By far one of the best chicken dishes I have ever eaten. Such a strong seasoned flavor, combined with such a tender chicken, it's just delicious. I've never had a jerk rub before, so I was definitely in for a surprise with the flavor explosion that erupted from this marvelous chicken.
Boneless Chicken Breasts (4)
Soy Sauce (1/4 cup)
Orange Juice (3/4 cup)
Olive Oil (1/4 cup)
Paprika (1 tbs)
Allspice (just a little bit. about a 1/4 tsp)
Thyme (about 1/2 a tsp dried, about 6 stems fresh)
Green Onions (6)
Red Onion (1)
Fresh Garlic (3-4 cloves)
Jalapeno (1)
First things first. We gotta get this chicken in this marinade. A food processors our best friend here. Chop the red onion in big pieces (why dice it when we're putting it in the food processor?), and throw it in the food processor. Add the orange juice, olive oil, and soy sauce, green onions, paprika, thyme, allspice garlic cloves and jalapeno (seeds and all!). Mix it all together until it's all broken down into a smooth sauce
Now lets tackle our chicken. We want the pieces uniform, so they all cook the same. 1 1/2 in. pieces are superb.
Pour our marinade on our chicken in our ziploc bag in our glass dish, and let the juices mingle. Let it sit about an hour in the fridge.
Get our pan going nice and hot, about 300. Put those pieces of chicken in there, and let it cook thoroughly. about 7-10 minutes (depending on your cuts of chicken). Then sit back and enjoy this amazing chicken. Good by itself, or with some homemade flour tortillas (also makes killer chicken quesadillas!)
Monday, February 28, 2011
Porkchops
I've literally had porkchops once before in my life. They made me choke. Never since then did I eat pork chops, until today. I regret the years of hating pork chops due to how badly that one cook made them. You'll never complain of a dry pork chop again after trying this.
Boneless Pork Chops (4 chops)
Salt (3 tbs)
Water (3 cups)
Pepper Flakes (1/2 tsp)
Honey (2.5-3 tbs)
Bay Leaves (1)
Light Olive Oil (small amount to fry in)
First we need to brine those chops. It's a really simple brine. 3 cups of water into a saucepan, and start it heating. Add about 3 tbs of salt, and about the same or a little less of honey. 1/2 tsp of pepper flakes, and a bay leaf. Mix it together and keep heating it until everything mixes together and dissolves. Pour in a lot of ice. You want to have so much ice in there that it completely cools it, and still leaves ice cubes solid in the mixture. Pour this into a ziploc bag (where you have your 4 pork chops already inside). (make sure your ziploc bag is sitting in glass container in case your bag rips.) Let it sit in that brine for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200. you're thinking this is pretty low right? Not at all. We're not cooking them in the oven, we're just warming them up to seal in that juice. Take a tray, put a piece of parchment paper on it, and drop those chops down. Dry off the tops of the chops (we don't want to poach it), and slide it in the oven for 20 minutes. The goal here is to get the internal temperature up to 85-90.
Nows the fun part. frying it all up into a succulent, juicy, flavorful piece of pork. Get a pan going (or a skillet, whichever you prefer), and pour just a little olive oil in there. Drop your chops in, and listen to that sweet sizzle. Cook it up nice and good, until the outside is nice and browned and your inside temperature is about 160 (the USDA's rated minimum safety temperature for pork consumption). The time required will vary depending on how thick of a chop you have.
The chop will be so perfectly juicy, not dry at all. This is so good you don't even need a sauce or anything, you can just eat it plain. It's just so good. You could serve it up with some mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. It makes a great family dinner.
(NOTE: This is not my recipe. This comes from the show "Guy's Big Bite", one of my favorite cooking shows.)
