Jamón & Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, Creamy Polenta, Roasted Veggies and Wine Reduced Onion Sauce

Sounds complicated, right?! But trust me, it's not. We had some friends over for supper last night and I was running low on ideas. Suppers here are lighter as you eat around 9pm (some people don't even start thinking about supper until 10pm). So I thought chicken breast and polenta to make it light. Since both of our friends speak French (from France ;) ), I had fun naming the dish and it does sound pretty fancy:

Poitrines de poulet fourrées au jamon et fromage accompagnées d'un nid de polenta crémeuse couvert d'aubergines et tomates cerises grillées, le tout nappé d'une réduction de vin blanc et d'oignons caramélisés.

Pfff.... sounds pretty fancy doesn't it?! Especially for something that took very little time to make and very little thinking. This is a nice creation that I am proud of :)

Ok, so here goes.

Jamon and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with a Creamy Polenta, Roasted Veggies and Wine Reduction Onion Sauce

Ingredients:
500gr chicken breasts (usually 2 breasts)
100gr jamon (for the Canadians, prosciutto)
50gr cheese (I had grated cheese on hand but it works better with slices)
1 onion sliced
1/2 cup of white wine
1 eggplant
12 cherry tomatoes
1 cup of polenta
1 tbsp of butter
1 & 1/2 cup of hot water
1/2 cup of cream or milk
1 tbsp of grated cheese
salt & pepper
parsley
8 toothpicks

Slice the chicken breast into filets. I like to make smaller ones when inviting people and it also calls for a nicer presentation. On a chicken breast filet, place a slice of jamon/prosciutto and drizzle some cheese in the center. Roll and close with a toothpick.

In the meantime, in your cooking pan, heat oil. Continue until all the filets are done. If you cut them thinly, you should have 8 filets.

Drizzle with salt and pepper. When the oil is ready, place the chicken breasts in the pan. In order for the chicken to be juicy, do not move the chicken pieces until a nice golden crust forms. Then you can flip them over.

Slice the eggplant thinly, place on an oven dish, drizzle oil and salt.

Broil in the oven until grilled. Add the cherry tomatoes at the end until they also grill.

When chicken is golden on all sides. Place them in an oven safe dish and leave them in the oven at 160C degrees. They will finish cooking and keep warm.

In the pan that the chicken was cooked, using the oil that remained, add the sliced onions. Sweat for a few minutes mixing well. Scrub the bottom of the pan to remove the drippings left from cooking the chicken.

Add the wine and reduce for 5 minutes. Add parsley.

In a pot, heat the butter and add the hot water. When it starts boiling, add the polenta. Mix well. Add salt and pepper.

Add the cream or milk and cheese. (forgot to take a picture of the final polenta...)

Plate the polenta and the veggies on top. Add the chicken rolls and cover with the onion wine sauce. Enjoy an healthy fancy and easy meal.

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Who hasn't had Hamburger Helper? I would be willing to say that all the Canadians that I know have actually tried it. In our family, this meal was a famous camping trip meal. We would have it almost every weekend as it is easy to make and good! We just loved our Hamburger Helper :) On our last trip to Montreal, we brought 2 or 3 boxes of Hamburger Helper back to Madrid. I have one box left but I was thinking the other day: Hey, this can't be that hard to make from scratch?! So off to the thinking and logical box I went!

So, the Hamburger Helper comes with a spice & cheese mix and pasta. You just need to add the meat, onion, milk and hot water. So I replaced the cheese part of the dried spice mix by regular cheese and I gathered a few spices and flavors that would play well with the meat and pasta to replace the spices part. Time to get cooking :)

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Ingredients

200gr of pasta
500gr of meat
200gr of mushrooms
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp of paprika
1 tsp of chili powder (if you want it spicy)
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of oregano
1 tsp of black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup of milk
2 cups of hot water
1 cup of cheddar or mixed cheese
oil

Chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Add oil to a pan and heat. When ready, add the onion and garlic and sweat for a minute. Add the mushrooms. Cook lightly.

Add the meat and cook until it is no longer pink. When meat is almost cook, add salt, pepper, garlic powder, bay leaf, paprika, oregano and chili powder. Mix well.

Add milk and hot water. Since David finished our milk this morning and I actually did not realize it until I opened the fridge door to take some (like seriously, I always check my cooking items but milk?! who runs out of milk?! lolll). So out of milk, I used cream and added more water to compensate for the quantity. Turned out perfect!

When the broth simmers, add the pasta and cover.

Cook until the pasta has absorbed the broth. Add the cheese and mix well.

Hamburger Helper is done.

