Coq Au Vin Blanc

Man, I haven't had alcohol in since August 2nd 2012!!! Yes, I remember the date, it's etched in my brain. I cannot wait to taste alcohol...Anyway, since I am not allowed to have alcohol for a while, I figured i might as well attempt to enjoy the flavor without the alcohol. (When you cook with wine/cognac, the alcohol evaporates leaving you with just the flavor). I decided to make Coq Au Vin which is pretty much just a fancy French term for chicken in wine sauce. It's a really delicious dish, it has mushrooms and bacon and pearl onions. This dish is traditionally made with red wine (burgundy), but I HATE red wine ughhh, It's gross and bitter. So if any recipe calls for red wine, I generally use white wine instead. Hence the 'Blanc' in the name of the dish.  Plus I also feel white wine gives any dish a lighter crisper taste. 

INGREDIENTS 

6 chicken thighs

1/2 pack of frozen baby (pearl) onions - (you can use fresh pearl onions, but i wont be caught dead trying to peel those little suckers, so I just use the prepackaged frozen ones)

1 medium onion

4 habanero pepper (I put habanero in EVERYTHING, I like spicy food) 

8 bacon strips

4 large carrots

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup mushrooms (I used crimini mushrooms) 
1/4 cup of cognac 

1 cup of your favorite white wine

1 cup of chicken stock

1 tablespoon of bacon

1 stalk of fresh basil (optional)
1tsp dried thyme or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Put a splash of olive oil into the pot/pan. Then cut the bacon into little bits. Add the bacon to the pot and let cook for about 8mins until the bacon is crisp. The bacon will also produce it's own grease. 

As the bacon is cooking up... salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. When the bacon's done.. remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon leaving behind the fat/grease in the pot. Brown both sides of the chicken in the bacon grease. about 3mins on each side .

Remove the chicken and put it in the same dish as the chicken. Cut up carrots, I like cutting the carrots into big thick slices. Slice the Onions, mince the garlic and habanero pepper (if necessary). Add the onions and garlic to the pot and allow the onions to soften. Then add the carrots.

Pour in 1/4 cup of cognac to deglaze the pan and get all those delicious crusty parts into the sauce. Add 1 cup of wine and stir with a wooden spoon. Then add the chicken stock.

                         

Return the bacon and chicken back to the pot. Add a pinch of salt, a little bit of black pepper and 1tsp of thyme! Cover pot for about 45mins. 

I love basil in everything.. so to give it a hit of basil flavor, I just put a stalk of basil on top and allow it to cook with.

As the chicken cooks, in a different pan melt 1tbs of butter and add about 1/4 sliced onion to the pan. When soft, add sliced mushrooms to the pan and sauté.

After 45mins, remove the chicken and basil (if necesssary) from the pot and stir the sauce. if it's a little too watery, you can make a rue to thicken it . (just mix 3tbs of flour w/ 1tbs of butter) and add it to the sauce. Add in sautéed mushrooms and stir, but be careful not to break the mushrooms.  Also add the pearl onions into the pot.

Then return the chicken to the pot and allow to cook for another 10mins or so. 

Voila... Coq Au Vin Blanc is ready

Serve with whatever side dish you like. I served mine with creamy garlic mashed sweet potatoes. It was absolutely delicious :)

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

 Before I even begin with this recipe let me just tell you how in love I am with my Dutch Oven. I have always wanted one, but categorically refused to shell out $200 to buy one. (yes, I am cheap as hell) ... I always say one day I am sure they'll go on sale. But sale after sale, for some reason, they ALWAYS remained full price. So imagine my joy as I was just leisurely browsing and came across a ONE DAY SALE on all Dutch Ovens/French Ovens @ Macy's. I instantly hopped on the train and ran to Macy's to buy one before they ran out. Luckily, I grabbed one of the last ones. I guess I wasn't the only one waiting for them to go on sale. But I am really really happy i own this cast-iron beauty now and even happier that I found a purple one (favorite color).  It's a really great investment, and with care, they last for decades.  It's perfect for roasts, stews, casseroles and even braising.

Anyway, back to my Chicken Cacciatore. This meal was muy delicioso. It's basically a one pot meal of veggies (Onions, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes), spices, wine and chicken that starts on the stove and finishes in the oven.

