By Lisa Golden Schroeder

Whew, this year is nearly over. It’s been a tough one for many families, but I think the best part of approaching New Year’s Eve is the hope for a better future that we can all believe in, if only for an evening. And I love to drink champagne, so a holiday that features it can only be good! This year I’m going to cook with it too, making a luscious chicken recipe that hearkens back to one of my mom’s favorite company dishes—Stroganoff. Russian in origin and traditionally made with beef, my chicken Stroganoff is just as rich and delicious, but quicker and leaner.

I like to use a combination of mushrooms, using at least a handful of shiitakes, which have the most wonderful texture and interesting look. My mom always used domestic button mushrooms and baked her Stroganoff in a slow oven. She spooned the saucy dish over steamed rice, and it always felt very elegant. She didn’t use any wine, but many versions of the recipe do—so I thought I’d try using some dry champagne, the same champagne I’ll pour over the course of the evening. I’m browning tender boneless chicken breasts to star in the creamy sauce, but you could use boneless thighs if you want an even richer dish. Serving this Stroganoff over wide egg noodles is pretty, their curly edges creating a frame around the chicken. I can’t say I taste any champagne effervescence in the sauce, but it certainly pairs well with the bubbly in my glass! Here’s to a peace-filled and prosperous 2011 from all of us at Just BARE® chicken—cheers!

A lusciously creamy stovetop sauté, this version of stroganoff—which most often is made with beef and takes much longer to cook—is elegant enough for a New Year’s celebration, but won’t take you away from being part of the party. Using a nice pour of champagne, which really is like cooking with a slightly sweet white wine, adds a fun twist that fits the season. Serve over tender wide egg noodles or steamed rice.

CHAMPAGNE CHICKEN STROGANOFF

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons butter
1 package (14 ounces) Just BARE® Hand-Trimmed Chicken Breast Fillets
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
8 ounces fresh mushrooms (button, crimini, or shiitake), sliced
¼ cup chopped green onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry champagne or chardonnay
1 cup low-fat sour cream

INSTRUCTIONS
•    Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; sauté about 8 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and no longer pink in center. Remove to plate; tent with foil.
•    Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in skillet; add mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Saute about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Pour in broth and champagne; simmer 3 minutes or until sauce thickens. Mix in sour cream until well blended.
•    Serve chicken sliced, with sauce spooned over.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

Thankfully last week, as I stirred up my favorite gingerbread cut-out cookie dough, I had part of a roast chicken waiting in the fridge for sandwiches at noon. I had a crowd of 4-footers coming over to make cookies for Santa and I knew I’d also need to feed the miniature bakers’ hovering companions.

Yet dancing around in the back of my mind was my indecision about what I’d make for Christmas dinner. Every year I’ve found myself perusing long-neglected cookbooks for inspiration, after exhausting my collection of cooking magazines. Of course we have annual traditions, but I still yearn to mix things up a bit, to try out something new. So I found myself at the kitchen counter, surrounded with my favorite cookbooks, searching for that little twist to please my family.

Below are a few of my “kitchen companions” that have always brought me comfort and source of new ideas, no matter how many times I browse the pages and dog-ear recipes to perk up my imagination…

1.    A New Way to Cook by Sally Schneider. Sally has an incredibly lush collection of recipes that tap into being flexible in the kitchen. Her suggestions for flavored oils, reinvented everyday staple foods (like chicken!) and emphasis on simple cooking techniques that result in vividly flavored dishes are true inspiration.

2.   Jamie at Home by Jamie Oliver. Jamie’s sometimes unorthodox way around food can be a revelation of easy and fundamental cooking, underlining where good food comes from. He’s fun and educational, and I feel like that he’s in my kitchen when I read his recipes.

3.     Fresh & Fast by Marie Simmons. Marie is by far one of my favorite cookbook writers and cooking teachers. Her personal cooking style is inspired by her Italian family, but her recipes range far and wide—always delicious, straightforward and a bit unique.

Each of these books puts healthy eating on the front burner, without sacrificing great flavor!

