Rise of the Nachos

I can’t believe it’s 2014 – already! I have no excuse for not having a recent post, other than my Master’s thesis being due very soon. Just imagine all the celebratory food cooking and related cacophony of posts I could do after THAT 😀 For now, I wanted to post this simple & sweet blurb on nachos. Ahh, cheese. Where would food be without you? One of my favorite foods is cheese. One of my other favorites? Salsa. I am also a carnivore by nature and can’t help but like eating meat from time to time too. Where do these three meet? Cue in – nachos. This undervalued dish isn’t necessarily unhealthy, just watch the cheese! Nachos are on the rise and if you’ve a bad or nonplussed experience of the dish before, it’s time to make new memories, I mean nachos. We are lucky to be in the era of limitless culinary diversity and the sheer amount of different things you can put on cheesy nachos is kind of mind-boggling.

From what I remember of my restaurant experience with nachos, it’s a little slimy, a little soggy, and kind of anticlimactic. But I do also remember from my bar-tending days that nachos was the one dish that people would NEVER finish. Why? Because there’s too much if it! Granted, there’s nothing better when you’re really hungry than a steaming pile of chips & cheese, but it’s important to transcend the baseline comfort elements in this recipe to reach something better. The 3 recipes or versions I have here I read in last year’s Cooking Light. So easy! So simple! So tasty! I should write ads for this magazine 😉

When it comes to nachos, here’s 3 tips to remember: 1. It’s quality, not quantity. Gourmet ingredients give you some deluxe nachos and no matter what, you will be full by the time you’re done (and there will be some left). Spread a baking sheet onto the oven pan and one layer of chips, no need to make mountains – I know tortilla chips are cheap but please refrain, for the sake of your stomach 2. Don’t skimp on the cheese. Broiled chips aren’t very tasty by themselves, but add the right amount of cheese and viola, irresistible goodness. The best part? Broiling this dish takes 1-2 minutes MAX. You put it in and you’re eating moments later, it’s like magic 🙂 3. Be creative. Try making what you’d consider you’re “dream nachos.” Then make a Greek version, a Caribbean version, and/or good ol’ Tex-Mex. Mix it up and have all-veggie nachos or use some crazy ingredients like toasted sesame seeds or capers.. No need to restrain yourself, this dish is messy and sloppy and will turn out del-ish once covered in warm, melted cheese. Have fun, because you have TIME for that when making dinner only takes 15 minutes!

My star ingredient? Greek yogurt. Greek what?! You don’t need sour cream or creme fraiche, they’re merely nice condiments that should be used in moderation. But, you get some low-fat Greek yogurt and put a big dollop in the center of your nachos? It’s practically the same thing, only better (for your body, I mean). I love sour cream as much as the next American 😉 but hey, there are alternatives to watch the calorie count and Greek yogurt is just as yummy. Below are 3 versions of simple nacho recipes you can make, enjoy and WARNING: you will need napkins 😀

Nachos – 3 Ways

(1) Pork & Bean Nachos with Tomatoes, Onions, and Fresh Herbs

Ingredients

1 bag of tortilla chips, unsalted

1 bag (or 2 cups) of shredded cheddar cheese

1 yellow onion, thinly sliced

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 can black or red kidney beans, drained & rinsed

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed

1 bunch fresh cilantro, minced

1 bunch fresh basil (or mint)

1/2 bunch fresh parsley, minced

4-5 pickled or preserved jalapenos, for serving

1/2 cup low fat Greek yogurt, for serving

baking paper

vegetable oil

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Season the pork tenderloin generously with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbs. oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. When hot, brown the tenderloin on all sides, turning every 4 minutes or so and cook until tenderloin is firm, about 15 minutes total. Remove from heat, cover with foil, and let sit 10 minutes. When cool, slice the cooked pork into chunks and set aside. (2) Spread a piece of baking paper across the bottom of a large oven pan. Preheat your broiler. Spread tortilla chips in an even (or not so even layer) across the baking sheet and top with meat and cheese. (3) When the broiler is preheated, put the oven pan in and broil just until cheese is melted, 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and add beans, tomatoes, and onion. Top with minced herbs, pickled jalapenos, and a dollop of Greek yogurt. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

(2) Spicy Shrimp Nachos with Salsa, fresh Jalapenos, and Avocado

Ingredients

1 bag of tortilla chips, unsalted

1 bag (or 2 cups) of shredded mozzarella cheese

1 bag (around 1/2 kg) frozen small shrimp, peeled & de-veined

1 jalapeno, seeded & sliced

3 Tbs. coconut flakes

4 Tbs. seafood seasoning or market spice

2 ripe avocados, sliced

1 bunch fresh Cilantro, minced

1 cup salsa of your choice or pico de gallo, for serving

1/2 cup low fat Greek yogurt, for serving

vegetable oil

baking paper

(1) Defrost shrimp, drain, and rinse thoroughly. Place in a bowl with seafood seasoning and 1 Tbs. oil and stir until well-coated. Heat another Tablespoon of oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add the shrimp and cook, 1 -2 minutes, or until shrimp is pink and can be easily cut in half with a fork. Put cooked shrimp in a bowl and set aside. (2) Spread a piece of baking paper across the bottom of a large oven pan. Preheat your broiler. Spread tortilla chips and coconut flakes in a layer across the baking sheet and top with shrimp and cheese. (3) When the broiler is preheated, put the oven pan in and broil just until cheese is melted, 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and add spoonfuls of salsa, slices of avocado, and jalapenos. Top with minced cilantro and a big dollop of Greek yogurt. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

(3) BBQ Chicken Nachos with Green Onions, Jack Cheese, and Honey-Mustard Coleslaw

Ingredients

1 bag of tortilla chips, unsalted

1 bag (or 2 cups) of shredded Jack cheese

2 cups of cooked barbecued chicken, shredded or cubed

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup low fat Greek yogurt, for serving

(for slaw🙂

2 Tbs. honey

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

2 Tbs. mustard

1 tsp. paprika

sea salt & cracked pepper

1/2 head of red cabbage, thinly sliced

1 head of fennel, thinly sliced

2 carrots, peeled & grated

3 Tbs. fresh dill fronds

baking paper

(1) To make slaw, put honey, paprika, 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, and mustard in a jar or container with a tight-fitting lid. Seal the container and shake until ingredients have combined. Season dressing to taste with salt & pepper and chill at least 20 minutes for flavors to meld. Mix thinly sliced cabbage, fennel, and carrots in a large bowl and add dressing. Stir until combined and chill slaw until ready. (2) Spread a piece of baking paper across the bottom of a large oven pan. Preheat your broiler. Spread tortilla chips in a layer across the baking sheet and top with barbecued chicken pieces and Jack cheese. (3) When the broiler is preheated, put the oven pan in and broil just until cheese is melted, 1 – 2 minutes. Remove from oven and add green onions and spoonfuls of coleslaw. Top with a big dollop of Greek yogurt and serve immediately.

