It's Not Burger King...Best Chicken Sandwich Ever

I love the Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich.

Let me rephrase that. I love the memory of eating the Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich. That first bite, the warm breading, the mixture of grease and mayonnaise. I rarely allow myself to buy one anymore, but the memory lingers on.

Yesterday, while I was doing birthday returns, there appeared on the horizon the mighty Burger King. I was almost weak enough to give in and get in that drive-thru lane and get me one of those sandwiches.

Then it dawned on me, wait a minute, I can make my own version, my way, in no time at all. Which is exactly what I did.

I knew I could make a good gluten-free breaded chicken, mayonnaise is always in my fridge but I had to think about the elements (other than actually deep frying) that make that sandwich taste so good. Then it hit me: lettuce. I know it seems simple, but I never put lettuce in a sandwich, unless it's a BLT.

The marinade that I made is a one that I make regularly. I replaced the milk with almond milk and added some honey, barbecue sauce, egg and hot-sweet mustard. The bread I used is a great gluten-free variety toasted and spread with mayonnaise.

Well, let me tell you, it worked! What a great treat, easy, not too bad for you, and delicious.

Gluten Free and Dairy Free Breaded Chicken Sandwich (or the Faux Burger King Classic Chicken Sandwich)

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 Chicken Breasts, boneless/skinless, cut thin
•  1 egg
• 3 ounces Almond Milk (or any kind of milk you have on hand)
• 1/4 cup Barbecue Sauce
• 2 tsps Mustard (I used sweet-hot, but you can use any variety)
• 1 Tbsp Honey
• 1/2 cup gluten-free Bread Crumbs (I use this brand.)
• 2 slices Udi's Gluten Free Bread

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Mix all the wet ingredients in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the chicken, too.
• Add the chicken. Let it soak for at least ten minutes. If you've thought ahead and got to this point the night before, go ahead and soak the chicken overnight.
• Turn the heat to high on a large skillet.
• Put the bread crumbs on a shallow plate.
• Place the chicken in  the breadcrumbs and turn it over to coat both sides.Repeat until all chicken breasts are coated.
• Add oil to the hot pan.
• Place each piece of chicken in the pan, making sure there is some space between each piece.
• Cook on the first side for 5 minutes.
• Turn over the chicken and cook for 2 more minutes.
• Put the pan in the oven to finish cooking for about 10 minutes.
• While the meat is cooking, shred the lettuce and toast your bread.
• Remove from the oven and make your sandwich.

Enjoy!

Jalapeno Butternut Squash Soup Featured: DailyBuzz Healthy Living

Hey, thanks, DailyBuzz Healthy Living for featuring my Jalapeno Butternut Squash Soup on their Top 9 today.

Today's my birthday, so what a nice thing to find in my inbox!

If you'd like to make this delicious soup yourself, click here.

It's Been a Good Year

Tomorrow's my birthday.

It's time for me to take stock of my previous year, decipher what my one-year-older self might discover, and see where this coming year might take me. I'm also posting my favorite recipe for a great fritatta, Happy Birthday to Me!

I've had a great time this past year writing and re-discovering photography-for-photography's sake, just like in college. Working as a photo art director day-in and day-out, I figured I was getting my fill of photography, and felt incredibly lucky that I landed (and have held onto for the past 11 years) a wonderful job in a very small field, that utilized my BFA in photography.

What I hadn't realized, was that my own photography, which had been shelved for the past 20 years, was an outlet that I missed. It's one thing to tell the photography and stylist how you'd like a shot to look (and I work in the fashion industry for my day job). It's an entirely different thing to be in complete control of a shot: content, lighting, styling, angles, everything. This is my place, where I don't have to negotiate with anyone, don't need to explain why I want something a certain way. It's a haven for me, that also allows me to write to my heart's content.

With my blog, I've loved meeting new people and reconnecting with friends. I have also been given many impromptu lessons by my photo-industry friends, who I can't thank enough. The support, love and guidance that all my friends have shown me this past year has made me realize how many great people I have in my life. And, how many people are willing to eat my thousands of dishes the day after a shoot.

