Cooking | onedadskitchen

Pork Tenderloin is the Night

The grilling gods must not be on my side yet this summer. Every time I intend to go out and use the grill, we seem to get hit with rain and thunderstorms. The same thing happened to me last night, so I had to make some adjustments to the way I was going to cook this particular recipe that I found in bon appétit magazine. I’d seen this one a while ago and have intended to make it, I just haven’t gotten around to it until now. It is for a pork tenderloin with plum chutney. I have to admit I was a little skeptical as to how the chutney would come out, but it tasted awesome and I could see using that for other pork dishes down the road.

Pork Tenderloin with Plum Chutney

4 red or black plums
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot, sliced lengthwise
1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 thin slices pancetta (Italian bacon) or prosciutto

For the plum chutney, peel the plums and halve and pit them. Cut the plums into half-inch wedges. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar, vinegar, garlic, mustard seeds, ginger, black pepper, and bay leaf and 1/4 cup of water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the plums. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. Uncover the pan and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is soft and the juices have thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. The chutney can be made up to one week ahead of time. Cover and chill and then re-warm it slightly before serving.

For the pork, stir the rosemary, herbes de Provence, and oil in a small bowl. Rub the mixture all over the pork; season the pork with salt and pepper. Wrap the pancetta slices around the pork and tie it at 2 inch intervals with kitchen twine to hold it together.

If you are using a charcoal grill, build a medium-hot fire; push the coals over to one side of the grill. If using a gas grill, heat all but one burner to high. Grill the tenderloin over the hot part of the grill, turning frequently, until a crisp brown crust forms on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Move the tenderloin to the cooler part of the grill to gently cook through; cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the loin registers 145°, about 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Transfer the tenderloin to a cutting board. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Slice thinly and serve with the plum chutney alongside.

Since I had to cook this in the oven, I had preheated the oven to 375° and placed the tenderloin in a cast-iron pan and roasted it for 25 to 30 minutes until the desired crispness and temperature were reached. I think it would’ve come out a little crisper on the grill, but it tasted just fine when I did it in the oven. I also used regular bacon since I did not have any pancetta and I think it turned out just fine. There is also a bit of a trick if you want to easily peel the plums. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and using the tip of a paring knife make to shallow 1 inch cuts to form an X on the bottom of the pieces of fruit. Add the fruit to the water and cook just until the skin begins to peel back at each X, about 30 to 60 seconds. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon to a bowl of ice water so they can cool. You can then simply take a paring knife and your fingers and easily pare back the skin. If you aren’t that worried about the presentation of the dish you could also just simply either use a paring knife on your own and remove the skin or even use your vegetable peeler.

That’s it for today. Check back again tomorrow and see what recipe I have posted. I still have a couple of things that I made last week that I want to post and I do have a few new recipes planned for this week, including a new chicken dish and one for bay scallops. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day, tried to stay cool and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 25, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Pork, Sauce, Side Dishes

Tags: bon appetit magazine, grilled pork tenderloin, plum chutney, pork tenderloin, pork tenderloin with plum chutney

Taking the High (Roasted Chicken) Road

24 Jun

While this may not be the recipe you want to try while going through a heat wave as we seem to be here in New York the last couple of days, there are times where high roasting a chicken can be an ideal strategy. When you may not have a great amount of time to spend roasting a chicken and would like that wonderfully crispy skin that you can get from roasting you can give it a try. The danger with high roasting of course is that you can really dry out the meat and create a lot of smoke if you aren’t careful. This recipe, from the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook, combats both problems. They butterfly the chicken so it stays moist and roast it on a broiler pan over potatoes so that potatoes absorb the dripping fat, thus no smoke and a very nice side dish is created all in one.

Crisp-Skin High-Roast Butterflied Chicken and Potatoes

1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) whole chicken, giblets removed

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced to 1/4 inch thick

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter, softened

With a pair of kitchen or poultry shears, cut along both sides of the backbone of the chicken to remove it. Flatten the breastbone and tuck the wings behind the back. Dissolve 1/2 cup of salt and the sugar in 2 quarts of cold water in a large container. Submerge the chicken in the brine, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour (if you are using a kosher chicken you can skip this step).

