yummy.

I tend to try out new things on the weekend. Tonight’s dinner was incredibly tasty, so I thought I’d share: Chicken with tomatoes and honey served with a rice and quinoa medley with dried fruit and cardamom and sauteed green beans.

Chicken with Tomatoes and Honey

4 chicken thighs (with skin and bone)
4 tbsp butter
1 onion, grated or finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated ginger or ginger paste
1 can diced tomatoes
3 tbsp honey
salt and coarse ground black pepper

Place the butter in a large dutch oven. Add the chicken and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes on each side, until lightly browned.

Add the onion, garlic, cinnamon, ginger, tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and heat gentle until the tomatoes begin to bubble.

Lower the heat and then cover the casserole. Simmer very gently for about 1 hour, stirring and turning the chicken occasionally, ot until it is completely cooked through.

Lift out the chicken pieces and transfer them to a plate. Increase the heat and cook the tomato sauce until it is reduced to a thick puree, stirring frequently. Stir in the honey, cook for 1 minutes, then return the chicken pieces to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes to heat through.

Serve.

My husband was munchy the other night and in his efforts to scrounge for food, he found a recipe for snickerdoodles on the Gold Medal flour bag. We decided to make them (and I actually got him to help!).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 2 eggs
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening, and eggs in a large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

Shape dough by rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Mix 3 tbsp sugar and the cinnamon; roll balls in mixture. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely on wire rack.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

You know, I’ve been here on this site for a while, but I’ve been too busy with Culinary School, and work, not to mention the fact that I haven’t really had anything to write that I have been kinda absent on here. Well, no longer! Following is my adapted recipe from my final buffet, and a couple weeks earlier, to which this was a big hit. Now, I honestly don’t expect you to have fatback or pork butt handy to make this as I did in class, there are some good substitutes. And, as always, follow Josh’s #1 Rule: Always go with your gut, it probably knows more than you do.

Prep Time: ‘Bout a half an hour or so

Makes around 9 Servings (trust me, these will be going fast)

Cook Time: 45min to 1 hour

Equipment needed: Food Processor, Chef Knife, Muffin Tins, Oil for Tins, Plastic wrap, tin foil, bowls.

Ingredients:

• 1 Poblano Pepper
• 2 Chickens, fryers (or if you don’t know how to break down and de-bone a chicken, about 2 pounds of chicken - try for a good mix of white/dark)
• 1/2 Shallot
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 Onion
• 8oz of Tequila
• 1 Bunch of Cilantro
• Cumin
• Chili Powder
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 Lime
• Tobasco
• 1 Jalapeño
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup of Breadcrumbs, soaked in a bit of milk (whole, preferably)

Sauce

• 2 Cups Mayo
• Other half of lime
• Whatever poblano is left over
• Some of that Cilantro
• Salt and pepper

Method: First, roast that Poblano on the grill, turning it every so often so the outside is all black. Wrap that sucker in plastic wrap and set that aside for a bit.

Break down and debone those chickens. It’s not as hard as you would think, but if you are (understandably) shaky on it, just get 2lbs of boneless chicken bits and cut them up in smallish chunks. Doesn’t have to be pretty, so go to town.

Dice up and mangle the shallot, garlic, jalapeño and onion. Saute them briefly in oil or butter, until the onion and shallots are transparent. If they go brown, don’t cry over it. Remove and reserve.

Into the chicken bits (which I hope you’ve been keeping cold), toss in a good bit of cumin, salt and pepper, chili powder, tequila and the juice from half the lime (the other half will go for the sauce). Chop up some fresh cilantro (about half the bunch) and toss that in there too. Let it sit a bit to marinade. After the above mention saute’d stuff has cooled down a bit, toss that in there too. Now, toss that whole mess into a food processor (well, you might have to do it in batches, but you get the idea), and grind that up. Be careful that you don’t pureé it (I would just pulse it rather than keep it going, but that’s me).

Once that’s all done, toss in the three eggs and bread crumbs. Mix with your hands and don’t worry about the very nice feeling of that between your fingers. Okay! you are almost there. If you are kind of wondering if this is gonna be good, take a small bit of it, form a small patty, and fry it up in a pan with some oil. Shouldn’t take too long, and you can add to the mix what it needs.

Now, take that poblano out of the plastic wrap, and clean/scrape all that black stuff off and dice that up (you can leave the seeds out if you want, I usually do).

All set? Sweet! Now fill up the muffin tins with the mix, poking a hole in it, not too deep and put some of that poblano in and close it up. Bake in the oven for about an hour at 350°. The inside temp needs to be at 165° - no exceptions! While that’s cooking, you can make the sauce!

Sauce is easy. Combine all the ingredients and whiz til smooth. Taste and adjust. Should be cool and fresh with just a bit of heat on the back end.

Once done, place two on a plate, spoon on the sauce and garnish with a bit of cilantro.

This recipe comes from Williams-Sonoma’s website.