My daughter has grown, she turns thirteen the day after my birthday, into a lovely young lady. There are times when I just can't figure out what demon took over her, but for the most part, she's still entertaining to be around, and has taken up chess and singing. Oh, and, she's almost as tall as me. Yes, at only 5'1",  it's not such a big feat, but she's getting there faster than I did, which means that my hope that she'll make it to 5'6" or taller might come true. (In case you were wondering, I chose 5'6" because in general, pants are made for that height, so she'd never have to have her pants shortened, like I do :).

For the coming year, here are my to-do's. I'm not calling them resolutions or goals or anything like that. Too serious. Just a list of things I'd be thrilled to do.

Writing and Shooting:  I'm going to keep writing and shooting, with an eye towards cultivating some paid work. A book would be ideal, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. There will be, I hope, many new opportunities to meet more people and get more input on my work.

Friends I love: I want to spend more time with my friends, too, somehow integrating them into the few hours I have left after the full-time job, the food projects and time with my daughter. It will somehow happen, even if friends will need to participate in my shoots when they join us for dinner.

Dance!  There will be more dancing. Not for everyone, that's just a goal for me, but I'd be happy if others want to come along. I think I'll get into some kind of performance again (a few years ago it was samba, including a jaunt down Mission St. as part of the Carnaval Parade). At the very least, a combination of weekly classes and Wii Zumba should do the trick.

So, I hope that you will join me periodically in pursuing my to-do list.

And, make this fritatta while you're at it.

Fritatta A la Gran Fran

serves 4 as a main course, 8 as a side-dish and 1 or 2 as many, many meals.

Ingredients:

• 2 Russet potatoes peeled and sliced thin
• 5 Eggs
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• Salt to taste

You will need a broiler-proof non-reactive deep skillet.

Method:

• Heat pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and swirl it around to coat the sides and bottom of the pan.
• Place potatoes in pan, one at a time to create one layer. Do not crowd them. This will make a nice base for the Fritatta.
• Cook the potatoes over medium heat until they are browned, about 10 minutes. Flip the potatoes over and cook another 5 to 8minutes, watching carefully to make sure they don't burn.
• Crack 5 eggs into a bowl and mix them as if you’re making scrambled eggs. Be sure to break up all the yolks and get them all mixed together well. Add salt to taste, but not too much.
• When the potatoes are cooked on both sides, sprinkle them gently with salt. Pour the beaten eggs over the potatoes. Move the pan around to distribute the eggs evenly. After a minute or two, slide a spatula around the sides of the pan and tilt the pan so the raw eggs run into the space that the spatula created.
• Keep the pan on the flame for 3 minutes or so, shaking the pan gently, until the eggs begin to set to about an inch around the circumference of the fritata.
• Set the broiler for 3 minutes. Place pan under the broiler and watch carefully as top of eggs get bubbly, firm, and golden, until the top is well browned.
• Remove from oven. Place a serving plate on top of the pan, using oven mitts, grab the pan and plate and flip the Fritatta out onto the plate.

Enjoy hot, warm, cold, or at room temperature. Wonderful with a ripe tomato salad sprinkled with finely minced scallions, a dusting of kosher salt, and a good dollop of olive oil (this is Gran Fran's addendum to the above recipe).

They're Supposed to be Green (Beans)

Have you ever tried a green bean salad from a salad bar? The beans are usually somewhat grey, dressed with too much oil and not enough vinegar, and often times they are covered in some weird herbs.

I'm here to share with you a really good, quick and easy green bean salad recipe. The key is in how you prepare your beans. You can make any number of dressings for the beans, once they've been cooked properly. If you over cook them no matter how you dress them, they just won't taste right.

If you follow these very simple steps, the most important being to rinse the beans in cool running water for a bit to stop the cooking, you will be ever so pleased with the results.

I'm thinking that a version of this recipe will also end up as one of the Cooking for One series I've been working on. I figure you can cook all the beans at once, store them in air tight containers in portion sized servings. Then, when you're ready to eat the green beans, you can add any number of a variety of sauces. One is included here, just a basic lemon, olive oil and caper combination.

