Drunkin Chicken and Pestachokes

I swear I wasn't drunk when I took this picture.

Besides, I don't even drink beer.

If anything....it was the chick in the picture who was drunk! She is the one who posed, after all.

What do you expect from a Drunkin Chicken? (a.k.a. Beer Can Chicken).

Typically it's a grilled dish. And I believe there may be a lot of men out there who proudly give up a can of their favorite brew for this chick. But this particular little bird was baked.

In doors, in the oven. (I won't go into details as to why that had to be......it just did)

It's very simple and super tender and tasty. And just as easy (and a little more fun) than a regular roasted chicken.

If you can find one of these.........

I highly recommend one. I think I found this one at a hardware store, in the "seasonal" section when they had all the outdoor fun stuff displayed....late spring, early summer. It was only a couple of bucks. Totally worth it.

Get your favorite beer, pour out about 1/2 cups worth (drink if you feel so inclined to do so)...and stick a couple of bay leaves inside the brew.

Mix together some of your favorite poultry seasonings to rub your little chicke with. This is what I used this time (it changes every time.....depending on my mood)

Rub all over your bird...don't forget to get some under her little arms and around her legs.

At this point I thought it would be nice to add a bit more "flavor" to the beer and poured some of the Creole Seasoning inside the can along with the 2 bay leaves.

At that point I heard some fizzing. 

And some more fizzing....and I looked inside the can to see what was going on.

All of a sudden the beer started foaming and bubbling up and over and everywhere! It was like a volcano! 

Moral of the story: Do NOT add Creole Seasoning to beer. It explodes.

I wonder which creole ingredient causes that reaction. 

Anyways.....put the beer can inside your handy dandy beer can holder (I'm thinking that a few men I know need one of these after having a few....sure would save my furniture. I'm just sayin.....)

Most people call this particular brand of beer a Silver Bullet. My dad calls it "Double O's"

Next you will force this concoction up the....ummmm.....bottom end?.....of your seasoning chicken.

I also decided to put some onion and lime wedges in the other opening. I made some tater wedges that were seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and paprika and placed those along with the remaining onion wedges around the chicken.

Oh ya....and I squeezed the rest of the lime wedges over the taters (almost forgot that I did that).

Now....if your oven has 2 racks in it....remove one and set it aside. Take the other one and position it as low as possible so that your chicken will fit in the oven.

I almost felt sorry for her when I stuck her in that oven. She just kinda seemed to have a personality in a way....just hanging out there..ya know?

(clears her throat)

Preheat your oven and bake as follows:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds: 400' F for 1 to 1 1/4 hrs
2 1/2 to 3 pounds: 375' F for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hrs
3 to 4 pounds: 375' F for 1 1/2 to 2 hrs
4 to 5 pounds: 375' F for 2 to 2 1/2 hrs

Or until juices run clear!

And while the chick was baking, I prepared one of my favorite veggies.....ARTICHOKES!!!

So easy and so fun to eat!

And when you're about 3 yrs old....it's also fun to say. Who wouldn't love to eat a Pestachoke for dinner, right?

How to cook an artichoke:

Allow 1 artichoke per person. Remove any discolored leaves and small leaves at the base. Trim the stem even with the base of the artichoke. Slice about an inch off the top and then snip the tips off of the remaining leaves with scissors.

Cook in a large kettle filled with water and a bit of oil, lemon juice, a quartered garlic clove and some salt. Heat to a boiling then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, rotating (if possible...they get stubborn and like to stay as they are) occasionally, for about 30 to 40 minutes. Artichokes are done when the leaves pull out easily and the bottom is tender when pierced. Being careful not to spill hot water on yourself, remove from water and place upside down to drain.

Serve with seasoned, melted butter and seasoned mayonnaise.

To eat:

Pluck leaves one at a time and dip the base of the leaf into a sauce (garlic or lemon butter, spicy mayonnaise for example). Turn the leaf, meaty side down and draw between your teeth, scraping (not biting) the meaty portion off. Discard the leaf (I keep a discard plate or bowl nearby).

When all the leaves have been removed or eaten, you will find a center cone of small light-colored leaves covering the fuzzy center. Pull or cut off this "cone" of leaves and slice off the fuzzy part and discard. What will remain is the "heart" of the artichoke. And this is the prized section of this particular vegetable. Cut the heart into bite-sized pieces, dip into the sauce and enjoy!

Poached Pears and Getting Sauced

Wine.

It requires an acquired taste, doesn't it

I remember a day when the only wine I'd drink was white zinfandel. And not just any brand. It had to be  Beringer. Nothing else....I was a Beringer White Zinfandel snob. Hey....what can I say....it was my segway from peach wine coolers.

