Yasu! Opa! Don’t break the plates until you try this dish!

Greek-Style Chicken Recipe

Ingredients
3-1/2 lbs. chicken, (1 whole chicken, cut up)
2 Tbsp. Greek seasoning (Cavender’s is the most popular brand of this mixture)
1 28-oz. can chopped Italian tomatoes
1 Tbsp. butter
3/4 lb. sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/3 cup dry vermouth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 6-oz can sliced black olives

Method
Rinse chicken pieces and pat dry. Season with Greek seasonings and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Melt butter in a large skillet and saute mushrooms until their liquid is released and then evaporated. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for justa minute. Remove from the pan to a bowl and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add olive oil. Brown the chicken on both sides and remove from pan. Add vermouth off the heat and deglaze pan over medium high heat, scraping up brown bits from the bottom. Add tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste and cooked mushrooms and garlic. Cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.

Place chicken in a baking dish, scatter sliced black olives over the top and pour in sauce. Cover with foil and bake in a 350 oven for about an hour. Remove foil. If the sauce is not thick enough, bake a little longer uncovered.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Easy-to-make Mexican classic that has all the elements of the original, but takes a few shortcuts to produce a tasty result.

Chile Relleno Casserole Recipe

Ingredients
8 ounces whole green chilies (like Anaheim or Poblano)
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Method
Remove seeds from the chilies and then cut into half-inch and one-inch pieces.

Spray the bottom of a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Layer chilies in bottom, then add a layer of cheese, Repeat.

Mix the eggs, milk, flour and salt until thoroughly combined. Pour over chili-cheese layers.

Bake uncovered in a preheated 350 oven for 40 minutes until puffed and golden, Cool slightly, cut into squares and serve with your favorite Mexican toppings and sides.

Halloween Spice Cake Recipe

Shrimp Romescu Recipe

Ingredients
2 Tbsp. slivered almonds
1 French bread slice
1 large garlic clove
1 7-oz. jar roasted red peppers
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
1/4 tsp. cayenne
16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

Method
Stir almonds in heavy small skillet over medium heat until golden, about 3 minutes. Transfer to food processor. Place bread in same skillet and toast on each side. Break into pieces into food processor. With the machine running, drop garlic through feed tube. Add roasted red peppers, olive oil, sherry vinegar and cayenne pepper and process until mixture is the consistency of thick mayonnaise, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.

Arrange sauteed shrimp on plates. Spoon Romescu sauce over the shrimp and serve.

The sauce may be kept in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to four days.

Equipment you will need:
Baking tray
Serrated knife large
Metal Spoon
Colander
Food Processor
Pie dishes

Prepare the pumpkin:
1. Wash the pumpkin in warm water, do not use soap. Cut the pumpkin in half width-wise using the serrated knife. Scoop out the insides, seeds and stringy parts.

2. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet face down / pumpkin rind up. Bake pumpkin until the rind turns a nice golden brown.

3. To check to see if the pumpkin is done, the rind should slip right off the meat of the pumpkin and pumpkin meat can be easily removed with your fingers. Take all the meat and place in a colander to drain any excess liquid. For best results: line your colander with cheesecloth, thick paper towels, or even coffee filters and press down on pumpkin to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Do ahead tip: Bake your pumpkin a day ahead of pie-making and drain in the colander (wrapper and stored in the refrigerator) overnight.

4. Once cooled and drained, blend in a food process so it becomes a nice smooth consistency.

Prepare pie dough:
Chef Adam has a great recipe and method, use this link: Simple Pie Dough. Keep cover and chilled until use.

Bake your pie:
Recipe is below. Save this to your ChefsLine Recipe Box > >

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups of cooked pumpkins, mashed*
1 1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg or allspice
1/8 tsp. cloves
2 eggs, beaten slightly

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking pan with pastry dough. In mixing bowl, mix 2 cups cooked, mashed pumpkin with remaining ingredients. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake pie for another 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Allow to cool. Serve with whipped cream or by itself.

