Lemon and Thyme Shrimp Cocktail
Ice cold shrimp scented with lemon and thyme, and served with a creamy fennel remoulade.
Recent Posts
Ricotta and Parmesan Ravioli with Pomodoro Sauce
Plump ravioli stuffed with ricotta and parmesan cheese and topped with pomodoro sauce.
Chopped Fried Chicken and Peach Salad
What could be better on a hot summer night than this delicious Chopped Fried Chicken and Peach Salad? Filled with succulent chunks of crispy fried chicken, sweet and juicy peaches and blueberries, crisp pecans, and creamy goat cheese, this salad is topped with a sweet blueberry vinaigrette. And, best of all, every ingredient is chopped into bite sized pieces, so eating this meal will be easy for your family; all they will have to do is chew!
Equipment Needed for this Recipe
- A food processor- You will need this to emulsify your dressing. Or, you could put the ingredients into a jar and shake them. Or, you could whisk the ingredients in a bowl. But, I’m impatient, so I like to use my food processor.
- A cast iron skillet- You will need this to fry your chicken. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, any large skillet will do.
- A deep frying thermometer- I think it’s really helpful to use one of these for frying. It lets me know when my oil is at the perfect temperature to fry my food. If you don’t have one, try frying a tiny morsel of chicken. When it sizzles immediately after you put it in the oil, the oil is ready.
The Ingredients
- The Chicken- I used breasts, but if your family prefers thighs, by all means, use them.
- The Goat Cheese- Feel free to try one of the many flavored goat cheeses available. For this recipe I actually used a fig and olive goat cheese. After I made the salad, I froze the rest of the goat cheese. That way, I will have it ready for the next time I need it.
- The Peaches- I used White Peaches for my salad, since they looked fresher than the other peaches on that day.
How I Made the Salad
- Since my picky eater prefers cold chicken, I fried the chicken first, and then let it chill up while I made the rest of the dinner. I was originally going to grill the chicken, but when I polled my family, the option of frying the chicken generated great excitement. The fried chicken also reheated very nicely the next day, in my hated air fryer. Nevertheless, I still detest that air fryer.
- Next, I made the vinaigrette, and let it sit in the food processor, for a final whirring, right before serving.
- Finally, I washed and chopped the lettuce, pecans, and goat cheese.
- The last thing I did was chop the peaches, so that they wouldn’t start to brown.
- I served this recipe with my Corn Popovers with Blueberry Honey Butter https://aperfectfeast.com/corn-popovers-with-blueberry-honey-butter/
This salad was a big hit with my family, and I was so excited that it was something the whole family would eat. But, I made the popovers about an hour before the salad, because I needed time to get their beauty shot before they deflated. And, I guess the kids were hungry, because they ate all the popovers, before the rest of dinner was ready, and were then of course too full to eat much more than a few bites of chicken. I still consider the whole dinner a success, though!
Chopped Fried Chicken and Peach Salad with Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette
A delicious salad filled with crispy fried chicken, blueberries, peaches, pecans, and goat cheese, all tossed with a blueberry balsamic dressing.
Equipment
- Food processor
- deep frying thermometer
- Cast Iron or other heavy skillet
Ingredients
For the Chopped Fried Chicken and Peach Salad:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 cups flour
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ tsp. black pepper
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 head Boston lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup blueberries
- 2 peaches, chopped
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 4 ounces goat cheese, chopped
For the Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp. kosher salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- 1 tsp. honey
- ½ cup blueberries
Instructions
For the Chopped Fried Chicken and Peach Salad:
- Cut each breast vertically into long strips, about a half inch thick. Season the strips with salt and pepper.
- Prepare 3 bowls for dipping the chicken. Divide the flour and spices between 2 bowls and place the buttermilk in a third bowl.
- Heat a cast iron skillet filled with one inch of oil to 350°. Dip each strip in the flour, then the buttermilk, and then into the second bowl of flour. Fry each piece until golden brown on both sides. Drain the chicken on a wire rack. Then, chop each strip into bite sized pieces.
