are virtually no vegetables or fruits in season locally right now. Overwintered rhubarb or leeks maybe but that's about it. So frustrating. So what I've been doing is making a lot of salads that don't absolutely rely on in season vegetables to be awesome. I've been getting a head start on grilling some proteins for this summer's grilling posts and these salads are prefect accompaniments; I can make them ahead of time leaving me free to grill without running back and forth to the kitchen. The trick is to include enough fresh ingredients in the salad to keep it from tasting too straight from the cupboard but nothing that truly needs to be in season to be delicious like tomatoes or corn. A bit of fresh Italian parsley brightens the dressing, hot house English cukes and cubanelles are pretty tasty year round. Good quality olives, Parmesan and pepperoni round it out and add an Italian edge which makes it robust enough to serve along steaks or pork marinaded with Italian herbs. The leftovers make a tasty light lunch the next day too.

Stromboli with Capicola, Soppressata, Proscuitto & Salami

Ingredients:

raw, ready to use pizza dough
12 oz (canned or jarred but not marinated) artichoke hearts, sliced thinly
2 oz olive spread*
2 oz grated Parmesan
1/4 lb shredded mozzarella
1/4 lb lean capicola
1/4 lb soppressata
1/4 lb Genoa salami
1/4 lb prosciutto
1/4 lb provolone


1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
ice cubes

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl, beat together the egg yolk and water. Set aside. Divide the dough in two equal halves. On a clean, floured surface roll one out to 1/4 inch thick rectangle. Place the long side in front of you. Spread a thin layer of olive spread, leaving a 1/2 inch margin. Top with a single layer of artichoke. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Top with a layer of capicola, then soppressata, Genoa salami, and prosciutto and finally provolone taking care not to infringe on that 1/2 inch margin. Roll in to a tight spiral, rolling away from you. Pinch edges close. Brush with the egg wash. Slash the top. Bake, seam side down, on a parchment paper lined pizza stone or baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ingredients*. Toss some ice cubes into the bottom of the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes then cool on a wire rack until just barely warm, about 10-15 minutes. Slice.

Note: Store leftovers wrapped in waxed paper and then again in foil. Serve leftovers warmed or at room temperature.

*A mixture of various green minced olives and olive oil. Look for it at Italian groceries.

**Depending on the thickness of the slices, you might end up with some meats and cheese leftover.

My thoughts:

Stomboli is an Italian-American creation with hotly debated origins. My favorite origin story is on the Ramono's website so I am going with them. They are pretty hardcore as to what constitutes a stromboli (it is NOT "flopped over" pizza!) but they do call for American cheese which I cannot condone under any circumstances. For my version I used my favorite pizza dough recipe (you could use an Italian bread dough but elastic pizza dough is easier to roll) and some lovely Italian meats from our local Italian deli. Granted, the meats and cheese were slightly pricey but the flavor was amazing and two strombolis were more than enough for 2 meals for 2 people. I haven't really had much in the way of stromboli actually, they are not a popular Baltimore menu item but the idea of a stuffed, rolled sandwich with all of my favorite meats sounded wonderful. I enjoyed it both warm from the oven and then at room temperature the next day. It was a great alternative to a regular sandwich, which truth be told I am not terribly fond of, but really not much work at all.

Viva la Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
12 oz rainbow rotini, cooked
12 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained and marinade reserved
8 oz mozzarella, diced
1/2 English cucumber, diced
1/2 large red onion, diced
6 radishes, sliced thinly
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cups halved campari tomatoes
1/3 cup diced green onion (green parts only)
1/3 cup sliced spiced olive-cured green olives


dressing:
1/4 cup marinade from the artichoke hearts
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon minced basil
1/2 tablespoon minced Italian parsley
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt
pepper

Directions:
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Place the salad ingredients in a large bowl and toss to evenly distribute. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss again. Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving.

My thoughts:

I haven't made too much in the way of pasta salads before but I have been trying to will actual summer weather into existence and thought that a cold salad might do the trick. Not quite sure if it worked but it has been rather sunny the last few days if very humid.

The salad itself was very tasty; comprised mostly of items I purchased at our local Italian market. The olives and artichokes are quite robustly flavored and the mozzarella adds a creamy note. The dressing couldn't be easier and using the marinade from the artichokes really ties the flavors together.

Rice Cooker Arroz Con Pollo

Ingredients:
1/3 cup cubed, cooked chicken (breast or thighs work well)
1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 "rice cooker" cup of long grain rice
8 small Spanish olives with pimientos, halved
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 onion, chopped
1 packet Goya Saz�n Con Culantro Y Achiote
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
water or chicken stock

Directions:
Add the rice and contents of the flavoring packet and the paprika to the rice cooker. Fill with broth (or water) to the manufactures' fill line. Add the remaining ingredients.



Close the lid and set to "mixed rice". Stir before serving.


Note: This recipe is easily doubled. As is, it serves 1-2.

My thoughts:

Just to start off, I made this in my very much beloved Zojirushi NS-VGC05 Micom 3-Cup Electric Rice Cooker and Warmer so I can really can only vouch for the success of this recipe in this particular rice cooker. That said, I cannot imagine that it wouldn't work in another rice cooker.

