Sunday Dinner Assortment

Today was a perfect lazy Sunday. One of those now very rare days for my husband and I when we stay in pajamas all day and watch movies. It was even better that the last two James Bond movies were on. The good thing was that I had done enough grocery shopping earlier in the week, so we weren’t short on supplies. But it was a sort of mix and match for dinner this evening with a bit of improvising.

* Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto
* Crostini with Homemade Pear and Apricot Chutney and Blue Cheese
* Pan Seared Chicken with Dijon Wine Sauce, Roast Yukon Gold Potatoes and Roasted Mix Vegetables
* Some extra Asparagus Soup too for lunch tomorrow

As you might’ve guessed I bought a lot of asparagus this week as it was on sale this week. One of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is to roast it in the oven with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. If I happen to have prosciutto, then it’s even better! Just remember to skip the salt as prosciutto is so salty already. Just roast at around 400F for about 15 min or until the prosciutto is crispy.

For crostini, slice a baguette thinly and drizzle olive oil. Toast in the oven around 400F for about 10 minutes or until starting to color. Be careful as they can get crispy without coloring too much. Top with some fruit chutney like pear or mango and top with a sharp cheese like blue or mature cheddar (I like Trader Joe’s English cheddar).

For the chicken, if it’s really thick butterfly it. Sprinkle with garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan on low/medium heat. Cook the chicken about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on thickness. You’re going to add it back to the sauce to finish so if it’s slightly pink it’s ok. When done, set aside to let rest. Add a heaping tbsp of Dijon mustard, patty (tbsp) of butter and about a 1/2 cup white wine. Sprinkle black pepper and let simmer for about a minute. Meanwhile slice the chicken into bite size pieces. Turn the sauce to low heat and add the chicken back in. Heat through another two minutes roughly. Serve on top of roasted potatoes and vegetables. Simple and delicious!

PS: I only like roast potatoes if they’re crispy. So today I chopped some Yukon Gold’s into small 1/2 inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast at 400F until crispy. Same goes for mixed vegetables which tonight included red onion, zucchini and cherry tomatoes.

Hope you enjoyed your Sunday as much as I did. Have a great week!

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Quick Dinner : Creamy Mushroom Chicken

So cooking for one in a kitchen that’s not my own has been quite a challenge recently. You can’t make too much since you can only eat leftovers for so long. And as this is a temporary situation I don’t really want to stock the cupboards as it will just go to waste.. So my challenge has been:

* Be economical
* Be healthy
* Be simple
* Be quick

And it’s really not that easy. Breakfast items are one solution. Eggs are healthy in moderation. Salads and store-bought soups are good too. But they’re not all really cooking. So last weekend I was craving hot white rice and not the microwaveable kind. So I had to come up with something to have with it that didn’t require a lot of different seasonings or several ingredients. Did I mention the fridge is really tiny too?

So my solution is a sort of spin on fast stroganoff – creamy chicken with mushrooms.

Recipe for two (or leftovers for lunch)

1 packet boneless chicken thighs (~5 thighs)
1/2 packet mushrooms
1/2 yellow onion
2-3 garlic cloves
2 beef stock cubes
Salt & pepper
Couple heaping tbsp of either cream, creme fraiche or sour cream
Optional – white wine
Hot white rice (~1.5 cups)

Rinse the rice in a medium saucepan. Strain and repeat again. Add about water about 1.5 times volume of rice. Or add enough water so that when you gently shake the pot to level the rice out, the water comes to the first line on your index finger when you stick it in the middle of the pot to touch the rice. Sounds odd but it works! Bring to the boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Check after about 10-15 minutes. When the water looks like its evaporated, turn off the heat but leave the lid on. Fluff the rice after another 5 minutes. Or you could just buy some ready made rice 🙂

Meanwhile chop the onion, garlic and mushrooms. Heat some oil in a large frying pan. Add the onions and cook on medium heat for a minute or so. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Might need to add a bit more oil. Once it’s softened after a couple minutes. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Chop the chicken into bite size pieces. Add more oil to the pan and add all the chicken. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Cook on one side until the edges are beginning to cook and flip all the pieces over. Cook for another couple minutes. Strain some of the fat off if you’d like.
Add the mushrooms back in. Sprinkle the stock cubes over and pour about 1/2 cup of water (preferably hot water). Gently stir to dissolve the stock cubes. Let this summer for a minute. Taste and season accordingly. If you’d like a lot of sauce then add more water but let it reduce again to thicken. After another minute add the cream. Taste and season again. Let it heat through another minute or so and serve on top of hot steaming rice!

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Thankful for Pumpkin Muffins!

In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d finally post about the pumpkin muffins I’ve made recently. I saw Chef James Tanner make them on iTV’s Lorraine show. They’re super easy and I even made them once with my 3-year old nieces. They’re also incredibly festive and go very well with a nice cup of tea!

Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

I’ve provided his recipe for you below but here’s the link as well.

