Biscuits

I was watching the Food Network last night and Bobby Flay was doing a “biscuit throw-down” and I work up this morning with the biggest craving for biscuits ever. I have made biscuits a ton in the past and so I didn’t feel the need to look up his recipe, as mine seemed very similar. He did put black pepper on the top of his, which sounds pretty yummy, but I left that out because a black pepper biscuit with honey just didn’t sound that great this morning.

Biscuits

2 Cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Tablespoon Sugar
½ Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
½ Teaspoon Salt
½ Cup Cold Unsalted Butter, cut into small cubes
¾ Cup Milk

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Sift together all dry ingredients. Add butter and work into flour with your hands until incorporated and dough has pea sized chunks of butter throughout. Add milk all at once and quickly knead dough until it just comes together, do not over work or it will make the biscuits tough. On lightly floured surface flatten dough out with your hands or a rolling pin until dough is ¾ inch thick. Cut with 2 inch or larger floured biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 450 degrees until golden brown. Serve hot with honey or jam.

Makes 8-10 2 inch biscuits

Chicken and Waffles with Poached Eggs

The Wednesday Brunch Gang...Wendy, Misty and Jen

The Heart Attack Waffle

My roommate Wendy came up with the idea to have Wednesday brunch, since we both had that day off this week, and it was so much fun. Our friends Misty and Jen came over and we totally pigged out. I almost called this post “heart attack brunch” because of what I served. Jen had mentioned savory waffles and that sounded perfect which is where the inspiration for brunch came from. We had waffles with fried chicken & gravy, bacon, poached eggs topped with hollandaise sauce. Wow, if I ate like this every day I would weigh about 400 pounds! It seems like a strange combination of ingredients to top a waffle with, but it was absolutely delicious. We also had lots of mimosas and ended the day by going to a matinee where we watched the Spiderwick Chronicles, which was very cute. Needles to say as with most days that start off with champagne, I was in bed by 8:30!

Chicken and Waffles with Poached Eggs

I don’t really know how to write up this recipe as there are so many different ingredients involved, I hope this will be the easiest…I made my Fried Chicken & Gravy recipe but cut the chicken into thin strips, then made waffles from a waffle mix, just follow the instructions on the box, and fried up some bacon. I have included the recipe for Hollandaise Sauce and Poached Eggs below.

Hollandaise Sauce
½ Cup Butter, at room temperature cut up into tablespoon-sized pieces
4 Egg Yolks, beated
1 Tablespoon Water
Juice of 1 Lemon
Dash Salt

In a double boiler combine all ingredients except for the butter. Add a piece of butter and cook while constantly whisking until butter melts, continue adding one tablespoon of butter at a time and whisk until melted, then continue whisking until thickened, about 3 minutes more. If sauce turns out too thick, just add a tablespoon or two of hot water.

Poached Eggs
Fill a skilled up with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down until water is just simmering, and then spray with a non-stick cooking spray. Crack eggs into a small dish or measuring cup and pour egg into the water very gently while keeping the dish as close to the water surface as possible. Add additional eggs, but do not over-crowd the pan. When egg whites are cooked remove the egg from the water very carefully with a slotted spoon, serve immediately.

Ginger Chicken

It was about five years ago that I first had this dish, I was in New York visiting my friend Nick and we went to Planet Thai, which is in Williamsburg Brooklyn. I thought the ginger chicken sounded good so I ordered it and immediately fell in love. When I got home I was on a mission to make this dish just like the restaurant and after many recipes, and lots of messing around with ingredients this is what I came up with. I need to make this dish more often because it is really healthy and super quick to prepare. I like to serve this with jasmine rice, but it’s good with any type of rice so just make whatever you have on hand.

Ginger Chicken

3 Tablespoons Oil
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
3 Chicken Breasts, cut into thin strips
1 Pound Mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 Large Onion, cut into thin strips
4 Inch Piece Ginger, peeled and finely minced
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar, I use Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Bunch Cilantro, chopped

Heat oil over high heat in wok or heavy bottomed frying pan until almost smoking. Add chicken and cook until almost cooked through, 3-4 minutes, next add onions garlic and ginger and cook until onions just start to wilt, about 3 minutes more, then add mushrooms and cook until tender. Add all other ingredients and stir to combine, continue to cook until sauce comes to a boil and thickens slightly, a few more minutes. Add a handful of chopped cilantro and serve over a bed of rice with a sprinkling of cilantro over top of entire dish.

Hoisin Glazed Chicken with White Rice

Hoisin sauce is a full flavored, sweet sauce that goes great with chicken, shrimp, or rice noodles. It’s made from garlic, ginger, sugar, salt, soybeans and red chili peppers. I love to use this in stir-fry’s or even to baste chicken, or port skewers with. I also have a delicious recipe for hoisin glazed lamb chops that is out of this world. This recipe is another one of those that you can throw together last minute and much healthier than the fried Chinese takeout food that leaves you feeling sick for the next week.