Boneless Pork Chops (4 chops)
Salt (3 tbs)
Water (3 cups)
Pepper Flakes (1/2 tsp)
Honey (2.5-3 tbs)
Bay Leaves (1)
Light Olive Oil (small amount to fry in)
First we need to brine those chops. It's a really simple brine. 3 cups of water into a saucepan, and start it heating. Add about 3 tbs of salt, and about the same or a little less of honey. 1/2 tsp of pepper flakes, and a bay leaf. Mix it together and keep heating it until everything mixes together and dissolves. Pour in a lot of ice. You want to have so much ice in there that it completely cools it, and still leaves ice cubes solid in the mixture. Pour this into a ziploc bag (where you have your 4 pork chops already inside). (make sure your ziploc bag is sitting in glass container in case your bag rips.) Let it sit in that brine for 20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200. you're thinking this is pretty low right? Not at all. We're not cooking them in the oven, we're just warming them up to seal in that juice. Take a tray, put a piece of parchment paper on it, and drop those chops down. Dry off the tops of the chops (we don't want to poach it), and slide it in the oven for 20 minutes. The goal here is to get the internal temperature up to 85-90.
Nows the fun part. frying it all up into a succulent, juicy, flavorful piece of pork. Get a pan going (or a skillet, whichever you prefer), and pour just a little olive oil in there. Drop your chops in, and listen to that sweet sizzle. Cook it up nice and good, until the outside is nice and browned and your inside temperature is about 160 (the USDA's rated minimum safety temperature for pork consumption). The time required will vary depending on how thick of a chop you have.
The chop will be so perfectly juicy, not dry at all. This is so good you don't even need a sauce or anything, you can just eat it plain. It's just so good. You could serve it up with some mashed potatoes and sauteed green beans. It makes a great family dinner.
(NOTE: This is not my recipe. This comes from the show "Guy's Big Bite", one of my favorite cooking shows.)
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Lemon Meringue Pie
Lemon is such a versatile fruit. Lemonade, Lemon Squares, Lemon juice on certain mexican dishes, the list is endless. One such lemon dish I had often growing up was Lemon Meringue Pie. There really is nothing like fresh homemade pie.
Making a pie crust is pretty simple, especially the way my mother used to (a family secret). It's such a simple recipe, but the crust is such an incredible thing. Unfortunately I can't share the recipe, but there are dozens of other pie crust recipes to be gleamed from a simple Google search.
This is the one time I deviated from my premise of 'always from scratch'. I'm slightly ashamed to admit I used a canned store-bought lemon pie filling. My sincerest apologies.
There are many ways to make a meringue, but I used an old recipe. A recipe to be found in a Betty Crocker cookbook back from the late 60s/early 70s.
(Ingredients)
9 in. Pie Crust
2 Cans of Lemon Pie Filling
3 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
6 tbs Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
Meringue is a tricky, tricky thing to make. Literally a speck of yolk in your egg whites will ruin the meringue. Separating egg whites isn't really complicated. I would break the egg in half, then pour the yolk between the 2 shell halves until all the egg white was separated from the yolk. Another way is to crack the egg into a bowl and scoop the yolk out gently with a spoon. Whatever way you prefer, separate your eggs, and put them into your electric mixer. pour in your cream of tartar, and really beat those eggs. slowly increase the speed until you're at the highest you can go without it spitting out of the bowl, and slowly add your tablespoons of sugar. After the sugar is added, simple beat it for awhile. Make sure not to underbeat. It will take probably about 3-5 minutes of mixing before stiff peaks form. Once it's ready, spread it on your pie crust already filled with the pie filling, and spread it all around. Make sure to cover it very well, don't let any lemon show anywhere. Make it fancy any way you choose (a easy way to decorate it is to take a spoon, and push the back of it into the meringue gently, and lift it back out. This will form little peaks in the meringue), then stick it in your 400 oven for about 10 minutes. What we're trying to do here is just brown the meringue a little bit.
Make sure it is well-chilled before you serve it. A lemon meringue pie is such an amazing dessert. The combination of flavors is truly delicious.
Pic, as always, forthcoming!
Making a pie crust is pretty simple, especially the way my mother used to (a family secret). It's such a simple recipe, but the crust is such an incredible thing. Unfortunately I can't share the recipe, but there are dozens of other pie crust recipes to be gleamed from a simple Google search.
