Roasted Chicken w/ Fettuccine

For those of you in the U.S., tomorrow is July 4th.  A day off from the monotonous work week and a day of remembering our Independence.  Cookouts will be in full force all over the country.  And of course, we cannot forget the fireworks! 

Andy and I don't really have concrete plans, we'll probably fly by the seat of our pants and do whatever comes our way.  Free concert and fireworks by the Waterfront?  Maybe.  Grill out at home?  Maybe.  Hang out with a bunch of friends?  Maybe.  Who knows... maybe none of those things will happen, but I'll be sure to give a report of what does the next time I post!

Roasted chicken is one of my guilty pleasures.  It takes at least an hour... more than that if you're willing to put your chicken through a brine - which is oh, so necessary, in my opinion.  The crisp, succulent skin, and the juicy meat is all it takes to put me in a blissful food mood. 

I had some heirloom tomatoes and mushrooms, so I just threw together a quick pasta to serve with the chicken.  It was quite tasty, and definitely hit the spot!

Ingredients:

Chicken Brine:
I always use this trusty quick brine from Michael Ruhlman

1 whole chicken (about 3-4 lbs.)
salt and pepper, to taste
4 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2 oz. pieces

Pasta:

1/2 lb. fettuccine noodles
1 large heirloom tomato, cut into 8ths
1 cup mushrooms (I had creminis), sliced
1 small onion, julienned
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Madeira
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
butter, to finish
shredded parmesan, for garnish

If you don't want to brine your chicken, you can definitely skip that step, but I promise you it'll be so much more flavorful if you take the time to do it!

Preheat oven to 425 F.

After the chicken has been brined, pat it dry and carefully place butter underneath skin of chicken.  Season the skin with salt and pepper. 

Truss the chicken and place on a roasting rack, breast side up.  Place in oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes or until skin starts to become golden brown.  Turn oven temperature down to 375 F and carefully flip bird so that it is breast-side down.

Continue to cook until the chicken reaches 155-160 F.  Let rest for about 5-10 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 and juices run clear.

Prepare the fettuccine according to package directions.

To make the sauce, heat the olive oil under medium high heat in a large saute pan.  Add the onion and mushrooms and cook until both start to soften.  Add the tomatoes and garlic and cook until fragrant.

Deglaze the pan with the Madeira and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until liquid is reduced by half.  Mount the sauce with a couple tablespoons of butter and season to taste. 

Toss the sauce in with the fettuccine and serve with roasted chicken.

Hope you guys have a great 4th of July!

How to Truss a Chicken (or any poultry, for that matter)

Happy Monday, guys!

How was everyone's weekend?!  Ours was crazy busy!  Not only did I have to work both Saturday and Sunday, but on Saturday morning we had a massive yard sale to clear all the clutter out of our house!  We ended up making over $700 (which well surpassed our goal!)  We managed to sell more than half of our junk and make a little cash in the process! Score!

So chickens.  I love cooking whole chickens.  Number one, it's a lot cheaper than buying broken down pieces.  And two, anything I have left over always gets used up for something else - i.e. bones = stock, meat = chicken salad.  We've been loving some chicken salad here lately.

To make sure your whole chicken cooks evenly and that it retains as much moisture as possible, you definitely want to truss your chicken.  That's basically the process of tying the bird into a compact shape.  Don't know how to do it?  Well, it's your lucky day because that's what we'll be doing!  So get your chicken and get your twine and let's do it!

Square up your bird using your hands to press it firmly on both sides.  You can either choose to tuck the wing behind the back or trim off the first and second joints of the wing.  Personally, I like keeping the wing in tact - it's just a better presentation, in my opinion.

  
Cut a piece of butcher's twine about 3 times the length of the bird.  Keeping the breast side up and the neck towards you, slide the twine under the bird, about 1 inch in front of the tail.

Bring the twine up around the legs and cross the ends, making an "X" in between the legs.  Bring the ends of the twine below the legs.

Pull the ends of the twine tightly under the thigh joint and over the wing. 

Pull the string tight and tie just above the neck.

Voila!  You're ready to oil this baby up, season her with salt and pepper (and any herbs you see fit) and roast her to a nice juicy, golden brown!

