Chicken & Chorizo with Rice

Aren’t you proud of me dear readers? I haven’t posted a chicken recipe in a while – that is, until today. I found this recipe in the most unexpected place: The Rachel Ray Show. I’ve always liked Rachel Ray but I was reluctant to try any of her recipes because some of them looked a bit messy and, I am a bit embarrassed to admit it, because she was not a chef.  One day, I was watching TV and her show was on. She was making a chicken dish – “boring” I thought – until she mentioned the word “chorizo.” I love chorizo. I paid more attention to the dish she was making and I thought the recipe looked great and really easy to make. I stopped listening to the snob within me and decided to give Rachel Ray a chance. The following day I made this recipe (with a few tweaks from the original recipe) and everyone loved it. All of a sudden, chicken did not seem so boring.

This recipe is great when you want to have people over but don’t have much time to cook. The smell from the kitchen will make your guests go hungry: the lemon and bay leaves cooking with the chicken leave a wonderful smell in your kitchen. And, when you serve it on a nice platter, it looks beautiful. Oh, and the next day, this dish tastes even better. That is, if there are any leftovers. Go and get cooking!

Chicken & Chorizo with Rice

Adapted from Rachel Ray’s “lemon-Garlic Spanish Chicken Thighs and Rice Pilaf” recipe

Serves: 4-5 people

Ingredients:

1/3 pound of Spanish Chorizo, casing removed and sliced on an angle 1-inch thick

8 chicken thighs

4 small onions, quartered lengthwise

1 small lemon, sliced crosswise

½ cup pimento-stuffed green olives

4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons paprika

½ cup dry white wine

½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon butter

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Cooked rice (optional)

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and add the chorizo. Cook on medium heat until browned, approximately 2 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate covered with a paper towel. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, turning once, until browned, approximately 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add one more tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook on medium heat tossing frequently for approximately 2 minutes. Add the lemons, olives, garlic, bay leaves and paprika. Cook, stirring frequently for approximately 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, scrapping the browned bits from the pan. Stir in the chicken stock.

3. Return the chicken and chorizo to the skillet, cover the pan, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer all the solid ingredients to a platter. Reduce the sauce for a minute over high heat, then stir in the butter and parsley. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Discard the bay leaves and serve with cooked rice.

If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me at goodsazon@gmail.com

Pad Thai

Earlier in the week, my friend Jen and I talked about getting together to cook. We both like Thai food so we decided to make one of her favorite dishes: the ubiquitous Pad Thai. We both were a bit nervous because we had never cooked Thai food before. To me, Thai food appeared too exotic and outside my realm of comfort.  But, our worries were misplaced. Nothing about the recipe was difficult, not even finding the ingredients. Furthermore, making Pad Thai was a great excuse to use my mostly forgotten wok (T fal Specialty 14-Inch Nonstick Jumbo Wok, Black) and chopsticks .

If you like Thai food and you don’t feel like spending too much time in the kitchen making dinner, make this recipe tonight. You won’t regret it. Dinner was delicious and it was ready in approximately 25 minutes, max.

Pad-Thai
Adapted from Tahitable.com
Servings: 3

Ingredients:
1 lime
1 egg
2 teaspoons Clam Base
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
½ teaspoon ground dried chili pepper
1/2 onion minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Tamicon Tamarind Paste 16oz
½ package Thai rice noodles Thai Kitchen Thin Rice Noodles, 8.8-Ounce Unit (Pack of 12)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ lb. Shrimp
2 tablespoons crushed peanuts
1 1/3 cup bean sprouts
2 tablespoons Marukan Rice Vinegar 24 Oz.
Salt and pepper to taste
Water as needed

Directions:

1. Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing the other ingredients, for 5-10 minutes. 

2. Rinse the bean sprouts and save half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.  

3. Use a wok. If you do not have a wok, any big pot will do. Heat it up on medium-high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok.  

4. Add shallot and garlic and stir them until they start to brown.  

5. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking. Add tamarind, clam base, vinegar, and chili pepper. Stir. If the wok is too dry add a few tablespoons of water.

6. Make room for the egg by pushing all noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg onto the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles.

7. Add shrimp and bean sprouts. Stir a few more times. Add salt and pepper as needed. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.

8. Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot with a wedge of lime on the side and raw bean sprouts on top.

