Originally published for paying subscribers June 13, 2021. Unlocked now with the addition of a summery dessert originally made as part of my Bake-for-Ukraine fundraiser.
I think everyone probably has that one show or book that they associate with childhood more than any other thing.
For me, it’s “I Love Lucy.”
Every day throughout middle school and high school, our homeschool lunch program included half an hour of “I Love Lucy” as a well-deserved break from math.
We own every season and even rented Lucille Ball’s other shows disc by disc from Netflix in the good ole days of DVD mailing.
I’ve seen every episode hundreds of times. And I don’t care what anyone says, the Hollywood episodes are the absolute best.
For my husband, that one show is “Avatar.” Not the movie with the blue people, but the animated TV show that aired on Nickelodeon in the mid-2000s.
I had never seen this show before college.
When my husband and I started dating, he was appalled.
How had I made it through life so far without ever seeing this show? Our group of friends was similarly offended by the fact that I’d never seen it. So we decided that we would watch it on the big screens in the classrooms at our university at night. Around nine o’clock when people started filtering out of the main classroom halls, we’d drag the great plushy leather chairs in the study areas into a classroom, plug someone’s computer up to the big screen and watch a few episodes. We would make popcorn beforehand and bring blankets from our dorms and candy from the student union.
It felt like a sleepover. All of us together, staying up long after we were supposed to be asleep, hoping no real adults came by to tell us to go home. Eating enough candy to ensure a sleepless night of sugar highs with a hard crash toward dawn.
In my mind, now, “Avatar” is almost retroactively associated with childhood. I associate its lessons and funny lines with things that happened in my own young life, much as I would’ve if I’d watched it after school as a kid.
I think we do that. I think that’s why a lot of adults are so in love with new Pixar movies as they come out. They fall back into our minds and are logged away in the nostalgic section of our memories along with pillow cases full of candy on Halloween night and reading with flashlights under the covers long after our bed times.
The first time my husband and I made this Basil-Parmesan Chicken, we were in the middle of re-watching “Avatar.” We’d only been married for a few weeks, and we’d both lost jobs and been struggling with the Pandemic. It just seemed right to go back to watching something that was associated with pure, responsibility-less fun.
We were strapped for ingredients. We couldn’t remember the last time we’d been to the grocery store, and the only things lying languidly in our fridge were a half-used block of cream cheese, a small bag of shredded parmesan, and some freezer-burnt chicken breasts. But we had a wilting basil plant that my husband had named “Jeff Bezils” sitting on our window sill, and we were very hungry.
I was craving those cheesy and comforting meals that you always want as a kid. Something warm and melty that only contains things that you actually like to eat.
I sliced the chicken breasts open, stuffed them with the cream cheese and parmesan, put even more parmesan on top for good measure, and popped them in the oven.
When they came out, I topped them with thinly sliced basil, and they practically melted in our mouths and our troubles melted with them as we sat in front of our TV, plates in our laps, and watched “Avatar” while we played Settlers of Catan.
I hope you find this recipe as warm and comforting as we did.
Basil Parmesan Stuffed Chicken
Prep time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
You will need:
4 chicken breasts (choose ones that are decently thick, as you will need to slice them horizontally)
8 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 pack cream cheese
1 1/2 cups of shredded parmesan
Olive oil
Salt
Garlic powder
What to do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice each chicken breast in half through the middle so that you end up with 8 chunks. Then make a pocket in these chunks by slicing them in their center, getting as close to the edges of the pieces as you can without cutting through them (if you cut through, the cheese will leak out). Rub each piece of chicken with olive oil, salt, and garlic powder. In a bowl, mix together the cream cheese with 1 cup of the shredded parmesan. Stuff each chicken piece with the mixture.
Place them in a baking pan, making sure to keep them somewhat upright. If you have toothpicks, use them to help hold the openings of the chicken pieces closed. Top them with the remaining parmesan, and let them bake until they are golden brown (about 30 minutes). In the meantime, thinly slice the basil. When the chicken comes out of the oven, top it with the basil and serve.
