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Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.

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BOOK READING (from Carolyn):

Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.

A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.

Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.

Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.

The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.

If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.

The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.

How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.

The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.

The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.

The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.

The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.

The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.

The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.

A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.

The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.

A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.

Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.

North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.

A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.

Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.

Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.

Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.

All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.

Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.

The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.

Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.

Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.

Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.

The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”

Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.

Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.

Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.

The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.

A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.

The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.

In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.

Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.

The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.

Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.

Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.

Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.

Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.

The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.

Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.

The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.

Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.

Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.

The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.

The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.

My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.

Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.

 

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Chicken and Grits with Red Weapons

Posted in Chicken, on September 8th, 2023.

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OMGoodness. Was this ever beyond delicious.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote up a post about Vivian Howard’s book, This Will Make It Taste Good. And about my friend Cherrie and I getting together to cook for a day and making three of the flavor enhancers Vivian shares in the book. This post is about the one called Red Weapons.

To make this chicken and grits, you need to make the Red Weapons. They’re not hard – not in the least. But it is a separate process, and they need to be made a day ahead, at least. The red weapons mixture Vivian says will keep in the frig for 3 months. It’s a pickled kind of mixture but also contains EVOO.

What’s in it? First you cut up 2 pounds of tomatoes, put them in a bowl. Glass one if you have it. Then in a big saucepan you combine green onions, jalapenos, fresh ginger, garlic, cumin, mustard seeds, cayenne, turmeric, brown sugar, EVOO, salt, unseasoned rice wine vinegar and white wine vinegar. The mixture is heated to a boil then it’s poured over the bowl of tomatoes. It’s set aside to sit, for many hours, or even overnight. This allows all those flavors to mingle – once you refrigerate this it will stop the flavor-mingling. Because of all the vinegar it contains, it IS a pickling liquid, but tempered by the EVOO. While you heat it up and then pour all that hot liquid over the tomatoes, it semi-cooks the mixture. The tomatoes stay relatively intact.

The recipe below makes twice this amount, pictured. At right is a quart of it (half). The EVOO is sitting there on top and the red weapons and the pickling liquid below that (called for separately in most of the recipes that accompanied the red weapons recipe in the cookbook). If you make this, store it in a wide mouthed glass container (do NOT use plastic). Or you can divide the mixture into several smaller containers – just use wide mouthed ones as the congealed EVOO on top makes it hard to get to the goodies underneath.

WARNING: turmeric stains everything it touches. There’s only 1 1/2 teaspoons in the entire batch, but it gets on everything –  your counter, your clean-up sponge, and if you mop any of it up with a paper towel, you’ll sure know there’s turmeric in it. But you can’t taste the turmeric at all. Funny how that is. The tomatoes and jalapenos are the primary flavors here. Ideally the mixture is left out at room temp overnight, then it’s refrigerated.

In the cookbook, Vivian suggests you can use the red weapons for these things: on any kind of cooked egg, added to braising liquid (stews, soups), mixed into cooked rice or beans, as a sauce or marinade for grains, legumes or pasta salads, added to reheated chicken or pork, a marinade for ceviche or a dressing for crudos, chopped up with fresh herbs as a salsa, blended with mayo for a dipping sauce and stirred into potato, chicken, shrimp or tuna salad. Recipes in the cookbook include: pickled shrimp, a breakfast casserole with sausage, bread and cheese, in deviled eggs, as a condiment for fish, beef or lamb tartare, added to fried chicken, Vivian’s sausage sauce (Sunday sauce) served over broccoli, not pasta, with greens on mozzarella toast, plus several vinaigrettes.

Now, we can get on to the Chicken and Grits recipe. First, I made a huge mess trying to extract the cup of red weapons (the stuff underneath).  I removed about half of the EVOO covering it, then dug deep into the glass container to get to the goodies. You need a cup of red weapons and 1/2 cup of the pickling liquid.

I didn’t have skin-on chicken thighs, so I used boneless, skinless ones. They were lightly browned in a skillet – the big, huge 12-inch Lodge cast iron one. They were removed, then you add a chopped up leek to the fat in the pan. As it began to soften I mushed them a bit so they’d separate into rings. Then garlic is added, then the grits, the red weapons, the red weapons liquid, milk and water. The recipe suggested adding more salt, but I didn’t think it was needed. The picture here at right is of the thighs nestled into the grits (which is very liquid at this point).

If you’re using skin-on thighs, they’re nestled into the mixture and the pan goes into a 375°F oven. With skinless thighs, I baked the grits for 20 minutes, then nestled the thighs into the grits mixture to finish cooking them. The total bake time is 40 minutes and you let the pan cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Vivian suggested serving the grits with another one of her flavor bombs, a mixture called herbdacious. I haven’t posted that recipe yet. I had guests the night I made this chicken, and we did use some of the herbdacious on the top and I agree, it made it even better.

What’s GOOD: I’ll say it again – OMGoodness. So good. There is very little fat in this (except for the chicken skin if you use it plus a tablespoon of EVOO used to brown the chicken). There’s no butter, no cream. The red weapons provide a wonderful flavor to everything – chicken and the grits. I will be making this again and again – providing I have some red weapons in my refrigerator.

What’s NOT: well, only that you need to plan ahead at least a day to make the Red Weapons first, then the chicken and grits later.

RED WEAPONS: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open)

CHICKEN: printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Chicken and Grits with Red Weapons

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It Taste Good
Servings: 4

4 chicken thighs — bone in, if possible
2 teaspoons kosher salt — divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole leek — white and light green parts, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
3 garlic cloves — thinly sliced
1 cup grits — stone ground (Albers brand, if possible)
1 cup Red Weapons — roughly chopped
1/2 cup Red Weapon pickling liquid — here)
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups water

NOTE: if you make this with boneless, skinless chicken thighs, go ahead and bake the grits for about 20 minutes (half the time), then add the boneless, skinless thighs to the mixture, nestling them down into the grits. It will still take 40 minutes altogether, but the chicken won’t overcook.
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Season chicken thighs with 2 tsp of salt.
3. In a 12-inch ovenproof skillet or braising pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Brown chicken skin side down, until nicely caramelized. Take the chicken out of the pan and set aside.
4. Lower the heat slightly and add the leeks, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the pan. Sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, until the leeks have softened (and break them apart as they soften) and picked up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute, then stir in the grits, the chopped Red Weapons, the Red Weapons liquid, milk, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt (taste to see if it’s needed), and 1 1/2 cups water. Make sure everything is mixed together in a homogeneous way and that nothing is stuck on the bottom of the pan.
5. Nestle the thighs on top of the grits mixture. They will sink a bit because the grits are watery at this point, but as long as the browned chicken skin peeks out, all is good. Slide the skillet onto the center rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer in the chicken reaches 165°F.
6. Remove skillet and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before serving. If desired, this would be great dotted with a little Herbdacious.
Per Serving: 721 Calories; 43g Fat (54.7% calories from fat); 40g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 201mg Cholesterol; 1375mg Sodium; 7g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 173mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 657mg Potassium; 445mg Phosphorus.

