Pre-Passover Cabinet Cleaning Rice Stuffed Roasted Chickens with Yukon Gold Potatoes

Hello all!  It’s that time of year when you are being swamped with super exciting, new and enticing Passover recipes.  If you’re like me however, you’re still trying to clean out your chametz cabinets and use up all your rice (assuming you’re not Sephardi) and other chametz/kitniyot products.  I usually start the process right after Purim, and my family knows that they will get the most creative dishes during the weeks before I convert my kitchen for Passover.  It’s kind of like an episode of “Chopped”.  Hmmmm….what can I make with the beans, macaroni and cheese mix, rice paper, and green lentils?

I have also started making instructional videos to help with the educational aspect of this site.  I know that although I nearly always add a lot of explanatory photographs, nothing is a good as actually watching the process first hand.  

I love my first video (not including the Spice Packet Video...although that one is fabulous!!) - it’s very informative although extremely flawed :-).  (Kind of like me!)  It’s extremely blurry in the beginning, but pulls through to be clear about halfway into the video.  I’ve had good feedback (which is really, really nice), and would love to hear your comments.  It will help in the editing of my Passover video coming out shortly.  

SO….here is the recipe and video…

Happy Cleaning & Eating!!

Pre-Passover Cabinet Cleaning Rice Stuffed Roasted Chickens with Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 large roasting chickens (3-4 lb each)

2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes (medium size B), cut into ½ inch slices

2 ¼ cups of your leftover uncooked rice (Brown, Black, Red, White)

4 cups vegetable stock (I like Manischewitz)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion diced

1 cup celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic, or 2 frozen cubes

1 lb mushrooms, sliced

¼ cup teriyaki sauce

nonstick spray

olive oil spray, or olive oil

garlic powder

onion powder

black pepper

fresh herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme - yes I know it’s a song!)

Preheat oven to 325℉ convection roast or 350℉ bake for an non-convection oven.

1 foot cooking twine, cut into 2 6” pieces

Spray a large roasting pan with nonstick spray.  Place the potatoes in a single layer on the bottom of the pan.  Place the chickens on top of the potatoes.  Set aside.

Combine the rice and vegetable stock in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover tightly. Cook rice for the longest package directions of your combined rice.  When the rice is done cooking, off heat then allow the rice to rest covered for 10 minutes.  Uncover and fluff with a fork.

In a large wok or skillet, heat the oil.  Add the onions, celery and garlic.  Saute until the the onions are starting to brown.  Add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms are soft.  Add the teriyaki sauce and stir to combine.

Spoon the vegetables into the prepared rice.  Mix until completely blended.  Place 2-3 cups of the rice mixture into a separate bowl.  This will be the stuffing.  By separating out a few cups you avoid contaminating the whole batch of rice with salmonella from the chicken.  If more rice is needed for stuffing you can always add it after.

Gently spoon the rice stuffing into the chickens.  Do not pack the rice in.  

Once the chickens are full,  tie up the legs of each chicken to help ensure even roasting.  Spray the chickens with olive oil spray, or rub the skin with a thin coat of olive oil.  Sprinkle garlic and onion powder on top of the chickens.  Top with fresh herbs, tucking some of the herbs around the chicken for additional flavor.  Sprinkle some black pepper on top of the chickens.

Place a meat thermometer in the meatiest part of the chicken thigh.  Roast until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165℉.  Remove the chickens from the oven.  Remove stuffing and serve.

Note: If making this chicken in advance, remove the stuffing from the chickens before refrigerating.  Never store stuffed chickens.

Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

JewishExponent.com, aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

"Celebrate" - A review of the new cookbook by Elizabeth Kurtz

Did you hear the news?!!  Guess who came to town?!!!  My fabulous new friend, chef extraordinaire, cookbook author, kosher website maven (gourmetkoshercooking.com), baalas chesed and one of the kindest, nicest women I have ever met - Elizabeth Kurtz!  I first met Elizabeth last year the the Kosher Food Writer’s Conference in Manhattan.  We spoke about her new cookbook “Celebrate” - I had received a media review copy a few weeks before.  She immediately answered one of my more pressing questions with enthusiasm: What does it mean on the cover when it says “To benefit Emunah of America”?  

