Blue Cheese & Walnut Chicken Roulade w/ Roasted Asparagus

So my baking skills are not so good- I attempted to make these chocolate cookies with a peanut butter center and it was a disaster.  So here is an easy chicken recipe that sounds real fancy and tastes delicious- unlike what my cookies tasted like.  If you need more detailed step by step pictures of how to assemble the chicken roulade check out the original blog post on it: Chicken Roulade. 

The combo of walnuts and blue cheese are a classic pairing and add such flavor and texture to a simple piece of chicken.

Ingredients

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts- butterflied
• about 1/2 cup of blue cheese, crumbled
• about 1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped
• 1 pound of asparagus
• salt, fresh cracked pepper, oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Butterfly the chicken.  You can pound them thin you want, I didn't bother this time.
3. Stuff the chicken with the cheese and nuts. 
4. Roll up the chicken and secure with butcher's twine or toothpicks
5. Coat the outside with oil, salt and lots of black pepper.  The pepper makes this amazing crust that stands up to the bold flavor of the blue cheese.
6. Cook until the juices run clear (about 160 degrees F) about 20-25 minutes

For the asparagus, all you need to do is cut off about an inch from the bottom because the ends are a bit woody and hard to chew.  Then lay on a baking sheet and coat with oil, salt and pepper and put in the oven with the chicken on the upper rack and chicken on the lower one.  Cook them until they are limp and the tops look a bit dried out- about the same time as the chicken- if they don't seem done by the time the chicken is, just remove the chicken and turn the oven up to 400 degrees F and cook a couple more minutes.

Serve on top of some brown rice or Bulgar wheat and you have a super tasty super easy dinner!

Roasted Chicken w Garlic, Onions, Tomato & Bleu Cheese

This was a "left-over" dish.  I needed to use up a bunch of things and this is what I came up with.  Serve it all on top of your homemade focaccia bread and omg yes delicious.  Salty, juicy, and that roasted flavor of the garlic- o man! My mouth is watering right now.  When you roast garlic whole- it is something completely different than raw garlic or even cooked.  It gets this subtle nutty and sweet flavor.  Roast a whole head of garlic and use what you need now and save the rest for later.  It can be used in sauces, salad dressings, or even just smeared on things almost like butter. Another thing that makes this dish awesome is that it is super easy- everything just gets popped into the oven- all you need to do is cut the veggies!

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 onions sliced
• 1 pepper, sliced (I used mini peppers and I just halved them)
• 1 whole head of garlic (take 2 cloves and mince them)
• 3 tomatoes sliced
• few ounces of blue cheese
• I used McCormick's Montreal Steak Seasoning (but if you don’t have, just use salt, pepper & a little crushed red pepper flake)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper
• EVOO

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
2. Place the chicken in a baking dish or sheet pan- drizzle with oil and the Montreal seasoning and oregano.
3. On a baking sheet put the onions, pepper, and two minced garlic cloves and drizzle with oil and salt and pepper
4. Take the remaining head of garlic, slice the top off (not the root end) and wrap in a small piece of tinfoil. Before you seal it up drizzle with just a little bit of oil.
5. Put the chicken, veggies and garlic pouch in the oven.
6. Cook for about 15 minutes, then flip the chicken and toss the veggies around.
7. Cook for about another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through to 165 degrees. I like to put the chicken under the broiler for a minute or two to get it browned on the outside
8. Slice the chicken.  Take your leftover focaccia bread and top with the onions and peppers. Top it all off with the fresh tomatoes and blue cheese.  Drizzle with a bit of oil and dig in! Oh and don’t forget to serve a bunch of roasted garlic along side!

Bleu Cheese, Bacon and Tomato Crostata

This recipe was inspired (and requested by) my friend Adam Lombardi who is working on DA Brown's reelection campaign.  So this recipe is nicknamed the Campaign Crostata.  Something to help keep you going after long hours of hard work and dedication.  A Red,White, and "Blue" dish for politicians and non-politicians alike.  Crostatas are usually shaped into a circle, but I thought it would be fun and symbolic to shape it into a star.  Even if you have no political agenda, you can enjoy this salty crusty dish anytime! And the Fourth of July is coming up- perfect for entertaining on such a joyous occasion. This recipe might look a little intimidating and long but it really is easy.  And the best part is that if you know how to make the crust you can put ANYTHING in this crostata- even make a sweet dessert variation. So try your own version! And let freedom reign ;)

Ingredients

Dough

· 1 c flour

· ½ c cornmeal

· ½ tsp salt

· 3 tbsp COLD butter- cut into small pieces

· 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

· ½ c cream cheese

· 3 1/2 tbsp cold water

Filling

· 8 slices of bacon

· 1 cup of bleu cheese

· 1 onion

· 1 garlic cloves

· 3 small sprigs of fresh thyme

· Salt, pepper

· 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Topping

· 2-3 small tomatoes, sliced

· 1 egg- beaten for egg wash

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place bacon on a baking sheet/rack and throw in the oven until brown and crispy- Time will vary; just keep an eye on it.

2.  Slice your tomatoes and put into a strainer/colander and cover with kosher salt.  This will help draw out a lot of moisture so the tomatoes won’t make the crust soggy. When you are ready to use just rinse quickly and shake dry as much as you can.

3.  In a food processor* combine the flour, cornmeal and ½ tsp salt. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. In another small bowl combine the lemon juice and cream cheese and then add to the food processor- pulse a few times. Add the water and pulse until the mixture is moist – but doesn’t form a ball- you still want it crumbly. Take out the dough and place on a sheet of plastic wrap, shape into a dish, cover it up with the plastic wrap and pop in the fridge for about 20 mins.

*If you don't have a food processor, you can always whisk the dry ingredients, then work the butter in quickly with your fingers-work it into the flour by rubbing it in- make sure the butter is super cold- it will start to look like parm cheese, work the cream cheese mixture in with a whisk, same with the water step. Basically if you don't do it with a food processor it's not the end of the world- this isn't exactly formal baking

4.While you wait for the dough- in a small sauce pan get some oil hot and then add the chopped onion and garlic. Heat should be medium, medium low- try not and burn it. Add salt, pepper & thyme.  When that is all cooked turn off the heat, add the balsamic vinegar, and set aside to cool for now.

5.  When the bacon is done, crumble it and add to saucepan with the onion mixture.  Keep the oven on.

6.  Get your dough out and roll into a thin sheet on top of some parchment paper (believe me you're going to want to use this parchment paper, it makes moving it SO much easier)- I made my dough too thick the first time and I wound up having to cook the crostata for a really long time- so roll it thin. I formed mine into a star shape but the easiest way is a circle, so if you don't want to get fancy you can just roll into a circle- the ends are going to be cracking and not perfect, leave them that way it adds to the rustic look of the dish.

7.   Add the cheese to the onion mixture and stir to combine. Then top the dough with it.  Leaving about an inch around the edges so we can fold over the edges and complete the crostata.  Before you fold the edges over, top the filling with the tomato slices. Fold edges over and move the crostata (with the parchment paper) to a baking sheet.  Take the beaten egg and brush all over the dough (this is called an egg-wash).  Then bake until the crust is golden brown and delicious (about 20-25 mins).