Creamy mustard chicken & Caesar salad

I keep a 3-ring binder in the kitchen pantry of past recipes that I printed out. Whenever I cook the majority of the time I reference an online recipe from my smart phone and the majority of recipes I use can be found online. However from time to time I like to print a recipe to have on the kitchen counter. It's slightly more stressful to cook from the smart phone but I don't want to print out every recipe for every night. If I think the recipe may be one we'll really enjoy and want to make again then I'm more likely to print it out.

All this background is the lead up to making this recipe! I was browsing through the binder one afternoon to see what was in there and this recipe caught my eye. We had made it last fall and I had forgotten about it! After seeing it in the pages of the binder and remembering how good it was I quickly incorporated it into the meal plan.

Shortly before planning this particular meal plan I had watched Martha Stewart on PBS make a kale Caesar salad and I knew that this chicken pasta dish would be the perfect pairing for the salad. It was an exciting adventure to make the Caesar dressing from scratch. I didn't tell Patrick until after dinner that it had anchovy paste and egg yolk in it! It's a lot of fun to try new things in the kitchen.


Creamy Mustard Chicken from Eating Well
   Total time 35 minutes | Serves 4
Ingredients
7-8 oz package whole-wheat angel hair pasta
4 thin-sliced chicken breasts or cutlets
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, divided
1/4 c all-purpose flour
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/2 c dry white wine
1/2 c water
1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage, plus more for garnish

Directions
   Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package instructions. Drain.
   Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow bowl and coat both sides of the chicken, shaking off any excess. Reserve 2 teaspoons flour; discard the rest.
   Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, turning once, until golden brown and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a clean plate.
Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add shallot and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute. Combine water with the reserved 2 teaspoons flour. Add to the pan and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat; stir in sour cream, mustard, 2 tablespoons sage and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce.
   Top the pasta with half the sauce, the chicken and then the remaining sauce. Garnish with more sage, if desired.


Martha Stewart's Kale Caesar Salad
   Serves 6 [we halved]
Ingredients
   For the croutons
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tbsp unsalted butter, divided
1 (1/2 pound) loaf brioche bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes > substitute whatever old bread you have on hand (we used some sourdough)
salt and pepper
   For the salad
2 cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets, preferably salt-cured, soaked if salted; or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste > we used anchovy paste
1/3 tsp coarse salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish, if desired
3 heads Tuscan kale, washed, dried, stems removed, leaves cut into 1/4-inch strips

Directions
   For the croutons: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 teaspoon butter over medium heat. Working in batches, add one-third of the bread cubes, one-third of the salt, and one-third of the pepper; toss to coat. Cook until golden. Remove from skillet and set aside. Repeat process twice with remaining oil, butter, bread, salt, and pepper.
   For the salad: Place the garlic, anchovy fillets, salt, and pepper in a large wooden salad bowl. Using two dinner forks or a muddler, mash to form a paste. Using one fork, whisk in lemon juice, mustard, and egg yolk. While whisking, drizzle in olive oil and continue to whisk until emulsified. Add 1/2 cup grated cheese; set aside.
   Add kale to bowl along with croutons and toss well. If desired, garnish with additional cheese. Serve immediately.

It's Always Caturday
All the men in the Eibl House!

Do you have a recipe binder in your kitchen? Or some other method for corralling all your recipes? Please share!

1 comment:

  1. I have a plastic box about the size of a shoe box with about 1000 pieces of paper with handwritten recipes on them. Come home and get it organized for me! Love the pic!

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