This is a great recipe if you’re looking for something relatively healthy and easy to throw together. The coating ensures that the chicken comes out VERY moist, though next time I’ll add more chili sauce, as the spice factor wasn’t up to snuff for me. Served with herb-roasted potatoes and fresh green beans, this was a satisfying and simple weeknight meal. Thanks, Real Simple magazine!
Heat oven to 450° F.
In a large bowl, combine the chili-garlic sauce and pineapple juice. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
In a separate bowl, combine the bread crumbs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the oil. Working with 1 piece at a time, coat the chicken in the bread crumb mixture and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining breasts. Bake until cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes. Note: in my oven, 15 minutes was enough to cook the chicken through, but it didn’t give the coating a chance to brown and crisp. After the baking period, I broiled the meat on high for a few minutes on each side, and that did the trick.
In addition to chocolate mint brownies (the recipe for which I’ve already posted), my other contribution to the recent Food Blogger Potluck was this deliciously cheesy dip. And guess what–it’s light! That’s right, Cooking Light magazine promised to deliver a rich, flavorful dish with less fat and calories, and I definitely felt like this version passed the test. It’s quite thick, so make sure you have sturdy chips or bread to use for dipping. This is a great make-ahead recipe; I mixed everything together, put it in the baking dish, and refrigerated it, and then I just popped it in the oven about 30-40 minutes before I wanted to serve.
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2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
1/2 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 (13.5-ounce) package baked tortilla chips (about 16 cups)
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 6 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
Finally, FINALLY, I got to experience the magical wonderment that is Ray’s the Steaks! It’s rare (pun intended) that a restaurant can live up to the level of hype that surrounds this place, but in my book, RTS absolutely does. I would like to go back, oh, now-ish.
We arrived and were seated right at 5 PM last Saturday evening when they opened–having been prepared for the minimalist decor, I wasn’t as jarred by it as some first-timers have been. My group of four opted for a lovely and reasonably priced bottle of shiraz, and we decided to go with soups for appetizers–two crab bisques and two onion soups. The former was delicious–creamy and sweet, but also with some nice acidity, and LOADED with crabmeat. The latter was good, though a little less cheesy than I would prefer–BUT, the pieces of beefy goodness in the broth more than made up for that!
Two of my gal pals ordered filets, and they had great char to them. I ordered the cajun ribeye, which was cooked PERFECTLY (rare) and had amazing flavor. It was covered in sauteed garlic, which I was hesitant about at first, but it was so mellow and tender that it was actually a great compliment to the bold spice rub. The favorite cut of the night was the hanger steak–amazing! Now I understand why people talk about it like they do. The creamed spinach was one of the better versions I’ve had, and the mashed potatoes were also yummy.
For dessert, we had milk chocolate mousse (droooooool) and key lime pie. Now, I make a pretty mean key lime pie myself. But the crust on the RTS version? Unbelievable. It made me want to better myself and stop buying the Keebler pre-made graham cracker version (don’t judge, I’m a busy girl).
With all of that food, two bottles of wine, and tip, it worked out to about $60 per person. SOOOOO incredibly reasonable, especially when you consider that we all departed with leftovers (which I, in a drunken haze, left under my chair at the bar we visited after dinner–for shame, I know, but at least a friend recovered the container and enjoyed the spoils the next day). Can’t wait for my next visit!
Last Friday night, I finally made it to Palena with the boyfriend, who knew that I wanted to eat there before moving and suggested it for our date night. We arrived at around 6:30 and were seated immediately in the cafe. Ordering drinks was easy (beer for boyfriend, chenin blanc for me), but food presented a much more difficult decision! As much as we were tempted to order from the main restaurant menu, we decided to stick with the cafe fare and then come back at a later date and sit in the dining room.
Boyfriend ordered the burger (rare), I ordered the black grouper (with potatoes, veggies, and a lemon sauce), and we split the fry plate. The burger was tasty, and the bun was maybe the best I’ve ever had, but unfortunately the meat came out closer to medium. Based on it being overcooked, boyfriend ranked the burger an 8 out of 10. Still pretty high marks–I can only imagine how good it would be if it was a little less done. The grouper was delicious and very light. And the fry plate? Oh. My. GAWD. The classic french fries were wonderfully crispy on the outside, yet still tender on the inside. The onion rings had the perfect thin coating, and the dauphine (spelling?) potatoes were unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I didn’t know what to think of the fried lemon slices at first, but they were really refreshing and unique.
Dessert was cannoli and the cookie platter. The former was very good, but the latter was just divine. Do they make them all in-house? Every item on the plate was delectable, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be a tie between the caramel (texture and flavor were divine) and the brittle (I think it was almond). Yummy in my tummy.
My biggest complaint about the evening is that I felt we were being rushed out. I know the cafe is busy, and maybe the brusqueness was just our server’s style, but it was a little unpleasant to feel like the clock was ticking. Next time I’ll make sure to do better on my part to request a more leisurely experience. Other than that, though, Palena was a hit–I hope to return before my departure.
FINALLY, after months of begging, my sister and boyfriend piled onto the S-bus and joined me for dinner at Colorado Kitchen–it was a couple of weeks ago and was the first visit for all of us. We were immediately charmed by the retro feel of the restaurant. Loved the vintage salt and pepper shakers!
The soup of the day (of which we were immediately provided a sample) was shellfish chowder, and it was fantastically flavorful (so much so that my sister ordered a bowl). We also started with an order of goat cheese fritters, which were served with big fat delicious asparagus. Yum!
Sister went for the fricasseed chicken leg with mushrooms and herbs, which was tender and tasty. It was listed under the “small plates” section of the menu, but with the soup, it was plenty of food. Boyfriend had the pork chop, which was served with potato rosti and an AMAZING cranberry-granny smith chutney that I would buy in bulk if I could–and the chop itself was beautifully cooked. I had the roasted chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes, which was good (and had a nice crust) but paled in comparison to the rest of the food.
We each got a dessert–the baked apple thingy was good, the “King Ding” (Chef’s take on a ding dong) was great, and the sweet potato pie was spectacular.
Prices were reasonable, service was excellent, and a good time was had by all. In fact, boyfriend and I even signed up for the “Bangers and Beer” event, which takes place tonight and involves samples of many different sausages and brews. I also love the “adopt a soldier” concept–as a person who serves veterans for a living, I applaud the effort to bring a little bit of the comfort of home to our men and women overseas. Too bad I only got to experience this place two months before my move–darn me and my hesitation. Anyway, we really enjoyed ourselves, and we’ll definitely be back!
