Wednesday Recipes

Here are today's six Wednesday recipes. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE WHITE CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

This yummy recipe comes from Ina Garten, star of The Food Network's hit show, Barefoot Contessa. Total Time: 35 min; Prep: 20 min; Cook: 15 min; Yield: 40 to 48 cookies; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chocolate-white-chocolate-chunk-cookies-recipe3.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 extra-large eggs at room temperature

2/3 cup good unsweetened cocoa

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 pounds good white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt and add to the chocolate with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chopped white chocolate.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, using a 1 3/4-inch ice cream scoop or a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

KATHARINE HEPBURN'S BROWNIES

This came in a recent New York Times Cooking e-newsletter. It begins, “Much like its author, this recipe is a no-fuss classic. It calls for just 1/4 cup of flour, which yields an incredibly rich and gooey brownie, and it's super easy to make. So easy, in fact, that baking a batch of these might just become part of your weekend routine.” Time: about 45 minutes; makes 12 brownies

To view this recipe online, click here.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 cup chopped or broken-up walnuts or pecans

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of salt

Preparation

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in saucepan with cocoa and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, one at a time. Stir in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine sugar, flour, nuts and salt. Add to the cocoa-butter mixture. Stir until just combined.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8-inch-square pan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Do not overbake; the brownies should be gooey. Let cool, then cut into bars.

LAZY CHICKEN

This recipe from Tablespoon.com's e-newsletter, begins, “A healthy one pot dish with summer vegetables and chicken. Serve this right from the pan...it's lazy chicken after all.” Prep Time: 10 min; Total Time: 30 min; Makes 4 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken breasts, cut into one-inch cubes

2 red potatoes, sliced thinly

1 small white onion, thinly sliced

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced into disks

1 -2 teaspoons steak seasoning

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 (14.5 ounce) can Muir Glen™ organic fire roasted crushed or diced tomatoes

10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Salt and pepper

Directions

In an oven safe skillet, sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and brown on medium high heat for a couple of minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

Add olive oil to the pan. Layer the sliced potatoes and onions in the pan and sprinkle with half of the steak seasoning. Cook potatoes and onions in a thin layer until brown, turning as little as possible to get a nice sear.

Add chicken broth to the pan. Spread zucchini in a thin layer on top of the potatoes and onion. Sprinkle zucchini with the remaining steak seasoning.

Place chicken in an even layer over the zucchini. Pour tomatoes evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle tomatoes with the oregano and basil. Cover and cook until the veggies and chicken are completely done.

Sprinkle with cheese and place under the broiler until cheese melts or starts to brown. You could also just cover the pan with a lid on the stove to melt the cheese.

Serve right away.

BUTTERMILK ROAST CHICKEN

This came from Nigella Lawson in a recent New York Times Cooking e-newsletter. It begins, “Roast a chicken and you know you have a comfortable meal. Alter that a little by butterflying the chicken, a surprisingly simple task that can be carried out with a pair of kitchen scissors, and you have a quick dinner that carries with it the casual air of barbecue, without the bother. Here, buttermilk, which is usually associated with fried chicken, helps to tenderize the chicken and conveys the aromatics: you really get the full value of the rosemary, pepper and garlic. If you want to substitute maple syrup for the honey, you can. Best of all, you can leave the marinating bird in the fridge for up to two days; thus, it gets more tender and you know you have a dinner that needs no more than to be popped into the oven.” Makes 4 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 4-pound chicken

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns

1 tablespoon Maldon or other sea salt

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon honey

Preparation

Butterfly chicken by placing breast side down and using heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut along both sides of backbone. Discard backbone, turn chicken over and open it like a book. Press gently to flatten it.

Place chicken in a large freezer bag. Add buttermilk, 1/4 cup oil, garlic, peppercorns, salt, rosemary and honey. Seal bag securely and refrigerate overnight or up to two days.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.Remove chicken from marinade and place on a rack so excess can drip off. Line a roasting pan with foil and place chicken in pan. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Roast for 45 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 degrees. Continue roasting until well browned and until juices run clear when chicken is pierced where leg joins thigh,about another 20 minutes.

Place chicken on a carving board and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into serving pieces. Place a portion on each of four plates, and drizzle each serving with pan juices.

MEZZI RIGATONI WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SPICY SAUSAGEbr />
This wonderful recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis, star of The Food Network's Giada At Home, and posted on The Today Show's cooking e-newsletter. The recipe begins, “Need to put dinner on the table but the fridge and pantry are looking scarce? You're in luck because Giada De Laurentiis has two delicious meals that only use five simple ingredients. Here, the celebrity chef is sharing two great five-ingredient recipes: mezzi rigatoni with butternut squash and spicy sausage, plus flat iron steak with piquillo pepper pesto.”

To view this online, go to http://www.today.com/recipes/mezzi-rigatoni-butternut-squash-spicy-sausage-t64641

Ingredients

1 pound mezzi rigatoni pasta

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons for finishing

1 pound spicy Italian sausage, casing removed

1 pound butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/3 inch pieces

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

2 cups roughly chopped baby arugula

Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until just al dente. Drain well reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon into bite sized pieces, until the sausage is cooked though. Add the diced squash to the pan and stir to combine. Add the water and season with the salt. Using the wooden spoon, make sure all of the squash is submerged. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the squash is tender and the liquid has reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked pasta and 3/4 cup parmesan. Stir vigorously to combine, breaking up the squash slightly as you go and thinning with pasta water as needed until the pasta is coated in a light and creamy sauce. Stir in the arugula and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook just until the arugula is wilted. Serve topped with the remaining Parmesan.

PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE MUG CAKES

This comes from the Tablespoon e-newsletter, and starts off, “Mmmm, pumpkin! Transform this fall coffee-house favorite into a cake that can be baked in your microwave in just two minutes.” Prep Time: 4 min; Total Time: 7 min; Servings: 2

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

1 egg

3 tablespoons brewed espresso coffee or very strong coffee, room temperature

1 tablespoon canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup Original Bisquick™ mix

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Pinch of salt

Whipped cream, for serving

Ground cinnamon, for serving

Directions

In small bowl, beat melted butter, egg, espresso and pumpkin with whisk. Add the sugar, Bisquick mix, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix until incorporated; batter may be lumpy.

Divide batter between 2 microwavable mugs. Microwave uncovered on High 2 minutes. Cool a few minutes before serving.

Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.