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Back in 2008, if you wanted to elicit a wedding proposal from someone, you’d make them a Roast Chicken. Apparently late last year, there was a buzz on TikTok for a recipe called “Marry Me Chicken.” In 2016, an editor at the website “Delish” was videotaped creating a recipe for Tuscan-style chicken. At the end of the video her producer says, “I’d marry you for that chicken;” hence the Tuscan dish had a new name. The Italian food importer Delallo thinks the name comes from how well the ingredients “marry together” when incorporated into this dish. There are quite a few versions of this recipe on line, but I decided to follow a recipe by Naz Deravian from The New York Times.  
 
For Marry Me Chicken you’ll need boneless skinless, chicken breasts, kosher salt, black pepper, all-purpose flour, extra-virgin olive oil, unsalted butter, fresh garlic, tomato paste, dried oregano, red-pepper flakes, chicken stock, heavy cream, grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese,  sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil and fresh basil for serving. ​

The cutlets are dredged in flour then sautéed in a mixture of olive oil and butter, approximately 5 minutes per side then removed from the pan. Cover and keep warm. Chopped garlic is added to the pan until fragrant, then the tomato paste is added and toasted. The oregano and red-pepper flakes are next, followed by stock and scrapping up the fond on the bottom of the pan. The mixture is slightly reduced before the heavy cream goes in and thickens. On a very low flame, or simmer setting, add the Parmesan cheese and sun-dried tomatoes; adjust seasoning. Add the chicken just to warm through.
 
I served this over a bit of pasta and it was delicious! The sauce was creamy with the right balance of richness from the combination of heavy cream and chicken stock. The combination of oregano, red-pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese made for a very flavorful dish.
 
Now that you have dinner made what about dessert. Recently my daughter and her family were out to dinner and for dessert they ordered olive oil cake. This got me thinking. I had a small amount of Oliver Farm pecan oil left, how would it be as a replacement for olive oil? There was only one way to find out, find a recipe and try it.
 
Recipes for olive oil cake vary widely. Some recipes use sour cream, another buttermilk, most add lemon zest and orange zest and one used some almond flour. Since I didn’t know how the addition of the citrus zest would work with the pecan flavor, I found a recipe for Classic Olive Oil Cake on the website “Bake from Scratch.” It’s a simple cake, not overly sweet and uses pantry staples. For the recipe you’ll need eggs, granulated sugar, whole milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, all-purpose flour, baking soda and kosher salt. The recipe makes one 8-inch round cake.
 
I used Pam Baking Spray with flour to coat the cake pan and made a parchment circle for the bottom of the pan. Using my stand mixer with whisk attachment, I mixed the eggs and sugar. The pecan oil was added in a slow stream followed by the extracts. In a separate bowl, I sifted the dry ingredients together and mixed into the liquid mixture. The cake bakes for approximately 30 minutes then cools for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.
 
I could barely contain myself until the cake had cooled completely before tasting. It was light, with a delicate crumb, barely sweet and a perfect accompaniment with your favorite hot beverage. Can you taste the pecans, perhaps. If I wasn’t so hasty, I would have waited until I could add some toasted pecans to the cake. However, when I sampled another piece today, I think that sitting overnight helped the cake to fully absorb the pecan oil and further enhance the moistness of the cake. Overall, delicious!

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Marry Me Chicken
By Naz Deravian
The New York Times/NYT Cooking
 
Serving: 4
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cook Time: 50 Minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
 
Ingredients
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 6 chicken cutlets (about 2¼ pounds total), patted dry
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1  tablespoon tomato paste
½teaspoon dried oregano
Red-pepper flakes, to taste
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
½ to ¾cup heavy cream
½ cup (1½ ounces) grated Parmesan
⅓ cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
Fresh basil, for serving
 
Preparation

1. If using chicken breasts, start from the thickest end and slice each chicken breast in half horizontally so you end up with a total of 6 cutlets (see Tip). Season both sides of the chicken cutlets well with salt and pepper.
2. Scatter the flour on a large plate and coat the cutlets, shaking off the excess. Transfer the cutlets to a sheet pan or large plate in a single layer.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high. Once hot, reduce the heat to medium and add the butter. As soon as it melts, add the cutlets and cook until golden on one side, about 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook the other side until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Do this in batches, if needed, adding more oil, if needed. Transfer the cutlets to a plate or sheet pan.
4. Reduce the heat to low, add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, stirring until the color deepens, about 2 minutes. Add the oregano and red-pepper flakes, to taste. Increase the heat to medium, add the stock and bring to a simmer, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
5. Add ½ cup of the cream and warm through, stirring, until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Watch the cream closely, reducing the heat if necessary, to maintain a gentle simmer. Stir in the Parmesan and the sun-dried tomatoes. Add more cream, if you like, and season the sauce. Place the chicken back in the pan to warm through, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and scatter basil on top.

TIP

• To make it easier to slice into cutlets, place the chicken breasts in the freezer for 20 minutes.​

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Classic Olive Oil Cake*
From the website “Bake from Scratch”
 
Donna’s Note: This recipe was adapted by the use of pecan oil in place of olive oil. Quantity remained the same.
 
 
Yield: 1 8-inch layer cake
 
Ingredients
3 large eggs (150 grams)
¾ cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
½ cup (112 grams) extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup (120 grams) whole milk
½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon (1 gram) almond extract
1½ cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons (7.5 grams) baking powder
½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt
 
Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray an 8-inch round cake pan with baking spray with flour; line bottom of pan with parchment paper.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat eggs and sugar at high speed for 30 seconds. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, beating until combined. Add milk, beating until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low. Beat in extracts.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, beating until combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 33 minutes. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Brush with fresh olive oil just before serving. Store at room temperature wrapped loosely in foil or plastic wrap.

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