Green Bean Salad

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Green Beans (or yellow), tips cut off
• 3 tbsps Salt
• 1/2 of a Lemon
• Olive Oil to sprinkle over the cooked beans
• 1/4 tsp capers, drained
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• Boil a large pot of water with the salt in it.
• Place the green beans in a steamer basket.
• Submerge the basket in the boiling water.
• Partially cover the pan, leaving enough space for the steam to escape.
• Cook the beans for 6 minutes.
• Take the steamer basket out of the pan, and rinse under cold water for one minute.
• Put the beans (about half the cooked amount will do for two) in a shallow bowl and squeeze the lemon over them. Sprinkle some olive oil on top and add the capers, salt and pepper.
• Mix it up and enjoy!

Featured: DailyBuzz Healthy Living

Hello friends.

My Gluten-free/Dairy-free Pumpkin Bread was featured in this week's Top 9 on the DailyBuzz Healthy Living site.

Pretty cool, right?

Nice to see that something I love to cook is out there getting some love.

Enjoy your second week of January, and expect some great recipes from me this week.

Cooking for One: Pork Chops

I mentioned here that I'd be working on a bunch of recipes for my friend Sara. She says it's cheaper for her to eat out more often than not, and I'm trying to convince her that with a few simple recipes she could make a bunch of stuff and recombine it all week to keep it interesting.

I'm not going to make her crazy or anything, just see if my theory is right: if you make (or buy) some good sauces and cook the basics for the dishes in advance, in bulk, you'll end up with enough variety in the end to not feel like you're eating the same leftovers again and again.

And, so, here is the first installment.

I started with a basic pork chop recipe. After I cooked it, I stored the chops in individual portions in the fridge in airtight containers. They should keep for a week this way, which means, Sara wouldn't have to eat

them several days in a row. I also made sure the herbs and flavors I used to season the chops would taste good with a variety of side-dishes. In reality, this recipe will work well with chicken, too (I don't eat lamb, but maybe it would taste good with that, too).

As we go through this experiment, it may turn out that cooking a quick piece of meat while putting together the rest of the meal might be the best way to go. My goal is for Sara to not have too much clean-up on her hands, and to keep it simple, she's a very busy lady. But, most of all I want her to enjoy what time she does have to spend in the kitchen to execute these meals.

I'll be posting the side dishes separately this week. If you'd like to see them posted with the main dish, drop me a line, I'd be happy to give that a go, too.

Pork Chops with Herbs de Provence and Honey

makes 2 chops

Ingredients:

• 2 Pork Chops
• 1 tsp Herbs de Provence
• Salt and ground pepper
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1/2 tbsp Honey

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Place a grill pan or skillet on the stove and turn the heat to high.
• Place pork chops on waxed paper.
• Coat with olive oil.
• Sprinkle herbs de provence, salt and pepper over the chops.
• Roll the chops in the olive oil to coat on both sides, distributing the herb mixture over the whole chop.
• Put into the pan and sear for about 4 minutes.
• Turn chops over and sear on the other side for another 4 minutes
• Drizzle honey over the chops.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let the chops rest in the pan for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Homemade Gifts: Iced Tea

Check it out. I made some really nice iced tea for my friends as gifts.

It sounds like I'm tooting my own horn, here, but for real, the tea was tasty and I would love to receive a bottle that looks so pretty as a gift.

My favorite brand of tea is Mariage Frères. When my daughter and I were in France last summer, we spent a number of hours having tea at the tearoom in  Mariage Frères (you can read about our escapades here). The ceremony with which they serve the tea, and the treats that come with it are extraordinary.

The first time I encountered Mariage Frères tea was when I was working as a low-level manager at Williams-Sonoma in San Francisco back in 1992. Having worked at Pottery Barn in NY, I was able to transfer to Williams-Sonoma as soon as I got to SF.

I had just moved out and was missing home. The manager on duty stationed me in the gourmet food section at the back of the store. They always had classical music playing in the store at that time. When a piece came on by Mozart that had been featured in the movie "Amadeus", one of my and Joe's favorite movies, I got weepy.

Somehow, I managed to cry internally and still help customers. As I was busying myself with cleaning up the shelves I smelled something sweet, spicy and cinnamon-y. Upon further investigation, it was a can of tea that had been opened to entice the customers senses. It certainly worked for me. The flavor was L'Esprit de Noel, a Christmas tea. I bought a can, which cost somewhere in the realm of two hours' worth of retail wages. And continue to buy one every year for Christmas.

