Tortilla Soup

Cooking the new house has been great and also a bit of an adventure.

Great because I'm really enjoying all of the new to me that is the kitchen.

An adventure because just when I think I've unpacked and put away all of my tools and pantry items, I reach for something that is so not there.  Like with the cornstarch I swore I had last night until I reached for it and remembered running out of it before we moved AND decided to wait until we moved to buy more.  Too bad I didn't remember that until I absolutely needed it.  

Yeah, that was fun.

Or not.

Leftover Chicken Enchiladas

Even when I'm not going to an office job and working in the traditional sense of the word, running two blogs, caring for the pups, house stuff and working on other passion projects tends to make for very full days.  Days where between photographing various different dishes, coming up with recipes and dealing with needy pups, the last thing I want to do is think about dinner.  I'm pretty certain everyone out there, no matter your situation feels that way, some more often than others. Since there are only 2 of us, many dishes that I do make leave us with leftovers and while I will often happily eat some of them for lunch I can't eat the same thing more than two days in a row, I just get too bored. In case it wasn't evident with 2 different food blogs, variety in my food is important to me.  I have friends who cook on the weekend and will eat the same thing almost every day for the week.  I know when working and doing all other kinds of extracurriculars that can be an easy and logical answer, but I just can't do that.  So regardless of whether I'm doing No ReEATS or not, I always go out of my way to reinvent any leftovers so we are eating different things.

Slow Cooker Chicken Pho

Earlier this week the boy and I weren't feeling so great, he was much worse off than me though.  We were supposed to go to a very special dinner, that you might have seen all over twitter under the #LLLSecret.  We decided that with the hardcore stomach flu the Boy had and the fact that I could feel it coming on we couldn't attend the event.  We were heartbroken, check out the newly launched facebook page for the event and you might understand a bit why we were so bummed.

Anyway, I knew that even though my sickness I needed to make something tasty for dinner to try to make up for missing the event.  Obviously we couldn't have something as delicious and rich since our tummys' couldn't take it.  But then I remembered I had saved a recipe I saw a few months ago for Chicken Pho, or Pho Ga as it is traditionally known.  It was from Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen and I had been wanting to try this or her slow cooker Beef Pho recipe for quite some time.  It seemed like there'd be no better time especially since moving to Toronto my sick soup craving had to adjust from the Matzo Ball Soup that I lived on in LA to Rare Beef Pho from Pho Saigon, a Vietnamese Restaurant near our house.  I thought that this Chicken Pho might actually be the perfect marriage of the two

Superbowl Eats: Buffalo Chicken Nachos

Anytime we go to the bar to watch a game the Boy always orders wings and I always order nachos.  And while I'd love to share both plates of food, more often than not he's not too thrilled with my nachos, complaining that each chip doesn't have cheesy goodness and that many are soggy.  While I love nachos, I do agree with his assessment of most bar nachos.  I also love wings almost as much as the Boy and luckily he lets me steal one or two or ten from his plate, but I do feel guilty at his lack of enthusiasm for my food.  I think sharing is always more fun when each person wants bites of everything.

So with the Superbowl quickly approaching, and in an effort to make a plate of nachos that the Boy would not only eat a few from but LOVE,  I decided to combine the two.

BBQ Chicken Quesadilla with Green Apple Salsa

The other night I cooked some chicken in the slow cooker.  Slow cooked chicken shreds beautifully and one batch made enough for me to use in at least two recipes.  One was a quick and easy stew, the other was these quesadillas.  I contemplated many ideas for the chicken stir fried with noodles, chicken salad but ultimately landed on quesadilla because I love them and knew I'd be able to make use of some things I already had in the pantry. Specifically a bottle of BBQ sauce I got in the gift bag at the 2009 FoodBuzz blogger festival and a massive bag of green apple I bought at the store the other day.  I know, I know who holds onto a freebie like that for so long?  Honestly I forgot I had it and when I was going through the pantry looking for something I found this cute little bottle of Napa Valley BBQ with Maple and Horseradish.  I knew it would go great with some smokey cheddar and the maple flavor work work well with an apple salsa.

Love 4 Lasagna: Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

I'm a bit late in posting this final Love 4 Lasagna entry, but at least I got it done in November.  And I have to say I think the Boy would say this was worth the wait.  The idea for this lasagna came about when my mom was visiting earlier in the month.  I was brainstorming ideas and she actually suggested it.   When we took our day trip to Buffalo with the Shack's the boy complained about not getting wings and that's when I knew I had to try to make this lasagna version.

