Throwdown: Chicken Marsala Stew

David, left, and me during our Marsala Chicken Stew cook-off.

By Paul Briand

My son David and I had a kitchen throwdown last weekend.

Family was in town for my granddaughter Rylin’s christening, and I wanted to serve something that would appeal to the crowd we anticipated for dinner on Saturday night.

A little bit of research into my recipe collection led me to this Chicken Marsala Stew with Spring Vegetables, which I featured here on Eats@Home back in April 2010.

I needed to double the recipe, which, as listed feeds four. So I bought double the ingredients, and invited my son, who is quite accomplished in the kitchen (per his Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts), to cook one pot of the stew while I cooked the other..

The rules of the throwdown were pretty simple: We had to follow the recipe except for one ingredient that he or I could throw into the pot.

He chose Old Bay Seasoning.

I chose red pepper flakes.

David won.

There are some strong flavors in this stew, which I originally picked up from an Associated Press story. Unlike a normal stew, doesn’t really take that long to cook.

The Marsala wine needs to come through, as does the balsamic vinegar.

My use of red pepper flakes was meant to add a bit of a back bite to the dish, but not overpower the Marsala and vinegar. It didn’t quite work out that way, and it’s probably because I don’t think I used enough flake. The back bite was barely discernible.

The Old Bay, on the other hand, complemented the Marsala and vinegar.

The seasoning is best known as an important ingredient for crab cakes, but it can be used to help flavor all kinds of recipes from fish to chicken to potatoes. I use Old Bay sometimes when I make my own Sweet Potato Fries.

Both pots of stew were cleaned out, but David’s version was clearly the crowd favorite. As it was with me, too.

Crispy Old Bay Wings

By Paul Briand

This is the recipe I settled on for the tailgate chicken I brought to a family reunion last weekend at the Air Force-Army football game.

It was a three-part event: the gathering/buffet Friday night at the hotel in Newburgh, N.Y., the tailgate before the game itself at West Point, and the tailgate after the game. There was a fourth part - the gathering Saturday night back at the hotel - but by then the chicken, all six pounds of it, was gone.

I needed something that was portable, whose flavor would stand up when served cold, and wasn’t messy. This recipe, which I found on the Old Bay seasoning home site, did the trick.

Some notes on the recipe: I didn’t serve it with the optional dressing, though that certainly would have added an element of flavor and it would have cooled down the heat that some people taste with Old Bay. Also, I made six pounds of boneless/skinless tenders: I didn’t double the recipe, I made two separate batches.

After I rinsed the tenders, I patted them dry with paper towel, then tossed them with about a teaspoon of canola oil before then tossing them with the breadcrumb mixture. Lacking skin, it helped crisp up the tenders once they got into the oven.

Ingredients
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
3 pounds chicken wing pieces
Blue cheese or ranch dressing (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, mix bread crumbs and Old Bay in large resealable plastic bag;
2. Add chicken wings in batches; shake to coat well;
3. Arrange chicken wings in single layer on large foil-lined shallow baking pan sprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Discard any remaining bread crumb mixture;
4. Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through;
5. Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing, if desired.

Click here for recipe card.

Sweet and Sour Chicken II

By Paul Briand

A big family reunion is coming up in early November. It involves a football game -- Air Force at Army. It involves tailgating. And it involves a lot of food.

So I’ve been on the hunt for a dish to bring that will 1) feed the masses and 2) still taste good at room or cool temperatures.

This is a Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe I found at Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. My thought was to try it at home using the chicken breasts in the recipe, then adapting the recipe for wings and drumsticks to bring to the family fest.

I’ve given this recipe the Roman numeral II because of a previous sweet and sour chicken recipe on these pages.

I liked it, but I’m not so sure about the transition to a tailgating environment. I liked the sourness of the apple cider vinegar; my wife did not … at all. I’m not sure whether this will make the cut. There are a couple of more recipes I want to try.