INGREDIENTS

250g plain flour

2tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

1tsp ground ginger

2tsp all spice

Pinch of salt

160g soft brown sugar

60ml milk or buttermilk

200g of pumpkin puree

2 eggs

30g apple sauce

120g melted butter

Few drops of vanilla extract

Optional pumpkin seeds for garnish

** For the maple cream cheese frosting

100g icing sugar (may need more)

100g cream cheese

45g butter

1tbsp maple syrup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
2. Make the pumpkin puree. Start peeling a small pumpkin (2kg will do). Scrape out as much flesh as you can and chop the rest into cubes. Simmer with a bit of water in a pot until soft. It will take about 15-20 minutes. Drain and blitz into a puree. Weigh out 200g. You can freeze the leftovers for more muffins or use it for a soup. If you want to use the pumpkin seeds, toast them first in the oven and set aside. Take the cream cheese and butter for the frosting out at this point to bring to room temperature.
3. Sieve the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger and all spice into a bowl, add salt and sugar and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk or buttermilk, pumpkin puree, eggs, apple sauce, melted butter and vanilla extract. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet to create a smooth batter.
4. Line your muffin tin with baking cases. Fill each almost to the top of the case and pop them in the oven.
5. The recipe says to cook for 20-25 minutes but mine were much quicker than that. Check the muffins at 10 minutes and again 5 minutes later. Using a cocktail stick, check the center of the muffin. If it comes out clean then they’re done. Leave to cool on a wire baking rack. Serve plain for a savory muffin or top with the frosting for something sweet.
6. For the frosting, blend all the ingredients together. If you are mixing by hand, this will be much easier to do if the ingredients are soft and at room temperature. If you want your icing to be a bit more stiff, add more icing sugar as needed. Then serve!

Cook’s Notes

• The pumpkin seeds are pretty on top but if you’re going to have frosting they just get in the way and end up chewy.
• I got my pumpkin at Sainsbury’s.. it looked pretty small but it weighed about 2kg and it gave me enough pumpkin puree for just over two portions of this recipe.
• I used homemade apple sauce and added a bit extra for more moisture.
• Careful on the cooking time. Don’t go by color and be sure to check after 10 minutes. If the cocktail stick comes out with a bit of crumb on it, it’s done. What you don’t want to see is batter.

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Instant Ice Cream!

A couple of weeks ago – James Martin made instant ice cream on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen (Live). I couldn’t believe it so had to try myself. Chris and I made it with our niece and nephew who are 2 and 4 years old. We made it with pre-frozen raspberries bought from the store and skipped the vanilla. It was incredibly easy! The kids wanted to eat it right away in their cones. It was just a bit soft but after being in the freezer for about 10 minutes it firmed up right away! I still have a container of it sitting in our freezer that I snack on 🙂 This is a must try recipe!

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This ‘n That

Hellooo All – as you might have noticed in my “about” section – a lot of things have been going on for me. I was meant to do a masters program in food management in the UK, but sadly my visa didn’t get processed in time. However, on the flip side – I am now engaged to the often mentioned British boyfriend (Chris). We’ve got loooads of planning to do etc, so hopefully at some point I’ll get back to blogging regularly. In the mean time I have a massive back log of photos to post about, so I may be doing more photo albums than posts. Either way – hope you enjoy!

First up – some nibbles..

This isn’t a sophisticated snack, but it’s creamy and healthy and completely satisfying! After being in the UK all summer, I was dying for some real, full-flavored California Hass avocado. To really taste the avocado, I like to make some toast, slice the avo on top, sprinkle some kosher or sea salt and instead of black pepper I like some dried red chili flakes. Mmm so so satisfying if you love avocado!

As you know I love canapés – as in I love bite-sized food. So when I’m in the mood and have a great baguette, I like to use whatever I can find. To start, I slice the bread fairly thin (just under 1 cm). Drizzle olive oil and toast until golden. Right after you take it out, season with kosher or sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

The two toppings you see above are:

1. Creamy Brie with leek sausage and a drizzle of fig balsamic vinegar
2. Avocado, lettuce, cherry tomato and sweetcorn sauteed with shallots and bacon

There really are so many possibilities – rubbing garlic on the toast right after you take it out of the oven is a classic. Top with ricotta, cherry tomato and a fresh basil leaf or drizzle of pesto. Will post more ideas as they come along.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m not a dessert girl.. more a pasta girl than a chocolate one. I like warm pasta, cold pasta, egg pasta, rice pasta, creamy pasta or even just pasta with olive oil and garlic. I’ve experimented over the years with ingredients and pasta shapes. There are SO many different shapes, but sadly they’re not all easily accessible. One of my favorite shapes is the one above – orzo. At John Besh’s steakhouse in New Orleans, I had an incredible off-the-menu dish – orzo “risotto” with fresh corn, Louisana blue crab, parmesan cheese and large grilled shrimp on top. I’m guessing they made the orzo as if it were Arborio rice – slow cooking it with stock. It was creamy and perfectly cooked. But the secret on this one I think as was the freshness of the ingredients (pre-oil spill).

