Ginger Chicken Skewers, for 130.

This would be one of the items I made for a friend's wedding recently, but if you're having a few people over for a cocktail party, these would be fairly simple hors d'oeuvre or part of a buffet meal that should be a pretty tasty hit.

This also harkens to my earlier comment about how 40 lbs of chicken breasts can be broken down into roughly 340 satay-style skewers.

Don't forget to soak your skewers in water for about 20 minutes before cooking or they may scorch.

And yes, it takes rather a few hours to break down 40 pounds of bulk chicken breasts, but to give you an idea, each chicken breast should make about 4-5 skewers.

Marinated chicken cubes, ready for skewering

I used the same recipe that I did in my Tangy Asian Chicken/Pork dinner, only multiplied to fit in two giant stock pots to marinate overnight.

That's a lot of soy sauce, honey, garlic, and fresh ginger.

(Thank you, Corrie, for all the grating help!)

Even in larger quantities, I stick with the measurement of equal parts honey and soy sauce, and equal parts garlic and ginger, respectively.

Ready to cook!

If you are making this for just a few people (say, 20-30) I would suggest broiling the skewers for 5-6 minutes total so the chicken remains juicy and tender.

As I was making hundreds, I baked them in a 350º oven for about 18 minutes, knowing they were going to be reheated later and would probably dry out a bit by the second heating.

I just hoped the flavors from the marinade would make up for the slightly dry texture.

Round 1 of about 4

If making this for a smaller group of people, I would suggest reducing the marinade down to a thick dipping sauce for the skewers, but only if you rinsed your chicken well before marinating. If there was any protein "goo" on the chicken your marinade will look like curds and whey. Gross.

An easier option is just to make a second batch of the marinade and reduce the sauce with no worries of contamination or questionable consistency.

Any leftovers you have would be tastily repurposed in a meal like this Quinoa Satay I posted a little while back, but this time you would use chicken stock instead of beef stock.

Either way, it's some tasty chicken!

Roasted Pasta Primavera

 

You might think that roasting vegetables negates the point of Pasta Primavera, but it doesn't. It just gives the bounty of Spring vegetables a richness and depth of flavor that is different from the freshness you would get from a quick blanching in water.

I start by peeling and chopping carrots, broccoli, and zucchini (not peeled) into similar size pieces for even cooking. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, dried organo, and dried thyme (about a tsp each).

I added some chopped spring onion at the last minute and popped them into a 400º oven for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables have softened and just started to caramelize.

I used another spring onion and clove of garlic to gently sauté the cherry tomatoes with a splash olive oil, and later a bit of white wine and chicken stock. 

After about 2 minutes of cooking I added some halved snow peas and turned the heat down to low.

(The tomatoes could be added to the pasta raw, but the Hubs does not like raw tomato. Hence, this lightly simmered sauce.)

Remove roasted veggies from the oven and spread around the sheet tray to pick up the rest of the oil and seasonings. Then toss in the bottom of a big pasta bowl.

As I had some leftover fresh mozzarella, I placed some diced cubes in the bottom of each bowl before adding the pasta.

I placed the just-shy of fully cooked fettuccine in the pot with the tomatoes and liquids to combine flavors and finish cooking. About a minute or two later I toss all of that into the large pasta bowl, add a generous handful of grated pecorino cheese, a drizzle of good olive oil, and toss everything to combine.

I also threw in a moderate chiffonade of basil and some chopped fennel fronds at the end for a bit of freshness.

Divide into the bowls with the diced mozzarella and enjoy.

The heat of the pasta will slightly melt the mozzarella cubes, creating little hidden nuggets of melty cheese.

This is a very healthy and flavorful dish, and if you portion out your servings so they are equal parts vegetables to pasta, you can feel largely guilt-free about a larger portion size!

Wanted: See Below

I have not had the patience to sit down and write up anything about last week's cooking marathon and ensuing wedding, so instead I'm going to show you the newest kitchen item I don't need and yet covet.