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* Exported from MasterCook *

Red Weapons – Tomatoes

Recipe By: Vivian Howard, This Will Make It taste Good
Servings: 16

2 pounds plum tomatoes — cut into quarters lengthwise
1 bunch scallions — sliced thin
5 jalapeños — sliced into thin rings
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 1/2 tablespoons mustard seeds — yellow or brown
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt — plus 1 teaspoon
1/2 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
3/4 cup white wine vinegar

NOTES: Store this mixture in glass containers as the turmeric will stain plastic. Wear an apron. Use a wide mouth glass jar, or several, to store this. You can use all of the ingredients – the oil by itself for flavoring/frying, the juice to add a piquancy to dishes, and the tomato mixture to flavor a bigger dish of something.
1. Put the tomatoes in a large, wide, heatproof bowl that is plenty large enough to hold all the ingredients. Assemble and start to “pickle” my weapons on the counter, which lets the flavors marry as they cool down. Then, once they’re mixed together and have reached room temperature, transfer to smaller containers suitable for the fridge getting an equal amount of oil, tomatoes and liquid in each one. (This recipe is sized to just barely fit into two quart-size mason jars, but you may have a little extra. While you can try to pull it all together directly in the jars, that might just be a big mess waiting to happen.)
2. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, bring all the ingredients except for the tomatoes and the olive oil to a boil over medium heat. Let it boil for 1 minute. Then add the olive oil and bring back to a boil. Immediately pour over the tomatoes in the big bowl, pressing them down to make sure they are submerged.
3. Let the tomatoes and the liquid cool to room temperature without the aid of an ice bath or anything to speed the process along. If you’ve got room in your fridge, the big bowl can go in there. But if the weapons sit out at room temperature overnight, that’s totally fine. The more slowly they cool down, the more quickly they will pickle. Once they’ve cooled, transfer the pickled tomatoes to jars and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 days or up to 3 months. Do not freeze.
Per Serving: 243 Calories; 21g Fat (75.5% calories from fat); 1g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 443mg Sodium; 12g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 28mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 201mg Potassium; 28mg Phosphorus.
MORE NOTES: Once they’ve spent a few days in the frig, you’ll notice Twin B, the olive oil component, rises to the top and creates a lid over Twin A, the pickling liquid and the tomatoes and other solid stuff. This act of science makes the weapons and their offspring easy to separate from one another, but it’s not a pretty process. You’ll likely find yourself with your hand in the jar and a puddle on the counter. It’s easier to do if the mixture is cold. These are good on eggs, in braising liquids or soups, mashed with guacamole,, on cream cheese, mixed into cooked rice or beans, a sauce or marinade for grain, legume or pasta salads, with leftover chicken or pork, chopped with fresh herbs for salsa, blended with mayo as a dip, or stirred into potato, chicken, shrimp or tuna salad.

Tex-Mex Chicken Kabobs

Posted in Chicken, Grilling, on June 23rd, 2023.

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Ah, the best laid plans – of taking a picture of the finished kabobs. I guess you just need to trust me that they looked delicious after grilling and with the herby crema drizzled all over the top! And tasted wonderful.

My cousin Gary has a girlfriend. It’s been nine months now, and they finally came south to visit. It happened to be Gary’s birthday too, so I invited members of the family and some friends who’ve known Gary for a long time, to come for an outdoor dinner. It was delightful meeting Susan, and the family was happy to come to celebrate the birthday and to meet this new person in Gary’s life. In addition to the kabobs (which actually had 3 of the food groups – protein, veggies and carbs in them) I made one of my favorite salads. It’s been posted here before – many, many years ago (you realize I’ve been writing this blog for 16 years now). A rice and vegetable salad from the Silver Palate cookbook.It went well with the kabobs. Gary can’t eat wheat, so I catered the menu to meet his GF needs. I had ample salad leftover – some I gave away and I ate some in the ensuing days and enjoyed every single bite. Actually, Gary had told me ahead of time about all the things Susan doesn’t eat. We had a big laugh about it because Susan does eat all of the things Gary thought she didn’t. Like raisins. I asked her, as I was making the salad, if it was okay to put the raisins in the salad and could she move them out or would it ruin the salad for her if I put them in. She looked at me quizzically — I said, “Gary told me you don’t like raisins.” She looked at him, frowning, I believe, and asked why he thought so. Anyway, that was one of several things we laughed over as she has very few things on her no-no list, if any. The salad has raisins – or currants – or golden raisins in it. I prefer currants because they add a speck of dark color to the salad, but I didn’t have any, so used golden raisins instead.

Incidentally, Susan and I had been briefly acquainted some years ago – she wrote a blog called Wild Yeast. She wrote about sourdough and I happened to write a comment – I had no recollection of it – but when she heard that I write a food blog, she remembered it. Her blog is still up and available (though she doesn’t post to it anymore), if you’re at all interested in bread baking in all forms. Susan is retired now, and is quite the birder, which is kind of funny, because Gary’s mom was a birder too. Small world!!

Anyway, back to this recipe. The chicken is marinated in taco seasoning and oil for awhile. You can use breasts in this, but I prefer thighs, especially for grilling. Then you thread the chicken onto skewers with peppers, corn coins and red onions. The skewers are grilled briefly – my son in law John did the grilling  – and did it perfectly. The chicken was nicely cooked through and not at all dry. The kabobs are then drizzled with a simple sour cream “crema” that has Tajin seasoning, some cumin, Cotija cheese, cilantro and lime. Brilliant! Originally I found the recipe on the web, but I changed it some to suit my tastes.

Once the kabobs are cooked, have everything ready to serve since the meat and veggies will cool off quickly. Sara had brought home made angel food cake for the birthday dessert. Altogether lovely meal.

What’s GOOD: the kabobs are delicious – the marinade makes it, along with the crema drizzle. It makes a very appealing presentation and altogether succulent combination of flavors in your mouth.

What’s NOT: only that you need to prep all the kabob ingredients ahead of time. Not hard, just takes a bit of planning. You could prep the kabobs altogether several hours ahead – and the sauce too. Loved the flavor of the chicken and the drizzle “makes” it.

printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

* Exported from MasterCook *

Tex-Mex Chicken Kabobs with Vegetables

Recipe By: Adapted from Lena’s Kitchen blog
Servings: 8

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs — cut into 1 1/2″ cubes (see NOTE below)
2 whole corn on the cob — husked, and cut into 1″ coins
2 whole poblano peppers — trimmed, cut into 1-1/2″ pieces
1/2 small red onion — cut into 2-inch pieces
5 tablespoons safflower oil
1 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
SAUCE:
1/3 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons cilantro — finely chopped, then remove about 2 tbsp for garnish
1 small lime — zested and juiced
1 tbsp Tajin seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
GARNISHES:
1/4 cup Coija cheese — grated
more Tajin seasoning, cilantro and Cotija cheese

NOTE: If you’d prefer to use chicken breasts, cut them into similar-sized pieces as the chicken thighs and grill the kabobs for a shorter period of time – 1-2 minutes less, but still cooked to 165°F internal temperature.
1. Preheat the grill to medium high – about 400ºF.
2. Combine 4 tablespoons of safflower oil and taco seasoning in a bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Refrigerate chicken for an hour or two, covered.
3. Using skewers, thread the chicken, corn pieces, red onions, and poblano chiles, alternating until filled. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the same bowl the chicken was in and lightly brush the corn, onions, and jalapeno pieces. Sprinkle all skewers with salt on both sides.
4. Grill over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway. Use an instant read thermometer to check the chicken – remove when the center has reached 165ºF.
5. SAUCE: Combine sour cream, 1 tablespoon of Tajin seasoning, cumin, lime zest, juice, and cilantro in a small bowl. Mix well. Mixture may be too thick to drizzle, so add water to thin it to a sauce consistency, about a tablespoon or less.
6. SERVING: Place the skewers on a serving plate. Drizzle the sauce on top, and sprinkle with Tajin seasoning, cilantro, and cotija cheese. The kabobs will cool quickly, so serve immediately.
Per Serving: 297 Calories; 19g Fat (56.0% calories from fat); 23g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 115mg Cholesterol; 732mg Sodium; 3g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 56mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 224mg Potassium; 70mg Phosphorus.

