Many parts of this recipe can be made from scratch if you feel so inclined. Since Dan and I work full time plus do freelance work in the evenings, I try (since I’m the main cook now) to do something tasty, quick, and maybe healthy for dinner.

1. boneless chicken fingers
(We make our own by using Alton Brown’s pan-fried chicken method. We use more oil so the chicken is submerged so it cooks all the way around without overcooking the meat. We use Old Bay for the seasoning. This is probably the most time consuming part of the recipe.)

2. celery, cut into 1/2 - 1 1/2 inch matchsticks

3. buffalo sauce

4. ranch dressing

5. flatbread

Heat up the chicken and toss with buffalo sauce in a bowl. Place a proportionate amount of chicken in one half of each flatbread. Sprinkle with celery pieces. Add ranch dressing or serve it on the side as a dipping sauce. Fold the flatbread over like a taco. Dig in. YUM!!

And the best part?  It was only 12 bucks! Marked down 65%.

I’m so excited, I’m making Irish Soda bread at this very minute so I can enjoy a wonderful HOT cup of tea.  It smells just about done.

I’m not typing all of that out… Hopefully you can read it.

Everything used in this recipe should be in season and easy to find at your local supermarket during November and December, at least. We couldn’t find straight arugula though, so you may have to go to a specialty store or farmer’s market for that.

This Mediterranean salad is simple, delicious, and colorful, so we’ll be making it again before the winter’s over. Yum yum yum!

INGREDIENTS
2 cups very thinly sliced fennel bulb
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
6 cups arugula (about 4 ounces) [or spring mix]
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup thinly sliced mint leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 3-ounce packages thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into strips [or bacon]
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

PREPARATION

1. Toss fennel and 1 tablespoon olive oil in medium bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt.
2. Combine arugula, green onions, mint, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl; toss. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide greens among plates. Top with fennel, then drape with prosciutto. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over.

Recipe and photo courtesy of BonAppetit.com

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks from pasteurized in-shell eggs*
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 spoonful for egg whites
• 1 pint whole milk (aka Vitamin Diesel)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup bourbon
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 egg whites
• drop of vanilla

Directions

Easiest (obviously) with a stand mixer:

Separate the eggs and try to get rid of the chalaza–no one wants to drink an umbilical chord. Beat the egg yolks until they lighten. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon, vanilla and nutmeg and stir to combine. You must use freshly grated nutmeg, this is the main flavor. If you don’t have a microplane grater, get one. I have a pocket sized one just in case of emergencies. (Do yourself a favor, skip the kitchen store for the microplance, and go to a hardware or woodworking store, like so many other things in my drawer.)

Beat egg whites to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. The whipped egg whites is the real trick. It makes it “thick” without being heavy or gummy. Don’t skip this.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill, serve, rinse and repeat–Christmas only comes once a year.

* If you can’t find pasteurized in-shell eggs, and you are making this for other people, consider pasteurizing them yourself:

Place eggs in cold water along with an accurate thermometer. Bring up to 140-150 degrees Fahrenheit and hold steady for 3-5 minutes. Don’t go over 150 F unless you’re looking to make chunky eggnog.

http://servingstewfordinner.blogspot.com/

Christina intends to cook dinner every Wednesday for a family of seven (the Stewart family…hence the name), and we hope she posts as often as she cooks.

Find a brick, wrap it in Al foil.

Buy a baby chicken–not an egg, but only a few weeks after that point. They are marketed as Cornish Hens, and usually frozen.

Unfreeze. Best done in a vessel of cold water in the fridge overnight. They are packaged quite nicely for this.

Heat your oven as hot as it will let you and place the now reflective brick inside. Put your cast iron pan in there too while you’re at it.

Slice up an onion and some super think bacon. Like a 1/4 inch thick, well at least that’s what I had. Set this aside and turn your attention to the poultry.

Butterfly the chicken by removing the back bone and sternum and flatten. If you dot know how to do this, I’m sure you can find something online. Cut holes in the back edge of the thigh skin to tuck the legs into. Tuck the wings under. The whole thing should look pretty much like roadkill now, except orderly roadkill :)

Render the fat from the bacon with your now hot pan. Remove bacon and any fat you deem excesive.

Add chicken to the pan over medium high heat with the skin side down. Place the brick on top. Add the onions around the chicken. Leave it there for 5-7 minutes.

Flip bird over, replace brick and slide into oven.

Cook for another 7-10 minutes. I removed the brick for the last few minutes.

Serve with the bacon and onions and some sort of side that doesn’t have such a high fat content, haha.

Make two and invite a friend over.

This intrigues me. Can someone make this who has an icecream maker and give me some to try? Thanks.

http://twitpic.com/exo4l

The picture pretty much speaks for itself. Do it.

Invented by and photographed by Brian Whalen and a friend.

Update- some clarifying remarks by the creator:

“The friend was Jason. It was quite fun to do, actually. We made the waffles and then used melted semi-sweet baking chocolate. And we didn’t just dip the waffles, we brushed them with the kitchen brush thingy so the coating wouldn’t be too thick. Then you stick that in the freezer so the chocolate hardens, and then put the layer of vanilla ice cream in the middle.”