Crockpot Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

I don't know about you, but we have at least 3 inches of snow on the ground here and it's absolutely beautiful. While fall stills hold the top place in my heart, there's something about a fresh coating of snow on the ground, pristine and white with a certain stillness in the atmosphere. This type of weather is the best for crockpot meals and today I thought I'd share with you one of my favorite recipes, chicken caesar sandwiches.

Turn your crockpot to low and cook 3 pounds of chicken breast in one can of chicken broth for 4-6 hours. It won't look like much at this point. 

Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the crockpot into a large bowl, shred, and then mix it well with one cup of your favorite caesar dressing, two tablespoons of dried parsley (you can use fresh if you like), one half cup of shredded parmesan cheese, and one half teaspoon of pepper. Add it back to the crockpot and cook for an additional 30 minutes, then it's ready to serve! 

Place on hamburger buns (we use whole wheat), spread a thin layer of caesar dressing on the bun, then top with romaine lettuce. I leave off the lettuce because I don't care for it on sandwiches and add red onion rings instead. They add a little sweetness and the crunch to it that the lettuce would have. I served these with frozen sweet potato tater tots but you can pick any sandwich side you like! 

This was the third time I have made these sandwiches, without any incidents, and I was surprised that when I was emptying the heavy bowl of shredded chicken back into the crockpot I cocked my arm at a weird angle and sprained my shoulder. Yes you read that right. Apparently the most mundane cooking task can be dangerous. But for novice chefs don't let it deter you! The shoulder is better today after some ice and ibuprofen but I'll be taking it easy both in and out of the kitchen for the next few days! 

Chicken Tikka Masala

I hear tell it's supposed to snow tomorrow so today I thought I'd post a warm and fragrant Indian dish that's very easy to whip up with lots of spices that you probably already have in your pantry. I really like Indian food and it's something I wish I ate more of. I've only ever been out to an Indian restaurant once, in high school no less! One day I'll make curry and homemade garlic naan, but today's focus is on chicken tikka masala.

In a large bowl mix one cup of plain Greek yogurt, one tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice, one tablespoon of ground ginger (or fresh if you have it), one teaspoon of salt, one teaspoon of ground black pepper, one clove of minced garlic, two teaspoons of cumin, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and a quarter teaspoon of cayenne. Stir in 6-12 chicken tenders, being sure to coat thoroughly, then refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer you marinate the longer those delicious flavors set in!

Once your chicken is finished marinating set your oven to high broil. Place a wire cooling rack on top of a baking sheet, then place the chicken on top, discarding the remaining marinade. Broil on each side for a few minutes until the chicken is cooked through. I estimated about 3-4 minutes per side which worked pretty well. The broiler terrifies me a little bit. I can't tell you how many times I've overcooked or burned things so now I check it constantly!

To make the sauce heat two tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Saute one minced clove of garlic and a quarter cup of chopped onion until tender. If you like your Indian food spicy you can add in one quarter of a seeded, finely chopped jalapeno but we have a low heat tolerance so I left that out. It doesn't make any difference if you opt to skip it, the recipe lists it as optional.

Add in two teaspoons of cumin and paprika and one half teaspoon of salt. Stir for one minute, then stir in one 8 ounce can of tomato sauce and one cup of half and half. Simmer on low heat for 20 minutes until the sauce thickens. Add in the chicken and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Once done serve over jasmine rice and top with cilantro or crushed almonds. I don't particularly care for the taste of cilantro in large amounts and I had a bag of sliced almonds I wasn't sure what to do with so I topped the chicken with those. They add a nice crunch to the dish!

The chicken turned out so tender this time, you didn't even need a knife to slice it. The sauce was creamy and you could taste the spices peeking through the tomato flavor. This is definitely one of my favorite dishes to make!

