Friday Recipes

Finally, Friday! Here are six recipes stop help you through the weekend. Enjoy!

GRILLED ROAST CHICKEN WITH SPINACH-RICOTTA CROSTINI

This comes from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This whole chicken cooked on the grill is truly a best-of-both-worlds recipe: You get the incredibly succulent meat and brittle-crisp, burnished skin of a roast chicken, combined with the deep smoky flavor of the grill. To make it, you essentially use your grill like an outdoor oven, cooking a whole splayed chicken in a skillet instead of directly on the grill grate. Splaying the bird first — that is, flattening the legs so they lay flat in the skillet — helps the dark meat cook quickly and evenly. The skillet helps to distribute the heat and captures the juices, which would otherwise incinerate in the fire. Those juices are then put to good use as a cooking medium for dill-flecked, garlicky spinach. The greens absorb all of the chicken drippings before being heaped upon ricotta-smeared crostini. Added bonus: You don’t have to worry about setting off your smoke detector. Here, the smoke stays in the grill with the bird, which is exactly where you want it.” Yield: 4 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons kosher salt, more as needed

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon high-quality chile powder (ancho or New Mexican are nice)

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (save the zested lemon to juice over the crostini)

1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), patted dry

Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 anchovies (optional)

Pinch red pepper flakes

1 pound mature spinach leaves, cleaned (12 cups)

1 cup chopped dill

4 slices crusty country-style bread, 1/2-inch thick

Fresh ricotta, for serving

Preparation

In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, chile powder and lemon zest. Rub the chicken inside and out with salt mixture. Place chicken on a rack set over a baking pan to catch any drips, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Heat a gas grill, or light a charcoal grill for indirect heat (meaning pile the coals on one side of the gill, leaving the other side empty).

Place a cast-iron skillet on the grate directly over the coals. Cover the grill, and let the pan heat up for 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from the refrigerator. Use a sharp knife to cut the skin connecting the legs to the rest of the body. Use your hands to splay the thighs open until you feel the joint pop.

Rub chicken with oil and place it breast side down in the hot skillet. Cover grill and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the breast is seared and golden and easily releases from the pan.

Using tongs and a spatula for balance, carefully flip chicken and cover the grill again. Continue cooking until the underside of the chicken is starting to brown, 10 to 20 minutes. Make sure the skin doesn’t get too dark; it will continue to brown even as it cooks over indirect heat. You’re looking for a medium golden color here, a shade or two lighter than what you ultimately want it to look like.

Move the skillet over to the unlit side of the charcoal grill, or turn off the burners on your gas grill that are underneath the pan. Cover grill and continue to cook until the bird is cooked through, 10 to 25 minutes longer. An instant-read thermometer should register 155 degrees in the breast. You’ll need to keep your eye on the grill heat as you cook. If you’ve got a thermometer on your grill cover, you’re looking for it to be at about 450 degrees. If it falls below 400 degrees or seems as if it’s not hot enough (i.e., your chicken is cooking too slowly), add more coals or turn up your burners. Use your intuition here.

Transfer chicken from the skillet to a cutting board, and tent with foil to rest.

Throw garlic, anchovies (if desired) and red pepper flakes into the skillet and cook, uncovered, until the garlic starts to sizzle and turn golden, about 20 seconds. Toss in spinach and dill and cook, stirring with your tongs, until just wilted, 2 minutes longer. If the spinach isn't wilting quickly, push the pan back over the flame to direct heat. Season with salt.

Place bread slices on grill and cook until lightly charred, about 1 minute per side.

To serve, drizzle toasts with oil and slather with ricotta. Top with spinach mix and a little lemon juice. Serve alongside sliced chicken.

GRILLED CORN WITH CHILE BUTTER

This comes from Julia Moskin in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Julia wrote, “In South Africa, charred ears of corn (called braai mielies) are year-round, smoky-sweet roadside snacks. This version is a side dish for the American summer, when corn and grilling are both in season. The cobs are slicked with butter and sparked with chile heat; in South Africa, they would be served alongside a pile of charcoal-grilled lamb chops or steak or giant prawns, or all of the above. For a more rustic effect (and more effort), use the corn husks as a wrapper instead of aluminum foil. Soak the unshucked cobs in cold water for at least 15 minutes. Peel back the husks but do not detach them from the cobs; remove all the cornsilk. After rubbing on the butter, rearrange the husks around each cob and tie in place with twine.” Yield: 4 to 8 servings; Time: About 45 minutes.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 stick butter, softened

1 fresh hot red chile, such as Fresno, Holland or cherry, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Hot sauce to taste

8 to 12 cobs of corn

Lime wedges for serving (optional)

Preparation

Prepare a grill for high-heat cooking. For each corn cob, tear a piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap it completely.

In a bowl, combine the butter, chile, garlic (if using), salt and pepper. Mix well and taste. Adjust the seasonings; add drops of hot sauce if the butter is not spicy enough. Set aside.

Shuck the corn. Use your hands to rub butter mixture thoroughly onto each cob, reserving about 1/4 of the mixture for basting. Wrap each buttered cob in aluminum foil.