Selfie!! Doesn't Elizabeth look great

Let me pause here and say that everyone has a button to push.  Some have positive buttons, some negative.   For Elizabeth Emunah is a super positive button.  She can talk (and write) about Emunah with such enthusiasm you want to sign up to help the cause as soon as you finish your conversation!  Emunah is an organization with 250 social service and educational programs throughout Israel.  Elizabeth has toured and worked with some of the Emunah service organizations in Israel and is a BIG (UNDERSTATEMENT) advocate.  So much so that her book was written to benefit Emunah of America.  Throughout the book you see photos of her working with beneficiaries of the “Emunah System”.  It’s incredibly touching.    It takes this already beautiful book to another beautiful level. Elizabeth, may you continue to be blessed with health and strength to continue your charitable works.

On to the book…

LOVE this book.  So.  I went through the book and narrowed down a bunch of recipes I wanted to try for this review.   It wasn’t a simple task. There were a LOT of recipes I wanted to try (and I still will) !!!   Anyway, I narrowed it down to 4 to try before Shabbat.  I’m really not quite sure what I was thinking.  Early Shabbat in January, 4 new recipes….  Anyway, to Elizabeth’s credit - the recipes were written clearly enough that I managed (with literally no seconds to spare) to finish all my Shabat prep, with help from my minions (read: kids KIH!).  One word of advice though, make sure, as with all recipes, to read through the recipes in advance and verify that you have all the ingredients in stock or you might have to McGyver (like a certain unnamed koshereveryday.com author) when you find you don’t have cranberries in the fridge like you thought you did….

So, as I stated earlier, Elizabeth came to Chicago!!!  She did two awesome classes - one for Keshet, and one for Amit (an organization similar to Emunah here in Chicago).  I got to have lunch with her at Shallots (selfies!) and we further discussed her book and my cookbook review cooking results.  I told her that I incredibly impressed with her Noodle Kugel with Caramelized Apple and Cranberry.  Normally at our Shabbat table any kugel (with the exception of potato) is considered the ugly stepsister of the Shabbat meal.  THERE WAS NO KUGEL LEFT AT THE END OF SHABBAT!  It’s virtually unheard of here.  At our lunch Elizabeth commented that the kugel was the first and easiest recipe to go through the cookbook recipe testing process.  I can easily see why!

She loved the pictures of the Szechwan Sugar Snap Peas, and the Everything Bagel Chicken (she commented that everyone loves the Everything Bagel Chicken).  Unfortunately, I could only show her the prep pictures for the Apple Cider Spiced Roast Chicken because my dear son took it out of the oven and took the picture of it literally as I was lighting Shabbat candles (not cutting it too close at all…).   It was deliciously AMAZING, and smelled INCREDIBLE while it was cooking.  Oh, and a little secret...I made it GFE (gluten-free!) using gluten-free flour, plus I de-skinned each piece of chicken and you couldn’t tell the difference!  Everyone inhaled the food that I made from “Celebrate” and couldn’t stop commenting on how delicious and different it was.  It made me feel like the perfect hostess!

Noodle Kugel with Caramelized Apple and Cranberry, Everything Bagel Chicken, Szechwan Sugar Snap Peas

In addition to all the great recipes etc. there is also an extremely useful spread on cuts of meat and which recipes will translate to those types of cuts of meat.  It was super helpful when I was trying to have dear 15 year old daughter pick a recipe for our last Shabbats Chuck Roast.

Apple Cider Spiced Roast Chicken - YUM!!!!

Bottom line:  Get the book.  It has amazing salads, appetizers, soups , mains, desserts, useful tips, and it supports the incredible Emunah organization.  Seriously -  Get. This. Cookbook!

I’ll make it easy for you - here is a link on amazon - just click on the picture.  Couldn’t be easier!!!

Szechwan Sugar Snap Peas

2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 pounds sugar snap peas (about 6 cups) strings removed

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to taste

2 teaspoons sesame seeds, divided (optional)

Set a large skillet on high and heat the oil.  Add sugar snap peas and garlic.  Cook until sugar snaps are softened, about 5 or 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add salt, pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon of the sesame seeds to taste.  Continue cooking until sugar snap peas begin to turn a darker green.

