Tuscan Green Olive Chicken
 |
Chef Owen May Chef with Benefits |
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
½ onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 Roma tomatoes, diced
¾ cup green olives (pitted), chopped
1/3 pine nuts
½ cup feta cheese
1 box of whole wheat pasta (12 ounces), cooked according to package directions
1. Heat sauté pan; when pan is hot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and half of chicken.
2. Allow chicken to cook until it is brown and “releases” from the pan. Turn chicken and brown other side.
3. Remove chicken from pan and repeat steps 1 and 2 to cook other half. Remove from chicken from pan.
4. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and sauté onion until softened.
5. Add garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.
6. Add diced tomatoes and stir until softened.
7. Stir in chopped green olives.
8. Return chicken to the pan.
9. Sprinkle chicken-tomato mixture with pine nuts and heat through.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
11. Top with feta and cover pan with lid to warm cheese through.
12. Place serving of pasta in the center of a plate and top with chicken-olive mixture.
Pairs Well With:
 |
| 2006 Barba Vigna Franca Mont -This red from the Abruzzo region of Italy is made from 100% Montepulicano grapes. It evokes flavors of minerals and dark cherries. |
For more culinary inspiration KEYWORD “recipes”, a specific ingredient or click here.
Food Styling Class in Singapore
Food styling and photography in another country is quite an adventure, and I got to do just that this past May in Singapore. What a beautiful country! I love going to markets in a foreign country because there are so many different ways of packaging things. So many things seem familiar, but are just not the same. This trip was a very quick 2 day class for people from all over Asia. Denise Vivaldo of Food Fanatics in Los Angeles, and writer of the Food Stylist Handbook, was the teacher of the class. I was there to teach a small portion on food photography so that students understood how the 2 work together. It was a wonderful experience for me and I learned so much from the students. We started out grocery shopping for items to show them how food styling works for a shoot here in the states. The first day was a series of demo’s with Denise showing the students various ways, and under different scenario’s food styling is used. The second day we allowed the students to work on photos for their portfolio which brought with it challenges. In the States, our chickens usually come with the heads and feet off, but not in Singapore. So it was a bit of a surprise when it was opened up for the demo. We used real food in various states of being cooked since most food styling now a days is real food that is not fully cooked. This chicken was barely cooked, but I think it turned out to be quite a beautiful presentation. Would love to know your thoughts on food styling and if you would be interested in a class taught locally this fall in the Phoenix area. Please enjoy the pictures from the class. The first couple pictures are Denise’s styling work and my photography with student styling work towards the end of the series. 
Heather
Crispy Rosemary Chicken & Potatoes
 |
Chef Jon-Paul Hutchins Le Cordon Bleu | Executive Chef |
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 Fryer Chicken cut into 8 pieces or 3 pounds of assorted chicken pieces
5 cloves of garlic minced
Juice of 2 lemons
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup fresh rosemary stemmed and chopped
2 pounds russet potatoes cut into wedges or 1 inch chunks
Salt and pepper
Directions:
1. Combine all of the ingredients and marinate 1 hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Strain out the marinade and Spread the mixture out on a lightly oiled sheet pan.
4. Roast for ½ hour turn pieces and continue to roast until golden crispy and an internal temperature of 160 degrees has been reached.
5. Enjoy!
Pairs Well With:
 |
| Pinot Grigio |
For more culinary inspiration KEYWORD "recipes", a specific ingredient or click here.
Basic Chicken Stock
|
Chef Jon-Paul Hutchins Le Cordon Bleu | Executive Chef |
Yield: 1 gallon
Ingredients:
5 pounds chicken bones
6 quarts of water
1 pound mire poix (1/2 pound onions peeled and cut 1 inch, ¼ pound carrots peeled and cut 1 inch, ¼ pound celery cut 1 inch)
1 sachet de spice (6 whole pepper corns, 6 parsley stems, 1 sprig fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf secured in a cheese cloth bag)
Directions:
Place the bones in a large stock pot and cover with the water. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Skim any “scum” that floats to the surface.
After 4 hours of gentle simmering and skimming, add the remaining ingredients and simmer for one more hour.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a container and cool in an ice bath (a sink filled with ice and water) until cool to the touch (70 degrees).
Cover and refrigerate or divide into smaller containers and freeze.
For more culinary inspiration KEYWORD "recipes", a specific ingredient or click here.
