Cornflake Crusted Chicken

It's 'restaurant night' at the Smiths' and Rachel and Gabe have placed their orders. Cornflake crusted chicken with curry sauce, white beans with bacon & spinach, beet & Goats cheese salad, and an upside down apple pie are on the menu.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

Yield: 4

Ease of Preparation: Easy
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don?t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Ingredients:

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

• 4 x large beets, washed and ends trimmed
• 2 Tbsps olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup goats cheese
• Olive oil for drizzling
• Balsamic vinegar for drizzling
• 1 bunch of chopped Italian parsley
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions:

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Place beets on a sheet of tin foil and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.
3. Wrap tightly and place on a baking sheet.
4. Roast for about an hour, or until easily pierced with a fork.
5. Unwrap and when beets are cool enough to handle, peel them and slice into even wedges.
6. Place in a salad bowl and drizzle with olive oil and vinegar to taste.
7. Crumble goat cheese over top and garnish with parsley and fresh ground pepper.
8. Toss to combine and enjoy!

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

Yield: 4

Ease of Preparation: Easy
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Ingredients:

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 x eggs
• 1 x Heaping spoonful Dijon mustard
• 2 cups cornflakes, lightly crushed
• 4 x boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Salt and pepper
• 2 Tbsps olive oil

Curry Sauce

• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup 35% cream
• 2 Tbsps cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• Salt

Directions:

Cornflake Crusted Chicken

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Put flour into a medium sized bowl.
3. In another bowl, put in eggs and mustard and whisk well.
4. In a third bowl, place cornflakes.
5. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and then coat them with flour.
6. Shake off any excess flour then dip into the egg mixture.
7. Allow the excess egg to run off then dip into the cornflakes and press to coat well.
8. Place the breasts on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, or until crust is crispy and chicken is cooked through.
9. Serve with Curry Sauce or your favourite condiment.

Curry Sauce

1. Pour stock and cream into a small pot over medium heat.
2. Stir cornstarch into water and then whisk into the stock mixture.
3. Add curry powder and continue to whisk until sauce is thickened.
4. Season to taste with salt.

Upside-Down Apple Pie

Yield: 4

Ease of Preparation: Easy
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Ingredients:

The Pastry

• 1 cup pastry flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup frozen butter
• 4 tbsp ice water

The Apples

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 x golden delicious apples, cored and sliced into 6 pieces each

Directions:

The Pastry

1. Put flour into a large bowl and whisk in sugar and salt.
2. Grate in frozen butter and blend lightly with fingertips.
3. Add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time and stir until dough comes together. Pat into a flat disc and refrigerate for at least a half hour.

The Apples

1. Melt butter in an ovenproof skillet and add sugar.
2. Swirl pan around to help dissolve sugar and then let it caramelize.
3. Add apple slices in an attractive pattern and let them cook until they begin to brown and get soft.

Assembly

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Roll dough into a 10-inch round and lay it over the apples in the skillet, tucking edges around apples.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, until pastry is golden.
4. Invert onto a serving platter while tart is still warm.

White Beans with Bacon and Spinach

Yield: 4

Ease of Preparation: Easy
A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason feel free to stir your own ideas into this dish. When you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don't like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

Ingredients:

White Beans with Bacon and Spinach

• 1/2 lb. bacon, chopped
• 2 x onions, chopped
• 8 x cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 x cups dried navy beans, soaked in cold water overnight
• 3 x bay leaves
• 2 x sprigs fresh rosemary
• Fresh ground pepper
• A few handfuls of baby spinach

Directions:

White Beans with Bacon and Spinach

1. Brown the bacon in a saucepan over medium-high heat then pour off most of the fat before adding the onions.
2. Stir and cook until the onions soften and begin to brown.
3. Add the garlic and stir for a few minutes before adding the soaked beans.
4. Add bay leaves, rosemary and pepper. Add just enough water to cover the beans.
5. Simmer until the water has been absorbed and the beans are tender, about 45 minutes.
6. Stir in the baby spinach and serve.

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