Sunday, March 23, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Chicken Marsala
I had some leftover chicken breast from the chicken pistachio and some mushrooms so I decided to go back to an old comfort food recipe - Chicken Marsala. Pretty easy to make and just very satisfying!
CHICKEN MARSALA
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, pounded
flour
paprika
salt
pepper
olive oil
Marsala wine
mushrooms, sliced
butter (or earth balance)
Mix some flour, paprika, salt, and pepper together in a shallow bowl or plate (use your judgement on the amounts, I like to use a bit more paprika). Put olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Coat chicken in flour mixture and place in frying pan. Pour a small amount of Marsala wine over the chicken. Cook through, flipping once. When chicken is done, drain on paper towel. Add a samll amount of butter to pan and add mushrooms. Add about a half cup of marsala wine to the mushrooms and cook mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked through and marsala reduced by half, pour over chicken.
I usually have this with mashed potatoes because I think the sauce tastes delicious as a gravy. Enjoy!
CHICKEN MARSALA
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, pounded
flour
paprika
salt
pepper
olive oil
Marsala wine
mushrooms, sliced
butter (or earth balance)
Mix some flour, paprika, salt, and pepper together in a shallow bowl or plate (use your judgement on the amounts, I like to use a bit more paprika). Put olive oil in frying pan over medium-high heat. Coat chicken in flour mixture and place in frying pan. Pour a small amount of Marsala wine over the chicken. Cook through, flipping once. When chicken is done, drain on paper towel. Add a samll amount of butter to pan and add mushrooms. Add about a half cup of marsala wine to the mushrooms and cook mushrooms. When mushrooms are cooked through and marsala reduced by half, pour over chicken.
I usually have this with mashed potatoes because I think the sauce tastes delicious as a gravy. Enjoy!
Aubergine in Tomato Sauce
So I recently was surfing the internet and found this list of top blogs... Quite a few food blogs on it, but one that caught my eye was chez pim. And on chez pim, she had a blog on Aubergine in Tomato Sauce which I decided to give a try.
http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2006/09/renas_aubergine.html
Her pictures look prettier. And I didn't use as much olive oil and it still turned out well. I actually also added a little shiraz I had sitting around as well as some garlic and basil. I must say, I don't think that I let this reduce enough the first night which I used over some pasta (Campanelle). It was good, but it wasn't as tasty as I was expecting. So I also used another suggestion of hers and the next day, decided to use the leftovers to make a Baked Campanelle using the sauce. But I first reduced it further and I must say, I think this dish is improved with a day of sitting, the flavors just blended much better! I used a large eggplant instead of the baby aubergines, and it worked just fine. I just quartered the slices. But I can see that using the baby aubergines would make this much more visually beautiful.
I definitely would keep this for use in the future. A good hearty pasta sauce. I am intrigued to use this as a spread on bread.
http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2006/09/renas_aubergine.html
Her pictures look prettier. And I didn't use as much olive oil and it still turned out well. I actually also added a little shiraz I had sitting around as well as some garlic and basil. I must say, I don't think that I let this reduce enough the first night which I used over some pasta (Campanelle). It was good, but it wasn't as tasty as I was expecting. So I also used another suggestion of hers and the next day, decided to use the leftovers to make a Baked Campanelle using the sauce. But I first reduced it further and I must say, I think this dish is improved with a day of sitting, the flavors just blended much better! I used a large eggplant instead of the baby aubergines, and it worked just fine. I just quartered the slices. But I can see that using the baby aubergines would make this much more visually beautiful.
I definitely would keep this for use in the future. A good hearty pasta sauce. I am intrigued to use this as a spread on bread.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Pistachio Chicken and Parathas
I know, it's been a long while since I last seemed to cook. In reality, I was actually cooking some of the same, so no need to let you know about that, right? Well, I was in the mood to cook and had a ton of pistachios which I never got around to just eating. So, I had to try this Pistachio chicken recipe that I had seen on another blog:
http://mycomfortfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2007/12/pistachio-chicken.html
I pretty much follwed the directions, maybe using a bit more spices. But no major changes to it.
I decided that instead of rice, I would attempt to make Parathas to go with this dish. I followed the following recipe for Onion and Green Chile Parathas:
http://www.indianchild.com/Recipes/breads_rotis_recipe/onion_and_green_chilli_paratha_recipe.htm
I followed the directions. This required MUCH more than the 1/4 c water. And it turned out not very doughy despite my attempts. But it tasted good flavor wise which means I will probably try to make this work better in the future.
But check out the food! I served it with Broccoli and Cauliflower, seasoned with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic.
My friend said this was yummy and even had seconds! :)
http://mycomfortfoodnetwork.blogspot.com/2007/12/pistachio-chicken.html
I pretty much follwed the directions, maybe using a bit more spices. But no major changes to it.
I decided that instead of rice, I would attempt to make Parathas to go with this dish. I followed the following recipe for Onion and Green Chile Parathas:
http://www.indianchild.com/Recipes/breads_rotis_recipe/onion_and_green_chilli_paratha_recipe.htm
I followed the directions. This required MUCH more than the 1/4 c water. And it turned out not very doughy despite my attempts. But it tasted good flavor wise which means I will probably try to make this work better in the future.