This is the one time I deviated from my premise of 'always from scratch'. I'm slightly ashamed to admit I used a canned store-bought lemon pie filling. My sincerest apologies.
There are many ways to make a meringue, but I used an old recipe. A recipe to be found in a Betty Crocker cookbook back from the late 60s/early 70s.
(Ingredients)
9 in. Pie Crust
2 Cans of Lemon Pie Filling
3 Egg Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar
6 tbs Sugar
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
Meringue is a tricky, tricky thing to make. Literally a speck of yolk in your egg whites will ruin the meringue. Separating egg whites isn't really complicated. I would break the egg in half, then pour the yolk between the 2 shell halves until all the egg white was separated from the yolk. Another way is to crack the egg into a bowl and scoop the yolk out gently with a spoon. Whatever way you prefer, separate your eggs, and put them into your electric mixer. pour in your cream of tartar, and really beat those eggs. slowly increase the speed until you're at the highest you can go without it spitting out of the bowl, and slowly add your tablespoons of sugar. After the sugar is added, simple beat it for awhile. Make sure not to underbeat. It will take probably about 3-5 minutes of mixing before stiff peaks form. Once it's ready, spread it on your pie crust already filled with the pie filling, and spread it all around. Make sure to cover it very well, don't let any lemon show anywhere. Make it fancy any way you choose (a easy way to decorate it is to take a spoon, and push the back of it into the meringue gently, and lift it back out. This will form little peaks in the meringue), then stick it in your 400 oven for about 10 minutes. What we're trying to do here is just brown the meringue a little bit.
Make sure it is well-chilled before you serve it. A lemon meringue pie is such an amazing dessert. The combination of flavors is truly delicious.
Pic, as always, forthcoming!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Chicken Parmigiana
Who doesn't like such a classic Italian dish? Pretty much any place you go, be it a pizzeria, a diner, whatever. You'll always find Chicken Parmigiana on the menu.
You'd think it really wouldn't be that hard of a dish. breaded chicken, with sauce and cheese baked on top. Simple right? A surprising number of restaurants fail horribly to make this dish. I couldn't count the amount of bad chicken parms I've had over the years. This version is a bit different from your classic Italian style, but I was time pressed and had to quickly get it made. The subtle change makes a surprising difference.
(Ingredients)
Chicken Breasts
Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
Spaghetti Sauce
Breadcrumbs
Milk
Flour
Light Cooking Oil
Normally you would use egg when breading a chicken breast, but I was in a rush and didn't have time. I was really rushed. Take a bowl or a plate, and pour enough milk to cover the bottom of it (you need enough to dip the breast into completely), and put it aside. Do the same for a dish of flour,and a dish of breadcrumbs. Now take your breast, dip it in the milk. Make sure it is thoroughly coated, then coat it in the flour. Again, making sure it is nicely and evenly coated. Milk again, breadcrumbs, milk, and then flour (you may want to do the same process once more, but I personally did it only once). Pour a little oil into your 300 skillet, and set it in there. Cook it until it's golden brown on both sides. The coating will be very delicate, so be extremely careful when handling not to tear it off completely.
Something interesting I always liked about chicken parm. In certain restaurants they would give you two medium size pieces of chicken (under one blanket of cheese and sauce), instead of one big one. I always preferred the two piece compared to the one piece. So cut the chicken in half, put it together on a plate (not touching, but very close), and put as much sauce and cheese on as you like. Stick it in your microwave for about two minutes (just enough to melt the cheese fully), and you're set.
The interesting thing about this way to make it mostly lies in the coating. Without the thickness of the egg, the coating is very light and rich, but also extremely delicate. The chicken also is extremely moist. It reminds me of a piece of fried fish, how light the coating is, and how juicy and tender the chicken is.
Pic, as always, forthcoming!
You'd think it really wouldn't be that hard of a dish. breaded chicken, with sauce and cheese baked on top. Simple right? A surprising number of restaurants fail horribly to make this dish. I couldn't count the amount of bad chicken parms I've had over the years. This version is a bit different from your classic Italian style, but I was time pressed and had to quickly get it made. The subtle change makes a surprising difference.
