Chicken and Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce

This is an Emeril Lagasse recipe. I checked out his new book from the library "Sizzling Skillets," and this is from the casserole section. It seemed really basic, but turned out really nice. It would be a great to take to a potluck or to bring to someone. I used jarred pesto rather than making my own. I also used asiago cheese on the top-mmmm.

Ingredients:
1 lb. cavatappi pasta
Salt and black pepper
3/4 cup EVOO
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup diced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
9 oz. spinach, tough stems removed, roughly chopped
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
3 tbs unsalted butter
3 tbs all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
8 oz. grated Parmesan cheese
Directions:
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package directions, but undercook it by about 2 minutes. Drain, drizzle with 1 tbs EVOO, toss to coat, and set aside.
Grease a 9×13″ baking dish and set aside.
Heat 1 tbs EVOO in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the chicken is opaque, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add another tbs of oil to the pan and add the onion. Cook until tender, about 4 minutes, then add 1 tsp garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Now add the spinach and season again with salt and pepper. Cook for a couple minutes, until the spinach begins to wilt. Turn off the heat and add the chicken back in. Set aside.
Make the pesto: combine the pine nuts, crushed red pepper, 1/4 tsp lemon zest, and remaining 1 tsp garlic in your food processor. Pulse until blended. Use a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the basil leaves, salt and pepper and turn the processor on. Stream in 1/2 cup EVOO through the feed tube until it’s well blended. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to broil.
In a medium stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add in the flour and whisk for a minute. Don’t burn it. Whisk in the milk, a little at a time, and cook until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the pesto, 3/4 of the Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper.
In a large mixing bowl, or in your saute pan, combine the pasta, chicken-spinach mixture, pesto cream sauce, and remaining 1 tsp lemon zest. Toss to mix well. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese and broil until the top is bubbly and browning.

Oven-Roasted Chicken with Garlic Marjoram Butter

I have been watching (late at night) old episodes of Curtis Stone's "Take Home Chef," where Chef Curtis meets someone in a grocery store who is cooking for someone. He buys their groceries then goes home and cooks a delicious meal for them (really surprising their spouse/kids/dinner guests). It's a great little cooking show since he never knows what he's going to get himself into. The result is always an awesome meal. I tried this recipe for roast chicken- it was really easy to do and really flavorful. I served it with a salad and a new taste- steamed indigo blue potatoes.

Take Home Chef, Episode 3: Mary's Menu

INGREDIENTS

2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 head garlic

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 bunch of fresh marjoram, leaves finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)

3 garlic cloves, crushed

Two 4 1/2 to 5 pound whole organic frying chickens, giblet sacks from cavities removed and discarded

PREPARATION:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C.  Place the carrots, celery, onion and ½ head of garlic into a large roasting pan (these vegetables will be the bed for the chickens to roast on and discarded after).
2. Mix the butter, marjoram, and crushed garlic cloves in a small bowl to blend. Rinse the chickens with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle the chicken cavities with salt and pepper.
3. Using your thumb and index finger, separate the skin from the chicken breasts. Place the butter under the skin on the breast meat. Pat the top of the skin to spread the butter over the breast meat. Truss the chickens (tie the legs together with kitchen twine).  Place the chickens on top of the vegetables in the roasting pan. Sprinkle the chickens and vegetables with salt and pepper and roast for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours, basting occasionally. 
4. When the chickens are done, their skin will be crisp and golden and an instant-read meat thermometer will register 180°F/ 82°C when inserted into the thickest part of the thighs.  Remove the chickens from the roasting pan and place on your favorite platter.  Pour the pan drippings into a 2-cup measuring cup. Spoon off the fat that accumulates atop the pan juices.  Serve the chicken with the pan juices.

Ultimate Cheese Fondue

For New Year's Eve we did the fondue meal- all three courses including this ultimate cheese fondue. We had some awesome pretzel bread to dip into the cheese, along with Italian bread, veggies and apples.

Cheese Fondue
submitted by Brittany

2 cups grated Swiss cheese (I used baby Swiss which was very mild)
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tb cornstarch
Dash of pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup chicken broth
French bread, cubed

Melt Swiss cheese and Monterey Jack cheese in 1 3/4 cups chicken broth with garlic added.  Keep broth barely under a boil, stirring until cheese is completely melted (it will be stringy).

Combine cornstarch, pepper, salt, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce in 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Add to cheese mixture, stirring until smooth.  Put fondue mixture into a preheated fondue pot and keep at temperature hot enough to maintain desired texture without scorching.

Cut French bread into chunks. Sourdough rolls are great too.  Cut so each bite size piece has a bit of crust on it. It is a good idea to cut the bread and leave it out in the open for awhile before dipping into the fondue.  The fresher the bread, the more difficult it is to successfully dunk in the cheese fondue.  All that is left to do is eat and enjoy!