INGREDIENTS

1 Onion 

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

1 orange or yellow bell pepper

1/2 cup of chicken stock

1tbs butter

1 cup of regular All Purpose Flour

3tbs of olive oil 

1/2 tsp dried thyme

fresh thyme sprigs (about 5 or 6) 

1tsp oregano

black pepper

basil leaves (optional)

salt to taste

8 chicken thighs (WITH SKIN) -- please if you're going to remove the skin, then please don't bother with this recipe. go buy a can of progresso soup and enjoy :) 

4 habanero peppers (optional, but I love my food spicy. u can also use crushed red pepper) 

4 cloves of garlic [you can use less if you don't like garlic, but I love garlic so i use a lot]

1/4lb of mushrooms [I use crimini mushrooms. You can use whatever you like except those little  irritating button mushrooms. They have ZERO flavor] 

3/4 cup of white wine  [apparently some people use red wine depending on what part of Italy they are from. I don't like red wine, so I use white wine. Don't worry it wont make you drunk. The alcohol burns off and you are left with just the flavor of the wine.]

1 can of diced tomatoes. [if you like large chunks of tomatoes in your food, you can use the canned whole tomatoes]

Your favorite pasta (I used 'No Yolk' Egg Noodles)

DIRECTIONS

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice your peppers, onions and mushrooms. Make sure you slice and not dice, because you want chunky pieces of veggies in the pot. The only ingredient you should chop is the garlic.

Heat your olive oil and butter together in your pot/pan (you're going to need an oven-safe pot/pan. One that can withstand at least 400 degrees f. A cast iron pot/Dutch Oven/French Oven/Casserole pot is best. 

As the butter and oil are heating up, salt and pepper both sides of the chicken. Pour the flour into a bowl or some sort of dish where you can easily dredge the chicken in the flour. Coat both sides of the chicken in the flour.  

Then place the salted/peppered chicken in the hot oil/butter combo. you're not trying to cook the chicken. you just want to brown it. brown each side of the chicken for about 2mins or so. Make sure you dont overcrowd the pot. you can do it in batches. about 4 pieces/batch. 

Remove the browned chicken from the pot and place in a bowl/plate

Then add the sliced onions to the pot and cook for about 3mins. stirring occasionally. Then add the garlic.. and let cook for about a min. Then add the chopped peppers and allow to cook for about 2mins.

Then add the sliced mushrooms. cook for about 1min

Then add 1/2 cup of wine to deglaze the pot. stir the veggies, you want to scrape all the luscious brown deliciousness that is stuck to the bottom of the pan. Then stir in 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Add oregano and black pepper and salt. 

Pour in the canned tomatoes with the juice. Then add the chicken (skin side up) into the pot.  

Place the sprigs of fresh thyme on the top. you don't want to scatter them all over the pot, so when it's cooked, you can easily remove them. 

Close the pot and place it in the pre-heated oven for about 45mins

After 45mins, remove the lid of the pot and increase the temperature to about 390 degrees and cook for another 10-15mins. 

Remove the sprigs of thyme. .......and voila ----- CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Serve with your favorite pasta or noodles. I served mine with egg noodles

NOTE: If your sauce is too watery when you remove the pot from the oven, remove the chicken and veggies and cook just the sauce on the stove for a little bit until it thickens up. Then return the chicken and veggies to the pot before you serve. 

Asun (Spicy Goat Meat)

Until last year I didnt know what Asun was, until a friend was eating it and told me how delicious it was. but of course he didnt know how to make it.. Then my aunt came to visit and randomly mentioned it, so I told her to make it.. and she did.. I watched her make it and boy did it turn out delicious. So I decided to make it myself. I slightly altered her recipe.. and boy was it delicious.

Ingredients: 

2lbs of goat meat w/ bone and skin

2 red bell peppers

2 large red onions

7 scotch bonnet (habanero) peppers (less, if you cant handle jet fuel hot)

2 tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic (or 2 tsp crushed garlic)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp spicy (hot) curry

4 knorr cubes (2 wraps)

3tbsps of oil ( I use olive oil)

Directions: 

1. Wash and boil the meat using one sliced onion, 2 knorr cubes and 2 habanero peppers. Cook until   

    meat is tender. 

2. Place boiled meat on a grill pan and put in the oven at 350deg f for 20mins until meat is brown

3.  Dice Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, habanero peppers, Onion and Garlic. Pour the oil into a pan and add the diced vegetables.

4. Allow it to cook for about 10mins, until the vegetables have softened and created a bit of gravy.

5. Add grilled goat meat into the sauce and stir. Cook until the gravy  reduces and absorbs into the meat.

It should look like this when it's completely cooked. 

