HAIRY FUNGUS CHICKEN (MY VERSION OF HUNGARIAN CHICKEN)

INGREDIENTS
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp sea salt
1tsp black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
8 oz fresh sliced mushrooms (crimini are my favorite for this dish)
2 tbsp fresh or dried dill weed
2/3 cup white wine (chardonnay is best)
2 tbsp raw honey
1/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION
Mix the flour, salt and pepper and dredge the chicken through the mixture until lightly coated on all sides. Heat the olive oil on the stovetop at medium heat. Place chicken in the hot oil and brown on one side (approximately five minutes) then add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms are tender (about five to seven minutes). Add white wine and reduce for another five minutes. Turn chicken, add heavy cream, dill weed and honey and simmer while stirring frequently until sauce has thickened a bit. Taste and add salt and pepper until your taste buds sing!

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
I fell in love with Hungarian mushroom soup and decided that I could use the flavor in an entree form to turn it into a meal. You should note that I LOVE dill weed and your taste buds may decide I’m a little heavy-handed with it so do what I do with anyone else’s recipes—adjust it to your own taste.

CHEF'S NOTES
Whenever you are working with dairy at boiling temperatures, you want to be sure to keep an eye on it and stir it frequently—scorched or burnt dairy is not a pretty taste.

DIETER'S INFORMATION
This is another good one for the low carb dieters. Again, you can always skip the flour dredge and cut the honey to further reduce carbs.

GROUCHY CHOWDER (MY VERSION OF CRAB CHOWDER)

INGREDIENTS
1 cup Dungeness crab
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy (whipping) cream
2 tbsp unsalted, sweet cream butter
1 tsp lemon juice
2-4 boiled, medium-sized red, parsley or fingerling potatoes cut in a medium dice
3 cloves finely minced garlic (try using The Garlic Twist)
1-2 finely diced shallots
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp fresh or dried rosemary
1 tsp fresh or dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

PREPARATION
Heat the butter on the stovetop at medium heat until it melts. Add crab, garlic, lemon juice and shallots. Sauté, stirring frequently for five minutes. Add white wine, herbs and honey. Simmer, stirring occasionally for ten minutes. Add boiled potatoes, milk and heavy cream. Simmer, stirring occasionally for ten minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
Even though I grew up on the coast, my father was a boater and I’d fished before I could ride a bike; I had always wrinkled my nose at the fishiness of fish. When I was in college, I began to get a little braver about trying different fish and preparations. Once I discovered Dungeness crab I knew I could find my own answer to chewy, fishy clam chowder.

CHEF'S NOTES
You can peel the potatoes if you wish, but the peel of all three varieties of potatoes is pretty delicate and adds color to the chowder.

Lemon juice is a wonderful addition to any fish dish to help cut the fishiness. Of course, the fresher the fish, the less intense its fishiness.

Feel free to add more crabmeat for grouchier chowder. I call for Dungeness crab because I think it is the best crab in the world, but feel free to substitute your favorite crab or other fish or shellfish.

DIETER'S INFORMATION
This dish is neither low fat or low carb. Sorry dieters but remember—indulging in moderation won’t give you a big butt.

CHOCOLATE ORGASM CAKE

CAKE INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 package install chocolate pudding mix (3.9 oz size)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup raw sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted, unsalted, butter

EASY ICING
Drizzle warm cake with chocolate syrup.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS
8 OZ Cream Cheese, Neufchatel or Mascarpone at room temperature
1/3 unsalted butter at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract
2 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1 cup baker's (superfine) sugar

CAKE PREPARATION
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, butter and vanilla. It isn’t necessary to use an electric mixer to blend this batter—five minutes with a large fork or whisk will do the trick—but feel free to use the gadget if you want to save your wrists or about three minutes preparation time. Pour batter into greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350° for 25 to 40 minutes (depending on the shape and depth of your cake pan). Once you insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and it comes out clean, it’s done. Cool for ten minutes then turn out of the cake pan. Drench in chocolate syrup and serve warm. You’ll see why I call it Chocolate Orgasm Cake.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING PREPARATION
You will need an electric mixture to get this frosting smooth and creamy. Beat all ingredients with an electric mixture for five minutes. Chill in refrigerator for one hour prior to frosting the cake.

