Low Carb Chicken Cutlets

We may have put on a few pounds during our holidays. It’s always so difficult to stay on track while on holiday, but the plus side is that we did walk a lot, the day we visited the Alhambra in Granada we walked 11 kilometres!

Now that we are back to reality, we wanted to get back into eating fewer carbs. This used to be one of JTs favourite meals but I was a little apprehensive in making chicken cutlets without breadcrumbs and this recipe definitely does not disappoint. The almond flour crisps up beautifully and provides a wonderfully flavoured coating. I served this cutlet with cauliflower purée and cucumber salad. JT loved it.

A tasty cutlet that doesn’t dry out.

Low Carb Chicken Cutlets

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 200 g chicken breast
• Pinch of dehydrated garlic powder
• Pinch of dehydrated onion powder
• 1 egg
• 5 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 75 g almond flour
• Pinch of herbes en Provence
• Pinch of Salt
• 30 mL grapeseed oil for frying

Directions:

1. Portion two 100 g chicken breasts and pound thinly between sheets of plastic wrap.
2. Combine the Parmesan cheese and almond flour, set aside.
3. Lightly whisk the eggs with the herbs, onion, garlic and salt together and set aside.
4. Dip the chicken breast into the egg and coat it, allow excess to drip off. Then dip it into the almond flour mixture to coat both sides. Repeat with the second breast.
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan. Pan fry chicken both sides until the internal temperature is 171° C. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Net carbs are only 2.8 g! Chicken Cutlets only, no sides.

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Chicken “Schnitzel” with Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash

We just got back from a two-week holiday in Arizona. I apologize for not commenting as much as I usually do, but you know the drill on holidays.

Regarding Arizona, I would love to say it was perfect weather, and perhaps it was, for Toronto weather but it was cold, sometimes snowy and rainy. Our time with dear friends more than made up for the lousy weather. Although we did have a few gloriously sunny days before the ugly, rainy days we spent in Sedona. Fortunately, our time at the Grand Canyon was clear, albeit cold (read: two layers of leggings, three long-sleeved Ts and a light winter jacket with hat, mittens and scarf). Once I get our photos sorted, I’ll post a few good ones on the blog, in the meantime, I thought I’d share one of my favourite ‘diet’ dishes, chicken “schnitzel” with roasted garlic cauliflower mash!

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 460 g cauliflower
• 2-3 cloves garlic, roasted
• 1/4 cup water
• 165 g chicken breast, boneless, skinless
• 35 g egg white
• 2 Ryvita whole wheat snack bread
• 10 g whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup Herbes en Provence with granulated onion and garlic
• few sprays of non-stick spray
• chopped fresh dill for garnish

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425° F.
2. Break down cauliflower into equal-sized florets and set on a baking sheet lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Roast until softened. Add a bit of water at the end to steam to perfect tenderness for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the cauliflower florets into a glass bowl and add the roasted garlic cloves. Blitz with the hand blender until creamy and smooth, adding a bit of water if necessary (I just added the left-over steaming liquid from the roasting pan). Set aside.
4. Divide the chicken into two equal portions and butterfly each, cover the chicken with plastic and flatten it to about 0.5 cm or 1/4 inch with a kitchen mallet. Put them into the fridge.
5. Add Ryvita to a small zip lock bag and smash into smaller but coarser bits. Add the Herbes en Provence and mix well.
6. Add the egg whites into a large flat bowl and beat with a fork.
7. Remove one chicken cutlet from the fridge and lightly dust each side with the whole wheat flour. Then dip it into the egg whites to cover both sides. Sprinkle each side with the Ryvita mixture to coat evenly. Repeat with second cutlet.
8. Heat a non-stick frying pan. Spray each side of each cutlet and cook cutlets on both sides until nicely golden and the internal temperature is 185°F. Serve immediately with a slice of lemon and some fresh dill sprinkled onto it.

Notes:

• The diet I use allows for two 100 g servings of protein per day.
• If you don’t have roasted garlic on hand, simply put a few unpeeled cloves into a ramekin filled with a little water or stock and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until softened.
• Even though the chicken is very thin, it is so tender, it will knock your socks off.

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Chicken á la King Soup

During my childhood, we ate mostly Canadian-ized Hungarian food. And by Canadian-ized, I mean that Mom used yogurt instead of tejföl (sour cream), oil instead of lard etc. Every weekend we would have a roast of beef or pork (but mainly beef) and in the summer, Dad would BBQ steak and thick juicy bacon (szalonna). On weekdays Mom had her repertoire of chicken and fish dishes and I do recall the odd (when Dad wasn’t home for dinner) meatloaf, with the obligatory hard-boiled egg inside and various Hungarian stews like Lecsó and tok fózelék (a similar dish to creamed spinach but it’s on the sour side).

