Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Chicken Stew in Mustard Cream (Crock Pot Baby!)

I once watched a show on (possibly) the Food Network where this woman put Colman's mustard in Beef Burgandy to give it an "English" spin. Since Karl asked if I had an inspiration for this dish...that could have been it (a little.) Mostly it was my brain putting bits of this and that together and stirring it around. this is what it came up with.

Chicken Stew in Mustard Cream
Weight Watchers Points 6

Meat
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch chunks
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbl paprika
1 tsp each salt and pepper
Butter flavored cooking spray

Veg
1 pound potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
1 pound carrots peeled and cut into large chunks
2 large onions peeled and cut into large dice
8 oz button mushrooms cut into quarters

Sauce
1 10 3/4 oz 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can full of dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
3 Tbl Colman's Mustard Powder, or other not as good as Colman's mustard powder
6 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 Tbl salt

Mix together the flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a zippy bag or largish bowl with a lid. Add the chicken and shake well to coat. Heat a flat griddle or largish skillet over medium heat and spray sorta generously with pan spray. Lay out the chicken pieces in a single, uncrowded layer in the pan and spray the tops with a liitle more pan spray. Allow to cook without touching for 3-4 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and crisp. Turn each piece over and continue cooking in this manner using a little more pan spray if necessary until all pieces are lightly browned and crisp. (Cook in two or more batches if needed.) Set aside

In a medium bowl mix together the can of cream of mushroom the salt, Colman's mustard powder and garlic until well combined. Slowly add the wine and mix to combine.

In a crock pot (baby) place a small amount of sauce in the bottom. Add a layer of vegetables (My crock pot is one of the smaller round ones so I use about a third of the veg here. For the medium oval it would probably be half and the larger oval would use all.) Top with a layer of chicken then a layer of sauce. Repeat until all veg, meat and sauce have used ending with sauce. Cover tightly and cook on high for 4-5 hours. Not as preferable low 8-9.

I would bet this could also be done in slow oven (300 degrees) in a tightly covered roaster for 2-3 hours.

Serves 6

Sunday, April 29, 2007

Chicken and Noodles

This is a plan ahead recipe. You could very well poach chicken breasts in fat free chicken broth, however the gelatine obtained from boiling a whole chicken adds considerably to the lush mouth feel of the dish.

The night before...

Chicken and Stock

1 whole chicken
Water
2 Tablespoons Salt
1 tsp black pepper

Place chicken in a large dutch oven or stock pot. Add the salt and pepper and enough water to fully cover. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about an hour to an hour and a half until chicken cooked through. Carefully remove the chicken to a colander placed over a large bowl. Allow to drain for 10-15 minutes. Add the drained stock back to the dutch oven. Place the chicken and the stock (separately) in the refrigerator to cool overnight.

The next day...

Whole Wheat and Spinach Egg Noodles

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour for dusting rolling pin and work surface
8 oz of baby spinach "sauteed" in 1/4 cup of boiling water until wilted, cooled
3 egg whites
1/4 to 1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons salt

Place the flour in the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer add the salt and mix to combine. Place the egg whites and spinach in the bowl and mix with the dough hook on speed 2 until combined. Check the consistency if too dry add water a tablespoon at a time until dough forms itself into a ball. Mix on speed 2 for ten minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl cover it and allow it to rest for 10-20 minutes.

In the meantime, remove broth from fridge and skim off all of the fat. Remove the breast meat from the chicken and add it to the broth. Bring this to a simmer and go roll out your egg noodles.

Divide the noodle dough into 3 pieces. Dust your work surface lightly with flour, roll out the dough to desired thickness and set aside on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining two balls of dough. This is stickier than regular egg noodle dough. You don't want to make the dough too tall in proportion to it's width because instead of rolling the dough over itself you will fold it in half and cut into noodles. Repeat with all three dough sheets. Immediatley unfold the noodles and drop into the simmering broth. Turn up heat and bring to a boil boil for 5 minutes stirring occasionaly. Turn down heat and simmer a further 14 minutes.

Serves-8
Points-6

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Thai me up and eat me!

I'm in a hurry but I'll at least get the basics.

Thai Beef Skewer
1 lb top round cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
2 Tablespoons of cilantro finely minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
zest of half a lime
3 jalapeno rings finely minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce (wimps can use soy)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
couple shots jalapeno pepper sauce (optional if unavailable)
1/2 cup oil.

Mix everything together except the meat. Pour into a zippy bag and add the meat. marinate 15 minutes then thread on skewers. Broil or grill until done.

Honey, Lime and Cilantro Slaw
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 mayo
zest from half a lime
2 Tablespoons cilantro finely chopped
12 oz package coleslaw mix

In a large bowl mix first five ingredients until well blended add coleslaw mix and stir to coat.