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
Baking is not my forte. Entrées that allowed me the freedom to experiment catered better to my temperament. I found baking and it’s need for more exact amounts of ingredients, temperature and cooking times tended to cramp my style. But as my sister started asking for recipes and then struggling to prepare them because she couldn’t follow my instructions which were often vague (a dash of this, cook until it seems right, add this spice to your taste) I found by paying attention to what and how much I added while cooking not only gave me the opportunity to write recipes she could follow, but opened my eyes to the beauty of baking.

I love chocolate cake, especially at a particular time of the month. I also prefer scratch recipes to box mixes for their freshness and flavor complexity. But many scratch recipes can be a little dry. Not this cake—I think the secret is in the pudding.

CHEF'S NOTES
If you are intimidated by baking, this is a great first cake to make.

Try adding one tablespoon instant espresso dissolved in one tablespoon water for a more complex, darker flavor. You can also substitute the same amount of melted baker’s chocolate for the cocoa powder—this will make the cake denser in texture.

I almost never use white sugar. I find that raw sugar, brown sugar and honey have more flavor and I like that they are less processed. But the cream cheese frosting really needs to be made from white sugar to have that silky texture.

I always use vanilla paste rather than vanilla extract in the cream cheese frosting because the vanilla beans add those dark flecks of color to the otherwise white frosting.

DIETER'S INFORMATION
Forgive me—I don’t intentionally create low carb, low cal or low fat desserts. I think desserts should be decadent. I believe the best diet allows you to indulge in moderation.

BUTTLOAD OF BEEF STEW

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs beef: feel free to use any cut of beef you like, don’t limit yourself to the stew cut in the grocery store.
24-36 oz domestic beer: I like Rolling Rock or Session best
2 lbs potatoes:
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut in a medium dice
1 large russet potato, unpeeled and cut in a rough chop
3 small Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled and cut in a medium dice
3 small red potatoes, unpeeled and cut in a medium dice
1/2 finely diced medium-sized white or yellow onion
5 cloves finely minced garlic (try using The Garlic Twist)
2 finely diced medium-sized shallots
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, washed but on the stem
2 tbsp dried Italian herb blend
2 tbsp raw honey
6 oz tomato paste
salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste

PREPARATION
Cut beef into bite-sized chunks and place in a stockpot with the beer, uncovered over medium heat until the mixture reaches a boil. Lower heat, cover stockpot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sweet potato, Italian herb blend, honey, onion, garlic and shallots. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rest of the potatoes, the fresh rosemary sprigs and tomato paste. Simmer for another 20 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove rosemary stems before serving.

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
I always loved beef stew, especially in the fall and winter when it gets cold. Nothing sticks to the ribs and is as satisfying than chunky beef stew, crusty sourdough bread and a crisp salad. But I always found myself frustrated with how little meat there was in canned beef stew—I wanted meat in every bite! And I have some weird aversions to the mushiness of cooked carrots and other typical stew vegetables so I created my own version. This is a great dish to cook on a cold Saturday afternoon and it freezes beautifully.

CHEF'S NOTES
I don’t recommend using microbrews because they tend to have too much hoppiness or other flavors that translate into strange and bitter aftertaste in the stew.

To truly make this a big ass beef stew, you want to portion your beef and potato poundage equally.

Do you love carrots in stew? Parsnips? Green beans? Then throw them in! Just remember that if you are adding a lot of other vegetables, you show increase the amount of beef or decrease the amount of potatoes proportionally.

Are you in love with your crock-pot? Throw all the ingredients in at once and crock away.

DIETER'S INFORMATION
The only fat in this dish comes from the meat, so the leaner the cut; the friendlier it is to the low-fat dieter.

