via Mitch (Thanks!)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Free Mushroom Cookbook "Shrooms In The Kitchen"
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Watermelon and Feta Salad
This is a somewhat unusual but totally delicious and cooling Mediterranean salad that takes all of 5 minutes to prepare. Serve as a side dish to kebabs, or other grilled meats.
1 Small watermelon
1 250g block of Feta, preferably goat cheese
3 springs parsely, chopped
2 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
- Remove the rind from the watermelon and cut into 3cm cubes.
- Cube the feta into 3cm cubes, reserving one cube and placing the rest in with the watermelon.
- Add olive oil, parsely, pepper, and a small bit of salt - too much will dehydrate the watermelon, making it a strange, unpleasant texture.
- Crumble the cube of feta over the top, and gently toss salad to combine.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Cool Summer Gazpacho Soup
3lbs Fresh Tomatoes, cut into chunks
2 Raw Beets, diced
1 Red pepper
1 Stalk celery, diced
1/2 Onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
3 sprigs Cilantro, chopped
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp White wine vinegar
1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and puree until desired consistency. Personally I prefer my Gazpacho mostly smooth with a small chunks of vegetables distributed throughout.
- Chill for at least 2 hours.
- Serve!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Simple Roast Chicken
The great thing about roast chicken is that people think it's fancy and difficult, when the truth is you can make a phenomenal roast chicken with about 15 minutes of prep and a lot of unattended oven-time spent doing other things.
First off, try and get a good, free-range bird, or a kosher bird; this will make all the difference in the world in terms of flavour, texture, and presentation. Factory birds are pale and white with little fat, while better quality birds like free-range and kosher have a rich yellow hue with more tasty fat throughout the bird. It may cost a bit extra, but it's worth it.
Herb Butter
2 Tbsp Summer Savory
2 Tbsp Parsley
1 Sprig Thyme
1 Cup softened butter
1 Tbsp Honey (optional)
Pepper to taste
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl.
The key here really is the herb butter, made with summer savory, a phenomenal herb with a citrusy flavour that compliments poultry exceptionally well. Inserted generously under the skin and massaged all over the bird, the herb butter will give you a crispy golden-brown skin with absolutely no basting or fussing about, it will also make the meat juicy and flavourful.
The Bird
1 Whole Chicken (Free range or Kosher)
1/2 Lemon
1 Bulb Garlic, cut in half through the middle
2 springs Thyme
Salt and pepper
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Rinse the bird with cool water, making sure to take out any giblets or innards included inside.
- Pat the bird dry, and season inside and out with salt and pepper.
- Stuff the bird with the lemon, garlic, and thyme. If you have a bigger bird, put in a full lemon cut in half.
- Now, gently take your two fingers and separate the skin around the breasts from the meat. Once you get one finger under, you should be able to just gently move your fingers around to separate the skin. Do NOT break the skin.
- Gently spoon in generous amounts of herb butter between the skin and the meat, massaging on the outside with your hands to distribute it as best you can.
- With any remaining herb butter, massage all over the outside of the bird.
- Place in oven until the bird is crispy and golden, and a small knife prick in the thigh produces clear juices.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Quick Chicken On a Bun
BBQ season is fully upon us, and even for those poor schlubs like me who don't have a BBQ (not by choice I assure you), the thought of steaks, ribs, seafood, and all manner of bun-contained grilled meats sits quietly throbbing in the back of our brains. Even without a BBQ, all of the above summer staples can and must (the throbbing brain demands meat) be made.
First off, remember that chicken on a bun doesn't ever have to be boring. You can marinate the chicken, add tasty sauces (BBQ, Dijon, teriyaki, etc), or church it up with fresh summer tomatoes, avocado, cheese, or the king of condiments: BACON. Yeah that's right, I just dropped the B-Bomb. On that stuttering note, I give you this easy recipe for chicken on a bun.
Marinade
1/4 cup Olive oil
3 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp Cooking Sherry (optional)
3 Tbsp White Wine
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
Freshly squeezed juice of 1/2 lemon
Fresh Parsley
Fresh Rosemary
Fresh Thyme
Garlic
Salt and Pepper
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix.
Chicken
Score the chicken by making several diagonal cuts to allow the marinade to more easily penetrate the meat, and let the chicken sit in the marinade, totally covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes. Don't worry, chicken is fine out of the fridge for a bit, especially when it's sitting in an acid/ alcohol mixture like a marinade. Once you're ready to cook...
- Heat a pan with oil, and once very hot, add chicken.
- Sear chicken on both sides so it's nice and golden brown.
- Finish in oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is firm and juices run clear.
- Place on a bun with your favourite condiments!
Note: For the marinade, I'm combining 4 natural marinading tenderizers: Alcohol (wine and sherry), vinegar, acid (lemon juice), and salt. At least 1 of these components should be present in any marinade to help break up the muscle fibres in the meat, making it tender while adding flavour. Also, mustard is a good addition to many chicken-related marinades, as it helps to emulsify the mixture and distribute everything evenly.
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