Bacon-Wrapped Brown Sugar Pork Loin

Yes, I'm still alive.  I may look like a zombie, but I'm still here!

The two week break between quarters was seriously just what this girl needed.  I thought I would have a post up before the new year, but I took time to relax instead.  Priorities, I tell ya.

And I'm proud to report that after the first quarter of culinary school, this girl has a solid 4.0.  Woop woop!  Right?!

Anyway, next quarter starts tomorrow and I'm ready for it.  Purchasing, Sanitation, and Culinary Theory Lab Part 2 here I come!

I thought I'd start 2012 off with a bang and give ya something juicy, mouth-watering, and simple as can be.  Pork-wrapped pork.  Mmmm hmmm.

Ingredients:
Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking's Recipe

3 lb. bone-in pork loin
5-6 pieces of bacon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon hot Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Glaze:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

Why bone-in?  Honestly, I think more flavor develops with a bone-in anything.  Yeah, it may have to cook a tad bit longer, but flavor outweighs times in my book (this coming from a girl who swears she has no time to spare!).

So let's line a roasting pan with aluminum foil and place your big hunk of pork on that sucker.  Preheat your oven to 375F.

In a small bowl, make your spice rub.  Combine the salt, black pepper, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and chili powder.

And give that pork a good rub down.

Then we'll wrap the whole thing in some bacon.  P.S. - the technical term for wrapping something in fat (in this case, bacon) is "barding."

Place the roast in the oven and roast for about 50-60 minutes.  

Meanwhile,  in a small saucepan under medium heat, combine the ingredients for the glaze - the brown sugar, flour, cider vinegar, and mustard powder.

Simmer until the sugar is dissolved.

Drizzle glaze over top of pork roast and continue to roast for about 25-35 minutes longer, or until internal temperature has reached 160F.

The bacon will be nice and crispy!

Let rest for about 10 minutes and then slice into 1 inch thick portions.  Serve with your starch of choice and enjoy!


I want to thank you guys for sticking with me, even though I've been M.I.A.  I do my best to balance everything, but certain things take precedence before the blog.  I appreciate you all, and again, thank you so much!

Until next time...

Tomato & Roasted Red Bell Pepper Soup

"Carmageddon" has officially hit Louisville.  While probably not as drastic as the major traffic that was caused in Los Angeles - but definitely something that perturbs me.  I love Louisville for the fact that it doesn't have 'major city traffic'.  Sure, we have crazy rush hour, but nothing compared to cities like LA, New York, or even Nashville.

Until last Friday.  The Sherman-Minton bridge was closed "indefinitely" due to some cracks found in some foundation beams.  While yes, safety is priority - it has put Louisville (and most parts of Southern Indiana - as the bridge connects New Albany, IN to Louisville) in a traffic tizzy, because now everything has to filter through to the other bridge (The Kennedy) - adding about 76,000 more cars that way.  And don't even get me started on the stupid detours.  My normal 20-25 minutes commute to work took a little over an hour today.  Yeah, I wasn't in a good mood.  But surprisingly enough, my commute home was more of normal pace, about 30 minutes.  I'll just have to think smarter for tomorrow's drive in.

Now that I've got my rant out of the way (I'm sure you all just wanted to hear about my traffic annoyances, right?) - let me tell you about something that calms me down... soup.  Yes, soup.  Now that fall has set in, soup will be a regular occurrence in our house - at least weekly.  And this week's soup?  This wonderful tomato and roasted red pepper soup.  Perfect for dipping grilled cheese!

Ingredients: 
Adapted from Sea Salt With Food's recipe

2 Red Bell Peppers
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Onion, peeled and diced

3 Cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped

2 Heirloom Tomatoes, seeded and diced
3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 & 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Sour Cream
Croutons

Broil red peppers under a broiler or open flame on gas stove until charred on all sides.  Place red peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Set aside until cool enough to handle.  Peel, remove seeds, and roughly chop.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven.  Add onion and garlic.  Cook until soft and translucent but not brown in color, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then turn the heat on high and mix in the tomatoes, tomato paste, peppers, cilantro, cumin, and paprika. Sauté the mixture for a minute or 2, and add the chicken stock.  Bring mixture to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes.