Around the timeI turned 14, I became interested in cooking recipes that I chose myself and my dear Mom encouraged me. One of my favourite resources very early on was the Milk Calendar, put out in full colour print for free by the Dairy Farmers of Canada. Every December, I eagerly awaited the Milk Calendar tucked away in the weekend edition of the Toronto Star. One of the first dishes I ever made on my own was Chicken á la King with leftover chicken (back in the day when a roast chicken fed a family of four AND had enough leftovers for another meal!)

I have to admit, I am unsure if the following inspiration came from the Milk Calendar (I’m leaning toward this) or my beloved Five Roses Cookbook (recipe page 233). What I can tell you with most certainty is that as I was making this soup, I instantly recognized the aroma and flavour of our beloved childhood Chicken á la King. The ingredients are quite unexpected and it’s pretty healthy to boot. If you love the flavours of a creamy Chicken á la King, you will LOVE this recipe.

When did you first begin cooking on your own and did you have a favourite recipe book that you used until it fell apart?

Chicken á la King Soup

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes  3 or 4 servings 700-800 mL (3 1/2-4 cups),

Ingredients:

• 180 g red lentils, rinsed and picked through
• water to cover
• 2 tsp vegetable oil, divided
• 1/4 cooking onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 celery stalk, cubed
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 2 radishes, cubed
• 2 tbsp frozen peas (optional garnish)
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 100 g chicken breast, skinless and boneless, cut into smallish strips
• chicken stock
• sea salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium, heavy bottomed pot, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and sauté the celery, carrot, and radish until soft. Add the chicken and cook through. Set aside in another bowl.
2. In the same saucepan, add the remainding 1 teaspoon vegetable oil and sauté the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the lentils, stir and cover with water. Cook until lentils are very soft. Remove from heat and blitz with an immersion blender until very smooth, adding chicken stock until desired thickness is achieved (I left mine relative thick so it’s more stew-like). Add the apple cider vinegar and blitz until well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Return the puréed lentils to the heat and slowly reheat, add the cooked vegetables and chicken and stir well. Serve pipping hot.

Healthy Chicken á la King Soup

 

Traditional Chicken á la King

 

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Italian Wedding Soup, my way

My nephew Brian came for dinner in late January and it was a bitterly cold day so I thought starting out with a soup would be welcome. I’ve always enjoyed Italian Wedding Soup but recently had a very bad version while shopping in Buffalo which has jaundiced me from ordering it again at a restaurant, surprisingly it was in an Italian restaurant, but it was a chain, so I should have known better.

I have updated the traditional recipe using some unusual ingredients, I hope you’ll give it a try and let me know what you think. I ground my own beef and pork but you can easily buy already ground meat (extra lean of course). You’ll be surprised that I used puffed quinoa in the meatballs because I didn’t want to use bread crumbs or panko! Pretty clever don’t you think? I also used kale instead of the traditional spinach because I like the way kale holds up in a soup. Israeli couscous was my clever substitution for the pasta, it’s still pasta but I really liked the look of the balls in the soup.

A flavourful broth with a variety of textures make this soup a welcome addition to my soup repertoire.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sweet onions, finely chopped
• 1.5 g each of lean beef and pork
• 1/3 cup puffed quinoa
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp freshly chopped oregano
• 1/4 tsp each nutmeg, salt and freshly ground pepper (I use a mix of mainly white, s little black and a little red)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 cup Israeli Couscous
• 1 1/2 L (about 1 1/2 qt) Home-made or Low Sodium Chicken stock
• 1/2  (about 1 1/2 cups) large sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 bunch kale (about 4 cups) finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots (about 2-2 1/2 cups), cubed
• 2 celery ribs (about 1 cup), cubed
• 3 tsp canola oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• water, if necessary
• 1 good size Parmesan rind

Directions:

1. In a large, chilled metal bowl, combine the onion, beef and pork, puffed quinoa, parmesan cheese, oregano, nutmeg, salt and pepper and the lightly beaten egg. Shape into smallish meatballs and set on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
2. Pre heat the oven to 177° C 350°F. Heat a skillet with 1 tsp canola oil and fry each meatball to brown all sides in two batches. Use the second tsp of canola oil for the second batch. Replace on cookie sheet lined with clean parchment and bake the meatballs until done (about 30 minutes).
3. Cook the Israeli Couscous as per package directions to al dente. Set aside.
4. Pre heat a large soup pot with 1 tsp canola oil, sauté the sweet onion until translucent, add the garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add the chopped kale, carrots and celery and stir for about 4 minutes.
5. Cover with chicken stock and top off with additional water if desired. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the Parmesan rind.
6. Bring to a boil and cook until vegetables have reached their desired consistency, I like a very slight crunch so that they are not mushy in the soup. Add the couscous and baked meatballs just before serving to heat through.
7. Remove theParmesan rind and eat.
8. Serve garnished with shaved Parmesan cheese.

