Recipes!!
These both came out of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food magazine. You know, the little short one. And they're from the April issue, so if you don't subscribe, you can still pick it up on the magazine rack.
* * *
LEMONY ORZO
1 lemon
salt and pepper
1 cup orzo (little rice shaped pasta -- you can find it either near the pasta or the rice, depends on your grocery store)
1 Tbs olive oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Peel half the lemon. I have a nifty gadget that peels it off in long, thin strips. (I love Pampered Chef) If you don't have one, use your vegetable peeler, peel off only the top layer. Don't get the white stuff because it's bitter. Then slice the peel into skinny little strips. If all else fails, or this sounds like a colossal PITA, just grate the peel off.
Squeeze the lemon for 2 Tbs of juice. Try this tip. For unpeeled lemons, poke a few holes in the skin first. Nuke for 7-10 seconds, roll it on your counter or cutting board, squashing down fairly hard. Then cut and juice. You actually get more juice out of your lemon this way.
Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil. Add orzo and lemon peel. Cook until orzo is al dente -- about 8-10 minutes, but follow the directions on the package. Drain and return to pot.
Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and scallions.
Voila! Takes about 15 minutes start to finish.
* * *
GREEK CHICKEN CUTLETS
You can grill this chicken on your bbq, use a grill pan on your stove, use a regular pan, or if you have a George Foreman type thing, you can use that, too.
1 pt cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (Or you can use regular tomatoes. Just cut them into small wedges and seed them.)
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives (Most Kalamatas come whole, so just mash them with a knife and pull out the pits. And go for the Kalamatas here. Don't cheap out with regular black or green olives.)
4 oz crumbled Feta cheese
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lb chicken cutlets or boneless, skinless breasts. If you're using breasts (less expensive!), put them between two pieces of plastic wrap and flatten them with a meat pounder first. They'll cook much more quickly and evenly.
In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olives, feta, mint and 1 Tbs olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat your grill pan (or whatever) to high, brush lightly with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook, working in batches, until chicken is cooked through. About 2 minutes per side. No kidding. Pay attention. Keep chicken warm on a heated plate and cover with aluminum foil. Or just turn your oven on to the lowest heat and stash them there until you're done.
Top chicken with tomato mixture and serve.
With such minimal prep, this only takes about 20 min from fridge to table.
* * *
Oh, both of these recipes serve 4 and that's about right. If you've got a bigger family, big eaters, or you just want leftovers, adjust the ingredients as needed.
6 Comments:
Sela,
You have inspired me, though I'm not sure yur're going to appreciate my next book project.
I have had considerable luck with plublishing stories of my alleycat ways.
Where some men may go antiquing, I go dumpster diving, both for furniture and still-packaged and only recent "best before" dated goodies.
(Can't seem to write unless I thoroughly degrade myself...Leopold von-Sacher Masoch?).
Anyway, I'm going to put together a Dumpster Diver's Cook Book, most of my preparations well stirred with an electrician's screwdriver.
Well. It should stand out against other cook books. Martha Stewart shouldn't have all the glory!
Ivan
By 
, at
11:19 PM
Both recipes sound lovely. Have you tried either of them?
By 
Kristen Painter, at
9:07 AM
Tried them both, Kristen -- they're delish! And really easy.
Ivan, "Dumpster Divers Cookbook"?
Note to self: Eat out when visiting Ivan.
By Sela Carsen, at
9:44 AM
Meet you behind the McDonald's Sela, but I've got this feeling I'm going to be stood up!
Ivan
By , at
3:19 PM
These sound so yummy.
And easy too.
Yes...I'm stealing the blogging a recipe idea from you. Muwahahaha
I will use my own recipe though.
Potato soup anyone?
Lara
By Lara Santiago, at
8:30 AM
I looooooove potato soup!! You can never have too many good potato soup recipes.
By Sela Carsen, at
8:40 AM