Savory Triple Cherries Jubilee

The secret ingredient has been revealed - cherries! Inspired by the summer, the challenge of today's Virtual Kitchen Stadium is to create a savory recipe using cherries. With so many directions I could take with a savory cherry dish, it was hard to choose just one. So how did I choose? Easy!But first, let's take a closer look at the secret ingredient. Cherries come in all sorts of forms - solid, liquid, fresh and dried. Why not highlight the secret ingredient by using all these forms? With that, I present my... Savory Triple Cherries Jubilee Cherry Balsamic Braised Stuffed Chickenserved over caramelized turnip pureeSimmering fresh cherries with balsam

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Cherry Balsamic Braised Stuffed Chicken

For this dish, I wanted to highlight cherries by using it as a braising sauce for chicken. Cherries can have both a sweet and tart flavor, which works nicely with balsamic vinegar. Combining the two to create a sauce intensifies the flavor. For the chicken, I wanted to keep it lightly seasoned but still pair with the glaze. Including a creamy component with herbed goat cheese added some contrasting textures too. Finally, to tie the entire dish together, I prepared a caramelized turnip puree. Potatoes would have been too heavy for a summer dish and using turnips is a nice alternative.Cherry Balsamic Briased Stuffed Chickenserved over caramelized turnip

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Cherry & Orange Champagne Vinaigrette

Salads are a favorite this time of year and my Savory Triple Cherries Jubilee captures the sweetness of summer cherries in a vinaigrette. Bright orange notes work nicely with cherries as I infuse sweet dark cherry juice with a muscat orange champagne vinegar, making a light and fruity dressing. Drizzle this over a bed of fresh mixed greens with sweet mandarin orange segments and fresh pitted cherries, and you'll have a colorful salad full of summer flavor!Cherry & Orange Champagne Vinaigrette2 cups mixed greens1/4 cup mandarin oranges1/4 cup whole almonds1/4 cup pitted fresh cherries1 oz goat cheese, crumbledVinaigrette:1/4 cup balsamic vinegar1/2

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Cherry, Cheddar & Rosemary Scones

Who says scones can't be sweet? The last component of my Savory Triple Cherries Jubilee introduces fresh herbs, mild cheddar cheese and dried bing cherries packaged up in a savory scone. I was inspired to create this when I had my cranberry orange scone this morning. In place of dried cranberries I used dried cherries and added fresh herbs and cheese to make a savory scone that's perfect as a snack or a great addition to a meal.Cherry, Cheddar & Rosemary Scones2 cups flour1 tablespoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt3 tablespoons sugar1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded1 cup dried bing cherries2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary5 tablespo

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Virtual Kitchen Stadium: Secret Ingredient Revealed!

My mug shot is in the Chicago RedEye paper todayon the inside cover (laugh if you must!)...The secret ingredient has been revealed...And my task at hand to is to come up with asavory dish using CHERRIES.Stay tuned for the dish I create, which the public can vote on and which will also be judged by Chef Rick Bayless!

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Strawberry Quinoa with Basil Lime Syrup

Strawberry Quinoa with Basil and Lime Syrup! It has been a long, long time since I last participated in the Royal Foodie Joust which is held each month by my very dear friend Jenn, The Leftover Queen! Way too long! The Royal Foodie Joust is a monthly challenge that is hosted by Jenn-The Left-over Queen. Every month the winner from the previous month is allowed to choose the 3 ingredients that must be used in the up coming challenge. She also gives out prizes for the best overall winner, best photograph, and the most unique interpretation of the ingredients! Sounds like fun huh? Click here to join in on the fun, you have until tomorrow at noon,

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Virtual Kitchen Stadium, Iron Chef Style!

What an honor... and yet a nerve-wracking opportunity! I've been asked by Chicago's RedEye publication to participate in their first ever Virtual Kitchen Stadium, Iron Chef style! This 4 week long competition involves 8 "cheftestants" who will cook their way to victory for a handsome gourmet prize and the title of RedEye's Virtual Kitchen Stadium Champ. Here's how it works...The cookoff begins tomorrow, June 30th at 10am CST, which is when the secret ingredient will be revealed. Cheftestants will need to use the secret ingredient to create an original recipe. The recipe will be submitted to RedEye, along with pictures. Judging the recipes will be Chef

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Ciabatta Rolls (Poolish version)

This week's Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge is Peter Reinhart's recipe for Ciabatta Bread (which you can get from his book above, starting on page 135-142). I haven't always been a fan of ciabatta bread but after making it from scratch, I've definitely had a change of heart. There were 2 pre-ferment options Peter Reinhart offered to make ciabatta bread - a poolish or biga version . There were also options to make a few variations using the same recipe including Wild Mushroom Focaccia, Ciabatta with Cheese, and Caramelized Onion and Herb Ciabatta. But being that this was my first time to make ciabatta from scratch, I chose to make it as plain and

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SUMMER STEAMED BEAN SALAD WITH CREAMY HORSERADISH DRESSING

THOSE LAZY HAZY DAYS OF SUMMER... AND DISASTERShipwreck!!!Weekends, as I have explained before, are market day for us: Saturdays we wend our way to La Place de la Petite Hollande, Nantes’ marché populaire, to find inexpensive fruits, vegetables still wearing their dirt, sometimes pre-cooked foods and, of course, a beautiful roasted chicken from the Chicken Lady. This Saturday was no different, especially as we had a date to walk down to the Hangar à Banane on the Loire and watch the launching “à l’ancienne” of the replica of Jules Verne’s (a child of Nantes) boat Le St. Michel. So a skip, hop and a jump found us buying a gorgeous roasted chicken, some

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Foodie Freebie Friday: Garrett's Popcorn

The Taste of Chicago is a happening place this time of year and one of the new vendors for 2009 is Garrett's Popcorn. Garrett's Popcorn is a favorite treat of Chicagoans it's some amazing popcorn. Locals especially love the "Garrett Mix" which is a combination of their famous CheeseCorn and CaramelCrisp popcorn. Oprah even listed Garrett's popcorn as one of her "Favorite Things" in 2002. In honor of this local snack we love, especially during the summer, a lucky reader will receive a 1 gallon tin to enjoy!Garrett MixThe Garrett Mix is the culmination of our popcorn tradition! Our chefs gently blend CaramelCrisp® and CheeseCorn™ together to create The

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