LtDan'sKitchen.com

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Coq au Vin

Braised chicken in wine is the literal translation of this dish although "coq" in French means rooster. Typically, most recipes use regular chicken or the capon variety and while the traditional choice of wine is Burgundy, your favorite red wine will do just fine. I first saw this dish watching What Will Brian Boitano Make? on the Food Network Channel. Okay, don't judge me but I can relate to him as he has no professional cooking experience but rather cooks for the fun of it. The recipe featured on the Food Network website however is a bit different from what aired so I hunted down a good recipe to try out.

Although most of the ingredients are similar, I opted for the more authentic version using Anthony Bourdain's take on the dish. You can say I went for the polar opposite in terms of the author of the dish: Brian being considered as one of the most well-loved skaters in America while Anthony Bourdain is television's version of a bad boy in the cooking world. Too bad I am off alcohol right now or else, I'll be slugging shots of brandy whilst cooking as Anthony suggests. He also made a comment on how this dish smells prior to cooking. I was skeptical at first but while taking the chicken pieces out of the marinade mix, I have to say that he was right. It is not offensive but it does smell a bit like something you don't want to eat but stick with it and you'll be rewarded with a really excellent dish.

The dish is very similar to Beef Bourguignon which I already featured in this blog. However, the similarities lie mostly in how they are prepared and the basic ingredients they share but each dish have their own merits. I've also seen a version where white wine was used specifically Riesling, hence the name, Coq au Riesling but I guess any good wine will work for this dish. Usually served with cooked pasta (fettuccini or wide egg pasta) dressed with a little bit of olive oil and butter, I prefer to serve mine with rice pilaf.

Coq au Vin - Adapted*

2 lbs chicken thighs, skin removed
olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta or bacon (lardon), chopped
1 white onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 pound cipollini onions, peeled
1/2 cup flour + 2 tbsp
Salt and pepper
1 lb Crimini mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bottle Cabernet Sauvingon
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
2-3 bay leaves
6 tbsp unsalted butter
handful of parsley

1. In a bowl, marinate the chicken overnight in 3/4 bottle of wine with
the white onion, carrots, celery and the herbs. Seal and store in the
fridge.

2. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside. Strain the marinade and set
aside the liquid portion. Remove the bay leaves from the marinated
vegetable mix and set it aside. Transfer the vegetable mix into a food
processor and blitz until you get a fine paste. Set aside with the bay
leaves.

3. Heat about 2 tsbp of olive oil with 2 tbsp butter in a deep skillet over
medium heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and
dredge in the flour. Fry the chicken pieces until slightly browned on
both sides. Set aside. In the same pan, add the vegetable paste with
the bay leaves and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.

4. Add 2 tbsp of flour over the vegetable paste and mix well. Add the
wine marinade to deglaze the pan and return the seared chicken into
the pan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about forty
minutes.

5. While the chicken is simmering, heat the lardon in another skillet
over medium heat. Cook until it renders its fat or until it is golden
brown and crisp. Spoon it out and set aside. Add the mushrooms and
saute for about 2 minutes or until just coated with the lardons fat.
Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

6. Add the cippollini onions
to the same skillet and
add 1 cup of water, a
pinch of salt, a pinch of
sugar and 2 tbsp of
butter. Bring the water
to a boil and simmer
until the water has
evaporated. Continue
to cook until the onions
have turned a golden
brown. Keep your eye
on it and make sure to
move the onions
around. Set the onions aside with the mushrooms and add the remaining
wine from the bottle and deglaze any browned bits stuck on the pan.
Season with salt and pepper and reduce the liquid until it is thick enough
and coats the back of a spoon.

7. To complete the dish, Add the mushrooms, onions and most of the fried
lardons back into the pot. Add the red wine reduction with 2 tbsp of
butter and mix well. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Check for flavor and
garnish with freshly chopped parsley and the remaining lardon bits.

*Anthony Bourdain's Coq au Vin recipe

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Pumpkin Breads

Pumpkin Bread
Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

I'm presenting two recipes of pumpkin bread. Both I have sold at a church bake sale and both I've made numerous times for friends. The recipes came from one cookbook, America's Country Inn Cookbook. The first recipe is from the John Hancock Inn at Hancock, New Hampshire. The second recipe comes from the Fitzwilliam Inn also in New Hampshire. You end up with two large loaves per recipe and these freeze well so you can go ahead and eat one and save the rest for later. They also make good gifts especially during this time of the year.

