Raspberry Chipotle Flat Chicken

Hello all! I have been away to Montana since the last time I posted and I haven't had time to cook or bake since I got back. My dwelling is undergoing major renovations and that also includes a re-installment of cabinets and the counter top in our kitchen including refinishing and repainting walls and tiles. Before completely demolishing our kitchen, I made this dish using a sauce I bought in Helena, Montana. It's a "Roasted Raspberry and Chipotle Sauce," and though the idea of a fruit and spices usually does not mix well for me, this sauce had me go head-over-heels. I found this beauty at the local Costco Warehouse, sampled on a thin whole grain cracker with brie cheese. I basically melted along with the soft cheese as soon as the morsel was in my mouth. Tangy-sweet with a bit of savoriness from the cheese and cracker, it was a divine bite. What was even more incredible was the little kick of spiciness that rocked all the flavors together. It was f****ing delicious. Back at home with my prized bottle of the sauce, I couldn't wait to try it on the suggested meats (poultry, pork, salmon) and appetizer suggestions.
This chicken dish is the first time I have used the sauce since I bought it and I loved the color it gave the roasted chicken (as my family gobbled up almost all the bird). I decided to flatten (butterfly) the chicken so that it would be seasoned better, cooked faster and carved better.  To flatten a chicken, all you do is remove the spine and the breast bone (keel bone) so that you can flatten the bird out and have less bones to worry with when carving. When you season, the spices you use will be better penetrated into the meat so that your bird will be seasoned all over rather than just on the skin. Here's a great instructional video with how to butterfly a chicken.

I dry rubbed my chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (around 1-2 tsp of each) and roasted it at 200-250 degrees Celsius for about 45 minutes in my glass conventional oven* until the skin was semi-golden brown. I then brushed the bird with 2 tbsp of the Raspberry Chipotle and let it roasted for another 5 minutes until the sauce melted right into the chicken and the skin was glossy and golden. I let the bird rest for 15 minutes before carving so that the meat would retain heat and not dry out. I served the chicken with brown rice, pea tips sauteed in garlic and baked zucchini rounds. Our "last supper" before our kitchen's doomsday.

*butterfly chicken is awesome on the BBQ too so go ahead and preheat your grill to medium-high heat and grill the bird to your liking!

Portabella Florentine Lasagna

I had a huge craving for pasta today and decided to make a lasagna Florentine after rummaging through my fridge and found spinach and portabella mushrooms. The idea was simple: create a luxuriously rich and creamy Béchamel Sauce, make a savory mushroom and spinach filling and layer these divine assets between lasagna noodles and mozza cheese.  After baking for half an hour to have all the cheese and delious-ness melt together, I tossed up a quick salad so that I didn't feel too guilty with my indulgence.

I don't have a set recipe for my Béchamel Sauce but you can try following Chef Batali's recipe.

Portabella and Spinach Filling

1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large portabella mushroom caps, cut into bit-sized slices
3 tsp salt
3-4 cups fresh baby spinach, washed, spun dried and chopped
2 tsp nutmeg
Dried or fresh basil to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a skillet and add the shallots. Cook until transparent, then add in the garlic until aromatic. Turn heat to medium-high and add in the mushrooms and salt, stirring until mushrooms become tender. Lower heat to medium-low and add in baby spinach and stir until spinach is completely wilted but not soggy. Stir in nutmeg and basil. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Let cool and remove any excess water/juices. Stir in 1/4 cup of Béchamel sauce.

To layer the lasagna, just go sauce, noodles, filling, cheeses (mozzarella and Parmesan), noodles, filling, cheeses, etc., until you end up with noodles. Top with sauce and cheese. Bake in a 400 F oven for half and hour until cheese have melted and are golden brown. Let sit for 20 minutes before serving.


**If you want real protein, chicken is the way to go. Just slice up some chicken and cook before adding in the mushrooms and spinach. If you have left over chicken, shred that up and add to the cooked mushroom/spinach filling. Easy Peasy.

BBQ Day 3

Day 3 of working the grill and I wanted to try something new. Courtesy of Kraft Mag (again), I wanted to try roasting a bird on a beer can. The whole idea is to have the bird sitting upright on a half-drunken can of beer and cook the bird on medium-low heat for about an hour until tender and juicy. The remaining beer in the can would gently steam the bird from the inside while the outer flames cooked the dry-rubbed skin. Instead of following the exact recipe from Kraft, I dry-rubbed mine with Asian five-spice, salt, pepper and paprika after rubbing the whole bird with fresh lemon. I chose to pair the poultry dish with some new potatoes, peeled and tossed in the good stuff: olive oil, salt, pepper, and some sliced sweet onion. Other sides included corn on the cob, unpeeled because I wanted to retain as much of the juices as I could; yellow sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and cassava. I also fired up the left over burgers from yesterday.
One big setback resulted from my stupidity as I forgot to turn off the heat directly below the bird, so bubbling alcohol and chicken fat engulfed the bird in flames. The skin was burnt to a black abyss but the meat remained really juicy and because I pierced small holes into the bird when I dry-rubbed it, the flavor wasn't lost when the skin burnt. Cooking time divided in half but that bird looked darn ugly and I was so flustered I forgot to take a pic of the bird before it was served. Oh well, I'll definitely learn from this mistake and I'll be less inattentive next time.

The good stuff

-ahem- This does not look wrong.

The newly weds!

Smokin'

Corn on the cob

Mussshhhhrooms!

Burgers.

Potatoes!

The only pic of the cooked chicken that I took.

