Friday, 12 February 2016
Today's Delish Dish
Spanish-style chicken that I am making tomorrow night.
Why not tonight you ask? (or not).
Because I have too many leftovers from last night.
Do you feel better for knowing?
Anyway...if you're feeling spry and adventurous, you can find the recipe at Josemadeinspain.com
Under the title "Pollo al chilindron" or "Chicken with tomatoes, onions, peppers and Spanish ham"
If I could find it, you can, too.
Have confidence in yourself.
And Bon Apetit!
Sorry. I don't know how to say that in Spanish.
This is what it's supposed to look like.
You're totes welcome.
Why not tonight you ask? (or not).
Because I have too many leftovers from last night.
Do you feel better for knowing?
Anyway...if you're feeling spry and adventurous, you can find the recipe at Josemadeinspain.com
Under the title "Pollo al chilindron" or "Chicken with tomatoes, onions, peppers and Spanish ham"
If I could find it, you can, too.
Have confidence in yourself.
And Bon Apetit!
Sorry. I don't know how to say that in Spanish.
This is what it's supposed to look like.
You're totes welcome.
Thursday, 11 February 2016
Pet Peeve of The Day
How many of you have experienced this (show of hands):
You've cooked a fabulous meal of near-gourmet quality and before your guests taste one single bite, they heap salt or ketchup over it.
I know someone who has, what I like to call, a Ketchup addiction., She adds it to everything whether it calls for Ketchup or not. To her, it is not a condiment but one of the food groups.
My husband always salts his food before tasting it, unless I hide the salter or slap his hand.
I want to pull my eyebrow hairs out when they do this. If I had a nickel for every squabble I've had over this, I could buy myself a new toaster oven. I've come to realize that I can't change them so now I just grimace and bear it because it's not worth divorcing over poor dinner manners.
Or is it?
No. It's definitely not.
But for a moment...(insert wistful sigh).
What I think I need to do is get rid of the Ketchup and see what happens when people have to eat my food the way it was intended, rather than the way they're used to.
Okay, I know what you're thinking. Human nature, blah-blah. I get it.
You like to sprinkle curry powder into your chicken soup to give it a kick.
You pour HP sauce over your good medium rare tenderloin steak because secretly you don't like the flavour of the meat itself.
You flood your French Fries with hot sauce.
We all have our quirks.
Every once in a while I will eat my fries with hot sauce or vinegar. I am liberal with black pepper. Etc.
But.
When a recipe tells me that it does not call for black pepper for good reasons (pepper can make certain foods more bitter), then I generally follow them at least once, to see whether I agree.
Sometimes I do.
Sometimes I don't.
I'm known for taking creative liberty with recipes.
I'm human. Get off me.
But there are certain foods I am not going to ruin.
You do not add Ketchup to Coq au Vin.
You do not add Ketchup to French Onion Soup.
You do not add Ketchup to Waffles.
You could, but you would risk having me go off on you and not being invited for a nice meal at my house ever again.
Is that a chance you want to take?
I think not.
The last thing my husband wants is for me to stop cooking and that is what I feel like doing when people don't taste my creations before adding their own crap to them.
Rant over.
There are more important things to be annoyed about.
There are more important things to be annoyed about.
The End.
Stepping off soap box.
First Time Easy Peasy Quiche
Ingredients: Oeufs. Pie crust.
The darker oeufs on the right came from my friend\s hen house. The pie crust came from a factory.
Or somewhere. Who knows? But not from my bare hands, I can assure you. If you can make your own, three cheers to you. If not, you're obviously busy.
Beat ouefs until as fluffy as the average North American television sitcom.
I just love saying oeuf, don't you?
Fry onions and red peppers in olive oil for a few minutes.
Next...add the fried veggies to your oeufs. Let them cool off a bit first.
Add whatever fromage you like. I used Parmesan. If you have the real stuff and want to grate it yourself, knock yourself out.
Next...Add fresh herbs. I only had basil and rosemary on hand because it IS Canada in the winter after all. Plus, I live in a small village. Am lucky to get herbs at all.
For more cheesiness , add cheddar, but only if you feel like it.
Add pepper. I don't add salt because I use garlic salt which IS salt.
Add spinach. Cut it up first.
Add parsley (not shown). Add garlic salt. Add Italiano (cuz I said so). Ignore the ground basil. I took it out forgetting I already had the fresh because am used to not having fresh.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Aerial iPad view of quiche fresh out of oven.
Not the greatest photography but is all I have until I win lottery and can buy National Geographic status camera.