Coq au Zin(fandel) with Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

Posted in Chicken, Veggies/sides, on June 16th, 2023.

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Talk about flavorful? You need to make this – these two recipes.

It’s been a couple of months since I made this – I’ve had lots of recipes to write up for the blog – I think this was over Easter weekend. My friend Linda and I shared cooking responsibilities. I made this one of the evenings. Two fabulous recipes (below). You definitely need to make them both – not necessarily together, but the chicken was great with the cheesy cauliflower, and the zinfandel gravy was tasty to have with the cauliflower.

The chicken recipe was in Bon Appetit in November of 2001. A long time ago, and I just got around to making it. Nothing about it is difficult. You do need bacon (adds so much wonderful flavor), shallots and good mushrooms. The recipe called for boiling onions – I tried to find them (frozen) at Trader Joe’s, but they told me they only carry them around the holidays. So I used regular yellow onions instead, cut into some wedges and some chopped. I took along a good bottle of Zinfandel, and Linda and I enjoyed drinking it – the part I didn’t use in the chicken. The recipe was developed by Chef Jeff Mall, from a restaurant in Healdsburg, CA, called Zin. No longer in business, so the internet says. I’m glad I have this recipe – it’s a good one to serve to guests, and you could make a large or small quantity. I prefer cooking chicken thighs over breasts (too easy to overcook breasts) and I think thighs have more flavor.

The thighs are dunked in flour, salted and peppered, then browned in the bacon grease. Don’t over-brown them as you’ll cook them through right there in the pan. Since I always use thick cut, meaty bacon,  there wasn’t a lot of grease anyway. The recipe suggests adding a dash of olive oil to the pan also, which I did. Once browned, the thighs are removed while you make the sauce (shallots, garlic, onions, mushrooms and Herbes de Provence, if you have it –  if not, use thyme). The original recipe called for marjoram –  I didn’t have it but did have the Provence herb mixture on hand. Chicken stock is added plus the Zinfandel, and you scrape up all that browned goodness from the bottom of the pan. The original dish was baked, but I cooked it on the stovetop. Boneless, skinless thighs don’t take that long to cook! The chicken and veggies are removed, then you make a butter roux and thicken the sauce. Add the chicken and veggies back in to re-warm. Just warm everything through.

Meanwhile, you will have made the cauliflower. I started with a recipe from Kalyn’s Kitchen – she calls it “the best pureed cauliflower.” I agree! Once the cauliflower has steam-cooked for about 20 minutes, you drain it well. In fact, you drain it for about 5 minutes so you know there isn’t much water left (this way the mashed version won’t be too thin/watery). The cauliflower goes into the food processor along with some grated Parmesan (the good stuff, not the canned variety), salt, pepper, a little bit of cream, and Kalyn used 1 1/2 T of soft goat cheese. What I had on hand was Boursin garlic herb cheese – that’s what I used – about 1/4 cup (more than in the original recipe). Taste it for seasonings. You might need to reheat the mashed cauliflower just before serving – over low heat as it could burn easily. My friend Linda was quite enamored with the cauliflower – she’d never had any that was so flavorful. Yup! Really good. When you serve it, lap some of the sauce on the cauliflower – not a lot.

What’s GOOD: both of these recipes are delicious. Worthy of a company meal. It does require several steps to making it, but neither is overwhelming. Count on about 1 1/2 hours total including baking time for the chicken. The chicken is extra-tasty. Also a bit rich from the bacon and the buttery sauce. Love-loved the sauce! If you have leftover sauce be sure to use it in soup (I made a chicken and vegetable soup the following week). The cauliflower recipe is a real keeper. Well, both of these are. Loved the cauliflower with the cheesy components in it. Not overwhelmingly cheesy – just GOOD cheesy. Altogether fabulous two recipes.

What’s NOT: only that the chicken does take some time, start to finish. Cauliflower is easy, though.

Coq au Zin printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower printer-friendly PDF and MasterCook file (click link to open recipe)

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Coq au Zin

Recipe By: Adapted from Bon Appetit, Nov 2001 (from Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar, Healdsburg), Chef Jeff Mall
Servings: 8

2/3 cup all purpose flour — for coating the chicken
Salt and pepper, sprinkled on the chicken thighs
6 slices thick-sliced bacon — chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 boneless skinless chicken thighs — excess fat trimmed
1 cup chopped shallots
3 garlic cloves — minced
1 pound onions — (boiling onions are called for, but you may use yellow onions, some in wedges and some coarsely chopped)
12 ounces crimini mushrooms — quartered, or white mushrooms, halved or quartered
2 tablespoons herbes de provence — dried
1 bottle Zinfandel — (750 ml)
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
ROUX:
2 tablespoons all purpose flour — at room temperature
2 tablespoons butter — (1/4 stick) room temperature
GARNISH:
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1. Place flour in shallow dish.
2. Cook chopped bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until crisp, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Add olive oil to bacon drippings in pot. Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Working in batches, coat chicken thighs with flour and add to pot; sear until light, golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Boneless, skinless thighs will not brown as much – and if you did, it might dry out the chicken too much. Remove chicken and set aside.
3. Pour off all but 3 tablespoons fat from pot. Add shallots and garlic to pot and sauté 1 minute only. Add onions, crimini mushrooms, and herbes and sauté until onions begin to brown, about 10 minutes. Add red Zinfandel and bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Add chicken stock and bacon; simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken back in and bring liquid to a simmer. Cover and reduce heat so the juices just barely simmer and cook slowly for about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken and vegetables and set aside.
4. Mix flour and butter with a fork in small bowl to blend. Bring wine mixture to boil. Whisk in flour mixture and boil until sauce thickens and is reduced to 2 3/4 cups, about 8 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper (it may not be needed since you reduced the sauce). Add chicken and vegetables back into the pot and heat through. Serve immediately over a bed of mashed potatoes or cheesy mashed cauliflower.
Per Serving: 518 Calories; 26g Fat (45.8% calories from fat); 48g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 227mg Cholesterol; 503mg Sodium; 5g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 32mg Calcium; 1mg Iron; 402mg Potassium; 135mg Phosphorus.

