breasts

Rolled Fillets of Chicken

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Home Cooking: Rolled Fillets of Chicken! There seems to be a hundred ways of serving chicken, but I like this one best because it makes a savory meal that is also filling. Split one serving with your partner and add another vegetable side dish for a healthy alternative. I omitted salt in lieu of herbs. 

ROLLED FILLETS OF CHICKEN

Ingredients:

1 pkg. Stove Top Chicken Stuffing

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/4 teaspoon thyme 

1/4 teaspoon parsley

4 chicken breasts

1 cup baby carrots

1 cup chopped celery

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°. In a medium pan, bring one cup chicken broth and seasonings to a boil. Add stuffing mix and diced celery. Mix, cover, and set aside for 5 minutes. Flatten chicken breasts with a rolling pin. Fill with stuffing and roll up. Place seam side down in covered casserole dish. Sprinkle herbs on top. Surround chicken with celery and carrots. Add one cup of chicken broth to the bottom of the dish to keep it from going dry. Cover tightly. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove lid and butter tops of chicken. Then sprinkle with parsley. Bake 5 minutes longer uncovered. 

*The pan drippings can be made into gravy or simply spoon the juice over the chicken for a moist finish. 

Vermouth Chicken Breasts

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Vermouth Chicken Breasts! Have you ever cooked with vermouth? It almost comes across as a magic potion transforming the ordinary into the sublime. As a deglazing tool, vermouth lifts the sweetness that builds up during the cooking process of meats and vegetables while enhancing the earthy wine flavor. You’ve heard of people using wine in cooking. Well, it’s basically the same principle. Go ahead, check the back of the liquor cabinet. More than likely you probably already have a bottle of vermouth just waiting to be used. 

VERMOUTH CHICKEN BREASTS

Ingredients for Chicken:

4 tablespoons butter

4 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed

1/2 cup dry vermouth

Ingredients for Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 onion, chopped 

4 ounces canned mushrooms, drained

1/4 cup dry vermouth 

1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper 

Instructions:

Warm 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Pour in 1/2 cup dry vermouth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. To make the sauce, warm 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté chopped onions until soft and translucent. Add mushrooms; heat through, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup dry vermouth and sour cream. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Warm through, but do not boil. Remove pan from heat. When chicken is done, pour sauce over all. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the sides and bottom of the skillet to release any browned bits into the sauce. Serve with angel hair pasta. 

Vermouth Chicken Breasts

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Graze or Gobble: Vermouth Chicken Breasts! Have you ever cooked with vermouth? It almost comes across as a magic potion transforming the ordinary into the sublime. As a deglazing tool, vermouth lifts the sweetness that builds up during the cooking process of meats and vegetables while enhancing the earthy wine flavor. You’ve heard of people using wine in cooking. Well, it’s basically the same principle. Go ahead, check the back of the liquor cabinet. More than likely you probably already have a bottle of vermouth just waiting to be used.

VERMOUTH CHICKEN BREASTS

Ingredients for Chicken:

4 tablespoons butter

4 boneless chicken breasts, skin removed

1/2 cup dry vermouth

Ingredients for Sauce:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 onion, chopped

4 ounces canned mushrooms, drained

1/4 cup dry vermouth

1 cup sour cream

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

Warm 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breasts until golden brown, approximately 4 minutes per side. Pour in 1/2 cup dry vermouth. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. To make the sauce, warm 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Sauté chopped onions until soft and translucent. Add mushrooms; heat through, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 cup dry vermouth and sour cream. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Warm through, but do not boil. Remove pan from heat. When chicken is done, pour sauce over all. Use a wooden spoon to scrape the sides and bottom of the skillet to release any browned bits into the sauce. Serve with angel hair pasta.

Mexican Tarragon Turkey Breast

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Delicious Holiday Foods: Mexican Tarragon Turkey Breast! If you’re tired of the “same old, same old”, ways of preparing poultry, try something a little different. Mexican tarragon can easily catapult chicken and turkey to gourmet status. First of all, that slight hint of licorice may go unnoticed in a café chicken salad sandwich. Yet, something tastes extraordinary. If only you could put your finger on it. So, you go on with your day perhaps thinking you were hungrier than usual and would have devoured anything. Until memory flashback, in the form of a craving, stimulates the taste buds for an encore. The quest is on for the heat-loving herb with the green narrow leaves and golden flowers. Who knows, it may end up as a regular plant in your garden herb bed.

MEXICAN TARRAGON TURKEY BREAST

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons Mexican tarragon leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

3-pound turkey breast, bone in

Sprigs of Mexican tarragon, for garnish

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325°. Combine chopped Mexican tarragon leaves, olive oil, poultry seasoning, seasoned salt, and white pepper. Wash turkey breast; pat dry. Using your fingers, loosen skin of turkey breast. Rub half the mixture under the skin. Secure skin to the underside of breast with toothpicks. Brush outside of turkey with remaining mixture. Place turkey breast on a rack in a roasting pan. Roast until a meat thermometer reads 170°, about two hours. Remove from oven; tent with foil. Allow to rest 15 minutes. Remove and discard turkey skin and toothpicks before carving. Transfer turkey slices to a platter. Garnish with sprigs of Mexican tarragon. Serve warm.

Teriyaki Chicken Bowl

What’s Cooking in Gail’s Kitchen? Palatable Possibilities: Teriyaki Chicken Bowl! Do-ahead meals take a little bit of planning, but the “devil is in the details”, they say. In this case it means, make sure the chicken breasts are thawed AND marinated 24 hours before you plan on serving them. I realize that requires the cook to be somewhat organized. Pantries don’t stock themselves. There’s nothing worse than trying to make a dish without all the ingredients. Take sesame oil, for example. I find it absolutely delicious because it adds an earthy nuttiness to Asian food. Vegetable oil tastes meh, in my opinion. Not only does it alter the taste, the texture will be different. When I can find it, I buy toasted sesame seeds so I don’t have to worry about toasting them on the stove or in the oven. That’s 10 minutes I could be planning tomorrow’s meal. Idiosyncratic, but true.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN BOWL

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Green onion snips, for garnish

Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions:

Place chicken breasts, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, minced garlic, and sesame oil in a shallow dish. Baste chicken completely. Cover dish with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 24 hours. When ready to cook, preheat grill to 450°. Lightly oil grill grate. Remove chicken breasts from marinade, place directly on grill, close lid, and cook for 5 minutes. Discard marinade. After 5 minutes, open lid, flip over chicken breasts, close lid, and cook 5 minutes longer, or until cooked through and no longer pink. Remove teriyaki chicken from grill and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with green onion snips and toasted sesame seeds. Serve with sticky rice and mixed vegetables.