If you have any questions, email me at goodsazon@gmail.com

Blueberry Coffe Cake

You may be wondering why, after three months of blogging, I have not posted a breakfast recipe. The answer is because I am not a breakfast person.  I do not have a big appetite early in the day. However, I do crave something sweet in the morning. In fact, I am known for eating cake for breakfast. A perfect breakfast for me is a cup of coffee and a piece of muffin, pastry or coffee cake. That makes me happy.

And happiness I found when I ate this blueberry coffee cake for breakfast. Last summer, a group of friends and I went to the Fingerlakes for a weekend of wine tasting. We stayed at a lovely B&B called The Lakehouse (http://www.thelakehouseonseneca.com). The Lady who ran the B&B was an excellent cook and every morning, before the breakfast feast, she would make this lovely coffee cake. It was so good that I seriosouly considered skipping breakfast so I could keep eating more coffee cake. By the end of our trip, we all left with our bellies full, way too many bottles of wine and the recipe for the blueberry coffee cake that the innkeeper baked for us in the morning. 

Yesterday, I decided to make this recipe for the first time because a friend of mine was coming over for breakfast and I had all the ingredients at hand. Five hours later, I only had ¼ left. Although the cake was delicious, I think the next time I make it I will add an additional egg because the center was a bit doughy. If you like doughy coffee cake, don’t make any changes. Here is the recipe. Enjoy with a warm cup of coffee.

Blueberry Coffe Cake
Adapted from The Lake House B&B’s recipe book

Comments: I added bran to the recipe because I like to add fiber to my diet whenever I can. Bran is tasteless, so the flavor of the coffee cake was not compromised. I added vanilla as well because I think it enhances the flavor of the bread.

Ingredients for the batter
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
 ½  teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons bran (optional)
 ¼ butter
1 tablespoon vanilla
¾ cup sugar
1 egg (I would add a second egg)
½ cup milk
2 cups blueberries

Ingredients for the topping

½ cup sugar

¼ cup flour

½ cup butter (use real butter!)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions 

1. Grease a 9in. square pan.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and bran in a medium bowl.  
4. In a mixer, cream the butter, vanilla, sugar and egg.
5. Add the creamed ingredients to the dry ingredients. Add the milk and mix. Add the blueberries and mix again. 
6. In a mixer, cream the topping ingredients.
7. Pour the batter in the greased pan. Add the topping (with your fingers) on top of the batter.
8. Bake in the oven for 45 min. to 1 hour (depending on your oven). Before serving, let it sit for approximately 45 minutes.

Coconut Rum with Pineapple Ice Cream

What happened to Spring? For approximately a week, I was naively convinced that Winter was gone for good. I guess technically speaking Winter is over, but its spirit is still lingering and I am not happy about it. I am ready for sunny warm days and ice-cream. I have to confess that, although I am not an ice-cream kind-of person because I rather eat sherbet, there is one exception: coconut ice cream. The problem is that coconut ice cream is hard to find because few places offer it. This problem was solved a year ago when my husband bought me an ice-cream maker attachment to my KitchenAid mixer (KitchenAid KSM150PSWH Artisan Series 5-Quart Mixer, White) and a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream cookbook. Now, that is a good present (as long as you are willing to ignore the few pounds you are going to gain from eating so much ice cream). To my surprise, there was a recipe for coconut ice cream with rum.  I made the ice cream the following week and it was the best coconut ice cream I had ever tasted but something was missing. I kept thinking about why I felt that something was missing and after eating about two cups of ice cream, I realized what was missing: Pineapple! It is the perfect pairing, I thought. It would be like pina colada ice cream. The following week I went to the store and bought a can of crushed pineapple to add to the ice cream. My partner in crime thought it was not a good idea. Oh dear, was he wrong. The coconut-pineapple ice cream was delicious. I closed my eyes, had a spoonful of ice cream and it immediately took me to a sunny beach far, far away from this wintery land. I was so happy eating the ice cream that I forgot to take a picture. I am sure you’ll forgive and understand me when you make it and start eating it compulsively. Here is the recipe:

Coconut Rum with Pineapple Ice Cream

Adapted from the Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

Servings: 1 quart

Notes: You’ll need an ice cream maker.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

¾ sugar

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 can (15 0z.) coconut cream such as Coco Lopez (Coco Lopez Cream Coconut, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 6))

1 small can of crushed pineapple (drained)

Directions:

1. Wisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy (about 1 to 2 minutes).

2. Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, the continue whisking until completely blended, about one minute more.

