Chicken and polenta

This dish turned out so much better than I expected. The hormone-free chicken was pan seared with just a bit of salt and pepper until nicely browned and crispy. Meanwhile the polenta was prepared by sweating out onions and garlic in a pan. Four cups of chicken stock went into that and a cup of coarse corn meal was whisked in once it reached the boiling point. This was cooked with frequent stirring for about 40 minutes until it was smooth and thick. The sauce was made in the pan that was used for the chicken. After the chicken was browned and set aside, chopped garlic and onions were added to the pan followed a minute later by sliced mushrooms. These were sautéd until softened and the pan, with all those wonderful chicken drippings, was deglazed with a half cup or so of white wine. The juice of one lemon was added. The sauce was reduced for a few minutes and then mounted with a pat of butter to give it a rich texture. The chicken was plated on top of a bed of the polenta and the sauce was spooned over it.

Christmas Eve Coq Au Vin

Nothing says comfort food better than coq au vin. And no time is better for comfort food than the night before Christmas.

I took one whole chicken and butchered it up into pieces. These were lightly dredged with seasoned flour.

Into the pot I started with some bacon. Once the fat was rendered I tossed in a whole head of garlic.

The garlic was removed and some onions and mushrooms were sautéed in the pot with the bacon fat.

The mushrooms were removed. A bit of olive oil was added to the pot and the chicken pieces were browned on all sides. Then in went a cup of red wine. I used a nice Chianti for this one but a Pinot Noir would be great too. When the pan was deglazed I added two cups of chicken broth and some dried thyme. The chicken was stewed for about 15 minutes and then the bacon, garlic, mushrooms and onions were added back to the pot. This was stewed for another 15 minutes or so. The gravy was thickened with a bit of butter and flour and everything was served on a bed of mashed potatoes. YUMMY!

chicken wrapped asparagus with lemon sauce

Dinner tonight turned out much better than I imagined. I was thinking about how to use chicken and asparagus and I came up with this concoction.

I started with two boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I pounded flat. I seasoned the inside of the chicken with salt, pepper, pureed garlic and the zest of a lemon. I added about 6 asparagus spears and rolled the whole thing up.


The chicken rolls were seared in a hot pan to give it some golden brown color.

After searing for about 4 or 5 minutes on each side I added a can of chicken broth to the pan. The chicken was covered and cooked on low heat for about 10 minutes until the chicken was fully cooked through. I then added the juice of one lemon and some corn starch paste (1 tbsp corn starch mixed with cold water). This was cooked until the sauce was thickened. I plated the chicken with white rice and topped everything with the delicious lemony chicken sauce. It was very very good.

Chicken and vegetable stir fry

Another stir fry with chicken breast this time. I flavored it with garlic chili paste and used carrots, bean sprouts and napa cabbage. Perfect over a bowl of sticky Korean rice!

Braised Carrot and Daikon with Chicken

Brimming with Asian fusion flavors, this braised vegetable and chicken dish certainly warms things up on a cold winter's day. I was looking for a hearty stew-like dish to accompany some cooked barley and bulgar wheat. While foraging around in my fridge I found some boneless skinless chicken breast, carrots and a big fresh daikon radish. Sweet vegetables require a savory, sweet and flavorful sauce. I knew I wanted to do a braise and let the root vegetables get nice and tender sweet. The only question that remained was how to season the dish.

I opened up my cupboard of Asian goods and found some of this fish flavored dashi powder. This is like Korean bullion but made with fish, not beef or chicken. That provided a nice undercurrent of flavor.

I also spied my bag of dried Chinese goji berries. These would make a nice addition to the dish as they would provide a bit of fruity sweetness to go along with the carrots. And I love the color.

I started with the dashi powder and goji berries in a large pan.

I cut some carrots and daikon into large cubes.

These were added to the pan with some water, mirin and soy sauce. This was cooked, covered, for about 20 minutes until the liquid reduced down and the vegetables were beginning to brown and caramelize.

I added some water back ot the pan to make a sauce and threw in some cubed chicken. This was covered and cooked for about 10 minutes until the chicken was cooked through and all the flavors were married together.

Rustic lemon chicken with peppers and butter beans

We used to have a local Italian restaurant many years ago that would serve a rustic country dish made with sausage and peppers. I remember the wonderful tangy lemony broth that the dish was cooked in and how it mingled with the Italian herbs and the sweetness of peppers. This isn't quite the same but I was inspired by that dish when I made this for dinner the other evening.

My dish was composed of two boneless skinless chicken breast cut into slices; one each of red, yellow and orange sweet bell peppers, sliced; one onion, sliced; six cloves of garlic, chopped; one can of butter beans, drained; dried Italian mixed herbs; juice and zest of two lemons; salt, pepper and a bit of water.

I started by sautéing the seasoned chicken breast in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil.

The onions and peppers were added followed by the garlic and lemon zest a few minutes later. These were cooked until they just started to soften.

I then added the beans along with about a half cup of water. You could add chicken broth or even wine at this point. I put in about half of the lemon juice. The cover was placed on the pan and everything was simmered together for about 5-8 minutes.
After the vegetables were tender I uncovered the pan, added the rest of the lemon juice and cooked it down for a few more minutes to concentrate the liquid to a flavorful broth.

