Ingrediants

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 medium cucumbers (1 1/4 lbs), peeled, seeded, quartered lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
  • 1 cup roasted cashews, halved lengthwise or coarsely chopped (4 1/2 oz)
  • 2 scallions, thinley sliced
  • 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tblsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • Salt & freshly ground pepper
  • 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (6 oz ea)

Cucumber Instructions

  • In a small skillet, cook the cumin seeds over moderate heat until fragrant, amout 1 minute.
  • Transfer to a work surface and let cool, then coarsely chop.
  • In a large bowl, combine the cumin seeds with the cucumbers, cashews, scallions, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the olive oil and the parsley; season with salt & pepper

Chicken Instructions

  • Heat the remaining 2 tblsp of olive oil in a large skillet
  • Season the chicken breasks with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes
  • Reduce the heat to moderately low and continue cooking for 3 minutes
  • Turn and cook the chicken until browned on the other side and just cooked through, about 6 minutes longer
  • Thickly slice each chicken breast crosswise, mound the cucumber salad on top and server

 

Ingrediants

  • Flour tortillas (4-6)
  • 4-6 Chicken Breasts
  • 1 lb Cheese, Grated (pre-grated mexican cheese blend from the store works perfectly)
  • 2 cans creme of mushroom soup
  • 1 bunch onions (green)
  • 1 sm can olives, chopped
  • 1 sm can green peppers, chopped
  • 1 pt sour creme

Instructions

  • Chop bunch of onions (green)
  • Chop chicken breasts in to coarse chunks
  • On grill or in pan, cook chunks until cooked all the way through
  • While chicken is cooking, mix all remaining components in a large bowl
    • Cheese, Mushroom Soup, Onions, Olives, Green Peppers (alternately, jalepenos), Sour Creme
    • Mix thoroughly
  • Pre-heat stove to 350-400
  • Set aside 2 cups of mix from large bowl
  • Add chicken to large bowl and mix
  • Fill tortillas with mix from large bowl and place in a baking pan (glass)
  • After pan is filled with stuffed tortillas, pour 2 cups of mix on to the top of the tortillas and spread around evenly
  • Put baking pan in to the oven (top shelf) and cook for 30-45 minutes
  • After 25 minutes, check every 5-7 minutes until done (in case your stove is hotter than you think it is)

 

Basalmic Reduction

35 minutes

Ingrediants

  • 1/4 lb butter (1 stick)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • Basalmic Viniger, aged, 12 oz

Instructions

  • At high heat, in a pan, melt butter until it’s half melted
  • Add 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • Reduce to medium heat
  • Stir for approximately 2 minutes
  • Turn off heat, remove pan from stove
  • CAUTION: BURN RISK Add entire 12 oz basalmic viniger as soon as it stops bubbling
  • Put pan back on stove (no heat)
  • Whisk, should be runny
  • TASTE: should be sweet & sour
  • If too sour, add brown suger, as needed (in 1 tablespoon  increments), until not too sour
  • Turn heat back on, med-lo
  • Stir occasionally (every 5 minutes)
  • Takes approximately 30 minutes
  • NOTE: Should coat a spoon when done

Shitaki Mushrooms

5 minutes

Ingrediants

  • 2 lbs Shitake Mushrooms, minus stems (stems are not tasty)
  • Olive oil, extra virgin
  • 1/4 lb butter (1 stick), chopped in 4 equal pieces
  • Kosher salt
  • Cracked Pepper

Instructions

  • Remove stems from mushrooms
  • Slice mushrooms in to 8-10 thin slices per cap
  • Thinly coat the bottom of a pan with olive oil
  • Heat on high until you see the olive oil evaporating for approximately 90 seconds (slight distortions in the air above the pan)
  • Add 1/4 lb butter in four equal portions to the pan
  • Add mushrooms almost immediately (allow butter to start to melt)
  • Stir
  • NOTE: Mushrooms shrink
  • When all mushrooms sauted evenly, then season with salt & pepper to taste
  • Plate mushrooms
  • Drizzle Basalmic Reduction (above) on mushrooms

 

Ingrediants:

  • 6 cups rice, finished size, steam cooked
  • 1/2 can (4 oz) tomato paste
  • 1 red onion or chalot (1/2 – 3/4 cup diced)
  • 1 can sweetened corn (equal portions to onion)
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock (8 oz can)
  • 1/4th cup sweet chili (chicken, asian) or chili & sugar
  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • Kosher salt to flavor (approx 1 teaspoon)
  • Cracked pepper to flavor (approx 3 teaspoons)

Instructions:

  • Steam rice
  • Put in a mixing bowl & fluff, then put in fridge for ~ 1 hour, uncovered
  • In a saute pan, saute onion & corn
    • On high heat, add 1/2 stick butter
    • Turn down to medium as it begins to melt
    • Add onions, saute
    • When butter is completely melted, add corn
    • Saute 1 minute
    • Add seasoning (Kosher salt & Cracked pepper, to taste)
  • Add 1/2 can tomato paste and stir
  • Add 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • Add 4 cups of rice
    • If too red, add more rice till pink.  Quickly stir till evenly colored.
  • Taste should be a little bland
    • Add chicken stock if paste is too thick, 1/4 cup at a time
  • Add 1/4 cup sweet chili

 

Ingrediants:

  • 1 package (14 oz) Carmels
  • 1 can (5 oz) evaporated milk
  • 1 package Betty Crocker German Chocolate Cake Mix
  • 2/3 cup margerine/butter
  • 3/4 cup walnuts/pecans (chopped coarsely)
  • 1 package (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup flaked coconut

Instructions:

