Chicken With Eggplant Lidia Bastianich Food

CHICKEN WITH EGGPLANT (LIDIA BASTIANICH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF degrees.
• Trim the eggplants, and peel if you prefer. Lidia stripes them,
• Slice on an angle, so that you have 12 good slices in all.
• Dredge the eggplant in flour that has been seasoned with salt, pepper & Italian seasoning.
• Heat a large skillet (preferably with a lid), add enough oil to coat the bottom, and fry the eggplant on medium-high heat until caramelized on both sides.
• Set aside on paper towels to drain while you make the chicken.
• Lightly pound the chicken breasts and dredge in the seasoned flour.
• Reheat the same skillet on medium heat, add two tablespoons of oil and tablespoons of butter, swirling to mix.
• Cook the chicken until caramelized on the one side.
• You want the chicken to brown--but do not try to hasten the process by cooking it on high heat.
• You want to do it over gentle heat so as not to toughen the meat.
• Turn them over to caramelize on the other side, and top each breast with two slices of eggplant, then a spoonful of sauce, two basil leaves, and a good sprinkling of cheese, and as much Italian seasoning as you want.
• Let cook for about two minutes, turn up the heat to medium-high, add the wine to the pan, then the remaining tomato sauce.
• Shake the pan a bit to mix, add in the last two tablespoons of butter and shake again to mix.
• Put the lid on the pan (if your pan does not have a lid, cover with foil that has been sprayed with cooking spray) and finish cooking in the oven--approx 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and serve with a flourish.
• Try to use homemade tomato sauce, this is one of those dishes where you will be greatly rewarded for using the homemade sauce.
• To cut down on the fat/calories, you can grill or roast the eggplant instead.
• It is this final oven cooking that makes the chicken meltingly tender and the wine, tomato sauce and butter transform themselves into an incredible sauce.

SICILIAN EGGPLANT PARMAGIANA WITH SPINACH

Steps:

• Salt eggplants all over with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Layer in a large colander set in the sink. Lay a plate over the eggplant and weight the top with cans to help press out excess liquid. Let drain about ½ hour, then rinse and pat dry.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large shallow bowl, toss together the breadcrumbs, 2 cups of the grated cheese and 1 cup of the olive oil. Season with ½ teaspoon salt. In another shallow bowl, beat the eggs and milk with a pinch of salt. Spread the flour on a plate.
• Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs, pressing in the crumbs to make sure they adhere. Lay the eggplant slices on parchment lined sheet pans, without touching. Bake eggplant, rotating the sheet pans halfway through baking, until cooked through and crumbs are crisp and golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add smashed garlic and sauté until just golden, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spinach with any water clinging to the leaves, season with remaining ½ teaspoon salt, cover and cook until wilted, about 3 to 4 minutes. Check occasionally to make sure the bottom of the pan is not dry, adding water a tablespoon at a time if necessary. Once the spinach is wilted, uncover and cook until spinach is tender and excess water is gone, about 4 minutes.
• To assemble the eggplant, spread ¾ cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-15-inch baking dish. Add half of the baked eggplant, in an even layer. Spread with 1 cup marinara. Sprinkle with ½ cup grated Grana Padano. Sprinkle with half the shredded mozzarella. Spread all of the spinach in one layer. Spread with 2 more cups marinara. Sprinkle with the remaining grated mozzarella and ½ cup grated Grana Padano. Top with an even layer of the remaining eggplant. Spread remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with remaining grated Grana Padano. Tent the baking dish with foil, so it is not touching the cheese and bake until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese is browned and crusty and sauce is bubbling all over, another 15 minutes. Let cool and set 5 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

CHICKEN LIVERS AND ONIONS, SAUTEED (LIDIA BASTIANICH)

Steps:

• FRYING THE ONIONS:.
• Put the raisins in a bowl with warm water to cover, so they plump up for a few minutes.
• Slice the onions in half and then crosswise into 1/4-inch thick half moons.:).
• Put 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 of butter in one of the skillets and set it over medium heat.
• As the butter melts, stir in the onions, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt, and drop in the bay leaves.
• Shake the pan and turn the onions as they heat and start to sizzle, then lower the heat slightly and cook the onions slowly as they gradually wilt and start to color, stirring and tossing them occasionally.
• After 15 minutes or so, when the onions are deep gold all over, raise the heat a bit, pour in the 2 tablespoons of vinegar and cook for a minute, stirring the onions in the vinegar as it steams and evaporates.
• Drain the raisins and gently squeeze out the excess liquid; scatter them in the skillet and toss together with the onions.
• Now lower the heat and continue cooking the onions until they're as dark and caramelized as you want them be.
• Turn off the heat and let the onions rest in the hot pan.
• CLEANING & FRYING THE LIVERS:.
• While the onions are cooking, clean the livers (I do this on paper towels): with a paring knife remove all the fat, veins and membranes and slice the livers into separate lobes.
• Rinse them well then pat dry with fresh paper towels.
• Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and grind pepper on all surfaces of the livers.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 of butter in the second skillet, over medium-high heat, until the butter is melted and foaming.
• Before the butter begins to color, lay the livers in the pan, without crowding them.
• With the heat high, cook the livers for 2 minutes or a bit more, until they're browned and crisped on the underside, then turn them over (in the order in which you put them in the pan).
• Cook about 2 minutes on the second side until they are nicely crisped all over and lift them-a couple at a time-with a spider or slotted spoon, let the oil drain off and place them in the first warm skillet, next to the onions.
• Don't overcook the livers: they should still be slightly pink inside when you move them.
• Taste a piece and season with more salt and pepper if you want.
• If you will be serving right away, heap the onions on top of the livers, then spoon onions and liver together onto warm serving plates.
• If serving is delayed, leave the onions and livers in separate parts of the pan so the livers don't get soggy.
• Smother the livers with onions when you serve with white fluffy rice with almonds or I prefer, broad noodles with parslied butter.
• Yum!

LIDIA'S ITALY CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKES

Steps:

• Trim the artichokes and cut them into halves or wedges, about 1-1/2 inches wide and soak them in water with juice from the lemon.
• Salt the chicken. In a heavy bottom pan brown chicken in oil, but do not cook all of the way through. Remove and place on a dish.
• When the chicken is done put garlic in pan and cook for about two minutes, until sizzling.
• Take the artichoke out of the water and place in pan with the garlic. Stir well and season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes.
• Cook for about 5 minutes tossing often. When the artichokes start to turn color add wine and cook until nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes.
• Pour in tomatoes and 3 cups of water. Cover pan, bring to a boil and reduce for a steady simmer for about 15 minutes.
• Return chicken pieces and any liquid on platter to the pan submerging them into the sauce. Cover and return to a simmer again for 40 minutes.
• Check about a quarter way through to make sure there is enough liquid so as not to burn.
• Remove lid and allow sauce to thicken up, simmering for about 15 minutes.