I also browned the chicken longer than in the magazine recipe.  Perhaps this is due to variations in my stove, but it brings up one of the most fundamental bricks of cooking.  Whenever you’re cooking, you have to look, feel, smell, and most importantly pay attention in order to adjust cooking times or temps.  If that doesn’t sound fun to you, you better stick to the crock pot and order meal delivery service.  I’m not talking major adjustments, just little ones, like inching your heat up a bit, or deciding something is browning quicker than expected or more slowly.  And for heaven’s sake, if your going to cook meat, get a good, digital, instant read meat thermometer.  I truly don’t know how people function without them.

If you come across any other recipes using pine nuts outside of this one, salads, or pesto, send me a note.  I went a little crazy in the bulk section and may be working through $30 of pine nuts until Christmas ; ) If you’re purchasing fresh mozzarella for this recipe, it only takes about an ounce and a half for four servings.  Since it’s hard to purchase only an ounce and a half, hear are another few ideas to utilise your remaining cheese:  Caprese Salad Crostini, Roasted Chicken, Mozzarella, Tomato, Onion, and Pesto Panini, Mediterranean Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes, Kalamatas, Capers, and Fresh Mozzarella, or my favorite, eaten straight as a snack.

Dinnerandconversation.com Meal Delivery Service now has expanded facilities!  Weekly Menus will no longer be one option per day, but 4 options per week, available any day of the week.  Email orders to lane@dinnerandconversation.com

Aug 30 Menu

Tortilla Soup – Made from scratch broth based soup with shredded chicken, yummy vegetables, the perfect level of spice, and everyone’s favorite, freshly fried tortilla strips

Pulled Pork Sandwiches – Slow cooked pulled pork, piled onto bread and topped with thinly sliced red onions, L.E. and Quentin love this meal!

Lane’s Chicken Salad – no nuts and lots of hand shredded chicken with a touch of fresh herbs and a sprinkling of oregano, I’ve been told the flavor only improves in the fridge over a couple of days

Fish Tacos – Spicy Tilapia or shredded chicken for non-seafood eaters topped with a light and colorful vinaigrette coleslaw

Sides and Desserts available off meal delivery service menu.

Happy Eating!

Chicken Stuffed with Spinach, Fresh Mozzarella, and Pine Nuts

adapted from Cooking Light Sept 2010, serves 4

2 tbsp pine nuts

5 oz fresh baby spinach

2 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 and 1/2 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into a 1/4 inch dice

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

3/4 c. chicken broth

In a braising pan with a tight fitting lid, toast pine nuts in dry pan over medium high heat uncovered.  Shake every 20 seconds to rotate nuts, then remove to a bowl after about a minute and a half.  In same pan, gently cook spinach until it just begins to wilt, also uncovered.  Continuously rotate leaves with tongs, then remove to a strainer.  Use a paper towel to gently press spinach to strainer removing as much water as you can.  Add spinach to bowl with pine nuts.  Use a fork to combine with lemon juice, garlic, and mozzarella cubes.

Preheat oven to 350.  Rinse chicken, trim, and pat dry.  Starting from the top of the chicken breast at the thickest part, use a knife to slit lengthwise just as you would to butterfly the breast.  Make a pouch three quarters of the way through the breast.  Stuff each breast with a little of the spinach filling , then seal with wooden picks.  Season both sides of chicken with a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Wipe pan down with a paper towel and return it to medium high heat.  After 1 minute, add the olive oil, after 1 more minute, swirl oil to coat pan, then add chicken breasts.  Cook on first side for 5 minutes or until browned, then turn and repeat.  When nicely browned on both sides, add chicken broth to pan, cover and bake in oven for 15 minutes.

I think there are two keys in Thai food.  One, never read the list of ingredients.  Look at a finished dish and see if you like the presentation and aroma, or get a recommendation from a friend you trust.  Now clearly if you grew up in Southeast Asia, you may be comfortable with all of the ingredients central to Thai cooking, but if you grew up in the heart of the midwest, chances are you’ll need to broaden your horizons.  The second key to Thai food is to use real ingredients.  Minimize substitutions and seek out the ingredients you need.  The other day I was talking with some fellow food bloggers about how baking is still not intuitive to me.  Meaning, I can’t just whip together some dry ingredients with some wet and come up with a fabulous dessert without planning and prep work.  Thai food, along with all kinds of other food I’m sure, doesn’t use the traditional Italian or French cooking staple ingredients you’re used to, so minimize experimentation and seek out a great source for recipes and ingredients.

