Huynh Win recipes

Stewed Chicken Spanish style

2010-09-15T08:04:00.000-07:00

This is something that I saw a 90 year old woman on a travel program make for 2 fat American guys. They seemed to be enjoying it so I thought that I would too! This is also something that could be made in the crock pot as well. This should be made with dark meat because it will hold up better with the long cooking time AND it won't dry out like white meat. If you must use white meat adjust your cooking times but don't blame me that your chicken is dry and gross!

Things you will need:

6 chicken thighs
5 cloves of garlic thickly sliced
1 large onion diced
2 large red peppers roasted(see side note on how to roast peppers) or a can of roasted red peppers
2 medium potatoes washed, peeled, and diced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper for seasoning

Directions:

Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and slice garlic thickly.
Heat a skillet on medium high heat and add olive oil. Place garlic in the heated skillet first and then add chicken.
While chicken is cooking, dice your onion and line the bottom of a separate pot.
Once the garlic in the saute pan has turned golden brown, remove chicken and place on top of the onions and then all of the oil from the pan, and all the garlic.
Now add your roasted red peppers and white wine. If using canned peppers pour the entire contents of the can in.

After 45 minutes of cooking add the peeled and diced potatoes.
Season again with salt and pepper, cover the pot and continue cooking over a medium low heat.
Continue cooking for another 45-60 minutes and check the seasoning.
Make sure to check your stew and give it a stir every now and then so the contents at the bottom don't stick and burn.
Total cooking time is 2 hours.

(Side Note: How to roast peppers - Rub the outside of the peppers with olive oil place on top of the burner on your stove top. Char all of the sides of the pepper, once that has been done place pepper inside of a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. After 5-10 minutes remove the peppers from the bowl and with the back of a kitchen knife gently scrape off the charred skin of the pepper. Cut open the pepper and gently scrape out the seeds.)

Apple Chutney

2010-09-14T07:09:00.000-07:00

What is a chutney you might ask, well I will tell you. Think of it as a chunky applesauce. This was something that my brother and I made for my mom's birthday dinner.
Here's what you need:

1 1/2 pounds gala apples
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
2/3 cup dark or light brown sugar
1 medium onion diced
3 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Peel, core, and dice the apples. Place apples in a bowl of water with lemon juice so they don't turn brown. Peel and dice onion. Heat a saute pan/skillet on a medium high heat. Melt the butter in this pan; when the butter is nice and hot put in diced onions. Saute onions until translucent. Remove apples from water and add to the pan with onions. Saute apples and onions together for about 5 minutes then add the remaining ingredients. There will be quite a bit of liquid in the pan at first, you want to continue cooking until the liquid in the pan has reduced by half or more and has become a syrup. Serve hot or warm.

Jackpot Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies!

2010-08-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

I just tried this recipe this afternoon and all I have to say is AWESOME! Here is the website:

http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2010/07/29/blueberry-oatmeal-cookies/comment-page-1/#comment-17542

Definitely worth it to give these a shot. I didn't have canola oil so I used a 1/2 cup butter instead. I baked these for 10 mins. and they came out beautifully. These could replace blueberry muffins for me and even possibly chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches!

Pan Roasted Chicken and Asian Dirty Rice

2010-08-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a different way to make roast chicken and use up some scallions that were still in the refrigerator. During my search I came across this website http://sundaynitedinner.com/vietnamese-roasted-chicken-ga-ro-ti/. I made the chicken and the rice. I did however add a little something extra, I used lemongrass, I just had a taste for it and it goes well with this chicken. My husband, who is Vietnamese/Chinese, enjoyed both dishes and our 2 and 3 year olds gobbled it up.

The way that the other guy made his chicken he used only dark meat, which is great, but I had a whole chicken pulled out for dinner. This is not a problem though! Cut your chicken into pieces and prepare it the way he did by first browning up the chicken on the stove top and then finishing it in the oven. Just remember the chicken paradox: The white meat will cook faster than the dark meat, because their is less fat in the white meat. So you just pull the white meat out before the dark and that will prevent over cooking of the white meat. Over all cooking time between the stove top and the oven is about an hour.

