Two for One Recipes- Sauteed Chicken with Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

My friend Mary, who lives in Missouri, has a very unique business venture going. In her home, a gorgeous and charming Victorian in a sweet small town, Mary cooks gourmet three course dinners for every day or special events, and invites guests to come and dine at The House on Vine. Since she lives in a small town, restaurant options are somewhat limited and Mary offers a very unique service that even in larger cities can be hard to find- meals tailored to the guests likes and tastes and special dietary requests.

She has hosted some pretty awesome dinners. Centered around the holidays she made a steak dinner common in Des Moines but unheard of in other cities- Steak DeBurgo. Her guests were so impressed! On another occasion she had a group of ladies who are following the Whole 30 diet, and Mary's menu for their dinner fit their requirements. From incredibly creative appetizer to decadent soups Mary's dinners have quite a loyal group of regulars with word spreading fast! It won't be long and the House on Vine will have to move into larger restaurant quarters!

Anyway, since Mary and I have been friends for years you can bet we have talked food and recipes and cooking many times over. When she used to live here we would often meet for dinner or cook at her place or mine. Sometimes we'd have a dinner of all appetizers, and sometimes we'd make a regular meal, like one night when we made homemade fried chicken and Mary made the BEST chicken gravy ever. I wish I could nail the gravy like she can. We have shared recipes by the dozen and often talk about what we're making. Mary was telling me about a dinner she was making for some guests over the weekend and it sounded like something I knew I needed to try out. The original recipe called for sea scallops but both of us thought it would be just as delicious and a lot more budget friendly if we swapped pricey seafood for more affordable chicken. I am a big fan of pounding out chicken breasts into schnitzel-like pieces, giving them a dusting of flour or coating of panko and a quick pan fry with a little butter and olive oil. You can't beat that for quick cooking and delicious tender chicken. I thought about that, but in the end went for a quick saute of lightly seasoned and floured chicken tenders with a creamy leek and Dijon mustard sauce. The rest of the recipe is composed of a warm salad of shredded Brussels sprouts. I added shredded carrot for color (I still had some rainbow carrots to use up), garlic for bite, and a sauteed leek for a milder onion flavor. No added dressing is needed as I sauteed the sprouts in a little of the Sinful Food garlic olive oil and finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon for the acid you need to cut the richness. A few sprinkles of crispy bacon go on top for a fabulous and flavorful cold weather salad you will love.

This recipe also uses products from Sinful Food. I used their Signature Seasoning to boost the flavor of the chicken and to season the vegetables in the salad. Their garlic olive oil is perfect for sauteing the vegetables and tossed with a few squeezes of fresh lemon, make a lovely dressing right in the salad bowl. You can get your own Sinful Food products by clicking HERE.

Sauteed Chicken Tenders with Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad

1 lb boneless skinless chicken tenders

Sinful Food Signature Seasoning

1 cup flour
Sinful Food garlic olive oil

butter
1 leek, sliced
3/4 cup Pinot Grigio
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 lb Brussels sprouts

1 or 2 carrots

1 leek

3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 pound bacon, cooked crisply and crumbled

Sinful Food garlic olive oil

Slice the Brussels sprouts and separate into shreds. 

Use a sharp knife to slice the sprouts, then separate the
shreds with your fingers.

Shred the carrot and add to sprouts. I used a vegetable peeler to create long ribbons of carrot. Set aside.

Leave one end of the leeks uncut, so you can fan out the petals
and rinse out any sand, then you can hold together and slice.

Trim off the green tops of the leek, Slice lengthwise and clean thoroughly. Slice thinly and set aside. Finely chop the garlic cloves. Set aside.

Set all the vegetables aside for now. I sliced all the leeks together and just used half for each dish.

For the chicken, place the flour in a shallow dish and add a good 1 teaspoon Signature Seasoning. Heat a little butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet. Dredge the chicken tenders with flour and add to the hot skillet. Brown on each side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove to plate and keep warm. Repeat to cook all the tenders.

When the chicken is done add the leek to the skillet, adding additional oil if needed. Cook for several minutes until the leeks are softened. Add the wine and chicken stock. Bring to boil and reduce by half. Add the cream and Dijon mustard. Cook until desired thickness. Keep warm.

In another large skillet heat 2 tablespoons garlic olive oil. Add the leek to the skillet, cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the Brussels sprouts and carrots and cook, stirring, for a minute or two. You want the vegetables to be barely cooked and still crunchy. Season with the Signature Seasoning. Sprinkle the lemon juice over all and toss again.

Now you can serve the salad piled onto a large platter with the chicken on top and sauce on the side. I made a small pot of couscous and served the chicken and sauce over the couscous with a mound of salad on the side. This is a great salad for lunches too. It's just as delicious chilled as warm. Next time I think I'll try it with great big shrimp, or maybe those sea scallops. I'm sure it will be fantastic.

