Last weekend I decided to do a little pre-Thanksgiving test of my new oven, so I thought I’d roast a chicken, just to see how the timing and the temperature of the oven worked.  Surprisingly (it’s just a cheap rental apartment oven) it worked out [...]]]>

Last weekend I decided to do a little pre-Thanksgiving test of my new oven, so I thought I’d roast a chicken, just to see how the timing and the temperature of the oven worked.  Surprisingly (it’s just a cheap rental apartment oven) it worked out pretty well.  The skin was crisp, the thighs were juicy, and the breast wasn’t overdone.  And with a simple preparation of fresh herbs and lemon, the flesh was delicately infused with flavor.  It really didn’t need a gravy, but I made one anyway, and that, with some blanched broccoli tossed with balsamic dressing, was our dinner.

It’s a whole lot easier roasting a chicken in a real oven than it is in a little Chinese toaster oven, which is how I roasted chicken when we lived in China!  And the chickens here are a whole lot plumper and juicier than the bony specimens we had to use there!  I got a natural antibiotic-free chicken from Trader Joe’s, and it was nice and flavorful.  I might make roasting chicken a part of my weekly routine, it’s so easy!  In the time it takes to preheat the oven, you season and stuff the chicken, and after putting it in the oven, you hardly have to think about it, only I bet you will, because the luscious fragrance will permeate your home and set your stomach a-growlin’.

This would easily feed a family of four, with a salad and some garlic bread.  Or, if like us, your family consists of you and your significant other, it stretches over several meals’ worth.  The day after, I pulled the chicken meat off the bones and simmered it with tomato sauce, olives, garlic and red pepper flakes, which I tossed with penne for a hearty meal.  And the rest of the carcass will go towards a big pot of stock.  All this for $6.71!

Recently,  I’ve been reading the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  I had read them as a child, of course, but upon re-reading them, it’s really astonishing the amount of detail she goes into, in describing how they butchered the pig, made cheese, harvested maple sap to make maple sugar.  It’s really quite inspiring to see how those first pioneers made use of literally EVERYTHING available to them.  It makes me want to do the same.  And although I don’t think I’ll ever butcher an entire pig, it makes me feel a little bit like I’m reducing waste by using all of this chicken =p.

Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken

1 roasting chicken (about 6 pounds)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, whatever you’ve got)
5-6 sprigs of whole fresh herbs
1 onion, cut into chunks
1 large lemon or 2 small ones, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons melted butter
salt and pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 450 F.  Rinse the chicken and pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.  Season inside of cavity with salt.  Stuff with onion chunks, lemon wedges, and sprigs of fresh herbs.  Place in roasting tray or cast-iron skillet.

2.  Mix chopped herbs with melted butter.  Using a pastry brush, paint herb-butter mixture over chicken.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and fresh black pepper.

3.  Bake chicken at 450F for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375F and continue baking for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

4.  When done, chicken skin should be browned and crisp, and when a knife is inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, the juices should run clear.  Alternatively, a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh should read 180F.

You can make a sauce with the pan drippings if you like.  Spoon fat from pan drippings, saving 3 tablespoons and discarding the rest.  In a skillet over medium heat, heat the chicken fat with 3 tbsp of flour to make a roux.  Then add the rest of the pan drippings, a splash of white wine, and 1 cup of chicken broth.  Stir and cook until thickened.  Serve with chicken.

It’s my theory that anything cooked with alcohol tastes better.  Whether it’s wine, or beer, or vodka, or…pretty much anything!  Hard cider in this case.  Now, before you dismiss me as nothing but a boozer, remember that when you’re cooking with alcohol, most of the [...]]]>

It’s my theory that anything cooked with alcohol tastes better.  Whether it’s wine, or beer, or vodka, or…pretty much anything!  Hard cider in this case.  Now, before you dismiss me as nothing but a boozer, remember that when you’re cooking with alcohol, most of the alcohol evaporates, leaving you with a distinctive savory hit that brings out the flavors of everything and ups the ante on the umami, without making you tipsy.  Does all of the alcohol evaporate?  No, not all of it, but most of it.  If you don’t like cooking with alcohol you can of course substitute chicken broth or normal (not hard) cider in this recipe, but let me assure you that having a little alcohol in this dish really does make it better.

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, and although I’m not in Canada right now, I decided to make a fall-themed meal to celebrate both Thanksgiving and the end of Oktoberfest.  This recipe is from Elise at SimplyRecipes, and it’s a winner!  Basically, chicken legs are slowly braised with onions and hard cider, and some browned apples are added in at the end to give the savory sauce a hint of sweetness and extra flavor.  It is delicious, I tell you, just delicious!  We finished the whole thing between the two of us.

