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Archive for the ‘chicken’ Category
Friday, January 6th, 2012
This dish was so easy and so rich and warming. I do think I was photo’d out from Christmas though because I didn’t take a single picture of this meal.
1/2 lb italian sausage
1 chicken cut into 8 pieces
1/2 a yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 1/2 cups white wine
8 oz orzo
I used my oval dutch oven for this…you need something big enough to nestle the chicken down in in one layer and it’s all done on the stovetop.
First, brown your sausage. Let it leave the fatty, cruchy bits in the pan. Remove the sausage w/ a slotted spoon. Then brown your chicken in the sausage fat. See, it’s good already! Once the chicken is browned, remove that too.
Add your onions, celery and fennel and leave it the heck alone for as long as you can stand it on medium heat. Don’t let them burn, per se, but get all that flavor toasting in the pan. Once the bottom of the pan is so browned you can’t stand it, add just enough wine to deglaze (abot 1/2 a cup). Let that simmer just a few minutes.
Nestle your chicken pieces down into the fennel-onion-celery goodness, add your sausage back in, add your garlic then pour the rest of the white wine into the pan. Depending on the size of the chicken and the pot, you may need more than 2 cups. You want it to come about 1/2 way up the chicken pieces. Cover and let it simmer on low or medium-low for about 30-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve over orzo tossed with some butter and olive oil.
It’s warming, filling, delicious and perfect for a cold night.
Tags: fennel, sausage
Posted in amateur, chicken, dinner, food, recipe, self pleasuring, wine | No Comments »
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
 Prepping potatoes for the campfire There’s no reason not to eat well when you’re camping. I packed my CSA and garden veggies, chicken and eggs up and hauled them to Lassen National Park for a weekend camping trip. Before we left I cut the chicken into pieces and put it in a ziploc with wine wine and herbs so it was all ready to go.
 Grilling chicken and potatoes I always pack my knives with me wherever I go so it’s quick and easy to prepare everything. The potatoes go into foil with onions, garlic, butter, salt and pepper.
 Campfire dinner: Chicken, potatoes and homegrown tomatoes The tomatoes don’t need anything but salt! When they’re straight from the garden, they need no additional flavoring.
 Searing albacore When we go to my dad’s cabin, we cook many nights over the campfire but we also have a propane-fueled kitchen so I can get even fancier with my dishes. We had seared albacore with an orange-reduction sauce.
 Steaming clams in white wine and garlic Alongside the albacore were clams that I steamed with white wine, garlic, butter and parsley.
 Grilling the one porcini we found Every year we go to to the cabin we find ONE porcini. Just one. Every year. It’s wonderful and frustrating at the same time. It gives us the hope we’ll find more and we never do. Unfortunately there are cows that are left to roam wild and they eat the mushrooms! I bet that beef tastes fantastic.
 Gorgeous grilled porcini We sliced and grilled the porcini over the campfire, just like we do every Thanksgiving trek. It’s the only way to eat porcini as far as I’m concerned.
Next time you head into the woods, don’t pack trail mix and hot dogs. There’s no need. If you prep beforehand, you can have just as wonderful a meal as you would at home….plus, everything tastes better in the mountains. I have no scientific evidence for this but it is true. Try it!
Tags: albacore, camping, clams
Posted in amateur, chicken, dinner, flavor, food, hardcore, mushrooms, porcinis, potato, self pleasuring, tomatoes | No Comments »
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
I was very excited for my first Outstanding in the Field dinner. I tried to get tickets last year and it sold out too quickly, I missed out. This year I booked 3 events to make up for it! I wish I could do more but our calendar is not cooperating with that idea.
So, we arrive at the event, get dropped off by a shuttle and walk through the farm and up a hill to a beautiful view of the bay and the farm. They’re wandering around with appetizers that they are preparing in front of us as well and pouring Soquel Vineyards Sauvingon Blanc…a beautiful wine after a warm walk.
The crab appetizer was my favorite: Dungeness crab with Companion Bakers sourdough crackers (it had asparagus..and other yumminess!). My husband raved about the Marinated beets with Almond ash.
 We chatted with some of the other diners. Planted ourselves near the prep table so as to nab appetizers when they came out…sneaky we are ;-)
After a few announcements and introductions, we split into groups and headed out on a tour of the farm. Apples, grapes, veggies, pigs, chickens, they’ve got it all. The chickens control pests and provide fertilizer for the soil as well as eggs and meat for the CSA. They have a house full of cute little chicks and rotate the areas the full-sized chickens graze in. The pigs get moved around as well and right now the priority is shade. Poor HUGE Daisy is pregnant and looking for all the shade she can find! We continued around the farm getting the lowdown on the crop rotation, the benefits of the animals, the variety of vegetables and fruit being grown and a preview of things we were about to get on our plates.
Then we headed to the apple orchard that had been converted into a fine dining experience. The tables looked amazing. The view was breathtaking.
The other tour groups straggled in, we picked our seats and began to visit, eat, drink, question, chat, advise. We happened to end up sitting at the table with the farmers which was, of course, lovely. We learned a lot and just had fun with them in general.
The first dishes to come out was grilled green garlic with artichokes and wilted fava leaves, charred shallots, and smoky fava beans. All really wonderful. I especially enjoyed the wilted fava leaves since this is something you normally don’t get unless you grow favas.
 