It's been years since I've had that old favorite. I've broadened my horizons and stretched my taste buds. I now enjoy a wide range of wines. Over a year ago I joined an online wine club at BakeSpace that's now called Wine Pairing and Virtual Tasting. Just about every month we choose a different wine type to taste and review. It's because of this fun little club that I've learned so much about how many different kinds of wine their really are out there. I mean....wine's I've never heard of (and a few that apparently even the clerks at BevMo have never heard of, even though it's on their shelf....but that's another story).

I'm still not what you'd consider a "wine connoisseur" (or anywhere close to it). I can't identify which "berry" I detect in the bouquet....or which flavor is actually "oak" (what does oak taste like anyway?)...and if I were blind folded I seriously doubt I'd be able to tell the difference between a merlot and a shiraz. I mean...merlot in itself tastes differently from bottle to bottle...hell, you could give me two glasses of merlot and I'd probably tell you one was a shiraz.

But I enjoy wine for what it is.....I don't have to do the swirling, sniffing, slurping thing. Although it's fun to. I mean, that's when all the flavors come through....but I rarely have the time to just sit there and sip my wine along with some carefully picked foods to enhance the experience. When I open a bottle, it's usually part of the getting dinner ready routine. Chop, sip....mix, sip....saute, bowl, stir, gulp.

I feel like I'm more creative when I drink and cook. That may not be true....but if nothing else, I feel more sophisticated or something....like Julia Child. I dunno.....whatever it is....it's more fun.

Anyways....This month we added a little spin to our wine experience. Typically we review a bottle or two (or more)...include a picture and say a few things about what foods this wine tastes good with. This time we decided to add a recipe that includes the wine in it.

Oh...and our wine for this month? Sauvignon Blanc (it was actually the wine chosen for the month of December but we were all too busy to do anything with it and so now it has become the wine for April).

And thus the Poached Pears emerged. I found this lovely recipe on the BBC website. Kind of a fun site with lots to explore (food being among my top interest of course).

Sooo...the pears are suppose to be poached in Sauternes. But all the recipes I saw said a medium, sweet, white wine could be used instead.

6 Bosc pears
1 orange, juiced and pared zest
1 2/3 cups of Sauvignon Blanc
3 cups water
1/4 cup honey
1 cup sugar
juice from 2 lemons (my lemons were tiny..like...lime size so I used 4 lemons)
1 vanilla pod, split
1 cinnamon stick, broken into short lengths
4 cloves

Oook...with a little knife, score a zigzag pattern in the skin around the top of each pear. Peal the skin off the body of the pear, leaving the zigzag pattern along the top, kinda like a collar, leaving the stem in tack

You want to be careful when peeling....so you can preserve the pears shape as much as possible. (I tried....I swear I did)

Remove the core from the bottom of each pear.

Cut the orange zest into strips. Now....this was new to me. Every time I've zested an orange...it was with a grater. This process required me to sorta gently cut the zest away without the white stuff. So I used a knife and thinly "peeled" the orange. I ended up with some pith still attached but not too much.

Combine everything in a large pot

Over a medium heat, bring liquid to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Allow to simmer until pears are done. Which I think would mean, tender yet firm. The time frame can vary, depending on ripeness...5 - 15 minutes.

Since bosc pears are general a very firm pear (which is why I chose them for this recipe) I let them cook a bit longer.

With a large slotted spoon, remove the pears and place in a bowl. Remove all the seasonings and discard. At this point, I allowed the liquid to simmer a bit longer to get more of a syrup consistency which didn't happen.....I was afraid the flavors would end up...I dunno...overcooked. Have you ever smelled cinnamon and citrus that's overcooked? Maybe in a potpourri? Well, i didn't want my syrup to taste like that.

Pour "syrup" over the pears and set aside until ready to serve

And there you have it. My sauvignon blanc sauced pears.

Oh wait..the pears are poached

I'm sauced.

And totally loving the aroma, the flavor...the fun! But I think this is more of a holiday recipe....I dunno...Christmas? I'm trying to think of a summery version now....with summer flavors. Any ideas?

If you'd like to see where I found this recipe, you can click --->here<---

Printable Version: Poached Pears


P.S. I'm so excited to proudly announce my first ever Tastespotting publication! They accepted the top photo!

Blueberry Banana Coffee Cake

I've had my eye on this little beauty ever since I saw it over at Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice

The one day a couple of weeks ago that I had planned on making it, I discovered that my daughter had tossed my ripe bananas. That's when I had to resort to making my Lemon Blueberry Bread, which turned out to be a great thing in itself but I still needed to make this Blueberry Banana Coffee Cake.