Milton Inn

I love Groupon and LivingSocial. They are the perfect places to search for deals on more expensive restaurants that would be a lot further down on the list of places to try had it not been for the coupon. One of these such restaurants is The Milton Inn in Sparks, MD, set in a historic 274-year-old building that has been serving food since 1947.

Photo courtesy of Google Images 

The Groupon deal offers $65 worth of food for $30 Sunday-Friday, an incredible deal for a place where the cheapest entree is $32. It only leaves you responsible for appetizers and drinks which is fantastic! It's still available but states limited time remaining so if you want one after reading this go do it now!

We went on a Friday night and I recommend calling ahead to make a reservation. When we showed up at 1830 the parking lot was almost full. It's a pretty popular place, not only for the main restaurant but they also have a bar called c. 1740 which was packed already when we arrived.

Before I start getting into the meal, I will mention that I do not have any personal pictures from this visit. Like Volt, this place is too fancy to be whipping out the cell phone. Any place that highly suggests gentlemen wear a sport coat gets nixed pretty quickly for pictures. The pictures shown are from a Google search.

The inn is extremely inviting when you first walk in. The lighting is low and there was a lovely toasty warmth from the fires being stoked in the various dining rooms. The hostess immediately offered to check our coats and we were whisked into a small, cozy dining room with original wood paneling the walls and bricks covering the floor. The fireplace was immediately behind us and twinkle lights graced the ceiling. The Milton Inn is often mentioned as one of the most romantic places to eat in the area and it's easy to see why.

Photo courtesy of Google Images 

Decor is themed largely off of the hunt, a Maryland tradition especially in the area of the inn. Waitstaff are dressed in white buttondowns, black slacks, and black vests. It's all very old-school, just like the menu, but it is done so well.

We started off with the beef tenderloin tartare, served with anchovy aioli, sriracha, capers, shallot, cornichons, quail egg yolk, smoked sea salt, and toasted baguette. I know a lot of people are turned off by raw meat but think of it as sushi-grade fish only in the form of ground beef. It essentially melts in your mouth and between the seasonings mixed in and the sauces that you lightly spread on the baguette before popping it in your mouth, you really can't tell that you're eating raw beef. To me this is a must-order if you visit.

Photo courtesy of Google Images 

For my entree I chose the Seafood Andor, lobster, orange roughy, jumbo lumps of crabmeat, mussels and shrimp in a creamy dill sauce, served with a vegetable and wild mushroom risotto. This looked so beautiful when it came out. The mussels were arranged in a ring around the outer edge of the plate, with the remaining seafood grouped in the center. Everything sat in a delicious pool of the cream sauce with the risotto underneath. Rich doesn't even begin to describe this flavorful, creamy dish, of which I ate almost every last bite.

Photo courtesy of Google Images 

Justin had the Vension Short Loin with butternut squash grits, sauteed Brussels sprouts, baby carrots, king mushroom with pepper, bacon and shallot, finished with Cumberland reduction chive puree. If this seems like a lot it completely was but in the best way possible. Justin ordered the meat to be rare in the center and the chef honored his request. The sprouts were arranged in two piles on either side of the plate and the loin was served over the grits. He raved about the meat stating how tender and well seasoned it was and also said that the sprouts were some of the best he had ever had. They were just barely cooked so they still had a ton of crunch along with the crunchiness of the bacon. The grits were buttery with a very smooth texture.

This meal was extremely traditional American food that's been served for decades. It's done in the most fantastic way with some modern twists and I wold love to go back for an anniversary or birthday dinner!

Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese

I love love love goat cheese and even more so when it's served warm and melty. It has this great creamy texture and a little bit of tang, and you'll often find it as a salad topper, spread on crostini, sprinkled over mussels, etc. For Christmas I received several cookbooks (of course) and one of them had a recipe for "Legit Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Shallot Sauce." Um yum. When I read that the chicken was stuffed with an 8oz log of goat cheese, I could feel my mouth watering.