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a broiler pan bottom with aluminum foil. Toss the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper in a bowl. Spread the potatoes evenly in the prepared broiler pan bottom and cover them with the broiler pan top.

Remove the chicken from the brine, rinse it thoroughly and pat it dry with paper towels. Using your fingers, gently loosen the center portion of skin covering the breast and thighs. Place the softened butter under the skin directly on the meat in the center of each side of the breast and on the thighs. Gently press on the skin to distribute the butter over the meat.Rub the skin with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season well with pepper. Place the chicken on the broiler pan top and push each leg up to rest between the thigh and the breast.

Roast the chicken until the skin has crisped and turned a deep brown, the breast registers 160 degrees and the thighs register 175 degrees, about 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the roasting. Transfer the chicken to a carving board and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.

While the chicken rests, remove the broiler pan top and, using paper towels, soak up any excess grease from the potatoes. Transfer the potatoes to a serving platter. Carve the chicken, transfer it to a platter with the potatoes and serve.

There’s nothing like really crispy chicken and this recipe sure gives it to you. The potatoes were also a great treat as well since they absorb some of the flavor of the chicken as well. I actually put them under the broiler for a few minutes while the chicken rested to crisp them up a bit before they were done. I had also put one sliced onion in with the potatoes for some extra flavor. I think you could try this if you have a lot of chicken pieces you are looking to cook, but you need to keep a close eye on them as they will cook faster than the whole chicken and you don’t want to dry them out. It’s a great way to get a juicy, whole bird with great skin in under an hour. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of this one when I cooked it so I don’t have one to display, but trust me, it was great.

That’s all for today. Check back next time for some more recipes, including a chicken stir fry, pork tenderloin, a panzanella salad and more. I am planning to cook out on the grill some this week since it is warm here right now, so we’ll see what we can do. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 24, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry

Tags: Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, crisp skin chicken, high roast chicken, high roast chicken and potatoes

Fine Food for Father’s Day Part 2 – Banana Cream Pie

18 Jun

One of my top 5 all-time favorite desserts is banana cream pie. We don’t have it too often, mainly because it’s not the healthiest of desserts but it tastes really good and since it was Father’s Day, Michelle decided that it was a nice treat for me to have for the day. I had looked at recipes for banana cream pie, namely because I was a little disappointed in the traditional flavor you get out of making the pie with your standard, boxed banana pudding and some with cream. I wanted something that had a little more of an intense banana flavor, and I came across this recipe in Cook’s Country and thought it would be really good to try.

Banana Cream Pie

5 ripe bananas
4 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
6 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 store-bought or homemade pie crust
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

Peel 2 of the bananas and slice them into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced bananas and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the half-and-half, bring to a boil, and boil for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, cover, and allow to sit for 40 minutes.

Whisk the granulated sugar, egg yolks, and salt together in a large bowl until smooth. Whisk in the cornstarch. Strain the cooled half-and-half mixture through a fine mesh strainer into the yolk mixture – do not press on the bananas – and whisk until incorporated; discard the cooked bananas.

Transfer the mixture to a clean medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it is thickened to the consistency of warm pudding (180°), about 4 to 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat; whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl, press greased parchment paper directly against the surface, and allow it to cool for about one hour.

Meanwhile, roll the pie dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured counter. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate, fold the edge of the dough under itself so the edge of the fold is flush with the outer rim of the plate, and flute the edges. Refrigerate for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375°.

Line the chilled pie shell with a 12-inch square of aluminum foil, folding the foil over the edges of the dough. Fill with pie weights and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and the weights, rotate the plate, and continue baking until the crust is golden brown, about 7 to 11 minutes. Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Peel and slice the remaining 3 bananas to about 1/4-inch-thick and toss them with the orange juice. Whisk the pastry cream briefly, then spread half over the bottom of the pie shell. Arrange the sliced bananas on the pastry cream. Top with the remaining pastry cream.

Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk, whip the cream, confectioner’s sugar, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 3 minutes. Spread the whipped cream evenly over the top of the pie. Refrigerate the pie until it is set, at least 5 hours and up to 24 hours.

I have to say that the pastry cream that you make for this recipe gave the pie a much better flavor than any other pie that I had had before. You want to make sure that you use bananas that are not green or overripe. If they have just the right amount of yellow with a few brown spots, you will get the best banana flavor out of them. Cooking them in the half-and-half mixture really leeches all of the flavor out of the bananas themselves and pulls the taste right in. If you didn’t want to go through everything with the pie crust, you could certainly use a simple, store-bought, pre-made crust that you could just pour the mixture into, but it does add more to the flavor if you follow the recipe exactly. I would certainly make pie this way again instead of using the banana pudding that you buy in the store.

That’s all there is for today. Check back again later on in the week to see what of the recipes I post. As I said, I do have a few other recipes that I have made recently that I do want to get on here, so check back and see what comes up next. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 18, 2013 in Cooking, Dessert, Pie

Tags: banana cream pie, banana pastry cream, Cook's Country, Cook's Country banana cream pie, recipes for banana cream pie

Fine Food for Father’s Day, Part 1 – Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Sweet Potatoes

17 Jun

Father’s Day dinner is always treat. Michelle and Sean get to do all the cooking and I get to pick out what I would like to have for dinner. I picked something simple this year since it was just the 3 of us. Michelle had picked up some New York strip steaks and we had some other things around the house that could make for a simple yet elegant meal. We thought about using the grill, but the weather was kind of iffy at the time we were eating dinner so we thought on the safe side we would just do it inside. The recipe for the steaks comes from Tyler Florence.

New York Strip Steak with Brandied Mushrooms and Fresh Thyme

4 New York strip steaks, each about 1 1/2 inches thick
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds mushrooms, trimmed, brushed clean with the towel and stemmed
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup brandy
1/2 cup heavy cream

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator and allow them to come to room temperature. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat until smoking. Sprinkle the steaks all over with salt and pepper. Put the steaks in the pan and cook, turning to brown all sides completely, until medium-rare, about 8 to 10 minutes depending on how thick the steaks are. Remove the steaks to a platter with tongs and cover loosely with a tent of aluminum foil to keep the meat warm while you make the sauce.

Put the sauté pan back over medium-high heat and add 1/4 cup olive oil. When the oil is smoking, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes, until golden brown. Add the thyme and the garlic, and season well with salt and pepper. Toss a few more times to cook the garlic, then dump the mushrooms out onto a platter. Take the pan off the heat, add the brandy, return the pan to the heat, and cook until almost evaporated. Add the cream and cook that down to 2 to 3 minutes until reduced by about one half and thickened. Return the mushrooms to the pan with whatever juices have collected on the platter and simmer the entire thing another 2 minutes until thickened again. Season with salt and pepper. Slice the steaks thin against the grain. Taste the sauce for salt and pepper and serve.

I loved the mushrooms sauce that came with the steaks. The steaks were cooked perfectly and the sauce added just the right amount of flavor with the mushrooms and the brandy. We did not have to pounds of mushrooms on hand, so we actually ended up about halving the recipe and cut down the amount of olive oil used to about 2 tablespoons and cut the brandy down to about 1/8 of a cup and the heavy cream to about one-fourth.

Besides making some corn on the cob to go with the steaks, we also used a recipe from Bobby Flay of the Food Network for grilled sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro. Even though we didn’t actually grill the potatoes, I think they still came out pretty nicely for indoor cooking. It’s very easy to make this recipe and takes next in no time at all.

Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

3 sweet potatoes, unpeeled
Kosher salt
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

To par-cook the potatoes, place the potatoes in a large pot of water and boil until fork tender, about 8 minutes. Allow the potatoes to cool completely. Slice each potato lengthwise into eighths.