I love to shop for and use new ingredients.  Everything for this recipe can be found in Central Market in Dallas, but if that’s not an option seek out an Asian grocery in your locale.  Here’s an ingredient tour for this Pad Thai Recipe.

Starting in the front and working our way counter clockwise, the ginormous anemic carrot looking thing is a Daikon Radish.  Clearly, since barely any is gone you don’t need that much for the recipe.  I treated it like a carrot so I washed it and peeled it, then took to it with a microplane to grate about 2 teaspoons for my recipe.  It seems sort of like an onion, both in the way it grates, it’s high water content, and the fact that when eaten raw it is spicy, but becomes milder and sweeter with cooking.  Next is the palm sugar, which is super thick and sticky, kind of like the texture of a drier praline.  It is a sugar made from the sap of the coconut palm.  Normally I’m not big on anything coconut flavor and you couldn’t get me to touch a pina colada with a 10 foot pole, but like I said, Thai food is not the place for experimentation so I’m using what was recommended.  Palm sugar has a lower glycemic quality than regular sugar, hence, better for diabetics or pre-diabetics.  The next is tamarind concentrate.  Tamarinds pods are sometimes sold in the grocery store, I bought some once, but then threw them out as I had no idea what to do with them.  Central Market also sold a sticky black block of tamarind paste that looked like a block of homemade fruit rollup as well.  I took the easy route and went with the concentrate, which was paste mixed with water then strained.  This adds the sour component to your dish.  The flavor is also central to Pickapepper sauce from Jamaica.  And finally is the fish sauce – the salty component to the dish.  Something that comes from fermented fish, that has a very strong odor but is central to Southeast Asian cuisine.  It’s also said to contribute the umami element to dishes – *umami or savoriness – has been proposed to be added to the basic tastes of sweet, sour, bitter, and salty*.

If pad thai at home sounds like too much of an adventure to you, try it out at a restaurant!  The flavor is very unique and now something my family craves.  Be prepared to order a custom level of spiciness.  Thai chilies can be extremely hot!   But the dish can easily be prepared mildly.

Pad Thai Recipe – serves 6

adapted from thaicookingwithjam’s recipe

14 oz. dried rice noodles

10 oz. extra firm tofu

grapeseed oil

5 tbsp palm sugar

2 tbsp white sugar

2 and 1/2 tbsp tamarind concentrate

2 and 1/2 tbsp water

4 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts, rinsed and trimmed

2 shallots, minced

4 eggs

1 tsp diakon radish, grated

red pepper flakes

2 bunches chives, rinsed and chopped into 2 inch segments

1.5 c. bean sprouts, rinsed and drained

crushed roasted peanuts

In a 9 x 13 glass casserole, cover the dried rice noodles with water, then soak for one hour. Fill a small saucepan with about an inch and a half of grapeseed oil, then heat to 375 degrees.  Meanwhile, cube tofu into 1/2 inch dice, and dry with a paper towel.  Fry tofu in 375 degree oil in small batches, removing with a slotted spoon to a paper towel.  Repeat until all tofu is fried, then set aside to reserve.

In a medium sauce pan, combine palm sugar, white sugar, tamarind concentrate, water, and fish sauce.  Heat at medium heat on stove until bubbling, then stir to combine.  Remove from heat and reserve.  Split chicken breasts in half like just as if you were butterflying the breasts.  Then slice again into 1 inch strips.  Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.  Place wok on stove over medium high heat for 3-4 minutes, add 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil and continue to heat for 1 minute.  Swirl wok to coat sides.  Place chicken strips in wok in a single layer, stirring occasionally with tongs until gently browned on all sides.  Remove chicken to a plate to rest.  Add one more tablespoon of grapeseed oil and the shallots.  Stir with a wooden spatula, heating for 1 more minute.  Add eggs, and scramble in wok.  Add radish, reserved chicken, reserved tofu, and 1 tsp red pepper flakes to stir fry.  Use wooden spatula to turn occasionally and cook until tofu is warm.  Drain noodles and add to wok.  Continue to stir occasionally.  Noodles will soften, shrink a little and begin to warm in color.  Pour sauce over top, stir, then cook for 1 minute.  Add chives and beansprouts, cook an additional minute.  Plate and top Pad Thai with a small bit of the crushed roasted peanuts.

