Sunday, July 13, 2008

Kitchen of Coleman-Recipes and Insights

Tonight's menu was a great combination of French and Italian flavors. I love baby spinach with Herbes Provence. The fennel and lavender give the spinach such a unique flavor. Spinach is such a fun item to experiment with, you really can use it in almost any meal! Try it with Herbes Provence or some fresh grated nutmeg!

Provencal Chicken & Spinach Crepes

Crepe Batter

1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. warm water
2 eggs
3 tbsp. melted butter
dash salt

Mix all ingredients well in a blender. Let stand for at least 3o minutes before making crepes.
Prepare crepes in crepe pan or 10 inch nonstick skillet. It is always better to over pour then under; you can always put the excess back.

Chicken & Spinach

1 tbsp. GOOD extra virgin olive oil (Olio Santo at Williams Sonoma or for the budget conscious, DaVinci at Target)
1 lb. chicken breast
2 tbsp. herbes provence
fresh ground pepper and fleur de sel to taste
10 oz. baby spinach
16 oz. ricotta
1 tbsp. GOOD extra virgin olive oil
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half if larger

Cut chicken into small dice size pieces. Mix with herbes provence, pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Heat olive oil in 12 inch saute pan. Add chicken just as oil starts to ripple. Cook until almost done, about 7-10 minutes. Add baby spinach and cook until completely wilted. Remove from pan and add ricotta. Heat oil in smaller nonstick fry pan, add tomatoes and saute about 3-5 minutes.

Creme Alfredo (Traditional Roman Alfredo does not include cream, but I wanted a cream reduction with the bite of the tomatoes to finish these fabulous crepes; plus, you can never go wrong with cream!)

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup fresh grated REAL parmigiano reggiano

Heat cream to a simmer, add parmigiano and whisk until well blended. Keep on a low simmer until ready to serve.

Put about 1/2 c. of chicken mix into crepes. Roll. Put two crepes on a place, top with about 1/4 c. of cream mixture and about 2-3 tbsp. of tomatoes. Top with fresh ground pepper and a little more grated parmigiano.

Bon Appetit!

3 comments:

  1. That food sounds so yummy. I asm always telling people about what a great cook you are. My family thinks you making your own marshmellows is pretty awesome. The pool looks so fun I haven't been swimming this year because of Ashlynn and I am missing it. Can't wait to see you and your cute kids in a few weeks. Have a great day!

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  2. Ginnie! This is Lauren Shumway. I am Kim Shumway's sister in law! How are you? Your kids are adorable! Sam and Kim are doing well. They live in Cheyenne. If you want their info, email me at laurenshum at hotmail dot com. Thanks!

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  3. it was so good to hear from you. Your kids are so cute were did the red hair come from. But i love it of course. I am just learning how to blog hopefully ares will get better. thanks!!

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