Sautéed Cabbage Salad

It rained a lot and has been really wet recently (I mean the golf course was closed often); but hey, we’re counting rainbows around here, not thunderstorms, right? Here’s another fun recipe from The Kitchen. This one hails from Sunny Anderson, who has been cooking outside during the pandemic, from her home patio and grill for months, and now back on the set of The Kitchen, but outdoors, planes flying overhead and all sorts of weather…kudos to her, and a terrible run on sentence! This one is light, bright, and full of delight. We dodged those raindrops, never got wet, and managed to drive the sunshine of a crisp salad right into your kitchen. I just love cabbage/slaw; but most people don’t think about serving it in the winter. Try this sauté and it will change your mind forever!!

For Salad:
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 t celery seeds
1 cup shredded carrots (available shredded and bagged for you at the grocery)
1/2 head green cabbage, thinly sliced (I used a mixture of green and purple ’cause that’s what was in the fridge)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the celery seeds and let cook for 1 to 2 minutes to bloom.
Add carrots and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and continue to cook until cabbage begins to wilt, about 5 minutes.

For Dressing:*
1/2 medium red onion, sliced paper thin
2 Tbs honey
1 Tbs sambal (an Indonesian chili paste) A good substitute is Sriracha or Harissa sauce.
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Place onion in a medium bowl.
Add the honey, sambal and vinegar.
Mix together to coat and let sit for 5 minutes.
Add the onion mixture to the skillet and mix in.
Transfer to a serving bowl.

*I used Annie’s Asian Sesame bottled dressing. I just had it on hand, and I’m personally not wild about onions with my cabbage salads!
But I did drizzle a touch of honey over the salad before tossing in the dressing.

Salad on the left above is prepared just as suggested in recipe (except of course my bottled dressing!). To the salad on the right above, I added shaved almonds and salad topper Wonton Crisps. I just love a crunch in my salads.

Go wild and make it your own; or for simplicity just do it like Sunny! Make it happen captain, right at home.

Roasted Chicken Breast with Polenta and Cherry Tomatoes

Wake up Monday…I’m here to put some well being in to your day. The last couple of weeks I took some personal time to try a few recipes that I have seen on Food Network, daytime talk shows, and in magazines. I went straight by the recipes (well, for the most part)! It was fun, mindless cooking, with the recipe front and center, rather than analyzing and creating. So remember the Buddy System and pass it on; be sure to tag the source if you post it on the Insta. This first one is from Katie Lee Biegel, as seen on The Kitchen a couple of weeks ago. Kicks you happily in the back of the throat and keeps you smiling. Simply put, it’s simple but not simplistic. How’s that for using a “root” word thrice in one sentence…grammar baby! Ha!

Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking dish
1 lb tube polenta, sliced 1/2″ thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 
5 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving 
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
2 t Italian seasoning* 
1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving 
6 cloves garlic 
1 pint cherry tomatoes (a slight break from Katie’s recipe, because this is what I had on hand)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Place 5 slices of polenta in an even layer on the bottom of the baking dish.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and 1 Tbs olive oil.
Place the chicken breasts on top of the polenta slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Top each with the Italian seasoning* and Parmesan.
Arrange the garlic cloves and tomatoes around the chicken.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining 4 Tbs olive oil.
Bake until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 30 minutes.
Garnish with Parmesan and olive oil to taste.
Serve warm.

*If you don’t have premixed Italian Seasoning, simply combine and whisk together the following:
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1 t dried thyme
1/2 t dried basil
1/2 t dried rosemary

Katie’s cookbooks always find their way to the top of my browsing pile! And her newest book It’s Not Complicated comes out in March. Can’t Wait!