As for my favorite ingredients, I’m such a creature of habit. I really need to start experimenting more and being more seasonal.. Some of my favorites though are: feta cheese, zucchini/courgette, corn, bell pepper, black olives, sundried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, ricotta, spinach, bacon and sausage. I finally started using a classic “secret” ingredient – lemon. A bit of fresh juice and zest can add a whole lot of freshness and flavor without tasting ‘lemony’.

For my British friends – you might not know this white fish but it’s Tilapia. It’s a mild flavored fish and doesn’t take much cooking time. This time I just seasoned with some standard Cajun spices and pan fried the fillets. I ate it with some fresh lime juice and topped it with some mango, cherry tomato salsa. This type of topping is great with any mild fish. Serve with some plain white rice and that’s it!

And last but not least – back to my love of avocado. You can’t beat some classic guacamole. I like mine slightly chunky, cherry tomatoes (I like the sweetness), red onion, kosher/sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and cilantro/coriander. A nice addition is to toast store-bought tortilla chips in the oven. Yummy!

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SALADS I’VE BEEN MAKING..

Hello hello. Apologies again for the time lag between posts. School has been busy and (as expected!) physically exhausting. It only confirms why I don’t really want to be a restaurant chef. It’s fast and fun but it hits you on your days off! Just went through my back log of dishes I’ve been making and thought I’d do a post on salads (and one salsa). These aren’t the healthiest salads in the world, but I do live with someone who believes a meal is not complete without meat. So I try my best to trick him with bacon and cheese!

Pasta salads are also a favorite of mine. There are infinite possibilities and it’s so filling. I think of it as a vegetable delivery system and a healthy starch alternative at a BBQ. It’s also what I do to use up various vegetables at the end of the week. It really doesn’t need much dressing. I.e. there’s no need for all this creaminess you see in ready made pasta salads (unnecessary calories!). Just add lots of lemon juice and lemon zest and a basic vinaigrette. If you’re adding cheese (like feta or garlic and herb), you really don’t need any dressing. Sundried tomatoes and fresh basil always add loads of flavor as well. Rocket/arugula is good for adding a spicy kick too. I always prefer to use cherry tomatoes to Roma (large) because they’re sweeter and have better color.

The courgette/zucchini salad below is really just a result of me practicing my julienne cuts after school 🙂 But it’s actually a great side salad. Just finely slice the courgette or use a mandoline. Make a white wine vinaigrette and add in fresh lemon juice and finely chopped shallots. If you have fresh parsley, very finely chop and sprinkle on top.

Last but not least some corn and bean salsa. I’ve previously talked about my corn and black bean salsa but there are some great ‘Taco beans’ from Tesco that come in a spicy tomato sauce that I use as a replacement for black beans. Just as healthy!

For these salad recipes, click here. Hope you enjoy the photos!  

Classic Cobb Salad

Rocket Salad with Bacon and Fried Egg

 

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Quick note

Just a quick correction.. When I mentioned courgette/zucchini shavings in the salad below, I meant ribbons. Same concept with the veg peeler but resulting in thin, beautiful strips. Will post photos soon. Otherwise check out the link to Giada’s recipe below!

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WHY I COULD NEVER BE A VEGETARIAN

A few weeks ago, my dad’s good friend came down to visit Arizona and left us with a wonderful gift of Kobe beef. If you’ve never had a Kobe steak and you love red meat, I highly urge you to try some! For the uninitiated, Kobe beef is a special grade that is raised based on the methods developed in Kobe, Japan. There are stories of how the cattle are fed beer and massaged with sake. Whether or not those stories are true, the meat is incredibly tender and marbled. It is, of course, extremely expensive to get the real deal, but nowadays you can buy American-raised, Kobe-style beef which is still pretty good.

If you’ve ever had the real deal, then I’m sure you will never forget your first experience. Although I can’t quite remember how old I was or which exact restaurant it was, I can definitely remember the sensation of eating my first Kobe steak. It was a family dinner and I distinctly remember Dad ordering a steak that was supposed to be very special and insanely expensive (something like $200+). Each of us got just one bite, but I will never forget that bite. It literally melted in my mouth and exploded with flavor… Since then, I’ve had a couple Kobe burgers here and there but only a couple other Wagyu/Kobe experiences. One experience was last year in Phuket, Thailand at the Rivet Grill at the Indigo Pearl Hotel. For my birthday dinner, Chris treated me to a delicious Wagyu steak that melted in my mouth.

However, I must admit that no one can cook a steak like my Dad. If you are a “meat-a-tarian” (like Chris), then you’ll know that THE best way to eat a steak is charred rare. This requires very high heat and creates a perfect crust. So no matter how great the quality of meat, it’s not the same if it’s not cooked properly. And when you bite into a steak like the one below (a charred rare Kobe steak), your eyes will close, you’ll probably moan and you’ll know in your heart that you’ll never be a vegetarian.

 

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