Chicken Piccata

I had dinner at my sister's the other night and my mom made us Chicken Piccata. Although, I make this all the time, she put a twist on it and wanted to share with you. She made this for 8 servings. Another quick and easy recipe that is so delicious. Anything tastes better with gravy.

Ingredients:

8 chicken cutlets

1/2 cup of flour

1 large lemon

2 tsp. of capers, drained

3 cups of chicken broth

1 tbsp. of flour in 1 cup of water

2 tbsp. of gravy master or kitchen bouquet

1 stick of butter and 3 tbsp. of olive oil

Directions:

Add flour to a dish and begin to coat the chicken cutlets. Heat a large fry pan with the oil and butter. Once it begins to bubble, add in chicken and cook on both sides until golden brown and remove from pan and place on dish. Add in broth and give a good stir and let heat. Once you can see the steam, add in capers, lemon and gravy master. Place the 1 tbsp. of flour in the cup of water and blend well with a fork. This mixture will help thicken the gravy you are making. Add it in to pan and again, give a good whisk and lower heat. Add back in chicken and let simmer for 10-12 minutes to incorporate flavors.

My mother served with big noodles; which was a great idea to soak up all the gravy.

Chocolate Cake with Lavender Frosting

I am not sure if colors make things taste better, but they sure are prettier. I am going to my sisters tonight for dinner and to celebrate my birthday and thought I would make the cake. Chocolate cake with Lavender color frosting. Remember back in art class when we mixed the paint to make different colors. Its the same concept and so easy! Give it a try.

Ingredients:

1 cake mix of your choice (I chose devils food)

1 white frosting container

20 drops of blue food coloring

24 drops of red food coloring

Directions:

Make the cake as indicated on box and let stand until cooled all the way. Empty frosting into bowl and add the drops of blue and red food coloring. You might think it looks like a mess, but I assure you, it will come out lavender. I use my hand mixer until blended to a nice shade of lavender and frosted. Edible art!

Crunchy Broiled Shrimp

Shrimp is a one of those things that cooks in minutes. It could be pricey, but if you buy the frozen, cleaned and deveined shrimp when its on sale, you could have a dinner for little money. This recipe can be used as a main course for dinner or as an appetizer as well. Either way you will wow your guests.

Ingredients:

1 1 lb. bag of shrimp

1 cup of chopped peanuts

1 cup of Japanese breadcrumbs, Panko

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 beaten egg

Directions:

In large bowl place beaten egg and add in shrimp. Coat all well. In another bowl, bag or dish place the bread crumbs, pepper and peanuts. Add in the shrimp. Make sure all pieces are coated.

Heat oven on broil. Place shrimp on baking dish. Broil on each side for 1 minute. If you prefer to bake, heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake for 3-5 minutes.

Serve with any type of dipping sauce. I was making this for my brother in-law so I used a hot bbq sauce.

Coffee Frosted Chocolate Cupcakes

Two of my favorite flavors are coffee and chocolate so I decided to try and make my own coffee frosting for my chocolate cupcakes and it worked. Give it a try, it’s a quick and easy fix to dazzle your cupcakes.

Ingredients:

1 package of chocolate cake mix

1 container butter cream frosting

1/4 cup of black coffee

Directions:

Make your cupcakes according to the directions on the box. Remove and let cool thoroughly. Remove the frosting from the container and place in a medium size bowl. Begin to whip the frosting on low with a blender. Add in 1 tsp. at a time of the black coffee to get the color and flavor that you wish. All you really need is 2 teaspoons to make it coffee flavored, but some coffee drinkers might like it more robust in flavor. I use 3 teaspoons of the black coffee. Once it is all incorporate let sit in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to an hour so that it gets to a more dense consistency again. Don't worry if it gets watery, just let sit and it will get back to where it needs to be. Frost the cupcakes and decorate if  you wish. I placed a tiny chocolate dipped cookie on mine, but just plain is fine as the taste is big. 

 

 

Tuscan Chicken

Ingredients:

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon minced garlic  

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves

Freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, halved

Directions:

Sprinkle the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt on each side. Combine the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 2 teaspoons pepper in a small bowl.

 Place the chicken in a ceramic or glass dish just large enough to hold it flat. Pour the lemon marinade over the chicken, turning it in the dish. Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. Turning the chicken at least once while marinating.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place breasts in baking dish and bake 40-50 minutes or until chicken juice runs clear. Garnish with lemon slices to serve.

Too make it light serve over cut tomatoes.

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Today is my birthday! So I wanted to share my favorite birthday cake recipe. It is a chocolate mousse cake. Its kind of a mock version, but when in a rush, this is the way to go.

Ingredients:

1 devils food cake mix

2 containers of chocolate frosting

1 small container of whipped topping

1 8 oz. jar of hot fudge

Directions:

Make the cake according to directions, but bake in 3 rectangles. When the cake is cooled, remove first cake and place on cookie sheet or cake plate so that you can begin to frost. In large bowl empty whipped topping and 1 container of frosting. With mixer combine the 2 ingredients until the texture is fluffy. Place a big dollop of this mousse mixture in the middle of the first layer and smooth to edges, but do not do sides. Place 2nd layer and do the same thing. You must use a good amount, do not spread like a frosting, but place about a 1/4-1/2 of an inch between cakes. Now place last layer on and begin to frost cake as you would with the other container. Take the hot fudge and heat in microwave or pot of water you want this hot fudge to become liquidy. When at the consistency you are comfortable with begin to pour over cake. Use as much or as little as you want. Garnish as desired. Serve with ice cold milk! This is a good birthday cake for someone who loves chocolate.

 

Guacamole

My first encounter with guacamole was in 1982 right after high school graduation. I had moved from Long Island to San Francisco to go to Law School. That immediately changed when my now ex-husband asked me to come home to marry him. Needless to say, no law school, but 2 amazing daughters. My aunt and uncle who I had moved in with had taken me to a party and I remember seeing the green stuff on the table thinking what are they trying to get me to eat. Those California people and their crazy, healthy food! I tried it and it was delicious, but never really ate it again when I returned to the East Coast until the last 6 years. I have tried many variations and of course in tons of Mexican restaurants. This recipe doesn’t call for many ingredients, so it seems perfect to me.

 

Ingredients:

4 avocados, if you don’t know if they are ripe or not ask someone. 

That’s what I usually do.

1 pint of grapes tomatoes, sliced in half and seeds scooped out

½ to 1 tsp. of salt and pepper

1 large garlic clove, finely chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

If you like your Guacamole spicy, you can add hot sauce

2-3 tbs. of Lemon juice (usually one lemon)

 

Directions:

Cut the avocados in half, remove pit and scoop out in to small bowl.  Mash the avocado up, but leave lumps, don’t make it like mash potatoes. Add in all the ingredients and blend well. Add in salt and pepper sparingly and add more if needed. Delicious!

  Recipe By The Gourmet Mom

Lisa Montalva