Chicken Saltimbocca Recipe

Ingredients
4 6-oz. chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 garlic clove, minced
8 fresh sage leaves, 4 whole, 4 julienned for garnish
1/2 cup dry vermouth
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 prosciutto slices
4 Provolone cheese slices
3 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese

Method
Cut each chicken breast in half horizontally, stopping just before edge.

Season flour with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. While heating large saute pan over medium high heat, dredge chicken breasts in seasoned flour. Saute on chicken is golden on both sides. Remove from pan.

Add the mushrooms to the same pan and saute until they release their liquid and the liquid evaporates, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute and remove from the pan. Pour in the vermouth off the heat and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add chicken broth and bring the liquid to a boil.

Stuff each chicken breast with a slice of Provolone, then prosciutto, then a whole sage leaf. Return the stuffed chicken to the pan, lower the heat and simmer. Add mushrooms and finish in a 350 oven until the cheese has melted.

Tomato Tarte Tatin Recipe

Ingredients
1 14 oz. puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 medium red onions halved and slice thin
1/4 cup sugar, plus a pinch
1/2 tsp. sherry vinegar
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 1/2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme or 1/2 Tbsp. dried
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Preheat oven to 425. Unfold puff pastry and cut into a 10-inch round. Chill, covered, until ready to use.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and a pinch of sugar and cook, stirring, until onions are golden and caramelized, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water to deglaze pan, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan. Transfer to a bowl and reserve.

In a clean oven-proof 9-inch skilled combine 1/4 cup sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Cook over medium heat, swirling gently (do not stir) until sugar melts and turns into an amber-colored caramel, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add vinegar carefully and swirl again. The caramel will seize, but will re-melt in the oven.

Sprinkle olives over caramel, then scatter tomatoes over olives. Sprinkle onions on top, then season with thyme, salt and pepper. Top with puff pastry circle, tucking edges into sides of pan. Cut several vents in top of pastry.

Bake until tart crust is puffed and golden, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then run a knife around pastry to loosen it from pan and flip tart onto a pan lid and slide onto a serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Kitchen Guy’s Parisian Apple Cake Recipe

Ingredients
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/3 cup whole milk
4 baking apples, cored, peeled and cut into wedges
Freshly squeezed lemon juice

Topping
1/3 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Method
Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Peel and core the apples, then slice them thinly, place in a bowl and squeeze fresh lemon juice over them so they don’t turn brown.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir well. Add the vanilla, eggs, oil and milk and stir until completely incorporated. Add the apples and stir to coat them with the batter.

Pour the mixture carefully into the prepared cake pan. Bake until firm and golden, about 25 minutes.

Prepare the topping in a small bowl by combining the sugar, egg, and melted butter. Stir well and set aside.

Remove the cake from the oven and pour the topping mixture over it. Return the cake to the oven and bake until the top is a deep golden color and the cake springs back when pressed, about 10 minutes.

Cool the cake on a rack for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pan and remove the spring-form, leaving the cake on the pan base. Serve plain or with freshly whipped cream.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Have two cups of wine in the fridge? Here’s your perfect weeknight dish.

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Kitchen Guy’s Shrimp in Chardonnay Sauce Recipe

Ingredients
2 cups Chardonnay (or other full-bodied white wine)
2 shallots, finely minced
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 pounds medium raw shrimp, deveined and peeled
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh parsley for garnish

Method
In a large skillet, combine the shallots with the wine, 2 Tbsp. of the butter, a large pinch of salt and the cayenne. Bring to a boil over high heat and reduce the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the pan is nearly dry – about 10 minutes.

Add shrimp to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through (the shrimp will turn an opaque pink). Stir in the remaining butter and the cream. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly.

Garnish and serve immediately.

