Great Cook Books I Cook (and live) by

  • Big Orange Book by Rachael Ray
  • Giada at Home
  • Jamie at Home
  • Look and Cook by Rachael Ray

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Greek Chicken Skewers with Greek Lemon Mayonnaise on Pita Bread

Hello everyone! Last night I was feeling inspired and decided to try my hand at inventing a recipe! So, I came up with this chicken recipe which was fabulous, so, I thought I would share it with you. Please try it and any feed back is welcome! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Chicken Skewers:

4 chicken breasts, diced
2 shallots, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 lemon (you will need both juice and rind)
a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
dried thyme
dried oregano
salt and pepper
4 - 6 pita breads

Lemon Mayonnaise:

1/2 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle whip!)
1/2 lemon rind
pinch of dried oregano
salt and pepper

In a bowl, place shallots, garlic cloves, juice and rind of lemon, olive oil, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk together, and then, add chicken cubes. Place in the fridge for about an hour - do not marinade any longer than an hour, as the lemon will begin to "cook" your chicken.

Preheat your grill.

After the chicken has marinaded for an hour, skewer the chicken on soaked wooden skewers, or stainless steel skewers. Place on the grill and grill for a bout 4-5 minutes per side. (if you have a panini press grill you may place the top grill on top of the chicken, and cook for about 7-8 minutes without flipping.

While the chicken is cooking whisk together all ingredients for mayonnaise and set aside. The mayonnaise can be made up a day ahead - the longer it sits the more the flavours blend.

Once the chicken is cooked through, place some olive oil on the grill and place the pita breads on the grill for a couple of minutes each.

Serve the chicken skewers, the mayonnaise, and the pitas by taking the chicken off the skewers, and placing it inside the pita along with the mayonnaise and a nice greek salad on the side!

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
Cheers!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. I am back from my holiday, and have some new recipe ideas. This one is easy, and so tasty! I hope you all try it and let me know how you like it!

Chicken Penne Pasta: (serves 4)

Ingredients:

-1 White onion
-Pesto (fresh or from a jar - fresh pesto recipe follows) - to taste
-4 Fresh Chicken Breasts, cut into strips
-1/4 cup of white wine
-2 fresh bell peppers, chopped into strips
-a bunch of asparagus, chopped into 2" or so pieces
-Olive oil
-Salt and pepper
-1 bag of penne pasta
-fresh parmesan cheese, grated
- salt and pepper

In a large pot, bring water to a boil for cooking the pasta. Salt the water generously. Cook the pasta until al dente.

Meanwhile....

Heat up a saute pan on medium heat, and add olive oil. Saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic. Add the chicken strips, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and let cook until browned lightly and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, and add the wine. With a wooden spoon, scrape the pan to pick up all the little bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the bell peppers and the asparagus until just softened, but, still has some crunch. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. The wine will have reduced. Add the pesto. When the pasta is cooked, mix all ingredients together. Put mixture in serving bowl, and top with fresh parmesan cheese.

Pesto:
- 1 large bunch of fresh basil
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 Cup of toasted pine nuts
- 1/4 Cup of olive oil
- 1/4 Cup of fresh parmesan cheese
- juice of half a lemon

Put all of the ingredients in a food processor and whir until it forms a paste. If it is too thick, add more olive oil.