Serves 4

My question: what are the craziest (as in crazy delicious) things you can think of to put on nachos?

Come on, I’d love to hear what that could be – I want to make MORE of this cheesy deliciousness and I need some fresh ideas…

1.31.2014

Peppered Citrus Dry Rub & Roasted Chicken

Happy Thanksgiving! Wait, did I miss it?! It’s been a little while since my last post so I thought I’d do something fantastical, something fresh and flavorful in this frigid month of November. Entrer: the roasted chicken.

Chicken, you say — what about Turkey? Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE, miss, dream about turkey, but a cook should not underestimate the goodness & divine simplicity of a roasted chicken. My reasons? First of all, it’s cheap, ahem–cheaper. Secondly, it’s smaller. I WISH I had the time, a big enough oven, and actual guests to make a 20 pound turkey, but I don’t 😀 Third, a chicken cooks much faster because yeah, it’s smaller, and I can’t even begin to point out the delicious possibilities that emerge with all that the leftover chicken. Roasted/rotisserie chicken makes the best sandwiches…assuming there are leftovers. After mulling over my Thanksgiving plans I decided yes, a roasted chicken is just what was needed for our little celebration.

My secret ingredient? The dry rub. Okay, so this is like 6 ingredients, but it’s pure magic. I saw this particular dry rub recipe in this month’s Bon Appetit (see the photo below, that’s what caught my attention FIRST). It’s probably one of the more colorful rubs I’ve ever seen (thank you pink peppercorns) — and emphasis on easy! One of my favorite spices in the world is coriander so any recipe that uses coriander seeds tends to seize me by the taste buds 😛 It takes only 7 hours to cure a chicken covered in dry rub (vs. 2-3 days to brine one), so I was sold from the start. The apartment still smells like roasting peppercorns and oranges..

Since posting just one Thanksgiving recipe seems absurd, I posted the menu that I ended up making on our rainy, foggy evening. It includes a tomato-basil risotto that has corn, white wine, and lots of garlic & onions. Mmm, so glad I found another excuse to make risotto! This risotto recipe is from Fine Cooking; coming across it, I initially thought “wow, all my favorite ingredients in one risotto recipe..” I took it as a sign 🙂

Peppered Citrus Dry Rub

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (or turkey, or duck..)

2 Tbs. black peppercorns

2 Tbs. pink peppercorns

2 Tbs. coriander seeds

1 tsp. white peppercorns

6 bay leaves

3 lemons, zested

1 orange, zested

1 dl (or 1/4 cup) coarse sea salt

2 Tbs. brown sugar

cooking twine

foil

(1) In a small saucepan, combine all of the peppercorns, coriander, and bay leaves. Toast on medium heat until fragrant, less than 5 minutes. Remove from heat & let cool. Put these spices in a spice grinder or blender (…or a plastic bag that you seal & beat with a rolling pin:-)) and grind until the peppercorns & seeds are coarsely broken up. Add the salt, lemon & orange zest, and brown sugar; mix. Tada! Dry rub. (2) Wash the bird and dry with paper towels. Place with the breast facing up on a large plate or dish. Cross & tie the legs together with kitchen twine. When the bird is dry, massage the dry rub into the skin and everywhere else it sticks until you’ve used all of the dry rub. Chill the chicken, uncovered in the fridge to brine, approx. 6 hours. (3) Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius (430 degrees Fahrenheit). Remove the chicken from fridge and drain any liquid. Rinse off the dry rub and pat dry. Transfer to an oven pan lined with foil and put on the top rack in oven. Let the skin crisp 10-15 minutes. (4) Turn the heat down to 180 degrees Celsius (360 degrees Fahrenheit) and cook the bird about 20 minutes per pound of poultry (or 1/2 kg). (5) Remove bird from oven and loosely cover with foil. Check temperature with a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, should register at least 85 degrees Celsius (185 degrees Fahrenheit). Let sit 10 minutes before carving. Serve sliced or in pieces with warm buttered rolls.

Serves 4

Tomato-Basil Risotto with White Wine, Sweet Corn, & Garlic

Ingredients

2 cups arborio rice

2 onions, peeled & chopped

7 garlic cloves, peeled & chopped

5-6 cups broth or reconstituted bullion

4 tomatoes, chopped

1 cup white wine (like chardonnay)

1 bunch of fresh Basil, chopped

1/2 cup (just over 1 dl) of shredded cheese, pref. Parmesan

3 Tbs. butter

olive oil

sea salt

cracked pepper

(1) In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. When hot, add onions & garlic; let cook, stirring, until translucent, about 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix together tomatoes, basil, and 2 Tbs. olive oil. Set aside. (2) Add the rice to the pot and, stirring often, let it crisp slightly. Next add the wine and corn and cook until liquid has absorbed. (3) Continue cooking the risotto over medium heat, adding broth 1/2 cup at a time, and stirring often to prevent sticking, until liquid absorbs. This means you should be adding more wine/broth to the pot every 5-7 minutes or so. (4) Taste test the risotto after you’ve used up all the broth; cooked risotto rice should have slight texture to bite, but not be crunchy. (5) Add the tomato basil mixture and turn off heat. Let the risotto stand covered 3-4 minutes. Fold in the shredded cheese, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Serves 4

I know risotto is not the traditional dish to serve during this delicious holiday, but it beats trying to concoct stuffing without breadcrumbs, pecans, or cranberries 😦 My next post will be on the lighter side of things as I travel to Indonesia and get to try Bali cuisine. I have a feeling it’s going to blow my mind.. 😀

My question: What is one (non traditional) dish you’ve made for Thanksgiving and really loved?