This recipe is a variation of a recipe that my husband came up with after hitting on the idea of adding chicken to some rice he was making for the next day's lunch. It started out with just onion, celery, rice and chicken then it evolved to include olives and now I added tomatoes. Matt frequently makes it when we have leftover chicken. He just puts it in the rice cooker after dinner, lets it cool then packages it up for lunch the next day. It reheats well. Of course it is also very good straight out of the rice cooker. The rice is perfectly cooked and seasoned as is the rest of the ingredients. Who says a rice cooker is a single use appliance?

Olive-Brie Tapenade

Ingredients:
6 large sun-dried tomato stuffed olives in olive oil, drained
4 oz brie, rind removed
1 tablespoon capers
1 clove garlic

Directions:
Place the olives, garlic and capers in a blender or Vita-Mix. Plus once. Add the brie and pulse until a coarse mixture forms. Serve as a spread on sandwiches, bread or crackers.

Yield: about 1/2 cup

My thoughts:

Traditionally tapenade is made with black olives and well, without cheese but who says it has to stay that way? I had a little wheel of Ile de France brie which while perfectly creamy and tasty, like all brie doesn't exactly have a robust flavor. When paired with the olives however, the brie takes on new life. It not only starts to absorb the flavors of the olives and capers, it provides the perfect creamy counterpoint to the sun-dried tomato/olive textures.

Ragout d'escoubille

This is an Occitan dish, from the word escobilh which means a broom. It is made with the bits and pieces to be found in the kitchen. In spite of this, people here in the Languedoc have very definite ideas about what it should include: pork and chicken, dried c�pe mushrooms (boletus) and olives.

C'est un plat occitan, dont le nom vient du mot escobilh qui veut dire 'balai'. C'est prepar� des petits morceaux de viande et l�gumes qui restent dans la cuisine. Malgr� �a, beaucoup des gens ici ont des id�es tr�s pr�sis de ce qu'il doit inclure: le porc et le poulet, des ceps secs et des olves.

For 4 - 6 servings / 4 - 6 personnes

250 g pork / porc -- 250 g chicken / poulet -- 200 g sausage / saucisse fra�che

4 large potatoes, quartered / grosses pommes de terre, coup�es en quatre

4 sticks celery / c�l�ri -- 4 carrots, cut in 2 cm pieces / carrottes, coup�es en 2cm

1 large onion, chopped / gros oignon, coup� -- 4 cloves garlic / gousses d'ail

1 teaspoon tomato pur�e / petite cuiler�e pur�e de tomate concentr�e

30 g dried boletus mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes / c�pes sech�s, tremp�s � l'eau ti�de pour 15 minutees

250 cl white wine / vin blanc -- salt, pepper, bay leaves / sel, poivre, feuilles de laurier sauce

100 g black olives / olives noires

olive oil / huile d'olive -- water / eau

Soften the onion in a little olive oil in a heavy cast iron pan. Cut the pork and chicken into pieces and brown with the onions.

Poeler l'oignon � l'huile d'olive dans une marmite. Couper le porc et le poulet en morceaux et les faire dor� avec les oignons.

Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, chopped garlic and tomato pur�e and stir. Add the mushrooms, wine, salt, pepper, a few bay leaves and water to cover. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 45 minutes.

Ajouter les pommes de terre, carrottes, c�l�rie, ail et la pur�e de tomate, et remuer. Ajouter les c�pes, le vin, sel, poivre, quelques feuilles de laurier et de l'eau pour couvrir tous. Faire bouiller et cuire � feu doux pour 45 minutes.

Fry the sausage and cut into pieces. / Faire cuire la saucisse et couper en morceaux.

Add the sausage and the olives to the ragout, reheat and serve with bread.

Ajouter la saucisse et les olives au ragout, rechauffer et servir avec du pain.

Crushed haricot beans with sweet onion / Haricots blancs �cras�s � l'oignon doux

1 can haricot beans / 1 boite d'haricots blancs

1 small sweet onion / oignon doux

1 teaspoon paprika / 1 petite cuill�re � caf� piment doux

chopped parsley / persil hach�

olive oil / huile d'olive

salt, pepper / sel, poivre

black olives / olives noires

Crush the beans with a fork to make a rough paste. Add the chopped sweet onion, paprika, parsley, salt and pepper.

Ecraser les haricots. Ajouter l'oignon doux coup�, le piment doux, le persil, sel et poivre.

Serve with black olives, a drizzle of good olive oil and toast or crusty bread / Servir garni d'olives noires, un fil de bonne huile d'olive et du pain.

