Easy Garlic Chicken

As you may already know, I cook chicken way more than I cook beef. Not only is it usually less expensive but it's a lot more versatile. Over the years I've learned what I like, what works, and how to optimize my chicken dish. I think the most important thing I've learned (and I learned it from Julia Child) is not to overcook your chicken. It really makes all the difference in the world. When you can cut your chicken with a fork....and it melts in your mouth almost like butter....you know you've cooked it to perfection.

Julia Child from Mastering the Art of French Cooking: 'The flesh of a perfectly cooked [chicken breast] is white with the faintest pinky blush, its juices run clear yellow and it is definitely juice.......Press the top of it with your finger; if it is still soft and yields slightly to the touch, it is not yet done. As soon as the flesh springs back with gently resilience, it is ready. If there is no springiness, it is overcooked.'

With that said, I bring you this recipe. I saw it on Piniterest and knew I was destined to make it some day.  I mean....it was all about garlic....I couldn't pass that up. After reading the original instructions and the reviews (I highly, highly recommend that you always read the reviews whenever possible...even if the recipe is from a famous chef) I realized that a few changes were in order. The oven temperature was too high (not only would it overcook the chicken, but nothing ruins a dish like burnt, bitter, garlic), and even with all this garlic...."lacking something" was mentioned several times in the reviews. There was no way I was going to give up, though. I had a few tricks up my sleeve and I knew it would be a winner.

Easy Garlic Chicken (inspired by Easy Garlic Chicken)
Printable Version


4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp plus 1 TB olive oil, divided
4 TB brown sugar
1/4 cup Extra Dry Vermouth (can use white wine or chicken broth)

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, butterflied in half
Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 375'

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, saute the garlic in 1 TB of olive oil, until tender but not brown. This should only take a minute. Remove from heat and add the brown sugar and vermouth. Return to heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until reduced, stirring frequently.

While that is going on, season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper

In an oven safe large skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium heat and brown the chicken on both sides, about 2 or 3 minutes per side. Keep an eye on it. Once it's lightly brown, turn it. The aim here is to brown, not cook.

Note: if you do not have an oven save skillet, after browning, place the chicken in a casserole dish.


Once the garlic sauce has reduced a bit, pour it over the chicken evenly...making sure that those bits of garlic get on each of your pieces of chicken. Place the skillet in the oven and cook for 6 - 8 minutes.

When you serve it, don't forget to spoon the juices in the pan over the chicken.

Tonight I had it with mashed potatoes made from Yukon Gold potatoes and steamed escalloped squash just picked from my garden, garnished with fresh chives.

The chicken is great...and very garlicy. The vermouth cuts the sweetness a bit but it still has the benefit of the brown sugar apparent, which goes nicely with all that garlic. And it is incredibly tender. I chose the potatoes and squash and kept them simple, allowing the chicken to be the star of the show. It was kinda fun eating a "white" dinner. I didn't miss the splash of color. It almost felt...clean.

Hmm....with all the cleaning I've been doing today...I s'pose I carried that theme to my dinner in way.

Beef Tamales

 

This is a partial recipe post. I didn't make the beef filling. Just warning you....but, whatever shredded beef recipe you like, use it.

Let me back up here. Tamales have been on my I'd-really-love-to-learn-how-to-make-that list since forever. One of my childhood friends from school informed me recently that she makes them every year. (What?!) When she offered to show me how, I didn't care that it was the middle of the summer and was going to be 90 plus degrees outside. I wasn't going to pass this up for nothin. So, Bernie (that's what I've been calling her since we were pre-teens....having water fights in the puddles whenever it rained) gathered all the makings....and made the beef at home in her slow cooker (with chili powder and other seasonings) and even had the meat shredded when she showed up on my doorstep. All I had to get was lard. For some reason, the main stream markets around here don't carry it very often. But I knew I could find it in the Mexican market. Thats when I discovered that lard can be bought by the bucketful.

Good ole Farmer John

Ok, lard vs shortening. It's up to you. I rarely use lard. But my personal feeling on this is....for tamales, I vote for the lard. It adds flavor. If you're dead set against lard (what a name...lard. It even feels fat saying it) then use the shortening.

