Going into Hiatus

Folks,

Sadly, I have to put this blog on temporary hiatus for now. I have several recipes to post but I just have no time to put them down into writing. Once things have gone back to normal, I will get back into the swing of things. 

Stay tuned!

Baked Stuffed Chicken

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

The birth of this dish came about when we were trying to put together bacon, butter, cheese and chicken into one dish. A quick search on the internet came up with a stuffed chicken recipe that was both simple as well as tasty. However, given my penchant for making any recipe a bit more personal, I tweaked the recipe once again until I came up with a winning formula. By then, the butter and cheese bits were no longer included in the recipe. This was a big hit during my Christmas lunch celebration with family and friends and for the literary folks, it has a bit of 50 shades thrown in for good measure. I should really call this dish 50 Shades of Poultry but then again, I better not.

A few things to keep in mind if you plan to try this dish are: one, learn how to partially debone a chicken. By partial, I meant leaving the drumstick intact. It saves you time when baking it and two, you need to learn how to sew and tie up a chicken. No worries however, as both can be easily learned and once perfected, it will only take about 15 minutes to debone a chicken and stuff it with any filling that suits your fancy.

Baked Stuffed Chicken

2 2-lb whole chicken, deboned
1 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence
8 strips of bacon, diced
salt and pepper

1. In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the bacon. Once browned,
    remove to a plate and set aside. 

2. In the same skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the bacon drippings. 
    Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened. Let cool. 

3. Prepare the filling by adding the cooked rice, crisped bacon, parsley and 
    bread crumbs with the sauteed onions and garlic. Mix well. 

4. Season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff with half the
    filling and secure both ends of the chicken with a twine. Further secure
    the chicken with more twine to retain the shape of a whole chicken. Do 
    the same for the second bird.

5. Set both birds in a baking pan cut side down and season with more salt 
    and pepper. Drizzle enough olive oil to baste the chicken. Sprinkle the 
    Herbes de Provence and bake in a preheated oven at 375°F for about 
    an hour or until the skin is golden brown.

6. Let rest for about 5 minutes before carving. 
      

Baked Macaroni

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Baked Macaroni, is the quintessential favorite of almost every kid in America, my nephew and nieces included. They love the boxed variety from Kraft and even though I always try to prepare them food made from scratch, they never seem to appreciate the reasons why I do it. Anyway, this dish is not for my nephew and nieces who are miles away across the globe in Illinois. This adult version of baked macaroni is for our batch Christmas party this year. It was assigned to a friend but she thought I will do a much better job at it so she relegated the cooking to me.

Truth be told, it has been some time since I made this dish and well, baked macaroni is cooked differently here in the Philippines. The sauce that they use is almost always tomato based and is flavored with either ground beef, hotdogs or sausages. Thus, I am torn between the traditional American baked macaroni dish I have come to love and the one that is commonly served here during special occasions. I ended up combining both recipes sans the meat to satisfy both my desire to stay true to the dish and to have it look a bit familiar to my Filipino friends.

Baked Macaroni

Marinara Sauce:

4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp olive oil
1 30-oz canned whole tomatoes
1/8 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
salt and pepper

Cheese Sauce:
1/2 cup salted butter
8 tbsp flour
6 cups milk
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack
salt and pepper

1 1/2 lb macaroni, cooked as per packet instructions
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
Herbes de Provence

1. To prepare the marinara sauce, heat the olive oil in a pot over medium 
    heat. Add the garlic and saute until slightly browned. Add the chili flakes 
    and saute for a minute. 

2. Crush the whole tomatoes with your hands and pour into the pot. Rinse the
    can with about a cup of water and add to the sauce. Season with salt and 
    pepper and the dried oregano. 

3. Bring the pot to a boil and lower the heat to low and simmer covered for 
    about 30 minutes.  Check for flavor and set aside. 

4. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat. Add the flour and 
    mix until a smooth paste is obtained. 

5. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking the roux (butter and flour mixture). 
    Continue to whisk until all the milk has been incorporated. This will prevent
    lumps from forming. 

6. Season with the nutmeg and continue to cook the sauce for about 5-10 
    minutes. Add more milk if it gets too thick. 

7. Add the cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese and stir until fully incorporated
    into the sauce. Check for flavor and correct with salt and pepper. 

To assemble, mix the cooked macaroni with the cheese sauce and combine until the pasta is evenly coated. Spoon about 2 cups of the marinara sauce into a 9x13 baking dish and top with the macaroni. Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs and dust with a little bit of the Herbes the Provence. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. 
 

Chicken ala Providence

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

This is a favorite chicken dish of ours when we were living in Florida as graduate students. It was my friend Celeste who actually loved cooking this dish. My part was always relegated to the desserts. The recipe is taken from the Women's Day cook book that we bought for 25c in a book sale. I have known of this dish but never prepared it myself and it was a surprise how much work it took to complete the dish.The dish is prepared in three steps but I decided to extend the last step and baked it a little bit longer to bring the flavors together. 

