Vinegar Braised Chicken

This is the second recipe I tested from the Michael Pollan article in Oprah magazine (April 2013).  This recipe was implemented exactly as it was written in the book.  It was later I improvised, but I'll get to that!

Note:  Mr. Pollan suggests seasoning the chicken with salt a day in advance.  I did it for about 6 hours and it worked great.

Ingredients:
One 3.5 pound chicken, cut into pieces
2.5 teaspoons Kosher salt, divided use
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1.5 Tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup shallots, finely chopped
1.5 cups red wine vinegar (no, that is not a typo)
1 cup chicken stock (or broth)
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup canned whole packed plum tomatoes, drained (I used chopped fire-roasted tomatoes because it is what I had on hand)
8 cloves garlic
4 sprigs thyme
3 bay leaves
2 Tablespoons finely chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 300.  Season chicken with 2 teaspoons of salt (or omit if you have already done this in advance) and pepper.  Heat oil in a 5-6 quart Dutch oven or wide, overnproof pot over medium-high heat.  Arrange half the chicken in pot in a single layer and cook, turning once, until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.  Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.  Transfer the chicken to the same plate.
2.  Add shallots and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 2 minutes.  Add vinegar and cook until much of teh acrid aroma has dissipated, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add broth and 1/2 cup water, bring to a vigorous simmer, and cook until slightly reduced, 3 to 5 minutes.
3.  Whisk in tomato paste and remaining 1/2 tsp salt.  Add tomatoes, then arrange chicken in pot, skin side up, pouring over any accumulated juices from the plate.  Tuck garlic, thyme, and bay leaves in liquid.  Cover pot snugly with foil, then lid, and transfer to the oven.  cook 1 hour and 15 minutes, until chicken is very tender.
4. Let rest 30 minutes.  Discard thyme and bayleaves.  Scatter parsley on top and serve.

chicken is browned in the Dutch oven

First batch transferred to a plate

After chicken is browned and removed from the Dutch oven,

the shallots, vinegar, and tomato paste are added

chicken is placed back into the liquid ingredients

garlic, thyme, and bay leaves are added

base is covered with foil, lid applied

Dutch oven is placed in oven to braise at 300 degrees for 75 to 90 minutes

Result:  tender, flavorful (tangy!) chicken.

Yum!

*I reserved the liquid ingredients in a separate container and chilled.
The leftover chicken was chilled separately.
The following day, I removed the chicken meat from the bone, skin and bones discarded.

I heated the liquid ingredients at a low to medium setting in a deep pan.  After allowing the mixture to reduce about 30% I removed about 1/4 cup into a jar to make a slurry by adding 3 tablespoons cream and one teaspoon corn starch.  This was shaken to mix and added back into the liquid to thicken.
I added the chicken (that I tore into shredded pieces) back into the mixture.  I added one tablespoon of my homemade Garam Masala (at the end of that post).  After allowing the mixture to heat through until steaming, I served it.  This mixture would be PERFECT served with rice.  Yummy delicious!  I think this was even better than the original dish, but it was the first dish that got me to this one and it is a great way to use the leftovers.
Try it!!

Got Leftover Lamb? Make Lamb Hash

Dice 4 small gold potatoes and one small sweet onion.  Heat up a non-stick pan and add some Olive Oil, about 2T and spread it around the pan with a spoon.  Add the potatoes and cook, stirring often to prevent too much browning.  When you see that they are starting to brown, add the diced onion in the middle and cook.  If everything in the pan is not coated with olive oil, add a bit more.  Once the onions begin to cook, you can mix them with the potatoes, stirring often, so that nothing gets too brown.

One piece of leftover lamb (it was about a 5" square) - cut up

Green beans - cook in the microwave with some water, and steam them for about 3 minutes to get them to soften up

The potatoes are onions are looking pretty good at this point.  The potatoes should be fork tender.

After you cut up all of the lamb, coat with some flour and mix it up so it is everywhere.  You will make a mixture in a cup of 2 T flour and 1 cup of water.  Put your hand over the top of the glass or cover with Glad Press n'Seal wrap, and shake it up, to mix up the flour and water.  Add the green beans and floured lamb to the skillet of onions and potatoes.  Then add the flour and water mixture.  Stir to blend and when the lamb is all warmed up - dinner is ready!