I also used different measurements for the marinade (because I was going by memory)

I did this:

2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 large garlic cloves finely chopped
2 2 inch long pieces of lemongrass finely chopped

He also says to marinate this 12-24 hours, which if I had the time I would have totally done this but I didn't and so it marinated for 30 minutes in a fancy marinating thing called, the Vacu Vin Marinating Container, from my brother-in-law (Thank you brother-in-law!) Next time I make this I will definitely make it a day in advance though, the flavors are so good!

Next the rice. The rice is really good, we only had enough left over for my husband's lunch the next day :) This I also didn't do the same way as the other guy. I didn't have very glutinous rice, I didn't have chicken stock, and I didn't season it with salt or pepper. I had Jasmine rice that I cooked earlier in the day and let cool, and I had a whole lot of scallions.

This is how I prepared it:

I used the same pan that the chicken was cooked in. I removed a lot of the burnt stuff and drained most of the oil out leaving about 2-3 tablespoons left to saute the scallions and rice with. I sauteed the scallions first in the same manner as the other guy and I found that the moisture from the scallions helped with deglazing the pan. I scraped up all the good bits that were stuck to the bottom of the pan and then added my rice. Basically I made sure the rice and scallions were mixed together well and that the rice had been heated up again. I didn't make 6 cups of cooked rice either, I only did about 4. I couldn't fit 6 cups into the pan. But I did use the same amount of scallions.

Overall these were very good dishes and I am definitely going to make this again!

Blueberry & Peach Cobbler

2010-08-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Finally we got some dessert on this page! This is a very simple dessert and not to mention tasty :) I know what your thinking, "Cobbler in the summer?", and to that I say yes, cobbler in the summer! You have all of these great summer fruits that are fresh, readily accessible, and are begging to be used.

Fruit Directions:

5 peaches washed, skin peeled off, and sliced (don't be afraid to get peaches that have bruises)

1 pint blueberries washed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Pinch of salt (about an 1/8 of a teaspoon)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Put sliced peaches, blueberries, and vanilla into a bowl. In a small separate bowl mix sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, cornstarch, and salt. Once dry ingredients are well combined, add to the fruit and mix well:

The topping:

2 cups flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 stick of cold butter + 3 tablespoons cold butter for later use

3/4 cup cold milk

Mix all dry ingredients first. Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour. With a fork you are going cut the butter into the flour. Cutting the butter into the flour is what the technique is called, its kind of like mashing. Cut the butter until it is well incorporated into the flour and you have pea size bits all mixed about. Add your milk mix well, you will have a wet and sticky dough.

Assembling of the Cobbler:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Butter the sides and bottom of an 8x8 baking dish. Pour the fruit mix into the pan. Tear the 3 extra tablespoons of butter that was reserved into smaller bits and place them randomly all over the fruit mixture. Using a tablespoon scoop out spoonfuls of the dough. Using your fingers, flatten the dough just a little and then place it on top of the fruit. You can also use a fork and granulated sugar for this too. All you do is place the dough in the pan and then dip your fork into the sugar and gentle flatten the dough. Repeat this procedure until all of the dough is gone. Bake for 1 hour, the tops of the dough will turn golden brown. Serve piping hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or at room temp with dollop of freshly whipped cream.

Lemongrass Porkchops

2010-08-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Try the Pork! It's a Vietnamese dish and it's good!

4 pork chops
3 tablespoons of finely grated lemongrass (use a box grater)
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 shallot or 1/2 of a small onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/8 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Lemongrass Marinade Directions:

1) Put all the ingredients minus the pork chops into a blender and puree.

2) Add the marinade to your pork chops cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to about 6 hours.

3) When the pork chops have sat for at least 30 minutes, throw them on a hot grill and cook until done.

4) Serve with rice, a fried egg and top with sliced green onion.

Garlic and Thyme Fingerling Potatoes

2010-07-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

Good Potatoes!

Ingredients:
2 pounds fingerling potatoes
8 sprigs of fresh thyme
6 thinly sliced garlic cloves
1/2 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup water
Directions:

1)Wash and cut potatoes in half length wise. Place in a medium sized bowl.

2)Do not remove the thyme leaves from the stems. With the back of your chopping knife whack the sprigs of time. This is also called bruising, this will help release the flavor of the thyme. Add to the potatoes.

3) Add the 1/2 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Mix until the potatoes are well coated.