But check out the food! I served it with Broccoli and Cauliflower, seasoned with cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic.
My friend said this was yummy and even had seconds! :)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Chicken Sausage and Vegetable Soup
I had all these leftover remains of vegetables from this past weekend's dinner party. I didn't want to waste any of it, so, what was I to make? I decided to make a hearty soup, using things I had in my refrigerator and pantry. It turned out quite lovely.
CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND VEGETABLE SOUP
Ingredients:
1/2 sweet potato, diced about 1-2 cm
1/3 sweet onion, chopped
2 (spicy) chicken sausages, sliced
1/3 bag of spinach (the big one, prewashed)
1 box of creamy vegetable bisque (from Trader Joe's)
1 can of cream-style corn
ground ginger
salt
pepper
Basically, I cooked the onion and sweet potato in olive oil first, until the sweet potatoes were cooked through (I could easily cut through them), approximately 5-8 min. I added the sausage then the vegetable bisque and cream-style corn. Cook to simmering and season with ginger, salt and pepper. Add spinach at the end when the soup is just about ready to serve.
That's it!
CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND VEGETABLE SOUP
Ingredients:
1/2 sweet potato, diced about 1-2 cm
1/3 sweet onion, chopped
2 (spicy) chicken sausages, sliced
1/3 bag of spinach (the big one, prewashed)
1 box of creamy vegetable bisque (from Trader Joe's)
1 can of cream-style corn
ground ginger
salt
pepper
Basically, I cooked the onion and sweet potato in olive oil first, until the sweet potatoes were cooked through (I could easily cut through them), approximately 5-8 min. I added the sausage then the vegetable bisque and cream-style corn. Cook to simmering and season with ginger, salt and pepper. Add spinach at the end when the soup is just about ready to serve.
That's it!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Leftovers!
So, considering the massive amounts of food I made for the dinner, it's no wonder why I was a little concerned about what I would be eating for the next week. However, a friend had a Oscars party giving me the perfect opportunity to make a new dish using the old and seeing how my Halwa fared with others!
I actually had lots of peanut sauce leftover from the chicken dish the other night which I thought would be yummy with some noodles. I just cooked a box of spaghetti noodles and added the peanut sauce (veggies and leftover chicken all). I had lots of compliments so I think that it goes over well as a pasta sauce too! No picture, sorry, but you get the idea. And the Halwa went over exremely well too! Thank goodness my friend had cardamom in her spice rack, because it was the one thing I forgot to pack. I think adding the extra cardamom really picked up the flavors even more.
So, remember how I said I had made the pumpkin risotto specifically for the pork dish? Well, today, I had the opportunity to make it! Here it is:
Fig and Blood Orange Glazed Pork Loin with Pumpkin Risotto
Yum!
I actually had lots of peanut sauce leftover from the chicken dish the other night which I thought would be yummy with some noodles. I just cooked a box of spaghetti noodles and added the peanut sauce (veggies and leftover chicken all). I had lots of compliments so I think that it goes over well as a pasta sauce too! No picture, sorry, but you get the idea. And the Halwa went over exremely well too! Thank goodness my friend had cardamom in her spice rack, because it was the one thing I forgot to pack. I think adding the extra cardamom really picked up the flavors even more.
So, remember how I said I had made the pumpkin risotto specifically for the pork dish? Well, today, I had the opportunity to make it! Here it is:
Fig and Blood Orange Glazed Pork Loin with Pumpkin Risotto
Yum!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dinner for Three
I had a little dinner party tonight! I was originally going to make the pork loin recipe I posted this past week, but one person is on the Atkins diet and very picky about what he can eat, so I decided to make a different menu - which he definitely won't be able to eat one item. I won't even pretend that this dinner menu follows a theme. Ha! So, just a few things that I really wanted to make.
Dinner Menu:
Pumpkin Risotto
Chicken and Vegtables braised in Peanut Sauce
Carrot Halwa
I will post the recipes in the order that I made them. I had all day to cook, so I decided to do it one by one and make it a relaxing day of cooking. (Note: Hmmm, I just realized that my meal started orange and ended orange. How funny!)
CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES BRAISED IN PEANUT SAUCE
I admit - this is from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/106049
So, I won't write it out, but I will say that I added more peanut butter (about 1/4 c more) as well as added grated ginger (about 1-2 tsps, added before the garlic) and was very liberal with my cayenne pepper. There was still something missing from this recipe, and like other reviewers for the recipe, couldn't quite figure it out. Grrr.