Which, according to my horoscope, will be never.
So, there you have it.
P.S. Not liking that half of quiche has red peppers and half has not. Feeling OCD from the lack of symmetry.
The darker oeufs on the right came from my friend\s hen house. The pie crust came from a factory.
Or somewhere. Who knows? But not from my bare hands, I can assure you. If you can make your own, three cheers to you. If not, you're obviously busy.
Beat ouefs until as fluffy as the average North American television sitcom.
I just love saying oeuf, don't you?
Fry onions and red peppers in olive oil for a few minutes.
Next...add the fried veggies to your oeufs. Let them cool off a bit first.
Add whatever fromage you like. I used Parmesan. If you have the real stuff and want to grate it yourself, knock yourself out.
Next...Add fresh herbs. I only had basil and rosemary on hand because it IS Canada in the winter after all. Plus, I live in a small village. Am lucky to get herbs at all.
For more cheesiness , add cheddar, but only if you feel like it.
Add pepper. I don't add salt because I use garlic salt which IS salt.
Add spinach. Cut it up first.
Add parsley (not shown). Add garlic salt. Add Italiano (cuz I said so). Ignore the ground basil. I took it out forgetting I already had the fresh because am used to not having fresh.
Bake at 350F for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Aerial iPad view of quiche fresh out of oven.
Not the greatest photography but is all I have until I win lottery and can buy National Geographic status camera.
Which, according to my horoscope, will be never.
So, there you have it.
P.S. Not liking that half of quiche has red peppers and half has not. Feeling OCD from the lack of symmetry.
Wednesday, 10 February 2016
Beef Bourguignon a la Gee Gee
Mon Dieu et Merde with a side order of Ay Carumba!
Who on earth invented Beef Bourguignon and its sehr/muchos/tres complicated preparations?
Were they drunk? Because obviously crack hadn't been invented back then. I'm sorry I ever allowed ambition to override good sense. What a laborious exercise!
The many steps are tedious and angst-inducing.
They are the opposite of fun, in fact.
The only fun thing about the tiring ordeal was lighting the brandy and watching the blue flames lick the meat. It was quite mesmerizing, really, until I nearly singed the hairs on my fingers (which I didn't mind because I've never liked the hairs on my fingers).
I already know that Julia Child will be rolling over in her grave at my headless-chicken attempt (me being the headless chicken because chicken does not go in this recipe). This is the last time I will try and follow in her size 12 footsteps because French chefery (new word I just made up) is perhaps not for me. Not only did I not follow the directions properly (see: attention deficit, exhaustion, malaise), but I accidentally used Gulash cream instead of tomato paste because they both come in similar-looking tubes. I wonder if accidental stupidity is how fusion cooking was invented?
Perhaps, we'll never really know.
What I do know is that I started cooking late and this recipe calls for 3 goldanged hours in the oven.
You fry carrots and onions and tomato paste separately before adding them to the meat. Some chefs flambe the carrots and onions in Brandy. I did not.
I used Gulash paste instead of tomato paste by accident. Some of the best things in life happen by accident. Perhaps this was how fusion cooking was invented. Other spices I added were: thyme, bay leaf and Herbes de Provence.
I poured brandy over the beef and lit a match...VOILA! Flambeed meat.
For this part, you do not want to have children or cats with fluffy tails in the immediate vicinity.
You also want to keep your face well away from the pan. Unless you hate your eyebrows and want to get rid of them.
I waited until the flames died down and the sauce started to thicken.
How it looks before going into the oven.
I poured the beef into the pot along with the carrots and onions,
This is more broth than Julia would like, but what she (or her ghost) don't know, won't hurt her.
Now, we shall wait, pray and see.
First Hungarian Beef Bourguignon ever.
How it looks when it comes out of the oven.
Voila! Beef Bourguignon over mashed potatoes.
I love saying Voila! It makes me feel French all over.
Who knew that something so laborious and annoying would turn out so tasty.
I love it! smile emoticon
The photos were taken with an iPhone. Imagine how good my stew looked in reality.
Who on earth invented Beef Bourguignon and its sehr/muchos/tres complicated preparations?
Were they drunk? Because obviously crack hadn't been invented back then. I'm sorry I ever allowed ambition to override good sense. What a laborious exercise!
The many steps are tedious and angst-inducing.
They are the opposite of fun, in fact.
The only fun thing about the tiring ordeal was lighting the brandy and watching the blue flames lick the meat. It was quite mesmerizing, really, until I nearly singed the hairs on my fingers (which I didn't mind because I've never liked the hairs on my fingers).