Daniel's Pumpkin Bread - Adapted*

Daniel's Pumpking Bread
Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
16 oz pumpkin puree
3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup raisins, chopped dates or walnuts
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven at 350°F. Combine the sugars and oils in a bowl and using
the paddle attachment, beat at medium speed until mixed. Beat in eggs
one at a time. Lower the speed and add the pumpkin and mix well.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, spices, baking soda, baking
powder and salt. Add to the pumpkin mixture. Pour into two 9x5 greased
loaf pan.

3. Bake for 70 minutes. Cool the loaf in the pan for 10 minutes. Loosen with
a metal spatula and remove from pan and cool completely.

Pumpkin Bread - Adapted*

Pumpkin Bread
Copyright 2011 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup oil
16 oz pumpkin puree
3/4 cup water
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat eggs until fluffy at medium speed using the
paddle attachment. Gradually add in the sugars. Reduce the speed to
low and blend in the oil, pumpkin and water.

2. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg
and vanilla extract. Blend into the pumpkin puree mixture and beat until
just mixed.

3. Pour into two 9x5 greased loaf pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a
toothpick comes out clean.

4. Cool on racks for 10 minutes. Loosen from pan and transfer to a rack and
cool completely.

*Cole, N. M.; Cummins, M.J., America's Country Inn Cookbook, The R. T. French Company, New York: 1984

Friday, November 11, 2011

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry

When I was a college student back home, I lived in the dorm for the first two years of college. In general, dorm food almost always do not go together with words like culinary delight or a gastronomical extravaganza. Rather, they always mean tasteless, overpriced and nutrition-deprived nosh. The food at the dorm where I was staying at actually fall in between the two categories. Every now and then, the food would be really good we almost always look forward to having it again. Sometimes however due to limited budget, not so much. One favorite of mine though is corned beef spring rolls although I'm in the minority here. I know it sounds weird but I really loved this dish. This usually happens when we have corned beef for breakfast and for dinner, they reappear as spring rolls. My point here is that sometimes, you have to repurpose leftovers and if done right, you get the same reaction as I did with the corned beef spring rolls. That, or I'm just a weird guy.

The recipe below is actually not an experiment on my part. This is really published in one of my cookbooks and it uses leftover roast turkey or chicken. The flavor is Thai-inspired with additional notes on how to add more spice to make the dish on the fiery side. As it is, it is already a wonderful dish but feel free to adjust the flavors to suit your taste buds. You might just like this dish you'll end up buying a roast chicken just to make this dish.

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry - Adapted*

3/4 lb cooked chicken
breast meat
5 green onions, sliced in
half inch lengths
1 red pepper, julienned
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/3 cup water
pinch of cayenne (optional)
salt and pepper
1 tbsp canola oil
cilantro, diced green onions and/or toasted sesame seeds for garnish

1. Coarsely shred chicken breast meat. Julienne red pepper and slice green
onions. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic, soy sauce, chopped cilantro, honey,
curry powder, sesame oil, cornstarch, red pepper flakes, cayenne and
water. Mix well.

3. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the red pepper strips in
the canola oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add the green onions and saute for another minute.

4. Add the chicken pieces and mix well. Add the spice mix and cook until the
sauce thickens and almost dry and the pan starts to sizzles.

5. Turn off the heat and top with more cilantro leaves, chopped green
onions and a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds. Serve right away with
steamed rice.

* Westmoreland, Susan: editor, Good Housekeeping: Step-by-Step Main Dishes, Hearst Books, New York: 1999

LtDan'sKitchen Facebook page

Folks,

I created a facebook page for the blog. It will allow me to post updates on each and every recipe without having to inundate my wall with posts from my blog. I think you can search for it and all you have to do to gain access is to press the like button. From there, you should be able to gain entry into the facebook page and access the blog from there as well.

-Dan

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Coconut Flan

I made this dish a long, long time ago. I have not made it recently but I kept the recipe and noted the changes I made to it and luckily, I also have the pictures to show what this dish looks like. A variation on the regular milk flan, this version uses coconut milk in the custard mix. I like to keep the flavor of the coconut on the subtle side so I don't use coconut extract. Rather, I stick to good old regular vanilla extract instead.

