Recipe(tried): Sunday Dinner at our Home: Chicken Francese, Smashed Potatoes, Broccoli Florets with Meyer Lemon Oil, Mango Poppyseed Summer Salad, Peaches and Blueberry Crisp and How to Season an Iron Skillet
MenusHello Everyone!
I love to go to garage sales on Saturday mornings. Yesterday I found an old Wagner iron skillet for only $1.00! As soon as I saw it, I imagined a hot, crusty corn bread baking in it! I also saw an old Fire king glass casserole dish that would be perfect for a macaroni and cheese casserole! That was only a $1.00 too! At another garage sale, I bought 2 vintage kitchen utensils with the old apple-green wood handles; one was a fork and the other was on old egg beater. They were perfect! I love old timey, 1940's kitchen utensils as well as old grandma-type aprons. I always wear an old apron when I am cooking. Do you also have an old favorite apron? How often do you wear them? I hang mine on pegs in my laundry room. I simply cannot resist buying them, especially when they are $1.00 at sales!!
As soon as I got home I washed and dried all my treasures. Then I got Crisco shortening out to begin seasoning my iron skillet for today's dinner. It came out beautiful!
Here is how to season an old iron skillet:
1. Wash, rinse and dry the pan.
2. Grease the inside and outside surface with a light coating of Crisco shortening.
3. Put the pan upside down on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 350 oven for 1 hour. Let it cool in the oven. Then take it out when completely cooled and stored.
4. Remember to always clean the pan after using with salt and paper towels. Water and soap should never touch it again. If you must wash it, re-season again.
The black iron skillet is used mainly for frying chicken or baking upside down cakes or corn cakes in the oven. One should never braise or cook with a tomato based acidic product as this will take the seasoning away and you have to start all over again.
The best things to cook in the iron skillet are upside down cakes and cornbread. I have many "from scratch recipes" for cornbread but our favorite is...Jiffy Cornbread. You can't beat the taste. All I ever add is 1 tablespoon of sugar to the batter. If you put the batter in a preheated pan, it will sizzle and give you a delicious crusty cornbread!
Tonight's dinner is built around that crusty cornbread and my love of almonds and lemon! Meyer lemons are abundant around here as people grow them in their backyards. I am lucky in that a neighbor gives me bagfuls of them and I am able to make lemonade and an assortment of delicious dishes with them! So, tonight's meal will be yummy!! You can find me with my favorite pink flowered apron with the rick rack around it... Aprons are a Kitchen Queen's best friend!
SUNDAY'S MENU
Chicken Francese
Smashed Potatoes
Broccoli Florets with Meyer Lemon Oil
Mango Poppyseed Summer Salad
Skillet Cornbread
Debbie D's Iced Sweet Tea
Peaches and Blueberry Crisp
Happy Cooking! Gina
CHICKEN FRANCESE
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs
flour for coating
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 tablespoons chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
lemon wedges for garnish
Pound chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper until thin. Season well with salt and pepper.
Beat eggs in a shallow bowl. Pour some flour on wax paper or a shallow bowl. Heat oil and butter in a skillet until it sizzles.
Dredge chicken in flour, then eggs, then flour and put into skillet. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side until they are golden. Turn down heat so that oil does not burn. Add more oil if needed.
As chicken is done, put onto a heatproof platter and keep warm in oven.
Make the sauce by adding the wine, broth, and lemon juice to pan. Boil over high heat for 1 minutes until it is reduced by half and slightly thickened. The sauce will be brown.
Pour sauce over cutlets and garnish with lemon wedges.
SMASHED POTATOES
4 to 5 large potatoes
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup milk or half and half
2 to -3 Tbsp. sour cream
1 to 2 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper to taste
Boil potatoes, skin on, with the garlic clove until tender. Drain. Return to pot and smash until creamy. Add cream, sour cream, and butter and blend well. Season with salt and pepper.
BROCCOLI FLORETS WITH MEYER LEMON OIL
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs. broccoli florets
3 Tbsp. Meyer Lemon oil
Fill a large pot halfway with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Salt the water and add the broccoli. Boil for about 5 minutes until broccoli is crisp-tender. Drain and transfer to serving platter. Toss with the oil to coat Season with salt and pepper.
MANGO POPPYSEED SUMMER SALAD
Greens of your choice
2 to 3 sliced scallions
1 cup chopped fresh mango
crumbled feta cheese
sliced almonds
MANGO POPPY SEED DRESSING:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. mango jam
1/2 tsp. poppyseeds
salt and pepper to taste
Tie on your apron and combine the greens, scallions and mango in a pretty bowl. Combine the salad dressing in a mason jar and shake it up good! Pour it over the salad and garnish with feta cheese and sliced almonds.
PEACHES AND BLUEBERRY CRISP
CRISP TOPPING:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup crushed almond biscotti, coarsely crushed
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into 1/2 inch slices
FILLING:
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 lbs. fresh peaches, pitted and sliced into thick wedges
1 pint fresh blueberries
vanilla ice cream (for serving)
TO MAKE THE TOPPING:
Stir the flour and the sugars with the cinnamon in a bowl to blend. Add the almonds and the crumbled biscotti and mix well. Cut in the butter until clumps form. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13x9-inch baking pan.
TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Stir the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Add the sliced peaches and blueberries and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Toss to combine. Spoon the fruit mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the crisp topping over.
Bake for about 45 minutes until the topping is golden and crispy.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving in a bowl with a ball of vanilla ice cream.