Lamb and olive tagine / Tajine d'agneau aux olives

 

(for 4 people / pour 4 personnes)

750 gm breast of lamb / poitrine d'agneau

1 lemon / citron

1 onion / oignon

Mint leaves, chopped / feuilles de menthe, coupées

3 cloves garlic / gousses d'ail

3 bay leaves / feuilles de laurier sauce

4 potatoes / pommes de terre

1 dessert spoonful harissa paste / cuillerée harissa

salt / sel

olive oil / huile d'olive

100 gm green olives / olives vertes

1 green pepper / poivron vert

Brown the onion with the pieces of lamb in olive oil in a cast iron pan or a terracotta tagine dish.  Add the quartered lemon, the mint, garlic, bay leaves, harissa and halved potatoes.  Cover with water and add salt to taste.  Simmer for an hour.

Faire dorer l'oignon et l'agneau dans l'huile d'olive.  Ajouter le citron, coupé en quatre, le menthe, l'ail, les feuilles de laurier sauce, le harissa et les pommes de terres coupés en deux.  Couvrir de l'eau et ajouter du sel.  Cuire à feu doux pour une heure.

Add the olives and simmer uncovered for a further 20 minutes.  Sauté the sliced green pepper in olive oil.  Serve the tagine, garnished with the pepper, and accompany it with a bowl of yogurt with crushed garlic, salt and chopped mint leaves.

Ajouter les olives et cuire à feu doux pour 20 minutes.  Sauter le poivron, coupé en tranches, dans un peu de huile d'olive.  Servez la tajine, garnie du poivron et accompagnée d'un mélange de yaourt, ail et feuilles de menthe.

Tamale Pie

Ingredients:
top layer:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup shredded cheddar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg

meat mixture:
1 lb ground chicken
1/4 cup canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, pureed
20 oz canned diced tomatoes with green chile, drained*
15 oz kidney beans, drained
1/4 cup spicy Sicilian-style olives (oil packed)**
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon chile powder




Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Spray or grease a 8x8 baking dish.
For the cornbread layer: In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat in the egg, buttermilk and oil until well combined. Set aside.
For the meat mixture:
In a large skillet, heat the oil in the pan, then saute onion, garlic until fragrant. Add chicken, cayenne and chipotle pepper powder, chile powder and saut� until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in beans, tomatoes with green chiles, olives, and peppers and the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. Cook about 5 minutes or until the entire mixture is cooked though and the majority of the liquid has evaporated. Spread evenly into the prepared dish. The mixture should fill the majority of the pan, but don't worry, the batter will fit. Spoon the batter evenly over the chicken mixture to cover completely. Smooth with the back of a spoon or spatula.



Bake 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Slice into squares and serve.




*Or 18 oz canned diced tomatoes and 4 oz canned chopped green chiles.
**available in well stocked olive bars and delis

Yield: approx. 6-8 servings

My thoughts:

Tamale pie is a bit of a misnomer, it doesn't really taste like tamales beyond the most basic corn-meat level but is a dish all of its own. Tamale pie appears to date back to at least 1905 when it appeared in this Los Angeles Times cookbook. During WWI a vegetarian version was popular (probably due to wartime rationing) then tamale pie had a resurgence of popularity during WWII when meat rationing was again in effect as tamale pie can serve a whole family with a minimal amount of relatively cheap meat. For this recipe, I modernized it a bit, I swapped out ground beef for flavor absorbing ground chicken, added chipotle peppers for a smoky spicy flavor and upped the amount of tomatoes. Some recipes call for corn in the meat mixture, but corn isn't in season so I left it out. I don't think it would be entirely out of place and might even make this dish more of a complete meal.

Olive and Artichoke Focaccia

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons olive oil PLUS 1/4 cup, divided use
1 tablespoon salt
10 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/3 cup Greek olives, halved
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated


Directions:
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup of water. Allow to sit about 10 minutes. Then combine yeast with 1 cup of flour in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Mix thoroughly then add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, 2 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 cup water. Mix thoroughly again and then add the remaining flour and water. Continue to mix with the dough hook until a soft dough forms. If it is sticky, add a bit more flour, too dry or powdery, add a touch more water. Remove from the bowl and pat into a round shape. Grease a 14 x18 inch pan* with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place the dough in it, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise** about 1 1/2 hours. After the 1 1/2 hours, stretch the dough out to the length of the pan, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise an additional 45 minutes. After about 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 450***. After the 45 minutes, uncover and poke the dough with your finger to make little holes. In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup olive oil,a tablespoons of water, rosemary and a bit of salt. Brush this over the bread along with the artichokes, and olives. Bake 15-20 minutes, checking about half way through to make sure it isn't browning too quickly. If you are using the Parmesan, sprinkle it on after about 15 minutes of baking then return it to the oven for about 5 more minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.



*a black, metal pan works best.
**an "cold" oven is an excellent place to allow your dough to rise.
***it is nice to bake this in the pan on a baking stone, if possible. Place the baking stone in the oven while you preheat.

My thoughts:

Focaccia is one of my favorite breads. I am not a big bread or roll person but I love a soft bread with "stuff" on it. This is a really easy recipe to make if you have a stand mixer (if you don't you could follow the same instructions and using a food processor or knead the dough by hand) but it is time consuming waiting for the dough to rise. It's actually a good recipe to make if you are expecting guests, the hands on time is relatively short leaving you free to make other dishes or so some clean up during the rising time. People are always impressed with homemade bread.