The shaved Parmesan adds a delicate saltiness to this delicious soup.

Tips:

• If you are making this soup to freeze, I would recommend freezing the meatballs and the Israeli couscous in separate bags to the soup and adding to heat just at serving. I kept a batch in the fridge with the couscous and meatballs and they got mushy in two days.

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Lemony Chicken

My friend Barb made an incredible feast for Chinese New Year, she had so many delicious things it was really difficult to choose just one. But when I saw the Lemon Chicken plated out, I knew I had to try it because, believe it or not, I happen to adore the not so good for you version at Chinese fast food stalls! It turns out that lemon in savoury dishes is not one of JT’s favourite things, although he did say he didn’t hate it. Well, what he actually said was he prefers the taste of lemons in desserts! Go figure. I really enjoyed this recipe because I adore sour and sweet combos. And I have to admit, I reduced the sugar for our dinner and if I were to make it again, I would reduce it even more as I found it a little too sweet for my taste (I have adjusted the recipe below to reduce the sugar). I also baked the skinless, boneless Chicken breasts instead of pan frying to be a little healthier.

Original Recipe from House and Home

Serves 2, 100 g portions

Cutting the chicken into strips allows them to cook faster so that the crumbs become crispy but don’t burn.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tbsp sugar (I have reduced this from my pictured recipe already)
• 1 heaping tbsp grated ginger root
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 200 g boneless, skinless chicken breast
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 tbsp cold water
• 1/2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 cup panko-style bread crumbs
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• Mix of greens such as shredded romaine lettuce.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine water, sugar and ginger in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes to infuse the water with the ginger.
3. Stir in the freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest and quickly return to a boil.
4. Dissolve the cornstarch in about 1 tbsp cold water and stir well into the lemon mixture. Cook on medium neat until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Remove all residual fat from the chicken. Place in a zip lock bag and pound so that the breasts are even thickness. Cut each breast into similar thickness stips.
6. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, stir well. Set aside.
7. Whisk egg white, water, soy sauce and garlic in another bowl, set aside.
8. Pour Panko into a third bowl and mix in the sesame seeds.
9. Set up your breading stations so that the flour mixture is first, the egg whites second and the panko last.
10. Dredge the chicken strips in the flour mixture and shake off excess, then dip into the egg whites and lastly coat with panko/sesame mix. Repeat with all the chicken strips until all have been breaded.
11. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for about 12-15 minutes (turning about mid way) or until chicken has an internal temperature of 165°F or 74° C.
12. Reheat the sauce. Fill a bowl with mixed greens, place chicken strips over the greens and dress with the hot lemony sauce.
13. Enjoy!

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Coconut Curried Chicken

It’s still blistery cold in these parts and we’re craving hearty foods. This was a recipe created because I wanted to make Naan again and I needed something Indian to go with it (I know, it’s usually the other way around, but I really wanted to eat test my new recipe again). It’s a lovely subtle curry with just enough spice to enhance the flavour and a wonderful creamy texture. I used coconut milk powder and water for the coconut milk in the recipe, but feel free to use the high fat canned stuff, I’m sure it will taste a lot richer. By the way, serve it with this Naan.

A delicicous combination of curry and coconut milk

Coconut Chicken Curry

Serves 4, 100 g servings of chicken each

Ingredients:

• 400 g boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2.5 cm or 1 inch chunks
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 tbsp coconut milk powder
• 400 mL or 14 oz warm water
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 red pepper sliced thinly
• 1/2 green pepper sliced thinly

Directions:

1. Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over medium-high heat for two minutes. Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear. Reserve chicken.
2. Combine coconut powder and warm water and mix well.
3. Pour coconut milk, tomato paste, lemon juice and sugar into the pan and stir to combine. Cover and simmer stirring occasionally for approximately 30 to 40 minutes or until the coconut milk reduces to a nice thick sauce. During the final 15 minutes, add the red and green peppers so they don’t overcook and the chicken to reheat.
4. Serve with Naan.

