donna's daily dish

Dreyer Farms CSA Week 2

5/30/2023

Last week I was getting through my produce from a shared CSA box. So far I’ve received asparagus, lettuce, radishes, kale, spinach, eggs, golden beets, shiitake mushrooms and rainbow Swiss Chard. For the kale in the box, I found a recipe on Lidia Bastianich’s website, www.lidiasitaly.com for Barley, Kale and Butternut Squash Risotto. The spinach was used in a recipe from the website www.modernproper.com for Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Spinach, Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. For the radishes and the arugula, I prepared White Beans with Radishes, Miso and Greens, a recipe by Colu Henry via The New York Times and their column, “Five Dishes to Cook This Week.”

Although risotto can be filling, using pearl barley made for a lighter tasting risotto. For the recipe you’ll need kosher salt, fresh bay leaves, pearled barley, chicken stock, extra-virgin olive oil, a carrot, two stalks of celery, dry white wine, one bunch of kale, butternut squash, butter and Grana Padano cheese.

chicken stew

5/12/2023

Mother’s Day is Sunday and if you still don’t know what to serve, may I suggest Creamy Spinach-Artichoke Chicken Stew. I made this the other evening and it was delicious; my husband has already asked me to make it again. The recipe is by Sarah DiGregorio from the New York Times/ Here to Help column which appeared on April 28th, 2023.

For the recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, yellow or red onion, kosher salt, black pepper, celery, garlic cloves, chicken stock, white wine, boneless skinless chicken thighs, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, frozen cut spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, cream cheese, fresh dill, scallions and grated Parmesan cheese.

what happened to spring?

5/3/2023

I saw a funny meme on Facebook recently. “I just realized why this month is called May. It may rain, it may snow, it may be 70 degrees or it may be 20 degrees. However, we seem to have turned the corner and the weather is becoming more enjoyable.

If you’re like me you like to have an extensive collection of various preparations for poultry and beef. My husband has been in a stir fry mood, which brings me to my first recipe. It’s from the website “Dinner at the Zoo.” This website specializes in easy dinner recipes that appeal to kids; aren’t we all kids at heart? The recipe, Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry was a quick meal to prepare. For the recipe you’ll need vegetable oil, carrots, broccoli florets, boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh garlic, chicken broth/stock or water, soy sauce, honey, cornstarch, salt and pepper.

rain, rain go away

4/29/2023

What a crummy weather week this has been. I was a bit busier this week, but managed to try two new recipes; one of my own creation. The first recipe is for a stuffed chicken breast using Alexian Pâtés and Specialty Meats, Herb de Provence Pâté.

Using skinless, boneless chicken breasts, I pounded them slightly. Next, I thinly sliced the pâté and placed in the center of the breast. Rolling the breasts as tightly as I could, I inserted several toothpicks to hold close. I carefully coated the chicken with seasoned flour (salt and pepper), dipped in an egg wash and coated with panko breadcrumbs. I pan sautéed the chicken until golden then removed. I deglazed the pan with white wine and off heat added two tablespoons of butter to create a glossy sauce. I placed the chicken back in the pan, lowered the heat, covered and cooked a little longer until the chicken was cooked through.

a new month

4/9/2023

The year is going by in a flash. I spent the past week trying out a half dozen new recipes and baking Easter bunny sugar cookies for my grandchildren’s Easter baskets.

The first recipe I tried last week was Sheet-Pan Tostadas with Black Beans and Peppers. For this recipe you’ll need three bell peppers, an onion, kosher salt, fresh sage, fresh thyme sprigs, 2 cans of black beans, diced tomatoes, chipotle chile in adobo, fresh garlic, dried oregano, ground cumin, tortillas, a lime, queso fresco or white cheddar cheese and cilantro leaves.

The recipe is from Melissa Clark of The New York Times and indicates you’ll get 4 to six servings from this meal. I beg to differ with Ms. Clark, as did someone else in the Cook’s Comment section of this recipe. You’ll more than likely get 2 to 3 servings, which is more realistic. Although the recipe calls for roasting the peppers and onions on a sheet pan, I sautéed mine in a frying pan on the stove top. You can probably get away with less oil with this method. The beans, tomatoes and chipotle chile and sauce are also cooked on a sheet pan, but as another person pointed suggested in the comments section, you can use one skillet and a sheet pan to heat up the tortillas.

new spring recipes

3/28/2023

“The first time you make something, follow the recipe, then figure out how to tailor it to your own tastes.” Ruth Reichl

Ms. Reichl, former editor of Gourmet Magazine, had the right advice for me when it came to preparing some exciting recipes last week. Some of the recipes called for ingredients that were hard to locate, while others gave options for adapting ingredients to suit your taste. The meals we had included chicken, pasta, pork and a vegetarian meal. My husband and I enjoyed them all, but some will need adjustments when made again, but overall, they were all keepers, easy to prepare and not time consuming. This week’s selection of recipes takes no longer than 45 minutes and in most cases one pot or pan for cooking.

