Panfried Truffle-stuffed Chicken Breasts with Pickled Roasted Beets

Most of us don't have the money to drop at least a hundred bucks on a truffle (who would think that the fruiting body of an underground mushroom would be so expensive?), but have no fear! You too can taste this highly prized and delectable treat, because you can buy a jar of truffle butter, which is basically butter with bits of truffle mixed into it. A worthwhile purchase, if you ask me because truffles have a very distinctive, strong, earthy flavor and a little of that stuff goes a long way - and man oh man is it delicious. Here I've breaded chicken breasts with oatmeal, then stuffed them with black truffle butter and paired them with pickled red and golden beets and fresh spinach (or try watercress, if you can find it). This is one of my favorite ways to use truffle butter, for sure, although I also like to use truffle butter to top baked potatoes or yams with or spread on bread or fry eggs in. This recipe wasn't very work intensive either, so it could make for a wonderful weeknight meal. Yum!

Pan-fried Truffle-stuffed Chicken Breasts with Pickled Roasted Beets Adapted from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Ingredients: Panfried Truffle-stuffed Chicken Breasts • 5 tablespoons of truffle butter, softened • Salt and pepper • 6 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves • ½ cup flour • 2 eggs, beaten • 3 cups oats (I used thick rolled oats) or brown rice cereal • Olive oil (for frying) Pickled Roasted Beets • 12 small beets, Chioagga, red or golden • ¼ cup red wine vinegar or Champagne vinegar • Salt and pepper • Extra-virgin olive oil Directions: 1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Trim the tops and the ends of the beets, then wash them. Roast them with a splash of water in a tightly covered baking pan for 45 minutes to an hour until they can be easily pierced with a knife. Allow the beets to cool slightly, then peel and cut them into quarters or round. Gently toss the beets with the vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Allow the beets to marinate in the vinegar, then dress them with olive oil. 2. Lay the chicken breasts flat on a clean work surface. With a sharp paring knife, cut a pocket about ½ inch wide and 2 inches deep in the thicker end of each breast. Divide the truffle butter into 6 equal pieces and insert each piece into the pocket of each breast. Season both sides of each breast with salt and pepper. 3. Dredge each breast into the flour, shaking off any excess, then dip them into the beaten eggs, and roll them in oats. Put the breasts on a baking sheet in one layer, and sprinkle both sides of the breasts with more oats and make sure they're evenly coated. Refrigerate, uncovered, for up to 4 hours before frying. 4. Heat olive oil in a cast-iron skillet (although I used a non stick fry pan) over medium heat. Fry the chicken breasts in the olive oil for 3-5 minutes or until nicely browned. Flip them over and cook for another 3-5 minutes. The internal temperature should read 165°F. Serve immediately.

Wild Mahi Mahi with Artichoke Mashed Potatoes

Wild Mahi Mahi with Artichoke Mashed Potatoes Adapted from Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Ingredients: • 4 6-8 ounce wild mahi-mahi fillets, preferably premium center-cut • 3 large artichokes • Juice of ½ lemon • 3 garlic cloves • Thyme sprigs • Extra-virgin olive oil • Salt • 2½ pounds Russet potatoes • 2 tablespoons (¼ stick) butter or duck fat (you can substitute extra-virgin olive oil if you're trying to be healthy) • ¼ cup half-and-half (optional; or you can substitute nut milk or other non-dairy milk if you're lactose intolerant) • White wine vinegar • Freshly ground black pepper Directions: 1. Pull off the outer leaves of the artichokes until you reach the tender yellow central leaves. Cut crosswise through the leaves about 1½ inches above the base, and cut off all but an inch of each stem. With a paring knife, cut away all the deep green, down to the heart. Scoop out the chokes with a teaspoon. Drop the trimmed artichokes into water acidulated with lemon juice as you work. If you're still confused about how to prepare artichokes, Here is an extremely helpful step-by-step guide to how to prepare them, including photos for each step. 2. Cut the artichokes lengthwise into slices about ½ inch thick. Peel and smash the garlic. Put the artichokes, garlic, and a few thyme sprigs in a sauté pan with a generous amount of olive oil and season with salt. Stew over medium heat until quite tender; the artichokes should brown slightly. Drain and save the oil. Remove the thyme sprigs. Roughly chop the artichokes and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 3. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Boil in generously salted water until soft. Put the potatoes through a ricer or food mill with the butter or duck fat, reserving the cooking water if you like. While the potatoes are boiling, bake the mahi mahi fillets for 20 minutes or until flaky. 4. Stir in the artichokes, the reserved oil, the half-and-half, and a splash of vinegar. Taste for seasoning and correct with salt and freshly milled black pepper. To adjust the consistency, add more half-and-half or a little of the potato cooking water.

