Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Chicken

Grilled cheese sandwiches remind me of my Mother. She always came up with the best grilled cheese sandwiches, packed with flavor and loaded with goodies underneath a blanket of melted cheese. She used spices and herbs, such as turmeric, oregano, basil, coriander, cumin, and marjoram or anything that she could find in her spice rack. When it came to toppings, she used chicken, fish, meat, and vegetables, anything she could find in the fridge. In Jamaica, we have bread that is quite dense in texture which we call “hardo bread”. When she makes her grilled cheese sandwich with a nice thick slice of “hardo bread”, with toppings, loaded with cheese and spices…you are set!

A crisp French baguette is also a the perfect canvas to build on.

Photography by Heaven on Hearth

This is what you will need:

½ loaf French bread

10 -12 small black olives, pitted and sliced

¼ red onion, finely sliced

4 anchovy filets

1 breast of chicken, grilled and sliced

2 tablespoons Basil Pesto

¼ cup four cheese Mexican blend (a blend of Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero and Quesadilla cheeses)

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1/8 teaspoon of half sharp paprika

¼ teaspoon oregano

¼ teaspoon marjoram

¼ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon coriander

pinch of red pepper flakes

Baguette Layered with Basil Pesto, Grilled Chicken, Red Onions, Anchovies and Olives

Cut half of a French baguette in half, lengthwise. Spread each side with 1 tablespoon of Basil Pesto. Then layer the baguette halves with slices of grilled chicken breast, ¼ of a red onion finely sliced, 4 anchovy filets, slices of black olives. 

Baguettes Topped Chicken, Vegetables and Four Cheese Mexican Blend

Top with ¼ cup of the four cheese blend and sprinkle with the spices.

Broil on high for 2½ to 3 minutes on the top shelf. Take out of the oven and enjoy. This serves 4. Serve with a tossed salad and a glass of white wine. Voilà. This is a wonderful lunch idea or the perfect light supper. 

Ready to be Enjoyed

A cup of soup will make it even more substantial. Try the sandwich with the Chilled Creamy Asparagus Soup with Parsley Cream or Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Caramelized Onions.

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Chicken Bake for Children

A friend of mine had injured her finger some weeks ago and wasn’t able to prepare any food for her family without suffering pain, so a group of friends offered to help her out for a few days. With the kids at school, she had a chance to relax a bit, but needed help with dinner, so I offered to help her out for two meals.

With no kids of my own, I was truly unsure what to make. I have heard that children have quite a few dislikes and can be quite finicky at times, so I really wanted to prepare something that the whole family would enjoy. From past experience, with other friends that have kids, macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets always seem to be a hit, so a chicken bake should do the trick.

Photography by Heaven on Hearth

Not wanting to the kids to be turned off by too many spices, but also having the parents enjoy a nice meal, I came up with my plan: chicken thighs, pasta, creamy sauce and cheese. Children must love it! So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.

I used a six cheese Italian blend that has Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina and Romano Cheeses. It wasn’t too harsh in flavor that the kids wouldn’t enjoy it.

You will need:

6 cups of elbow pasta cooked

4 boneless chicken thighs (about 22 ounces) sliced in thin strips

½ of a medium sweet onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 ounces mushrooms chopped (Cremini and White button)

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup cheese Six Cheese Italian Blend)

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

8 ounces heavy cream

1½ cups chicken broth

1 handful of parsley finely chopped

1/3 cup of cheese for the topping

Begin with cooking the pasta as the directions suggest, as you will be requiring 6 cups of cooked pasta. By the time the pasta is cooked, the chicken and cream sauce will be ready. It’s so much easier when all ingredients are nice and hot so the baking time at the end will not be too long.

Prepare your ingredients before hand. So start by slicing 4 boneless chicken thighs into thin strips, then, finely dice ½ of a medium sweet onion. Finely chop 1 clove of garlic and roughly chop a mix of 4 ounces Cremini and white button mushrooms.

Chicken Strips, Onions, Garlic and Mushrooms

Heat a large skillet at medium high heat. Once the skillet is nice and hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss in the chicken strips evenly in the skillet. Let it brown for 3 minutes on one side, then toss again after 2 minutes. Add the finely diced onions and the chopped garlic and let soften for 3 minutes, tossing occasionally. Toss the chopped mushrooms in the skillet, then season the chicken mixture with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper and toss occasionally for another 3 minutes before transferring the mixture into a bowl.