Ingredients:

• 6 lb. littleneck clams, rinsed well
• 6 oz. pancetta, diced
• 3 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
• 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbs. chopped fresh chives (optional)

Directions

Working with 1 clam at a time, hold it over a bowl to catch the juices. Place the blade of a clam knife horizontally across the shell and squeeze to open. Using the tip of the knife, remove the clam meat by cutting it away from the shell; place the meat in a separate bowl. Strain the juices through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a bowl. Add enough water to the juices to total 5 cups. Coarsely chop the clam meat. Set aside.

In a Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté the pancetta until crisp, about 5 minutes. Pour off all but 1 Tbs. of the fat, then melt the butter in the pan. Add the onion, celery, garlic and thyme and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute more. Add the potatoes, bay leaves and clam juice-water mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the cream, Worcestershire, salt, black pepper and cayenne. Using a fork, lightly mash the potatoes against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Add the clams and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls and garnish with the chives. Serves 8.

To start off, my grandma lives down in southern France, just in the mountains in between Aix en Provence and Avignon, in the very heart of Provence. When she makes her Ratatouille it changes a little bit every time, depending on which vegetables are available, but I will give you the rough basics and you can change it if you prefer other flavors or like some better than others. The basic ingredients are, however, these (and in my opinion, they should never be left out for it to be called a ratatouille). The quantity may vary though, so use your head. If you want to make it for a dinner, I suggest you make it one day in advance, that way you can get all the flavors out really well, plus you can taste it and try your own way:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1-3 courgettes/zucchinis (all depending on size, there should be about 4 cups of chopped courgette) in quite big, half moon shaped pieces.
• 1 big yellow onion, in thin boats
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (rather a bit too much than too little, it will cook and be sweet and delightful)
• 1 bell pepper of each color (if you have to skip one, skip the green one)
• 1 aubergine (slice it in rather thin slices, mix with plenty of salt, put to press under something heavy to get rid of the excess water)
• 2 small cans tomatoes (these can be either fresh or canned, if you use canned, you use a bit less, if you use fresh you have to remove the peel and calculate the excess water into the equation, my advice, use canned)

Free use of following:

• Bay leaf
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Oregano
• Sage
• Pepper
• Sugar or honey
• Olive oil
• Vegetable bouillon (cubes)

Instructions:

Do the aubergine at first. It’s a good idea to do them an hour or so in advance, since the more time they have, the less excess water they contain.

Start with chopping everything, then pour about a 1/4 cup of olive oil in a quite big pan (rather have too much space than too little). Add the garlic and the onions and let them sauté without getting brown, just golden. Add the aubergines (which have had most of the excess water squeezed out of them) and let them get golden. Add the bell peppers and finally the courgettes. Let it all sauté, still try to avoid getting them more than golden.

Add the herbs.

Pour tomatoes over it all, stir.

Cook until the veggies are soft, but not too squishy. Taste often. Try not to add water - the taste is better if it’s a bit more concentrated. Add bouillon cubes if it needs more salt rather than actually using salt (as it gives you more flavor and a rounder taste). Remember that the aubergines will give off a lot of salt so be careful.

A pinch of sugar or honey (or other sweetener that you might prefer) might be needed as the tomatoes can be quite sour, add it little by little and try.

Make sure to stir often as tomatoes easily stick to the pan.

Serve as it is with some bread (preferably French sourdough) and maybe some cheese (may I suggest goat cheese?). It’s also good to eat with grilled meat as a side dish.

Ingredients

7 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. minced fresh sage
6 cups vegetable stock
2 cups butternut squash puree
2 Tbs. olive oil
2/3 cup caramelized onions
2 cups Arborio rice
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions
In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbs. of the butter. Add 1 Tbs. of the sage and heat until the butter browns. Strain the butter into a small bowl and discard the sage. Cover the bowl to keep the butter warm.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together the stock and squash puree. Bring just to a simmer, 8 to 10 minutes; maintain over low heat.

In a large saucepan or risotto pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the caramelized onions and rice and stir until the grains are well coated with the oil and are nearly translucent with a white dot in the center, about 3 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbs. sage and the rosemary. Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed.

Add the simmering stock mixture a ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after each addition. Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding more.

When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and looks creamy, after about 30 minutes, stir in the remaining 3 Tbs. butter, the cheese, salt and pepper. Add more stock if needed so the rice is thick and creamy. Let stand for 2 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sage butter and serve immediately. Serves 6.

Ingredients:
2 boneless beef sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
All-purpose flour for dredging
4 tbsp unsalted Kerrygold Irish butter
1/4 cup canola oil
4 medium onions, chopped
2 cups beef stock
2 cups Guinness
5 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
4 parsnips, peeled and thickly sliced
1 medium turnip, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup pearl barley

Directions
Season the meat with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a stockpot or large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the oil. Cook the meat on all sides for 5 to 7 minutes or until evenly browned. Remove from the pot. Stir in the onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until soft.

Return all the meat to the pot and add enough of the beef stock and Guinness to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about an hour or until meat is nearly tender. Add the carrots, parsnips, turnip, and barley and cook for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the vegetables and meat are tender and stew is thickened.