The children certainly had a fabulous time as did the adults.  I just love a family backyard party.  Part of my entry response to the contest was detailing how much I love home entertaining and preparing food for guests to enjoy and celebrate together.  I love watching children have a fantastic time, while the grownups get to imbibe an adult beverage and spend time mingling and simply enjoying the moment.

Menu

Appetizers

Crostini with Goat Cheese and ‘wichcraft Tomato Relish

Caprese Salad Crostini with Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

Frozen Green Grapes

Mains

Seared Pork Tenderloin with Lime-Cumin-Corriander Marindade

Citrus Marinated Grilled Chicken with Fresh Herb Sauce

Ripe Watermelon Balls

Strawberries and Raspberries with Fresh Mint Garnish

Sugar Snap Peas with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Sauce

Sliced and Seasoned Kirby Cucumbers

Spinach Salad with Strawberries, Goat Cheese, and Almond Slivers

Dessert

Chocolate Cake with Espresso Buttercream and Dark Chocolate Ganache

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

The items with links have already been featured on dinnerandconversation.com and helped make this party great.  Those with out, barring the raw foods, will be featured over the next week or so.  Part of home entertaining, especially in the summer in Texas, requires cold raw foods, so that’s part of why those were included.  The other reason is in my personal food philosophy.  Blessedly, I have children who will eat darn near anything.  I don’t prepare separate children’s meals, partly of course because we don’t have toddler food wars, so I wanted to include a variety of fruits that I thought even picky preschoolers could enjoy before indulging in a dessert sugar high.

All in all, I’d call it a grand success.  As I individually break down the recipes, I’ll give some tips on how I go about planning quantities and portion sizes for large gatherings.  Salud to the home party!

These delicious summery sandwiches were a perfect weeknight dinner.  With crops of tomatoes (not mine but other people’s) right around the corner, here’s a great way to highlight your seasonal produce.  I roasted a whole chicken to get my chicken breast meat, partially because I think it yields the best, most tender flavor, and partially because I was planning to make tortilla soup later this week.  My roasted chicken recipe can be found here.  If you don’t have the time or energy to roast a chicken, a grocery store rotisserie chicken would work fine, or you could coat skinless boneless breasts in olive oil and salt and pepper and just cook them up on your grill pan.  We’re a family who loves to dip, so I brought out one of our staples a Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette to be used as our dipping sauce.

I think due to the crusty nature of the bread used in a panini, you could easily make these in advance then pop them in the microwave for a quick cheese melting with great results.  I generally make mine with ciabatta bread, but I had pugliese on hand this round.  Pugliese is very similar to ciabatta, just a little rougher of a crust and a slightly different loaf shape, though I guess that could change based on who is shaping the loaf.  At the end of the day, either will work or some other crusty loaf of Italian bread.

Roasted Chicken, Tomato, Onion, Mozzarella Panini Sandwich Recipe makes 5 sandwiches

Breast Meat from a Roasted Chicken, skin removed and sliced into 1/2 inch slices

3 Roma Tomatoes, cored, then sliced very thin

1/2 a white onion, Sliced paper thin

Fresh Mozzarella, 10 slices 1/8th of an inch thick

10 slices pugliese (or ciabatta) 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick

olive oil

Coat one side of each slice of bread with olive oil.  Preheat a grill pan on medium heat.  Place one slice of bread oiled side down on grill pan.  Top with 3 roasted chicken slices, mozzarella, then tomatoes and onions, followed by another slice of bread oiled side up.  Grill on first side for about 5 minutes until you see cheese beginning to melt, then use a good pair of tongs to flip quickly.  Use a spatula to squish down and continue grilling on second side about 4-5 more minutes.  Be sure to watch grill temp and lower heat if necessary to ensure you’re not cooking any faster than this.  Serve with Garlic Balsamic Dipping Sauce.

Garlic Balsamic Dipping Sauce

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 c. olive oil

1/4 c. water

1.5 tbsp fresh garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Murray River salt

8 turns fresh ground pepper

For the vinaigrette, combine vinegar, oil, water, garlic, salt and pepper.  Whisk together then let rest for at least 30 minutes for the flavors to combine.  Whisk again before serving.  Keep remainder in fridge for up to two weeks.