When googling "Buffalo Chicken Lasagna" I came across just one recipe that seemed to be reposted everywhere and just didn't sound appealing to me.  It read like a standard lasagna with ricotta, tomato sauce noodles and some spicy chicken.  I wanted my version to really taste like a lasagna version of the Boy's favorite bar food.     I knew how I wanted to deal with the chicken but kept getting stuck on the sauce.  Red sauce?  A bechemel with blue cheese?  What would make it a lasagna but also a dish chock full of spicy buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing?

Braised Chicken Thighs with Pommes Puree

There are few meals that are more satisfying on a cool fall, almost winter night than chicken and potatoes.  As much as I love roast chicken and potatoes, sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day to roast a whole chicken, sometimes you're only feeding one or two people and just don't need that much food.  And sometimes, like when the holidays are quickly approaching, money is a little tight and one of the most inexpensive items at the meat counter are bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.

I've written before about my new favorite cookbook Stir by Barbara Lynch, specifically her Fennel, Cucumber, Green Bean & Roasted Potato salad.  It was delicious, fresh and uber easy.  As I was trying to figure out what to do with the some of the plethora of chicken thighs I have in my chest freezer (yes I am a bit of a meat hoarder, especially when things are on sale) I recalled seeing a recipe in Stir.  I quickly turned to the page, looked over the ingredients and realized I had everything I needed to try this recipe out, with a minor tweak here and there.  I love when I have an idea or want to try a recipe and find, that without planning for it, I have all need right in my kitchen. It was Chef Lynch herself that recommended serving the chicken with her Pommes Puree and who am I to question that?  Plus I also had potatoes and since the boy is a fan of all things starch I decided to go whole hog and make a whole meal from Stir.

T&C: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

For this month's Taste & Create I was paired up with Rachelle at Mommy, I'm Hungry. Not only is she my T&C partner, but she also adopted my bloggie friend Tania over at Love Big Bake Often. Please check out both of their blogs for delicious treats.

Moving on to the food...last weekend my best friend and college roommate flew up to Toronto from Boston for a weekend filled with baseball, beer and bonding. We have a full weekend with a fab dinner on Friday night, baseball game and bar crawl on Saturday and a baby shower on Sunday. Knowing we'd be wiped by Sunday night I had planned ahead to cook dinner on Sunday night so we could relax on the patio with some wine. I found just the perfect thing to make on Rachelle's blog in her Buffalo Chicken Pizza. We lived on Archie Moore's Buffalo wings in college and since the boy was going to eating with us too, he's a fan of all things Buffalo Chicken. For all the things I've made from scratch I couldn't believe I had never made my own pizza dough and this would give me the perfect opportunity to try. I decided to do grilled pizzas, lucky for me Rachelle had a delicious sounding Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza recipe on her blog. I tweaked the crust to make it whole wheat and even though I'm one for using my own tomato sauce for everything, I decided to try her Pizza Sauce as is.


Grilled Buffalo Chicken Pizza
adapted from Mommy, I'm Hungry

3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - shredded
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (2 ounce) bottle hot sauce (I used 3 TBL)3/4 cup blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup pizza sauce (see recipe below)
1 prepared pizza crust (see recipe below)
6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese

1. Preheat grill to medium low. In a medium bowl combine the shredded chicken, melted butter and hot sauce. Mix well. Mix together pizza sauce and blue cheese dressing.
2. Oil heated grill and place one of the pizza dough rounds on it. Let grill until light grill marks begin to appear and the bottom side is cooked, approx 5-10 minutes.
3. Flip crust and top with Blue cheese pizza sauce mixture. Shredded chicken & hot sauce and equal amounts of the cheeses. Let cook until bottom is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
4. Remove to a cutting board and let cool for 5 minutes before cutting.
5. Repeat with other dough round and the rest of the ingredients.

Pizza Dough
adapted from Mommy, I'm Hungry

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cup unbleached all purpose + 1/2 cup more for kneading
1 1/4 cup organic Red Fife whole wheat +1/2 cup more for kneading

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and honey in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 1 1/4 cup all purpose and 1 1/4 cup Red Fife.
Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
Divide dough in 2 even pieces. Punch down the dough, and form each into a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.