- In a large salad bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together, and then toss with the amount of dressing your family likes, and serve.
For the Blueberry Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients, except for the blueberries. When the dressing is all combined, stir in the blueberries.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Corn Popovers with Blueberry Honey Butter
Summery corn popovers slathered with blueberry-filled honey butter.
Fennel and Rosemary Hummus with Flatbread Crisps
Lemony hummus, filled with fennel seed and rosemary, and accompanied by crispy flatbread crisps.
Blueberry Streusel Pull Apart Bread
It’s blueberry picking time here in the Hudson Valley, and I just can’t get enough of those sweet and juicy berries. Although I love eating fresh blueberries, I also love baking with them. This Blueberry Streusel Pull Apart Bread is like a giant cinnamon bun, filled with blueberries, and topped with cinnamon pecan streusel.
The Equipment:
- The Bread Machine- I love my bread machine. I’ve had the same one for almost 30 years and I think it does an incredible job of kneading the bread.
- The 12 by 4 Non-Stick Springform Pan- If you don’t have one of these, I would try using two smaller loaf pans. Just be sure to grease them very well.
The Ingredients:
- The Butter- Be sure to use unsalted butter, and to have 4 tablespoons of it softened for the bread filling.
- The Flour- This recipe uses bread flour. I always weigh my flour when baking. I find that most bad baked goods come from using incorrectly measured flour.
- The Yeast- I used regular active dry yeast this time, because I could not find bread machine yeast at my supermarket. But, when using a bread machine, bread machine yeast is always preferable.
- The Blueberries- I used fresh blueberries for this bread. I often use frozen defrosted berries in my baking, though. But, I’m just not sure if frozen berries would be a good idea here. I’m afraid they’d make the dough watery.
How I made the Bread:
- First, I added the ingredients in the order suggested by my bread machine. Then, I let the machine run through its entire almost two hour dough cycle.
- After spreading the cinnamon sugar filling on the dough, I cut it into rectangles, so that the dough would pull apart. We ended up cutting it with a knife, and not pulling it apart, but the gaps in the dough really allowed the streusel to get well distributed.
- Keep an eye on this bread while it’s in the oven. I baked one loaf 40 minutes and that was definitely too much, because the edges almost burned.
This is a must make, truly delicious bread. In fact, it would make a great July Fourth breakfast, served with some strawberries and whipped cream on top!
Blueberry Streusel Pull Apart Bread
A rich buttery bread filled with blueberries and cinnamon, and topped with a pecan streusel.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
- 12×4 nonstick springform loaf pan
Ingredients
For the Blueberry Streusel Pull Apart Bread:
- 10 tbsp. butter (4 tbsp. softened for filling)
- 4 cup bread flour (480g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ cup sugar (100g)
- 2½ tsp. dry active yeast
- 2 cups blueberries
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
For the Streusel:
- ¼ cup flour
- 3 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 2 tbsp. melted butter
Instructions
For the Blueberry Streusel Pull Apart Bread:
- In a bread machine, add the following ingredients in the order suggested by the manufacturer of your bread machine: 6 tablespoons of butter, the bread flour, the eggs, the milk, the salt, the yeast, and a half cup of sugar. Process on the dough cycle.
- When the dough cycle is done, roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 20 by 12 inches. Spread the dough with the butter, and then sprinkle on the cinnamon and brown sugar. Press in a cup and a half of blueberries all over the dough.
- Cut the dough in 4 by 2 inch rectangles. Stack the rectangles four high, and then stand them up in the pan, like they're slices of bread.
- Cover the pan and let it rise for 30 minutes, or until the dough rises to the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Top the bread with the streusel and remaining half cup of blueberries.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Remove the pan sides and serve when still warm.
For the Streusel:
- Stir everything together in a bowl.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Fried Chicken and Blackberry Honey Butter Biscuit Sandwiches
Fried chicken and blackberry honey butter on fluffy biscuits.
Chorizo and Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich
A grilled cheese sandwich filled with spicy chorizo, roasted peppers, and three cheeses.