Yes, these are as good as they look. I kid you not.

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Another Cold Cure Chicken Noodle Soup

It’s that time of year again, cold and flu season. For the most part, I can pretty well ward off any cold or flu I come across with my evil powers (just kidding) but this one bugger finally got me late last week. I’d been plagued with a sore throat since a week ago Monday, but no coughing or sneezing or any other symptoms, until Saturday. My voice is now three octaves lower and a little raspier…dare I say sexy? Well, if it wasn’t for the sneezing and coughing, perhaps. But not so much ;-)!

We went Christmas tree chopping on Sunday (you may recall we did this last year too), I probably shouldn’t have gone, but I really, really, really wanted to. And it was cold, and slightly snowing. We snapped a few pics but the weather wasn’t great and I paid for it the following day. I stayed home and nursed my achy body. And with great timing, my friend Kelly up in Ottawa at Inspired Edibles created a alcohol free (I know, what was I thinking?) hot toddy that sincerely HIT THE SPOT. I will make this my go to winter drink when I feel a cold coming on. You can actually taste the healing properties (and heating properties ;-)!) I’m not going to post the recipe because I made it just as Kelly suggested (except I didn’t have star anise, so I used cloves instead) and her pictures are better anyway. Please do yourself a favour and try this drink. It is seriously yummy and it works!

Lightly snowing made it picture perfect for tree cutting

No, we don’t just walk into a forest to chop down our tree, we actually to go a tree farm!

We chose another smallish tree, but this one has a lot more girth (but Mum’s the word when the tree asks if it looks fat all dressed up!)

We’ll decorate it tomorrow night! (Weird glow is from the iPhone 4 flash)

When we arrived home that evening, I just felt like soup, so I made just what the doctor ordered, chicken noodle soup. This is a variation of Nigella’s Cold Cure Soup as I wanted something a little simpler than her version. And I only put 1/4 of a fresh lemon into it as I have found that more than that can make the soup bitter tasting, particularly when your taste buds are a bit off with a cold.

Cold Cure Chicken Noodle Soup

Serves 4 generous portions

A gorgeous mix of carrots, parsnips and onions garnished with parsley and green onion. There are glass noodles hiding in there too!

Ingredients:

• 2 bone in, skinless chicken breasts (about 400-450 g)
• 1 medium carrot, cut into large chunks
• 1 medium parsnip, cut into large chunks (reserve the tops)
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed but left whole (so you can remove them)
• 1/4 lemon
• 1 tsp canola oil
• Water
• Salt to taste
• Glass noodles
• Parsley to garnish
• Green onion to garnish

This is the instagram photo

Directions:

1. If the chicken still has some fat on it, remove all fat (you’ll thank me later so your soup isn’t a large puddle of grease!). Sear the chicken breasts, meat side down until lightly browned.
2. Add onion, carrots, parsnips, garlic and the lemon. Stir for a moment. Fill the pot with water to cover all of the chicken and vegetables.
3. Wash and tie the parsnips tops, add to the soup pot. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender and cooked through (I found that 1 hour 30 minutes was good for our chicken, but you should definitely check the internal temperature) You don’t want to cook it too long so that the vegetables are not mushy!
4. Remove chicken and allow to rest for about 5-7 minutes (covered). Taste and salt stock to your preference.
5. In the meantime, soak the glass noodles according to directions.
6. Strain the soup through a fine sieve, reserving the carrot, parsnip and onions. Discard the parsnip tops, garlic and lemon.
7. Cut the carrot and parsnips into small bite size sticks.
8. De-bone the chicken and tear into small bite-size pieces.
9. Into four bowls, add even amounts of the noodles, vegetables and chicken and cover with the hot stock.
10. Serve immediately garnished with parsley and green onions.

On an unrelated note, my blog is fast approaching our 100,000 visitor! I’m hoping we can reach that goal before the new year. I might even do a give away! Stay tuned.

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Capote’s favourite Basil Chicken Hash

In October we were invited to another theme dinner party: Truman Capote’s Black and White Masquerade Ball, the party of the century! We were asked to dress in black and white and wear with a mask, which worked out perfectly since Halloween was just around the corner!

Our lovely hostess made this beautiful little booklet for the evening. The menu was pulled from Capote’s favourites, Basil Chicken Hash and served similar to the style of the time. We all had a blast! Mind you, I think we lasted about 10 minutes wearing the masks! Sadly, I didn’t get any pics of JT and I. Nor did I shoot the hash…but rest assured, it was AMAZING. The basil infused the chicken and although there is nothing Thai about it, it had a slight Thai flavouring to me. This will definitely go into our steady repertoire, such a flavourful and easy dish.

