Chicken and Biscuits

Chicken and Biscuits. How Southern is that. I made dinner for Kathleen and I again tonight. I am thankful for a friend that allows me to try out new recipes on her every week! Luckily, the last couple have been successes :)

This recipe is from The Book Club Cookbook that I got from my aunt.

It has recipes from lots of popular books, like Caramel Cake from The Help and many others! This is Chicken Diablo from The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. This was one of the first dishes she learned to make. It was easy and delicious!

Rebecca Skloot's Chicken Diablo

- 1.5-2 lbs chicken pieces (I used chicken thighs)
- 4 Tbs butter, melted
- 1/2 C honey
- 1/4 C Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp Curry powder
- pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 375*.


2. Pour melted butter into 9x13 inch baking dish. Add honey, Dijon mustard, Curry powder, and salt. Whisk until combined.
 

 

3. Place chicken in dish and turn to coat on all sides.

4. Bake for 45 minutes or until chicken cooked through and golden on top.


Winner winner chicken dinner! Kathleen approved :)




 


Biscuits- this was round 2. They tasted good but didn't rise up like they should have- will keep working on them and hopefully master them!

Braised Short Ribs

I realize that I never posted the rest of my "great day" recipes. But during my stretch of nights at work, I never found the time. So here it is. I have talked obsessively about this recipe since I made it. And if I had 4 hours at home to cook dinner all the time, this is the one. I would make this more often.

Braised Short Ribs

- 6 whole beef short ribs (I only used 3)
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 C flour
- 6 pieces Pancetta, diced
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely minced
- 2 C red or white wine
- 2 C beef or chicken broth (enough to almost cover ribs)
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 2 sprigs rosemary

1. Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside.
 

2. In a large dutch oven, cook Pancetta and set aside. Do not discard grease.

3. Add olive oil to pan with the Pancetta grease, and raise to high heat. Brown ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. Remove ribs and set aside.
 

4. Turn heat to medium. Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes.
 

 

 
5. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes.

6. Add broth, 1 tsp salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed.

7. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.

8. Put on the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 350* for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325* and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone.
 

9. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving. At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid. (Can also refrigerate mixture, then remove solid fat from the top).

 

Serve 2 ribs on bed of creamy polenta, spooning a little juice over the top.

 

 

I made cheesy corn grits to serve these over- delicious! It was just as delicious, if not a little more delicious, for leftover dinner later last week!

Iced Coffee

Since the warm weather has come, my coffee dates lately have all included iced coffee. Pioneer Woman posted once about the 'art' of making iced coffee- it's not as simple as brewing coffee and letting it cool!

Now you can make iced coffee that way, but according to PW and the local coffee roaster at Shenandoah Joe's, a cold brew tastes better. I bought some Columbia roast and decided to try!

1. Mix water and coffee in a large container, using the ratio 1/2 lb ground coffee: 4 qts water. Roughly 3/4 C coffee grounds to 1 qt water.

 

Let steep 8-12 hours or overnight.

 

2. Line a fine mesh strainer with cheese cloth or paper towels and pour coffee through into another container.



 

I did this small amounts at a time, paper towels needed replacing every few cups.

 

This sludge was what was left in the paper towels.

 

And this is my first batch of cold brewed coffee!

 

Into an air-tight container and this can last last 2-3 weeks. I'm hooked, though, and I'm not so sure it will last that long :)

Today was a good day

A day I am so thankful for, to be able to do things I love to do. Spending time with friends and building relationships. Hiking and being outdoors. Shopping at Whole Foods. Spending hours in the kitchen. Celebrating a friend's birthday. A day worth blogging about :)

To start off the day, delicious homemade iced coffee (another post soon!) and I walk up to Monticello with my mentor from church.

This month's Food Network Magazine came in the mail yesterday. And on a whim I gathered the two missing ingredients to make cappuccino knots. No thinking and planning for a week about when/what I could make them for. I had most of the ingredients and would find people to share them with.

Cappuccino Knots

For the knots: - 4 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
                      - 2/3 C sugar
                      - 1 Tbs instant espresso powder
                      - one recipe Basic Sweet- Roll Dough (without nutmeg)

For the glazes: - 1 1/4 C confectioners' sugar
                       - 1 Tbs instant espresso powder
                       - 1/4 C + 2 Tbs heavy cream

1. Make the knots: Put melted butter in a bowl. Whisk the granulated sugar and espresso powder in another bowl.

2. Butter a muffin pan. Divide the dough into 12 pieces; roll each piece into an 8-9 in rope. Dip 1 piece of dough in the butter, letting the excess drip off, then roll in the espresso sugar. Tie the dough unto a knot. Place in a muffin cup.

3. Let rise, uncovered, in a warm place until doubled in size. (I forgot this step, but they still worked!)

4. Bake the knots until puffed and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in the pan then transfer to cooling rack.

5. Make the glazes: Whisk 3/4 C confectioners' sugar and espresso powder in a medium bowl; add 1/4 C cream and whisk until smooth, adding more cream if necessary.

6. In a small bowl, whisk remaining confectioners' sugar with the remaining cream until smooth.

7. Dip tops of knots in the espresso glaze; let set 5 minutes. Drizzle white glaze over top of knots.

 

                                                    

I was able to take these to Lizzie's birthday celebration tonight!




