Lemon Garlic Chicken over Cauliflower Mash



Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken Breast
over Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash


Facebook is not all time-wasting games, people-sharing-more-stuff-than-we-really-wanted-to-know...it can be a really useful tool. Seriously...

I believe one of my Paleo Diet friends posted the low-carb
Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Cauliflower Mash recipe from Nancy at SheCooksHeCleans.net. Like a good husband, I asked Peggy to Pin it for me so I could make it for her. The ironic thing...it's just the opposite in our house...I cook and Peg cleans...just the way I like it.

I did make the shrimp & cauliflower and we both loved it! We had tried mashed cauliflower in the past, but we weren't impressed [at least with that particular recipe]. This recipe on the other hand...is a keeper!

In my adaptation of Nancy's recipe, I am simply replacing the shrimp with chicken and removing the lemon juice and red pepper flakes from the sauce. Actually the chicken you see was actually grilled the night before. Peggy is not a fan of reheated meat, but she had no problems cleaning her lunch plate.

If you like garlic, you're going to love this dish! It calls for fourteen to sixteen cloves. You'll need a way to peel them quickly; watch this video, it really works:
http://vimeo.com/29605182

Oh yeah, word of caution, don't plan on going out after eating this, you're a walking Garlic Weapon of Mass Destruction. This gives a whole new meaning to "chemical weapon".

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Ingredients

Marinade:

Zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound (3 or 4) chicken breasts


Cauliflower Mash:

1 head of cauliflower, cut into even medium to large sized florets
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Butter
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Half and half or cream / Milk or broth, optional use if needed to correct consistency

Lemon Garlic Chicken:

Marinated Chicken (from above)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices bacon
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine, or gluten-free chicken broth
1/2 sweet onion, minced
Pinch or two of dried oregano
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped


Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients of marinade in a bowl large enough for all the chicken pieces. Place chicken in the bowl and make sure each one gets well coated. Cover and place in refrigerator for 1 - 4 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 400 and fire up your favorite grill (gas or charcoal). Place cauliflower and garlic cloves in foiled shallow pan [sided cookie sheet or jelly roll pan]. Drizzle enough olive oil to coat the pan/foil and the vegetables. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover loosely with foil and roast for 15 min. Remove foil and carefully stir vegetables so they don't stick and so they brown evenly. Uncover and roast for another 15 – 20 minutes or until cauliflower and garlic are soft and lightly browned. Remove from oven.

3. As the cauliflower is roasting, get your grill grates cleaned and prepped. I like to heat my gas grill to about 500-600° to carbonize anything that might be sticking on the grates. Brush the grates with a grill brush to remove any carbonized food particles then clean with several layers of paper towel that was liberally coated with vegetable oil. This clean the grates, but it also creates a non-stick surface. Close grill cover and allow internal temp to rise back up to 500+

4. Place chicken breasts on the grill. Grill until meat is firm and juices run clear (or internal temperature reaches 165
°). Remove from grill, cover allow to rest and keep warm.

5. Place cauliflower & garlic with a couple tablespoons of butter in a food processor and puree. Add parmesan cheese and mix well. The cauliflower should be a mashed potato or grits consistency (fairly thick, not runny). Add a touch cream or broth if it's too thick. Place in a heat-proof bowl and keep warm.

6. In a sauté pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove bacon set aside on paper towels. When cool, chop into small pieces. Set aside.

7. Add two tablespoons of butter to the bacon drippings and melt on medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened. Add minced garlic, and oregano – sauté for a minute. Stir in wine/broth. Cook until liquid is reduced by half (only a few minutes). Salt & pepper to taste.

Note: I also had left over bacon, so I did not have bacon drippings to help create a sauce. So, in order to re-heat the chicken and make a sauce, in a pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter, a splash of olive oil and sauté some minced onion and garlic. After onions soften, add some gluten-free chicken stock (1/4 - 1/2 cup?). Cover just the chicken with a small cover and allowed the sauce to reduce & slightly thicken. Near the end of cooking, add some dried oregano. If I had some white wine, I would've used that instead of chicken stock.

8. Slice chicken and place over mashed cauliflower, spoon sauce over the top. Garnish with chopped bacon.


Until the next good eats - cook well and be well.

Al


Lemon Blueberry Bread





Lemon Blueberry Bread


It's a cool fall day, so that means baking, particularly when we are on vacation. While I was painting the bathroom, Peg was in the kitchen converting a gluten-full recipe to a gluten-free recipe. The cut loaf shown here didn't last long.

While this might look like a bread, it's more like a cake. Regardless of what you call it, it's darn tasty!

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Bread Ingredients:

1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar (scant)
3 eggs
2 1/4 cup Jules Gluten free flour blend
3/4 sorghum flour
1/4 tsp xanthum gum
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp lemon extract
3/4 tsp double strength vanilla
2 tablespoons tightly packed lemons, zest of
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
8 ounces or so frozen blueberries

Icing Ingredients:

8 ounces powdered sugar (or 1/2 box)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons tightly packed lemons, zest of
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice


Directions:

1 - Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2 - Important: grease and flour two loaf pans.
3 - Cream butter and sugar.
4 - Add eggs and beat until smooth.
5 - Add buttermilk.
6 - Mix dry ingredients together and add to buttermilk mixture.
7 - Blend well.
8 - Mix in lemon juice and zest.
9 - Gently fold in blueberries and only mix until incorporated.
10 - Pour batter into loaf pans.
11 - Bake loaves on the middle rack of the oven for 60 to 65 minutes.
12 - Cool bread 10 minutes, remove from pan and place on a large cookie sheet, top side up.
13 - For icing: Combine icing ingredients in a bowl.
14 - Beat icing with an electric mixer until smooth.
15 - Drizzle icing over the warm loaves.
16 - The icing will harden when the bread cools to room temperature.

I halved the icing recipe and had plenty.

Original recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-blueberry-bread-69730


Until the next good eats....

Al n Peg