asiago Archives - The Midnight Baker

Italian Chicken Thighs

Judith Hannemann — Sat, 22 Sep 2018 23:00:52 +0000

Great tasting Italian herb flavored chicken thighs in a cheesy asiago sauce. Make this one stove top or in the slow cooker!

Stove Top Or Slow Cooker

You heard that right! There’s two ways to make this!

The original recipe was a slow cooker recipe. However, you browned the chicken and made the sauce on the stovetop. The only thing the slow cooker did was cook the whole kit and kaboodle.

To me, it was a bit ridiculous to have most of the prep done on the stove then just let the slow cooker cook the chicken. Plus chicken is pretty quick cooking done by conventional methods so I just adapted the recipe.

The slow cooker method isn’t “all-day” cooking either. The cooking time was 3 1/2-4 hours on low, so it’s not really a meal that you can toss in the crock pot before you leave for work. But I will say that this probably gets more flavor in the slow cooker because the flavor of the sauce will infuse better into the chicken.

The choice of cooking method, therefore, is entirely up to you.

Yummy Asiago Cheese

I just love asiago cheese and I use it a lot in my cooking. Everyone who has made my Mushroom Asiago Chicken raves about it and it’s also good reheated. I’ll state up front that I usually think reheated chicken is gross, but that recipe along with this one, is pretty good, if not better reheated. The secret is the highly flavorful sauce.

This recipe uses grated Asiago. I’m not sure if you can find it already grated in your supermarket. Mine doesn’t have it but sells it shredded or in a wedge. In a real pinch a combination of Parmesan and Romano may be used–50 percent of each variety. However, do use the Asiago, even if it means having to grate it from the wedge. It’s got tons of flavor and you definitely won’t be sorry for the extra step.

Yes, That Much Italian Seasoning

OK I was dubious at first when I saw the amounts! I’m a person who likes a light and airy flavor with herbs so I tend not to go heavy handed with them. However, here it just works. I took the chance and used the full amount and wasn’t sorry at all. The flavoring is not overpowering at all and just like Baby Bear’s porridge, it’s just right!

The Recipe

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Italian Chicken Thighs

Great tasting Italian herb flavored chicken thighs in a cheesy asiago sauce. Make this one stove top or in the slow cooker!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Main

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: chicken, chicken recipe, chicken thighs, slow cooker chicken

Servings: 4

Calories: 670kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

2 tbs Italian seasoning divided
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs minced fresh garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup chicken stock see NOTES
1/2 cup half-and-half OR light cream
1 1/4 cups grated Asiago cheese divided
2 oz cream cheese cubed

Instructions

Combine 1 tbs Italian seasoning, salt and pepper then rub on all sides of the chicken.
Melt the butter in a large, deep skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken very well on both sides; about 8-10 minutes. Remove to a plate. Pour off all but 1 tbs of fat from the pan.
Add the garlic and the remaining 1 tbs of Italian seasoning to the pan and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up the browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Cook until reduced by half; about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the stock and half-and-half and heat to a simmer.
Add 1 cup of the Asiago and the cream cheese, whisking until the cheeses melt and sauce is slightly thickened.
Return chicken to the pan, bring to a simmer, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 30-35 minutes. Top chicken with remaining 1/4 cup of Asiago.
For slow cooker: after browning, place chicken in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Continue making sauce as in main recipe. Pour the sauce over the chicken, cover and cook on low for 3 1/2-4 hours.

Notes

I always use low-sodium stocks. I find Better Than Bouillon to be the best tasting.

Nutrition

*Adapted from Cuisine At Home

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Gourmet 3-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:00:56 +0000

Macaroni and cheese made for an adult palate. Asiago, Fontina and Bleu cheeses make the sauce very special.

I’ve wanted a totally red baker for quite a long time. Finally found some and treated myself.

If you’re wondering what red bakers have to do with all of this, I always wanted them because that baker would become the one I always made macaroni and cheese in. Nothing was more appetizing to me than seeing a great-looking macaroni and cheese in a red vessel.

Call me crazy–and you’re probably right–but I’m an incurable bakeware addict and like special pans for certain dishes.

I didn’t want to make my go-to Classic Cheddar Bacon Macaroni & Cheese this time. I wanted something a little more sophisticated. The original was one I found on BHG when I was picking recipes to pin to one of their boards. That recipe contained chicken and used different shaped pasta.

