Piri Piri Chicken

I tend to eat a lot of chicken because if cooked right, it can have a lot of flavor.  On the other hand if not cooked well it can be dry, tough and without much flavor.  This chicken has a lot of flavor which come from the piri piri sauce that the chicken is cooked in.  (This recipe is based off Piri Piri chicken from Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes.)  I also tend to use a lot of boneless, skinless chicken which makes it all the more important to have good flavor infused into the chicken.  This method uses a bit of cooking on the stove top as well as finishing in the oven so it gives you enough time to work on other things to serve with this chicken.

Piri Piri Chicken
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast
olive oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced or cubed
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced or cubed
6 sprigs of thyme
cilantro leaves
1 red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 serrano chile, stalk removed
1 jalapeno, stalk removed
2 tablespoon sweet paprika
2 lemons, zested (1 lemon also juiced)
1/4 white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
fresh bunch of basil
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.  Put a large pan on to heat (to cook the chicken).  Place the chicken on a cutting board and season it with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper.  Place the chicken into the preheat pan and cook until golden on each side.  (The first side should take about 5-6 minutes, then turn over.)

In the meantime, make the piri piri sauce.  Add the chopped red onion to a blender with the garlic, chiles, paprika, lemon zests, and juice from one lemon.  Add white wine, Worcestershire sauce, a pinch of salt and pepper, the bunch of basil and a little water.  Blend until smooth.

Add the red and yellow pepper to the chicken.  Turn the heat down to medium and stir the peppers.  Pour the piri piri sauce into a baking dish, add the peppers then the chicken (and any cooking sauce).  Next, add the sprigs of thyme and place in the oven on a middle rack.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until everything is baked through (and hot throughout).  Chicken will be cooked when it reaches an internal temperature of 160F.  Remove chicken from oven the serve with the cilantro leaves sprinkled on top. 

Cannellini Bean Curry

One of my favorite things to eat when it gets cold out or when I am craving some spicier food is curry.  I never ate it growing up and had no idea what I was missing until I tried Indian food.  Of course I am sure a lot of the food we get in the U.S. is in no way similar to food eaten in India.  However, I have accumulated a few different Indian cookbooks trying to get more authentic Indian food.  (Of course I ate this with a pita bread so I didn't really carry the Indian food theme through all the way.)  Another of my comfort foods is white beans.  Any recipe that has beans in it never has enough for me.  In the same way I tend to minimize meat and add more vegetables.  So this recipe is based off one from Anjum's New Indian with changed to fit how I like to cook and eat, but I would expect the same from anyone cooking off of my modified recipes.

Cannellini Bean Curry (serves about 4)
1/4 olive oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped (or microplaned as it bring out the ginger flavor)
5 large cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ground corriander
2/3 cup good quality coconut milk
2 cans of cannellini beans drained and rinsed
6 - 10 oz. cherry tomatoes (more if you like them or less if you don't), halved
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon tamarind paste
fresh cilantro to garnish

Heat oil in a large pan.  Once heated add the mustard seeds.  Once they pop, add the onion and cook until it is soft and golden.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the salt to taste and the powdered spices and stir for about 10 seconds.  Add the coconut milk and 3/4 cup water and bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.  Add the beans and tomatoes and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.  Stir in the sugar and tamarind pasta.  If you like it a bit thicker mash some of the beans against the side of the pan.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.  Garnish with cilantro and serve. 

Crustless Broccoli and Cheese Quiche

 Eating quiche always makes me think of the those watery ones that my family would eat at church on Easter after the very early sunrise service.  Despite the not good as you might think eggs, I liked them.  I liked the tradition that went with eating the ham and eggs.   While this is not that same quiche, it is a while lot better.  It is based off of Keepers (Brennan and Campion) broccoli quiche.  I don't always like the combination of the eggs and cheese, but this one is well balanced and the cheese is not rubbery at all.  Plus, because there isn't a crust, it can be made very quickly.  If you like quiche for dinner, this would make for a quick week night meal.