Next out was squid with black butter (not squid ink, brown butter pushed past brown…but not bitter or burnt flavored. I don’t know how they did that), peas, asparagus, marinated green strawberries and wood sorrel. I always push the peas aside in dishes. I like peas by themselves and raw but usually don’t like them in dishes. I ate every last one of these.
The winner of the night thought was the smoked chicken. I get chicken from my CSA every two weeks and cook one the night I pick it up. I know how much better fresh chicken is. Then add to that the chef skills of these wonderful OTF folks and it is so…chickeny! I think people have forgotten what chicken is supposed to taste like…it’s this.
Then it got dark…no more pictures. And it got late. And we had our son at the neighbors on a school night. And we still had dessert. Luckily the dessert were scrump-diddly-umptious ice creams cones from Penny Ice Creamery and we could grab one and bolt to the shuttle to get our car and head home. We got one of each flavor: rose petal and strawberry pink peppercorn. I thought the rose petal was great…until I tried the strawberry! It was even better! They really make *the* best ice cream. We were stuffed and had no problem finishing both of these!
I can’t wait for our next Outstanding in the Field event in June!
Posted in chicken, dinner, farmers market, food, gardening, organic, potato, santa cruz, seasonal menu, table dance, tasting menu | No Comments »
Friday, April 8th, 2011
As my son pointed out, “Sometimes experiments fail.” Well, luckily, I think this one worked!
I had quite a few turnips from my CSA. The only way I’ve ever had turnips is roasted in big chunks and I didn’t like them like that. But I do like thin, crispy starchy things with butter sooooo….
I peeled and sliced the turnips into quarter moons if the turnips were huge or half moons if they were smaller. I put some olive oil in my cast iron pan and then started layering them around. After one layer I put some dots of butter and some thinly sliced shallots. Then I layered some more turnips and then topped that with rosemary, butter, and pepper.
I cooked it, covered, on the stovetop on medium heat until the bottom started to brown. Then I put it, uncovered, in a 400° oven for, well, too long for most people, but good for us…until the bottom was almost black. I thought it was great! Hubby was lukewarm on the dish but I really liked it.
I served it with Herb-Roasted Chicken and a salad. I’d just picked up both my veggie CSA box and my CSA chickens so what else were we going to have for dinnner?!?
Along with it I had a beautiful 2008 Robert Denogent St. Véran les Pommards white wine. Everything came together beautifully.
Tags: turnips
Posted in amateur, chicken, dinner, recipe, recipes, self pleasuring | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Take the leftover chicken meat, I had 2 legs and 1 breast left, and cut it into chunks. Put it in the food processor with some sauteed garlic and shallots, some chopped herbs, salt and pepper. For the amount of chicken I had left I used 2 shallots and 2 cloves of garlic, a tablespoon or so of chopped marjoram and a tablespoon of chopped thyme. Blend that all together until it’s an incorporated minced up ravioli filling.
This was a quick weeknight meal for me so I didn’t make my pasta dough, I just used gyoza wrappers. They’re quick easy ravioli wrappers and they’re perfectly square so they’re quick to fill and fold! You only have to boil them for about 2-3 minutes on low boil so they don’t break open.
For my husband and I, I sauteed up some kale in coconut oil (a tip I got from a friend, it’s yummy!), sprinkled it with some chili flakes and served the raviolis on top of that with some butter and cheese (on his). For my son i just put butter and cheese on them. Easy for the whole family!
Posted in chicken, pasta, recipe, recipes, self pleasuring | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
We had some friends over for the 4th and wanted to make something nice and fancy but that still had some element of the Independence Day barbecue thing going on. I started with my classic ahi tartare. It’s becoming a bit of a signature dish for me, it’s always good and everyone loves it.
Next was a simple salad using some of my CSA bounty: mixed greens (I believe it was escarole and red leaf lettuce) topped with roasted beets, pecans, shallots and balsamic.
