I like to use chicken legs because they are often on sale, in bulk, with backs attached. They are a good buy generally. I almost always cut off the backs and freeze them. When I have enough, I make stock.
This dish is very easy to make and is very tasty. The sauce is sweet and full of flavour.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
4 chicken leg and thighs,
salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 onion, thinly sliced 3 cloves garlic, chopped
7 sage leaves, 1 tablespoon 1/2cup white wine 1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock 2 large sprigs fresh thyme 1 teaspoon, honey balsamic vinegar
Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up. Add the wine, stock and honey. Bring to a low simmer, cover, and cook for 35 or 40 minutes. Remove the chicken, place on a plate put in a warming oven to keep warm. Place the skillet on a medium flame, add the balsamic vinegar to the braising liquid, and reduce until it starts to thickened Adjust seasoning.
Serve on a bed of fettuccine with a good dab of butter or olive oil mixed in. Lay a chicken leg on top and spoon the liquid the chicken cooked in, over the chicken and pasta.
I really do think a great way to start a weekend morning is to make some cornbread. I often made cornmeal muffins Saturday mornings but lately I have decided that skillet cornbread is the way to go. It is very good and very easy to make.I quite dislike the sweet cakey cornbread that restaurants tend to serve. Montana`s Restaurant cornbread is particularly bad. Mine is firm and not very sweet. It should be served with butter and, if you like, a bit of maple syrup. If you are more of a traditionalist, serve it with molasses.
What you need to start, is a cast iron skillet. First thing, heat the oven to 425 degrees, wipe some oil around the skillet and put it in the oven.
Ingredients
1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal 3/4 cup all purpose flour 3 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt
Mix these ingredients together in a bowl.
In another bowl, whisk together
2 large eggs, 2/3 cup buttermilk 2/3 cup milk 3 Tbsp melted butter of vegetable oil
Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Take the skillet out of the oven and scrape the mixed batter into the hot skillet. Put it back into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes. When the top is brown it is ready and should easily turn out onto a plate. Slice it as you eat it a piece at a time, to keep it warm.
This is a kind of Spanish Omelet, good hot or cold. It is very popular in Spain. Over Christmas I have been reading several books written by people who have walked the Camino de Santiago de Compostella, the old medieval pilgrimage route, and almost all of them talk about eating this tasty dish for breakfast most days.
This recipe is a compilation of about 5 different ones I found, on the internet in some of my recipe books. I think it is quite authentic.
I like using a cast iron frying pan but a non stick shallow pan would work just as well.
1-3/4 cups olive oil for frying 1-3/4 lb. (about 5 medium) potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, peeled
2-1/4 tsp. coarse salt
12 to 14 oz. onions (2 to 3 medium), diced
5 medium cloves garlic, chopped
6 large eggs
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Slice the potatoes thin, into about 1/8 inch rounds. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle on 2 tsp. of the salt, tossing to distribute it well.
Heat a 10-1/2-inch cast iron frying panon medium high. Add the oil.When the oil is very hot gently slip the potatoes into the oil with a spatula. Fry the potatoes, turning occasionally (trying not to break them) This can be tricky particularly as they are almost done. Adjust the heat so they sizzle but don't crisp or brown.
When the potatoes are tender, after 10 to 12 min., transfer them to a plate using a spatula. Use paper towel to soak up the excess oil.
Lower the heat a bit then add the onions and garlic to the pan. Fry, stirring occasionally. Cook, until the onions are very soft and translucent but not browned, about 7 to 9 min. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the onions and garlic to the plate with the potatoes. Drain most of the oil from the skillet, reserving at least 1 Tbs. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel so it's clean. Scrape out any stuck-on bits, if necessary.
By now you have beaten the eggs In a large bowl with 1/4 tsp. salt, and the pepper. Add the drained potatoes, onions, and garlic and mix gently to combine with the egg, trying not to break the potatoes.
Re-heat the skillet on medium high. Add the 1 Tbs. reserved oil. Let the pan and oil get quite hot (important so the eggs don't stick), and then pour in the potato and egg mixture, spreading it evenly. Cook for 1 min. and then lower the heat to medium low, cooking until the eggs are completely set at the edges, halfway set in the center, and the tortilla easily slips around in the pan when you give it a shake, 8 to 10 min. You may need to nudge the tortilla loose with a knife or spatula.
Set a flat, rimless plate that's at least as wide as the skillet upside down over the pan. Lift the skillet off the burner and, with one hand against the plate and the other holding the skillet's handle, invert the skillet so the tortilla lands on the plate (it should fall right out).
Set the pan back on the heat and slide the tortilla into it, using the spatula to push any stray potatoes back in under the eggs as the tortilla slides off the plate. Once the tortilla is back in the pan, tuck the edges in and under itself. Cook until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean, hot, and with no uncooked egg on it, perhaps another 5 to 6 min.
Transfer the tortilla to a serving platter and let cool a few minutes. Serve
This is what I think of as Italian country cooking. It is really called Chicken Legs in Red Wine or Pollo Al Vino Rosso. Shelley called this dish Bog Man Chicken because in the serving dish it looked like something like 1000 year old remains, dug up in some peat bog. Like the Lindow man or something like that. Don't be deterred. It is great.Simple but very tasty. I would suggest that you use a good full bodied red wine and not just some plonk you may have around. It makes a difference.
1 package brown mushrooms 1 good glug of Olive Oil 2 Tbsp rosemary assuming, you can't find fresh in which case use a full sprig 2 bay leaves 4 chicken legs 1 1/2 cup red wine 2 half inch slices of pancetta, cut into strips Salt & pepper
Get a pan large enough to easily take all four chicken legs and thighs and heat it on medium high. Add the oil, let it heat then add the rosemary and the bay leaves and finally the chicken. Brown the chicken well on all sides then add the mushrooms, stir them in. Pour in the wine and stir again. Cook the wine and mushrooms until the alcohol evaporates this will take perhaps 10 minutes. Turn the chicken often. At this point add the pancetta laying in over the chicken. Turn the heat down to medium or medium low and cook the mixture uncovered for at least half an hour. Stir and turn the chicken fairly often during this last phase of cooking. When it looks like it is close to falling off the bone it is done. Serve with rice, a vegetable and the rest of the bottle of red.
This recipe originates at Meinhardt Fine Foods in Vancouver. I have played with it a bit. I think you will like it. A link to Meinhardt is at the bottom of the page.
2 Tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste 1 can coconut milk 1 ½ tsp minced garlic 1 tsp minced ginger 1 pinch salt 4 lb chicken wings 7 oz Asian sweet chili sauce 1 fist full of Cilantro, chopped
Mix the red curry paste, garlic, ginger and salt together in a bowl. Add the chicken wings and mix them up until they are well coated. Transfer to a large resealable bag and refrigerate overnight.
When you are ready, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Put the wings and all the sauce in a roasting pan. Total cooking time should be about an hour.
After half an hour of so check the wings and stir them up in the pan so none are sticking on the bottom and so that the marinade spreads evenly as they cook. You might have to do this more than once during the last half hour of cooking. After an hour taste one, If they are not quite ready mix them up and leave them a bit longer.
When they are ready, take them out of the oven and put them into a large serving bowl, toss with the sweet chili sauce and sprinkle the cilantro over them all.
Boxing day Ithought I would try and put a bit extra into baked beans. I played around with recipes and this is what I came up with. I thought it turned out quite well.
1 lb dried navy beans
A splash of extra virgin olive oil
¼ lb of double smoked bacon
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
¾ cup molasses
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bottles of Guinness
2 cups stock (chicken, beef or vegetable)
½ tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper
Put the beans and three times their volume of water in a pan and bring to a boil. Biol for about 3 or 4 minutes, take off the heat cover and let sit for an hour.
Put the cover on the pot and place it in the oven for an hour. From that point on check every ½ hour or so, each time stirring the mixture and topping the liquid up with the other bottle of Guinness and stock until the beans are covered. Then put it back in the oven. The process will take six hours or so, It is tough to be exact with beans. When they are ready let them sit for a bit to cool off and serve with some nice fresh crusty bread.
I think of radicchio as something I put into a salad but, I had seen a number of recipes in which it is cooked. Curious but skeptical , I thought I'd give this one a try. I encourage you to take the risk. You will be surprised.It was delicious.
1 head of radicchio finely chopped 6 1/2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock 2 Tbsp olive oil 2 Tbsp butter 115 gm thick cut pancetta cut into small cubes 1 large onion chopped 1 garlic clove finely chopped 2 cups orborio rice 1/4 cup white wine 1/4 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated 4 Tbsp chopped parsley salt & pepper
Half the radicchio, cut out the heart and discard. Chop the remaining head finely. Bring the stock to a boil then set aside but keep it quite warm. Get a large saucepan, if you have one slightly larger that you normally use for risotto, one with high sides, use it. You will be glad you did when it comes time to put in the ridicchio in. Initially it takes up quite a bit of space in the pan. Heat the oil and butter in the pan at a medium heat and add the pancetta, cook until it starts to colour. About 3 or 4 minutes. Then add the onion and the garlic and cook for about a minute then pour in the rice and turn the heat down slightly. Stir the rice and when it begins to turn translucent, add the ridicchio and cook stirring for about a minute. Increase the heat and add the wine and stir until it evaporates, then gradually add the warm stock, a ladle full at a time waiting until each is pretty much absorbed into the dish before adding another. Keep it bubbling. Continue until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is creamy and fully cooked. It you run out of stock before this happens you can supplement with a little water without any loss of flavour. Stir in the cream, the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Spoon onto warm plates and serve immediately.