GARAGE KITCHEN CHICKEN (MY VERSION OF CHICKEN CACCIATORE)

INGREDIENTS
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
3 tbsp olive oil
8 oz finely diced mushrooms (white or crimini are best)
2 stalks finely diced celery (medium-sized stalks)
1 finely diced Anaheim pepper
1/2 finely diced medium-sized white or yellow onion
5 cloves finely minced garlic (try using The Garlic Twist)
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup white wine (chardonnay is best)
10-15 oz tomato sauce
3 tbsp unsalted, sweet cream butter

PREPARATION
Heat the olive oil on the stovetop at medium/medium-high heat. The higher the heat, the quicker this dish will brown and reduce, but it will require more stirring. Place chicken in the hot oil and brown on both sides (approximately four minutes per side). In a large bowl, mix the mushrooms, celery, pepper, onion and garlic. Add mixture to chicken, turning chicken and stirring vegetable mixture so that all vegetables begin to reduce (approximately ten minutes). Add chicken stock and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring and turning chicken occasionally. Add the white wine and simmer for about ten minutes, stirring and turning chicken occasionally. Add tomato sauce—start with 8 ounces and simmer for five minutes, taste. Add additional tomato sauce until you like the flavor best. Reduce for five more minutes, turn off the heat and add the butter. Once the butter melts, stir it into the sauce and you’re ready to serve!

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
When I was in eighth grade, my 4-H club offered a Commercial Cooking class taught by the parent of some club members, Mr. Colburn, who was a professional chef. I jumped at the class because I loved to cook. This was the first dish he taught us to make—with a student’s kitchen set-up in his garage. I have made some changes to it over the years to suit my taste, making it more of a ragu, stew-like dish; but it remains a foundational dish in my recipe box and marks my birth into gourmet cooking.

CHEF'S NOTES
With all the vegetables, I usually use one large and one medium-sized sauté pan to cook this dish. If you don’t want to work with multiple burners or worry about split would be to use a wok or even a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or chili pot.

I typically use about 12 ounces of tomato sauce—but since you are using fresh vegetables and different brands of tomato sauce, the water content of the vegetables and the intensity of the tomato sauce varies, so that’s why I suggest you add, taste and then adjust. You don’t want the tomato flavor to overpower the sauce.

It is ESSENTIAL that you use unsalted butter. Margarine and olive oil won’t create the same flavor and texture. If you are cooking for someone with dairy allergies, opt for olive oil rather than margarine.

This dish really doesn’t need any added spices, salt or pepper. It is really easy to overdo the salt in this dish as several of the ingredients have sodium in them and there is a lot of reduction involved.

Are you cooking for finicky eaters? You have found the dish that everyone will love. I have several mushroom haters, a chicken hater, as well as several celery and pepper haters in my circle of diners and they all love this dish. With the long reduction and the finely diced vegetables, the flavor and texture of this dish is well balanced and unlike its individual parts.

Do you love peppers? Then experiment. The original recipe called for bell peppers, but I like more flavor so I’ve tried several different peppers as settled on Anaheim as my personal favorite, but feel free to experiment.

DIETER'S INFORMATION
This is not only a dish to please all palettes, but it is loaded with vegetables, low fat and low-carb. Yet it tastes decadent—a real treat for all dieters.

I LOVE THIS F&*#!?@ CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
6 chicken thighs
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves finely minced garlic (try using The Garlic Twist)
2/3 cup white wine (chardonnay is best)
2 tbsp raw honey
1/3 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/3 cup fresh-grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Mix the flour, salt and pepper and dredge the chicken through the mixture until lightly coated on all sides. Heat the olive oil on the stovetop at medium heat. Place chicken in the hot oil and brown on one side (approximately five minutes). Before turning the chicken to brown on the other side, sprinkle in minced garlic. Now turn the chicken to brown on the other side for about five minutes. If you like, you can now drain off the olive oil. Next add white wine and honey, bring to a simmer and reduce for about five minutes. Add heavy cream, turn heat to low and heat for another five minutes. Finally, turn off heat, sprinkle with Parmesan, cover the pan and let sit until the Parmesan has melted. Serve Hot.

THE STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
This dish is how the foulmouthed chef was born. I cooked this for a boyfriend and he went crazy for it. He asked me what it was called and I told him it didn’t have a name that I had just made it up based on what I had in the refrigerator. He insisted something that tasted this good had to have a name so I told him he should name it. After thinking for about ten seconds he looked at me and said “I Love this Fucking Chicken.”

CHEF'S NOTES
It is important to note that if you cook at a higher heat you can easily burn the garlic.

You can also try Asiago, Romano or any other hard cheese with a sharp flavor.

DIETER'S INFORMATION
If you’re watching carbohydrates, this is a great dish—feel free to skip the flour, salt and pepper dredge and use one tablespoon of honey.