11.29.13

The Best of the Season

Now that we’re in the full swing of Summer, there’s plenty of tasty things in season – apples, apricots, avocados, basil, bell peppers, berries, melon, carrots, cherries, chilies, cilantro, eggplant, fennel, figs, grapes, garlic, green beans, green onions, lettuce, limes – veggies that are relatively inexpensive and arriving at the local markets in abundance. The last two weeks I’ve had my best friend here from the U.S. I cooked up a storm, really couldn’t help myself and we probably ate 90% of what’s on that in-season list. Granted we drank a lot of Sangria too, so I think it’s all a balance 🙂

In this post I’ve sketched out a complete day’s menu. I tried to make it a colorful, tasty spread with a good mix of both rich and fresh, spicy and sweet flavors. The menu is divided into the day’s meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert. If I had to categorize it, I’d call the breakfast Danish, the lunch Hawaiian, and the dinner just plain European…I’d be lying if I said the dessert wasn’t Italian 😀

Probably one of this menu’s more bombastic contributions, the breakfast pâté I found in last month’s Bon Appétit. I just happened to have frozen pâté in my freezer, made in the last month of my pregnancy. A container of frozen pâté is one of the best things I’ve ‘lost’ and found again in my freezer. The steak, carrot, and chicken salad recipes I read in Cooking Light a couple years ago (and pineapple dressing for salad – genius!) The dessert is from Cucina La Italiana, still one of my favorite cooking magazines 😀 (nope..no endorsement yet, but a girl can dream).

On a random side note, I have switched from using olive oil to sunflower oil in all of my recipes that involve cooking at high temperatures. I recently read in an email sent from a very helpful friend of mine that when you cook certain oils (most oils, actually) to a certain high temperature, they burn and consequently go rancid. Rancid oils are carcinogenic, which are bad no matter what form they come in. So – as delicious as olive oil is – I guess it’s best to be served with dishes that aren’t cooked. Perhaps I should have known this but hey, I thought olive oil was delicious in any form I used it.

The star ingredient in this menu is citrus, I used mostly oranges but lemons and limes too. I’ve made the case for this fruit time and time again and I never seem to tire of it. I have a tupperware full of citrus slices sitting in the fridge for my water, juice, wine, etc. and I throw orange peels into stir-fries, zest copious amounts of lemons for batches of strawberry lemonade, and am making lime simple syrup for what I think might be the perfect mohito. This family of fruits can sit in the fruit bowl on the counter long after all other fruits there have molded and bruised, all the while giving off verbena aromas in the kitchen. I put unripe fruit in a bag with oranges or other citrus for a day to make them soft and ready to eat. Since I get a lot of my citrus from Spain, I’ve now gotten into the habit of scrubbing the outer rinds with soap and warm water before I zest or peel for cooking. At first what I thought was a pregnancy craving, turns out to be a lifelong addiction to Vitamin C, perhaps? Or maybe I’m just wanting some extra energy 😉 Either way, there’s something wonderfully refreshing about these sweet and sour fruits. If I had to pick a favorite – and it would be hard – I would have to say lemons. When life gives you lemons, you can make just about a million things to eat..

Breakfast

Liver Pâté Crostini with Savory Berry Salad

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups chilled liver pâté (can be chicken, duck, or beef)

1 baguette, sliced

(for the salad)

1 container of fresh blackberries

1 container of fresh blueberries

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. fresh chives, minced

2 Tbs. fresh Parsley, minced

1 lemon, juiced

salt & cracked pepper

(1) To make the salad, combine all ingredients – blackberries through lemon juice – in a sealable container. Season with salt & pepper and chill until ready to serve. Turn the oven on to a low broil. (2) In a large metal or glass oven pan, lay out the baguette slices and season both sides lightly with olive oil and pepper. (3) Put pan into the oven about 10 cm from the top and broil, turning once, until both sides are browned, 3-4 minutes total. (4) Serve each of the toasted bread slices with a layer of chilled pâté and a spoonful of the berry salad on individual plates, or set it all in the center of the table and let everyone make their own.

Serves 4

Lunch

Blackened Chicken Spinach Salad with Spicy Pineapple Dressing

Ingredients

(for the chicken)

1 lb. (or 1/2 kg) chicken breasts

1 Tbs. ground coriander

1 tsp. chili flakes

1 Tbs. garam masala

1/2 Tbs. curry powder

1 /2 Tbs. ground black pepper

1 Tbs. cajun seasoning

1 Tbs. paprika

sunflower oil

(for the salad)

1 bag of baby spinach, washed & stemmed

1 package of baby bean sprouts, washed

1 red bell pepper, seeded & thinly sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded & thinly sliced

2 red onions, peeled & thinly sliced

3 carrots, peeled & cut into matchsticks

1/2 of a ripe pineapple, peeled & cubed

(for the vinaigrette)

1/4 cup beer

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup cubed pineapple

2 Thai chilies, coarsely chopped

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed & chopped

1/2 bunch of fresh chives, chopped

2 oranges, juiced

3 Tbs. honey

3 Tbs. yogurt

1 Tbs. rice vinegar

3 garlic cloves, chopped

(1) First, make the vinaigrette: combine all ingredients (beer through garlic) in a blender and puree until smooth. Season to taste with honey and cracked pepper, cover, and chill in the fridge. (2) Second, for the salad, make sure all veggies are washed and the greens are dry. In a large bowl, toss all veggies for the salad together, spinach through pineapple pieces. Cover with a damp paper towel and refrigerate until ready to eat. (3) Third, make the chicken: combine all spices for the chicken- coriander through paprika – in a small bowl. Wash and trim chicken breasts, dry, and then rub with 1 Tbs. sunflower oil. Rub the spice mix on both sides of chicken. (4) Heat 2 Tbs. of sunflower oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. When hot, add the chicken and cook, turning once until both sides are browned and the meat is cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and cover with foil; let rest 5 minutes. (5) When ready to serve, lightly toss salad with the chilled vinaigrette. Slice blackened chicken lengthwise and top each salad bowl with 4-5 pieces. To make the salad as a weekly snack, keep vinaigrette on the side and separate salad into sealable containers, covering with damp paper towels; close and seal the containers and refrigerate until needed, adding the vinaigrette just before eating. Salad goes well with garlic bread or toasted pita triangles 🙂

Serves 4

Dinner

Beef Tenderloin Steaks with Pomegranate-Pinot Noir Sauce

Ingredients

4 beef tenderloin steaks

1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir (or Cabernet-Merlot blend)

4 shallots, peeled & minced

2 oranges, juiced

2 pomegranates, seeded

1 cup of beef broth

2 Tbs. butter

sunflower oil

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Season both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Let meat stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking. (2) Heat 2 Tbs. of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the steaks and cook 3 minutes per side, until  seared on the outside and medium-rare when cut into. Remove steaks from the skillet and cover with foil. (3) Pour 1 Tbs. of oil into the skillet, add shallots and cook about 3 minutes until slightly golden. Add all of the red wine, beef broth, and orange juice next, bringing the sauce to a boil. (4) Stirring occasionally, cook until the liquid has been reduced by half. Lower heat and stir in the butter; season to taste with salt & pepper. (5) Serve the steaks with a generous spoonful of red wine sauce and 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds per plate, cracking black pepper across the top.

