Guest Blog - Chianti Chicken by Brian Sparks

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Guest Blog by Brian Sparks aka "Sparky"
Brian has been a dear family friend for longer than I wish to say! (Don't want to age myself too much!) I hope you enjoy this recipe that he was so gracious to share. Sounds like a winner to me and I can't wait to cook it up! Enjoy! And make sure you do as he says and "finish that bottle"!!!

Chianti Chicken – A great dish to make as an excuse to drink.
When Erin sent out the call for recipes to include on her blog, I immediately asked my wife, "What's the best dis you think I make?" I wasn't surprised when her answer was indeed what I was already thinking..."Chicken Chianti!"

Now, I love making this dish, because not only is it easy to make, it’s a great excuse to drink a bottle of Chianti while you make the dish….and then open up another bottle of whatever you want to drink during dinner. Any dish that requires wine as one of its ingredients is a dish that’s begging to be made.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves (crushed or chopped)
A few sprigs of thyme (chopped)
2 large or 4 medium size chicken breast halves (use bone-in for best flavor)
1 medium/large red onion (depends on how much onion you like)
3 tablespoons of tomato pesto (if you can’t find this, just get regular pesto and combine together(1 to 1) with some sun dried tomato paste
1 ¼ cups of Chianti (leave the remaining chianti for you to drink)
1 ¼ cups of water
1 bunch of seedless red grapes (with ¾ of them cut in half)
Salt and ground pepper to taste
Arugula leaves (if desired)

Directions:        

Heat two tablespoons of olive oil into a large pan and add the chicken breast, garlic, and thyme.

 Sauté over over medium heat for 5 minutes until each side is golden brown.

Remove the chicken and place on a separate plate for now. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into the same pan. Cut the onion in half and create thin wedges. Add the onion wedges and pesto into the pan.

Cook gently and stir constantly for about 3 minutes until onion is soft but not browned.

 

Add the Chianti and water to the pan and bring to a boil.

Place the chicken back into the pan, reduce the heat, add salt and pepper to taste, and cover the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes while stirring occasionally until chicken is tender and cooked through.

Add the grapes to the pan and cook over low heat until heated through. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot. If you wish to balance the “sweetness” of the dish, you can always garnish with some arugula leaves to add some bitterness.

That’s It! Enjoy…and make sure you finish that bottle.

Lemon Bars

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This is a favorite!! I have a side job and the owner loves lemon anything so I decided to make these for him last Christmas. He loved them!! I have two lemon trees. When they get too full I make lemon bars. It is not required but fresh lemon juice is always the best to use. And if you have home grown lemons, even better!!

Lemon Bars
Crust:
2 Stick butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar, (I use bakers sugar when baking, it is finer and dissolves quicker)
2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cream the butter and sugar together. Combine the flour and salt and add slowly to the butter/sugar mixture until well combined. Dough should be crumbly. Pour the loose crust dough into a 9x13 baking pan. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the pan, building up a 1/2 inch(I tend to make it as high as 3/4 inch, otherwise the filling will get inbetween the pan and the crust and burn) edge on all sides. Bake crust for 15 - 20 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool on wire rack. Leave the oven on.

Filling:
6 extra large eggs at room temperature, yes, they must be extra large eggs!
3 cups sugar
2 tbls. grated lemon zest
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons)
1 cup flour

Whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and slowly add the flour or it will clump. Pour over the crust and bake 30 - 35 minutes until the filling is set. Let cool, this is the hardest part. I put it in the fridge for two hours and it was still warm. It will make it a mess to cut, so just be patient. Cut into desired size and dust with powdered sugar. I like to cut them to fit into cupcake wrappers.

NOLA Style Bloody Mary Mix

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Ever since I went to New Orleans I have been a Bloody Mary snob. When you get one there it is beyond spicy and tangy. I will make you want to "Slap yo momma!" Before returning home I bought a bottle of it thinking that I could just get more online. No such luck! They stopped shipping it!! I know right?! How could they?!?!! So I went to task at preparing my home. Perfecting it took some time but I did it. Below is the recipe to make a small batch. When I make them at home, I get all my canning supplies out and I make about 12 jars of the stuff. I cook mine to make sure all the flavors are well mingled but you can just prepare a small batch without going through that whole process. I gave it out last two Christmas's ago with a jar of my own pickled green beans as gifts. It was such a hit, I have to spend a whole day every few months making more of it. It is in demand!! So here ya go!! Enjoy!!!

Bloody Mary Mix

6 cups Tomato Juice

3 tbls. Lemon Juice, (fresh preferably)

3 tbls. Lime Juice, (again fresh is best! but not necessary)

1 tbls. Worcestershire Sauce

1 tsp. Horseradish, (prepared, not creamed) (more if you REALLY like it, no more than 2 tsp.)

1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce (I go heavy on this ingredient, I love it tangy and spicy!!)

Celery Salt and Pepper, rim the glass and sprinkle on top of finished drink)

Serve over ice with a few ounces of vodka and with as much accouterments as you like. I prefer pickled greens beans or pickled okra.