Pretzel-Encrusted Chicken with Beurre Blanc Sauce

This recipe was probably my favorite thing we've made so far (you might begin to notice that I will say that about a lot of things ... but seriously ... this chicken is awesome). I can't wait until we make it again! Thanks for the recipe, Nadia!

Pretzel-Encrusted Chicken

Ingredients: 

1 cup pretzel crumbs 

1 cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt 

¼ teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper 

1 cup McCormick Golden Dipt Fish ‘n Chips batter mix* 

¾ cup red beer plus more as needed 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter 

3 tablespoons vegetable oil 

6 (5-oz.) boneless skinless chicken breast halves

How do you make it?

You can prepare the crumb mixture several hours ahead or even the day before. We used 2 cups Snyder’s Butter Snaps Pretzels that we turned into 1 cup crumbs by grinding in the food processor fitted with a metal blade.  Stir pretzel crumbs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper together well in a bowl large enough to let you dip chicken breasts into it. Set aside.  In another bowl large enough to dip chicken breasts, whisk together batter mix and beer. If mixture seems too thick-it should be consistency of very light whipped cream- add a little more beer, a tablespoon at a time.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat butter and oil in a large, heavy skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Dip each piece of chicken in batter mixture, letting excess drip off, then cover well with pretzel crumb mixture. Place in skillet and saute 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown and not quite cooked through. Transfer to a baking sheet and finish cooking in oven 5 to 7 minutes more. Serve at once with Beurre Blanc Sauce. Makes 6 servings.

Beurre Blanc Sauce

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon butter 

1 large shallot, finely chopped

⅓ cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons chicken base (we use the Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base) 

1 ⅔ cups heavy cream

3 teaspoons cornstarch 

3 teaspoons water 

1 teaspoon grainy mustard, optional

How do you make it?

In a nonreactive heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add shallots and saute 2 minutes. Add white wine and chicken base. Stir to dissolve base. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 to 8 minutes, or until most liquid has evaporated. Stir in heavy cream and return to a simmer.  Mix cornstarch and water together to make what the restaurant calls a slurry. Slowly stir this into cream mixture and continue cooking and stirring until the mixture thickens and coats back of a wooden spoon dipped into it. Simmer another 1 to 2 minutes. If using mustard, stir in during last minute of simmering.

Recipe courtesy of Big Bear Brewing Company

Farmstand Tomato Soup with Arugala Pesto

As seen with Chipotle Muenster Grilled Cheese (A WINK Original)

Ingredients:

• 10 medium or 4 very large ripe tomatoes (about 4 pounds), cored

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• 2 shallots, coarsely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt

• 1/8 teaspoon sugar

• 1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/2 cup pine nuts

• 5 ounces baby arugula

• 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1/2 medium lemon)

• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

How do you make it?

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cut the tomatoes in half and set on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and roast them until they look wrinkly, about 30 minutes; set aside. 
While the tomatoes cool, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small sauté pan. Add the shallots and 2 cloves chopped garlic and sauté over medium-low heat until they turn golden brown and caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes; set aside.
Toast the pine nuts, stirring occasionally, in a skillet set on medium heat until they turn golden brown, about 4 minutes. Combine the arugula, pine nuts, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and lemon juice in the jar of a blender or the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, then slowly add in the olive oil through the feed tube and process. Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the Parmesan.
Ladle the chilled soup into individual serving bowls, and swirl 1 tablespoon of pesto into each.
The soup can be made up to 4 days in advance and refrigerated. Ditto for the pesto. Both should be well covered. Arugula pesto does not brown when exposed to oxygen as does its more common cousin, basil pesto.

When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins, which should slip off easily. Put the peeled tomatoes in the jar of a blender along with the sautéed shallots and garlic, crushed tomatoes (with juice), 1 tablespoon salt, and sugar. Process until the soup is smooth. Stir in the cream. Serve hot or cold! 

Recipe adapted from Epicurious 

Chipotle Muenster Grilled Cheese (A WINK Original)

   
Soup and Sandwich Night!

    Every once in a while a WINK member decides that there's something more important that they need to do on a Tuesday evening than cook earth shattering dishes with us. Shocking, I know. WINK missed Jen and Joe last night. Their top priority was an Elton John concert.

Our reaction precisely, Elton!

     In discussion, we collectively decided that this would have been cool in 1982 (thanks for the estimate Jesse) and not a viable excuse to miss WINK in 2013 (but let's be honest, who doesn't love a little Elton John tunes here and there - certainly wouldn't be The Lion King without him). Their punishment was to miss an epic dinner - Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese. Not much of a punishment, you say? Check out these flavor combinations...a delicious twist on the classic! We highly recommend (and probably will be) repeating this dish!