The inspiration for this recipe came from my mamas group back in Austin.  I’d sent a request to the group looking for new ideas in the form of, “If you could order anything from any restaurant tonight, what would you pick?”  The answers were inspiring and unbelievably international.  Stuffed Fried Avocados were recommended by a couple friends, it seems they are the newest food fad in South Texas. They are found stuffed with a variety of fillings from shellfish to chicken to beef.  Mine are stuffed with a spiced chicken and Monterey Jack cheese.  The chicken is very easily spiced with a Cutters Cross Tex Mex Dry Rub Seasoning.  I received my first batch of these spices as a gift five years ago, and highly recommend you get a set of your own.  I was so pleased with the way this chicken turned out I sent a set to my sister, Amelia, because I just had to share.

If you’re feeling slightly less adventurous, but want to try out the flavor combo, try serving the chicken topping on a bed of avocado wedges.  A foodie friend Shizuoka Gourmet had posted an article on fried avocado back in January.  You could skip the relleno batter and just fry the straight avocado then serve the shredded chicken and cheese on top.

Chicken and Monterey Jack Stuffed Fried Avocados (serves 3)

3 ripe avocados – they work best if they are just slightly on the firm side – ripe but not squishy

flour for dusting

3/4 c. flour

2 egg yolks

3/4 c. beer

2 tbsp canola oil

1 and 1/2 tbsp kosher salt

2 egg whites

3 large chicken split breasts

2 tsp Cutters Cross Tex Mex Dry Rub

1 tsp kosher salt

Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

Two hours before you want to eat, halve the avocados and remove seeds.  Use a spoon to scoop out a little of the flesh making a larger hollow for stuffing.  Peel skin from outside, then dust in flour.  Wrap each half in Saran wrap and place in freezer.  In a large bowl, add flour followed by egg yolks, beer, canola oil, and salt.  Whisk together to combine.  Let batter rest for about an hour and a half.

In a large saucepan, cover chicken breasts with water and add 1 teaspoon kosher salt.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour and fifteen minutes.  Remove chicken from broth using tongs.  Remove skin and bones and discard.  Shred chicken using two forks into a clean bowl.  Return shredded chicken to broth and simmer another 30 minutes.  At this point, turn high heat on sauce pan containing frying oil.  After the 30 minutes has elapsed, strain chicken from broth, then season with Tex Mex Dry Rub and salt.  Set aside.

About 15 minutes before you want to eat, whisk egg whites to stiff peaks.  Delicately fold egg whites into batter.  Remove avocados from freezer, unwrap and use a slotted spoon to gently dip in batter then place in heated oil.  Fry until lightly browned, then stuff with spiced chicken and top with shredded Monterey Jack cheese.  Serve immediately.

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You know those one dish meals people are always talking about?  This was my attempt at one of those.  At the end of the day, I think I prefer this recipe strictly spinach,  keeping the meat on the side.  Preferably with beef.  Of course you know me, I’d eat beef every day of the week if I could.  I guess that’s the other thing I was going for with this, a last ditch effort to hide the chicken from myself so I wouldn’t know I was eating it.

So if you want to make it simply a spinach au gratin, leave out the chicken and double the spinach.  In that scenario, I’d omit the breadcrumbs as well.  You could also use the chicken but skip a few steps by using shredded chicken from a grocery store rotisserie chicken.

One really really awesome thing about making this, is that I got to use the new microplanes I got for Christmas.  If you haven’t broken down and purchased these yet,  Go ahead.  Do it.  It feels exactly like when you buy new socks after putting it off for way too long.  Only better.  I’ve been coveting these for ages, and I’m seriously impressed I was able to hold out until Christmas.  Just thing of all the grating 2010 has in store for you!

Chicken Spinach Au Gratin (serves 5)

3 chicken split breasts

4 tbsp butter

2 c. diced onions

4 tbsp flour

3 c. 2% milk

20 oz. frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and all water squeezed out

1/2 c. grated Parmesan Reggiano

3/4 c. shredded Gruyere

2 tsp kosher salt

8 turns fresh ground pepper

breadcrumbs

In a large pan, combine split breasts with 1 tsp of kosher salt and 12 turns of fresh ground pepper, cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then cook boil chicken for 35 minutes.  Turn off heat, and let chicken rest in water for 10 minutes.  Remove skin and bones and shred chicken using two forks.

Preheat oven to 350.  In a deep saute pan, melt butter on medium heat, add onions and saute 15 minutes, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to prevent browning.  Add flour and stir until paste-like and combined, then cook for 2 more minutes.  Add milk and stir to incorporate, raise heat to medium high and cook for 10 minutes to thicken.  Turn off heat.

