By Beauty Damned

Edibles

I got an invitation to participate in the "Carnival of Recipes" from this woman who I once had a slight email altercation with after she came over here by way of some slithery path. She played the passive aggressive card, thus the inclusion of my email address in her group email. (???) I don't get people sometimes.

Anyway. I wasn't going to post a recipe on my site, but the last two nights in a row I have made meals that blew both mine and Rob's socks off. And I felt like I needed to share those two recipes with you guys. It's not fair to keep them to myself. Now, these aren't my recipes and they aren't my grandma's or great grandma's handed down for generations. I found them in a cookbook that Rob gave me for Christmas by one of my favorite celebrity cooks, Rachel Ray. It's called "30 Minute Meals 2" and it is full of great, easy, healthy recipes.

I made this Chicken Kiev last night, but I subbed in basil, oregano and sage for chives and dill, because that's what was in my fridge. It gave it a whole different flavor than the original recipe would have had, but it was heavenly and completely melted in our mouths.

Chicken Kiev (Maria's twist on Rachel Ray's)

Vegetable oil, for frying
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 oz. each) or thin-cut chicken cutlets.
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
a handful of shredded basil (about 2 tblspns.)
a handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped (about 2 tblspns.)
1 tblspn oregano
a good dusting of dried sage
6 tblspns chilled butter
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
wedge of lemon
salt and fresh ground pepper
toothpicks

Add 1&1/2 inches of vegetable oil to large skillet. Oil must reach 360°F for frying.

On work surface covered with waxed paper, lay out chicken breasts. To butterfly small breasts, place on cutting board. Cover with one hand, and with a sharp knife make a lateral cut from one side of the breast almost to the other and open it up like a book. (Thin-cut 6 ounce breasts may just be placed on wax paper, covered witha second sheet, and pounded out to 1/4-inch thickness with a mallet, being careful not to tear the meat.) Roll up breasts and set aside.

Combine chopped garlic and herbs in a small bowl. Cut cold butter into 4 equal pieces and coat each piece liberally with the herb garlic mix.

In 3 disposable pie tins: set out flour in first, eggs beaten with a splash of cold water in second, and bread crumbs in the third. Unroll chcken, squeeze a lemon wedge over it, and season with salt and pepper. Place an herbed butter pat on each piece of chicken, roll up tightly, and secure with a toothpick. Roll stuffed breasts in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs.

Fry the Kiev bundles 7 to 8 minutes on each side until a deep golden brown all over.

I served this with baby spinach salad and bread.

Posted by Maria at January 22, 2005 12:56 PM | TrackBack