Hectic week seem to drive me crazy when they come along. This week it is seemed like it has been one thing after another every time I turn around. I finally got settled with my new computer and had a lot of work to catch up on. Throw on top of that that we had Sean’s birthday, my birthday, lots of work to do, Christmas cards, shopping for Christmas presents, and all of the other daily chores and assignments that come up around here and I just have not seem to have time to do much of anything lately. Add to that that Michelle will be traveling again shortly so I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to do much cooking lately either. One thing that I have been able to put together though, was an easy recipe for another one of Sean’s favorites, chicken tenders. Chicken tenders are always a great option for younger kids but they can be a crowd pleaser for just about anybody and make a great easy dinner when you need something to fall back on. This particular recipe that I am using today comes from Food Network and is from Patrick and Gina Neely. It’s a pretty simple recipe for chicken tenders with a simple honey mustard sauce to go along with it.
Chicken Tenders with Honey Mustard Sauce
Peanut oil or vegetable oil, for frying
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Honey Mustard Sauce, recipe follows
For the Honey Mustard Sauce:
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
Preheat the vegetable oil or peanut oil in a Dutch oven or large cast-iron skillet to 350°. Cut the chicken breasts into long strips and set them aside. Beat the 3 eggs in a separate bowl and measure the flour into another separate dish. Measure the breadcrumbs into a pie plate or shallow bowl and season them with the garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Dip the chicken strips into the flour, then the beaten eggs and allow any excess to drip off. Then dredge the chicken strips in the seasoned breadcrumbs. Fry the chicken in the hot oil for 6 to 8 minutes, until the chicken is golden brown on all sides, and remove the pieces to a paper towel lined sheet tray. Fry the chicken in batches so as not to crowd the pan while cooking. Serve the chicken tenders with the honey mustard sauce.
For the honey mustard sauce, mix the Dijon mustard, honey, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. This sauce can be made ahead of time and held in the refrigerator for up to one week.
These chicken tenders come out nice and moist on the inside with very crispy skin, which is perfect for what you want. These are great for all kinds of occasions beyond just weeknight dinner. You could use them to make a batch for a party or for when you’re watching the game or as an appetizer. The mustard sauce has good flavor to it and you could certainly use that for anything else besides the chicken if you have other appetizers that you like to dip in a honey mustard blend. This is certainly a better alternative than anything that you could buy frozen in a bag at the supermarket and these easy enough to make where you probably have all the ingredients on hand at home most of the time.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Sean’s birthday was last week and he had a little get together with some of his buddies this past weekend where they hung out, played video games, watched movies and ate a ton of food. Besides the pizza that we ordered from our local pizzeria, I also made a few things for the guys to eat while they were playing. It was a finger food kind of party so that everything could be eaten easily without interrupting the flow of their gaming. Of course no Sean party is ever complete without his all-time favorite – cheese fries. Sean has been loving cheese fries since he was a little kid and we pretty much have to order them out wherever and whenever we go someplace so it seemed only natural that I would make some for the party. Cheese fries don’t really need much of a recipe, but I did get this one from Rachel Ray because she makes use of a really great tasting cheese sauce to go over the fries to top them off.
Cheese Fries
1 bag frozen french fries, any brand or shape that you like (crinkle cut, thin cut, steak fries, waffle fries, etc.), prepared to package directions
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese
Place the french fries on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and cook the fries according to the directions on the package. While the french fries are baking in the oven, prepare the cheese sauce. Place a large saucepan set over medium heat and add the butter. Melt the butter until it stops bubbling and then add the all-purpose flour. Stir the flour and butter together for about 1 to 2 minutes to create a roux. Use a whisk to stir as you pour the milk into the pot. Keep stirring continuously until the milk begins to thicken, about 2 to 3 minutes. Use a wooden spoon or heat-safe spatula to stir in the cheese to the milk mixture. When all of the cheese has melted take the sauce off the heat. Remove the french fries from the oven and place them in a bowl or on a serving platter. Cover the fries with the warm cheese sauce and serve, with extra sauce on the side.
