Banana Date Smoothie

So I posted an “Image of the Day” of some Chinese Dates and it got me in the mood for some dates. I just happened to have some date rolls in the fridge, go figure! And for lunch I had already decided to make a banana smoothie, so what better confluence than to combine my love of “Date Shakes” with “Banana Smoothies” minus the ice cream.

I know it is cold outside for most folks in the northern hemisphere these days, but hey, I am toasty inside and I have these bananas getting really ripe!

The Ingredients…

Two medium ripe bananas

Two medium Ripe Bananas

Date Rolls, four ounces

Date Rolls

DanActive Immunity Drink, or three ounces yogurt

DanActive Immunity Drink

Tropical Fruit Blend or any frozen fruit

Tropical Fruit Blend

Two Cups Frozen Fruit

Two Cups Frozen Fruit

Here is the simple recipe for a refreshing and healthy treat.

To Serve: Pour into glasses and add a straw!

Yield: 3 cups (24 fluid ounces)

Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR

Chinese dates in bulk

Photo © Adrian van Leen
for openphoto.net CC:PublicDomain

Corn Stacks

Photo © Jasenka Petanjek
for openphoto.net CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR

And a giveaway contest…

The perfect bite of Panéed Chicken Breast

Although it’s been said that even a piece of plywood would taste good panéed, that’s not the starting point of this recipe. Although veal is the more common panéed menu item among restaurants, at home I prefer to use pork loin slices or boneless skinless chicken breast meat. These other cuts of meat have all the advantages of veal with none of the disadvantages including the dryness, expense, and the way butchers slice veal wrong, which is to say, they cut veal way to thick. And in most cases store bought veal is really not veal at all, but calf, and calf is much tougher that true veal.

Panéed medallions of chicken, pork, or veal are so easily and quickly cooked that you need to get the pasta or side dish finished before starting this process. For any recipe that calls for panéed, you need to know that the meats are interchangeable, such as the veal with chicken or pork, substituting any of the proteins will work in any case. Pasta bordelaise is the perfect companion to panéed anything, although pasta Alfredo is more common in restaurants. In this instance I served a side of steamed spinach and also mushrooms in the style of Mushrooms a la Grecque, as you can see in the photos, and I will post the recipe for this later.

Traditionally “panéed” is a term found among New Orleans restaurants and typically means that the meat portion is cut into very thin slices, then lightly dusted with flour, dipped into an egg wash, and then coated with breadcrumbs and pan sautéed in oil or butter until golden brown and cooked through. You will find several recipes that call for adding a large quantity of oil to the pan, and typically this means about a ½-inch or so of oil, I find this to be way too much oil. You only need enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan and usually this means only a couple of tablespoons olive oil or clarified butter.

In this recipe I am not cutting the chicken into thin slices, just pounding it to about a ½-inch thickness. Traditional panéed veal or pork would have the meat sliced across the grain to about one-eighth to ¼-inch thickness or less. We were taught that when cutting veal for a panée you needed to be able to see through the slice, or make it almost paper thin, of course, this was the challenge, and rarely matched. Thinner is better.

Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko Breadcrumbs

In this recipe I have used the Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko Breadcrumbs product, and the prize pack, information, and giveaway have all been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

A chef known for his emphasis on creating delicious dishes with fresh, premium ingredients, Chef Michael Chiarello uses panko as his go-to bread crumb for a crunch that won’t quit. An Emmy-award winning TV chef and cookbook author, Chef Chiarello is the tastemaker behind Bottega Napa Valley Restaurant, NapaStyle and Chiarello Family Vineyards, and appears on The Cooking Channel and Top Chef Masters only on Bravo.

Chef Chiarello is helping cooks everywhere use Progresso´s panko to make flavorful, flawless recipes including Crispy Seafood Salad, Mama Chiarello’s Stuffed Eggplant and Turkey Scallopini and Squash Ravioli with Cranberry Brown Butter.

Visit the Progresso website for additional recipes, tips for cooking with panko, video and a coupon for $1 off any Panko flavor.

Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko and an autographed copy of chef Chiarello´s new cookbook: Michael Chiarello´s Bottega.

Giveaway
Comment on this blog for a chance to win a gift pack (see photo above) including one package of Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko and an autographed copy of chef Chiarello´s new cookbook: Michael Chiarello´s Bottega. A randomly selected winner will be announced on Monday, January 17, 2010 at 0900 EDT.

The Step-By-Step

Step 1. One at a time place the chicken breasts inside a zip type bag and then using a meat mallet pound the chicken breasts to an even ½-inch thickness.

Pounding the chicken breasts

Step 2.Place the Panko breadcrumbs into a medium bowl, in another medium bowl add the beaten egg and the milk to create an egg wash.

Step 3.When ready to cook the chicken, heat a large sauté pan over a high heat. Then sprinkle and season the chicken breasts with the Finger Lickin Rub, be sure to evenly coat all sides. One at a time dip the seasoned chicken breasts into the egg wash and then allow excess to drip, and then dredge the chicken into the Panko breadcrumbs, giving it an even coating. Bread all the chicken breasts in this manner and set onto a plate or tray.

Season with the Finger Lickin Rub

Coat with egg wash

Dredge in the Panko breadcrumbs

Chicken breast breaded

Step 4.Heat the olive oil in the very hot sauté pan and then add two of the chicken breasts and brown evenly on the first side for about 4 to 5 minutes. Then turn the breasts over and brown evenly for another 4 to 5 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are cooked through. Add more oil after turning if necessary. You may need to turn the heat to medium so as not to burn the chicken.

Add breaded chicken to sauté pan

Sauté both sides of the chicken breast

The recipe

What you will need…

To Serve: Hold in chicken in a warm 180° F oven until ready to serve. Serve one chicken breast per plate and your favorite side dish.

Yield:  Four 6-ounce servings.

Panéed Chicken Breast with steamed spinach and mushrooms a la grecque

Sliced Panéed Chicken Breast

Bon appetite!
CCR
=:~)
©2011 CCR