melonoat

I swear in my last life I was probably from the South… I love all comfort foods! Chicken pie, meatloaf, fried chicken and… chicken and dumplings! We recently purchased a new cook book from America’s Test Kitchen and I must say that it has not yet disappointed us.

To my delight, I saw a recipe for chicken and dumplings and I decided that that would be the first recipe for me to try out… I have to warn you that the recipes are pretty long and labor intensive, but totally worth it.  I’ve also found the recipe at the Cook’s Illustrated site here. Also, you will be able to see my substitutions when I made the dish in [brackets]. I recommend sticking as close as you can to the original recipe.

Ingredients:
Note: This recipe uses a dutch oven to cook, but I don’t have one so I used a regular pot (not non-stick) and it worked just fine.

Ingredients for stew:
Note: Don’t use low-fat or fat-free milk in this recipe.

5 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs [I used ~ 2 lbs skinless chicken thighs here, but used chicken breasts before too]
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
4 carrots , peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 ribs celery , sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion , minced
6 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen green peas
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves [I had no fresh parsley handy, so used cilantro. I reckon 1/2 tbs dried parsley would work too...]

Ingredients for dumplings
Note: Don’t use low-fat or fat-free milk in this recipe. Start the dumpling dough only when you’re ready to top the stew with the dumplings.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons reserved chicken fat (or unsalted butter)

Instructions:

1. For the Stew: Pat the chicken dry with paper towels, then season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add half of the chicken and cook until golden on both sides, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and remove the browned skin. Pour off the chicken fat and reserve. Return the pot to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken. Pour off and reserve any chicken fat.

3. Add the butter to the Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.

4. Stir in the flour. Whisk in the sherry, scraping up any browned bits.

5. Stir in the broth, milk, thyme, and bay leaves.

6. Nestle the chicken, with any accumulated juices, into the pot. Cover and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked and tender, about 1 hour.

7. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the bay leaves. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat from the surface using a wide spoon. [While the chicken is cooling, make the dumplings. Letting the chicken cool will help when we shred it later]

8. For the Dumplings: Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Microwave the milk and fat in a microwave-safe bowl on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute.

9. Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture with a wooden spoon until incorporated and smooth.

10. Shred the chicken, discarding the bones, then return it to the stew.

11. Return the stew to a simmer, stir in the peas and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

12. Following the photos below, drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you should have about 18 dumplings). Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes. [I used a small baking scoop to size and drop the dumplings in]

13. Serve and enjoy…

Oh silly me.  I thought poached eggs were so difficult to do and only good for eggs benedict.  But I have quickly learned that poached eggs are so simple to make and oh so healthy because there is no oil involved.  Oh, and yet again there is a secret ingredient that makes it all work… vinegar! Oh you’ll never go back to cooking eggs with oil!

Ingredients:
2 eggs (try to let sit to room temp)
1 tbsp white vinegar

Directions:
1. Use a shallow pan and fill with enough water to barely cover the eggs (about 2 in high). Turn on stove to medium heat and heat water. When the water begins to slightly bubble and has a sheen to it, add in the vinegar. Make sure the water does not BOIL. It will destroy the egg and you will have egg drop soup instead.

3. Carefully crack and gently add in the eggs, using the side of the pan to slide it in. If you are not sure of yourself, you can first crack the eggs into a cup and use the cups to pour the eggs into the pan. You can cook up to 4 eggs at one time, but I’d only do two at a time. If the top of the egg is not submerged in the water, just use a spoon to gently pour some water over the top of the eggs to help set the tops.

For poached eggs with set whites and warm yolks, cook room temperature eggs 2 minutes, chilled eggs 3 minutes. For set yolks cook 2 minutes longer.

4. Use a slotted spatula to gently remove the egg from the pan so that the water drains. You can put the eggs on a kitchen towel or paper towel to remove the excess water. Serve egg however you would like-

Add them for eggs benedict…

…with toast

…with soy sauce chicken

…the possibilities are endless.. enjoy!