Bacon Wrapped Boneless Turkey

 So...I had a frozen turkey lying around so, inspired by the endless bacon-filled epic-ness of Epic Meal Time videos, I made this: boneless turkey, stuffed with bread, pork, and bacon and wrapped in bacon. Roasted and then glazed with pure Canadian maple syrup, served with coarsely mashed potatoes and rye whiskey turkey gravy. Slices of my Saffron and Honey bread also accompanied the dish. I invited some family over for a small family dinner. It was an epic moment.

Boneless Cornish Hen with Wild Rice and Cornbread Stuffin'

 So, last night, I made something like a ballontine, a French way of serving meat, fish or poultry by completely boning the meat, stuffing it and then roasting it. I used a small Cornish Hen and I used a method of de-boning that keeps the whole bird intact, whereas I do not cut along the spine of the bird in order to remove the carcass.
 Stuffed with a mixture of cornbread and wild rice. Unfortunately, I used the rice and stuffing from a box because I was too lazy to make them from scratch...which didn't give me the exact results I wanted but what can I do? A mistake to learn from for next time lol.

VIDEO:

Citrus Spiced Duck

So...I decided to do a trial today with the duck that I plan to serve at my family Christmas Eve Party. The recipe and methods are basically the same as the Spiced Christmas Goose recipe by Gordon Ramsay. I roasted the bird in my new culinary toy: the portable roasting oven. It is awesome! I can fit either a whole turkey in it or a couple of smaller birds or meat cuts for roasting. And since it is portable, I just plug it in my garage to avoid having my whole house smell and the settings allow me to keep the heat constant but controlled. I highly recommend it ^^
The duck turned out amazingly moist and I used the drippings to make a very nice but light gravy. My only disappointment was the missing drumstick on the duck...it just kind of lost my appeal lol.
I served the duck on sauteed pea greens along with buttery purple mash (taro and purple yam) and garlic orange mash (sweet potato). Yum, yum, yum!!!

The Whole Duck

Orange and Lemons for zesting

Five Spice Grilled Quail

Five Spice Grilled Quail

One of the best things I love about Oriental Cuisine is the spices. And the combination in the Five Spice Powder (cloves, anise, cinnamon, ginger powder and fennel seeds) is basically heaven in your nostrils. I made another quail dish for my family because we still had so many quails, adapting the recipe from the traditional Vietnamese dish. I marinated the quails in a mixture of five spice powder, fish sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, onion and garlic powder, and some salt n' pepper. It was a hit with my family because it was very homey and familiar, and since the quails were halved, the portions were ideally "snack" sized. As a meal, I served the quail with Pandan Rice and slices of tomato. And once again, no tasting required!

Stuffed Balsamic Quail

Stuffed Balsamic Quail

I am still a vegetarian, don't freak out lol. However, I love cooking and my passion for cooking will not set up limits to what I can and want to cook. I cook meat and according to those who eat what I make, I get the seasoning perfectly even though I do not taste while I cook. The only time I taste something is either marinades, "safe" sauces or meatless stuffing and veggies. Many vegetarians will appeal to my statement but to which his own. Everyone has their own reasons to what they do or want to consume and I respect that. I don't impose my vegetarianism on others-I simply defend vegetarianism against tyrants who believe we eat nothing more but salads or tofu (which I find utterly boring and not at all exciting; tofu is bland when you run out of ways to cook it and salads get tiresome.) I enjoy my soy products, fresh veggies, dairy and grain products.

Anyways, I had so many frozen quails in my freezer and since I hate leaving meat or anything in the freezer for so long, I decided to make a quail dinner for my omnivorous family. This is the dish I concocted up: quails, deboned and marinated in a spicy and tangy balsamic marinade. After that, the quails are stuffed with a mixture of grated carrots, broccoli and cooked quinoa grains. The quails are closed up by tooth picks and a mixture of melted butter and paprika are brushed onto the birds. Quails are cooked by broiling. Cooked quails are removed and let to rest while an assembly of baked potato slices and sauteed pea sprouts are laid on a dish. Bird tops off the vegetables and a ladle of quail gravy (made from juices of the quail as well as broth of the bird bones) goes on top. Freshly cracked black peppers finishes the dish.

Stuffed Balsamic Quail

Marinade
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp paprika
1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients together in a measuring cup.
Place 4-6 deboned quails into a shallow bowl and pour marinade over the birds. Marinate for 30 minutes in the fridge.

Stuffing
1 cup quinoa
1/2 cup chopped broccoli florets
1/4 cup grated carrots
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
2tsp grounded black pepper
1 clove minced garlic

Combine together until well incorporated. After the quails are done marinating, stuff the quails with the stuffing. Be generous!! Close up all openings with toothpicks and tie legs together with kitchen thread or twine. Place on a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and 2 tsp paprika powder. Cook in an oven of 250 degrees Celsius for 30-35 minutes, re-brushing the quails every 10 minutes to avoid drying. Quails are done when they are golden brown.

Potatoes
2 big yellow potatoes or 6 baby potatoes, sliced
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt

Toss potatoes with other ingredients and broil on a greased baking dish at 275 degrees Celsius until potatoes are tender.

Sauteed Pea Sprouts
3 cups of pea sprouts or 2 cups baby spinach
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp butter

Place sprouts in a small skillet and saute with salt and pepper. Once sprouts begin to wilt add in tbsp butter and stir until butter is melted. Set aside.

Gravy
Boil the quail bones and juices. Remove bones and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add in 1 tsp thyme and 2 tsp onion powder. Whisk in a mixture of 1/4 water and 2 tbsp cornstarch to thicken gravy. Set aside.

Assemble potatoes on the plate and place sprouts on top, to create a nest effect. Remove strings and toothpicks from bird and place on "nest." Ladle over the hot gravy and top with freshly cracked pepper.
Enjoy!!
 Serving this dish with white wine is fantastico!