4)Let the potatoes sit for 20 minutes.

5)Heat a deep skillet then add the potatoes. Saute for 5 minutes and then add the water. Turn heat on high and cover your pan.

6)Cook for 10 minutes, check potatoes to ensure done-ness. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon. Remove all of the thyme twigs and enjoy hot or at room temp.

Parsley Noodles

2010-07-24T15:21:00.000-07:00

I really like this noodle dish because it is so easy! My mom would make this to accompany sausage and kraut. The cream and butter of the noodles helped cut the salt and sour of the sausage and kraut. This has got to be hands down one of my favorite childhood dishes! It makes me smile just thinking about it :)

Ingredients:
4 cups dry Wide Egg Noodles(2 ounces of dry noodles = 1 cup cooked, so this will make 4 servings)

1 stick Salted/Unsalted Butter room temp

1/2 cup Sour Cream

1 tablespoon Fresh or Dried Parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Bring a pot of water to boil.

2) Add noodles and cook until done.

3) Once the noodles are cooked and drained add the butter, parsley, salt, and pepper.

4) Mix until the butter is completely melted and the add the sour cream. Mix well and serve.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

2010-07-12T14:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of my siblings were raving about this "potato salad" they had had. They even claimed that it rivaled our mother's, which if you have had my mother's potato salad you would know that that is virtually impossible! So I tried the infamous tater salad and they were right it was good BUT mom's is still so much better. So I've been thinking about this sinister salad and have decided to give it a go. I think that I could possibly get this salad up to snuff with mom's, with a little tweaking here and there :) I will have a recipe to follow if all goes well!

Ok, so I made the potato salad and I must say that I wasn't very happy with it. I had a mom moment and forgot what I was doing and then added the wrong type of onion (I wanted to add chives, instead I put yellow onion and green onion). The other thing that I did and should have left alone was the amount of bacon. I started with a little under a 1/2 pound of bacon and then I got greedy and put the whole pound in. This made the salad TO SALTY..... The next thing that went wrong was that I ran out of sour cream for the dressing so there wasn't enough dressing to help cut through the salt. The final kicker was that I under cooked the potatoes and there is nothing worse than crunchy potatoes in a potato salad......
So attempt number one was a flop, but I will get this right and then you all can give it a go for yourselves!

Cajun Tilapia Sandwiches

2010-07-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

At a restaurant I worked in, one of my favorite things to make (and eat) were Cajun Tilapia sandwiches. I am pretty sure those sandwiches were the root of my gaining 60lbs while I was pregnant with my first born. A wonderfully blackened filet of fish, on a toasted garlic buttered sub roll, smeared in cajun spiced mayo, layered with sliced tomatoes and crisp romain lettuce. Yes I am definitely sure this was the cause of my weight gain..... it was so worth it!

Ingredients: For 4 sandwiches

* 4 large filets of fresh or frozen tilapia
* Turano sub rolls
* 1 stick of butter
* 5 cloves of crushed garlic
* 1 head of romain lettuce
* 1 large tomato
* Cajun seasoning for fish
* 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning for mayo
* 1 cup of mayonnaise

Garlic Butter Directions:

In a small pot place on stick of butter and the 5 crushed garlic cloves on a low heat. Let the butter melt and the garlic will release all of its flavor into the butter. Do not boil the butter and you don't want it to simmer either, you are basically just keeping it warm/slightly hot.(I know that sounds stupid but that's all I can say about it)

Once the butter and garlic have been happy in the pot for about 5-10 minutes, you can go ahead and butter the insides of your sub roles. Turn your oven broiler on or use a toaster oven and toast your bread until golden brown.

Cajun Mayo:
Mix the 1 cup of mayo with the 1 tablespoon of cajun seasoning.

Fish Directions:
1) Season both sides of the fish well with the cajun seasoning.

2) In a hot skillet place about 2 tablespoons of butter and when it is good and hot place the fish in the pan.

3) The fish should take about 7 minutes to cook, 3 1/2 minutes on both sides.

Sandwich Assembling:
Give both side of the toasted roles a good smear of the cajun mayo. Line with lettuce and sliced tomato and Of Course don't forget the fish. Serve it hot and enjoy!

For those who don't like fish you can use boneless skinless chicken breasts instead. Also for the calorie counters you can most definitely use olive oil in place of the butter for both the bread and the fish!