Serves 4

Steamed Carrots with Garlic-Ginger Butter

Ingredients

1 lb. (or 1/2 kg) carrots, peeled & quartered

4 cloves of garlic

5 Tbs. fresh grated ginger

3 Tbs. butter

5 limes, zested & juiced

sunflower oil

Sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Mince all of the garlic and mix with the fresh ginger and lime zest; set aside. Fill the bottom of a large pot with 3 cm of salted water; cover and bring to a boil over high heat. (2) Put the carrots in a colander and then into the pot; cover and steam veggies until tender and easily pierced with a fork, 10-15 minutes. (3) In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbs. sunflower oil and add the garlic-ginger mixture, cooking 1 minute or until fragrant. (4) Lower the heat to medium and add carrots and lime juice, mixing well. Cover the skillet and cook, stirring often, until carrots have absorbed liquid, about 4-5 minutes. (5) Stir in the butter until melted and serve immediately with cracked pepper.
Serves 4

and Dessert..

Honey-Citrus Gelatin with Cream & Cracked Pepper

Ingredients

1 packet unflavored gelatin

3 oranges

1 lemon

4 Tbs. honey

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1/2 cup cream

cracked pepper

(1) Zest and juice all 3 oranges. In a medium saucepan, add orange juice, zest, honey, and brown sugar; bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until thickened and reduced by half. (2) Juice the lemon and add to saucepan, add the gelatin powder and cook for 1 minute more. (3) Remove from heat and cover, letting stand a minimum of 30 minutes. Once cool, put in the fridge (keeps 3 weeks chilled). (4) When ready to serve, put spoonfuls of the warm (or chilled) gelatin into small bowls and pour cream over the top, garnishing with 1/2 tsp. cracked pepper.

Serves 4

So, my Summer menu has turned out to be both long and filling. Det er både lang og godt fyldende 🙂

My question: What is the best sauce to serve with a steak?

Red wine sauce is still one of my reigning favorites…

8.1.12

Chilled, Cheap, Cheerful Chicken Salad

Turns out I need to be adding a bit more protein to my diet than I originally thought. Luckily for me, protein is easy to come by and includes some of my more favorite foods: cheese, yogurt, eggs, and–you guessed it–chicken! I love chicken because it’s simple (me and my simplicity :-), inexpensive to buy, easy to cook, low in fat, and there’s SO many possibilities in how you can choose to prepare it. My first thought in reveling on chicken-centered student meals: some kind of savory, spicy chicken salad mmm…

So this week I’m sharing meals with a couple of friends and I wanted to bring something we could eat that would travel well in my backpack, still taste delicious when I whip it out, and fit into this tasty, light brunch/lunch category. And what’s one ingredient that enhances in flavor as it sits in the fridge? Curry. And god bless it!

I like this particular version of chicken salad because it contains a lot of healthy raw fruits and vegetables (but isn’t every salad supposed to, in some form or the other?) I softened the raisins in hot water, baked the chicken with lemon juice, salt & pepper, and used 5 green little pears I picked off the tree myself (I’m telling you, this picking fresh fruit yourself stuff does not get old). Mix it all together and you get a wonderfully fresh medley of flavors–the crunchiness of raw onion and carrot, smoothness of crème fraîche, savoriness of cubed peppery chicken–and all with plenty of zing in using mint, curry powder, and mustard. My only advice (ha) would be to make sure you chop everything, especially the crunchy counterparts, into finer bits;  yeah, a blender would have definitely saved me some time and energy here…

And no, there is no mayo in this chicken salad recipe, unlike the more common versions out there. I went for low-fat crème fraîche and a little bit of milk to make it creamy. All in all, it turned out seriously delicious and I’m really not ready for it to be over :[ Any type of bread will do for making the sandwiches, whole grain especially (you know, something with nuttiness:-) and it’s best layered on thickly with slices of a good white cheese and a few strips of lettuce.

The star ingredient in this recipe would have to be the crème fraîche, which I guess is the ‘french’ version of sour cream (and here I’m thinking they’re 2 totally different things…and I call myself culinary!) This dairy goodness adds a creaminess that’s hard to substitute; and since the combination of all these ingredients in the salad is so full of substance, I think it’s necessary to add an entire container of the stuff just to smooth it all out–at least you’ll have plenty of extra for other, later sandwiches. It’s also good to note that in using ‘lite’ crème fraîche there’s no need to feel bad about the fat content (remember, it’s NOT mayo;-). Curry powder is a close second star ingredient in this recipe because the salad would simply not be as tasty without it. I think that for such a fine, yellow pile of powder, this spice lends the most flavor to the salad and is pretty inexpensive so curry away! I used Madras curry powder but any other substitute, like yellow, red, or brown curry powder would give the same delicious effect.

Curried Chicken Salad Sandwiches with Pears, Raisins, and Fresh Mint

Ingredients

(for the salad)

3 lbs. chicken breast, trimmed

3 carrots, peeled & grated

1 bag/box of raisins

5 pears, finely chopped

2 yellow onions, finely chopped

1 bunch fresh mint, minced

1 tub lite crème fraîche (3-5%)

1/3 cup milk

4 Tbs. Dijon mustard

5 Tbs. Madras curry powder

1 Tbs. allspice

3 Tbs. white balsamic vinegar

1 Tbs. sugar

lemon juice

olive oil

sea salt & cracked pepper

(for the sandwiches)

12 slices thickly sliced bread, pref. whole grain

lettuce (or spinach) leaves

6 thick slices of Gouda cheese (sub Havarti or white cheddar)