  • Pre-heat oven to 350F
  • Heat Carmels & 1/4 cup evaporated milk in saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until carmels are melted and mixture is smooth
  • Keep mixture warm over low heat, stirring occasionally
  • In a bow, mix the cake mix (dry), melted margarine/butter, remaining milk & nuts.
  • Spread 1/2 the dough in an ungreased 13″x9″x2″ pan. 
  • Bake 6 minutes
  • Remove from oven, spring chocolate chips & coconut
  • Drizzle carmel
  • Drop remaining dough by teaspoonful on to carmel layer, spreading evently
  • Bake another 15-20 minutes
  • Cool completely
  • Refrigerate until firm

 

Makes 8 servings

1 cup sugar
Finely grated zest of 3 lemons
4 large eggs
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 4 to 5 lemons)
2 sticks plus 5 tablespoons (10-1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into tablespoon-sized pieces
1 fully-baked 9-inch tart shell

Getting ready: Have an instant-read thermometer, a strainer and a blender (first choice) or food processor at hand. Bring a few inches of water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Put the sugar and zest in a large heatproof bowl that can be set over the pan of simmering water. Off heat, rub the sugar and zest together between your fingers until the sugar is moist, grainy and very aromatic. Whisk in the eggs, followed by the lemon juice.

Set the bowl over the pan, and start stirring with the whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. You want to cook the cream until it reaches 180 degrees F. As you whisk — and you must whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling — you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as the cream is getting closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. (See my blog post about getting the cream up to temperature.) Heads up at this point — the tracks mean the cream is almost ready. Don’t stop whisking and don’t stop checking the temperature. And have patience — depending on how much water you’ve got under the cream and how much heat you’re giving the cream, getting to temp can take as long as 10 minutes.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain it into the container of a blender (or food processor); discard the zest. Let the cream rest at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until it cools to 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Turn the blender to high (or turn on the food processor) and, with the machine going, add about 5 pieces of butter at a time. Scrape down the sides of the container as needed while you’re incorporating the butter. Once the butter is in, keep the machine going — to get the perfect light, airy texture of lemon-cream dreams, you must continue to beat the cream for another 3 minutes. If your machine protests and gets a bit too hot, work in 1-minute intervals, giving the machine a little rest between beats.

Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface to create an airtight seal and chill the cream for at least 4 hours or overnight. When you are ready to construct the tart, just whisk the cream to loosen it and spoon it into the tart shell.

Serving: The tart should be served cold, because it is a particular pleasure to have the cold cream melt in your mouth. Fruit coulis is nice with the tart, but not necessary, ditto a little crème fraiche. I know it sounds odd to offer something as rich as crème fraiche with something as rich as this tart, but it works — because the lemon cream is so light and so intensely citric, it doesn’t taste or feel rich, a situation that is potentially dangerous and positively delightful.

Storing: While you can make the lemon cream ahead (it will keep in the frige for 4 days and in the freezer for up to 2 months), once the tart is constructed, it’s best to eat it the day it is made.

 

I do love me some Chicken Chalupas.  Thanks to Scott for introducing me to this recipe back when we were roommates.  (He’s rather organized about collecting recipes and was really good at finding recipes that took less than 30 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, and were tasty to boot!) 

Ingrediants:

  • 1 package of Flour tortillas (6-8 needed for provided proportions)
  • 2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast meat (4-5 half breasts)
  • 16 oz of sour cream
  • 16 oz (1 can) of Creme of Mushroom soup
  • 8 oz (1 small can) of Olives
  • 8 oz (1 small can) of green chiles (or substitute jalepenos of varying hotness)
  • 8 oz (2 cups) of grated cheese (I prefer purchasing the pre-packaged mexican blend cheese)

Directions:

  1. Chop and grill/fry/cool the chicken.  3/4th inch cubes of chicken is just fine, while the chicken is cooking, continue to step 2.  For health reasons, make sure that you pre-cook the chicken to at least 165 degrees before settling on your desired cooking temp.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine sour cream, creme of mushroom soup, grated cheese, olives, and chiles, mix thoroughly to make a “white sauce” mix
  3. Take a measuring cup, fill 2 cups of the mix from step 2 in to the measuring cup
  4. Pre-heat oven to 425. 
  5. Take the chicken off the grill/pan/whatever.  Make sure you remove excess fat/water before proceeding.  Mix cooked chicken in mixing bowl with remainder of white sauce mix.
  6. Wrap chicken-mix with tortilla (enchilada or chalupa style) and place in square glass baking dish, you should be able to fill 4-6 tortillas
  7. Now take the mix we set aside in step 3 and spread it over the top of the chalupas
  8. Now put baking dish in to the oven and wait 30 minutes.  If your oven is too hot, the tortillas will get crisp, this is not desired.  If your experiencing this, reduce heat 25 degrees and extend cooking by another 5 minutes or so.

Eat. Enjoy.

Jul 192008
 

Unless my friend (who is a chef) objects, I’m going to start keeping recipes on my blog.  There are a number of recipes that I keep losing (I’m just not that organized with paper).

Ingredients:

  • 6 Avocado
  • 2 Roma Tomatoes
  • 1 Red Onion (baseball sized)
  • 1 bunch Cilantro
  • Kosher Salt
  • Black Pepper
  • 2 oz Oregano, preferably fresh,

Directions:

  1. Put Avocados (sans skins and pit) in to a bowl, mash thoroughly
  2. Dice Roma Tomatoes, put in bowl
  3. Finely chop Red Onion, put in bowl
  4. De-stem Cilantro, discard stems, chop leaves, put in bowl
  5. Add 2 oz Oregano to bowl
  6. Stir until thoroughly mixed
  7. Add Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste, stirring as needed to mixt

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