CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND SAGE

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

A real nice recipe that has Fall written all over it. I was inspired by a blogger I follow but was a bit disappointed when I made it exactly as published. So I tweaked things around and also incorporated a step in which the chicken is cooked under pressure, giving the wonderful melt-in-your-mouth texture I love. I will give you an alternative to skip the pressure cooking.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH APPLES AND SAGE
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

for the chicken:
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
3/4 tsp each salt and black pepper, or to taste
3/4 tsp paprika

for the apples:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium gala apples, cored and sliced thin
2 large stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch thin
1 shallot, minced
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp each minced fresh thyme, rosemary and sage (or 1/2 tsp each dried)

for the sauce:
1 cup apple juice
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water, reserved

In liquid measuring cup whisk together the apple juice, honey, apple cider vinegar, and dijon mustard. If cooking chicken in a pressure cooker, separate that amount in two parts (no need to be exact, eye balling is fine).

Heat a skillet over medium high heat, or if using a pressure cooker, do this step right in the pan. Sprinkle chicken on both sides evenly with paprika, salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil into skillet or pressure cooker, when very hot add the chicken and brown on both sides. If using a pressure cooker, add half of the cooking liquid, bring to a gentle boil, close the pan and cook under pressure for 12 minutes. Release pressure under running water, reserve the meat. If the liquid does not reach halfway up the pieces of chicken, complete that volume with water.

If cooking the chicken on a skillet, remove the pieces to a platter, add more oil to the pan, and sautee the celery, shallots and pieces of apple, seasoning with cinnamon and nutmeg. If cooking the chicken under pressure, sauté the apples and veggies using a clean skillet the same way described above. When the apples are soft, add the apple juice mixture, season with a little more salt and pepper, if so desired. Return the chicken to the pan. If the chicken was cooked in the pressure cooker, simply warm everything together for a couple of minutes, then add the cornstarch slurry and the fresh sage. Serve immediately. If the chicken was not prepared under pressure, simmer with the pan covered until fully tender, probably 15 minutes. Add the sage and the cornstarch slurry right before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: We really loved this preparation for chicken, in fact I made it twice in the same week per husband’s request! I am totally comfortable with the pressure cooker, so for me it’s really not a big deal to use it, but I realize it can be intimidating. For this reason I included the instructions to cook without it. But there is something about the texture that I absolutely love. It gets tender and never rubbery. I like to start the pressure cooking step right away, because the veggies and apples are ready so quickly. Once the chicken has been cooking for 5 minutes I start sautéing the celery, shallots and apples, and everything comes to the finish line harmoniously. A little white rice, and steamed broccoli, nothing else needed…

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26Apr2021

PORK VINDALOO

Posted in Pork by sallybr

If you are not wild about spicy food, I must warn you that this recipe might not please you. However, you will have no issues enjoying the simple side dish I served with it, a fresh corn salad that beautifully tamed the fires of the Vindaloo. This version is considerably simplified from the traditional, but does not cut corners in the flavor department.

PORK VINDALOO
(adapted from several sources)

2 pounds boneless pork butt, cut in 1.5 inch pieces
2 onions, diced (or substitute 2 large stalks of celery + 2 carrots, minced)
4 garlic cloves, minced (omit or use garlic powder if you have digestive issues)
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large pan. Add pork pieces, onions (or celery and carrots), garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring every couple of minutes, until the meat gets golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Stir in the spices and garlic powder (if using), cook for a minute until fragrant, add the flour, cook while stirring for another minute, then add the chicken stock, canned tomatoes, mustard seeds, and sugar. Bring to a simmer. To finish the dish, you have several options:

Crockpot: add vinegar, transfer to a crockpot and cook on low for 5 to 7 hours.

Regular oven: add vinegar, place in a 325F oven for 3 hours, covered.

Pressure cooker: add vinegar, bring to full-pressure and cook for 35 minutes. Release pressure manually and simmer down to reduce the sauce, if necessary.

Right before serving, add minced fresh cilantro leaves.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Pork Vindaloo has its origins in Portuguese cooking, a fiery concoction known in Portugal as “vinha d’alhos.” Garlic and onion are important components, but due to food sensitivities I make our vindaloo with no onions and just used some garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon to be precise). The heat of the dish mellowed down next day, but we did not find it excessive even right after cooking. The use of smoked paprika is not authentic, but I like the different flavor it adds to the sauce.