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

We don’t have regular dinner parties during the holidays—the kind where I’d have to break out the “guest” dishes and stemware. I think since the arrival of children, the energy to plan formal get-togethers seems to be diverted to other activities (like juggling the kids’ social events and decorating the house in some fashion). But this year we are having some close friends over for a final gab about the year, which has challenged all of us in different ways. And treating ourselves to good company, good food and a few affordable luxuries is well within our means. As this time of year sneaks up on me, I always think about cooking with ingredients that feel indulgent and out of the ordinary.

I especially love early winter produce—pomegranates, tangerines (or those sweet Clementines for popping into stockings), Bosc pears and fresh figs. Dried figs are a staple in my pantry all year—great for snacking or chopped up on top of my morning cereal. But fresh figs seem like an indulgence for me, living in the Midwest. A luscious taste of the Mediterranean (or California), they’re a treat eaten in winter green salads with crumbled blue cheese or in a super easy skillet dish with boneless chicken thighs. This recipe is on my menu for our dinner party—and includes Port wine, another ingredient that feels special occasion to me. Port doesn’t have to be expensive for cooking—and its natural sweetness is curbed in this quick sauce by adding a splash of red wine vinegar. The balance of sweet and tart is delicious with the chicken and figs—and I really like that it takes just 20 minutes to get to the table. Spoon the chicken, sauce and figs over a bed of golden couscous. Toss a simple salad of hearty greens, like curly endive or escarole, with a tangy vinaigrette dressing—and sprinkle on pomegranate seeds for a simply elegant supper.

Tawny ports are wines made from red grapes that are aged in wooden barrels. Over time, they gradually mellow to a golden-brown color. The exposure to wood imparts “nutty” flavors to the wine, which can be sweet or medium dry. Port is typically served at the end of a meal, but in this simple recipe it creates a luscious sauce that complements the rich dark chicken and fresh figs.

GARNET CHICKEN with PORT & FIGS

Makes 4 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (20 ounces) Just BARE® Hand-Trimmed Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 cup Tawny Port
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
1/2 pound ripe fresh figs (about 8), stemmed, halved

INSTRUCTIONS
•    Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; sauté about 15 minutes, turning once, until golden brown and no longer pink in center. Remove to plate; tent with foil to keep warm.
•    Add shallots to skillet; cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes or until softened. Stir in wine and vinegar. Slowly pour in dissolved cornstarch, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened. Add figs; cook until warmed through.
•    Serve chicken with sauce and figs.

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

Okay, the challenge is on…this time of year we’re all about making our families happy. And I’m a huge advocate of doing this with food—we don’t eat the same way all year long, so why not indulge a bit during the holiday season? But I do think that we can master some techniques that are really fundamental and easy—and that will slim down lots of things our families can’t do without. So we thought we’d ask you about your kitchen challenges during this indulgent season. Our recipe throw-down this week comes from our Facebook fans Reva Skie, who loves creamy mashed potatoes and green bean casserole, and Jenny Schmidt, who relishes a great chicken, veggie and stuffing casserole. The common thread is the creamy element.

Below I will share ideas and tips for making holiday foods that not only soothe the palate and taste like a celebration, but also boast feel-good, healthy deliciousness.

HOW TO MAKE LOW-FAT CREAM SAUCE FOR CASSEROLES AND HOT DISHES

It’s easy to fall into the “take a can of cream of whatever soup”…when really you just want to make a tasty cream sauce. So here’s an easy, back-to-basics, sauce base that takes no more time than opening a can. To make 2 cups of sauce (about the equivalent of a can of soup + milk)…

1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Stir in ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and freshly ground pepper.
3. Cook and stir with a wooden spoon or wire whisk for a minute or two.
4. Next, slowly stir in 2 cups low-fat milk, stirring constantly until sauce is thickened.

Voila—you’ve got a very basic white sauce! Once you have your sauce you can mix it up with any casserole ingredients. If you want to jazz it up further, you can:

•  Stir in some chopped fresh herbs, a palmful of dried herbs, or a teaspoon of dried mustard.