After that, Lanna and I went to pick up our first CSA box. Each week we will receive a box of local produce, depending on what is in season and growing at the farm that week! Today our box was filled with: spinach, kale, romaine lettuce, honey, frozen strawberries, and wheat berries!

Megan and I were able to discover a new hiking trail close to our houses today. I underestimated how tough of a hike we could find 15 minutes from my house! But I worked up quite a sweat.

That didn't stop me from heading to Whole Foods to pick up a couple ingredients for dinner with Kathleen. I don't do the majority of my shopping at Whole Foods, only when I need special ingredients or really want a higher quality product. Today's finds: short ribs for dinner, fresh mozzarella for salads, and freshly ground peanut butter. I'm determined to enjoy little things, even if it's just a trip to Whole Foods.

Then it was home to start dinner... I'll save that for the next post, but if I had 3 hours to devote to dinner more often, this is the meal I would make!

So much Thai!

Last weekend, Meagan and I visited our friend Jill in Pittsburgh. Jill started here in C'ville with us as new grads, but moved back to Pittsburgh to be with her fiance :)

 

It was a really good eating weekend!

 

Friday night we started with Toasted Almond Cups from a local bakery- dessert first? Yes!

 

Saturday we spent the day exploring Pittsburgh and watching movies, it was cold out! Dinner was some excellent Pad Thai-



 

And breakfast Sunday. Not a Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, but might as well have been! It's one of Jill and Steve's favorite diners and I'll take a local's advice any day!

 

 

Last week, some friends from work planned to make dinner together. We wanted to try our hand at homemade Thai food. We started by heading to the Oriental Market, to get authentic ingredients.

 

 

Homemade Pad Thai 

 

- Rice noodles

- Pad Thai sauce (you can make your own, but we went with a jarred sauce for our first try)

- 4 Tbs oil

- 2 cloves minced garlic

- 4 shallots, thinly sliced

- shrimp

- 2 eggs, lightly beaten

- 1 C fresh bean sprouts

- 2 Tbs fresh cilantro

- 3 Tbs chopped roasted peanuts

 

 

1. Fill a pot with warm water. Soak rice noodles in water for 8-12 minutes.

 

2. Heat 2 Tbs oil in large saucepan over high heat. Add garlic, shallots, and shrimp to pan and cook until shrimp are opaque. Transfer to a plate.

 

3. Add remaining 2 Tbs oil to pan, then pour in eggs; stir until cooked, about 1 minute. Make sure to break up the egg into small pieces.

 

4. Reduce heat to low, add sauce and noodles to pan and mix well.

 

5. Add cooked shrimp, bean sprouts, and peanuts to noodles and toss. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts.

 

 

 

A little bit of life

I've decided this blog needs a little more 'what's going on in my life' rather than just 'what I ate for dinner one night last week.' And so...

 

Last week was my church high school girls' spring break. We took a day trip to Short Pump for some shopping and eating. 

Shopping = Success



 Dinner was PF Chang's- complete with all my stories from mulitple Valentine's Days spent there with my dates- Ann and Em. They really liked the one about the awkward couple in the huge booth sitting side by side. We re-enacted it.

Serious life fortune reading

 Dinner was fairly simple last week. Taco Salad. Browned some ground beef, added some onions and peppers, seasoned with paprika/chili powder/cumin/garlic. Serve with tortillas, sour cream, avocado, salsa.

The best part was the 'making dinner snack.' Homemade guacamole and pita chips. Simply cut pita chips into triangles, spray with a little olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 350* until browned and crispy.

 

 

Dining al fresco!

Not sleeping before nightshift

Usually the day before I work, I would be right in the middle of my pre-work nap. But since I slept from 8:30pm last night to 8:30am this morning, sleep is not coming. I didn't nap after working Sunday night, bad decision, which accounts for the super early bedtime.

What I did do Monday was go to the grocery store, find that steak was on sale, and make a delicious dinner, before going to bed.

Menu: Chili-Rubbed Steak, Sweet Potato Fries, Roasted Asparagus

Chili- Rubbed Steak from Self Magazine

- 6 oz sirloin steak
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin

1. Rub steak with spices. Cover and place in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

2. In an oven-safe skillet set over high heat, cook steak in 2 tsp oil for 30 seconds; flip and cook 30 seconds more.

3. Transfer skillet to the oven and broil on high 3 minutes; flip and broil 3 more minutes or until steak is cooked to desired doneness.

This made a deliciously tender steak, unlike the one I tried grilling on my George Forman before.

Sweet Potato Fries from Country Living magazine

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 2 large sweet potatoes

1.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut in halve lengthwise. Cut into strips or wedges,

2. In a bowl, combine oil and spices. Toss with sweet potatoes.

3. Arrange in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake 30 minutes at 425*, or until edges are crisp and potatoes cooked through.

**I made a few adjustments to this recipe. I only used 1 sweet potato, so I just eyeballed the spices. I also used Emeril's Baby Bam spice to season them. It included all the above spices, plus smoked paprika and oregano.

I roasted the asparagus with salt and pepper in with the sweet potatoes and served beside the steak. It was a meal with every color and food group!