Of all methods of cooking, I favor the pressure cooker because I like the resulting texture and how quickly it all comes together, but the two other methods I listed will work perfectly well.

The side dish: pretty much a non-recipe… Shave kernels from 3 corn cobs, add grape tomatoes cut in half, black kalamata olives, pitted, and English cucumbers, sliced. Mix 1 tablespoon of white vinegar with a little salt and pepper, drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil, whisking constantly to emulsify. Add the dressing to the veggies, place in the fridge for a couple of hours, then enjoy with your fiery Vindaloo, or with any other main dish of your choice. It is refreshing and satisfying.

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23Nov2019

CHERRY CHIPOTLE CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Oddly enough, this chicken recipe was born from a batch of French macarons. I know, how could it be? It turns out that I made a filling for macarons using white chocolate ganache and sour cherry jam. Quite a bit of jam was left in the jar, and I knew it would sit in the fridge at the risk of being forgotten. Why not put it to use in a savory recipe? I adapted bits from a few cookbooks, and came up with a pressure cooker version for chicken thighs that had some sweetness, some spice, some sourness, and what I love the most: that falling-apart texture. I hope you give it a try.

CHERRY CHIPOTLE SHREDDED CHICKEN
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from several sources)

One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes
1/2 cup sour cherry jam
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 canned chipotle in adobo sauce, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed

Place the tomatoes, jam, brown sugar, vinegar, salt, chipotle, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, cinnamon, and cloves in a blender. Blend and pour the smooth sauce in a pressure cooker.

Add the boneless chicken thighs, whole. Close the pressure cooker (or Instant Pot) and bring to full pressure. Cook for 20 minutes, release the pressure manually, and remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board. Shred the meat with two forks (it should be very tender).

Add the shredded meat back to the sauce, heat gently for a few minutes, adjust seasoning (you may need a bit more salt). Serve over rice or the side dish of your choice. Also great as a filling for fajitas.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: As a good Brazilian-American, I use my pressure cooker all year, but of course now that the temperature outside starts to fall down, this type of comfort food shows up more often in our menu. On weeknights, the pressure cooker is the best tool to have a meal with that aura of hours and hours in the making, materialize in the blink of an eye. Well, a few blinks. Not that many, though.

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30Jan2019

ROSE HARISSA CHICKEN THIGHS

Posted in Poultry by sallybr

Harissa is an ingredient I am quite fond of. Not only for its intense taste, but because I was introduced to it in a restaurant in Paris and the whole experience was pretty magical. It was my first time enjoying Moroccan couscous. I was with a Parisian friend who ordered the Couscous Royale, a real feast with several types of meat, including lamb and merguez (which I fell in love with at first bite). But what I remember the most was the waiter offering to add some harissa to our plate. He grabbed a ladle of the couscous broth, added this sexy red paste to it, mixed it with a small spoon, and poured it over our serving of couscous. Just a little bit, so I could decide if I wanted more, which obviously I did. When I learned from Ottolenghi that there’s this thing called Rose Harissa, I could not wait to get it and try it. If you think the regular kind is sexy, this one is sexy and she knows it.

ROSE HARISSA CHICKEN THIGHS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from Ottolenghi’s Simple)

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 celery ribs, diced
5 boneless, skin-less chicken thighs
salt and pepper
2 Tablespoons rose harissa
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup roasted red bell peppers, sliced thin
1 can stewed tomatoes
15 g dark chocolate (I used Lindt 70%)
1 cup water
juice of 1/2 lemon
cilantro to taste

Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker or regular large sauce pan. Sautee the celery pieces seasoned with salt and pepper until very fragrant and soft. Add the chicken pieces, let them briefly color on both sides. Add the harissa and the paprika and saute it all together for a minute or so.

Add the tomatoes and the juices, the red bell pepper, and if cooking under pressure, add just about 1/2 cup of water, or enough to cover the meat. Add the chocolate pieces, cover the pan and cook under pressure for 25 minutes. If using a regular pan, add the full cup of water and simmer it all gently for 40 minutes or longer, until the meat is very tender. After 30 minutes, add the pieces of chocolate and mix to dissolve.