Plan on two days for making your tamales. The first day will be cooking the meat (beef, pork or chicken) and shredding it. The second day will be preparing the masa and assembling it. It's not hard. I know there are a lot of opinions out there about tamales and how to make them, what to do, what not to do, etc. If you're a tamales lover, you know what you like. If making tamales intimidates you....its like anything else. Just do it.  Once you've done it, you'll start to get a feel for what works for you, what flavors you like, etc...and you can adjust stuff for the next time.

Ok, so Bernies at my house in all her glory, arms loaded with a huge bowl of shredded beef, a bag or two of corn husks, and her bathing suit and beach towel in another bag. (Yes...a dip in the pool in that heat was a must). We didn't waste any time and got straight to work.

First thing we did was soak the dried corn husks in a sink full of water

(Remove the silk before assembling your tamales)

While all that is going on, prepare your masa

This makes about 4 or 5 dozen tamales

Masa
6 cups masa
5 cups liquid (water and broth from the meat)
2 cups lard (divided)
1 TB salt

Melt 1/2 cup of the lard

While that slab of fat is melting away (oh lord, if only it was that easy to melt away my own slab of fat)....put the remaining lard in a large bowl and beat with a mixer.

You want to whip this up good until its light and fluffy. The more you beat it, the more air that gets incorporated (hahaha...thats what I'll say....I'm not fat...I've just incorporated air into my mid section...so in reality, I'm fluffy). Umm...where was I? Oh...air. Yes....incorporate air into the lard...thus creating the foundation for a fluffy masa. 

Slowly beat in the masa and liquid and salt. I think we used about 3 1/2 to 4 cups of water and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of chile liquid from the shredded beef. And continue beating.

You might need to resort to using your hands after a while (my mixer is old and starts to sound a little puny after a while).

Finally, remember that melted lard in your pan? I hope you've been keeping an eye on it so it doesn't start smoking. Once it has cooled off, add it to the masa mix by making a well in the center of your masa and carefully kneading it into the dough. Adjust the masa or liquid until you have a soft dough (I read somewhere that it should be the consistency of peanut butter?)

Time to assemble.....(this is the fun part)

Lay out a soaked corn husk...take a ball of masa....spread it around by pressing it with your fingers and then dump a wad of shredded meat down the center of the masa dough.

Then fold the husk over the masa, fold it again and tuck in the bottom corner. This is when a lot of people get all fancy and tie it all together with a strand of husk. It's really not needed. I mean, it looks all cute and everything but when you're making several dozen of these things.....well, I'm lazy. Bernie apparently is too cuz she said she never ties them. So we didn't. We just pile them up as we made them.

Once we had a good amount prepared, I got out the largest stock pot that I own, inserted a steamer wrack and added water and then placed the tamales inside. Some people layer them, some stand them up on end....we layered them at varying angles.

And....they steamed away. And we got back to making more tamales...and piling them up on the counter for the next round.

Now, these babies take a while to steam. We made fairly small tamales, and they took about 1 1/2 hrs to steam. They were done when we poked at them with our finger and they were firm. The cooking time will vary depending on the size of your tamales.

Once we had finished preparing the remaining tamales, it was time to relax while we waited.

What does one do to relax while waiting for tamales in the heat of summer?

Why....we make a pitcher of margaritas of course. Then we slip into our swimsuits and take a dip in the pool. (I've spared you a pool side photo.....not to mention that one wasn't taken) Thus we are not affected by the steaming heat in the kitchen and are allowed some time to catch up and reminisce about the good ole days. Remembering how we met in the halls of elementary school because we noticed that we both wore the same shirt to school that day.

Once we are thoroughly soaked in pool water and alcohol, we check in on the steamy kitchen and discover our first batch is complete

We load up the second batch and back to the pool we head, glasses refilled of course, and continue our pickled pool party until Bernie decides its time to head home. I sent her home with the remaining lard (nothing says Thank you like a bucket of fat). And I was left with these delicious tamales and a very memorable afternoon spend with an old friend.

Dinner that night was wonderful!

I've eaten lots of homemade tamales. Some good...some not so good. These tasted just the way I like them. I can't wait to make them again (maybe next time when it's not so hot). I want to use shredded pork. And I think I want the masa a bit thicker. The masa is my most favorite part of a tamale.