The dish uses chicken pieces that gets poached, then deboned and then browned in butter. I decided to use chicken thighs to maximize the flavor and that it tends to retain it's shape during the cooking process. The lemony sauce pulls the whole dish together and I prepared it a bit differently so it looks less yellow and more like brown gravy. Definitely a meal for Sunday lunch, it is best served with rice pilaf or a good piece of crusty bread. 

Chicken ala Providence - Adapted*

2-3 lbs chicken thighs
2 bay leaves
1 stalk of parsley + extra for garnish
4 medium-sized carrot, cubed
2 medium onions, quartered
1 tsp Herbes de Provence
4 tbsp olive oil
6-8 cups chicken broth
1 cup flour + 2 tbsp flour
2 egg yolks
1 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp unsalted butter
8 slices of bacon, cut into 1-inch strips and fried
2 tbsp chopped parsley

1. Poach the chicken pieces in a small pot at medium heat with enough broth
    to cover them. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Simmer and cook 
    until the chicken is tender but not falling off the bones. Remove the 
    chicken pieces and save 2 cups of the broth. 

2. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and the bones.
    Dredge with flour and brown in a skillet over medium low heat in 4 tbsp 
    butter in batches. Add olive oil if more is needed to brown the meat. 

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Saute the onion and carrots in the pan 
    drippings and cook until slightly browned on the edges. Season with salt 
    and pepper and the Herbes de Provence. Remove from the heat and set 
    aside. 

4. In the same skillet, melt the remaining unsalted butter over medium heat 
    and add the 2 tablespoons of flour. Add the reserved broth and continue 
    stirring until thick and smooth. Add the lemon juice. Turn off the heat and
    whisk in the two egg yolks quickly to prevent them from being scrambled. 
    Season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. In a 9x13 baking dish, arrange the browned chicken pieces and scatter the 
    onions and carrots all around. Pour the lemon sauce over and bake for 
    about 20 minutes. 

6. To serve, garnish with the crispy bacon and the chopped parsley. 

* Eileen Tighe: Editor, Woman's Day Encyclopedia Volume 3, Fawcett Publications Inc., New York: 1966.
 

Chicken Asado

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

This is a chicken dish that I never really thought was remarkable enough but given the simplicity of this dish, it just might prove to be a time-saver when you have nothing but chicken in your freezer plus a few spices and seasonings that might already be in your cupboard. I was advised by my doctor to stick to fish and chicken in a bid to lower my uric acid level but since it was not getting to the point where it should be and I really do not want to take any medication, I had to give up chicken as well. This dish was then part of a plan to get rid of the chicken that I bought during my weekend grocery and to have nothing but fish in the freezer. 

Asado is a common term used in Mexican dishes while living in the US or to put it in the right context, Tex-Mex. There is also a variety of steamed meat buns that has an asado filling but is usually made with pork. It has a sweet unlike the asado of Mexican derivation which is more spicy and is chili-based. It turns out that chicken asado is more of the sour variety with nary the sweetness associated with an adobo dish which is quite similar in terms of preparation. After looking up a few recipes, I came up with a simple version that is sure to please people on the go who wants to eat something nourishing and tasty. 

Chicken Asado

2 lbs chicken cut up
4 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 large onion, diced
4 large Roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 dried bay leaves
salt and pepper
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water of broth

1. Marinade the chicken in half the garlic, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, soy 
    sauce and season with salt and pepper. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes.

2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute the remaining garlic with 
    the onions in the vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper and cook until 
    soft and fragrant. Add the bay leaves and cook for another minute. 

3. Add the marinated chicken and brown them in the skillet on all sides. Save 
   the marinade. 

4. When the chicken has browned, pour the marinade and the water or broth 
    and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the tomatoes and cook covered for 
    about 10 minutes.

5. Remove the lid and add the potatoes. Lower the heat to medium low and 
    simmer covered until the potatoes are tender but still holds its shape. 

6. Check for flavor and adjust accordingly. Serve with steamed white rice.

If you want the dish to be a bit thicker, raise the heat back to medium high and allow the sauce to reduce. If the potatoes and chicken pieces are getting overcooked, spoon them out and reduce the sauce on its own. Make sure you check the flavor as it might be too salty so you may have to add some water. Pour the sauce over the chicken pieces and potatoes and serve immediately.

Honey Chocolate Cake with Rum

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

One time, I went to my favorite cake place to buy eclairs for my friends and I tried one of their cakes that I often ignore. It was a simple chocolate cake that was flavored with run aptly named, Very Sinful Chocolate Rum Cake. Since then, I have been plagued as to how I can recreate what I just tasted since it was so good to the very last morsel. My first attempt was when my friends were in town to attend the local festival a few weeks ago. I baked a simple chocolate cake that I infused with rum. The verdict: the cake was moist but the rum flavor was missing. Since cake number one was a bust, I needed to find another reason why I needed to bake a second chocolate cake since I'm on a regimented diet. Well, that reason came sooner than I expected. 

