Editor’s note: Kathryn Duda, who writes our Cook of the Week feature, has been chosen as a finalist in the national Elsie’s Family Favorites Recipe Contest. Offered by makers of Borden® Cheese, the contest celebrates treasured family recipes and the memories they evoke.
LEWISTON – My first cooking endeavor was baking Christmas cookies and gingerbread people with my mother and younger brother. I may have done more of the decorating than the actual baking, but I was influenced by the process all the same. Each year now, I look forward to the holidays when I have every excuse to bake lots of sweets.
My mother also taught me cooking techniques, from how to make the perfect pie crust to how to cook a pot roast that is falling-apart tender. I have learned a lot by reading cookbooks and magazines, and by checking out recipes on my favorite Web site, www.allrecipes.com, I have gained a sense of how to pair different flavors and spices to create new dishes.
When I was a teenager, I began to experiment and created some of my own recipes. My mother gave me free reign to cook dinner any nights I desired. While at first I barely strayed from traditional dishes and practiced changing only an ingredient or two, over time I became more confident.
From this experimenting came the recipe I entered in the Elsie’s Family Favorites Recipe Contest, sponsored by Borden Cheese. I found the contest online through a search engine. I decided to enter my fiesta chicken recipe, which has received rave reviews from my family.
I was ecstatic when I found out my recipe qualified me as one of 25 finalists in the contest, thereby, receiving a $100 prize, a year’s supply of Borden cheese and a commemorative apron. The American public will choose the grand prize winner by voting online at www.elsie.com, with a deadline of Aug. 1. The grand prize is a $5,000 kitchen makeover and a visit by chef Curtis Aikens, who will prepare dinner for the winner’s family. A donation to a local food bank will be made in honor of the winner as well.
When I’m not experimenting in the kitchen, I keep busy reading and writing. I also love to swim and run. I work as a research clerk for TD Banknorth.
Fiesta chicken
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, 4-6 ounces each
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (optional)
½ cup lime juice, divided
Salt and pepper to taste
Chili powder to taste
1 small yellow onion, chopped or thinly sliced
1 red and 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced (may use 2 red or 2 orange)
1 14-ounce can pineapple chunks, juice reserved and divided
1½ cups sour cream
1½ cups Borden shredded sharp cheddar
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Warm oil and garlic in large sauté pan over medium-high heat until fragrant but not burnt. Add chicken breasts, vinegar, ¼ cup lime juice, salt and pepper, and chili powder. Sauté on one side for 3 to 5 minutes; flip chicken and add in onion, peppers, pineapple chunks and half the pineapple juice, Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes until just cooked. Add more salt, pepper and chili powder if desired.
Meanwhile, mix sour cream with remaining lime juice and 3 tablespoons pineapple juice. Add dash of pepper. Drain pan of juices and place chicken breasts in medium baking dish. Add onion, peppers and pineapple to top of chicken. Spread the sour cream sauce evenly over chicken. Top with cheese and place, uncovered, in oven for 7 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve warm with a side salad of red- and green-leaf lettuce with tomatoes, purple onion and cucumber for a colorful presentation.
Salmon penne alfredo
Ingredients:
1 pound salmon fillets
12 to 16 ounces penne pasta
½ cup water
2 teaspoons lemon juice
¼ cup dry white wine or chicken broth
Sauce:
½ cup butter
6 ounces cream cheese, in 1-ounce chunks (so it melts easily)
¾ cup half & half or ½ cup light cream and ¼ cup milk
garlic salt, to taste
lemon juice, to taste
pepper, to taste
¼ cup capers (optional)
Method:
Boil water and wine or broth in large skillet with lemon juice. Add salmon and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until thickest part of salmon flakes easily with a fork. Boil water for and prepare pasta as directed on box. Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients in medium saucepan and bring to a low boil over med-low heat. Cook while stirring, until slightly thickened. Break salmon into bite-size pieces and stir into sauce. Drain pasta and toss with alfredo sauce. Serve immediately.
Chocolate-toffee chip cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2½ cups flour
½ 11.5-ounce package milk chocolate chips
½ 11.5-ounce package chocolate-toffee bits
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs and cream. Thoroughly mix in baking soda and salt. Add flour in three parts, mixing well after each addition. Add toffee and chocolate chips. Bake for 8-10 minutes (time may vary with different ovens).
Optional:
Take one cookie and cover with some chocolate hazelnut spread such as Nutella. Place another cookie on top to make a decadent cookie sandwich.
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