Runaway Birds

Another delicious dish I learned in Italy. The sage leaves make the chicken look like it has wings and might run away!

6 chicken breasts halves, pounded thin

6 slices prosciutto

6 slices pecorino cheese

6 slices pancetta

18 sage leaves

2 large, thin scrambled egg omelets cut in 6 pieces

2 T butter

3 T oil

String

Layer the following on top of the chicken breast:

Sage leaf

Piece of omelet

Slice of prosciutto

Slice of cheese

Roll up and wrap with a slice of pancetta.

Tie with string, tucking another sage leaf on each side of the rolled up bird.

Heat butter and oil in a large skillet and fry birds until cooked through. The outside should be a deep brown and crispy.

To serve, remove the string and cut in half.

Hot Cow!

I planted cowhorn peppers this summer. The guide said that they were 'medium hot'. I LOVE hot food and was afraid I would be disappointed by the milder cowhorns. Oh man, was I wrong! The best hot sauce I've made:

8-10 pineapple sage leaves
¼ cup diced red onion
1 clove garlic
¾ cup diced tomatoes
¾ T EVOO
2 cowhorn peppers
¼ cup distilled white vinegar
¾ t salt
¾ t white sugar

1. In a saucepan, heat EVOO. Add red onion, cowhorn peppers, and garlic. Let it go for about 3 or 4 minutes.
2. Reduce heat. Add vinegar, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Let that simmer for about 5 more minutes.
3. Add pineapple sage leaves and simmer another minute or two.
4. Put it all in a blender and whir until pureed.
5. Pour mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl.
6. Let cool and then pour into a small glass container.
7. Taste it and comment that it's not too hot.
8. Wait 20 seconds.
9. Comment on how it's got a little zing.
10. Wait 15 seconds.
11. Say, "Oh man, that's a nice burn!"
12. Cover and refrigerate.

Final Category

Make a pesto of: Pineapple sage, walnuts, basil, garlic, S&P, and EVOO.

Roast: (in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes) Cherry tomatoes (green and red), zucchini (peeled, seeded, and chopped), garlic, S&P, and EVOO.

Boil: Bowtie pasta.

Combine: Ingredients above and toss in some capers. Top with grated parmesean.

Fight: Over the Final Category question on Kids Week Jeopardy.

The Answer: Of the 4 states that begin & end with the same vowel, the one that doesn’t begin & end with the same letter as the other 3 states.

The Question: What is ...

When the biggest problem in my day is the final category question on Kids Week Jeopardy ... life is good.

Easy Tuscan Soup

As always, I started with an existing recipe and then made it my own. Thanks to Giada for the start on this Bean and Garlic Soup.

Add a turn of olive oil and a couple pats of butter to a heavy bottomed pot.
Dice two shallots and add to pot. Saute until soft.
Add 2 sage leaves and 2 large cans of Cannelloni beans - drained and rinsed - stir.
Add 6 cups chicken stock and 4 cloves of garlic.

This is where it starts to vary - Giada uses only four cups but simmers for only ten more minutes. I like to let it simmer for an hour or so.

I also saute about 10 sage leaves in butter until crisp. Remove to paper towels and crumble for topping on soup.

When you are about 10 minutes from serving, turn heat down to low, break out the immersion blender and blend the soup.

Add about a cup of half and half, some ground black pepper, stir, and let sit for a couple minutes.

Ladle soup into shallow bowls and top with crumbled sage leaves.

Family suggested ingredients; I pulled it together

I took a pic of this but it looked very unappetizing. Better I think, to just describe:


Boil Farafelle pasta - drain pour into bowl.


Drizzle EVOO over pasta.


Add Gorgonzola, kalamata olives, capers, and fried sage leaves.


Toss and serve. Mmmmm

From Eat Better America - Pork Tenderloin

This was DELICIOUS! The only change I made was to fry the sage that I used for garnish. It increased the fat and calories, but not by much.

Served it with a salad of spinach, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and Asian Mix Salad topping. Just a little EVOO and Rice Vinegar to dress.

Roast pork tenderloin with rosemary, sweet potatoes and pears for an elegant dinner. From eatbetteramerica.

Prep Time:15 min
Start to Finish:45 min

1 pork tenderloin (1 to 1 1/4 lb)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaves, crushed
1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
1 large dark-orange sweet potato (about 1 lb), peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 firm ripe small pears, unpeeled, each cut into 6 wedges
1 medium sweet onion (halved crosswise), cut into thin wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil Fresh sage leaves, if desired

1. Heat oven to 450°F. Spray 15x10x1-inch pan with cooking spray. Place pork tenderloin in pan. In small bowl, mix rosemary, salt, sage and pepper. Rub half of seasoning mixture on pork.

2. In medium bowl, toss sweet potato, pears and onion with oil until coated. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning mixture; toss. Place vegetables around pork.

3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, stirring vegetables and pears gently once or twice during baking, until pork has slight blush of pink in center and meat thermometer inserted in center reads 160°F, and vegetables are tender. Cut pork into 1/2-inch slices. Serve with vegetables. Garnish with fresh sage leaves.