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Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower with Boursin Cheese

Recipe By: Adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Servings: 6

1 large head cauliflower — cut into small same-size florts
1 clove garlic — minced
1 tablespoon half and half — or more if needed
4 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese — grated
4 tablespoons Boursin Gourmet Spreadable Cheese, Garlic & Herb — crumbled
salt/pepper to taste

1. Place cauliflower florets in a pan with enough water to cover, and add garlic and a small amount of salt.
2. Let cauliflower come to a boil, then lower heat and cook 15-20 minutes, or until cauliflower is very soft.
3. Remove from heat and pour into a colander. Allow to drain for at least 10 minutes. Do not skip this step or the finished dish will be watery.
4. When cauliflower is well drained, pour into food processor and puree, adding the half and half if needed. You could also use a potato masher or a small hand beater to “whip” the cauliflower as you would potatoes, although the texture will not be as smooth.
5. Put cauliflower back into the pan you cooked it in and heat on very low. Add Parmesan, Boursin goat cheese and stir until both are incorporated and melted. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Heat 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly so it does not stick to the bottom. Serve hot, with a little freshly grated Parmesan on top if desired.
Per Serving: 81 Calories; 6g Fat (67.5% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 2g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 170mg Sodium; trace Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 133mg Calcium; trace Iron; 68mg Potassium; 79mg Phosphorus.

Chicken Biryani Casserole

Posted in Chicken, on April 28th, 2023.

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So good! There’s spicy sauced chicken underneath, then a thin layer of slowly browned onions, some mint and cilantro, then a layer of saffron rice on top with more onions and herbs.

A post from Carolyn. Ever had biryani? That’s beer-ee-yahn-ee for the uninitiated! If you want to know more, click on that link to wikipedia and you’ll learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about biryani with its different spellings, variations and origins. My relative Janice (my daughter-in-law Karen’s sister) sent the recipe to me and I decided to augment it and to prepare it differently because I had about a half a chicken from a whole roasted one I’d done a few days before. Janice had made a couple of alterations when she made it, and I made even more, but the flavor basis of this dish is the same.

I love Indian food, and have learned over the years that the dishes from Hyperabad are considered the best of the best (it’s the region of India known for its haute cuisine). This is one. Anything that resembles butter chicken or chicken khorma is at the top of the list for me. This one is different in several ways: (1) it uses saffron rice; (2) it layers the chicken on the bottom, rice on the top (not served side by side on the plate); (3) those browned onions are just the bomb; and (4) the layer of herbs in the middle just add to the flavor profiles.

The original recipe has you cook the well-marinated chicken thighs in a heavy-duty pan (like a Le Creuset) with the hot rice on it – the rice that’s just partially cooked and spooned all over the top of the chicken. It’s a very different way to make this – only partially cooking the rice so it finishes cooking once it’s put into the heavy pan with the chicken. Obviously I couldn’t do that with mine since I had already cooked chicken and didn’t want to cook the daylights out of it even more. So I needed to improvise a lot.

There below is the chicken in the sauce. Uncooked. Ready to be adorned with the rice component. Although the chicken in it is cooked, it’s just that the sauce wasn’t cooked. The only cooking it underwent (is that a word?) was in the oven or microwave.

I still marinated the cooked chicken in the “marinade” and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 days. That gave it ample time to let all that flavorful yogurt spicy sauce with kashmiri chili powder in it to seep into the meat. Then I prepared the rice, using the directions provided, but I cooked it almost to done with just a tiny bit of bite to the rice. I also cooked up those super-browned onions (easy, just cook them long and slow in olive oil).

Once I was ready to put together my casserole I spooned it into the baking dish (above), and spread it out. Then I added some of the browned onions and fresh herbs (cilantro & mint), then I put a rice layer on top. It had a lovely yellow color from the turmeric in it, and also from the saffron. The remaining onions were added on top. At this point I could have baked the casserole in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, but I decided to take a shortcut and microwave it. Actually what I did was heat up the chicken layer first, then added the hot rice on top and returned it to the microwave for about a minute. The garnishing herbs went on top and I chowed down. Oh so delicious.

What’s GOOD: the flavors in this dish are just over the top. Creamy, flavorful, just a bit of heat from the kashmiri chili, the texture of the rice, the lovely hint of mint and cilantro. Divine. This recipe is a keeper.

What’s NOT: nothing whatsoever. I’ll be making this again soon.

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Chicken Biryani Cassserole

Recipe By: Adapted from My Food Story blog and by my relative, Janice. And then adapted further by me.
Servings: 4

BROWNED ONIONS:
2 whole yellow onions — halved, sliced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
CHICKEN:
3 cups cooked chicken — chopped in cubes or shredded
3/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup tomato puree — or tomato paste (use a bit less)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic — finely minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger — grated
1 tablespoon kashmiri chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala — ground to a powder
2 tablespoons onions — well browned
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup milk — or heavy cream
SAFFRON MIXTURE:
2 tablespoons hot milk
10 saffron strands — (10 to 15)
RICE:
2 cups basmati rice
6 cups water
2 tablespoons salt
1 whole bay leaf
6 whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2-3 cardamom pods
GARNISHES:
1 cup mint
1 cup cilantro — chopped
crispy brown onions from above
Add a little chicken broth if needed to the casserole.
Serving: black sesame seeds (optional), onion raita or plain raita (optional) or plain yogurt

1. ONIONS: pat the onions dry and if time permits, leave them out on a kitchen towel for 15-20 minutes to dry them out slightly. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Over a medium flame, shallow fry the onions for 15 minutes until they are a deep golden brown, without burning them. Drain them on a paper towel, and set aside. These can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container overnight. Burned onions will add a bitter flavor to the biryani. You can also use store bought fried onions/ shallots which are easily available in some supermarkets, Indian and Asian stores.
2. CHICKEN: Mix together all the ingredients under chicken and marinate for at least two hours or up to 2 days.
3. SAFFRON: When you are ready to make the biryani, soak saffron strands in hot milk and rub them slightly with the back of a spoon. Set this aside.
4. RICE: Bring water to a roaring boil and add salt, whole spices and basmati rice. Cook for about 15 minutes (until barely tender) and drain completely. Remove the whole spices in the rice.
5. CASSEROLE: If the chicken mixture is very thick, add a bit of milk or cream to thin it enough to loosen it. In a large casserole dish, pour the chicken and spread out evenly. Scatter half the onions all over the chicken, and then sprinkle half the cilantro and mint leaves. Next layer the rice all over the top, and in the end drizzle saffron milk over the rice. Then scatter the remaining onions over the top. You may heat this in the microwave (covered) for 5-8 minutes or bake in a 325°F for about 35 minutes until the chicken mixture on the bottom is fully heated through. Do not let the rice dry out – so you may need to cover the casserole with foil. If you’re in a mighty hurry, heat just the chicken in the casserole in the microwave, then add onions and herbs, then add the hot rice to the top, and finish with the garnishes. Heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes maximum and serve.
6. Scatter the remaining mint and cilantro. Serve hot, digging the spoon deep to get all the layers. Serve with raita or additional yogurt.
Per Serving: 744 Calories; 40g Fat (48.0% calories from fat); 60g Protein; 36g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 153mg Cholesterol; 4378mg Sodium; 5g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 164mg Calcium; 6mg Iron; 853mg Potassium; 497mg Phosphorus.

Turkey Meatloaf a la Ina Garten

Posted in Chicken, on April 14th, 2023.