Pizza Sauce
adapted from Mommy, I'm Hungry

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
6 fluid ounces warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt to taste

1. In a small bowl, combine tomato paste, water, Parmesan cheese, garlic, honey, onion powder, oregano, marjoram, basil, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and salt.
2. Mix together, breaking up any clumps of cheese.
3. Sauce should sit for 30 minutes to blend flavors; spread over pizza dough and prepare pizza as desired.


This was a perfect summer night dinner, especially on a hot summer night since very little was cooked inside, keeping my little hot box of a kitchen cool. I roasted my chicken breasts before shredding, but you could easily use leftover chicken or grille it. The pizza sauce needs no cooking and is delicious! Aside from all the ease in putting this together, it was so very tasty and enjoyed by the boy and the college roomie, both very tough critics when it comes to all things Buffalo Style. Thanks Rachelle for such a tasty recipe! Don't forget to check out the other Taste & Create entries here. Enjoy!

T&C: Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub

This month is my first time participating in Taste & Create, a blogging event where you are paired up with another blogger and you try a recipe from your partner's site and they try one from yours. I think it's a great idea because not only did it introduce me to a new food blog, but it means someone (that's not a friend or family) has to try one of my recipes!

My partner was Jeff from Culinary Disasters, he tried out my Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken and seemed to enjoy, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I was torn between the wings and his chocolate covered bacon with extra sprinkles! The bacon was intriguing to me because I recently ate at Animal Restaurant in LA where they have a Chocolate Bacon Crunch Bar, that was a bit disappointing. The flavors just didn't pop for me and I was excited for what I imagined to be a delicious salty & sweet treat. I wanted to try out Jeff's take in an attempt to get the deliciousness I had hoped for. That being said it seemed like an easy way out for my first Taste & Create go. So I went with dry rubbed wings, most because I love chipotle but also because the boy loves wings. I also loved the idea of grilling rather than baking or frying.


Grilled Chicken Wings with a Chipotle Dry Rub
from Culinary Disasters

chicken wings
1 teaspoon paprika
2-3 dried chipotle peppers (I had never worked with dried peppers before so I intended on using 2, but had trouble getting the 2nd one ground down with my mortal and pestle and it was late so I used 1 pepper and 1/2 tsp of ground chipotle chile spice)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of black pepper
4 TB of unsalted butter melted

Combine the dry ingredients, taste, and adjust.

Pat the wings dry, brush on the unsalted butter, and then sprinkle the rub over to coat.

I have found that a medium temperature on the grill is the perfect temperature for grilling chicken wings without torching them and taking half a lifetime to finish. If you don’t have a grill, still getting snow, or to windy then a 350 degree till the wings are done (about 30-45 minutes depending on thickness.

We are a fan of blue cheese dipping sauce in our house so I made some homemade sauce to go with these wings. Not sure Jeff would approve as he seems to be anti-sauce, to each their own.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
Fresh cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients together and set aside in the fridge to let the flavors marry while making the wings. Garnish with a bit of paprika before serving.

These were a massive hit with the boy. He already has it planned for me to make them up at the cottage this weekend and called them "a winner" a compliment that doesn't get thrown around often. I really enjoyed them, but because of the way I made them (with 1 pepper and chipotle powder) they weren't as spicy as I would like. I take responsibility for that as I was making them at 10pm, got frustrated with a pepper in my mortar and pestle (and subbed in the cile powder) and was admittedly being conservative with the spice. There was some heat, about the equivalent to a mild to medium wing, I was just looking for a bit more and will adjust accordingly on the next go. One note on the amount of spice rub, I made about 1 1/2 lbs of wings and the spice rub was just barely enough. I'd say the recipe as written is good for 1 lb of wings if you want a good spicy crust.

All in all I enjoyed my first Taste & Create and will for sure make some of Jeff's chocolate covered bacon in the near future. Enjoy!

Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken

If you are a regular reader of my blog you might have noticed that I use the slow cooker regularly and often use it to make pulled meats. Mostly it's been pork, but since chicken was on sale last week decided to do a twist on the BBQ Pulled Chicken I made last summer. Being in Canada it only seemed fit to use some pure Canadian maple syrup for sweetness and you can't go wrong with booze in BBQ sauce.

