Tuscan Blueberry Port Chicken Breast

Italians are accustomed to turning to the land for culinary inspiration. For every cook who stops by a supermarket to pick up a roast of beef or some chicken breasts, several more will return from the woods with rabbits, ducks or even wild boar for dinner.
Hunting is an age old tradition in Italy, but one that is still embraced to this day in hundreds of little hilltowns and villages. When in Tuscany on holiday, we'll go out of our way to find roasted duck or rabbit on the menu.

Just north of Rhadda is one of our favorite places for wine tasting, Castello di Volpaia. Tour the winery,taste the superb wines and then enjoy a delicious dinner at the winery's excellent ristorante, La Bottega Their pastas are simply delicious, and the cinghiale, wild boar, is the best we have ever had. It's clearly easy to see why their hunter's style dinners are so popular on their menu. Real Italian fare to celebrate life and the bounty of land.






Back at home I'm often experimenting with new recipes in my kitchen, and as we eat a lot of chicken or turkey this was one of my efforts to replicate a marvelous duck dish with the lightest plum sauce I had the last time we visited La Bottega. I subbed in last of the fresh picked blueberries I had in the freezer along with some organic boneless chicken breasts in place of the duck breast. Though I have made this both ways now, I am sort of torn to which I prefer, the duck or chicken. So if you have an appreciation for game meats, do try this recipe. It's a breeze to prepare and even better, it's a heart healthy recipe too!

Blueberry Port Chicken Breast

1 1/2 cups pomegranate juice- I used POM
4 organic boneless chicken breasts
olive oil
sea salt & ground pepper
2 lemons, sliced
dried rosemary, thyme, parsley
10 shallots, minced
8 oz fresh blueberries
1 cup Port wine
3 TBLS lemon juice

Rinse and pat dry chicken breasts and place in a resealable bag and add pomegranate juice. Push out all excess air, seal and refrigerate overnight or aty least six hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove chicken breasts from the marinade and sprinkle with sea salt & ground pepper.Reserve leftover marinade liquid. Place the lemon slices on top and a sprinkle of dried rosemary, thyme and parsley.Drizzle 2 tsp olive oil over chicken pieces and bake 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake another 25 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts from oven and keep warm.

Transfer 3-4 TBLS of pan drippings to a saute pan and saute shallots until lightly browned, about 3-4 minutes. Add the blueberries, remaining pomegranate marinade and Port wine. Bring to a light boil and cook for another 4 minutes to reduce liquids slightly. Stir in the lemon juice, mashing some of the blueberries.



To serve, spoon a large ladle of the blueberry sauce onto a warm serving plate. Thinly slice the chicken or duck breasts and place on top of the sauce. Top with remaining sauce and serve. Enjoy!

Valentine's Pick Me Up Tiramisu

Today when friends gather, the conversation inevitably turns to food and restaurants. At one recent gathering, a friend was heard to say, “I discovered Italy here in America right here in one of our local restaurants. I was served a fantastic dessert. The waiter called it, tiramisu.” I had to smile to myself, as it’s one of our family favorites.

Though it originated in northern Italy, many have discovered this incredible confection appearing on many restaurant dessert menus.. we even recently spotted it in a small French bistro we enjoy. There are many different recipes for this scrumptious dish and as it’s my Valentine’s favorite dessert, I’ll share my version of tiramisu ( which literally means “pick me up”) I made two of these yesterday, one to bring to a friend this weekend and one for my dear hubby. I had to stash it in the refrigerator under a bed of arugula greens so he wouldn’t spot it ..(and knew that would be the least likely place he’d go hunting for his evening snack. :)



Valentine Tiramisu

30 Savoiardi lady fingers (sponge finger biscuits)
2 cups strong espresso coffee, cooled
½ cup coffee liqueor, rum or brandy
6 oz mascarpone cheese
2 cups heavy cream, whipped
1 pastry cream recipe
2 egg whites
cocoa powder
sugar
semisweet chocolate shavings

Whip the egg whites to a soft stage. Add mascarpone cheese, 1 tsp sugar and two tsp liqueor of choice. Blend well and fold it into the cooled pastry cream along with 1 cup whipped cream. In an 8 x8 serving dish, place a layer of lady fingers that have been lightly soaked with espresso coffee. Cover this layer generously with the pastry cream mixture and dust the top with cocoa powder and top with a second layer of lady fingers, but this time, lightly soaked in coffee liqueor or brandy. With the remaining cup of whipped cream cover the top of confection in a decorative fashion. Sieve another light dusting of cocoa powder over the whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. I like to make my tiramisu the day before I plan to serve it to give the flavors some time to meld together and set. So cover it and refrigerate until serving time. You can easily make individual ramekins or readily double this recipe for a gang. But no matter which you decide, it’s sure to be a real pick me upper at your table! Enjoy & Happy Valentine’s Day!

Pastry Cream

This is a perfect all purpose pastry cream that can readily be used for a variety of desserts: eclairs, cream puffs, Napoleans, fruit tarts and even layered cakes, and the cream will also accommodate various flavorings such as almond or anise extracts as well.

2 cups milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
½ cup sifted flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

Bring milk to a scalding stage in a double boiler. Beat eggs, sugar and flour together with a whisk and pour it into the scalded milk. Lower the heat and stir with a wooden spoon continuously until thickened. Remove it from heat and add vanilla extract. Allow to cool.