Spooning white wine & mustard sauce over the chicken. It’s tangy, just the tiniest bit spicy, and good on lots and lots of things.
WHITE WINE & MUSTARD SAUCE
Just put two tablespoons of coarse-ground mustard (the kind where you can see the seeds) in a saucepan with a cup of white wine (try to use decent stuff) and cook it until it reduces down a bit and you can’t smell the alcohol any more. Then just stir in about half a cup of cream, season, and let simmer until the sauce thickens.
This could not possibly be easier or more delicious. I used to steam asparagus, but roasting makes them so much more flavorful; I’m never going back.
PERFECT ROASTED ASPARAGUS
First, remove the tough ends from the spears (just bend them to see where they naturally break off). Then, all you do is place them on a baking tray with good-quality olive oil, roll them around so they’re thoroughly coated, season well with sea salt & pepper, and roast at 400F for about 8-10 minutes. Just before serving, squeeze some lemon over the top.
Oh, delicious.
With Leslie, who’s an absolute joy to hang out with, and who mashes potatoes like it’s nobody’s business.
(For last night’s mashed potatoes, I just boiled halved new potatoes - skins on - until tender, then added a few glugs of milk, some heavy cream - please try using cream in mashed potatoes, it’s delicious - a huge pat of butter, and some salt, and mashed away. For like a minute, until I got tired and Leslie gallantly took over.)
Kendrick gazing adoringly at Colin in a puff-pastry induced haze.
Preparing the entree: puff-pastry-wrapped chicken breasts stuffed with mushrooms and parsley.
Stuffing a chicken breast so you get a lovely roulade effect is easier than it looks. You take skinless, boneless chicken breasts and then gently separate the filet using the tip of a sharp knife (not totally, just so there’s a definite flap), as I’m doing above. Then you put your desired stuffing (I sauteed some finely chopped mushrooms and garlic, and stirred in some chopped parsley at the last second) into the gap, as you can see on the chicken breast on the right.
Tip: Always use a separate cutting board for vegetables and chicken to prevent contamination.
Sipping some Chardonnay while dicing up some mushrooms (don’t drink and chop, kids). I never cook without a glass of wine at the ready…I just don’t see the point.
Prepping Sampling the brie and clementines that I set out for last night’s dinner with Colin & Leslie. I always like to serve some kind of sweet spread alongside cheeses: last night it was apple butter, because, well, that’s what I had in my refrigerator, but I much prefer boysenberry or raspberry jam.
Colin & Leslie brought over the loveliest cheese, Manouri Mt. Vikos. It’s a Greek sheep’s milk cheese that has such a mild flavor and light, crumbly texture that even cheese-phobes (yes, they exist…hi, Mom!) will adore it.
WEDDING CRASHERS TICKET GIVEAWAY!
I have one free ticket to the Wedding Crashers wedding fair taking place this Saturday at the Bell House, and I want to give it to YOU!
Just send me an email telling me your unique DIY wedding idea, and I’ll pick the winner by Friday.
(That’s a photo from my wedding up there, by the way. Go here to check out my DIY invitations.)
Really. You can’t screw it up. UNSCREWUPABLE APPLE PIE What you need: 4-5 cups apples, peeled and thinly sliced (I use a variety of kinds plucked from my list of the best apples for baking) 3/4 cup sugar (1/2 white, 1/2 brown) 3 tbsp flour 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp butter 1 unbaked deep-dish pie...
In this video, I take the easiest-ever apple pie recipe and manage to transform it into a bit of a disaster.