Peanut Sauce (for Peanut Noodles)
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup fish sauce (or use the wimpy stuff)
2 Tablespoons honey
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger finely grated
3 pickled jalapeno rings finely minced
2 Tablespoons chopped peanuts

Mix it all together and do with it what you will.

We mixed it with 8oz of freshly cooked noodles that we drained over 4 oz of bean sprouts (Lightly cooks the bean sprouts thataway) and garnished with chopped peanuts, grated carrots and chopped green onion.

Monday, February 19, 2007

In yer face, roasted veggie bouillabaise.

Absolutely not the Provencal dish.

Veggie Part
4 large bell peppers (We used red, yellow and orange)
3/4 pound fresh tomatoes (cherries halved, romas eighthed, larger ones cut into large chunks, not a fan of grapes but I'd leave them whole)
8 oz package button mushrooms, large ones quartered
1 large zucchini, cut into half moons
1 large yellow squash, cut into half moons
1 large red onion, cut into large dice
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine (we used good ole' Three Buck Chuck's Sauvignon Blanc)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons chicken grill seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 425

In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, wine, salt, chicken grill seasoning, pepper and pepper flakes. Add the veggies and toss to combine. Pour into a roasting pan and roast 25- 30 minutes until vegetables begin to brown and caramelize. Meanwhire prepare the fish and make the sauce.

Fish Part
1 lb fish fillets cut into large chunks (We used an assortment of Cod, Pollack, Sole and Flounder)
4 oz Salad Shrimp
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Toss fish and shrimp with olive oil and salt and pepper. When vegetable have begun to brown add these to the roasting pan and continue cooking for about 10 minutes or until fish is cooked through. Remove from oven and...

Sauce
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups vegetable broth
3 Tablespoons cornstarch dissloved in 1/4 water
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon chicken grill seasoning
salt to taste
1 Tablespoon olive oil

In a medium saute pan, saute the garlic, and chicken grill seasoning just until the garlic becomes fragrant. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the vegetable broth, bring to a boil and whisk in cornstarch/water mixture stirring constantly until thickened. Add salt to taste. Pour sauce over the roasted veggie/fish mixture and stir gently to combine.

We served this over creamy mashed potatoes and had sweet corn as our side dish. Yum yum yum yum yum.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Bacon! bacon! bacon! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacon!

So, it's quite possible I'm completely obsessed with pork products.

Bacon Mach 1

3 lb rib end pork loin roast
1 cup Morton Tender Quick
4 cups cold water

Mix Tender Quick with the water until mostly dissolved. Place the pork loin in a gallon zippie bag, pour the water/Tender Quick mixture over, press out as much air as possible and refrigerate for 3 days. Slice thinly (an electric knife...) and pan fry.

Notes: Undeniably the best bacon I'd ever had but still a teens salty. So...

Bacon Mach 2

3 lb rib end pork loin roast
1 cup Morton Tender Quick
1 cup white sugar
4 cups cold water

Mix Tender Quick and sugar with the water until mostly dissolved. Place the pork loin in a gallon zippie bag, pour the water/Tender Quick mixture over, press out as much air as possible and refrigerate for 3 days. Slice thinly (This time we borrowed Mary Jo's meat slicer, woooooooooo hooooo, gotta get me one of those.) and pan fry.

Notes: It's amazing the difference a bit of sugar makes. I'm very happy with this one. I do plan on adding a little liquid smoke to the next batch but otherwise perfect.

Bacon Mach 3 (or Fancy Schmancy Underpantsy Bacon)

3 lb rib end pork loin roast
2/3 cup Morton Tender Quick
2/3 cup honey powder
3 cups cold water
2 Tablespoons No salt added Greek Seasoning
1 Tablespoon black pepper
2 capfuls Wright's Hickory Liquid Smoke

Mix all ingredients except the pork loin until mostly dissolved. Place the pork loin in a gallon zippie bag, pour the water/Tender Quick mixture over, press out as much air as possible and refrigerate for 3 days. Slice thinly (Again, Mary Jo's slicer, Woot.) and pan fry.

Notes: Although this was good, it wasn't as bacony as I'd like. We're going to use up this one first and then back to the Mach 2 stuff. It did however make me want to put liquid smoke in Mach 2 and call it 2.1.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Sausages how I love thee...

So we made our first sausages. (Boo rah to KitchenAid)

We attempted English banger style sausages and let me tell you they were the best sausage I'd ever eaten.
We followed someone else's recipe with a few minor adjustments and they turned out yummo. Got to show them off too. My brother Pat showed up on Sunday to surprise my mom on her birthday. Near everyone ended up at my house so I made brekky. Homemade bangers, scrambled eggs and toast.

