Sit Down and Eat!

Chicken Breasts in Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce. Or, what the hell should I do with boneless, skinless this time?

Oh so very good.  And easy.   I got the recipe from epicurious.com after a desperate search for "what the hell can I do with boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I am not completely sick of."  Or something like that.

Chicken Breast in Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Six servings, takes about 30 minutes.

6 chicken breast portions

3 T. oil from oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

6-9 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1.5 cups dry white wine  (yes, you probably could substitute chicken broth but I have not tested that)

1 c. heavy cream, half-n-half or milk (I used half-n-half and milk)

1 cup drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced  ( I LOVE sun-dried tomatoes and used alot, adjust to your taste)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (I forgot!!)

Pound chicken lightly, salt and pepper it.

Heat the sun-dried tomato oil in pan over medium-high heat.  I used my electric skillet because I like lots of room for the chicken to brown properly. 

Brown chicken, about 6 minutes per side.  

Move chicken aside and put chopped garlic in, Saute about 30 seconds, then add chopped tomatoes, wine and cream. 

Bring it to a boil, then lower temp and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, loosely covered.  Sauce will thicken. 

Finally add chopped basil and cook for an additional minute or two.  Serve over angel hair pasta.

Note:  My sauce curdled slightly, which I read would happen if I used milk.  Apparently this does not happen if you use heavy cream but I didn't have any on hand.  Not to worry, it was so delicious.  And the sauce thickens even more as it sits.  By the time we finished dinner what was left in the pan had thickened to a thick, alfredo-like texture that you could eat right from the pan with the serving spoon.  Not that I would do anything like that. 

Peanut Butter and Jam Bars

I happened to catch an interview with Olympic swimmer Micheal Phelp's mom last night.  She was describing what it felt like when she saw him for the first time after his very first gold medal win.  She cried as she recalled him striding up to her, beaming, with his gold medal in one hand and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the other.   It was a great story of Michael and his single mom and what an inspiration she was for him.   

And then later all I could think about was the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  He won his first gold medal in Athens in 2004. Isn't PBJ a classically American thing?  Do they even have peanut butter in Greece?  Did he bring the peanut butter and jelly with him?   Or is that part of the Olympic hospitality, making sure every country's home food is represented in the Olympic village? I could go on all night speculating on what I would want for my Olympic food, but instead I decided to whip up a batch of The Barefoot Contessa's Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.

These are rich and delicious and they are everything you love about peanut butter and jelly, all grown up.  I didn't have salted peanut's on hand so I did without but I know the salty crunch of the peanuts would have made a wonderful addition. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars, The Barefoot Contessa


1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups (18 ounces) creamy peanut butter (recommended: Skippy)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 cups (18 ounces) raspberry jam or other jam
2/3 cups salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch cake pan. Line it with parchment paper, then grease and flour the pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light yellow, about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife or offset spatula. Spread the jam evenly over the dough. Drop small globs of the remaining dough evenly over the jam. Don't worry if all the jam isn't covered; it will spread in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and cut into squares.