I made a meal of sugar last night. I should probably rephrase that since my sweet tooth is somewhat legendary. For years I treated cake as if it were its own food group, so that declaration doesn’t seem like such a stretch. I should’ve said “Last night I made a meal with sugar.”

That statement is closer to the truth and sounds more nutritionally responsible, especially since the sugar in my recipes, and ultimately on my plate, came from the wonderful Sugar Blend Collection by Didi Davis. Didi’s Sugar Blends get their sweetness from unrefined Hawaiian cane sugar crystals; the Blends get their edge from clever spice combinations and incredibly efficient packaging. Having spent my early years in the ad business, I am still a sucker for presentation and it was only my admiration of the no-mess nature of the interlocking and stackable containers that house Didi Davis’ product that kept me from putting her Sugar to use in my kitchen sooner. Besides, Davis put so much thought into her blends that I wanted to use them in ways that would be worthy of her efforts. These Sugar Blends begged for further culinary exploration.

But as always, I didn’t want to purchase additional ingredients if I didn’t have to. I had foods already on my shelves that would meld well with Davis’ blends. So with her flavors as my guide, I took a cursory glance around my kitchen. I spied some pecan halves I’d scooped out of a bulk bin while grocery shopping over the weekend. Coarsely ground, they could be the perfect conduit for the Orange Ginger Blend. I also spotted some Panko leftover from another recipe. My recipe was done! The breadcrumbs, combined with the ground pecans and Davis’ sugar blend, resulted in a flavorful mix for putting on chicken breasts. There was a little indulgence in the use of the blend – a mix of the unrefined Hawaiian cane sugar, orange zest and both crystallized and ground ginger – but also a feeling of satisfaction for having made the contents on hand in my kitchen work for me.

Now that I’d opened the cool packaging, I wasn’t about to stop at one recipe. The Mojito Sugar Blend had intrigued me since I first got this tempting tower of deliciousness. Yet I wanted to do something more with this particular blend than simply use it in, well, a Mojito cocktail. My decision? Toss it on roasted red beets. The high, bright flavor of lime zest paired well with the natural sugar in the beets and I knew the mint in the blend would likewise compliment the root. The unrefined cane sugar enhanced the beet’s inherent sugar but also brought out an earthiness that, when served with the pecan encrusted chicken, added to the overall comfort quotient of the meal. I offset the sweet and tart flavors of the Mojito Blend and Orange Ginger Blend with wilted Rainbow Chard. The recipes follow.

Pecan Encrusted Chicken Breast with Didi Davis Orange Ginger Sugar Blend

For the breading:

• 1-cup pecans (pieces and halves are perfect)
• ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
• ½ tsp cracked black pepper
• 4 teaspoons Didi Davis Orange Ginger Sugar Blend

For the chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, beaten

1.    Preheat oven to 425 F. Place a baking sheet coated with two tablespoons canola oil or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray into oven to heat.

2.    Place the pecans, Panko, and Didi Davis Orange Ginger Sugar Blend in a small food processor and pulse to combine. Or, measure ingredients and place them on a sheet of wax paper. Cover with another sheet and smooth a rolling pin over the nuts and panko to crush them into a mix. Remove top sheet, gently lift sides of bottom sheet of wax paper to make a U-shape. Carefully pour all dry ingredients into a bowl and stir well to combine. Empty dry mixture onto a plate.)

3.    Break a whole egg into a shallow bowl. Separate another egg and add egg white to same bowl. Beat with a fork, lightly, to combine.

4.    Dip chicken breasts into egg mixture. Coat well. Place chicken into pecan mixture, turning and patting with fork, to cover both sides.

5.    With oven mitt, pull cookie sheet out of preheated oven and place encrusted chicken breasts on sheet. Slide back into oven and bake, approximately 30 minutes or until juices run clear. (You will have some moisture bubbly up out of the pecan breading.)

Roasted Red Beets with Didi Davis Mojito Sugar Blend

Ingredients:

• Three large red beets, washed, greens removed, tip pared, and skins peeled. (About 2 ½ cups, cubed.)
• 1-tablespoon good olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Didi Davis Mojito Sugar Blend
• 1 tsp fresh lime zest (optional.)

1. Once chicken is in the oven, dice the clean, peeled beets into half inch cubes or smaller. Place cubes in bowl and drizzle olive oil over beets. Stir with a spoon or fork to make sure oil covers all of the pieces. Sprinkle Didi Davis Mojito Sugar Blend into bowl and again stir to coat well. When chicken has approximately 20 minutes left, place beets, on baking sheet, in oven. After ten minutes, use a spatula and cubes to make sure they bake evenly. (Makes approximately 4 half-cup servings after moisture evaporates.)

2. Serve chicken and beets with wilted kale, chard, or a salad of nutty greens.

Food writer, published author and Foodzie producer, Steven Gdula, will be helping us to create a Foodzie Test Kitchen in the coming months. Steven’s double duties as a vendor with a product as well as a food writer gives him a unique perspective on the roles of producer, product and consumer. Steven will chronicle his adventures in and out of the kitchen here on the blog. You can read his work at thewarmestroominthehouse.blogspot.com – the companion blog for his book,The Warmest Room in the House – and also at www.gobbagobbahey.com – the home page for Steven’s gobs etc. (a whoopie pie-like confection popular in Pennsylvania.)