Buffalo Chicken Salad

When I saw Buffalo Chicken Salad on Apple a Day, I was interested. Very very interested, but with a few changes, of course. First, the bleu cheese had to go and ranch had to take its place. Then, I had to fry the chicken, because really, that always makes it so much better. Once I made the changes, we had a total winner on our hands. Even though C separated the chicken and the salad on his plate, he agreed that it was quite good. The best part is I was able to save some plain chicken for Miss F. A perfect family dinner.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

½ cup vegetable oil.
½ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
¼ cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, or wing sauce of your choosing

4 cups baby spinach
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
¼ cup ranch dressing

Heat just enough oil to cover chicken over medium high heat. Stir together flour & salt. Dip chicken in milk, then flour. Dip in milk again, then flour again. Refrigerate chicken for 10-15 minutes. Fry chicken in oil for 10 minutes until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Toss the chicken with the hot sauce.

Toss the spinach, carrots and celery with the ranch dressing. Divide between two plates, serve with the chicken.

Pin It Now!

Strawberry Cupcakes

We picked a ton of strawberries at Froberg Farm and I knew Miss F would adore a pink cupcake. And I was right, she ate two in one day. I used the strawberry cake recipe from Confections of a Foodie Bride, but I dumbed down the recipe for a less sophisticated baker, such as myself.  I did make an interesting discovery about my cupcake pans.  The Farberware pan I got for Christmas baked the cupcakes so much more nicely than the Wilton pan I have from my wedding registry.  I will be investing in another Farberware pan for sure.

Strawberry Cupcakes
makes 24 cupcakes

4 cups very ripe fresh strawberries
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup milk
4 whole eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour, sifted
1 ¾ cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Hull, slice and toss the strawberries with 2 teaspoons of the sugar. Let the strawberries sit at room temperature for two hours. Add the strawberries to the bowl of a food processor and puree. Reserve ¾ cup puree for the cake. Use leftover puree to fill the cake or fold into the frosting, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pans. In small bowl, combine ¾ cup puree, milk, egg, vanilla and mix with fork until well blended. In bowl of stand mixer, add sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine. Continue beating at slow speed and add butter. Mix until combined and resembling moist crumbs. Add liquids and beat at medium speed for about 1 minute or until full and evenly combined. Stop mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl and hand beat for 30 more seconds. Using a ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pans. Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cupcakes rest in pan for about 10 minutes and turn out onto wire racks. Let cupcakes cool completely (about 1 hour). Frost cupcakes with strawberry buttercream.

Strawberry Buttercream

½ cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons strawberry puree

Cream butter, add sugar ½ cup at a time until incorporated. Stir in the strawberry puree.

Pin It Now!

Wedding Brandy Pork Chops

What is the most interesting wedding you have ever been to? I went to a wedding recently and it was very interesting. I was actually going as a girlfriend's date. There were a few hours in between the ceremony and reception, so everyone gathered at a guest's house to watch the Kentucky Derby and have some mint juleps. About 30 minutes before the wedding, I learned my 'date' would not be joining me. Well...I went to the wedding anyway and had an absolute blast. The best part was that I won a scavenger hunt and the prize was a bottle of XO Brandy. I don't drink brandy, so I searched for a recipe that included it in a savory way. For the record, I found in the hunt an iphone, a shoe with a bow, photo of the married couple and a gas receipt for less than $15.

Wedding Brandy Pork Chops

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/3 pound assorted mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon plus 1/3 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
½ large onion, thinly sliced into rounds
2 1-inch-thick pork rib chops
¼ cup brandy
½ teaspoon rosemary, chopped
½ teaspoon thyme, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; sauté until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon broth. Cover skillet; cook until mushrooms are beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Uncover; simmer until any juices evaporate. Transfer to bowl. Add 1 teaspoon oil and onion to same skillet. Cover; cook until onion browns, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes; add to mushrooms.

Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Add to skillet; sauté over medium-high heat until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove pork, set aside. Add remaining broth, then brandy, rosemary and thyme to skillet. Place over medium-high heat. Boil until reduced by half, scraping up browned bits, about 6 minutes. Return pork to the pan and cover.

Bake pork until tender, about 25 minutes. Spoon mushrooms and onion over. Cover; bake 5 minutes longer.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Pin It Now!