Preheat the grill to medium or place a cast-iron grill pan over medium heat. Mix 1 tablespoon of salt, the lime zest and the cayenne pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Brush the potato wedges with the oil and season well with salt and pepper. Grill the potatoes until they are golden brown on all sides (including the skin) and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the potatoes to a platter and immediately season with the salt mixture and sprinkle with cilantro.

We simply made the potatoes in the cast-iron pan instead of dragging the grill pan out and I think they turned out just as well. Par-cooking them is really necessary here because you want to make sure the potatoes are going to be cooked all the way through when you make them this way. If you just put them in raw, they are not going to be done in one to 2 minutes and will burn. I really liked the mixture of the lime and the salt with the cayenne pepper; it really help to bring out the flavor of the potatoes and I actually used some of the salt on my piece of corn on the cob as well.

That’s all there is for today. Next time I will post the recipe Michelle used to make banana cream pie for dessert for Father’s Day. I can tell you it was pretty darn good and I really enjoyed it. Check back for that one as well as some of the recipes that I have done recently and plan to post on the blog. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 17, 2013 in Beef, Cooking, Dinner, Grilling, Holidays, Potatoes, Sauce, Vegetables

Tags: Bobby Flay, brandied mushrooms, food network, grilled sweet potatoes, grilled sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro, new york strip, New York strip steaks, Tyler Florence

6 Food-Filled Ways to Celebrate Dad on Father’s Day | FN Dish – Food Network Blog

16 Jun

6 Food-Filled Ways to Celebrate Dad on Father’s Day | FN Dish – Food Network Blog.

There’s still time to get some great ideas of things to cook or do for Dad today for Father’s Day. Here’s some great ideas from Food Network about different things to do or recipes to try with Dad today. Check it out and I hope all the dads out there have a wonderful Father’s Day!

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Posted by MikeG on June 16, 2013 in Cooking, Cooking Tips, Cooking Websites

Tags: cooking for father's day, father's day ideas, Father's Day menu, food network

A Tasty Sandwich: Chicken Tender BLAT

15 Jun

Sandwiches are one of the great pastimes in my house. I personally love to eat them and could have it every day if I could get away with it. They are quick and easy meals that are perfect for hectic weeknights or just for a lazy weekend dinner. Of course, they are great for lunch any time at all. I had bought a package of chicken tenderloins when they were one sale this past week and was looking for something to do with them, and this turned out to be a fine idea.Michelle had suggested sandwiches, so that’s the way I decided to go with it.

Chicken Tender BLAT (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato)

1 pound chicken tenders

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

6 slices bacon, cooked

4 leaves Romaine lettuce

1 tomato, thinly sliced

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced

4 rolls

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the bread crumbs in one shallow bowl, the beaten egg in a separate shallow bowl and the flour in a third bowl. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken tenders in the flour, shaking off any excess. Dip the chicken in the egg, allowing the excess to drip off, then roll the chicken tenders in the panko bread crumbs until well coated, shaking off any excess. Place the chicken on a separate plate and repeat the process until all the chicken is coated in the bread crumbs.

In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until it is shimmering. Add the chicken to the skillet in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Allow the chicken to brown on one side before flipping it over, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and brown the second side until the chicken is cooked through completely, about another 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain and cover to keep warm while you repeat the process with any remaining chicken.

Once all the chicken is made, you can begin assembling the sandwiches. Place slices of tomato on each roll, followed by pieces of bacon. Then place one or two chicken tenders on the roll, followed by a piece of romaine lettuce and topped with avocado.

You could also put some mayonnaise or other sauce on the sandwiches if you wish. I actually added a little bit of sliced red onion to my sandwich as well and it was great. I served the sandwiches with some of the Alton Brown potato salad that I posted the recipe for yesterday and some homemade cole slaw that I had also made. You can serve these sandwiches hot or cold depending on whatever each person might like to have. it’s certainly easy enough to do for any night of the week and you could even use boneless chicken breasts sliced thinly into strips instead of buying the chicken tenders or use frozen chicken tenders if that is what you like best and eliminate the entire step of breading the chicken.

