Category: Spices

Chicken,Fennel,Sun Dried Tomato Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust

Today is Day 2 of how I used my vegetable box.I decided to focus on fennel .I was stumped because I have only had fennel in salads. A Internet search pulled up the same types of recipes. I could have roasted it with and served it up with fish or chicken. Nah. I decided to use in a Chicken Pot Pie. Why Not? I had a really good chicken pot pie in the company cafeteria and wanted to do it my way. Rather than a short crust I decided to make a Buttermilk Biscuit crust( need to use that leftover buttermilk from the Daring Bakers Challenge). I figured Certain Someone may like this .Plus there would be leftovers as he and I towards the end of the week will be in opposite directions. While I’m sunning( working ) it up in sunny Florida he’ll need some good leftovers to pull out.I decided to use Martha Stewart’s Biscuit recipe for the buttermilk biscuit.The filling is my inspiration.It wasn’t to thick , all the better to sop up the sauce with your biscuit crust!
Coco’s Chicken,Fennel,Sun dried Tomato Pot Pie with Buttermilk Biscuit Crust
Filling
1 bulb of fennel sliced thin(remove tops).
3/4 cup of frozen peas
3 boneless chicken breasts cooked and cut into cubes( I cooked mine in ground sage, salt ,pepper, bay leaf and parsley.Save any liquid).
1 cup plain yogurt
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
9 sun dried tomatoes snipped into pieces
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoons of butter
Preheat oven to 375 .Mix chicken , sliced fennel,peas, and sun dried tomatoes in dish you are baking in.In a pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add flour. Mix like a roux until incorporated.Gradually add chicken broth while whisking. You should have a slightly thickened sauce. Add the yogurt and thoroughly mix.Pour over chicken and vegetables.Make Martha Stewart’s Buttermilk Biscuit ( note I reduced this by half). Roll out a round of dough to top dish.You can add cut outs with the leftover. Brush the tops with Buttermilk and bake for approx 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

 

Dont forget about Tamale Open!

Dandelion Greens with Bacon and Fig Balsamic

I received my first vegetable box this morning. I have wanted to start this for a while but the membership fee and costs seemed prohibitive to me. It made sense in the long run, but I didn’t want to deal with wait lists, pick up, etc. My belly dance instructor at the new gym I go to referred me to a place called Timber Creek Organics. I love them because there are no memberships fees, you can adjust your order, and even skip a week. All of it is tailor made for you! I decided to go the cheapest route of a basic vegetable box based on seasonal produce. No fruit these two weeks. I received a gorgeous bulb of fennel,onions, radishes, garlic,tomatoes,red leaf lettuce, cauliflower, and two bunches of dandelion leaves.

The first time I ever had Dandelion leaves was in a salad in the early nineties at the Royalton in NYC with my old roommate from college. I came home on the train with a full blown seasonal allergy attack. When I told my mother what I ate, etc she mocked me for a year because I ate overpriced weeds which I had no business eating with my allergies. She was harsh as only a mother can be.Anyway I haven’t had them since. I think my body could handle a salad, but I wanted something hot. Plus Certain Someone wouldn’t want a salad. I found this informative page and decide to cook them up with some bacon. A spoonful of bacon makes the medicine go down. Is it the most healthiest way? No. But it tastes good and he’ll eat it. I was craving pork chop too. Another food I haven’t had in a long time. Guess I’m fished out! I breaded the chops in a mixture of Parmesan Reggiano cheese. I learned this trick from Marie at Proud Italian Cook. Certain Someone loves it. I use it for chicken and pork.

Dandelion Greens with Bacon and Fig Balsamic

4 strips of bacon cut into cubes

1/2 onion

1 clove of chopped garlic

2 bunches of Dandelion greens washed and cut into pieces

a splash or 2 of Fig Balsamic Vinegar

1 tablespoon of natural sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Brown bacon. Drain fat. Add onion and garlic.Saute until translucent Add dandelion leaves and balsamic, and sugar. Cook until wilted.Salt and pepper to taste.

Ben and I Are Spicing Up the Pot!

Ben and I have come up with this great prize for the winner of our Tamale Open. We have decided to let you vote for the winner after the roundup is published on May 5,Cinco de Mayo. You will up until May 10 to vote, and then we announce the winner. The winner will recieve this great Indian Soft Hammered Spice Box and 8 spice blends(Tandoori,dried Thai Chilies,Sansho seven spice blend,Himalayan Pink Salt,Quatre Epices,Ras-El Hanout,Chipolte Chili Powder, and Panch Phoran). All can be used or stored in this nifty spice box which can also serve as your Mise en place when cooking. So dont forget to enter.

*If the winner is outside of the US, we will replace the spice element of the prize with another item if shipping has restrictions.

