Bits Of Dust

Archive for August, 2007

Have you ever made a bacon mat?

I had never heard of it until today, when I read this post at Serious Eats.

I think that making a mat like that would be great, not only when making a BLT, but anytime you want bacon on a sandwich.

I found this recipe today, and since the kids love chicken, and I love fresh Parmesan, I thought it would make a perfect meal. It did.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18)
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl.

Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes.

Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping.

Delicious! Check out this recipe and more at the Food Network website.

This weeks Chef Of The Week is…

Mario Batali,
Babbo Ristorante,
B&B Ristorante,
Esca,
Lupa,,
and many, more.

Mario Batali is one of the few chefs who actually inspire me to cook. In fact, I had never made my own pasta until I bought one of his books. Now I insist on making the pasta from scratch every chance I get.

If I had to make a list of my favorite chefs, Mario would be at the top of that list.

Technorati Tags: Mario Batali, chef of the week

Chef John has a delicious Chili-Rubbed Pork Chops recipe up at Food Wishes. Watch the video below, and don’t drool too much.

Serious Eats has posted an excellent interview with Rock Harper, the winner of this season’s best reality show, Hell’s Kitchen.

Check it out, and Congratulations, Rock!

I was wandering around the FoodNetwork site today and found the recipe for Mario Batali’s Potato Pizza that he prepared on Molto Mario two days ago.

I’m definitely trying this one.