Private Party August 24, 2024

Stuffed Chicken

Pasta with Alfredo

Roasted Veggies

Lemon Blueberry Trifle

 Spinach Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Chicken

  Yield: 2

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded

½ cup cooked spinach

2 cloves garlic finely chopped

¼ cup onion finely chopped

¼ cup cream cheese

¼ cup shredded mozzarella

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 thin slices bacon

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, spinach, garlic, onions, mozzarella and Parmesan. Mix until the cream cheese is evenly distributed.

Divide filling between chicken. Roll chicken up. Starting from the top of the breast, wrap one bacon strip around the 1st half of the chicken breast. Repeat with a second slice. You can stretch the bacon a bit to wrap the whole breast evenly. Repeat with the other chicken breasts.

Place the chicken breasts onto a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, and place in oven cook 35-40 minutes, until cooked through (175F internal temperature).

Fresh Pasta Dough

yield: 2 servings

1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

  Making fresh pasta dough is fun and very easy. Traditionally, the dough is mixed directly on a board or counter but it is acceptable to begin the dough in a bowl to limit the cleanup. Laminate counter tops are fine for kneading dough but natural or engineered stone is best as it is non-porous and maintains constant temperature, especially important when working with yeast doughs.

  In a bowl or on a countertop, combine the salt and flour. Using your fingers, create a well in the center of the mound, being sure that the well’s walls are equally thick and high. In a separate container, combine eggs and olive oil. Scramble eggs with a fork to incorporate oil.

  Add 1/3 of egg/oil mixture to center of well. Using a swirling motion, pull flour from inner walls of well into eggs and mix until it forms a thick paste. If working on a countertop, be careful not to break through the walls of the well as egg will run out over the work surface. When center is no longer runny, add half of remaining egg mixture and stir to paste. Add remaining liquid and repeat. Continue to mix until fork is no longer effective and then turn dough out onto work surface.

  Knead dough by flattening, folding it in half and pressing hard with the palm of your hand. Rotate 90’ and repeat over and over until dough is a consistent color (no patches of flour or egg mixture) and begins to feel springy. Pasta dough should be visibly bumpy but soft and smooth to the touch. To test, press a finger into dough. The depression made by your finger should spring back almost entirely. Flatten dough into a disk 1 ½ inches thick, wrap with saran and place in cooler to rest for 20-30 minutes or until finger divot does not bounce back. This means that the gluten that was excited in the kneading process has relaxed and the dough is ready to be rolled and cut.

Alfredo Sauce

• 1/4cup butter, cut into large cubes or slices
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (not table salt)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Add the butter and cream to a large nonstick sauté pan, over medium-low heat; whisk until butter has melted.
2. Add in the minced garlic, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; whisk until combined and smooth.
3. Bring to a gentle simmer (do not boil) and cook for 3-4 minutes, whisking constantly, until it starts to thicken.
4. Stir in the parmesan cheese just until melted and the sauce is smooth.
5. Take off the heat and toss with cooked fettuccine noodles (or your favorite pasta.)
6. (If the sauce isn’t quite thick enough, allow it to stand for 2-3 minutes before tossing with the pasta.)

Roasted Vegetables with Garlic and Balsamic

yield: 2 servings

10-12 oz assorted vegetables ( broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, zucchini or sweet potato)

4 garlic cloves, quartered

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fine balsamic vinegar

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

Pinch of ground black pepper or more if preferred

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

  In a medium mixing bowl, toss vegetables with garlic, oil, balsamic vinegar salt and pepper until coated. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and roast at 400 until vegetable start to brown. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Blueberry Lemon Trifle

Yield 8:

1 ½ cups fresh blueberries, divided

1 can (15-3/4 ounces each) lemon pie filling

1 cup lemon yogurt

½ prepared angel food cake, cut into 1-inch cubes

3-4 cups whipped cream

Optional: Lemon slices and fresh mint

Set aside 1/4 cup blueberries for garnish. In a large bowl, combine pie filling and yogurt.

In 8 glasses, layer a third of the cake cubes, lemon mixture and blueberries. Repeat layers twice. Top with whipped topping. Garnish with reserved blueberries and, if desired, lemon and mint.