This rustic stew-like chicken was served with a big slice of 5 minute wheat bread to sop up the juices.

Grilled Chicken Dinner - Low Carb

It's not much to look at but it was tasty and healthy. I'm talking about my chicken dinner. Looks (and taste) can be deceiving. I have here a grilled chicken breast which has been split and stuffed with garlic slices and kalamata olives. Fresh steamed broccoli provides the vegetable component. But what is that the chicken is resting on? A pile of mashed potatoes? Well, it looks like potatoes and tastes pretty much like potatoes but it is all cauliflower! A great tasting, low carb alternative to mashed potatoes.

I started with a head of cauliflower which I steamed until it was very tender. This was puréed in my food processor along with a splash of milk, a dollop of healthy olive oil, salt and pepper and just a tsp of butter for flavor.

To make the chicken I cut a pocket in the side of these hefty sized boneless, skinless chicken breasts and stuffed them with lots of sliced garlic and chopped kalamata olives. They were grilled in my Le Creuset grill pan until just cooked through and still moist. I didn't make a sauce for this but that would have been great on top.

I also served it with a light and healthy slaw. This has cabbage, carrots and green peppers. The dressing is made with just a scant amount of mayo and rice vinegar.

LIght and Healthy Japanese Food

Ok, so the Japanese food bug is not completely out of my system. Last night I was in the mood again for some light and healthy food. I had plans to make a miso/soy marinated chicken breast and serve that with a Japanese inspired soup.

To start I filled a pot with some water, kombu (or konbu) which is a dried seaweed, and some Korean dried fish pieces. These are not strong flavors and were used just to make a light broth that reminded one of the sea. I soaked these together at room temperature for about an hour then heated it to boiling. Once the broth boiled for about 5 minutes I removed the kombu and fish. The fish I discarded. The seaweed I used for a salad.

Meanwhile I marinated some boneless skinless chicken breasts in a mixture of grated ginger, soy, mirin, a splash of sake, sesame oil and red miso paste.

Here is the broth after removing the fish an seaweed. To flavor the broth just a little more a couple tbsp of soy sauce were added along with a splash of mirin, a splash of sake and some salt.

The kombu was cooled and shredded finely.

This was mixed with finely shredded carrots. To flavor the salad, rice vinegar, soy, sesame oil and mirin were added.

The plate ready for chicken. The green is a napa salad seasoned with rice vinegar and mirin.

The chicken was just cooked under the broiler in the oven until nicely grilled and cooked through.

For the soup I added carrots, green peppers, green onions and somen noodles to the delicately flavored broth.


Now that hits the spot!

Sunday Chicken

I've been traveling quite a bit lately. I plan to share with you all food from my camping trip through Yellowstone and the Black Hills but I am still trying to organize all my photos. Stay tuned for that. But I did want to update my blog to let you all know I am still here and still cooking. Let me share with you last night's chicken dinner.

Simply roasted chicken is just such a delight for a hearty fulfilling Sunday meal. This chicken was stuffed with fresh sage, thyme and winter savory. It was brushed with butter and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Underneath is a bed of potatoes and onions seasoned with the same herbs. I like to roast my chicken at a high heat at first. First, the chicken was placed breast down and roasted for 20 minutes at 500 °F. It was flipped over and roasted for another 15 minutes at that high temperature then I turned the oven down to about 375 to finish roasting. I cook it just until the thickest part of the thigh hits 160 °F. Then I take it out, cover it with foil and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. This allows the juices to set back in the meat and it will finish cooking.

I just found some new plates at TJ Max that I thought were perfect for serving this Sunday chicken on. They were only $4. Quite a deal if you ask me. The interesting white plate was on clearance for $5. I love the four individual serving wells on this one.

Actually this plate inspired me to prepare four salads to go along with the meal. One was super easy. I simply sliced up some fresh kohlrabi from the garden. Nothing else was added to that one. I love the fresh crunch of kohlrabi. I'm a big fan of broccoli stalks and I think this vegetable tastes just like it.

I had some roasted beets in the fridge from a few days ago so I made a beet salad with a pinch of brown sugar, rice vinegar and walnuts. Sweet and salty complimented the beets well.

I also had some fresh green beans in the garden. I quickly flash steamed them just for a minute to set the color but at the same time they were still crunchy. After chilling in ice water and drying they were mixed with slivered garlic, fresh oregano, dijon mustard, rice vinegar and salt and pepper.

What to do with zucchini? I made very thin shaved slices and wilted them by salting the zucchini and letting them drain. After rinsing and drying they were mixed with fresh basil, fresh tomato, fresh chopped garlic and olive oil. Refreshing and delicious. I really like the texture of the zucchini in this. The wilting gives it a slight 'cooked' texture and softens it but it still retains a lot of the flavor, only enhanced, of the raw zucchini.

Nothing fancy here in terms of plating. I cut off the wings, breast and leg quarters and just slapped them on a plate.

The potatoes and onions were flavored by all the chicken drippings. The flavor was unbelievable.

My wife can cook

When she has time she can follow a recipe pretty well. Here is a chicken breast with a mushroom and white wine sauce. Brown rice, asparagus and some of my freshly made whole wheat onion sourdough bread accompanied the meal.