A PEACHY SALAD FOR A SUNNY DAY!

Posted in Poultry, Salads by sallybr

The end of August makes me apprehensive, because Summer is my favorite season. But in the Southwest the heat lingers on, so we remain in the mood for light, refreshing food. This salad is a great example, in that it contains only 3 ingredients: chicken breasts, peaches and cucumbers, plus a tasty mix of yogurt and spices that joins them together.

This recipe was in my “to make soon” folder for a year (shame on me!), since I first saw it in the popular food blog Just Bento.

CHICKEN AND YOGURT SALAD WITH CUCUMBERS AND PEACH
(adapted from this recipe; receita em portugues no final do texto)

9 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast (2-3 halves, depending on size)
1/8 cup soy sauce
1 piece ginger (about 1 inch, peeled, slightly bruised to release flavor)
1/2 tsp salt
1 T fresh Italian parsley, minced
1/2 English seedless cucumber
1/4 tsp. ground cardamon
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup plain thick (Greek) yogurt
2 ripe peaches
salt and pepper to taste

Start by poaching the chicken. In a pan large enough to hold them in a single layer add enough water to barely cover the pieces, mix in the soy sauce, ginger, salt and parsley. Add the chicken breasts and bring the liquid to a boil. Once it boils, immediately cover the pan and remove it from the heat, leaving it undisturbed for 15 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts, discard the cooking liquid and allow the meat to completely cool. Cut them into chunks.

Using a mandoline, cut the cucumber into paper-thin slices.

Peel the peaches and also cut them into chunks, slightly smaller than the chicken pieces.

Combine the yogurt with the spices and mint. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste and add a little salt if needed. Season with freshly ground black pepper.

Enjoy!

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30Aug2009

BBA#15: ITALIAN BREAD

Posted in BBA Challenge, Breads by sallybr

Fifteen breads down, twenty-eight to go…

Once more I should say that all recipes from the challenge can be found here, a must-have book for any serious (or beginner) bread baker.

Reinhart’s Italian Bread is quite similar to the previous one (French Bread), except that it takes a “biga” instead of a “poolish”. No need to run away all scared, those are terms to describe the pre-mixture of flour, water, and yeast, that generally ferments for 24 hours before being used in the final dough. Usually a “biga” is firmer (contains less water).

For this bread, I changed the method of kneading. Instead of adding the dough to the Kitchen Aid and watching the machine do its job, I kneaded it myself, but used my favorite method: folding. I put the advice from bakers over at “The Fresh Loaf” to work, folding the dough twice, at 40 and 80 minutes, then forming a “boule” at 120 minutes. One more hour rising, and into the oven it went. These pictures show the second folding (made in two directions), and the “boule” right after shaping. Notice how bubbly it was, even before the final rise.

After 1 hour at room temperature, the dough rose about 1.5X of its original size, as expected. It had a spongy texture, airy and light. It lost some of it when I dumped it into my clay pot, but not much. It had good enough oven spring to recover.

This bread is spectacular, the crumb has excellent texture, the crust is not too hard, not too soft, just right. As my husband put it, “it is not very easy to stop eating it”. Indeed. It was a wise decision to make half the recipe, because there is only so much running one can do. 😉

A final shot of the crumb…

29Aug2009

Friday Night Dinner

Posted in Pork by sallybr

Fridays are wonderful! We’d like to plan a special dinner that opens the door to the weekend, but, let’s face it, Friday is still a work day. So, coming up with a special meal is challenging. If you suffer from this “Friday Night Dilemma”, let me rescue you with a simple dish that delivers great flavor, elegance and a wonderful ending to your week.

PORK MEDALLIONS WITH MUSTARD-CAPER SAUCE
(adapted from Simple Recipes, recipe originally published in Bon Appetit)

1 lb pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 white onion, finely diced
1 cup chicken broth (homemade if possible!)
4 Tbsp whipping cream
3 Tbsp drained capers
2 Tbps good quality mustard

If your pork slices are not even, use a mallet to gently pound them into 1/2 inch thickness. Season with salt and black pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork to the skillet and sauteé until it’s brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Remove pork slices to another plate as you proceed to make the sauce.

Add the diced onions to the skillet and stir for about 1 minute. Add chicken broth and cream. Boil until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, stirring up the browned bits. It should take a little over 5 minutes. Mix in the capers and mustard; return the pork to the sauce. Simmer the mixture until the pork is heated through, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

ENJOY!

Serves 3. (original recipe says it serves 4, but we respectfully disagree…)

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28Aug2009

Good Article Alert

Posted in Articles, General by sallybr

This article appeared today on the New York Times, and might be interesting to those who “sometimes” might buy too many berries… 😉

It describes using a very hot water bath before storing the fruit, substantially reducing spoilage by molds. We are definitely trying it soon.

To read the whole article, click here

26Aug2009

TERIYAKI CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

This is a special recipe for me, because it’s from the first cookbook I ever bought here in the US, back in 1986, when my English was poor and my cooking not much better. Since then, I moved between different countries a few times, but always managed to take this cookbook with me. Ironically enough, it is not one of those “classic” cookbooks, but a simple, down to earth publication from Sunset called “Easy Basics for Good Cooking” (first published in 1982). My copy shows the passing of the years, with stains marking many of the recipes that I cooked again and again ;-). Maybe it’s not the fanciest cookbook in the world, but whenever I pick it up I cherish the memories, remembering how I was nervous trying to translate everything correctly, to find the right ingredients, and to cook a nice meal. Allow me to share with you a recipe that I’ve made so many times, in so many different settings, that I could probably make it with my eyes closed.

TERIYAKI CHICKEN THIGHS
(adapted from Easy Basics for Good Cooking)

8 chicken thighs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 T honey
2 t grated fresh ginger
3 T dry sherry (see comments)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 t red pepper flakes

Place the chicken in a plastic bag or bowl. Combine all the other ingredients to form a marinade, mixing them well to fully dissolve the honey. Seal the bag or cover the bowl, and refrigerate from 4 to 24 hours.

Remove chicken from marinade and place all pieces skin side down in a single layer. Pour some of the marinade over them, to reach the level of the bottom fourth of the layer (see photo after the jump). Bake, covered with aluminum foil in a 325F oven for 1.5 hours. Remove the foil, turn the chicken pieces skin side up, and bake at 425F for 20 minutes more. If you like a particularly crispy skin (we do!) turn the broiler on and watch carefully, as the honey from the marinade might burn.

Serve it with white rice and some sauteed vegetable (baby bok choy is also perfect!).

Enjoy!

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