Beef and Veggie Skewers

2010-06-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

My sister and her family were over for dinner one night and she had the idea of making beef skewers. So she got all the things for this dish and asked me to find a marinade for said dish. I threw a few ideas at her until we came to one we liked. Unfortunately, I didn't have all the things needed so, I improvised!

* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup soy sauce
* 1/4 cup water
* 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
* 2 tablespoons dry mustard
* 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
* 1/2 cup wine vinegar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 1/3 cup lemon juice
* 1 tablespoon of brown sugar

* 3 lbs top round beef, cut into large cubes (or sirloin steaks, cubed)
* 1 green bell pepper (seeded and cut into large squares)
* 1 red bell pepper (seeded and cut into large squares)
* 1 yellow bell pepper (seeded and cut into large squares)
* Pearl onions, peeled
* Whole button mushrooms (cleaned and stems trimmed)
* Wooden skewers

Directions:
1) Soak wooden skewers in water first thing up until you are almost ready for grilling!

2) Mix all of the marinade ingredients and set aside.

3) Once meat and vegetables are cleaned, trimmed, and cut, add to the marinade. Let this sit for at least an hour, the longer it sits the more it will absorb the flavors from the marinade.

4) Assemble skewers according to your preference, I think its best to start and finish with a cube of meat. I think that it helps things from falling off the skewer.

5) Place on a hot grill and cook until the meat is medium rare to medium.

Spaghetti with Meat Balls

2010-06-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

Who doesn't like spaghetti and meatballs? This is one dish that I know my kids will always eat and like any good mom, I take advantage of this by sneaking extra veggies into the sauce!

Meatball Ingredients:

3 pounds ground beef
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Secret Sauce Ingredients:

16 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
2 cups of fresh or frozen carrots

Directions:

1)Pre-heat oven to 350 and line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil.

2)In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. Mix until everything is just combined, trying not to over mix that will cause the meat to get tough.

3)Form 2 ounce balls and place on the baking sheets. The baking process takes about 20 minutes. Half way through baking turn the meat balls so that all sides brown equally.

4)When meatballs are finished add to your sauce and serve. These are also really good for meatball sub-sandwiches!

Sauce Directions:

1)Steam carrots until fork tender. Don't throw out the water in the pan just yet.

2)In a blender or food processor put all of the carrots and puree.

3)If the mixture is to thick add some of the water that was used to steam the carrots. That will help to get a really nice carrot puree.

4)Add carrot puree to your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce! The carrots will make your sauce slightly sweeter but no one really notices at my house.

BBQ Pork Spare Ribs

2010-06-06T06:10:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things in the world to eat are barbequed ribs. I haven't been to successful in getting down a recipe that I really like though. I've made them in the oven, I've made them on the grill, I've boiled them and then finished them in the oven, but alas I still haven't found that "slap your momma" good recipe. One thing that I am coming to the realization of is that, the secret truly is in a killer dry rub and a killer sauce! The recipe that I used this time around came out pretty good but I think with a little more experimenting it could be great!

Ingredients:
1 slab spare ribs
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika (smoked if you got it)
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dried minced onion (this will be in the spice section of the grocery store)
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups of your favorite barbeque sauce for basting

Directions:
Preheat your grill and make sure that your charcoal is very low in the in the grill. Or if you are using a gas grill you will want a medium low heat.

1)Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and throw your slab on the pan. I read that taking the membrane off of the bone side of the ribs helps in getting a more tender piece of meat. I tried this and I think it does help, it does take a little bit of time but the end result is good.

2)Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a bowl and then pack it on to your slab. If you have time, let you meat sit with this rub on it for at least an hour in the refrigerator. If you have A Lot of time let it sit overnight or 48 hours in the refrigerator.

3)When the grill is ready place meat on the grill. Cook the meat for about 10-15 mins. then turn it and grill the other side for the same time. Continue this for the next 2-3 hours.

4)When your meat is nearly done grab a basting brush and your bbq sauce. Baste each side of the meat and watch it on the grill so it doesn't burn. Try to get at least 2 coats per side.

5)Once the meat is completely done, place it on a large baking sheet and let it rest for 10 mins. before cutting it. After it has rested cut and serve.

