Hazelnut Crusted Chicken

This is one of my favorite ways to have chicken.

4 Thawed boneless skinless chicken Brest
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups roasted hazelnuts
pepper
garlic salt
ground thyme
1/4 cup canola or olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.
chop hazelnuts and place in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish place beaten eggs. sprinkle garlic salt, pepper and thyme over chicken. Dip each chicken breast in the egg on both sides then dip into the nuts. Make sure to press the chicken into the nuts to make sure its coated generously. 
In a saucepan heat oil over medium heat and place chicken in pan. No more than two at a time. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes. It will get a nice golden brown toast.
Place in a baking dish and finish cooking for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Caramelized onion and gorgonzola pizza

Every Thurday we gather at a friends house and I usually end up cooking a my friend Callie ends up cleaning up around me because I tend to make a mess. At the end of the day however, we have a wonderful meal prepared that can beat most resturants. Plus its much cheaper, so this way more friends can come and you wont have a sky high bill at the end of the night.

Crust:
I usually can find premade dough at the local grocery store, or pizza joint for pretty cheap. ($2.00)

Topping:
5 onions sliced, 1/4 inch thick
handful arugala or spinach
wedge gorgonzola, 1/2 cup.
1/2 cup chopped roasted hazelnuts
2 tsp. salt
pepper to taste
2 TBS olive oil

Heat oven to 400 degrees.
In a large saucepan heat oil overmedium heat. Add onions and salt generously. cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are golden brown and slightly transparent. Toss in nuts and cook for 2 minutes. Let cool .
roll out dough onto a well oiled pizza stone or cookie sheet to desired size. About a medium to large pizza.
Spread a layer of arugala and sprinkle with olive oil. Cover the crust with all of the onions and nuts. Add a few more bits of arugala. Crumble the gorgonzola over the top of the pizza.
Place pizza in the middle of the oven, and bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown.

Serves 3-4 people.

Roasted beet salad with hazelnuts and blue cheese

Dad is always going on about how we need to use the veggies from the garden, so this is one of the ones that I made especially for dad. Since he loves blue cheese mom is always getting him anything with blue cheese in it. Salad dressings, stuffed olives etc. But pretty much he or I were the only ones eating it. So in honor of dad I used as much stuff from the garden and the farm as I could.

BEETS:
8 baseball size red beets
2 tbs. olive oil
sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 F. trim beets and rub with oil and sprinkle with sea salt. Wrap in tin foil like candy and just twist the ends. Cook for 1 - 1 1/2 hours or until a fork goes in easily. 

Meanwhile prepare other ingredients...
1/2 c. chopped roasted hazelnuts
1/2 c. crumbled smoked or regular blue cheese
2 small red onions quartered, rubbed with oil and grilled

DRESSING:
1/2 c. fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt/pepper
2 tbs. brown sugar
1/2 c. olive oil

In a small sauce pan combine lemon juice, salt, pepper and 1 tbs. sugar. reduce until the back of a spoon dipped in is coated. Cool and add oil.
 
Remove beets and leave in the foil. cool them completely. Once they are cooled, carefully with gloves on, removed the skin. They should slip off. Halve them, and quarter them. toss everything but the blue cheese in the dressing. Add cheese after everything is coated. Serve chilled on a bed of greens.



Makes 4-5 cups.

Prune cake

I Know what your thinking, prunes, really?
Well take all the crap, no punn intended, that you know about those 'dried plums' that you get from the store, and all the pre-conceived notions that you know about them and toss them out the window. The prunes that my dad grows are nothing like the dried up raisins that are on the shelves, they are like candy. Soft, sweet and slightly chewy. They are wonderful in this cake, its super moist, with a hint of spice and topped with some thick cream cheese frosting,
I adapted this cake from a recipe that I found in the back of a historical fiction book, and it was called War cake. Anyways it called for raisins and walnuts, none of which I had. I did however have prunes and hazelnuts in abundance. So, I substituted and added more spice and frosting, who wants a piece now?

Prune Cake/ War cake                                                                                                                  

1 C. Brown sugar

1 C. Water

1 C. Chopped pitted prunes

2 TBS Margarine

1 TBS Cinnamon

½ TBS Nutmeg

1 ½ C. Flour

Pinch salt

½ teas baking powder

½ teas baking soda

½ C. Chopped roasted hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 8x4 glass pan. In a heavy bottom saucepan combine the water, sugar, prunes, margarine, and spices. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and cook gently for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool until lukewarm. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the cooled sugar mixture; beat until the batter is smooth. Fold in nuts, and spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and turn out onto a wire rack.  Serve warm with a dollop of whip cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Alternate ending:

Let the cake cook completely and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese frosting

4 oz package cream cheese

4 oz butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

blend together, refrigerate and frost.

Serves approximately 10- 12 people.

Calories per serving: 130-160 depending on size. ( un-frosted cake)