This is a quick and easy stir fry dish with very few ingredients and makes for a quick meal. Every time I go to a Chinese restaurant I love ordering a dish similar to this. I love the combination of chives, tofu and pork. Yum. So here is my interpretation of the dish. The measurements are estimates…

Ingredients:
1 bunch chives, washed and chopped
1 package tofu curd, sliced
1/2 lb pork loin (~3-4 pieces) , cut into strips, marinated (see recipe below)
4 tbsp hoisin sauce (add more to taste)
1 tbsp diced garlic(optional, I just had some lying around)
2 tbsp oil

Ingredients- Meat marinade:
2 tbs light soy sauce
3 tbs chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
2-3 tsp cornstarch and mix well.

Directions:
1. Add oil and garlic to pan on high heat. When the garlic begins to turn brown, add in the pork.

2. Let the pork cook. When there is almost no pink left (~4-5 min) , add the hoisin sauce directly to the pork and mix.

3. Add the sliced bean curd to the pan and mix. Let cook for ~2-3 minutes or until bean curd is soft.

4. Add the diced chives and mix. Let cook about ~2-3 minutes.

5. Taste the stir fry. If there is not enough flavor, add more hoisin. If it is not salty enough, add more salt. Then EAT! Serve with rice.

I love ordering caprese salad when I’m eating at Italian restaurants… but I always felt a tinge of guilt that I was overpaying what I was actually getting. So of course my next mission was to recreate the caprese salad. This didn’t take much since there are only 4 ingredients! When you have so few ingredients, the quality of the ingredients becomes extremely important. So go for quality when you shop!

Ingredients:

3 ripe tomatoes (you can use vine ripe or roma), diced into 1/4 inch slices
1 bunch of fresh basil
Fresh mozzarella cheese (about 1 lb) [I've shown two types I like to use.. the fresher the better!], diced into 1/4 inch slices
extra virgin olive oil (“EVOO”)
balsamic vinegar (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Place the tomato slices on a shallow plate, layer the mozzarella cheese on, and the basil leaves. I like to coarsely chop the basil leaves. (There really is no rule to which goes first.. as you can see I placed the cheese first and then tomatoes on top. It just depends on the sizes. Just remember big on bottom and smaller on top. )
2. Drizzle with EVOO, and a little balsamic if you like the taste.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Enjoy homemade fresh caprese salad!

This is a childhood favorite of mine. Sometimes I make it with eggs, other times without eggs, or even eggs only.

Ingredients:
1 cup wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 cups water
sugar
ginger
2 lbs chicken (6-8 drumsticks)
4-6 eggs (optional)

Directions:

1. Place 2 lbs of chicken drumsticks into a stock pot.

2. Cut some ginger, and add it to the stock pot along with one cup wine, half-cup soy sauce, two cups water and a little sugar.

3. Bring the soy sauce chicken to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. If you are adding eggs, start water boiling in a separate pot.

4. Once the egg water is boiling, add the eggs.

5.  After boiling the eggs for 15-20 minutes, peel them and poke about 20 holes all over the egg, using a toothpick. The holes should go deep into the yolk to help flavor get in. If you are gentle, the holes will not be very visible.

6. Add the eggs to the soy sauce chicken. Everything is cooked now, but still needs to simmer for the flavor to develop.  Be sure and check the level of liquid and add water to maintain it. At this point, you will most likely need to add 1/2 to 1 cup of water. I recommend simmering for at least another 30-45 minutes, but I like to do a few hours when I have the time. If you eat some early, you can always simmer the rest tomorrow.

7.  Before serving, taste the broth. If it’s on the salty side, add some water and re-heat. Serve over rice or noodles, with some of the broth and top with a vegetable.

Honey salmon is a recipe I learned from my mom.  I usually make this with a large piece of salmon when I have guests over, but sometimes I just marinate a smaller piece in a bag and sautee it (see alternate cooking method in step 2).