Since I didn’t have any cooked chicken on hand I couldn’t add any, but wanted another addition in the dish so it wasn’t “plain.” Not that it’d be bad plain–it’s wonderful!

I had some button mushrooms in the crisper that I wanted to use. What I did was sear these mushrooms in a bit of butter so they’d have a really deep flavor. Added to the casserole, they made it more interesting, they tasted great in it and it kept the meal totally meatless.

Since it’s meatless the way I made it, it’s a perfect Lenten dinner. And Lent is right around the corner!

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Gourmet 3-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese made for an adult palate. Asiago, Fontina and Bleu cheeses make the sauce very special.

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Total Time1

Course: Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals, pasta, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese, mac and cheese, macaroni

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 799kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz uncooked casserole-sized elbow macaroni
8 oz fresh button mushrooms
5 tbsp butter divided
1 clove garlic minced
3 tbsp flour
3 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 cup crumbled bleu cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Instructions

Cook macaroni as per package directions EXCEPT cook for about 2-3 minutes less so that the macaroni is slightly firm in the center. Drain and set aside.
Saute mushrooms in 1 tbs of the butter until mushrooms are brown and seared. Set aside
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray or grease a 11 x 7-inch deep baking dish (about 3-inches high. If you don't have a deep 11 x 7, use a 13 x 9).
In a large (3-4 qt) saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt 3 tbs of the butter and add the minced garlic. Cook the garlic about 3 minutes or until it becomes aromatic. Do not brown the garlic.
Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Gradually add the milk while stirring to prevent lumps. Cook, stirring frequently until sauce begins to get thicker and begins to bubble.
Gradually add the cheeses, stirring until the cheeses are entirely melted.
Add the mushrooms and macaroni, stirring to blend well.
Place in prepared pan.
Melt the remaining 1 tbs of butter in a small saucepan. Add panko crumbs and toss to coat.
Sprinkle buttered crumbs on top of casserole.
Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crumbs are golden brown. Let the casserole sit for 10 minutes before serving

Nutrition

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Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pork Chops

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Potato & Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

A pleasant change from the usual bread stuffing. These pork chops are stuffed with potatoes and Fontina and Asiago cheese. Directions for slow cooker included!

A few weeks ago, friend and fellow blogger Tara from Noshing With the Nolands did a similar pork chop dish where the chops were stuffed with Asiago cheese. They looked delectable!!!

I wanted to do something similar and I had some nice center-cut bone-in pork chops hanging around in my freezer. I also have an excess of potatoes and some Fontina cheese I bought for another project. As many of you know, my fridge ALWAYS has Asiago cheese in it.

Also can be made in the slow cooker

You have to slice the potatoes ultra thin, or they won’t cook well. I give the option of using the frozen shredded kind that are used to make hash browns. But remember to thaw them first. And whatever potato you use, pat them try or else the filling may be watery!!

I got a wonderful tip from reader Jean T. who made these but instead of cutting a “pocket” she used thinner pork chops and put the filling between 2 thinner chops. I LOVE this because it’s a time saver!

These are also easily made in the crock pot. The directions are below the “standard” cooking method below.

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Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pork Chops

A pleasant change from the usual bread stuffing. These pork chops are stuffed with potatoes and Fontina and Asiago cheese. Directions for slow cooker included!

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Comfort Foods, Pork

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheese, potatoes, stuffed pork chops

Servings: 4

Calories: 421kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 center cut bone-in pork chops about 3/4-inch thick
2 medium potatoes sliced VERY thinly*
1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3 tbsp melted butter divided

Instructions

*Pre-frozen shredded potatoes (sometimes called “hash brown”) may be substituted. Use about 2 cups.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Make a “pocket” in the chops to hold the filling. Here’s a very good video explaining how:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPKF3sQBRAM
Peel the potatoes if you wish. I used white new potatoes so eliminated this step. Slice the potatoes ULTRA thin…so you can read the newspaper through them. For this, I used my box grater–the side that has the “U” shape. Otherwise use a mandolin to accomplish this. You may also substitute frozen shredded potatoes that are thawed if you don’t want to bother with the thin slicing. Pat the potatoes to remove excess moisture between paper towels.
Place potatoes in a medium bowl. Add the cheeses, salt, pepper and 1 tbs of the melted butter.
Stuff each chop with 1/4 of the potato-cheese mixture. Place in prepared pan. Brush with remaining melted butter. Sprinkle lightly with additional salt and pepper.
Bake at 400 degrees F for 40-50 minutes.
SLOW COOKER METHOD:
Proceed as above, except don’t prepare a baking dish.
Place chops in a 5-7 QT slow cooker. Try to angle the chops with the stuffed pocket angled upward.
Cover and cook on HI for 4-5 hrs.