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 large eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
Sauce:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees;
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper;
3. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized storage bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken;
4. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet;
5. Cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip each piece over to cook on the other side until nicely golden but not all the way cooked through;
6. Place in a single layer in a baking dish and repeat with the remaining chicken pieces;
7. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken in the baking dish;
8 Bake for one hour, turning the chicken once or twice while cooking to coat evenly with sauce. Serve over hot, steamed rice.

Click here for recipe card.

Chicken, Wild Rice and Cherry Tomato Casserole

By Paul Briand

My wife, Jane, found this very simple - and very tasty recipe -- in Real Simple magazine ad.

It’s a chicken-based recipe but she jazzed it up a bit with some chicken sausage prepared with Mozzarella cheese and garlic. She diced up a link and added it to the mix.

Here is the recipe as originally presented.

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
4 ounces mushrooms, bottoms trimmed, sliced thin
2 (5-ounce packages) long grain rice and wild rice
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
4 chicken breasts, sliced into ½-inch slices
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 cups hot water
1 package cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees;
2. In a large casserole dish, combine first nine ingredients, top with tomatoes;
3. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes (or until liquid is absorbed).

Click here for recipe card.

Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese

By Paul Briand

Mac ‘n cheese is all about comfort food, and we needed some comfort recently as my wife Jane’s family gathered in Maryland for the funeral of a beloved aunt.

And what better source for comfort food, at least in my mind, than Rachael Ray.

Her recipe for Grilled Chicken and Bacon Mac ‘n Cheese struck a chord because it was relatively easy to prepare, it served a lot of people … and it had bacon. You can never go wrong cooking with bacon.

I basically doubled this recipe to handle six people (there were leftovers). And I didn’t use fresh thyme (I used what was in the spice rack), and I used a bag of Italian blend cheeses rather than the Gruyere.

Ingredients
6 slices good-quality smoky bacon, such as applewood smoked bacon
Salt and pepper
1 pound whole wheat short-cut pasta
2 skinless chicken breasts, lightly pounded
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, quartered lengthwise and very thinly sliced
2 rounded tablespoons flour
1/2 cup cloudy apple cider or chicken stock
2 cups whole milk
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
Chopped flat leaf parsley or celery greens, for garnish

Directions

1.Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees;
2. Arrange the bacon on a slotted broiler pan or on a rack placed over a baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 15 minutes. Chop and reserve. Switch on the broiler and position the rack in the center of the oven;
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook for 1 minute less than the instructions indicate, or until just shy of al dente. Drain and return to the pot;
4. While the pasta is working, heat a grill pan or cast iron griddle over medium-high heat. Drizzle the chicken with olive oil to coat lightly, then season evenly with paprika, salt and pepper;
5. Grill the chicken for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally.Transfer to a cutting board and halve the pieces lengthwise, then thinly slice them crosswise;
6. While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a medium size saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden brown and very soft, 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute;
7. Whisk in the cider (or stock), then add the milk. Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes. Add the thyme and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in the cheese until melted;
8. Add the chicken, bacon and sauce to the pasta and transfer to a casserole. Broil until bubbling and browned, about 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley or celery greens.

Click here for recipe card.

Sticky Lemon Chicken

By Paul Briand

I went trawling this week for some recipes on the BBC Good Food web site, where I’ve had some good luck in the past.

This time I netted this Sticky Lemon Chicken.

The flavor of this dish was disproportionate to the effort. In other words, you get a lot of flavor from this dish without a lot of ingredients and/or cooking time.

Ingredients
4 chicken breast fillets with skin, about 5 ounces each
1 large lemon
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves or a generous sprinkling of dried
1½ tablespoons honey

Directions
1. Preheat oven broiler to high and lightly oil a shallow heatproof dish;
2. Put the chicken in the dish, skin side down, and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 5 minutes. While the chicken is grilling, cut four thin slices from
the lemon;
3. Turn the chicken fillets over and put a slice of lemon on top of each one;
4. Sprinkle over the thyme and a little more seasoning, then drizzle with the honey;
5. Squeeze over the juice from the remaining lemon;
6. Return to the grill for 10 minutes more, until the chicken is golden and cooked all the way through.

