Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry

adapted from Food & Wine Magazine FEB 2014

This is so simple to make, please try it:

2 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 tbsp. soy sauce, plus more for seasoning
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsps. fresh lemon juice
1 scallion, thinly sliced
Steamed rice, for serving

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 3 minutes.  Stir in the soy sauce and sesame oil, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, 3 minutes longer.  Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice.  Season with salt, pepper and soy sauce.  Transfer the chicken to  a platter, top with the sliced scallion and serve with rice.

I served ours with fresh greens beans cooked in butter, chopped garlic, sliced almonds, salt & pepper.

This was SO delicious!!  I think what made it more fun to eat is that my son helped cook it.  He has picked up the love for cooking since he's left home and it was so neat to see him in action.  I appreciated his expertise :)

Enjoy your week and savor every moment.

Bean Soup for a Chilly Day

adapted from JAN 2014 BonAppetit

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 small fennel bulb, cored, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil, plus more for serving
3 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4" pieces
1 cup spelt (I only had spelt flour to use)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. tomato paste
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 head escarole, leaves torn into bite size pieces
1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed
Shaved Parmesan (for serving)

Prepped items and home cooked Northern beans

Pulse onion in a food processor until finely chopped.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Repeat with fennel, carrot, and celery, placing vegetables in bowl with onion.

On medium setting, heat 2 tbsps. oil in a large pot.  Add pancetta and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 3-6 minutes.

This is "Spelt flour" just in case you wondered :)

Turn heat down to medium-low.  Add spelt flour and cook, stirring often until spelt is browned, about 3 minutes.

 Add the onion, fennel, carrot, celery, and garlic to pot;  season with salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally with a flat whisk.  Stir until vegetables are softened, 6-8 minutes.  Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes, and cook until paste is slightly darkened, about 1 minute.

Add broth to pot.  With the flat whisk, scrape bottom of pot and stir until soup is a consistent mixture.  Bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 60-70 minutes.

Stir in the beans and . . .

. . .  the escarole.  Cook until the escarole is wilted and beans are warmed through, about 4 minutes.

Serve soup drizzled with oil and topped with Parmesan cheese shavings.

I knew this soup wouldn't be enough for my hubby, so I added a grilled cheese sandwich.  He was too full to have seconds. 

Enjoy your weekend, stay safe, be thankful and remember to savor every moment.

Mackerel with Crushed Potatoes & Oregano

adapted from JAN 2014 BonAppetit

2 lb. small waxy potatoes (such as baby Yukon Gold)
Kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek Yogurt
1 tsp. (or more) fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed
5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
4 6 oz. skin-on mackerel fillets*
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves
1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
*Also try it with: Black bass, branzino, snapper, or trout fillets

Place potatoes in a large pot, add water to cover, and season with kosher salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 10-12 minutes.  Drain; let cool slightly.

Meanwhile, preheat broiler.  Whisk yogurt, lemon juice, and vinegar in a small vinegar in a small bowl; season with kosher salt and pepper.  Set yogurt sauce aside.

Place potatoes on a broilerproof rimmed baking sheet and, using the bottom of a small bowl or measuring cup, press potatoes to flatten slightly.  Add garlic, drizzle with 4 Tbsp. oil, and toss to coat; season with kosher salt and pepper.  Broil potatoes until golden brown, 10-12 minutes.

Rub skin side of mackerel with remaning 1 Tbsp. oil; season with kosher salt and pepper.  Place, skin side up, on top of potatoes and broil until fish is opaque throughout and skin is crisp.   10-12 miutes.  Remove from oven and top with oregano and lemon zest.

Spoon yogurt sauce onto each plate and top with potatoes and fish; sprinkle with sea salt.

Upon a return from my month long trip to the state of Michigan (visiting my sister and her family), I had a stack of magazines waiting for me, including two Bon Appétit magazines.

I saved several recipes that looked delectable and off to the grocery store I went today to get all my ingredients.

It only took about an hour to prep and cook this recipe.  I had to use Cod fillets because none of the stores I went to had Mackerel.  

This was my first time cooking with Baby Yukon Gold potatoes.

My favorite part of combining the cooled potatoes with the oil and garlic.  It smelled so wonderful I could have eaten them then!

I never would have thought about cooking potatoes and fish together, they just don't seem together.  Don't you agree?  Anyway, I couldn't resist, the more I read this recipe the more I wanted to make it.

The yogurt sauce was savory, combined with the garlicky potatoes, gave it a perfect taste.  Topped with lemon zest and oregano, I couldn't have asked for a better flavor.  The Cod was very good but I really want to try it with Mackerel next time.  A very satisfying dinner, and healthy too!

I'm glad to be back in my kitchen once again but I do have to admit that I was a little lost trying to remember where everything was.  

Have a great week and remember to savor every moment!

 

Super Bowl XLVIII Grub

This years Super Bowl meal planning has been a lot of fun.  Especially since my family and I will be spending it together with my sister and her family up in Michigan.  Here is the menu we have planned and just so you know, we always plan our menu around the cities each teams come from.  So, here goes. . . . .

 

Burger Sliders

 

Posole

Chile con Queso

Hot Chicken Wings

Mussels, in a wine & garlic sauce

Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Salmon Pattie  Sliders

DESSERTS

Molten Chocolate Orange Lava cakes

We have a busy few days ahead before the BIG game!  Have a great weekend and remember to savor every moment!!

Snow, Sun and then more Snow!

My trip to Upper Michigan is everything I expected it to be plus more.  Snow, snow and more snow.  More than I ever saw in the five years I lived in upstate New York.  Definitely more than Virginia.

Thursday morning my sister and I decided to head up to Traverse City, MI to do some shopping.  We woke up to the first sunny day I've seen in about 2 1/2 weeks.

 Sunshine, blue skies and frozen snow on the trees and ground were a magnificent sight of God's handiwork!

The roads for the most part were like this.  The temperature was 10F degrees when we started out and probably rose up to 12F degrees by the time we headed back home.

I'm so impressed with the way this picture taken from the passenger seat I was sitting on.  What a view, wouldn't you say?  This is Rt.31 headed to Traverse City, from Manistee, MI.

On our way back, my sister made sure I saw the same herd of buffalo I saw on our last trip up here.  Sure enough, they were there!  I was so excited!

This is the sign leading into our LRBOI reservation.  So colorful against the beautiful white snow.

This is Moe and I.  Moe has been my buddy since I arrived in Michigan.  I sure am going to miss him when I head back to VA.

Today the sun hid behind the clouds.  We also had white outs and blizzard like conditions.  It's a good thing we drove to Traverse City yesterday when we did.  Who knows how long these blizzard like conditions will last??  Oh, and the weatherman is predicting another "Polar Vortex" (again) for the next couple of days!  Yay!!  :)

Enjoy your weekend, I hope it's warm where you are and remember to savor every moment!!

NFL Conference Championships and Their Quarterbacks

It's hard to believe football season is coming to another end, ending with the Super Bowl this coming February 2nd.  Why does it go by so fast?!! 

This coming Sunday, January  19th, the above four teams will be playing for their conference championships.  There are two conferences, the American Football Conference or better known as the AFC and the National Football Conference, better known as the NFC.  The winners for the AFC and NFC Conference championships will head to the Super Bowl.  

In the above image, I have selected the winners (in my opinion) of each game.

In the AFC, I'm voting with my heart, as I would love to see the Patriots and Tom Brady go to the Super Bowl once again.  Tom needs to win this SB as it could be his last one, he's no longer a spring chicken!

In the NFC, I'm voting with my brain, the Seahawks.  The Seahawks have been stupendous this year and in my opinion it's because of the their QB, Russell Wilson.  I don't want to give the credit to their coach, Pete Carroll, whom I can't stand.  Russell is a great kid too!

Below, I have posted a picture of each quarterback playing this coming Sunday:

 

Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning

Patriots vs. Broncos

 Colin Kaepernick vs. Russell Wilson

49'ers vs. Seahawks

Which ones do you think will make it to the Super Bowl??

Have a great NFL Conference Championship weekend and remember to savor every moment!