A Chicken Delight Ready in Minutes

Dear SOS: We would love to have the recipe for the chicken with broccoli rigatoni as served in Talia’s in Manhattan Beach. It’s great.

--READER

Dear Reader: Talia’s complied and we, too, are delighted. What a good summer dish. Vegetables and chicken cook in minutes to add to cooked rigatoni.

TALIA’S RIGATONI WITH

BROCCOLI AND CHICKEN

3 large boned and skinned chicken breast halves

Seasoned flour

Olive oil

Flour

1 1/4 pounds rigatoni, preferably fresh

Olive oil

1/2 pound broccoli, cut in florets

1/2 cup butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup cream Sherry

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt

Pound chicken breast halves between sheets of wax paper until about 1/4-inch thick. Dust with seasoned flour. Cut each breast into 1/4-inch horizontal slices. Set aside.

Bring 5 quarts water to boil. Add rigatoni and cook until tender. Drain and rinse in cold water. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and toss to prevent pasta from sticking.

In another pan bring 2 quarts water to boil. Drop broccoli into hot water and cook 30 seconds. Remove and drain. Set aside.

In large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Do not allow butter to brown. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add chicken mixture and cook 1 minute on each side. Add broccoli.

Increase heat (skillet should be smoking slightly at this point) and add cream Sherry. Sherry will ignite. Carefully shake skillet back and forth until flames subside, about 1 minute. Add cooked rigatoni, pepper and half the cheese. Toss to mix pasta in skillet. Season to taste with salt. Serve on large pasta plates. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Dear SOS: I recently sampled a most delicious confection ever known to chocoholics--that is, the rocky road brownie made by a cookie company. Would it be possible for you to obtain the recipe for this culinary delight?

--MRS. L. D. S.

Dear Mrs. L. D. S.: Since the cookie company mentioned does not share recipes with us, how about a reader’s recipe for Rocky Road Brownies from the My Best Recipe column printed in 1985?

JANET BOYD’S ROCKY

ROAD BROWNIES

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 (1-ounce) square unsweetened chocolate

1/2 to 1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup chopped nuts

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

2 cups miniature marshmallows

Cream Cheese Filling

Frosting

Place butter and unsweetened chocolate in saucepan over low heat. Heat just until chocolate melts. Stir in sugar. Combine flour, baking powder and nuts. Add to chocolate mixture with vanilla and eggs. Spread in greased and floured 13x9-inch baking pan.

Spread Cream Cheese Filling over chocolate mixture. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Bake at 350 degrees 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with miniature marshmallows and bake additional 2 minutes.

While hot, spread with Frosting, swirling it into marshmallows. Cool and cut into bars. Bars improve when refrigerated, or freeze, if desired. Makes about 36 bars.

Note: Bars may be cut into smaller pieces, if too rich.

Cream Cheese Filling

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened (reserve 2 ounces for Frosting)

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup chopped nuts

Combine 6 ounces cream cheese with sugar, flour, butter, egg and vanilla in mixer bowl. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Stir in nuts.

Frosting

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 (1-ounce) square chocolate

Reserved 2 ounces cream cheese

1/4 cup milk

1 (1-pound) box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Stir in chocolate, softened cream cheese and milk. Heat just until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.

Dear SOS: There used to be a Knudsen Dairy publication that contained a recipe for salmon loaf made with cottage cheese. I’ve lost the recipe. Do you have the old recipe from Knudsen?

--READER

Dear Reader: Perhaps not in the same form as the one you remember. We came up with a meat loaf using cottage cheese in an old cookbook published in 1969 by Knudsen, called “Cooking for Compliments.” You can, of course, substitute an equivalent amount of canned salmon for the meat and come up with something close to what you remember. Unless, of course, one of our readers knows something we don’t.

KNUDSEN’S COTTAGE

MEAT LOAF

1 egg

1 pound lean ground beef or 1 pound of salmon

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1/2 medium onion, minced

1/2 cup cracker crumbs

1/4 cup minced celery

14 cup minced green pepper

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

1/2 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Topping

Beat egg lightly in large bowl. Add crumbled beef or salmon, cottage cheese, onion, cracker crumbs, celery, green pepper, toasted sesame seeds, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, salt, basil and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Shape into loaf and place in 9x5x2-inch loaf pan. Spread Topping over loaf. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or until done. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Topping

1/4 cup catsup

2 teaspoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons prepared mustard

Combine catsup, brown sugar and mustard. Blend well.

Dear SOS: Can you help me obtain a recipe for anise cookies called Biscotti similar to those found at Italian bakeries?

--STELLA

Dear Stella: You requested Biscotti from a restaurant, but the recipe is fairly standard and we did happen to find a recipe attributed to a Pittsburgh food editor in an old Standard Brand company booklet.

BISCOTTI

1/3 cup or butter or margarine

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

3/4 teaspoon ground anise seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar baking powder

1 1/4 cups slivered blanched raw almonds

In large bowl, cream together until light butter, sugar, eggs, ground anise seeds, salt, almond flavoring and vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder. Stir into creamed mixture along with almonds until well blended.

Turn dough out onto floured board. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into long narrow loaf, about 12 inches long and 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. Place 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven.

Cut each loaf into 24 diagonal slices. Lay slices, cut side up on baking sheets. Toast slowly under broiler 8 to 10 inches from source of heat. Turn slices and toast second side. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire rackes. Store in container with tight-fitting cover. Makes 8 dozen.