Serve warm or at room temperature and garnish with remaining sesame seeds.

All the ingredients in the pan - SO fresh looking!

 Saute them for a few minutes...

Watch out...these babies have a kick!!!

Apple Cider Spiced Roast Chicken

2 (3-to 4-pound) chickens, each cut into eighths

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 yellow onions, diced

4 shallots, chopped

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons peeled, chopped fresh ginger

1 cup dry red wine

1 cup apple cider

4 cups chicken broth

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 teaspoons chili sauce

Preheat oven to 350℉.

Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Place flour in a large bowl and dredge each piece of chicken, tapping gently to remove any excess flour.

Heat oil in a large stockpot over high heat.  Add chicken; brown well, 2 to 3 minutes per side.   Remove chicken pieces and place in a large roasting pan.  To the original stockpot, add onions, shallots, garlic, and ginger;  cook 2 minutes, stirring.  Add wine and cider, cook over high heat until reduced by about half, about 8 minutes.  Add broth, curry powder, and chili sauce, and bring to a boil over high heat.  Simmer for 10 minutes, and then pour sauce over chicken.  Cover roasting pan tightly with foil and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Remove cover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned and skin is beginning to crisp.  Serve the individual pieces of chicken topped with sauce of with the sauced served on the side.

The recipe even starts out pretty on the cutting board!

 Saute in the dutch oven...

 Add the wine (not the whine!)

 Reduce (you can exercise while you wait)

 Coat the chicken in flour (I used GFE flour)

 Brown...

Place in a roasting pan...

Top with the sauce

Bake with foil then remove the foil and bake some more....

All done!  Delicious!!!

Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

JewishExponent.com, aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Rosh Hashanah Recipes 2015!

With the advent of the Hebrew month of Elul and shofar blowing every morning, it is clear that Rosh Hashanah is just a few weeks away.  We start to prepare the physical aspects of the Holiday, and work to uplift ourselves spiritually,.  We want everything to be special and meaningful for the New Year.  Our meals have particular significance, with Rosh Hashanah “simanim” foods such as beets, carrots, leeks, pomegranates, honey, round challahs, fish, and dates, just to name a few on our table.  In our efforts to elevate ourselves, we give special important characteristics to our foods.  After all “you are what you eat”!   By assigning spiritual attributes to our Rosh Hashanah foods we uplift our meals from the mundane to the holy.  We are saying that we recognize that our foods are not just sustenance, but have the ability to bring us closer to G-d.

I hope that these recipes will help uplift your Rosh Hashanah and the rest of your New Year!  Shanah Tova!!

Pomegranate and dried cherry glazed chicken skewers (20-24 skewers)

The blessing for pomegranates on Rosh Hashana is: “...sheyirbu zechuyotenu” may our merits be increased.

These skewers make a beautiful appetizer. I like to use the ridiculously red Torani pomegranate syrup which gives the skewers a beautiful red color.  It can be found in the liquor section of your local grocery store. If you can’t find it, you can also use any other pomegranate syrup in it’s place.

1 ½-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts - around 3 breasts

2 cups pomegranate syrup (like Torani)

1 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ cup dried cherries

24 7” long skewers

non-stick vegetable spray

additional dried cherries for garnish

Line a large baking sheet with foil.  Spray with non-stick vegetable spray.  Set aside

Remove the tenders from each chicken breast.  Set aside.  With a very sharp boning knife, slice the chicken breasts in half to give two very thin cutlets. Slice each half into 3 long strips.  Repeat with the remaining cutlets.  If the tenders are thick, slice them in half for 2 thin tenders. 

Thread the chicken onto the skewers.  Place into a large baking dish with at least 2” sides.  Pour the pomegranate syrup over the chicken and let marinate for 30-45 minutes, turning the chicken periodically.

Place the skewers on the prepared baking sheet, reserving the marinade.   Broil on medium, with the pan in the middle of the oven, until the chicken is cooked through but not dry.

While the chicken is baking, place the marinade in a 4 quart pot.  Add the cornstarch, soy sauce and canola oil.  Whisk until the cornstarch is completely blended.  Cook on medium-low heat until the sauce thickens.  Add the dried cherries.  Stir to combine.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove from oven and spoon sauce over them.  Serve warm with additional dried cherries as garnish.

