Brine for Chicken – Tasty Tuesday!

Tasty Tuesday’s are all about food! I am really excited to share this recipe with you! I was having company over for dinner, and I kept thinking about how good my brine was for pork, so I decided to try it with chicken! Ready to head into the kitchen?

Brine Ingredients
8 cups of water
1/3 cup of salt – a heaping cup
1/3 cup of sugar – also heaping
1 TBS black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 lemon, juiced and reserve the rind
1 TBS lemon pepper
1 tsp dry rosemary
8 cups of ice cubes

Ingredients

Notice that the rosemary is missing from the photo? Just a bit of an oversight!

Get out a non-reactive pot and add the water. Then add in all but the ice cubes. Stir it up to help dissolve the lemon pepper. Don’t worry at this point about the salt and sugar.

All ingredients in a pot

Turn the burner on to medium high heat and bring this to a boil.

Bring to a boil

Let this cook for about 5 minutes. The idea here is to get the salt and the sugar to dissolve into the mix. The flavors will intensify a bit too.

As this is boiling, place your ice cubes and the lemon halves into a very large bowl. After the brine has cooked for the 5 minutes, turn off the heat and pour the mixture over the ice cubes.

Pour over ice

What we are doing here is cooling down the mixture. Stir this up until the mixture has cooled. You can test this with your finger. There will be enough brine here to use on a whole cut up chicken. Not being able to find one of these in our grocery store I used 5 chicken legs and 4 thighs.

Next, take the chicken pieces and add to a gallon zipper bag. Then pour the brine over the chicken. You will need to recruit some help with this step. Once the brine is in the bag with the chicken, remove as much air as possible. Here is what my bag looks like.

Brine and the chicken

Now, stick this in the refrigerator for two hours. Turn the bag several times as it sits.

I made oven fried chicken with this meat. I drained the bag, and took the pieces individually and dusted them in flour. Then I dunked them into beaten eggs. Next the chicken pieces went into a bag of flour mixed with garlic powder, paprika and a bit of lemon pepper. I let the pieces sit for about a half hour on a wire rack. Then I baked the chicken for a good hour, turning half way through at 350 degrees.

When you brine the chicken, the flavors of the peppercorn, garlic, rosemary and lemon pepper get sucked into the meat by way of the salt, which breaks down the chicken. The addition of the sugar is the help the chicken pieces caramelize a bit during baking.

Here is what the chicken looked like when it was done.

Brined oven fried chicken

The flavors of the chicken were extraordinary! You can also use this brine if you are planning on making Dijon Chicken! Please let me know if you try this simple brine!

Thanks for joining me in the kitchen today! I hope to see you back next week for another incredible Tasty Tuesday dish! Be well… ^..^

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Twisted Chicken – Tasty Tuesdays

Thank you for coming back for another edition of Tasty Tuesday! Opening the refrigerator door I find that I have 4 chicken leg and thighs to cook for dinner tonight. And, I have left over fresh Shiitake mushrooms, some carrots, ginger, garlic and artichoke hearts. What can I do with these as my ingredients? Maybe add a bit of white wine, fresh cracked pepper and a bit of sea salt? EVOO? How about heading into the kitchen to help me create a new dish!

Main Ingredients

Ingredients
4 chicken leg and thigh combination
1 – 12 oz. pack of frozen artichoke hearts
1/2# shiitake mushrooms, quartered
1/2# peeled baby carrots
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 glugs of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 cup dry white wine
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

So, this is what I have to work with. Grabbing a 9 x 13 glass baking dish, I spray it with a bit of non-stick spray. Then I fit in the 4 pieces of chicken.

Legs with thighs go into a glass baking dish

Taking the rest of the ingredients I put them into a large mixing bowl and mix it up with my hands. For the salt and pepper, a couple of twists on your salt mill, and 4 twists of the pepper mill should do! Mix this in. Next, I pour this over the chicken…

A mixture of veges top the chicken

With this ready, I turn on the oven to 350 degrees. I lean down and smell the dish. This will be good! When the oven is hot, I put the pan into the oven. Let’s let this bake for 30 minutes.

Taking the pan from the oven, I move the chicken pieces so that they now rest on the vegetables. This will allow the chicken skin to brown, and the vegetables will caramelize below.

Move the chicken so that it sits on the veges

I think that another 30 minutes shall do it. So I set the timer. When the bell goes off, I am rewarded with amazing aromas and this lovely pan of cooked chicken!

It’s done!

I serve this up.

Dinner is served!

The flavors on this dish are amazing! Feel free to add cooked rice as a side if you like! This dish will serve 4. Total time to prep and cook: About one and a half hours. We are only two here, and the leftovers were even better!

Stay tuned for the next edition of Tasty Tuesday! If you try this dish, let me know how you like it!

Thanks for stopping by today and remember: Be well! ^..^

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Ooops!

I was working on a post for tomorrow and accidentally hit the publish button rather than save…Pardon the hiccup and stay tuned for tomorrow’s Tasty Tuesday post!

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Pollo con Pancetta e Senape – Tasty Tuesdays!

Good morning and welcome to Tasty Tuesdays! For the last few weeks I have featured the remodel of our kitchen, and now I can finally return to cooking! Today’s recipe is another one that is easy to make and chock full of lovely flavors! The translation of the name of this recipe is chicken with pancetta and mustard! Total time in making this recipe is about an hour, and it serves 4. Are you ready to head into the kitchen? OK! Let’s go!

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs and 5 drumsticks, bone in, skin on
1/3 cup of Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Spanish style paprika
Salt and pepper
4 oz. chopped pancetta
1/2 cup of chopped onion
1 tsp fresh thyme, leaves removed from stems and finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
3/4 cup Pinot Grigio
3 TBS heavy cream

Ingredients

Let’s start this out by marinating the chicken. Place the first four ingredients into a zipper bag, and toss to coat the chicken well. As this sits, prepare and measure out the next four ingredients.

In a heavy skillet set to medium heat, add the pancetta. Cook until the pancetta is nicely browned.

Brown the pancetta

Remove the pancetta from the skillet and set aside. Drain off all but 1 TBS of the fat. Then add in the onions and cook until they are lightly browned. Now add in the thyme. Cook until the aroma of the thyme raises up and caresses your nose.

Onions and thyme

Remove the onion mixture to the bowl with the pancetta.

Next let’s turn our attention to the chicken. Add a bit of the EVOO to the pan, and heat. We are going to cook the chicken in batches. When the oil is hot, add half the chicken to the pan and brown on both sides.

Brown the chicken

Remove this to a plate, and repeat with the last bit of chicken. Remove this when done.

Slowly add in the wine to your skillet and stir up all the little browned bits.

The wine is added

As this starts to bubble, add back the pancetta and onions and stir.

Pancetta, onions and thyme are added back to the skillet

Then add back the chicken. Cover and cook this for about 20 minutes turning the chicken every so often. Check the chicken to see if it is fully cooked through. If it is not, go another 5 minutes or so and check again. When the chicken is done, remove it from the skillet to a plate and cover with foil.

Now get out that heavy cream, and add it to the pan juices. Stir this up until the sauce is heated through.

The sauce after the cream has been added

Add the chicken back to the pan and stir to coat the chicken with the gravy.

The chicken goes back into the pan

Heat through and serve!

Dinner is served!

To go along with this dish I prepared a porcini risotto, and I served the remaining Pinot Grigio.

If you try this recipe, please be sure to let me know if you liked it! Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today! Have a terrific Tuesday! Be well…. ^..^

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Introducing Tasty Tuesday!

What is tasty Tuesday? Well…I came to the decision, after realizing that I have been posting recipes sporadically, and cooking is one of my passions, that I would devote every Tuesday this year to posting recipes…As I write this, my belly is full, the smell of mushrooms and garlic permeates my home! Dinner was fantastic tonight! And, yes, that is a tease for a post tomorrow! Recipes on Tasty Tuesday is my own personal challenge which I will share with you….

If you want to check out recipes that I have posted so far, click on that button on the right that says “Category” and then scroll down and click on “The Recipe Box.” Feel free to check it out! There are some good ones, and quite a few are featured first on Google search! 🙂

I do love reading food blogs too, and highly recommend that you stop by and check out Conor’s One Man’s Meat. Conor’s posts are full of humor, great kitchen tips, and some of the best recipes! I have tried a number of them and he has not steered me wrong with any of them! Thank you Conor!

I also recommend Lesley’s blog Lola Rugula for fresh, tasty and easy to prepare recipes! I have gotten some great information from Lesley’s site, and the dog loves the PB biscuits!

And from down under, my friend Gaz does some amazing breakfasts and dinners! He is reviewing places to eat in Canberra, Australia, and should you decide to visit, check some of these places out before you go! His website is: Yummy Lummy!

So, stay tuned for the beginning of Tasty Tuesday! Tomorrow, the recipe features mushrooms and garlic! It is easy to cook and full of amazing flavors!

Be well! ^..^

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Comfort Foods for the Fall Season

We officially moved into fall a couple of weeks ago, and the fall season always makes me think about those comfort food recipes that I have not made for a while. So, today, I thought that I would share with you some of my favorite fall recipes! Let’s head off to my recipe box, shall we?

A really good soup comes to mind, and there is nothing like taking the leftover rotisserie ham and making a navy bean soup. For some reason using the rotisserie ham gives this soup a bit of smokiness. The trick to this soup is adding 5 of the chili de arbol for a background kick. Also running a couple of cups of the soup through the blender gives it a lovely natural thickness due to the beans…

Midway through cooking

Navy Bean Soup

Another dish that I have not made all summer is short ribs. It is the slow cooking process in a dutch oven, plus the use of a really good beer that makes this dish!

Short ribs

Short Ribs

You know that I love bacon, and a really good fall dish is bacon wrapped pork loin chops served up with mashed potatoes, and a late summer green vege! The touch of rosemary inside the wrapped chop makes this dish amazing!

Chops wrapped in bacon

Pork Loin Chops

As the nights get cold, there is nothing more comforting to the belly than a macaroni and cheese! The secret to making a great mac ‘n cheese is a really good white sauce. Once you come up with that white sauce, you can play around with it by adding different things…I once made one with a combo of blue and jack cheese. Then I topped it off with blue cheese and roasted honeyed walnuts…This photo is one that I usually make using leftover rotisserie ham and Tillamook medium cheddar!

Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Barb’s Mac n Cheese with Ham

One final recipe…How about a lovely Chicken Cordon Bleu? Bernaise sauce makes this dish, plus using a really good cheese inside your little chicken bundles. The trick in this recipe is to keep the cheese from oozing out! Doesn’t this look good?

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Chicken Cordon Bleu – Barb’s Way

Are you hungry now? I am! Please let me know if you try any of these warming comfort foods! Enjoy your Wednesday, and many thanks for visiting with me today!

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Pizza Alfredo!

I wanted to create something with chicken, artichokes and bacon, giving a lot of thought to what I could do with these three ingredients. I had thought about making a lasagna with these ingredients, but then finally settled on something easier! A pizza! So come along, and head into the kitchen with me as I put this together with you!

Ingredients

Ingredients
Pizza dough
1/2 cup of alfredo sauce
1 tsp oregano, I used dry
6 tops of fresh basil chiffonade, divided
1 tomato chopped
1 1/2 cups of fresh roasted chicken, shredded
1/2 cup pancetta (Italian bacon), cut into small cubes
1 cup each of mozzarella and cheddar, grated

Get your pizza dough made and ready and bake at 375 degrees for 6 minutes. Remove this from the oven and let it cool. Using a paint brush, paint the dough with the alfredo sauce.

Spread on the alfredo sauce

Next, sprinkle on the oregano, 1/2 of the basil, followed by the tomato.

Sprinkle on the herbs and tomatoes

Then sprinkle with a bit of the cheese. Follow this with the chicken and the pancetta and the remaining basil.

One colorful pizza!

Pretty, isn’t it? Then dot the pizza with the artichoke hearts.

Top with artichoke hearts

Top with the remaining cheese, covering the pizza evenly.

Then cheese

Place this in the oven and bake for roughly 15 minutes, until the crust browns. when done, remove from the oven.

Right out of the oven!

Let the pizza sit for about 5 minutes, slice and then serve it up!

Dinner is served!

I hope that you enjoy the gentle flavors of this pizza as much as we did!

Now go out and have a great Sunday, and thank you for joining me in the kitchen!

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Country Chicken

That Cabernet was so good in that stew that I posted yesterday, I had to try it with chicken! What? Red wine with chicken? You betcha! This dish is rich in flavor and is easy to make! This recipe comes from “Cooking with Wine” written by Virginia and Robert Hoffman, with a couple of modifications…Here is a preview…

Preview

Ready to head into the kitchen?

Ingredients
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2#’s boneless chicken thighs
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes with the juice
8 cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed and cut in half
1 15 oz. can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 lemon, cut into slices, seeds removed
5 TBS capers, rinsed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
parsley for garnish

Take the chicken out and let it sit while preparing the rest of the food. Get the onion chopped, and the wine measured out. Then in a bowl, combine the carrots, tomatoes, garlic, garbanzo beans, lemon, capers and red pepper flakes.

Carrots, tomatoes, garlic, garbanzos, lemon, capers and red pepper flakes

In a fry pan, add the oil and heat over medium high heat. When hot add the chicken and brown on both sides.

Brown the chicken

When browned add the onions and cook until the onions wilt. Then add the wine

A pouring shot for Conor!

and cook for about 5 minutes reducing the volume of fluid by half.

Reduce the liquid

Then add the vegetable mixture.

Add the vegetable mixture

Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes covered. Then remove the pieces of lemon from the pan, and cook another 15-20 minutes.

Lemon removed…

I served this up over jasmine rice and topped the dish with the parsley.

Dinner is served!

Don’t forget to have a glass of Cabernet with this dish! It is a perfect compliment!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope that this dish inspires you enough that you would like to try it! If you do, let me kno2w! Have a good day!

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Chicken Trieste

Armed with chicken breasts, Roma tomatoes and mushrooms, I head off into the kitchen. What else do I have here that I can add to this? How about some fresh basil, artichoke hearts and capers? It has been a while since I have taken you into the kitchen, so why don’t we head on in?

My inspiration for this came after having a dinner at one of our local spots where I had a chicken dish that was pretty amazing…could I create those flavors at home? This recipe, Chicken Trieste, comes pretty close! How about a preview?

Preview

Ingredients
2 boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of flour seasoned with garlic powder, paprika, salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
4 TBS butter
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
8 crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 small shallot finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, peeled
1 TBS capers, rinsed
12 oz. frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted
14 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup robust red wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

The first thing to do is get everything prepped and ready to go. The dish takes about a half hour to cook, with prep time, give yourself one hour.  Pound the breasts until you get them to about 1/4″ thick. Wash and slice the mushrooms, and set aside. You need to keep these separate from the rest of the veges. Get your garlic and shallot ready. Heat water in a pot and when it boils, drop in the whole tomatoes and stir. After about a minute, turn off the heat and pull them out of the water. Run under cold water and peel as you go! Then slice and dice and add to a mixing bowl. Next add the capers and artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Get your herbs, broth, wine and cream ready.

Prepped and ready to go

Now take the chicken breasts and cut into 8 pieces.

Chicken is ready for breading

Dredge in flour mixture, then drop into the egg to coat, followed by the breadcrumbs. Set these on a rack to dry for a bit. Pre-heat oven to 275 degrees. Then take 1 TBS of butter and 1 TBS of olive oil and add to a fry pan. Heat over medium heat and when hot start browning the chicken. Do this in two batches so that you do not crowd the pan. You will need to add additional butter and olive oil on the second batch. When cooked place in the warmed oven.

Chicken is cooked and kept warm in the oven

Now on to the sauce! Wipe out the pan and add another TBS of butter. Melt the butter over medium heat then add the mushrooms, garlic and shallots. When all have softened add the tomatoes, capers, and artichoke hearts. Heat for another 5 minutes. You will notice that the vegetables will be giving off juice. This is great as it adds their flavors to the dish!

The veges and juices

Next add in the chicken broth and the wine.

Wine and broth added

Add 3/4 of the basil and the oregano and continue to stir.

Let this cook for 5 minutes. Then slowly add the cream. Stay attuned to your sauce and stir as you do not want to burn it!

Cream added

Let this cook at a simmer for about 5 minutes. Then add 1 TBS of butter to help thicken the sauce. Add in the Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Cook for another 5 minutes. Then add the chicken back into the pan to coat with the sauce.

Serve this up and top with the remaining basil!

Dinner is served!

Please let me know if you try this dish! Thanks for joining me in the kitchen today, and have a great weekend!

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Favorite Food Fotos!

I have been thinking about food lately and the fact that I have not done a food post of late. So I got to thinking about past posts and decided that today I would share some of my favorite food shots with links to recipes in case you would like to see how to make something.

Let’s start with my Oven Fried Pork Chops. This recipe is one that has made many, many boards on Pinterest.

Oven Fried Pork Chops

Oven Fried Pork Chops

I love prawns and just wish I could get my husband to eat them. Here are some yummy Tequila Prawns!

Tequila Lime Prawns

Break Out the Tequila!

I love Pizza and we have it quite often. Here is a different kind of pizza, one with carne asada and salsa!

Carne Asada Pizza

Carne Asada Pizza

How about a pasta dish that is to die for? I got this recipe from Gregg in Hawaii…

Italian Chicken with Orzo

Gregg’s Italian Chicken with Orzo!

In case you missed the burger challenge, here is a cheeseburger that will get your juices flowing!

One cheesy bacon burger!

Burger Challenge – One Man’s Meat

I hope that you have enjoyed this visit to the past with recipes and food photos! Enjoy your Wednesday, and thanks for visiting today!

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