(Ingredients)
Chicken Breasts
Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
Spaghetti Sauce
Breadcrumbs
Milk
Flour
Light Cooking Oil
Normally you would use egg when breading a chicken breast, but I was in a rush and didn't have time. I was really rushed. Take a bowl or a plate, and pour enough milk to cover the bottom of it (you need enough to dip the breast into completely), and put it aside. Do the same for a dish of flour,and a dish of breadcrumbs. Now take your breast, dip it in the milk. Make sure it is thoroughly coated, then coat it in the flour. Again, making sure it is nicely and evenly coated. Milk again, breadcrumbs, milk, and then flour (you may want to do the same process once more, but I personally did it only once). Pour a little oil into your 300 skillet, and set it in there. Cook it until it's golden brown on both sides. The coating will be very delicate, so be extremely careful when handling not to tear it off completely.
Something interesting I always liked about chicken parm. In certain restaurants they would give you two medium size pieces of chicken (under one blanket of cheese and sauce), instead of one big one. I always preferred the two piece compared to the one piece. So cut the chicken in half, put it together on a plate (not touching, but very close), and put as much sauce and cheese on as you like. Stick it in your microwave for about two minutes (just enough to melt the cheese fully), and you're set.
The interesting thing about this way to make it mostly lies in the coating. Without the thickness of the egg, the coating is very light and rich, but also extremely delicate. The chicken also is extremely moist. It reminds me of a piece of fried fish, how light the coating is, and how juicy and tender the chicken is.
Pic, as always, forthcoming!
Chicken Caesar Salad, With a Twist
I've long enjoyed Chicken Caesar Salads. I've always loved chicken, and my mother being a strict vegetarian, it seems only natural some sort of mix between the two would appeal to me. Long ago, before I started cooking, I tried some store bought sliced chicken breasts. I tried that once, and only once. Flat out disgusting is the only appropriate way to describe such an awful thing. I've often had them out in restaurants, some incredibly good (a small pizzeria nearby a hospital), and some disappointing at best (another pizzeria). When I was eating a more vegetarian diet months ago, I would just chop up a head of lettuce, pour on a very meager amount of Caesar dressing, and it really does taste more or less the same without the chicken. But there is something about chicken..
(Ingredients)
Chicken Breasts
Lettuce (Romaine)
Caesar Dressing (I prefer Newman's)
Light Cooking Oil
Chopped Garlic
Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
Start off with marinating your chicken breasts. I let mine soak in a little oil and plenty of garlic for about 24 hours (overnight would be fine). Put them right on your skillet (250-300), and don't use any oil for the skillet. Your chicken has been soaking in it all night, it's plenty moist. Fry it until it's cooked thoroughly (it will start to blacken just slightly on the very top layer, this is fine. It will give it a slight 'grilled' flavor), and then chop it up as you want it on your salad. Put it back in the skillet for just a little while (You don't need to cook it again. I just prefer my chicken not too moist), and your chicken is done. Chop up a nice head of romaine lettuce, pour on a little dressing, little bit of Parmesan, and you're good to go. But wait! you're not done yet. Sprinkle just a small handful of grated mozzarella on it, for a subtle yet interesting twist in the flavor.
Pic, as always, forthcoming!
(Ingredients)
Chicken Breasts
Lettuce (Romaine)
Caesar Dressing (I prefer Newman's)
Light Cooking Oil
Chopped Garlic
Mozzarella Cheese (grated)
Start off with marinating your chicken breasts. I let mine soak in a little oil and plenty of garlic for about 24 hours (overnight would be fine). Put them right on your skillet (250-300), and don't use any oil for the skillet. Your chicken has been soaking in it all night, it's plenty moist. Fry it until it's cooked thoroughly (it will start to blacken just slightly on the very top layer, this is fine. It will give it a slight 'grilled' flavor), and then chop it up as you want it on your salad. Put it back in the skillet for just a little while (You don't need to cook it again. I just prefer my chicken not too moist), and your chicken is done. Chop up a nice head of romaine lettuce, pour on a little dressing, little bit of Parmesan, and you're good to go. But wait! you're not done yet. Sprinkle just a small handful of grated mozzarella on it, for a subtle yet interesting twist in the flavor.