Add spinach, shredded chicken, Parmesan, Gruyere, salt and pepper.  Stir until combined, then smooth surface with your spatula, and sprinkle just the surface with a teeny bit more Parmesan, Gruyere and breadcrumbs.  Bake in oven for 25 minutes – or until bubbly and just lightly browned.

I also had forgotten how much I love mashed potatoes.  I used to make them all the time, in many variations.  Back in my days of Sunday dinner, before we had children, my house was a revolving door with an open invitation to any and all friends for a Sunday meal.  Mashed potatoes were a habitual side dish at these events.  Garlic mashed potatoes, horseradish mashed potatoes, mashed with chives, etc., etc.  Long ago I abandoned white potatoes in  favor of sweet potatoes for optimal nutrition (lower glycemic index).  Well, I’ve decided I hate sweet potatoes.  I almost *never* want to cook them, so I’m welcoming back russets with enthusiasm.  It’s a problem considering we have a football national championship looming and sweet potatoes are one of my staple burnt orange foods.  Anyway, if you’re looking to lighten up these potatoes, you can totally use milk – even skim.  I just happen to have heavy cream on hand and let’s face it, if you can afford the calories, it is better this way, but it won’t ruin them to use milk.  I frequently make them that way when we don’t have cream.

Roasted Chicken Breasts with Orange Chili Sauce serves 3

3 chicken split breasts

olive oil

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 c. chicken broth

2/3 c. fresh squeezed clementine juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

3 tbsps butter

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian Parsley

Preheat oven to 425.  In a heavy bottomed skillet, drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast for approx an hour, until internal temperature reaches 165.

Remove chicken breasts to a cutting board to rest.  Spoon off as much fat as you can from skillet, leaving any remaining juices.  Saute garlic in juices over medium heat for about 1 minute, scraping up any brown bits.  Add chicken broth, and cook on medium high heat until reduced by 1/4 volume, about five minutes.  Add orange juice and crushed red pepper, cook another two minutes.  Stir in butter, then parsley.  Serve chicken over garlic mashed potatoes, then top with orange chili sauce.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes serves 4

2 large russet potatoes

1/4 c. heavy cream

3 tbsp butter

3 large cloves garlic

1 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Peel potatoes, then slice into 1 inch rounds then half each piece.  Place in a pan and fill with cold water, covering potatoes by an inch and a half.  Bring to a boil then continue to boil until potatoes begin to crumble.  Drain, then use a potato ricer to mash potatoes.

Add cream and butter to potatoes, but don’t stir yet.  In a small skillet, warm olive oil, then add garlic and saute on medium until fragrant and just beginning to brown.  Add garlic to potatoes, then stir to combine.  Add salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

This recipe is written as I made the soup, which is certainly a time intensive method – but there are several shortcuts you could employ.  If your freezer is home to one of my staple whole roasted chickens minus the breast meat which was eaten at an earlier date, skip the first paragraph and throw your freezer portion in the pan with 2 raw split breasts.  If your freezer is bare AND you’re short on time, use 3 raw split breasts and cook for at least an hour before adding your vegetables if you can – but even 30 minutes will get you started.  When you are lacking a whole or part of a roasted chicken your broth isn’t going to be as flavorful, and there will be more room in your pan.  So cover the split breasts, then when you add the veggies, add 4 cups of chicken stock.  If you have cooked white rice on hand, that would totally work as well, I just like this method since the rice absorbs some of your stock’s flavor without stealing all of the stock thus leaving you with a thick, dry soup.

Now get out there and make some for yourself, and a friend, or just throw it in your freezer in individual sizes to bring you through the winter!

Lemony Chicken with Rice Soup Recipe

1 whole chicken approx 5 lbs, rinsed giblets and neck removed

1/2 a lemon, cut into 4 pieces

4 large cloves garlic

1 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

olive oil

5 stalks celery, sliced

4 carrots, peeled, then sliced lengthwise, then again, then chopped into 1 inch slivers on an angle

1 yellow onion, peeled, sliced, then rounds sliced into quarters

2 bay leaves

2 c.  long grain white rice

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 425.  In a roasting pan fitted with a rack, stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon pieces, garlic, salt and pepper.  Drizzle skin very lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast chicken in oven for just over an hour – if you’re going to eat the breast meat at this point, you’ll need to keep cooking it to a safe internal temp of 165.

Since I’m going to continue boiling mine, I took it to 145, then put it in the stock pot and covered with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, for 2 hours.  Add celery, carrots, onion, and bay leaves, simmer another hour.  Carefully remove the chicken with turkey forks or a fish spatula, being sure to remove all bone pieces from stock.  Shred chicken meat with two forks, then return to broth.  Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 15 turns fresh ground pepper.

