A Mind is a Terrible Thing

We had friends over for dinner this evening, and I thought I’d share the recipe/menu.

Marinara sauce:

• Heat large skillet with 2-3 tablespoons of butter (be generous)
• One large or two small chopped onions, sautee with paprika
• One green pepper, one anaheim pepper, 4-5 cloves garlic, two stalks celery, also chopped, add and keep sauteing (or however that’s spelled)
• One large portabello mushroom (found it in the veggie drawer, decided to throw it in, too), chopped, add last to the veggies
• Cook until vegetables are tender, but still reasonably crisp
• Two cans of plain tomato sauce (“Hunt’s” brand this time) in a large saucepan (start at medium until bubbling, then reduce heat); add the sauteed vegetables as soon as they’re ready
• Add basil, dill, cilantro, oregano, parsley flakes, salt and pepper to taste
• Simmer on low and covered for at least a couple hours, although you can uncover for the last half hour or so if necessary to get the sauce to thicken

(More after the flip)

Chicken Dijonaise:

• 6 chicken breast filets (boneless, skinless; one per person, plus a couple extras in case somebody wants seconds, otherwise it’s still fab as leftovers); we get the ‘Smart&Healthy’ brand, which is supposedly grain-fed and free-range chicken, with no water added
• Trim the chicken, then pound moderately flat
• Marinate for several hours in a mixture of Italian dressing, worchestershire, soy, ketchup, tabasco, horseradish, and red wine
• In large, deep skillet at medium-high temp, heat a few tablespoons of toasted sesame oil (any oil will do, and usually I go with olive, but this caught my eye tonight)
• Cook the chicken breasts until they brown; it will take a while to boil off the liquid, so be patient and just keep turning them over; sometimes I add the extra marinade just for more flavor
• Preheat oven to 400F
• When browned nicely, remove the chicken from the skillet and pat with paper towel to take off some of the excess grease/oil, then arrange on teflon cookie tray or similar
• Put on a generous layer of the Dijonaise Sauce (see below) on each chicken breast and sprinkle with bread crumbs
• Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until the coating turns brown
• Serve promptly (helpful hint: get the chicken off the tray ASAP after pulling from oven, otherwise they continue to cook and will burn)

Dijonaise Sauce:

• 1/4 cup mayonaise (Best Foods / Hellman’s preferred)
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard (Grey Poupon preferred)
• 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
• Dill weed, plus a dash of cayenne powder
• Mix well, can be set aside in the ‘fridge if necessary (often I make this as the chicken is cooking though)

Other elements of the meal: Appetizer was sliced red bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli with a sour cream ranch-style dip. Dinner included steamed green beans from our garden, plus fresh (non-dehydrated) pasta and the marinara as a side. Bread was a loaf of nice sweet batard (actually a kind of sourdough, I think). Dessert was sliced strawberries (fresh), with organic vanilla ice cream. Plus coffee with a dash of Bailey’s Irish Creme.

Yum.

-Becca