Creamy Sauce

Using the same skillet, over medium high heat, melt 5 tablespoons butter. Once the butter is melted and slightly bubbling, add 4 tablespoons flour and using a whisk, stir the butter and flour mixture so that it doesn’t burn for 1½ minutes. Turn the burner down to medium low, then add 8 ounces heavy cream and 1½ cups chicken broth and simmer on medium low heat till bubbling for about 4 minutes. Add chicken mixture and pasta to the cream sauce and toss well, ensuring that the pasta is well incorporated in the sauce. Turn the heat off.

Chicken and Pasta Mixture with Parsley

 Take a handful of parsley and finely chop. Add to the chicken and pasta mixture as well as ½ cup six cheese Italian blend. Toss the mixture well, again.

Chicken and Pasta Mixture with six cheese Italian Blend

I used 4 individual ramekins. Fill each with 2 cups of the mixture. Or if you wish, you can use two large ramekins and 4 smaller ones if you have little children. Top the ramekins evenly with 1/3 cup of six cheese Italian blend.

Ramekin filled with Creamy Cheesy Chicken Pasta

Since the mixture is still hot, turn the oven on to broil, on high. Place the ramekins on the top rack and broil until the cheese is golden brown. This will vary with each oven, but it shouldn’t take more than 2 minutes if as much.

Ready to be Enjoyed!

This serves 4. Voilà. The whole family enjoyed this and I was told that the kids didn’t even mind the parsley, so I was quite happy.

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Rosemary Lemon Scented Chicken Kebabs

When I think of summer, I think light, fresh, flavorful and easy. No one wants to spend too much time in a kitchen. The fresh and aromatic flavor of the rosemary mixed with a zesty lemony flavor just creates a wonderful explosion on my taste buds.

Photography by Robert Demetrius

These are the ingredients you will need for the kebabs:

4 chicken breasts, weighing about 2 pounds

16 cherry tomatoes

½ a red onion, cut in half then cut in quarters

1 green sweet pepper, cut into 16 pieces

8 12-inch bamboo skewers, which should be soaked for an hour before use

1 lemon cut in wedges

olive oil for drizzling

For the marinade:

1/3 cup of olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic minced

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon chopped rosemary

Chicken Breast Cut in Pieces

Start by cutting the chicken breast in 1½-inch pieces. I made sure I got 24 pieces so that each skewer would have 4 pieces of juicy chicken. 

Olive Oil, Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice, Garlic, Rosemary, Salt and Pepper

Place the chicken pieces in a bowl and season with 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, zest of 1 lemon, 4 cloves of garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, 1/3 cup of olive oil and 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Make sure that all pieces are well covered with the marinade.

Chicken Pieces Well Covered with Marinade

Marinate the chicken pieces for 3½ hours, so that the flavors of the rosemary, lemon and garlic are well infused into the meat. Toss the marinating chicken pieces again half way through.

An hour before assembling the kebabs, soak the bamboo skewers in water. This can be debated, whether to soak or not, but I tend to soak my bamboo skewers, I find the meat doesn’t take on the woody taste of the skewer.

About 15 minutes before use, take the marinating chicken out of the fridge just to take the chill off.

Cutting Red Onion in Quarters

Rinse the cherry tomatoes and pat them dry. Cut half of the onion, lengthwise in half again, then cut in quarters so you have 8 quarters.

Sweet Peppers

Cut the green sweet pepper in 1 inch pieces.

Assembly Line of Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes

Assemble your tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions and chicken in a line so that it’s easy to skew.

Preheat oven to 500°Fahrenheit.

Brushing Remaining Marinade on the Kebabs

Drizzle olive oil on an aluminum foil lined sheet. You can assemble the kebab they way you would like, I chose to start with the onions, then a piece of chicken, a piece of green sweet pepper, then another piece of chicken, a cherry tomato, then a piece of chicken, repeating the process, till each skewer is finished. Place the kebabs on the sheet and brush the remaining marinade on the entire skewer so that the vegetables get the entire juicy flavor as well.

Bake for 7 minutes on either side and then a final 1 minute on high broil so it gets a beautiful color.

Drizzling Kebabs with Olive Oil

Cut a lemon in quarter wedges. Plate 2 skewers on each plate with a wedge of lemon. Just before you dig in, squeeze some lemon juice on the kebabs and drizzle with olive oil and enjoy immediately. This serves for 4. Voilà. The chicken will be nice and juicy. If you have any leftovers, it can be served cold over a tossed salad.

