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This
week I offer an excellent entree... it's
something sort of different, and definitely
a crowd-pleaser! Perfect for a small dinner party or
Sunday family gathering...
Entree
Tunisian
Chicken
4
whole chicken breasts, split
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion (stay with me, here.....I know it sounds like a
lot.)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth (or bouillon)
Juice of one small lemon
1 small lemon, thinly sliced
1/3 cup halved pimiento-stuffed green olives
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Combine
flour, salt and pepper on waxed paper. Turn chicken in flour
mixture to evenly coat. Shake off the excess.
Sauté
chicken pieces a few at a time in oil in a large skillet; remove pieces
to a large baking dish as they brown, arranging in a single layer.
Preheat
the oven to 375 degrees.
Add
onion, garlic powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne to the skillet; sauté
until onion is slightly softened. Stir in chicken broth and the
juice of 1 small lemon, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of the
skillet. Bring to boiling; pour over the chicken. Arrange
lemon slices over chicken.
Bake,
covered in oven at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and
sprinkle with olives.
Bake,
uncovered, for 5 minutes or until chicken is tender. Sprinkle with
parsley.
Serve.
Makes
8 servings.
Side
Dishes
Fanned
Roast Potatoes
16
small red new potatoes
8-10 tablespoons butter, melted
Salt and pepper
Snipped fresh chives (or dried)
Dried leaf tarragon, crumbled
Cut
six to eight 12X9 inch rectangles of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
Make
4 or more slices, side by side, into the potatoes, taking care NOT to
cut the whole way, just about 3/4 of the way down.
(an easy way to do this is to put the potato on a large serving-type
spoon, and begin to slice downward.... your knife will stop when it hits
the edges of the spoon.)
Fan-open
the potatoes, gently.
Place 2 on each piece of foil. Pour the butter over top of
potatoes and sprinkle with salt, pepper, chives and tarragon to
taste. Seal the foil to form packets.
Place
in oven and cook until tender, approximately 1 hour.
Makes
6-8 servings.
Marinated
Vegetables
1
10-oz. package frozen green beans
1 10-oz. package frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, halved, seeded and diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms, sauteed
1 jar (4 oz.) pimiento, sliced (optional)
1/3 cup white vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Cook
all vegetables according to package directions, until crisp-tender.
Combine
the vegetables in a large, shallow glass baking dish.
Combine
the vinegar, oil, water, salt, pepper and paprika in a screw-top jar and
shake until well blended.
Pour
the marinade over the vegetables and stir them to coat well.
Cover
and marinate for 1-2 hours. Before baking, drain most of the
marinade, leaving about 1/2 cup in the baking dish.
Bake,
covered with aluminum foil, at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes.
Makes
about 5 servings, but recipe can be doubled.
Dessert
Sour Cream
Pound Cake
2
sticks butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 8-oz. container sour cream (fat-free or low-fat will work well)
3-1/3 cups sifted flour
Spray
a loaf pan with cooking spray, then flour it to prevent sticking.
Preheat
oven to 325 degrees.
Beat
butter and 2-1/2 cups of the sugar in a large bowl with mixer until well
blended. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, and continue beating until
mixture is creamy-light. Add the lemon extract and vanilla.
Beat
egg whites in a medium-sized bowl until foamy white. Add remaining
1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until mixture forms soft,
glossy peaks.
Stir
baking soda into sour cream. Add flour alternately with sour cream
mixture to butter mixture, blending well after each addition. Fold
in beaten egg white mixture until no streaks of white remain. Pour
into the prepared pan.
Bake
at 325 degrees for one hour and 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted
near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10
minutes. Remove from pan, and allow to cool completely.
Serve
with a large scoop of lemon sherbet or vanilla ice cream.
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