Cornish Hen Stew

Afrin has been my best friend today. I spent all last night and this morning, stuffed up as all get out, and was on the verge of having my head explode. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't talk right. And I couldn't be normal. Until I decided to purchase that God-send of a nosespray... Afrin. So thank you, Afrin. I can now breathe, and I no longer have to fight for air.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's March 2010 Issue - 'Cornish Hen Stew w/ Lemongrass & Chiles'

2 Cornish hens
salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8-10 dried red chiles
2 shallots, smashed and peeled
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1-inch piece of ginger, thinly sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
4 cups water
2 turnips, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 scallions, sliced
juice from 1 lime

You want to start by breaking down both of the hens. Remove the wing tips and backbone. Separate the legs into drumsticks and thighs. Then remove the rib bones from the breasts.

Season the hen pieces with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a dutch oven under medium high heat. Add the cornish hen pieces (I did 2 batches) and brown on both sides, about 4-6 minutes. Once browned, transfer the pieces to a plate.

Add the dried chiles, shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and tumeric to the pot and stir until fragrant. This will be a whole lot of aromatics that will just smell AWESOME!

Add in the water and turnips. Return the hen pieces to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to a simmer for about 15 minutes, until breasts are cooked through. Remove the breasts and cover with foil. Cook the remaining hen pieces for another 10 minutes.

Return the breasts pieces and stir in fish sauce, scallions, and lime juice. Adjust seasoning to taste and then ladle into soup bowls!

I served this with some basmati rice and mixed it into the stew and it was marvelous. You can decrease the amount of chili peppers if you want it less spicy, but I thought this was a great balance of spice. Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Soup

I apologize in advance, this was supposed to be posted yesterday and in my whirlwind of studying/homework/procrastination, it seemed to have slipped my mind. Trust me, I've been banking on Friday since Sunday. This is a week I've been dreading, and it's mostly my fault. I had plenty of time to do these things, but no, I had to procrastinate. I cleaned the pantry, the fridge, the spice cabinet, the living room... all to avoid homework. Who does that?!?! That's insanity. I hate cleaning... but I dread homework. Anyway... here's a somewhat lazy soup... that I have to warn you... is pretty darn spicy, so I'd cut the hot sauce by a bit if you're not the spicy lover we are (and even we could only eat half of our bowls because of the heat).

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 to 1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (depending on your taste)
1 cup shell pasta
blue cheese for topping

In a medium bowl, add flour, salt, and pepper. Dredge the chicken chunks and set aside.

In a dutch oven over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Remove the chicken and set aside again.

Add remaining tablespoon of butter to pot and add vegetables. Cook until soft and translucent, about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add back in the chicken, chicken stock, hot sauce, and shells. Cook until noodles becomes soft. The longer you let it sit, the spicier it will get!

Top with blue cheese and dig on in!

This was definitely delicious, just incredible spicy. If I made it again, I would definitely only use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hot sauce as opposed to the 1 cup. I mean, I like really spicy things, but this was sinus cleansing spicy. I did have a cold still and it did have my nose running for about 30 minutes. So if you're into that, be my guest and add the full cup! Enjoy!