Ingredients:

• Honey, a lot of it. Most likely you don’t have enough honey laying around. Buy a container of honey that is dedicated to this dish. The amount you need varies depending on the shape of your cookware and how much salmon you have. I suggest getting at least 12 oz of honey per lb of salmon. The goal is to have enough honey to submerge all or most of the salmon; you can never have too much.
• Salmon fillet, fresh (2-3 lbs).

Preparation:

Place the salmon fillet in your bake-safe cookware and pour the honey until either the salmon is submerged or you run out of honey. Ideally the salmon should marinate overnight in the honey. Less is okay, but it’s worth the wait. At a minimum, marinate for 3 hrs.

Directions:

1. After the salmon has marinated in the honey, set your oven to broil. We want to broil the salmon under a broiler flame because normal baking will result in dry salmon. If your oven does not have a broil setting, read the alternate directions at the end of step 2.

2. Once the oven is hot, broil the salmon until the thickest part of the fillet is cooked, flaky and opaque. It shouldn’t take more than about 3-4 minutes per pound; so about 6 – 12 minutes for a 2-3 lbs salmon fillet. If the salmon is already browned to your liking before it is thoroughly cooked, cover with foil for the remaining cook time.

Alternate cooking method: If your oven does not have a broil option, don’t worry. Just sautee the salmon with a little oil for about 3-5 minutes on each side, until the thickest part is cooked through. You may need to cut the fillet into smaller portions to fit your sautee pan.

3. Plate and Serve. Yum! I usually eat honey salmon with rice, but another starch works like pasta or potatoes.

I’ve already blogged about a simple vinaigrette dressing here previously.  However, my friend Sohee sent me another recipe called ” Sohee’s Emoe’s Delicious Salad Dressing Recipe” which I just had to try.  Since the recipe didn’t specify whether to use a dark vinegar such as balsamic or a lighter vinegar such as white vinegar or cider vinegar, I tried it both ways.  If you like your dressing to have a punch and a stronger vinegar taste, go with the balsamic, otherwise the white vinegar or cider vinegar results in a much lighter and sweeter dressing.  Both equally awesome.  Thanks soy!

Excerpt from Soy:
“My emoe makes a really awesome salad dressing (it’s seriously addictive) that’s super fast and easy to make.  I love it so much that I want to share it with you guys!  See below.  Just mix all the ingredients together.  The oil separates easily so I put all the ingredients in a shaker so that I can easily shake it up right before I pour it over my salad.  It’s also really good with any kind of fresh veggies like tomatoes, etc.  Believe me – you guys will love it.”

Ingredients:

Olive Oil – ½ Cup
Sugar – 4 TBSP
Vinegar – 6 TBSP
Salt – 1 TSP
Ground pepper – ½ TSP
Fresh minced garlic – to taste (not too much, maybe about 1-1.5 TBSP)
Sesame seed oil – a couple of drops
Sesame seeds – to taste

Directions

Just mix all ingredients together and pour over salad.

I make salsa all the time, even when I have only one tomato laying around; this recipe scales so easily. Once you become familiar with the ratio of ingredients and how simple it is, you’ll be making salsa all the time too.

Ingredients:
5 – 6 Tomatoes
1/3 Onion (any color)
1/2 – 1 Jalapeno (and/or a few cloves of garlic)
Cilantro (about 15 stems)
Salt
1/2 Lemon or Lime (1 tablespoon Juice)
1 Avocado (optional)

Directions:

1. Chop tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno and avocado. Some jalapenos are spicier than others, so I usually start out with half and add more later if I want more kick. You can leave out jalapenos completely if you don’t want any spice. And if you like the flavor of garlic, add a few cloves, minced.

2. Place the chopped tomatoes, onions, jalapeno and cilantro into a bowl (save the avocado for later) and mix. Season with the juice of 1/2 lemon (just under a tablespoon of juice) and a dash of salt. Mix again and taste. If needed add another dash of salt, mix, taste, repeat. The amount of salt really depends on your personal taste and the flavor of the tomatoes, but should usually be between 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon in total.

3. After getting the seasoning in order, stir in the avocado and serve. I save the avocado for last so it doesn’t get too bruised from all the mixing in step 2.