Well, okay after reading the comments yesterday and seeing how many people have had trouble with the silicone bakers and soap, I'm not feeling so bad! The only other silicone baker I've used was the brownie pan I used for Brownie Disaster II — and I'm not saying the pan caused the disaster, just that I didn't get to taste the brownies to say if they tasted like soap because I'd already ruined them in so many ways, but they might've tasted like soap too, I don't know. Could be the type of soap we use. Someone suggested that the lemon juice could've reacted with the baking soda — that seems possible, too, if it happens when it's baking, because I tasted the batter before baking and it tasted delicious. My guess is that, since I washed the bakers in the dishwasher before using them, there was still soap left on them. So — if you are going to use these, it makes sense to wash them in very mild soap by hand, and rinse well. I didn't even think of that — but now that I do think of it, we always wash our Silpats by hand, as the directions indicate, and never have trouble with them. I forgot about those. I just thought that it says to wash by hand because they didn't want them getting whipped around in the dishwasher or something. But I think it's more because of the soap. Anyway, you get the picture. Silicone and soap = not so good.
These are Coq au Vin Rosettes, a variation on a recipe in an old magazine I have from 2002 called 100 Ideas: Comfort Cooking Recipes from Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications. It seems like just the right fattening thing for Fat Tuesday. . . .
Coq au Vin Rosettes
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
3 c. sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium diced onion
2 T. butter
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 t. pepper
1 t. salt
8 packaged dried lasagna noodles
1 c. chicken stock
4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sour cream
2 T. flour
1/2 c. milk
1 c. shredded Gruyere cheese
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Cut chicken into 1" pieces. In a large skillet, cook mushrooms and onion in hot butter over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes until tender, stirring occasionally (you want to leave them alone a bit to get some caramelization going). Add chicken, pepper, and salt and cook until chicken is no longer pink. Add wine and simmer until alcohol evaporates and you are left with just a few tablespoons of liquid in pan. Remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles in boiling salted water until almost done; drain. Return to pan and toss with a tablespoon of olive oil to keep noodles from sticking. Halve each noodle lengthwise. Curl each noodle half into a 2 1/2" diameter ring and place, cut side down, in an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baking dish. With a slotted spoon, spoon chicken mixture into center of lasagna rings, reserving liquid in skillet. Add the chicken stock to the liquid and heat until simmering. Add the cream cheese to the liquid and heat until cream cheese is just melted. Remove from heat.
3. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream and flour. Stir in milk. Add sour cream mixture to liquid in skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Spoon sauce over pasta rings, covering noodle edges so they don't dry out. Sprinkle with shredded Gruyere.
4. Bake, covered, for about 35 minutes or until heated through.
These are super yummy, especially with a nice salad or perhaps some roasted veggies on the side. Make them if you didn't get enough pancakes for breakfast (since it is Pancake Day — and thanks Christine for this awesome pancake-making video and a response to it). It seems wrong that I didn't make pancakes this morning but I'm crazy like that.
Thank you so much for all the info on smocking, and pleating, and pleating machines! Wow cool! I have to say that I actually prefer the more rustic-looking hand-pleated version, and I don't actually even mind pleating the foundation by hand because I like that kinda thing, but it is very good to know that I should continue to do that down the length of things, which makes sense. I never did get out to get a smocking book last week but I really do need to run some errands today, so I will. I can put off the errands no longer. For some reason all I want to do is stay home and pleat and stitch and cook and embroider dishtowels (ooooooh, can't wait to show you — I'm on "Sunday" now, so almost done). I am just so loving having a little time to do this stuff, especially after all the editorial stuff (words words words, red pens, pages, Aleve, memos, sticky notes, more words, more Aleve). I swear I've started a half a dozen just-me projects (the chair pads, the papercuts, the smocked bag, the dishtowels, a cross-stitch pattern I'm finally finishing the chart for, I don't even know what else) in the past two weeks. But it's been so great. I was waiting a long time to get to make some things for myself and it's like, once set loose, I just exploded all over the craft supplies. Sobbing. "I've missed you guys! I love you guys!!!" Start one thing, start another, start another. Gathering them all up in my arms and collapsing in a satisfied, yarny-flossy-ginghamy heap of sobbing joy. Aaahhhh. Good. Doesn't take much to make me happy, I tell ya. I know I have to get back to making things for my web shop, but for now this feels so good. I'm taking my own advice for once. I can dish it out, just can't take it.
Lovely post. Just what I needed here at work as I'm feeling mucked down in words (usually my best of friends, but right now fight, fight, fighting me.) and totally blocked. My fingers and my mind are itching for something decidedly different.
