Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Chicken is so versatile and always a fan favorite, but sometimes it can get a little boring. Adding chopped nuts to your breadcrumbs adds for nice flavor and helps to change things up. See here for a pecan version.

Recipe yields 6 servings

Ingredients
2 lbs thin chicken breast
1/2 cup pistachios
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/4 cup water
Salt and fresh ground black pepper, to season

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Set up your prep station by whisking eggs and water together in one bowl, putting the flour, salt and pepper in a second bowl, and mixing the Panko breadcrumbs with finely chopped pistachios in a third bowl.

Prepare a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Coat each piece of chicken first with flour, dusting off any excess.

Then dunk in the egg wash and finally coat all sides with the pistachio/Panko mix. Once covered, place on the baking sheet and put in the oven.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and place on a serving dish.

Serve alongside rice, vegetables or potatoes. Enjoy!

Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies

After a long day at work (or in my case a long week!) nothing is better than putting your feet up and enjoying a delicious treat. These cookies fit the bill. I love chocolate as much as the next person, and sometimes a double chocolate chip cookie just doesn't cut it. My solution? Let's mix in some Nutella and chopped hazelnuts. Could you think of anything better?

Recipe yields 48 cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup Nutella
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Add both sugars and Nutella to butter and continue to mix. Be sure to scrape down the sides to insure even mixing.

Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat the first egg into the mixture before adding the second. Add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Hint: Do not skip this step! Cocoa tends to be very clumpy, so sifting helps smooth it out.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until they are fully incorporated. As always, do not over mix!

Fold in the chocolate chips and the hazelnuts so that they are evenly spread throughout the cookie dough.

Refrigerate the dough for 10-15 minutes. Coat a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using a cookie scoop or your hands, place 1" drops of dough onto the parchment paper.

Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 2-3 minutes. Remove from tray and place on a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool for 10 minutes, if you can manage.

Serve with an extra large glass of milk (trust me, with all the chocolate in this cookie, it needs to be an XL glass). Enjoy!

Christmas Cookie Week Day 2: Rum Balls

These are the most perfect after dinner treat. They are sweet but salty and flavorful. The best part about them is they are super easy. If you are looking for an impressive dessert for a last minute get together and only have a short time to spare, this recipe will be your go to everytime. Try them once, and I promise you will be hooked.

Recipe yields 16 balls

Ingredients
1/2 cup crushed vanilla wafers
3/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp light corn syrup
2 tbsp rum

Place your vanilla wafers in a ziploc bag. Using a hammer of sorts, crush the cookies into fine crumbs.

In a mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs, finely chopped pecans, cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar. Whisk together to mix well.

Add your corn syrup and rum and mix well. Make sure all dry ingredients are coated.

Using a cookie scoop (or your hands) form 1 inch balls with the mixture.

Roll the balls in the remaining chopped pecans to coat them on all sides. Place the coated treats on a piece of wax paper and put in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or until you are ready to serve.

Remove from the refrigerator and enjoy your perfect bite sized treat!

Coconut & Cashew Crusted Sea Bass

This past Friday, I had the chance to experience one of my all-time favorite comedians in person! At a work event, Seth Meyers was our guest speaker. I don't think I ever laughed so long and hard as I did that day. If you do not watch SNL, I highly recommend it. Seth Meyers is absolutely hysterical! 

Now for today's recipe, even though this seems like a strange combination, the sweetness of the coconut mixed with the crunchiness of the cashews makes this one delicious meal. Even though it was delicious with the sea bass, I am curious to try it with chicken and see how it turns out.

Recipe yields 4 servings

Ingredients

2 lbs fresh black sea bass

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup finely ground cashews

1 cup panko breadcrumbs (I used the seasoned version)

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees. In one bowl, whisk eggs. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a third bowl, combine the cashews, panko breadcrumbs and shredded coconut.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat the foil with cooking spray. With each piece of fillet, coat with the flour mixture, then cover with egg, then coat with breadcrumb mixture. Place each piece on the baking sheet.

Place baking sheet in the oven and cook for 20-23 minutes. The fish should be white and translucent when it is ready. Switch the oven setting to broil and place baking sheet on the top shelf. Cook on broil for 2-3 minutes to get the coating brown and crispy. Be cautious not to leave the fish on broil for too long or you will burn the coating. It is always good to keep an eye on the fish while it is in the broiler. Remove fish from the oven, serve & enjoy!