It had been in the back of my mind...lurking about when the other day my daughter made a comment about loving all things with blueberries....and I knew it was time! The bananas were nice and ripe

Aaaaaaand I knew of a local market that has great prices on produce. I was banking on obtaining my blueberries for a good price. And I was right. They were .99¢ for 6 oz. I think the major grocery store chains sometimes have sales where you can get 2 for $5.00.....sooo .99¢ = Cha-ching!!!

As a matter of fact...this same market had boneless, skinless chicken thighs for .99¢ lb. Ya, I was doing the happy dance!

I just love finding a great deal.

Back to the coffee cake.....I did make a couple of very minor changes. I left out the nuts. And I added a little buttermilk. I was concerned about how sweet it would (or shall I say would not) be because it only calls for 5 tablespoons of sugar. I was very tempted to adjust it....but I'm glad I didn't. It really doesn't need more than that.

Honest, it doesn't.

Trust me....I'm the queen of sweet...and I should know.

Anyways....here's what I did:

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour - divided
5 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons cold butter
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 cup ripe banana, smashed
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon flour

Preheat the over to 350' and grease an 8" square baking dish.

In a medium bowl, combing 3/4 cup of flour and sugar. Cut in the cold butter until you have "crumbs"

Remove 1/2 cup of the crumbs and set aside.

Add in the rest of the flour (1 cup), baking powder and soda, cinnamon and nutmeg

(Wish you were here to smell these spices.....there's just something so comforting about cinnamon and nutmeg)

Now, I added just the egg and banana as instructed.....

And well...it seemed rather thick to me. So I decided to add some buttermilk

Mix until just combined (you don't wanna over mix it). Toss the blueberries with 1 teaspoon of flour and fold them into the mixture

Btw....the consistency was MUCH better!

Pour the mixture into your prepared dish. Sprinkle with the reserved "crumbs" and bake for about 45 minutes....or until you have a clean toothpick which has been stuck into the middle of the cake.

Cool on a wire rack

Yaa right!....that's IF you can wait! I mean.....the aroma? mmmMMMMMmmmm

Good stuff! So glad I made it. Thanks Cinnamon Girl!!! You ROCK!

Printable Recipe: Blueberry Banana Coffee Cake

Creamy Chicken Piccata Casserole

I was in the mood for a casserole. (a rare thing)....But I didn't want the typical chicken and rice combo. Actually, I wasn't even sure exactly what kind of "combo" I wanted so I started poking around the fridge and pulled out the chicken and some broccoli. Next came the mushrooms and a lemon.

Then I spied the white wine.....and well...with all those ingredients the capers were begging not to be excluded.

How could I say no to those cute little pea like balls?

Btw....do capers remind you of horseradish in flavor or is that just me?

And thus the Creamy Chicken Piccata Casserole was born.

2 chicken breasts cut into chunks
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked pasta
1 head of steamed broccoli
juice from 2 lemons
1/3 cup white wine (or so)
2 tablespoons capers
4 oz sliced mushrooms
2 cups milk (or you can use 1 cup chicken broth and 1 cup milk)
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese plus more for topping

Preheat the oven to 350'

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook in a skillet with oil until done. Remove from pan and set aside.

If needed add a bit more oil and saute the mushrooms. Toss in the cooked broccoli.

Pour the lemon juice in a measuring cup....pour enough wine in with the juice to measure 3/4 cup. Add to the mushrooms and broccoli. Add the milk and let simmer to heat through.

Stir in the parmesan cheese until melted.

Return the chicken to the pan. Stir in the capers.

In a large casserole dish, add the pasta and then pour the chicken mixture over the pasta. Top with some parmesan cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.

And that's it.

One of the reasons casseroles are so nice is because you can make just about any dish into some version of a casserole.

Another reason? Once it's all together and in the oven...you're done.


Printable Version: Creamy Chicken Piccata Casserole

Whole Wheat Carrot Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

Raise your hand

if you like carrot cake....

Raise your hand

if you like cream cheese frosting...

Raise your hand

if you wish there was an alternative that was a bit healthier 

meaning a little less.....guilt causing. 

And not quite as sweet....

If you raised your hand for any or all of those...then you're in the right place.

This lovely Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day carrot bread is full of not only carrots, but coconut and a mix of tropical dried fruits (pineapple, ginger, mango, apricots) and chopped hazelnuts.