Kitchen Guy’s Chicken Dijon Recipe

Ingredients
4 large chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
3 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup of cream
1/2 teaspoon each of dried rosemary, thyme and tarragon

Method
Pound chicken breasts to one-quarter inch thick. Heat 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté chicken in a single layer (do this in batches if necessary) until lightly browned. Lower the heat to keep the butter from burning (or add some vegetable oil to raise the smoke point of the butter). Remove the chicken after browning and place on a plate and cover with aluminum foil while you make the sauce. Melt the remaining butter in the same skillet. Add the onion and cook until tender. Stir occasionally. Add wine and mustard and simmer until the mixture is reduced by one half. Add cream and simmer until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

The tender cuts great for grilling are the loin steaks: rib eye, T-bone, Porter House, New York Strip, Sirloin, and Filet Mignon. These cuts are naturally tender and should be well-marbled with fat. In general, all steaks should be grilled over medium heat. For a ribeye, Chef Erika recommends seasoning with salt & pepper or a rub if you like. Cook for 5-6 minutes each side. Your final internal temperature will be 130-135 for medium rare and 140-145 for medium. Be sure to rest for no less than 5 minutes before serving.

Instead of fat, the tough cuts suitable for grilling have lots of striated connective tissue in them: Flank steak, Hanger steak, and Flat Iron steak. The trick to these latter cuts is to cook them very quickly on the outside, serve them no more than medium rare, and slice them very thinly across the grain. The odd beast in this menagerie is the tri-tip.

Tri-tips are actually a small roast and originated as a cut in Texas, but didn’t find popularity until reaching Santa Rosa, California where it became hugely popular. It gains its name from its triangular shape and that results from being cut from the end of two different muscles. It can be tough, so look for plenty of marbling, but is packed with beefy flavor.

We hear more and more about the merits of grass-fed versus grain-fed beef. This is literally “a matter of taste.” Grass-fed beef usually has a deeper, richer flavor than grain-fed beef and is higher in good fats and lower in bad fats, but it’s usually not as well-marbled and not as tender (the breed of cattle can make a big difference here: Angus and Hereford are the best choices for grass-fed beef). La Cense is one well established brand of grass-fed beef that ships directly to consumers. Grain-fed beef is uniformly more tender, partially because the cattle are kept in small lots and can’t exercise, but also milder in flavor. The best beef in world – Kobe and Wagyu from Japan – graze on grass but are also fed some grain.

Welcome us to your backyard!

Chef Rod Woodley is ChefsLine’s resident grill master. Subscribers to ChefsLine’s premium membership can book live phone or webcam consultations with him to learn the finer points of charcoal and gas grilling techniques. Rod also hosts a Fish and Seafood Grilling class that you can purchase and experience – it’s just $15.95!

Chef Jackie offers a cooking class on Homemade Oils, Rubs, and Marinades – that is a great way to explore adding flavor to a whole host of cuts of beef for grilling.

Kitchen Guy’s Pasta Primavera Recipe
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 pint half and half
1/2 pint cream
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/8 freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/2 pound linguine
1 small leek, washed and finely sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned
1 medium red bell pepper, julienned
1/4 lb. sugar snap peas, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 cup broccoli florets
2 ounces prosciutto, julienned
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Lightly saute the vegetables in olive oil, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Make a roux with the butter and flour. Add half and half and cream, along with garlic, nutmeg and salt and white pepper to taste. Cook until nicely thickened, simmering for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally with a wire whisk. Flavor with julienned basil.

Cook pasta in lots of boiling, salted water until al dente. Top with julienned vegetables and then with sauce. Add julienned prosciutto and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Pastitsio (Greek Pasta Casserole) Recipe

Ingredients
3/4 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 14-1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 lb. large elbow macaroni, cooked
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Meat sauce: Brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Chop and add tomatoes with their juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and black pepper. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Egg Sauce: In a small saucepan heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in hot milk and continue whisking until the mixture comes to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp white pepper. Let cool a bit, and then stir in the 2 eggs.

