Posts Tagged ‘chicken’

Sriracha is one of those running jokes amongst people in the food & beverage industry. You can walk into any kind of restaurant kitchen – Italian, French, Latin American, etc, – and more than likely, a bottle of the green-lidded fiery red sauce will be found somewhere. For some, it’s a substitute for everything from ketchup to mayonnaise, and will be poured on any and everything they eat. I always think of the episode of Top Chef when Casey put it into her Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. I’m not that hardcore, but it is delicious. It’s simply a paste of chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Spicy, sweet, and commonly seen with Thai or Vietnamese food, it’s well-loved (and rightly so).

So when I saw a recipe for buttermilk sriracha salad dressing a few months ago I kept it in the back of my mind, waiting to use it until the right idea struck. And finally, it did.

I’m a big fan of indulging in spicy chicken wings dipped in ridiculously rich and cooling sauces, so the idea of chicken drumsticks dipped in this srirarcha buttermilk ‘ranch’ seemed perfect. Making a Vietnamese-themed marinade (I know I know srirarcha is Thai but it’s right there on the table at any Vietnamese restaurant, too!) and grilling the chicken makes this a fresh and fun summer dish and great to serve at parties. You can go with wings and legs (or even breasts), just use whatever chicken you like best. It’s all good.

Long time, no post! Sorry bout that, folks – took some time to get my new life organized but hey! Lease is signed, moving truck is packed, and I’m almost ready to go. One last dinner at home first, though.

I’ve never been a huge fan of spring. It’s my least favorite season, mostly due to the rain, mud, flip-flopping weather, and return of allergy season. The one saving grace is that the best produce of the season is finally en route, gardens everywhere finally start blooming, and better yet, summer is almost here!

This is my favorite summer dinner and I made it a little early to celebrate my new job with my family. The orzo salad is a bit fussy and has lots of side steps (plus it’s best made a day in advance), and the chicken is also best marinated for at least a day, so the whole meal is something you really can’t just throw together, but it’s so worth the wait.

Tangy feta and and sun-dried tomatoes tossed with crunchy arugula and pine nuts (plus orzo), this side dish is so refreshing and summery, plus open to any interpretation or additions, it really is my favorite side dish of the season. And although I am usually a complete Arthur Bryants devotee, making a special BBQ sauce for a special dinner can be fun, and I’ve always loved this tangy and sweet version from Giada deLaurentiis. Reduced balsamic vinegar is one of the best things on the planet, so incorporating it into BBQ sauce… well… it’s just plain awesome.

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, it’s not the most photogenic thing in the world, but trust me – the ugliest foods always taste the best.

My buddy Clif recently asked me about making green chile chili and ever since I gave my tips, I couldn’t get it out of my head. And then as I was cleaning out the seemingly bottomless cabinet of appliances I have under my sink, my crock pot was staring me in the face, practically glowing with the suggestion to use it.

So here is quite possibly the easiest recipe I have on the site so far – even easier than the 2-ingredient ‘ice cream’! Only one step! This is the greatest set it and forget it kind of meal, and it reheats superbly, which is exactly what I need right now. Thick and rich from the beans and their natural starch, plus packed with flavor from all the spices – it could be served on a cold winter’s day with hot cornbread, or a warm summer afternoon with chips and guacamole.

Freshly ground white pepper.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fennel is one of those odd, underused vegetables in an everyday kitchen. It looks like celery, tastes like black licorice, and changes like a chameleon depending on how it’s cooked. But it’s a wonderfully versatile and healthy thing to work with – you just have to give it some time and love.

Incredibly high in vitamin C and fiber, fennel can be served crunchy raw, boiled, braised, baked, and everything in between. The cool thing is, once you bake it, the flavor can change dramatically from pungent and bitter, to sweet and aromatic. If you’re one of the many out there who dislikes its natural black licorice flavor, blanching and baking it is your road to fennel happiness, which you can follow below.

I saw this side dish of baked fennel with parmesan in the latest issue of Everyday Food, and immediately decided to make it. As I wandered around my grocery store trying to come up with something to serve it with, the idea of fennel = fennel seeds = sausage popped into my head. Since Italian sausage traditionally has fennel seeds in it, why not take a plain or non-Italian chicken sausage and bake it with this yummy fennel side dish to get that flavor profile, but in a much more elegant, muted way? Tender and velvety fennel with the rich and robust sausage, the dish is all-season friendly. Plus, the whole thing comes together in under 45 minutes, using only 2 pans, and could easily be served for a hearty lunch or light dinner.

Words cannot describe how much I love this stuff.

Read the rest of this entry »

Back in August I was feeling a little on the sniffly, sore-throat, swollen-gland side, so naturally I wanted some soothing comfort food. I emailed my mom asking for her chicken noodle soup recipe I loved growing up, expecting it to be an easy, throw-together kind of recipe.

Oh how wrong I was.

I had no idea my mom’s (well, grandma’s) recipe entailed making your own stock, cooling it overnight, cooking more vegetables the next day, cooking the egg noodles, etc. For an average weekend this would be no big deal, but the idea of doing all that work feverish and sick was just a big no. So the email sat dormant, until I realized I would be cooking my favorite roast chicken and thus have the carcass to make stock (bing!). Since I usually eat a leg and a little breast when I roast a whole chicken, and then do whatever with the leftovers, it felt like the perfect opportunity to eat a bit of roast chicken, and then use the rest of the delicious meat (plus the carcass) to make the ultimate chicken noodle soup.

Some people would call the list of ingredients and recipe pretty pedestrian – but as the saying goes, simplicity is the sign of perfection. The flavor of the stock is superb, and cooking the vegetables separately the next day really adds a nice layer. Although my mom has always served egg noodles with her soup, you can really use any short pasta. Either way, this dish is simple, but time consuming – something I find in most soups I love.

Stock veg!

Read the rest of this entry »