Roasted Lemon-Garlic-Rosemary Chicken with String Beans, Caramelized Onions, and Garlic-Rosemary Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat

Roasting a whole chicken has got to be one of the best ways to cook it, producing tender, juicy, and flavorful meat. It's really the ultimate comfort food! There are countless variations of roasted chicken, but this time, I decided to stick to the tried-and-true classic flavorings of extra-virgin olive oil, rosemary, lemon, and garlic because it brings back fond memories of the lemon-garlic-rosemary rotisserie chicken that my mom used to buy for dinner. I paired it with two equally mouthwatering sides, which worked incredibly well with the chicken: sautéed string beans with caramelized onions (recipe too simple and intuitive to include), and garlic-rosemary potatoes roasted in duck fat. Yum... duck fat. In the culinary world, it's seen as liquid gold - it makes the outside of the potatoes crispy and imparts a rich, savory, out-of-this-world flavor to them that is even better than butter. It's how French fries are traditionally made! Hey, did you know that duck fat is actually lower in saturated fat and higher in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (ie. the good fats) than butter? Although I only mentioned that so I could feel less guilty about eating duck fat... *hangs head*.

A few tips to remember when roasting a chicken:
1. Pick a free-range, organic chicken. It will make a significant difference. Watch 'Food, Inc.' (a documentary about how our food is now being produced), if you haven't already, and you'll be enlightened about the unhealthy conditions that regular mass-produced chickens are raised under! Most of the chickens we consume have been caged inside tiny, overcrowded coops filled with their own feces, fed hormones, antibiotics, and animal by-products (instead of grains, their natural food), and frequently become sick (is it any wonder why that happens?). And horror of horrors, even the sick birds get sent to the factory to be processed - disgusting! These conditions produce chickens that are less moist, less flavorful, and less healthy.
2. Season it ahead of time. If you neglected to buy a free-range/kosher/organic bird, make sure to brine the bird so the meat will remain juicy as it cooks. Otherwise, brining is probably an unnecessary step so just season it and refrigerate for at least an hour. Brining is basically soaking the chicken for several hours or overnight in enough salted water to cover the entire bird and whatever other herbs you decide to toss in for extra flavor. If you care to know how the scientific process of brining works, it basically forces water into the muscle tissues, and when that water flows out, salt flows in and begins to break down some of the proteins in the cells, which in turn creates more room for more water to flow in.
3. Take the chicken out of the refrigerator at least an hour before cooking. A cold bird straight from the fridge won't roast evenly; the outside will cook but the interior will be underdone.
4. Choose the right pan for the job. Roast the chicken in an ovenproof dish or pan that's about the same size as the chicken. If you use a pan that's too large, the juices that accumulate while the chicken is roasting will start to burn and smoke.. unless of course, you're roasting potatoes or other vegetables alongside the chicken in the same pan (I used a separate pan to roast my potatoes).