This is a fast and easy recipe that kids of all ages seem to love and they can easily help you with this one in the kitchen as well. You can always add extra toppings to the fries if you want to shake things up. Try adding some sliced scallions, crumbled up pieces of bacon (a Sean personal favorite) or even some jalapeno peppers or other peppers if you want to make them a little spicier. You could also put some herbs or spices on the fries before you add the cheese sauce if you want some different flavors or try using different cheeses to get a bit of a different flavor to the dish. It’s a great party snack that you can put together pretty quickly with just a couple of ingredients and all of the kids really liked this one.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Just before Thanksgiving came around I had a turkey that I had purchased at the supermarket. Even though we weren’t going to be home for Thanksgiving, it’s hard to pass up a bargain when they’re selling fresh turkeys for $.79 a pound so I picked up one and decided I would make it after Thanksgiving and try a different approach with a new recipe. I had seen before Thanksgiving recipe from Food Network that was made by Bobby Flay for a roast turkey with mustard maple glaze that sounded delicious and looked relatively easy to make. It incorporated some different ingredients to make the glaze, such as maple syrup, horseradish, Dijon mustard, and chili powder. There was also a nice gravy that went along with it, so I decided this was going to be the one to give a try to, and I’m glad I did.
For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
2 heaping tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 heaping tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
For the turkey:
1 17 -pound fresh turkey, patted dry (neck and giblets removed)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
10 tablespoons butter, slightly softened
12 cups homemade chicken stock
3 large carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 large stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large onions, quartered
For the gravy:
1 stick unsalted butter
7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Splash of dry white wine (optional)
1/4 cup chopped mixed fresh herbs (such as sage, parsley and tarragon)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
To make the glaze: Whisk the maple syrup, mustard, horseradish and chile powder in a bowl and season the mix with salt and pepper. Cover the mixture and let it sit at room temperature at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. The glaze can be made up to 2 days in advance; store the glaze, covered, in the refrigerator. Bring it to room temperature before using.
Prepare the turkey: Remove the turkey from the refrigerator 1 hour before roasting. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Season the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Rub the outside of the turkey with the butter and season it liberally with salt and pepper. Put 4 cups of chicken stock in a medium saucepan and keep it warm over low heat.
Place the carrots, celery and onions in a large roasting pan and place a roasting rack on top. Put the turkey on the rack, place the roasting pan in the oven and roast the turkey until it is a light golden brown, about 45 minutes.Tent the turkey loosely with foil if it is browning too quickly. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees, baste the turkey with 2 cups of the warm stock and continue roasting, basting with 2 more cups of warm stock halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 155 degrees, about 1 hour. After the turkey reaches 155 degrees, begin basting the turkey with the maple glaze; continue roasting, basting with the glaze every 10 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 165 degrees, about 20 more minutes.
Remove the turkey from the oven and transfer it to a large cutting board. Tent the turkey loosely with foil and let it rest at least 45 minutes before slicing. Strain the drippings into a bowl and discard the solids. Add enough of the remaining chicken stock to make 6 cups of liquid.
To make the gravy: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until the flour is light golden brown, about 8 minutes. Slowly whisk in the stock-drippings mixture, then bring the mixture to a boil and whisk until the gravy begins thickening and the flour taste has been cooked out, about 10 minutes. Add more stock until you reach the desired consistency. If desired, add a splash of white wine and cook 2 more minutes. Stir in the herbs and season with salt and pepper to taste.
To serve, reheat the remaining stock in a saucepan over low heat. Remove the legs and wings, then remove the dark meat and shred. Remove the breasts and cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Place the meat on a platter and ladle some of the warm stock on top.
