Chicken with Olives and Pine Nuts

I am doing an honorary post for Mommy.  She made this for dinner last night and came into my room and was like "come take a picture of this chicken so we can show it to Shauna and put it on the blog".  So I did,  and now I am posting the recipe as well.  This recipe is from Lidia Bastianich and it involves really simple ingredients but it is so tasty, and literally finger-lickin' good!  With so few ingredients I'm sure that this dish is super easy to prepare, and I'm sure Mom will attest to that in a comment very soon.

Mom served it up with some creamy polenta and sauteed green beans. Yummy!!!!

Chicken Banh Mi

When I saw this recipe in Sunset magazine, I knew I had to make it!  Anything involving chinese five-spice is always good in my opinion.  Plus adding on all the condiments - there's no way it could be bad.

This is a super easy meal to make! But when the recipe says to matchstick cut your veggies, don't do that unless you feel ambitious and not very hungry yet - it's not necessary. Just cut, grate or slice them in whatever manner sounds easy and appetizing to you. Also, I used chicken tenders instead of full breasts which made the cooking time even faster. And I also subbed out the mayonnaise on the bread for Sriracha. Yummy in the tummy!

Potato Leek Soup with Chicken

Mom made this a couple weeks ago and I happened to be there to have some of the leftovers, which reminded me how simple but delicious this soup is.  Normally it is made sans chicken, but I also welcome protein in my soups.  This soup is super easy to make!

All you do is combine 1/2 cup of chicken stock, with 4 leeks (chopped white parts only), and 4 green onions (chopped white parts only), and bring it to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for about 8 minutes or until the leeks and onions have wilted nicely.  Add about 1 pound of potatoes (peeled and diced) and another 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock.  Cover and let cook about 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft enough to smash.  Remove from heat and stir in 1-2 TBS of butter.  At this point you have several options.  You can mash the potatoes with a masher (which I did); or you can puree the mixture in a blender or food processor; or you can use an immersion blender if you have one.  Whichever mode you chose, you can make the soup as smooth or chunky as you like.  I personally like it somewhere in the middle.  Finally season the soup with S&P and garnish the bowls of soup with a little chopped green onions.  That is regular Potato Leek Soup!  To make the chicken version, cook up some chicken breasts, shred them with a fork, and add it at the end - after the butter and before the S&P.

Soy-Ginger Chicken

Over my birthday weekend, Gayle & Andrew were so generous to give me a slow cooker.  So yesterday I decided to make the inaugural meal in it. I found this Soy-Ginger Chicken recipe on Martha Stewart's website which sounded very appetizing.  I always like these sweet and savory Asian flavors together.  All I had to do was combine the sauce right in the dish of the slow cooker.

Then I added the chicken and sliced carrots.

Then I just let it cook for 6 hours! So simple! And here is the final product with some freshly chopped cilantro and sliced scallions on top. 

Making this recipe in a slow cooker was super easy, and now I am so excited to make more yummy stuff in it! Thank you Gayle & Andrew for this awesome present!

Tortilla Soup

What better way to ring in the fall than with a hearty soup, and what better soup than Tortilla Soup!  I love this stuff but have never made it.  I found a recipe on Food Network that sounded good, and boy was it!  There was nothing to it and it came out really good!  The soup base was quite tasty, but then once you add the cheese, lime, avocado and tortilla strips, it sends it right over the edge!  To the sky's edge in fact! ;)

This soup is so hearty and filling with all that chicken and the black beans and avocado!  I used 3 chicken breasts as the recipe says, but I think even 2 would be plenty - just depends on how chickeny you want it.  And just so you know, I am a professional over-eater, and I was really full after just one bowl! 

Note: I've decided not only am I on a search for the best flan recipe, but now I am also searching for the best tortilla soup recipe!  This was quite a start!  Stay tuned...

Chicken that Jumps in your Mouth!

This is one of my favorite things to make.  It is so easy and so divine!  I always make it based on the Chicken Saltimbocca recipe from Williams Sonoma.  I had sliced processed mozzarella so I just used that instead of fresh mozzarella.

I served the chicken with sauteed spinach:  heat some olive oil and butter in a pot, add one chopped shallot and let cook until soft.  Add spinach and let it cook until wilted, stirring occasionally.  Season with S&P and serve!

Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Soup

This is a recipe that I got from Mom, and I believe she got it from one of her friends.  Very tasty and very easy!  I made it for dinner last night and it's already all gone! 

Ingredients: 

3 TBS Butter
1/4 C chopped onion (yellow)


1 LB mushrooms, quartered (white button or crimini or both)


1/3 C flour


4 C chicken broth


1/2 C half & half


1/2 C dry white wine  

1 tsp salt


1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (i.e. tobasco...I substituted cayenne pepper)


2-1/2 C  diced cooked chicken (I used 2 chicken breasts)


1/4 tsp tarragon, dried or 1/2-3/4 tsp fresh (I used more:)


flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish



Cook chicken in olive oil and a little S & P.   In a large pot, saute the onion in the butter.  Add mushrooms and saute for ~10 min.  Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms and saute a little more and blend smooth.  Stir in chicken broth, 1/2 & 1/2 and wine and simmer a little until thickened.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for ~20 min.
  

Apply to mouth and smile ;)    ...had to say that

(Mom added this last step when she emailed me the recipe.  hehehe) 

Quick Studio Dinner

Tonight I start my Monday night ceramics class a few doors down from the new studio. It's from 7-9, so I decided to grab a quick dinner before it starts. There is so much good food in this hood (Williamsburg)... this is a very yummy and filling White Chicken Chili from a little Mexican hole-in-the-wall around the corner. It's SO good! White beans, grilled chicken, sour cream and cheese garnish... all for $3.75! I want to make something like this soon!