By the way, did you know that the reason Canadian Thanksgiving is in October is because it’s a HARVEST festival?  And well, temperatures get a little colder a little earlier up in the Great White North, so we have our Thanksgiving quite a bit earlier than the US.  Personally, I feel that having Thanksgiving on Oct 11 is a little more sensible than Nov 25th, but that must be the Canuck in me talking.

I followed the recipe pretty faithfully (I LOVE it when recipes work as written, don’t you?).  The only changes I made were to use hard cider instead of brandy and normal cider, and sour cream instead of cream.  I just didn’t want to buy a bottle of brandy just for one dish, and since the hard cider at Trader Joe’s was pretty cheap, I went with that.  Sour cream is also just a more useful item for me than cream, and I didn’t want half a carton of cream languishing in the fridge for the rest of the week.

It was a pretty good mini Thanksgiving dinner for the two of us, along with an arugula-cranberry salad.

It also gave me a chance to use up those indestructible apples that wouldn’t soften in this tart, but were perfect here.  They kept their shape, they were just slightly tart, and they browned and softened up beautifully.

I’ll direct you over to the original recipe for Chicken Normandy at SimplyRecipes, and if you want to use hard cider, you just use 2 cups of hard cider instead of the brandy and normal cider.  Also, if you choose to use sour cream, you’ll have to simmer the sauce gently while stirring to incorporate the cream right at the end.

I grew up eating my mom’s Chinese cooking, but strangely enough have never really explored cooking other Asian cuisines.  Sure, I’m familiar with EATING it – in college I lived off discount take-out sushi (discount sushi? Gross, I know, but I loved it), bibimbap, green [...]]]>

I grew up eating my mom’s Chinese cooking, but strangely enough have never really explored cooking other Asian cuisines.  Sure, I’m familiar with EATING it – in college I lived off discount take-out sushi (discount sushi? Gross, I know, but I loved it), bibimbap, green curry, oyako-don, and other college-priced Asian fare that you can find pretty much everywhere on the streets of Toronto.  But cooking non-Chinese Asian food?  Meh – I never had much interest.  Throwing together a stir-fry was so much easier.  Lately though, I’ve become slightly obsessed with Japanese food.  With a much anticipated trip to Japan coming up, I’ve been reading up like crazy on ingredients to make mochi, matcha-flavored desserts, proper zaru soba, and more.

Well, I promised more Asian recipes, and here I am delivering on the promise! Chicken katsu is a variation of the Japanese tonkatsu, breaded pork covered with panko bread crumbs and deep-fried, and served with sauce. It’s a family-friendly dish that doesn’t have to be unhealthy – just bake it in the oven instead of deep-frying to cut down on the oil and fat.

The ideal is to use boneless chicken thighs – they are much juicier and more flavorful, in my opinion, than chicken breasts. But I was unable to find boneless thighs at my local supermarket, and being the lazy person I am, I just used boneless chicken breasts. Just don’t overcook them and they won’t be too dry.

For the tonkatsu sauce, I used a mixture of ketchup, dark soy sauce, sugar, and Worchestershire sauce. It tasted pretty good, even if it wasn’t exactly like tonkatsu sauce that you get at a Japanese restaurant.

This was a quick and easy meal – after the breading part, I just stuck the chicken in the toaster oven and let the timer take care of the rest. I served the chicken katsu with some potato salad (just the way my mom makes it) and simply sautéed sugar snap peas.

Chicken Katsu (baked)
Serves 2

Chicken
2 boneless chicken breasts
¼ cup flour
1 large egg, beaten
¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

Sauce
¼ cup ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 F.

Pat the breasts dry with a paper towel. Season on both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge in the flour. Then put into a bowl with the beaten egg and turn to coat with egg. Place the panko breadcrumbs on a plate, then coat the chicken with the breadcrumbs, patting to help adhere.

Place the breaded chicken onto a pan and bake for 20 minutes until cooked through (if poked with a sharp knife, juices should run clear, not bloody). If you want the top to brown more, turn on the broiler for the last minute. Meanwhile, mix together the ingredients for the sauce.

When chicken is ready, let rest for 1 minute, then cut into slices. Drizzle with sauce and serve.

Well, it’s getting cold outside, folks. On a whim today, I busted out the slow cooker and looked at it for a while, thinking about what I could make with it. Something hot. Something filling and cozy-feeling. Chili!

I searched the fridge. [...]]]>

Well, it’s getting cold outside, folks. On a whim today, I busted out the slow cooker and looked at it for a while, thinking about what I could make with it. Something hot. Something filling and cozy-feeling. Chili!

I searched the fridge. Two frozen chicken breasts, a bunch of random vegetables and a three-quarters used tube of tomato paste. The pantry yielded a can of diced tomatoes, black beans, and some spices. Score!

I set the beans to boil and soften as I prepped the other ingredients. Diced the chicken up small (no ground beef, so I guess we had to make do with a lighter version of chili, not a bad idea so soon after the holidays anyway), sliced some mushrooms, a green bell pepper, an onion and several cloves of garlic. Browned the onions, garlic and chicken, and then tossed everything into the slow cooker. 4 hours later, we had chili, baby! I stirred up a quick cornbread (from The Pioneer Woman) and we had ourselves a filling and comforting dinner, while sobbing over The Cove (oh dear, if you haven’t watched it yet, grab yourself a box of tissues and SEE IT). Oh…I mean I sobbed. Chris of course didn’t. He’s a rock (wink).

Chicken Chili (Slow Cooker Recipe)
Keep in mind that all of these measurements are rough estimates and that you can substitute anything you like. This recipe makes a small pot of chili for two or three.

2 fresh tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 8-oz can diced tomatoes
1 large bell pepper (any color)
¾ cup dried black beans
2 chicken breasts, finely diced (or ground)
1 cup white button mushrooms, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion, diced
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp chili powder (or more to taste)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook the garlic and onion until golden and aromatic. Add the chicken and cook for 2 min, tossing to brown evenly on all sides.

Add all of the ingredients except salt to slow cooker.

At this point, I cooked the chili on the high setting of my slow cooker for 3 hours, stirring every hour, because it was already pretty late in the afternoon. But I’m pretty sure the flavors would be better if you cooked it for longer, so I’d recommend turning it on to high for 30 minutes, then to low for the next 9 hours (you can make this in the morning and have dinner ready when you get home from work). If you try this let me know if it works.

Season with salt during the last hour of cooking. If the chili is watery, cook on high for a few minutes with the lid off to evaporate some of the liquid, or if you want you can stir in a teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in some water to thicken the liquid.

As you know, Chris LOVES Mexican food with a passion, and it has been a challenge to produce authentic-tasting Mexican food over here in China. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to satisfy my husband’s Mexican food cravings, such as homemade chorizo, [...]]]>

As you know, Chris LOVES Mexican food with a passion, and it has been a challenge to produce authentic-tasting Mexican food over here in China. I have a few tricks up my sleeve to satisfy my husband’s Mexican food cravings, such as homemade chorizo, pico de gallo, and several other things, and sometimes, these chicken quesadillas are just the thing. Some cumin, oregano, and chili pepper gives them that signature Mexican taste, while pepper jack cheese adds some kick, and they are an easy fast dinner to throw together.

I wasn’t going to put these up on the site at first because I felt like they were so simple, but the pictures of the stacked quesadillas turned out so cute, I allowed Chris to convince me.  Plus, as he pointed out, simple is good.  We all need more simple in our lives, right?

Chicken Quesadillas
Makes 3 quesadillas, perfect for two hungry people or three people with normal appetites. Feel free to adjust spices to your liking.

6 flour tortillas
2 chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch cubes
3/4 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
½ to 1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp oil, plus more for sautéing
1 small green bell pepper, diced (or ½ one large)
1 small red onion, diced (or ½ one large)
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper

Mix the chicken cubes with the cumin, oregano, chili powder, a pinch of salt and 1 tbsp oil. Set aside.

Heat another tbsp oil in a pan and sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent, then add the green bell pepper and a pinch of salt. Sauté until pepper is softened. Remove to a separate dish and set aside.

Using the oil remaining in pan, sauté the chicken cubes until cooked through. Remove to the dish with the vegetables and set aside.

Wipe the pan out with a clean dishcloth or paper towel, leaving a thin film of oil, and reduce heat to low. Lay a flour tortilla in the pan and sprinkle a bit of cheese evenly over the tortilla. Sprinkle some vegetables and chicken on top of the cheese, and top with another layer of cheese. Lay another flour tortilla over it all. Cook until cheese is melted, flipping once, and tortillas are slightly crisp. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

This is my friend Lali (on the left). Isn’t she lovely?

Nevermind the mess and the hideous orange couch.  I live in China, ok?  That’s my excuse.  Anyway, Lali is super cool. She is Peruvian-Japanese, which means her heritage is Japanese but she was [...]]]> This is my friend Lali (on the left). Isn’t she lovely?

