Cooking Channel | onedadskitchen

Break Out the Slow Cooker for These Slow Cooker Asian Barbecue Ribs

Since I don’t have the advantages of having a charcoal or gas grill it sometimes feels like it can really limit some of the things I can cook, particularly when it comes to making ribs. I have been able to find some great recipes for making ribs in the oven and they have turned out well, but I am always looking to see if there is something new I can try to get even greater flavor out of a meal of ribs. I came across this recipe awhile back from Kelsey Nixon on the Cooking Channel for Asian barbecue ribs that are made in the slow cooker, which makes them perfect for you to try for a weeknight meal when you want something ready for you when you get home from work. These are very easy to make, with just a few ingredients that go a long way to giving you some great flavor.

Slow Cooker Asian Barbecue Ribs

1/4 cup sesame oil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 bunch green onions, white and green parts, chopped

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup honey

2 racks pork baby back ribs (4 to 5 pounds)

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute the ginger, garlic and green onions until all are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar, chili sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey and 1/2 cup of water. Whisk the mixture until everything is fully incorporated. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat and allow it to cool.

Sprinkle the ribs generously with salt and pepper and place the ribs in an upright position in the slow cooker. The meaty side of the ribs should be facing outwards. Spoon the sauce over the ribs and cover the slow cooker. Cook the ribs in the slow cooker on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain the sauce from the slow cooker into a saucepan and remove any accumulated grease from the top of the sauce. Combine 1 tablespoon of water with the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and whisk them together in a small bowl. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan and bring the sauce to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the sauce until it has thickened and serve it with the ribs.

I actually added one more step to this recipe at this point. When I removed the ribs from the slow cooker, I put some of the reduced and thickened sauce onto the ribs and then placed the ribs under the broiler for about 2 minutes to really get a nice glaze and crisp up the ribs some more. I think this made a big difference as far as flavor, texture and look of the ribs and I would do that again with this recipe. The sauce was great, giving a nice Asian flavor and flair to the dish with the ginger, soy sauce and honey. The ribs were very tender inside and crisp on the outside just the way I like them. I would definitely make this one 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!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on May 23, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Pork, Slow Cooker Meals

Tags: Asian barbecue ribs in the slow cooker, Asian BBQ ribs, baby back ribs, barbecue ribs, Cooking Channel, Kelsey Nixon, slow cooker, slow cooker Asian barbecue ribs, slow cooker Asian BBQ ribs

An Easy Almost Chicago-Style Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

18 May

Very often around here Friday night’s are pizza night and more often than not I make my own pizza. It seems just as easy, doesn’t take a lot of time to make, and costs less than buying 2 pizzas from our favorite pizza place nearby. I have nothing against getting a pizza now and then; we do it ourselves on nights where no one has the energy to cook,but I just think for the minimum effort it takes to make the dough or even buy the pizza dough (most times a pound of dough is only about a dollar), you can make a pretty good pizza on your own. Sean had been asking me to try making a deep dish pizza because he wanted it, and I found a pretty easy recipe on the Cooking Channel website that was a good one to try.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound sweet or hot Italian sausage, sliced into thin rounds or removed from the casing and crumbled

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 pound pizza dough, at room temperature, or 1 serving of Food Processor Pizza Dough, at room temperature

10 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded or thinly sliced

1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce or 1 1/2 cups crushed and strained tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Cook the sausage until the sausage is nicely browned and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Grease the inside of a 12-inch cast-iron skillet with the softened butter. Place the pizza dough in the center of the skillet and spread the dough evenly towards the bottom edge and 1 1/2 inches up the sides.