When the meat is tender, or the pressure cooking time is elapsed, remove the chicken and, if needed, reduce the sauce and use an immersion blender to make it a bit more smooth. No need to fully blend it, just process until some pieces of tomato and red bell pepper still remain more or less intact. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the cilantro and lemon juice right before serving.

Spoon the sauce over the reserved pieces of chicken, serve with white rice, mashed cauliflower, polenta… anything you like.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: When I opened the pressure cooker, I was hit with such intense peppery blast, that I thought dinner was ruined. Thankfully, it was not the case. The sauce turned out with a very nice flavor, hot, but not burning-hot, the rose component just made it all taste complex. We liked it so much that, contrary to what happens most of the time, I had nothing left for my lunch next day. We stopped when all chicken thighs were gone. Pups got nothing, not even a taste. Yeap, that’s how greedy we were.

We had quite a bit of leftover sauce, which I used as the basis for a turkey chili made a couple of evenings later. It would go very well with lamb, perhaps a perfect pairing for that tender lamb I spoke about not too long ago. And now, I am on a mission to find new uses for my sexy Rose Harissa. If only all life’s problems were as hard as this one…

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5May2018

FLANK STEAK CARNITAS

Posted in Beef by sallybr

FELIZ CINCO DE MAYO!

Carnitas are a favorite in our home… All you need is to place some over a tortilla, add a few toppings and call it a day. Those who prefer a low-carb path can grab a hearty leaf of Romaine lettuce instead of tortilla, and enjoy it while apologizing to the Taco Gods that will certainly frown upon such heresy. In this preparation, we put the pressure cooker to play, giving the flank steak a very pleasant texture. I’ve made it three times already, after seeing the original post from Kalyn. My recipe is a slight modification of hers, with a little additional step at the end.

PRESSURE COOKER FLANK STEAK CARNITAS
(slightly modified from Kalyn’s recipe)

1 T olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 flank steak, about 1.5 pounds
1 cup salsa verde (like Herdez)
1/2 cup tomato salsa (like La Victoria)

Heat the oil in the pressure cooker, add the minced shallot and cook 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the ground cumin and chili powder and cook about a minute more.

Cut the steak lengthwise and then again crosswise. Add the steak pieces to the pressure cooker with the red and green salsa, lock the lid in place, and cook at high pressure for 45 minutes. Shut down the burner and let the pan cool for 15 minutes, then do a quick release of steam under the kitchen faucet, and open the pan.

Use a slotted spoon to scoop out the meat, leaving the sauce in the pressure cooker. Let the meat cool for a few minutes on the cutting board, then use two forks to shred the meat apart. Right before serving, place it on a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and add small amounts of the sauce left behind in the pressure cooker. You can add as much liquid as you feel like it, but allow the pieces of meat to get a bit browned in the pan first.

Use it to top tortillas with all your favorite additions, guacamole, shredded cheese, shredded avocado. Or enjoy it with white rice and beans.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: We are not big on cooking with ready-made sauces but make an exception to bottled salsas, because there are so many great brands out there. We love La Victoria, although it is not the easiest one to find. Leftovers go in mini-muffin pans straight to the freezer, and then inside a plastic bag. They do get a bit watery in the freezing-thawing process, but we mainly use them as addition to guacamole or stir-fries, so that’s not too serious a problem. Sometimes I defrost them over a small sieve, so that the excess water drips away.

This is one example of a recipe I would never try if it did not come from Kalyn’s site. I can see myself twisting the nose at something made opening two different bottled products… but she raved about it, and I totally trust her. Indeed, it is a big winner. I don’t know what happens in the mixture of the green and red salsa, but you definitely end up with something that is more than the sum of its parts. In a very good way…

You can make the flank steak in the pressure cooker, in the instant-pot, or in a slow-cooker. Stop by Kalyn’s site to get specific instructions for each method. It is a great way to tame the fibrous texture of this meat, and give it a lot of spice without making it overly hot. I suppose you could go for a very hot salsa if you so desire… I’ve been in a more mellow phase lately. Such is life.