With all those goodies, I couldn't just make a plain ole loaf of bread. Well, I could've. And I might still. I'm thinking sliced up and made into french bread.....ya, that would be awesome. But for Easter Sunday I wanted something a little special. And I couldn't get away from the cream cheese. My mind was stuck on cream cheese.

After some deep thought and a bit of research I knew what needed to be done. I found a great demonstration on how to braid my filling into the dough here:

jam filled sour cream coffee bread recipe

Then I found a nice little simple recipe for cream cheese filling over at Recipezaar.

Once I had my plan....there was no stopping me

The dough was mixed

You can find the recipe in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. You know I'd love to share it with you but it can't happen. If you come over to visit, I'll let you thumb through my copy though :)

Then I mixed the cream cheese filling (very slightly altered...not even enough to really mention)

8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon sour cream (not sure why.....I mean, it's ONLY a teaspoon! but I did it)

Cream together in a medium bowl.

Roll the dough into a rectangle. Smear the cream cheese in the middle of the dough....slice 1" strips...well....click on the link above (it will take you to the King Arthur web site) and follow the step-by-step instructions. I didn't take photos as I made mine cuz I was concentrating and didn't know if it would even come out.

I then brushed it with an egg wash and sprinkled lots of raw sugar on top.

Reminds me of a big long danish. 

Once it was completed, I let it rest for about an hour or so before popping it into the hot oven and baked for about 30 minutes.

Then you will need to tie your hands behind your back so you don't gobble it up before your holiday guests arrive.

Torture. That's what it was....pure and simple torture. Cuz look what happens when you slice into it

All that cream cheese starts calling your name....and the sugar coated crust begins to whistle....and then the carrot and coconut shreds get involved and next thing you know you have this food inspired orchestra singing love songs to your taste buds...luring you in through all your senses....

And you find yourself in the middle of your kitchen....

dancing as you shove another slice into your mouth 

And this is how I spent my Easter morning as I waited for the rest of the house to wake up and begin our day.

Sigh...the torture was worth it. I'd do again in a heart beat.

Anywaaaaaaaaaaays

I found the cream cheese filling recipe ---->here<----

And if you'd like to see how the rest of the HBin5 crew enjoyed their carrot bread, you need to check out Big Black Dogs

Focaccia and Open Faced Italian Sammies on Olive Spelt Bread

I have to say....the texture, the aroma, the flavor of this bread is wonderful!

And the possibilities for the dough are endless.....sandwich, rolls, flatbread, pizza, focaccia, etc. etc. etc.

In case you're wondering....or guessing.....

Yep...this is yet another fabulous HBin5 recipe.

If you'd like to find out more, you can check out Michelle's blog over at Big Black Dogs and you'll also find links to the other members and discover the wonderful ways they prepared this dough

Oooooh how I enjoyed this one!

The texture...the crumb....the flavor. (said in a soprano voice)...Wooooonderfuuuull!

The only thing I must caution you about is the wetness of this dough and its tendency to spread (kinda like my....eerrrr.....never mind)

The star ingredients for this particular dough were olives and yogurt

I am really weird about olives. I love black olives and green olives.....from a can. Not a jar. A can! There's something about the brine? I dunno.....I need to talk to an olive expert to find out what it is exactly that I have an issue with.

With that said....I used canned green olives for my dough. And the yogurt? Great addition...talk about a moist crumb! And the crust? Firm yet not chewy. Does that make sense in the world of bread talk?

Oh....I couldn't resist adding a teaspoon or so of powdered garlic. It just seemed to beg for it. (or was that in my head?)

And look what I made!!!

(did you notice that you're only seeing half the loaf? Well...that's because the other end is rather unsightly. It decided to stick to the pizza peel on it's way into the oven and got kinda, I dunno.....tweaked? Not to mention that for some unknown reason I sliced the dough too deeply prior to cooking and ended up with gouges!)

But looks aren't everything... all is good

Now, what will I do with those little lovelies (besides devour them one bite at a time)?

hmmm....I'm thinking Creamy Tomato Soup with little Open Faced Italian Sammies.

For the sammies, I just brushed the slices with a little olive oil and lightly toasted them. Slapped on a few slices of salami and prosciutto, topped with some chopped basil, sliced red onions, tomatoes, arugula and topped with some provolone cheese....pop 'em into a hot oven until the cheese melts and serve.