My friend chose Ina Garten’s recipe which turns out to be healthier than the real deal, believe it or not; Ina uses an extra pot to sauté the peppers, but I wanted to make it much simpler and modified the recipe accordingly.

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Our lovely hosts also gave us a bit of a teaser for the next themed dinner party in the Springtime…it will be Bond 007! What fun! Now, tell me which Bond girl should I be?

Basil Chicken Hash

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network

Serves 4, 100 g chicken per serving

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 chicken breasts, bone-in, skin removed (400 g)
• 5 stalks of fresh basil leaves
• dash of EVOO
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 small boiling potato, peeled and large diced
• 1 red onion, chopped in large quarters
• 1 red bell pepper, large diced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 minced scallions, white and green parts
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh leaf parsley
• dash of vegetable or chicken stock
• Sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
2. Spray the baking sheet with non-stick spray and lay two stalks of the basil leaves down (I was lucky, I used what was left from the garden).
3. Place the chicken breasts on top of the basil, bone side down. Lightly rub each chicken piece with EVOO and sprinkle with salt. Put two more basil stalks on top of the chicken and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and cut the chicken in large dice pieces and set aside.
4. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large sauté pan and add the potatoes and onions, salt and saute over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until evenly browned and cooked through. I added a dash of stock at this point. Add the peppers, garlic, thyme, paprika and tomato paste and mix well. Add the chicken and another dash of stock and place into the oven to finish for about 10-15 minutes.
5. Garnish with the remaining torn basil leaves, minced scallions and chopped fresh parsley, toss together and place on a serving platter. Serve over greens (I only had one smallish potato but if you use the recipe as is, you will not need a side with it).

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Titanic Hors D’œuvres: Chicken Liver Pâté

As you know my dear friend Angela is hosting a Titanic Anniversary party on April 14; it’s the Centenary Anniversary and she is going all out for 8 of her most fortunate friends. JT and I are very happy to be included and I have embraced her enthusiasm and jumped on the band wagon, as any good friend would do (well, I’m no saint, the reasons are purely selfish, I just LOVE this kind of stuff), thank you Angela for allowing me to share in your excitement and to help with some of the food and the embellishments! I really do LOVE this stuff.

Many of my wonderful, gentle readers have been so generous with supportive comments and enthusiasm for this fun event, we thank you sincerely. My new found friend, Charlie Louie from Australia (I really do wish we were neighbours!) gave me a link to one of her very first posts on her lovely blog, Hotly Spiced that gave us a recipe for Duck Liver Pâté from a book she received as a gift from her son (she made her recipe with chicken livers, YUM). I remembered I had a couple of chicken livers in the freezer, so I thought, why not? Plus I needed a little appi for a friend coming over for drinks on Friday! We’ve had such a mild winter, and it warmed up to close to 20°C so we had to indulge and sit on the back patio for drinks after work. We still needed a sweater, but who cares, it was March 16 for crying out loud. I ain’t complaining!

The photo was taken last fall with the foliage in all its glory! Sadly the herbs have seen better days.

I don’t think Angela is including this recipe in her dinner, but I am totally into the mood, so I wanted to try it anyway (update, Angela has kindly given me the opportunity to make this appetizer as well, so I’m really pumped about it). I have to admit, it sounded a little bland when I first read it, but I wanted to keep it true so I didn’t change it up at all. The flavours were subtle yet it was very tasty. The liver really shined with the dash of rosemary. I used a square form that I was able to push the set paté out onto a plate, Charlie plated her’s in ramekins which also looked beautiful. I had to cut the recipe down because I didn’t have enough chicken livers (plus there were only three of us) but you can click here, for Charlie’s recipe. Note, as is my usual fashion, I cut down the butter and used milk instead of cream. I didn’t feel the taste suffered because of my changes.

Serves 4-6, depending on how hungry you are!

Chicken Liver Pâté on the back deck on March 16. Who would'a thunk it!

Ingredients:

• 113 g Chicken Livers
• 25 g melted butter
• 13 mL milk
• 1/4 tsp brandy (I actually cheated and added about a tablespoon)
• 1/4 tsp chopped rosemary
• crackers

Directions:

1. Heat 15 g of the butter in a saucepan, add the livers and cook gently for 3-4 minutes. The livers should be cooked on the outside but a little pink on the inside.
2. When the livers are cooked, place them into a processor and process until smooth.
3. Add the brandy and rosemary to the saucepan then heat gently, scraping up the residue of the livers.
4. Add the heated brandy and rosemary to the liver in the processor, together with milk and seasoning. Process until smooth.
5. Pack the paté into a form (mine was square) and pour the remaining melted butter over the top of the pate to seal, cover and place in the fridge to chill. This should be made in advance so that the flavours have a chance to really pop.

