Classic Chicken Divan

This is a Mom classic.  I can't count the number of times I've eaten this dish in my lifetime.  This is just one of those dishes that, for me at least, warms the soul.

Classic Chicken Divan

Ingredients:

2 bunches fresh broccoli or 2 10-ounce packages frozen broccoli  (I use fresh and use just enough to cover the bottom of the pyrex dish or however much I want) – cooked al dente

¼ cup butter or margarine

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup whipping cream

3 T cooking sherry (I use regular sherry) - can omit if you want to

½ t salt

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 chicken breasts, cooked and thinly sliced (18 slices)

Directions:

Cook broccoli in boiling salted water; drain.  Melt butter; blend in flour.  Add chicken broth; cook and stir till thick.  Stir in cream, sherry salt, and dash pepper.

Place broccoli crosswise in 13x9x2-in baking dish.  Pour half the sauce over.  Top with chicken slices.  To remaining sauce, add Parmesan cheese; pour over chicken; sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or till hot through.  Then broil just till sauce is golden.

Serves 6 to 8

Pork Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

This is just yummy and simple and in my book you can't beat that!  My husband devoured the dish and asked if there was more.

Williams-Sonoma (source of the recipe) recommends serving with sautéed young, tender bitter greens such as dandelion or collard greens in butter. Drizzle with a few drops of balsamic or sherry vinegar just before serving.

Pork Cutlets with Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops, each about 6 oz.
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbs. mustard seeds
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp. chicken demi-glace
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tbs. honey Dijon mustard

Directions:

Cook the pork
Season the pork chops with salt, pepper and the mustard seeds, patting them firmly into the meat.

In a large fry pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Working in batches if needed, add the pork chops and cook, turning once, until golden on the outside and barely pink in the center, about 8 minutes total. Transfer to a plate.

Make the sauce
Add the shallots to the drippings in the pan, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the wine, broth and demi-glace and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom, for about 1 minute. Add the cream and mustard and cook, stirring, until smooth and bubbly, about 1 minute.

Return the pork chops and any juices from the plate to the pan. Simmer until the pork is heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the pork chops and sauce among 4 warmed plates and serve immediately. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Weeknight, by Melanie Barnard (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Pork Tenderloin with Feta, Pesto & Jalapeno Jelly

This is one of my favorite dishes!  My girlfriend Kelly first introduced me to this dish and it was so yummy I requested it to be served at my baby shower and it was a huge hit with all who attended.  Kelly will probably kill me for sharing the recipe but this is an excellent dish and well worth the pain she will inflict on me. 

The only warning I give is there's way more stuffing then can be put into the pork so stuff it according to what you think you will want, not just because you have it.  Remember that with cuisine as well as in life sometimes less is more. 

Pork Tenderloin with Feta, Pesto & Jalapeno Jelly

Ingredients:

Filling (amount for 2 tenderloins):

8 ounce feta cheese

15 TBSP pesto

Rub (for 2 tenderloins):

4 tsp minced garlic

4 tsp coarse-ground black pepper

1 tsp ground red pepper

2 tsp celery seed

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground cumin

Glaze:

1 jar Texas Tamale Co Jalapeno Jelly (about 10 TBSP)

10 TBSP pesto

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325. Trim tenderloins of all fat and white fibrous tissue. Butterfly tenderloins by slicing most, but not all, of the way horizontally so that tenderloin can be laid open in a rectangle. Spread the filling over the entire surface. Roll the tenderloin back up into original shape. Rub the entire outside of the tenderloin with the rub mixture.

Place in baking dish and insert thermometer. Roast for 20 minutes. While roasting, heat the two glaze ingredients together in a saucepan to melt jelly. After the 20 minutes of roasting time, coat the tenderloin (baste) with the glaze.

Toddler Pasta

I confess that I am the crazy Mom who for the first year and a half of my son's life made all of his food from scratch with the exception of yogurt and Gerber snack food.  I wanted to control what was going into his body and be able to introduce him to numerous kinds of food.  The result, for my son at least, is a child who so far seems to only dislike oatmeal and olives.

The below was a big hit with him and it was easy to make.  I like the variety of ingredients and it's clumpy like sushi rice so it's easy to pick up with little hands and shove it into their mouths without food dribbling everywhere. 

I downloaded the below recipe from Parenting Magazine (I think). 

As this blog grows more baby and toddler food items will be posted.

Toddler Pasta

Nutrition Facts :

Servings Per Recipe 6 toddler-size servings

Amount Per Serving:

Calories 180

Total Fat (g) 3

Sodium (mg) 18

Carbohydrate (g) 32

Fiber (g) 2

Protein (g) 6

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients:

1  cup acini de pepe or pastina

1/3  cup finely diced carrots

1/3  cup finely diced red bell pepper

1/3  cup frozen baby peas

1/3  cup finely chopped broccoli

1/3  cup frozen whole-kernel corn

1  tablespoon olive oil

1/8  teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Cook pasta in lightly salted boiling water for 7 minutes. Stir in veggies and cook 5 minutes; drain. Mix in oil and pepper.

Veal Ragout

Part of the reason I'm posting this now is to exhibit the type of various recipes that this blog will have.  This is a wonderful dish but definitely ingredient heavy and time consuming.  I will never forget the first time I made this.  Our friends Frank and Summer were coming over for dinner and I had failed to read the receipe ahead of time and so missed how long it had to simmer.  Well it was late and we were starving and Summer and I took the ingredients and made due with a highly modified version.  Well we all licked our bowls clean.  I've only made it twice since but it has turned heads each and every time. 

I recommend very light sides to accompany this ragout. 

This is a very rich meal so if you have a sensitive constitution be forewarned!

Veal Ragout

Ingredients:

2 pounds 1-inch pieces trimmed boneless veal stew meat
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups dry white wine
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup (or more) water
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/4 pounds white-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup whipping cream

Directions:

Place veal in medium bowl. Sprinkle flour over; toss to coat. Shake off excess. Sprinkle veal with salt and pepper. Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Working in batches, add veal and sauté until brown on all sides, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to bowl. Add onions and celery to pot; sauté until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Return veal to pot. Add wine and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, 1 cup water, parsley, and cinnamon sticks; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir potatoes and cream into stew; season with salt and pepper. Cover; simmer until veal and potatoes are very tender, stirring often and thinning with more water if necessary, about 1 hour. Discard cinnamon sticks and serve.

Baked Chicken Legs

This is the basic of basic recipes in the Sullivan family.  First introduced to my parents by the pianist Ariel Bogoslavsky, this immediately became standard family fare.  It's easy, cheap and delicious which are all good things.  I think we all make this for our individual families.

Baked Chicken Legs

Ingredients:

1 package chicken legs

Salt

Pepper

Pam cooking spray

Directions:

Wash chicken legs thoroughly.  In a glass Pyrex dish coat generously with Pam cooking spray (I prefer butter flavored Pam).  Set chicken legs in dish, spacing evenly head to foot.  Sprinkle to preference with salt then pepper.  Repeat for other side of chicken leg.  Cook in preheated oven for 90 minutes at 400 degrees, or for a slightly less juicier effect cook for 2 hours at 350 degrees.  (In a big rush?  Cook for 1 hour at 450 degrees.)

Papa's Chicken Fried Steak

This is a meal whose preparation will annihilate the kitchen.  Papa isn't allowed to make this very often because Mom says she has to clean all of her cabinets when he's done.  This is a meal where self control definitely gets thrown out of the window.  This is usually prepared when we're all together and Mom's ability to deny us fails miserably.  We just all put on stretchy pants and indulge in heaven.

Papa’s Chicken Fried Steak

Beef tenderloin cut into 6 or 8 ounce steaks

Beat steaks with a mallet until thin

Season with salt and pepper

Egg, flour then egg and flour again

Cook in a pan with vegetable oil until blood comes through then turn not letting the flour burn

Remove to plate with paper towels, keeping warm

Drain oil from the pan being sure to leave browned bits and as much flour as possible

Mix equal parts flour and water (flour is already in pan so be careful).  Add watered down milk to consistency of preference (remember that gravy will continue to thicken after cooking is done).  Pour both into pan and stir until thoroughly mixed and to desired thickness.  Pour over steaks and serve.

Grandmother Hazel's Biscuits

I lived my entire life believing these were made from Buttermilk, after all I have distinct memories of Hazel drinking buttermilk by the glass, but no, these are plain jane biscuits, but they are wonderful.  I never use a biscuit cutter when I make these because they are more like her's when the edges are rough and they aren't pretty in shape.  My father would say the only way to eat them is with sorghum, but that's a personal choice that works for him. ;)

Grandmother Hazel’s Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

3 level teaspoons baking powder

3 level Tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon sugar

½ cup milk

½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients well.  Cut in butter evenly.  Put in milk and stir with a fork.  Sprinkle flour and dump dough and knead.  Roll out and cut or pinch them off.  Bake in a preheated over at 450 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes.

Grandmother Lindsey’s Corned Beef & Cabbage

Some things in this life are better left unaltered.  The following dish is something I loved as a child and something I was so excited to get from my Grandmother a couple of years before she passed away.  I have great memories of this meal though I've not made it.  My husband is not a corned beef fan.  I look forward to making it for my child one day and to use that opportunity to tell him all about my Grandmother and how dear she was to me.  I miss her every day and this meal is one that will always make me think of her.

Grandmother Lindsey’s Corned Beef & Cabbage

3 carrots cut in 3-inch pieces

3 to 4 pound beef brisket

2 to 3 medium onions, quartered

1 to 2 cups of water

½ small head cabbage, cut into wedges

Put all ingredients except cabbage in crock pot in the order listed above.  Cover and cook on low 10 to 12 hours (if on high then 5 to 6 hours).  Add cabbage to liquid, pushing down to moisten, after 6 hours on low (or 3 hours on high),

NOTE; to prepare more cabbage than crock pot will hold, cook it separately in skillet.  Remove 1 cup of broth from crock pot during last hour of cooking.  Pour over cabbage wedges in skillet.  Cover and cook slowly for 20 to 30 minutes. 

In the Beginning....

In the beginning there was a family of five with a Dad that worked and a Mom that stayed at home.  In that immaculate house there was always food.  Not just food, great food.  Mom loved to cook and did so with gusto almost every day.  On the weekends there were a lot of parties and even more food.  Speaking for myself, as the youngest of the three children, growing up in a house where there was always good food to be had, it set a precedent about what type of food to expect.

I always knew, though I don't know why or how, that I came from a long line of women who could and did cook.  My mother took cooking classes and amazed the family with her new culinary skills.  My sister would bake goodies galore for the football team.  My grandmothers cooked.  My great-grandmother in the panhandle of Texas would order my mother around the kitchen and give very specific instructions on exactly what cuts of meat to buy at the supermarket (usually to my mother's chagrin).  Again, the food was always really good.

I loved to help my mother cook though by her standards my age guaged my ability to help.  Being intimidated of cooking was never a thought that entered my head, or I believe my sister's.  Cooking was just part of life and if you were going to eat then the food needed to be worth eating. 

In high school I started preparing basic standard family fare.  In college, having memorized my father's American Express number, I would go to the grocery store after watching Great American Chefs, Great Chefs of Europe or perusing my mother's extensive cookbook collection.  I would make some of the dishes I had just watched or read about and serve the food to my parents.  Yes, Daddy was always angry until he ate the food, but fortunately for him my schedule didn't allow me to be creative very often.  The only dish I remember making from that time was a risotto stuffed portabello mushroom that had him almost in tears. 

A lifetime later and my parents call both my sister and I fearless cooks.  We'll usually try anything though our talents vary.  My sister's gift is being able to open a cupboard and say, "These 6 ingredients will make an amazing dish" and she's always right.  My talent was not being afraid of any recipe, no matter how involved or time consuming.  I like the challenge of a thing and even if it's a disaster I'll usually give it a whirl.  I vary my recipes from there though if something has the real potential of being good but it's just missing something key I always send it to my sister to play with knowing she will always come up with the solution. 

However it's not just my mother, sister and I that are the cooks.  My sister-in-law is quite gifted and my neice seems to be pretty fearless herself.  While the great-grandmothers and grandmothers are no longer with us there are five women in this family who can definitely feed the masses excellent nosh, thus this blog.

We have an idea in the family that if we make something really good then we'll share the recipe with each other.  Unfortunately we all lead very hectic lives and that's not always possible.  What I hope to achieve here is a place for us to share together, when we do have time, and invite those family members and friends that find out we're doing this and want to get involved in the recipe sharing.  In other words, this is the family cookbook. 

The fun thing is that we each have radically different tastes.  Mom thinks a lot of the food I cook is too involved, my sister and neice make things with mushrooms and olives both of which I detest, but variety is the spice of life.

The core of our cooking comes from the same scrapes of paper, shared generation to generation, and Mom's old cookbook collection.  As we've each grown and experienced life, what we cook within our own little family units has increased that collection.  I hope that here is where we will pull it all together. 

As Mom begins to organize a lifetime of recipes from our grandmothers and great-grandmothers and her own handwritten notes I've launched this blog for us, the women of the Sullivan family.  I've set this up so that the five of us can post receipes.  We are the Spicy Sullivans after all and as we increase the family recipe cannon, and as Mom captures the history of our food, we can share, here, together.