Seriously, this took the same amount of time as the store bought one. And let me tell you, the look and first taste was the same but it was SO MUCH better. There is nothing better than homemade food! Well, I guess I won't be bringing anymore Hamburger Helper boxes from Canada anymore ;)

Coliflor gratinada

Ok, this is such a simple recipe but so typical to find in Spanish cuisine. When you are low on creativity, this is a perfect dish to make on the run. Can be made with brocoli or cauliflower or any other veggies that you fancy. All you need is a veggie, bechamel sauce and cheese :)

Coliflor gratinada

Ingredients:
1/2 cauliflower
1 cup of bechamel sauce (see lasagna recipe for bechamel sauce recipe bechamel sauce)
1/2 cup of cheese (I used mozzarella)

Cut cauliflower into small pieces. I tend to steam my veggies because the nutrients are not "washed" away by the water when boiled. They also taste better and are crunchier. I steamed it for about 15 mins in order to get them really soft.

 Place the cooked cauliflower into an oven safe dish and pour the bechamel over the veggies. Add the grated cheese on top. (sorry for the bad picture... it was pretty steamy!)

Broil for about 5 to 10 mins (really depends on your oven here) until you get a nice golden look.
Quick and simple. Buen provecho :)

My Felix & Norton Cookies

Ok. This is a WINNER in Spain. People here rave about cookies and actually call them Cookies with their lovely Spanish accent :). Usually cookies are called galletas but when you hear someone say Cookies, you know he's talking about the chocolate chips American version of them. David and I are Chips Ahoy fans dipped in milk and let me tell you that the Chips Ahoy in Spain suck! They are so hard and they don't soften much when dipped in milk. A real bummer... So I had to result with the good old homemade version.

Chocolate chips are not an easy thing to find in big quantities here. So thank god for Costco! haha! I get my 2kg bag from Costco and bring it to Madrid. If I run low, I always get a good soulmate visiting that can bring it to me. David's cousin uses chocolate bar pieces and they turn out super good as well, so, if ever I run low, I know what I can use.

So to all the Spaniards looking to make the famous cookies, this is a tried and true recipe. They disappear everytime I make them and my coworkers and family always ask for Mel's cookies. I call them my Felix and Norton and anyone that has tried them know they are the best!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of melted butter
1/2 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp of milk
1 cup of chocolate chips
1 & 3/4 cups of flour

Preheat the oven at 180C.

In a small cup, mix the bicarbonate of soda and milk together. Set aside.

In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, melted butter (make sure it's not boiling. A creamy texture works great here in order to get that soft cookie texture) and egg.

Mix well. Add the milk and bicarbonate of soda mixture.

Mix. Add the chocolate chips and flour.

Mix until you have a perfect texture.

Using a spoon, place the cookies onto a baking sheet.

Cook for about 8 to 10 mins. Depending on the desired texture. I like mine soft so 8 mins is usually fine. If you have them crunchy, them a good 10 mins is required.

All done and delicious!!!

A Family Favourite

Everytime my mom or sister would prepare this meal, everyone would wipe their plates clean. You can never get enough or bored by "escalopes de porc" (pork escalope). It is so easy to make but yet so flavorful! I decided to accompagny it with a nice mushroom and parmesan risotto. Well, that was the plan. I took my rounded rice out and realized that there was some greyish black little pieces at the bottom of my jar... Not sure what it was and, to be honest, I didn't really want to know! So off to the garbage it went. I made the risotto with long grain rice but it doesn't have the same texture. Sometimes you have to improvise and that is the beauty of cooking :)

Pork Escalopes with Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto

Ingredients:

800gr of pork escalopes (without the bone)
1/2 cup of breadcrumbs (really depends on the chops)
1 tbsp of parsley
1 tbsp of italian seasoning
1 tsp of garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 cup of rounded rice
1/2 onion
200gr of mushrooms
1/2 cup of parmesan cheese
2 tbsp of rice seasoning
1/2 cup of white wine
2 cups of water (depending on the rice used)
oil

In a plate, mix the breadcrumbs, pepper, italian seasoning, parsley and garlic powder together. Pass the escalopes through the seasoned breadcrumbs making sure they are completely covered. Shake off the excess if needed.

Dice the onion and mushroom for the risotto.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Sweat for a minute and add the mushrooms. Add salt and pepper. When the mushrooms are mostly cooked, add the white wine and reduce for a few minutes.

Add the rice to the pan and mix well in order to cover it completely with the oil/wine mixture.

The trick to cooking a good risotto is to slowly add the water/broth as it cooks. I add about 1/2 cup each time.

In the meantime, heat a pan with enough oil to generously cover the bottom of it. When oil is hot, place escalopes and pan fry them.

When the escalopes start browning and the blood is slowly rising, flip them around.

When the rice is cooked, add the parmesan to the pan and mix well.

Plate and serve. Enjoy! (picturing the risotto with rounded rice and not long grain one ;) )

Costillas Adobadas

Spain loves its marinated meat (carne adobada). Most people usually buy them already marinated as they are quite cheap and easy to find. I sometimes buy it but if I have time, I'll simply marinate them myself. I had asked the carnicero for a costillar (rack of ribs) at the market and he asked me if I wanted it with lots of meat or little. I said with lots of meat and when he brought out the piece, I never expected it to have so much meat on it! You couldn't even see the bones! He removed the skin and cut it in half lengthwise. When I got home, I removed the extra meat from the ribs, keeping it to make some souvlakis later on and froze it. I then marinated my ribs and let them rest in the fridge turning them frequently for 2 days.

