Category: Duxbridge mysteries

September Grilling: Cantanzaro Chicken and Tuscan Panzanella Salad

Tonight’s menu features the Cantanzaro spice mix. Cantanzaro is a city in Italy.  So there are a lot of herbs this Italian girl recognizes: marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary and oregano. And garlic, lots of garlic. But the kicker is the lemon and lemon peel.

It’s all very fresh for late summer/early fall harvest and great for grilling. Then I’ve added a fresh take on how to use the last of those fresh tomatoes. And just because I’m feeling ambitious, I included Gelato recipes.

On the board tonight:

  1. Grilled Cantanzaro Herbed Chicken Breasts
  2. Grilled Potatoes and Peppers (recipe here)
  3. Tuscan Panzanella Salad (recipe here)*
  4. Gelato (recipes here)

*the recipe calls for bread bowls, but with this meal, I served it over a bed of bibb lettuce.

Grilled Cantanzaro Herbed Chicken Breast

  • 1 to 1-1/2 lb boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 tsp each: garlic powder, dried marjoram, basil, oregano, thyme and rosemary,
  • 1 tbsp lemon peel
  • 1 cup lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

grill, marinade container

Butterfly chicken breasts (slicing them open down the center so they lie flat like butterfly wings). Place them in between two pieces of plastic wrap, and pound until they are about 1/2 inch thick – you don’t want them much thinner because they will dry out on the grill.

Crush together the dry herbs. You can do it with your fingers or use a mortar and pestle.  Combine with the lemon peel.

Place chicken breasts in a shallow container with a lid (I love my pyrex containers for this). Sprinkle 1/2 the herbs over the chicken, flip, and sprinkle the remaining over the other side. Cover with lemon juice (start with 1/2 cup and use up to a cup to get coverage).

Marinate for at least 30 minutes to an hour.

Grill quickly over high heat to get a good sear on both sides, reduce heat (or remove the chicken from directly over a coal fire, to the side of the grill), and grill over low heat until the internal temperature is about 160 degrees F.  Once removed from the grill, tent loosely with foil and it will quickly reach an internal temperature of 165 without drying out. Because they are thin, this will not take long, so keep an eye on them.

x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions

Life Is Short…Eat Ice Cream!

Ice Cream or Gelato? Why not both?!

Yummy Vanilla Nut Crunch can be found here.

And two Strawberry Ice Cream recipes here.

I have also made plenty of gelatos. It is definitely one of my favorite styles of ice cream. Smooth, creamy and not as heavy as many full cream styles.

Pictured above, Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato – one of my favorites. Recipe here.

Gelato starts with a good base that you can then add any number of flavors to:

Gelato di Crema (Gelato Plain Base)

  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 4 large egg yolk
  • 2/3 cup sugar

In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally so a skin doesn’t form, until tiny bubbles start to form around the edges and the mixture reaches a temperature of 170°F.

Meanwhile, in a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the sugar until it is well incorporated and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Temper* the egg yolks by very slowly pouring in the hot milk mixture while whisking continuously. Return the custard to the saucepan and place over low heat. Cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon and it reaches a temperature of 185°F. Do not bring to a boil.

*The best way to temper is to add a tablespoon at a time until you’ve added about 1/4 cup. Then you can add a full ladle at a time, slowly.

For Vanilla Gelato:  Just before freezing the gelato,  mix in the vanilla and then add to the ice cream freezer.  Use 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla extract depending on how intense you like your vanilla flavor.

More flavor treats: Dutch Chocolate Gelato (here)

Key Lime Gelato (so refreshing) here

So before summer slips away, time to make some ice cream treats.

x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions

Gardening Is Good For The Soul

Saturday I set out to do some early morning gardening and think through the next scene in Duxbridge that’s giving me trouble. Gardening is good for that

A few minutes into pulling bindweed and trying not to swear with every vine, my now 11-year old (how does that keep happening – wasn’t she just 4 and her dad would park his car across the driveway so she could ride her bike without worrying she’d land in the street?) neighbor stops by.

As usual, she wants to talk about plants and the household menagerie. We chat amiably for quite a while and then she disappears, as kids are wont to do. I figured she’d grown bored of watching me weed. Understandable, I was bored with weeding myself.

But no, she reappears with her mom’s gardening basket filled with gloves, tools, and a knee-pad. She slips on gloves and grabs her clippers, kneels on the pad and begins to help me trim down the iris leaves.

She also brought cilantro seeds for me to plant for the ducks.

I did figure out that scene, btw, it just didn’t happen while gardening.

Put The Lime In The Coconut…Bars

So I had another birthday not too long ago and there was much celebrating.  I prefer a Key Lime Pie (recipe here) to cake on my birthday. But this year, I decided to go with Key Lime Bars instead. Easier to transport and package up as ‘thank-yous’ to various folks.

This time, I had just a few extra coconut shreds, so instead of storing them, I decided to toast them and add them to the top after I removed the bars from the oven.

Key Lime Coconut Bars

  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (approx 28 squares)
  • 3 heaping tablespoons shredded coconut
  • 4 tbsp butter, melted
  • 8 oz pk cream cheese, softened
  • 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (I use fat free)
  • 1/4 cup Key Lime juice or regular limejuice
  • 1 tbsp lime zest
  • 1/2 tsp lemon extract (opt)
  • 1 lime, sliced into thin slices, then quarter

9×9 glass baking dish, mixing bowl and 36 cupcake papers

Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease square pan, 9x9x2 inches.

Mix graham cracker crumbs, coconut and butter thoroughly with fork. Press evenly in bottom of pan. Refrigerate while preparing cream cheese mixture. Beat cream cheese in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until smooth. Beat in lime juice, lemon extract and lime peel. Pour into pan, spreading evenly over crust. Bake about 35 minutes or until center is set. Cool 30 minutes on rack, then cover loosely and refrigerate at least 3 hours until chilled. Cut into 24 to 36 pieces, place in cupcake papers and top with lime quarters.

x-posted at What’s 4 Dinner Solutions