Stuffed Chicken Breast

2010-06-02T07:03:00.001-07:00

This was and experiment that went well (unless my husband was just lying to spare my feelings)I made this for him at the last minute because he let me know, after I already started preparing dinner, that he is cutting out carbs from his diet. Since dinner was a pasta dish I had to figure out something else for him, and as the saying goes, "necessity is the mother of invention". Then came the lightening bolt, stuffed chicken breast! The chicken breasts I got from the store were huge, which are perfect for stuffing. We had cream cheese and a few other things that I was going to be using in the pasta so in my mind of course this would be awesome!

Ingredients:This is for a single serving...sorry guys you'll have to do the calculations for yourself if you wanna make more than one.

1 skinless boneless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon garlic clove minced
1/4 teaspoon finely chopped shallot
1 tsp of dill
2 ounces of room temp cream cheese
4 sliced grape tomatoes

Directions:

1)Slice the chicken breast in half length wise but not all the way through, you want to be able to fold it back together like a sandwich. After you have done that you are going to lay the breast out flat, skin side up.
2)Put a piece of plastic wrap over it and get ready to pound it out. I flattened it out to about a 1/4 inch thick, and if you don't a have mallet to do this you can use a rolling pin, or a small piece of a 2x4(seriously). Once you have that done leave the plastic wrap over your chicken, so it doesn't dry out and set it aside.
3)The filling is very easy to do, in a small bowl put your cream cheese, minced garlic, chopped shallot, sliced tomatoes, and dill. Mix everything together with a spoon until well combined and there are no lumps of cream cheese.
4)If your chicken is still skin side up, gently turn it over so that you don't tear it and put the filling in and don't put a big clump in one spot. Spread it out a little. When you get all the filling in close up the chicken and get a skillet ready.
5)In a hot skillet I put about 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Put the chicken in the hot skillet skin side down cook for 7 minutes on a medium high heat, flip and cook the other side for 7 minutes. Remove from pan.
6)Now this is something you can do if A) you have some white wine and B) you like sauce. Leave the flame on under your pan and pour about a 1/4 cup of white wine into the pan. What you are doing is called deglazing and basically all that means is that you are getting all of the good little bits of flavor that are left in the pan. When you first pour the wine in stir it around to get all of the stuff that is stuck to the pan and then let the wine reduced by half. Once you have half of your liquid gone turn off the heat and pour the wine reduction over your chicken.

Steak Quesadillas, Pico de Gallo, Guacamole

2010-05-27T18:28:00.000-07:00

I am usually not a big quesadilla fan but today I just had a taste for them. So here it is, my version of a steak quesadilla, along with a few other delicious items!

Ingredients:
2 pounds of beef tenderloin or your favorite type of beef steak
garlic salt and pepper to taste
1 package of 12 inch tortilla wraps (I used a spinach tortilla)
2 pounds shredded cheese (i.e. quesadilla cheese, chedder, monterey jack)

Pico de Gallo Ingredients:
6 tomatoes seeded and diced (I used red, orange, and yellow tomatoes to get more color)
1 medium green bell pepper diced
1/2 juiced lime
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 onion diced
salt to taste

Guacamole Ingredients:
3 ripe avacados
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 onion diced
1/2 juiced lemon
salt to taste

Directions
1) For the Pico de Gallo dice tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, chop cilantro, and juice the lime put everything into a bowl, add red pepper flakes and salt mix together well. The longer you let it sit the more flavorful it becomes.

2) For the guacamole, slice the avacados in half length wise, remove pits (save one pit) and then scoop out the flesh from the shell. Mash with a potato masher or fork, it doesn't have to be completely smooth unless that's how you like it.

3)Mince garlic, dice onion, juice lemon, and then add to the avacado mash. Season with salt and mix well. The pit that you saved put it in your guacamole and that will help prevent it from turning brown and gross.

4)The beef, season with garlic salt and pepper. Heat a skillet and lightly oil, when pan is hot place meat in pan and cook until rare/medium rare. You don't want to over cook your meat because you are going to heat it again when you cook the quesadilla. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before you slice. Thinly slice meat after it has rested.

5)Assembling the quesadilla, preheat a flat iron pan or a skillet. Lightly butter one side of the tortilla, place tortilla butter side down in the pan and then layer with cheese, meat, pico de gallo, and cheese again, take another tortilla lightly butter one side and place this tortilla butter side up on top of the other.

