Basque Chicken with Sweet Peppers and Tomatoes

Sorry it' been a little while since my last post everyone, but I've got new recipe that will make up for the wait.  If your looking for a fun and easy meal for on a Sunday aftenoon, then this one is right for you.  There's only 20 minutes of active time involved and the rest of the time is in the oven cooking.  So what do you say, let's make some food.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp extra virgin oil

4 chicken drumsticks

4 chicken thighs

Salt and pepper

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 jarred piquillo peppers, drained (I didn't add this because I couldn't find it)
1 Tsp chopped thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water

2 ounced serrano ham or prosciutto, sliced 1/16 inch thick and cut into thin strips (you should be able to find this already sliced and packaged)

Instructions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large, deep ovenproof skillet, heat the oil.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet, skin side down.  Cook over moderately high heat until ricly browned, about 4 minutes per side.  Transfer the chicken to a large plate, skin side up.

2.  Add the onion, red and green bell peppers and garlic to the skillet and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the cherry tomatoes, piquillo peppers and thyme; once the tomatoes are hot, pour in the wine and simmer over moderately high heat for 1 minute.  Stir in the water and bring to a boil.  Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up.  Cover tightly and braise in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

3.  Transfer the chicken to a large, shallow serving dish.  With a slotted spoon, transfer the vegetables in the skillet to the baking dish and cover with foil to keep warm.  Boil the cooking juices over high heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 10 minutes.  Add the serrano ham and bring to a simmer.  Remove from the heat and season with slat and pepper.  Pour the juices over the chicken and vegetables and serve.

And there you go folks.  This meal is easy and very colorful.  I hope you enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed making it.  Until next time Bon Appetite!

Nachos My Way

Do you wanna a SUPER easy meal for a busy day or even better, NFL Sunday?  Then do I have the meal for you.  Nachos My Way is a fun, festive meal or snack that only takes 35 minutes to make and only 5 pieces of cookware to make.  So get ready for the madness that is NACHOS!!!!

Ingredients

For the Salsa:

• 3 large heirloom tomatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds), cored
• 1 large red onion
• 1 serrano chile pepper, stemmed
• 1 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and stems)
• 1 tablespoon Mexican beer (drink the rest!)
• Juice of 1 lime
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Nachos:

• 6 to 8 ounces nduja (soft Italian salami; available at boccalone.com)
• 1 8-to-10-ounce bag white corn tortilla chips
• 1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• Finely grated zest of 1 lime
• 12 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1 cup queso fresco
• 1 cup fresh corn kernels
• 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno slices, drained, or more to taste
• 2 hass avocados
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

Make the salsa: Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion and chile pepper and transfer to a food processor. Add the cilantro and beer and blend until chunky-smooth. Add the lime juice, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.

Make the nachos: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Render the nduja by sauteing it in a skillet over medium heat to give it a loose, spoonable consistency, 3 to 4 minutes. Toss the tortilla chips with the scallions, beans, lime zest, radishes, 1/2 cup queso fresco, the corn and pickled jalapenos in a large bowl. Add the rendered nduja and mix well. Place in a nonreactive casserole dish, then top with the remaining 1/2 cup queso fresco. Bake until the nachos are heated through (the cheese will not melt completely), about 10 minutes.

Spoon some of the salsa on top of the nachos (reserve the rest for dipping). Slice the avocados in half, remove the pits and dice inside the skin. Scoop out the avocado pieces and drop them on the top of the nachos along with the cilantro.

Tortellini w/Bacon, Greens, and Brown Butter

I made this meal when I was in a hurry to get food on the table this past week.  The entire family enjoyed it and I did it all in 20 minutes.  So if your looking for a meal to get done after a LONG day of work, this is one for ya to try.

Ingredients:

1 pound cheese or meat tortellini

4 ounces sliced bacon

6 Tbsp unsalted butter

2 cups arugula

1/4 Tsp kosher salt

1/4 Tsp black pepper

Recipe:

Cook the tortellini according to the package directions.  Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, 7 to 8 minutes.  Reserve the bacon and discard the drippings.  Wipe out skillet and return to medium heat.  Add the butter and brown it.  Remove from heat.  Break the bacon into small pieces and add to the skillet with the arugula, salt, pepper, and cooked tortellini.  Toss well and divide among individual bowls. 

Like I said if your in a pinch and want an easy meal for you or the family, this is it.  So I hope you enjoyed and until next time, Bon Appetite!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

This recipe was a fun one to do, but it takes PATIENCE.  So you have to be paying attention to the recipe.  But this is one that I was really excited about and it turned out great.  And with that, away we go.

Ingredients:

For the Pork Sandwiches

1/2 cup spicy brown mustard

1/4 cup honey

Kosher Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Tbsp paprika

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 7-to-9-pound bone-in pork shoulder; skin removed
10 crusty rolls, split
Coleslaw, for serving

For the Barbecue Sauce
2 Tbsps unsalted butter
2 Tbsps extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium onions, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tsp paprika
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup apricot preserves
1 cup ketchup
2 Tsp hot chili sauce

2 Tsp apple cider vinegar

Now let's cook this bad boy!

