Pasta Night

Parmesan Pasta with Chicken and Rosemary--Adapted from Real Simple

12 ounces (3 cups) orecchiette pasta, I couldn't find orecchiette so i used large shells

3 1/2- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

I added broccoli

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

I added garlic

Kosher salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Shred the chicken, using a fork or your fingers, while the pasta cooks. Discard the skin and bones. With about 2 minutes left throw your broccoli into the pasta water with the pasta. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 1/4 cups of the water. Return the pasta to the pot. Add the reserved pasta water, chicken, broccoli, rosemary, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the pot. Stir over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Divide among individual bowls and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

Ryan's Chicken

This weekend was a kinda a crapshoot except for the wonderful whole chicken recipe that our friend Ryan gave us. Amongst the Roter Rooter guys tracking mud through my house, Tim's 4 hour long stint in the basement with sewer water, and my fall down our back stairs I learned how to cook my first whole chicken. It was another one of those cooking hurdles (like bread making) that I had to go through with someone else to feel comfortable about. It was really pretty easy, but I was definitely glad to have Ryan's instructions as well as a little Guitar Hero to distract me while the pipes were clanging below. We were so tired at the end of the day that Ryan ended up serving us the dinner. What an amazing friend! Here's Ryan's simple recipe.

Ryan's Chicken

-One 4-5lb chicken

-2-3 celery stocks, roughly chopped

-2 onions, roughly chopped

-3-4 carrots, roughly chopped

-3-4 garlic cloves

-Olive oil

-Salt and Pepper

-Herbs: we had rosemary and thyme on hand.

Pre-heat oven to 250. Put a couple of swigs of oil in a dutch oven or some other bake able pot and turn heat to medium. Add garlic and sautee for about a minute. Add veggies and herbs and sautee for a minute. Add chicken breast side down and cook for 8 minutes. Flip chicken and cook for another 8 minutes. This will color the chicken. Place foil on top of the pot and cover with lid to make a tight seal. Cook at 250 for about 2 hours or until the chicken juices run clear. Pull chicken out of pot and let rest for about 10 minutes. Pour chicken juices (sans veggies) into a sauce pot, and boil. Add a roux or cornstarch and make gravy. Add a little chix stock if need to "beef up" the gravy volume. Serve the chicken with roasted garlic mashers and gravy all over everything. De-lish!

Recipes without Pics

Here's a couple of recipes I've made recently that I don't have pictures for. They were both excellent and I have to say the cookbook that they both come from "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook" is great. There are some recipes that I've tried that haven't been as great as others, but for the most part it was worth the $17.00. What a buy! Let me know what you think.

Mahogany Glazed Pork

-1/3 cup soy sauce

-1/2 cup orange marmalade

-2 cloves garlic

-1 ts red pepper flakes

-3 TBL ketchup

-One 3.5lbs boneless Boston pork butt, cut into large pieces or 3.5lbs country-style pork spare ribs (we used the ribs)

-Optional: Sugar snap peas and red bell peppers

Coat slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the soy sauce, marm, garlic, red pepper flakes, and ketchup in a small bowl and mix until smooth. Brush mixture ive both sides of meat. Arrange the pork butt or ribs in the cooker (If you have a round cooker stack the ribs). Pur over any extra sauce. Cover and cook on LOW until fork tender and the meat starts to separate from the bone, 8 to 10 hours. Stir in the sugar snap peas and bell pepper, cover and let stand for a few minutes to warm (we omitted this step and served the meat with brussell sprouts on the side instead).

Moroccan Chicken Thighs with Chickpeas and Cumin

-Two 16-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

-One 15-ounce can whole plum tomatoes, drained, and cut into 1-inch cubes

-1 large red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch squares

-1 medium-sized red onion, chopped

-1/4 cup golden raisins

-2 Tbl tomato paste

-2 Tbl water

1 1/2 ts cumin

-Pinch of paprika

-4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes

-2 Tbl peanut butter

Put chickpeas, tomatoes, bell pepper, onoin, raisins, tomatoe paste, water, cumin, and paprika in the slow cooker; stir well. Scatter the chicken on top. Cover and cook on LOW until the chicken is tender and cooked through, 6 to 7 hours. Stir in peanut butter. Serve over hot couscous.

Coonsie Style Dinner

I'm 28 and I still ask for the my favorite meal every time my mother comes to town. I love her baked chicken, mashers and gravy. So, the other day while Tim and I were in the middle of grocery shopping I spotted some chicken drummies and decided I would attempt to make my mother's chicken. I spiced up my mom's recipe a bit (she normally uses just flour salt and pepper) and it tuned out really good. I have to say I was pretty proud of myself.

Coonsie's Spiced Up Chicken

2 cups bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt and Pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or a cajun mix of some kind

Margarine

6 chicken drumsticks or more

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and cayenne pepper in large bowl. Dip each chicken drumstick in crumbs to coat. Place on baking sheet. Add 4-5 pads of margarine. Bake in 350 degrees F oven, without turning, for 1 hour.

The chicken baking.

Making the gravy.


The finished product.

Janet Strikes Again...

Okay so I love all of Janet's recipes. Honestly I have to say I use one or two of her recipes every week and I don't get bored. I came across this recipe searching for some ways to use the saffron the my friend RW gave me recently. Her mom went on a cruise in the Mediterranean and came back with some great spices---thank you Joyce! You can see the original recipe below in a link to Janet's site. I modified it a little, but it was super easy and fast.

Janet Is Hungry: Saffron Chicken with Peppers

Saffron Chicken with Peppers

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salt and Pepper

Red pepper flakes

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 large red pepper, sliced into strips

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup long grain rice

1/4 tsp saffron threads, crushed

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine

Several green olives with pimentos, chopped

1 Handful of frozen peas

Some flat leaf parsley


-Season chicken and sauté in olive oil over medium-high heat until browned. 5 minutes per side.


-Remove chicken to a plate and leave drippings in pan.


-Add red pepper, onion, and garlic S&P and red pepper flakes. Sauté until vegetables soften


-Stir in rice and saffron. Add the water, white wine and olives. Bring to a boil. Place chicken thighs and peas back into mixture, cover skillet and simmer for 25 minutes.

Food Entry 1-Pesto

Last night as I was making our dinner (pictured above) of grilled marinated chicken over salad, corn-on-the-cob and a cocktail of raspberry vodka and tonic I decided to make pesto. While JP and I were in Chicago we went to the botanical gardens by Evanston (story to come later). We just happened to be in time to take a cooking class with a guy who worked with Alton Brown (Good Eats-one of my favorites). He demonstrated how to make and cut your own pasta (my next challenge), how to make pesto and a great summer tomato and onion pasta sauce. Here's my journey....

Step 1: Roast the pine nuts, strip the basil, and pop the garlic

Step 2: Blend garlic, basil, pine nuts, parm and olive oil. I also added a little lemon

I froze some of the pesto in ice cube trays to use later--pictures above of the pesto just made and in trays and picture below just pulled out of the freezer.

Finally, I made a pesto pasta with roma tomatoes sauteed with garlic and olive oil and then added the pesto. Finished with freshly grated parm.

I thought the sauce turned out great although my ratio of basil to pine nuts might have been a bit off. I don't mind the nutty taste, but others might. Aften dinner I finished making MC's birthday cupcakes (to be featured later). Tomorrow postings of that and TC's birthday ice box cake.

Let me know what you like and dislike. I'm testing this idea out since I've seen it on a couple of people's blogs before. Cheers!