Bernie....Thank you for teaching me how to make tamales!! I'm so glad we re-found each other after all these years. I can't wait until our Julia Child cooking theme and many more adventures in the kitchen to come.

Limoncello and a Strawberry Lemon Drop to pass the time

Limoncello is one of my favorite liqueurs. But it's a little pricey depending on the brand you buy. And let me tell you....brand makes a huge difference. I've tried a few. One of them was just awful. If I had tried it the first time I ever had limoncello, I would never try it again. Ya, it was that bad.

Anyway...I'm not here to recommend what brand you drink or like...I'm here to show you how to make it yourself. It's not difficult. The most challenging part is getting the skin off the lemon without getting any of the pith (the white stuff) and of course waiting for the end results. Yes...it is time intensive. It's not cheap either. But it is less expensive than buying it from the store. I figure approximately 2/3 the cost (kinda like a "buy 2 get 1 free" sorta thing). Although I did get my lemons for free, which helped.

I've heard a lot of talk over the years about various methods and scientific measuring based on the alcohol used vs the simple syrup added. Rather than letting it intimidate me...I just went ahead and did it. One of my best foodie friends, DeeDee showed me a website that has great information, which is where I went to for all the how-to's and what-for's: Limoncello Quest They have enough information to keep me out of trouble but not too much as to make me shy away from the experience. I have to admit here....they recommended straining the alcohol before beginning the process. I didn't do it.

Here's a little basic info on the two main ingredients:

Lemons:
Smooth skinned lemons are recommended. Thick skins help. Organic is best (less time spent scrubbing the pesticides and wax off and most likely having some still end up in your alcohol). For me, I chose to zest the lemons rather than peeling them. I'm not good enough at peeling without ending up with a lot of pith on there. Besides, peeling is very time consuming. Whats the issue with pith? Bitter. You do not want to end up with bitter results and pith will do that.

Everclear:
There are two proofs out there: 151 (75.5% ethanol) and 190 (95% ethanol). California only sells the 151 proof so I went with that. Just an FYI...Vodka is 80 proof (40% ethanol). There are those out there that think they'll just use Vodka. I wouldn't. If you can get Everclear...do it. For
more info look it up on Wikipedia: Everclear

To start off, you will need:

1 gallon jar with a tight fitting lid
2 - 750ml bottles of Everclear (pure grain alcohol)
17 lemons

Thoroughly scrub your lemons in warm water with a vegetable scrubber. Carefully zest them, making sure you do not zest down to the pith.

Combine the lemon zest and the alcohol in your 1 gallon jar.

Put the jar away in a cool dark place for 45 days. You don't need to do anything. Leave it alone. Forget about it. It might be helpful to put a sticker on the jar with the date you started to help you keep track of time.

Now you have a whole bunch of lemons that are going to dry out in no time. All that lemon juice. Time to start squeezing and freezing

You won't need it for the Limoncello, but you don't want to waste it either. Make lemonade. Or even better, make a drink

Strawberry Lemon Drop
2 parts vodka
1 part lemon juice
1 part simple syrup
a few strawberries

Combine all ingredients, shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish the edges of your glass with a little sugar and a strawberry. DELICIOUS!!!

Back to the Limoncello....fast forward 45 days (and lots of Strawberry Lemon Drops later) you will need:

3 1/2 cups white sugar (do not use brown)
5 cups of water

Combine sugar and water in a pot and bring to boil. Allow to boil, stirring once or twice for 5 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool completely then add to your lemon zest and Everclear mixture. Stir

 

Aaaaand put it away. Again. For 45 more days.

Shhhhh....don't whine and complain. It's worth it. Use the time to find a few cool bottles to put your freshly made liqueur into.

Once the final (yes, I said final) 45 days are up....it's time to get busy. Using a strainer, strain out the zest.

Then line the strainer with a coffee filter and strain again (you can strain it a few more times if you'd like...I was too lazy that day and only did it once through the coffee filter.)

Pour into bottles and store in the freezer. Not because it has to be in the freezer...but because Limoncello tastes best extremely chilled.

