For my first post, I tried 2 recipes from “the pile”. I sifted through the pile to come up with some new weeknight dinners. You know the drill..quick to make, quick to clean up and, most importantly, delicious.
The first contender was a crusty, mustard chicken. This was a recipe that I got from a Martha Stewart DVD (Favorite Family Dinners) that I had. In a nutshell, the recipe called for slathering the chicken (I used boneless, skinless breasts) with a mustardy, thyme concontion and then coated it in plain bread crumbs. Easy enough. The part, however, that I was skeptical about was that I was supposed to cook it under the broiler. I’ve never cooked meat under the broiler. I’m always afraid I’m going to burn whatever I’m making by using the
On to the creamy polenta. I had never had polenta until this day, but I had alway wanted to try it. I found a great looking recipe in a Southern Living magazine. The photo in recipe looked delish. And, the recipe seemed easy enough. When I finished, it looked right, I guess. I didn’t really know since I’d never had it before. The whole thing took under 10 minutes. Definitely easy enough!
The only thing left to do was dig in and see if the chicken and polenta recipes were any good. Within a few minutes, my little guy had devoured several pieces of chicken. A very good sign. The husband, on the other hand, is more analytical and has to check it out from all angles, give it a sniff and then take bite. Then another bite, and another. Me, I go for the polenta first. I was very eager to see what it was all about.
Now, here’s what I don’t understand. Sometime during the three seconds it took me to spoon the polenta onto my plate and walk to the table, the polenta had turned to a gelatinous blob. So I give it the benefit of the doubt and take a bite (a very small one). The taste was OK, but the texture…not good! It was a little too solid (not sure if that was the right word) for me. And that was my first and last bite of polenta.
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The chicken, on the other hand, was fantastic! I couldn’t believe that something so tasty and crispy could be so easy to make! It even had a little hint of heat from the red pepper flakes. That dish got a big thumbs up from all of us! Though we all agreed that the polenta was not for us. Good thing we had plenty of garlicky green beans to fill in the gap!
The result…the chicken…it’s a keeper! The polenta…not so much!
Crusty Mustard Chicken
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon minced shallots
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs
Preheat broiler.
In a small bowl, combine mustard, shallots, thyme, black pepper, red-pepper flakes, and salt. Stir in butter and oil until thoroughly combined.
Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Brush chicken on both sides with the mustard mixture, and then roll in breadcrumbs to coat completely.
Place coated chicken on a clean baking sheet, and place under broiler. Cook until well browned all over, about 5 minutes, turning occasionally to brown evenly. Reduce oven heat to 500 degrees; continue roasting until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven, and serve hot.
Creamy Polenta
Recipe from Southern Living Magazine
7 cups chicken broth
2 cups polenta
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese
Bring 6 cups chicken broth to a light boil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat; slowly stir in polenta. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes or until polenta thickens. (Do not boil.) Stir in cream cheese until blended. Stir in remaining chicken broth. Cover and keep warm.
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LOVED the crusty chicken!
I ate polenta once before. It was like gritty mashed potatoes, I don’t think it was you:). The rest sounded good.
Wondering what I did wrong with the polenta?