To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Let the goat cheese sit out on the counter for at least 30 minutes to come to room temperature. Take 4 large chicken breasts and create a pocket down the center of each one, spreading it open with your fingers. Then stuff with that goat cheese!

Season the chicken with salt, pepper, and fresh thyme leaves, then wrap with a slice or two of prosciutto. My prosciutto wouldn't cooperate with me and kept peeling off in weird uneven strips when I was trying to remove it from the package so it's okay if you have to get a little artistic! Make sure you wrap it around the opening with the goat cheese as much as possible to keep it contained. You don't want to lose a drop of that beautiful cheese!

Lay your chicken breasts in a greased baking dish and bake for 15 minutes. Depending on the thickness of your chicken you may need to adjust this! Let me tell you a story. I baked mine for the time listed in the recipe, made it all pretty and photographed it, then proceeded to eat it for dinner before heading to work. After two bites I noticed the texture seemed a bit off. Lo and behold the whole top layer was still pink! Ack! So gross! I immediately threw it all back in the oven at 400 for another 20 minutes, so be aware you may need to adjust your cook time!

Once your chicken is done baking, top with a dollop of shallot sauce, which you will make while the chicken is baking.

To start, warm two tablespoons of olive oil over low heat in a skillet. Whisk one tablespoon of flour with 1/2 cup of low-fat milk in a small bowl. Once the olive oil is heated, add two to three thinly sliced shallots to the skillet and saute until soft. Then add in 1/2 cup of dry white wine and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Add in the milk-flour mixture and stir. Let the sauce simmer for a minute or two to become thick. Garnish with cracked black pepper.

I loved this dish and hope to make it part of our dinner rotation. The tang from the goat cheese goes well with the saltiness from the prosciutto and the creamy, sweet shallot sauce. It was a very good dish for a cold winter day!

Corner BYOB

I never have to pull Lee's arm to get her to go out to eat with me. The response is always "where and what time?" which is a win-win for both of us. On Thursday night we ventured over to Hampden to try Corner BYOB, a place that looks pretty non-descript from the outside but don't be turned-off by its appearance.

As the name suggests, Corner is indeed BYOB, however they do have some wines by the glass and a few house cocktails for sale, which we didn't realize until we had already purchased our bottle of wine from across the street. Not a big deal but something to be aware of if you choose to visit.

I don't usually read reviews before visiting a new place but more and more I've been checking out Yelp before I go somewhere. Most of the reviews for Corner BYOB were favorable towards the food saying that it was outstanding, but that service could be condescending and unfriendly. Not exactly reviews that make you want to eat somewhere but usually I try a place once to give it the benefit of the doubt. Plus this place is often mentioned as one of the best restaurants in the city.

After an awkward moment of trying to go in the wrong door while the only diners in the place stared at us, Lee and I figured out the correct entrance and were greeted by a very friendly hostess who seated us promptly and went to get our wineglasses. We were off to a good start.

Corner has a fairly exotic menu with things like escargot, beef tongue, and bone marrow, and that's just the appetizers. The menu also changes pretty frequently so don't expect to see the same things the next time you go. After waffling for a few minutes between bone marrow and escargot, I decided to go with the escargot for an appetizer. I've never had it and have always wanted to try it and I wasn't feeling quite so adventurous as to go with the bone marrow.

The escargot was served on a bed of arugula with a lemony vinaigrette, topped with spiced cranberries and fried green tomatoes. My verdict on escargot? It's good but not my favorite. I had no trouble eating it but it's not something I would order regularly. I was a fan of the crunch of the tomato with the tartness of the lemon and the sweet spice of the cranberries. Escargot have their own taste which I'm finding a little hard to describe, but mostly they taste like whatever you coat them with. They're also chewy. If they're done right they don't taste slimy or overly chewy. One day I would like to try them drenched in butter and garlic, which is how they're traditionally served.