This dish goes really well with a side of cheesy couscous or rice. “Near East” has a great couscous.
Unlocked Additions
As the war in Ukraine continues to rage, I find myself disappointed by the media’s coverage of it. Granted, many horrible things have been happening closer to home. Media coverage focusing on those things is justified. But gossip-column issues so often take precedence over atrocity.
I developed this Lemon-Blackberry tart back in March as part of a Bake-for-Ukraine fundraiser. I wanted to make something that would honor the brave people fighting in Ukraine, so I came up with this.
It was supposed to turn out yellow and blue to match the Ukrainian flag, but I didn’t make the blackberry curd dark enough. I also didn’t let the cream cheese soften up enough, resulting in a speckled curd. But it did turn out to be delicious! I hope that you enjoy this perfectly summery dessert with a smile on your face. But I beg that you please take a few moments while you make it to remember the people who have lost their lives in front of their homes in this continually horrifying war.
Additionally, if you are able and would like to give to some organizations doing their best to help, you can find a few of my favorites here:
Thank you! Enjoy!
Lemon-Blackberry Tart
You will need:
For the pastry:
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons cold water
For the lemon curd:
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel, grated
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 1/2 Tablespoon firm butter, cut into cubes
2 small eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 block cream cheese
For the blackberry curd:
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon peel, grated
1 container blackberries
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 Tablespoon butter, cut into cubes
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
dash of salt
1/2 block cream cheese
What to do:
To make the tart, heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together all of the pastry ingredients until a soft dough forms. Press firmly and evenly against the bottom and sides of an ungreased 11-inch tart pan (it should go about an inch up the sides of the pan). Bake about 12 minutes or until light brown. Let it cool while you make the curd.
Set out the block of cream cheese so that it can soften.
For each curd, mix together the fruit, sugar, fruit peel, and juice in a sauce pan with a wire whisk. Stir in the butter and eggs. Cook for 8 minutes over a low heat (DO NOT BOIL!) or until the curd coats the back of a spoon. Make sure that your pan is not over too high of heat or the eggs will start to cook and you’ll get scrambled egg curd. Yuck!
Whisk together 1/2 block softened cream cheese with each curd individually. Put a piece of parchment paper standing up halfway through the tart crust (make sure that it is standing and is touching the crust). Spoon lemon curd mixture into one side of the pastry. Let set for 10 minutes in the freezer. Remove parchment paper and spoon blackberry curd into the other side. Let set in fridge for 1 hour. Garnish with lemon slices and blackberries and enjoy this perfectly sweet dessert!
Did you make either of these recipes? I’d love to see them! Comment your picture here:
That’s it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading. I usually try to focus on light and love and joy in this newsletter as I believe that food represents all of these things. But I really appreciate you sticking with me through some darker topics.
If you liked this post, consider sending “Food & Fodder” to a friend who you think might enjoy it! Paying subscribers can check back in next week for Ratatouille!
I am forever grateful for your support of this little project. It has been and continues to be wonderful.
Sincerest thanks,
Juliana
PS —
Have you guys heard about Bookshop?
If you love supporting smaller, brick-and-mortar bookstores but love shopping from the comfort of your home (or, like me, you live in a teeny tiny town with a lovely but sometimes limited book selection) you’ve got to check them out. 10% of their sales go to local book stores, and 10% goes to their affiliates (like me!) every time you buy a book. They’ve got all the selection of a big online bookstore, and they’ve donated $20 million and counting to bookstores!
I now have a little “storefront” on their site, so if you’re wanting to see or buy some of my favorite books, head on over to my Bookshop site! Right now, my Bookshop lists include my Cookbook Collection, My Work, My Top 10 (always changing), and My New Foray into Scary Books.
You can find the cookbook I mentioned above, “Half-Baked Harvest: Super Simple,” there!
Fun memories with tasty comfort food. Obviously you do a lot with a college budget. Stuffed chicken breasts have always been a favorite. Your tart is beautiful as is your sentiment for Ukraine. Glad to Chef Jose listed, what a outstanding man. Thanks for sharing.