GHSS: Moroccan Olive & Orange Chicken

There are a lot of things in this world that I love. Champagne, chips and salsa, lipstick, singing, my children...just to name a few. One thing that you might not know is that I love olives. I like to nestle in with a bowl of olives and little pickles and just go to town. It's a comfort thing, I think, dating back to my childhood Thanksgivings when my sister Suzy and I would scarf down an entire tray of pickles and olives that my mother meant to be appetizers. I love traditions.

So of course, when I saw the word "olive" I stopped immediately and declared that this would be my next recipe. I also really love cooking meat with fruit, something Collin never even knew about until he met me and he asked what the hell I was doing pairing apples and pork together. And he thinks *I'm* the crazy one.

So I gathered all of the ingredients and got to chopping.

Alright now looking back I would do a few things differently. I would definitely throw the chicken in some kind of orange juice marinade the night before and I would absolutely spice the flour. Salt and pepper can only carry you so far and it fell short here. The chicken itself was, you guessed it, a little bland but the olive and onion saved it as long as you ate all 3 in the same bite. I was a little disappointed in the sauce and I was kicking myself for not placing the orange slices on top of the chicken as it simmered. CUMIN. That's what it was missing. It just came to me. And now my tongue is doing that thing that tongues do like when you're thinking about eating a lemon jolly rancher.

It just looked so pretty

This looks scrumptious as hell.

I paired this with a spinach and tomato salad. I've been really into those lately.

RECIPE:

4 chicken breast cutlets about 4 oz each (I had some that were over 4 oz and it all worked out)

1/4 tsp salt (who even measures this out)

1/4 tsp pepper (seriously, who?)

1/4 cup flour (you'll love yourself if you spice this)

3 tbs Olive Oil

1 red onion, sliced

2 navel oranges (I used the kid's oranges cause that's what I had)

1/2 cup green olives

Rice Pilaf, for serving

Parsley, for garnish (I forgot this part)

1) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper then dredge each cutlet in flour.

2) In a 12 inch skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until hot. Add the chicken and cool until it's done, turning once - about 6 minutes total. Transfer it to a plate.

3) Reduce the heat to medium; add onion and cook until soft, stirring occasionally. Squeeze the juice from the oranges into the skillet and add a few orange slices. Add olives to skillet and 1/4 cup water. 4) Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer until everything is nice and hot. 

5) Service with rice pilaf and garnish with parsley.

TK: Cornmeal Waffles with Strawberry Syrup

Calvin woke me up at 5 am today. He stared at me in the dark until I opened my eyes and then he complained that he was hungry. Now. Backstory: I'm not the kind of mom who wakes up whenever my kids deem it necessary, no matter what time of night it is. I trained them both early on to be good sleepers so, unless they're sick, I don't get up until at least 7:30-8:00 and that's just all there is to it. Say what you will, but it works. Now that you know my tolerance level for interrupted sleep, I sent his ass back to bed, shut the door, and let him throw a little fit until I assume he went back to sleep. I have no idea, I passed back out.

When the baby started squawking around 8:30 I rolled out of bed, in a much better mood, and decided to make a nice, filling breakfast of waffles and homemade strawberry syrup to satisfy Calvin's tummy. I had this recipe marked for a weekend when I had time and, once again, I had all the ingredients for it in the house already. Freaking score.

So, while the kids played nicely in the other room with my salad spinner, I got to work as the best mom ever.

 Strawberry syrup on point

This recipe went well. I have no complaints and it was really nice making my own syrup. I really like the fact that there were only 4 ingredients and it was probably the best syrup I've ever had.

I got 6 waffles out of the batter, instead of the promised 4, but even they went off without a hitch.

Not as fluffy as promised, but I'll get over it someday I'm sure

So we've already determined the syrup was amazing. The waffles tasted about what you would think a cornmeal waffle would taste like. Together, they melded into pure perfection. The waffles carry a muted cornbread-like flavor, and are offset so wonderfully by the sweetness of the strawberries that they compliment each other quite nicely. Andrew and I scarfed this down like rabid wolves while the starving child had two bites and asked for orange juice and Lucky Charms. 

Guess you can't win them all.

There is a waffle under there...somewhere

Strawberry Syrup

1 pound strawberries

2 to 4 tbs. sugar, depending on your taste (I used 3 and it was perfect)

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Cut the stems off the strawberries and cut them into small pieces. Throw them into a small saucepan with the rest of the ingredients over medium-low heat. Stir every now and then, but let it come to a gentle simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes. Once it thickens up a bit, turn off the heat and let it cool.