Broccoli and Cheese Quiche
3 cups broccoli florets (about 1 large head of broccoli) or a combination of broccoli and cauliflower
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
1 cup 2% milk (though you can use any the creamier the better)
2/3 heavy whipping cream
6 eggs
nutmeg
pepper
salt
butter or oil to grease the pie plate

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Grease a 10 inch pie plate.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season it with salt.  (This keeps the broccoli green.)  When boiling, add the broccoli, stir and blanch for just a minute or two.  Drain the broccoli and rinse with cold water (to stop the cooking).  Dry the broccoli and place in the bottom of the grease pie plate.  Add the cheese evenly over the broccoli.

In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, eggs, nut (a pinch or two to taste), 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper (also to taste).  Whisk until smooth and then pour over the cheese.  Bake until the egg mixture is just set in the center, about 35-40 minutes.  Let cool a little before serving.

Broiled Cod with Tarragon Mayo

This is another very simple recipe from the book Keepers.  My husband and I were trying out some fish recipes to eat during the winter months.  In mild weather, we both prefer to grill fish, but I wanted to switch it up to find a recipe that would work with different types of fish and be a winner every time.  Unfortunately, I am not much a fan of broiled cod fish as that was the fish I used in this recipe.  However, the broiling technique was wonderful as well as the tarragon mayo.  I have seldom used tarragon, but as I planted in my yard this year, I hope to have more experiments with tarragon next summer when it is big enough to use and not kill the plant.

Broiled Cod with Tarragon Mayo
1/4 cup mayonnaise (either self made or I like Hellman's)
3 teaspoons whole grain mustard (also great to use your own homemade mustard)
2 springs of tarragon, leaves removed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
1 pound cod fillet
olive oil
Lemon for serving

Preheat the broiler with the rack about 5 inches away from the broiler.  Place a cast iron pan on the rack to heat as the oven is heating.  Heat until very hot (5 minutes in an already warm oven or as the oven heats).  In the meantime, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, tarragon and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Lightly coat the cod in the olive oil, season with salt and pepper.  Cover the up facing side with the mayo mixture.  Transfer the mayo-covered fish to the hot cast iron skillet.  Broil until the fish is just cooked throughout and the mayo mixture is a light brown.  Remove from oven and serve with lemon wedges.  I added a spinach salad to have some greens with the fish and make it a lighter meal. 

Belgium Waffles (yeast waffles)

Belgium waffles have always been one of my favorite breakfasts.  I have never eaten them in Belgium, so I had no idea that they were so different.  I actually ate these in winter from one of the many food trucks that now abound everywhere.  They were so good that I had to figure out how to make them at home.  One word of warning, though is that while you can make them in a regular, electric waffle maker (a deep one), that you will spend a long time cleaning it as the sugar in this dough sticks and makes a mess in the iron.  I recommend buying a stove top waffle iron.  These also take a bit of time to make in comparison to the regular buttermilk waffles, but they are worth the wait.  This recipe makes 4 full waffles or 12 sections.  They are sweet so I didn't even add a topping to them.

Belgium Yeast Waffles (Gaufres de Liege)
6 tablespoons warm milk (105-115 F)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla sugar
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
1/2 cup turbinado sugar

Dissolve the vanilla sugar in the warm milk and then add the yeast in a small bowl.  Cover while the yeast is activating. Set aside for about 5 minutes or until activated.  It should have bubbles formed along the edges.  Mix the flour with the cinnamon, vanilla extract and salt in a bowl for a mixer.  Pour in the yeast mixture.  Add the egg and the additional egg yolk.  Mix on medium speed until combined.  The dough should be yellow (due to the two egg yolks) and stiff.  It will yield slightly to the touch.  Let the dough rest in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Mix in the butter until all the butter pieces are mixed in.  Turn the mixer up to medium-high to incorporate all the butter until the dough is smooth and more yielding.  Knead in the turbinado sugar gently.  Don't let the butter melt.   Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces making them into rough balls.  Place in a warm place to rise for an additional 15 minutes.   Preheat your waffle iron during this time.  Spray the waffles iron with cooking spray and place each ball in a square of the waffles iron.  Cook until golden brown.  Remove from iron and cool on a baking rake to crisp up the exterior.