I love to go to garage sales on Saturday mornings. Yesterday I found an old Wagner iron skillet for only $1.00! As soon as I saw it, I imagined a hot, crusty corn bread baking in it! I also saw an old Fire king glass casserole dish that would be perfect for a macaroni and cheese casserole! That was only a $1.00 too! At another garage sale, I bought 2 vintage kitchen utensils with the old apple-green wood handles; one was a fork and the other was on old egg beater. They were perfect! I love old timey, 1940's kitchen utensils as well as old grandma-type aprons. I always wear an old apron when I am cooking. Do you also have an old favorite apron? How often do you wear them? I hang mine on pegs in my laundry room. I simply cannot resist buying them, especially when they are $1.00 at sales!!
As soon as I got home I washed and dried all my treasures. Then I got Crisco shortening out to begin seasoning my iron skillet for today's dinner. It came out beautiful!
Here is how to season an old iron skillet:
1. Wash, rinse and dry the pan.
2. Grease the inside and outside surface with a light coating of Crisco shortening.
3. Put the pan upside down on a baking sheet in a pre-heated 350 oven for 1 hour. Let it cool in the oven. Then take it out when completely cooled and stored.
4. Remember to always clean the pan after using with salt and paper towels. Water and soap should never touch it again. If you must wash it, re-season again.
The black iron skillet is used mainly for frying chicken or baking upside down cakes or corn cakes in the oven. One should never braise or cook with a tomato based acidic product as this will take the seasoning away and you have to start all over again.
The best things to cook in the iron skillet are upside down cakes and cornbread. I have many "from scratch recipes" for cornbread but our favorite is...Jiffy Cornbread. You can't beat the taste. All I ever add is 1 tablespoon of sugar to the batter. If you put the batter in a preheated pan, it will sizzle and give you a delicious crusty cornbread!
Tonight's dinner is built around that crusty cornbread and my love of almonds and lemon! Meyer lemons are abundant around here as people grow them in their backyards. I am lucky in that a neighbor gives me bagfuls of them and I am able to make lemonade and an assortment of delicious dishes with them! So, tonight's meal will be yummy!! You can find me with my favorite pink flowered apron with the rick rack around it... Aprons are a Kitchen Queen's best friend!
SUNDAY'S MENU
Chicken Francese
Smashed Potatoes
Broccoli Florets with Meyer Lemon Oil
Mango Poppyseed Summer Salad
Skillet Cornbread
Debbie D's Iced Sweet Tea
Peaches and Blueberry Crisp
Happy Cooking! Gina
CHICKEN FRANCESE
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs
flour for coating
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
1/4 cup dry white wine
6 tablespoons chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
lemon wedges for garnish
Pound chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper until thin. Season well with salt and pepper.
Beat eggs in a shallow bowl. Pour some flour on wax paper or a shallow bowl. Heat oil and butter in a skillet until it sizzles.
Dredge chicken in flour, then eggs, then flour and put into skillet. Fry for about 2 minutes on each side until they are golden. Turn down heat so that oil does not burn. Add more oil if needed.
As chicken is done, put onto a heatproof platter and keep warm in oven.
Make the sauce by adding the wine, broth, and lemon juice to pan. Boil over high heat for 1 minutes until it is reduced by half and slightly thickened. The sauce will be brown.
Pour sauce over cutlets and garnish with lemon wedges.
SMASHED POTATOES
4 to 5 large potatoes
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup milk or half and half
2 to -3 Tbsp. sour cream
1 to 2 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper to taste
Boil potatoes, skin on, with the garlic clove until tender. Drain. Return to pot and smash until creamy. Add cream, sour cream, and butter and blend well. Season with salt and pepper.
BROCCOLI FLORETS WITH MEYER LEMON OIL
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs. broccoli florets
3 Tbsp. Meyer Lemon oil
Fill a large pot halfway with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Salt the water and add the broccoli. Boil for about 5 minutes until broccoli is crisp-tender. Drain and transfer to serving platter. Toss with the oil to coat Season with salt and pepper.
MANGO POPPYSEED SUMMER SALAD
Greens of your choice
2 to 3 sliced scallions
1 cup chopped fresh mango
crumbled feta cheese
sliced almonds
MANGO POPPY SEED DRESSING:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. mango jam
1/2 tsp. poppyseeds
salt and pepper to taste
Tie on your apron and combine the greens, scallions and mango in a pretty bowl. Combine the salad dressing in a mason jar and shake it up good! Pour it over the salad and garnish with feta cheese and sliced almonds.
PEACHES AND BLUEBERRY CRISP
CRISP TOPPING:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup crushed almond biscotti, coarsely crushed
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cut into 1/2 inch slices
FILLING:
3 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 lbs. fresh peaches, pitted and sliced into thick wedges
1 pint fresh blueberries
vanilla ice cream (for serving)
TO MAKE THE TOPPING:
Stir the flour and the sugars with the cinnamon in a bowl to blend. Add the almonds and the crumbled biscotti and mix well. Cut in the butter until clumps form. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13x9-inch baking pan.
TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Stir the sugar and flour together in a large bowl. Add the sliced peaches and blueberries and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Toss to combine. Spoon the fruit mixture into the pan. Sprinkle the crisp topping over.
Bake for about 45 minutes until the topping is golden and crispy.
Cool for about 10 minutes before serving in a bowl with a ball of vanilla ice cream.
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