Chef Spotlight: Jill

This week our featured chef is Jill. She seems like a fun gal. Oh, and about her picture she said, "When I took this picture, my 6-yr-old daughter, Irelynd, insisted on being in it too."


Name
Jill Henry

Where are you from?
I live in Spanish Fork, but I grew up in Provo.

Why did you join What's in {Your} Oven?
I thought it sounded fun to force myself to try new recipes, and glean some from others. And my sister-in-law Sallie told me I had to! I’m very obedient. lol. (Sallie is definitely a person to be obeyed. Ha ha ha.)

Who do you cook for?
Myself, hubby Scott, daughters Savannah and Irelynd, son Brighton, and 10 ½ month old twins, Keaton and Waverly. (10 1/2 months-- those were the days...) I love to cook for other people too, when I have the time. I’d be a habitual dinner-party hostess, if I had the time and money!

What kind of food do you like?
I love Mexican, Chinese, Italian; my favorite thing is gourmet pizzas. And I LOVE to bake, but I don’t very often because I eat it…all! (me, too!)

What do you hope to get out of participating in What's in {Your} Oven?
Some new recipes. I get really excited to try something new and different. I hate making the same things more than once. My cooking motto is Life is too short to make the same dessert twice. (Sounds like a good rule to live by!) My husband hates this! Oh well. It’s my kitchen and my rules. Lol.

We are glad you joined us. If you like to make things new and different, this is the place to be!

Seven-layer Gratin

Ok, when you first read through the ingredients, this sounds...iffy, at best, unless you LOVE zucchini and summer squash. My family does NOT. But I was shocked at how good this casserole turned out. Everyone ate it, and we had very little leftovers, which I fed to my twins the next day. At least try it, especially if you have a zucchini-hater in the family. I'd bet they'd even eat this tasty dish. Swiss cheese overpowers the veggies. This recipe comes from Family Circle.

Seven-layer Gratin

3 medium zucchini, cut diagonally into 1/4" thick slices
1 yellow squash, cut diagonally into 1/4" thick slices
1/4 c plus 2 Tb dried bread crumbs
1/2 tsp dried sage (I substituted poultry seasoning, which is very similar)
1 Tb flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 can (8.5 oz) artichoke hearts, drained (I kept the oil and threw it in the blender too)
1 scallion, trimmed and minced (I substituted green onions)
1 1/2 c shredded Swiss cheese
3/4 c light cream
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 Tb grated parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 350. In large bowl, mix zucchini, squash, 1/4 c bread crumbs, sage, flour, 1 tsp salt, and pepper. In blender, puree artichoke hearts, scallion, 1/2 c swiss cheese, 1/4 c cream, the remaining salt, and a pinch of pepper.

2. Spread 1/3 of the squash mixture over bottom of a shallow 2-qt baking dish. Spread half of the artichoke puree over squash. Top with half of the turkey. Repeat layering; top with remaining squash mixture. Toss together the remaining 1 c swiss cheese, remaining bread crumbs and the parmesan. Sprinkle evenly over gratin. Drizzle with the remaining 1/2 c cream.

4. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or til squash is tender and top is golden. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Buffalo Chicken Strips

Ok, so this is last week's ingredient, and I made them on Saturday night, but forgot to blog them. So here it is, technically just two days late. And, like always, I forgot to take a picture. When you have a starving family of 7, taking pictures of your food is last on your mind, trust me!

Buffalo Chicken Strips

1/2 c milk
1/2 tsp honey
1/8 tsp Tabasco sauce
1.5 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch strips
1/c crushed corn flakes
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp tarragon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Conbine milk, honey and Tabasco sauce. Add chicken strips and marinate at least 10 minutes. Combine cornflakes, ginger, thyme, tarragon, and cayenne. Dip the chicken strips into the cornflake mixture. Place the chicken on a greased jelly roll pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 mins until crispy. Serve with bleu cheese dressing, if desired.

Cook's notes: I didn't have tarragon or cayenne pepper (last minute meal), so I substituted parsley and chili powder. I wouldn't reccommend this, as I think it lost something in translation. I also doubled the cornflake mixture, as it never seems to be enough, but I would actually triple it if you make this. I ran out and had to make more. My family loved these. They tasted like chicken nuggets, with a tang. Even my mostly-vegetarian daughter ate these, and we had no leftovers, which is rare.

Moo-shu Chicken wraps

I'm not a big cabbage-lover, so I looked for a recipe where it's not the main ingredient. I found this one in Family Circle. And, I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate it, so here's the picture from the magazine. It at least gives you a clue what you'd be eating.

Moo-shu Chicken wraps

Makes 10 rolls, 10 mins prep, 10 mins cook time

1 Tb sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bag (10 ounces) shredded coleslaw mix (I used plain shredded cabbage, since that's what I had on hand)

1 bag (8 ounces) shredded carrots (I used shoe-string carrots)

4 scallions (my husband went to 4 different stores and couldn't find any, so we used green onions. 4! What a sweet man, trying to please his wife:)

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

2 Tb soy sauce

10 flour tortillas (6-inch size)

3 cups shredded cooked chicken (recommended to use rotisserie chicken, but I just shredded some chicken breasts)

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic, coleslaw mix, carrots and scallions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, until vegetables are softened.

2. Stir in the hoisin and soy sauces and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken; stir to combine with vegetables and heat through.

3. To serve, heat tortillas following package directions. Spoon 1/2 cup of mixture down center of tortilla and roll up.

My family liked this pretty well. We all rated it a 3-star meal. We'd make it again, but not for a dinner party. Even my kids ate it without picking out the veggies. My husband thought it would be better wrapped in wonton wraps and baked. I thought some slivered almonds would spice it up as well. I ate it the next day for leftovers, and I almost liked it better cold, when it sat overnight. I'd reccommend this recipe.

(and sorry about the picture...I couldn't figure out how to turn it! The preview pic has it turned. Go figure.)