Roasted Lemon-Garlic-Rosemary Chicken with String Beans, Caramelized Onions, and Roasted Potatoes Roasted Chicken Ingredients: • 1 whole 3-3½ pound baby chicken • 1 tablespoon sea salt • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper • a few sprigs rosemary, minced • 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled • 1 lemon For brine: • ¼ cup sea salt • a few sprigs rosemary • 3 garlic cloves, peeled Directions: 1. Remove any organs from the cavity and reserve for another use. Cut off the wishbone and trim the fat around the edges. If you are brining the bird, skip to step 1a. If not: Rinse the bird with cold water and pat dry. Liberally salt and pepper the entire bird, both inside the cavity and all over the outside surface, including the back, wings, and inner and outer thighs. Carefully loosen the skin from the breast meat, using kitchen scissors if necessary, but take care not to cut through the skin. Pull the leaves from the rosemary sprigs and mince them. Combine the minced garlic, minced rosemary, and salt to form a paste. Spread about 1½ teaspoons of paste in cavity of chicken. Slip half of remaining paste under skin on each side of breast, then, using fingers, distribute paste over breast and thigh by rubbing surface of skin. Cut 1 of the lemons lengthwise into quarters. Place the lemon quarters in the cavity of the chicken. Tie ends of drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 1a. Combine salt, crushed garlic cloves, and rosemary sprigs in 2 cups hot tap water, and let stand 10 minutes to release flavors. Add 1½ quarts cold water and stir until salt is dissolved. Submerge chicken in brine and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Remove chicken from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Cut 1 of the lemons lengthwise into quarters. Place the lemon quarters in the cavity of the chicken. Tie ends of drumsticks together with kitchen twine and tuck wings behind back. NOTE: Keep in mind that the longer you soak the bird in the brine, the saltier the surface will be when you roast it. I soaked it overnight once, and it was way too salty for my taste! 2. Remove the chicken from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the chicken, breast up, in a roasting pan or earthenware baking dish, and roast for 10 minutes. Brush the outside of the bird with olive oil and freshly ground pepper. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and cook for another 45 minutes, using tongs to turn the bird twice during the cooking. This will circulate the juices and fat and keep the meat moist. The chicken is done roasting when it has turned a medium golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast and thigh registers about 165 - 175 degrees, respectively. NOTE: You can prepare the vegetables while the chicken is roasting. 3. Transfer chicken to carving board and let rest, uncovered, at least 15 minutes. The juices will settle, the internal temperature will stabilize, and the chicken will be much more succulent than if you carve it immediately. Remove the strings tying the drumsticks together and discard the lemons inside. NOTE: The fat from the juices left in the pan can be converted into a sauce or a gravy. 4. To carve the roasted chicken, slice through the skin between the thigh and breast. Place the bird back in the roasting pan to do this because this will release a lot of juices. Tip the bird forward to drain the juices and then remove it from the pan. Bend or pull the leg out from the body and locate the hip joint with your knife, slicing down firmly through the joint to remove the leg. To remove the drumstick, hold the knob of the drumstick and cut through the joint from the inside. To carve the breast, start at the wishbone at the top of the breast. Slide the point of your knife down each side of the breastbone. Then cut down along the wishbone towards the wings. Slide your knife under the meat, lifting it off the rib cage. Last, holding the meat away from the bird cut down through the wing joint, removing the breast and wing in one piece. Either carve the breast into slices or cut it in half diagonally, making the half with the wing attached slightly smaller. The carcass can be reserved to make chicken stock. Garlic-rosemary Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat Ingredients: • 2 pounds potatoes, quartered (I like Yukon Gold, but any waxy variety will do; Russet potatoes or other baking potatoes usually fall apart when cooked in duck fat, so they should probably be avoided in this recipe) • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced • 1-2 sprigs rosemary, minced • sea salt, to taste • freshly ground black pepper, to taste • 2-3 tablespoons duck fat Directions: 1. Wash and chunk potatoes. While they're draining in a colander, generously salt the potatoes and shake the colander to evenly distribute the salt. Place the potato chunks into an oven-safe pan and pour the duck fat on top of the potatoes, mixing the potatoes by hand to evenly cover the potatoes. Add the pepper and minced rosemary. 2. Roast them in the oven at 350°F for about 45 minutes, stirring the potatoes every 15 minutes so that the potatoes are evenly browned and the duck fat coats all the potatoes.

Garlicky Kale

Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around although it has largely been overshadowed by broccoli and spinach in modern times. It is rich with essential nutrients such as calcium, lutein, iron, and Vitamins A, C, and K, as well as chlorophyll and fiber. In fact, kale has seven times the beta-carotene of broccoli and ten times more lutein! Researchers have also discovered that sulforaphane, a naturally occurring photochemical formed when kale is chopped or chewed, helps boost the body's detoxification enzymes, which help clear carcinogenic substances. In addition, it helps restore alkalinity in the typical American diet that is all too often overly acidic (too much sugar, too much red meat and not enough vegetables, etc).

Asides from its many health benefits, it also makes for a delicious side dish, particularly with other strong-flavored dishes, like garlic-thyme pollo al mattone (chicken cooked under a brick); in this version, the strong, slightly bitter flavor of kale pairs well with the garlic. There are many different varieties of kale, but this time, I used lacinato (or dinosaur) kale - a wonderful deep-green variety that I love.

Garlicky Kale From Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Café Cookbook Ingredients: • 2 pounds lacinato kale (also known as dinosaur kale or cavolo nero) • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil • salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (kale already contains sodium so you won't need that much salt) • 4 or 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped • a pinch of red pepper flakes • a splash of red wine vinegar Directions: 1. Remove the stems from the kale. Wash and drain well, but do not dry. 2. Heat a large sauté pan, add the olive oil and enough kale to cover the bottom of the pan, and cook over high heat while stirring to rotate the leaves. Add more kale as the leaves wilt. When all of the kale has been added, season with salt, cover, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally; the cooking time will depend on the maturity of the kale. Young kale will be tender after 4 or 5 minutes. It may be necessary to add a splash of water if the leaves begin to scorch. When the leaves are tender, remove the lid and allow any excess water to cook away. 3. Push the kale to one side of the pan and add an extra drizzle of olive oil, the garlic, and a pinch of red pepper flakes to the bare spot. Just as you smell the aroma of the garlic, stir to combine it with the kale. 4. Turn off the heat, add a splash of vinegar, and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper as necessary. Serve warm or room temperature.