1.  Prepare the pork.  Combine the mustard, honey, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon pepper, the paprika and garlic in a bowl.  Prick the pork on all sides (including the fat) with a paring knife, about 1/2 inch deep.  Brush all over with the mustard mixture.  Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours.  (Side note:  If you want a really tender pork, let refrigerate for 24 hours)

2.  Unwrap the pork, place in roasting pan and bring to room temperature.  Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

3.  Transfer the pork to the oven and pour 1 inch hot water into the pan.  Cook 3 hours adding water as needed to maintain 1 inch.

4.  Remove the pan from the oven, add water if needed and cover tigtly with foil.  Return to the oven and cook 6 more hours.  Turn off the oven and let the pork rest inside, about 1 hour.

5.  Meanwhile, make the sauce:  Melt the butter with the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onions, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.  Add the garlic and paprika and cook 2 to 3 more minutes (reduce the heat if the garlic starts to brown).  Stir in the brown sugar, preserves, ketchup and chili sauce, stirring after each addition.  Bring to a simmer, then stir in the vinegar.  Add salt to taste.

6.  Remove the pork from the oven and take the meat off the bone (unless you bought a boneless pork shoulder).  Coarsely shred the meat using 2 carving forks (regular forks work fine too).  Toss with some of the barbecue sauce and pan juices and season with salt and pepper.  Serve on rolls with coleslaw.

I really enjoyed this recipe as it gave me time to work on other things but still have a great meal for my family.  This will make ALOT of meat, so invite over some friends, get your favorite drinks and have a party.  Until next time Bon Appetite!

Easy Chicken Soup

This recipe only took me 10 minutes to make if you think ahead (which I will help you do!)  First you need to bake a whole chicken and strip the meat off after it has cooled.  Once this is done you boil the chicken bones until your water has turned into broth.  After this is done, you pour the liquid into a crock pot and add chopped carrots and celery and let cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.  After your broth has cook, remove all vegetables with a slotted spoon and discard.  Now you are ready to make your soup.

Ingredients

Baked Chicken Pieces

2 chopped celery stalks

3 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 sliced carrots 

1 large tomato

salt and pepper

 

Recipe

 

Pour your broth you made into crock pot.  Add as much chicken as you would like along with chopped celery, parsley, carrots and chopped tomato.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook on low temperature.  Soup should be ready within 2 to 4 hours.

 

Like I said this is a SUPER easy meal to make and with Fall coming on us, this is great for a nice light warm meal.  You can even eat it with a side like the Shrimp Bruschetta recipe I have listed.  So give it a go, I'm sure you'll enjoy.  Until next time, Bon Apetite!

Salmon and Raviloi

Hello again food lovers.  This time our easy meal is all about timing.  But don't worry, as long as you stick to the stove and cutting board, your meal will turn out great.  Okay so let's get started.

Ingredients:

1 9 oz package of cheese raviloi (refrigerated or frozen)

2 6 oz skinless salmon fillets

Salt and Pepper

Olive oil

1 6 oz package of baby spinach

2 Tbsp butter

3 sliced/crushed garlic cloves

1 lemon

Parmasean cheese

Recipe:

Cook ravioli according to package instructions.  Meanwhile, rinse salmon fillets and pat dry.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add salmon and cook 6 to 8 minutes or until salmon flakes easily, turning once.  Remove salmon and cover to keep warm.  Add spinach to skillet and cook until just wilted; remove from skillet.  Melt butter in the skillet with garlic cloves.  Halve the lemon and squeeze juice from one half into the warm butter and garlic; heat through.  Cut remaining lemon half into wedges.  Slice salmon and divide among 4 plates with ravioli and spinach.  Drizzle with warm lemon butter.  Pass lemon wedges and shaved Parmasean cheese.

This was an excellent meal and made more than enough for a next night's meal or your lunch to show off at work.  I hope you enjoyed this one.  Till next time, Bon Apetite

Shrimp Bruchetta Salad

The following recipe was a fun meal to create.  It can either be served as an appetizer or as a light meal.  Mary Jo and I both really enjoyed it and there was enough left over for our meal on Sunday.

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked/peeled shrimp

1 pint quartered yellow or red cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh snipped parsley

1/4 cup Asian sweet red chili sauce

Baguette or French loaf

Mayonaisse

Recipe:

Toss cooked shrimp with tomatoes, parsley and sweet red chili sauce in a bowl.  Set aside.  Half baguette or French loaf lenghtwise and the crosswise.  Brush cut surfaces with mayonaisse and broil 4 to 5 inches from heat until golden brown.  Top toasted bread with shrimp tomato salad.

This was a nice light meal that would go great with a wine of your choice or a bitter.  I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I did preparing it.  Until next time, Bon Apetite!