Waffles

2 cups almond or dairy free milk (I used whole cause it's what I had)

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tbs. brown sugar

1 1/2 tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp.cinnamon (I dumped a fair amount in)

2 tbs. olive oil (I swirled some in, but doubt very much that it was 2 tbs. FYI)

Cooking spray

1. Heat up your waffle iron. Mix the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Whisk together your dry ingredients. Make a crater in the center and add the milk mixture and oil. Whisk it all together until combined.

3. Coat the plates of your waffle iron with cooking spray to prevent the waffles from sticking. Pour in the batter and cook until done. Top the waffles with the syrup.

Baked Pasta Alla Norma with Mozzarella Bombs

I've been eyeing this recipe for a while. I have a strange obsession with baked pasta and it still took me this long to make because the recipe is long and requires two recipes in one. I love to cook, but sometimes I get hella lazy and don't want to do any extra work. BUTTT, after actually reading the recipe I realized this is actually not that bad. It doesn't require any marinating, and for that I thank Chrissy ten times over.

This recipe calls for eggplant. Now, eggplant always brings up a particular memory. I must have been 19 or 20 at this time. My dear friend Oscar and I went out to dinner one night and I got pasta while he ordered eggplant parmesan. I'd never in my life eaten eggplant and was very curious to know what it tasted like. Oscar, knowing that at that point in my life I had an aversion to new foods and had a hard time hiding my displeasure, gave me a look and said "You won't like it". He did this to avoid a sour look on my face and possibly a loud outburst. I'd like to thank him for knowing me so well because, a short while later, I was presented with the opportunity to try it again - and reacted as predicted.

Ever since then, I've stayed away from it. Recently, in my wise old age, I've begun to experiment with it and have had pleasurable results. The most recent experiment was eggplant pizzas which I thought were delightful....the boys not so much. Nevertheless, I proudly purchased a beautiful eggplant with high hopes for this recipe.

Now, to begin, she has you peel the eggplant. You've peeled potatoes and carrots and stuff, right? Well, this is nothing like that. You ever tried to peel an eggplant? This is not a vegetable that wishes to be peeled. The skin sticks to it like...well...skin. I started off with a potato peeler, switched to a knife, cut off a few chunks that were not skin, ditched the knife, and then finally got a rhythm with the damn potato peeler and thankfully this is only one eggplant and not a 5 lb bag.

If you ever make this recipe, I encourage you to read it like 5 times to figure out what kind of dishes you'll need and how many. The second "problem" I ran into was the amount of dishes you need for this. First, you make the sauce (her recipe calls for a saucepan, I made mine a few hours ahead of time in the crockpot - I'll post the recipe here for you so you can make that call). Then you need a pan for the eggplant and oil. Then a separate pan for the noodles to boil. Then you need a big enough dish to dump it all in that can also go in the oven. So that's...4 pots. 4 pots.  For one recipe.

But I'll be damned if it wasn't worth every single pot.

This was perfect. Oh, sweet Jesus if this didn't hit my pasta G-spot then I don't know what will. Hidden inside this (and pressed on top) are little balls of crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside mozzarella. It's just such a nice treat when paired with the noodles and fucking amazing sauce. I had a bowl of this for breakfast this morning because today is a terrible fucking day and I needed a little pick me up. I actually had my friend Emma over when this came out of the oven and she declined trying any - because clearly she's insane. I ate it though and forced myself to act like a lady and not eat seconds from the pan. 

Let me shake my head out of this pasta orgasm I've got going on and get you her sauce recipe. 

I've made this before. This sauce was featured in the Spicy Tomato Skillet Eggs with Prosciutto. Do ya'll remember that one? I made it while drunk and I may have used a crock pot then as well...Ok, well looking back at the post I make it seem like we left it simmering on the stove all night...

Perfect Tomato Sauce 

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 cups diced onion (about 2 medium)

2 tbs. finely minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

3 1/2 lbs. diced Roma tomatoes OR 1 - 28 oz. can diced tomatoes plus 1 - 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 tbs. chopped fresh oregano

2 tbs. chopped fresh thyme

1 tbs. chopped fresh rosemary

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

You can do like I did and toss it all in a crockpot, no saute-ing required OR her way:

In a 4 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until translucent and beginning to turn golden, about 13 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes, oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens slightly, 25 to 30 minutes for fresh tomatoes, 20 to 25 minutes for canned. 

This sauce is legit, you guys. It's really freaking good either way you make it. Alright, lunch time - AKA more pasta time.