You can serve the chicken and the sticky juices with rice or potatoes.

Click here for recipe card.

Green Tea Asian Chicken

My wife Jane didn’t like the sounds of this recipe: Green tea with chicken? She likes each separately well enough, but was wary of the combination.

But I made it anyway, and, like Mikey in the old Life cereal commercial, she likes it.

The recipe originates from Relish, the food magazine that’s inserted into some newspapers. The recipe online is here.

The green tea serves as the liquid base for a marinade. It’s the spices -- the coriander, ginger and garlic -- that give the dish its taste, in combination not too dissimilar from teriyaki, in fact.

I served it on a bed of cooked baby spinach with a side of brown rice.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup hot brewed green tea
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 teaspoons peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Fresh cilantro and mint, chopped (optional)
Arugula or spinach (optional)

Directions
1. Stir sugar into tea while hot and let cool;
2. Combine tea with coriander, salt, pepper, ginger, garlic and 2 tablespoons canola oil;
3. Place chicken in a large zip-top plastic bag and pour in half of marinade. Seal and let chill 1 to 6 hours;
4. Heat remaining marinade over medium high heat  about 4 minutes, or until reduced by one-third;
5. Remove thighs from marinade; discard marinade in bag. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet;
6. Add chicken to pan without crowding and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes on each side;
7. Serve with sauce and fresh herbs over greens.

Click here for recipe card.

Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

By Paul Briand

My wife Jane put this recipe together -- not for her and me, but for her daughter Kelsey and son-in-law Jeremy who had our granddaughter Rylin a few weeks ago.

Kelsey and Jeremy are still very much in new-baby mode, trying to get Rylin on a schedule of eating, sleeping, being awake. In the meantime, the new mom and dad’s meals are a bit catch-as-catch-can.

So the other day Jane spent the day cooking and this Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas was one of the dishes, adapted from a recipe that was part of a Campbell’s soup ad in Relish magazine. Here it is online.

It received very high marks from Kelsey and Jeremy.

Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup picante sauce or salsa
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

Directions
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder in a medium bowl;
2. Stir 1 cup soup mixture, chicken and cheese in a large bowl;
3. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas;
4. Roll up the tortillas and place seam-side down in an 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking dish;
5. Pour the remaining soup mixture over the filled tortillas and cover the baking dish;
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until the enchiladas are hot and bubbling;
7. Top with the tomato and onion and serve.

Click here for recipe card.

Chicken Sputnik

By Paul Briand

This is a recipe that I’d have to rank as looking better than it actually turned out.

I came across the recipe in Sunday’s Parade magazine.

The dish comes from Dash Recipes.

It gets its name, according to the story behind it, from having an out-of-the-world taste, as in Sputnik, the first satellite ever launched into space, courtesy of the Russians in 1957.

By the time all the potatoes here cooked through, the broth of chicken stock and sherry had been reduced to, basically, mashed potatoes.

I don’t think that’s the intent. It’s tasty, maybe not out-of-this-world tasty, but a little too mushy.

Ingredients

1 large chicken, cut into serving pieces

Salt and pepper

¼ cup flour

2 tablespoon butter (1/4 stick)

2 large onions, sliced ½ inch thick

5 large potatoes, sliced ½ inch thick

¾ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika

¾ cup dry sherry

1½ cups homemade chicken broth

Directions

1. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat it with flour;

2. In a Dutch oven, sauté the chicken in butter until it is golden;

3. Layer the onions and potatoes on top of the chicken;

4. Top with the cheese, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste;

5. Add the sherry and chicken stock;

6. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, or until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through.

The recipe included a couple of cooking tips:

“Slice the onions and potatoes nice and thin so they soften during cooking.”

“If you substitute boneless, skinless chicken breasts, use half a cup (or one stick) of butter.”