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If you’ve stopped trying to make turkey meatloaf because it just didn’t hit a flavorful high note, you might want to try this one from Ina Garten.

A post from Carolyn. A few weeks ago my good friend Linda T came to visit me out in Palm Desert. We had a lovely, quiet weekend together, and she made dinner one of the nights. She made this, Ina’s turkey meatloaf. What’s interesting about this is that it doesn’t have lots of herbs (it uses only thyme) or other things (flavor tricks) to make it tasty. It just IS flavorful. I was surprised how good it was. Linda’s been making this for a long time and has changed just a few things about Ina’s recipe.

Now, Ina’s recipe calls for making enough to feed a small army (5 pounds of ground turkey breast). Half that recipe (the picture above) is enough to feed at least 6 people. Halving recipes is sometimes problematical, so Linda has adapted the recipe just slightly – she adds a little more bread crumbs (sometimes she uses fresh bread crumbs, not dried), more tomato paste, and she uses a bit more egg. And, we decided that using a bit more ketchup on the top was in order. In my opinion, the ketchup on the top of the meatloaf is essential – it adds a little sweetness and tang.

There are lots of onions in this (you can see the onions in the raw meatloaf picture above) – two large onions are sauteed in olive oil for awhile until they’re very limp and translucent, along with the herbs, salt and pepper. That mixture needs to be cooled to room temp before mixing in with the ground turkey, Worcestershire, bread crumbs, some chicken broth (which likely helps keep it moist) and eggs. The meatloaf is shaped into a long, not very tall loaf, baked on a rimmed sheetpan in a 325°F oven. Ina’s recipe (with that 5 pounds of meat) suggests 1 1/2 hours baking time. A big casserole dish of hot water was placed underneath the meatloaf – Ina says that helps the meatloaf to not develop a crack in it. I think Linda started taking the temperature after about an hour – cook until it reaches 160°F inside the meatloaf. Then the meatloaf rests a few minutes before you slice it into thick pieces to serve. You could serve extra ketchup at the table if desired. Thanks, Linda, for a great new recipe.

What’s Good: everything about this was wonderful. We froze the leftovers so I haven’t enjoyed any of them yet. Ina suggests slices make great meatloaf sandwiches. That reminds me of my childhood: my dad used to love meatloaf sandwiches. This recipe is a winner.

What’s NOT: nothing really. You can’t expect a turkey meatloaf (albeit a really tasty one) to have the same flavor as a beef meatloaf. The texture just will never be similar – turkey meat is very tender while beef is more chewy, and has a lot more fat in it also, which contribute to more/different flavor.

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Turkey Meatloaf – Ina Garten

Recipe By: Adapted slightly from Ina Garten
Servings: 5 (maybe 6)

1 large yellow onions — chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3/8 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey — breast meat only
1 cup dry bread crumbs — plain, not seasoned
2 large eggs — beaten
1/2 cup ketchup

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, cook the onions, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned, approximately 15 minutes. Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in a large bowl. Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreased sheet pan. Spread the ketchup evenly on top. Bake for 1 1/4 hours until the internal temperature is 160°F. and the meatloaf is cooked through. (A pan of hot water in the oven under the meatloaf will keep the top from cracking.) Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold in a sandwich.
Per Serving: 526 Calories; 23g Fat (40.0% calories from fat); 51g Protein; 28g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 232mg Cholesterol; 1161mg Sodium; 9g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 118mg Calcium; 5mg Iron; 862mg Potassium; 557mg Phosphorus.

Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Chicken

Posted in Chicken, on February 24th, 2023.

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Don’t you just want to sink your fork into these?

Recipe from Karen; write-up by Carolyn. Actually, I remember the first time I had a poblano pepper – stuffed similarly to this. Probably around 1990. At a restaurant in Pasadena, called the Parkway Grill. I believe it was a lunch menu special, and I really thought it was one of the most delicious things I’d ever eaten. Of course, I didn’t have their recipe, and back then poblano peppers weren’t commonly at grocery stores, either. Now they are, certainly here in California, where our grocery stores carry a variety of chiles, small and large. A few weeks ago I spent the day with Karen, and family. For lunch she served leftovers, a big favorite of mine, Pasta Puttanesca. If you click back to that story, you can read about Karen and my son Powell’s early dating, when Powell made that pasta. It’s a cute story.

So back to this story – Karen had four beautiful poblano peppers, and she and I worked on this dish together. Karen started from an internet recipe, but made a few changes to it. The poblanos have to be prepped – the tops cut off, the seeds and membranes removed, then gently sliced to open up the peppers kind of like a cup, so you can spoon in that luscious filling. The filling is a combination of fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, oregano (or marjoram in this case as Karen didn’t have any Mexican oregano – did you know that marjoram is very similar to Mexican oregano? who knew?) and cumin. And cheese, and Mozzarella. (You could also add just a little bit of corn to this too.) Once the peppers are stuffed with that mixture (see picture just above), gently mounded in the pepper so none of it leaks out, the peppers are baked for about half an hour. Then you add cheese to the top. Karen had a package of Mexican blended cheeses, and that was gently mounded on the top and put back into the oven – on broil – until the cheese melted and was golden brown (see picture at top!).

Let the peppers rest for 4-8 minutes until they’ve cooled down enough so you don’t burn  your mouth! Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve. Thanks, Karen, for this delicious recipe. If you wanted a slightly different taste, add corn (and remove some of the chopped tomatoes).

What’s GOOD: for me, the poblano chile pepper is the star of the dish – it has a unique flavor. But the combination in the filling is also so delicious with this, and oh, the cheese. Everything’s better with cheese!

What’s NOT: nothing other than there is a bit of prep for this – maybe 30 minutes worth, then they baked for 30. Broiled for 2-3, and it was ready.

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Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Chicken

Recipe By: Altered slightly from an online recipe
Servings: 4

Olive oil spray
4 whole poblano peppers — select evenly sized, larger rather than smaller
1 tablespoon EVOO
3/4 cup fresh tomatoes — diced
1/2 yellow onion — diced
1 tablespoon garlic — minced
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Mexican oregano — dried, crushed in your palms, or use marjoram if you don’t have Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups cooked chicken — diced or shredded, rotisserie is fine as long as it doesn’t have different flavors on it
1 cup Mozzarella cheese — grated
1/2 cup fresh cilantro — chopped, including the stems (mince those up very finely)
1 cup Mexican blend cheese — grated
3 tablespoons cilantro — chopped, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400° F. For easy clean-up, line a large broiler-safe baking sheet or ceramic dish with foil and spray it with EVOO.
2. POBLANOS: cut off stems, remove ribs and seeds (discard), If there is sufficient pepper around the stem, discard the stem itself, then mince the remaining pepper into tiny pieces and add it to the filling mixture below. Cut a slit down the side of each pepper and open it slightly (without breaking the curve of the pepper) and remove any remaining seeds or membrane. Set aside.
3. FILLING: Heat EVOO in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion, garlic, salt, Mexican oregano (or marjoram), and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until liquids have evaporated, 5-7 minutes. Off heat, stir in the chicken, mozzarella and the cilantro, mixing well.
4. Divide the filling among the peppers, using a spoon to get the filling in the pepper, filling all the inside curves, pressing down and out to fill the pepper completely. Use your hands as needed to keep the filling from falling out.
5. Place the peppers on the prepared baking sheet or dish, slit side up. Lightly spray them with olive oil. Bake until the poblanos are soft and charred in places, about 30 minutes.
6. Remove peppers from the oven. Change oven from bake to BROIL. Top the peppers with the Mexican cheese blend, molding it carefully over the filling.
7. Return peppers to the oven and broil the peppers 6 inches below the broiler element just until the cheese is melted, 1-2 minutes. WATCH CAREFULLY so it doesn’t burn. Remove from oven and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving. Do wait a few minutes to serve so you don’t burn your mouth!
Per Serving: 576 Calories; 31g Fat (49.0% calories from fat); 59g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 174mg Cholesterol; 2293mg Sodium; 2g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 531mg Calcium; 4mg Iron; 939mg Potassium; 658mg Phosphorus.