So here's the recipe we used

http://www.3men.com/sausage.htm#English%20Bangers

and the tweaks were

We used a 10 lb pork shoulder roast instead of pork loin (deboned and deskinned and denasty bitted)
For the bread crumbs we used an 8 oz french loaf which we dried and crumbed and that was about 1 3/4 cup of bread crumbs
Because we had more meat than the original recipe called for we upped the seasoning to 4 1/2 tsps
and finally we used an entire can (just shy of 2 cups) of chicken broth

Followed his directions and stuffed the whole mess into casings.

Even though we ate some that night (Bangers and mash) we discovered the taste and texture was considerably better the next day.

Then we decided to make more sausages on Tuesday and come up with entirely our own recipe. So we did

Chicken and Mushroom Sausages
Seasoning
2 Tablespoons Durkee Chicken Grill Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Greek Seasoning
Mix together

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes (partially frozen works best for grinding and cubing)
1 8 oz loaf of fresh french bread cut into cubes
1 15 oz can of chicken broth
1/3 cup dry sherry (not cooking sherry)
4 teaspoons Seasoning

1 lb button mushrooms roughly chopped
2 large onions rougly chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup sherry
A pinch of salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions, mushrooms, garlic and salt and pepper and cook slowly until all the juices are nearly evaporated and the onions are very tender. Add the 1/3 cup sherry and continue cooking until almost all liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Mix together chicken, bread cubes, seasoning, chicken broth and sherry. Allow to sit for a few minutes to allow broth to soak into the bread. Using the coarsest setting put mixture through a meat grinder. Combine the ground chicken mixture with the mushroom mixture and any leftover broth. Mix well and stuff into casings. Allow to sit overnight in the fridge before attempting to twist into links.

And in fact these were the best tasting sausages I've ever eaten. (Though the bangers were a close second)

Other ideas we've got floating around
Chicken Florentine-with spinach, mushrooms and swiss cheese
Country Chicken-chicken, sage, celery and onion (sort of classic stuffing flavored)
Chicken Fettucine-chicken, mushrooms garlic, parmesan and maybe orzo for fun
Beef Vindaloo
Pork solely seasoned with Greek Seasoning
Lincolnshire sausages

Truffle Oil...big, fat, culinary hoax...

Ever seen the episode of Happy Days where Richie and the guys are all hyped up to go see the strippers? They get there and discover there's nothin' much to see. Yet when someone asks they all talk it up to be bigger than it really was.

White truffle oil...yes truffle oil. That divine, expensive, pig found fungus conveniently infusing extra virgin olive oil. Definitely a cheaper route to go especially if you're just getting your feet wet in the truffle tasting world.

If you'd never had a truffle and were going to hazard a guess as to it's taste and aroma what would you say? Earthy? Deeply mushroomy? Heady? A lot like garlic chives?

What?! a lot like garlic chives? How can this be? I spent eight bucks on this! (Which, trust me is a good price.) Granted it was tasty, but not the lush decadence I'd been led to believe. So I'm refusing to pull a Cunningham. Maybe black truffle oil is the good stuff but for anywhere from $8-35 a bottle white truffle oil ain't worth the money.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Indianapolis...

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this town? (Go Colts!)

Karl and I decided to drive up and stay overnight to celebrate our anniversary. We left directly from work Monday night and got to Pat's a little after 10.

Pat cooked us dinner (yummy spaghetti) and we all settled down for the night. The next day Karl and I started our prowling with plans to meet up with Pat and Janice after Pat got off of work.

We hit Tienda Morrello #1, International Market, Meijer and International Bazaar. Mushy peas, curry paste and rose petal jam. The jam is going to be the filling in a cake I think.

P and J met up with us right as we finished in International Bazaar. Together we drove to 86th St. and Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's is one of my favorite places. Three Buck Chuck and This Fig Walked Into a Bar are just one of the many delights that await you. This trip yielded two loaves of bread, Canadian White and Shepherd's Loaf, Comte sheese, goat brie, greek style yogurt, dried navel oranges, dried white peaches and dried black currants, pistachio nut meats, several sauces including a Thai Yellow Curry and a Masala Simmer Sauce. Other various bits and sundry and the triumph of the trip, White Truffle Oil. I can't wait to use it. My first plan is to pan roast the peruvian purple and yukon gold potatoes with a touch of truffle oil and sea salt. Who knows where I'll go from there...

From TJ's we ended our shopping at Saraga. Janice had never been there before and watching her delighted reaction was almost as good as the shopping. This trip yielded 6 more pounds of my favorite sea salt, honey powder, tofu noodles, udon noodles, soup noodles, carrot noodles, maybe some other kind of noodles, Idris Fiery Ginger Beer, coconut water, cuttlefish crackers and vegetarian crackers. We also bought this incredible double sided griddle pan.

We finished up with dinner at Buca di Beppo and headed home. It was an absolutely lovely day and I love Karl in general and for convincing me to go even though I was being a whiney baby.

I love you babe, happy anniversary.