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

My second attempt on a Rum Cake came a few weeks later during the November 1st celebration. Armed with a new recipe, I was determined to use more rum to make the cake every bit as rummy as it is yummy. The recipe I used is a honey chocolate cake, the link to the recipe I already posted on the facebook page of my blog. I also decided to use a sugar syrup infused with rum to soak the cake but I ended up ditching the syrup as I feared the cake might end up too sweet. This is one mistake that I regret now. My one other regret is that I used the accompanying recipe for the ganache when my instincts told me to use my old recipe.  The cake came out great but there was one thing that still eluded me, the rummy moistness. I think my version of the cake came quite close but using the sugar syrup flavored with rum would have imparted the even flavor of the rum which is what I was looking for. Despite the fact that the ganache recipe I followed was good, it did not set as beautifully as my old ganache recipe. Anyway, the third time might prove to be my charm, whenever that will be. 

Honey Chocolate Cake with Rum - Adapted*

1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cup hot strong brewed coffee
1 cup honey
3 cups flour, sifted
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter + extra
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 cup yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup rum

Chocolate Ganache with Honey:
16 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup honey
2 oz  unsalted butter
3 tbsp rum
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line the 2 9-inch round baking pans and grease with the extra unsalted 
    butter. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. Sift the cocoa powder in a small bowl and whisk in the hot coffee. Add 
    the honey and mix well. Set aside and let cool completely.

3. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and soda and the salt. Set 
    aside. 

4. In a metal bowl, beat the butter at medium speed while gradually adding 
    the oil. Add the brown and white sugar and increase the speed to high. 
    Beat until light and fluffy. 

5. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the 
    yogurt and vanilla extract and beat until just incorporated. 

6. With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture in three additions
    with the cocoa mixture in two additions. Beat until just combined. 

7. Divide the cake batter into the two pans and bake for 40 to 50 minutes or 
    until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

8. Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Run a knife on the
    sides and invert the cake. Remove the parchment and let cool completely. 

9. Prepare the ganache. Combine the cream and the honey and at low heat, 
    bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chocolate. Allow to 
    stand for a minute and whisk until melted. 

10. Add the butter and allow to melt. Whisk in the rum and continue to mix 
     until smooth. Cover with a clingfilm and allow to cool until the ganache 
     is almost set but still spreadable. This can take half a day to 24 hours.

11. To assemble the cake, brush the rum on the cake layers and spread about
      a third of the ganache on one of the cake layers. Top with the second 
      cake layer. Spread a thin layer of the ganache to cover the whole cake.
      Cool in the fridge for about an hour to set the crumb coat. Cover the 
      cake with the rest of the ganache.

The cake can be made a day ahead and stored at room temperature covered with clingfilm. The ganache can also be made a day ahead. The cake tastes better a day or two after assembly. You can serve the cake at room temperature but I prefer it served cold.

*Recipe from Fine Cooking by Jill O'Connor, Issue 119.
            

Marinated and Seared Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil

Copyright 2013 LtDan'sKitchen blogs

Looking for a healthy recipe to accompany my baked flounder on the family's November 1st celebration, I decided to use one of Lidia's recipe. The original recipe actually used chicken breasts of which I am not a big fan of, so I decided to use regular chicken pieces and change the recipe just a tiny bit. The result was really good and even though I only tasted a small portion of it, this dish to me says nothing else but, ITALY!

Just in case you are wondering what is the relevance of November 1st, well, it is the time of the year when we remember our family members who have died. Although All Soul's Day falls on November 2nd, for some strange reason, Filipinos celebrate this special day a day early. We also usually prepare a lot of dishes cooked in coconut oil but since my Mom is no longer around, it is me or my cousin who does the most work during family occasions. We both decided to go simple so I made the main dishes (and I went the Italian route) while she made the native dishes that uses either coconut milk or just plain grated coconut meat. This recipe is indeed a strange departure from the usual dishes prepared on this special day but it surely made our lives a lot more easygoing that day.

Marinated and Seared Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil - Adapted*

2 lbs chicken pieces
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Sauce:
1 28-oz whole tomatoes, canned
8 garlic cloves, sliced
1/8 tsp red chili flakes
salt
1/2 cup basil leaves, julienned

1. In a large bowl, combine the chicken with the garlic, dried herbs, half the 
    olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a clingfilm and store 
    in the fridge overnight. 

2.  In a deep skillet over medium heat, add the remaining olive oil and once 
     heated, fry the chicken pieces in small batches until browned and cooked 
     through. Set aside. 

3. In the same skillet, add the garlic into the drippings and saute until golden 
    brown. Add the chili flakes and saute for a minute. 

4.  Pour the tomatoes into a bowl and crush them with your hands. Wash off 
     the can with a cup of water and add to the bowl of crushed tomatoes. 
     Add into the skillet and bring to a boil.

5. Once boiling, decrease the heat to low and allow to simmer covered for 10 
    minutes. 

6. Check the sauce for flavor and season with salt. Add the basil leaves and 
    stir. Cook for another minute. 

7. To serve, ladle about half the sauce in a serving platter. Arrange the 
    chicken pieces and sppon the rest of the sauce on top of the chicken. 
    Garnish with a sprig of basil.

*Lidia's Italy: Seared Marinated Chicken with Tomatoes and Basil.