“Sauté the chicken on medium-low to keep it from burning.”

“This dish requires a lot of stirring and attention. Stir it often so it doesn’t stick.”

Click here for recipe card.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

By Paul Briand

This is another recipe offering posted on a bulletin board at my health club.

It comes via Food.com.

It requires medium prep, but cooks up fast and flavorful, particularly with the sauce that combines honey, ginger, chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce and orange juice.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 teaspoons cornstarch

4 teaspoons peanut oil

12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pint small, sweet mixed peppers, quartered, or 2 mixed bell peppers, cut into 1-inch strips

6 scallions, whites cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, greens cut into 1-inch pieces and thinly sliced vertically into thin strips

8 ounces snow peas, trimmed

Serving suggestion, cooked brown rice

Chopped peanuts for sprinkling, optional

Directions

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, chili-garlic sauce, vinegar, ginger soy sauce, orange juice and cornstarch, set aside;

2. Meanwhile, coat the chicken with 2 teaspoons oil and heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat;

3. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally with a wooden spoon, 2 minutes;

4. Transfer the partially-cooked chicken to a plate. Reserve the pan;

5. Heat the remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the pan; add the peppers, scallion whites, and snow peas;

6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes;

7. Stir in the reserved chicken; whisk the sauce again and add it to the pan;

8. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is tender, 1 to 2 minutes;

9. Serve over rice and sprinkle with the scallion greens and peanuts, if using.

For recipe card click here.

Chicken Tikka Masala

By Paul Briand

This is said to be the most popular restaurant dish in the United Kingdom.

And this is a simple recipe, courtesy of the McCormick spice people, who packaged together all the spices needed for this dish as part of their Recipe Inspirations.

“Masala” means mixture of spices and that’s exactly what this is -- though I might use a bit of hyperbole and call it an explosion of spices.

The garam masala is a pungent mixture of spices, its origin in India.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon mixed garlic

1 teaspoon garam masala

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Melt butter in large nonstick skillet on medium heat;

2. Add chicken, onion and lemon juice; cook and stir 10 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink;

3. Add all of the spices (except red pepper) and cook and stir 1 minute;

4. Stir in tomatoes until well mixed;

5. Stir cream into cornstarch and salt until smooth. Gradually stir mixture into skillet;

6. Stir in red pepper to taste, if desired;

7. Bring to boil then reduce heat to low; stirring frequently, simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened;

8. Serve with cooked rice or naan bread, if desired.

Click here for recipe card.

Creamy Mushroom Skillet Chicken

By Paul Briand

I appreciate the fact that you can make a mushroom-based sauce for a chicken dish using a good old Campbell’s soup recipe, especially now that the company is introducing low-salt soups into its line.

I had good success with Southwest White Chicken Chili using a Campbell recipe.

But sometimes it’s just good to create your own creamy mushroom sauce for pan-fried chicken, and I found this recipe recently while combing through my news feeds from the Associated Press.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, diced

8-ounces sliced white button mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/4 pounds chicken (breasts, legs, thighs or mix)

2 cups chicken broth

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 cup cool water

2/3 cup low- or no-fat sour cream

Directions

1. In large skillet over medium-high, heat the olive oil, and add the onion, mushrooms and garlic, saute for 4 minutes;

2. Add chicken, turning to brown evenly, four 4 minutes. Be mindful to stir the vegetables as well;

3. Add chicken broth and thyme, bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer. Partially cover and cook for 12 - 15 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked through;

4. Remove chicken and set aside. Cover with foil to keep warm;

5. Return skillet heat to medium. Mix cornstarch and water in small glass, and add to the skillet, stirring constantly until mixture thickens;

6. Remove skillet from heat and add sour cream. Season with pepper;

7. Serve chicken over rice or pasta. Spoon creamy mushroom sauce over it.

Click here for recipe card.

Creamy Chicken Florentine

By Paul Briand

Do you ever pay attention to the coupons the register at the grocery store spits out along with your receipt?

