Creamy Tuscan Chicken and Mushrooms

Those of you who follow my page on Facebook will have been made privy to the fact that, while making the cannellini bean spread, I spotted a recipe on the Bush cannellini beans can that I thought sounded good enough to try. Last night I took that opportunity, and really enjoyed it. This is not your typical summer fare (particularly in this intense heat), because it is rich and hearty. But, keep this in the back of your mind because it will be perfect for fall and winter.

 I tend to do my prep work either in the morning of the day I plan to prepare something, or the night before, and I did that here. As a consequence, this took under 30 minutes. I have included a picture of the recipe as it was on the can (above), and my changes in their version below. If you don’t have time to slice and sauté mushrooms, use a jar of them. I had fresh thyme going crazy in my garden, so I threw in a couple cuttings of it, and I was very happy with the end result. If you want more beans, I would think you could easily add another can here. If you want a vegetarian dish, don’t add the chicken. My guess is that this is very versatile. I do know that I was certainly happy with the end result of my experimentation.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken and Mushrooms

1 15.5-oz. can cannellini beans, drained
3 T. olive oil, divided
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1”pieces
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1 Melissa’s shallot, diced
1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/4 t. dried)
1 10.75-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
½ c. chicken broth
1 c. whole milk
1 t. garlic powder
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add mushrooms, and cook for a minute or two without stirring to get a good sear. Stir in shallot and sauté until translucent. Remove Mushroom/Shallot mixture to a plate. Add remaining tablespoon of olive oil; add chicken breast pieces, brown slightly. Transfer mixture to the plate with the mushrooms. Add soup, broth, milk, garlic powder, and beans to skillet; simmer for two minutes. Stir and cream cheese and season with pepper to taste. Return mushrooms, shallots, and chicken (and any juices) to the skillet. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve topped with cheese.

Serves 4

 

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Gathering in the Garden

A devilish little woman by the name of Alycia Nichols, whom some of you may know as the creative genius behind the Tablescapes at Table 21 blog, is to blame for my latest obsession. We share an email or two, and send pictures back-and-forth of our latest acquisitions. All she had to do was send me one picture of one of her Portmeirion botanical plates, and I immediately fell in love. Heaven knows I don’t need any more dishes, on the other hand (I continually reason with myself), when I am setting a table for two, I don’t need to buy a lot of them. Just two of each is all that I need for an attractive luncheon or dinner table for two. That’s how this table began.

I love the idea of a botanical table out in the conservatory. I mean, it stands to reason, that is the type of table that belongs there. I used my much loved round tablecloth in burlap, and topped it with artificial Monstera leaves on top of which I placed a pair of woven placemats, topped with another favorite, my much loved Bordallo Pinheiro geranium leaf chargers.

Blanc Amelie pattern dinner plates from Maison Versailles were placed on top of them, and then plates that I have been searching for forever, Lavender Bordallo Pinheiro salad plates.

The bowls on top of them represent my first Portmeirion purchase. The lavender hibiscus on these bowls blend amazingly well with the lavender plates underneath.

Checkered napkins from Pottery Barn flank each plate and they are topped with Wallace silversmiths Napoleon bee flatware.

The cups and saucers are simple cappuccino cups from which I get much use, and found on Amazon.

The candleholder at center used to belong to my mother. I had one like it in cobalt blue that was a casualty of a tornado that ripped through our yard at the old house back in 2012. I believe, but I’m not 100% sure, but these came from Pottery Barn. The candle inside is from, of all places, Wayfair.com. They have an amazing selection of candles in a wide variety of colors and lovely light fragrances to suit any table. I am not affiliated with Wayfair, I just love their products.

 

The glassware is the wonderful Made-in-France Lá Rochère.

The white butterfly dishes, generally considered to be used for hot mustard and sweet-and-sour sauce in an Asian meal, work very well for butter pats, salt and pepper, or, as you see here, to hold a sprig of mint and pair of lime wedges to use with the sparkling water.

A sprig of fresh thyme from my garden casually draped across the bowl adds a final and fragrant touch.

Come dine with me!

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This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Pumpkin Spice Zucchini Bread

As you may or may not have noticed, I have been a bit zucchini obsessed of late. Once August hits, however, I suddenly shift into pumpkin mode. Yes, I know it’s early for some of you, but I have been waiting for this since last November. I was wondering how the combination of zucchini and pumpkin would work in a quick bread, and let me tell you, it works perfectly! This little gem serves the purpose of ridding you of excess zucchini (if you happen to be so fortunate), getting vegetables into your picky family, and satisfying that long desire for the return of pumpkin spice. It’s easy, requires no mixer, and the aroma makes the house smell like fall.

Pumpkin Spice Zucchini Bread

2 eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. brown sugar

½ c. canned pumpkin

½ c. butter, melted

1½ t. vanilla extract

1½ c. flour

½ t. baking soda

½ t. baking powder

¼ t. salt

1 T. pumpkin pie spice

1 c. shredded Melissa’s organic zucchini (1 medium)

½ c. chopped walnuts

 

 Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-in. loaf pan with Baker’s Joy; set aside. 

 In a bowl, combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin, butter and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in zucchini and nuts. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.