Maple Whiskey Pulled Chicken

2 1/2 lbs of chicken (I used 4 large boneless chicken breasts and 4 boneless chicken thighs)
1 cup of low sodium tomato sauce
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup whiskey
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
1 1/2 tsp hickory liquid smoke
1 medium onion - chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

1. In a 6 quart slow cooker mix together all the ingredients, except the chicken. Add in chicken and cook on low for 5 hours.
2. When cook time is up, remove chicken pieces and shred with two forks. Return shredded meat to sauce and mix it all together. Serve on warmed multi-grain rolls with red onion and 3 year old cheddar.


This pulled chicken is delicious. You are hit with the heat of cayenne on your first bite, but it finishes with the sweetness of the maple syrup. It's very different from the other pulled meats I've made, mostly because I usually use chipotle peppers which give an underlying heat throughout. I like the way the heat comes first and the sweet finishes off, it's great on a sandwich and also good scrambled in with some eggs. The boy was a fan too, especially since he initially thought it was pork! It was my first time using liquid smoke and it definitely added a much need flavor element to this dish, making it taste more authentic and almost like summer.

This is a super easy slow cooker meal that you can set to cook when you leave for work and even if it turns down to warm for a few hours before you get home it just infuses the flavor in the meat that much more. Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

A few Fridays ago the boy had a hankering for Chicken Pot Pie, something I had been promising to make for awhile and just never got around to. This is not normally something I would ever do during the week as it take the planning to get the crust made and chicken roasted and just is more of a weekend comfort food type of thing. That being said after he mentioned it and I thought about it, I realized that if he picked up the ingredients on the way home I could pull it off as a late Friday night dinner in a Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade kind of way. Now let me first say that I'm not the biggest fan of many of Miss Sandra's recipes, but I do like how she tries to make things quick and easy by using some help from the grocery store. My favorite way to do this is to buy the roasted chickens (or bubble chickens as the boy calls them due to the plastic bubble they are sold in) from the Deli department. They are a quick and healthy alternative to fast food and became the cornerstone of this tasty pie.


Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1/2 roasted chicken - meat picked from the bones (store bought or fresh)
1 cup carrots - peeled and diced
1 cup pearl onions - frozen are a great short cut here or fresh just make sure to peel them
1 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
4-6 cups low sodium chicken broth (or a fab homemade Chicken Stock)
1 bay leaf
Puff pastry - thawed according to package directions
1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese
1 egg
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large pot combine the olive oil and flour to make a roux over medium heat. When it's nice and golden, stream in the chicken broth, whisking the whole time to avoid lumps and let simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
2. Add in the carrots, pearl onions (if fresh), chicken, bay leaf, salt & pepper. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add in the peas (and onions if using frozen) stir to combine.
3. Take your 9-inch deep dish pie plate (I love my Emile Henry plate) and turn it over onto the thawed puff pastry. Cut a circle to cover the top of the plate. Pour the Chicken Stew into the pie plate leaving about 1/2 in of room, if you don't use all the stew just save to eat as leftovers, it's quite tasty on it's own.
4. Cover pie plate with puff pastry, pressing to the edges of the pie plate. Make an egg wash with a beaten egg and some milk, brush over the puff pastry and toss with grated cheese. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400F for 30 minutes or until pastry puff and becomes golden brown.

This got major thumbs up from the boy, who LOVES any kind of meat pie and it got thumbs up from me for the complete ease of preparation. I also love that if you want to take the time to roast a chicken and make a crust and get all fresh veggies it can also be a totally homemade dish. Either way it's a winner and the perfect thing for a cold winter night. Enjoy!

Chicken Mole

One of my favorite Mexican sauces is mole. This little Mexican place around the corner from my old job made the best chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. I miss them terribly. If you are unfamiliar with what mole is you can check out the Wikipedia page. The mole sauce I know and love is more technically called a mole poblano and according to Wikipedia is:

"Mole poblano is prepared with dried chili peppers (commonly ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle), ground nuts and/or seeds (almonds, indigenous peanuts, and/or sesame seeds), spices, Mexican chocolate (cacao ground with sugar and cinnamon and occasionally nuts), salt, and a variety of other ingredients including charred avocado leaves, onions, and garlic. Dried seasonings such as ground oregano are also used. In order to provide a rich thickness to the sauce, bread crumbs or crackers are added to the mix."

