Fresh-Sauced Gemelli with Artichoke, Feta and Grilled Chicken

I'm a relatively new convert to the fresh sauce revolution and I still can't believe how easy it is to make. Fresh ingredients never cooked that come together from the heat of the pasta. Fresh flavor at its best. I've tried different variations several times including one of my first Pickles and Cake recipe postings. This time around, I was inspired by a batch of beautiful yellow tomatoes and a craving for artichokes. Some grilled chicken on top infused with some complimentary flavors will push this dish over the edge.


The first step is to marinate the chicken. I marinated about a pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts with the following:

Mediterranean Marinade

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp grape seed or canola oil
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp season salt (I used the Tuscan Chicken grinder below)
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp fresh basil, thyme and parsley - rough chopped


Combine all ingredients in ziplock bag and marinate in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Grill off the chicken on high heat and let it rest. Slice thin just before plating.

(why didn't I take any photos of the chicken on the grill?!)

Fresh "No-Cook" Tomato Sauce with Artichoke Hearts and Feta

2 Tbsp spring onion
2 Cups deseeded, chopped tomato
1/2 Cup artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 Tbsp fresh basil, thyme and parsley
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Chopped Feta

The girls will eat anything I make, as long as I involve them in the cooking experience.


The first step is to pick some fresh herbs. Lillie is a pro at carefully plucking off the basil leaves.


I set Lillie up to deseed the tomatoes. Its important to pull all the seeds and the jelly stuff out of the locule chambers.


She does a great job - this is what they look like once they are cleaned out and cleaned up...


While she was deseeding the golden beauties, I opened a can of baby artichoke hearts.


Then I rolled up an herb ball for easy cutting.


A quick chop to all and we are one step closer.


I chop chop the tomatoes and and throw everything in a bowl.


A quick stir and the sauce is ready to go. Well, ready to sit anyway. It needs to sit on the counter for a few hours for all the flavors to meld.


Boil your favorite stubby pasta and transfer to individual bowls just as the pasta is al dente. I generally use a multigrain penne but I'm a sucker for Barilla's gemelli and could care less about the extra carbs with a fresh, healthy meal like this. Gemelli is dense and perfect for this type of sauce.


Toss pasta with the sauce. Once the sauce hits the hot pasta the herbs wilt and the garlic mellows. Top with sliced chicken and some feta. Done!

Sadie was starving and finished this entire bowl!


Lillie wolfed down the whole bowl too.


It was a perfect night outside so we set up a little table by the pool.


This was probably one of the best dishes I've made in a while. The smokiness of the grilled chicken and the full savory flavor of the fresh sauce - the accent of the feta and texture of the gemelli. Every taste bud was smiling and the kids loved it all.

Will They Eat It? Sardines!

A few months ago Lillie and I were watching a documentary where dolphins circle a school of sardines and churn them into a giant "bait ball" that attracts birds, sharks and just about anybody else in the area that has a hankering for some sardines...like my children. I actually found the moment of the show that sparked her interest...



Lillie: (rubbing belly and smiling) Mmmmm! I love sardines!
Me: (laughing out loud) You do? Have you ever tried a sardine?
Lillie: Mmm hmm! I love sardines...
Me: Really?
Lillie: Yes!
Me: If I bought some sardines, would you eat them?
Lillie: Yes!!!!


Time for another "Will She Eat it?" Challenge!


And so I picked up some sardines, but not just any sardines..."Mediterranean-style" sardines with olive oil, garlic, red pepper and black olive....


And suddenly even I was interested in trying these sardines. I remember eating them on crackers as a snack growing up ALL THE TIME until one day I took a bite, but not all the way through. I pulled back and saw a tiny little skeleton on my cracker! Last sardine in 25 years!


So now it is the moment of truth! Will they eat it? They are both so excited and ready to go even after seeing the contents of the tin...


Lillie eats her sardine in two bites and gives it a big thumbs up.


Sadie has thrown her picky ways behind her and was all in!


She was actually the first to ask for seconds!


I tried them myself and they were actually pretty delicious. I chewed it quick. My first thought was, "this would be great whipped into a Caesar dressing."

Scanwiches

Simply, a website dedicated to scanned sandwiches...mmmm...sandwiches!


Banh Mi So 1: #1 House Special - grilled pork, vietnamese salami, sliced pork roll, pickled carrots, cilantro, and cucumber on a baguette


Parisi Bakery: Pastrami, Provolone, Lettuce, Tomato, Hot peppers, On a hero

I love it!

Lillie and Sadie love Mussels!

Lillie teaches us how to properly use a mussel shell to pull out the next mussel.

6 Degrees of Bacon

lillie and her bacon band-aid

On the drive home, I always bring up the meals they ate that day and inquire about what they would like to eat for dinner. Tonight we had leftover chicken noodle soup and a waffle cone with homemade strawberry honey icecream.

Me "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

Lillie: "I want bacon for dinner!"

Me: "Really? I had a spinach salad with bacon on it for lunch today."

Lillie: "Mmmm. I love bacon!"

Me: "Lillie, did you know that bacon comes from pigs."

Lillie: "No Daddy, mud comes from pigs!"

sadie is always game for an impromptu photo

Is it Spring Yet?