Allow it to cool and then serve.

Enjoy :)

Spicy Chicken Burger on Whole Wheat Pita

So a few friends came over a couple weeks ago and I didnt feel like having a feast for them lol, so I made spicy chicken burgers with melted mozzarella on homemade whole wheat pita. and made a chipotle mayo to go with it . when making this, you should probably make the pita bread ahead of time.  This recipe is for four servings so u may reduce/increase the amount of ingredients based on how many people you're serving.


CHICKEN BURGER INGREDIENTS
2 lbs ground chicken breast
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp dried basil
2 tbs dried pepper
2 whole Tomatoes
1 Onion
Fresh Mozzarella
Lettuce

SPICY CHIPOTLE MAYO INGREDIENTS
4 tbs light mayo (I use hellman's)
2 tbs canned chipotle in adobo sauce

WHOLE WHEAT PITA INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp of active dry yeast (or you can buy the individual little pack of active dry yeast)
• 1 tsp molasses
• 11/2 cups warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 31/2 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 tsp olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

FOR SPICY CHICKEN BURGER

Mix the chipotle and mayo (then put it in the fridge)

Sauté some onions with garlic in a pan

Put ground chicken breast in a bowl add, dry pepper, basil, oregano, pepper and sautéed onions. mix it all together and u can add salt to taste. 

Divide the ground chicken into four patties.

In a saucepan, put in a little olive oil (or whatever oil you have at home) and put in the chicken patties. cook until the chicken is well done. 

Put a generous amount of mozzarella cheese on each patty and put in the oven for 2mins at 400 deg.

Cut open your pita and coat with the chipotle mayo , place cheesy chicken patty on the pita and add lettuce and tomato. 

and voila... you're ready to grub 

Enjoy :) 

FOR WHOLE WHEAT PITA

Next time i make it, i'll put up pictures

In a bowl combine the yeast, molasses, and warm water; stir the mixture and then let the yeast stand for about 7-10mins or until foamy. 

Add the salt to the flour and mix.

Stir in the salted flour into the yeast mixture. Add the flour, a little at a time, until all the flour has been added and forms a thick dough and you can roll it into a ball. 

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead with your knuckles until it's smooth and elastic. 

Transfer the dough to a bowl you have already greased with a bit of oil. roll the dough around the bowl to coat it with the oil and then and cover with a wet towel. Allow to rise until double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 500 deg F.

remove the towel and divide the dough into 8 pieces, and gather each piece into a ball. Cover them up again for about 10mins.

Then roll out each little dough ball into a circle with a rolling pin. Make sure the circle is completely smooth, with no creases or seams in the dough, which can prevent the pitas from puffing up properly. 

Put the pita dough circle in the over and bake for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bread puffs up like a balloon and is pale golden. Watch closely coz they bake fast. Remove the bread from the oven and place on a surface to cool for 5 minutes; they will naturally deflate, leaving a pocket in the center. Wrap the pitas in a large kitchen towel to keep them soft.

and voila you're ready to eat them.  It seems tedious, but it's not, it's just a calculated process. 

Whole Wheat Almond Bread Pudding

This is a very tasty yummy dessert, and less than a hundred calories per serving. Made it for a few friends and they loved it. I always have all the ingredients at home.. it's the easiest thing to make

Ingredients:

1 cup Almond Milk

1/2 cup of Light Brown Sugar

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

1/4 tsp nutmeg

8 slices soft wheat bread (I buy the pepperidge farm 45 calorie bread)

2 egss
a handful of almonds 

DIRECTIONS

Preset over to 375 deg

Mix egg, milk, vanilla extract, nutmeg and sugar

in a different bowl cut up the bread into small pieces. U may cut of the crust if you wish, but I like the crust in mine. pour the brown sugar on the bread and mix it together and then pour almond meal on the bread/sugar. and add almonds

put the bread/sugar/almond meal in a baking pan and then our egg/milk mixture over the bread. make sure the bread is drenched in the mixture. 

allow to sit and soak in for about 5-10mins, then put in the oven for about 30mins and voila.. your bread pudding is ready. Sprinkle a little almond meal and brown sugar on it.

Allow to cool, then serve. you may serve it with whipped cream

Enjoy:)  

Chicken Veggie Dish

So I promised someone I was gonna send her this recipe like 4months ago lol. But never got around to writing it because I never measured the ingredients lol . So made it again recently and this time I gauged the ingredients as I was eyeballing lol.