Those are nesting stoneware measuring bowls available at West Elm, and something tells me that my crappy fire engine red plastic measuring cups, which have been entirely serviceable for the past decade, are about to meet the recycling bin...

Sorry kids.

They're prettier than you.

I guess I'm just shallow like that.

Cooking Marathon in Progress...

In case any of you ever need to know, 40 pounds of chicken breasts can make roughly 340 satay skewers, if you use the 6" skewers and three 1" pieces of chicken per skewer.

Also: consider paying someone else to make them!

Chimichurri Steak

 

I love chimichurri sauce. It can come in many permutations, and somehow overcomes my intense dislike of parsley due to the blending of other herbs, garlic, and vinegar.

I go just shy of eating it right off the spoon, but that would be denying the full experience which comes when you add beef to chimichurri.

Extra bonus: it takes about 5 minutes to make, tops.

 

I followed a recipe by Bobby Flay, because even tho his voice grates on my nerves in the extreme, the man makes some pretty good food. (R.I.P. Bolo)

Tho I'm amazed he managed to leave out some sort of pepper or chile, because while they do not belong in chimichurri, I seriously think Mr. Flay has some sort of OCD when it comes to putting chilies in his dishes. (He put them in the Vidalia Relish that was supposed to accompany this dish, so at least he's consistent.)

 

Ingredients: 1 cup cilantro, 1 cup parsley, 1/2 cup mint, 4 cloves of garlic (rough chop),  3/4 to 1 cup olive oil, 1/4-1/3 cup red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.

As I am sometimes overpowered by raw garlic, I place mine in a bowl with some olive oil and microwave it for about 20 seconds to take some of the bite out of it (as I did not want to dirty a pan just for a couple cloves of garlic) before adding it to the food processor.

 

Give all the herbs a rough chop, throw them in the food processor, add the garlic and about half the red wine vinegar. You can stream in the olive oil or just add it and set the whole thing whirling, as you prefer.

Season and taste the sauce. Some people (like the Hubs) are very sensitive to vinegar, so if it's strong enough for you, stop there. If you like more kick to your sauce, add the rest of the red wine vinegar in and pulse to combine. 

I may dislike the burn of raw garlic, but I enjoy vinegar!

 

For the steak I used a super simple flank steak (actually half of one, as that will serve 2 people, if you're going by proper portion sizes...) but I made things interesting with some Danish Viking Smoked Sea Salt instead of just regular kosher salt.

Believe me when I tell you this salt is smokey, but in a delicious way, not a "what's burning?" way.

Your guests may wonder how you got that lovely outdoor grill taste when they know you never left the kitchen.

 

In a hot pan I seared the steak for about 4 minutes per side (medium-high heat) to get a medium to medium rare steak. Flank steak is a chewier cut, so you don't want to go rare on this one.

Let it rest about 7-8 minutes before slicing it against the grain to serve up, and slather with your homemade chimichurri.

 

I also made some kick-ass roasted potatoes to go along side, and I'm sure I've posted how to make those on here before. But as they take 45 minutes to an hour to cook, I had started them about half an hour before I started cooking the meat. I made the chimichurri then as well, as that gives the flavors time to meld before serving.

(Note: I did take the steak out of the fridge then, as searing cold meat is a no-no.)

I could seriously eat this meal for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. So you might want to make more steak than you need to ensure leftovers!

The chimichurri sauce should keep in your fridge for a day or two, but after that the freshness of the herbs in the vinegar will start to break down too much. (Pesto lasts longer as it has little acid.)

Try using your leftovers on eggs or in various salad dressings.

Get cookin'!

Note: I will be going briefly silent as I am helping cook/cater a friend's wedding of 130 people next week. I have never cooked in quantities like this, so I may be a bit nutty, but I will try to document what I make to post here later. Fingers crossed I've planned things out properly!

Quinoa Satay

No, this is not a post with quinoa somehow impaled on a skewer. Rather it is the use of leftover beef satay, served over quinoa with red spring onion and broccoli*.

I love Thai satay of all kinds: chicken, shrimp, beef - all are tasty, and all would work in this dish. (Just use the chicken stock if you make it with chicken or shrimp, rather than the beef stock I use here.) When I order-in, I frequently get extra orders just so I can have leftovers. And while meat on a stick is very tasty and can make a quick protein snack, this is a way to make a more rounded out meal out of your leftover satay.

*Yes, I make a lot of dishes with broccoli. I happen to really like broccoli, it's very healthy, and I can usually get 2 bunches for about $2-3, so it's a fairly cheap vegetable for how many servings it yields as well. Subsitute whatever you like. Snow peas, sugar snap peas, water chestnuts, bok choy, or bamboo shoots would all go very well in this dish as well.

I start by steaming a bit of broccoli for 2-3 minutes in a few TBSP of water with a pinch of salt. When I remove the lid, most of the water has already boiled/evaporated away, so I add a generous splash of olive oil, reduce the heat to medium, and this time threw in some chopped red spring onion. 

Sadly, that is not a ramp, just a spring onion I chose for it's lovely color, and to add a bit more flavor to the dish. It has more kick than a scallion, but is milder than an onion, like a shallot.

Cook with some of the white/red bulb base, finely sliced, and finely chop some of the green scallion-like tops for garnish.

Since I was just cooking for myself, I only used one satay skewer (even tho I show 2 here.) Removing the beef from the stick, I then slice each piece into more manageable bites.

Toss your meat of choice in with the broccoli and onion (which has cooked down a bit) and add just enough of the matching stock (in this case beef) to cover the bottom of the pan.

Turn the heat back up to medium-high to reduce.

The point of the stock is that it will rehydrate and heat through the slightly tired leftover beef, and also allow the wonderful seasonings on the outside of the meat to flavor the vegetables as well, and create a very small amount of sauce.

By now my quinoa has finished cooking. As always, rinse it very well in a fine mesh strainer before cooking it, and I season (this was 1/2 cup dry) with about a tablespoon or so of standard cooking olive oil (you don't want a super fruity flavor competing here) and salt to taste. The salt I add to the water at the start of cooking, and the olive oil I add when there is barely any liquid still covering the cooking quinoa.

I use the quinoa as a base and then pour the rest of the dish and minimal sauce over the top.

Start to finish this is another healthy 15 minute meal.

If you make it for a group it might take a bit longer, only because you would be using more liquid in the last stage of cooking and so it would take a bit longer to reduce down, but even then it probably only takes 20 minutes.

If you know the secrets to the seasonings on a Thai satay dish, by all means add a bit when you add your meat of choice. I can only guess one or two, so I just let the ample flavor that is already there dilute a bit into the sauce, and it still comes out very tasty.

Enjoy.

Cinco de Mayo +1

I have not gotten around to typing up my post about my steak dinner with homemade chimichurri, nor have I perfected my recipe (as it was my first try) for homemade tomatillo salsa, a.k.a. Salsa Verde.

So, I'm doing a re-post.

I'm sure you'll forgive me, because it's still a very tasty soup, and maybe you missed the post the first time around!

So check out my Àndale Aztec Soup and keep the celebration going all weekend!

Scallops with Marsala Shiitake Mushrooms & Peas

Decadence.

Indulgence.

Super freakin' easy.

Minced 1/4 shallot

Mike was away visiting his family for a few days so I had a minor shellfish festival for one.

I could have eaten this every day, but sadly, scallops can get pricy fast.

As do shiitake mushrooms.

But both are totally worth it.

After you clean your mushrooms with a damp cloth or paper towel and slice them to your desired size, sauté them in a bit of olive oil and butter on medium. (Maybe 1TBSP olive oil and 1 Tsp butter.)

Once they are browned, season with salt, stir, and then set them aside for later.

Do not wipe down the pan.

Add a new TBSP of butter to the pan, and once it melts place your scallops in it. Cook roughly 3 minutes per side.

Once you flip the scallops, add some frozen baby peas to the other side of the pan, as they only need about 3 minutes to heat through, but they can lower the temperature in the pan, so keep them on the opposite side as the scallops.

I also added about 1/4 of a shallot that I had chopped finely in with the peas.

Once the scallops are seared on both sides (but still tender and slightly uncooked at their middle) I remove the scallops, add a splash (1/4 cup) of marsala wine to the pan, add the mushrooms back in, and stir to combine while the wine reduces down to just a small drizzle

Plate it up and drizzle the remaining marsala-butter sauce over the scallops.

Devour.

Quick Quesadilla

No one likes Hospital Food, so of course I bring something tasty every time I visit. This time I thought, what with the boring repetition of meals like "pot roast" hockey pucks in molten brown goo, I'd spice things up a little bit and make a quick Mexican quesadilla.

First I spray what will be the outside of the flour tortilla with a bit of olive oil cooking spray and place that side down in a non-stick skillet.

I start it (in the cold skillet) with a layer of sliced muenster cheese, and then added a mixture of leftover roast chicken and tomatoes. 

Notice: only on one side of the tortilla.

Since transplant patients cannot have raw fruit or vegetables, I washed the tomatoes well, chopped them, seasoned them with salt, and then sautéed them in a bit of olive oil and a few tablespoons of chicken stock for about 3-4 minutes, until the liquid has boiled and basically evaporated. When it is almost evaporated I toss in the chicken, fresh cilantro (no raw fresh herbs...sigh), and a pinch of cumin. This way everything is flavorful, and the tomatoes have cooked enough to  kill anything nasty but still have most of their fresh tomato taste.

Another sneaky tip:

Instead of buying a can of black beans that needs seasoning and effort, I buy a can of black bean soup (I like Goya's) and sift some of the beans out with a fork. Then I get to have the soup later as well, and I admit my favorite part of black bean soup has always been the broth, so if it's not jam-packed with beans when I eat it, I'm not displeased.

Sprinkle the beans over the chicken, tomatoes, and cheese.

Top with more muenster cheese, fold the other half of the tortilla over, and crank the heat to medium-high.

Cook until you see the cheese starting to melt and then flip.

When all the cheese is melted and the tortilla has gotten browned and crispy, you know you're ready to eat.

Or in this case, wrap it in some tinfoil and run it up to the hospital!

This would also make a good picnic lunch with the warm weather starting to show its sunny face.

Shrimp & Chorizo Quinoa

This was a quick lunch I made using a few leftovers, a few pantry staples, and some fresh herbs.

Ingredients: cooked quinoa, broccoli, chorizo, shrimp, and fresh mint.

Set your (well-rinsed) quinoa to cook before starting on the rest.

I start by cooking up some broccoli florets.

I add a bit of olive oil to the pan, add the broccoli, a splash of water, a pinch of salt, and cook lid-on on medium-high heat until starting to steam (about 3-4 minutes or to your preferred degree of tenderness.)

Then remove the lid and cook off remaining water.

Next I add more olive oil to the pan and sauté the Spanish chorizo, allowing the seasoning and fat to mingle with the olive oil in the pan.

When it's time to flip the chorizo to the second side I add a few defrosted raw shrimp into the mix, and add another pinch of salt (largely on the shrimp). Cook the shrimp about 2-3 minutes per side until opaque and firm.

(Odd shapes are the stem of the broccoli with the tough outer layer peeled off and then sliced.)

Season the cooked quinoa with olive oil and salt to taste and place in the bottom of your dish.

Add fresh mint to the pan, stir, and serve on top of the quinoa.

The whole meal takes about 15 minutes to make and is packed with protein and flavor.

If you have leftover quinoa already in your fridge, it takes about 10 minutes.

It travels quite well and the flavors will meld if you choose to make it ahead and bring it to work.

Try it out!

Tangy Asian Tenderloin

So remember when I wrote about the Tangy Asian Chicken Thighs that I just could not stop eating? No? Ok well look back here.

I knew when I created the marinade that it would be brilliant on pork as well, and last night I tested my theory. And I was right. SO good.
And the same proportions used on 6 chicken thighs worked on one 1.25 pound tenderloin.
3 TBSP honey
2 1/2 TBSP soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic, grated
2 inches of fresh ginger, grated

For my basic How To on cooking a pork tenderloin, see here.

Step one: marinate a few hrs in the fridge. 

Looks kinda gross, I know, but it will be so tasty in the end.

Take the meat out of the fridge and LET IT COME TO ROOM TEMPERATURE. 

Preheat your oven to 400º and set your pan to medium heat w/ just enough olive oil that your meat won't stick. I was using a non-stick pan, so I only used a small drizzle.

Slapdash photo, I know.

Cook on the first side seven minutes.

Then flip and place pan in the oven for another seven minutes.

Remove from pan and let rest, and place the leftover marinade in the hot pan to reduce to a delicious sauce. Remember to cover the pot handle with something, as that sucker has been in a 400º oven.

Super crap photo. Apologies.

Just like last time I served this with some seasoned quinoa, and roasted a mix of broccoli and cauliflower, because that's what I had goin' on in my fridge.

For the quinoa (keen-wah): follow package instructions, and when it is done but still in the hot pan, I sprinkle in some kosher salt and good olive oil. For this meal, I also mixed about a tablespoon of honey with a tablespoon of soy sauce, and poured that mixture over the hot quinoa and stirred well to combine. That made it so the quinoa also had a sweet and tangy flavor that tied it into the meal, but not the ginger/garlic bite that the pork had.

For the mixed veg: cut up your stalks into medium sized florets, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and roast in a 400-425º oven for 20 minutes. Done.

I don't know if this is like the time I was ordering spring rolls from the local Thai place 2-3 times a week for a solid month before OD-ing on them, but I cannot get enough of this marinade at the moment.

And the leftover pork would make a killer sandwich... maybe a panini on ciabatta with some extra sauce and some grilled eggplant. Hmmm... will have to look into that in the future ;)

Tea For ?

How cute is this?

A sweet little teapot that reminds me of some kind of helpful pachyderm... that happens to have an ergonomic knob coming out where its ear should be.

But still, adorable, and available here.

However, if this coffee pot matches your kitchen decor, something tells me you don't actually need the coffee to wake you up in the morning.

Ouch.

(Available at the same store, also in red.)

Leftovers: Roast Chicken & Pesto

I may well have posted this before, but I don't think it was because I had leftover chicken.

I think it was just a Summer-y pasta dish.

This time, I had the never-ending roast chicken leftovers, and a little mozzarella cheese, so I went back to this warm weather staple pasta dish.

While your pasta is cooking in its salted boiling water, combine in a large bowl all your shredded chicken, remaining mozzarella (I had about 1/4 of a bundle left) and roughly 1/3 of a cup of (preferably homemade) pesto.

I went with traditional Genovese basil & pine nut pesto, but I'm sure this would be lovely with whatever your favorite version is, even if that includes walnuts and mint.

Unless you were serving it to me.

In which case you should know better.

(I really hate walnuts.)

My pesto was rather tight, so I drizzled the mixture with some good olive oil before mixing it all together.

Note: this dish would also work with ricotta cheese, so if you have the last quarter of your container in your fridge with no clue what to do with so little, feel free to substitute it here.

Add hot pasta.

Toss to coat and combine.

Use a splash of pasta water if you want a little more of a "sauce" feel.

Grate a little pecorino over the top, and call it dinner delicious.