I just posted the wrong day! Alicia please read my post. Thanks Jen
Love this project. So sweet and simple.
hummmmm... it looks very good!
My, that recipe looks and sounds delicious! Can't wait to see the Days-Of-The-Week dish towels!!
That looks really, really yummy. And I'm glad it was soap-free!! Adding it to me "to-cook" list!
That looks really delicious. I'm putting it on my list of things to cook this week.
Maybe I'm alone in this but I do not and will not use those silicone baking pans.
P.S. I love the dish towels. What great embroidery.
- Suzanne - the Farmer's Wife
I was given a silicone bundt pan as a gift.
I filled it with batter and put it in the oven.
Twenty minutes later, I opened the oven door to check on the cake, and the pan was bulging on one side and cake batter was all over the oven.
What a mess! And nowhere in the directions did it say to place the pan on a cookie sheet.
I have been silicone free since.
That looks soooo good! We're having sloppy joes (homemade, but...) for dinner - had to keep it simple so we can go stand in line to vote.
Why is it that we don't craft for ourselves? I too have made dozens of dishtowels for gifts/sales, etc, but we use the same old ugly & stained ones (with the exception of new ones from a friend) from the discount store. I'm going to follow your lead and make something for me!
Thanks!
Crap! I HAVE to get my hands on the pattern for that dish towel. Thursday, is it? I want to design my little cottage around that towel!
...and my dinner around those rosettes. Did you say chicken, wine, cheese, cream and pasta? I'm so there.
Thanks for making my day happier. You have no idea what a pleasure it is to sit down and visit you everyday.
Brin
My Messy, Thrilling Life
Yummy! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I say enjoy your "me crafty" time! You have sure earned it!
I was so delighted today when I received my copy of "Vintage Vavoom" and you were in it! I debated buying it and I am glad I did now!
I love the towel and the recipe looks super yum!
Yeah for you!!! Enjoy! I do love crafting, sewing, cooking, knitting, reading...and it brings me back to earth...oh how sometimes we just need it!
Many Blessing!
Paula :)
Ooh, those look yummy. I think even my 9-year-old would eat them. I feel your pain. I'm sitting here trying to write a term paper and my thoughts are firmly downstairs in my craft room, and, of course, here in the blogworld (I think I might have to disable internet on this computer - too distracting).
Sort of funny story - I was reading this post and looked at the last picture. I must have a tired nursing student brain right now, because I thought you were embroidered "nurse". I never even considered that it was Thursday you were making until I read some of the other comments. I thought maybe you were making something cute for Andy!
I better not do Fat Tuesday, I did fat Monday last night with homemade mac and cheese. That sure does look good though so I think I'll make it next week after I've worked off this morning after mac and cheese tummy I'm sporting. Thanks for the recipe! You're the best.
I love it when you post recipes. Your curry shrimp has become a staple. This one looks great too! Thank you!
Wow, that sounds delicious! Do you think my husband would notice the mushrooms? He doesn't like them, but I do!!
Alicia,
Are the Days of the Week from a transfer? If so, where'd you find it? I can't tell from the pic if you're double stitching blue & black thread freehanded or following a pattern. Regardless, love them!
Thanks!
You make me laugh and I really enjoy your blog. It's like talking to a friend just about every day. The little that I see of your embroider dishtowels look good. Happy Fat Tuesday, I'm going for pasta also today, baked Ziti.
In case you decide not to use the silicone heart cupcake trays again, here's a little trick my mom always used to use to make heart cupcakes. She would use paper or foil cupcake liners in a regular cupcake tin and then stick a glass marble in each cup between the liner and the tin. It made just the right indention to look like a heart and they never tasted like soap! :)
You are just so gosh-darn cute!
Does me good to hear you're crafting to your heart's content! And is there a better feeling that to be completely content with ones self? I think not.
I know I am a few days late on this, but wanted to say that I too really, really want the transfer for the dish towels! You sell 'em and I'll buy 'em!!
I really like the look of the black on white embroidery. Cool. Never would have thought of that even though black & white fabrics and decor are so popular right now.
I used to embroidery and cross-stitch so darn much, back in the day before I started quilting and knitting. And painting. And scrapbooking. And yeah.... Got to give something up I guess.
Also - I didn't even know it was Pancake Day (!!!) but that's so weird that today I got up and had such a CRAVING for pancakes that I actually made ME some from scratch. (enter twilight zone music)
Nice Project... it looks very good!
I have a silicon spatula that *always* tastes like soap. I thought it was just the silicon! Now I'll have to be extra careful about washing it.