We both ordered the same entree, Salmon Kulebiaka, a filet of the fish wrapped in puff pastry and stuffed with creamy spinach and artichokes, served over a mushroom cream sauce and topped with a chicken egg, which you pour over the top of the puff pastry. This dish was absolutely delicious. The pastry was flaky and buttery and made even softer by the addition of the chicken egg, and the salmon was seasoned nicely and not overcooked, flaking off with each bite. My obsession with mushrooms continues so of course I loved the cream sauce.

When Justin and I go out we don't often order dessert but Lee encourages me to indulge my sweet tooth so we opted for the Jamaican Herb Brownie Sundae. It wasn't brought to my attention until I was talking about it with Justin what that name really sounds like, so no this was not a "special" brownie!

This may be one of the best desserts I have ever eaten in a restaurant. The brownie was super chocolatey and gooey, covered with molten cheesecake and whipped cream, and served with the most amazing peanut butter ice cream. Lee and I weren't exactly sure what herbs were supposed to be in it other than what appeared to be a dusting of nutmeg. Regardless, I would love it if they made this a regular menu item because it was fantastic.

We both had a really great experience at this place and I would love to go back and take more people. Keep in mind if you do visit it's very small so if you're planning to go on a weekend night you may need reservations. They also charge for glassware if you bring your own bottle but it was only $5, and they prefer cash and charge a small convenience fee for credit cards. Throughout the whole experience we also found the service to be fine and didn't have any of the problems other people on Yelp had mentioned. If you're in Hampden I recommend checking this place out, along with my other favorite The Food Market. Still on my list to try in Hampden is Alchemy, 13.5% Wine Bar, and Le Garage.

Soup & Snow

On this cold, snowy day I thought it would be the perfect time to post about soup! It's a great meal for those frigid temps, best served in front of a roaring fire, warming you from the inside out. My favorite soups revolve around seafood: cream of crab, shrimp bisque, New England clam chowder. I recently acquired a taste for oysters and what better way to showcase them than oyster stew!

Oysters caught my eye while I was passing the seafood counter in the grocery store. You can buy shucked oysters in a pop-top container that are fresher than canned. Once I saw them I started brainstorming what I wanted to do with them. One day I'd like to make fried oysters for an oyster po' boy but I thought I should start with something easy and soups and stews are one of the easiest things you can make.

To begin, drain the oysters in a colander over a medium sized bowl. You need to save all of that delicious, flavorful oyster juice to add back in to the stew later.

I'm aware this makes them look a little alien and gross but they're good I promise! 

While the oysters are draining heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot. I used one of my favorite items in our kitchen, the Dutch oven. Chop up one large leek, being sure to rinse it (no one wants sand in their stew!) and thinly slice four scallions. Add these to the heated oil and saute until tender, stirring occasionally, for about 4-5 minutes.

Next, stir in three tablespoons of flour, whisking constantly. Add in two cups of reduced-sodium chicken broth and one and one half cups of fat free milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8 minutes or until the mixture thickens.

Now it's time to add in those beautiful oysters! Make sure you've chopped them up just a little bit then add them, the reserved liquid, one tablespoon of chopped parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the mixture. Stir and let the oysters cook until they curl at the edges, about 2-3 minutes. Lastly, stir in one half cup of reduced fat half-and-half.

Top with oyster crackers, more fresh parsley, and serve hot! My one critique of this recipe is that the amount of cayenne pepper they suggested you add in hindsight was a bit ridiculous. If you're not a big fan of a lot of heat go really easy with it! It was a little too much for us and detracted from the flavor of the stew, which was really, really good. It wasn't inedible, not even close, but it would've been as awesome as it can get with less pepper. I think it needs it but really only a sprinkle.