A week filled with Porcini Mushrooms

So I bought a container of Porcini Mushrooms from Whole Foods the other day for a recipe that I was making. It was way more than what the recipe called for but it was the only amount I could buy there. When I opened the container, the smell overwhelmed me! or rather I should say the stench! The odor that the dried porcinis give off is somewhat reminiscent of Vietnamese fish sauce, and if you've ever come in contact with that then you know it is a very unappetizing smell, and one that doesn't seem like it should be ingested. Despite this, I continued on with my cooking...

This is what they look like dried, but in order to use them in most recipes you need to soak them in hot water so that they return to a moist state. And thank goodness because this makes that awful smell dissipate into a more appetizing aroma!
The first recipe that I made using the dried porcini mushrooms was Braised Chicken with Pancetta. I made this along with some creamy polenta, which is made by boiling water with salt and slowly whisking in 1-1/2 cups of polenta. Then continue stirring so that no lumps form. Lower the heat and let it cook for 35-40 minutes stirring frequently until it starts to pull away from the pot. Then I grated about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese into the pot and stirred until incorporated. (you can also substitute milk for the water, and/or add butter to make it even creamier). I served the chicken over a serving of this polenta.

When I made the Braised Chicken I only used about a quarter of the container of porcinis, so a few days later I decided to make the same sauce but instead of braising bone-in chicken I used 3 boneless chicken breasts. I followed the same recipe but just shredded the chicken breasts into the sauce at the end, and I substituted penne for the polenta.  It was very tasty as well!

And finally last night, I saw an easy recipe on David Rocco's show Dolce Vita for Porcini Gnocchi. If you haven't seen his show before, you should really check it out. He travels through Italy and gives a few recipes each episode for Italian fare which are really simple and look very delizioso! I always figured gnocchi would be difficult to make, but in fact they are quite simple. Here is the recipe link for the Porcini Gnocchi I made. Buon appetito!

So there ya have it! I ended up using the entire container of dried porcinis in one week! And after I first opened that container, I never thought I would! So don't be afraid. Once they soak in the water, they give a very woodsy, meaty flavor to whatever you are cooking. I'm a fan!

Taking it right to the sky's edge

When I say things like "I'm cooking with my flavors," I usually mean Mexican flavors. I never met a lime, an avocado or a jalapeño I didn't like. But over the last year, thanks to a wok-wedding present and a really great cookbook by Grace Young, I've discovered the joys of cooking Chinese food. I had "stir fried" before, but never knew what I was doing so it was never any good. After hearing Young on the radio, I immediately bought her book "Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge," and I highly recommend it if you're interested in exploring this wonderful technique. Basically, it's all about the Mise en place...

A pantry stocked with a few stir-frying staples, your fresh ingredients and you are ready to go. The process is mainly prepping, which is so lovely b/c all of the flavors come together as you chop. The smell of ginger and garlic, rice wine and sichuan peppercorns is amazing. You get everything ready to go, because the actual cooking time is very hot and very fast. As a result, everything comes out so fresh and flavorful.

In the last week, I made Stir-Fried Salmon with Wine Sauce, with a side of Stir-Fried Ginger Broccoli (now my favorite way to cook broccoli), and Stir-Fried Chicken with Black Bean Sauce, with a side of Stir-Fried Baby Bok Choy with Sichuan Pepper and Salt. Everything I've tried so far has been super delish. My favorite so far is the Spicy Orange Chicken, so I thought I'd post that recipe here.

*Notes: Make sure your ingredients are well dried. Also, whenever Sichuan peppercorns are called for they must be first roasted and ground. Put 1/4 cup in a dry, cold wok and remove any stems. Stir over medium-low for 3-5 minutes til they are fragrant and slightly smoking. Be careful not to let them burn. Once they're cooled grind them in a mortar, then store them in a jar.

Spicy Orange Chicken

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/4-inch-thick bite-sized pieces
• 2 tablespoons finely shredded ginger
• 2 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon roasted and ground Sichuan peppercorns
• 1/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon chili bean sauce
• 1 medium ripe tomato, cut into thin wedges, or 1 cup grape tomates, halved (about 5 ounces)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 3/4 teaspoon salt 

In a medium bowl combine the chicken, 1 tablespoon of the ginger, 1 tablespoon of the rice wine, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the cornstarch, sugar, white pepper, and ground Sichuan peppercorns. Stir to combine. In a small bowl combine the broth, rice vinegar, and the remaining 1 tablespoon rice wine and 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch.

Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat until a bead of water vaporizes within 1 to 2 seconds of contact. Swirl in the oil, add the remaining 1 tablespoon ginger, then, using a metal spatula, stir-fry 10 seconds or until the ginger is fragrant. Push the ginger to the sides of the wok, carefully add the chicken, and spread it evenly in one layer in the wok. Cook undisturbed 1 minute, letting the chicken begin to sear. Add the orange zest and chili bean sauce. Then stir-fry 1 minute, or until the chicken is lightly browned but not cooked through. Add the tomatoes and stir-fry 30 seconds or until just combined. Restir the broth mixture and swirl it into the wok. Add the scallions, sprinkle on the salt, and stir-fry 1 minute or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serves 2 to 3 as a main dish with rice or 4 as part of a multicourse meal.