That’s all I have for today. Tomorrow is Father’s Day so I don’t know if I will get around to doing a post or not. We’ll have to see how the say goes, but I do have some recipes that I used this week that I intend to post, so keep checking back for those. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day, a happy Father’s Day to all of the Dads out there, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 15, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Lunch, Poultry, Sandwiches

Tags: Alton Brown potato salad, chicken tender BLAT, chicken tender BLT, chicken tenderloins, chicken tenders, chicken tenders sandwich, cole slaw, quick and easy meals

Weekend Entertaining: Father’s Day Barbecue | Williams-Sonoma Taste

15 Jun

Weekend Entertaining: Father’s Day Barbecue | Williams-Sonoma Taste.

Looking for a great barbecue meal for the weekend for Father’s Day? Williams-Sonoma has this post to help you with all the planning and the menu from appetizers and drinks to the entree, sides and desserts. Check it out and give it a try!

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Posted by MikeG on June 15, 2013 in Beverages, Cooking, Cooking Websites, Dessert, Dinner, Grilling, Pork, Potatoes, Side Dishes

Tags: father's day barbecue, Father's Day menu, memphis ribs, williams-sonoma, williams-sonoma father's day barbecue menu

Alton Brown’s Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

14 Jun

I’ve been making potato salad recipes for years and years now. All along, I’ve really just been using the same recipe. I have these standard Hellmann’s potato salad recipe that you used to find on the back of the jar that I’ve been using all this time and it is always worked well. This last time, when I decided to make some potato salad as a side dish for dinner, I wanted to try something a little bit different. I went searching for recipes and came across this one from Alton Brown on the Food Network’s website. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a recipe of his that I haven’t liked, so I thought I would give it a try.

Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

2 1/2 pounds red potatoes, large diced
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tablespoon very thinly sliced garlic
3 tablespoons finely chopped cornichons
1/2 cup small dice red onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes into a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Cover the potatoes with cold water and place the pot over medium heat. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and remove the lid. Gently simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place them in an ice bath to cool. Remove the skins from the potatoes. Slice the potatoes into rounds and place them into a zip top bag. Add the vinegar and toss to coat all of the potatoes. Place the bag into the refrigerator overnight.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, tarragon, garlic, cornichons, onions, and celery. Once everything is evenly combined, add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Allow the salad to chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

If you have never used cornichons before, they are those little tiny pickles that you can find in many of your local supermarkets. I did not have any red potatoes on hand, so I did use some russet potatoes instead and I think everything turned out just fine. Adding the vinegar ahead of time and allowing the potatoes to marinate overnight does seem to make a good difference in the taste. There were also a few things in this salad that I never added before, including the cornichons, garlic and mustard powder. You can really taste the mustard powder and it does come through quite nicely. I would certainly recommend this recipe and I’ll be using it again. The salad tasted even better the next day once it had time to sit and the flavors were allowed to meld.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again next time to see some of the recipes that I’ve tried out this week, including a pork chop with cherries, a crispy high roasted chicken and potatoes recipe and some others that I have been working on. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 14, 2013 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Potatoes, Salad, Side Dishes

Tags: Alton Brown, cold-fashioned potato salad, food network, potato salad recipe, potato salad recipes

Quick and Easy One Pot Chicken and Rice

12 Jun

As the weather starts to warm up and we move closer and closer to summertime, not only will more people be grilling and cooking out, but you also want to make meals that are quick and easy to cook and can all be done in one pot or pan. I’ve made chicken and rice before in different ways but I came across this recipe in the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook and saw how easy it was and thought it would make a great weeknight meal. Dinner for anyone during the week can get a little hectic, so if you have a recipe like this in your arsenal that you can pull out any time you have some chicken, it can make things a lot easier. While this particular recipe uses a whole chicken, I actually substituted since I only had chicken thighs on hand and used them exclusively.