Easy Peasy

Now the Creamy Tomato Soup is a little more involved

This recipe was inspired by two recipes....one from Michael Chiarello and the other from Bobby Flay

And here's what I came up with

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

12 plum tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
12 whole garlic cloves, peeled
Salt and Pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
2 cups fresh basil
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup cream

Preheat the oven to 500'F

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, 1/4 cup olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Spread out onto a cookie sheet and roast for about 35 - 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan heat up the remaining oil, onions, carrots and some salt. Saute until tender...about 10 minutes. Add the basil leaves and continue sauteing for another minute

Now you get to add all those yummy tomatoes to the mix, along with the vegetable stock and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Add the cream and remove from heat. If you have a handy dandy immersion blender....get that sucker ready for work. Otherwise....use your blender and puree these incredible flavors until smooth and creamy. It is recommended that you start off on a lower setting and gradually increase the speed.

Return to the saucepan and heat through, adding salt and pepper as necessary. If the soup is too thick..add a bit more vegetable stock.

Garnish with some croutons (I made mine from my Pesto Net Bread) and savor the flavor

This soup was rich and flavorful. Something about those roasted tomatoes with the balsamic vinegar....and then you add in the basil? WOW!

Ok....so that was done....and then 3 days later I still had some dough leftover and I was planning on making a spaghetti for dinner.

Light bulb moment!!!

Can you say focaccia?

I love....I mean LOVE making focaccia! It's so simple and versatile and molds to your mood. I grabbed the remaining dough.....worked and rolled it out into a rectangle....poked it with my fingers to make "dimples" and then proceeded to add thinly sliced garlic, a small amount of olive oil, salt, pepper and mozzarella cheese on top....and

Ya...I'm in love.

It was perfect with my spaghetti and chicken dinner. Or by itself.

Printable Version: Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

Have you ever experienced sweet and spicy or am I the only one who's been in the dark about this scrumptious combo? Well wait a minute...now that I think of it, gingersnaps might fall under that category and I LOVE gingersnaps.

Now mind you....I'm not talking about spicy "hot"....I'm talking about spicy "flavor".

.oO(I wonder if Martha thinks these cookies are "hot" since thats what they're called....)

Ya....this is a Martha Stewart recipe. I recently re-subscribed to Everyday Food (happens to be one of my favorite food magazines) and I was thumbing through it the other day when I saw a picture of chocolate cookies. After a brief once over I thought "Why not? I have all the ingredients." When you're in the mood to bake something new....the best recipes are the ones where you have all the ingredients in the pantry....right?

And thus began my Sunday morning.

What a way to start the day.....making cooooooooookies! (there are other good ways to start the day...but this day was made for cookies)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter (I never seem to have this on hand so I used salted butter. And even though the picture only shows 1 stick....I did realize my error and grabbed another stick from the fridge)
1 3/3 cups sugar (divided)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Preheat your oven to 400' F placing your racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. (bwaaaahahaha I said racks!!!) Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper

In a medium mixing bowl, sift (and for this recipe, I think sifting rather than "whisking" is very important....cocoa powder and other ingredients like to remain lumpy.....and sifting will really break those up) where was I? Oh...sift (i almost typed fist....wtf?) together the flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl, beat together the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until fluffy....this should take about 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add the eggs and beat until combined.

Turn the mixer speed down to low and gradually (and I mean g r a d u a l l y, I'm still finding cocoa flour mixture in places other than the bowl)  add the flour mixture...beating until combined. Now you will have a bowl of rich, dark cookie dough.

In a little bowl, mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and chili powder.

Get out a tablespoon and scoop out some dough, roll it up into a ball and drop it into the chili mixture

You're suppose to place the balls about 3" apart from each other. I did my best

But I needed to fit them all on 2 cookie sheets...which I did. It actually made the exact number of cookies that the recipe said it would.....amazing!!!!

Bake for a total of 10 minutes.....halfway through the baking time....rotate the cookie sheets.

Well...as you can see, they ran into each other and got kinda crowded. So I ended up with some triangular shapes....square shapes, rectangular....and a few round ones. I think there's a math lesson in here somewhere for some hungry elementary student.

Let the cookies cool on the sheets, on a wire rack for about 5 minutes or so before attempting to remove them. Theeeeeeeeeen, allow to cool completely on a wire wrack.

Then grab a cookie (any shape will do)....close your eyes, put the cookie up to your lips (don't taste yet)...inhale the aroma.... and then take a bite. Now experience the burst of flavors that assault your taste buds.

First the chocolate.....then the cinnamon makes it's appearance and last but not least...a hint of the chili powder, leaving you wanting more...just to make sure you actually experienced all that within a few seconds.

They aren't too sweet....they aren't too chocolately (not that there's any such thing...I'm just saying) and they aren't too spicy. They're just....enjoyable.


Printable Version: Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies