JBug's Kitchen Antics

Artichoke Chicken Salad

When you've a very hungry man to feed or even a gaggle of ladies from the bridge club, then here's a super solution to have on hand for a quick summer spread. 

Not your usual chicken salad, this one's extended by using that old San Francisco treat - Rice a Roni. Not something I ordinarily have in my cupboard, when I saw this recipe in a Junior League Cookbook, Saint Louis Souvenirs, I was intrigued enough to give it a go.

Prepared Rice A Roni is spiced up a touch with marinated artichoke hearts, green onions, red and green peppers and roughly chopped black olives and chicken of course. 

The recipe called for poached chicken, but I figured a little flavor boost was in order so kicked ours up a notch by grilling the butterflied breasts for more even cooking, then brushing them with some of our kicky kumquat marmalade. While that may be a stretch for some of you, I figure the same flavors could be achieved mixing orange marmalade with a little triple sec and a chopped up habanero pepper. Brushed on the chicken at the very end of the grilling time, I also mixed some of the marmalade into a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream to dress the salad. 

We were both surprised by how delicious this salad is; in fact it's so tasty, it had my hungry man going back for seconds and there's a bunch left for lunch today too. It makes a ton, so be prepared to enjoy some leftovers but I don't think they'll hang around for long. 

Incidentally if you're stuck at the thought of using a whole habanero pepper for the glaze, they're really not as hot as you think they are. Carefully remove the seeds and ribs and you'll lose a huge part of the fire in the pepper. As well, the smaller the mince, the hotter the glaze so leave bigger chunks and you'll cut the heat even more. Of course if you're really worried about your glaze being too spicy, you can always substitute jalapeno or serrano's too but I'll have to call you a pansy if you do. Just sayin'. 

Artichoke Chicken Salad (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Saint Louis Souvenirs)

The Salad:

1 package chicken flavored Rice a Roni

1 – 12 ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1 large can large pitted black olives, roughly chopped

Cook Rice a Roni according to package directions and cool. Combine with artichoke hearts, green onions, green and red pepper and black olives and refrigerate until needed.

Glaze:

2/3 cup orange marmalade

2 tablespoons triple sec (optional)

1 habanero chopped pepper, seeds and veins removed

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and heat in the microwave until marmalade has melted and mixture is hot. Set aside. Reserve 3 tablespoons of mixture for salad dressing.

The Chicken:

3 large chicken breasts washed and dried

Salt and pepper

Butter flavored cooking spray

Butterfly chicken breasts or pound to an even thickness. Season well with salt and pepper on both sides and spray liberally with cooking spray. Heat gas grill until very hot and carefully place chicken on grill. Lower temperature to medium low, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Flip chicken over, cover and cook for additional 4 minutes. Brush chicken with glaze and cook for an additional minute or until chicken is done. Remove to a plate and refrigerate until cold.

Salad Dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons orange/habanero glaze

Mix ingredients together and refrigerate until needed.

To serve – pile salad on plate and arrange sliced chicken over top. Top with a couple of spoonfuls of the dressing. Serves 6 to 8. 

A year ago - Sausage Meatloaf with Lemon and Parmesan

Two year's ago - Ziti with Pancetta and Fresh Tomatoes  

Chicken Risotto with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Olives and Capers

Risotto is our "go to" meal when we're needing something exceedingly delicious and relatively quick, never mind it is a dish than can easily be accomplished with a drink in hand. Drinks were a definite requirement last night, although I'll admit I was doing the drinking while Big Guy whipped up the risotto.

Flavored with pancetta, onion and garlic along with fresh and oil packed sun dried tomatoes, salty Greek olives and capers, the real picker upper in this one is the last minute addition of fresh mint. Now one would naturally think basil would be the herb of choice but believe me the mint is a great addition that really perks up the flavor of this bowl of creamy deliciousness.

The recipe's adapted from John Ash's "From the Earth to the Table" Cookbook although his version is vegetarian. You know in our house we must have meat so you'll see our adaptation below; however, don't shy away from picking up the cookbook if you've a chance. It's a real cook's book with not a photo to be found - just fabulous examples of wine country cuisine. (No, I wasn't paid to say this as Chef John Ash has no clue who the heck I am. Big Guy picked up the treasure for me on his last trip to Napa Valley.)

To update you on our "progress" here, that darn Murphy with his law was back to haunt us yesterday although after the weekend we endured it could be argued that he never left. The granite was installed yesterday on our kitchen counters but there were a couple of major screwups.... and if you're smart and thinking I'm still without a sink, you'd be absolutely 100 percent correct. 

The largest piece that was to include the undermount sink just happened to break when it was being installed and so the saga continues. The hunt was on to find another slab that matches what was already in place. If you're not up on granite, from what I can gather in my recent education, it comes in "blocks" that are cut into slabs. Of course among the blocks, there are no two pieces the same because it is a natural stone so color and pattern vary a lot. Needless to say, I was rather particular about the slabs I selected for our kitchen, so the destruction of one is a real tragedy never mind that it's not like bamboo. It doesn't grow on or like trees and the likes of it will never come again. 

The other of the 2 "bookend" slabs I picked had a large starburst pattern of quartz that was unbelievably beautiful and the main reason I had picked that particular stone in the first place. Naturally I requested the slab with the quartz  "star" receive place of honor on the new 8 foot island. That didn't happen either even though the request was marked on the paperwork and I had been VERY explicit in my instructions with the template guy.

To say I'm disappointed is putting it mildly - disappointed, frustrated and worried because we're less than 3 weeks away from a BIG party here (our turn to host the end of season class bash) and I'm still without a fully functioning kitchen. Join me if you will please in a resounding chorus of "Que Sera, Sera - whatever will be, will be..."

Chicken Risotto with Sun Dried Tomatoes, Olives and Capers from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from The Earth to the Table Cookbook Revised Edition, by John Ash)

4 ounces pancetta, finely diced

4 ounces chicken tenders, cut into bite sized pieces

2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

1 large onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 quart good quality low sodium chicken stock, heated

1 cup mini plum tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes

1/3 cup kalamata olives

1 tablespoon capers

Small handful mint leaves, torn

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Fresh ground pepper & salt to taste

Heat large sauté pan over medium high heat and cook pancetta until crisp. Remove from pan and set aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper and add to sauté pan. Cook, stirring until chicken is cooked through – about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside. Add oil to pan and when hot, add onion and garlic, cooking until onion is transparent. Stir in Arborio rice and sauté with onions, stirring to coat rice. Set stove timer for 17 minutes, and slowly start adding hot chicken stock a ladle full at a time. Continue stirring risotto, adding stock until rice no longer absorbs stock and is cooked to an al dente stage. Return chicken and pancetta to the pan, along with plum tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives and capers. Stir in white wine and add more stock as necessary for creamy rice. Finish with mint leaves and parmesan cheese. Makes 4 servings. 

A year ago - Chicken Paillards with Asparagus and Pancetta 

Two year's ago - White Chocolate Carousel Cake

Cajun Jambalaya

Big Guy's been after me for a month now to make something with his homemade smoked Andouille sausage so last night I tried it out in a pot of jambalaya. I've got to tell you the sausage is really superb so he's going to have to make another batch and write down his secrets so I can share it all with you.

As for the jambalaya, an Emeril Lagasse recipe via foodnetwork.com, this version starts with the usual trinity of onion, celery and green pepper, and includes copious amount of garlic and bay leaves too along with shrimp and chicken as well as the Andouille sausage I bragged about above.

I know there's at least a b'zillion recipes for jambalaya but I have to say this may be one of my least favorite versions. I should have gone with my instincts and deviated from the recipe but hesitated to do so because after all this is EMERIL; however, the flavors would have been much better had I browned the Andouille pieces till they were kinda' crunchy on the outside and coated the chicken in seasoned flour and browned it too, never mind that I overcooked the darned rice to begin with. Perhaps I'm just being overly picky since Big Guy didn't seem to have an issue with any of his servings.

Anyway - here's the link to the recipe if you're so inclined. Personally, I'd much rather have a big pot of gumbo so I'll be putting it on the menu very shortly. In the meantime, it could very well be that I'm suffering from kitchen renovation "itis" so reservations may be the order of this day and several to follow. Oh well - I guess even food blogger's hit a funk every once in a while. 

For those of you that just dropped by for a look see at JBug's Kitchen Antics, I must apologize for the fancy dinner ware you see in the photograph but we're in the midst of renovating our kitchen and we're without a kitchen sink (among other things). Believe me using disposable plates while the kitchen's being renovated is becoming a life saver ....or should I say wife saver!  

A year ago - Meatloaf Panini with Crunchy Broccoli Salad

Two year's ago - Sloppy Joe's

Kumquat Honey Butter Roasted Chicken with Curried Apple and Sweet Potato Pilaf

I consider myself extremely lucky to be sharing the kitchen with someone who loves to cook as much as I do and we make a rather incredible team if I do say so myself. Normally the barbecue/grillin' guru, my big guy's plans to spit roast a chicken were kiboshed due to a blustery stormy day so he oven roasted his first bird and did a heck of a job too.

He mixed butter with slivered kumquats, fresh thyme and rosemary along with about a tablespoon of honey and slathered it beneath the skin of the breasts and thighs of the bird. Then he stuffed the inside with about 8 more kumquats and additional rosemary before trussing it all up. Resting on a bed of onions, it hit a 400 oven for an hour and came out perfectly cooked and incredibly moist on the inside with a really crispy perfectly colored skin. Amazing! 

While my alter ego was resting on his laurels, I hit the kitchen and made a curried rice pilaf, loaded with onion, garlic, sweet potatoes and granny smith apples. Seasoned with curry powder and cumin, I added some raisins and cranberries for additional color and sweetness.

Then Big Guy returned to the kitchen to toast some gorgeous man sized croutons as a bed for the wonderful chicken and "sopper upper" of all the glorious juices and I shared the stove with him and steamed some fresh asparagus. Before we knew it after a lot of laughter and the odd stolen kiss too, dinner was on the table and I have to say, we enjoyed it immensely. 

By the way, I know we're lucky being able to pick fresh kumquats off our trees to enjoy, but if you're unable to find the little gems, substitute an orange, a tangerine or even a few cuties instead. The flavor will the slightly different, but the idea's the same. 

Oh and for heaven's sake, don't forget to hit the kitchen with your significant other. It's a great way to enjoy time together and create a fabulous dinner you can both be proud of. 

Curried Apple and Sweet Potato Pilaf (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from The Best of the Best, Best of Bridge Series Cookbooks)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 green onions, chopped (including green part)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup uncooked long-grain rice

2 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled and diced

2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

1/4 cup seedless raisins

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat olive oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. When oil is shimmering add onions and garlic and cook stirring constantly until slightly softened – about 2 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring for another minute. Add chicken stock and sweet potato. Bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add apples, raisins, cranberries, curry powder, cumin and salt and toss well to combine. Cover and simmer briefly over low heat until heated through. Serves 4 to 6.

By the way, not only did Big Guy cook most of dinner, he also made the most glorious Sunday morning breakfast out of our shamrock day leftovers - see crispy outside and moist inside potato cakes made from colcannon along with crispy corned beef pieces with two perfectly poached eggs on top. It was absolutely incredibly wonderful! Now see why I brag about him all the time?

 

Lemon Risotto with Seared Scallops

Risotto is an incredibly easy and versatile dish to make for one, two or tons of people. While some cooks are put off by the amount of time it takes to make, I on the other hand look at it as an opportunity for greatness. I mean isn't that what cooking's all about - taking simple raw ingredients, adding a smidgen of imagination, a little time and love and coming up with a delicious result.

I'd made this lemon risotto before when the Big Guy was out of town so he hadn't had the pleasure of enjoying its subtle creamy lemon flavors before. Made the usual way, this one includes shallots, the juice and rind of a lemon, a little wine - vermouth in this case because we didn't have any white wine in the cupboard, good quality chicken stock and time. Finished with a couple of pats of butter and slivers of fresh basil and parsley, it is a sight to behold.

Of course I could eat it just as it is, but the resident carnivore would be complaining somewhat so I sauteed some scallops to garnish the bowl of creamy splendor. Simply sprinkled with salt and pepper, the key to getting a good sear other than a hot pan, is to make sure the scallops are dried off before you even begin. Left to their own devices a mere 2 minutes on each side is all it takes - and for heaven's sake don't touch em' before the two minutes are up. Just let 'em be. When I flipped these big beauties over, I dropped a tiny bit of butter on top of each scallop so it could melt through and add flavor and moisture.

They needed nothing - not even a squeeze of lemon because we'd taken care of all of that in the risotto. It's a superb combination and totally worth doing again. 

Lemon Risotto (inspired by Nigella Lawson)

4 cups low sodium chicken stock

Water (if needed)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth

3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Juice and rind of 1 large lemon, or 2 small

2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Salt and coarse ground pepper to taste

Heat stock in a medium pot and keep at a low simmer.

In a large flat bottomed pan, heat olive oil. Add shallots and cook until softened – about 3 or 4 minutes. Add Arborio rice and stir well to coat with oil/shallot mixture. Sauté for about 1 minute. Set heat at medium low and add white wine and stir until evaporated. Set timer for 18 minutes - add stock a ladle full at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to add stock by the ladle, stirring constantly as rice absorbs the liquid. After 18 minutes, the rice should be cooked to al dente and will stop absorbing liquid. (If stock runs low, add hot water as needed). Stir in lemon rind and juice and butter. Add grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste, add chopped basil and garnish with additional grated cheese. Makes 2 main course servings.

Sauteed Scallops:

Spray a cast iron pan with cooking spray and place over medium high heat until almost smoking. Wash and dry scallops (I used 5 for the two of us) and remove and discard abductor muscle if not already done. Season lightly with salt and coarse ground black pepper. Place scallops onto hot pan and cook without touching for 2 minutes. Leave the scallops alone - do not touch! After 2 minutes they should be a deep golden brown - flip them over. Place a small "pearl" sized piece of butter on top and let them cook for another 2 minutes  - or until firm to the touch. Top serving of risotto with the scallops and dust lightly with freshly ground black pepper and garnish with basil and/or fresh parsley.

 A year ago - Tourte Poulet Indienne   Two year's ago - Braised Shortribs with Polenta

Buttered Rum and Raisin Rice Pudding

Our sweet treat of the week is inspired by a recipe in a very old cookbook (Purity) and brings with it memories of my Mother's version - without the rum of course. Mom would make it for me whenever I visited because she knew it was a favorite, although she cooked her pudding in a little double boiler and it seemed to take hours and hours.

This version is much quicker and without need for any special equipment but it doesn't suffer in any way shape or form for its simplicity. I used some cooked rice leftover from another meal earlier in the week Big Guy saved with a hint that it would be great in a pudding.

Mixed with a custard of sugar, whole milk and eggs, this stove top version of rice pudding makes for an extremely creamy result. Loaded with plump juicy raisins that have been soaked in rum for an hour or so and finished with a pat of butter, it's barely sweet, definitely delicious and gets better and better with time in the refrigerator - that is if it lasts long enough for you to be able to tell such a thing. If you prefer a sweeter pudding, feel free to increase the amount of sugar accordingly.

Alas, it wasn't our only sweet treat of the week although it really deserved to receive top billing. I made a meyer lemon version of the flourless kumquat cake.  I merely cut back on the cooking time of the fruit to 30 minutes because the lemons cooked a lot faster than the kumquats, but otherwise followed the same method and it was absolutely sublime. Notice the past tense? Yup - it's all gone too.

Creamy Buttered Rum & Raisin Rice Pudding (from JBug’s Kitchen inspired by Purity Cookbook)

1/2 cup seedless raisins

2 tablespoons dark rum

1/2 cup sugar (increase to 3/4 cup if you prefer a sweeter pudding)

Pinch salt

1-1/2 cups whole milk

2 cups cooked long grain or Arborio rice

2 eggs

1 tablespoon corn starch

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Mix raisins and rum together in a small bowl and soak for minimum half an hour. Combine sugar, salt, milk and pre-cooked rice in a small pot. Place over medium heat and warm, stirring occasionally until hot – do not allow to boil. Meanwhile in a small bowl beat together eggs and cornstarch. When milk/rice mixture is hot, carefully and slowly whisk a third of it into the beaten egg mixture to temper the eggs, and then add the mixture back to the pot. Cook, stirring constantly over medium low heat until mixture is thickened and bubbles “blurp” on the surface. Remove from heat and stir in butter and reserved soaked rum and raisin mixture. Remove to a bowl and place a sheet of plastic wrap directly onto surface of pudding. Cool. Serve either warm or chilled with or without cream. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

By the way, in case you're wondering we had cheddar bacon burgers last night with a second batch of the homemade sandwich rolls I made the other day. Yup - I just HAD to do it all again because there's really no excuse. The rolls take limited time to prep and the payoff is incredible. Just ask the neighbors salivating on the sidewalk outside the kitchen window!

A year ago - Lemon Risotto    Two year's ago - Shrimp and Andouille on Grits

Beef and Barley Soup

I recently had an epiphany thanks to my friend Pam over at Sidewalk Shoes. You see, our habit was to have a fairly substantial Sunday night dinner, a throwback to the old days when I was growing up and Sunday night dinners often meant something special. The trouble is Sunday afternoons around here involve a lot of R & R and that means I get lazy and cooking's the last thing on my mind. Enter "Soup Sundays". (Thanks for the idea Pam. It's brilliant!)

Last night's pot of comfort needed to be just that. The Big Guy's sick with a cold and I'm still hacking and snorting my way through October's allergy season so what's better for that than a hearty bowl of hot vegetable laden soup.

This one made great use of the last of the leftover Tri-tip, along with lots of carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, potatoes and barley. Naturally because I was using pre-cooked meat, I didn't bother with browning it so I "beefed" up the flavor by adding canned consomme and lots of beef stock. Garnished with packaged French fried onions along with Ritz crackers, it was just what the doctor ordered.

Beef and Barley Soup (a JBug’s original)

Note: if you’re using raw rather than pre-cooked beef, round or chuck steak works very well. Cut into half inch cubes and brown very well in oil. Remove from pan and set aside, then continue with recipe.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

2 ribs celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme

Coarse ground black pepper

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup dry Marsala wine

2 10 ounce cans beef consommé (undiluted)

4 cups low sodium beef stock

1/2 cup barley

1 pound leftover Tri tip or roast beef cut into half inch cubes (see note above)

1 large Russet potato, peeled and cut into half inch cubes

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into half inch cubes

Salt as required

French fried onions for garnish

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large Dutch oven. Add onion, celery and carrots and cook until vegetables are softened – about 5 minutes. Add garlic, black pepper and flour and cook, stirring constantly for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add Marsala wine and cook, stirring to loosen any bits from the bottom of the pot (1 minute). Add consommé, beef stock, beef and barley. Bring pot to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce to a slow simmer, cover pot and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add potato and carrots and cook for additional 20 minutes or until they’re just tender. Taste for seasoning and add salt as required. Serve soup garnished with fried onions.

Before I let you go - can you believe how many meals we got out of that fabulous little 2 pound Tri-tip roast? Not only was it good for us, it was good for the budget too. We'll be doing that again for sure!

 

A year ago - Maple Soy Glazed Salmon

Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta

It's hard to believe that you can start with a rock hard vegetable, add butter and heat along with a few other ingredients, throw in patience and love and end up with a luscious soul satisfying bowl of warm comforting golden goodness, isn't it?

There's no doubt in my mind that I'm the luckiest woman I know because not only was I spoiled absolutely rotten all day yesterday, but the The Big Guy cooked up a bowl of golden sunshine for dinner last night too. The fact that he holds the patience of Job means he's at his best when cooking fiddly things like risotto and he actually takes pleasure in standing at the stove stirring rice for 20 minutes straight. Imagine that!

Although he's well versed in the art of risotto making, this is his first adventure making a butternut squash version, and it certainly won't be the last if I have anything to say about it. He "chucked" up the squash (his word, not mine) topped it with a few pats of butter and roasted it in a cast iron pan in the hot oven for 40 minutes until beautifully colored and perfectly cooked then used the immersion blender to break it down, along with some chicken stock.  That golden squash "soup" was the basis of his pot of autumny bliss.

Flavored with sauteed home cured pancetta (hit link for directions on curing your own) and onion he upped the anti at the end of the cooking time with a splash or two of sherry, a touch of cream and the last 1/4 cup of squash/stock mixture. Seasoned with salt and pepper, it was a true labor of love and absolutely incredibly delicious too.

Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta (inspired by Cooking Light October 2011)

1-1/4 pound peeled butternut squash, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons butter

3-1/2 cups chicken stock

4-1/2 ounces pancetta, diced

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/4 cup dry sherry (or more to taste)

1/4 cup heavy cream

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. Arrange squash pieces in heavy pan (we used cast iron) and dot with butter. Roast for 40 minutes or until squash is cooked and golden brown in color. Remove to a medium sized pot. Add chicken stock and using an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Bring squash/stock mixture to a boil, remove a quarter cup of mixture and set aside, then reduce pot to a slight simmer.

Heat a flat bottomed sauté pan over medium and cook pancetta until crisp. Remove to a bowl leaving drippings in pan. Add onion and sauté until onion is softened and transparent. Remove to bowl with pancetta pieces and set aside. Add oil to sauté pan, and return pan to heat. When oil is hot, add rice and stir to coat. Lower heat rice to medium low and slowly add squash/stock mixture, three quarters of a cup to a cup at a time, stirring constantly. Note rice/stock mixture in your sauté pan should be barely bubbling as it cooks. Continue to add stock until the rice no longer absorbs the liquid and is al dente in texture (about 18 minutes). Add back the pancetta/onion mixture along with the sherry. Continue stirring mixture to incorporate new ingredients. Add cream and reserved quarter cup of squash/stock mixture. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and coarse ground black pepper as required. Serves 4. Download Butternut Squash Risotto with Pancetta

A year ago - Blueberry Roly Poly Pudding

Grilled Chicken Margarita on Green Chile Rice

Picture tender chicken pieces, marinated in lime, sugar, salt, a touch of coriander and a kiss of garlic, grilled to perfection and presented on top of a creamy cheesy green chile rice, all surrounded by grilled vegetables. I'm talkin' about last night's dinner.

It comes to us courtesy of Taste of the Territory, a wonderful cookbook put out by the Service League of Bartlesville Oklahoma and all I gotta' say is thank goodness for ingenuity. I only wish I'd taken a video because while all of this was coming together we were experiencing an unbelievable monsoon thunder storm which resulted in over 2 inches of rain in about a 2 hour time frame. Of course true to Murphy's Law, the storm hit right at the time we were supposed to be grilling our dinner in the outside kitchen, but no matter. We switched to grill pans and the Big Guy came through once again.

The result - gloriously tender kabobs of sweet, salty, lime flavored bird that really taste like a margarita sans the tequila although I'm not quite sure that the addition of a shot or two wouldn't be a good idea. The chicken would be wonderful on its own with the grilled vegetables but we went a step beyond and whipped up a casserole style rice dish, loaded with creamy ricotta, sour cream, cheese and roasted Hatch green chiles just because ya' gotta' have starch ya' know.

Grilled Margarita Chicken (Adapted from Taste of the Territory) 

1 pound chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut lengthwise into 3 pieces

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk together lime juice, sugar, salt, coriander, garlic and vegetable oil. Place chicken pieces into a zip bag and pour marinade over top. Seal and refrigerate for a minimum 1 hour. Thread onto skewers and grill until done. Serve with grilled zucchini, onions and tomatoes. Serves 4 Download Grilled Margarita Chicken

Green Chile Rice Gratin (Inspired by Taste of the Territory)

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup sour cream

1 cup ricotta cheese

4 large roasted green chiles, skinned, seeded and chopped (or 1-6 ounce can)

Salt and pepper to taste

1-1/4 cups grated 4 cheese blend (or Monterey jack)

Spray a gratin dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350. Combine cooked rice, sour cream, ricotta and green chiles. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Place half the mixture into prepared gratin dish. Top with half the grated cheese. Repeat. Place casserole into preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Serves 6. Download Green Chile Rice Gratin

 

Chicken with Maple Mustard Glaze and Curried Rice Salad

There was plenty of kitchen witchin' going on yesterday in our house and much like a good marriage last night's two dishes truly completed each other.

Skinless boneless chicken thighs, marinated in a mixture of maple syrup, Dijon mustard, soy sauce lemon and garlic then grilled until perfect juicy little morsels all shined up with more maple glaze and sittin' pretty on top of a rice salad with plenty of attitude - well the whole thing was a meal made in heaven and once again the result of perfect teamwork.

The Big Guy's last business trip to Saratoga race track in New York resulted in another cookbook for my collection and he sure knows how to pick them! This one's the "Maple Syrup Cookbook" by Ken Haedrich and you'll be hearing about it a lot during the course of this coming week as I've planned menus that include the liquid gold he specifies.

So head on out to your favorite market and pick up a bottle of the good stuff - no substitutions please. We prefer Grade B dark maple syrup because of its intense rich flavor, but a Grade A amber either light, medium or dark will do just as well. Just don't be thinkin' about using Mrs. Butterworths because although it's a fine product it won't cut it this week. Capiche?

Chicken with Maple Mustard Glaze on a Curried Rice Salad

Maple Mustard Chicken (adapted from The Maple Syrup Cookbook by Ken Haedrich)

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

5 tablespoons Dijon mustard

4 teaspoons soy sauce

Juice of one lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

2-1/2 to 3 pounds chicken pieces (I used skinless boneless thighs)

Combine maple syrup, mustard, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic and pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat a cool to room temperature.

Rinse and dry chicken well. Place in a large zip bag with half of the maple mustard glaze, reserving the other half for use when grilling. Refrigerate chicken for minimum 2 hours, turning bag half way through to distribute marinade.

Grill chicken over medium hot coals, basing with the remaining sauce until juices run clear when meat is pierced with a fork (about 20 minutes for skinless boneless thighs). Watch carefully so chicken doesn’t burn. Makes 4 servings.

Curried Rice Salad (adapted from simplyrecipes.com)

1 cup basmati rice cooked per package directions

2 tablespoons Madras or Trinidad curry powder

1/4 cup olive oil

Dash cumin and cayenne

1 large onion, chopped

3 stock celery, diced

1 green pepper, diced

3 green onions, chopped

1 cup raisins or currents, or a combination of the two

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 tablespoons honey or to taste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a medium sauté pan. Add curry powder, cumin and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is transparent. Transfer to a large bowl and toss with cooked rice. Cool to room temperature. Add remaining ingredients and chill until serving time. Download Chicken with Maple Mustard Glaze on a Curried Rice Salad

A year ago - Viva Italia!

  
  Antipasto Platter        Lasagne Bolognese        Profiteroles

Bacon and Tomato Risotto

A creamy bowl of filling fabulous risotto can include almost anything your heart desires and ours desired bacon and tomotoes last night. We have the Italians to thank for this incredibly versatile dish and last night's version was whipped up by none other than the Big Guy.

Our wonderful homemade bacon along with onions, garlic and fresh basil joined the arborio rice, chicken stock and freshly grated parmesan to complete this one bowl dinner. As you can likely tell by now, it's our favorite "go to" meal when we're stressed out, busy or the cupboard's almost bare. Keep some arborio rice and chicken stock in your cupboard, and you'll be guaranteed a wonderful meal.

Here's the recipe for our Basic Risotto. Use your imagination and you can come up with a multitude of different varieties - all good I might add. Last night's version may have lacked the cream and there's no way I'd let the cook touch my white wine, but the finished product was no less delicious.

Basic Risotto

4 cups good quality, low salt chicken stock

4 Tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

Salt & pepper

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup to 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Chopped fresh parsley

Heat broth in small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Melt butter in large flat bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add onion and cook stirring until onion is transparent (approx 4-5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add Arborio rice and stir to coat well, approximately 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until wine has is almost all reduced.  Add a ladle full of broth (approx. ¾ cup) and cook, stirring until broth has been absorbed almost completely. Continue cooking and stirring, adding broth a bit at a time until the rice is tender but firm to the bite (approx. 15 minutes).

Taste for seasoning. Add cream and 1/2 cup parmesan. Stir to combine. Rice should have a moist, creamy consistency. Serve sprinkled with additional parmesan.

For Bacon & Tomato Risotto –

Prior to cooking rice, cook 5 slices of coarsly chopped bacon until crisp. Remove from pan.Make basic risotto recipe. Prior to adding cream & parmesan, return bacon to pan and add 2 chopped tomatoes and two tablespoons chopped fresh basil. Add cream & parmesan. Cook & stir until just warmed through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Other variations of Risotto made from the same basic recipe!

   
Italian Sausage & Mushroom                  Asparagus & Shrimp    

    
Risotto with Bolognese                          Pancetta & Artichokes

A year ago - Mahi Mahi Tacos

Grilled Lamb Chops with Wheatberry Salad

It was a good grillin' day yesterday and what's better on a hot windy desert spring day than a "cool" easy on the cook dinner of lamb chops and salad.

Our lamb loin chops got a significant head start in the flavor department thanks to a bath in a marinade made of olive oil, white wine, lots of lemon juice, garlic, parsley, rosemary and mint. They looked almost like ceviche when they went on the grill but came off looking and smelling rather wonderful.

The flavors were all there - unfortunately neither the prep cook (me) or the butcher cleaned them up enough from the start so quite honestly, other than the little tenderloin the rest of them were quite sinewy. For some reason I'm always a little hesitant to remove fat from extra lean loin chops before they're cooked, but the 8 minutes the chops spent on the grill coupled with their extra thickness meant the fat really didn't have a chance to break down anyway and it was really hard to remove from the chops at the dinner table. My bad - I should have done a better job!

As for the Wheat berry Salad - well it was a first for me cooking these little pellets of winter wheat and it certainly won't be the last. For darn sure if you're looking for a little "movement" in your life, this fiber rich grain is the one to add to your diet. In a salad filled with crunchy pistachios, fresh ginger, raisins and green onions in a lemon honey dressing, it's about as good as it gets. I added some slivered apricots and forgot the goat cheese, but I'm putting it in the recipe so you don't make the same mistake although the salad was plenty good without it.

I figure this chewy flavorful side dish will be lovely with just about anything off the grill this summer, be it chicken, fish, pork or beef, or just fine on it's own as a vegetarian dish but pretend I didn't say that OK. After all,the master of the house is a dyed in the wool carnivore. Hmmm, that was rather appropriate after a big feed of lamb chops wouldn't you say?

Grilled Lamb Chops with Herb Marinade (adapted from Canadian Living Barbecue & Summer Foods Cookbook)

Pour this marinade over a boneless leg of lamb if you prefer, then grill until medium rare and slice very thinly.

4 – 1-1/2 inch thick lamb loin chops

Marinade:

1/3 cup olive oil

1/3 cup white wine

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Grated rind of 1 lemon

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chopped minced onion

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Place olive oil, white wine, lemon juice, lemon rind, garlic and onion in a deep container and whiz with an immersion blender or alternative place in a food processor and pulse until mixture emulsifies. Add salt, pepper, parsley, rosemary and mint.

Trim, wash and dry lamb loin chops and place in zip top bag. Add marinade and refrigerate 4 hours. Remove from marinade and blot slightly with paper towels. Place over hot coals on grill and cook to desired doneness (8 minutes for medium rare). Download Grilled Lamb Chops w Herb Marinade

Wheat Berry Salad with Raisins, Apricots and Pistachios (adapted from Today’s Food and Wine, MSNBC)

1 cup uncooked wheat berries (hard winter wheat)

Water to cover by 2 inches

2 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 tablespoons peeled minced fresh ginger

1/2 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup slivered dried apricots

1/2 cup toasted pistachios

3 green onions, sliced thinly

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Place wheat berries in a medium sized saucepan and cover with water at least 2 inches above wheat berries. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1 hour. Drain. Add remaining ingredients except for goat cheese to hot cooked wheat berries and toss well to mix. Sprinkle with goat cheese just before serving. Serve at room temperature or cold. Makes 6 servings. Download Wheatberry Salad with Raisins, Apricots and Pistachios

 

Lemon Risotto

Holy rissoley Batman - are we on to something here! With the big guy MIA for dinners this week, it means I'm cooking for one and it's always a challenge to come up with something other than a PBJ. When the incentive to cook has waned, risotto is always a great choice.

Not only is it easy to make but a splash of wine is required which means if ya' gotta' crack the bottle, ya' might as well enjoy a glass while you're cooking right? In keeping with our lemon theme, last night's risotto dish was the epitome of simplicity and darn near meatless except that I used chicken stock.  A shallot, some Arborio rice, a splash of wine, juice and rind of a lemon, a touch of fresh rosemary, a knob of butter and a little parmesan - 25 minutes and half a glass of wine later dinner was ready.

The resulting creamy concoction is tangy indeed and wonderful on its own even though I could hear a deep echo in my head saying "where's da' meat?" It would be lovely as a side with grilled chicken, or with scallops on top, or a hunk of grilled or smoked salmon or even just a couple of spears of fresh asparagus or maybe some lamb chops...guess I'm sayin' it'll be great with darn near anything. Warning...you'll be seeing it here again very, very soon!

Lemon Risotto (inspired by Nigella Lawson)

4 cups low sodium chicken stock

1 cup water (or more as needed)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1 cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Juice and rind of 1 large lemon, or 2 small

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary needles, chopped

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Salt and coarse ground pepper to taste

Heat stock and water together in a medium pot. Keep at a simmer.

In a large flat bottomed pan, heat olive oil. Add shallots and cook until softened – about 3 or 4 minutes. Add Arborio rice and stir well to coat with oil/shallot mixture. Sauté for about 1 minute. Set heat at medium low and add white wine and stir until evaporated. Set timer for 18 minutes - add stock a ladle full at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to add stock by the ladle, stirring constantly as rice absorbs the liquid. After 18 minutes, the rice should be cooked to al dente and will stop absorbing liquid. Stir in lemon rind and juice, chopped rosemary and butter. Add grated cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and garnish with additional grated cheese. Makes 4 servings. Download Lemon Risotto

 

Mushroom Risotto with Duck

I don't know about you but I get a little tired of all the rich excesses of the holiday season and crave some uncomplicated food every once in a while. Of course that said, I'd probably give away my left arm for a piece of that Cranberry Cheesecake right now. Ha. Christmas Eve we cooked a lovely duck on the rotisserie because the last one was darned tasty so last night's dinner made use of some of the leftovers.

The big guy makes magic with arborio rice and whipped up a batch of creamy risotto filled with onion, garlic, crimini mushrooms and duck of course. He added a little white wine for zing and a glug of cream just because, then spiced it with coarse ground pepper and a touch of sea salt and did all of this while I languished in front of the television watching an NCIS re-run.  He even brought me a glass of wine and cleaned up the kitchen after dinner. Hey, it's my birthday week and I'm milking it for everything I'm worth! Am I lucky or what?  Download Basic Risotto

Basic Risotto

4 cups good quality, low salt chicken stock

4 Tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

Salt & pepper

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup to 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Chopped fresh parsley

Heat broth in small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Melt butter in large flat bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add onion and cook stirring until onion is transparent (approx 4-5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add Arborio rice and stir to coat well, approximately 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until wine has is almost all reduced.  Add a ladle full of broth (approx. ¾ cup) and cook, stirring until broth has been absorbed almost completely. Continue cooking and stirring, adding broth a bit at a time until the rice is tender but firm to the bite (approx. 15 minutes).

Taste for seasoning. Add cream and 1/2 cup parmesan. Stir to combine. Rice should have a moist, creamy consistency. Serve sprinkled with additional parmesan.

For Mushroom Risotto with Duck –

Half way through rice’s cooking period, add 2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms and continue cooking Arborio as above. Add 1-1/2 cups chopped cooked duck approximately 3 minutes before serving, just to warm it through.  Serves 4 to 6.

Duck with Pomegranate Chile Sauce

Thanksgiving is but a whisper away which means Christmas is just around the corner. Yikes. I don't know about you, but I've been wondering what the heck I'm going to cook for Christmas dinner now that I have our Thanksgiving menu all sewed up. Well, the big guy may have come up with the perfect solution.

Saturday he took a "dead duck" and gave it the hot water treatment - pricked the skin, hung it up and poured several pots of hot water over the bird to loosen the skin and dissolve some of the fat underneath it. After it hung over the sink to drip dry, it spent the night in the refrigerator, uncovered, on cooling racks over a sheet pan so air could circulate and dry the bird further. If it seems like a lot of trouble to you, it's worth it because the end result will be wonderfully crisp skin. Really, what in the world can be better than that?

 Late yesterday afternoon the bird was stuffed with fresh oranges and placed on the Weber rotisserie over charcoal and a hunk of alder wood for an hour and a half to get happy. The big guy babied his duck and basted it during the last 20 minutes or so with an unbelievable glaze, recipe courtesy of none other than last December's Bon Appetit.

Made from our home grown pomegranates, the sauce included reduced pomegranate juice, chicken stock, dried chiles and a little adobo sauce from canned chipotles. Further reduced to a syrup consistency, the end result was a beautifully colored, perfectly moist bird, with a crisp skin and just the right touch of sweetness from the pomegranates and heat from the chiles. The ultimate palate pleaser!

Served with our favorite fruit and nut filled wild rice salad, Download Fruity Wild Rice Salad wouldn't you agree it looks like Christmas on a plate?

 

Duck with Pomegranate Chile Sauce (adapted Bon Appetit, December 2009)

Sauce:

1/3 cup sugar

½ cup water

2 cups pomegranate juice

2 cups low sodium chicken broth

3 large dried New Mexico chiles

1 large dried Pasilla (Ancho)

1-1/2 teaspoons adobo sauce from canned chipotles

1-1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin

Coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper

Stir sugar and water together in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat and boil until syrup is a deep amber color – about 8 minutes. Add juice, broth and chiles. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1-1/2 cups (about 25 minutes). Set aside to cool. Puree in blender until smooth. Whisk in adobo sauce, vinegar and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.  If you’d like a thicker sauce return sauce to a pot and cook over medium high heat until it is of the desired consistency. Cover and chill – rewarm before using.

Duck:

One 6 pound duck, defrosted

1 large orange, cut in quarters

Salt & pepper

Fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish

Remove any excess fat from inside duck and discard giblets. Prick skin of duck being careful not to cut into the flesh. Hang duck up over kitchen sink, and pour a quart of boiling water over the outside on all sides. Repeat boiling water process 3 times. Let duck hang for 30 minutes to drip dry, then place on cooling racks over a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered overnight.

Next day salt and pepper inside of duck and stuff with orange sections. Place on rotisserie and roast until internal temperature reaches 165. Approximately 20 minutes before duck has finished cooking, brush several times with sauce. Remove from heat and let rest 15 minutes before carving.  Serve garnished with pomegranate seeds and more sauce on the side. Download Duck with Pomegranate Chile Sauce

 

Bacon and Tomato Risotto

The big guy cooked again last night, and that was after spending the day tooling around town getting groceries, taking our elliptical in for repair and looking after me. Yes I'm sick again, having finally succumbed to the cold that's been making the rounds. Darn thing is the gift that just keeps on giving but I'm being VERY well cared for including but not limited to great food, hot bourbon toddies and cuddles. Now if I can just talk him into ironing his shirts I'll have it made. LOL

The big guy's the master risotto maker around here as I've mentioned before and last night's effort included bacon, onion, lots of garlic, tomatoes and more BACON! I mean honestly how can you go wrong with that? Truly quick and easy, risotto takes 10 minutes to prep, 20 minutes to cook and about 5 minutes to inhale.

It is so incredibly delicious and very simple to make - just think of it as the Italian version of fried rice and don't be intimidated by the 20 minutes of stirring it takes. The time goes by very quickly and the bonus is you get to watch the miracle of dry separated rice morphing into a creamy mass of tummy warming goodness.

Here's the recipe for our Basic Risotto. Use your imagination and you can come up with a multitude of different varieties - all good I might add.

Basic Risotto

4 cups good quality, low salt chicken stock

4 Tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup white wine

Salt & pepper

2 Tablespoons heavy cream

1/2 cup to 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Chopped fresh parsley

Heat broth in small saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Melt butter in large flat bottomed saucepan over medium heat. When butter foams, add onion and cook stirring until onion is transparent (approx 4-5 minutes). Add garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add Arborio rice and stir to coat well, approximately 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until wine has is almost all reduced.  Add a ladle full of broth (approx. ¾ cup) and cook, stirring until broth has been absorbed almost completely. Continue cooking and stirring, adding broth a bit at a time until the rice is tender but firm to the bite (approx. 15 minutes).

Taste for seasoning. Add cream and 1/2 cup parmesan. Stir to combine. Rice should have a moist, creamy consistency. Serve sprinkled with additional parmesan.

For Bacon & Tomato Risotto –

Prior to cooking rice, cook 5 slices of coarsly chopped bacon until crisp. Remove from pan.Make basic risotto recipe. Prior to adding cream & parmesan, return bacon to pan and add 2 chopped tomatoes and two tablespoons chopped fresh basil. Add cream & parmesan. Cook & stir until just warmed through. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Other variations of Risotto made from the same basic recipe!

   
Italian Sausage & Mushroom                  Asparagus & Shrimp    

    
Risotto with Bolognese                          Pancetta & Artichokes

Mediterranean Style Stuffed Peppers

I was chatting with our sweet Sophia the other day and she mentioned she was cooking stuffed peppers for dinner. That was just the nudge I needed to add peppers to our menu this week. The supply is certainly plentiful this time of year and the prices go down accordingly so it seemed like a no brainer.

Although I'd just as soon have made a version that we've posted here before, I thought I'd give 'em a different twist and try a Mediterranean translation, adapted from Cooking Light. I known, I know - I can hear you now. What exactly constitutes a Mediterranean style stuffed pepper anyway? I don't know about you but when I think of Mediterranean, I think of lamb and therefore mint. The stuffing for these giant orbs holds true to that theory with couscous replacing the usual rice, along with lots of onion, garlic, lemon and fresh parsley too.They're light, summery and not at all like our usual stuffed peppers.

Did we like 'em? Well, I thought they needed more seasonings along with some kind of sauce. I really should have kept my opinion to myself because the big guy took it to heart and used the better part of a bottle of hot sauce on them. But that's just us and you all know subtle isn't a word in our vocabulary. You give 'em a try and tell me what you think, OK?

Mediterranean Stuffed Peppers

4 red, yellow or orange bell peppers or a combination

1-1/2 cups chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1-1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 Tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces ground lamb

5 Tablespoons lemon juice, divided

1 – 2/3 cups low sodium chicken broth

1-1/4 cups couscous

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

Wash and dry peppers well. Cut in half lengthwise through stems, and remove seeds. Place cut side down onto basing sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake at 450 for 13 to 18 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Remove from oven and set aside. 

In a large pan over high heat, heat olive oil. Add onions, garlic, thyme, mint and rosemary and cook until onions are soft and just beginning to brown (5 minutes). Add ground lamb and cook crumbling until lamb is browned (2 to 3 minutes). Add half of the lemon juice.  Stir in broth and couscous. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Stir in parsley, remaining lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as required.

Turn cooked pepper halves over and fill with lamb/couscous mixture. Top with sprinkle of feta cheese. Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.   Serves 4.

 

Cornish Hens with Orange Pistachio Wild Rice Salad

There's poulet and there's poussin and there's pullets. Confused? Oh good! Last night's dinner was all of the above. Cornish Game Hens are just regular chickens only they meet their Waterloo when they're young and supposedly tender. Quite honestly I've never been much of a fan but that is likely due to the fact that I didn't know how to cook the darn things. The big guy took care of that little problem and hold onto your shorts - he's actually going to share his secret. 

He cut the backbone of each bird out using kitchen shears, then spread it out spatchcock style. That's not the end of it though. The big guy takes it a step farther and actually removes the bones from everything but the wings and the legs. Now imagine your big guy deboning an iddy biddy cornish game hen? Mine does...neener, neener.LOL

Then he sprinkled both sides of each bird with lemon pepper, salt and granulated garlic. Removed to a large zip bag they marinated for an hour in a combination of the juice of one half lemon, juice of one and a half limes and the juice of a clementine - you could use an orange (he was just showing off). He also added a quarter cup of olive oil to the bag, zipped it up and let'em get all happy. 

He cooked them over charcoal, skin side down on direct heat for 8 minutes, flipped them over on direct heat for another 7 minutes then slid them over to the cooler side of the grill, slathered them with a mix of my homemade Kumquat Tangelo Marmalade and a little water and cooked them for another 2 minutes. They were perfectly tender, moist and flavorful with very crispy wonderful dark skin thanks to the marmalade glaze - just the way we like 'em. (We love our carcinogens.)

While he was prepping the bird, he also helped prep the Orange Pistachio Wild Rice Salad that we served along side the cluck. This salad is adapted from Ellie Krieger at Food Network and combines wild and brown rice with orange, basil, red onion and toasted pistachios. We also added 8 beautifully ripened seeded and sliced kumquats from our trees. The trees are just getting ready to bloom again so we cleaned 'em of the last golden orbs and before Thanksgiving we'll be enjoying a bumper crop.

My critique about the salad - now I could have said nothing and let you reach your own conclusion, but after all wild rice ain't that cheap so I'm going to be dead honest. I didn't like the salad much - it was mushy and kind of milquetoastesque...now there's a word for the week. Instead if you're going to make a wild rice salad, try the one we made last August or even a combination of the two. My favorite is full of wild and white rice, cooked separately so they don't turn to mush and then combined with toasted pecans,apricots, and dried cranberries in an orange and balsamic vinaigrette. It is absolutely bar none - THE BEST! Just sayin'. See?  Now honest, tell me...which one would you rather eat?

 
I'll send you to Ellie's but honestly and you can reach your own conclusions, but have I ever lied to you before?  Here's the better one.  Download The BEST Wild Rice Salad

Pork Chops with Balsamic Reduction and Red Pepper Grits

Before I go into telling you about last night's dinner, I've got to give myself 20 lashes with a wet noodle. You see I tried something yesterday that I've never done before and now I'm wondering what took me so darn long.

As you all know the pork we buy these days is so incredibly lean it's very difficult to cook in a way that will leave it moist and flavorful. Last night's chops were cut from a pork loin roast I bought at Fry's on Monday - hey their loin roasts were on sale, but the chops were an unbelievable price so I figured I'd just cut 'em myself from the loin roast. Instead of planning ahead, the chops came out of the freezer to thaw yesterday noon and at 4 bells I figured I'd look into brining them. I know...I shoulda' thought about it sooner, but honestly 2 and a half hours in the brine really did the trick - in fact from what I gather, chops need a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 8 hours. Download Pork Chops with Balsamic Reduction

Before cooking, I dried the center cut loin chops off with a paper towel then dusted them with pepper and sauteed them in a very hot cast iron skillet for a total of 8 minutes - 4 minutes a side. They were removed from the pan and kept warm while I deglazed the pan which took a whole 30 seconds or less. I took the pan off the heat, added a balsamic/honey combination and all hell broke loose. Don't be an "idjut" like I was - for heavens sake step back when you do it and don't breathe in. I darn near asphyxiated myself. Rest assured I made a VERY quick recovery once dinner was on the table.

Those balsamic glazed chops were amazing - moist, I mean really really moist and full of flavor. I know I should have taken a picture of the chop after a bite to show you just how juicy it was, but we were too darn busy chowing down what turned out to be an incredible dinner to even think about taking another picture. Best pork chop I've ever cooked! No kidding!

As as for the grits - picture creamy, cheesy grits with a touch of garlic,and loaded with roasted red peppers. Do I need to say anymore? Download Roasted Red Pepper Grits

Braised Short Ribs with Polenta

The big guy's hunting side kick, John, was here yesterday so I planned "man" food for dinner. John left after breakfast this morning and the big guy's off Thursday after class for their annual javelina huntin' trip. I usually spend the next 10 days praying the hunt is less than successful and quite honestly I think for the guys it's just an excuse to get away from the women anyway.

Last night's dinner was a send off of sorts with these fabulous braised short ribs flavored with pancetta, onions, and red wine. Adapted from The Pioneer Woman's recipe, it's chock full of flavor and certainly filled the neighborhood with a sweet aroma. I know that for a fact because we sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the sun for the three hours it was cookin' and believe me, we could smell it plum good from there. I pretty much followed Ree's recipe, but added quartered mushrooms, beautiful little fresh pearl onions, garlic, a bay leaf and canned consomme as well as the beef broth. I find using consomme really adds depth to a beef braise.

I also cooked up Ree's recipe for creamy polenta with goat cheese to go with the braised short ribs and believe me, they're a great "with" to sop up the wonderful gravy. The big guy said he really liked them too, but had a hankering for some biscuits and mashed potatoes. Oh well, maybe next time right babe? Rounded out by some roasted parsnip and brussels sprouts, it was a perfectly delicious Sunday night dinner - maybe not so healthy, but perfectly delicious!

Today I'm going to get my kitchen back in order after this marathon cooking weekend and then maybe take a long nap with the Maxer dawg. I think I'm gettin' too darn old for this stuff because I'm exhausted. Boy, that's sure hard on the old ego. Oh one more thing - after being on this moderation plan for a month I'm convinced one can get really sick of food when you have too much of it. That's kind of where I'm at today, but trust me round about 6 tonight I'll be back in the kitchen cookin' dinner. 

Lamb Shank Ragu with Cheesy Grits

Yesterday was a wild day - just wild. Guess I live such a quiet life, that when busy hits I just don't know how to handle the stress. The big guy's away this week living the high life in a fancy hotel. The only thing is, that fancy hotel's in Tucson and no, I'm not going with him. It's impossible to find someone to take care of an epileptic dog, so Max and I get to stay home. Hey, we'd get bored with all that high class food anyway!

As well as having to do some shopping yesterday morning, with 6 stops on our grand tour of Tucson, Max and I also put together a bunch of goodie bags for the big guy and packed suitcases for his week hob nobbing with the mucky mucks. Ya, my Eastern Oregon cowboy's gotta' get fancy this week - he hates it, but I think he looks darned handsome in all his finery. Of course, he would normally have helped with all this, but he spent the day in meetings so I wanted to welcome him home after a hard day with a dinner that would smell and taste incredible. You know...so maybe he'd miss us tons while he's gone!

This recipe for Lamb Shank Ragu is from October's Gourmet Magazine and it certainly lived up to its billing. After reading the comment section in Epicurious, I decided to double the number of lamb shanks knowing the size of our appetites, and I cooked them in a 350 oven rather than on top of the stove.The house was filled with the incredible aroma of bourbon - yup, there's a whole cup of it in addition to red onion, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, fennel and some great spices. That certainly got the big guy's attention when he opened the door! As for the grits - well I admit I used my own recipe that I kind of made up as I went. That way I got to taste test as I was creating them - good heavens, I love those things! The big guy wrote down the quantities as we went along so here's the result - creamy, cheesy and fabulous ...I promise I'll try and work on the modesty. Download Cheese Grits JBug Style

The verdict - we quite liked it. In fact it's almost a toss up between this one and another recipe in this blog for Lamb Shanks. You decide which one you like best but be sure you let me know what you think OK? 

Risotto With Asparagus And Shrimp

The big guy's the one that cooks risotto in this house, so last night I'm the one that watched and drank wine while he did all the work. Course it wasn't without constant nagging on my part - hey the inside kitchen's my domain so I should get to express my opinion, right?

For all my comments, hints, nagging and "don't ya' think you shoulds", the big guy makes a mean pot of risotto all by himself. In fact, before we were married it was his "go to" dish of choice - that is when steak wasn't on the menu, so he can make it blindfolded or otherwise impaired.  He starts by sauteing onions, garlic and shallots in olive oil until soft, then adds the arborio rice, gives it a good stir and lets it cook until it starts looking a little transparent. At this point he sets the timer for 20 minutes and starts adding the heated stock in half cup increments, stirring continuously. By 8 minutes on the clock, the arborio rice has slowed its absorption of stock, and at this point he adds some white wine. At the 5 minute mark, the asparagus which had been sliced into coins hit the pot followed by the raw shrimp at 3 minutes. At the buzzer, he adds the butter, then the cream and parmesan cheese. Voila', like magic the rice is cooked in all it's shiny, creamy glory. Download Risotto With Asparagus And Shrimp

The big guy swears by the use of the timer to make consistently good risotto - and believe me, he does make it that way ALL the time. No matter what the additions - bacon, italian sausage, chicken or whatever's in the pantry, his risotto always turns out perfectly, with or without my "help" I might add.

A Walk On The Wild Side - Wild Rice Salad & Marmalade Mustard Chicken

Yesterday was a rather eventful day. I saved a life. Georgie was tormenting a baby rabbit to death in the back yard, so I collected it, cuddled it back to life then returned it to its proper habitat. We have b'zillions of rabbits around here, but I'd never been that close to one before. Boy it was sweet - brought out the momma in me. I would have kept it but we've enough of a menagerie around here. Now, as for that darn cat, she's on my black list. I mean she gets fed all she can eat and she still wants to keep the yard her personal killing zone. How does one train a cat? And no, keeping her in the house is not an option. She's feral, darn it.

After that little adventure I got to go do the weekly shopping while the big guy stayed home and cleaned up the jungle that we call our yard. My last stop was at Trader Joes and their parking lot is the Tucson version of crash car derby. An elderly lady with a big car and tunnel vision missed running over my size 9's by a fraction of an inch. We were not amused. There is however, a dent in her car where my fist landed. I think I almost gave her a coronary. Oh...patience pills, I need patience pills.

Dinner improved the day enormously. The big guy butterflied a lovely little 4 pound chicken and cooked it on the barbecue. He was going to finish it with one of the 12 jars of prickly pear glaze that he made a few years ago, but unfortunately the quality of the glaze wasn't up to par, so we ditched all of it and came up with plan B. He mixed equal parts of grainy mustard and home made bitter orange marmalade and slathered it on the bird twice, about 15 minutes before it finished cooking. The result...well you tell me! Can my guy COOK or what?

My contribution to the feast was a Wild Rice Salad. I have to admit, it's the perfect salad for Thanksgiving due to the colors and wonderful on a buffet as it needs to be served at room temperature, but we were craving it, so I made up a small batch. Ya right - half the recipe meant about 6 cups of salad, and that's a small batch in this house. Oh well - we love it and it's great left over, since much like the Moroccan Couscous salad from a few days ago, the flavor really improves and mellows over time. Toasted pecans, dried apricots and cranberries are combined with wild and white rice and finished with a mustard, balsamic vinaigrette. Download Wild Rice Salad It's flavorful, crunchy, filling and a great "with" beside the big guy's barbecued perfection. 

As for today, it started at the crack of 4:30 AM when the big guy started up the charcoal barbecue and put a huge dry rubbed brisket on to cook. We've friends coming for dinner tonight so we'll be driving the neighborhood nuts all day with the smell of smoke and brisket cookin'. Tough for them, eh? I gotta run. The first job on my list is dessert. Hurry back you all - it'll be tomorrow's post.

Chicken Thighs with Creole Mustard Orange Sauce & Moroccan Couscous

My virus software is doing a scan at the moment so the computer is a tad slow. So's the author. Yikes, this is one of those days when I've got nothing to say. There are many that would scoff at that remark, one being the big guy. He'd likely make some comment like...well you did a pretty good imitation of being a chatterbox over coffee this morning, and darn he'd be right, again.

Last night's dinner was from a couple of different sources. The Moroccan Couscous and Chickpea Salad came from www.othersideof50.blogspot.com, a site I recently discovered, though I can't remember how. Lucky us that I did find Mags, because her blog is funny, sometimes irreverent and the food she cooks is incredible. Oh that we were neighbors. I think we'd have a lot of fun together though there might be far too much jocularity. Check out her recipe at http://othersideof50.blogspot.com/2009/07/moroccan-couscous-and-chickpea-salad.html and for heaven's sake, stay and visit a while. She's a laugh a minute.

As you can see from the picture, couscous is combined with dried cranberries, orange bell pepper, sweet onion, spices and chickpeas in an orange vinaigrette. The flavors are fabulous and it was delicious along side the orange chicken. I goofed though and cooked the pepper and onion too long so when you make it, don't make that mistake, OK. I think next time I'll add a few dried apricots to the mix and maybe some almonds too because the crunch would be lovely, but I'll have to leave out the chickpeas. After 9 years of marriage, I just found out the big guy doesn't like them. How's that for communicating?  

The chicken's a real winner too. Skinless, boneless chicken thighs are browned, then finished with an  aromatic sauce of orange juice, chicken stock and whole grain dijon mustard. A spoon full of hot sauce adds just the right amount of kick.  It's another Bon Appetit recipe from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-Thighs-with-Creole-Mustard-Orange-Sauce-5665 Along with a fresh fruit salad of assorted melons, pineapple and blueberries, it was another smile worthy dinner in the house of JBug and the GMan.

Now I gotta run because I'm off to stand in line and see if I can get into the 10:15 showing of Julie & Julia. TTFN (ta, ta for now)!

Sausage and Peppers

I was looking for an easy stove-top dinner for another hot day. We've storms moving in, and it looks suspiciously like monsoons have started already. It's over a month too soon, so it's got to be our imaginations, isn't it? Funny how we all look forward to monsoons - are we crazy? All it means is that it's now HOT and HUMID, instead of just hot.

I took out too many sausages for yesterday's meatloaf, so thought we'd make good use of them and have Sausage and Peppers for dinner.

  

Sorry, there's no recipe for this one. I just threw it all together in one pan - take the skin off the sausage and crumble it into a saute pan, brown well, then remove from the pan. Add "stoplight" peppers to the pan, that is one green, one red and one yellow, along with a sliced onion. Add 2 cloves of garlic, minced, a teaspoon or so of Italian seasoning, one teaspoon of oregano, a dash of red pepper flakes and a pinch of fennel seed, if you've got it. Saute for a few minutes, then add one 14 oz. tin of diced tomatoes. Add the sausage back into the pan and saute' for another 5 minutes or so and dinner's on!

I served it on Cheese Grits. Download Cheese Grits I've gotta' say, I had never had grits before I came to the U.S. I mean, to this uninitiated Canuck, grits look like Cream of Wheat, and that's breakfast cereal. However, a trip to New Orleans and dinner at Mr. B's Bistro taught me that grits were a fine thing. I fell in love with their shrimp with applewood smoked bacon on grits with red eye gravy - oh my...I just had to come home and try and duplicate. Needless to say, I had to make grits several times before they turned out as creamy as Mr. B's were. I'm sure there's still something that's lacking compared to theirs, but our visit was almost 6 years ago, so the tastebud memories have faded somewhat. Try my recipe though and see what you think.

Happy day all you mommas

Mother's Day - it's bitter sweet. Bitter because my little Mommy's already putting the kettle on for afternoon tea in heaven, and sweet because I'm lucky enough to have a great Mother-in-law and reason to celebrate the day. My little Mommy's here though, in memories  with her "best" teapot, full of roses on the table. This was the pot she'd pull out when special guests showed up...you know back in the day you had to really "put on the dogs" for company. I treasure it.

Knowing the thermometer was heading upwards (100 as we speak), I picked a menu that we could still enjoy with the heat on outside, and the oven off inside. The Orange Chicken with Sesame and Ginger is from a Bon Appetit June 1996 magazine that I saved in my arsenal of cookbooks. Hey, the reason ya' hold on to your favorites is because they don't keep all of the recipes that they've published on Epicurious.com. And honestly and more important, the year 1996 has some special memories for me - it was the year I met my fabulous husband. Download Orange Sesame Chicken

This chicken must be prepared the night before or early in the morning when the sun's barely up, so it has a chance to marinate and chill, so at 6 bells this morning it was already in the oven. Hey...we  didn't get much sleep last night, what with the clean up and then the rehash of the event, plus our little Maxer has an alarm clock built in that says BREAKFAST at 5 am. The sesame seeds, orange and lemon juice along with mango chutney give the chicken breasts an exotic appearance and definitely an island flavor. The chicken was very moist and I can certainly see us having it again and again. I served it along with couscous, scented with cinnamon, allspice and dried apricots. Pistachios and basil are added as a garnish. We also had the rest of the asparagus salad from last night. Download Couscous with Apricots

Dessert was supposed to be a peach melba, made from frozen peaches from Trader Joes and a quick raspberry coulis, but the rest of the Hummingbird Cake was calling from the refrigerator and I just had to serve it. It was either that or increased hours...many, many extra hours on the ellipitical - which today, by the way, graduated to the living room from the garage. Too darn hot to exercise in the garage at least that was my excuse, and though its a monster in size, it is easily moved when the need arises, so no more excuses now. Shucks!

Risotto Is So Easy!

OK, Friday again and we're eating at home. What can I say? We're saving for our Oregon trip, never mind the big guy's been away from home enough I'm sure he's anxious to come home and watch those mountains turn pink.

Risotto is another food that has endless possibilities and one we never get tired of. Great for a quick dinner, it can be accomplished from start to finish in less than half an hour. When GMan and I were dating from a distance, Ma Bell was regularly utilized during the time it took to make a pot; in fact, GMan is the risotto pro around this house. Tonight I did the prep work, chilled the wine, and when the big guy got home from work we chatted about our day, had some laughs and planned our weekend while he stirred the pot.

This recipe Download Basic Risotto is our favorite standard risotto, to which we added pre-cooked italian sausage, mushrooms and chopped fresh roma tomatoes. Please, use your imagination. You can make a basic risotto, then add asparagus, or seafood or both and it becomes a seafood risotto; or, roasted red peppers and pancetta; or, assorted diced fresh veggies; or, mushrooms and prosciutto; or, bacon and tomato - the sky's the limit. And good heavens, don't be intimidated. So you have to stand and stir a pan for 20 minutes - just pour yourself a glass of wine, turn up the music and give'er!

The time goes so quickly and it's amazing to see this rich, creamy dish come together from so few ingredients. If you ever have any leftovers, mix the cold risotto with an egg to bind it together, form into patties, and fry in a no-stick pan until brown and crispy for a quick delicious lunch or appetizer.