Chicken Oscar

This was always one of my favorite things to order back home at the various Bavarian restaurants in the area. Its so good I could eat it everyday but better for special occasions maybe? It's great for impressing someone of your amazing cooking skills too no?! Crispy breaded chicken topped with crab, asparagus and buttery Bearnaise sauce. Sound good to you?? I thought so......

What you need: (Serves 2)

2 chicken breast
1/3 cup or so of flour
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup or so of bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp or so of salt and pepper (I always wing it when it comes to salt and pepper, use your discretion)
1 can of good quality crab meat or fresh crab
8-10 asparagus spears (not too thick ones)

SEASON your asparagus with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and roast at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.While its baking you can make your sauce and prepare your chicken.

My recipe for Hollandaise sauce is here . All you need to make it into a Bearnaise sauce is add some fresh chopped tarragon. Voila! You can make this ahead and refrigerate it to reheat later if you like too.

NOW you need to make your chicken like a schnitzel. Place your chicken breast in a large Ziploc bag or between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them flat with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or other similar object until they are a uniform thickness (about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick). A rolling pin or the bottom of a heavy pan works in a pinch.
USE three shallow dishes for your coating. Flour in one, egg and milk (mixed together) in another and your seasoned bread crumbs in another. Dip each breast first in the flour, shaking off any excess, then the egg and milk mixture, then your bread crumbs.
HEAT a large pan on medium-high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add your chicken and fry until golden and cooked through on both sides. This doesn't take too long, about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes a a side.
WARM up your crab while the chicken is cooking in a pan with a little butter if you like or just in the microwave if your in a hurry.  

To put it together just top your chicken with the crab and the roasted asparagus and top with your sauce.

Deviled Chicken Drumsticks

These are so frickin' delicious you have no idea! But you will once you make them. Which you want to, I know. They're super juicy and crunchy with a kick.

12 chicken drumsticks (2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese (NOT POWDERED!)
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

PREHEAT oven to 450°F with rack in upper third.

PAT chicken dry, then toss with mustard until evenly coated.

STIR together panko, cheese, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Drizzle with butter and toss.

DREDGE each drumstick in crumb mixture to coat, then arrange, without crowding, in a buttered large 4-sided sheet pan. Roast until chicken is browned and cooked through, about 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

If you want them really hot try substituting hot chili oil instead of the butter.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Thighs with Carrots

This one surprised me. The cinnamon in this just is amazing. Probably one of my favorite dishes to make and eat. Give it a try and I'm sure you will agree. A little bit sweet, sour and savory. A perfect combination and another recipe from my favorite magazine that has many spilled drops of sauce and such on it. Sometimes the pages stick together but seriously never getting rid of it. ever. too good. 

What you need:

8 small chicken thighs with skin and bone (2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lb total), trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into1/4-inch-wide strips
1 lb carrots (6 medium), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

PAT chicken dry. Stir together 1 1/2 teaspoons salt with paprika, cinnamon, and pepper and rub onto chicken.

HEAT oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning over once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate.

DISCARD all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet, then add onion and carrots. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.

RETURN chicken, skin sides up, to skillet, nestling it into vegetables. Stir together water, lemon juice, and honey until blended and add to skillet, then cook over moderately low heat, covered, until chicken is cooked through and carrots are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, skim fat from sauce, then add salt to taste.
SERVE on its own or with rice.

Indian Butter Chicken

This was my attempt at trying to recreate the classic butter chicken from my favorite Indian restaurant. I wanted to make it just a little less buttery but still keep that wonderful spicy flavour. I think I succeeded. This was so good I could of eaten the whole lot to myself.
This recipe is full of spices so hopefully you have a well stocked spice cabinet. You probably have most of them already. Garam Masala is a blend of many different spices and they say every Indian mother has her own special recipe for it. You can also buy it at the grocery store. I found a recipe for a great one online and it tastes wonderful in this so I will share it with you too.
You can easily make this vegetarian by replacing the chicken with either tofu or, if you can find it, an Indian cheese called paneer. It has a similar texture to tofu and does not melt.
When I was making this I didn't really follow a strict recipe so sometimes it's hard to write one up. I just kept tasting it until I thought it was perfect for me. If you want to change things up I encourage you to do so. Sometimes you don't always have everything but there are other ingredients that will work just as well. So experiment and don't worry about exact measurements. As long as it is not to thick or thin and the taste is right that's all that matters.