Begin layering the ingredients on your pizza crust by evenly laying the sausage on the dough, followed by the mozzarella cheese and then by the tomato sauce or the tomatoes, whichever you happen to be using. Sprinkle the garlic and the dried oregano on top of the cheese and sauce. Finish the topping by adding the Parmesan cheese on top and drizzle the top with the remaining 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Place the cast-iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven and cook the pizza until the edge of the crust is golden brown and crusty, about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the skillet from the oven and allow the pizza to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Just a couple of quick notes about my experience with this recipe. First, you should preheat the oven for about 20 minutes or so to make sure the temperature is nice and hot before you put the pizza in. This seemed to make a big difference for me. Secondly, I didn’t get the pizza as “deep dish” as I would have liked it since I did not have quite enough dough to fully go up the sides of the pan. I had split the dough in half to make two pizzas and kind of short-changed myself, so make sure you have enough dough if you really want that deep, crispy crust. Thirdly, the sequence in the layering does seem to make a difference in getting the crisp bottom that you want. Putting the sausage on the bottom does make a difference here and helps to crisp the crust. You could, of course, use any toppings that you like for your pizza, but since we all like sausage pizza it worked well for us. This recipe is a very easy one that is perfect when you want the crunchy, deep-dish style pizza.

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!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on May 18, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Pizza

Tags: Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Chicago-style deep dish sausage pizza, Cooking Channel, deep dish pizza, deep dish pizza recipe, food processor pizza dough, pizza dough, pizza dough recipe, pizza recipe, sausage pizza

It’s a Snack Attack, Part 3 – Pork Dumplings

12 Feb

Okay, here is the last of the snacks I made this past week. This one also comes from Kelsey Nixon of the Cooking Channel and is for pork dumplings. Sean has been asking me to make these for quite a while now and I finally had some ground pork and wonton wrappers on hand so I thought I would give it a try. There are only a few ingredients to these and they are very simple to make as an easy snack or appetizer if you are planning an Asian-style meal for dinner or just feel like having some kind of a snack.

Pork Dumplings

For the Pork Dumplings:

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons minced ginger

2 teaspoons sesame oil

1 small bunch, scallions, white and green parts, chopped

12 ounces ground pork

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1 egg

1 package dumpling or wonton wrappers

1 tablespoon vegetable oil, for frying

For the Dipping Sauce:

1 cup soy sauce

2 1/2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce

Juice of 3 lemons

For the dipping sauce, combine the soy sauce, Sriracha and lemon juice in a bowl and set the sauce aside until you are ready to serve the dumplings.

For the pork dumplings, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, sesame oil and scallions and cook until the mixture is fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the mixture to cool for about 1 minute.

Combine the cooked garlic, ginger and scallions with the ground pork, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Chinese five-spice powder and the egg in a large bowl.

Working with the dumpling wrappers, start with the floured surface of the wrappers facing down. Place about 1 1/2 teaspoons of the filling in the center of a wrapper. Wet the edge of the dumpling with water, using your finger, and fold the dumpling in half without sealing it, like a taco. Pinch one end closed. Create the pleats of the dumpling on one side using your thumb and forefinger, pressing against the other flat edge to seal the dumpling as you go. Flatten the bottoms so that the bottom surface of the dumpling can get a good sear on it when you pan fry them. Repeat the process until all the dumplings are filled. Keep the dumplings on a lightly-floured sheet tray to keep them from sticking and cover the dumplings with a slightly damp towel to keep them from drying out while you make the rest of the batch.

Heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Working in batches, pan fry the dumplings by placing them bottom-side down and frying them until they are golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.

Once the dumplings are golden brown, working carefully, pour 1/2 cup of water into the skillet to cover the dumplings halfway. Immediately cover the skillet with a lid, leaving a small crack for steam to escape. Cook the dumplings until the water has evaporated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the dumplings to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up any excess oil and repeat the process with the remaining dumplings.

I can tell you that this recipe makes a lot of dumplings, so you can certainly freeze them and heat them up any time you want to have a little snack. We all enjoyed the dumplings as they had some great flavor with the ginger, scallions and hoisin sauce. They were pretty easy to make and while the recipe calls for round dumpling wrappers, i only had square wonton wrappers and I think they worked out just fine for my purposes. It is a perfect party snack you can make pretty easily and I think you could substitute out the pork for beef, chicken, turkey, shrimp or even just vegetables and get great results.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I have some other great recipes we have tried lately and I still have my recipes I am making on Valentine’s Day this year to share as well. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on February 12, 2014 in Appetizers, Cooking, Pork, Sauce, Snacks

