Sundays (Still) Taste Good to Me

     In the law, stare decisis rules. Precedent cases are favorably looked upon as guides for answering legal questions and building legal arguments.  So too do personal and family traditions guide what we do in our lives from week to week. For example, Sunday at my house growing up was an interesting day for food and family fun, especially during football season. The first games would start at noon and so by that time we had to be home from church, fed and ready to cheer for our favorite team. Because my mom cooked most other nights of the week, my dad sometimes took over food prep duties for Sunday brunch. He often made interesting combinations like pigs in a blanket (pancake wrapped sausages) or eggs in the hole (slices of toast with holes cut in them where a fried egg was cooked). If the creative juices weren't cooking, we had the trusty standby of bacon, scrambled eggs and pancakes.

     Often times legal precedent doesn't exactly fit the situation at hand, or the time has come to mold those traditional ways to better fit a changing society. This is also true of what happens in the kitchen as we move out of the nest and start building our own repertoire of recipes - often from the same building blocks our family used. Recently I really started working on my little pots of herbs growing on the patio and wanted to incorporate these flavorful gems into some classic Sunday dishes. To cut down on some calories, I made turkey bacon instead of pork bacon. I also made pancakes from a simple recipe using Bisquick like we always did at home, but on top of those I used a bit of butter to hold in some sprigs of orange mint, and served 100% maple syrup straight from New York. It all made for a pretty presentation and a uniquely delicious stack of hot cakes! Scrambled eggs are one of the first things that many people learn how to cook, but few are taught that they can add items to the eggs to make them taste even better. I made my eggs by cracking them into a bowl and then using a fork I whisked them together with a splash or two of milk (for fluffiness) and a few tablespoons of chopped basil leaves (for flavor) before adding them to the pan to be scrambled. I don't think my dad even likes basil, so I'm pretty sure this isn't something we would have tried at home. 

     Family traditions and legal precedent serve their purposes well. They lead us and guide us. But when the need arises, we must be willing to branch out from the safety of sameness. Only then will we create new traditions and new precedent that, while holding on to the importance of what has come before, serves the needs of the challenges (and hungers!) that face us today. 

Ginger

Swiss Prosciutto Chicken: A Recipe Walkthrough

Lately, a few of my friends have been asking me to share some of my developing recipes. I decided that today I wanted to do more than share a simple recipe. Instead I wanted to do a complete walkthrough. So the following is a recipe with pictures guiding you through making one of my favorite dishes from start to finish. Swiss Prosciutto Chicken is my take on a family favorite, chicken cordon bleu.

So preheat the oven to 350 degrees and let's get started!

Here's what you need: a Pyrex or ceramic baking dish, a cutting board, a gallon size Ziploc bag, a rubber mallet (yes I said a rubber mallet), Swiss cheese slices (one for each chicken breast you plan on making, prosciutto (at least one slice for each chicken breast you plan on making, but two is better), fresh whole basil leaves, salt and pepper, canola or vegetable oil and of course chicken breasts.

Put a chicken breast in the plastic bag and close the bag. Gently used the rubber mallet to flatten the breast. Start at the thicker middle area and lightly pound the breast outward so that it flattens and its surface area increases. Try to get the breast to a quarter of an inch thick or less. Be careful not to pound too hard because the chicken is more fragile that you think. Repeat this process of flattening for each breast.

Once the breasts are all flattened place them on a good flat surface like a cutting board. This will make cleanup easier than if you just put the raw chicken on the counter.

On top of each chicken breast place the strips of prosciutto. On top of that tear the strips of Swiss cheese in half and put them on the end of the breasts that is the widest. Make sure that the cheese covers as much chicken as possible but does not go too far off the side (we want the deliciousness inside the chicken). On top of that place about three fresh, washed basil leaves per chicken breast.

Put a small amount of canola or vegetable oil on the bottom of the Pyrex pan (enough to cover the bottom so that the chicken or dripping cheese won't stick). Then roll each chicken breast around itself starting to roll from the widest end of the breast and moving towards the narrower side. Then place them in the pan. If the chicken does not want to stay together you can put in a toothpick or two to keep each breast closed around its contents. Put them in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Plate and enjoy!

-Ginger

Epic Wins are Often Preceded by Epic Failures

     Yesterday I was going to whip up a blog about comfort foods because I was in the mood to make my special buffalo chicken recipe (buffalo chicken and brownies/ice cream are my top comfort foods). However, the chicken breast didn’t thaw in time, and my roommate’s dog got sick and we had to take care of her. By the time all that was over I was exhausted and the evening’s dinner plans seemed clear: Pizza Hut. It just goes to show you that life doesn’t always turn out like you intend. In fact, I’ve been living that life lesson at school lately too. On Monday I went to my last final of the semester only to discover that I had forgotten my carefully hand-written outline which I was allowed to use on the test. Because I had decided to hand-write this one (people say handwriting leads to better retention), it was not in a computer file that I could easily print out and even though I showed up to the test early I did not have enough time to zip back home and retrieve it. Alas, I took the test anyway and, even though I won’t get my grade for awhile, I feel confident that I did just fine.

