Teens Can Cook, Too!: Cooking in January

So far, 2011 has gone great. I made some wonderful treats with my friend Renee, and I created 3 new recipes.

On New Year's Day, I went over to Renee's house and I learned how to make peppermint bark. We started out with 56 candy canes and two large peppermint sticks for the top. We also had 5 lbs of both milk and white chocolate. In the end, we used about 2 lbs of each type of chocolate, 20 candy canes, and both peppermint sticks all for 3 sheets of peppermint bark.

Last night, I made a delicious Italian dinner. I had to think of something creative to make with chicken, mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, basil, and other stuff from my fridge. I came up with the idea of making an Italian chicken roulade. A roulade is pounded meat rolled up with yummy ingredients in the middle (generally vegetables, herbs, and cheese). My roulade had mozzarella and basil in the middle, plus a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette. I forgot to add cherry tomatoes to that one, but it's in the recipe below anyway because I know it would give some good flavor. I also made spaghetti with vegetable sauce. That was the best spaghetti I've had in a really long time, and my parents are some tough competition in the spaghetti world. ;) The spaghetti had cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, and onions. I didn't post this recipe because I'm trying to put variety in the recipes I'm posting, but if you'd like to make it, email me!

Italian Roulade

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 mozzarella balls, thinly sliced

¾ cup julienned basil

1½ cups cherry tomatoes

Balsamic vinaigrette, to taste

Olive oil, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

String

Preparation
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Butterfly the chicken breasts. Put a breast into a gallon-sized plastic bag, and set it down on a sturdy surface (your counter or your floor). Pound the chicken with a meat mallet until about it is about ¼ inch thick. Do not pound it too thinly, or it will tear. Repeat this process with the other chicken breast.

3.Lay out a large piece of parchment paper. Transfer a pounded chicken breast to the paper. Place some pieces of mozzarella cheese on it and sprinkle some basil. Season it with salt and pepper.

4. Tightly roll up the chicken, and lay it seam-side down on the parchment paper. Cut two pieces of 7-inch long string. Lay each piece underneath the roulade. Place them each about an inch or so away from the ends. Pull each string up and tie tightly in a double knot. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the other chicken breast.

5. Heat a large nonstick pan and some olive oil to medium-high heat. Add each chicken roulade and sear for about 2 minutes. Make sure all of the sides have been lightly browned. Remove from heat and transfer the roulades with a fork into a roasting pan. Place in the oven for 15 minutes.

6. Once the chicken has been in the oven for 15 minutes, take it out and pour the cherry tomatoes in the roasting pan. Bake for another 15 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature is not above 170 or below 158 degrees.

7. Meanwhile, combine olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette in a small ramekin. Add more balsamic than you think you need, because the oil will come out of the ramekin first when poured.

8. When the roulade is done, cut into thick slices. When serving, be sure to put cherry tomatoes on the plate as well. Pour a small amount of the balsamic mixture onto the chicken.