Tags: Cooking Channel, dipping sauce, easy pork dumplings, Kelsey Nixon, pork dumplings, pork dumplings recipe

It’s a Snack Attack, Part 2 – Buttery Garlic Knots

11 Feb

Here is the second of the snacks I decided to try out this past weekend. This one is really easy and comes from Kelsey Nixon on the Cooking Channel. It is for a batch of very easy to make buttery garlic knots. This is one that you can use with some quick made pizza dough in the food processor or you can just as easily use some store-bought pizza dough and whip these up in no time at all. The actual preparation of the garlic knots and the cooking takes no time at all, so this is a great quick snack you can make just about anytime you want.

Buttery Garlic Knots

1 recipe Food Processor Pizza Dough, or 1 package of store-bought pizza dough

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, minced

2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, minced

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

8 cloves garlic, grated

All-purpose flour, for dusting

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Prepare the recipe for the food processor pizza dough or take the store-bought pizza dough and let it come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Mix the softened butter with the thyme, rosemary, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese and the grated garlic. Set the mixture aside.

Turn the pizza dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Stretch the pizza dough into a rectangle. Spread half of the butter mixture on half of the dough. Fold the dough in half, covering the butter with the pizza dough. Using a pizza wheel, divide the dough into 18 strips. First cut through the middle of the dough and then you can cut each half into 9 separate pieces to get your 18 strips. Stretch each strip of dough and then tie it into a knot and tuck the ends underneath the center of the knot. Place the knots on a baking sheet.

Sprinkle the knots with some of the Parmesan cheese and bake until they are a golden brown color, about 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, melt the remaining herb butter. Once the knots come out of the oven, baste them with the melted butter and sprinkle them with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

I actually basted the knots with some of the butter after they had been baking for about 10 minutes and then again at the end of the baking so they had a really nice baked in garlic flavor. They came out perfectly and has a nice crunch on the outside with a soft and buttery inside. These would go great with any Italian dinner you might be having like spaghetti and meatballs, baked ziti, lasagna, pizza, sausage and peppers or really just about any meal. They also make a great snack or appetizer and you could even put some together as a great afterschool snack for something a little different. You could certainly do a lot of different things with it and even use different herbs if there are some you would prefer instead, like basil or oregano.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I have one more good snack I tried recently to come for tomorrow so check back for that one. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

2 Comments

Posted by MikeG on February 11, 2014 in Appetizers, Breads, Cooking, Pizza, Snacks

Tags: buttery garlic knots, Cooking Channel, garlic knots, garlic knots recipe, Kelsey Nixon, pizza dough

Cookies With a Kick – Irish Cream and Coffee Cookies

06 Jan

I am a fan of Irish cream and an even bigger fan of coffee,so something that can bring the two together is bound to be pretty tasty right? When we were on the lookout for Christmas cookies this year this is one of the recipes that we came across during our hunt and I knew we had to give them a try if for no other reason than I liked the way they sounded. A coffee flavored sugar cookie with and Irish cream butter cream meringue on top? Yes please! The recipe originally comes from the Cooking Channel and Nealey Dozier.

Irish Cream and Coffee Cookies

For the Coffee-Flavored Sugar Cookies:

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon coffee extract
1 large egg
3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned in and leveled)
3 tablespoons finely ground coffee (not instant)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Irish Cream Italian Meringue Buttercream:

1 1/4 cups sugar
5 egg whites
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
1/4 cup Irish cream liqueur, such as Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/2 teaspoon or more coffee extract
Chocolate-covered espresso beans, for garnish

For the coffee-flavored sugar cookies: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater blade (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter, sugar and cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Combine the vanilla, coffee extract and egg in a small bowl. Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the egg mixture to the butter mixture and beat until combined.In another bowl, stir together the flour, ground coffee, baking powder and salt. On low-speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until completely incorporated and a soft dough has formed.

