Adventure #62

Our good friends Brent and Laura came over last night. They are moving back to Idaho and we will probably not see them for awhile. Here are two of my favorite pictures of them, just so you can have a visual and because I like pictures so much.





We made a delicious meal to eat together. Matt and I used a tasty chicken recipe from our "The Illustrated Quick Cook" for our dinner. I have copied the recipe below just as it is written in the book. We only changed two things and used chicken breast, since we do not like chicken with bones and green jalapenos, since we could not find red ones at the store. It turned out nice.

Garlic and Chile Chicken with Honey-Sweet Potatoes

8 pieces of chicken(preferably a mixture of thighs and drumsticks)
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1-2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 fresh red jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and sliced
a few sprigs of thyme
1/2 garlic bulb, cloves separated, peeled, and smashed
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/4 cups hot chicken stock
sea salt
black pepper

Prepare the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper and coat the sweet potatoes with the honey.

In a large heavy flameproof casserole, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for 5 minutes until beginning to brown, then remove from the pan and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium-high and heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Brown the chicken for about 5 minutes on each side until nicely golden all over. Add the chiles, thyme, and garlic. Return the sweet potatoes to the pan, and season well.

Pour in the wine and stock, cover the pan, and transfer to the oven to cook for 1 hour. Check the casserole a few times during cooking, stirring if needed, or add a small amount of stock if it is too dry. Serve hot with thick slices of fresh crusty bread.

For dessert we made a Strawberry Tiramisu Trifle. We used the recipe from "The Taste of Home Cookbook." Again I have copied the recipe below just as it is written in the book. We used less coffee than the recipe called for since I am not a fan of strong coffee tasting tiramisu. We were super excited to make this recipe since we used my chocolate from Belgium and ladyfingers we bought in Seattle.

Strawberry Tiramisu Trifle

1 quart fresh strawberries
1 1/4 cups cold milk
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
4 tablespoons strong brewed coffee, room temperature, divided
2 cups whipped topping
1 package (3 ounces) ladyfingers, split
6 squares (1 ounce each) bittersweet chocolate, grated

Set aside three strawberries for a garnish. Slice the remaining strawberries. In a bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft set.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth, gradually beat in 2 tablespoons of coffee. Beat in pudding. Fold in whipped topping.

Brush remaining coffee over ladyfingers. Line the bottom of a 3 quart trifle or glass serving bowl with half the ladyfingers. Top with half of the sliced berries, grated chocolate, and pudding mixture, repeat layers.

Cut reserved berries in half, place on trifle. Cover and refrigerate for four hours or overnight.