Normally, I don’t. They seem like so much litter to me because the coupons are for items I don’t normally buy.

But lately my litter stream has included recipes.

In one case, there was a recipe for Bacon Broccoli Salad.

In another case, there was this recipe for Creamy Chicken Florentine. In this instance the recipe was included with a dollar off coupon for Philadelphia cooking creme, which is part of the ingredients.

I gave it a try and was glad I did: Quick, easy, good.

Ingredients

3 teaspoons olive oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

½ cup red pepper, cut into strips

1 six-ounce package baby spinach leaves

1 tub (10 ounces) Philadelphia Savory Garlic Cooking Creme

2 cups hot cooked penne pasta

2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium high heat the olive oil and cook the chicken and peppers until chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes;

2. Add spinach, cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes;

3. Add cooking creme, stir and heat through;

4. Stir in pasta;

5. Top with nuts and serve.

I used toasted slivered almonds instead of pine nuts because that’s what I had in my cupboard.

Click here for recipe card.

Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas

By Paul Briand

As promised, I returned to the grocery store aisle to find and try another of the McCormick spices recipes. This one was for Garlic Lime Chicken Fajitas.

And, once again, it proved to be an easy and tasty way to get dinner on the table.

These new McCormick Recipe Inspirations include pre-measured McCormick spices and herbs and a recipe card that you can remove from the box and add to your collection. Previously, we tried a recipe for a Quesadilla Casserole.

In the case of these fajitas, the box included pre-measured amounts of garlic, minced onions, ground cumin, oregano, cilantro and black pepper.

Ingredients

1/4 cup each of lime and orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into thin strips

1 medium green bell pepper -- red or green -- cut into thin strips

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

8 flour tortillas

Directions

1. Mix juices, oil, all of the spices and salt in small bowl. Set aside 1/4 cup of the marinade;

2. Place chicken in resealable plastic bag or large glass dish, add marinade (except for set-aside);

3. Turn to coat well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes;

4. In large skill over medium-high heat, stir in chicken and cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned;

5. Remove chicken from skillet, add pepper, onion and reserved marinade and cook and stir for 5 minutes, until tender;

6. Return chicken to skillet and cook 2 to 3 minutes until heated through;

7. Spoon chicken mixture into warmed tortillas and serve with assorted toppings -- salsa, guacamole, etc.

Click here for recipe card.

Pesto Penne and Chicken

By Paul Briand

Faced with entertaining my wife, my daughter, my son, my stepdaughter, and my step son-in-law for dinner this week, this one came about solely by inspiration fueled by desperation.

I needed something that could easily feed a lot of people (pasta is usually a good bet there) but that had some bulk, some taste and some flair.

I basically pieced this one together as I shopped, choosing the chicken thighs because of how well they fry up in olive oil and how it all might be enhanced when combined with sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms.

Ingredients
Eight pack of chicken thighs
Box of penne pasta
11-ounce ready made pesto with basil
Package of sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips
1 cup sliced portabello mushrooms
Minced garlic to taste
Olive oil
Sherry
Pepper to taste

Directions
1. Coat a large skillet with olive oil and over medium high heat cook the chicken thighs. Once no longer pink, remove and set aside. Let rest about three minutes then cut into strips;
2. Add a little more olive oil to same skillet and sautee sun-dried tomato strips and mushrooms, adding minced garlic as vegetables start to go limp;
3. In the meantime, cook the pasta in large pot of water with a splash of olive oil. Cook to al dente and drain;
4. Add a splash or two of sherry to the skillet to deglaze the bottom and pick up all that flavor from the chicken rendering;
5. In large bowl, add drained pasta and pour in all the contents of the skillet and give a big stir;
6. Add pesto to the pasta bowl and mix in thoroughly;
7. Serve by first adding penne pesto mixture to the plate, then top with several strips of chicken.

This serves six easily with enough for seconds and/or leftovers.