6)When the tortilla is golden brown, flip and cook other side until golden brown. Serve with guacamole, sour cream, and extra pico de gallo.

Creamy Coleslaw

2010-05-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

This has been a family favorite for a long time!

Ingredients:
1 small head of shredded cabbage
1 shredded carrot
1 small shredded onion
pinch of salt and pepper

Dressing Ingredients:
2 cups of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of sugar
4 teaspoons white vinegar

Directions:

1)If you have a food processor use the shredding attachment and shred all vegetables in that. If you don't, use a box grater it does the same thing. Once all the vegetables are shredded place in a large mixing bowl.

2)In a separate bowl mix together the mayo, sugar, and vinegar, until sugar dissolves.

3)Add the dressing to the vegetables and mix all ingredients until everything is well combined. I like to add a little sprinkle of salt and pepper but that is optional.

4)Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 mins.

Side Note: You can also use a bag of the premixed coleslaw versus shredding the veggies yourself. Mix 1 1/2 pounds of the coleslaw mix to the dressing.

Grilled Pork Chops with Balsamic Reduction

2010-05-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for a simple dish to make that can also be elegant, this is a great option! The salt of the pork chops combines so well with the tangy sweetness of the balsamic reduction.

Ingredients:
4 pork chops
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic reduction Ingredients:
16 ounces Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Brown sugar
1 tablespoon Honey

Balsamic Reduction Directions:

It's best to start the reduction before the pork, it takes a little while to make it.
1)In a small pot place all ingredients.

2)Bring to a slow boil and let the liquid reduce to half or until it reaches a syrup consistency.

3)Once reduced, take it off the heat. The liquid will thicken as it cools.

To store just refrigerate, it will become extremely thick! You can warm it in the microwave for 10 seconds or place in a bowl of hot water. That will return it to a syrupy consistency again.

Directions for Pork Chops:

1)Mix coriander, parsley, and garlic powder together and season both sides of the chops, also season both sides with salt and pepper. You can place the pork chops in the refrigerator while you prepare your grill.

2)Once your grill is ready place chops on grill. For a 1 inch thick chop it will take about 5-7 minutes per side. This also is dependent upon the distance from the heat and the temperature of your fire.

3)Once the pork chops are finished you can either drizzle the balsamic reduction over top or place in a bowl and let everyone help themselves.

Try this dish with my great grandmother's creamy coleslaw recipe.

Sauteed Spinach and Broccoli

2010-05-06T06:11:00.000-07:00

This is a really tasty vegetable dish that I had at my mom's house just the other night. She found the recipe online and we made a few adjustments. We used frozen broccoli florets instead of fresh and spinach instead of rapini. I made this again at home for my family and the 2nd time, I used fresh broccoli florets and less butter than the original recipe called for, which was half pound of butter, it still came out delicious.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of broccoli florets (frozen or fresh)
1 1/2 pounds of spinach (we used fresh)
3 teaspoons of lemon zest
2 tablespoons of coarsely chopped shallots
4 ounces or 1 stick of butter
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1) On medium high, heat a large saute pan & melt 2 ounces(1/2 stick of butter). Add 1 1/2 tsp of lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of shallots to the hot melted butter.

(If you don't have a zesting tool use a paring knife, a potato peeler, or a grater to take off the yellow part of the rind. Try not to get to much of the white of the rind. If you are using a knife or peeler to remove the zest, you will need to cut those pieces to a smaller size.)

2) Saute lemon zest and shallots until shallots start to lightly brown. Add broccoli and saute for 3 minutes and then add the water and cover pan with a lid. If you are using frozen broccoli remember, that it is already cooked and all you are doing is heating it through again, so don't over cook it. Once the broccoli is done remove it from the pan and put it in a bowl.

3) In the same saute pan put the remaining butter, melt, and then add remaining zest and shallots. Once the shallots start to lightly brown add the spinach. Cook the spinach until it wilts. You will probably not be able to fit all the spinach in your pan at once so, as the spinach wilts down, add more to the pan. If you have a pair of tongs this is the best utensil to use for this.

4) Once the spinach is done, add to broccoli, season with salt and pepper to your taste, toss everything together and eat it.