Pistachio Almond Cigars

I was asked to bring a dessert to a dinner party.  I am over dessert.  I used to eat a lot of sweets, but now I really enjoy eating my dinner with multiple dishes or an appetizer with dinner.  I very rarely eat something for dessert and don't bake sweets very often.  Part of that is because my husband doesn't eat much sweets either and therefore there is always too much food.  Of course our co-workers never have a problem with accepting and eating up those sweet leftovers.  At any rate, I needed to find a dessert that would go with shasuska, so I opened up my middle eastern cookbooks...and I found this recipe for Pistachio Almond Cigars.  It satisfied my desire to have something at least based on healthier choices (nuts), but of course it still is not good for you since it is fried.  Sometimes you need to live a little and enjoy it.

This recipe is based off the Sweet filo cigar recipe in Jerusalem by Ottolenghi and Tamimi.  If you have not checked out their Ottolenghi, Plenty or Jerusalem cookbooks, you should.  One day I will eat in their restaurant...but that will have to wait until another trip.

 Pistachio and Almond Cigars
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pistachios, unsalted
6 tablespoons water
1/2 cup vanilla sugar
1 large organic egg, separated
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (unwaxed)
filo pastry, cut into 6 inch squares or rectangles
safflower oil for frying
1/2 cup honey
extra nuts for garnish (sprinkled on top)

Finely chop the almonds and pistachios....I used a mortar and pestle, but you can use a small electric chopper for a finer (and quicker) crumb.  Pour nuts into a pan with 5 tablespoons water and vanilla sugar.  Cook over low heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Once a bit cool (so as not to cook the egg), add the egg yolk and lemon zest.  Stir.

Assemble: Take your filo squares and spread about a tablespoon in a strip closest to you.  Then roll together after folding in the sides.  Seal with a little of the egg white (which you should lightly beat before applying).  Continue this until all of your rolls have been made.  Heat oil in a pan and fry the cigars over medium-heat heat.  Be careful not to have too high heat or you will burn your cigars.  Fry quickly until each side is golden; remove from oil to a plate covered with paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Once cool, place on a platter.  Drizzle with honey and extra nuts.  (They will have better flavor if you lightly toast them before sprinkling on top.  Best eaten the same day.  Makes about 15 cigars depending on how full they are filled.

Summer Hummus

This version of my hummus is dedicated to my cousin, Aaron, because we were talking last fall about hummus with more flavor.  I had also been thinking about it, so last fall when he visited, I began my experimentation on making a wonderful tasting hummus.

Hummus is something that I eat a lot of because I feel that it is healthy, particularly when you make it yourself.  Another great thing about making your own hummus is that you can make it for much cheaper (and in larger quantity) than you can buy in the grocery store.  I like the plain hummus with few spices and flavors, but in the past year I have been trying to come up with a hummus that I can make at home, but changes up the original flavors.  The flavor of this hummus comes from the vegetables that are in it, which add a nice depth of flavor without getting it all from spices.  Actually, there are no spices in here except a little salt to make the flavor pop.

Summer Vegetable Hummus
2 cans garbanzo beans, shelled
3 oz. marinated artichoke hearts with juice
2 oz. fresh spinach
juice from 2 lemons
3-4 Tablespoons tahini
salt to taste (I used about 1/2 teaspoon)
1-2 Tablespoons sweet onion
3 cloves garlic
3 small sweet peppers
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2-4 Tablespoons water (as needed to be able to mix in a blender)

The recipe is simple....shell the garbanzo beans, squeeze the lemons into a bowl, and throw everything into the blender.  I recommend starting with the liquids and spinach and a portion of the garbanzo beans.  Once you have a smooth consistency, then add everything else and add a bit of water as needed to get it to the texture you desire.  Then refrigerate for a cooler hummus or eat right away with pita bread or crackers.