Garlicking Up The House!

Tonight, I found some gorgeous locally-grown garlic at Dorothy Lane Market, so of course I couldn't resist picking it up, knowing I'd be making 2 garlic-heavy dishes for tonight's dinner. For the main course, I cooked up some plump, beautiful chicken breasts with artichokes, carrots and plenty of garlic. Then, I added a couple of twice-baked potatoes from DLM (they were kind of bland and dry, but I added some skordalia to them and they perked right up) and steamed green beans with skordalia, a fabulous Greek yogurt & potato sauce starring garlic. It's good on all kinds of things, from meats to steamed veggies. I suspect it would make a delish dip for crackers, as well. We enjoyed our dinner on the deck, then my cousin and I continued the conversation about religion and history in the ancient far east while my auntie got on a webinar.

Sauteed Chicken & Veggies

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 lb. chicken breasts (I opted for skinless, boneless and used slightly less, weight-wise)

Salt & pepper

14 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained & cut up

2 carrots, peeled & sliced

1 onion, chopped (oops, I forgot this!)

10 cloves garlic, sliced

A sprinkling of thyme

1 c. dry white wine

Juice of half a lemon

1/4 c. Italian parsley, chopped

Several halved kalamata olives (I think I tossed in about 10)

Heat oil in pot. Season chicken and brown on medium-high heat. Cook about 10 minutes, turning once. Set aside. Add a little more oil to the pot if you need it. Add veggies, garlic & thyme. Cook about 15 minutes. Add the liquids and bring to a boil. Cook until greatly reduced, about 10 minutes. Add chicken. Cover & cook on med-low about 15 minutes. Add parsley & olives & heat through. Serves 4-6.

Skordalia

1 lg. potato, peeled & diced

4 garlic cloves, peeled

6 oz. Greek yogurt

1 tbsp. chopped dill

3 chopped scallions, white and light green parts only

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Cook potatoes and garlic until tender. Mash with yogurt until smooth. Add the rest and serve over veggies or meat. Yum!