In an effort to stick to my diet but still feed cravings for tasty Mexican I decided to make a South Beach approved Chicken Mole, it incorporates several of the elements in a traditional mole poblano but is obviously tweaked to be SB friendly. It's a pretty solid dish and easy to make, but it was not my favorite and I'm posting it as a work in progress that I plan to tweak it to make the ultimate mole. Suggestions are welcome!

Chicken Mole
from the South Beach Diet Cookbook
1 1/4 lb. chicken breast tenders (I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts)
Salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped (I used a red bell pepper)
1/2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves (Since I only had whole cloves, I just crushed them with my mortar & pestle)
1/2 can (7 1/4 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp unsweetened natural peanut butter
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 scallion, chopped

1. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and black pepper. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with olive oil cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 8 minutes, turning once, or until browned on both sides. Remove the chicken to a large plate.
2. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent. Stir in the chili powder, cinnamon, and cloves and cook for 1 minute.
3. Return the chicken to the skillet. Add the tomatoes (with juice), peanut butter, and cocoa powder and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 25 minutes, turning once, or until the chicken is no longer pink.

I think I will try to just make the sauce from this a few more times to get the spices just right. I think it could use some chipotle chile to give it a bit more heat and I may sub in some allspice instead of cloves next time and try using some oregano. If you try it and/or have any suggestions. I'd love to hear them. Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala

For dinner after the tasty Pomodori al Forno, I decided to try to make Chicken Marsala. Growing up it was always one of my favorite things to order at an Italian restaurant. I haven't had it in quite some time and thought that this past weekend was the perfect time to try. I read a few recipes over the weekend but didn't write anything down and just took some chicken, dry Marsala wine and mushrooms and threw this together.

Chicken Marsala

4 thinly cut chicken cutlets
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz sliced Crimini mushrooms
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 sprig of rosemary - leaves removed
1/4 cup dry Marsala wine
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste

1. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. As the skillet is heating dredge the chicken through flour seasoned with salt & pepper.
2. Saute the first 2 cutlets in the skillet for approx 5 mins per side, until cooked through and lightly golden. Add a tablespoon of butter to the skillet and saute the remaining two cutlets. Reserve chicken on a plate.
3. Lower heat to medium low and add remaining olive oil to pan. Add garlic and mushrooms and saute until mushrooms begin to get tender, approx 2-3 mins. Add the chicken stock, Marsala wine and rosemary leaves. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes to cook the mushrooms and cook off the alcohol. Add salt & pepper to taste.
4. Add chicken to skillet and let cook for approx 3-5 minutes, just to warm it up. Remove chicken to a serving platter. Add the remaining Tbsp of butter to the sauce and whisk it all together to combine. Pour sauce & mushrooms over chicken and serve.

The boy had never had any kind of Marsala dish before and he really enjoyed it. I was pleased with how this turned out, especially since I just threw it together. But I think next time I'll add some shallots to the sauce, I had initially planned to use them this time but forgot to pick some up at the store.

This was a great follow up to the Pomodori al Forno, as their rich tomato flavor was balanced out with the mushroom and wine sauce of the Chicken Marsala. To go with the chicken, I just oven roasted some asparagus with olive oil salt and pepper for a very satisfying Sunday Italian dinner. Enjoy!

Chicken Wings

As promised here is the beginning of a three part series on yummy game day bites. Within 2 days of being in Toronto the boy had the guys over to watch a hockey game. While cooking for them wasn't requested or even necessary, we all I know I can't resist! The first and most obvious choice was wings, but instead of the hot wings they always have, I went with Giada's tried and true recipe (tried and true for me that is) for Balsamic Chicken Drummettes. My changes/additions are below in red. My biggest change was to double the marinade based on the amount of wings I made.

Balsamic Chicken Drumettes
from Giada DeLaurentiis

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (1 cup)
1/2 cup honey (1 cup)
1/2 cup brown sugar (1 cup)
1/4 cup soy sauce (1/2 cup)
5 sprigs of rosemary (10 springs)
5 garlic cloves, halved (10 smashed cloves - smash them with the side of my knife to get the skin off and just threw them in the marinade as is)
10 to 12 chicken drumsticks (I used 2-3 lbs of wings)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (4 tbsp)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I always forget the parsley!)

