Truffled Gnocchi with Peas and Chanterelles

"Truffled" is used loosely in this case. There are no truffles at all in this recipe, Chanterelles in fact, but I couldn't find them and went with a mixed gourmet mushroom package from Papa Joes grocery. It turned out fantastic, even without the better mushroom choice; though, I'm still looking forward to trying it with Chanterelles.

The best part is it only took 10 minutes to make this meal.


Truffled Gnocchi with Peas and Chanterelles
Serves 4

1 lb. Potato gnocchi
2 tbsp. Extra-virgin olive oil
10 oz. Chanterelle mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen
2 tsp. Finely chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. Finely chopped chives
Freshly grated Parmesan

Cook potato gnocchi according to package directions.

Bring a 12” skillet over medium-high heat to high; add cream, peas, mushrooms, and thyme and cook. Stirring occasionally, until cream reduces by half. Season mushroom sauce with salt and pepper and remove skillet from heat. Add drained, gnocchi pasta to sauce pan and turn to coat, turning down heat to low. Plate pasta and sauce. Sprinkle parmesan and chives on top to serve.

Stuffed Savory Chicken Duxelles

You learn something new every day. Apparently, my lesson for Tuesday April 14th wasn't oh shit I better print and sign my taxes, it was what "Duxelles" means. Duxelles is a thick paste of mushrooms, shallots and herbs. See how simple that lesson was.

The recipe was pretty simple and provided a nice alternative from my typical breadcrumb, cheese and spinach stuffing. The white wine in the stuffing reduction provides some nice, subtle flavor to the meat too.


Chicken Stuffed with Savory Duxelles
Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 shallot, peeled and minced
1 lb. White button mushrooms, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 whole boneless chicken breasts with skin, split

Heat oven to 400°. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Add garlic and shallot; sauté, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms; cook, stirring, until mushrooms release their juices, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add white wine, and continue cooking until liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the parsley.

Pull skin back from one chicken breast, keeping skin attached at one end. Season with salt and pepper. Mound 1/3 cup mushroom filling on breast; pull back over filling. Tuck ends under breast, forming a ball. Secure with toothpicks. Repeat with remaining chicken breasts. Return chicken to sauté pan and brown for about five minutes, turning to brown evenly.

Place stuffed breasts in a roasting pan, keeping them close together but not touching. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over top. Transfter to oven; roast until skin is golden brown and chicken has cooked through, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.

Simple and Lighter Chicken with Biscuits (really)

I love it when I get an email in the middle of my work day saying, "Can you make this?" Stephanie occasionally will find a recipe she would like to try and knows I love a challenge. This recipe wasn't much of a challenge, though. In fact, it ended up being a pleasantly simple recipe that only took 20 minutes to make.

I used frozen biscuits from Trader Joe's to accompany the chicken dish; instead, of doing homemade biscuits. Note: you can find the full recipe with homemade biscuits here at Martha Stewart's website.

Lighter Chicken and Biscuits
Serves 4

2 teaspoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
1/2 cup low-fat (1 percent) milk
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 carrots, thinly sliced
5 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 box (10 ounces) frozen pearl onions, thawed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

Prepare frozen biscuits according to package instructions or have fresh biscuits ready.

In a 5-quart Dutch oven or large heavy pot, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, and onions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, 7 to 10 minutes.

Sprinkle vegetables with remaining 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour; stir in remaining 3/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, and thyme. Simmer until liquid is thickened, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. Add chicken; simmer until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve chicken stew with biscuits.

Thai Green Curry Chicken

I bought some green curry paste for another recipe I made a couple weeks ago--it wasn't good, so I didn't post it on the blog--and so I was left with an ingredient I don't use that often. Thankfully, there is Allrecipes.com which is a great resource for finding a ton of recipes that can be searched by a single ingredient. I ended up finding an excellent, authentic tasting curry recipe. I made two tweaks to it. One I increased the curry paste by an extra tablespoon and I reduced the fish sauce from one tablespoon to one teaspoon, both changes are in the recipe below.


Thai Green Curry Chicken
Serves 4

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 tablespoons green curry paste
2 green onions with tops, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cups coconut milk
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, for garnish


Toss chicken first in 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, then in the flour, coating pieces evenly. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Place chicken in the skillet, cook and stir chicken until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken.

Reduce heat to medium and stir in curry paste. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant, then stir in green onions, garlic, and ginger; cook an additional 2 minutes. Return chicken to the skillet, stirring to coat with the curry mixture. Stir the coconut milk, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and sugar into the chicken-curry mixture. Allow to simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is tender. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.

original recipe.