Place half of the macaroni in the bottom of a glass baking dish and top with meat sauce. Top with half of the cheese, then the rest of the macaroni. Pour the egg sauce over the macaroni and top with the remaining Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, in 350-degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until casserole is lightly browned.

And one of the very easiest foods to grill is, believe it or not, whole fish. Whether the fish comes from the fishmonger or the end of your fishing pole, follow a couple of simple preparatory suggestions and you’ll be grilling whole fish anytime the sun comes out. So get ready to put a fresh fish twist on the old 4th of July cookout.

If you’re not too comfortable with a boning knife, have no fear. Grilling whole fish requires minimal carving.

My favorite fish to grill include trout, snapper, bass, sea bream, just about any medium-sized whitefish will do, as well as some smaller fish like mullet, bluefish, mackerel, and butterfish.

Salmon is also a great choice.Avoid flounder, sole, fluke, cod and similar fishes because they can be too delicate.

When selecting your dinner, select a fish with clear eyes, shiny scales and a non-fishy smell. Once you’ve got your hands on a fresh whole fish, here are the 10 easy steps to grill it:

1. Clean the fish: de-scale it by scraping the dull side of a knife against the grain of the scales until it’s smooth. Cut off the fins with a pair of kitchen shears and discard. Then cut along the entire bottom of the fish, remove the guts and discard. Rinse the fish clean.
2. Score the fish with 1/2 inch-deep cuts on both sides, about 1-2 inches apart. This helps the flavors of the marinade (and smoke if applicable) to better penetrate the meat of the fish.
3. Marinate the fish for 1-3 hours in your choice of marinade. If you are using a marinade that is acidic (i.e. with lemon juice, vinegar, etc.) only marinade for 1 hour to avoid “cooking” the fish (as in ceviche).
4. Preheat the grill, or let charcoal ember to flame-less white briquettes.
5. Brush the clean grill and fish with a thin layer of canola oil, peanut oil or any other neutral-flavored oil with a high smoke point, to prevent the fish from sticking.
6. Remove the fish from the marinade and wipe it clean to prevent the fish from sticking (save the marinade). Salt and pepper both sides. Optionally, you can stuff the inner cavity of the fish with herbs and pieces of lemon).
7. Grill the fish for 7-12 minutes (depending on the size) in the hottest part of the grill (unless serving salmon rare – 4-5 minutes). Optionally, you can also dip some rosemary or dill sprigs in oil and use them as a bed to grill the fish on if sticking is a concern.
8. Turn the fish over gently with one or two large spatulas. Optionally, you can turn it over onto a large piece of aluminum foil and then slide it onto the grill.
9. Baste the fish with the leftover marinade, and let it grill about as long as the first side.
10. Carefully remove the fish from the grill and place it onto a serving platter. Serve with grilled lemon and enjoy!

Once the fish is cooked it will flake easily away from the spine (again, rare salmon is a special case), and it should be simple enough to avoid any of the smaller bones. You can run a knife along either side of the spine, and then you should be able to slide the knife under the cooked fillets with no problem.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact one of us on the cooking hotline!

Have fun grilling!

Kitchen Guy’s Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Ingredients
9 Tbsp. canola oil, divided use
1 large garlic clove, minced
4 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
3 chicken breasts
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 cups carrots, julienned
2 cups cucumber, julienned
1 cup jicama, julienned
2/3 cup green onions, sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup sugar-snap peas in pods
1 6-oz, can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 Tbsp. sesame seeds, toasted
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Method

For the marinade: Mix together 1 tbsp oil, garlic, 2 tbsp soy sauce, and ground ginger.

Place chicken in marinade, turning pieces several times for at least 1 hour. Remove from marinade and bake at 400 degrees until just cooked through. Let cool, shred and set aside.

In a large bowl, add all of the vegetables and toss. Mix the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and shake vigorously to emulsify. Add chicken and toss. Pour dressing over salad and toss again. When serving, top salad with toasted sesame seeds and toasted almonds.