When Food & History Intersect

Lately dates have been hard to come by for Justin and I. A night shift schedule for me along with Justin's regularly scheduled shifts at the gym, plus the addition of personal training sessions, make it nearly impossible. Friday gave us some rare time to get out of town and be together so we headed west, finding ourselves in West Virginia in an area rich with the remnants of the Civil War, one of my favorite time periods in American history. My interest has been piqued recently while reading a work of nonfiction called Liar, Temptress, Solider, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War by Karen Abbott. It chronicles the adventures of four women who risked everything to serve their respective causes and takes a look at the darker side of the war. I've learned about a lot of things that I had no clue even happened! I know this entire paragraph cements my status as a huge nerd but seriously, if this time period is something you're really interested in I highly recommend the book and taking a trip to the Harpers Ferry, WV, area and the surrounding towns.

Now before you think today's post is merely a history lesson it's not! There is always food involved in any adventure we go on. While looking up things to do in the area I stumbled across Bloomery Plantation Distillery near Charles Town, WV, a distillery specializing in moonshine-based fruit cordials, located in a restored 1840s log cabin. Umm yes please. After traveling up a pretty sketchy looking driveway with hilarious signs along the lines of "our banjos are friendly" and "the gas pedal is your friend" on a particularly steep hill, we arrived to find quite a few cars already present. We entered the log cabin tasting room to find that a tasting had just started and were very warmly welcomed by the staff, a rousing bunch who don't take themselves too seriously and truly seem passionate about the work they do.

The tasting included approximately 7 of their products along with a few concoctions they dreamed up like Sex on the Peach and No Jack No Coke to demonstrate how to make your own drinks at home. Everything was delicious and had they not been $24 a bottle we probably would've walked away with more than just the Raspberry Lemon and Ginger. What was also cool about this place was that everything is made on the premises. These people hand zest 3000 lemons every week alone for their Limoncello and Cremma Lemma! Oh and did I mention that tastings are free?

They even came complete with recipe cards. 

This place is on our list to come back to seasonally to purchase different varieties, like Black Walnut for Christmas.

After the distillery we headed north to Shepherdstown, WV, a small town that sits along the Potomac River filled with beautiful homes from the 1800s or later. We sat in a memorial park for a little while looking out over the water and a huge train bridge, then wandered around the town checking out the houses and its small main street. The town is home to Shepherd University and thus has your requisite pizza and Chinese food places, but we were surprised to find it does have a little bit of a culinary scene.

For dinner we visited Domestic, a small place specializing in classic American food with a modern twist and also an emphasis on local brews. Justin chose a Milk Stout from Antietam Brewing Company and I picked the Hefeweizen from Flying Dog.

Some of the decor inside Domestic 

To start we tried the beer battered fried mushrooms, served with an herbed dressing. Biting into anything beer battered is like biting into a cloud. First there's a satisfying crunch, then it dissolves in your mouth without leaving a greasy coating like so many fried foods. It's light and airy and doesn't overpower the mushroom underneath, who's earthy flavor went well with the tangy, ranch-based dressing.

My entree was the Cajun Shrimp and Grits, served with wilted spinach. The shrimp were jumbo, juicy, and just a little bit spicy but not overpowering, which is how I prefer anything Cajun. If it's too spicy you completely take away the taste of the food and all you can focus on is how hot your mouth is, which doesn't make for a pleasant eating experience. The grits were cheesy and mixed with Andouille sausage and chives. The flavor was there but the outer edges were a little cold and I think I prefer my grits with a creamier texture. I have no other way to describe these other than that they were gritty grits. It wasn't enough to deter me though and I ate most of them.

Justin had the Bacon-wrapped Pork Loin with cranberry-cornbread stuffing with seasonal veggies and a tamarind-date chutney. He and I agree that you can't go wrong with anything wrapped in bacon and a pork loin wrapped in its savory, fatty, fantastic counterpoint is almost sinful. The contrast of the sweet fruit with the savory pork was very good and the cornbread wasn't soggy. He remarked at the end that he thoroughly enjoyed his meal.

If we ever find ourselves in Shepherdstown again this would be somewhere that we would go back to eat. The quality of the food was good and the prices were very reasonable.