Chicken Vesuvio

I am digging my weekly "Weeknight Kitchen" newsletter! Has anyone else signed up for it? Click here for the link if you're interested.

On Wednesday morning I got this week's recipe: Chicken Vesuvio. I decided to give it a go. Like the Sichuan pork noodles in a newsletter last month, this week's recipe was also reprinted from a recent cookbook courtesy of those knowledgeable people at America's Test Kitchen.

Serves 4

1/2 cup all-purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded until 1/2 thick

4 tablespoons olive oil

6 small red potatoes, cubed into 1 inch pieces

2 garlic cloves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (OPTIONAL)

1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

2 cups chicken broth/stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice*

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

salt and pepper

*I think more lemon juice might even have been better.

1. Place seasoned flour in a shallow dish. Dredge chicken breasts in flour, one at a time, shaking off any excess.

2. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay chicken in the skillet and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 6-8 minutes, flipping the chicken half way through. Transfer chicken to a plate.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, 8-10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, rosemary, crushed red pepper flake, a little salt, and a few grounds of black pepper and cook until fragrant.

4. Add the broth and wine to the potatoes, scraping up and browned bits. Nestle the chicken and any accumulated juices, into the potatoes and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for an additional 10-12 minutes or until you're sure the chicken is cooked through.

5. Remove the chicken again and keep on a separate plate, tented loosely with tin foil to keep warm. Increase the heat to medium and continue to cook, uncovered, until the sauce has thickened slightly and the potatoes are tender, 5 minutes. Remove the potatoes with a slotted spoon and add to the same plate with the chicken. Off the heat, stir the peas, butter, and lemon juice into the remaining sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken and potatoes to the pan OR pour the sauce over the chicken and potatoes and serve.

I served this chicken with a very plain salad and steamed asparagus dressed with olive oil and the rest of the juice from the lemon I squeezed for the chicken.

Way too much ham for 3 people

After my frustrating filet of beef experiment last Christmas, I decided to go traditional, tried, and true for Easter this year: ham. Last Saturday, my mom and I took a trip to Costco and I picked out an 8lb spiral cut ham from their enormous case of hams. That was actually the smallest one I could find!

Ham is so easy to cook because you don't have to do anything but stick it in the oven. Just to make it a little more special, I made an orangey-dijon glaze from one of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks which I poured over the ham before baking it. I also made a very rich potato gratin, creamed spinach, and steamed asparagus with hollandaise sauce. And picked up a jar of Stonewall Kitchen horseradish mustard.

We had SO MUCH leftover ham! I made my mom take half of it home and still had enough for a huge pot of white bean, barley, ham, and vegetable soup and also many servings of my healthier version of fried rice: brown rice with scrambled eggs, ham, edamame, leftover asparagus, and soy sauce.

Restaurant review: Tipsy Parson

On a recent Monday night, I met my friend Alexis for dinner at Tipsy Parson, a delightful new little place in Chelsea. Alexis' family is from North Carolina and when we decided to meet for dinner, I hoped she'd be interested in trying this purveyor of southern cuisine. Turns out she'd already been there for brunch and was game to try their dinner menu.

I fell in love with southern food during a long weekend with my sister at Blackberry Farm, an incredibly small and special inn nestled deep in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. The nightly room rate included all meals at their acclaimed restaurant and I ate grits, biscuits, barbeque and pimento cheese at every opportunity.

The menu at Tipsy Parson has both a "snacks" and a "starters" section. While there were many tempting options in the "starters" section, including crab and artichoke dip and something called "the fry up" - tempting - we started by ordering a few items from the "snacks" portion of their menu: deviled eggs, pimento cheese with herb crackers, and cheese straws.

Have you tried pimento cheese? It's a silly mix of mayo, cheddar cheese, and pimento - rich, sweet, a little tangy, and delightful on a cracker. It's technically featured as part of a spread trio on the Tipsy Parson menu, but the chef was willing to give us just the cheese and leave the deviled tasso ham and black-eyed pea salad out. I ended up buying more of it at a deli in Islamorada because I was so completely charmed by the pimento cheese at Tipsy Parson.

The deviled eggs were also glorious. The egg white halves were filled with a smooth, tarragon-infused egg yolk mixture. I had no idea a hard boiled egg could be so good. The cheese straws -- buttery long, thin cheese shortbreads, were served in a julep cup. And I loved them.

For my entree I had seared scallops with brown butter, toasted walnuts, and sauteed mushrooms. They were great, though not particularly southern. Same story with Alexis' artic char with spring vegetables and parmesan broth. Which is why we ordered a side of macaroni and cheese to share. It was a little dry and had too much thyme, but can macaroni and cheese really be bad?

This dinner transported right back to the dining room at Blackberry Farm. Belly-filling goodness indeed.

***

Details:

Tipsy Parson

156 Ninth Avenue (between 19th and 20th Streets)

New York, New York

(212) 620-4545

Dinner for two: $150

Sweet tomato and onion pasta sauce

My friend Alex made this pasta sauce for me many years ago - could be as many as ten years ago. She might not even remember, actually. It's really easy to make, I usually have all of the ingredients handy, and the resulting sauce is so light that I make it pretty often. Thanks, Gushin family.

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large spanish onions, chopped

1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 lb pasta (I recommend rotini)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring large pot of salty water to boil. Add pasta.

2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil in large pot. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions start to caramelize. Add crushed tomato and cinnamon. Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. When pasta is almost done, add it to the oniony tomato sauce along with 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking water. Cook for another minute. Serve with grated cheese (pecorino romano is salty, parmesan is more complex and nutty).

This sauce does not taste like cinnamon. It just tastes sweet in a good way. And anyone who didn't cook it will scratch his chin wondering about a secret ingredient.