Allow the soup mixture to cool slightly, then puree it with an immersion blender. Bring the soup back to the boil and season with some salt and pepper. Serve with a dollop of sour cream, some croutons, and a grilled cheese sandwich (if you're the dipping kind of gal like me!)

This was super tasty, made great use of our CSA tomatoes, and will be a soup that paired perfectly with a simple grilled cheese!


Hope you guys have a great Tuesday!  See you tomorrow night!

Ribeye w/ Asparagus

Okay, remember that whole statement from Thursday of me saying that I was going to be getting into some debauchery, but not 'really'?  Well, 'really' happened.  Hehe.  I've been a bit behind (obviously, since there was no post yesterday), so I couldn't just leave you guys empty handed.  And hopefully I'll be up to speed Monday!

So let's talk Ribeye.  A lot of people kind of stray away from ribeye cuts.  Too much marble to work around, and all that jazz.  But me.  I love a good ribeye.  I actually LOVE the marbling (am I sick?  I don't care!)  And the beauty of a ribeye to me, is it's simplicity.  You don't have to jazz it up, you can just let the good grass-fed beef (assuming that you bought a grass-fed beef product) speak for itself.  And to pair it with some simply sauteed asparagus and squirt of lemon juice?  And you have yourself dinner in seriously less than 20 minutes. 

Think I'm crazy?  Think I'm lying?  Try it for yourself.  I'll show ya! =)

Ingredients:

1 lb. boneless ribeye steak
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for rubbing
about 15-20 asparagus spears
juice from 1 lemon
lemon slices, optional
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, optional

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Heat a large oven-proof skillet under high heat. 

Rub ribeye with olive oil and generously season with salt and pepper on both sides. 

Place ribeye in dry skillet and cook for about 30 seconds.  Using tongs, flip over and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Carefully place skillet in oven and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, for a medium rare/medium.

Carefully remove skillet from oven and transfer steak to cutting board to rest for about 5 minutes.

While your ribeye is resting, you can prepare your asparagus.  Gently toss the spears with some olive oil, salt and pepper.  Squeeze the juice of half of a lemon onto the asparagus. 

Carefully wipe the skillet used for the steak clean with a paper towel (it'll still be hot, so make sure you're careful!) and heat under high heat.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter to the skillet and add asparagus.  Saute for about 2-3 minutes or until starting to soften, but still crisp and green.

Cut whole ribeye in half to serve as two steaks.

To plate, arrange about 6-7 spears on a plate and top with one ribeye steak and serve with a lemon wedge.  You can also top your steak with a little pat of butter, if you'd like.

Seriously.  Simplicity.  At. It's Finest.  No joke.  And what did I tell you?  Dinner is ready in 20 minutes!  Enjoy the rest of your weekend guys! 

And I know I've been all about the meat this week, but I promise next week will be a little 'sweeter' and 'lighter'!

Smoked Paprika Rubbed Salmon

Okay, I have a new obsession.  True Blood.  I love it.  I can't get enough of it.  And I'm thankful that Netflix has consistently been delivering Season 2 to my mailbox for the past week or so.  Just sayin'.

Remember all that salmon we got a few weeks ago?  And the promise of me posting salmon recipes?  Yeah, I know.  I've slacked.  I haven't posted any since we got the salmon.  That doesn't mean we haven't cooked it.  Boy have we been eating salmon!  I've just gotten caught up with all the other things going on, that those recipes weren't in the spotlight to post.  Just yet, anyway.

But this baby.  This was great.  This... was my very UN-Superbowl-themed dinner that we had on Sunday.  Instead of gorging on wings, dips, and all those other Superbowl-related artery-clogging goodies... I settled (well, preferred) to have this beautiful (and slightly healthier!) salmon.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Mccormick's website

Juice and zest from 1 minneola orange
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3 6 oz. salmon fillets
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon hot smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cinnamon
salt and pepper, to taste

In a small bowl, combine orange juice, olive oil, and thyme.  Place salmon fillets in plastic Ziploc bag and carefully pour in marinade.  Seal tightly, getting rid of as much air as possible from the bag.  Let sit in fridge for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In another small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, cinnamon, salt, black pepper, and orange zest.