Chinese Chicken with Sticky Rice

Posted in Chicken, on November 11th, 2022.

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Actually that’s the chicken before baking – it just got golden brown.

A post from Carolyn. Do you watch the show, Family Dinner with Andrew Zimmern? It’s so interesting to go along with him – it’s a reality food program – as Zimmern visits a home and the family prepares a big family feast. Zimmern usually makes one thing – something from his own repertoire that he hopes will complement the meal. Lots of the programs are about food from various parts of the world, from families who have been in the U.S. for a long time. Various family members contribute their willing hands and you get to enjoy the repartee of the family.

Recently I watched a program of a family with roots in Canton, China. They have a blog, too, The Woks of Life. Isn’t that the most clever name? And they’ve published a cookbook, that’s just come out (with the same title as their blog).

In the program, this dish intrigued me. When they said this was one of their family favorites, that got me more interested. Chicken thighs first. You generally can’t buy thighs that are boned, but still have skin. I found some with bone and with skin, so needed to remove the bone myself. It’s not hard, just a little bit tedious. Once done, the thighs are marinated for a bit, then stuffed with a rice mixture that included onion, mushrooms, shallots and five spice powder.

Their family recipe calls for Chinese sausage. I didn’t make a special trip to an Asian market to buy that, but the recipe indicated bacon could be substituted.

What’s unique about this is the use of sticky (sweet) rice. Many, many years ago I made a dessert for a Chinese-themed dinner, something like “jeweled” rice, and I had to buy 5 pounds of sweet rice because it was all I could find. After 10 years I finally threw away the rest of it as I didn’t know what to do with it. If you search on amazon you can find a smaller size – I bought a small plastic jar of it that holds about 3 cups.

Sweet rice isn’t sweet. I don’t know why they call it sweet because the only difference is it cooks up sticky. It’s also called glutinous rice, but that has nothing whatsoever to do with gluten, but about the fact that it’s glue-like. VERY sticky. Don’t be turned off by the name – it’s just rice that cooks up differently. I suppose it’s in this recipe because you want the rice combo to stick together in a kind of oval ball and you mold the boneless chicken thigh around it. Most sticky rice comes from Thailand or Japan. If you don’t want to buy sweet rice, use regular, but know it won’t look quite the same but it’ll taste just as fine!

I also didn’t have shiitake mushrooms on hand – but I had regular ones. I’m sure the shiitake would be better. They were finely minced.  The rice is flavored with onion, scallions, soy sauce, dry sherry (if you have Shaoxing wine use it – I didn’t), five spice powder, the mushrooms and a tiny splash of both dark and regular soy sauce. If you don’t have dark soy sauce, just use more of what you have. Years ago I bought a bottle of mushroom soy sauce, and it’s super-dark, so I use that when I need it. I use a low-sodium soy sauce when recipes call for the “regular” type.

What’s GOOD: everything about this was fabulous. I’d definitely make it again. Loved all the flavors that enhanced the rice. The meat was tender and juicy, and the Chinese flavors were quite subtle – nothing was overpowering. I see why it’s a favorite of the family. I think one chicken thigh is sufficient per serving.

What’s NOT: only the mound of dishes I had to clean afterwards. Engage a friend to help in the kitchen when you make this as it’s more labor intensive than a lot of dishes.

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Chinese Chicken with Sticky Rice

Recipe By: adapted slightly from The Woks of Life blog
Servings: 4

5 shiitake mushrooms — dried
4 chicken thighs — deboned, skin on
MARINADE:
1 medium garlic clove — minced
1 medium shallot — finely chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine — or dry sherry
1 teaspoon five spice powder
1 teaspoon sesame oil
RICE:
2/3 medium onion — finely chopped
1 1/3 cups sweet rice — also called sticky rice, raw
1 1/3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small lean Chinese sausage — (lap cheung) diced, or substitute bacon
1 scallion — finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/6 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
TOPPING:
1 1/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and white pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon five spice powder — sprinkled on top of chicken

NOTE: the chicken skin is important, so don’t use skinless. Chinese sausages vary in size. I think for this dish, a small one will suffice or 1 thick sliced piece of smoked bacon.
1. MUSHROOMS & CHICKEN: soak mushrooms (if you didn’t soak them overnight already, this can be expedited into a 1-2 hour process if you soak in hot water) and debone the chicken thighs.
2. Chop the onions, garlic, shallot, and scallion. Cut the sausage into small discs and slice the mushrooms (after soaking and draining) lengthwise into thin strips.
3. MARINADE: Combine the shallot, garlic, wine (or sherry), five spice powder, and sesame oil into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add the chicken to the mixture and coat it in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to marinate for 1 to 2 hours.
4. RICE: The package said soak rice in cold water for 15 minutes, drain, then each cup of rice is cooked in about 7/8 cup of water in a saucepan, covered, for about 10-15 minutes. Do not overcook and don’t allow rice to stick to bottom (so, stir frequently). Set aside.
5. STUFFING: Heat vegetable oil in a wok using medium heat, and cook the onion until translucent. Add the Chinese sausage and cook for another minute. Then add the mushrooms, scallion, salt and white pepper. Cook another minute and add in the cooked sticky rice, salt to taste, then add the soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Mix thoroughly (this will take awhile as the rice doesn’t like to come apart and mix very easily) and then allow the rice mixture to cool.
6. BAKE: Preheat oven to 375°F. Divide the rice into equal ovals for each thigh, and wrap meat around each portion, tucking all sides under. Lay them in a baking dish. Add chicken broth (pour it evenly in between the crevices of the chicken) and reserve the rest if needed during baking.
7. Combine salt, white pepper with five spice powder, and sprinkle a dash of the mixture over the skin of each chicken portion. Bake for about 35 minutes, and add additional broth if the bottom of the pan looks dry. Watch it closely, as you don’t want to overcook the chicken. Use an instant read thermometer and move to next step when it reaches 165°F.
8. Once the meat is cooked through, broil it on low for 2-3 minutes until the skin is golden brown. Don’t walk away as it broils! Watch it like a hawk to prevent burning. Serve immediately.
Per Serving (this isn’t quite accurate – it’s low – because not all the ingredients are listed online): 579 Calories; 38g Fat (60.1% calories from fat); 36g Protein; 21g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 189mg Cholesterol; 840mg Sodium; 2g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 31mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 622mg Potassium; 389mg Phosphorus.