Place a rectangular sheet of parchment or wax paper on a clean surface. Pat the dough out into a rectangular shape on top of it. Cover with another sheet of parchment and roll the dough to 1/4- to 1/2-inch thickness. Remove the top sheet of parchment and transfer the dough to a baking sheet. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

Cut the dough into rounds (or desired shape) using cookie or biscuit cutters. Transfer the cutouts to the baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Gather the scraps, roll again and cut out more rounds (refrigerate to chill the dough if it gets too soft).

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness and shape. Do not let the cookies brown; start checking for doneness early. The finished cookies will have slightly golden brown bottoms, but they will feel very soft and under-baked until they cool. Hold the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Irish cream Italian meringue buttercream: In a small, heavy saucepan, stir together 1 cup of the sugar with 1/4 cup cold water to combine. Heat the mixture on medium-high heat. Dip a pastry brush in water and brush down the sides of the pan to remove any excess sugar, and then partially cover with a lid to prevent crystallization. Cook the sugar mixture until the temperature registers 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

While the sugar mixture is heating, make the meringue. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high-speed until medium peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes total.

With the mixer running, slowly pour the hot syrup into the meringue. Continue beating at high-speed for 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and beat until the meringue has cooled to room temperature and the bowl is cool to the touch, about 15 minutes.

Begin adding the butter two to three cubes at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high; add the Irish cream liqueur and coffee extract and beat until the butter and liquids are fully incorporated. (The buttercream can be held in the refrigerator for up to one week or frozen for one month.)

Transfer the buttercream frosting to a disposable piping bag fitted with a star or round tip. Pipe a layer of frosting onto each cookie and top with a chocolate-covered espresso bean.

The recipe says it makes about 30 cookies, which we got. I have to tell you, this was a little tricky to do and we had some mishaps and restarts along the way, but the end results are pretty good. Coffee extract may not be easy to find in your area ( I know it isn’t easy in mine) and it took some hunting but we got it. The cookie itself can seem deceiving when you are making it because they are very soft even when they are done. They do harden up once they have cooled but you will keep checking yourself because you swear they aren’t finished. Trust me, when the time is done, they really are done! The meringue needs some careful watching too between making sugar syrup carefully to make sure it doesn’t get too hot and crystallize (which happened and I had to start again) to being convinced the meringue would never hold up because you are adding hot syrup to it (somehow it holds; I am no scientist, but I am glad it worked). The end results though is worth it. I think it is a great tasting cookie. You get great flavor from the cookie itself and the meringue is spectacular.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. There is still lots to come, and I do have some recipes I forgot to take pictures of (sorry about that) but I will still share them anyway, Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on January 6, 2014 in Cookies, Cooking, Dessert

Tags: coffee cookies, coffee flavored sugar cookies, Cooking Channel, Irish Cream, Irish Cream and coffee cookies, Irish cream cookies, Irish cream Italian meringue buttercream, Irish cream liqueur, Nealey Dozier, Sugar Cookies

Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes : Cooking Channel

29 Nov

Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes : Cooking Channel.

Well, it never hurts to have a few things in mind when you are faced with a refrigerator full of leftover items and not sure what to do with any of it. Cooking Channel has assembled several great recipes here to give you some great ideas of things to do with turkey, your side dishes and even the leftover pie. Check it out!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on November 29, 2013 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Holidays, Leftovers

Tags: Cooking Channel, holiday leftover recipes, leftover recipes for the holidays, Thanksgiving leftover recipes

Enjoying Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs

14 Oct

I tend to make a lot of chicken thighs for dinner when we eat chicken. I like the flavor of them, they stay moist through different types of cooking over boneless chicken breasts, and frankly they are very often much cheaper than chicken breasts. A lot of times I will buy them in bulk at BJ’s Warehouse or buy a family pack at the store and freeze them so I always have them on hand for cooking. I pulled a few out last week to make this recipe, that I got from Rachel Ray. It is a very simple recipe to make some easy chicken thighs and have leftovers for another meal.

Beer-Braised Chicken Thighs

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 link andouille sausage, casing removed and chopped, or 4 slices bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme

1 rounded tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 (12-ounce) bottle lager beer

1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

2 tablespoons hot sauce

Scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, for garnish

Warm baguette

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season them well with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and brown the pieces on both sides in 2 batches about 10 minutes per batch until the chicken has good brown color and the skin is crisp.

Remove the chicken to a plate and spoon out about half of the drippings. Add the andouille sausage or bacon. Brown for about 2 minutes and then add in the onion, bell pepper, garlic and thyme and cook to soften for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add the flour and stir constantly for 1 to 2 minutes until it is well blended with the vegetables. Pour in the beer and let the foam subside. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken broth and the hot sauce. Stir occasionally and let the sauce thicken for about 6 to 8 minutes. Place the chicken pieces back in the pot and simmer the dish until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes longer. Garnish the chicken with the scallions and serve with the warm baguette.

It is a very simple meal that makes same great tasting chicken. You want to make sure you get a good crust on the chicken skin when you are cooking it first before you start in on the rest of the meal. This will give you great color and good skin when you put the chicken back in the liquid and it won’t get as soggy from the cooking. The liquid gets great flavor from a lot of sources, such as the beer, the sausage, the tomatoes and the hot sauce. I served this over some white rice and we had a nice meal in no time at all.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. I have quite a stockpile of things I have made recently, so we have some good recipes to come and I have found a bunch more I want to try in the coming weeks, so keep checking back to see what’s next. until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

1 Comment

Posted by MikeG on October 14, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: beer braised chicken, beer braised chicken thighs, Cooking Channel, Rachel Ray

Another Roast Chicken Variation

28 Sep

You would think we would get tired of eating chicken since we have it so much. I think that is one of the reasons I am always looking for some way to do it just a little differently. Buying a whole chicken and roasting it is a great way to get several meals out of one dish. We usually have leftovers where we can use the chicken for another dinner, like a chicken salad or chicken tacos or something of that nature, chicken sandwiches for lunches and then I use the carcass to make chicken stock which we use for soups. A $6.00 chicken then turns into 4 or 5 meals, making it really worth the effort. You can also cut up the chicken yourself instead of paying extra for a package of parts in the store. It’s a little extra time and effort on your part, but it’s worth it. I made this simple roasted chicken recipe that I found from Kelsey Nixon of the Cooking Channel the other night and it came out great.

Roasted Chicken with Lemon, Garlic and Thyme

1 (6-pound) roasting chicken

4 tablespoons butter, softened

3 tablespoons fresh minced thyme, plus a handful for stuffing

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, quartered

1 onion, coarsely, chopped

3 celery stalks

3 carrots, unpeeled and cut into thirds

1 onion, quartered

1 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry.

in a small bowl, make a compound butter by combining the softened butter, minced thyme, garlic cloves, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Season the cavity of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the cavity with the lemon quarters, a handful of fresh thyme and the quartered onion. Place the carrot, celery and chopped onion in the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top of the vegetables. Cross the legs and tir them with kitchen twine.

Gently lift the skin away from the chicken and spread 2 tablespoons of the compound butter mixture underneath the skin, distributing it evenly. Spread the remaining compound butter over the entire surface of the chicken and then season the chicken generously with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees and roast the chicken until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the inner thigh not touching the bone registers 160 to 165 degrees, about 45 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to rest for about 15 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the bottom of the roasting pan and set aside. Tent the chicken with aluminum foil to keep it warm.

Pour the pan juices into a large glass measuring cup. Spoon the fat off the top of the juices. Add the chicken broth to the roasting pan and place the pan over high heat. Bring the broth to a boil, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.Return the pan juices to the pan and whisk the flour into the broth mixture and bring to a boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve alongside the roasted chicken.

The vegetables on the bottom of the pan serve like a roasting rack and lift the chicken up so it roasts better on the bottom. The vegetables also get the benefit of a lot of those juices, so I chose to peel the carrots first and then we had the vegetables as a side dish with the chicken, along with some green beans and wild rice. I used my trusty cast iron pan to do all this to make clean up easier and making the pan sauce easier when the chicken was done. The chicken fit perfectly in there anyway, so it worked out well. The flavor the compound butter provides the chicken was great and we got some nice crispy skin to boot. The chicken was very moist and done perfectly and will work well for other meals. it was also very easy to do and everything thing was done in not much over an hour, so it was great for a weeknight meal.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more recipes. I made a nice slow roasted pork last night that has a great recipe to it that is perfect for a Oktoberfest kind of meal, so check back for that. until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