Nutrition

Cheese & Potato Stuffed Pork Chops

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Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 23:00:00 +0000

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Quite possibly the perfect side dish! This orzo is easy, cooks quickly and is flavored with asiago, fontina and parmesan cheeses!

If you need a quick and easy side dish, stop right here because this is it!

Easy and cheesy

I recently discovered fontina cheese, thanks to my friend Melissa G (aka Ms 7-Up) who made a spectacular and mouthwatering mac and cheese with it. She told me I MUST try fontina! So I did and I love it.

The asiago and parmesan here add the zing. Asiago is a pretty strongly flavored cheese which offsets the creaminess of the fontina. The parmesan is the balancing flavor. You can sub romano for it if you want.

Takes only minutes to prepare

You can also substitute half-and-half for the heavy cream but I strongly recommend using the heavy cream. There’s not much of it, but it goes a long way. I prefer it to lesser-fat creams since it’s thick and when it combines with the cheese you have instant rich cheese sauce.

The Recipe

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Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

Quite possibly the perfect side dish! This orzo is easy, cooks quickly and is flavored with asiago, fontina and parmesan cheeses!

Prep Time10

Cook Time8

Total Time18

Course: side dishes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: broccoli, broccoli and cheese, orzo, three cheese

Servings: 4 -6

Calories: 387kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup orzo uncooked
1 1/2 cups chicken stock*
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup frozen chopped broccoli
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup cream I used heavy cream
2 tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp shredded asiago
2 tbsp shredded fontina
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Instructions

*You may also use 1 1/2 cups water with 1 stock cube as a substitute
Steam broccoli until bright green and crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
Place orzo, chicken stock and olive oil in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until liquid is almost absorbed (about 5-8 minutes).
Uncover orzo and fluff. Add the broccoli, butter and cream. Stir until the butter is melted. Add the salt & pepper.
Add the cheeses, remove the pan from the heat and stir until cheeses are melted.
Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Three Cheese Orzo with Broccoli

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Pâte Avec Champignons et Basilic

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 23:00:00 +0000

Pasta with Basil & Mushrooms

Real fancy, huh? Well it’s only mushroom & basil pasta–but boy is it ever GOOD!!! And here’s to Meatless Mondays!

Figured the French would get everyone LOL. I was gonna make the title Italian, however, mushroom in Italian is “funghi” and that’s not too appetizing if you don’t speak Italian!!!!Anyway, I had some mushrooms I wanted to use before they went bad and/or I forgot about them. I also have a literal TON of basil I’m growing…from plants and seed so I have a constant supply…plus a huge hunk of Asiago I bought in Sam’s Club a while ago.

The result was this. You will never miss meat, I promise you. And it can be made totally vegan if you leave out the butter and the cheese (the cheese is optional anyway, I just like cheese!). I put a small amount of butter in for flavor, but using all olive oil–a good EVOO–you won’t lack for taste either, so the butter won’t be missed.

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Pâte Avec Champignons et Basilic

Real fancy, huh? Well it’s only mushroom & basil pasta–but boy is it ever GOOD!!! And here’s to Meatless Mondays!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: pasta, skillet dinners, vegetarian dishes

Cuisine: French

Keyword: meatless casserole recipes, meatless pasta dinnners

Servings: 2

Calories: 793kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

8 oz spaghetti cooked to package directions
2 cups quartered mushrooms
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic large ones, minced
2 tbsp fresh basil chiffonade (shredded)
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1-2 oz Asiago thickly shredded
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook spaghetti as per package directions. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and the olive oil. When butter is melted and begins to bubble, add the garlic and the mushrooms. Saute, stirring frequently, until mushrooms begin to sear. Remove from heat.
Add cooked pasta and basil to the skillet and toss to coat with the olive oil butter mixture and the mushrooms.
Top with Asiago cheese. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Pasta with Mushrooms & Basil

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