Thanks again, Charlie, I look forward to making this for April 14th (I’ll likely do your proportions at that time!)

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Maple Garlic Chicken Wings

I know, my super bowl menu listed Honey Garlic Chicken Wings, but while I was grazing my reading list of blogs, I saw that Kay over at Pure Complex recently made Grilled Maple Mustard Chicken Wings and I just knew I had to revise my Honey Garlic CW to Maple Garlic Chicken Wings – yet another tip of the hat to the New England Patriots! Unfortunately, my photos just did not turn out well, so I trashed them. You’ll have to use your imagination on how yummy they were.

Ingredients:

• whole mess of wings (I like them separated so they bake more evenly)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 4-5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• non-fat cooking spray

Directions:

1. Dry off the wings and add to a zip lock bag.
2. Mix all of the remaining ingredients and pour into the bag and close. Rub this mixture into the wings — you can leave in the fridge over night, if you wish.
3. Pre heat oven to 200° C / 400° F
4. Line a large baking sheet with parchment (will save a lot of time cleaning up). Spray a bit with the non-stick spray.
5. Pour wings onto the sheet and bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning once when the fist side has a nice golden colour to it.
6. Enjoy with Blue Cheese dipping sauce.

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Chicken Cacciatore Revistied

Although it has been unseasonably warm this past week in the big smoke, it’s been crazy rainy and windy. It’s a perfect time to stay in and make some healthy comforting food that is great for lunch the next day. I posted this recipe in 2009 because it is an incredibly tasty and easy dish for a week night, but I find myself craving to repost as I really hated the old photo! This is still JTs signature dish so I won’t alter his recipe other than how it has morphed over the years, and it has morphed a touch over the years. But I will say, please make this, it is really, really, really good!

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway! I’m really excited about the give away and what creative things you will make with it and blog about. I did forget to detail the time the draw closes: 12pm Eastern Standard Time, that will give me some time to get the correct entries together and have JT do the draw! As well, the Just a Pinch salts were purchased entirely by ME! It is not linked to any other promo! Time is a tickin’ people, better enter soon!

And did I mention that a couple of the answers are found in more than one post? Oops! Good luck!

A hearty but healthy dinner on a cold winters night

JTs Chicken Cacciatore

Adapted from Fannie Farmer, December 1984 (originally published in 1896!).
Serves 4 (2 dinners and 2 lunches in our case)

Ingredients:

• 400g chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 28g dried mushrooms rehydrated in about 1 cup warm water, set liquid aside (make sure you strain through coffee filter to ensure no sand gets into it)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or low sodium chicken stock)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced (we used green this time because that is what we had)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (put remaining tomato paste into an extra ice cube tray and freeze, remove from tray into a resealable container and voila, tomato paste as required!)
• 2 cups canned Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Chili peppers to taste
• Salt to taste
• Grated Parmesan, if you wish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (or you could just cook the entire dish stove top with the lid on)
2. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven and cook the chicken until lightly browned on all sides.
3. Add the onion and sauté a minute or two and then add the wine and allow to boil up.
4. Lower the temperature and add the garlic, tomato paste, tomatoes, pepper and the mushrooms.
5. Add the seasonings, bay leaves and the mushroom liquid.
6. Cover and bake in the hot oven for about 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through. If you like a dryer cacciatore, leave the cover off so that some of the liquid evaporates; I prefer mine a bit wet so that it makes a tasty ‘dressing’ for the greens.
7. Remove bay leaves, taste and season if required.
8. Serve on a bed of mixed baby spinach and baby arugula leaves. You can also serve with grated Parmesan and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, but we’re reducing our intake this week, so we omitted it.

Tips: You can also add black olives (chop in half) and crumble some sheeps milk feta on top instead of the Parmesan for a slightly Greek version of the dish.

I had to update this post with a photo I recently took with my iPhone at work. I just loved how rich the sauce looks and how luminous this photos is.

Our studio has amazing light. And yes, that surely is cayenne pepper on the chicken.