(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (or 190 degrees Celsius). Put all the chicken breasts in a large oven-proof dish and sprinkle with a little lemon juice, seasoning both sides with salt and pepper. (2) When oven has preheated, bake the chicken 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. (3) Put the raisins in a medium bowl and cover with boiling water, letting sit until softened, about 5 minutes. (4) In a large (and I mean large) mixing bowl, add the shredded carrot, fresh mint, allspice, chopped onions & pears. Next, cube the cooked chicken, drain the softened raisins and add both to the bowl; mix everything together very well. (5) Moisten the salad with all the remaining ingredients: vinegar, crème fraîche, Dijon mustard, milk, and 2-3 Tbs. of lemon juice, stirring all the while. Season with salt and pepper and finally add the curry powder before trying a spoonful, adding 1-2 tablespoons more depending on your taste. (6) Let the chicken salad chill in the fridge 1 hour (or overnight) before serving. To make the sandwiches, put a thick piece of Gouda cheese on bottom slice of bread, top with a generous layer of chicken salad, a lettuce leaf, and another slice of bread. Cut sandwich in half, accompany with a cold beverage, and enjoy :]

Serves 6

Sandwiches are the ideal student snack. Lately I’ve been forced to watch my fellow colleagues munching away on them so I’m glad to have made some of my own; I’ll be eating them ravenously all week };-) Sure chicken salad is a little messy, but it’s tasty and that’s all that really matters (to me at least!!) My next culinary attempt will have to be something equally savory, if not a little more spicy 🙂

My question: What is your favorite type of curry powder/paste?

I should know more variations of this delicious spice…

9.28.11

Student-Style Spanish Skillet

Kind of creative, right? At the very least it’s something different (and with a little bit of spice too). With graduate school just beginning, I am looking for easy, tasty (and did I mention cheap? Really cheap) student food to sustain me during the last of this lovely month of August.

I must emphasize that this recipe is easy, super easy, and the only reason I ended up making it was because the exact portions of the spices (as well as a simplified version of the recipe) was sent to me by my wonderful mother who bought these recipe-spice packets in the states and sent them over. I mean, there’s no excuse really and so I thought I’d give it a try. The original recipe calls for chicken but I used turkey breast instead (which was not nearly as complicated to prepare as I thought it would be) simply because the stuff was cheaper by the pound (or kilo, whatever) at the local supermarket. The end result was a meal that was healthy, light, and full of flavor…which is all I really want anyway }:-)

The star ingredient in this recipe was definitely the diced canned tomatoes (again, cheap!) but a close second was paprika. After all, it’s the paprika that gives the dish its smoky, spicy flavorfullness (yeah, I made that word up) but the tomatoes smooth everything out, lending this wonderfully red color and even more wonderful tomato smell; mmmm…savory and sweet, man I love tomatoes!!

Simple Spanish Skillet with Turkey, Tomatoes, and Onion

Ingredients

1 1\2 lbs. turkey breast, cut into 5-6 pieces

3 medium-sized yellow onions, sliced

1 can diced tomatoes (in juice)

1 red bell pepper, seeded & sliced

1\4 cup flour

1\2 cup chicken broth (or 1 chicken bullion cube dissolved in 1\2 cup hot water)

2 Tbs. paprika

1 Tbs. garlic powder

1 Tbs. dried Thyme leaves

1 Tbs. red pepper flakes

olive oil

salt & pepper

(1) Mix all of the flour in a small bowl along with the paprika, garlic powder, thyme leaves, and 1 tsp. salt. Use 2 Tbs. of the flour mixture to lightly dust pieces of turkey breast (2) Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until hot, then add the turkey pieces and cook, turning, until sides are browned, 6-8 minutes. Remove Turkey from the skillet, set aside, and cover to keep warm. (3) Reheat the skillet over medium heat with another tablespoon of olive oil. Add the onions and bell peppers, cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. (4) Next add the canned tomatoes (with all the juice), chicken broth, and the remaining seasoned flour, stirring well with a fork to ensure no lumps form. Bring the mixture to a boil while continuing to stir. Add the red pepper flakes (using more for spice, if desired) then return turkey to the skillet. (5) Lower the heat, cover, and let mixture simmer until turkey is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, 12-15 minutes. Meal is best when served pipin’ hot with a side of citrus (lemon or lime) couscous 🙂

Serves 4

So, my experiments with the Spanish skillet have proven amazingly worthwhile }:-) I’m all about easy these days and it’s a relief to find that good cooking can still be simple, delicious, and inexpensive. I suppose my challenge these days will be to come up with tasty meals I can make within a puny student budget (sounds like a worthy challenge, nevertheless:-) Wish me luck!

My question: What is a simple but tasty student meal that can be assembled with less than 7 ingredients?

I’m in need of good ideas…

8.29.11

Oodles of Noodles

When it rains (which is a lot), I find myself craving hot food ]:| This week I wanted to make a noodle dish that contained some of the salty, spicy elements from Asian cooking complete with plenty of broth (…the more the better). Asian food encompasses some of the best hot dishes that involve both noodles and broth. I love the soupy, herbaceous, peppery combinations that can be made from just a handful of ingredients. With a full kitchen at my disposal, I elaborated on my original ideas about the recipe in an effort to make something uniquely flavorful (but still steaming hot!)

The meal I ended up making most closely resembles the Chinese ramen recipe Shōyu which contains soy sauce, chicken/vegetable broth, curly noodles, and green onions. But there is always room for variation and adaption when working with dishes like this since the recipes themselves take on a regional forms depending on the ingredients available.  Many of the recipes are closely kept secrets so I suppose I’m taking my liberty in sharing mine ;] but hey, it was so tasty (and easy!) I felt compelled .

Since the vegetarian version of this dish is a bit lacking, I made my recipe with meat from a rotisserie chicken which I tore into manageable pieces before mixing into the broth. It’s almost too easy (and fairly inexpensive), to buy a rotisserie chicken which is already cooked and already spiced; the only hard (what I mean is messy) part is dividing the chicken up into portions and pulling out all the greasy bones yourself (trust me, if you like crispy chicken skin like I do, the job is not so bad…) One rotisserie chicken makes two meals as well as a hefty snack which I always do right after tearing it all apart because I’m already pretty greasy at that point };)

The star ingredient of this dish is the scrambled eggs. Why? While certainly contributing some texture to the meal (not to mention protein), scrambled eggs taste delicious (de-licious!), especially when topping noodles and curry. Maybe it’s the South African blood in me, but there is something devilishly delectable about eggs in curry, or some combination thereof. My advice for replicating this dish would be to use any fresh ingredients available–asparagus, peas, mushrooms, bean sprouts, celery, onions, cauliflower-anything you can soften and stir-fry will add only flavor (and nourishment:-)