You can buy Mariage Frères teas on Market Hall and Dean and Deluca online. I know in San Francisco and Berkeley there are a few places that also stock this tea. But, the best place to go, is to get on a plane and head to Paris :)

My Favorite Teas from Mariage Frères:

• Earl Grey Blue
• Esprit de Noel
• Lapsang Souchang
• The sur le Nil

Sage Infused Simple Syrup

makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 10 to 12 fresh Sage leaves, bruised

Method:

1. To bruise the sage leaves, twist them lightly between your fingers until you see some discoloration.
2. Place all ingredients in a small saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Lower heat to a simmer.
5. Stirring frequently, keep the mixture simmering until it becomes clear.
6. Using a strainer to catch the sage leaves, pour the liquid into a sterilized jar with an airtight lid.
7. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

You can add this syrup to cold or warm drinks. I don't drink coffee, but wonder if it might taste good in that, too! I do know, however, that it'll be great in lemonade and just add a bit to seltzer water for a little spark.

Butternut Squash Jalapeno Soup

That's kind of a strange color for butternut squash soup, huh?

Well that's because it's got jalapeno and sage added to it.

I may have overdone the jalapeno a bit, thus the extra green color, but the flavor is really nice.

I didn't used to like soups like this. My favorite soups feature meat (usually ham or bacon) and it was kind of a hard sell for me to embrace this fully vegan soup. The turning point for me was that roasting the squash was so easy. It's the kind of thing you can throw in a pan in five minutes, with any number of herbs and spices, and then just put in the oven and forget about it for an hour or so. Once it's cooked and cooled all you have to do it scrape the meat out of the skin of the squash and puree all the good bits from the bottom of the roasting pan.

For this version, I roasted the jalapenos right alongside the squash. The only issue with that is that they don't get as crunchy as they do when I pan fry them, so there wasn't anything to use as garnish in the end. To thicken the soup, I used almonds and almond milk, but if you have any kind of problem with nuts, just leave them out, it's plenty thick on it's own.

Best of all, this is completely vegan and gluten free. For those of you who are trying hard to get back on the right track post-New Year's celebrations, give this soup a try.

Butternut Squash Soup with Jalapeno and Sage

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 large Butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
• 2 Jalapeno peppers, cut into rings (remove the seeds if you want to avoid too much spice)
• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1 small Red Onion, diced
• 4 sprigs Sage, shredded
• 2 cloves Garlic, peeled but not chopped
• 4 Tbsps Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 10 Almonds (optional)
• 1/8 cup Almond Milk (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Position the squash cut side up in a roasting pan large enough to fit both halves of the butternut squash without them touching.
• Place the sage and garlic in the cavity of the squash.
• Add some of the olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Flip over the squash. You may need to move the garlic and herbs a bit to get them to fit back into the cavity no that the squash is skin side up.
• Place the jalapenos, onions and shallots in between the two halves of the squash.
• Drizzle remainder of olive oil over the top of all the ingredients.
• Roast everything for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the squash, until a knife easily goes through the meat.
• Once the squash is cool, scrape out the meat.
• Take everything left in the roasting pan and the meat of the squash and place them in a food processor. Add the almonds and almond milk (optional).
• Pulse until the texture you desire is reached.

Enjoy!

I Can't Stop Making Soup: Split Pea with Ham edition

I know I've posted this recipe before. Furthermore, I also acknowledge that it tends to get posted around New Year's, mostly due to the leftover ham available at this time of year. Lastly, I am positive that this soup will keep you warm and satisfied, therefore, I think it's fine that I just keep posting it.

This version (same recipe, different story) centers around a sudden desire I had a few weeks back to stock my freezer full of goodness. I never cook with the explicit intention of freezing portions. A friend of mine is convinced that it's cheaper for her to eat out (as a single diner) than to cook larger quantities of her food and freeze some for later. I'm giving this a go myself so I can test out if it just gets too boring to plow through a huge amount of the same food for a week (which I believe is one of her concerns) or if there is some merit to having a freezer full of meals at the ready.

In the first week, I ate approximately four servings, about half of what I made. In between other meals and holiday meals, this worked out fine for me. The second week was more of a challenge, even though I absolutely love Split Pea with Ham soup, it looses it's luster somewhat after having to eat it for so many meals.