Honeyed spiralized red/gold beet salad

The blessing for honey on Rosh Hashana is: “...shetichadesh aleynu shana tova umetuka” We should have a new good and sweet new year.  The blessing for beets on Rosh Hashana is: “...sheyistalku oyveinu” our adversaries should disappear.

I’m a kitchen gadget lover - but only useful kitchen gadgets!  The latest (and greatest) kitchen gadget to hit the market is the spiralizer.  It takes “boring” vegetables and makes them cool and pretty.  This salad will wow your guests with its taste and beauty.  If you don’t have a spiralizer you can julienne the beets instead.

2 medium yellow/golden beets

2 medium red beets

1/2 small onion thinly sliced

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Spiralize the gold beets into a medium bowl, then spiralize the red beets into a separate larger bowl.  Reserve the extra pieces from the spiralizer and set aside for the Beet Borscht. 

Add the onion and honey to the red beets.  Add the gold beets to the larger bowl and toss to combine.  Top with the dried parsley.  Serve room temperature or cold.

Fresh Beet Borscht

When I first started spiralizing beets, I ended up with the extra ends and middles. When you end up with extra beets...you make borscht!  I remember going to my Bubbies house as a young girl and sharing borscht “mit potatoes and sour cream” along with a “glezzle of teh”.  As I’m the only one of my immediate family members who has fond beet memories - this borscht will be all for me!!!

I added beet root powder to this recipe to give the borscht a more beety, borschty flavor.  You can purchase kosher beet root powder on amazon.com or at your local health food store.  If you can’t find it you can just omit it from the recipe.

2 large beets, sliced into 1 ½ by ¼ inch strips

remaining beet scraps from the spiralized beet salad cut into small strips

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons beet root powder (optional) - but give the borscht a more borschty flavor)

8-10 cups water (8 if not adding the beet root powder)

Combine all the ingredients into a large stock pot.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 1 hour.  Serve hot or cold, topped with boiled potatoes and/or sour cream.  Thanks Bubbie!!!

Honey and Cracked Rosemary Tri-Colored Roasted Carrots 

(1 pound)

The blessing on Rosh Hashanah for carrots is: “...”sheyikareh g’zar dinenu, v’yikru lifanechah zechuyoteinu” The decree of our sentence be torn up, and that our merits be proclaimed before You.

I recently found gorgeous multi-colored baby carrots in my local restaurant supply store.  I was grocery cart snooping (as always!) and the gentleman in the next aisle had them on his industrial sized cart. My first thought was  - ROSH HASHANA! I asked him where he had found them, then ran to grab my own 5 pound package.  Sadly, my package only had orange and yellow ones - there were only 2 package left and none with purple carrots.  Big. Sad. Face.  When I returned with my carrots, sad that I didn’t have the beautiful purple ones  - he gallantly offered to give me his!!! Thank you my fellow shopping hero.  I hope you have a happy and healthy New Year!

You can find multi-colored carrots at Trader-Joe’s and some grocery and fruit stores.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled or quadrupled etc.

1 pound tri-colored carrots

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon wildflower honey

1 teaspoon cracked rosemary, or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped

salt and pepper to taste

non-stick vegetable spray

additional honey for drizzling

Preheat oven to 325℉ or 300℉ convection for a convection oven. 

Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick vegetable spray.  Set aside.

Scrub the carrots clean, then thoroughly dry them. Place them in a large bowl and toss with the oil and honey.  Arrange them on the prepared baking tray, making sure that they don’t overlap.  Sprinkle the rosemary, salt and pepper on the carrots.  Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the carrots.  Return the carrots to the oven and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes until the carrots are slightly browned and soft.

Remove the carrots from the oven and arrange on a serving tray.  Drizzle with additional honey before serving.

No-Bake Pomegranate Mousse Pie  (makes two 9” pies)

This is the perfect light and creamy ending to your huge Yom Tov meal. It’s quick to make, and doesn’t require precious oven time to prepare. Using ready-made graham cracker crusts also speeds up prep time so you have more time to spend with your family and guests!