Sesame and Gochujang Chicken Tacos with Pickled Slaw
Filled with tender, spicy chicken and topped with creamy gochujang mayonnaise and tangy pickled slaw, these chicken tacos will satisfy your Korean food cravings. Although we live less than an hour from New York City, we’re sadly deprived of Korean restaurants and grocery stores. So, with just the few Korean ingredients available to me, I’ve created recipes like these tacos, and now we can have delicious, spicy dinners without leaving home.
The Ingredients
- For better taste, try and find a pure sesame oil, as opposed to one mixed with vegetable oil. Sesame oil is expensive, but will last a long time.
- Gochujang sauce can be found in the Asian aisles of some supermarkets, like Stop and Shop.
- Fresh ginger always adds great flavor to food. It can be kept in the freezer, whole, and then taken out whenever you need it. You can also use a half teaspoon of ginger powder, in place of fresh ginger.
- Mirin can also be found in the Asian section of almost every supermarket, but if you don’t have any you can substitute honey.
- Rice Wine vinegar can be found in the Asian section of the supermarket, or in the vinegar section. It’s nice and mild so I like to use it in salad dressings. If you can’t find it, or don’t want to buy it, just use any other white vinegar.
- This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. Before you marinate the chicken, check for little bone fragments that sometimes need to be trimmed away.
How I prepare the Tacos
First of all, please know that if you don’t have time to marinate the chicken, it will still be delicious. Just brush some marinade on both sides of the chicken before you bake it, and then maybe some additional marinade on the chicken before you broil it. In this case, you wouldn’t put the chicken in the marinade, but brush it on, using a clean brush each time, so as not to contaminate the marinade with raw chicken juices.
Secondly, I really love that this chicken is totally hands off while it bakes in the oven. I used the marinating time to make the mayonnaise and slaw, so while the oven baked, I had 30 minutes of “free” time. Of course, being a mom, I used that time not to relax, but to make totchos, which is tater tots topped with taco meat and cheese sauce, since some of my picky eaters “needed” to have them. When I perfect my homemade tater tots, I’ll definitely post that recipe, too. But, in the meantime, I hope you’ll try these very tasty Sesame and Gochujang Chicken Tacos with Pickled Slaw.
Sesame and Gochujang Chicken Tacos with Pickled Slaw
Tender chicken marinated in sesame oil and gochujang sauce, piled into a flour tortilla with a fresh pickled slaw.
Ingredients
For Sesame and Gochujang Chicken Tacos:
- ¼ cup sesame oil
- ¼ cup gochujang sauce
- 1 tbsp. grated peeled ginger
- 2 tbsp. minced garlic
- 1 tbsp. mirin
- 1 tbsp. light corn syrup
- 1 minced shallot
- 1 tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup sliced scallions
- 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
- 8 flour tortillas
For the Gochujang Mayonnaise:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. gouchujang sauce
- ½ tsp. sugar
For the Pickled Slaw:
- ½ cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. sugar
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
- 1 cup thinly slice red and orange peppers
- 1 cup grated carrots
Instructions
For the Sesame and Gochujang Tacos:
- Mix all of the ingredients, except for the chicken, scallions, and sesame seeds, in a large bowl. Add the chicken, stirring until it is well coated with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Spread the chicken out on a large baking sheet, and bake it for 30 minutes, and then broil it until browned. Watch it closely, because it can burn quickly. Take the chicken out of the oven, slice it, and sprinkle it with the scallions and sesame seeds.
- Toast the tortillas in a cast iron pan until they're browned. Fill with chicken, and top with gouchujang mayonnaise and pickled slaw.
For the Gouchujang Mayonnaise:
- Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, and cover and refrigerate until serving time.
For the Pickled Slaw:
- In a large bowl, mix together the vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Add the vegetables and stir well. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Bourbon Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
With the Fourth of July right around the corner, I’m gathering together all my delicious barbecue recipes. When my kids were little, hamburgers and hotdogs were typically what we ate on July Fourth, but now that everyone’s palates are slightly more evolved, I think these …