Remove salmon from bags and place on foil lined baking sheet.  Rub paprika mixture atop salmon and bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until salmon is pink throughout. 

We served this salmon with some freshly sauteed spinach, corn, & carrots.  It was a match made in heaven.  There was a great contrast of sweetness from the brown sugar and a little kick of spice with the hot paprika.  Definitely a great flavor! 

I chose the healthy route on such a gluttonous day, but only because I was too lazy to make anything too crazy.  This is definitely one of those quick weeknight dinners that will make you feel good about yourself afterwards!  Enjoy guys!

Herb-Braised Chicken Halves

What a weekend!  It seems that we'll be able to check out our potential wedding venue next Tuesday!  We're pretty sure this is THE one!  We had breakfast at Toast on Market, which happens to be right next door to the venue... so we just walked around it a bit, and you know, I just got that feeling.  That it was the right choice.  Am I crazy?  Or do I just have that wedding-planning bug?  Either way, the fact is... we're so close to settling on a date, a venue... which means that this wedding is sooooo gonna happen!  Not that I didn't think it was, but you know, the more that is set in stone, the more real it all feels!

And we committed to a photographer this weekend too!  It's my friend Adam who does some awesome work, and he's cutting us a great deal, so it was extremely hard to resist! 

So our tentative date is April 28th of next year, so hopefully we'll be able to book that date next Tuesday when we check out the whole place!  Cross your fingers!

I sound like an elated school child don't I?  I just can't help it!

Anyway, let's talk chicken.  A while back, Sommer, over at A Mama With Flavor, posted a recipe about how she cooked a chicken in a dutch oven.  I'm sure this is somewhat common, but to me, it was a totally new way of cooking chicken.  I was quite intrigued.  Especially since my favorite part of a chicken is the crispy skin!  This would have no crispy skin, but it would definitely render a tender and moist chicken, that rivals even the best of the crispy-skinned chickens that I've cooked!  So thanks for planting that seed in my head Sommer, because I finally took the plunge and cooked a chicken in the dutch oven, and I quite possibly may never go back to the regular roasting method again!

Ingredients:

Didn't want to get all that chicken juice on my new cutting boards!

4 lb. whole chicken
salt and pepper, to taste
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup madeira wine 
3-4 cups chicken stock
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
5-8 sage leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Pat chicken dry and sprinkle both sides with salt.  You can be somewhat generous, but don't overkill here.  Place chicken in glass bowl or dish and cover.  Refrigerate for at least 6-8 hours.

Take chicken out of refrigerator and wash off salt.  Pat dry.

In a large dutch oven (big enough to fit the whole bird and cover it) under medium high heat, add olive oil.  Add chicken and sear until both sides are a golden brown, about 10-15 minutes total.  Remove chicken and set aside.

Add garlic, celery, carrots, and onion to dutch oven.  Cook until vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes or so.  Stir in tomato paste and cook for another minute.  Add madeira wine and cook until it is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.


In a small bowl, combine butter, sage, and thyme in a small bowl.  Spread the butter mixture underneath the skin of the chicken and on top of it.  This will ensure good flavor throughout the meat and keep a little moisture too.

Carefully place chicken back into dutch oven and pour about 3 cups of chicken stock into the pot.  Cover and place in oven.  Roast for about 1 & 1/2 hours or until chicken is white throughout. 

Carefully remove chicken from pot and let rest on cutting board for about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring liquid from pot to a boil on stovetop.  Remove about 1 cup of the stock and mix it with the flour in a small bowl.  When flour is dissolved into stock, slowly pour back into dutch oven.  Whisk until mixture has thickened slightly.  Strain the vegetables from the pot, and at this point, you can either save them, throw them out, or use them as a side.  I don't like wasting things so I just served the vegetables alongside our chicken. 

Cut chicken in half and serve alongside vegetables or chosen side.  Spoon gravy over top, if desired.

Seriously, this was a great idea.  The meat was probably the most tender I've ever had, and the flavor was just amazing!  Definitely try roasting a chicken in a dutch oven if you get a chance!  Enjoy guys!

Lemon-Shallot Chicken Breasts

So I have to give credit where credit is due.  Andy made this.  And it was excellent.  I'm not saying that Andy is challenged in the culinary department (he makes "man" meals).  He's actually pretty good.  But our styles are very different sometimes.