This is one of my favorite dishes to make actually and it's completely healthy, no oils, no processed carbs.. just chicken and veggies..I added potatoes just to thicken the broth

Ingredients
6 chicken legs/thighs (you can use any other part)
1 Large Red Onion (chopped)
1 Cabbage (cut up)
10 diced carrots
2 large brocolli crowns
4 bell pepper
3 potatoes (chopped)
2 knorr cubes
1tsp salt
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp curry
i cup chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the chicken and put in a saucepan/pot with 1/2 cup of water . add onions, oregano, knorr and curry.. allow to cook for about 15mins, and add potatoes.

Then add chopped cabbage, diced carrots, bell pepper and fresh basil and stir

allow to simmer for about 10mins, then add brocolli crowns. and stir ..The sauce should be a little thick by now. let it simmer for another 5-7mins. then turn of heat. remove potatoes if you do not want to eat it.

Then Serve alone or with a side dish.

Enjoy :)

Mango Bread

You will probably get to see a lot of mango recipes here because I am obsessed with mangoes. I can survive on mangoes for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy. While I was out in San Francisco, I decided to bake mango bread for my cousins and it came out very very well. one of the most delicious things i've ever made. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 stick unsalted butter (if you use salted butter, then don't use salt)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups all purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt (not necessary if you use salted butter)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a loaf pan.

mix the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.Make sure the sugar is at room temperature. DO NOT use cold or frozen sugar.. it comes out lumpy. Then Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. i recommend using a whisk. 

Peel the mango and remove flesh from the pit. Then In a small bowl, mash the mango  with a fork. Mix in the milk and cinnamon. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt

Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until flour disappears. The batter should be a little thicker than a cake mixture

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.

Let it cool for about 10mins and serve. I love mango bread with a little bit of honey drizzle. 

Enjoy :) 

Cornbread Topped Chili Con Carne

Haven't had chili in almost 3yrs, but for some reason, that's all i was craving yesterday, so I decided to make it. I used ground turkey breast instead of ground beef and it came out great!!  You can also use ground chicken, but if you do, use less cumin. 



CHILI Ingredients                     CORNBREAD Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 red onions, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs dried or crushed chili flakes 
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 tsps dried oregano
• 2 tsps dried basil
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 red bell pepper (diced)
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 can chopped/diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup tomato ketchup
• 1 tbs tomato paste
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbs of cocoa powder (YES)
• 1 med canned red kidney beans

2 cups yellow cornmeal

1/8 cup whole wheat flour (you can use all-purpose flour)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon 

1/2 tsp nutmeg 

2 tsp oil (any type of oil is fine, i use olive oil)

2 eggs

1 tsp molasses  (you can also use honey)

1 cup of milk (preferably half and half or buttermilk) 

DIRECTIONS

For the Chili 

In a saucepan/pot heat the oil and add garlic and chopped onions. make sure the heat is not on high, because you dont want to caramelize the onions, you just want to soften it. As the onions begin to soften add cumin, oregano, basil, chili flakes and thyme.. stir, and then add the diced red bell pepper. 

let cook for about a minute, and then ass the ground turkey (or what ever meat you decide to use). use a fork or spoon to separate the meat as your putting it in, but make sure you dont mash the meat. mix it with the ingredients aleady in the pot.. and let cook for about 5mins or until the meat browns. 

add ketchup, tomato paster and the canned diced tomato and stir. add the chicken stock and stir.. Then add salt to taste. Let the  mixture cook on low heat for about an hour, then add the cocoa and drained kidney beans, leave the pot cover partially open and let cook on low heat for another 30 mins or so. the key to great chili is letting it all the ingredients simmer for at least an hour and a half. the longer, the better.

For the cornbread: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Add cornmeal flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and whole wheat flour to a bowl and mix together, then in a separate bowl mix egg, milk, molasses and oil together. Then slowly pour in the mixed dried ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until it's a nice yellow batter. 

If the pot/pan you used is oven-safe then you don't have to pour the chili into a baking pan. if it isn't oven safe, then you should pour the chili into an and oven safe pan or dish. 

Then pour the cornmeal batter evenly over the chili and bake in the oven for about 20mins. 

It should look like this when it it's ready. 

Let it cool down for a few minutes and then serve. 

Enjoy :)