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Lemony Garlic Rosemary Chicken and Broccoli Sauté

This is a brilliantly quick, light, fresh and easy dish bursting with zesty lemon, garlic and rosemary. A perfect dish for the warm weather.

Photography by Robert Demetrius

Ingredients you will be needing:

1½ pounds chicken breast, in ¼ inch thick slices

5 cups broccoli florets

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon rosemary, chopped

1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped

1 tablespoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Ingredients
Slice chicken breast in ¼ inch thick slices, season with salt and pepper. Chop garlic and rosemary, finely. Rinse florets. That’s all the preparation.

Garlic, Lemon Zest and Rosemary Heating in Olive Oil

Pour 4 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet, adding 1 tablespoon chopped rosemary, 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. 

Chicken in Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary Oil

Turn the heat on to low for about 3 minutes, then turn the heat up to medium then add the sliced chicken breast and sauté for 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

Chicken and Broccoli

Then add the 5 cups of broccoli florets and toss for 2 minutes before pouring in 2 tablespoons lemon juice over the chicken and broccoli, giving one more good toss and it’s done.

Lemony Garlic Rosemary Chicken and Broccoli Saute

Voilà. A tasty, easy and quick dish. Serves 4. A crisp glass of white wine, some crusty bread and a salad. What more do you need? Bon appétit!

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Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Stuffed Ravioli with Melted Tomatoes

We had invited some friends over who just love Italy and Italian food, so I thought an Italian dish would be appropriate for the occasion.

Photography by Robert Demetrius

For the fresh ravioli:

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ cup of flour for dusting

2 teaspoons salt

2 eggs

2 teaspoons olive oil

4½ tablespoons water

1 gallon and 2 cups of water

1 tablespoon salt

For the chicken and Portobello filling:

6 ounces ground chicken

3 ounces Portobello mushrooms, finely diced

3 ounces Marsala

2 ounces onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

¾ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

4 large basil leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

¼ cup heavy cream

1 egg, lightly beaten

For the sauce:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, finely chopped

handful fresh basil, cut in chiffonade

32 ounces diced canned tomatoes, drained

½ teaspoon salt

freshly ground pepper

Browning Ground Chicken

Heat a skillet at medium heat before adding 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Brown 6 ounces of ground chicken, seasoned with ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper 

Ground Mince with Garlic, Onions, Thyme and Diced Portobello Mushrooms

and 2 tablespoons fresh thyme for 2 minutes before adding 2 ounces finely diced onions, 1 teaspoon garlic finely chopped and 3 ounces finely diced Portobello mushrooms for a further 2½ minutes. 

Deglazing with Marsala Wine

Then deglaze with 3 ounces Marsala wine for 1½ minutes, making sure that you scrape all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. Toss in 1 tablespoon bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese as well as 1 tablespoon of olive oil just to keep the mixture moist while it cools and take the skillet off the burner. Mix all ingredients well together and put aside to cool, as we will be putting the mixture in the food processor or chopper later on.

Drain two 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes. Leave them to drain until you are ready to use. Do not discard the tomato juice as you can use it for another dish, on another day.

Before commencing with the ravioli dough, prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper so that once the dough is done, you can put the cut out pieces of dough on the sheet.

Mound of Flour

Now to the ravioli dough, while the filling is still cooling down. On a clean surface, measure out 2 cups of all purpose flour, mixing in 2 teaspoons of salt and mound on a flat surface.  

Well filled with Eggs and Olive Oil

Form a well in the middle of the mound, so it looks a bit like a bowl so that you can pour in all the wet ingredients. Crack 2 eggs into the well, add 2 teaspoons olive oil and 4½ tablespoons water. 

Incorporating Flour into Wet Ingredients

Use a fork to whisk the wet ingredients, slowly allowing the flour to gradually incorporate into the mixture until it becomes sticky and heavy and are able to knead the dough with your hands. 

Wet Ingredients Nearly Completely Incorporated with Flour

Continue to knead until the dough is smooth. If the dough is too dry, add a bit more water, but just a little at a time.

Kneading Dough

Put the dough, covered, on the side for a few minutes while you finish the filling. First clean the surface, scraping off all the dried bits of flour if necessary. Use some of the ¼ cup of flour, that was set aside, to dust the surface, just before you start rolling out the dough.