3. Pour in the cream, milk and rum and whisk to blend.

4. Open the can of coconut cream and place the coconut cream in a blender. Do not include the oily liquid at the bottom of the can because it does not blend well with the milk mixture.

5. Pour one cup of the milk mixture in the blender and blend in low for about a minute or two.

6. Pour the coconut mixture back with the rest of the milk mixture and whisk until blended.

7. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions.

8. About 5 minutes before the ice cream is ready, slowly add the crushed pineapple.
9. Place the mix (it may have the texture of yogurt) in a container and freeze. It will be ready to eat in about five hours.

Mussels & Chorizo AKA MOULES A LA PORTUGAISE

I was reviewing the recipes I have posted and I was surprised to see that most of the recipes involve chicken. People who don’t know me, I thought, may think that I love chicken. Although there is nothing wrong with it, I’m just not a big fan of chicken. In my opinion, it is too bland. On the other hand, it is easy to make and thus, I find myself eating a lot of chicken. I’ll try to post less chicken recipes, I promise.

Last week was beautiful. The sun was shining, crisp air was flowing, and there were no signs, at least for two or three days, of winter. And do you know what I crave the most during spring and summer? Seafood. I looked in my fridge and found chorizo and a bottle of white wine, among other uninteresting items. I knew exactly what I wanted to make: mussels & choizo (AKA moules a la portugaise). All I needed was mussels. Although it is hard to find fresh seafood in Central Pennsylvania, we just found a place that has really fresh seafood, including oysters, and have been going there quite often ( http://www.ilovecrabs.com ).

I found this recipe in Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook, which I highly recommend – but note that I may be biased because I think he is the best looking chef in history, a talented and entertaining writer, and I love his show in the Travel channel. This is the only recipe I have made from this book because sometimes I tend to be lazy and the rest of the recipes looked too long. But, I am trying to explore more difficult recipes and that is why I started this blog. I digress (badly). Back to the recipe: it is very easy to make. Very easy. And it is ready in about 20 min. If you don’t like mussels, would you please give them a second try? I know, you’ll tell me that they have an awful consistency. Yes, they have a rubbery consistency but, other edible goods do too and I bet you like them (i.e. gum!).  I know that next you’ll tell me that they taste very fishy. I tend to disagree with that statement, they don’t taste fishy, they taste oceany (yes, I just made up a word, and I like it). Just try them. If you don’t like them, give me a call and I’ll eat them.

MOULES A LA PORTUGAISE adapted from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking

Serves 4

Note: Make sure you get Spanish chorizo and not Mexican. Both are very good but very different.

Ingredients

·         Olive oil

·         ½ white onion thinly sliced

·         3 garlic cloves

·         0.5 oz. Spanish chorizo sausage

·         1 cup white wine

·         3 pounds mussels (scrubbed and debearded)

·         Baguette

1.  In a large pot, heat the oil, add the onion and cook until soft.

2.  Add the garlic and chorizo and cook for another 4 min.

3.  Stir in the wine.

4.  Add the mussels and cook with the lid on until all the mussels are open (approximately 8 min.)

5.  Serve on a big bowl (all juices include) and accompany with a baguette.

Mexican Pulled Pork (Chilorio)

Chilorio is one of my favorite Mexican dishes. It is similar to American pulled pork but it has a spicier taste to it without being hot. Also, it is served on a warm flour tortilla instead of a bun. But it is hard to find it here. Very hard. Actually, I know no Mexican restaurant that serves it, which is interesting because it is really easy to make and it does not require many exotic ingredients.

One time I was in Borders perusing the cooking books section when I saw this big, beautiful-looking Mexican cookbook. I am picky about cooking books. And I am especially picky about Mexican cooking books because many of them have no authentic recipes. As I started reading the book, I recognized each recipe. My excitement increased as I started reading the ingredients of the recipes and the directions. Many of the recipes are identical to dishes my grandmother and mom make. At that moment, I knew I had a treasure in my hands and bought two copies. One for me and one for my mom. It was one of my best acquisitions. 