Garam Masala
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (expensive but you really need this one!)
1 1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

COMBINE in a small, empty, clean container and shake until thoroughly mixed

Indian Butter Chicken
2 or 3 free run or organic chicken breast, cut into bite sized chunks
1 Tbsp or so of vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 pinch of chili flakes or 1 tsp chili powder
1 bay leaf
3/4 of a 156ml can of tomato paste
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup heavy cream*
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tsp of lemon juice
1 heaping tbsp of tahini, or cashew butter
1/4 tsp or so of cayenne pepper (however spicy you like it)
Salt and pepper to taste
chopped fresh cilantro
Rice
Naan bread

Directions
HEAT a large saute pan over medium heat and add the oil. When oil is hot add onion and saute for a few minutes or until onions begin to brown. Add butter, garlic, ginger, garam masala, chili flakes and bay leaf. Saute one minute more. Add Tomato paste and stir until evenly mixed. Turn heat down to med-low and add yogurt, cream, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, tahini or cashew butter and salt and pepper. Stir well and cover with lid.
HEAT a medium frying pan over medium high heat and add a tablespoons or so of oil. Season chicken breast pieces with salt and pepper and a little sprinkle of garam masala. When pan is hot add chicken and cook until it it nicely browned all over. Add to sauce and cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through. About 10 minutes or so.
SERVE over basmati or jasmine rice and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with naan bread.
*Add more cream if you like it creamier.

 

Portuguese Night

This recipe for Portuguese Grilled chicken was inspired by a very delicious bottled sauce that came in to the Home Hardware the other day. I had heard of Peri Peri (or Piri Piri) sauce before but I never had the opportunity to try it. It's made with a base of African Birdseye chilies, lemon, olive oil and garlic. I've never seen that particular type of chili here in Invermere so I thought this would be a good way to try this Portuguese dish using a nice free run chicken I picked up at Hopkins Harvest last week. I was a little worried the chicken would be too spicy for me but the grilling seemed to tone it down enough that you really could taste all the different flavours in the sauce. I used it as a marinade along with some other ingredients and besides having a hard time getting the grill temperature right. It turned out great! My husband said he didn't mind a little charcoal! Grilling chicken is always a challenge for me. I try not to make it black on the outside and raw on the inside. I wont tell you about the Tandoori chicken I tried to make once........

Anyway I figured i might as well go with a Portuguese theme for the rest of my meal. I made a tomato and shrimp rice pilaf (using chicken stock I made from the other parts of the chicken) and bought a bottle of Portuguese wine from the B.C. Liquor Store called Vinho Verde. It is a very light (almost clear), delicate wine with slight frizziness and a lower alcohol content. This makes it a good match for spicy foods. Totally refreshing, low in alcohol (9%) and a great bargain. (I think it was less then $10.00) Serve very cold!

The active ingredient in most spice, capsaicin, activates pain receptors in the mouth, causing the ‘spicy’ reaction. Alcohol intensifies the burning feeling, but sugar can also reduce the burn – and that’s why this pairing worked so well





Marinade for Portuguese Grilled Chicken
1 free run or organic chicken, cut into quarters or 2 lbs of chicken pieces
1/3 cup dry white wine
Grated zest and juice from one lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp of tomato paste
1/4 cup of Peri Peri Sauce (or your favorite hot sauce will work too)
1/4 tsp of salt
A few grinds of fresh cracked black pepper

ADD everything to a large resealable freezer bag and squish around to evenly mix. Squeeze as much air out of bag as possible and seal bag. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.
PREHEAT grill to medium heat. Oil grill with a clean cloth dipped in vegetable oil. Place chicken on grill skin side down and grill 10 minutes with the lid closed but check occasionally so you don't burn it. Turn and cook for another 20 or 30 minutes or until juices run clear when chicken is pierced. Let chicken rest 5 minutes before serving.

Portuguese Tomato and Shrimp Pilaf
A couple glugs of olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp salt
Several grinds of fresh cracked black pepper
1/4 tsp of hot red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained or 1 1/2 cups of fresh chopped tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of long grain rice (such as basmati)
2 1/4 cups homemade chicken stock (recipe to follow)
2 Tbsp each of chopped fresh parsley and cilantro (I didn't have any at the time)
A large handful of thawed, UNCOOKED shrimp peeled and deviened*

HEAT olive oil on medium heat in a large saute pan. Add onion and cook about 4 minutes until soft. Add garlic, salt, red pepper flakes and bay leaf and cook another minute. Add tomatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Add rice, cilantro and parsley and stir well. When liquid returns to a boil stir again, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer without lifting the lid for about 20 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender. remove from heat, scatter shrimp on top and let sit 5 more minutes, covered. Fluff rice with fork and serve*.

*Use a small bowl to shape the rice for a nicer presentation.
*If you peeled your own shrimp. save the shells and add them with the stock and tomatoes. They give a wonderful shrimp flavour to the rice while it cooks. Discard with the bay leaves before serving.