I think this recipe was fantastic. The glaze that was on the turkey made the skin perfectly brown and gave it a nice taste. The combination of the mustard and the maple syrup along with the horseradish, really did it for me. The original recipe uses 17 pound turkey so quantities are quite high. The turkey I bought was only 11 pounds so I cut the recipe by about one-third when I was making it. I think if you have a large bird, even bigger than 17 pounds, this recipe would work out pretty well. The meat was perfectly cooked and everything came out nice and juicy. Everyone seemed to really like the gravy as well. This is definitely a recipe that I will use again.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
12 Buttermilk Recipes for Every Meal from Breakfast to Dessert Slideshow – Bon Appétit.
I find myself using buttermilk quite often as an ingredient in all types of recipes, from biscuits, breads and cakes to chicken and everything in between. It is pretty versatile and adds some great flavor to all kinds if dishes. Bon Appetit has put together 12 recipes that make use of buttermilk so you can incorporate it into a bunch of different meals. Check it out!
It has been a crazy day, or actually a crazy week around here as my computer keeps going up and down. My laptop kept crashing several times a day until we finally decided to do something about it and ended up replacing it with a new desktop instead. In the meantime I kind of put everything else on hold so I haven’t been able to do much as far as work, blogging, or just about anything else as we tried to get everything set up. Along the way, I haven’t had much time to do any cooking either. I did manage to do a couple of meals so I do have a few new recipes to share, and I did a couple of recipes without an any pictures being involved, so I do have some things to post. One that we tried recently was for a takeout favorite of cashew chicken. Just like any other stir fry recipe, it is pretty easy to put together and doesn’t take a lot of effort on your part so you can make this just about any night of the week when you feel like having something a little bit different. Most of the ingredients are things you may have around most of the time anyway, other than perhaps the water chestnuts where the cashews themselves.
Cashew Chicken
For the Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon ground ginger or 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, sliced
4 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons vegetable or canola oil
1 cup cashews, chopped or cashew pieces
2 scallions thinly sliced
1/2 can water chestnuts
1 green, yellow, orange, or red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
For the chicken, in a medium bowl, combine the chicken, dry sherry, ginger, garlic and 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch. Cover the bowl and chill the mixture for 30 minutes. In a separate small bowl, combine the chicken broth, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes, if using, and 2 1/2 teaspoons of the cornstarch; whisk until the ingredients are well blended. Set the bowl aside.
Sauté 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil and half of the chicken mixture in a large skillet set over high heat for 2 minutes, then turn the chicken pieces over and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and add the remaining chicken to the skillet. Cook the chicken pieces in the same manner, turning after 2 minutes and cooking until they are heated through. Add a little more vegetable oil to the pan if it is needed. Add the peppers to the pan, sautéing the peppers for about 2 minutes until they are tender. Return the 1st batch of cooked chicken to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth mixture and add the water chestnuts then bring the mixture to a low boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 1 to 3 minutes. Add the cashews to the skillet and mix to incorporate them into the dish. Top with the scallions, if desired, and serve.
This is the ideal dish to serve with fried rice if you feel like making it for the dinner, though I just served mine with white rice. This tastes just like the cashew chicken you would get from any takeout Chinese restaurant and you have better control over the ingredients yourself. You could easily use boneless thighs if you prefer dark meat for your chicken and add any vegetables that you like to the dish if you want. The sauce is the real winner here as it is great with the combination of sticky sweet with a bit of heat from the red pepper flakes. it is a very easy dish that is perfect for a weeknight meal.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
75 Holiday Appetizers – Photo Gallery | SAVEUR.
The holiday season is upon us and that means family meals, parties and more that you will be hosting or attending. If you want some unique and different appetizer ideas for things to do in your own home or to bring to a party, Saveur has put together 75 great holiday appetizers that will dazzle and delight a crowd. Check it out!
I’ve been having some computer issues with crashes and what not on my laptop and I am in the process of setting up a new computer to use for work and leisure, so as soon as I have everything up and running and am caught up with work I can get back to blogging again. I’ll be back shortly!
