Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Special Event-9/7/05

Hello everyone!

It's time for another Cooking Without Borders special event. For all our new gal pals, this is an opportunity to cook the same meal together on the same night (or within a few days if that night doesn't work for you) and then we all come back together and post comments on what we liked or disliked, etc.

The first event was Cashew Chicken, the second was Tagine Chicken and, sticking with the chicken theme, this time we will do Too Easy Chicken with Leeks. But I have an idea that will make this perfect for a light fish like Tilapia as well. Read on.

We should plan to make dinner on Wednesday, September 7.

The recipe is very easy, VERY EASY! And low fat. And cheap! And yes, it's another Rachel Ray 30 minute meal.

Here's the shopping list:

You ready?

2 Leeks (sometimes the leeks are bundled 2 or 3, that's ok, but you want 2 individual leeks, not two bundles)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup dry white wine (we like a dry pinot)

Make sure you pantry also has:
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

As I mentioned, I think a easy fish like Tilapia might be really good. In which case, we got fillets, individually wrapped and frozen in your grocer's freezer section. Sometimes they are near the deli/meat counter if your store has a fish section. I would just broil the fish with a little lemon, butter, herbs. The package should give directions how. If you go with fresh fish, buy it the day of and ask your fish monger what he suggests for cooking times. The Tilapia can take a beating in the oven or fry pan, but you don't want to broil it for 60 minutes or bake it for that long either.

Leeks can last two to three days in the fridge, so you might want to do your shopping on Monday or Tuesday.

We love to have this with a classic risotto as the side. Yummy, creamy, savory risotto. I'll post my recipe later for that, but what I can remember for your shopping list:

Arborio Rice (1 box--you'll need about a cup)
Stock (veggie or chicken, use your favorite)
Onion
Butter/Olive Oil
Parmesan Cheese

And if you want to do an "add-in:" Peas, Asparagus, Mushrooms, etc. If you have parsley laying around, chop and throw some in.

Look forward to hearing everyone's comments!

Have a good, safe Labor Day weekend.

Scott

~_~_~_~

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Am I really the first to leave my comment? :)

First... my dinner companion was my new LOST dvd set, first episode. OMG! Every now and then I'm still amazed at the clarity of the dvd picture. And already catching things I haven't caught the other bizillion times I've watched!

The dinner was a success! I'm not a lover of white wines so I didn't want to buy a big bottle, but I found a four pack, so I used one small bottle (was 1 cup exactly), and can save the other four for a friend that stops by!

I've never cooked with leeks before, but I love them! The only thing I would've done different overall was added a bit more salt to the chicken as it was cooking.

And I didn't have rice on the shelf, but I did have one of my favorite stand-by's; Chicken Rice-a-Roni!! So I made that, served on a plate, leeks on top, chicken on top of it all. And it was really, really delicious!

Another successful Cooking Without Borders here!!

ScottE. said...

We had a guest for dinner, so it as the three of us. I made basic risotto to sit aside the chicken and leeks. I used the "cutlet" style chicken breasts. They cook in about a flash. Then tossed in the leeks, wine, put the chicken back and covered and finished the risotto. It was super tasty and it was really easy!