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Small Batch Basil & Sunflower Seed Pesto

I was reading an article the other day about the fragrance that the largest numbers of people consider to be their number one, and that was vanilla. I can’t say that it is not high on my list, but, in my case, my number one most favorite fragrance is that of pesto in the making. There is something about basil being whirred around in a food processor that makes me positively heady. August is the time of the year when there is much pesto making at my house. Because I make it in small batches, and because I always have a good bit of basil growing in my deck garden, I tend to make it once a week. I ran myself out of the nuts that I generally use, so this time decided to make a rather bold (at least I thought it was bald) substitution in sunflower seeds. I absolutely love the result! I also like the fact that sunflower seeds are something I can grow on my own so that next year I will have not only fresh basil, but fresh sunflower seeds as well, making this dish nearly fully organic, and cost-effective at the same time. If you haven’t tried it, you absolutely must!

Small Batch Basil & Sunflower Seed Pesto

 6 cloves garlic peeled

¼ c. roasted, salted sunflower seeds

½ c. grated Parmesan cheese

½ t. kosher salt, more or less

3 c. fresh basil leaves, packed

1 T. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Few gratings freshly ground black pepper

¾ c. good olive oil

 Place all ingredients EXCEPT the olive oil in a small food processor and pulse until blended. With the machine running, add the oil in a fine stream. Process until pesto is smooth.

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Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel

 

 I don’t have a lot of experience with fennel, but the little I do have tells me that it tends to enhance anything it’s in. One example is Ina Garten’s Potato Gratin with Gouda and Fennel. Another example, also by Ina, is right here. This Rigatoni with Sausage and Fennel is restaurant quality, for relatively little effort. Do your prep work ahead, buy your sausage in bulk, and this will be on the table in no time. You may never want to go out for Italian food again.

Rigatoni with Sausage & Fennel

From Cooking for Jeffrey by Ina Garten

 3 T. good olive oil

3 c. chopped fennel (1 large bulb)

1½ c. chopped yellow onion

1¼ lb. sweet Italian sausages, casings removed

2 t. minced garlic (2 cloves)

½ t. whole fennel seeds, crushed with a mortar and pestle

½ t. crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 c. dry white wine

1 c. heavy cream

2/3 c. half-and-half

2 T. tomato paste

1 lb. pound rigatoni

½ c. chopped fresh parsley leaves

1 c. freshly grated Italian Parmesan cheese, divided

 Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the fennel and onion and sauté for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the sausage and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, crumbling it with a fork, until nicely browned. Add the garlic, crushed fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper and cook for one minute. Pour in the wine, bring to a boil, and add the heavy cream, half-and-half, and tomato paste. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

 Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt, and cook the rigatoni according to the directions on the package. Drain and add to the sauce, stirring to coat the pasta. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. Off the heat, stir in the parsley and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Serve hot in shallow bowls with the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan on the side.

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Cannellini Bean Spread

If you don’t follow Daniel Mancini on Facebook or Instagram, I strongly encourage you to do so. He is very generous with his recipes, and posts often. In this intense heat, I am looking for things that are cool and refreshing; his cannellini beans spread fit the bill. This was so good that I really didn’t need dippers as a spoon would suffice. I altered his recipe a bit, adding freshly squeezed lemon juice, because I had some left over from a pasta dish that I’d made and I didn’t want to waste it.  I don’t consider myself a particular lover of beans, but having tried this, I’m ready to buy cannellini beans by the case. Feel free to change up the fresh herbs to suit those that you have on hand and/or like. I have now made this a couple of times, varying each slightly, sometimes using basil and chives. You can’t mess this up. What a wonderful, healthy snack!

Cannellini Bean Spread

Slightly adapted from Daniel Mancini

 1 15.5-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

1 t. fresh lemon juice

2 fresh sage leaves, optional

½ t. fresh thyme, optional

½ t. kosher salt

 ¼ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 T. freshly grated Parmesan

 1 garlic clove, chopped

Place everything into a food processor or blender process till smooth. Taste for salt and adjust.

Daniel says that he makes this very often, and uses it as a dip for fresh cut vegetables, or spreads it onto slices of toasted Italian bread. It’s so delicious and, as I was saying, it’s healthy alternative to many commercial dips.

 

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I watch a lot of Italian television. A. LOT. My current favorites, for those of you who may have an interest, are Don Matteo, Imma Tataranni, Montalbano, and Bulletproof Heart. One thing about Italian television is that they eat a lot of delicious looking food. More often than once I have headed to Google to look up a recipe. In one episode I saw a bowl of lemon spaghetti that looked particularly good. A Google search brought up this recipe from Giada de Laurentis; I decided to give it a try, and loved it! It is lemony and fresh, and almost addicting in its deliciousness. It is the perfect pasta to serve on a hot summer day.

Giada’s Lemon Spaghetti

 1 lb. spaghetti

2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

2/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

½ c. fresh squeezed lemon juice

½ c. (packed) sliced basil leaves

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Lemon zest for garnish

 Cook the spaghetti in lots of well-salted water.

 Meanwhile whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl.

 When the pasta is cooked, transfer it with tongs to the bowl (it's ok if some of the pasta water comes with it.)

Immediately toss vigorously to get all the pasta coated in the lemony olive oil mixture. Add a little more pasta water if needed. Add salt to taste, if necessary, and black pepper. Note: as you toss the spaghetti it will absorb some of the sauce.

Add the fresh basil and give everything a last toss, and serve immediately with an extra sprinkle of cheese, lemon zest, and more fresh cracked black pepper.

(For an even quicker meal you can whisk the sauce together and stash in the fridge for a day or two. Do not slice the basil until ready to serve.)

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