Side Note: This would also be great to do with asparagus, summer squash, peas, or zucchini.

Lemon Beurre Blanc (bear blawnk)

2010-05-06T05:42:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

1 to 2 shallots, chopped fine
8 ounces white wine
2 ounces lemon juice
1 tablespoon heavy cream
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cubed
Salt and white pepper(black will be fine if you don't have white), to taste

Directions

Combine the shallots, white wine, and lemon juice in a non-reactive saucepan(not an aluminum pan, stainless steel would be a good choice) over high heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons.

Add the cream to the reduction. Once the liquid bubbles, reduce the heat to low. Add the butter, one cube at a time, whisking first on the heat and then off the heat. Continue whisking butter into the reduction until the mixture is fully emulsified (fancy word for thickened) and has reached a rich sauce consistency. Season with salt and white pepper.

Viet Burgers

2010-05-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

This is a fusion of a Vietnamese dish and the all mighty American burger. My husband and I had Vietnamese stuffed grape leaves at a restaurant in Virginia and when we returned home we made it ourselves. We had some left over filling and thought it might make a tasty burger and that's how it all began.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion
1T chopped Thai Basil (Thai Basil has a slightly different flavor than Italian Sweet Basil, if you can't find Thai Basil use Italian Basil)
3T finely minced lemongrass (if you can't find this in your store try an Asian market, if you can't find an Asian market, use 2T ground coriander)
2 eggs
1 tsp sesame seed oil
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1T + 2tsp garlic salt
2T fish sauce (this can be found in the ethnic section of your grocery store or at Asian markets)

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl place ground beef. Chop onion and basil and put in the bowl with the beef. When preparing lemongrass use only the bottom, pale part of the stalk. Slice off the top green part and root end and peel away the tough outer layers. The easiest way to get lemon grass nicely minced is to first, chop it up into small pieces and then put it in a coffee grinder and pulse it until it looks minced or use the fine grate of a box grater. Add the lemon grass and the rest of the ingredients to the meat.
Now its time to get your hands dirty, so remove your rings. Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Form patties and throw on a hot grill or in a hot skillet, cook to desired done-ness. Place on a bun with sriracha-lime mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickled veggies. We made home-made fries but store bought works just the same! Enjoy!

Sriracha Lime Mayo:

1c mayonnaise
1T Sriracha (it's a brand of hot chili sauce, you will be able to get this at the grocery store too)
3T lime juice
Combine all ingredients and mix well. If you want it spicier add more chili sauce

Pickled Carrots and Daikon root:

1/4 lb carrots -shredded in food processor or cut into thin match-like strips.
1/4 lb daikon radish – cut same as carrots.
2 cups warm water
2T vinegar
2T sugar
1T salt

Wash, peel, and cut carrots and daikon, place into a mixing bowl and sprinkle salt on the vegetables, mix well. The salt will draw out excess moisture from the veggies. In a pot, pour water, vinegar, and sugar. On the stove top, turn on a medium low heat and stir until sugar is dissolved, turn off heat. Get a mason jar ready or any glass jar you might have. Squeeze out any excess liquid from your vegetables and then place vegetables inside the jar. Pour vinegar liquid into a pitcher or liquid measuring cup for easier pouring and then pour into the glass jar. Fill the jar with the liquid and then place it in the refrigerator. Let this sit for at least an hour before you eat it. Of course the longer you let it sit the more pickled it gets. Its a good idea to make this ahead of time so that its ready for your burgers.

Side Note - When buying fresh lemongrass: Look for stalks that are fragrant, tightly formed, and of a lemony-green color on the lower stalk (near the bulb), then turning to a truer green at the end of the stalk.
Avoid purchasing stalks that are loose and coming apart as well as stalks that are brown and crusty or crumbling. These are old and probably not that fragrant or nutritious any longer. Lemongrass also freezes well.

Awesome Chicken and Pasta!

2010-04-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is my take on a pasta dish I had in a restaurant,in a place that I don't remember, with some people but I am not sure who they were either. Now for those who are watching their diets, don't bother making this dish because I will not alter it for the calorie conscious. The rich & creamy deliciousness should not be tampered with!

