Brick Chicken

Apr 22, 2013

When asked for my favorite, go-to dinner when the weather warms up, this recipe immediately comes to mind. It’s simple but tasty and a real crowd-pleaser!  I’ve cooked what I lovingly refer to as “Brick Chicken” from holiday occasions like Father’s Day to Monday night dinner… it’s just downright delicious!

Brick Chicken
garlic (3-4 cloves), minced
red pepper flakes (to taste)
kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 T chopped rosemary (or whatever herbs you have handy)
juice from half of a medium lemon
olive oil
Whole chicken, spine cut out and “flattened” ( I crack the joints in the middle so it will lay flatter on the grill)
2 – foil wrapped bricks

Combine garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and rosemary with oil (around 2-3T, enough to make the mixture more fluid than a dry rub mixture). Rub it under the skin of the chicken on the breasts and legs.
Roast on the grill, breast side down with two foil covered bricks on top, over low to med-low heat. After 15-18 minutes, turn it over and repeat with the bricks. After about 20 minutes, the chicken should be done. Sometimes I flip it one more time just to make sure and leave on for a few extra minutes. It shouldn’t dry out, so don’t worry about that. Let rest for five minutes (if you can resist the smell!) then serve. Enjoy!

I know this “finished” pic isn’t very pretty (I like the skin really crispy), but I promise it’s juicy and delicious!

In the spring and summer, I like to pair this chicken with a tomato salad (mostly because it’s easy):

Tomato Cilantro Salad
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 T. white wine vinegar
2 t. Dijon mustard
1-2 small cloves of garlic
6 plum tomatoes sliced (I’ve also used the cherry ones, cut in half)

In a blender, combine the cilantro, oil, vinegar, mustard and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and blend until vinaigrette is smooth. Drizzle tomatoes with vinaigrette and serve.

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

Apr 6, 2013

I apologize for the lack of posts the past few weeks.  I’ve been sick, and that means no energy for anything other than what’s necessary.  Blogging might not have been, but cooking soup certainly has, so I thought you might enjoy one of the recipes I’ve been working on.  Being a Southern gal, I’ve heard about chicken and dumplings being a “comfort food” all my life… but we never had the dish growing up because my dad wasn’t a fan.  A few years ago I finally tried it and was surprised how delicious the flavors were!  I wasn’t particularly keen on the consistency, so instead I’ve made a “soupy” version of my own. (Since I can eat soup any day of the week, especially when I’m feeling under the weather and need a little exta comfort!)

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

For the stock:

1/2 white onion

2 stalks celery

2 bay leaves

1 carrot, peeled

1 thyme sprig

3 garlic cloves

1 T. peppercorns

1 t. kosher salt

**I had leftover juice from baking a chicken, so that’s what I used as my stock base.  If you don’t have that, you can add 6 cups of water and a) chicken breast  b) chicken neck/leftover bones  c) a little store-bought chicken stock for flavor

For the dumplings:

1 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 egg

2-3 T. chopped chives

1/2 c. buttermilk (I didn’t have any, so I substituted 2% milk with the juice from half a lemon, plus a pinch of salt – it works about the same)

For the sauce:

3 carrots, chopped

2 celery sticks, chopped into crescent moons

1/2 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T. butter

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

2 bay leaves

1/4 c. flour

1 c. frozen peas

chicken meat, chopped (I used a whole chicken but you could just do 4 breasts)

1/2 c. half and half (or heavy cream if you’re so inclined)

chopped chives for garnish

salt and pepper

Instructions:

If you’re making the stock from scratch, fill a large stockpot with the liquid and ingredients listed above.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for at least 30 minutes.

While your stock is simmering, make the dumpling batter.  Start with flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.  In another bowl, whisk the egg, chopped chives and buttermilk.  (As I mentioned before, if you don’t have buttermilk you can create the same taste with regular milk + lemon juice and a pinch of salt.)  Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.  It will look a little thick, like pancake batter.

When the stock is done, the veggies should be soft (and the liquid will smell delicious).  Strain the stock to remove the large chunks of veggies and herbs.  Set aside.

In a large pot over med-high heat, heat the butter and oil for the sauce.  Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute (until fragrant), add the other veggies – carrots, celery, onion – and the bay leaves.  Cook, stirring occasionally until soft (about 5 or 6 minutes).  Add the 1/4 c. flour, stirring frequently to combine.  Cook for about a minute after the flour is absorbed, stirring (don’t let it stick to the bottom of the pan).

Add all of the strained (or store-bought) chicken stock, a little at a time, constantly stirring and scraping up flour from the bottom of the pan.  Add the frozen peas and turn to medium-low heat, cook for 20 minutes, then add the half and half (or cream) and chopped chicken.  In small spoonfuls, drop the dumpling mixture to the pot, careful they do not touch (keep in mind they will expand).  Cook for an additional 15 minutes or so, or until the dumplings are soft and puffy (but cooked through).  Add salt and pepper to taste.

At the end, if you want to add some flour and whisk to make the sauce thicker, you certainly can.  I did that the first time I made this dish, but discovered that the leftovers were just too mushy for my liking.  Since then I’ve left it more liquid, which I like because it’s more “soupy” anyway.  Garnish with chopped chives and serve.  It’s so delicious – just like chicken pot pie in a bowl!

What is your favorite “comfort food”?