Chipotle Muenster Grilled Cheese (A WINK Original)
as seen with Farmstand Tomato Soup with Arugula Pesto 

Ingredients
- Panera Bread White Bread Loaf (sliced)
- Chipotle Muenster Sliced Cheese
- Butter
- Smoked Turkey Breast (sliced deli meat)
- Grated Swiss Cheese
Directions
1. Heat up your griddle (medium-low heat, or your sandwich will be burnt to hell like Dave's was - they had ONE JOB). We used a large flat nonstick pan that I was very glad to find a use for.
2. Butter one side of your bread and stick them, butter side down, onto the griddle.
3. Immediately place 1-2 slices of chipotle muenster cheese on one slice of bread. On the other slice, sprinkle some of the grated swiss. Fold over a slice of turkey on the muenster side. Let them toast 2-3 minutes depending on the temperature of your pan.
4. When the cheese begins to melt, flip the muenster/turkey side onto the swiss side. Toast about a minute longer on each side and voila!

Welcome to my kitchen!

I live in a 1 bedroom apartment. While it's decently sized for the Boston area, that's still not saying much. Fitting 2 people and 2 cats into our square footage can sometimes get stuffy. Amazingly, every Tuesday night we manage to cram 8 people (and 2 cats) into one apartment. Let's just say we're all good friends now. Sometimes there can be too many cooks in the kitchen, but it's the best kind of crazy you could ask for.

Except Bolt. He still doesn't like anyone.

Meet Bolt, short for Boltzman. He's a doll.

Oddly enough, it doesn't feel stuffy on Tuesday nights. It's warm and friendly, full of laughter and stories, hugs and sisterly disagreements on best cooking practice, and LOTS of noise from the Playstation (thanks, boys). Yeah, we're stuffed in there, but the last thing we notice is the space. 

I think the thing I'm trying to say here is that my kitchen changes on Tuesday nights. It's bright and happy in a way that only some of my closest friends can make it. Cooking just isn't the same for the rest of the week. I hope on our blog we can deliver that "Tuesday night WINK experience" and maybe a few great recipes to boot! Enjoy!

welcome!

Cooking isn't just putting the right ingredients together. It's a certain kind of madness -- twirling around the kitchen, chopping and sauteing and skewering and broiling and flash-frying. It's the marriage of sweet and savory, tart and mellow, crunchy and delicate...sometimes, even laughter and tears, whether from raw onions or a ruined meal.

It's also a certain kind of madness when you put more than one person in the kitchen at the same time.

We're not anti-feminists by any means. We are four young women, all in our early 20s, who have a desire to cook (and bake!), learn from recipes (as well as one another), grow closer as friends, and have a balanced life. We believe in the home-cooked meal, the comfort it brings, the flavors they yield, and the togetherness we've witnessed come from it.

We're all full-time employees, all in varying fields, and are devoted to our personal hobbies as well, but we've managed to find a new creative outlet and an awkward dancing routine: moving around a kitchen with limited counter space to make dinner for one another and our patient, taste-testing +1's weekly.

We're the warriors of Tuesday nights, the fast-thinkers, the nontraditional chefs. We're learning as we go, whether from the Internet, old-school cookbooks, each other, or from ourselves -- and we're so excited to have you be part of the journey with us.

sending you love by the forkful,
Jenn,
Nadia,
Iva &
Jesse

Jesse's Broccoli Cheese Soup

You might have seen from the "we're the women" section that I do not like recipes, but I was convinced to put my fingers to the keys and get this one down for you! 

Ingredients: 

2 cups chopped broccoli 
6 cups chicken broth 
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese 
1/4 cup parmesan cheese 
2 medium-large potatoes 
1/2 onion 
3 carrots 
3 celery stalks 
1 oz butter 
1/4 cup cream (optional) 
Salt and pepper to taste 

How do you make it? 

Sauté your chopped onion, celery, and carrots in butter (I use a mirepoix from Trader Joe's to make things easier). Once the veggies have softened, add in the 4 cups of the chicken broth and the chopped potatoes. Cook until potatoes have softened. Blend the mixture with an immersion blender or in a regular blender until smooth. Add in broccoli, cheeses, and remaining chicken broth. Cook approximately 20 minutes or until broccoli has softened. Blend the mixture again to achieve desired consistency. If you'd like, add in some cream at this point for added taste and texture (the potatoes should have thickened it, but cream is a nice addition). Add salt and pepper to taste. 

- Jesse