Making the Right Choice

U.S. Election Night Dinner

Menu:

Cocktail:  Ward 8:  traditionally served on Election Night

SMOKY HOT ADOBO CHICKEN IN ALFREDO SAUCE:

http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Smoky_hot_adobo_chicken?print=1

Angel Hair Pasta with Cilantro and Adobo Chile Sauce

Carrot Babka:  Bohdan Zahny’s The Best of Ukrainian Cuisine

Lettuce Salad

Medivnyk (Honey Cake) from Treasured Recipes BOYKO Family Reunion

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Growing up on a farm, I looked for recipes that I could make with readily available ingredients.  Good food, however, does not depend only on good ingredients.
There weren't many recipes to choose from but I found a carrot soup in one of Mom’s cookbooks.  “That doesn’t sound good,” I thought.

Then, I made it anyway.  .  .  

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With many more choices available to me now, I found two Ukrainian dishes that sounded appealing.

Cheflovik did his best. . . 

And the sweetness of the Carrot Babka (from the Vegetable Section of Bohdan’s book) did work as a foil to the hot spiciness of the chicken and pasta, but it wasn’t good enough to make me think I would ever make it again.      

After 35 minutes in the oven, the Medivnyk was looking quite dark so I tested it even though the recipe gave the cooking time as 45 to 50 minutes.  At 45 minutes, the tester still came out sticky.  At 50 minutes, the cake was dry -- just on the bottom and the side edges, but still . . .

                                         Though it was light and flavourful, the recipe is tricky.   

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Fortunately, the chicken and pasta were great!

SMOKY HOT ADOBO CHICKEN IN ALFREDO SAUCE

4 large chicken breasts, with skin and bone intact

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (one of the larger peppers plus one smaller)

1 cup alfredo pasta sauce

2 green onions

2 ounces old cheddar

2 ounces mozzarella

1.       Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2.       Blend 2 chipotles, all the adobo sauce, and alfredo sauce.

3.        In casserole, cover chicken breasts with sauce.

4.       Loosely cover casserole with aluminum foil.  Cook 30 minutes.

5.       Grate cheeses and chop onions finely.

6.       Remove foil.  Top chicken with onion and then cheese.

7.       Cook 20 more minutes.