• 2 9” ready-made graham cracker crust
• .3 ounce package Double Berry Jel Dessert 
• ½ cup Pomegranate Cranberry Juice Blend, cold or room temp (I use Langers)
• 4 cups whipping cream, divided
• Dried cranberries and/or fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish

Combine dessert jel and juice in a small bowl. Fill a small saucepan with 1 ½ inches of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a very low simmer. Set the small bowl in the saucepan and stir until mix is completely dissolved in the juice and warm to the touch (not hot). Remove from the water and set aside.

Whip 2 cups of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Add the Jel/juice mixture to the whipped cream and re-whip until stiff. Spoon into the ready-made graham cracker crusts. Smooth the top using an offset spatula.

Whip the remaining 2 cups of whipping cream. Spread or pipe decoratively on the top of the filling. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Slice and serve garnished with dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds. Can be made in advance and frozen. Defrost slightly before serving.

Note: For an even bigger pomegranate flavor, add 2 teaspoons of pomegranate extract flavoring to the mousse.

 Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

JewishExponent.com, aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Mushroom Teriyaki Chicken and Grocery Cart Snooping

It’s true.  I am a grocery cart snoop.  I confess that I love to look in other peoples grocery carts to see what new and interesting treasures they found.  I have meddled my way into a plethora of new food items and awesome recipes from friends and acquaintances in the grocery store.  It always seems to take me longer than most to do my weekly/daily/hourly grocery shopping – it’s not just a “find the items on the list” excursion, a trip to the store can be a social and culinary adventure.  I’m sure there’s turnabout too – hmmm what does Sharon Matten have in her cart today?  What is she making for Shabbat this week…and why does she, a pastry chef, have a cake mix in her grocery cart???!!  FROZEN PIZZA??  Maccaroni & Cheese MIX??? You mean she doesn’t make everything from scratch???  You mean Sharon Matten is a mortal human just like the rest of us??  Shocking!!

Anyway, I really do get some of my best recipe ideas from friends while grocery cart snooping.  I was recently in Romanian Kosher buying some awesome meat products when I ran into my dear friend and neighbor Shoshi.  As usual I checked out her shopping cart and saw some pretty fabulous looking, thin steaks.  “So Shoshi, what do you do with those steaks?” I asked.  “Oh my goodness,” she answered.  “My family loves these.  My daughter has a great recipe for them and it’s super easy.”   Well, she had me at “family loves these”, and ”super easy” clinched the deal!!  I had her text the recipe to me, and tried it out for one of our Friday night Shabbat meals.  Basically, you sauté thinly sliced onions and mushrooms, and place them on the bottom of a pan. Then you brown the steaks, place them on top of the onions and mushrooms, cover them with Mikee’s sesame teriyaki sauce and bake for a while.  Super easy!  I was so happy with how mine turned out I even took a picture and texted it to Shoshi!  The steaks were good, but kind of salty from the sauce and I probably should have baked them for a little less time.  The family liked the basic idea of the recipe, and they loved the sautéd mushrooms, but I knew I was going to have to try again.  I do think the recipe was fine – it was probably my execution that was off.

A few weeks later I bought another thicker piece of roast.  I followed the same basic recipe that I did for the steaks and used a different type of teriyaki sauce and less of it.  The result was way better, and Dear Son suggested making the meat with the mushrooms and onions on top.  I stored that one away for later use.

So, this week I was in the grocery Shabbat 5 hours before Shabbat store trying to figure out what to make for.  Have you noticed that chicken has gotten super expensive?  What’s up with that?  What are they feeding those chickens – gourmet chicken feed?   Are the chickens living in poultry penthouses?  In any event the only chicken that was budgetary friendly was boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I bought two packages and on impulse decided to try to make the cutlets using the sautéd onion, mushroom and teriyaki method that Shoshi had recommended for the steaks.  Since I’ve become a GFE (gluten free eater) I decided to try to make them gluten-free, and bought some gluten-free teriyaki sauce too.

Gorgeous, aromatic, delicious!