Then came the grilling for this epitome of summer holidays. I cut my whole CSA chicken into 10 parts and marinated them in white wine, olive oil and thyme. I grilled it…well, until it was cooked (I won’t give advice on grilling, it’s very subjective!). I served the halved, boneless chicken breasts on top of rutabaga puree and kale. This time the rutabagas were much larger so for 4 servings I only used 2 rutabagas. The proportions are equal to that of potatoes. It’s like making mashed potatoes but more interesting! Just to add some color, I snipped some chives on top.
Tasty tasty!
Tags: barbecue, bbq, rutabaga
Posted in ahi, ahi tartare, chicken | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
I didn’t eat meat for years. Not because of ethics or anything like that, I just stopped liking it. One day, a while back, I thought “BBQ chicken sounds good.” Not the kind with barbecue sauce on it but herbed, marinated chicken. This is what I had and it’s still my favorite way to barbecue.
The easiest way I marinate is in a ziploc. I know it’s not that environmentally friendly but neither is using a bunch of water to wash a big bowl that raw chicken has been in. It’s a no-win really.
First I followed Thomas Keller’s instructions in Ad Hoc at Home and cut my whole chicken (locally source from my CSA) into 10 pieces. My grandfather was a butcher, therefore my mom can break down a chicken in about 30 seconds. The result of that being that I never had to do it! So, I’m learning from a book…Keller does a wonderful job instructing.
Then, into the ziploc the chicken goes with:
1 red onion, halved and sliced
2 t good, stoneground mustard
1 big twig of rosemary, leaves removed and coarsely chopped
Enough red wine to cover the chicken (~1/2 a bottle)
Black pepper…just grind for a while!
Put that into the fridge for as long as you’ve got. I had about an hour. I’ve left it in overnight before and it’s great that way.
From here it’s just coat it with olive oil and salt, put it on the grill and cook it until it’s done. I’ve found it’s hard to instruct people on grilling since every grill is different and persnickety. I use a gas grill for convenience. I know exactly where to put the dials on my grill to cook the chicken through without burning. That is a different setting than my old grill. So, get to know your grill.
I just made a quick arugula salad with a little balsamic, Stonehouse olive oil, salt and pepper to go alongside the chicken. Great, summery, yummy, organic dinner!
Tags: red wine, rosemary
Posted in amateur, chicken | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
Exhausted from vacation…aren’t they tiring? I had a chicken, I had leeks from my CSA, I have sage in the garden. That’s a meal right there!
1 whole chicken
3 leeks, chopped
1/4 cup butter (sliced into pats)
10-12 sage leaves (4 leaves chopped, leave the rest whole)
1-2 T chopped fresh thyme
Salt, pepper, olive oil
Place chopped leeks in the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish. Drop 6 pats of butter somewhat evenly around leeks. Place 6-8 sage leaves around on top of the leeks.
Put the chopped thyme and sage under the skin of the chicken breasts along with 2 pats of butter per breast. Salt the chicken inside and out, generously. Drizzle with olive oil. Place the whole chicken, breast side up, on top of the leeks.
Put in a 375° oven until internal temperature of the chicken (inserted into the thigh, not touching a bone) is 165°
Some of the leeks should get crunchy-crispy, some just soft and buttery.
Alongside the chicken I served bruschetta with a fava bean puree.
1 1/2 lbs fava beans (in-shell weight)
1 clove garlic
2T pecans
salt, pepper, olive oil
Good, hearty bread
Shuck those beans. Shuck? That’s what you do to beans right? Not just corn? Anyway, take the beans out of their pods. Blanch them for 2 minutes and then plunge them into ice water. Once they’re cool enough to handle, squeeze the favas out of their skins (if there is a split in the skin, they’ll pop right out). Add the beans, garlic, salt and nuts to a food processor. Puree. Add olive oil while it’s running until it’s the texture of pesto.
Spread on toasted, hearty, yummy bread. Grind a little pepper on top.
Tags: fava beans
Posted in amateur, chicken, dinner, leeks, recipe, recipes, sage, self pleasuring | No Comments »
Monday, November 30th, 2009
We head up to Mendocino every Thanksgiving. We’ve been going up for about 10 years. The purpose of the trip is to crawl through the woods looking for fungus. Some years it’s quite successful. Other years, not so much.
  