Lamb Hash - all in one dinner

Got Basil? Make pesto!

My basil is growing so rapidly I decided to give it all a "haircut" and make some pesto for dinner:
recipe:
5 cups loosely packed basil leaves
1/2 cup nuts (I combined toasted pinons and pecans)
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
approximately 5  garlic cloves
1 to 1.5 cups good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

wash basil and remove leaves from stems.  Remove any discolored edges.

prepare garlic cloves (not this much!)

add nuts and garlic to food processor

add basil

start food processor and drizzle olive oil to emulsify

extra pesto can be divided and frozen in an ice cube tray.

Once frozen, pop the pesto "nuggets" out into a ziploc bag.

These are great for adding to soups!

also for dinner:  sauteed onions

....and crimini mushrooms

grilled steak topped with fresh pesto, caesar salad, veggies, 

and fresh strawberries for dessert.  Yum!

Baked Egg Casserole

We eat eggs for dinner when I can't come up with anything else to prepare.  Sometimes, nothing else sounds as good as an egg dish.  I default to omelets, but this is a slightly different way to prepare eggs that is easy, tasty, and can be served in easy portions.  This would make a perfect item on a brunch menu.

I like to use whatever I have available in the refrigerator and pantry, so no two are the same.

In today's casserole I used:
6 eggs
approximately 2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup goat cheese spread
1/3 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped Japanese eggplant
1/2 cup sliced yellow squash
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered and seeds removed, then chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of Herbs de Provence (or, a bit of oregano, thyme, and a pinch of culinary lavender, if you have it)
1/4 cup toasted, lightly salted shaved coconut*

Preheat oven to 325'F.
Place 2 Tablespoons olive oil in saute pan.
Add onions, eggplant, squash, and saute until transparent.  Add tomatoes and cook until moisture evaporates.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Mix eggs in a medium bowl.  Add part of the cheese (in this case, the goat cheese spread and part of the shredded cheese, reserving at least half for the top of the dish).

Once the vegetable mixture has cooled, fold it into the egg mixture.  Pour it into a 9-inch glass baking dish that has been sprayed with a release agent.  Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over surface, finish with the coconut pieces.

Bake in oven for approximately 30 minutes.  Watch carefully toward the end.  The edges will rise during baking.  Remove with the center is no longer "giggly".  It will continue to cook after removal from the oven.

Leftovers may be refrigerated and reheated.  It is very tasty the second time around!

toasted coconut, lightly salted

*Although we think of coconut as a sweet item, it is actually quite delicious when used as a savory snack or added to a dish.  Coconut is very high in fiber, and therefore a healthy addition to this low-carb dish.

Addendum:  This dish is even more delicious on Day 2.  I reheated a portion for lunch and noticed that the coconut had a more notable presence in both taste and texture.  It added a rich quality to the taste that, unless you knew it was coconut, you would wonder what it is.  Yummy!

The consistency is tender.  No one will miss a crust!

Serves 4-6

Scrambled Eggs with Leftover Steak

I had some steak leftover from the night before, so got to thinking how great it would be in my eggs the next day, adding some veggies too!

left over steak (1/2 of a filet) - cut into small bite size pieces
1/2 bag of fresh baby spinach (pre-cooked in a microwave safe container - 2 min)
bok choy - chopped (gives eggs a sweet taste)
6 eggs
sea salt
perhaps an 1/8th of a cup of cheese, any kind.

Baby spinach in microwave cooker with a little water on the bottom - cook for 2 minutes

BokChoy - I cut off the leaves at the top and discarded them, and then proceeded to chop the bottom section for my eggs. Put a sliver of butter in a hot non-stick skillet and added the steak.

Steak is cooking along, then added Bok Choy, spinach, add a touch of sea salt. Beat 6 eggs together with a smidge of low fat milk, maybe about 1/4 cup or less; add cheese to steak mixture in the pan, and then add eggs.

Scrambled goodness