Celeb Chef Tyler Florence's "Family Night"

If you've ever watched Food Network, you know Tyler Florence.

He's the personality behind "How to Boil Water" and "Food 911."

Celebrating his tenth year on the Network, his newest show is called "Tyler's Ultimate."

As a young chef in the early '90s, Tyler cooked at some of Manhattan's hottest restaurants. After being discovered by the Food Network, he turned to TV and cookbook writing fulltime. He's written five cookbooks, including "Eat This Book."

Tyler has three young kids, and wanted to prepare a "Family Meal" for The Early Show viewers.

It consists of a very simple braised chicken dish, arugula, fennel and grape salad, and TWO, special desserts.

The ingredients of the chicken dish are easy to find at the grocery store, but the combination of flavors is very unique. Tyler is a big fan of buying a whole chicken and cutting it into pieces before cooking -- that's a great way to save money.

The chicken dish also calls for coconut milk. A lot of curries and Thai-influence dishes call for it, and it's creeping into more general recipes.

The desserts are homemade biscotti and something Tyler's calling "strawberry sandwiches" -- essentially, grilled cheese sandwiches filled with brie cheese and strawberries!

RECIPES

ARUGULA, FENNEL AND GRAPE SALAD

Yield: serves 4
Time: 10 minutes

4 cups packed baby arugula
1 small fennel bulb
1 cup red seedless grapes
1 cup roasted cashews
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Lemon vinaigrette:
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Wash arugula in cold water then dry in a salad spinner or on paper towels. Wash fennel bulb, then using a mandolin or sharp knife, shave the mandolin lengthwise so each piece is still held together by the root part. Drop shaved fennel pieces in a large bowl of ice water for 1 minutes to crisp then drain and dry.

Make dressing by combining mustard and lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Whisk the mixture and as you whisk slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the mixture has emulsified. Season with sugar, salt and pepper.

When ready to serve, toss salad ingredients together in a large salad bowl and dress with lemon vinaigrette.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CASHEWS, RAISINS AND WATERCRESS

Yield: serves 4-6
Time: 1 hour

1 whole organic chicken, cut into 10pcs
kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
2 (15oz) cans thai coconut milk
1 quart of low-sodium free range chicken stock
2 cups salted cashews
1 cup of raisins
2 cloves of garlic
1 strip of lemon peel
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf

2 cups steamed jasmine rice
1 cups, chopped cashews
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced/shaved
1 red chile, thinly sliced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 bunch hydroponic watercress (the long stemmed variety)

In a blender puree the cashews, raisins, and garlic with a splash of warm water. This will be the base of the braise. In a large dutch oven heat a 3 count of olive oil. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and brown in the bottom of the pan until golden. Using tongs, remove the pieces of chicken and add the paste from the blender to the pan. Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add coconut milk, lemon peel, cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Nestle the chicken pieces back into the braising liquid and top of with enough chicken stock so the pieces are just covered. Place lid on, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 45-60 minutes until chicken is tender.

While chicken is braising prepare garnish. In a saute pan add a 3-count of olive oil, add shaved garlic and chile and set over medium heat, as it comes up to heat it will extract the flavor. Cook until garlic is golden then add chopped cashews and toss to warm up and crisp a little. Season with salt and pepper and toss with fresh chopped cilantro before serving.

When chicken is cooked, taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Serve chicken pieces over steamed jasmine rice and garnish with plenty of fresh watercress and the crispy, chile, cashew mix.

For Tyler's dessert recipes, go to Page 2.

CRANBERRY AND HONEY BISCOTTI

Yield: 12-14 pieces
Time: 1 hour

2 eggs
1/3 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of agave pure honey
a pinch of salt
1 can cashews
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cranberries

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Begin by pureeing 1 cup of the cashews in a blender. Add cashews to blender and puree until smooth. As you puree the cashews they will break down and release their oils forming cashew butter - scrape down the sides as you go.

In the bowl of a kitchen mixer, beat eggs with sugar, honey, baking powder and salt. Add pureed cashews and mx until fully incorporated. Turn the mixer to low and add flour, half a cup at a time until just incorporated. Fold in cranberries and 1 cup rough chopped sea salt cashews.

Form into a log on a parchment-lined sheet tray then squash flat - about 1-inch thick. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Then remvoe from oven and allow to cool slightly. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Whilst still warm, slice the log into ¾-inch thick slices. Lay out back on the tray and bake in the oven for a further 35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. (For an even crispier biscotti turn off the oven and leave the door ajar with biscotti in there).

STRAWBERRY SANDWICHES

Yield: 4 servings
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

8 slices brioche
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons for browning the sandwiches
About 1/4 cup sugar
1 jar Smuckers strawberry jam
1 pint strawberries, hulled and sliced
6 ounces Brie cheese, sliced, at room temperature
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Butter 4 brioche slices on both sides. Sprinkle one side with sugar and turn the slices sugared sides down. Spread each slice with jam. Now make a layer of sliced strawberries and cover with slices of cheese. Butter the remaining 4 brioche slices on both sides and sprinkle one side with sugar. Lay the slices on top of the cheese, sugared sides facing up, to make 4 sandwiches. Press down gently.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a cast iron skillet over medium-low heat. Put 2 of the sandwiches in the pan and cook 2 to 3 minutes until the sugar melts, the bread turns golden and the cheese begins to melt. Turn and cook until the second side is golden and the cheese is bubbly. Take the sandwiches out of the pan and repeat to cook the rest. Dust the sandwiches with confectioners' sugar, cut them in half and serve warm.