A:
B:
CARROT HALWA
I had been wanting to make this for a while and found this recipe online:
http://www.indianfoodforever.com/desserts/gajjar-ka-halwa.html
I used it as a guide, really. I halved the recipe - 2.2 pounds of carrots? That is a lot of carrots. And not to mention the pain of grating all those carrots. About grating the carrots - I actually did one third as the fine grate and the rest as the large grate. It really doesn't matter. I used 3/4 of the amount of the sugar... and the dessert turned out as sweet as I have had it in restaurants - I will definitely be cutting down on this too in the future. I also added 1/2 a stick of cinnamon while the carrots were cooking in the milk and sugar mixture. All in all, I let it sit and cook on low heat for an hour and not much reduction had occurred. So then I put the heat on medium and just was vigilant about watching the reduction/cooking. 15 min later, the milk had absorbed. I found out that Ghee is essentially like lard, so, needless to say, this did not get put in the recipe. But I did add a tablespoon of earth balance margarine to the dessert - it needed something buttery in consistency added. Then I used ground cardamom - to taste. This was yummy but too sweet!
PUMPKIN RISOTTO
So I admit, I really wanted to make this to have with my pork dish. But then I got so enamored of the idea of pumpkin risotto that even after I lost the pork from the menu, I decided to keep this in the mix.
10 oz canned pumpkin
2 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups water
0.5 cup white wine
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 and 1/2 cup Arborio rice
1 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt
pepper
1 T butter (earth balance)
Bring stock and water to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep at a bare simmer. Cook shallots in oil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir. Add wine and stir/cook for 1-2 min. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup simmering stock and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed. Continue simmering, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth left over.) Stir in canned pumpkin. Remove from heat and add cheese and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper. -- I came so close to adding some nutmeg to see how this tasted. I thought that while the risotto was well-cooked, the pumpkin flavor never came through. Hmm...
My dinner companions told me that they thought everything was good - I think they were being nice after getting a free meal. :) We had a Riesling with the meal, a good choice I think, although a Gewurtztraminer would have also been good or even a light red.
Please check out the survey/poll and answer! This is a competition as to which photo is the best and the winner will be the final entry into the blog as the picture that goes along with the recipe. :) Thanks!
Dinner Menu:
Pumpkin Risotto
Chicken and Vegtables braised in Peanut Sauce
Carrot Halwa
I will post the recipes in the order that I made them. I had all day to cook, so I decided to do it one by one and make it a relaxing day of cooking. (Note: Hmmm, I just realized that my meal started orange and ended orange. How funny!)
CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES BRAISED IN PEANUT SAUCE
I admit - this is from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/106049
So, I won't write it out, but I will say that I added more peanut butter (about 1/4 c more) as well as added grated ginger (about 1-2 tsps, added before the garlic) and was very liberal with my cayenne pepper. There was still something missing from this recipe, and like other reviewers for the recipe, couldn't quite figure it out. Grrr.
A:
B:
CARROT HALWA
I had been wanting to make this for a while and found this recipe online:
http://www.indianfoodforever.com/desserts/gajjar-ka-halwa.html
I used it as a guide, really. I halved the recipe - 2.2 pounds of carrots? That is a lot of carrots. And not to mention the pain of grating all those carrots. About grating the carrots - I actually did one third as the fine grate and the rest as the large grate. It really doesn't matter. I used 3/4 of the amount of the sugar... and the dessert turned out as sweet as I have had it in restaurants - I will definitely be cutting down on this too in the future. I also added 1/2 a stick of cinnamon while the carrots were cooking in the milk and sugar mixture. All in all, I let it sit and cook on low heat for an hour and not much reduction had occurred. So then I put the heat on medium and just was vigilant about watching the reduction/cooking. 15 min later, the milk had absorbed. I found out that Ghee is essentially like lard, so, needless to say, this did not get put in the recipe. But I did add a tablespoon of earth balance margarine to the dessert - it needed something buttery in consistency added. Then I used ground cardamom - to taste. This was yummy but too sweet!
PUMPKIN RISOTTO
So I admit, I really wanted to make this to have with my pork dish. But then I got so enamored of the idea of pumpkin risotto that even after I lost the pork from the menu, I decided to keep this in the mix.
10 oz canned pumpkin
2 cups chicken stock
1.5 cups water
0.5 cup white wine
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 chopped garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 and 1/2 cup Arborio rice
1 oz grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/3 cup)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt
pepper
1 T butter (earth balance)
Bring stock and water to a simmer in a small saucepan and keep at a bare simmer. Cook shallots in oil in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and stir. Add wine and stir/cook for 1-2 min. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add 1 cup simmering stock and cook at a strong simmer, stirring constantly, until stock is absorbed. Continue simmering, adding stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and letting each addition be absorbed before adding the next, until rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, about 18 minutes total. (There may be broth left over.) Stir in canned pumpkin. Remove from heat and add cheese and butter, stirring until butter is melted. Season with salt and pepper. -- I came so close to adding some nutmeg to see how this tasted. I thought that while the risotto was well-cooked, the pumpkin flavor never came through. Hmm...
My dinner companions told me that they thought everything was good - I think they were being nice after getting a free meal. :) We had a Riesling with the meal, a good choice I think, although a Gewurtztraminer would have also been good or even a light red.
Please check out the survey/poll and answer! This is a competition as to which photo is the best and the winner will be the final entry into the blog as the picture that goes along with the recipe. :) Thanks!
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