Tamy here and I’ll be moving in over here on Thursdays.  You can normally find me at my home blogs 3 Sides of Crazy. Always Eat On The Good China, on Saturdays at THE Motivation Station and now on Thursdays here at OUR KrAzY kitchen.  I love to cook and I love to experiment with foods.  Fortunately I also have a wonderful husband who is the best “guinea” pig around.  LOL Really, I have never met a more tolerant man.

I also love to research foods we’ve never tried before as well as try old, old recipes or just plain make things up.  I also take requests if anyone would like me to test out a recipe for them.

Today we’re making Polynesian chicken (the cheating way) and Italian Farro with Gorgonzola garlic dipping sauce.  I saw a package of Pedon Italian Farro  at the grocery store the other day and it looked interesting (reminded me of rich looking barley) – so the impulse buy won and here we are.

Here’s the history lesson first:  Grano Farro has a long and glorious history: it is the original grain from which all others derive, and fed the Mediterranean and Near Eastern populations for thousands of years; somewhat more recently it was the standard ration of the Roman Legions that expanded throughout the Western World. Ground into a paste and cooked, it was also the primary ingredient in puls, the polenta eaten for centuries by the Roman poor. Important as it was, however, it was difficult to work and produced low yields. In the centuries following the fall of the Empire, higher-yielding grains were developed and farro’s cultivation dwindled: By the turn of the century in Italy there were a few hundreds of acres of fields scattered over the regions of Lazio, Umbria, the Marches and Tuscany.

Farro would probably still be an extremely local specialty had the farmers of the French Haute Savoie not begun to supply it to elegant restaurants that used it in hearty vegetable soups and other dishes. Their success sparked renewed interest in farro among gastronomes, and now the grain is enjoying a resurgence in popularity in Italy as well, especially among trendy health-conscious cooks.  

4 Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts

1 stick butter, divided in half

1 cup Frank’s Sweet Chili hot sauce

1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup Mix

1/4 cup flour

small bag PEDON farro

2 tablespoons Frank’s Sweet Chili hot sauce

1/4 cup gorgonzola crumbles

1/3 cup mayonnaise

3 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons buttermilk

salt and pepper to taste

We are looking for an avid foodie to host a couple of anecdotal/tutorial posts with pictures the 1st & 2nd Sundays of the month.   If you are interested, please leave a comment on this post and Martha or I will get back to you ASAP.