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Cooking Together- A Love Story

Tonight we BOTH get a turn in the kitchen- The Chef makes the PERFECT steak, always the absolute perfect medium rare for me. No one else can do it EXACTLY perfect and I have had steak cooked by many many many people. I don't know how he does it. He just KNOWS........

So he is going to work his magic on some steaks with some meat rubs and maybe even the grill pan (not his favorite pan but I love the grill marks) and I am in charge of the side dish.

Our recent trip to the Taj Mahal of grocery stores, as you know, kept me captivated in the bulk buying section for a good hour, overwhelmed by the incredible variety of options available to me. So many things. So little....money- ugh !! But one thing I have been DYING to try was right there, and inexpensive, a whole barrel full with a scoop sticking out just beckoning to me!! Israeli couscous.  

Now I love couscous. It's so super easy, really requires ZERO cooking other than bringing water to a boil and is such a versatile side dish. Whatever you add to it transforms it. Where regular couscous is teeny tiny, Israeli couscous is BIG. Almost like pearl tapioca- big beautiful dots of delicious, and I can't wait to start creating. Because it is much larger, it does require some actual cooking. My research has revealed both a rice-style cooking method which absorbs all the cooking liquid, as well as a traditional pasta-style cooking, in lots of salted water and then drained. I have decided to toast mine and use the absorption method and let my creativity take over from there.

Besides the bulk grain section, The Chef practically had to drag me from the produce section. In fact, we were there so long that he actually made friends with the produce manager and stood talking food prices and so on for quite a while. I think they really bonded over baby carrots and hot peppers. Row after row of tropical fruit, amazing organic produce, every type of potato known to man, peppers of all kinds- it was like Disneyland. "It's A Small World"- you know- the ride that takes three days to get through......ya, that's me in the produce section. 

Brussels sprouts were what I was on the hunt for, and I was not disappointed. I loved the cute market basket display, and I got to pick through and choose my sprouts myself instead of prepackaged sprouts with a few yuckies hidden in the middle. Oh- and baby carrots- but not just any baby carrots- baby tri-colored carrots !! I squealed with delight as I filled "my splurge" part of the cart- the kid seat part. By the time I got done filling my allowed splurge area I had bulk Israeli couscous, bulk cracked wheat, bulk brown mustard seed, a big container of olives, marinated provolone and peppadews from the antipasti bar, a nice hunk of cheese and a crusty baguette. I was in heaven!

The Chef selected a couple nice Angus steaks and some other meats from the meat counter, we finished up our shopping and got out of there before I got too comfortable and wanted to just live there.

Now he is going to handle steak duty like so:

Classic Johnny and Kay's Steak DeBurgo

2 steaks- use the cut you like, filet is awesome, we are using sirloin
1/3 cup butter, plus more if needed
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tsp crushed dried basil
salt and pepper

Season steaks with salt and pepper. Melt butter in skillet, add steaks and cook to desired doneness. Add additional butter to make sure you have about 1/4 cup or so in the pan. Add the crushed garlic and saute for a minute or so. Add basil. Return steaks to pan and turn to coat. Place steaks on serving plates and pour butter over.

My contribution to this meal (oh, I have long dreamed of having a man I could cook with side by side- this is true love folks) will be the side dish. I am combining my starch and veggies into one-

Toasted Israeli Couscous with Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

1 cup Israeli couscous, uncooked

2 tb oil

1 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth

3 slices of bacon, chopped

1/4 lb fresh Brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise then sliced like slaw

1-2 tb sugar

freshly ground black pepper

several splashes balsamic vinegar

Heat the oil in small saucepan. Add the couscous and cook and stir until it is toasted and evenly browned. Don't overbrown- just looking for a toasty color. Add the broth and simmer on medium low heat for about 10 minutes. The liquid should completely absorb into the couscous and it will be al dente.

While the couscous was cooking get the chopped bacon going until crispy and remove from the pan to drain, reserving the bacon fat (at least a couple tablespoons, maybe 3). 

To that add the shredded sprouts  and the sugar and give that a quick toss over the heat til barely wilted. I left the sprouts with enough crunch that they are almost nutty in the finished dish. Toss sprouts, couscous, bacon and a splash or two of balsamic vinegar in a large bowl and toss to mix. If you think you need more "sauce" to the mixture, add a splash or two of chicken broth. You could also do a splash of white wine if you have it. Serve with The Chef's awesome steak.

As always, my steak was perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned. Buttery sauce with lots of basil.....my absolute favorite way to cook steak. But what about the side dish ??

It was sooooo yummy !! The Brussels sprouts added a nice veggie element, the bacon a nice bit of crunch, the couscous was cooked perfectly. The bacon fat and balsamic were the perfect match for this dish. We will definitely be making many return trips to the bulk buy bins!