When I started this blog, I knew people would have to let me watch them  cook and I’d probably get to eat some good meals.  But, here in the south, the cooking turns into a party….every time!  And today was no different.

I had met Tracy at a previous luncheon where I had watched her younger sister, Ashley, make Yakisoba.  I liked Tracy immediately.  She is very fun to be around, has a great style about her and is very knowledgable about food.  That day I learned she was trying to follow a gluten free diet.  She recently discovered she was gluten intolerant.  After she informed us about it, about half of us in the room thought that maybe we were too!  Anyway, I thought a gluten free blog entry was in order.

You can’t get much easier than wrapping a chicken breast around a hunk of cream cheese and wrapping the entire thing in bacon.  But, Lord have mercy, it is simply moist and delicious.  I cannot wait to cater my daughter’s wedding now.  Or better yet, have Tracy do it!

It was clear when I was observing Tracy that she has some serious cooking skills.  Her knife skills are excellent and her way with food was very natural.  She informed me that she took half of a culinary course a few years back, but never finished.  I’ll tell you, the time was not wasted.  She is fun to watch.

Tracy had already “tourned” the potatoes for her rosemary potatoes before I had gotten there.  I’m glad she did.  Tourne is a french style of cutting potatoes and it is time consuming, but it’s the perfect shape for roasting.  You can make about 6-8 small football shaped potatoes out of one regular potato.  If you are super curious about this, here’s a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2LMzr2VPRY.  I was impressed.

Tracy also served a red pepper and mushroom garnish for the chicken, a mandarin salad with poppy seed dressing and also a side of roasted asparagus.  And creme brulee for dessert.  I had completely forgotten that this was a gluten-free meal.

This is an excellent combination of foods; perfect for company or a large crowd.  All which can be made ahead of time, so you can visit with your company prior to dinner.  You will really impress your guests if you can get the tourne technique down.  Goat cheese could also be used in place of cream cheese and add herbs if you so desire.

By the way, the party was fabulous and good food is always an excuse to drink wine in the middle of the day!!

Tracy’s First Class Chicken

Wrap the breast around the cheese.  Completely wrap the chicken breast with the cheese in it with bacon.  About five slices per large breast.  Wrap in all different directions.  This will hold the breast of chicken closed.

Place on a rack over a pan so that juices can drain.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Aren’t these cute?

For a garnish, thinly slice red pepper.  Combine in a pan with mushrooms and olive oil.  Saute for 10 minutes.  

Roasted Rosemary Tourne Potatoes

Tourne 2 or 3 potatoes into about 24 pieces.  Place in an iron skillet.

Chop garlic. Chop a couple of springs of fresh rosemary. Chop a couple of springs of fresh rosemary.

Bake at 400 until they are nicely browned.

You can bake the chicken and the potatoes at the same time.

Roasted Asparagus

Cut off tough ends of asparagus and put on a roasting pan.  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Mix and roast at 400 for about 10-15 min depending on size.  Chopped shallots could be added if you have one on hand.

Tracy combined 2 Tbsp of wine vinegar, 1 tsp of Dijon mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, a pinch of cayanne, 1 Tbsp Honey, 6 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 1/2 tsp of poppy seeds.  Mix with a wisk.

Slice 1/2 red onion.

Put a container of baby romaine, or similar salad green in a large bowl.  Top with onions and an 11 oz can of drained Mandarin oranges.

Creme Brulee

Since creme brulee needs to be made ahead of time and chilled, Tracy had already done that..  She used a basic recipe from the internet.