I already know that Julia Child will be rolling over in her grave at my headless-chicken attempt (me being the headless chicken because chicken does not go in this recipe). This is the last time I will try and follow in her size 12 footsteps because French chefery (new word I just made up) is perhaps not for me. Not only did I not follow the directions properly (see: attention deficit, exhaustion, malaise), but I accidentally used Gulash cream instead of tomato paste because they both come in similar-looking tubes. I wonder if accidental stupidity is how fusion cooking was invented?
Perhaps, we'll never really know.
What I do know is that I started cooking late and this recipe calls for 3 goldanged hours in the oven.
You fry carrots and onions and tomato paste separately before adding them to the meat. Some chefs flambe the carrots and onions in Brandy. I did not.
I used Gulash paste instead of tomato paste by accident. Some of the best things in life happen by accident. Perhaps this was how fusion cooking was invented. Other spices I added were: thyme, bay leaf and Herbes de Provence.
I poured brandy over the beef and lit a match...VOILA! Flambeed meat.
For this part, you do not want to have children or cats with fluffy tails in the immediate vicinity.
You also want to keep your face well away from the pan. Unless you hate your eyebrows and want to get rid of them.
I waited until the flames died down and the sauce started to thicken.
How it looks before going into the oven.
I poured the beef into the pot along with the carrots and onions,
This is more broth than Julia would like, but what she (or her ghost) don't know, won't hurt her.
Now, we shall wait, pray and see.
First Hungarian Beef Bourguignon ever.
How it looks when it comes out of the oven.
Voila! Beef Bourguignon over mashed potatoes.
I love saying Voila! It makes me feel French all over.
Who knew that something so laborious and annoying would turn out so tasty.
I love it! smile emoticon
The photos were taken with an iPhone. Imagine how good my stew looked in reality.
Oven Baked Boobs
Oh, don't be so bloody immature and get your knickers in a knot!:
Dip chicken boobies in Greek yogurt and coat them in a mix of Parmesan cheese, Panko crumbs, Italiano seasoning, pepper and garlic salt.
My sous-chef and lover Wolfie (love him!) cooked up some organic black rice. I don't know why it's called black rice when it is actually a dark permanently-finger-stainin
I stir fried a frozen veggie mix in sesame oil and seasoned it with chili peppers (cuz that's how I do).
Bon Apetit chums.
(Don't let the poor photography turn you off. It tastes better than it looks).
Dip chicken boobies in Greek yogurt and coat them in a mix of Parmesan cheese, Panko crumbs, Italiano seasoning, pepper and garlic salt.
My sous-chef and lover Wolfie (love him!) cooked up some organic black rice. I don't know why it's called black rice when it is actually a dark permanently-finger-stainin
I stir fried a frozen veggie mix in sesame oil and seasoned it with chili peppers (cuz that's how I do).
Bon Apetit chums.
(Don't let the poor photography turn you off. It tastes better than it looks).
Tagine Chicken with Chinese Red Rice
Tagine chicken with Chinese red rice. I cooked the carrots with the chicken.
Ingredients for chicken recipe: Olive oil, chopped red onion, Soy sauce, orange juice, red wine, West Indian hot sauce, sweet chili sauce, paprika, chili powder, chili peppers, Italiano seasoning, garlic salt and black pepper.
I tried a new spice tonight thanks to all the Persian recipes I've been salivating over: Sumac.
Lovely.
Yum.
I had to order it from the U.S. because I don't have the time or patience to drive all over Ontario whenever I feel like buying a spice that nobody has heard of around here. Oh, we've all heard of Sumac up here. The TREE, that is. If you haven't had skin blisters from the poisonous kind, well then you haven't lived. But sumac SPICE. Pfft. Good luck, chums. You better have a full tank of gas, is all I can say.
I've said too much already.
Ingredients for chicken recipe: Olive oil, chopped red onion, Soy sauce, orange juice, red wine, West Indian hot sauce, sweet chili sauce, paprika, chili powder, chili peppers, Italiano seasoning, garlic salt and black pepper.
I tried a new spice tonight thanks to all the Persian recipes I've been salivating over: Sumac.
Lovely.
Yum.
I had to order it from the U.S. because I don't have the time or patience to drive all over Ontario whenever I feel like buying a spice that nobody has heard of around here. Oh, we've all heard of Sumac up here. The TREE, that is. If you haven't had skin blisters from the poisonous kind, well then you haven't lived. But sumac SPICE. Pfft. Good luck, chums. You better have a full tank of gas, is all I can say.
I've said too much already.
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