Food to Make

OMG things look tasty.


Double Coconut Muffins


Homemade Sauerkraut


Dried Apricot Jam


Vanilla Crumb Pie


Chicken with Mustard Cream Sauce

Some Food Stuff

So today in Theory, the lovely girl who sits behind me had a present for me: Cranberry Marmalade! I told her I'd have to bring her some applesauce. Isn't that the sweetest thing? She said she felt like such a goof having it in her bag, and that it was a lame gift. In case you couldn't tell, we've bonded over food. She told me that I should bring her on my honeymoon to King Arthur Flour-land. So I'm currently making a batch of rolls to spread delicious marmalade upon. I have to report back, after all!

Update: verdict? OMG delicious.

Speaking of cranberries, this recipe for pickled cranberries sound intriguing. Just look at how pretty they are!



Also, tasty looking Chicken and Dumplings



Also a few ideas for wedding stuff.

Honey in a cute little jar as a favor! Love it!


Absolutely beautiful calligraphy on those envelopes. Must use...


And a cute looking Scarf Pattern.

Pondering Cooking

I'm sitting in my dining room with my temporary roommate L, me with the laptop, checking up on all of my blogs, and her waiting for a date to show up (he was supposed to be here anywhere from a half hour ago to 2 mins from now... jerk). I have a mug of cold tea and a bowl of cooling soup (Thai Sweet Potato from a box -- not a fan of lemongrass, ick). I also have a stockpot with the beginnings of stock on the stove.

I'd cooked a chicken for Saturday's dinner* (with Mister's uncle and significant other), and the time had come for its carcass to be useful once more. After removing all of the citrus from the cavity, I broke apart the easily separated bones on the carcass and put it in the stock pot with water to cover it. (I left all of the garlic cloves in.) I roughly chopped an onion, a few sticks of celery and added plenty of spices (pepper, salt, rosemary, parsley (semi-fresh, there were some old leaves that I used), dried oregano, two bay leaves, etc.). I'll let it cook down for a few hours and then strain it all, then add the meat back into the liquid and whatever else I'd like to put into my soup.

Sitting here waiting for the stock, I realized that I feel like a competent cook. I've always had a fair hand at baking, but my cooking was usually less than inspired. About a year ago, Mister told me "wow! You've learned to cook!" I was ridiculously offended, but he protested his innocence, claiming that ever since I started reading all of the doomer and cooking blogs, I really picked up a lot, but before I really only knew how to stir-fry things (not a bad thing IMO). I brushed him off at the time, but perhaps he's right. (Acknowledgement a year later means that I don't have to inform him, right?)

I didn't need to look up "How To Make Stock" on the interwebs, I just knew what to do. I didn't even need to double check what spices other people use, I just grabbed what would work. Honestly, I could grab most things in the kitchen and make a decent meal out of them, without resources. To make things spectacular if I've never made them before, I'd probably want a reference. But I don't need it. And that absolutely floors me.

I think what I find most incredible about it is it's yet another step along the path of Adulthood. I've fought really long and hard to deny that I'm full grown, that I can be still considered a kid in some contexts. But in all honesty? I'm 24. I've been living on my own for almost four years (and was at school for three years before that, but that only half counts). I've been working full time for almost four years (and back to non-employment and school :-P). I'm getting MARRIED next summer, and if that's not adult, I don't know what is.

But, I can cook now.

*I stuffed the cavity with an orange cut into 12ths, and an equal number of garlic cloves. It was then trussed to keep it all together. The "marinade" or whatever it's called was orange juice, mustard, butter, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and rosemary infused together on the stove top; although after the first 30 minutes I could use pan drippings to baste, so the remainder of the marinade went towards making the gravy at the end. I cook it for the first 10 minutes at 425F, then at 375 for the rest of the time, basting every 30 minutes religiously. This chicken had the most delicious skin of any chicken I've made yet.

Tasty Recipes

As I am making this Apple and Squash Galette for dinner tonight, I was browsing Perry's Plate to see what else Natalie had.

Tons! Is the answer.

Amish Baked Oatmeal
Pecan Crusted Chicken with PB & Maple Drizzled Apple Salad <-- the tastiest salad I've ever seen!
Pie crust recipe as well as a tip on incorporating butter into flour -- grate frozen butter! Note: definately don't use a box grater and use a plate, not a bowl for your frozen butter -- it will stick to everything.

So much of her food looks so tasty, and her site is very well organized. I might be making more from her in the future...

Roast Chicken

For dinner Tuesday, I roasted a chicken with a little help from this recipe for a marinade and this site for cooking time and temps.

ZOMG Tasty!

