Breadsticks

As a compromise to C, I made homemade breadsticks, but with garlic powder. He would prefer regular slice bread with butter and garlic powder. I prefer homemade bread with fresh garlic. This was a fair compromise. They were pretty tasty, but not garlicky enough for me. I had to serve mine with extra garlic salt for dipping.







Garlic Powder Breadsticks

For the Dough:
1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 T. unsalted butter, softened
2 T. sugar
1 T. fine salt

For the Topping:
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Make the dough: Place 1/4 cup warm water in the bowl of a mixer; sprinkle in the yeast and set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the flour, butter, sugar, fine salt, and 1 1/4 cups plus 2 T. warm water; mix with paddle attachment until a slightly sticky dough forms.

Knead the dough by hand on a floured surface until smooth and soft, 3 minutes. Roll into a 2 foot long log; cut into 16 even pieces. Knead each piece slightly and shape into a 7 inch long breadstick; arrange 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with a cloth; let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400. Make the topping: Brush the breadsticks with 1 1/2 T. melted butter and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. kosher salt. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1/4 tsp salt with the garlic powder. Brush the warm breadsticks with the remaining 1 1/2 T. melted butter and sprinkle with flavored salt.

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Chicken Tenders with Cream Gravy

After making the kitchen smell "super stinkers" according to C with my boiling lobsters and roasting shrimp, I decided to make something I know he was sure to enjoy: cream gravy. Actually, chicken tenders with cream gravy. The first time I ever visited a Dairy Queen was with C. And I remember being horrified by the steak fingers country basket with cream gravy dipping sauce. I just don't get it.






Chicken Tenders

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/3 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
salt
pepper
oil for frying

Place the flour in one shallow dish, the egg in another and the breadcrumbs in a third. Salt and pepper the flour. Toss the chicken strips first in the flour, then the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Heat approximately 1/2 inch oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. Fry the chicken tenders, about 5 to 7 minutes on each side. Drain on a paper towel.

Cream Gravy

2 tablespoons of the oil from frying the chicken tenders
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup cream

Remove all but two tablespoons of the oil from the frying pan used to fry the chicken. Whisk in flour until well blended; cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbly. Gradually add milk and cream; boil until thick and smooth, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Lobster Ravioli

I despise ricotta cheese, most lobster ravioli recipes I found had some amount of ricotta cheese mixture in it. I finally found one that didn't and tweaked it to suit my tastes. Anything with sherry in it is fine by me...

They turned out really nicely. I used Joelen's pasta recipe and used the Champagne Cream Sauce to top it. The sauce was not as good as the last time I made it. I think trying to make it for twelve servings was just too much.




Lobster Ravioli

2 lbs. lobster meat
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. minced shallots
1 1/2 cups cream
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. quality light sherry
Salt & ground pepper to taste

Boil lobsters, remove meat. Clean & mince lobster meat. Wash & mince mushrooms. In sauté pan, soften butter, add shallots. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add lobster meat and mushrooms and cook for another minute. Slowly sprinkle flour over mix, stirring constantly. Add sherry, stirring constantly. Add cream and reduce for 2 to 3 minutes on low. The mixture should be on the medium to thick side. Remove from the heat and spread it out on a flat pan to cool. Roll out 4 ravioli pasta sheets. Using a biscuti cutter, cut pasta into circles. Add 1 teaspoon of mixture into the marked square. Lay the second sheet on top and use a ravioli tool to roll and seal. Transfer onto a sheet pan that has been lined with wax paper & sprinkle with corn meal (this helps prevent sticking). Bring water, salt & oil to a boil. Add raviolis quickly, but 1 at a time. Keep separated with a wooden spoon. Boil 3 to 5 minutes (preference). Remove with slotted spoon or skimmer.

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