Monday, April 26, 2010

Chicken and enoki mushrooms noodles

In my last blog we made claypot chicken with corn and oregano. We had the drumsticks, thighs and wings for dinner. We were deciding whether to have chicken apple salad like a waldorf salad with the remaining chicken pieces, mainly breast, but opted for something warm so we made dry noodles ie a "kon loh mee" instead. We had dry taiwanese noodles with chopped enoki mushrooms and fennel. I thought of the enoki as it has a nice crunchy bite to it. The enoki was fried with the fennel. Separately, I fried some eshallots. The noodles were tossed with thick soy sauce, sesame oil and oyster sauce. Then I just combine all of it together. Overall, the noodles was not great, but good for a "fast food". The touch of soy sauce with extra hot fresh bullet chilli made a huge difference. Well, we still have a whole packet of this zinging hot chilli in the fridge, so it will be spicy hot food for a while I guess :-)

Bon Appetit!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Claypot Corn Chicken

This was the dinner that Andrew made last night! It's simple, uses one pot, no oily splitter splatter, we make full use of the whole chicken, AND importantly, it's yummy! When the chicken is cooked, the whiff of roasted chicken, garlic and herbs smell just floated in the air filling the house with a heavenly smell.
The chicken tasted like steam chicken and more, with a good "roasty" flavour. The claypot sealed all the flavours beautifully giving an intense and aromatic chicken with rich broth. We often add potatoes and last night we experimented with fresh sweet corn as well. The potatoes having absorbed all the rich broth while cooking was so flavourful. We used a few of the large potatoes we had in the pantry, but if buying them, we'd use several new (ie baby) potatoes instead as baby potatoes hold together better in the heat since the skin need not be peeled.

Cooked in a Rometoff clay pot.

1 Whole Chicken (corn fed if available).
2 large fresh cobs of corn (or a 4 pack of small ones), cut the sweet corn off the cob and put both aside.
2 large potatoes, quartered (or several new potatoes).
1/2 cup of white wine.

Marinade / rub
4 cloves of garlic, crushed.
1 or 2 teaspoons of salt.
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil.
2 teaspoons of chopped oregano (dry if no fresh available).

Mix marinade well and push under the chicken skin with a teaspoon, and spread around. Rub the remainder on the outside of the bird. Fill the cavity with the corn cobs. As an option you could also put a few lemon wedges into the chook as well, plus more garlic cloves and fresh oregano.

Put the chicken into a soaked claypot. Spread the potatoes around, then add the white wine. Put the lid of the claypot on and put into an unheated oven for 1 hour at 220. After 45mins, scatter the corn all over the chicken, then return to oven for another 15 mins. Remove and let rest with lid on for 10 - 15 mins.

To serve, cut the chicken as preferred and scoop corn and juices over the meat and potatoes. If you don't have potatoes, use white rice - this is especially delicious with the left over corn and juice!

This time we had the chicken thigh and wings and potatoes for dinner, with plain white rice. The remaining chicken breast we may save for making sandwiches or noodles the next day.

The carcass, we used to make stock, adding the bones, skin, corn cobs plus one onion and a couple of bay leaves to a stock pot, bring to boil then simmer for a few hours, cool & skim. It's placed in freezer in tubs, and to be used another day for making soupy noodle, or simply used as stock for cooking. Its good savings considering a carton of 500g Campbell chicken stock costs about AUD3.50. We ended up with over 2 ltrs of stock, plenty to use fresh and to freeze for later. We made a few ice cube trays of stock so I can just use as many or as little cubes as I like :-)

Bon Appetit

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Hot Spanish chorizo and leek pasta

I have not been posting any blogs the last few days. I made some good food, but none of them seem WOW enough for me to want to put on the blog. But today, Andrew made me this pasta that blew me away. It was a pretty blue day, and he blew the blues off with this pasta. Of late, we have been into experimenting cooking with leeks. I did make a pretty good leek, tuna and feta cheese pasta a few weeks ago, but I am not putting it into the blog till I next make it.

Today is about Andrew's SUPER YUMMY pasta. As those who love chilli will understand, this has a great "kick" to it. Not for faint hearted, for this is HOT. I took my 1st bite, it was yummy. It was so hot, my tongue burnt, but I just wanted to go on eating. My tongue is still burning now, 2 hours after dinner, a hot chamomile tea and a hot milo. No regrets:-)

The trick I have learnt about good pasta is that once the sauce and ingredients are cooked, it is best just to toss and mix the pasta in the sauce, with the heat OFF. That way, pasta doesnt get overcooked.

Serves two.
Pasta (chitarra) for two.
2 chorizo sausages, sliced.
1 leek, sliced.
2 cloves of garlic crushed, 2 cloves sliced.
1 or 2 small chillies, as hot as you dare.
2 large mushrooms, coarsely chopped.
Half cup of white wine.
Handful of grated cheese, a soft mild cheddar or havarti.

Cook pasta and set aside.
Heat a little olive oil in pan.
Add sliced chorizo and crushed garlic, fry over medium heat until chorizo cooked.
Add sliced leek and fry until leek separates and softens.
Add mushrooms, sliced chilli, sliced garlic, cook until mushroom softens.
Add salt and pepper as desired, then turn up the heat and deglaze pan with white wine.
Turn off heat, add cheese and mix in then add pasta, mix together well and serve

Bon Appetit!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Tuna turkish roll with greens and sundried tomatos

Last week, Coles was promoting 10 cans of GREENSEAS tuna for AUD10. We got 10 of the brine and oil flavoured ones.

I made a great tuna pasta with it, but since that happened a few days ago, I am too lazy to write up that recipe now, and shall just post my most current tuna creation.

The key to a yummy tuna sandwich, is GOOD fresh turkish bread and GOOD flavoursome olive oil. Tony, our delightful deli around the corner, has great turkish bread - crusty on the outside and soft on the inside when toasted.

Ingredients for 2p:-
Good olive oil. We use Coriole's (Season 2008) First Oil Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Balsamic vinegar. We just used Tetsuya's balsamic salad dressing, as I have yet to fine a real good balsamic oil.
Baby spinach - enough for generous layers of leaves per sandwich
4-5 basil leaves or parsley, finely chopped.
2 pieces of sundried tomato, shredded into small bits.
Easily meltable cheese of your choice
Good turkish bread
Sea salt and pepper, cracked
Tuna in brine, 65g

STEPS FOR 1 serving of sandwich

Preheat toaster oven/grill (so that it is nice and warm by the time you are ready to put bread with ingredients and cheese in. Cheese then takes less only about a minute to melt beautifully, bread is warm but not overtoasted, greens not wilted)

Cut turkish bread into halves

Onto 1 half of the bread, layer spinach leaves and chopped herb leaves on bread. Then the shredded sundried tomatoes. Spread the sundried tomatoes out so that you dont get the overintensely sour flavour in 1 mouthful. Tomato on top so that it gets slightly grilled, and protects spinach leaves from wilting.

Onto 2nd half of the bread, place cheese pieces/bits.

Toast in preheated grill for about 1- 2 minutes - ie when cheese is melted should be done.

Put tuna once out of toaster.

Drizzle GENEROUS amount of olive oil on greens, and then drizzle balsamic vinegar.

Crack a little bit salt and pepper.

Eat while its hot. Enjoy the burst of juicy greens, sundried tomatoes and olive oil on crunchy turkish bread.

Bon Appetit!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Finally, I started my foodie blog! Its work in progress, and coming up soon!