Iron Chef! Part 2

My work had a pot luck lunch a few weeks ago and we decided on an Iron chef theme. We had three categories and each category had a theme ingredient. Appetizer: Cheese, Main course: Booze, and Dessert: Fruit. It turned out really well! There was a ton of food and it was all so good. I took pictures of most of the dishes, but only got the recipes from the winning dishes. I competed in the Main course category. I didn't win :(. BUT the winning dish was fantastic, so I'm going to share that with you.

See the previous post for the winning appetizer recipe.

Cajun Cafe Bourbon Chicken - Made by Amber


1/2 cup Soy sauce
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
2 Tbs White wine (dry or semi-dry)
1 tsp Powdered ginger
2 Tbs Dried minced onion
1/2 cup Bourbon Whiskey
1 lb Chicken, cut up

• Combine soy, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, onion, and bourbon in a plastic storage container
• Stir till sugar dissolves
• Add Chicken and stir to coat
• Cover and Refrigerate over night
• Place chicken and marinade in a 8x8 glass dish
• Bake at 350 for 45 minutes - Basting every 10 min
• Remove chicken and set aside
• Move all juices, with all the brown bits, into a frying pan
• Place over medium heat
• Slowly add in white wine
• Stir and add chicken

Allow sauce to thicken a little before serving

You don't have to be a fan of Bourbon to be to enjoy this dish! It's full flavored and smells great. It is good served with rice, but I often prefer egg noodles.
Thanks AP!

My First Alfredo!

It was Sunday and we were tired and hungry. We didn't have much food in the house, so I was thinking we could have some sort of chicken and pasta dinner. Also, it was our three month anniversary and I didn't just want some boring chicken and pasta dinner, so I went online to find something....and this is what I found!

Cajun Chicken Alfredo and Jimmy's Favorite Garlic Bread - both from Guy's Big Bite on the Food Network.

These recipes were great! They had so much flavor, were cheap and easy to make, and even easy to clean! Most of the ingredients needed we keep on hand anyways, so it was nice that we only needed to run to the store and grab a few things.

Cajun Chicken Alfredo4 (5-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup blackening spice (recommended: Paul Prudhomme's Chicken)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 cup roughly chopped marinated sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup white wine
3 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cooked fettuccine
1/2 cup sliced scallions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Dredge the chicken breasts in the blackening spice and place in a cast iron skillet over very high heat. Blacken both sides of the chicken and place in the oven for 10 minutes, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Slice in strips on the bias and set aside. - For us, the chicken was small and thin enough that we didn't need to put it in the oven.
In a saute pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil. Add garlic and lightly caramelize. Then add the sun-dried tomatoes and the chicken slices. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the heavy cream, increase the heat to a simmer, and reduce the cream sauce by half.
When the cream sauce is to desired consistency, stir in 1/2 cup Parmesan, salt, pepper, and pasta.
Nest the pasta on large rimmed plates, pour sauce over pasta, and garnish with scallions and the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan.

Jimmy's Favorite Garlic Bread
Garlic Butter, recipe follows
1 loaf sourdough bread, cut in 1/2
Basil leaves
8 ounces sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons grated ParmesanLiberally apply garlic butter to bread halves. Bake in oven until light golden brown. Remove and top with basil, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan. Cut into 2-inch slices.Garlic butter:
2 heads garlic
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature - We cut this down to 1/2 lbs and it was still plenty!
1/2 cup mayonnaise - We used Miracle Whip instead
Pinch paprika
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley leaves - We forgot to use this
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Slice the tops off the garlic heads, place in a piece of foil, drizzle olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour, or until soft.
Squeeze roasted garlic out into medium mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and thoroughly mix together, divide in half, and refrigerate.

I titled this, My First Alfredo because this was the first time I attempted to make my own alfredo sauce (normally I shorten the recipe and buy the stuff!) and it turned out very good. Well, it looked a little off in color, but it tasted good non-the-less.

Since it was our anniversary we decided to sit down at the table rather than in front of the TV. We also had the dinner with a bottle of wine we received as a wedding gift.