Chicken Tender Melt

Other than babysitting, my first job ever was working at Perkins as a hostess when I was 15. In case you live in an area of the country or world that does not have Perkins, they're most known for their pancakes, the sassy old ladies working as waitresses, and in the case of the location that I worked at, their mouse infestation behind the hostess stand.

Mice issues notwithstanding, my 15-year old metabolism and I really enjoyed the free food I got during my shift. My lunch of choice was usually a menu item known as the "chicken tender melt," which I probably ate roughly three times a week for an entire summer. I randomly remembered this sandwich recently, and decided to recreate it at home. Needless to say, it was even more delicious than the restaurant version (probably because I fried it in butter.) It's been many years since my Perkins days, but I seem to remember the restaurant serving this sandwich with honey mustard dressing. I served it with ranch instead, but either one would be scrumptious.

This is a somewhat time consuming sandwich to make, since I strongly recommend that you make your own homemade chicken tenders for it. I promise when you take a bite you'll agree it was worth it!

Here's what you'll need:

Salted butter
2 slices sourdough bread
3 slices Pepper-jack cheese
3 slices bacon
3 slices tomato
2 homemade chicken tenders
Ranch dressing or Honey Mustard, for dipping

Butter 1 side of each bread slice. Assemble your sandwich by layering 1 1/2 slice of cheese, tomatoes, bacon, chicken tenders, and the remaining 1 1/2 slice of cheese on the non-buttered side. In a small frying man over medium heat, cook the sandwich on both sides until the bread is brown, and the cheese is melted.

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Source: Inspired by the Perkins menu 

Peanut Butter Chicken

Sometimes my brain feels blocked. I have been sitting at my laptop, staring at a blank screen for longer than I care to admit, wracking racking my brain trying to think of an interesting anecdote, or words of wisdom to share. I've got nothing. I did read up on the difference between wracking and racking. So there's that.

I was up in New Jersey all weekend visiting my sister and mom, and had a relaxing few days filled with lots of wine, pumpkin ice cream, good bagels, and great burritos. I intentionally confused a young man at the wine store when I asked him what wine he recommended to accompany hot dogs. I should cut the sarcasm and be nicer to easily flustered wine store clerks. I also bought a deep dish pie plate, and am extremely psyched to make a pie and share it here. Such an exciting life I lead, right?

Let's just move on and talk about this chicken before I bore you to tears. I'm a big fan of peanut butter in savory dishes. I know the ingredients below might seem a little odd (I totally get that combining peanut butter and salsa sounds slightly cray-cray) but they totally work. Best of all, I bet you have at least half of the ingredients on hand already. I am the worst at maintaining a pantry full of staples, and even I only needed to pick up chicken, peanuts, and orange juice to make this amazing dinner happen.

P.S. If this recipe strikes your fancy, you might also like these Thai Peanut Butter Noodles! 

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup medium salsa
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 large chicken breasts, sliced lengthwise into 4 or 5 strips each
2 tablespoons olive oil
Peanuts and green onions, for garnish
Cooked rice, for serving

In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, salsa, soy sauce, honey, orange juice, ginger, and curry powder. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over high heat. Add the chicken to the oil, and brown on both sides, but don't cook through. Turn the heat to low, and pour in the sauce. Cover the pan, and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has thickened and reduced, and the chicken is cooked through. 

Serve over rice, sprinkled with peanuts and green onions.

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Source: Adapted from Kristina Kuzmic

Pecan Turtle Black Cocoa Brownies

Random thoughts as I attempt to cobble together a blog post at 12:39 AM:

1. I considered titling this recipe Special Brownies, but realized that would have a different implication than what I intended. These are special brownies because they contain awesome and pricey ingredients (not ganja), and should be served only to special people that you really, really like. Pecans, vanilla beans, and black cocoa all make an appearance in these brownies. They are spendy but worthwhile splurges!

2. I actually Googled "slang for marijuana" to make my previous point. I've never smoked the giggly weed/wacky tobaccy/chronic in my life, and clearly do not have the vernacular down. Do people actually call it any of those things? Wait, don't answer that and incriminate yourselves. Drugs are scary guys. Let's stick to wine.

3. I'm headed up to New Jersey tonight to visit with my Mom and seester, and fully intend to force-feed them the whole pan of these. Although, they're super-duper good, so I'm hoping that force won't be necessary. Perhaps I can convince them that these are healthy, since they contain lots of nuts and dark chocolate. Antioxidants!

4. Friends is on Nick & Nite in the background, which makes me feel exceedingly old. When I was a kid, Nick & Nite was all about I Love Lucy and Bewitched. Having 90s shows on there just seems wrong. Also, it's "The One With the Morning After," and I'm still mad at Ross. "We were on a break!" is not a valid excuse dude.

5. I usually hate dressing up for Halloween, but recently decided that I want to go as Honey Boo Boo Child. One problem - I simply don't have the legs to pull off a short pink pageant dress. Someone out there, please take this idea, and report back on November 1st, so that I can live vicariously through you. You'll need a short pink dress, a pig named Glitzy, and a bottle of Go-Go Juice. In the words of Mama, you'll look beautimous. Please don't judge me for watching this amazingly hilarious train wreck of a reality show. For those of you who somehow don't know who Honey Boo Boo is, I feel like this best sums her up:



This recipe makes 15 super dark, super rich brownies. If you're unfamiliar with black cocoa, it's Dutch-processed cocoa that has been super alkalized. You know how Oreo cookies are almost black? That's how this cocoa powder looks. It actually kind of smells like crushed up Oreos. Since black cocoa has less fat than traditional cocoa powder, it's typically paired with natural or Dutched cocoa to ensure that baked goods don't dry out. A little goes a long way with this stuff! I know it seems like there is an insane amount of sugar in the recipe below, but do not reduce the sugar unless you want a dried out brownie. The dark chocolate balances out the large quantity of sugar well, and while these are rich, they are not tooth-achingly sweet.

Here's what you'll need:

For the brownies:

1 cup salted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup black cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

For the pecan topping:

1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, contents scraped
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped and toasted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 9x13 metal baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugars, and vanilla extract with a spoon until thoroughly combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powders, and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients to the wet, until just combined.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Let the brownies cool, then make the caramel.

In a liquid measuring cup, combine heavy cream, vanilla bean scrapings, and vanilla extract. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, water, and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until the sugar has completely dissolved. Continue to boil, swirling the pan occasionally but NOT stirring, until the mixture turns a deep amber color - anywhere from 7-15 minutes. Caramel goes from perfect to burnt in a split second, so don't walk away!

When the caramel has reached the correct color, remove it from the heat, and immediately pour in the heavy cream and vanilla mixture. Be careful, as it will bubble up quite a bit. Stir until thoroughly combined, and add in the pecans. Immediately pour over the brownies, and spread evenly to cover. Let cool completely before cutting.

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Brownies adapted from these, and caramel topping adapted from Chow