(Please note this recipe is adapted from  Tyler Florence’s on Food Network)

Salted Cod with Corn and Clams

Mar 15, 2013

This past weekend I had the pleasure of my friend Tony coming to visit, and we had such a great time!  We worked together several years ago, and now he owns two stores in Dallas, so we deal with a lot of the same things on a daily basis – you know, just “store owner” stuff.

He’s great to bounce ideas off of,  we encourage one another… and we laugh A LOT when we’re together.  I think everyone needs a friend that “gets” their sense of humor, and I’m blessed that I have that friend in Tony!  A weekend full of inside jokes, drinking wine and lounging on the sofa was exactly what I needed (and I think he did too).

Since he took the weekend off to make the trip (to fight the  30-40 mph winds of West Texas), I wanted to make him something special for dinner on Saturday.  I decided to go with a Heart of Palm Salad and this Salted Cod dish for three reasons – it’s easy, fresh and delicious!

Salted Cod with Corn and Clams  (serves 2)

2 skinless, center-cut 6 oz. cod fillets

1 cup kosher salt

2 ears of corn, shucked

half a lemon

4 T. extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup flour (for dusting)

12 littleneck clams, scrubbed

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. butter

1 sprig fresh thyme

2 sprigs cilantro

2 cups dry white wine

freshly ground black pepper

1 T. chopped cilantro, for garnish

Sliced artisan bread, for serving

Completely cover each cod fillet with kosher salt and let sit for exactly 10 minutes.

While the cod is getting nice and salty, bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add the corn.  Cook until the corn is done (it will have a nice dark golden color).  Remove the corn and let cool enough to cut the kernels off the cob, set aside.

Rinse off the salt and pat dry.  Using the flour, lightly dust the fish.  Add the olive oil to a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat and add the fish (skinned-side down first).  Cook the fish approximately 5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes or so.  Add the garlic, clams, cilantro springs, and thyme sprig to the skillet.  Season with black pepper and add white wine.  The original recipe called for only 1 cup of wine, but I’ve made this dish a few times and always find myself wanting more sauce to dip the bread in… so I use at least 2 cups of wine to start with.  Cover the skillet and cook until the clams open, around 7 minutes.

While the clams are steaming, bring a small skillet to med-high heat and melt the butter.  Add the corn and stir until heated through.

Once the clams are steamed, discard the herb sprigs and any clams that do not open.

Divide the corn between two large bowls, add the fish, clams, and a generous helping of the sauce.  Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with crusty bread.  Enjoy!

This is such a great dish for getting into the warmer weather!  Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from July 2011 Food & Wine – 10 Minute Salted Cod

Roasted Cauliflower

Feb 23, 2013

One of my favorite go-to side dishes on a weeknight is roasted cauliflower. It’s just a few ingredients, it doesn’t take long, and it’s delicious {really, even kids that don’t like cauliflower like this recipe}. Try it and see what you think – I think it’s the perfect combination of hearty veggie, garlic, salt… and just a touch of heat – a combination that equals a side of yummy goodness!

Roasted Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower, cleaned and cut into bite-sized florets

2-4 cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how much you like garlic)

extra virgin olive oil, approx. 4 T.

red pepper flakes to taste

kosher salt to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a glass baking dish with foil (to make clean-up extra easy). Put the cauliflower pieces in the dish (saving the clean-up of another mixing bowl) and drizzle with olive oil, approximately 4 tablespoons. Sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes, add minced garlic and toss the cauliflower until it is well-coated with oil and seasoning (adding more oil if necessary to coat).

Pop into the oven and roast for approximately 25-30 minutes or until the cauliflower is a nice golden brown.

Doesn’t that sound easy? It’s a great veggie to prep, put in the oven, and continue cooking your main course while the cauliflower roasts to perfection.

I hope you like this side as much as I do!

Dill Chicken Salad Snack

Jan 16, 2013

Moving into the New Year, I’m really trying to make a conscience effort to snack more wisely. Sometimes at work I get so busy that I might not have time for lunch until 3 or 4 p.m. – and that makes for a cranky me AND the act of heading to the fastest place to get food once I have a break – healthy or not. I know that planning is key to success, so I’m making a little more effort to prepare more healthy snacks and have them at my disposal during the day. So far this week it’s helped (I feel better about my diligence if nothing else), and that just makes me all the more motivated to keep going!

Here’s my favorite (healthy) recipe for chicken salad so far. Combined with 4-6 all natural water crackers, this snack is less than 200 calories (according to my calculations in the SparkRecipes.com Recipe Calculator).

Light Dill Chicken Salad

Two 7 oz. packages of White chicken cuts (I used Valley Fresh because they were the most natural ingredients) – Fresh roasted or rotesserie chicken would be even better

2 stalks of celery, cleaned and cut into thin half moons

1/2 medium white onion, chopped (or shallots if you have them – 1/2 cup)

1 T. fresh dill, chopped (you can do more to taste)

2 T. light mayo

1 c. (approximately) plain greek yogurt (I used Oikos)

fresh lemon juice – about half a lemon

salt and pepper to taste

sliced almonds (optional)

water crackers

In a food processor, combine chicken, celery, onion and greek yogurt. Pulse until combined. Transfer to a medium bowl and add dill, mayo, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Add almonds if desired, and stir until combined. If the mixture isn’t bound enough, add small amounts of greek yogurt and stir until you reach the consistency you desire. Portion into small containers for snacking size ( I like the Glad mini round ones), and pair with 4-6 water crackers for a healthy, tasty snack on the go!