That’s not a question, it’s a statement, and tonight it was Mozzarella Chicken Pinwheels stuffed with roasted garlic. But before we get to that, let me tell you a little bit about why I’m doing this in three parts.
Part 1: When I was growing up my mother did a lot of cooking. I can remember almost every meal being “home cooked.” Going out to eat was usually reserved for Friday night or special occasions. My mom and I were always close and that meant I hung around the kitchen while she cooked. I wish I had paid more attention to learning how to cook, but mostly I just enjoyed talking to her and smelling all of the delicious foods she prepared for us. My mom has always been a great cook and what has always impressed me was her ability/willingness to whip up a “from scratch” meal at the drop of a hat. I have grown to learn that few things are as satisfying as preparing a meal for someone and watching them enjoy it. My two favorite things that she makes: spaghetti (homemade sauce with a secret ingredient that I know) and chocolate oatmeal cookies. But I digress. The point of my ramblings is that being in the kitchen has always had a nostalgic feeling for me. For me the feeling I get in the kitchen is what home is supposed to feel like. Everything I know about cooking (which is very little) I learned on my own by just experimenting, reading and watching cooking shows. I love going into the kitchen, filling the counter with fresh ingredients, putting on some music and creating something that looks, smells and tastes fantastic and leaves you feeling fantastic when you are finished. My favorite part, hands down, is using a knife. Cutting, slicing, dicing, chopping, I love it all (although I am admittedly very slow). It has actually become a hobby for me, which works out well since eating food is also a hobby of mine. This brings me to the second part.
Part 2: A few weeks ago I was in New Orleans with friends who are locals, and as is our tradition, visited several of their favorite restaurants. If you are a food lover, New Orleans is nirvana. They took us to a pizza place on St. Charles called Slice. This isn’t Pizza Hut/Papa John’s/Domino’s chain packaged pizza. Slice is fresh, local ingredients and unique combinations. I had a slice with bacon, fresh basil and roasted garlic cloves. Let me tell you, it was as good as I’ve ever eaten. I never realized how much of a difference roasted garlic could make. I love garlic to begin with, but roasted garlic. Out of this world! I made up my mind that night I was going to make roasted garlic a priority in my menus when I got back home. And that brings me to tonight and part 3.
Part 3: I started out 2012 with the intention of writing a blog post every day. I was successful in this goal for quite awhile, but then I got busy, very busy and haven’t written in months. Things have started to slow back down to a reasonable pace in the past few weeks and look to be for awhile, so I decided to start back while I can. When I’m home and have time I love to cook, read and write. I don’t really have a lot to say right now, so I decided to write about food. No promises, but I hope to turn this into a food blog (at least temporarily). I hope you can enjoy reading, be inspired by the food and gather your family into the kitchen to try it our yourself.
Here is the walk through on tonight’s menu:
Chop the tops off of four heads of garlic (you can even leave the skin on), place in a baking dish, thoroughly coat with olive oil and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes. Use a fork or knife to remove the cloves from skin (they should be soft) and set aside.
Take 4 to 6 thin sliced chicken breasts and place several cloves of garlic on each. Then sprinkle each with rosemary and mozzarella cheese. Roll up the chicken and drizzle with the (now garlic infused) olive oil from the pan. Sprinkle with basil and oregano and bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees (or until done).
Cover with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and return to oven until cheese is melted. Add a softened stick of butter, cut into pieces, to the remaining garlic cloves. Use a mixer, or by hand, and mash/mix the butter and roasted garlic until it makes a spread. Spread on your choice of bread and bake until butter is melted. Serve along with the chicken. The roasted garlic is what will really make this dish. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
That’s not a question, it’s a statement, and tonight it was Mozzarella Chicken Pinwheels stuffed with roasted garlic. But before we get to that, let me tell you a little bit about why I’m doing this in three parts.
Part 1: When I was growing up my mother did a lot of cooking. I can remember almost every meal being “home cooked.” Going out to eat was usually reserved for Friday night or special occasions. My mom and I were always close and that meant I hung around the kitchen while she cooked. I wish I had paid more attention to learning how to cook, but mostly I just enjoyed talking to her and smelling all of the delicious foods she prepared for us. My mom has always been a great cook and what has always impressed me was her ability/willingness to whip up a “from scratch” meal at the drop of a hat. I have grown to learn that few things are as satisfying as preparing a meal for someone and watching them enjoy it. My two favorite things that she makes: spaghetti (homemade sauce with a secret ingredient that I know) and chocolate oatmeal cookies. But I digress. The point of my ramblings is that being in the kitchen has always had a nostalgic feeling for me. For me the feeling I get in the kitchen is what home is supposed to feel like. Everything I know about cooking (which is very little) I learned on my own by just experimenting, reading and watching cooking shows. I love going into the kitchen, filling the counter with fresh ingredients, putting on some music and creating something that looks, smells and tastes fantastic and leaves you feeling fantastic when you are finished. My favorite part, hands down, is using a knife. Cutting, slicing, dicing, chopping, I love it all (although I am admittedly very slow). It has actually become a hobby for me, which works out well since eating food is also a hobby of mine. This brings me to the second part.
Part 2: A few weeks ago I was in New Orleans with friends who are locals, and as is our tradition, visited several of their favorite restaurants. If you are a food lover, New Orleans is nirvana. They took us to a pizza place on St. Charles called Slice. This isn’t Pizza Hut/Papa John’s/Domino’s chain packaged pizza. Slice is fresh, local ingredients and unique combinations. I had a slice with bacon, fresh basil and roasted garlic cloves. Let me tell you, it was as good as I’ve ever eaten. I never realized how much of a difference roasted garlic could make. I love garlic to begin with, but roasted garlic. Out of this world! I made up my mind that night I was going to make roasted garlic a priority in my menus when I got back home. And that brings me to tonight and part 3.
Part 3: I started out 2012 with the intention of writing a blog post every day. I was successful in this goal for quite awhile, but then I got busy, very busy and haven’t written in months. Things have started to slow back down to a reasonable pace in the past few weeks and look to be for awhile, so I decided to start back while I can. When I’m home and have time I love to cook, read and write. I don’t really have a lot to say right now, so I decided to write about food. No promises, but I hope to turn this into a food blog (at least temporarily). I hope you can enjoy reading, be inspired by the food and gather your family into the kitchen to try it our yourself.
Here is the walk through on tonight’s menu:
Chop the tops off of four heads of garlic (you can even leave the skin on), place in a baking dish, thoroughly coat with olive oil and cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes. Use a fork or knife to remove the cloves from skin (they should be soft) and set aside.
Take 4 to 6 thin sliced chicken breasts and place several cloves of garlic on each. Then sprinkle each with rosemary and mozzarella cheese. Roll up the chicken and drizzle with the (now garlic infused) olive oil from the pan. Sprinkle with basil and oregano and bake in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes at 375 degrees (or until done).
Cover with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese and return to oven until cheese is melted. Add a softened stick of butter, cut into pieces, to the remaining garlic cloves. Use a mixer, or by hand, and mash/mix the butter and roasted garlic until it makes a spread. Spread on your choice of bread and bake until butter is melted. Serve along with the chicken. The roasted garlic is what will really make this dish. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!