1. Combine the balsamic, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary sprigs, and garlic cloves, in a large, re-sealable plastic bag. Shake and squeeze the contents of the bag to dissolve the honey and the brown sugar. Add the chicken drumsticks to the bag and seal with as little air as possible in the bag. Place in the refrigerator and marinate for 2 hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

3. Place the chicken drumsticks on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake until the skin is caramelized and very dark in spots, about 30 to 35 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, place the marinade in a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil (in order to kill bacteria). Reduce the heat to simmer and cook over low heat until thick, about 15 minutes. Reserve.

5. Use a pastry brush to brush some of the cooked marinade on the cooked chicken. Place the chicken on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and the chopped parsley.

6. Giada's note: I like the rosemary and garlic flavors in the background. Brushing the cooked drumettes with the reduced marinade helps the flavors along. Also, re-moistening helps the parsley and the seeds to adhere.

All I have to say is that these were a hit with the guys! I've made them for cocktail parties and appetizer "dinners" and they always get rave reviews and are so very simple. I have let them marinate as long as 6-7 hours, putting the wings in the marinade before work and baking them when I got home, making them easy for a weeknight as well. Between football season (I should acknowledge hockey season too) and the upcoming holiday parties, these wings are a winner for just about anything. Enjoy!

Chicken Salad

For as long as I can remember my dad would make chicken salad with leftover chicken. One of my favorites was always when he would make it with leftover barbecue chicken and it would have the flavor of the grill and sauce throughout. Well, I roasted a chicken the other day and made a chicken salad with the leftovers. I think I'll have to make for dad next time I see him because I'm pretty sure he'll really like it.

Chicken Salad
(all measurements are approximate)

3 cups of cut up chicken (if you don't roast or grill your own, the roasted chickens you buy at the supermarket work well too)
1 half small onion diced
1 handfuls of chopped walnuts
1 handful dried cranberries
1/2 green apple diced
1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise
2-3 tbsp Dijon mustard
Fresh cracked black pepper

1. In a large bowl mix chicken, onion, walnuts, cranberries and apple.
2. Add mayonnaise 1/4 cup at a time and Dijon mustard a tbsp at a time to get the chicken salad to your preferred consistency.
3. Once it's all mixed add plenty of cracked black pepper, it adds just the right amount of bite to offset the sweetness of the fruit. Enjoy in a sandwich with some cheddar cheese or scoop some onto a salad.

The boy was very impressed by this salad. It was clearly not what he was expecting when I said I was going to make chicken salad. I was originally just going to use just cranberries and walnuts but on first taste it was missing something and the onions and apples added a brightness and crunch that really pulled it all together.

Roast Chicken

I love roasted chicken and I think I make a pretty damn good roasted chicken. The boy has been hearing me say thing for over a year, so I decided it finally time that I make it for him. Plus it goes so well the Vegetable Tian. And the best way to get me to embrace cooler weather is to spend time baking and roasting in the kitchen. Basically all signs pointed to the fact that it was time for me to make a chicken. I cobbled this recipe together from various sources and at this point consider it my own concoction.


Roast Chicken

1 4-6 lb whole chicken (usually called a roaster or fryer)
1 lemon - quartered
1/2 small onion - quartered
3 sprigs rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
3 cloves garlic - smashed
4-6 tbsp butter - cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh sage
1 cup white wine or chicken stock
olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Remove giblets and rinse and pat dry the chicken, inside and out. Stuff the bird's cavity with the lemons, onions, garlic, rosemary & thyme. I like to squeeze some lemon juice inside the bird too. All the lemon and onion pieces may not fit, just fill it with as much as you can.
3. In a small bowl mash together the butter and sage. I like to use my hands as it mixes everything together best. Once the butter and sage are combined, carefully stuff the butter under the skin of the bird, over the breast, being careful not to tear the skin.
4. Place the chicken in a lightly oiled roasting pan. Pour the wine or stock over the chicken. Rub the skin with olive oil. Liberally salt & pepper the entire chicken.
5. Place the roasting pan in the heated oven. Cook for 20 mins per pound plus and additional 20-30 minutes. Baste the chicken every 15-20 minutes. For the last 15 minutes of cooking boost the oven temperature up to 450 degrees, this will give the skin that gorgeous golden color. The chicken is done when a thermometer inserted in the thigh registers 170 degrees
6. Remove from oven and let rest for approx 15 minutes.