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Thai Inspired Lemongrass Chicken Soup

My friend, Barb (Profiteroles and Ponytails) went to Australia several years ago and shortly after we visited her in Vancouver; for our premier dinner she made us the Thai Coconut Soup that is so famous in restaurants and it was delicious! I had no experience cooking Thai food at home and as a gift she bought me a Thai cookbook called Australian Woman’s Weekly, Easy Thai-Style Cookery. It is really my ‘go to’ cookbook for Thai food, my favourite being Lemongrass Soup. It has great step-by-step instructions on how to with very clear photos. You really can’t go wrong. I have made this soup so often I don’t even look at the recipe anymore and basically just eyeball and taste it, so you’ll have to excuse my loosey-goosey measurements! I have served this soup at several dinner parties and I am told by some of my Thai food-lover friends that it is very delicious!

Thai cooking is about balancing salty, sweet, spicy and sour so you really have to taste, taste, taste and adjust as you go along. My Lemongrass soup is my favourite to the restaurant variety as I find some too salty and too sweet. Most restaurant versions also don’t include fettuccine-sized rice noodles (half centimetre wide) in the soup, but there was one place across from the Eaton Centre on Yonge Street that always had the noodles in the soup and I really enjoyed it, so I usually include them!

This soup comes together very quickly, the hard part is waiting for the rice noodles to soften up. You can also substitute shrimp for the chicken.

Comforting lemongrass chicken soup

I always make an extra huge batch so I can take some to work for my lunch the next day.

A mouthwatering delicious balance of salty, sweet, sour and spicy; can I get you a bowl?

Serves 3 in large bowls

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp flavourless vegetable oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3oog boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thinly
• 2 cups thinly sliced plain white mushrooms (I like a lot of mushrooms in my soup)
• 1/2 cup finely sliced onion
• 2 cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ginger (ground is fine, fresh is better)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped lemon grass
• 4 kafir lime leaves
• 2 small bits of dry galangal (Thai ginger)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2-4 tbsp sugar (or I used agave nectar)
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes (or to taste)
• 4-6 cup water or low sodium chicken stock (I did a mix of the two to mitigate calories)
• a good handful of fettuccine-sized rice noodles

Garnish:

• 1/4 cup finely sliced green onion (forgot to add for the photo)
• 2-4 Thai basil leaves, chiffonade (did not have this, nor did I miss it)
• handful of chopped cilantro (did not have this, but I surely missed it)

Directions:

1. Heat the water in your kettle until boiling. Pour over the rice noodles and allow to sit until they are totally reconstituted, 10-15 minutes. Do not over soak, you want a bit of a bite to it.
2. In a large soup pan, heat the two oils until hot but not smoky (the sesame oil has a very low smoke point). Add the onions and stir until slightly translucent. Add the chicken and brown a bit. Turn the heat down to a simmer.
3. Mix the cumin, coriandre, ginger and lemon grass together, sprinkle on the chicken and stir until you can really smell it. Add the garlic and stir once. Add all of the chicken stock, kafir leaves, galangal, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and chili flakes. Stir well. Heat so that the chicken cooks through. Once the chicken is cooked, taste for salty, sweet, spicy and sour balance and adjust accordingly. Remove the galangal and kafir lime leaves, discard.
4. Put one third of the cold noodles into a large decorative white bowl. Add ladle-fulls of the chicken soup with bits of chicken, onion and mushrooms. Garnish with the green onion, chopped basil leaves and cilantro leaves. Enjoy.

Cooks tips:

• Store your fresh ginger knobs in the freezer in a resealable container; grate on a fine micro-plane grater when required, you need not peel it! Keeps indefinitely.
• I usually buy a large quantity of lemongrass and chop them finely in my food processor, and then I freeze them in a reusable container. I can usually break off what I need.
• If you are taking the left overs to work, I recommend storing the cooked noodles in a separate container to the soup so that they don’t absorb any more liquid. When you reheat the soup, do so to just before boiling (so the chicken doesn’t cook further) and that way when you put the chilled noodles in, they will cool it down to a palatable level.
• Fish sauce is used in thai cooking instead of salt.
• To save time, I have sometimes used Rosa’s Lime Cordial instead of lime juice, but you have to remember NOT to add the sugar.

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Chef Roger Mooking’s chicken with Papaya BBQ sauce

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Cottage Paella

Our nephew Brian and girlfriend Adrienne were over for dinner at The Upper Deck this past weekend and we made Paella! This recipe is a condensed version without the clams and mussells (because of transport time and number of days before we had them!).