Hoisin Glazed Chicken with White Rice

2 Boneless-Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into thin strips
½ Cup Hoisin Sauce
2 Cups Rice
3 Cups Water
1 Teaspoon Salt
Handful Chopped Cilantro

In large sauce pan bring water to a boil, add salt and rice and bring back to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. In the meantime, add a small amount of oil to a non stick frying pan and cook chicken until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes, add hoisin sauce and cook until bubbling, reduce heat to low. To serve rice onto plate or bowl and top with chicken, sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Wild Rice with Chicken and Asparagus

This is a nice healthy quick meal to fix and has a lot of flavor. I love the taste of wild rice and the firm texture of all the different grains. If you want to make this more healthy you can definitely leave out the butter and the cheese. I of course add extra cheese to mine, but that’s ok right?

Wild Rice with Chicken and Asparagus

2 Boneless-Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into cubes
1 Bunch Asparagus, tough ends removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 Cups Wild Rice
4 Cups Chicken Stock
2 Tablespoons Butter
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Oil
Handful Parmesan Cheese

In large sauce pan, heat the butter, add rice and salt, cook until fragrant. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for 20 minutes. While rice is cooking, add oil to a non-stick frying pan and cook chicken for about 5 minutes, add asparagus and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and asparagus is tender. Add the chicken mixture to the rice and stir, serve with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese over the top.

My Pantry!

My Pantry!

So I was reading one of my personal favorite food blogs The Perfect Pantry, and decided to copy what she did. She has taken pictures of her pantry and posted them on her food blog, and has asked people to submit pictures to her so she can post them on her blog. I LOVE THIS IDEA!!! I am sending her my picture today, yikes!
To be honest I opened up my pantry and gasped, oh my god, how did it get so messy? Did a tornado come through here and do this? No, it’s just that I have too much stuff and not enough shelf space in my tiny kitchen. I have now decided that I need to install more storage somewhere in my kitchen so I can get more organized. When I clean out the pantry I usually have everything separated by grouping, all canned goods together, baking stuff together, spices together, etc…now it’s all jumbled, so enjoy the look into my secret cupboard of goodies!

Sunriver!

So I am off to snowey and beautiful Sunriver for a week, Yeah! I haven't had a weekend off since before Christmas and can't wait to get away for a while. I will be cooking my favorite recipes (sorry but they have all been posted already, so no new ones) and getting updated on all my cooking magazines. I should be inspired to cook up a storm when I get back into town and start off the new years with lot's of fresh new recipes!
Here is a picture of my sweet kitty, Muppet, for you to enjoy while I relax by a warm fire and stare out at the snow...Ciao!

Meatloaf

Meatloaf is one of those things that brings me back to my childhood. I have always loved meatloaf, but hardly ever make it. It is one of the quickest main dishes I have ever made and it’s great for leftovers, so go ahead and give it a try. This is definitely the traditional version of a meatloaf, especially with the ketchup on the top, but why try to fancify something that is so good just as it is?

Meatloaf

1-1/2 Pounds Ground Beef
1 Onion, finely minced
2 Stalks Celery, finely chopped
1 Cup Bread Crumbs (I used crushed up saltines because I was out of breadcrumbs)
½ Cup Ketchup, plus more for the topping
2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
1 Tablespoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Pepper
2 Eggs

Combine all ingredients until well blended. Place in a 9x13-inch baking pan or on a cookie sheet and form into a large “loaf”, top with ketchup. Bake at 375-degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until an instant read thermometer reads 170 degrees.

Macaroni and Cheese

I apologize I haven’t been posting a lot lately, I have been working non-stop the last few weeks and haven’t hardly had time to spend in the kitchen. I think you will enjoy this comforting recipe though, it’s perfect for the dreary rainy cold days we have been having in Portland lately.

I had a friend ask me for my macaroni and cheese recipe recently and I realized that I had never made it before. My grandmother makes a killer macaroni and cheese, but I have never gotten the recipe, so I decided to venture and make my own version. That’s when I ran into the debate…white sauce or custard style, or should I do the southern version and just add Velveeta and heavy cream? I decided to go with the white sauce, what sold me on that is the fact that you are using copious amounts of butter cooked with flour, how could that not be the best base for mac & cheese?
I was very satisfied with my results and got rave reviews from my friends and co-workers as I fed everyone my left-over’s so I wouldn’t become morbidly obese by eating the entire pan of deliciousness.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 22-Ounce Bag Macaroni
1 Small Onion, finely diced
1 Stick Butter, divided
½ Cup Flour
3 ½ Cups Whole Milk, warmed up in the microwave
1 Teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pepper
4 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheese, about one pound, divided
1 Cups Homemade Breadcrumbs (please don’t substitute store bought!)*

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook macaroni in boiling water until al-dente and drain, do not over-cook as it will cook more in the oven. In large sauce pan add 1 tablespoon of the butter and sauté onion over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add remaining butter and melt, then add flour and cook over medium high heat for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add milk while whisking and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and continue to cook until thickened, five minutes or so.
Add garlic salt, salt, pepper and 3 cups of the cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Stir pasta and sauce together and place into a 9x13-inch greased baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and top with breadcrumbs. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until bubbling around the edges and top is light golden brown.

Breadcrumbs
Toast 4 slices of bread in the oven at 375-degrees until golden brown and very crisp, about 10 minutes. Break into quarters and place into the bowl of a food processer, pulse until fine crumbs form. Add a couple tablespoons butter and pulse until incorporated. That was easy right?