For most people roast chicken is intimidating, but in reality it is quite easy and something everyone should try. Not to mention it's so much tastier than the already cooked roasted chickens you by at the store or "bubble chicken" as the boy calls them (because they come in those bubble-like containers). Don't get me wrong those are an easy and tasty quick fix, but it's worth it once in awhile to take the time to roast your own, especially on a brisk fall day.

Note: If you only have one oven and want to make the Vegetable Tian and Roast Chicken for the same meal, which I highly recommend doing. Here's what I did: Put both dishes in the 350 degree oven side by side, make sure to rotate the dishes about halfway through cooking so they cook evenly. Since the directions for the tian call for it to be baked at 375 degrees, I just added 10 minutes onto the covered cooking time, but that all depends how your oven runs. The vegetable will be done first, especially since you don't want they to be in the oven when you boost the heat, but just cover them with foil to help them retain their heat once out of the oven.

White Chicken Chipotle Chili

Last week I decided to make a big pot of chili because the leftovers are always tastier than when you first make it and are great to bring to work for lunch. Also this is a completely South Beach friendly recipe, which you would never guess by tasting it. And what's a better entree into Fall than a big pot of chili? Enjoy!

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 ¾ lb), cut into 1-inch chunks
2 tsp chili powder (we were out of regular chili powder, so I used chipotle chili power giving it an extra smokey flavor)
2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and black pepper
3 cans (14.5-oz size) white kidney or cannellini beans, drained (save ½ cup draining liquid) and rinsed
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tsp canned chipotle chili, seeded and minced
½ cup nonfat half-and-half
Garnishes: Shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese, chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. Warm oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add onion; cook 4 minutes, stirring. Push onion mixture to one side; add chicken to skillet; sprinkle mixture with chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook 5 minutes, stirring.
2. Increase heat to medium-high. Add 2 cans of the beans and draining liquid, 1 ¼ cups broth, and chipotle; bring to a simmer. Cook 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, combine remaining 1 can beans and ¾ cup broth in bowl of food processor. Puree until smooth. Add to soup in pot, along with half-and-half. Simmer a few minutes, stirring, until warmed through and flavors incorporated. Serve hot; garnish with cheese and cilantro.

This has become one of our go-to South Beach recipes for ease, taste and leftovers. I highly recommend giving it a try. It's also great for a Sunday football get together.

Chicken Cacciatore (Hunter's Chicken)

Cacciatore means "hunter" in Italian. Most of you know my affinity for Italian cuisine and my growing love for my slow cooker. Well, I had a ton of tomato sauce leftover from last week's eggplant parm and 3 huge bone in chicken breasts in my freezer. With the insanely hot weather we are having in LA this week, I figured this was the best time to break out the slow cooker and use some stuff we already had. Even though I've been baking alot more recently, I still try to keep most of our dinners low-carb if I can, so that was one goal here, the second was to truly make it a one pot meal. Traditional cacciatore's have tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and occasionally peppers. Those are all great veggies that are of course in mine, but I wanted to add something else and decided on zucchini because the sis loves it and I felt it would be able to hold up in the slow cooker. See my recipe below:

Chicken Cacciatore
serves 4-6

3 large bone-in chicken breasts (approx 2 lbs, I'm not sure of the weight I used, but you can use bone in or boneless and I would say approx 2 lbs of chicken would be good)
1 large onion thinly sliced
3 cups Simple Tomato Sauce (you can also use canned tomatoes)
8 oz sliced Baby Bella mushroom
1 large green bell pepper cut into 1 inch chunks
2-3 zucchini cut into 1/2 thick slices
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp or more dried oregano (is you use canned tomatoes I would up the oregano to a tbsp)
2 tsps or more dried thyme
1 tsp crushed red pepper (I didn't do this, but the sis and I both agreed it could use some heat)
salt & pepper to taste

1. Line the bottom of you slow cooker with the onions.
2. Layer the chicken breasts on top of the onions.
3. In a large bowl mix all the other ingredients and pour on top of the chicken.
4. Set slow cooker to cook on low for 7 hours. My chicken fell off the bone into big chunks making it easy to serve and eat. Just try to pull the bones before serving.