Back home, this dessert is a big hit during family celebrations and it may not be a traditional holiday dessert here in the US but every time I visit my cousins in Illinois during the holidays, this is the one dish that is always requested. Not this version but the regular flan and all is good in the world.

Coconut Flan

1 cup granulated sugar

1 can 14 fl oz coconut milk

1 can 14 oz sweetened condensed milk

6 large egg yolks

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.

2. Heat sugar in a small,

heavy-duty saucepan

over medium low

heat until dissolved

and caramel-colored. Pour onto bottom of 9-inch-round metal cake pan.

Quickly swirl around to fully coat the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, eggs,

egg yolks and vanilla extract and whisk until smooth. Pour into prepared

pan through a sieve and cover lightly with foil. Place pan in large roasting

pan filled with warm water to about an inch depth.

4. Bake for 1 hour and check for doneness. The middle part of the flan

should be set and not runny. Cook for another 10 minutes if still not set

and check regularly. Remove flan from water and cool on a wire rack.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

5. To serve, run a small spatula around the edge of the pan. Invert serving
plate over pan. Turn over and shake gently to release.

Corsican Omelette

This egg recipe with goat cheese is actually Nigella Lawson's recipe and in a not so weird twist of fate, I found out that both me and my Danish friend Tania love Nigella as well as the two fat ladies of the "Two Fat Ladies" cooking show. Okay, put down your pitchforks and bonfires but the show is really about two fat ladies who go around the UK cooking in monasteries and boarding schools while presenting traditional recipes that would make Paula Dean's recipes seem low fat. They also prefer local produce and game meat in their repertoire but they are just really a delight to watch.

Okay I've digressed way too much. With regards to the omelet, I can finally get rid of my last remaining goat cheese and what better way than to make this simple recipe from the domestic goddess herself, Nigella, or as her critics in the US would love to refer to her, the "queen of food porn". As luck would have it as well, I have the very book where this recipe is published. The recipe is for one serving but it is large enough to serve two. The recipe is also named thusly as it evoked memories of Corsica for Nigella when she went for a holiday there and not because of its Corsican origin. The original recipe calls for mint leaves but I really don't like them so I used fresh parsley and dried basil leaves instead.

Corsican Omelette - Adapted*

3 large eggs
1 tbsp heavy cream
salt and pepper
1 tbsp unsalted butter
2-3 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp fresh parsley, julienned

1. Mix the eggs in a bowl with the heavy cream and whisk until just mixed.
Season with salt and pepper.

2. In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Once melted, add
the dried basil and saute for about a minute.

3. Add the eggs and and spread it around the pan. Top with the parsley and
cheese and let the eggs set by lifting the sides carefully to let any runny
eggs cook.

4. When the top looks nearly set, fold into thirds and slide onto a plate.

*Lawson, Nigella, Forever Summer, Hyperion, New York: 2003

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Pasta con Crema di Formaggio di Capra (Pasta with Goat Cheese Cream)

Not much to talk about this dish. I have extra goat cheese and I was given a free pack of egg pasta so I put two of them together and this is what I came up with. The recipe is based on Sophia Loren's recipe using Gorgonzola cheese with a little bit of a tweak. If you do fancy Gorgonzola, feel free to use it. The beauty of this pasta dish is how quickly it was done and how easy it was prepare. You just have to make sure that you have the patience to ensure that the pasta comes out al dente.

Pasta with Goat Cheese Cream - Adapted*

1/2 lb Goat cheese or Gorgonzola
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 stalk celery
1/2 onion, diced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 hard boiled egg yolk
handful of parsley, minced
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 lb rigatoni or tagliatelle or wide egg pasta noodles

1. In a blender, blitz the garlic, milk, cream, onion, egg yolk and celery.
Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Cook the pasta as per packet instructions. Halfway through the cooking
process, heat half the sauce in a deep sauce pan over medium low heat.

3. Transfer the pasta into the pan with the sauce. Add the rest of the
sauce and the butter and cook until the pasta is al dente. Add more pasta
water if necessary to ensure the pasta is cooked perfectly.

4. Off the heat, add the parsley and mix well. Dress the pasta with a handful
of grated cheese preferably a dry cheese although I used a Dubliner which
is a milder cheese. A drizzle of olive oil is also a nice touch.

*Loren, Sophia. Sophia Loren's Recipes and Memories. GT Publishing Corp. New York:1998