I went home and reviewed the recipes carefully. To my surprise, I found the recipe for Chilorio, which I had not had in years. After reading the recipe I was surprised because it looked suspiciously easy. I went to the grocery store, bought all the ingredients I needed, and started cooking. I knew I had done something right when the smell of the pork instantly reminded me to the dish I used to eat when I was younger in Mexico. I could not wait to try it. When it was finally done I heated a flour tortilla and made a taco. Then another. Then another one. I ate a lot that night. It was that good.

If you like pork and spicy food, this recipe is for you. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry with the exception of the chiles. If you local grocery store doesn’t carry them, you can find it at your local Mexican store or online at http://www.mexgrocer.com. You won’t regret buying them because you can make wonderful salsas and adobos with the leftover chiles.

By the way, months after I bought this cookbook, I found that the same company also printed America, the Beautiful Cookbook. Other cuisines available are French, Asian, Italian, and Mediterranean. Yes, I have them all and I highly recommend them. I’ve made a killer Jambalaya from the American cuisine book. 

Comments: One time I didn’t have parsley so I decided to use cilantro instead. I was surprised at how different the dish tasted. It was not bad, but it was not as good. So, please, do not substitute the parsley with cilantro. You’ve been warned!

Mexican Pulled Pork (Mexican Chilorio) – serves 6

Adapted from Mexico the Beautiful Cookbook by Susana Palazuelos and Marilyn Tausend

3 lb. boneless pork, cut into 1in. cubes

1 ½ cups water (or more as necessary)

½ cup vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons lard (optional)

1 chile ancho, seeds and membranes removed

2 chiles guajillos, seeds and membranes removed

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1/3 cup coarsely chopped parsley

6 cloves garlic

1.       Place the pork, ½ cup of the water, vinegar, and salt in a large saucepan. Simmer, covered, for about 45 to 50 minutes or until all the liquid has cooked off and the pork fries in its own rendered fat. If there is not enough fat, add the lard so that the pork fries to a golden brown. Set aside.

2.       Place the chiles in a small saucepan with the remaining 1 cup of water. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Transfer the chiles and cooking water to a blender, add the oregano, cumin, parsley and garlic, then puree.

3.       Add the pureed chiles to the fried pork, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered for 1 hour or under the pork is tender and can easily be cut with a fork. It may be necessary to add another cup of water to the pan, depending on the tenderness of the meat.

4.       Once the pork is cooked, let it rest for about 15 minutes and then shred.

5.       Served on a warm flour tortilla.

Chicken Salad Veronique

My friend Liz is getting married and I offered to bring sandwiches to her surprise, beach-inspired wedding shower. My first thought was to order some hoagies at the local sub shop. Then, I realized that it would probably be more cost-effective – and the sandwiches would taste better – if I made the sandwiches myself. I looked through my recipe book and found a recipe that I had wanted to try for a while: Chicken Salad Veronique from Barefoot Contessa at Home. As soon as I saw it I knew what I was going to bring to the shower: chicken salad sandwiches. And I am glad I did! People kept telling me how good the chicken salad was and, in fact, I saw several of them getting second servings. Now, the best compliment came for Julie, Liz’s friend. She told me that it was the best chicken salad that she ever had. And that is the kind of compliment that makes the time planning and cooking a dish worth it.

The recipe did not call for nuts but I added some because I thought they would add a nice crunchy texture to the salad. I made the right decision: the nuts nicely contrasted the fruity flavor from the grapes. I also decreased the amount of celery and tarragon the recipe called for because (1) I am not a big fan of celery and (2) I thought that too much tarragon would make the salad to “aromatic” and would overpower the other flavors. Below is the recipe with my edits. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad Veronique – adapted from a recipe from Barefoot Contessa at Home

Servings: four

Ingredients:

·         2 whole chicken breasts

·         Olive oil

·         Salt and ground black pepper

·         Onion powder

·         Garlic power

·         ½ cup mayonnaise

·         1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

·         ½ cup small-diced celery

·         1 cup grapes cut in half

·         ¼ cup of chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

2. Place the chicken breasts on pan and rub them with olive oil (approximately 1 tablespoon). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion power, and garlic powder.

3. Roast for approximately 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Set aside until cool. Note that you can cook the chicken one or two days before you make the chicken salad.

4. When the chicken is cool, cut the chicken into a ¾ inch dice.

5. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the mayonnaise, tarragon leaves, celery, grapes, and nuts. Add salt and pepper and toss well.