My modifications:

For the marinade, I used 4 Tbs. butter (which wasn't warm enough -- I should have melted it), some orange juice, a delicious horseradish, hemp and honey mustard, fresh rosemary, onion powder, red pepper flakes, freshly ground black pepper and some salt. Inside the cavity of the chicken I put two quartered clementines, six cloves of garlic, two shallots, and a sprig of rosemary (which I added afterwards so it was kinda shoved in there. :-P



I trussed the bird using this method and stuck it in a roasting pan surrounded by carrots and parsnips.



I also made a side dish of potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.



The verdict? OMG the tastiest, most moist chicken I have ever had. And not bad for the second chicken I've ever roasted! I think I will ALWAYS put citrus inside the bird as it made such a difference. One thing I would change up -- although the marinade was certainly fragrant, it didn't have enough spices. Apparently you have to really up the spices in order to taste them, as most of them burn off. Also, melting the butter and perhaps infusing the spices in it? I think that would be delicious.

Random Stuff/Recipe

Roast Chicken that I want to make tonight
lots of info on roasting chickens
Brian Polcyn's trussing of a chicken
How to Open a Pomegranate <-- need to try this soon!

I also kinda want this cookie cutter for Christmas, so emailed my sis to ask from whom shall I request it? Because it's on Etsy, I couldn't ask my mum or grandma I think... :-P

Those lucky few who DO read this blog might note that I post in bursts -- that's because I only post when I'm home during the day and Mister's at work. If we're both home, I've usually got better things to do. :-P

Chicken Pot Pie

So, R, here is my interpretation of chicken pot pie. I'll post it how I made it, with how I SHOULD'VE at the bottom.

Ingredients (as I used them):
-- chicken (either leftover roast, or chicken breasts)
-- 1# puff pastry
-- butter
-- olive oil
-- flour
-- onion
-- carrot
-- celery
-- potato
-- beet
-- parsnip
-- chicken stock
-- milk
-- spices (I used salt, pepper, fresh rosemary, oregano, and bay)

If your chicken is not leftover from a roast, chop your chicken breasts into chunks and fry them in olive oil, with some pepper and rosemary. After they cooked completely, I chopped them further (with the spatula) into 1 cm squares (approx.).

Before I went any further, after preheating to 375F, I draped one of the pieces of puff pastry in the bottom of my casserole dish (8"x12"), peppered the bottom with fork holes, and popped it in the oven to get lightly golden and puffy. After it came out, I deflated much of it with the same fork.

Pretty toasted puff pastry shell.

While the puff pastry shell was in the oven, I chopped all of my vegetables into a fine dice. All total, I used one beet, one potato, one parsnip, two celery stalks and two carrots. I considered adding some squash, but decided I was too lazy. I also chopped the onion at this time.

All my chopped veggies.

I melted 3-4 Tbs. of butter in the same pan that I fried my chicken in, and added a handful or two of flour.* Mixed together well, and let cook until a little until lightly golden. I then added the onion, and some more olive oil to let the onion cook down a touch.

Butter, flour and onions.

After cooking for a bit, I threw in the rest of the vegetables, the spices, a few cups of chicken stock, and a splash of milk (while the stock was still cold). I let this cook down a bit, until the carrots were just a little chewy. I also added some more flour as it wasn't thickening as much as I'd like ('cause I'd burned the roux in this method).

Oh beets, why must you turn things pink?

After everything cooked down as much as I wanted, I threw in the chicken, gave it a good mix, and then poured it into the puff pastry shell. Note, I also removed the bay leaf, as I didn't want a surprise when eating.

Tossing the chicken in.

I covered it with the remaining piece of puff pastry, trimming as necessary to get it to fit properly, and put it in the oven at 375F until it was done (approx. 20 mins.). Also, I added some vents in the crust with a knife.

In the oven (with a drip pan beneath it).

It then cooled on a rack to settle for about 10 minutes before eating.

All crispy and done!

Verdict? Delicious. Could use more spices, but that's how I cook in general.

Lookit how it begs me to eat it!

*= I should have cooked the onions in the butter first, then added the flour. And immediately after the flour was toasted, added in the stock THEN followed by the rest of the veggies. But it still tasted good.

Recipes to Save

Pot Pie #1
Pot Pie #2
Pot Pie #3
Pot Pie #4
Pumpkin Apple Bread Pudding
Banana Bread Pudding
Steak with Fondue
Bacon, Onion, Cheddar Biscuits
Make Ahead Muffin Melts
Black Ginger Blondies <--- I should make these for my coworkers at LUSH for Christmas! yay for vegan food blogs!
Irish Cream liqueur
Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Spicy Caramel Apple sauce and Vanilla Creme Anglaise