insane cooking!

roasted garlic cloves

0 Comments | This entry was posted on Oct 25 2005

This is a good appetizer if you don’t mind having bad breath for about a week. I first saw this at Vinnie Testa’s on the east coast – they use giant garlic bulbs there – a score if you can find some at the market..

Ingredients:
a few large garlic bulbs
olive oil

Chop the skinny ends of the garlic off to expose the cloves underneath and wrap in aluminum foil so that the only opening is at the top.

Pour olive oil over the cloves and let some pool up in at the bottom of the foil.

Put into the oven at 350 degrees for about 30-40 mins. (the garlic is ready when the cloves will easily pop out of the bulb with a fork)

starters

blackened cajun chicken salad

0 Comments | This entry was posted on Oct 25 2005

I did a slight variation on the recipe and used about twice as much chicken and a little bit more salad. The chicken came out great (2x the seasonings as well) and it was really good on top of the salad. A fairly healthy dinner where no sacrifice of taste was made..

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups mixed salad greens
1 avocado – peeled, pitted, and diced

Warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Season both sides of chicken with Cajun seasoning, and place in hot oil. Stir in crushed garlic. Cook chicken 5 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. Remove chicken from skillet, drain on paper towels, cool slightly, and dice; discard oil and garlic.

In a small bowl, mix remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper.

In a large bowl, gently toss the dressing with the mixed salad greens, arugula, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Top with diced chicken to serve.