Thai-Style Minced Chicken

The first time I encountered ground chicken, I was kind of grossed out.  However, add enough Asian sauces and spices and it turns out I'll enjoy myself pretty thoroughly.  I've made this recipe twice now, both times doing about the same thing for the main componentry but taking the rest of the meal, fixin's and whatnot, in very different directions.  See below for notes.

The Recipe

1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 cup basil, sliced
peanut (or sesame) oil

Heat a tbsp of oil over high, then add onion, then bell pepper for a minute or two each, then garlic briefly.  Set aside, and heat two more tbsp of oil and lightly brown the chicken.  Stir in the veggies and jalapenos, then soy sauce, then fish sauce, then basil.  Serve over rice.

Notes

For the stir-fried chicken, I've generally started with sesame oil in place of peanut oil in the spirit of using what I have on hand.  I'm not sure exactly how they expect the onion and pepper to be cut (small but not too small?), but there isn't really a wrong way, maybe just a slower one...

The last instruction they give is to serve over rice.  I've done that, and it got pretty positive feedback.  Originally, though, I'd kind of leaned toward a Latin fusion approach, subbing in turkey as a New World fowl and serving (to myself) in tortillas.  I only thought to capture that approach on camera:

Crispy Roast Chicken with Lemon-Herb Sauce

Obviously I can't let Emma have the last word in crispy chicken...  This one comes courtesy of America's Test Kitchen, and while it's more labor intensive than some other recipes, it's hard to argue with the results.  The skin does crisp up deliciously, and it makes me want to cook with shallots more. To wit:

The Recipe

3 1/2 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken, mix of parts
1 - 1 1/4 c chicken broth

1 medium shallot, minced
1 tsp flour (optional?)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp parsley, minced
1 1/2 tbsp chives, minced

butter, salt, pepper, olive oil

Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil medium-high, and add chicken skin-side down until golden-brown (5-8 minutes).  Flip chicken, lower heat to medium-low, add 3/4 c broth, cover and cook 10-15 minutes.  Remove chicken to a plate and liquid to cup.  Wipe skillet with paper towel, heat oil medium-high and add chicken again, skin-side down until "deep golden brown" (about 5 minutes).  Remove (back) to plate and cover; skim fat from reserved liquid and add broth to about 3/4 c.

Now, heat shallot over low heat, about a minute.  Add flour and cook about 30 seconds; add broth, heat to medium-high, simmer and scrape up chicken bits...  Reduce to about 1/2 c, stir in juices from resting chicken, remove from heat and stir in lemon juice, parsley, chives, and butter.

The Results

Re-reading the recipe, I'm not sure I added all the herbs, but the shallot-lemon-broth sauce was still excellent!

Stewed Collard Greens & Chorizo

I don't have much to add to this recipe, but it's just too good not to share here.  You get your meat and veggies in one very savory pot/bowl.  Just follow the recipe!

The Recipe

1 bunch collard greens, leaves removed from stems and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 lb fresh chorizo, casing removed
1 quart stock
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce

Brown the chorizo in a bit of oil in a soup pot.  Then add stock, vinegar, soy sauce and hot sauce, put in the collard greens, cover loosely and stew for about 20 minutes, until the greens are soft and wilted.

Notes

My only notes: The biggest thing is to use fresh chorizo, not the smoked and packaged type.  I use chipotle Tabasco sauce, and a substitution for vegetable stock is pretty tasty too even though it's still not vegetarian-friendly...

And turns out I do have a picture (with the wrong chorizo, though):

Honey Mustard Chicken

Trying to get a lot of my favorites and reliable stand-by's out of the way, so time now for Honey Mustard Chicken.  Although, to be fair, I don't really follow that recipe too closely.  Yeah, it was helpful to use their cooking guidelines: 350 degrees, about 30 minutes, flip and another 10-15.  And I try to use equal parts mustard and honey as they prescribe.  But I ignore their spice additions (maybe if they called for some thyme that would get my attention).  I also prefer using skinless, boneless thighs when ol' Morton Williams has 'em.

In any case, it's a straightforward but tasty dish, and it's worth keeping the two main sauce ingredients (honey and mustard, if you're paying attention) around.  Here's it with some classic kale chips:

And here it is accompanied by roasted Brussels sprouts with pepperoni.  This concept (not even really a recipe) deserves its own paragraph.  It's so simple - just half a sprout with a pepperoni on top.  Amazing, though:

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

After trying out a number of pork chop recipes, here's the one I've gone back to by far the most.  Breading and baking the chops just seems to be much simpler and harder to mess up than pan-searing it.  Instead of stressing about not over- or undercooking your chops, you have a little bit of fun getting your hands dirty breading it, then just let it sit in the oven some 40 minutes. OK to get specific:

The Recipe

pork chops
butter crackers (1-2 servings per chop)
1 egg
butter
garlic powder, salt and pepper

Beat the egg(s); crush the crackers and sprinkle in the seasonings and anything else you want to mix in.  Dip the chops in egg, then coat with the cracker mixture.  Put in a baking dish with pats of butter - a quarter cup for two chops.  Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

Thoughts

I've experimented with different substitutions and additions to the breading - Corn Flakes, pretzels, Goldfish, Parmesan.  But it's hard to top the way the butter crackers absorb the juices and, yes, butter.  If you do want to change it up, I recommend mixing equal parts crushed butter cracker and breading element of choice.

Another advantage of the hands-off baking approach is that, while it's cooking, you have plenty of time to prepare a vegetable or other side, e.g., roasted asparagus, Parmesan zucchini, or sauteed kale.

Pretzel pork with roast asparagus

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

I haven't cooked this one in a while, but it's definitely worth including in the archives here...  The backstory comes from when I was just starting to think about cooking for myself more, was hungry one night but didn't want to get groceries.  With help from Google and the Food Network, I found a recipe for which I actually had all of the key ingredients on hand - pasta, eggs, bacon, garlic, olive oil and parmesan cheese. Here goes:

The Recipe

1 lb spaghetti
4 oz bacon (or pancetta), chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan
pepper

Get all your ingredients queued up because this moves fast.  Start your pasta.  Beat the egg and Parmesan together.  Meanwhile, heat your oil, then bacon until crisp, then garlic for about a minute.  Your pasta should be done here - add it to the pan with about 1/2 cup of the water.  After that's mixed, turn off the heat and add the egg/cheese and some pepper.  Eat.

Notes

Returning to this recipe many, many times over the following months, I refined it to my liking with a few footnotes to the Food Network recipe:

• Start the oil just a minute or two after the pasta goes in the pot.
• Plop the bacon in with around five minutes to go. It hits that perfect point quickly! One minute it looks like it'll end up undercooked, the next it's crisping up...
• I suck at cracking eggs.
• Don't strain the pasta. Just pour out as much water as you can without losing any noodles, and the rest of the pot gets tossed with the rest of the mix.
• Never bother with parsley or (ugh) peas.

After a quick but intense 15 minutes or so, you too can end up eating this:

Asparagus & Egg

I was surprised to come across this concept for broiled asparagus and eggs - apparently it's a thing? - but I was intrigued enough to try it.

1 lb asparagus - the good end, chopped into about 1 inch pieces
1/4 onion, diced
4 eggs
lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper

Turn on the broiler and get the rack about 5 inches below.  Put 1-2 tbsp oil in a skillet and heat it in the oven.  Add the vegetables and coat in the oil, then cook until lightly browned, a few minutes.  Clear the center of the skillet and crack in the eggs.  Cook until set but still runny (could be as quick as a minute or two).  Sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and eat.

I made it as a hearty side for a steak, which overall worked out pretty well, i.e., I didn't go hungry.  I reduced the portion size but not proportionally - could have used another egg and (a lot) less onion.  Not sure I nailed it but worth trying again.  Spargel!