Recipe: Chicken and Polenta with Arugula, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese

I chose tonight's recipe partly because I had leftover arugula that I needed to use and partly because I hadn't made it in a few years and wanted to try it again. I had a late night cooking session tonight because my mother is out of town and my dad has been working late for the past few nights, but despite my uncertainty about how long it was going to take to cook and whether it would still be hot (and not overcooked) when my dad got home, everything worked out and the dish was a success (and much better than I remember it being the first time I made it). This chicken dish combines parmesan-and-garlic-seasoned polenta, wilted arugula, sweet sun-dried tomatoes, and tangy goat cheese, with a splash of balsamic vinegar to create a vibrant, flavorful dish.

Serves: 4
Prep. time: Approx. 1 hour to prepare and chill the polenta, and 20 minutes to do everything else
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy - Moderate

Ingredients

• Polenta, chilled and cut into cubes
• 2 cups chicken broth/stock
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup polenta (I use a quick-cooking boxed brand)
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced (I cut the slices in half so the pieces are more bite-size)
• 1 tbsp. olive oil 
• 2 shallots, chopped (I used green onions, but shallots are preferable)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth/stock
• 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 lb. arugula (I use 3 or 4 big handfuls of baby arugula)
• 2 to 4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Fresh or dried basil, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Crumbled goat cheese (soft and mild)

Directions
For the polenta: In a medium pot, combine 2 cups chicken stock and 3 minced garlic cloves, and bring the mixture to a boil. Slowly stir in the polenta and stir until the mixture is thick (follow package instructions; should take 3-5 minutes). Add the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and stir to combine. Spread the mixture out in a greased, rimmed baking sheet or pan and set aside in the fridge to cool for about 1 hour. Once the polenta is chilled, cut it into 1-inch cubes and set aside.

To assemble the dish: Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat and, once hot, add the chicken slices and sear them on both sides until they are mostly cooked through. Add the shallots and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock and simmer to reduce (I reduced by about half—about 5 minutes—and spooned out some of the excess stock so the chicken mixture wasn't swimming in it. Make sure you keep it about 1/2-inch deep in the pan—it helps cook the chicken, while keeping it moist). Add the sun-dried tomatoes and cook the mixture for about 2 minutes. Add the polenta cubes and toss the mixture, letting the polenta soften a bit in the remaining chicken stock for about 2-3 minutes. Reduce to medium-low heat and add the arugula, tossing to mix it with the rest of the ingredients (the chicken stock should be completely gone by now). Add balsamic vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper; toss the mixture again. Turn off the heat and cover the pan with a lid for a few minutes, allowing the arugula to wilt a little more. Serve sprinkled with goat cheese and an extra drizzle of balsamic vinegar if desired.

This dish is tangy, sweet, and complex. The chicken broth helps soften the chilled polenta and keeps the chicken pieces moist as they cook. The sun-dried tomatoes add a sweet bite to the dish and they're complemented by the creamy, tangy goat cheese. Slightly wilted arugula adds color and a peppery taste that marries with the sharp, flavorful balsamic vinegar that so nicely soaks into the polenta and chicken. This dish is packed with strong flavors, but they balance each other and create a rich, yet still light, meal.

Recipe: BLT Pasta

As soon as I saw the bacon in the fridge, I knew I had to make something with it besides the stereotypical bacon-and-eggs breakfast. Fortunately for me, this month's Food Network magazine had a little recipe booklet nestled inside called "50 Things to Make with Bacon." Number 18 on the list was BLT Pasta—something that I'm sure the newest winner of The Next Food Network Star, Jeff Mauro, host of The Sandwich King, would appreciate—and I thought it sounded like the perfect use for that salty bacon staring back at me from the fridge. Juicy grape tomatoes, crisp red onion, wilted arugula, and of course bacon, all tossed with pasta makes for a summery, but filling dish. Oh, and did I mention the tomatoes and red onion are cooked in bacon fat? As some of my sorority sisters are fond of saying (quoting a famous Wife Swap moment), "Bacon is good for you!"—okay, so maybe it's not, but it's definitely delicious.

Serves: 4-6
Prep. time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 8 slices bacon, cooked then chopped
• 1 red onion,chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (don't be heavy-handed, unless you want a spicy dish)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 5 cups grape tomatoes
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 12 oz. penne pasta (I used mostaccioli, which looks like penne without ridges)
• 4 cups arugula
• Basil leaves

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the penne. Follow the package for cooking times (about 11 minutes), then drain. In the meantime, cook the bacon slices in a large skillet. Remove once crispy and lay out on a paper towel to soak up some of the grease. Save 3 tbsp. of the bacon fat/drippings in the skillet. Add the red onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook until slightly tender. Add the grape tomatoes and cook for 12 minutes. In the skillet with the tomatoes and onion, add the heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes. Toss the mixture with the penne, arugula, and basil. Serve topped with Parmesan cheese.
(Side note: I used about 10 oz. pasta, 3 pints grape tomatoes, and 3-5 oz. arugula, since I'm only feeding three people, and it worked out just as well)

This dish is both light and rich—the plump grape tomatoes and bitter arugula add brightness while the bacon fat blended with cream creates a rich creaminess in the dish. The freshly cooked crispy bacon is so much better than any imitation salad bar bacon-in-a-jar could be and adds a nice crunch. To be completely honest, I don't even like BLT sandwiches, because I'm not a big fan of raw tomatoes, but this dish reinvents the sandwich and makes it worth the few pounds you'll gain eating the bacon fat.

Recipe: Penne with Beef and Arugula

"Mom! What are we having for dinner?"
"Chicken."
"Awwwww! Again?"
"Yes."

My mom's use of chicken in just about every dinner dish we had when I was a kid was an ongoing joke. Other than spaghetti and meatballs, a totally 90s "taco pie," and this awful beef and rice stuffed cabbage that she made, my mom's dishes typically involved chicken. Now, don't get me wrong, I love chicken (and my mom's meals). You can do just about anything with chicken—you can flavor it with an endless number of sauces and rubs, pair it with any side dish, and cook it in countless different ways—but it does get boring after a while. So tonight, I decided not to cook with chicken and pick another protein. I leafed through the pages of my Giada De Laurentiis Everyday Pasta cookbook and found a pasta dish that called for New York strip steaks, and that was just the kind of meal I was looking for.

Serves: 6-8
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 New York strip steaks, about 8 oz. each
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. herbes de Provence
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (plus a few tablespoons to cook the steak in)
• 1 lb. penne pasta
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard (or spicy brown mustard)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 cups chopped arugula 

Directions
Season  both sides of the steaks with salt and pepper, minced garlic, and herbes de Provence. Heat about 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat (try to avoid non-stick skillets as they tend to not brown meat as well as regular skillets). Cook the steaks for 5-7 minutes per side (this will get you a nice medium pink inside). Remove the meat from the skillet and let it rest on a cutting board while you cook the pasta.
In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally (8-10 minutes). Drain the pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, balsamic vinegar, 3/4 cup olive oil, basil, parsley, and about 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper to make a sauce.
Toss the sauce and chopped arugula with the penne, and add the reserved cooking liquid. Slice the steaks thin and add the slices to the pasta, and toss to mix completely.

The sauce has a lot of kick to it and pairs perfectly with the steak (it would be great just drizzled on a salad too). The fresh herbs and arugula add a lightness to the dish and great color too, and I love the flavor of the herbes de Provence on the steak (that seasoning is phenomenal—it has lemon peel, lavender, thyme, basil, fennel, savory, and more). It's a delicious change from a chicken dish and it's the sort of dish that would work great as a meal hot from the stove or as a dish for a picnic.