Spicy Chicken Noodles with Green Beans, Green Onions & Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients

2 packets of ramen noodles

1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped

2 cups frozen (or fresh) green beans, chopped

2 cups of rotisserie chicken meat, torn into small pieces

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. dried Basil

1 Tbs. spicy mustard

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. sriracha sauce

1 Tbs. rice vinegar

1 Tbs. lime juice

1 Tbs. yellow curry powder

1 cube chicken bullion (or 2 cups chicken broth)

3 eggs, beaten

olive oil

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Heat 1 Tbs. of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat; when hot, add the garlic, and 1/2 of the green onions, cooking for 3-4 minutes. Next add the green beans, cooking another 3 minutes. (2) In a separate pot, bring the proper amount of salted water to a boil and cook the ramen until soft, about 3 minutes; remove from heat and set aside. (3) Stir in all of the ingredients from dried Basil through chicken bullion and add 1/2 cup water, mixing well. Let cook 5-6 minutes until the broth is reduced (if the mixture becomes too dry, add some water from the noodles). (4) In a small frying pan, heat 1 tsp. olive oil over medium heat. Pour beaten eggs into the pan and whirl around to make an even layer. Brown both sides of the omelette, flipping once in between (this may get messy, but that’s alright). When done transfer eggs to a cutting board and let cool before cutting into strips. (5) Next, add the cooked ramen and chicken pieces to the vegetables and lower the heat, simmering until heated throughout (and preferably steaming:-). Stir in the remaining green onions, setting aside some for garnish. Serve the meal in bowls, topped with a generous portion of scrambled egg strips, a sprinkle of green onions, and a dot of sriracha.

Serves 4

I don’t think I’m alone when I say sriracha sauce is one of my favorite condiments (if not my favorite); you just can’t beat that bite! As the rain will persist this week, I’ll have to come up with some other meals that are hot and soupy enough to hold me over 😉

My question: What is your favorite form of hot sauce?

Tabasco? Sriracha? Frank’s Red Hot…Chipotle, Green chile, Harissa, Jalapeno…

7.18.11

Pile on the Slaw

Slaw is a rather odious word I think, ambiguous because what is slaw, really? Just chopped up bits of vegetables and a light dressing but–after all that prep work and ‘tossing’–the eventual product is a bit anticlimactic. I have discovered that this is another one of those dishes in which creativity and alteration can add entirely new dimensions to the ordinary pile of slaw we envision accompanying picnics and barbecues. I’m not gonna lie, but I’ve had some nasty a** slaw in my life and these experiences were enough to scare me away from making it…for a while at least. After reading several compelling recipes, I was inclined to try to make some of it for myself, assuming I had the freshest, crunchiest, tastiest produce to work with }:)

Both the slaw and the chicken recipes I read in the appetizer section from the Mesa Grill cookbook. Initially, the rub recipe appears intimidating with its peppery, sweet, and savory host of spices 🙂 but the overall combination packs a punch full of flavors (and I’m all about the flavors). As for the slaw, any (and I mean any) combination of sliced raw vegetables will do, anything from: carrots, cabbage, lettuce, radishes, sprouts, jicama, apples, bok choy, cucumber, peppers, onion, broccoli, zucchini, and celery–as far as I’m concerned, any vegetable kind of counts, especially if it’s crunchy!

Overall, I was impressed with the results of my efforts and even my bf had to admit that the slaw tasted far better than he initially thought it would}=) But hey, add enough vinegar and chipotle chili powder to anything and you’ve already improved upon it! It’s all the chopping that deters excitement with making coleslaw. A lot of the slaw recipes I found online call for ‘a bag of coleslaw mix’, but why not make your own? It seems there’s a lot more room for imagination, if not a little more work, when you build a salad from scratch instead of getting it from a plastic bag 🙂

Sweet & Savory Jerk Chicken with Spicy Red Cabbage Jicama Slaw

Ingredients

(for jerk rub)

1 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 Tbs. ground coriander

1 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 Tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp. ground mustard

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 Tbs. onion powder

1 Tbs. ground pepper

1 lb. chicken, trimmed

1 Tbs. butter, sea salt & cracked pepper

(for sauce)

2 mangoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tbs. fresh parsley, minced

1 tsp. honey

1 tsp. white wine

(for slaw)

1 head red cabbage, finely chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 jicama, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 Tbs. lime juice

3 Tbs. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. chipotle chili powder

(1) Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the jicama, cooking until softened and marked from the skillet, about 10 minutes; remove from heat and let cool. (2) In a large bowl, mix the cabbage, onion, and garlic together and add all of the vinegar and lime juice, mixing well. Season with salt and pepper, cover, and refrigerate 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. (3) Mix all the spices for the rub together in a small bowl. Cut the chicken into strips and put in bowl with rub, seasoning all sides of the chicken with spices. (4) Add the jicama to the chilled slaw along with the olive oil and chipotle chili powder. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (5) Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the chicken, cooking while stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until both sides of the chicken are browned (or blackened), about 10-12 minutes. (6) In a small saucepan, heat the mangoes over medium-low heat and add the parsley, honey, and white wine, stirring until warm and condensed, about 4 minutes. Serve the jerk chicken sliced with a scoop of the steaming mango sauce, a heaping portion of slaw, and wedges of toasted bread.

Serves 4

If I could recommend anything when it comes to eating slaw in all its variations, I would say eat slower and chew more…I mean, with all the raw nutrition that is packed into this side dish, there’s no reason not the help with your body’s digestion 😉 Slaw is still good days later on toasted bread, with hummus or yogurt, or heaped atop of burgers fresh off the grill (so many uses and so little time!)…

My question: what is the best spice to use in a jerk rub?

4.17.11

Menu for a Saturday Night

Last weekend I hosted dinner for twelve (okay, maybe thirteen) friends. While the original task of preparing a meal for  a group of this size (and in a timely manner, too) seemed overwhelming, all the work was well worth it because good company have good taste, and therefore enjoy good food no matter how late it’s served }:)

So, I have posted a shortened version of the menu here. The chicken I started cooking an hour before serving in a skillet big enough to fry up 4 at a time. The original version of this Asian-inspired recipe was in last year’s Cooking Light, but I did add my own minor modifications, including using golden raisins and thickening the sauce with flour and chicken broth. The chilled side we served in this menu was a combination of two of my favorite potato salad recipes (because I just couldn’t pick). I intensified all of the fresh herbs (especially since these are my favorites), added some vegetables, and plenty of fat-free sour cream so we could be guilt-free, too. Okay, so I may have gone a little overboard with the dish as a whole, but at least no one was left hungry at the end of the night!