We have this system.  A system where we trade off weeks to cook.  Whoever's week it is to cook, also pays for the groceries.  A simple system, that results in good food all around. 

This is my week to cook.  But unfortunately, I've had some late shifts this week.  Well. Two.  If you count today, so really not that bad.  But it makes it difficult to sit down and cook a meal when I don't get home until 10 or 11.  So that's where Andy comes into play.  I set him down the night's recipe and he must follow it.  Of course, I'm frantically calling him to make sure he's doing it right - he still thinks margarine = butter.  So, I have all the right in the world to keep calling him, in my opinion.  Hehe.  It's all out of love, trust me.

And he was definitely good at following the directions on this one.  The chicken came out moist and delicious.  I almost feared using chicken breasts because I hate how dry they come out most of the time, but this was different.  Maybe I couldn't have cooked it better myself (but we won't let Andy know that for fear his ego will get larger than it already is).  Anyway, this is a must try!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Ina Garten's 'How Easy Is That'

2 chicken breasts
salt and pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 up Madeira wine
juice from 1 lemon
1 shallot, minced
3 tablespoons heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat your oven to 425 F.

Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (I'm jealous because Andy was the first to use our newly acquired cast iron that I received for Christmas) under medium high heat.  Add oil and heat until shimmering. 

Place chicken breasts, skin side down, into skillet and cook for about 5-6 minutes (if you use boneless chicken breasts, decrease the cooking time by a minute or two), or until skin is golden brown.

Flip breasts over and bake in over for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

While the chicken is roasting, heat a small saute pan under medium high heat.  Add madeira wine, lemon juice, and shallots.  Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until only a couple tablespoons of liquid remain.  Stir in heavy cream.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then remove from heat.

Stir in butter until it is fully melted.  You want to do this slowly so the sauce does not "break".  Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Plate the chicken and top with lemon-shallot sauce. 

Andy also served this with some homemade mac and cheese (he really does make some good mac!) and a homemade dinner roll. 

This was definitely delicious and quick for a weeknight meal, that's for sure!  Enjoy guys!

Tropical Fruit Stuffed Cornish Hens

With an epic fail behind me, I was determined to execute a great dish for my final meal of the week. However, I had a predicament. I was planning on making cornish hens and I had to work until 9:30 on Thursday night. I didn't want to be up all night long just making this, considering I also had to be at work at 8am then following day. So, "lightbulb!" Andy can do it. I made sure to carefully set everything out that he would need and left the directions plain as day on the table. And plus, if it didn't turn out, I could blame it on him, hehe. Anyway, things went accordingly, and the only somewhat funny question he asked me was... "so we're using this rice to fill up this bird instead of stuffing right?" I know he just pictures a box of StoveTop or something when he thinks of stuffing but I had to explain to him that all of those ingredients combined WERE the actual stuffing. Lightbulbs went off in his head and he understood.

Ingredients:

2 Cornish Hens (about 1-1&1/2 lbs each)
Brandy
8 oz. bag of tropical dried fruit (or any dried fruit you like)
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. Baby Bella mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3 cups jasmine rice, cooked
1/4 teaspoon Herb de Provence
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon peppercorns (can use any variety, I used black & pink)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Empty the tropical fruit mix into a medium bowl and cover with brandy, maybe about 1/2 cup or so. Let sit for about 45 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat your olive oil in a large skillet under medium high heat and add the onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute for about 10 minutes, or until onions are soft and translucent.

Add in the dried fruits and mix well. Take off heat and cool mixture to room temperature.

Mix in remaining stuffing ingredients and stuff the Cornish Hens. You can place your remaining stuffing in a baking dish and bake alongside the hens.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Place hens on roasting rack, sprinkle skin with salt and pepper, and cover the exposed stuffing with aluminum foil. Roast for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until internal temperature is 180 F.

Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.


Let me tell you, this dish was a big sigh of relief. I was almost on the verge of diving off the deep end if it wasn't going to work. I mean, it was great. The stuffing was "interesting," but interesting in a good way. The flavors were complex and the hens were done perfectly. The skin was just amazing, and that's my favorite part! enjoy!