• 1 cup brown rice (because it is gluten free)
• 4 small chicken thighs (skinless, boneless is good)
• 2 gluten free sausages
• 1 cup calamari rings
• 12 shrimp (I like to peel and remove tails so you are not having to dive into the food with hands and feet to eat!)
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• salt
• 3 finely minced cloves garlic
• 1/2 frozen peas
• 1/2 cup chopped red pepper (into 1/2″ cubes)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes (low sodium)
• 1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion
• 2-3 tbsp EV olive oil
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
• Lemon and lime slices for garnish

Steps 1-4 may be done 2-4 hours in advance.

1. Make a paste out of 1 clove garlic and 1 tsp smoked paprika and salt and spread it over the chicken thighs; set aside.
2. Soak saffron in 2 cups chicken stock for about 10 minutes (or any stock for that matter).
3. Cook rice in saffron soaked chicken stock to about 70% doneness and set aside.
4. BBQ Chicken thighs and Sausage until fully cooked. Set aside in refrigerator. Cut into slightly larger than bite-sized pieces.
5. Just before you wish to serve, preheat oven to 350°F.
6. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onions until translucent. Add remaining garlic and stir just until you can smell its aroma.
7. Add already cooked chicken and sausage.
8. Add rice, peppers, peas and canned tomatoes. Stir well, if too dry, add a bit of the remaining 1 cup chicken stock until a desired wetness is achieved.
9. Add shrimp and calamari and stir well and place into oven for about 10-12 minutes until shrimp is no longer translucent.
10. Stir in chopped parsley and serve with lemon and lime wedges. Serve hot.
11. Enjoy!

Cottage Paella

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Quick Chicken Paprikas and Nokedli

February 10, 2013: I have updated this post with clearer instructions for the Nokedli as well as a photo of the loose dough.

Adapted from my mother’s recipe

Check out my recipe on Foodista

• 1 kg chicken breasts, no skin, no bones
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 large Vidalia onion about 1 cup (Mayan onion will work too), finely chopped
• 2 tbsp paprika paste (or home made roasted red peppers, skins removed) or 1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika powder
• 1 green cubano pepper, thinly sliced (not hot peppers)
• 1 medium chopped tomato (or 1/4 cup tomato paste)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp flour
• 1/2 cup sour cream (no fat) or no fat yogurt + couple of tbsp for garnish
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (low sodium)

Instructions

1. Cook onions in 1 tsp olive oil until soft, add chicken stock (the onions will help thicken the sauce). Add chopped tomato and cook 2 minutes longer.
2. Remove from heat and add paprika.
3. Using an immersion blender or regular blender, blend the onion mixture until smooth.
4. Strain through a fine sieve (this will help discard the tomato skins and seeds which would ruin the creamy texture of the sauce). Reserve.
5. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and brown in 1 tsp olive oil.
6. When the chicken is almost done, add the sauce back to the pan, and simmer until the chicken is entirely cooked.
7. Just before serving, add the thinly sliced green peppers (I like them a bit crunchy as garnish)
8. Add 1 tsp flour to the sour cream or plain yogurt and stir well. Stir the sour cream into the sauce and heat through (do not boil).
9. Dollop fresh sour cream or plain yogurt just before serving.

Serve with noodles or nokedli (dumplings).

Nokedli (dumplings)
I usually eyeball this. General rule is 1 egg, 1/2 cup flour + bit of water
per person.

I use 1 whole egg per lot, then the remainder I use the egg whites only (this makes it a bit healthier and the 1 egg yolk adds a bit of colour).

To make 4 servings:

• 1 egg
• 9 tbsp egg whites
• 2 cups flour
• water to soften dough as needed
• 3-4 L water for boiling
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp butter + 1 tsp olive oil

The dough should be loose enough to press through the Nokedli maker without much effort, but it should not be wet.

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring 3-4 L water and olive oil to a boil (you need a large pot because the dumplings will sink and then rise to the top when done). Don’t salt the water because it will make the dumplings too soft – don’t know if that is true, but I have never done it to try!
2. In a food processor, blend eggs, flour and add water to make a dough resembling loose bread or pasta dough, and it should be able to be pressed through a dumpling maker easily.
3. Using the dumpling maker, press batter through, stir dumplings occasionally so they don?t stick together. I generally make the entire batter, stirring occasionally – no need to remove the done ones!
4. Strain well. You can lightly coat in olive oil and let stand until required.
5. In an enamel Dutch oven, melt butter with olive oil. Heat to high.
6. Add dumplings and stir well. You will want the dumplings to become crispy and brown…they are really tasty that way.
7. Salt and Pepper to taste.
8. Serve with Chicken Paprikas on top.

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