I had bought my favorite store brand to compare

On the left is mine...the right is from the store. The big test.....the taste. There is a HUGE flavor difference. The store bought product tastes more like lemon heads (that lemon drop candy), its a lot sweeter and it appears to have some yellow dye in there. Although it is good. With the homemade version...you can taste the fresh lemons. The sweetness doesn't hit you over the head. It's smooth and refreshing. If you had to compare it in a nutshell...its like comparing homemade lemonade to powdered lemonade mix.

Yes it worth it!! Especially if you have an abundance of free lemons to play with.

Want another cocktail recipe? Check this one out:

Strawberry Limoncello
1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries
3 TB simple syrup
3 TB lemon juice
1 cup limoncello
1 cup club soda

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree. Pour into chilled glasses. Garnish with lemon slices and strawberries.

Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie

Dulce de leche, banana and peanuts.....'nuf said.

Ok, so I do have more to say (come on, you oughta know me better than that by now).

You know how when you "think up" a great combo in flavors, then you google it and of course it's already been done. A gazillion times over. Ya well....it happens to me all the time. I never get to think up anything new and original.

But that doesn't ever stop me from making it and enjoying it and loving it. Especially this pie. It's no-bake and easy peasy. Perfect for summer. Or anytime when you don't want to turn on the oven. You can even let the kids make this. Of course, you'll end up with a sticky mess in the kitchen...but hey, that's half the fun when you're a kid, right?

This particular recipe was found on FoodNetwork, courtesy of Marcela Valladolid and can be found here: Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie. I did make a few very slight changes and omissions. You can compare the two if you'd like and do what you want. (that's what I love about cooking....making it your own)

Dulce De Leche Banana Cream Pie
Printable Version

Crust:
5 oz graham crackers
1/2 cup roasted peanuts, plus more for garnish, (I used salted)
8 TB butter, melted

Cream Filling:
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 TB butter, room temperature
2 TB powdered sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup of dulce de leche, plus more for garnish
3 medium bananas, sliced

Place the graham crackers in a food processor and process until coarsely ground. Add the peanuts and continue processing until finely ground. Pulse in the melted butter until well combined.

Transfer the crumbs to a 9.5" pie dish and press against the bottom and sides. Place in the refrigerator for 10 to 20 minutes.

While the crust is solidifying, whip the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixed on medium speed until fluffy and as lumpless as possible (there still may be a few but we want them to be minimal). Reduce the speed to low and add in the powdered sugar. Whip until just combined. (if you over whip, you might end up curdling the butter...not the result we're looking for). Add the cream and whip until you have soft peaks.

Take out your chilled crust and spread the dulce de leche on the bottom of the crust. If your dulce de leche is....too thick, you can warm it up a little in a pan first. Arrange your sliced bananas over the dulce de leche, overlapping as necessary.

Pour the whipped cream mixture on top of the bananas and spread evenly

(ok, so I didn't know how much filling I was making and apparently over extended my crust a bit)

Garnish with  dulce de leche and chopped peanuts.

I'd show you a picture of the sliced product....but to be honest, I suck at slicing and serving pie. It was a mess. But absolutely delicious. The saltiness from the peanuts, the creamy caramel dulce de leche and of course the bananas......ok, so I kinda wanna stick my face in it and come up licking.

Summer Squash Pickles

Its that time of year....for those gardeners out there, when you're picking more than you can eat. It's a great feeling, having an abundance of fresh vegetables. Friends and family get to benefit from our gardens generosity as well, as we hand out our 'spoils' by the bagful.

It's also a time when we're racking our brains trying to figure out exactly what we're going to do with it all. Sure, there are Squash Casseroles, Zucchini Bread, fried zucchini and squash, Zucchini Pancakes, Zucchini and Potato Pancakes and many more. But what about the future? Something that we can make now and eat....later. Maybe when we're not so....zucchini and squashed out. You know?

I made Summer Squash Pickles a few weeks ago. My first pickling experience. It's from a recipe in The Homesick Texan. It was so easy that it got me to thinking.....hmmm.....pickling and canning. Maybe I should start venturing into that arena. There's a lot of it going on right about now. Sure...I've made a few freezer jams and that was easy. But canning? Pickling? Wooo, there's a little science involved there, right? I mean..there's pickling, hot water baths, pressure cooking, ooooh lord. Kinda intimidating.