Cashew Orange Spice Chicken

By Paul Briand

In addition to my blogging duties here at Eats@Home and at Boomer Angst, I post regularly for Examiner.com as its national Baby Boomer Examiner.

Basically, I write each day about any and all issues relating to Baby Boomers, that vast generation of 79 million people born between 1946 and 1964.

Today, I wrote about how Baby Boomers, because they are losing their sense of smell and taste, are fueling the need for spicier, hotter food. They need the spice and heat to compensate for what their senses are telling them is bland food.

In my research I came across a recipe web site that is aptly named: Fiery-Foods.com

And I found a recipe, courtesy of Fiery-Foods, for Cashew Orange Spice Chicken that I wanted to pass along:

Ingredients
Half cup orange juice, fresh preferred
2 tablespoons rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons orange zest
1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns
1 teaspoon peanut oil
1 pound boneless chicken breasts, cubed
2 tablespoons chili oil, either Asian or habanero
6 small dried red chilies, such as japonese or pequin
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 3 tablespoons water
2 cups cooked rice
1 cup cashews, either pieces or halves
3 green onions, chopped including the tops

Directions
1. Combine the orange juice, rice wine, soy sauce, orange zest, Sichuan peppercorns, and peanut oil in a nonreactive bowl,
2. Toss the chicken in the mixture and marinate for one hour,
3. Remove, drain, and reserve the marinade,
4. Heat the chili oil in a wok or heavy pan to about 350 degrees,
5. Add the chilis and saute for a minute,
6. Add the ginger and stir-fry for an additional minute,
7. Add the chicken and stir-fry until done. Remove and keep warm,
8. Add the marinade to the wok or pan and heat until boiling,
9. Slowly stir in enough of the cornstarch mixture to thicken the sauce,
10. Return the chicken to the wok and heat thoroughly,
11. Pour the chicken over the rice, garnish with the cashews and onion.

A few words of caution: Note that this recipe calls for peanut oil. Also, this gets a heat level of 5 out of 5 from Fiery-Foods.com, making it very hot and spicy. That's because the pequin peppers are very hot, up to eight times hotter than jalapeños on the Scoville scale. You've been forewarned.

Church Supper Pot Pies

The term "enough to feed a small army" doesn't normally apply to families eating at home, unless, of course, you were part of my family that had my mom and dad putting food on the table for eight children. But there are times when you do indeed need enough food to feed a small army.

My focus in this regard is at church, which is located in a university town and which each Sunday during the academic year hosts a community supper for students. It is a challenge for the volunteer organizers to create something that is filling, nutritious and meets the needs of vegetarians in the crowd.

The lasagna recipe, for example, which is designed to serve 50, comes with meat and meatless. There is a chicken pot pie for 50 and a vegetable-bean pot pie for 15.

Let's focus on the pot pies.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients
5 packages frozen mixed vegetables
4 large cans cream of chicken soup
3 soup cans of milk
15 pounds chicken, cut in small pieces
2 pounds mushrooms, sliced
Salt, celery salt and pepper to taste
2 boxes Bisquick (10 cups)
3 1/2 cups milk

Directions
1) Cut chicken into small pieces
2) Put chicken in pot of water with salt, pepper and celery salt and boil for about 15 minutes
3) Saute mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter until tender
4) Divide all ingredients in half
5) Pour into two 12-by-18-by-2 inch pans
6) Put half of the vegetables on top of mushrooms in each pan
7) Cover each half with the chicken
8) Mix soup and milk together in a bowl and pour over chicken mixture
9) Prepare Bisquick topping by following directions on box, drop by spoonfuls on top of chicken mixture
10) Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Vegetable Bean Pot Pie

Ingredients
1 1/2 packages frozen mixed vegetables
1 large can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 pounds mushrooms, sliced
2 one-pound cans kidney beans, rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
1 soup can of milk

Directions
Follow directions as above, substituting the beans for the chicken. Top with Bisquick topping. Cook in 9-by-13 inch pan.