Yummy dinner

Well Matty went to LA and I watched a whole lot of TV. Which I will talk about. At some point. And then we went to New England for a wedding. Which was lovely. But I wanted to talk about a dinner I made last week. Which I am calling Chik'n Sarambocca with Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts. The brussels sprouts recipe is based on this one from George Duran.

First I roasted a head of garlic. I cut the top off a head of garlic and put it in a small baking crock with a drizzle of olive oil and bake at 300 for an hour. While that was going I made a quick sauce. In a saucepan I added a quarter of an onion, chopped in some olive oil. When that was softened I added half a 28 oz can of my favorite tomatoes (Pastene Kitchen Ready, which You totally can't get here [I had to have my mom send some with the Gallaghers when they visited]). When that had heated through I added some balsamic vinegar and dried thyme. I let this simmer until I was ready to make the chicken. When the garlic was finished I added 3 cloves to the sauce and continued to simmer.

Next I started the brussels sprouts. I cut the bottoms off the sprouts and then cut them in half lengthwise and put them in a casserole dish. I also cut up a quarter of an onion and added that. Then I added about a quarter of a cup of pine nuts, the leaves from 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I tossed that all together and put it in the oven for 25 minutes at 425. After the first 25 minutes I tossed it all again and put it back in at 350 for another 20 minutes. (I dropped the temp because this was when I put in the chik'n.)

For the chik'n I used Morningstar Farms Italian Herb Chik Patties. Chicken saltimbocca alla Romana is chicken, rolled with proscuitto and sage and cooked in Marsala and butter. I used the chik patties and topped them with chopped pepperoni, chopped fresh basil and mozzarella. I put them in the center of a large baking dish and added cremini mushrooms (cut in half) and chopped broccoli. Then I topped the whole thing with the sauce I had made earlier. I covered this with foil and put it in the oven with the brussels sprouts, put the temp down to 350 and baked for 20 minutes.

It all came out lovely. The brussels sprouts caramelize beautifully in the vinegar. I served this all the focaccia and the rest of the roasted garlic to spread on top. It was all really really tasty and good and made up (almost) for me totally not cooking lately (it has just been too damn hot).

This week we should do better. Last night we grilled (Monday, no restaurant) a bunch of stuff for the week. We had Trader Joe's Parmesan Pesto Turkey Burgers with a side of peapods with shallots in white wine done in a foil packet. The burgers were fantastic. They are a little messy to cook, make sure your grill is very hot, otherwise they could fall apart as the thaw.