Chicken and Rice With Tomatoes, White Wine, and Parsley

1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 drumsticks, 2 thighs)
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
2 cups water
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained with 1/2 cup of juice reserved
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Place the chicken skin side down in the pot and cook until it is well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, reducing the heat if the pan begins to scorch. Flip the chicken skin side up and continue to cook until lightly browned on the second side, about 3 minutes; transfer to a plate.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot, add the onion, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until it is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it is well coated and glistening, about 1 minute. Stir in the water, tomatoes with the reserved juice, white wine, and 1 teaspoon of salt, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle the chicken thighs and legs into the pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Nestle the chicken breast pieces into the pot and stir the ingredients gently until the rice is thoroughly mixed; cover and simmer until both the rice and the chicken are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes longer. Stir in the parsley, cover, and allow the dish to sit for 5 minutes.

One of the things you want to be sure of is that you stir the rice as the dish goes along. When you cook a meal of this nature, some of the rice tends to get undercooked if you just leave it alone without mixing it up as you go along.The recipe actually puts the breasts in after the other chicken has started cooking so they do not dry out and get overcooked while the dark meat pieces cook.There are many different variations you can try on this – if you want to change it around every time you make it. You could certainly add different spices such as paprika, cilantro, saffron, cumin or even things such as bell peppers, peas, chili peppers, olives, anchovies or some lemon or lime juice. The combinations seem nearly endless depending on what exactly you want to go for. As I said before, you can use whatever pieces of chicken you happen to have on hand if you do not have a whole chicken. The meal only took about a half an hour to cook and clean up was a breeze since everything was done all in one pot.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again later on in the week as I’ll have some of the recipes of things I have cooked recently or things I am planning for later on in the week. I already made some chicken sandwiches, Alton Brown’s potato salad recipe and some braised pork chops with cherries, among other things. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 12, 2013 in Cookbooks, Cooking, Dinner, One Pot Meals, Poultry, Rice

Tags: chicken and rice, chicken and rice with tomatoes, Cook's Illustrated Cookbook, one pot meals

Super Summer Side Dish: Black Bean Salad

07 Jun

I am always on the lookout for new side dishes to try, particularly in the summertime. I want to try to make as many things I can without having to use the stove very much or even at all if I can avoid it when it is really hot. I came across this recipe on the Food Network website and saw that it would be good to go along with just about anything from burgers and hot dogs to pork or fish. I actually made it yesterday as a side dish for some Italian sausage and peppers.

Black Bean Salad

1 small garlic clove
Pinch salt, plus 2 teaspoons
1 1/2 lines, juiced (about 3 tablespoons)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
1 orange or red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 cup)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small avocado, halved, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

To make the dressing, smash the garlic clove, sprinkle it with a pinch of the salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to create a coarse paste. Whisk the garlic paste, lime juice, salt and chili powder together in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream.

For the salad, cook the corn, bell pepper and onions in the olive oil until beginning to brown over medium-high heat in a large skillet, about 5 minutes. Toss in the black beans and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the skillet from the heat and gently fold in the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I did change the recipe around just slightly and added a little bit more corn. I did not have any cherry tomatoes on hand but I did have other tomatoes so I just seeded and sliced one up and used that.I also had some black beans on hand that were not in a can but had been originally dried. They had already been soaked so I didn’t have to do that process however, I did add a little bit of water to the skillet once I added the beans and covered the skillet for about 10 minutes to soften up the beans more. I think it tasted just fine using the dried beans, but it will add a little more time to the recipe. I love the flavor of the lime and the garlic in the dressing and what it adds to the flavor of the vegetables and I think this would be a great side dish to use throughout the summer. As I said, I served this with the baked Italian sausage, peppers and onions recipe that I had posted on here recently.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again in over the next few days to see what other recipes I use. I do have some things in mind that I hope to get to over the next few days and when I do my shopping this weekend I’ll see what I get and picked up to make for the coming week. Keep checking back and see what comes along. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!