For my next experiment, I'll need to freeze everything in individual portions so that I don't feel obligated to eat the same soup/meal every day until it's gone. I didn't plan out the portions properly and ended up with huge serving dishes of each soup. I may also sign up some other cooking-friendly friends who would make something and we could split our frozen portions, for some variety.

Either way, I am going to create a few recipes for my friend, have her make them, freeze individually, and see if she finds that she'll eat at home a bit more and could possibly even save a few bucks. I do acknowledge that not everyone thinks cooking is fun (like I do), so this experiment may not work, but it's really worth a try.

Split Pea with Ham Soup ala Gran Fran serves 8 as a side dish

Ingredients:

• 1 Package Green Split Peas (or about 12 ounces), rinsed
• 1 Ham Hock (nitrate free is best)
• 1 Large Yellow Onion, sliced
• 2 Large Carrots, sliced
• 4-6 Whole Cloves
• Thyme
• Bay Leaf
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 2 Cloves Garlic, peeled and smashed

Method:

• Saute onions and carrots in the olive oil in a large non-reactive pan.
• Place hamhock in the pan and brown on all sides.
• Add washed peas, stirring over meium heat.
• Pur boiling water to cover, about 4 cups, into pan (or as much as you need to actually cover the hamhock).
• Add cloves, thyme, bay lead, pepper and garlic. Wait until the soup is further along in its cooking to add salt, since the handhock is fairly salty on its own).
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover the pan and simmer for 3 hours, stirring every now and then.
• Let cool and refrigerate. Then skim all of the fat off the top.
• Remove hamhock, dice the meat, and return to the soup.
• Reheat soup and serve with toasted baguette and a nice glass of wine.

Chicken Picatta

Have you ever had a dish that just makes you smile? This dish does that for me. Gran Fran made this for me and Joe a few weeks back and it reminded me of weeknight meals from my childhood.

My parents were (and still are ) the King and Queen of the multi-task. Both Gran Fran and Joe worked at the same office. They took shifts getting the younger kids (mostly me) to school. Gran Fran would head into the City early (around 7am, I think) and Joe would go in after he dropped me at school (around 8:30am). The afternoon shift would mostly fall to my older brother and sisters, and we did live in a town where we could just go out and play, ride bikes or walk down to the store without too much trouble.

Gran Fran would arrive home around 5pm, in time to get dinner on the table. She did, however, instruct us post-school over the phone on how to prep the dinner and get anything in the oven that we could handle before she got there. This was before cell phones and e-mail, so Gran Fran called us at about 3:30 to get us started.

The only issue was that she was convinced everyone around her could hear everything she said. She spoke at barely above a whisper, which sometimes led us to some odd conclusions on ingredient measurements and cooking temperatures. The best part about her behavior was that for a good number of years, she was in an office with her door closed whilst having these illicit conversations with her children.

Gran Fran and Joe managed to raise another generation of multi-tasking adults in my brother, myself and my sisters. It is both a blessing and a curse. A Claro can get done in half a day what it takes a normal person a full day and half to do. I often get comments when I arrive at work (around 8am) after I've recounted the amount I've accomplished between the hours of 5:45 and 8am. It seems normal to me to finish two loads of laundry, put away the dishes, make breakfast and lunch for myself and my daughter, get the dinner ingredients organized, shower and get out the door. I guess it's a bit much.

The chicken picatta featured above makes for a nice easy weeknight meal. Not much fuss, lots of flavor and not too many dishes after cooking. It's the perfect end to an otherwise crazy day.

Chicken Picatta

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. thinly sliced chicken breast
•  1/4 cup all purpose flour (I use Rice Flour)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper tp taste
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 ounces mushrooms, cleaned, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic quartered
• 1 1/2 cups marsala
• 3 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced

Method:

1. Salt and pepper chicken cutlets; dredge in flour.

2. Pour oil intoheated skillet 3. Saute cutlets on both sides until golden and just about cooked through.

4. Remove cutlets from pan; add mushrooms and saute until golden.

5. Add garlic and marsala; reduce slightly over high heat.

6. Return chicken to pan,stir; cover simmer until the marsala forms a nice gravy.

7. Serve sprinkled with parsley