We were fortunate to have guests kind enough to bring dessert and for that we remained with the light theme and finished off the dinner with vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, miniature brownies, and chocolate syrup. Luckily for me, starting off by filling the apartment with the smell of steaming sake definitely did the trick for healthy appetites. And we still ended up with plenty leftovers…now that’s how you know you had a good party 🙂

A Menu for Saturday Night

Browned Chicken with Sake, Golden Raisin, Pomegranate Sauce

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts

2 cups pomegranate juice

2 cups sake (rice wine)

1/2 cup golden raisins

sea salt & cracked pepper

olive oil

(1) Trim excess fat from the chicken breasts and cover in salt & pepper. Coat a large skillet in 1 Tbs. olive oil and warm over medium-high heat. (2) When hot, put all the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until both sides are browned, 10 minutes. (2) Add 1/2 cup pomegranate juice and 1/2 cup sake, cooking uncovered until chicken is cooked through, about another 5 minutes. (3) Remove chicken breasts from the skillet, cover, and set aside; add remaining sake, pomegranate juice, and all the golden raisins, letting the mixture cook over medium until it thickens, about 1o minutes. Season with salt & pepper; serve chicken breasts with a spoonful (or two) of the warm sauce.

Serves 6

Red Potato Macaroni Salad with Goat Cheese, Tarragon, & Summer Squash

Ingredients

(for salad)

2 lbs. red potatoes

1 lb. elbow macaroni

1 lb. summer squash, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 cup dried currants

1 cup goat cheese, crumbled

(for dressing)

1 bunch fresh Tarragon, minced

1 bunch fresh Dill, minced

1 bunches fresh Chives, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

6 Tbs. red wine vinegar

2 cups fat-free sour cream

5 Tbs. lemon juice

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) First, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cut any imperfections out of the red potatoes but leave the skins on. Boil the potatoes until tender when pierced with a fork, 10-12 minutes. Remove potatoes from the water with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl to cool. (2) Next, reheat the water and cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water; place in a Tupperware with a Ts. olive oil to moisten. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and refrigerate. (3) To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients under dressing and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Cover and refrigerate until just before serving. (4) Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil the skillet and cook squash and bell pepper until tender, 5-8 minutes. Cut the cooked red potatoes into small cubes. Lastly, soften the dried currants by simmering in a small saucepan of water for 5 minutes. (5) In the big pot, combine the pasta, potatoes, squash mixture, goat cheese, and all the softened currants. Toss the salad in the dressing before serving. When it is evenly mixed, stir in the sour cream. Season the salad to taste with sea salt & cracked pepper, using the remaining water from softening the currants if the salad needs additional moisture. Chill at least 3 hours before serving.

Serves 6

Sautéed Bok Choy with fresh Ginger, Garlic, & Sesame Oil

Ingredients

1 head fresh Bok choy

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 Tbs. fresh ginger root, grated

1 Ts. roasted sesame oil

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 Ts. olive oil

Red pepper flakes

(1) Wash and separate the Bok choy leaves, halving each stalk with a paring knife and chilling until ready to saute. (2) Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and ginger; cook until golden, about 1 minute. (3) Add the bok choy leaves, soy sauce, and roasted sesame oil, stirring well to mix. Cover the pan and cook 1 minute until the leaves are wilted but still bright green. Serve hot with a dash of red pepper flakes.

Serves 6

All in all, my boyfriend and I were very happy to spend our Saturday with such a wonderful people. I especially, appreciate all the support (and jokes) from  a group I truly enjoy to impress with my attempts at fine cooking, if not my clever conversation! Let’s do it again sometime, but…no, not this Saturday 😉

My question today: what is the best warm sauce to serve with chicken?

02.28.11

It’s All About the Stuffing…

As a little kid, stuffing was my favorite food of all time. It’s like bread, but softer, tastier, and served in itty bitty pieces. Personally, anything that can be eaten ravenously with a big spoon is my kind of meal 🙂

The stuffing I am referring to here is of a slightly different nature, but what is stuffing for anyway, other than eating? That’s right, it’s for stuffing. And since the ‘stuffee’ in most recipes is some sort of delicious meat, I have decided to post a recipe I made involving stuffed chicken. I modeled this version off a recipe on Mushroom Stuffed Chicken from last year’s Cooking Light. In light of my current available ingredients, I made a different version involving goat cheese, golden raisins, roasted pine nuts, and shitake mushrooms.

It’s true I’ve already tried similar recipes involving stuffed chicken, but this recipe is a little more intensive then others. What I mean is, not only do you stuff the chicken, you bread it too, crisp the outside on a frying pan, and cook it in the oven until the stuffing inside melts. A lot of work? Maybe, but I definitely enjoyed it, even the messy process getting there. Good food takes time, I always say }:)

I even made my own breadcrumbs, using some leftover slices of herbed focaccia. I just want to tell everyone that if you indeed have a blender, you can make absolutely ANYTHING, including your own breadcrumbs; it takes like forty five seconds. Now that’s awesome.

Breaded Chicken Breasts stuffed with Goat Cheese, Pine Nuts, and Shitakes

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, trimmed

(for stuffing)

1 bunch green onions, sliced

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/2 cup pine nuts

1 lb. shitake mushrooms, sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup goat cheese, crumbled

(for breading)

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup flour

3 slices white bread

sea salt & cracked pepper

olive oil

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees; put the pieces of white bread into a blender and pulse until you have coarse breadcrumbs; put in a bowl and set aside. (2) Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat; add the mushrooms, garlic, pine nuts, and green onions, cooking about 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly. (3) Remove the pan from heat and let the mixture cool another 10 minutes. Stir in the goat cheese and golden raisins and season the mixture with salt & pepper. (4) Using a paring knife, cut a slit through the thickest portion of each of the chicken breasts. Making sure the blade doesn’t cut through to the other side, make the opening large enough to hold about 1/4 cup of the stuffing mixture. Stuff all of the chicken breasts until you’ve used the entire mixture; firmly press the edges of the opening to seal it closed. Salt & pepper each side of the chicken breasts. (5) In 3 separate bowls, put the beaten eggs, flour, and breadcrumbs. One at a time, dredge the chicken breasts in the flour, then dip in the eggs, and lastly dredge in the bowl with breadcrumbs until evenly covered. (6) Coat the frying pan with a thin coat of olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Fry the chicken breasts on the pan, turning once, until both sides are crispy and brown, about 5-6 minutes. (8) Transfer the chicken breasts to an ovenproof glass dish and position them close together. Cook in the oven 15-20 minutes until chicken is tender and cooked throughout. This dinner dish can be accompanied by a tossed salad and cold beer 🙂

