Martha Stewart: Chicken Parmigiana & Baked Ziti

Alternatively, this post could also be called "Cheese Overload" or "How To Gain Ten Pounds in One Sitting."

I don't think I've mentioned this here before, but my Mom's been suffering from severe depression and panic attacks the past few months which is why I've been doing the cooking (she's on complete rest)... and connected to that, she's been losing a worrisome amount of weight due to lack of appetite, so I'm always on the lookout for weighty yet tempting recipes. I had a chemistry lab midterm today so my meal planning was minimal, but shortly after dumping my books in my room I found what is probably the grand pooh-bah of fattening meals: homemade tomato sauce and Chicken Parmigiana. In my mind, the picture with the recipe looks kind of gross, but the real thing was all golden brown crumbs, tender white chicken, and cheese ad infinitum nestled in a bed of bubbling basil-laced sauce. The sauce doesn't originally call for basil, but I'm a wild and crazy gal and so I add it to everything. This recipe was definitely 4 stars. Go for it!

Easy Chunky Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Martha Stewart.com
Makes 6 cups

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cans (28 oz each) diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp thyme or Italian seasoning (I used 1/4 tsp each)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp crushed basil - if you have fresh, I'm sure that would be even better

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper, and cook until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the tomatoes with their juice and the thyme (and/or other spices); simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened (20-25 minutes). Sauce can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Chicken Parmigiana
Adapted from Martha Stewart.com
Serves 4-6

• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 3 to 4 boneless chicken breasts cut in half horizontally, or 6 to 8 chicken cutlets
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cups jarred tomato sauce or Easy Chunky Tomato Sauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 6 ounces fresh mozzarella  cheese (or a big bag of shredded mozzarella, which is what I happened to have on hand)

Heat broiler. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a shallow bowl. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in beaten egg, then dredge in the breadcrumb mixture, turning to coat both sides.
Spread tomato sauce onto the bottom of a 10-by-15 inch baking dish. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Place 3 or 4 chicken pieces in skillet; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes each side. Transfer cooked cutlets to baking dish, resting them on the bed of tomato sauce. Repeat with remaining oil and cutlets. Top each cutlet with mozzarella and broil until sauce is hot and cheese is melted and lightly brown in spots (this only takes a few minutes - constant vigilance!). Serve immediately.

I had so much sauce left that I decided to make a side of baked ziti to go along with it (I just used the ziti portion of the recipe in the link). I could try to explain the way the tomatoes eased into the creamy ricotta, the mess of hot mozzarella, but you'd really have to just try it.

Baked Ziti
Adapted from MarthaStewart.com
Serves 4

• 7-8 ounces ziti
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 jar (24-26 oz) tomato sauce.. or 2-3 cups Easy Chunky Tomato Sauce.

Preheat Oven to 450 degrees. Cook the pasta according to directions on package. Drain and set aside.
In a small bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and half the mozzarella; season with salt and pepper.

In the bottom of a shallow 2-quart casserole dish, spread half the tomato sauce. Top with ziti, then ricotta mixture and remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella. Place casserole on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until top is browned and sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

If you want to go the whole 9 yards, I recommend making the sauce first, then starting the ziti, and while it's in the oven, prepare the chicken. When you take out the ziti, pop the chicken in to broil, and everything can be on the table within 5 minutes. Feel free to rub your hands together gleefully and maybe even throw in an evil little chuckle at this point to enjoy the moment (I find this makes cooking even more satisfying). Or.. watch this video.

Martha Stewart: Gingerbread Snacking Cake

All that soup making made me hungry for gingerbread, so since I was on a roll (read: crazed cooking spree) I baked up a batch.

These days I am craving all things fall. I'm breaking out the sweaters and scarves, drinking hot tea, singing Christmas songs (it's going to be a long fall...), and there are few things that say fall quite like warm gingerbread. Strangely, many gingerbread recipes seem to turn out disappointingly bland, but this one actually tastes like ginger and is spicy with nutmeg. As its name implies, it's great for snacking... the only problem being not to eat the whole pan in one sitting while drinking tea, wearing a sweater and singing, "It Feels Like Christmas."

Gingerbread Snacking Cake
Adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook

Serves 12
You will need a 9 x 13-inch cake pan.

Ingredients

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
• 1 cup unsulfured molasses*
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• Powdered sugar for dusting

*I didn't have enough molasses, so I used 3/4 cup molasses and 1/4 cup honey. 


Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9 x 13-inch cake pan, tapping out excess; set aside. In a bowl, combine the boiling water and baking soda; set aside. In a bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and baking powder; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter on medium speed until light. Beat in brown sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). On low, beat in molasses, baking soda mixture, and flour mixture. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Pour batter into pan; bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Gingerbread often seems to bake unevenly so that you get a burnt crust and an uncooked center - to avoid this I baked the gingerbread for 30 minutes then took a piece of aluminum foil, cut out a rectangle in the center, and placed the remaining foil "frame" over the top of the gingerbread so that the edges were protected from the heat and the uncovered center could continue to cook for 7 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Sift light dusting of powdered sugar over the top before serving. Gingerbread will keep at room temperature, covered with plastic wrap, several days.

Smitten Kitchen: Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons

Today was a nippy, brisk fall day... in fact, let's go all out and say it was cold (in the south, 60 degrees means it's time to break out the sweaters). In any case, I felt justified in making soup.

This soup was introduced to me by Karyn from the amazing Smitten Kitchen website, where the photos are almost as delicious as the food. The soup is rich and has a bite that is pleasantly unexpected from something that looks a little like baby food. The little floating islands of gruyere and thyme "croutons" really top it off, both literally and metaphorically. Ladling out the soup and launching the croutons on their maiden voyages before calling everyone to dinner is the key to getting the wow factor (and disguising the fact that it's glorified squash puree). You can find the original recipe here. This is my version (I only omitted sage from the original recipe because we were out of it, but I'm sure it would be tasty).

Winter Squash Soup with Gruyere Croutons
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen adapted from Bon Appétit, December 1996

Serves 8

Soup

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• About 43 ounces chicken broth/stock
• 1 peeled butternut squash cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 peeled acorn squash cut into 1-inch pieces*
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (dried also works in a pinch)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 cup whipping cream

*Peeling an acorn squash is a time-consuming business, so plan accordingly. My method  involves hacking and chipping off the peel with a sharp paring knife, as a vegetable peeler can't get into all the crevices. I imagine there is probably a more sophisticated way to go about this, and if anyone discovers it, please tell me.

Croutons

• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 24 1/4-inch-thick baguette bread slices
• 1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme

For soup: Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth, all squash and herbs; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to same pot. Stir in cream and bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill. Rewarm over medium heat before serving.)

For croutons: Preheat broiler. Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange bread, buttered side up, on baking sheet. Broil until golden, about 1 minute. Turn over. Sprinkle cheese, then thyme, over. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each with croutons and serve.

 Bonus: This salad makes an excellent pairing with the soup. Very autumnal, and thyme makes yet another appearance.

Pear and Walnut Salad
Adapted from The Bon Appétit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook, "Pear and Curly Endive Salad"

Serves 4

Salad

• 1/2-3/4 cup walnuts
• 1 ripe pear
• Lettuce (I used romaine, but a spring mix might be even nicer)

Dressing

• 4 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 6 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme

Whisk vinegar and mustard in small bowl. Whisk in oil 2 tbsp at a time. Mix in thyme. Season dressing with salt and pepper.

Pop the walnuts in a toaster oven or under the broiler in the oven for 5-10 minutes, or until they look toasted but not burnt and smell rather nice; when toasted, coarsely chop. Meanwhile, cut the pear lengthwise into quarters of eighths, core it, and then slice across the width to get little triangles. Combine the lettuce, pear, and walnuts in a salad bowl; add the dressing and toss.

Kitchen Escapades: Martha Stewart's Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

This recipe is always a hit at our house. Fresh basil (I haven't tried using Thai basil yet, but the common variety works fine in a pinch), fresh garlic, and highly peppered chicken (I take "season generously" very seriously) make it nice and flavorful. Best of all, it's uncomplicated. Success!

Check out the recipe here.