The first recipe I’d like to talk about is from Zainaba Shah from The New York Times column, “What to Make Next Week” (March 18, 2023). Chicken Manchurian was a spicy dish that needs an egg, cornstarch, fresh garlic, black pepper, fine sea salt, boneless/skinless chicken breast, vegetable oil, chile peppers (dried dundicut or bird’s eye), ketchup, chili-garlic sauce, light soy sauce, chicken stock (optional), bell pepper, scallions and cooked rice.

easing into new week

3/12/2023

Sunday was nice and Sunday, but Monday and Tuesday, cold and dreary. On Sunday I prepared a recipe for Sheet-Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Peppers. This recipe is from Melissa Clark of The New York Time’s column “Here to Help,” published on January 31, 2023. I cook a lot from The New York Times as they have a deep stable of recipe developers, cook book authors and food writers which gives the home cook a wide range of diverse recipes to select from.

For this recipe you’ll need apple cider vinegar, honey, a red onion, kosher salt, 1 to 2 cloves fresh garlic, ground coriander, freshly ground black pepper, bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, extra-virgin olive oil, one large sweet potato, a pepper (red, yellow or orange), fresh sage, sweet paprika, cayenne, allspice and cilantro leaves.

a little of this and that

2/27/2023

It’s Monday, time for me to catch up and give you my input on some recipes I recently prepared. I’ll start with the past two Friday’s meals since it is the start of Lent. For the first recipe I made Shrimp Fritters from the “Library at Vendue Inn,” located in Charleston, South Carolina. The recipe is from the book “Signature Tastes of Charleston.” The other is Spaghetti with Red Clam sauce from “The Classic Italian Cook Book,” by Marcella Hazan.

I had such high hopes for the fritter recipe, but it fell short in the taste category. For the recipe you’ll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, kosher salt, cayenne pepper, eggs, milk, olive oil, yellow onion, garlic, shrimp and flat leaf parsley. The recipe calls for one pound of shrimp with the fritter batter consisting of 3-1/4 cups of flour and 1-1/2 cups of milk and three eggs. I thought that sounded excessive and decreased the amounts by half. Also, the recipe called for cooked shrimp. In my opinion, adding cooked shrimp to the batter and then sautéing them in the fritter may overcook the shrimp, so I opted not to cook mine.

eat your greens

2/5/2023

The temperature has either been above normal or extremely cold like it is today. Recently my local food store had broccoli crowns on sale. I was tempted to make Alison Roman’s Broccoli Cheddar soup which recently appeared in The New York Times; but I wanted something simpler. I have a very old recipe for Cream of Broccoli Soup that I clipped from “Gourmet Magazine” back in December 1993. The yield was a mere 4 cups, perfect amount for just my husband and I.

For the recipe you’ll need an onion, a carrot, mustard seeds, butter, fresh broccoli, chicken broth, water, fresh lemon juice and sour cream. As this recipe is almost 30 years old, I assuming that store bought broth was the norm back then and using some water for this recipe would cut down the salt. I prepared the recipe using some homemade chicken stock, Kitchen Basics stock along with water. The next time I make this, I’ll use all stock for a greater depth of flavor. If I have to purchase a boxed chicken stock, I prefer stock over broth based on the ingredient listing and how they obtain the chicken flavor.

yes, another sheet pan meal

12/13/2022

For my birthday one year, my daughter gave me a tee shirt that read on the back “Sheet Pan Everything;” I still do. Recently, I found on the website Half-Baked Harvest a recipe for Sheet Pan Sticky Ginger Soy Chicken and Broccoli. This was a perfect meal for me to prepare on Saturday evening as we were babysitting our 1-year-old grandson. I was able to get everything on the sheet pan before he arrived and just pop it in the oven.

For the recipe you’ll need chicken breasts or thighs, broccoli florets, honey, ketchup, tamari or soy sauce, pomegranate juice (or orange juice), fresh garlic, fresh ginger, chili flakes, jasmine rice for serving and for optional garnishing, sliced green onion and pomegranate.