Pulsing Chicken and Mushroom Mixture

The mixture should be cooled by now, so spoon into the food processor or chopper and pulse until you have a fine paste like consistency. 

Adding Remaining Breadcrumbs and Parmesan Cheese

Add the remaining breadcrumbs, Parmesan and 4 large basil leaves that should be roughly chopped. 

Adding Heavy Cream and Egg Mixture

Blend together ¼ cup of heavy cream and 1 egg then pour into the mixture and mix well. The filling is now ready to be used.

Take the dough that has been resting and place on the flour dusted surface and cut into 4 pieces, as it is easier rolling smaller pieces.

Rolling Out Dough

Take a piece of the dough, pressing it flat with the heel of your hand, then roll out the dough, with a rolling pin as thin as you possibly can. Place the other three pieces to the side, making sure you cover them so that they don’t dry out.

Cutting Pasta Pieces

Once the dough is completely rolled out, as thin as you possibly can, use a cookie cutter that is about 2½ inches in diameter and cut out the pasta pieces. Place the pieces on the parchment paper lined cookie sheet and start with the next batch, until they are all done.

Pasta on the Parchment Lined Cookie Sheet

I did two batches of dough, then filled them and created my chicken and Portobello mushroom stuffed ravioli then continued with the other two batches. The cookie sheet couldn’t hold all the cut out dough at once, so I did it in batches.

Each piece of dough should yield about 13 pieces of pasta.

Filling the Pasta

Take a piece of pasta, wet the edges with water then add a heaping teaspoon of filling, then cover with another piece of pasta. 

Closing Ravioli Edges with a Fork

Taking your thumb and index finger, gently press the two pieces together, then take a fork and press the edges close and your ravioli is done. Continue until all the dough and filling is done. 

Stuffed Ravioli

Keep on the cookie sheet until ready to drop into the boiling water.

In a nice large pot, pour 1 gallon and 2 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. That should take about 20 -25 minutes, so while the water is heating, start with the melted tomatoes. By now, the tomatoes should be well drained. Measure out 32 ounces of drained tomatoes. You may have some tomatoes left over so you can pour it back in the juice and place in the fridge.

Heating Olive Oil Slowly with Garlic

In a large skillet, pour ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic and heat slowly at low heat, as you want to infuse the oil with the garlic, but not burn the garlic.

Grab about 3 to 4 sprigs of basil and remove the leaves from the stems, that should give you a nice handful of basil, which you will need to cut in chiffonade, just before serving. Do not discard the stems, as you will need them.

Drained Tomatoes Seasoned with Salt and Basil Stems

Once you have finished separating the leaves from the stems, turn the heat up to medium low until you see the garlic starting to get golden which will only be a few seconds, then carefully pour in 32 ounces of drained diced tomatoes and mix well with the hot garlic oil. Add the 3 or 4 stems of the basil to the tomatoes so that while the tomatoes are melting away in the garlic oil, it is also being infused with the basil.  Season the tomatoes with ½ teaspoon of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Water Boiling

The water should be boiling now. Add the ravioli and cook for about 6 -7 minutes. 

Dropping Ravioli into Boiling Water

The ravioli will initially fall to the bottom of the pot and then float to the top. 

Ravioli Floating to the top

Since the pasta was done by hand, not all pieces will be exactly the same thickness and therefore you will need to check around the 4 - 5 minute mark. Just use a fork to stick the edges and if it is hard, you know you will need a bit more time.

Melted Tomatoes with Basil

While the ravioli is cooking, take the basil leaves, cutting them in chiffonade.

Remove the basil stems from the melted tomatoes and turn off the burner. Toss in the basil chiffonade.

Chicken and Portobello Mushroom Stuffed Ravioli with Melted Tomatoes

Use a slotted spoon to take out the ravioli and place 4 or 5 on each plate and spoon and mound of melted tomatoes in the middle of the plate. I also drizzled some olive oil over the ravioli.

It's time to have a bite!

You can also put the ravioli in the skillet with the melted tomatoes and toss gently, then spoon on a plate.

Voilà. Another easy home cooked dish that is so satisfying. Serves 4 to 6, depending on how hungry you are. I served 4 on each plate and my guests came back for more! Serve with a nice bottle of Italian wine. You can also end this wonderful dinner with a few scoops of gelato or sorbetto for dessert. Buon appetito!

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