Chicken Makhani

Posted in Chicken, on August 21st, 2022.

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This is the best chicken makhani (butter chicken) I have ever eaten. Bar none. Can you tell I love cilantro?

A post from Carolyn. The various types of chicken curry I’ve eaten, that I’ve made myself and/or really enjoyed out, include khorma, butter and makhani, plus an old recipe I used to make from Dinah Shore (it’s here on my blog too), as it was an early iteration of curry that I made in my early cooking years, called Chicken Curry Without Worry. Perhaps they’re one in the same, just by different names; I’m not enough of an expert of Indian cuisine to know. But this recipe, which may become my all-time favorite and will be made in my kitchen with regularity from here on, is just so stunning in flavor.

The original recipe for this came from one online, and my daughter-in-law Karen’s sister Janice sent it to me (thanks again, Janice). She made a few changes to it, and when I made it; I did too. Again, not because I’m an expert at Indian recipes (for surely, I am not). A couple of ingredients I didn’t have in my pantry –  curry leaves and fresh serrano chiles (just didn’t want to make a trip to the store for those).  Janice’s husband is Indian. Actually he’s British, but has Indian heritage, so their family make and eat a lot of Indian food. Janice has become a really good Indian cook (though she’s not Indian at all). She introduced me to methi, which are fenugreek leaves. Not the seeds/pods, but the leaves. Methi chicken will often appear on Indian restaurant menus. And it’s a unique flavor; something I like.

This iteration of chicken curry relies on a huge variety of herbs and spices, used in different ways. First, there’s a yogurt-based marinade that includes ginger and garlic (such huge standards of Indian cooking), garam masala, turmeric, cumin, chile powder (and I used Kashmiri). A side note here, Kashmiri chile powder may not be something you’ll find at the grocery store. I bought mine on amazon (see link). Kashmiri chile is mild – and imparts a really red color, more red than some chile powders. It doesn’t have much heat. But it does have some, so don’t be misled that you can add a lot and not heat up the dish.

Chicken thighs were what I used – though you can use breasts if you’d prefer – just don’t cook it as long. I removed some fat from them, then cut them up into bite-sized pieces. The more surface available for flavor is what I was looking for. Into a ziploc bag went all of the marinade (yogurt, etc.) then I added the chicken. The practical part of using a plastic bag for this is you can smoosh the bag to get all those flavors all over the chicken pieces. Just move, squeeze, smoosh away. Into the frig for several hours (I did about 6 hours – but you can do overnight too) before beginning the cooking of the curry.

The sauce: the chicken pieces are added to a medium hot skillet to brown (with oil and butter first) and turned to get some good dark brown crust. Then onions are added plus more garlic and fresh ginger, then a plethora of additional spices. And some canned crushed tomatoes, more Kashmiri chile powder too and CREAM. Oh yes, the cream. An integral part of chicken curry in my book. The mixture is simmered briefly, then the chicken is added back in and simmered some more. Don’t let it get dry – add water if needed. That simmering time gives those flavors an opportunity to bloom throughout the sauce.

Meanwhile, I made a batch of rice in my Instant Pot (so easy — 2 cups rice, 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp salt; pressure for 3 minutes, rest for 10 and it’s done to perfection). That’s the recipe from Cook’s Illustrated. Into that bowl it went with a couple of spoonsful of the curry on top and some chopped cilantro. That was dinner. Since my granddaughter Taylor has moved back home, I’ve been making a few things that I knew she didn’t like – specifically curry!

What’s GOOD: everything minute thing about this dish was fantastic. Can’t use enough superlatives here. Full of flavors – you can’t pick them out, just a beautiful homogenous sauce with abundant flavor.

What’s NOT: only if you don’t like curry or spices (several of my friends do not). Oh well, more for me!!

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Chicken Makhani

Recipe By: Adapted from an online recipe
Servings: 8

MARINADE:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs — or breasts, if preferred
2/3 cup plain yogurt — full or 2%
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger — very finely minced
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
1 teaspoon salt
SAUCE:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter — or ghee
2 large onions — coarsely chopped
3 whole garlic cloves — minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger — very finely minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon garam masala
2 teaspoons ground coriander
28 ounces crushed tomatoes, canned
1 1/2 teaspoons Kashmiri chile powder
2 teaspoons salt — or more if needed
3 whole curry leaves — optional
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon kasoori methi — (dried fenugreek leaves)
4 tablespoons cilantro — chopped, for garnish

1. In a large plastic Ziploc bag, mix all the ingredients in the marinade – squeeze the mixture in the bag until you cannot see any streaks of spices or yogurt, then add the chicken, cut up into bite-sized pieces. Squish the bag several times to distribute the marinade throughout the chicken; allow chicken to marinate in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or up to overnight.
2. Heat half of the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When sizzling, add chicken pieces (including the sticky yogurt marinade on the chicken) in several batches, making sure to not crowd the pan. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes maximum, just until the chicken is browned some. Remove chicken and continue browning remaining chicken. The chicken is not fully cooked here, but will finish cooking in the sauce. Some of the yogurt marinade will stick to the pan, scrape it loose and leave it in the pan.
3. Heat remaining oil and butter in the same pan. Fry the onions until they start to sweat, about 5 minutes, scraping any more browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
4. Add garlic and ginger and sauté for one minute until fragrant, then add ground coriander, cumin and garam masala. Let cook for about 20 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly.
5. Add crushed tomatoes, Kashmiri chili powder and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown red color.
6. Remove from heat, scoop mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. You may need to do this in two batches, and add about 3 tablespoons of water (or more) to each batch to allow the thickened mixture to puree.
7. Pour sauce back into the pan. Stir in the cream and crushed kasoori methi (fenugreek leaves). Add the chicken with juices back into the pan and cook over low heat (simmer) for an additional 8-10 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling. Don’t allow the mixture to get dry; if needed add water to keep it more fluid.
8. Instant Pot Rice: 2 cups basmati rice, rinsed, 2 1/2 cups water, 1 tsp salt; pressure for 3 minutes; rest for 10 and it’s done.
8. Serve curry with rice, naan and garnish the curry with chopped cilantro.
Per Serving: 538 Calories; 41g Fat (66.4% calories from fat); 32g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 220mg Cholesterol; 1317mg Sodium; 8g Total Sugars; 1mcg Vitamin D; 124mg Calcium; 2mg Iron; 471mg Potassium; 107mg Phosphorus.

Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Garlic, Parsley & Parm Sauce

Posted in Chicken, on July 21st, 2022.

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It’s all about the SAUCE. I’ll say it again – – it’s all about the sauce on it.

A post from Carolyn. Can you ever have enough recipes for roasting a chicken? I have a bunch, and this one will get put right at or near the top, because of the ever-so delicious vinaigrette that you pour over the chicken and drizzle on your servings.

My friend Sue (Colorado Sue, that I visited on my recent trip) made this chicken for dinner one night when I stayed with them. It’s a very, very simple recipe, and the chicken was perfectly cooked and tender, juicy.  The original recipe came from a Martha Stewart Living magazine in 2012.