Koesisters…Time to Make Doughnuts Event

When Tartlette and Peabody announced their Time to Make Doughnuts event, I got excited. Then that little nagging voice said to me “Girl you don’t need to make any doughnuts….” Evidenced by last night when I couldn’t zip my skirt up to the waist( granted I hadn’t worn it some years).Nevertheless its Super bowl Sunday and I want some doughnuts to munch on. I had planned on making some Berliners for Certain Someone as he’s German and that what he wanted. I changed my mind and decided to do a less stressful but equally delicious recipe from Marcus Samuelsson’s Discovery of a Continent, Foods Flavors and Inspirations From Africa. This is an abridged version of Soul of a New Cuisine, Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa, from Starbucks.
Koesiters are a Cape Town favorite on Sundays after church. There are a few variations that are braided or dipped in sugary syrups. This version is Marcus’ favorite that he learnt from Peter and Marilyn Carelon, a South African couple. They are highly spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. I made some minor substitutions as I didn’t have brown sugar, so I used Demarra Sugar run through the coffee grinder. Also I used Evaporated milk instead because we only had skim milk in the house. I apologize for my not so perfect ball shapes. But the taste was simple, not too sweet, and full of spice. A treat you don’t feel too guilty about.

Koesiters adapted from Marcus Samuelsson’s Discovery of a Continent, Foods Flavors and Inspirations From Africa.

6 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 package or 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 extra large egg yolks
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
About 4 cups canola oil for deep frying.

Combine water, granulated sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Set in a warm place and allow to sit until yeast bubbles. Approx 5-10 min.
Add flour and salt to the yeast mixture. Mix with electric mixer (I used my Stand Mixer) on low until well combined. Beat in egg yolks, one at time until all is well incorporated.
Combine milk and butter in a saucepan and heat until butter is melted. While mixer is running, add the milk mixture, beating until it’s incorporated. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let sit in warm place until doubled in size. Approx 40 min.
Punch the dough down and turn out onto floured surface. Cut into 20 pieces, roll each one into a ball, and arrange in a single layer on baking sheet. Set in warm place and let rise for 20 min.
While dough is rising toss brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom in large bowl. Set aside
Heat 3 inches of canola oil in a deep pot to 350 degrees. Working in batches.Fry until golden brown.Turn to brown each side. Approx 3- 4 min.

Serve Warm.

Improvisation Can Be A Good Thing

I wasn’t planning on being home tonight , nor cooking.My catering job was cancelled due to water main break. Certain Someone had to fend for himself the night before with his favorite ‘Cluck, cluck’,Harold’s Fried Chicken. I bet you he was anticipating it tonight too. No such luck. I took some frozen beef cubes and placed in the Dutch oven to roast a few hours until he came home.I knew I wanted to use these spices I picked up at World Market the other day.And this beautiful Swiss Chard that screamed healthy! I have a zillion cookbooks but still find myself referring to Internet searches for ideas .I love the look of Star Anise , but feared it due to bad experience with Chinese 5 Spice once. Chef uses it quite a bit in passed appetizers and seared tenderloin.So I wanted to revisit this spice. The meat was roasting nicely and called me to do something. I ground the Star Anise and threw it in. I saw on searches that cinnamon , star anise, and beef seemed to be a popular theme. I threw in some Sherry, vinegar, Soy Sauce, Thai Chili’s,onions,and water to the pan. The result was a slow cooked caramelized melange of aromatic spices and tender beef. Certain Someone came home and sniffed the air. The one drawback was that he wanted his noodles and more of a sauce. No to worry. Although I said I was trying to avoid his ‘Big Ass Food'( ie: noodles).He retorted who was I calling Big Ass! I added more water to the roasting pan to deglaze, and boiled up some noodles. The result was this.A rather good improvisation if I do say so myself. Even Certain Someone agreed.

Coco’s Asian Style Beef with Red Swiss Chard
* this recipe was improvised so measurements were approximated.
1 lb beef cubes
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2-3 ground Star Anise
1 cup sliced onions
1 bunch Red Swiss Chard
1 cinnamon Stick
2 Thai Chili’s
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 Sherry
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups of water
Asian noodles

Roast beef cubes in oiled covered Dutch Oven seasoned with salt and pepper for 1 hour. Add sliced onions , spices,Soy Sauce, Sherry, Vinegar, sugar, garlic and continue to roast covered for another hour. Check pan periodically and add water as needed . You want a small amount of broth /sauce in the final product.
Wash and stem the Swiss Chard. Roll leaved and slice like chiffonade. Oil fry pan. Saute Swiss chard until just wilted. Salt and Pepper to taste.
Prepare noodles.
Assemble beef atop noodles. Top with Swiss Chard and drizzle with juices from the roasting pan.