Pic, as always, forthcoming!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Candy Pecans?
Sometimes something so good that we buy out we think is such a hassle to make. Hours of cooking, careful measuring and stirring, just for a small confectionery treat. Candied Pecans are not one of those.
(Ingredients)
Pecans (14 Oz.)
Sugar(2-3 tsp)
Cinnamon(1/2 tsp)
Melted Butter(2 tbs)
White Corn Syrup (I used raw agave nectar. I didn't have any Corn Syrup on hand.)(2 tbs)
Mix everything together (the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and syrup first), then once everything is evenly coated, spread it on a cookie tray, and slow cook it for an hour. Stirring every 15 minutes. Bake at a really low temperature, only 250.
NOTE: This is from a Paula Dean cooking show I saw a week ago. This is not my recipe. Thanks to Paula Dean!
(Ingredients)
Pecans (14 Oz.)
Sugar(2-3 tsp)
Cinnamon(1/2 tsp)
Melted Butter(2 tbs)
White Corn Syrup (I used raw agave nectar. I didn't have any Corn Syrup on hand.)(2 tbs)
Mix everything together (the butter, sugar, cinnamon, and syrup first), then once everything is evenly coated, spread it on a cookie tray, and slow cook it for an hour. Stirring every 15 minutes. Bake at a really low temperature, only 250.
NOTE: This is from a Paula Dean cooking show I saw a week ago. This is not my recipe. Thanks to Paula Dean!
Chicken Saltimbocca
Late one night I was surfing through some recipes on my android cellphone, and I saw a certain recipe that caught my eye. It was a simple dish. Chicken wrapped in prosciutto and provolone cheese, with some white wine cooked off, fried in a fry pan. Other than that, I couldn't remember anything about it. So today I decided to take what I remembered, with a few changes I thought of, and roll with it.
(Ingredients)
Light Cooking Oil
Thinly Sliced Chicken Breasts
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Provolone Cheese (thinly sliced)
Prosciutto Ham (moderate to thinly sliced)
White Wine
I started off with some light oil in a 300 electric skillet (my stove was currently out of use due to a previous meal), and started frying the chicken breasts. I had cut them to have a somewhat round shape, which left me with 3 small pieces of chicken that I also threw into the pan to cook. After cooking them fully (leaving a thin brown crust on both sides), I took them off, turned my pan down to about 200, and started preparing them. 2 slices of cheese, and 2 slices of prosciutto per chicken breast, with some Italian seasoning and garlic powder. After that was done, back in the pan they go for about a minute, enough to warm up the prosciutto, melt the cheese, and cook off the whitewine we generously poured onto our chicken for that great flavor. Then it was off to a plate, a little more Italian seasoning for that green look Italian food must have, and it was done.
The finished product:
It was, quite honestly, one of the best Italian dishes I have ever made, and I have ever had.
(Ingredients)
Light Cooking Oil
Thinly Sliced Chicken Breasts
Italian Seasoning
Garlic Powder
Provolone Cheese (thinly sliced)
Prosciutto Ham (moderate to thinly sliced)
White Wine
I started off with some light oil in a 300 electric skillet (my stove was currently out of use due to a previous meal), and started frying the chicken breasts. I had cut them to have a somewhat round shape, which left me with 3 small pieces of chicken that I also threw into the pan to cook. After cooking them fully (leaving a thin brown crust on both sides), I took them off, turned my pan down to about 200, and started preparing them. 2 slices of cheese, and 2 slices of prosciutto per chicken breast, with some Italian seasoning and garlic powder. After that was done, back in the pan they go for about a minute, enough to warm up the prosciutto, melt the cheese, and cook off the whitewine we generously poured onto our chicken for that great flavor. Then it was off to a plate, a little more Italian seasoning for that green look Italian food must have, and it was done.
The finished product:
It was, quite honestly, one of the best Italian dishes I have ever made, and I have ever had.
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