•  Sauté some finely chopped onion, garlic, or mushrooms in the butter and olive oil before stirring in the flour.

•  Bake until bubbly and top your hot dishes with some freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, a handful of toasted almonds or walnuts, some caramelized onions (skip the canned French-fried ones, just slowly cook a large sliced onion in a bit of olive oil until golden brown), or some toasted croutons made from leftover sourdough bread.

HOW TO MAKE LOW-FAT MASHED POTATOES

What about those mashed potatoes? I love to cut up Yukon Gold potatoes into chunks (don’t worry about peeling them). Toss them into a large saucepan and cover them with low-sodium chicken broth (or use water and some concentrated chicken glace you can buy in a jar). Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are very tender. Drain off some of the liquid, then smash the potatoes with a potato masher until they’re really broken down. You can do this ahead if you want. When you’re ready to serve them, slowly reheat the potatoes on the stovetop and add a generous glug of low-fat buttermilk, a little drizzle of olive oil, coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Mash the potatoes until you’ve got the consistency that you want (adding more buttermilk if needed). These potatoes taste like they’ve been dressed with butter and sour cream—but have a fraction of the calories!

(Photo: Real Simple)

By Lisa Golden Schroeder

The first time I brined anything, it was a wild turkey that my husband brought home for Thanksgiving. The concept of “flavor brining” lean meats and poultry had just burst onto the popular cooking scene—chefs had done it for years, but were finally sharing the idea with home cooks. The actual process of using brines to preserve meats goes way back in culinary history, but this modified way of infusing meat with both flavor and moisture is all about appetite appeal.

What’s in a flavor brine? It’s generally a weak solution of salt and water, with added ingredients like spices, herbs and sweeteners. The idea is that by soaking chicken or lean meat in a brine, the salt penetrates the meat, seasons it and improves its ability to hold onto moisture and tenderness during roasting. I like to brine chicken just because of the unique flavor boost—Just BARE® chickens are already tender and juicy, but brining bumps up the taste quotient in a different way. I’ve brined smaller cuts of chicken—boneless breasts or bone-in pieces—and the time needed to infuse flavor is shorter, just a few hours. I usually brine a whole bird for about 6 hours—it’s enough time for the flavors to penetrate and extra moisture to be absorbed. If it’s easier to plan ahead, then overnight brining is fine for a whole chicken.

This recipe takes full advantage of the season—I use locally tapped maple syrup, a dark microbrewed beer and some of my last hearty sage leaves in the brine. Crisp Bosc pears are lovely when they’re roasted—they hold their shape and become deliciously caramelized, without getting mushy. And they taste so good with the moist chicken—a terrific dish to share for a Sunday supper with family or friends in this lull between holidays!

Brining a whole chicken or chicken parts is a method that only improves the texture and flavor of the meat—and keeps it very moist during roasting.

MAPLE-ALE BRINED CHICKEN and ROASTED PEARS

Makes 6 servings

BRINE
3/4 cup real maple syrup
2 bottles (12 ounces) amber beer or apple cider
1/2 cup Kosher salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
1 tablespoon crushed fennel seeds
6 cups water

CHICKEN
1 package (3-1/2 to 4 pounds) Just BARE® Whole Chicken
3 Bosc or red pears, cored, quartered lengthwise
2 small red onions, cut into wedges
1/3 cup real maple syrup
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth

INSTRUCTIONS
•    Mix brine ingredients in a jumbo resealable plastic bag or large soup kettle. Place whole chicken in bag; seal tightly. Place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.
•    Heat oven to 425˚F. Remove chicken from brine; rinse off (discard brine). Place chicken on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Tie legs together with kitchen twine. Arrange pears and onions around chicken. Mix 1/3 cup maple syrup and broth; pour half of mixture over chicken, pears and onions.
•    Place chicken in oven; roast 55 to 60 minutes or until juices run clear and internal temperature in thigh reaches 165˚F. Serve chicken cut up on a platter with pears and onions; drizzle remaining maple syrup/broth mixture on top. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, if desired.