California Ice Tea

During the summer I always made what I called Ice Tea/Lemonade. My kids loved it because it was a mixture of both. Of course, I was using the powdered ice tea and lemonade mix. That is before I discovered that making recipes from scratch isn't really that hard. Here is another Ina Garten recipe called California Ice Tea which is a mixture of ice tea and lemons that reminded me of what I use to make for the kids but much better and less expensive to make. Give it a try, I think you will find you will no longer be buying the powdered stuff after tasting this.

Ingredients:

• 4 tea bags
  
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (5 to 6 lemons)
  
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup superfine sugar, to taste
  
• 3 lemon slices
  

Steep the 4 tea bags in 4 cups of boiling water for 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags and allow the tea to cool.

Combine the lemon juice, sugar and 4 cups of cold water in a large pitcher. Add the tea and lemon slices. Serve over ice.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, Television Food Network, Episoide #IG0902, www.foodnetwork.com 2006

Chicken Francese with Lemon and Pecorino

Looking for an elegant dinner for two? This recipe has several steps to it, but is well worth the effort and it's better than what you would get in a restaurant. Our son, who really never did much cooking, other than making eggs for breakfast, actually was the one who made it for us after watching it done on the food network. We were blown away with how delicious it was.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
  
• 2 Heaping tablespoons of finely grated pecorino cheese
  
• 4 Tablespoons very finely chopped parsley
  
• 1 Egg, beaten well
  
• Flour for dredging
  
• 1/4 Cup olive oil
  
• 1/2 Cup dry white wine
  
• 1 Cup chicken stock
  
• 6 thin, round slices of lemon, seeds removed
  
• 2 Tablespoons butter
  

Cut the chicken breasts into 6 pieces of roughly equal size. Place the pieces between sheets of waxed paper and pound with a mallet until they are thin. Season with salt and pepper. Place pecorino cheese and parsley in a wide, shallow bowl. Slowly add the beaten egg, whisking until it's smoothly incorporated.

Place the four in a wide plate. Dip the pounded chicken in the egg mixture. Remove, letting excess egg drip off. Place each cutlet in the flour and coat lightly. Remove from flour and hold them in a single layer.

Add the olive oil to a saute pan large enough to hold the 6 cutlets in a single layer. Place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cutlets. Saute, turning once, until the cutlets are golden on the outside, just cooked on the inside (about 2 minutes per side). Remove the cutlets and hold them in a single layer.

Drain the oil out of the saute pan. Return the pan to high heat. Add the white wine and reduce it to 2 tablespoons. Add the chicken stock and the lemon slices. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove the lemon slices. Keep boiling the sauce until it's reduced to 1/2 cup. Turn the heat to very low. Swirl in the butter until the sauce is thickened. Add the reserved chicken, turning the chicken until it is coated in the sauce.

Divide cutlets among 2 plates, pour remaining sauce over them, sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespopns of parsley and serve immediately.

Source: David Rosengarten, Television Food Network, Episode#: CL9498, 2006