     Mistakes, missteps and all out epic failures (read Thanksgiving turkey burns down house) are pretty common in the kitchen. If you think Martha never burned anything, think again. Sometimes life requires you to change your dinner plans. Sometimes you don’t get the timing quite right and the fish is ready before the veggies, or the veggies are overdone and the fish is still raw. If you’re still learning how to cook, like I am, you are likely to mess something up. Acknowledge the mistake, try to figure out why it happened and remember to correct that next time. This is how your cooking truly improves. Even when you’ve got everything in the recipe perfectly planned out, life happens and it may get screwed up. Just remember that when life hands you lemons, sour lemonade is not the only thing you can make out of it. Try: Lemon Risotto, Lemon Pepper Fish, Lemon Butter Fried Chicken on Angel Hair, or even Lemon Meringue Pie (if you’re up for a real challenge)!

Happy failures!

Ginger

The "Simple" Sandwich Hits the Spot

    
     During first year writing classes in law school the professors try to teach students that big words and flowery language is not necessary to writing an effective legal document such as a memorandum or motion. However, we struggle to believe that this is true because other first year professors stress the importance of opinions full of words we have to use a dictionary to define. It seems impossible that we could make a good argument while only using simple terms.
     Preparing food seems to be the same way sometimes. Those of us learning our way around the kitchen find it hard to believe that you can make a delicious meal unless you have three hours of prep time and extravagant ingredients purchased at a specialty store. So let me convince you otherwise with an example of a time honored meal of simple deliciousness: the sandwich.
     First, start with good bread. White bread is boring and lacks fiber, but many people don't like the taste of whole wheat bread either. Instead try bread that isn't just a slice of carbohydrate-cardboard. Rye, pumpernickel, and 12-grain variety breads have a ton of flavor and usually contain higher amounts of the staple nutrient fiber. Second, pick toppings that are delicious on their own, like sharp cheddar cheese, summer sausage, and even banana peppers. They will ensure that your sandwich does not lack flavor. If you want your sandwich to look more like a deli-made feast, slice your ingredients thin and stack them high! Toppings, like mayo and butter add moisture - especially necessary if you've chosen a drier cheese like Swiss. But if you're looking for a topping that will add fewer calories, while still adding flavor, opt for deli mustard (around 35 calories per serving of two tablespoons). Grainier mustard typically has a stronger flavor, and you can even get mustard with horseradish mixed in for a real pop!
     The sandwich here took me less than five minutes to put together, including slicing the venison summer sausage. Simple ingredients - that are flavorful instead of boring - build a great argument for eating sandwiches all the time.

Ginger

P.S. To drink along with my sandwich today I mixed equal parts of ice tea and raspberry lemonade for a fruity twist on an Arnold Palmer!

Friday Fish Fry's Don't Just Happen During Lent

Tonight for dinner I decided to make a variation on my Grandma Neva's fried fish. She used to make it with walleye, and regular all purpose flour. I made it with what I had on hand: Swai (a Vietnamese catfish that is sold super cheap down here in Phoenix) and gluten-free oat flour. I also like to cut mine up so they are more like fish nuggets! In Minnesota, where I'm from, fish is a staple for two reasons: 1. There are lots of Catholics and so during Lent fish is the only kind of meat you can eat on Fridays and 2. There are lots of lakes (most of which are not man-made!) and so the supply of fish is higher making it less expensive to go catch your own. These two reasons intertwine when you consider that Catholics love anything that saves money. Note that this is not to say that our Money Market accounts and retirement funds are overflowing. Instead what I mean is that Minnesota Catholics pay less attention to the total on the bill than the total saved on the purchase. Who cares if you bought $200 worth of fine china that you'll never use when you realize that if you had paid original price it would have cost you $800!?! So if they can tell the neighbors that they saved $300 on groceries this year by purchasing an $17 fishing license, then by golly we're going fishing! Even here in Phoenix a big bag of frozen Swai fillets will only set you back about $10, and usually contains at least ten fillets. Hence fish meets my goal of being cost saving, and because it is low calorie/low fat/high protein I find it a sensible meal too - even after adding some breading!

Ginger

This is Only a Test....

Here at law school its finals season. What does that mean? It means that I've started a blog about cooking in order to clear my head of thoughts about failing all of my classes (which I inevitably will do if I don't stop blogging and get back to studying). However, in order to express my joy about studying and eating simultaneously, I have decided I should share with you a couple of my favorite study foods and how I like to prepare them. The focus during stressful times like this is on foods that are healthful, simple, and comforting (though not necessarily all at the same time).

First, let's talk about protein. If nothing else it's fuel for your butt muscles which do a lot of sitting during prep for finals. I like to opt for lean meats like venison, chicken, and seafood. Protein keeps me running without weighing me down. One of my favorite ways to eat chicken is to cut a boneless, skinless breast into cutlets (or buy pre-cut) and then bake them with just the slightest amount of oil on the bottom of the pan to keep them from burning/sticking. After they've cooked I toss them in a buffalo wing sauce and devour them with the help of some non-fat plain yogurt - it's tangy like sour cream! Oddly enough, nothing makes me feel better than a belly full of buffalo sauce.

Second, regardless of whether or not it's finals time, I always find myself on the lookout for sweet decadence. While I'd like to say that chocolate cake, fudge brownies, and Oreos are a daily part of diet, it seems my waistline can't afford it. Because I have trouble putting limits on these goodies, I often allow myself to spend a bit more money in order to buy prepackaged serving sizes. My recent favorites include Skinny Cow brand ice cream cups in Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor (150 calories), and Betty Crocker's Warm Delights Minis in Decadent Chocolate Cake flavor (150 calories).

Now everyone who knows me knows I don't always stay on track. Occasionally studying for an exam like my Federal Income Tax makes it impossible not to stock up on cookie dough. But the important thing is that the more you try, the more you'll succeed.

Ginger