After spending last week visiting my family in North Carolina it’s back to the real world of work, school and cooking here in New York. We had a great visit with everyone and had a fun time over the Thanksgiving holiday, enjoying a great meal and good times with the family. It was good to get home after a long drive back so we took it easy Saturday and had a nice one dish meal on Sunday, making use of a whole chicken, some fresh veggies and this recipe from Serious Eats for a pan-roasted chicken with vegetables in a Dijon jus for some added zest and flavor. it’s another great one dish meal that you can put together pretty easily and is packed with great flavors.
Pan-Roasted Chicken with Vegetables and Dijon Jus
16 fingerling or yellow new potatoes, scrubbed
3 carrots, 2 peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks, 1 roughly chopped
Kosher salt
16 Brussels sprouts, halved
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 serving pieces, backbone reserved
1 cup dry white wine
1 onion, split in half
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
3 to 4 sprigs fresh sage
2 bay leaves
2 cups chicken stock
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Adjust an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the potatoes and the carrots cut into 1-inch chunks in a medium saucepan, cover the vegetables with cold salted water and bring them to a boil, then simmer the vegetables until they are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables and transfer them to a large bowl. Add the Brussels sprouts, season the vegetables with salt and pepper, toss with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and set the vegetables aside.
Transfer the chicken backbone to the now-empty saucepan. Add the roughly chopped carrot, onion,celery, sage, and bay leaves. Set the saucepan aside. Season the chicken pieces thoroughly with salt and pepper.
Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet set over high heat until the oil is lightly smoking. Add the chicken pieces skin side down and cook, moving the chicken pieces as little as possible, until the chicken skin is rendered and a deep golden brown, about 10 to 14 minutes. Flip the pieces as they finish and lightly brown the second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer the browned chicken pieces to a plate and set them aside.
When all the chicken is browned, add the white wine to the skillet and scrape up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Transfer the white wine to a medium saucepan and put in the reserved chicken backbone. Pour in any juices that have accumulated on the chicken resting plate and wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.
Add the chicken stock to the saucepan with the chicken backbone. Bring the stock to a simmer over high heat, reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover and let the stock gently bubble while the chicken roasts. Add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet and heat the skillet over high heat until the oil is lightly smoking. Add the vegetable mixture and top the vegetables with the chicken pieces, skin side up. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast until the chicken breasts register 150 degrees and the chicken legs register at least 165 degrees on an instant read thermometer, removing the chicken pieces and transferring them to a clean plate as they finish roasting, about 45 minutes total.
When all of the chicken pieces have finished roasting, add the shallots to the skillet with the vegetables and toss them to combine. Return the skillet to the oven and continue roasting, flipping the vegetables occasionally, until the vegetables and shallots are browned all over, about 10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven, add the parsley, toss to coat and then place the chicken pieces directly on top of the vegetables.
Strain the simmering chicken broth mixture into a small saucepan or bowl. Whisk in the butter, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and fish sauce. Season the jus to taste with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken and vegetables, serving the jus at the table.
This meal is packed with ingredients and lots of great flavor. You get a really nice browning on the chicken pieces and I liked everything set over the vegetables to get even more flavor onto the veggies. I actually added the shallot in from the start and roasted the vegetables just with the chicken, tossing them lightly when I took the chicken out and then put the chicken right back in the skillet. The Dijon jus was a nice touch with the chicken and vegetables, with a good mix of the mustard, lemon juice and fish sauce. It all came together very nicely and mostly in one dish (outside of the prep work) so it was easy clean-up as well.
That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!
Best Thanksgiving Leftovers Recipes fromFood Network
Now that you have made it through Thanksgiving and have a pile of leftovers to deal with (or maybe you made just enough and had nothing left) you want to have some ideas on what to do with what you have left. Food Network has put together 42 great leftovers recipes so you can put together more than just a turkey sandwich. Check it out!
How to Fix the Biggest Thanksgiving Fails – Bon Appétit.
Bon Appetit has put together some helpful hints for some of the typical problems and issues that may come up in your Thanksgiving meal. Now you can save your stuffing, turkey and pumpkin pie with just a bit of help and information and without the worry. Check it out!
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