When ready to cook, place cobs on the grill (or, if the fire is low, in the coals) and cook 12 to 15 minutes, turning occasionally, until steamed and cooked through.

Unwrap and place on the grill. Use remaining butter to baste the corn as it grills, turning it until lightly charred and cooked through. Serve immediately with lime wedges, if using.

EASY 5-INGREDIENT BLUEBERRY CRISP

This comes from Grace Parisi in The Today Show’s cooking e-newsletter. (According to the site, “Grace Parisi is a New York City-based food writer, cookbook author and food stylist. Her book, Get Saucy, was nominated for a James Beard award. Her latest book, Quick Pickles comes out in Fall 2016. Follow her on Instagram and Twitter.”)

This recipe begins, “The key to a super successful 5-ingredient recipe is to choose ingredients that do double or triple duty. In addition to toasty oats, the granola adds sweet spices and nuts. Also, the self-rising flour contains leavening and salt, which makes the crumble especially light and crisp. If your granola has dried fruit, pick them out—they may get too hard in the oven. Serve piping hot with vanilla ice cream.” Prep Time: 40 minutes; makes 6 servings.

To view online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup self-rising flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 pints blueberries

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup nutty cinnamon granola

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar. Transfer 3 tablespoons of the mixture to an 8-inch by 11-inch baking dish along with the blueberries and 2 tablespoons water; toss to combine.

Add the butter to the remaining flour-and-sugar mixture and using your fingers, rub together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the granola and pinch into clumps. Scatter the crumbs over the berries and bake for 30 minutes, until bubbling and golden. Cover loosely with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. Serve piping hot with vanilla ice cream.

PEANUT BUTTER BANANA CREAM PIE

This comes from The Baker Chick. I love the food that comes out in her e-newsletters. If you haven't checked out (and signed up for) her newsletters, I recommend doing so. This makes 1 9-inch pie.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the Crust:

20-25 Oreo Cookies

3 tablespoons of butter

pinch of salt

3 ripe bananas

For the Pudding:

2 1/4 cups whole milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon butter

Peanut Butter Mousse

3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)

2/3 cup chilled heavy whipping cream

For Peanut Butter Sauce: (optional)

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1-2 teaspoons of milk

Instructions

For the Crust:

Place the Oreos in a large ziplock bag and crush them into fine crumbs with a rolling pin. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are moistened- stir in the salt.

Press the crumbs into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie dish. Bake at 350F for about 10 minutes or until set.

For the pudding:

Combine 2 cups of milk and the sugar in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir together and heat until simmering.

Whisk egg yolks together and slowly pour about half of the milk mixture into it with one hand while whisking with the other until combined. Pour the egg mixture back into the pot with the rest of milk.

In a small bowl combine the remaining 1/4 cup of milk with the cornstarch until thick and combined. Pour it into the milk mixture and turn the heat back up to medium. Whisk constantly until very thick and bubbling like lava.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and butter.

Allow the pudding to cool a bit as you prep the mousse.

For the Peanut Butter Mousse:

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in medium bowl until smooth. Beat in vanilla, then peanut butter.

Whip cream in another medium bowl until firm peaks form. Fold large spoonful of whipped cream into peanut mixture to loosen, then fold in remaining whipped cream in 2 additions.

To assemble:

Layer the pie in the prepared crust as follows: Sliced banana, pudding, bananas and mousse. Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

For peanut butter sauce:

Melt peanut butter in the microwave until thinned. Whisk in powdered sugar and enough milk to thin it for drizzling. Drizzle the sauce over the pie before serving.

ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

From the Food Network. To view this online, click here. Total Time: 1 hr 30 min., prep: 35 min; cook: 55 min; yields 6 sandwiches

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 (1-pint) containers ice cream (any flavor)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the butter, shortening, and sugar together with an electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla, beating until smooth. With a spoon, stir in the flour mixture, stirring just until you have a smooth dough.

Using a 2 tablespoon cookie dough scoop, drop 6 mounds of dough on each baking sheet, leaving a couple inches between each cookie. Bake until the cookies are firm around the edges and soft in the middle, about 15 minutes. (For even baking, rotate the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.) Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, turn the ice cream pints on their sides and use a serrated knife to slice through the containers, cutting each into 3 even rounds. Place the ice cream disks on a baking sheet and freeze until ready to assemble the sandwiches.

To assemble, peel the cardboard from the ice cream disks and sandwich each disk between 2 cookies. Serve the sandwiches immediately, or wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze up to 1 week.

ACADIAN RIGATONI

This is from FamilyTime.com. The recipe starts out, “Three ingredients form the foundation of this Acadian dish - onion, celery, and green bell pepper. It's delectable!” Prep. time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 28 minutes,
Serves: 4. To view this online, click here..

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1 pound hot Italian sausage, or andouille, casings removed, sausage cut into 1-inch pieces

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 large green bell pepper, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree, one 16 ounce can

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3/4 pound rigatoni

Directions

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderate heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, and garlic. Cover the pan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt, and black pepper. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes longer.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the rigatoni until just done, about 14 minutes. Drain and toss the pasta with the sauce.