Nevermind the mess and the hideous orange couch.  I live in China, ok?  That’s my excuse.  Anyway, Lali is super cool. She is Peruvian-Japanese, which means her heritage is Japanese but she was born and raised in Peru. She is an amazing cook. She wouldn’t say so, but she is. I know from experience.

I’ve been bugging Lali to show me how to cook some Peruvian dishes and she most graciously obliged, coming over to cook in my tiny kitchen and bearing with all my questions. We cooked up a storm, and then our hubbies and our friends got to partake in the surpassing deliciousness.

This is what we made.

This is an appetizer called Papas a la Huancaína…. It’s a delicious yellow sauce made with aji Amarillo, a yellow chili pepper found in Peru, poured over potatoes (Peru not only gave potatoes to the world, but has over 2000 varieties of potato, including purple ones) and a lettuce leaf, and topped with a boiled egg. The sauce has a creamy, nutty taste, and I could eat it by the spoonful. Unfortunately you can’t get aji amarillo in China, and Lali made this from a dehydrated powder that her sister sent her, so we don’t have a recipe for Papas a la Huancaína right now.

For the main course, we had a chicken stew, again with plenty of potatoes, served over steamed white rice. Now, this Estofado de Pollo has a real simple list of ingredients, but for some reason, it has so much flavor. I really can’t explain it, because it doesn’t call for a long list of herbs, except for a couple bay leaves, but it is so savory, rich and just…flavorful. Lali says that the sauce base – fried garlic, onion, and tomato – is the base for many Peruvian dishes. And the best part is…it is so simple even I can do it! And of course, if you’re not a huge potato fan, you can always pop in other vegetables or pretty much anything you like.

We also made a really simple aji sauce, a hot sauce made by puréeing red chili peppers, onion, lemon juice, and oil. It’s got a good kick, and unlike many hot sauces, isn’t overwhelmed by vinegar and salt. What I love about this aji is that it’s got flavor as well as heat. You can store this in the fridge for a few days and put it on anything from scrambled eggs, to roasted vegetables, to lentils, to rice…basically anything that could benefit from an added kick of spiciness. We put the aji on the chicken stew, and it really gave it some extra oomph (see the dollop of red sauce on top of the stew?).

Estofado de Pollo

¼ cup vegetable oil
1 small or 1/2 medium/large red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 medium tomato
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken (we used breasts, but thighs would be juicier)
½ cup frozen carrots, corn and peas
4-5 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
salt and pepper
3-4 whole bay leaves

Peel the tomato and dice it. Chop the chicken into ¾ inch cubes. Set aside.

In large heavy-bottomed pot, heat the oil over low-medium heat (I know ¼ cup of oil sounds like a lot, but the goal is to evenly coat the bottom of the pot). Add the onions and garlic, and fry, stirring often, until onion is translucent (and revel in the delicious smells wafting through your kitchen). Add the tomato and cook, stirring often, until tomato begins to disintegrate. Season liberally with salt and pepper (Lali added about 3 or 4 large pinches of salt).

Add the chicken, and stir until the outsides of the cubes are cooked. Add the frozen vegetables, potatoes, and bay leaves. Stir around to coat everything with sauce.

Add just enough water to cover approximately half of the ingredients. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

Adjust seasonings and serve over steamed white rice. Serves 4.

Recipe Notes: The beauty of this stew is that you can do anything with it, as long as you have the basic sauce. Do it with beef, or add different vegetables. The sky’s the limit!

Peruvian Aji (hot red chili sauce)

½ small red onion or ¼ large one
4 fresh red chili peppers
Juice of ½ lemon (or a whole lemon if your lemon, like mine, was a little dry)
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Dice the onion. If the onions are very oniony (as in, they’re making you cry as you dice them), rinse them in cold water. Remove the tops and tips of bottoms from the chili peppers. If you can’t take the heat, open them and remove some of the seeds.

Whiz all the ingredients together in a food processor or blender until puréed and smooth.

Recipe Notes: The sauce is a bit thick for a blender to handle very well (the blades just fling everything to the sides and then can’t blend them anymore). If your blender comes with a small container attachment (something that looks like the “Magic Bullet” instead of the large blender jug) it will work better. Alternatively, you could try adding a bit of water, or doubling the ingredients.

You will probably need to poke a spoon in there to stir up the chunks. Remember to remove the spoon before you turn the blender on!!!

By the way, can someone tell me why that first picture of the egg has a little bubble in the middle of the yolk?  Is that normal?  Did I boil it wrong?  I do live in China.  Maybe it’s a fake egg?