This year we were a bit late for the porcinis. we found a few to grill, and a few to dry, but the real star of this trip was the chanterelle. Day one brought us a basket full along with a couple of coccoras (a mushroom that still makes me nervous to eat!).
  
I selected a handful of the chanterelles, cleaned and prepped them for wild mushroom stuffing. The recipe I used is based on this Bon Appétit recipe but I’ve modified it a bit. Firstly, it called for 1 pound of shiitake’s and 1 pound of button mushrooms… I had pounds of chanterelles in my fridge! I used about 2-3 pounds of the chanterelles. I put them in the skillet with a stick of butter. I let them cook for quite a while because they had a lot of moisture. I cooked almost all of that moisture away.
 
Next I added the chopped leek and garlic and let that cook through for about five minutes.
Once the leek was softened I added 2 cups of good white wine, a huge handful of rehydrated porcinis (from last year’s hunt) and about 1/4 cup of chopped thyme and marjoram from the garden. At this point I don’t think there’s much I cook without thyme and marjoram in it! The plants are out of control!!
 
Once most of the wine had cooked off, I stirred the whole mixture into a 1lb package of bread cubes (unseasoned). I added the liquid I used to rehydrate the porcinis and then some extra chicken stock because it still seemed a little dry. I put the whole bit into a baking dish and baked it at 350° for about 45 minutes until the edges had some yummy crunchy bits.
 
Meanwhile, I said we found some porcini right? We can’t forget about those! We sliced up the stalk, brushed it with some olive oil and grilled it on the Weber with mesquite wood.
 
Meanwhile meanwhile… I roasted a whole chicken in lieu of a turkey since 1: I’m allergic to turkey and 2: there were only three of us. It’s a foolproof excellent way to roast a chicken by the way. Take six pats of butter and wiggle them under the skin of the chicken breasts (three for each side). Then take chopped herbs… guess what I used? Yes, marjoram and thyme! Work those under the skin with the butter. Sprinkle the entire bird with salt and rub the entire outside with olive oil. Roasted at 400° for about 40 minutes until the internal temperature is 160°. I love my digital thermometer for this. I just put it in the chicken when I first put it in the oven, and set the alarm to beep when it hits 155° so I know I have a couple minutes left to finish the rest of the dinner prep.
It was a very successful Thanksgiving endeavor. The final meal: roast chicken, wild mushroom stuffing, grilled porcini, Caesar salad and cranberry relish.
Posted in chanterelles, chicken, hardcore, porcinis, recipe | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
 Way back in June, FoodPorn.com turned 10 years old and I held a recipe contest to celebrate. It took me way too long to cook the recipes but I now have a winner (unanimous among the family too I might add!):
ADRI!! You can choose anything you’d like from the FoodPorn store.
This was so good! Simple, fresh, lovely and tasty. The only thing I had a problem with was remembering to marinade in advance but I finally got it going early and I’m glad I did. YUM! And paired with it was the only potato salad I’ve ever liked (although it’s not a specific recipe she sent, I used her ideas and it was great). I substituted basil for dill in the salad though. I could do that since it wasn’t part of the official entry ;-)
Winning Recipe:
This is a super easy, summery chicken recipe that looks /great/ on the plate and is very flavorful. I like to serve it with a vinegar-y cucumber-potato salad (chunked cukes, chunked potatoes pan fried or broiled until crispy on the outsides, slivers of red onion, tossed with vinegar and dill).
Herbed Chicken Skewers
Ingredients
1/2 c low-fat plain yoghurt
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ginger, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (omit and replace with chipotle powder to taste and 2 tsp lime zest, if desired)
large handful freshly chopped cilantro leaves
small handful freshly chopped mint leaves
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste
2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Method
Blend first 10 ingredients together in mixer or blender until smooth
Toss chicken with spice/herb mixture & marinate in fridge 4-6 hours as time permits
When ready to cook, thread chicken onto skewers and grill 8-10 minutes, turning twice, until lightly browned. (I use an indoor grill/broiler for this, but it would be fabulous on a wood-burning grill; just be mindful not to go too hot or the herbs will burn)
Honorable Mention:
This one unfortunately gets no prize but pride in being mentioned (yes, be proud). And it earns this prestige because I didn’t think I was going to like it at all! There were no ingredients that I hate in it but it didn’t sound exciting to me. I was pleasantly surprised when each bite was a mouthful of rich, fresh, flavors. I did use fresh ingredients as she suggested except the lima beans which I could only find frozen. I served it over israeli couscous.
This goes to OneSockShort for:
Tomatican
In the summer, I’ve made this with all fresh vegetables, instead of frozen and canned, which is even better. But this is a nice winter treat if you live here in the frozen north. I’ve added okra before, which I love, but I know few others do. I think it would also be good with small white beans instead of limas, but haven’t tried that yet. The thing that makes it is the cumin, so if that’s not a flavor you like, pass on this.
2 c chopped onion
1/2 t cayenne
2 T oil
2 t ground cumin
2 c frozen lima beans
3 c canned diced tomatoes
2 c frozen cut corn
1/4 c fresh chopped cilantro
Saute onions and cayenne in oil 5 min or till onions soften.
Add cumin and lima beans and saute 2 min.
Add tomatoes, corn, and cilantro and simmer covered 10-15 min or till vegetable are tender.
Serve over pasta, rice, polenta, or other grain.
*********
Thanks to everyone who entered!!
Posted in chicken, cumin, potato, recipe contest, yoghurt | 2 Comments »
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