Ingredients:

2 pounds of Chicken Breast (boneless/skinless)
1 lemon or 1/4 cup lemon juice
2 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 8.5 ounce cans of quartered artichokes drained
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes
1 8 ounce can of whole black olives drained
1 quart of heavy cream
1 1/2 cups of shredded parmesan or romano cheese (if possible spring for a nice wedge of cheese and shred it up yourself)
salt and pepper
Olive oil for cooking
Bow tie pasta or whatever you have on hand
Extra parmesan/romano for garnish

Directions:

1)Put on a pot of salted water for pasta. When water comes to a boil add pasta and cook until done. When the pasta is done, drain water and add olive oil so the pasta won't stick together.

2)Cut chicken into strips and mince garlic and shallots. Cut the tomatoes and olives in halves and set aside with the artichokes.

3)Zest the lemon first before you juice it. If you don't have a fancy zesting tool you can use a potato peeler, box grater, or a paring knife, try to get as little of the white as you can. You will need 1 1/2 teaspoons of zest and some strips for garnish(optional). Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl and that will help prevent seeds from sneaking into your dish.

4)Heat a saute pan, once pan is hot add 2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil, basically enough to coat the bottom of your pan. Add garlic, lemon zest, and shallots, saute for 30 seconds before adding chicken. Add chicken and season with salt and pepper. When the chicken is starting to brown add your lemon juice and continue to cook until chicken is done.

5) When the chicken is done remove from the pan and make sure to scrape out all of the goodies in the pan then set it aside. Give the pan a quick rinse and set it back on the stove top.

Cream Sauce:

1)In the same pan that you cooked your chicken, add the quart of heavy cream and bring to a boil.

2)Add the cheese a little at a time while stirring to prevent clumpage. Once all the cheese has been added lower your heat to a simmer and let your sauce thicken. Stir often to prevent the cream from scorching and the cheese from settling at the bottom of the pan.

3)Use a wooden spoon to tell if the sauce is thick enough. The sauce should coat the back of the spoon and not run off.

4)Now you can add the chicken, tomatoes, artichokes, and olives. Mix well and taste for seasoning, if it is to your liking, pour the pan of sauce and chicken into your pot of pasta and mix well.

5)Serve in a shallow platter or bowl and top with extra cheese and lemon zest.

Almond Crusted Chicken Breasts

2010-04-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite dishes to make and it is very easy to do.

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (skinless & boneless preferably)
1 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of ground almonds
2 cups of bread crumbs or seasoned croutons (Panko bread crumbs are great for this recipe but any bread crumbs will work)
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
salt and pepper
Olive or Vegetable oil for cooking

Egg wash:
2 eggs
1 cup of milk

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. You're going to need 3 separate dishes. The first one is for your flour, second your egg wash, and third your breading.

For the egg wash simply whisk eggs and milk together until well combined. For the breading you will be combining the ground almonds, bread crumbs or croutons, and cheese. If you are using whole almonds and/or croutons just pulse it in your food processor until you have a nice crumby mixture. Be careful not to over do it, you want to have some texture, not an almond crouton paste.

Cut chicken breast in half lengthwise and season lightly with salt and pepper. Now you are going to start an assembly line. Place all of your dishes next to each other in this order: flour, egg wash, breading. Lightly dredge or coat your chicken breast in the flour, shaking off any excess and then dip in the egg wash. Do this procedure twice. After the second egg wash dipping place in bread crumbs and coat well. Place breaded chicken breasts onto a plate or cookie sheet.

In an iron skillet or saute pan heat oil. You want the oil to be about a 1/4 inch high in your pan. Once the oil is nice and hot place chicken in pan. Turn when you have a nice golden brown color on the side that is cooking. Once both sides are a nice golden brown, place chicken on a cookie sheet and finish cooking in the oven. Oven time should be about 10 or 15 minutes. If you want to check the done-ness of the chicken, just take a paring knife and make an incision in one of the breasts to see if it is done. Done means NO Pink! The juices of the meat should be clear.

Serve this chicken with garlic mashed potatoes or rice pilaf, a nice salad or sauteed asparagus. I have also served this chicken dish with a lemon beurre blanc sauce which dresses it up even more!

Side Note: To lessen the calories in this dish, leave the yolks out and replace the milk with water for the egg wash and you can also leave the cheese out of the breading.