Once home, I thinly sliced some wonderful sweet onions and sautéd them in some olive oil with some crushed garlic.  Once they were caramelized I added a pound of thinly sliced crimini/baby portabella mushrooms and a pound of thinly sliced small/medium sized white mushrooms, sautéd them until all the liquid was absorbed, and transferred them to another container to use later.  I then removed the tenders from the chicken (I made chicken fingers from those later), coated the chicken pieces in corn starch, and browned them in the same skillet I had made the onions and mushrooms in.  Although I normally cut chicken cutlets in half to make two thin cutlets I didn’t this time. I was afraid that if the cutlets were too thin they would dry out and taste like salty sawdust.  I made the cutlets in batches and set them on a foil lined, greased baking sheet as they finished browning.  Once they were all done I spooned the reserved onions and mushrooms over the chicken (taking into account Dear Son’s suggestion),  drizzled a cup of GFE teriyaki sauce over the onions and mushrooms, and baked the whole thing for 30 minutes.  The chicken was fast to make…not quite as fast as the steaks were due to the time it took to brown all the cutlets, but still pretty speedy (it had to be – I didn’t leave myself all that much time!). 

Gorgeous, aromatic, delicious!  The cutlets were moist, flavorful, and covered with teriyaki infused mushrooms….mmmmmmmmmmmmmm!  The decision to leave the cutlets thicker was a good one. They were fabulous for Shabbat lunch the next day as the cutlets had even more time to absorb the melded flavors.  Although most of us loved the Mushroom and Teriyaki Chicken a small number of the more unadventurous Shabbat guests still would have liked a little less teriyaki sauce on the chicken.  If you are one of those ( ;-) ) you could easily add half the teriyaki sauce and the recipe would still be great. 

Happy for our Shabbat guests, but sad for me there weren’t a lot of leftovers for me to eat during the week.  I guess I should really be happy that the recipe was a success!  Happy but hungry!!!  I suppose with the weather being arctic here in Chicago I’ll be able to take some time to come up with some warm, comforting, hearty, winter recipes to sate my hunger and share with you!

Stay warm and Happy 2014!!

Mushroom and Teriyaki Chicken

(recipe can be halved…but why would you want to?!)

12 boneless skinless chicken cutlets, tenders removed

1 cup corn starch

3 tablespoons canola oil

4 medium sweet onions, halved and very thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed (I used 2 frozen garlic cubes)

1 pound crimini/baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 pound white small/medium mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup teriyaki sauce (can use ½ cup for a milder flavor)

¼ cup canola oil for browning, plus additional oil if necessary

Nonstick vegetable spray

Line a large baking sheet with foil.  Spray with nonstick vegetable spray.  Set aside. 

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic to the oil and sauté until the onions are caramelized.  Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until nearly all the liquid is absorbed.  Transfer the mushrooms and onions to another container.  Set aside.

Place corn starch in a large bowl or dish.  Coat the chicken cutlets in the starch, shaking off excess.  Set aside.  Heat the remaining ¼ cup of canola oil in the skillet.  Place several cutlets in the hot oil and cook until browned, but not cooked through, on each side.  Place the browned cutlets on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining cutlets. 

Evenly cover the browned chicken cutlets with the onion and mushrooms.  Drizzle teriyaki sauce over the chicken.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until the cutlets are cooked through.  Serve warm.

Note: To make this chicken gluten free use gluten free teriyaki sauce.  This recipe can be made for Passover as well substituting potato starch for the corn starch.

 Sauté the thinly sliced onions...

Don't forget the crushed garlic!

 Slice the mushrooms...

That's a LOT of mushrooms!!

  Sauté onions until caramelized...

 Add the mushrooms and sauté until nearly all 

the liquid is nearly all absorbed...

Get the corn starch ready and dredge the chicken 

in the starch...

 Heat the rest of the oil in the skillet...

 Brown the chicken on both sides...

 So pretty! Can't wait for the mushrooms!!!

 Top the cutlets with the onions & mushrooms,

then drizzle with the teriyaki sauce...

 Bake for 30 minutes....

 Gorgeous, aromatic, delicious!

Here is the beef I made...

Thanks Shoshi!!!

Kosher Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father

Dr. Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L

May his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,

aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,

The Chicago Tribune Syndication,

 or on Facebook at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.

These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten -Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!