Panko Crusted Chicken with Sour Cream Chive Sauce March 16, 2009

I can’t believe it’s been almost two weeks since I last posted!  I have a good excuse though — this past week was spring break.  My boyfriend and I went on a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee.  It was a ton of fun!  We stayed at the Opryland Hotel, which if you’ve never heard of it, is this absolutely HUGE hotel that’s made to look like a rainforest.  There are real, living tropical flowers and trees all over, and the entire place is kept at relatively warm and humid to emulate the rainforest.  There were about 7 different restaurants and 3 or 4 bars in the hotel alone, a ton of interesting shops and even a nightclub!

It was a pretty long drive from here to Nashville (about 8 hours), but we managed it quite well!  On the way back we stopped in Kentucky to visit my aunt and uncle, who have a gorgeous house out in the country, complete with two of the most adorable dogs ever.

But now I’m back to the real world of school and studying.  I love traveling, but it is kind of nice to be home.

This is a dish that I adapted from a Cooking Light recipe in their October 2008 issue.  It was originally for pork chops, but I’m not a huge fan of pork…in the chop form, at least.  I’ve tried it both with pork chops and chicken, and I definitely prefer it with chicken.  I thought the combination of seasonings in the flour coating sounded a little strange at first, but it really works.  And the sauce is fantastic.  I could put it on just about everything.  It’s creamy, it’s tangy and it has just the right of onion flavor. I’ve used both chives and green onions in the sauce, and I didn’t really notice any change in taste.

Panko bread crumbs are from Japan and they’re a lot chunkier than regular bread crumbs.  They make a fantastic coating on meat because they’re very crispy.  I usually find panko in the Japanese section of the international aisle of my grocery store, but they might also be near the regular bread crumbs.

Panko Crusted Chicken with Sour Cream Chive Sauce

Adapted from: Cooking Light

Makes: 2 chicken breasts, and about 1/2 c. sauce

1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

dash cayenne pepper (to taste)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 egg white

1 tbsp. soy sauce

1 c. panko bread crumbs

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2-3 tbsp. olive oil

Sauce:

4 tbsp. sour cream

1 tbsp. mayonnaise

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

2-3 tbsp. chives, finely chopped

1-3 tbsp. milk

salt and pepper to taste

1) In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.

2) In another medium sized bowl, beat the egg white and soy sauce.

3) Place the panko in a third medium sized bowl (I used cereal bowls for this, but you can also use plates if that’s what you’ve got laying around)

4) Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan.

5) Dredge the chicken breasts first in the flour mixture, then the egg white mixture, then cover with panko.  Press the panko into the chicken to make sure it’s nicely coated.

6) Once the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook about 2 minutes on each side, until well browned.  If the chicken is not cooked through, transfer to a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, until fully cooked.

7) For the sauce, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, red wine vinegar and chives.  Add enough milk to reach the desired consistency (I liked mine kind of thick, so I only added 1 tbsp.  If you want it to be more saucy, add more milk.)  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cheesy Asparagus February 3, 2009

I know what you’re thinking right now: “ew. What is that weird greenish blob?  Is it food?  Is she really posting this on her food blog?”  Well, the answer is yes, and while it may not be the most photogenic thing I’ve ever cooked, it really is quite delicious!

Necessity was definitely the mother of invention today.  I was really hungry, and after being at school all day, I didn’t feel like taking the time to cook something extravagant. I had some asparagus in the fridge that I needed to eat before it went bad.  My rumbling stomach told me that roasting it was out, as was steaming it and trying to throw together a cheese sauce.  Then I remembered this pasta dish that my old roommate and I used to make quite frequently, which combined asparagus with onion and sour cream.  I have an irrational love for sour cream, and will mix it into or dollop it on top of just about anything.  I’ve even put it in ice cream.

I didn’t really feel like pasta today, so I decided to experiment a little and try to take the same flavors from the pasta dish and turn it into a simple side dish.  I’m really proud of this, because I came up with it myself, and it was actually good!  It’s just too bad that it doesn’t photograph well at all.  But trust me, I’m sure you’ll love this lumpy green stuff just about as much as I do, and it is incredibly quick to make.  Even though there’s only a few ingredients in this, it has a really big and bold flavor. The sour cream and sharp cheddar add a nice tang to the smooth sauce that holds it together, and that smoothness is balanced out really well by the crisp asparagus.

Cheesy Asparagus

Source: me!

Makes: a little over 1 cup

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 c. bite-sized asparagus pieces

1/2 c. white onion, chopped small

2-3 tbsp. sour cream

2 tbsp. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1) In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

2) Once hot, add the onion and asparagus and saute for 3-4 minutes, until the onion is translucent and asparagus has reached the desired amount of done-ness (I like mine crisp, but if you like yours softer, cook for 3-4 more minutes)

3) Turn the heat down to low and add the sour cream and cheese, stirring until cheese has melted and everything is completely combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste.