AwesomeBites

Tag: butter

  • Mustard Tarragon Butter Sauce with Grilled Chicken or Fish

    Mustard Tarragon Butter Sauce
    for a lower calorie version read further on.

    Serve with Grilled Chicken or Broiled Fish or Asparagus over mixed gourmet greens.
    Good for you!

    8 oz butter or 1/2 olive oil and 1/2 butter
    3 T minced shallots
    ½ cup dry vermouth
    4 T heavy cream
    1.5 oz Glace de Poulet Gold (condensed chicken stock)
    ¼ t Dijon Mustard
    ½ tsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves or 1/2 tsp of chopped sage and I hear fresh thyme is equally delicious. Choose one.
    Salt and white pepper
    Variations: you can add sauted onions (1 small yellow onion) and you can also add 1 cup sauted mushrooms.

    Melt 2 T butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and sauté until transparent. Add vermouth and reduce until almost all liquid is evaporated. Pour in cream and boil to reduce by half. Whisk in the Glace de Poulet Gold until dissolved. Add mustard and tarragon then reduce the heat to low and whisk in remaining butter 1 T at a time, stirring constantly to incorporate each addition. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

    If you want a reduced calorie version, try this:
    Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half, 1 cup greens, and about 2 tablespoons sauce) only 271 calories per serving according to cooking light.

    3 tablespoons minced shallots
    3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
    2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
    2 tablespoons water
    1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
    1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
    1/2 teaspoon sugar
    4 cups gourmet salad greens
    Preparation
    1. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place chicken in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done.

    2. Combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper, shallots, and next 6 ingredients (through sugar) in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Serve chicken over greens with sauce.

    Want a faster and lighter calorie version for a marinade? Try Val Fender’s version from bling.
    So good on grilled chicken. Amazingly tasty flavor, but not overpowering. Works well as a marinade and grilling sauce.

    Prep time 5 minutes
    Cooking time 2 minutes
    Servings

    Ingredients
    1 cup buttermilk
    1 Tbsp leaf dried tarragon
    1 cup Dijon mustard
    2 Tbsp chopped dried parsley
    pinch salt

    Instructions
    Combine buttermilk and tarragon in small sauce pan over medium heat. Heat just until the buttermilk is warm but not hot. Remove from heat. Add mustard and parsley and whisk to combine. Allow to cool before putting over raw meat. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

  • Peanut Butter Cookies to make you go wild!

    Peanut Butter Cookies to make you go wild!

    My son James’ favorite cookie in the whole world is peanut butter. If you want more peanut crunch, add more peanuts to your liking. Or if you love that chocolate and peanut taste together, add the chocolate chips. My only requirement of any cookie, is that it must be served with a tall, cold glass of milk. Then again, some cookies like ginger snaps are perfect in the morning with coffee. Enjoy.

    1 cup butter

    1 cup peanut butter

    1 cup white sugar

    1 cup brown sugar

    3 eggs

    2 cups flour

    1 tsp baking soda

    1 6 ox package of chocolate chip pieces (optional)

    1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts

    Cream butter and sugars, add eggs, one at a time.  Combine dry ingredients, add flour mixture bit by bit.  Stir in Peanuts and Chocolate Chips if you are using.

    Drop by teaspoon onto parchment paper on cookie sheet and flatten with glass or back of spoon or fork to get the trademark slashes of a peanut butter cookie.
    Bake for 15-20 minutees.

    Variations:  Instead of adding Chocolate chips and peanuts, substitute broken pieces of candy bars.

  • Butter Chicken (murgh makhani)

    Butter Chicken (murgh makhani)

    Butter Chicken

    We were in Uganda with friends at the Speke hotel restaurant and they specialized in Indian Cuisine when I first tried this great dish.  It is wonderful.  So many flavors,in it’s like a party in your mouth. 

    I have loved it every since.  One of my boys is improving his backyard and lay pavers.  I whipped them up some lunch and delivered it since I knew they would be hungry.  I made it spicy, because the boys like it that way.

    Awesome bite! Butter Chicken

    2 pounds cut up chicken (I like chicken thighs)

    Marinade:

    2 cups yogurt, drained or sour cream

    6 cloves garlic, puree

    ½ in fresh ginger, puree

    2/3 tsp red chile powder or paprika

    ½ tsp cumin powder

    ½ tsp garam masala powder

    A tiny pinch of red tandoori coloring (optional)

    ½ tsp salt

    2 tsp lime juice

    (Marinade the chicken at least 1 hour but best overnight)

     Makhani Sauce:

    1 ½ pounds tomatoes, skinned, mashed

    ½ tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

    3 oz chilled butter

    Few drops of vinegar

    ½ tsp garam masala

    Salt

    1 ½ ounces light cream

    When ready to cook, heat oil in cast iron or heavy braising pot, add chicken with marinade and cook over low heat turning chicken until it is done.  

    For sauce, in saucepan cook tomato pulp about  5 minutes until liquid has evaporated. Add chilled butter, paprika; after butter has melted cook for just 1 minute.

    Taste, if it is not sour add a couple of drops of vinegar.  Add the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), garam masala, salt to taste.  After 30 seconds, add the cream.  The sauce is ready. 

    Pour  into the skillet and  mix with the chicken. 

    (You can prepare and cook the chicken ahead of time.  The Makhani sauce takes only 5-6 minutes to make, so wait until the last bit and serve immediately with rice.)

    So good. Yum!
    Plating with Tumeric Rice