Leave a comment

Posted by MikeG on September 28, 2013 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: Cooking Channel, Kelsey Nixon, roasted chicken recipe, roasted chicken with lemon garlic and thyme

A Ballpark Treat at Home – Homemade Soft Pretzels

22 Sep

Sean has been asking me to try to make my own pretzels for a while now. I had seen a bunch of recipes and I was always a little reluctant to try it. A lot of them seemed pretty time-consuming and called for a lot of space for rolling out dough, which I do not have. I finally came across one recipe that seemed easy enough to try. This one is from Chuck Hughes on the Cooking Channel and also includes a recipe for a cheese sauce. I personally didn’t make the cheese sauce, but I’ll include it here if you want something to go along with the pretzels.

Homemade Soft Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons dry active yeast

3 cups flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons melted butter

Vegetable oil

2/3 cup baking soda

2 egg yolks beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Coarse salt

Cheese Sauce:

1 bottle beer

2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup cream cheese, diced and softened

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 jalapeno, minced

Salt and pepper

Combine the warm water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the dry yeast on the top. Let the mixture sit until it begins to foam, about 5 minutes. Add the flour and butter. Using the dough hook attachment for the mixer, mix on low-speed until everything is well combined. Change the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. You can also knead the dough by hand.

Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil the bowl with the vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, toss the dough so it gets oiled, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to sit in a warm location until the dough has doubled in size, approximately one hour.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and lightly brush the parchment with vegetable oil. Set the tray aside.

When the dough is ready, lightly flour your working surface and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U shape with the rope and, holding the two ends, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place the pretzels on the baking tray and leave it at room temperature for 1 hour. This helps to dry out the surface of the pretzels and makes them easier to handle.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

In an 8-quart saucepan, bring 10 cups of water to a boil. Lower the heat and slowly begin to add the baking soda to prevent overflowing. Bring the water back to a boil and add the pretzels, one at a time, to the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove the pretzels from the water using a large flat spatula or a spider and put them back on the tray. Repeat the process with the remaining pretzels. The boiling will help to create a shiny, brown crunchy pretzel shell.

Beat the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the top of each pretzel. Sprinkle he pretzels with coarse salt. Bake the pretzels until they are a dark, golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer the pretzels to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

For the cheese sauce, in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the beer to a simmer. In a separate bowl, mix the Cheddar cheese and the cream cheese with the flour. Add the cheese mixture to the beer with the remaining ingredients. Stir until all the cheese has melted and the texture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Keep the sauce warm until you are serving.

I have to say the pretzels took a little bit of extra work, but they were worth it. The first batch I tried I had the water too warm, killed the yeast, and had to start over. The second batch I ended up having to add more flour to, about 2/3 of a cup, to get a dough that held together well. Once I did that, everything else went along according to the recipe. The pretzels came out great with a really good flavor that we all enjoyed. The recipe only makes 8 pretzels, so if you were planning for a party, you might have to double the recipe. As for the cheese sauce, I didn’t make it myself but it would seem to me that it would be a good sauce to use not just for pretzels, but for vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, for tacos, nachos or any other time you want a cheese sauce. You could also use other things instead of salt to cover the pretzels, like a cinnamon sugar, or some Parmesan cheese if you desire.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for some more recipes. I’ll be trying out some new slow cooker recipes this week, so keep an eye out for those. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

4 Comments

Posted by MikeG on September 22, 2013 in Cooking, Sauce, Snacks

Tags: cheese sauce, Chuck Hughes, Cooking Channel, homemade pretzels, soft pretzels recipe

Best Summer & Picnic Side Dish Recipes : Cooking Channel

01 Sep

Best Summer & Picnic Side Dish Recipes : Cooking Channel.

It’s never too late to make some of these great side and picnic dishes. While they are perfect for your summer time events, who says you can’t use some of them all year round? Cooking Channel gives you some great options of things to make for yourself or bring to a party. Check it out!