Costillas Adobadas con Patatas Asadas

Ingredients:

3 tbsp of oil
2 tbsp of pimenton (smoked paprika)
1 tbsp of white wine vinegar
1 tbsp whtie wine
1 tsp of parsley
1 tbsp of herbes de provence
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 rack of ribs marinated (about 500gr)
4 potatoes
Salt and pepper

Mix ingredients in a large ziploc bag. Add the rack of ribs, make sure the ribs are completely covered with the marinade and refrigerate for 2 days turning frequently.

Preheat oven at 215degrees.

Peel and cut the potatoes in about 1 inch thick pieces.

Remove the ribs from the bag and place on an oven dish meat side facing up. Add the potatoes to the side of the ribs. Drizzle the remaining marinade from the bag onto the potatoes and ribs. Add some more herbes de provence to the potatoes. Season with salt and pepper both the potatoes and the ribs.

Cook for about 30 mins. Turn the meat around and broil at high in order to grill the meat. Flip it around and do the same. A nice golden roasted meat look :)

I served the ribs and potatoes with a rucula salad dressed with a maple syrup and dijon vinaigrette that my Mom used to make :).

Maple Syrup and Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette:

Ingredients:

1 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of white wine vinegar
1 tsp of maple syrup
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tsp of seasoning
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a small tupperware. Put lid one and shake. Done.

Bon appétit!

Japanese Night

Or should I say Japonese Day! Some of my collegues and I had a pending date with the japanese restaurant close to work. Turned out that today was Sushi Day :) I had been craving sushi for a while now and in Madrid, good sushi at a good price can be hard to find. Spaniards are not too fond of Japanese food but they are getting used to it. This is one of the things I just miss about Montreal. Mmmmm Mikasa sushi!!! How I miss thou! Oh well, I usually resolve the issue by making my own sushi but it does feel satisfying once in a while to go and give yourself a treat :) So after some dumplings, tempura veggies and sushis and makis, my craving was subsized.

Then I remembered that I had thawed some tuna steaks :)! So Japanese Lunch turned into Japanese Day without even realizing it. I love tuna, raw or cooked. Tuna steaks are great for the meat lovers that believe fish is just "not good enough"; they actually have that meat texture and feeling. Perfect to get them acquainted with fish and realizing that is "not that bad". The trick to tuna is to marinade it with juice, oil or any type of sauce (experiment, you cannot go wrong here). Tuna steaks can be very dry and it is important to give it that oil or juice in order for the meat to be juicy. Another trick, do NOT cook it through. Tuna is made to be eaten raw, many will say. So if you grill it, grill it rare. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Tuna steaks can be served with anything. I like to serve it with noodles or rice to continue with the Asian feeling. Since I have some dehydrated shitakes, I decided to mix it with noodles and the other veggies I had on hand: leeks.

Soy Tuna Steaks with Shitake and Leek Noodles

Marinade

Ingredients:

2 tuna steaks
1 tbsp of soya sauce
1 tbsp of mirin (rice wine)
1 tsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tsp of minced ginger

In a plastic bag or ziploc, mix all the marinade ingredients (soya, mirin, fish sauce, sesame oil and ginger). Add the tuna steaks making sure the marinade covers both side of each steak. If your steaks are on the larger side, double the marinade recipe. Let rest for 1 hour.

If you are adding any type of acid liquid to the marinade (lemon or orange juice), do not let the marinade sit for more than 30 mins. The acidity of the sauce will cook the tuna.


Soy Tuna Steaks with Shitake and Leek Noodles

Ingredients:

200gr of chinese egg noodles
200gr of shitake mushrooms (if dehydrate, add hot water)
1/2 leek
1 garlic clove
1 tsp of mince ginger
1 tbsp of mirin
1 tbsp of soya
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of sesame oil
2 marinaded tuna steaks
2 tbsp of sesame seeds

Boil hot water in a pot for the noodles. When water is boiling, add the noodles and remove from heat. Let rest for about 4 mins and strain. Keep about 1 cup of cooking water to add to the sauce.

Dice the leek and mince the garlic. Add the sesame oil to the Wok and heat at high. When hot, add the shitake mushrooms and cook for a few mins. Add the leek and cook for 1 min.

 In the meantime, heat your grill at high and drizzle some sesame oil on it. Pour some sesame seeds into a small plate and rub the sides of the tuna steaks into the seeds (picture below shows the final result).

Add the garlic, ginger, soya and mirin to the veggies. Crush the coriander seeds with the side of your knife or in a mortier. Add to the mix.

Cook for a min and add the pasta and cooking water (it really makes a difference. The pasta tends to get sticky if the water is not added).

Grill both steaks for about 1 min (rare) or 2 mins (medium) on each side.

Serve the noodles on the plate and add the tuna steak. Dish is served!

My perfectly cooked tuna (I cooked mine rare and David's medium):

Japanese heaveness :)