Serves 4

After writing it all out, it certainly seems like a bit more work to make this meal but I wish reemphasize–it’s tasted wonderful (and makes even better leftover). Plus, how cool do you look when you serve chicken that’s breaded AND stuffed?! Super cool, like me. I think I ought to be cooking chicken more often 😉

My question, what was the best-tasting chicken you ever had? Was it the sauce or the way it was cooked? I wonder…

02.24.11

Dinner with Friends

Yesterday evening I was given the pleasure of cooking in a much more spacious and well-equipped kitchen than my own; this event was organized by myself and my good friend Kim, whose good taste and refined cooking skills made me feel all the confidence in the world to make a meal alongside her :~)

The recipes I have included in today’s post consist of the dinner the 2 of us made and served last night. I am particularly proud of the Quinoa side dish, which I actually dreamt up in my sleep two nights before 😉 But what can I say? It looked so tasty in the dream, I thought I’d obey the cravings of my subconscious.

As for the stuffed chicken recipe, I highly recommend it to everyone as it is very worth all the preparation and work 😉 But what would any meal be without the sauce? This white wine sauce is a version I came up with after looking over some of the variations in existence. My recommendations: Add double the wine (hey, it’s wine sauce), double the cracked pepper, and double the herbs. Why not? When the time of dinnertime pressure arrived, all I had to do was mix up some flour and water and stir it into the sauce boiling on the stove and it thickened it up in minutes. Ah, if only everything was this easy!

Overall, I am very happy to have made another dish that involved my most favorite of all foods…prosciutto. God bless Prosciutto and god bless Kim and Val for letting me trash their kitchen. Let’s do it again some time!

What follows is the Menu for Dinner at Kim’s:

Prosciutto & Fontina Stuffed Chicken Breasts with White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Ingredients (for chicken breasts)

6-7 oz Fontina cheese, shredded

1/4 lb. sliced Prosciutto

1 bunch fresh Thyme, chopped

cooking twine

4-5 (6 0z) chicken breasts

(for white wine sauce)

1 1/2 cups white wine (dry, like a Pinot)

1 can chicken broth

5 Tbs. butter

1/4 cup Shallots, minced

1 lb. mushrooms, chopped (any kind)

1/4 cup fresh Parsley, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbs. all-purpose flour

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Combine all of the shredded cheese, Thyme, and prosciutto in a bowl, making sure to cut the prosciutto into smaller pieces so the mixture blends well. (2) Wash and trim the chicken breasts and, using a paring knife, cut a horizontal slit through the thickest part of the breasts and widen the pocket with your fingers, being careful not to cut or tear the pocket all the way through. (3) Stuff the pocket with as much of the cheese & prosciutto mixture as it will fit and press tightly to seal it closed; using a couple of pieces of cooking twine cut into 5-inch strings, tie the chicken breasts tightly enough to ensure the pocket remains sealed during cooking. (4) In a medium saucepan, cook the shallots and garlic over medium heat until soft and fragrant, 2-4 minutes; add the chicken broth, wine, & mushrooms, and allow the mixture to cook until mushrooms have softened, about 6-8 minutes. (5) Coat a large skillet with olive oil and heat over medium-high; cook the chicken breasts in the skillet, turning every so often until all sides are browned and the chicken is cooked through, 12-15 minutes. (6) In a small bowl, mix the flour and 1/2 cup warm water with a fork until well blended and stir into the sauce. Add the fresh Parsley, butter and any extra wine if needed and let the sauce cook until thickened, 3-5 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. (7) Cut and remove all the cooking twine from the cooked chicken breasts. Serve chicken covered with the white wine sauce, garnishing with parsley 🙂

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Caramelized Shallots

Ingredients

1 lb. brussels sprouts                                              and…

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 1/2 cups shallots, coarsely chopped

3 Tbs. sugar

4 Tbs. red wine vinegar

5 Tbs. butter

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In an oven-proof skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted and add the chopped shallots. Let the mixture cook until the shallots brown, about 10 minutes. (2) Add the vinegar and some salt & pepper and put the entire skillet on the top rack of the oven and let cook until the vinegar is reduced and the shallots are caramelized and semi-crunchy, 10 minutes. Remove skillet from the oven, cover and keep warm on the stove until ready to use. (3) Wash and dry the Brussels sprouts, cutting off the ends before cutting each brussels sprout in half. When ready, reheat the skillet over medium heat and add the Brussels sprouts and olive oil, stirring until the caramelized shallots are mixed evenly and cooking the entire mixture until the veggies are soft, 6-8 minutes. (4) Season with salt & pepper and serve immediately.

Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Pine Nuts, Currants, & fresh Parsley

Ingredients

4 heads of garlic

16 0z uncooked Quinoa

1 package pine nuts

1 cup dried Currants

1 bunch fresh Parsley, chopped

sea salt & cracked pepper

(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a serrated knife, cut the tops off the heads of garlic and wrap each one individually in foil, sprinkling with olive oil, salt, & pepper before enclosing tightly. Bake all of the heads of garlic in the oven until the cloves are golden and the garlic is tender when squeezed, about 1 hour (this you should be able to smell). Remove from the foil and let the garlic cool. (2) Cook the Quinoa according to package instructions (usually, 1 1/3 cup of water for every 1 cup quinoa); this should take 12-14 minutes depending. After the grains have absorbed all the water, cover and remove the quinoa from heat. (3) When the garlic has cooled enough, gently squeeze all the roasted cloves out and separate all the garlic cloves from the skins, coarsely chopping. Lick your fingers afterwards }:) (4) Add the dried currants, pine nuts, fresh Parsley, and chopped roasted garlic to the cooked quinoa, stirring until well blended. Reheat mixture over low on the stove if needed and serve warm garnished with parsley, salt, and pepper.

Serves 4

Well…I hope this is not too lengthy of an explanation, but this is all we had for dinner! I just love cooking with friends, definitely could not have done it without help 🙂 and they were nice enough to send the leftovers home with me so, guess what’s for dinner tonight!?

01.12.10