First the chicken is patted dry, then rubbed all over with EVOO plus salt and pepper. Into a rimmed baking pan it goes. The original recipe called for fingerling potatoes to be roasted alongside the chicken, and that’s how Sue prepared it. Since I try not to eat potatoes, I used Brussels sprouts and zucchini instead. But you can add the potatoes if preferred. Notes for that are in the recipe below.

First, the chicken is roasted at 425°F for 15 minutes. Hot! Then, I added the vegetables  and continued to bake at 375°F for 25 minutes. The pan was turned around, the veggies stirred, and back into the oven it went for about another 35 minutes (that’s how long it took for me) until the thigh meat registered 165°F using an instant read thermometer.

There, above is the finished chicken, pulled off onto a cutting board with some of the luscious lemon, garlic, parsley and Parm sauce spread around.  I didn’t waste too much of that good sauce on the skin, however, as I don’t eat skin . . . but I did pour a bit of the sauce onto my serving (at left). You won’t believe how wonderful it tastes with the tangy lemon, salt from the cheese, and parsley, with EVOO and lemon juice. So good.

What’s GOOD: the lemony flavor, oh and garlic, and Parm. Oh so good.

What’s NOT: nothing whatsoever.

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Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Garlic, Parsley and Parmesan Sauce

Recipe By: Adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe
Servings: 6

CHICKEN:
3 1/2 pounds whole chicken
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup Italian parsley
1 lemon — halved
1 pound Brussels sprouts — halved (if small, leave whole)
3 whole zucchini — cut in large chunks
SAUCE:
2 cloves garlic — minced
1/2 cup Italian parsley
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon — zested (2 teaspoons) and juiced (1 1/2 tablespoons or more to taste)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt — coarse
1 Pinch red chili flakes

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Place chicken, breast side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Rub with 2 tablespoons oil; season generously with salt and pepper. Place parsley and 1 lemon half in cavity. Tie legs together with kitchen twine.
2. Toss Brussels sprouts and zucchini with 2 tablespoons oil. Drizzle with juice from remaining lemon half. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Roast for 15 minutes. Remove chicken from oven and add vegetables alongside the chicken. Put chicken back into oven. Reduce temperature to 375°F; roast for 25 minutes. Rotate pan, toss vegetables, and cook until chicken is golden brown and a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165°F, about 25-35 minutes more. Let chicken and veggies stand for 10 minutes. Remove chicken to cutting board and carve. Place on a heated platter and serve with vegetables alongside.
4. SAUCE: Combine all sauce ingredients. After the chicken has rested for 10 minutes, brush sauce on chicken and drizzle on vegetables, and serve more sauce in a pitcher at the table. Trust me: it’s all about the sauce.
NOTES: This recipe originally started with just chicken and potatoes. If you wish to add about a pound of fingerling potatoes (halved, oiled), use a large enough roasting pan to accommodate all of the vegetables. Add potatoes from the beginning, then add vegetables after the first 15 minutes of baking.
Per Serving (assuming you eat all of the sauce and chicken skin): 891 Calories; 69g Fat (69.3% calories from fat); 55g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 244mg Cholesterol; 532mg Sodium; 5g Total Sugars; trace Vitamin D; 155mg Calcium; 6mg Iron; 1150mg Potassium; 536mg Phosphorus.

Sheetpan Sausage Dinner

Posted in Chicken, Pork, Veggies/sides, on May 20th, 2022.

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An easy, easy dinner for two. Sheetpan suppers are just the best!

A post from Carolyn.  I’d bought some fresh chicken sausages (with jalapeno in them) and was contemplating what I’d do with them, and since I also had asparagus, zucchini and sweet potatoes, a recipe was born. Many years ago I started buying a seasoning packet from Urban Accents. They had (and still do have) several varieties, but my favorite is the one for vegetables. You can buy their packets on amazon. See photo at right. The one I used was the middle one with Parmesan in it. Each bag or box of these has several smaller packets inside – I used one packet for the sheet pan’s worth of food. You could use pork sausages in this rendition too – Italian would be perfect. I was trying to go a more healthy route with the chicken.

I have a chart I downloaded from the ‘net about how long it takes to roast just about every kind of vegetable. The sweet potatoes would take the longest. And the sausages too. I tossed them with some EVOO and they went into a 425°F oven. After 20 minutes, I took out the pan and added the zucchini, also oiled with EVOO and sprinkled with seasoning. It went back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes, then I added the oiled asparagus and the rest of the seasoning and baked again for another 10 minutes – I checked the veggies and they needed another 5 minutes and everything was done. It might depend on how thick the asparagus was, and how thickly you cut the zucchini.

If you wanted something to serve with the sausages – try a variety of mustards (hot, sweet, stone ground) or some salsa, or marinara sauce, or mix up a little bit of sour cream with a little speck of horseradish in it. What can I tell you? This was so easy to make and it was SO delicious.

What’s GOOD: how easy it was to put together on the sheetpan and it cooked in less than an hour. All the veggies were perfectly cooked – crisp tender veggies- and the sausage just right. Love the Urban Accents seasoning to put on it all. Do buy some if you don’t already have it in your pantry (amazon link above).

What’s NOT: only that you need to have some of that seasoning on hand. I always do have it.

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Sheetpan Chicken Sausages with Veggies

Recipe By: My own recipe
Serving Size: 3

1 pound fresh chicken sausage — links, fresh, not pre-cooked type, or substitute pork sausages if desired
2 medium sweet potatoes
3 medium zucchini
1/2 pound fresh asparagus
3 tablespoons EVOO
1 packet Urban Accents Veggie Roaster seasonings

NOTE: many butchers now make various chicken sausages with flavors like jalapeno, Italian, Thai, spinach/feta, garlic, spicy Mexican, or with cheese and flavoring. You do not want pre-cooked sausage for this sheetpan dinner as they would be overcooked.
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with a baking mat or with foil.
2. Prepare the vegetables by peeling and chopping the sweet potatoes in chunky half rounds. Cut the ends off the zucchini and cut into chunky rounds or half rounds, depending on how big around they are. Cut off the tough ends of the asparagus.
3. Place the sausages and sweet potatoes on the sheet pan. Drizzle with EVOO and toss around to cover them in oil. Bake for about 20 minutes.
4. Remove pan, add the zucchini to the pan, drizzle with olive oil and toss lightly and sprinkle the entire sheet pan with most of the seasoning packet. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Remove pan and add the asparagus, tossed lightly with EVOO and sprinkled with the last of the seasoning. Return to the oven and roast for another 10 minutes, making sure you don’t overcook the asparagus. Test the zucchini and asparagus – you want them to be just barely tender.
5. Remove veggies and sausages and serve on a big platter. Serve with hot or spicy mustard on the side (for the sausages) or marinara sauce, salsa, or a mixture of sour cream and horseradish.
QUICK ROASTING INSTRUCTIONS at 425°:
Sausages and sweet potatoes – 20 minutes
Add Zucchini – 12-15 minutes
Add Asparagus – 10 minutes, depending on thickness of asparagus
Check for just barely tender zucchini and asparagus
Per Serving: 296 Calories; 17g Fat (50.4% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 295mg Sodium; 10g Total Sugars; 0mcg Vitamin D; 76mg Calcium; 3mg Iron; 957mg Potassium; 155mg Phosphorus.

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