Creamy Chicken Breasts

These chicken breasts are so delicious and easy to make. Be sure to use the brine for the breasts, it keeps them moist and delicious. It will take 4 hours to brine the breasts so do this step early in the day. You can also assemble this recipe and freeze to be cooked later from frozen. 

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese divided
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Brine:

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 Tbs Salt
• 5 pepper corns
• 1 bay leaf

Side:

• Riced Cauliflower (Optional)

Directions:

Brine the chicken:

1. Dissolve the salt into the water and add the pepper and bay leaf.
2. Place the chicken breasts in a zip-lock bag and pour in the brine and burp out the air and seal.
3. Place the bag in a bowl in the fridge
4. Let the breasts soak for at least 4 hours but not more than 8 (they may get mealy)

Assembly and Cooking:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Pat chicken dry and place in a greased 13x9 baking dish or foil pan.
3. Add cheese slices to the top of chicken breasts.
4. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese, pepper and garlic powder.
5. Spread the mixture over chicken and sprinkle the top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
6. If freezing, cover tightly and freeze for cooking later.
7. Bake for 1 hour or until a thermometer inserted in the breasts reads 165.  
8. Serve over riced cauliflower or serve alone. The sauce is delicious, so you want to be sure to have a side dish that can soak it up.

Yield: 4 chicken breasts with sauce.

Uncle Matt's Poultry and Fish Rub

This is a great rub for poultry and fish, but it is particularly good for chicken cooked on the grill or in the oven.

Place the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a wire whisk. Sift the mixture to insure an even mixing and to remove any lumps or large pieces. Check out Penzy's for high quality spices and mixes.

1 cup Turbinado Sugar
1/2 cup Onion Salt *
1/2 cup Garlic Salt *
1/2 cup Smoked or normal Paprika
2 tablespoons Chili Powder
2 tablespoons Poultry Seasoning
1 tablespoon Black pepper, ground **
1 tablespoon Coriander, ground **
1 tablespoon Dried Cayenne Pepper, ground **
1 tablespoon Thyme, ground **
1 tablespoon Marjoram, ground **
1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 tablespoon ground Bay Leaves, ground **
1/4 teaspoon Dried Habenero, ground **
1/4 teaspoon Citric Acid (optional)

*  If you can not get these salts, just use a 3 to 1 salt to dried spice ratio (3/8 cup salt and 1/8 cup dried spice). Try to use non-iodine salt so the rub will not discolor the meat.

** Best results are achieved when you start with whole spices and grind them yourself, but pre-ground spices will work as well.

Garlic Aioli

This sauce is a great one for fancy burgers or chicken sandwiches, like the Blackened Chicken Sandwiches I have here on my site. It is easy to make if you have a mini food processor. If you only have a full sized one or blender, double this recipe and it will work better in the larger bowl. If you have a good whisk and glass bowl, you can do it the really old fashioned way.

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, run through a garlic press
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice, fresh if possible
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
Salt, to taste (1/2 teaspoon)
Ground black or White pepper, to taste (1/8 teaspoon)
1/2+ cup top quality extra virgin olive oil

Directions
Combine the garlic, egg, lemon juice, vinegar, water parsley, mustard and a little salt and pepper in a mini food processor and puree. Add the oil in a thin stream while spinning the mix in the processor. Go very slowly at first and then, as the emulsion forms, you can go a little bit faster. Continue to add oil and process until the mixture has formed a thick emulsion, you may need to add more oil depending on how large your egg was. The final product should have a consistency just a bit thinner than store bought mayonnaise. Add the salt and pepper to taste spinning it in the processor after each addition.

This recipe is based on Emeril Lagasse's

Blackened Chicken Sandwiches

These are perfect for tailgating - all the prep is done ahead of time and they are simple to cook and delicious! Credit to my big brother Tad for perfecting the method and teaching it to me. I use his special blend of blackening spice which is secret, but I have included a very good one below. Feel free to modify it to your tastes!

Ingredients
       3lb bag(s) of frozen chicken breasts (defrosted) or Fresh boneless breasts
   1   Zip-Lock Freezer Bag, gallon size
        Blackening Spice (recipe below)
        Vegetable Oil


Blackening Spice Recipe
    12 bay leaves, finely crushed
    3 tsp salt
    2 tsp. paprika
    1 tsp. sugar
    1 tsp. granulated onion
    1 tsp. granulated garlic
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
    1/4 tsp. basil
    1/4 tsp. oregano
    1/4 tsp. thyme
    1/4 tsp black pepper
    1/4 tsp white pepper

Matt's Cassoulet

I thought I would try my hand a making a cassoulet. I looked up several recipes and they all called for duck in some form or another. I went out and tried to buy duck legs or breast, but they were nowhere to be found. This is supposed to be peasant food, so the thought of buying a $30 duck to make it did not seem right. I decided to substitute fresh chicken thighs for the duck.  I purchased them from from my butcher along with some of his fresh made Italian sausage and the results were excellent. This is a fantastic winter dish and the smell of it cooking will knock you out. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

    2 lbs.            Chicken Thighs
    1 lbs.            Mild Italian Sausage
    1 1/4 lb.        Pork Chops, bone in
    1 lbs.            Dry White Beans (Navy or other)
    28 oz.           Can Diced Tomatoes
    1/4 c.            Diced Onion
    1/4 c.            Diced Shallots (optional, sub onion instead)
    1/2 c.            Diced Carrots
    1/2 c.            Diced Celery
    1/2 head       Garlic, minced
                        Low Sodium Chicken Broth
    Bunch           Fresh Parsley
    Bunch           Fresh Thyme
                        Bay Leaf
                        Salt, Pepper

Temperature and the Art of Grilling Chicken

I am good at grilling chicken. That statement sounds simple, but for those of you who regularly grill food, you know what it means. It means that you have mastered the task of cooking chicken from raw to cooked over an open flame. It means that when the chicken hits the table it is cooked through, but still juicy. This is no small feat. The cards are stacked against you: the pieces are usually of different sizes and shapes, they sometimes start off at different temperatures, the fire in your grill may be uneven. This makes the job of getting each piece up the correct temperature, and not too far over, much more difficult. I liken it to hitting the bulls-eye; even an inexperienced griller can hit very near the bulls-eye occasionally, it is not impossible. The trick is consistency, can you hit the mark every time you take a shot?

Matt's Pad Thai

This is my take on Pad Thai. It is taken from Alton Brown's version with a change, I do not use the  tofu, my family prefers chicken. I have used the tofu, but you have to be very careful with the marinade that Alton uses, if you marinate the tofu too long, it comes out way too salty. I have modified this recipe to use dark meat chicken and for the marinade, I use low sodium soy sauce and water to cut down on the salt in the dish.

Grilled Chicken with Uncle Matt's Marinade

Some of you are familiar with the marinade I have been bottling. The following are directions on how to most effectively use the marinade.

ABOUT THE MARINADE:
The marinade is apple cider vinegar based with spices, onion, garlic, oil, natural sugar and some other stuff. It does not contain meat tenderizer, MSG, nor any peanut by-products. It was developed from a recipe that is used on the eastern shore by the volunteer fire departments for their grilled chicken fundraisers. The basic recipe has been used many times in the past at Sargent Family 4th of July parties and other celebrations. I have taken that basic recipe and added some other ingredients that I have found improve the flavor and performance. My nieces and nephews, who inhabit our pool during the summertime, have named the chicken I prepare for them "Uncle Matt's Chicken" and they seem to like it a great deal.