Lillie and I were in the backyard this past weekend and she freaked out when she saw the scarecrow lying face down on the ground.

Lillie: "Oh No! What's wrong with scarecrow?!"

Me: "He was tired and is taking a nap."

Lillie: "Actually, he fell down. Can we plant some seeds in the garden?"

Me: "Its too cold. In a few months we will fill the whole garden with seeds again."

Lillie: "Tomorrow we can plant baby carrots?"

Me: "We have to wait until Spring?"

Lillie: "Like Tigger's tail?"

Me: "Yes, just like Tigger's tail."

Rainbow Tomatoes

Check out these beauties from the Winter Park Farmers Market. I picked up a few purple ones and they were the best middle of winter tomatoes I've ever had.

Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

Every Christmas season, the Grand Floridian gives out roasted chestnuts at their main entrance. The toasty aroma can be picked up from a quarter mile and this time we decided to stop and sample these hard to find holiday delicacies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chestnuts


The girls were ready to try something new so I handed them each a roasted chestnut. Each "pod" is cross-shaped split to help in the roasting process.


Sadie worked furiously to get her chestnut open.


Lillie dug her nails in and popped out the seed inside.


Not afraid to ham it up, Lillie decided to perch her chestnut on her face for a memorable photo.


It was quickly devoured. I tasted one too. They taste like a cross between earwax and a cashew. The texture is similar to a cross between earwax and a cashew.


Sadie ate the chestnut before any fun photos could be taken.


I spoke too soon...

Smokey Pumpkin Seeds

The only thing better than a triple mushroom, bbq pumpkin burger is a batch of delicious smokey pumpkin seeds.

Split open a fresh pumpkin very carefully!


Pull all the seeds out of the pumpkin and rinse in a colander. Massage with your fingers to eliminate most of the pumpkin fiber. Rinse one last time...


Transfer to a bowl and shake on your favorite savory season blends. This batch was flavor-blasted with a combo of smoked paprika, Penzeys bbq 3000 and Penzeys smokey seasoned salt. Maybe a 1/4 cup for a large pumpkins worth of seeds.


Spread over a foil-lined cookie sheet.


Bake at 350 for 15 minutes until they are nice and crunchy. Use a spatula to remove and let cool.


Eat them shell and all!


Lillie can't stop snacking!

Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs

I acquired a spaghetti squash a few weeks ago and the girls were immediately fascinated. Spaghetti inside a squash? Could it be true?
Each night I pick them up, I ask them what they want for dinner and ever since the words "spaghetti squash" pinged onto their radar, Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs was the clear winner.


Finding a delicious low-fat meatball probably should have been a priority before creating this meal...In the end, my "fly by the seat of my pants" culinary approach worked to my advantage and once again reminded me that intuition and creativity beat out a recipe every time....at least for me.


I went to my recipe bible, America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook - BAD NEWS! The meatball page was missing! What the hell?! These 3-ring binder pages of this 848-page book are so thin and the most popular get torn occasionally. I'm pretty sure the meatball page also includes the fresh sauce section....crap.

Now what do I do? I pulled Mario Batali's Molto Italiano off the shelf - he has got to have a rock-solid meatball recipe in there somewhere. I modified his Neapolitan Meatball recipe to suite my needs. I love a cheesy meatball and the low-fat ground chicken I'm using is very lean, so the first thing I changed was to double the amount of shredded Pecorino Romano cheese.


Double Cheese Chicken Meatballs

3 cups day-old bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pound ground chicken/turkey
3 eggs, beaten
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups Pecorino Romano, grated
¼ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
½ cup saltine crackers, crushed
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoon Penzeys smoked seasoned salt (any seasoned salt will work)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a shallow bowl, soak the bread cubes in enough water to cover. Remove the bread cubes and squeeze by hand to wring excess moisture.

In a large bowl, combine everything and mix by hand to incorporate bread into meat. It will be a little soupy so chill (covered) in the fridge for a few hours. I let mine sit overnight.

With wet hands, form the mixture into 12 to 15 meatballs, each of a size of a golf ball. Place on foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in the center of the oven on 375 for 35 minutes.

Steamed Spaghetti Squash

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Wrap in one layer of saran wrap and cook in microwave for 7 minutes. Let sit to cool in microwave for 10 minutes. Remove with caution because it will still be really, really, really hot. Really. Remove wrap and use fork to pull out the string-like layers of squash.

Plate the squash, top with your favorite marinara (I used my 5-minute creamy marinara - recipe to follow in a few days). Top with some sliced meatballs and dust with some microplaned Pecorino Romano.


Sadie was the first to give it a try. The meatballs were so flavorful and moist! I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious they turned out.


Lillie was skeptical of the spaghetti squash at first but loved the meatballs from the start. They were so full of flavor.


Another fun dinner with dad!

Big bite! Even Daddy has got to eat!


Sadie cleaned the plate. Finger lickin' good.

Will She Eat It? Black Cat Licorice Soda

Jones Soda pushes the soda envelope (is there such a thing?) every holiday season. Their turkey and gravy soda for Thanksgiving is just going to far. They actually had the nerve to bottle a brussel sprout soda last year! This Halloween, I had to pick up a 6-pack of their Black Cat Licorice Soda to try. The question is, will Lillie like it?

Was their any doubt? Next up: Sardines!