20 posts tagged “food network”
I bookmarked this Bobby Flay recipe quite a while back - which is why I'm submitting it to Ruth's Kitchen Experiments for her Bookmarked Recipes event. :) Originally when I came across this recipe, I wanted to roast the thighs to get a nice, crispy skin. As I mentioned earlier, there is no point in eating skin (at least to me) unless it's nice and crispy. But, after several days of eating poorly by going out and eating greasy food at Lollapalooza, I decided I should try to lighten this recipe up a little and - cue the tears - remove the skin from the thighs. Sadface.
So, that said, I am not really into baking any kind of chicken. Browning it on a pan and finishing it in the oven, sure. But I am not a fan of throwing a piece of chicken in the oven. It's just really not appealing to me. I decided to broil these chicken thighs because that way they'd get a little color and it would help to caramelize the glaze on top. Plus, they cook up insanely quickly and a broiler is essentially an upside down grill anyway, right?
The broiler turned out to be a great idea for these thighs. They ended up nice and juicy (as thighs generally do; I mean, they ARE the best part of the chicken you know). I did add some garlic and red pepper flakes to the glaze. I'm sort of surprised that this recipe doesn't have any sort of pepper in it, coming from Flay and all. Despite the amount of tangerine juice in this recipe, and the reduction to concentrate the flavor, it still wasn't quite as citrusy as I wanted. Next time I might marinate the thighs in the tangerine/thyme mixture (before reducing the liquid) so it can permeate a little more. Other than that, this was a simple, tasty recipe and with the modifications, very healthy, too.
Tangerine-Maple Glazed Chicken Thighs
Serves 2
Adapted from Bobby Flay
1 tsp. canola oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic. sliced or minced
1 cup tangerine juice
1 sprig thyme
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 tsp. tangerine or orange zest
4 thinless chicken thighs (bone in or boneless)
Heat up the oil in a small saucepan and then cook the onion until translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute or so. Add the tangerine juice and the thyme. Bring the mixture to a boil and continue boiling it, stirring occasionally, until it has reduced down to about 1/4 cup or a little less.
Strain the tangerine mixture into a bowl and then whisk in the red pepper flakes, soy sauce, maple syrup and zest.
Meanwhile, preheat the broiler and spray your broiling pan with some cooking spray. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Broil them for about 5 minutes per side for boneless and about 7 minutes per side for bone-in. Brush one side of the thighs with the glaze and put back in the broiler for about a minute. Repeat with the other side.
Nutrition Information (2 thighs and half the glaze): Calories: 271 / Fat: 7.9g / Saturated Fat: 1.6g / Carbs: 20g / Sugars: 18g / Protein: 28g
This weekend, my friend Joelen invited me to tag along with her to the International Home + Housewares Show here in Chicago. Being that "home and housewares" = food, I definitely couldn't turn down that opportunity! Joelen and I got to sample tons of great food, see some new, innovative kitchen products and meet a few celebrity chefs. We also snagged some free stuff and a lot of trade magazines.
We were able to meet and get (free) cookbooks signed by Cat Cora (Cooking from the Hip), Todd English (The Figs Table) and Curtis Stone (Cooking with Curtis). All seemed really nice but Curtis was my favorite. He was seriously hilarious! After Cat realized I was Greek, she let me know she had dinner with Nia Vardalos that weekend. Greeks unite! Hah.
As a bonus, we got Pam Anderson's The Perfect Recipe cookbook for free, too. I also hung around Joelen as she got a book signed by Rocco DiSpirito, who was a lot friendlier and warmer than I imagined, to be honest. And did I mention gorgeous? *swoon* Although the line to meet Alton Brown and get his Gear for Your Kitchen book was ridiculously long (and they ran out), I did see Alton on my way to the bathroom so I said hello to him, as well. I *heart* Alton.
Cookbook Giveaway!
To spread the love, I want to give away an extra cookbook that I was given (not autographed): Cat Cora's Cooking from the Hip. So, if you are interested in the Iron Chef's cookbook, please comment on this post by Sunday night. On Monday morning, I will randomly select a comment to win the book. Please be sure to leave your email address or blog URL if I don't already "know" you so that I have a way to be in contact if you're the winner!
I love risotto but I don't make it too often because I try to limit my intake of "whites" and, well, I'm pretty sure that whole grain risotto doesn't exist. Even if it did, it would be an abomination! I've been wanting to try Giada's dirty risotto for a while now because it's a very hearty risotto, fit for a main course serving. Since it has a protein, veggies and a starch it's pretty much a meal in itself...but I did pair our dinner tonight with a baby spinach salad.
I did adapt the recipe (of course). I bulked up the veggies and the sausage a little bit, but used chicken sausage to lighten it up. I'm pretty certain you can find leaner chicken sausage but the spicy Italian from Trader Joe's I had on hand (which is SO good) was 190 calories a link. I added garlic, too (a Giada recipe without garlic? Almost as preposterous as an Elly recipe without it!). I was a little nervous about adding this into SparkPeople. Even with my modifications I thought it was going to be a calorie bomb. But, it's really not that bad at around 450 calories. It is slightly high in fat, but you can modify that by using leaner sausage, something in place of the pancetta, etc.
Tom and I both really liked this dish. I mean, what's not to like about a creamy, comforting meal like this? Definitely one to make again.
Dirty Risotto
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
Serves 2
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. butter
1 link (4 oz.) spicy Italian chicken sausage, casing removed
1 oz. pancetta, chopped
1 small onion, diced
1 red pepper, chopped
4 oz. mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup pecorino romano
Add the chicken broth to a small saucepan and bring to a light simmer. Keep it on the stove, simmering, as you prepare the risotto.
Over medium heat, melt the butter in a large pan. Add the chicken sausage, crumbling it as you stir it in, and the pancetta and cook for a few minutes until browned. Add the onions, red pepper and mushrooms. Saute for a few minutes before adding the minced garlic. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add the rice and stir to coat, "toasting" it a little. Add the wine and cook it off until it's almost completely evaporated.
Add a ladel of the simmering chicken broth to the pan and stir continiously until almost absorbed. Continue adding chicken broth by the ladel, every time the rice has nearly absorbed it, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite. Remove from heat and stir in the romano.
Nutritional Information, Per Serving, using Trader Joe's Spicy Italian Chicken Sausage: Calories: 451.5 / Fat: 19.5g / Carbs: 39.5g / Dietary Fiber: 2g / Protein: 24.8g
About once a month, I find myself with a couple of thawed pork chops and no ideas for them. See, I am not crazy about pork chops. I will definitely eat them, but they're not my favorite. My husband, on the other hand, loves pork chops...which is why I try to make them about once a month.
After a day out in Chicago's "wintry mix" of snow, rain, wind and ice, I was definitely not up for making a run to the grocery store, so I had to work with what I had on hand--which wasn't much. I figured I would marinate the pork chops in something simple, and then remembered a marinade Giada used on her show for drumettes, so I decided to use that. I have made this recipe with chicken before here and it's great.
After marinating the chops, I pan fried them for a couple minutes to caramelize before putting them in the oven. I actually preferred this marinade with the pork over the chicken! I definitely recommend the pan frying because the caramelization gives them extra flavor and makes them so good.
We had this with some brown rice and a really simple recipe for golden-crusted brussels sprouts. It was so easy and turned out delicious! I used grana padano for the cheese.
Balsamic Pork Chops
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis
2-3 pork chops (I used center cut, boneless)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 sprigs of rosemary
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 Tbsp. canola oil
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
In a ziplock bag, combine the vinegar, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, rosemary and garlic. Shake/squeeze the bag to dissolve the brown sugar. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Place the pork chops in the bag and massage the marinade into them. Marinate the chops for 3-4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400*
Heat the canola oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium heat. Add the pork chops (reserving the marinade) and cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, until they caramelize. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until pork chops reach an internal temperature of 150.
Meanwhile, add the reserved marinade and a pinch of red pepper flakes to a small saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and cook until thickened (the 15 minutes the pork chops are in the oven should do it).
Brush the cooked pork chops with the marinade and serve.
Another day, another pork chop.
We are pretty limited with both our freezer and fridge selections at the moment, so I needed something simple and with common ingredients for tonight's dinner. I decided to just use Giada's extremely basic, easy recipe for parmesan pork chops. I used romano instead of parmesan because that is the cheese I always have on hand (I prefer it to parmesan). These were great. Nothing absolutely amazing but they come together very quickly and are an extremely easy weeknight meal.
I made a really simple salad of baby romaine and grape tomatoes tossed with lemon vinaigrette. All I did for that was crush a clove of garlic, squeeze the juice out of one lemon, and add extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. I let it sit while I made the rest of the meal to marry the flavors and plucked the garlic clove out before tossing with the greens.
A while back, I saw a Giada episode where she made this roast beef with spicy parsley tomato sauce and thimbles with artichokes and mushrooms. I tried and didn't particularly care for the thimbles, but I kept the roast beef recipe in my "to try" file. I'm glad I did. We had it for dinner tonight, and it was great; not to mention incredibly easy.
I used top round instead of sirloin tip/chuck because it's a little leaner and is a pretty tender cut as far as rounds go. To be honest, I didn't measure the sauce ingredients at all. I just threw it together and did it by taste. Looking at the recipe now, though, I have to say I definitely didn't use anywhere near 1/2 cup of olive oil.
I just love roasted tomatoes. These were particularly flavorful because they roasted right along with the meat. Tom and I both enjoyed this meal. The sauce could easily be a pasta sauce and I was actually planning on serving this with pasta, but Tom wanted rice. Thanks, Giada!
I think I've mentioned before that I don't like to cook on Fridays. Any other day I have no problem with it and often look forward to it. But on a Friday, the last thing I want to do is make anything that requires anything over incredibly minimal effort. We tend to go out or eat a crockpot meal on Fridays because of this.
Tonight, I decided to make a really simple meal. I grilled up some chicken (marinated in EVOO/balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning) and placed it on top of Tyler Florence's watercress salad with roasted tomato dressing and goat cheese croutons. By the way, they are not really croutons so much as crostini with goat cheese. But bread + goat cheese under any name = good in my book.
This was a really simple, really good, healthful meal. I really liked the tomato dressing as something different than the ordinary vinaigrette. I wasn't necessarily blown away by it but it was refreshing and flavorful. I'd make it again. The only thing I did differently was double the garlic.
Since I really liked Bobby Flay's German Potato Salad recipe I thought I would try another (my second) Bobby Flay recipe tonight, so I tried his ginger-soy-lime marinated shrimp. Yum! I did use peeled shrimp, though. I skewered them with peapods before grilling, and they were delicious.
Between the country ribs and the bacon, this entry certainly won't be getting a "light" tag. I know, I know, I am *supposed* to be eating healthier now that I'm back to cooking, but these country ribs were just staring at me from the freezer. I bought them a month or two ago really, really cheaply and froze them. I've never made ribs before. Actually I never really liked ribs all that much until fairly recently.
Since this was my first time making ribs, I went the easy route and used bottled sauce. Our favorite is Sweet Baby Ray's. I accidentally bought the hot and spicy kind, but it was great.
As for the country ribs, I just rubbed them with some salt, pepper, cumin and garlic powder. I cooked them at 250* for about 2.5 hours.
Then, I brushed some sauce over the ribs, covered them with foil and continued to cook them an additional 45 minutes, basting once with more sauce halfway through.
These came out tender and delicious, but next time I would probably increase the time in the oven by another hour or so, just to get them even more tender.
Now, I love grilled meats and attending barbecues but I tend to not like barbecue food all that much. See, most of the picnic/barbecue food I have been privy to, like coleslaw and potato salad, is swimming in mayo-based sauce. I don't know if I have ever mentioned this before but I really, truly HATE mayonnaise. More than a hate, it is actually a fear. I cannot even look at it without getting a little queasy.
So, to keep with a barbecue theme but keep myself from becoming ill, I decided to make a vinaigrette-based cabbage slaw and a German potato salad. Not much to the slaw. The dressing was just red wine vinegar, oil, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic.
The German potato salad recipe is one of Bobby Flay's. I modified it slightly. We both loved it. But then, how can you NOT like potatoes and bacon?
1 to 1 1/2 pounds new potatoes (I used baby Yukon golds)
1/4 pound bacon
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (I omitted)
1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cider vinegar (I used white wine vinegar)
Fresh snipped chives, optional garnish
Minced parsley, optional garnish
Hard boiled eggs, optional garnish
Scrub potatoes and cook in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and, while hot, skin and cut into 1/4-inch slices. You should have about 4 cups. Set aside.
Place bacon in a skillet and fry until almost crisp. Remove bacon from pan and add onion and celery, cook until tender and transparent, remove from pan.
Drain off all but one tablespoon of bacon fat; add flour, sugar, salt and pepper to skillet stir until slightly browned. Add vinegar and water and cook until mixture is slightly thickened. Add back the bacon, onion, and celery.
Pour hot dressing over potatoes; stir gently to blend. The potatoes should look glossy. Garnish with hard-boiled egg slices, sprinkle minced parsley, and chives over top. Serve warm.
Tonight I decided to try Tyler Florence's smothered pork chop recipe since we still had a couple pork chops to get rid of, as well as some buttermilk. They turned out great!
Because I cannot follow a recipe...well, ever, I did make a couple small changes. I omitted the onion powder (I don't really use it, so I rarely have it on hand) and saute a few tablespoons of chopped onion in the pan after the chops had browned and before I put the flour in the pan. I didn't actually measure out the flour/spice mixture, either. I also used boneless chops, since that's what we had in the freezer.
We ate these with buttermilk mashed potatoes and roasted green beans.
