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Emigrated from America to New Zealand and never looked back. Couldn't have asked for a better husband, family & life!

SISTERHOOD AWARD AND THANKS!


I am posting today to thank the lovely
Cheryl at Cooking Dunkin Style for this Sisterhood Award. She is a dedicated wife, amazing cook, Princess of Marthaland and fun friend to share with. I am honoured and flattered to have received this award. Thank you!

The rules of this award are:
  1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
  2. Nominate as many blogs as you want which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
  3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
  4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
  5. Share the love and link to the post and the person from whom you received your award.

I would like to give this award to the following folks:

Keep on posting the wonderful creations that you so love to share with the rest of us in cyberworld and, thank you so much for visiting and sharing your own ideas and comments even if I don't have as much time as I would like to visit more often (as I should) or leave more comments for you.

Salute and bon appetit!

CREAMY TARRAGON CHICKEN


This is a variation of one recipe my Mom used to make. She will be the first one to tell you that she was never a gourmet cook, but she does have a few signature dishes that were always truly exceptional and I believe this is one of them.

My Mom didn’t come from a family with much in the way of a grocery budget. Her family had more than a few mouths to feed too, so she would tell us how it was often cornbread and beans for supper in her household. She did learn to make a mean pot of pork & beans though, and she knows her way around the kitchen well enough to make quite a tasty pot roast with veggies as well…not to mention her notoriously delicious cobblers. No, my Mom probably doesn’t give herself enough credit, although compared to the AMAZING cook that was Dad’s Mom, my Grama, who passed many of her skills to my Dad, I can see where my Mom might feel less comfortable in the kitchen than some.

My mother has always been petite as well, so she probably doesn’t have the same passion (or obsession) with food as some of us do…unless, of course, it is derived from chocolate or is in the form of pastries! (Bear claws, right Mom???) :o) But this recipe is in honour of her, my Mum, because she introduced this flavour combination to me and always made it to perfection, that is how I recall it anyway.

This is a wonderful twist on chicken and I think anyone who likes chicken and tries it will like it! So, here we go…



INGREDIENTS:

6 Chicken Breasts
* Salt & Pepper
¼ Cup Flour
¼ Cup Butter
1 Med Onion, finely chopped
¼ Cup (more or less) Dry White Wine
1 Tsp Tarragon
½ Cup Chicken Broth
½ Cup Condensed Milk (non-sweetened) or Cream

*Amounts vary to individual tastes.


DIRECTIONS:

First, sprinkle chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper then dredge with flour but set aside the remaining flour.

Next, in a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and then brown the chicken on both sides.

Move the chicken to a glass oven dish and keep warm in a low temp oven until sauce is ready.

Add onion to skillet and sauté for 1 minute before adding wine and increasing the heat to high.

Now cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, stirring occasionally to loosen anything sticking on the bottom of the pan.

Once most of the liquid is gone, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the reserved flour, stirring to a thick paste (roux style).

Now add the tarragon and chicken broth and return the chicken to the skillet, covering and cooking until tender, about 20 minutes.

Add remaining butter and condensed milk (or cream) to the skillet and combine well and make sure it is heated well through. Just a note here - condensed milk makes a lower-fat creamy sauce than full-fat cream.

Now move the chicken to a serving dish or platter and pour creamy tarragon sauce over chicken breasts.

Voila! YUMMMMM!!!!
I served this with steamed broccoli and carrot-potato mash – it was superb if I do say so myself!



HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM


Well, the old laptop is still hanging in there (as I am able to limp along and post today), but it’s certainly not going to last much longer – BUGGER! So…I broke down and built a custom Dell Laptop for myself. I guess you could say that I am trying to do my part in “boosting the economy”, right? Hehe

Anyway, the weather is finally beginning to show signs of the end of summer being near. We have had such glorious weather, for the most part, so I really can’t complain too much about the recent rain and cold snaps. Yesterday was warm again but today it’s “pissing down” as my hubby likes to say. (Gotta love those Kiwi & Aussie expressions, eh?).

In any case, I am still making and adoring the
Melon Granita recipe I recently discovered in Foodtown Magazine, but I also made this ice cream and just procrastinated typing out the recipe because it was going to take some time – something I have been a bit short on of late. Nevertheless though, here it is and it is well worth a try…next time I may even try it with blueberries instead…since there seem to be plenty of those still around the place for a decent price.

Here you go…


INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Milk
1½ Cups Cream
1 Tsp Vanilla Essence/Extract
5 Egg Yolks
130 Gm (4½ oz) Caster Sugar/Superfine Granule Sugar
500 Gm (1 Lb) Fresh Strawberries
60 Gm (2 oz) Caster Sugar, measured separately from the rest
1 Tsp Lemon Juice


DIRECTIONS:

Assuming you have frozen your ice cream tub overnight, the first step to making the ice cream is to make the crème anglaise or custard.

First mix your milk, cream and vanilla in a medium saucepan and heat to nearly at a boil.

As this is heating slowly and you are occasionally stirring it to keep it from burning, quickly whisk the egg yolks & sugar together in a separate bowl (medium-sized) until they become creamy and a pale yellow colour.

Just before the milk mixture boils, remove it from the heat and slowly whisk it into the egg yolk and sugar bowl and stir until it is well combined.

Now, pour this mixture back into the saucepan and cook it over a medium low heat until it thickens to coat the back of a spoon.

At this point, transfer the mixture into a shallow glass dish to cool and refrigerate for several hours until it is well chilled all the way through.

While the custard is cooling, remove all of the strawberry stems and leaves and puree them in a blender or food processor until very smooth.

Pour the puree into a small saucepan through a sieve to remove as many seeds as possible, then add the additional sugar.

Stir this over a low heat until the sugar is fully dissolved then add the lemon juice and mix well.

Increase the heat and boil the fruit for about 6 minutes or until it has reduced to about 1 cup, stirring occasionally.

Now chill this mixture for several hours as well.

Once the custard and jam are well chilled, combine them in a bowl and turn the ice cream maker on (prevents the paddle from freezing to the tub) before pouring the mix into the frozen tub in the machine.

Now you sit and wait for it to freeze and become thicker.

Once it has reached the desired consistency, transfer the ice cream into an airtight container and enjoy!!!

The ice cream will take a while to get to a “soft serve” consistency, but will freeze into “scoopable” tub after a few hours in the freezer.

Have fun!