Cook rice in  four cups of boiling water.  Reduce heat to a simmer, cook covered about 15 minutes – until mostly cooked, then remove with a slotted spoon, drain, then add al dente rice to soup.  Cook 10 more minutes in covered soup pan.  Add lemon juice and crushed red pepper.  Simmer another 5 minutes, then adjust seasonings to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

There were marinated artichokes, too.  I left those out of the title.  This recipe packs so much flavor between the sundried tomatoes, the kalamatas, the capers, and the aforementioned marinated artichokes, it doesn’t even require spices.  They’re already in the additions.  My husband would have chosen grated Parmesan Reggiano over the fresh Mozzarella, but I have a true and steady love for mozzarella, and often think of Parmesan as the bossy kid from fifth grade who’s always trying to steal the scene.  It has it’s place, but doesn’t always play well with others.  Also, we have the Dallas Mozzarella Company here and it’s simply in my blood to support the local purveyors.  Should you run across a local Parmesan manufacturer, please send me an email or post a comment!

Mediterranean Penne with Sundried Tomatoes, Kalamatas, Capers and Fresh Mozzarella

(feeds 4 with leftovers, who am I kidding at least 6!)

3 c. dried Penne pasta

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

8 sundried tomatoes in oil, drained then chopped

shredded chicken from two split breasts, about 4 c. shredded chicken

1/2 c. sliced, pitted kalamata olives

3-4 tablespoons capers

3 oz. marinated artichoke hearts (half of the small jar)

1 c. diced fresh mozzarella

kosher salt

fresh ground pepper

Preheat the oven to 425.  Very lightly drizzle split breasts with olive oil, then sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper.  Roast in oven about 50 minutes or until internal temp reaches 165.  Let rest to the side five minutes, then remove skin and bones and shred meat using two forks.  Reserve.

Meanwhile in a large saucepan, bring  water to a boil.  Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and penne.  Follow package instructions, to cook until al dente.  Drain, and reserve pasta.

In the same saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium heat.  Add garlic and tomatoes, saute for 4 minutes.  Add pasta, chicken, olives, capers, and artichoke hearts.  Stir to combine and let continue cooking for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, add mozzarella and continue stirring until mozzarella until it just melts.  Let your family/friends use finely ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, the flavors should already be leaping out of the bowl!

I originally served this tossed with gemelli pasta and shredded chicken.  To be honest, I’m not really a huge pasta fan.  Or rice.  Or other side grains.  I started wondering halfway through my meal why in the heck I had served it this way.  Because I really would have rather had this pesto lovingly served on the side of beautiful roast bone in chicken breasts, with a vegetable for a side, that could share the dipping glory with the bites of chicken breast.  Then I remembered.  I am very used to preparing straight to the table meals, cooked to order so to speak.  But every so often the occasion arises where I need to prepare a dish well in advance.  Pasta dishes are good for this sort of thing.  You could totally serve this cold.  Or warm it just before serving, and it would still be good – in fact probably better if the pasta had time to rest in the pesto and let the flavors lovingly meld together.  So if it’s your turn to host your book club, make this the day before and pull it out right before the guests arrive.  Or if your friend has a baby, and it’s your night to bring dinner – try this out, because it’s wildly difficult to make and deliver fresh roasted chicken breasts, I know, I’ve tried it.  Or any other occasion falling into that Make and Store Category that remains so empty on my side bar.

But the way I advise eating it – to really get the flavor kick – is the way pictured in the top photo.  I made the crostini from half a loaf of leftover baguette, which I revived with a bit of water in a paper bag in the microwave for 20 seconds.  Unless you’ve recently broken it off with your vampire love interest and you’re trying every angle to keep him away, don’t rub the bread with garlic the way I usually do, just generously lather it with olive oil.  The garlic really has a way of becoming more pronounced when the pesto comes out of the fridge on the second day.  This would also be delicious on cucumber slices or veggie sticks.

1 can artichoke hearts in water, rinsed and drained

3 tbsp chopped Italian parsley

4 large cloves garlic

1 c. grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

4 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 c. slivered blanched almonds

1 tsp kosher salt

8 turns fresh ground pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.  Pulse to chop, then turn food processor to on/medium, then slowly drizzle in olive oil from top to emulsify.  Continue to run food processor until you like the texture.