Famous Chopped Chicken Salad

This is a salad they serve at an Italian restaurant at the Mall of America called Tucci Benucch. It has been one of Quenton's and my favorite restaurants since we were dating...17 years ago! We've gone for Valentine's Day in recent years. Q always orders this salad. I usually order a pasta dish and then we share both. It's so good, I've been making it at home for years. I'm always trying to perfect the dressing or find one at the store that tastes like the mustard vinaigrette that they use. I'm sure I will keep tweaking it and editing this post accordingly until it's perfect! For now, this is as close to the real deal as I've gotten at home just a little less romantic.
Ingredients:
Salad:
mixture of hearty lettuces such as: Iceberg, radiccio, romaine, and/or leaf lettuces
diced tomatoes
chopped scallions
crumbled crispy cooked bacon
gorgonzola or blue cheese crumbled
1/4 lb. tubetti pasta (optional)
cooked chicken chopped

Dressing:
MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE
1 1/2 teaspoons Colman's dry mustard
1/4 cup sugar
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons red wine and
1/3 cup champagne vinegar
1/2-1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
dash crushed red chilies
black pepper to taste
1/2 cup corn oil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil


Directions:
1. For the chicken you can use leftover roasted chicken or you can grill up chicken breasts or cook them in the oven or on the stove top. whatever your preference.
2. cook the bacon set aside to cool.
3. cook the pasta according to package instructions (if using) and set aside to cool. on the menu at Tucci it's called Tubetti but I found the pasta at Super Target and it is called "Ditalini"
4. Assemble the salad ingredients
5. for the dressing: put all of the ingredients in the blender except the oils. blend first then add the oil in a steady stream while the blender is running.
6. Pour over the salad and toss.

Serve with crusty Italian bread or a vegetarian soup such as Parmesan Corn Chowder

Pon Pon Chicken

Pon Pon Chicken...To the Martys, it's just another way to say, "birthday dinner". My father-in-law is quite the gourmet cook. Although it is not his full time job, I'm quite sure he could make a nice living at it. He introduced us to this family favorite years and years ago. We've had it for countless birthdays and special occasions and served it to dinner guest after dinner guest. I should just have the recipe all printed and ready to send home with whomever we serve this to because it is inevitable that they will ask for it at any given moment between their first bite and when they walk out the door.

Ingredients and Directions:

SAUCE

• 1/3 cup sesame paste (tahini)
• 1/4 cup strongly brewed black tea
• 2 tablespoons hot chili oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt or to taste
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped green onions
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2/3 cup peanut oil

 

get the water boiling for the tea. I just make it in a cup with 2 or 3 teabags. meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, mix the above ingredients with a wire whisk in the order given, mixing after each addition. Set sauce aside until ready to serve. No cooking or refrigeration.

 

• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into bite-size pieces 
• Jasmine rice cooked according to the directions on the package 

 

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS (although, I like all of them)

• 1 cup salted coctail peanuts 
• 1 cup green onions– cut into ½ inch pieces 
• 1 cup snow peas OR cut green beans– more or less 
• 1/2-1 cup matchstick carrots 
• 1/2 -1 cup bean sprouts

 

Stir fry the chicken pieces in a little bit of peanut oil until almost cooked. Add the peanuts and any or all of the other optional ingredients toward the end of stir frying the chicken top with the green onions at the end (if using). Serve immediately with the cooked Jasmine rice. Pass the sauce in a bowl with a ladel.

Serve the chicken over rice and then spoon the sauce over it. Make sure you get enough sauce. It's the best part! 

 

Refridgerate any leftovers.
For the leftovers, I usually throw in some fresh peanuts and reheat the chicken in the wok or the microwave but I usually just let the sauce come back to room temp on it's own because heating it kinda ruins it.

Homemade Mac -N- Cheese

 Mac -N- Cheese...it's synonymous with 'comfort food'. After a long day or a long week, you're not thinkin' about carrot sticks. You know what I'm talkin' about. It's pasta and a lot of dairy products.  But wait, isn't "comfort food" just another way to say "emotional eating"?  So why is comfort food so good and emotional eating so bad? Let's pretend I didn't just type that and eat this homemade mac-n-cheese anyway. We could make ourselves feel less guilty by serving it with a gigantic salad.

When I am making this for just our family, I cut the recipe in half. This recipe makes a great side dish at a party or bbq too. 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste(optional)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste--I like a lot 
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups half and half   
• 1 lb. Cavatappi pasta cooked--or whatever tube pasta you have in the pantry (pictured with Penne)
• 16 oz shredded super sharp cheese* (4 cups) reserve 1/2 to 1 cup for the top
• 2 cups supre sharp cheese
• 1 1/2 cup parmesan
• 1/2 cup asiago

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 
2. Cook pasta according to package directions and drain well
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter.
4. Stir in flour whisking until smooth. add salt, pepper, cayenne (if using), half and half and milk.
5. Stir over medium heat until smooth and very warm.
6. add cheese. stir until melted and smooth and thickened. 
7. Pour over cooked Cavatappi pasta and toss to coat
8. put in a buttered 9x13 casserole dish and top with reserved 1/2 to 1 cup cheese
9. bake for 30 minutes at 350
10. serve immediately. 

*I like to use sharp cheese imported from Ireland
It's so good to mix in a couple different kinds of cheese too like parmesan and asiago, but you can just use whatever combination of whatever you have on hand. be creative!