If you go the route of using canned tomatoes, I would first cut back the tomatoes to 2 1/2 cups and add 1 cup of red wine. Then mix 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic into the tomato-veggie mixture. I skipped these steps since there is garlic and wine already in my sauce.

This was a great hearty meal that would be good served over pasta or with potatoes or even with a nice crusty piece of bread. We actually enjoyed it solo with a bit of parmesan sprinkled on top. Using the slow cooker makes it something easy to have ready when you come home from work, but also good in the heat when you don't feel like cooking. If you try it let me know how you tweak the ingredients to suit your needs. Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I am not very well-versed in any type of Asian cooking, with the exception of the stir fries I lived on from the cafeteria in college and I'm not quite sure they count as anything authentic. Through her guest appearances on Simply Recipes (one of the blogs I visit regularly and have cited recipes from before) I have found Jaden's Steamy Kitchen, which has so many tasty looking recipes that I can't wait to try. Her recipe contribution on Simply Recipes this month was for Sweet & Sour Chicken, my favorite dish from our local Chinese take-out when I was growing up. I had to try it. It helps that the sis loves Chinese, Thai, Japanese, basically any type of Asian food, so I thought it would be nice to make something that I knew she'd be in to as well.

You know the drill, my comments in purple.

Sweet & Sour Chicken
Simply Recipes via Jaden's Steamy Kitchen
Serves 4

1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1" chunks
1 egg white
1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon table salt)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 10-ounce can pineapple chunks (reserve juice) (I could only find an 8 oz can at my local store so i went with that)
1/4 cup juice from the canned pineapple
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon table salt)
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar (I only used two because i didn't want the sauce to be too sweet)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

1. In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
2. In the meantime, whisk together the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, salt, and brown sugar.
3. Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates. Pour in the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. It's important that the pan is very hot. Add the chicken and spread the chicken out in one layer. Let the chicken fry, untouched for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned. Flip and fry the other side the same for 1 minute. The chicken should still be pinkish in the middle. Dish out the chicken onto a clean plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.
4. Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up and then add the bell pepper chunks and ginger. Fry for 1 minute. Add the pineapple chunks and the sweet and sour sauce. Turn the heat to high and when the sauce is simmering, add the chicken pieces back in. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing depends on how thick you've cut your chicken. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to take a piece out and cut into it. If it's pink, add another minute to the cooking. Taste the sauce and add more brown sugar if you’d like.

I will definitely be trying this recipe again. The sis suggested next time adding onions and/or water chestnuts which I think would go really nice with the sauce. I would also go with the recommended 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, as opposed o the 2 I used. I liked the sauce when I tasted it but as I ate it was slightly too sour. I think that additional tablespoon of sugar would be perfect. Looking forward to trying more of Jaden's recipes.

Chicken Piccata

Well I'm back from all my traveling, for a bit anyway. Despite my being jet-lagged from 2 trips back east in 11 days we needed dinner last night. When the sis and I are both exhausted, dinner always becomes a fruitless discussion, neither of us cares and neither wants to decide what we'll have. Even though I cooked a bit this past weekend, mostly breakfasts for the boyfriend's big birthday weekend, I was itching to get back into my fabulous kitchen. I was going to go for an old faithful, Pesto Chicken (which I promise to post sometime soon, it's really great and easy) but we eat that all the time I felt I should do something different. So to switch it up I decided on Chicken Piccata, something that used to be a standby for me, but I haven't made in awhile. Giada De Laurentiis is one of my top cooks on the Food Network, mostly because she uses such simple and classic Italian flavors. Her Chicken Piccata recipe is great! Take a look:

Chicken Piccata

from Giada DeLaurentiis on the Food Network

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, butterflied and then cut in half
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour, for dredging
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (I like to squeeze my own lemons and it usually takes 2-3)
1/2 cup chicken stock (if I don't have chicken stock I have subbed white wine for this and it makes a really great and tangy sauce)
1/4 cup brined capers, rinsed
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (I forgot to pick-up parsley so I left this out) 1/2 lemon thinly sliced (this I my own addition)

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.
2. In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes.
3. When chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate.

4. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.
5. Into the pan add the lemon juice, stock and capers and lemon slices. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Check for seasoning.
6. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter.
7. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley.

I usually serve this dish with a nice green vegetable like oven roasted asparagus or garlicky green beans, but last night the easiest thing was a caprese salad with fresh basil leaves. Enjoy!