Three Apple Crisp…mmmmmm

Crisp fall weather means tummy-warming apple crisp time. Used the following recipe with a few adjustments.
1. I used three types of apples. Granny Smith. Braeburn. Fuji. A sweet and tart blend.
2. No cinnamon. I really don’t like cinnamon. I did however use fresh grated ginger and blended it in with the apples.
3. I used brown sugar for the entire recipe, instead of white. It’s all that I had.
4. Instead of oats, I used muesli. I like my crisp extra crispy.
5. I squeezed a half an orange into the apple/sugar/ginger mix.

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/229088/apple-crisp-with-oat-topping

Ingredients

6 apples – peeled, cored, and sliced
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Toss apples with white sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl to coat; pour into a 9-inch square baking dish.
Mix brown sugar, oats, flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a separate bowl. Use a pastry cutter or 2 forks to mash cold butter into the oats mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs; spread over the apples to the edges of the baking dish. Pat the topping gently until even.
Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and sides are bubbling, about 40 minutes.

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Mmm Donuts from @thefatradish – Here’s the recipe.

via thefatradish-cookbook.tumblr.com

These donuts are divine and now you can make them at home. Well at least try to. Probably easier to hop on the subway and pick up some instead. Sooo yum!

The Fat Radish is one my favorite restaurants. It never disappoints.

More info here: http://thefatradishnyc.com/

Whole chicken experiment, day 4

via amazon.com

Why make your own stock? Well, what else would you do with your bones? Throw it out. Shameful. Home made chicken stock is unbelievably better than the canned stuff; It is more flavorful and adds depth to the dish. Plus it’s ridiculously easy to make! Even easier if you have a slow cooker.

HINT: Buy soup socks. Soup socks allows you to cook everything into cloth sieves, making clean up and separating the ingredients a snap. “Remove the sock and leave the stock!”

Usually, I throw the chicken carcass into one sock and the mirepoix into another sock, toss those two socks into the slow cooker, fill the cooker 3/4 of the way with water, season a bit and in the words of Ron Popeil, “set it and forget it.” I come home and voila I have stock that I will use as a base for risottos, soups, quinoa, etc. Trust me, everything tastes better with home made stock.

Last night, since I wanted to make a meal of this as part of my experiment, instead of diced onions, celery and carrots I tossed into the sock chunks of onions, carrots, leeks, potatoes, turnips, radishes and some fresh herbs. When I got home, I scooped out, bagged and tossed into the freezer some of the stock, threw out the sock of chicken bones and opened up the sock of veggies into the remaining soup and tossed in some elbow macaroni. Too easy!

Whole chicken experiment, day 3

Dinner 3: Chicken enchilada

Used the remaining chicken meat and also the chicken chunk and cream of chicken soup mixture that I had extra from yesterday’s pot pie to make tonight’s enchiladas. Enchiladas are pretty hard to mess up and only takes a few tweaks to step it up, ie using chipotle peppers in the enchilada sauce and of course garnish with fresh cilantro.

No more chicken meat left but the whole chicken yielded 3 filling meals. Not done yet though. Check back tomorrow.

Whole chicken expirement, day 2

Dinner 2: Chicken pot pie with a side salad of mixed greens, fennel, fuji apples, dried cranberries and gorgonzola

Never made pot pie before.  Actually never have eaten pot pie before.  So I was a little nervous about preparing this, especially with a friend who adores pot pies coming over for dinner.  I followed this recipe but made a few adjustments: http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/chicken-pot-pie-with-cheddar-old-bay-biscuit-topper/

My adjustments:

1. I used one can of cream of mushroom soup and two cream of chicken soups

2. Did not use Mrs. Dash or onion powder, just seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper

3. Cubed up some creamer potatoes, precooked them using ziploc steamer bags and tossed them in 

4. I used pecorino cheese instead of cheddar

5. Doubled the old bay

6. Watered down the bisquick batter a bit more, it was a little thick with the current ratio

7. And of course, instead of the whole boneless chicken breast, I took my left over chicken, shredded the meat and used that instead

Actually kept some of the chicken meat, about 1/2 cup of it for dinner tomorrow.  I also saved all the bones to make stock.  

The result…I enjoyed it although I never have had pot pie before so I don't know if the flavor was right.  My friend said it was "brilliant" and that it "reminded her of home", which of course made me beam from ear to ear.  

Whole chicken experiment, day 1

Trying to save money while challenging my culinary skills with a little experiment this week: how far can I stretch one whole chicken.  The victim, er subject, is a 7 lb Purdue roaster chicken, which cost me around $9 from Fresh Direct.  

Dinner 1: Roasted Chicken with a side of quinoa and pan roasted brussel sprouts

Roasted chicken is one of my favorite things to make…so so easy.  To make mine I stuff the cavity with orange slices, onions, cilantro (or whatever fresh herbs I may have around) and garlic .  I also squeeze the orange onto softened butter with minced garlic folded in and I stuff this mixture under the chicken's skin.  I have a convection oven with a roaster function so I just enter the the weight of the chicken and it always comes out perfectly.  

Hello Dorado

Tonight was a night of firsts. First time roasting fish.  First time working with dorado and capers. While utterly simple in preparation, the end result was nonetheless scrumptious – all under 30 minutes. 

How’d I get to the above?  Diced some tomatoes, onions, garlic and cilantro and covered the bottom of the baking dish.  Tossed in some capers – about two spoon fulls. Placed the piece of fish on top of the mixture. Drizzled some olive oil on top of the fish. Sprinkled some sea salt and red pepper flakes on top as well.  

Before:

After:

Placed in the convection oven and roasted at 400 for 20 minutes.  Et voila.  Served it on brown rice.  Yum!

 

Yum! What’s for dinner?

Dinner tonight was a delicious success and only took around 30 minutes.  Maple garlic center cut chops with a side of chipotle sweet potato mash.  

Recipe for the pork chops can be found here:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/maple-garlic-marinated-pork-tenderloin/Detail.aspx
I did add star anise to the marinate and let it sit overnight.

Recipe for the mash was courtesy of Alton Brown here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chipotle-smashed-sweet-potatoes-recipe/index.html