Vodka Penne Rustica

I gotta say, I don't have anything remotely resembling a "liquor cabinet" but I do always have some vodka on hand and it is precisely for this dish. I've been making it for well over 10 years. I got this recipe from my friend Dawn and it's become a family favorite. It's one of those go-to recipes when I don't have a lot of time, because all of the ingredients are things I usually have on hand.

slightly adapted
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup vodka
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt to taste
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 lb. Penne pasta, cooked and drained
• fresh grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese 

Directions:

1. Melt butter with olive oil in large heavy skillet over medium heat.
2. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 8 min.
3. Add tomatoes and cook until slightly thickened about 5-8 minutes stirring frequently.
4. Add cream, vodka and red pepper and boil until thickened to sauce consistency – about 2 minutes.
5. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Toss the cooked penne with the sauce, and sprinkle with grated cheese if desired.

w/chicken optional *This is also very good with chicken added. To make  with chicken you will need about 4 small boneless skinless breasts.

Cut up into bite-size peices and cook in the butter and oil [in step one of the directions] until center is no longer pink and juices run clear. Add the onions about half-way through and continue with the directions as they go.

Serve with hot crusty Italian bread and a nice Caesar salad

*pictured with chicken

Stuffed Red Peppers

Or should I say, best stuffed peppers EVER? When I was younger, I wouldn't have put stuffed peppers at the top of my favorite-foods-list...I'm not sure they'd even make the bottom of the list. When I discovered this recipe, I discovered a new fave...and my daughter Eden is always requesting these. They are so good. So. Much. Flavor.  Seriously, the filling in these is so good I'm certain you could stuff just about anything with it and still love it.


adapted from Paula Dean's recipe
Ingredients:

• 4 large red bell peppers
• 1 1/4 pound ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 3/4 cup jarred salsa con queso
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped green onion tops
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup hot water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Start by cutting the peppers in half lengthwise, leaving the stems intact, and halving them also. Remove the seeds and ribs inside the peppers.
3. Using a hot skillet, saute the ground turkey, onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon of bouillon granules, salt, garlic powder and pepper together. Saute until onions become translucent.
4. Add the rice, cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, green onion tops, and soy sauce. Mix well and stuff the mixture into the peppers. In a small bowl, mix the hot water and the remaining bouillon granules. Pour this mixture into a shallow casserole large enough to hold all of the peppers. Place the stuffed peppers in the dish, cover with foil and bake for 25 to 35 minutes. Remove the foil and spoon the juice from bottom of the casserole over the top of the peppers. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.

Make this a perfect meal with a nice big green salad on the side and some crusty warm bread with butter 

  

B's Chili (Traditional)

This is my own chili recipe. After years and years of makin' chili and lovin' it and quite frankly, wingin' it... I was going to teach it at my cooking class in Poland.  I realized I didn't have anything really written down so I needed to gather my thoughts and decide once and for all "if I were going to make [and teach] the perfect pot of chili... what would I want in it? and what would the measurements be? What am I gonna tell these people?!!" ...and this is what I came up with...and they loved it! ...and now I don't have to 'wing it' anymore.


Ingredients and Directions:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 1 ½ cups chopped onion
• 6-8 cloves garlic

1. heat vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.

2. add garlic and onions. cook until tender.

3. add ground beef and cook until meat is no longer pink 

• 2 large(28 oz each) cans diced/or crushed tomatoes (do not drain)
• 2-3 cans spicy chili beans in chili sauce
• 2 cans kidney beans drained
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 jalapenos seeded and chopped (or more to taste)
• 2 + cups tomato juice(like V8 or Campbell's)if you like your chili nice and spicy this is another ingredient you can use to heat it up by getting the hot and spicy tomato juice 

4. Reduce heat. Stir in tomatoes, chili beans, and kidney beans.
5. Season with salt, sugar, chili powder, pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper. Stir and simmer.

6. Add chili peppers and tomato juice(more or less depending on how thick or thin you like your chili). Simmer for 1 ½ hours stirring often. Be sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.

Serve with:

• shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• chopped green onions
• beer bread or Dawnie's cornbread, and
• tortilla chips or Fritos scoops for dipping

Sloppy Joes

I got the basis for this recipe from my friend Sue. Who will never admit it, but she's an AMAZING cook.

When I realized I usually made this for parties and large groups, I just decided to two-and-a-half it on the recipe so it would be easier. This will make 25 -30 sandwiches.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 large onions chopped fine (I like to use the food processer for this step)
• 6-8 cloves garlic minced
• 5 lbs ground beef or pork or a combination of the two 
• 1 44 oz. bottle of Heinz ketchup
• 1/4 cup mustard (I like to use spicy mustard)
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

In a large pot, heat a little bit of vegetable oil over medium high , add the onions and garlic and cook until tender. Add the ground beef. Drain any liquid from the pan if there is any. Add remaining ingredients and cook for at least 1-2 hours before serving. You can transfer this to a crock pot for the party!

• Buns

Serve on round buns like sesame seed hamburger buns*

I love to serve this with my homemade coleslaw and kettle cooked salt and vinegar potato chips

*I originally used this recipe to teach to my cooking class for adults when we were living in Poland. I loved teaching them these all-American types of foods and I think they loved learning them even more. They would often ask me to teach a recipe for foods that they saw on "Friends" or a Hollywood movie and they were curious about it. I loved this little instruction on the buns (something so obvious to us Americans). It reminds me of all the friends we made doing that class in Krakow.