Until you talk to a few pros. Which I did over on my Facebook fan page. They took the scary out of it and encouraged me. I even bought a cookbook (that's always exciting), Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. Oh, and Guess what? I don't need any special tools. Sure, they'll help. Someday. When I have the time to find a store that sells them. But I have a large stock pot, and thats all I need really. Besides the jars and some dish towels. And the veggies.....

Summer Squash Pickles
Printable Version

1 lb yellow squash, sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 lb zucchini, sliced into 1/4" rounds
4 garlic cloves, cut in half
2 tsp dill seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp celery seeds
2 tsp peppercorn
1/2 cup water
2 cups white vinegar
2 TB kosher salt

2 pint sized jars or 1 quart sized jar, with lids and bands.

You might notice that I added some things to my veggie mix. Sliced onions, a couple of poblano peppers and a banana pepper. That did alter my veggie volume. I doubled my seasonings and vinegar, water and salt and just rolled with it. 

Clean and sterilize your jars and lids. Using tongs, place them on a clean surface.

Divide your veggies (squash, zucchini and garlic) and pack them into your jars.

 

Combine the seasonings (once again, I altered it a bit. I omitted the dill and add coriander...I thinks thats all I did. I considered mustard seed. Don't remember if I went through with it or not) and divide that also, amongst your jars.

In a saucepan, bring the vinegar, salt and water to a boil. Pour the boiling mixture into each jar, leaving a little head room. Cover with lids and fasten with bands. Set them off to the side to cool for about 4 hours.

At this time you can eat them or just place them in the fridge to pickle a bit more.  They should be consumed within a month.

And that's it. I did have to run a knife around the inside of the jar before I placed the lids on. There were air bubbles in there.

They are very vinegary.....and soooo delicious. I haven't done anything with them other than eat them straight out of the jar. They'd probably be a nice addition to a pasta salad of sorts. Or even chopped up and added to a big fat juicy hot dog. hmm....maybe that's what I'll do for dinner tonight. See? Just talking to you all inspires me.

Strawberry Summer Cake

Yep....that's all there was left by the time I was able to snap a picture. This super easy, very yummy Strawberry Summer Cake doesn't last long once it comes out of the oven.

(As always) I have a little story about this cake. You all are familiar with (or most likely have an account with) Pinterest.com  I'm not as hooked on it as a lot of people seem to be. I play over there every now and then. I have a few "boards" with some "pins" hanging around. But I'm not there on a daily basis by any means.

So, with that said, I remembered a recipe I had "saved" for a strawberry cake a while back. It was time to make it but I needed to find it. I immediately went to my Google Reader and searched high and low through my tagged and starred recipes. Nothing. I knew it wasn't in a magazine or cookbook. I don't keep recipes all over the place on my computer or on the internet. Well, I try not to. I do have them stacked around my desk....but that's a different story. I went back to my Google Reader and searched again (just in case I had missed it....stranger things have happened). Still nothing. I went over to Facebook and whined about not being able to find something when you want it. Which is always the case. Someone commented about how they keep all those must try recipes in Pinterest. Duh! omg....THATS where I had tagged pinned the recipe....it was in Pinterest! I had completely forgotten about that handy little website. Whew......what a relief to know that I was not losing my mind (this time).

Strawberry Summer Cake 
Inspired by: Collecting the Moments
Printable Version

1 lb fresh strawberries
6 TB butter, at room temperature, plus more to grease pie plate
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar plus 2 TB for sprinkling the cake
1 egg
1/2 cup milk buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350' F. Grease a 9" pan, with butter. You can use a cake pan, a spring form pan or a pie plate. I used a spring form pan.

First things first....take your beautiful strawberries

Hull them (ie: remove the stems) and cut them in half, length wise

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat together 1 cup of sugar and 6 TB of butter, until creamy and pale. Add the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and continue beating until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together just until its smooth.

Pour into your prepared pan. Place your strawberry halves on top of your batter, arranging as pretty as you can, cut side down.

Sprinkle 2 TB of sugar over the strawberries.

Bake for 10 minutes then turn the oven down to 325' and bake for an additional 50 - 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out batter free. Cool in the pan, on a rack.

Now....grab a fork...quick before it's all gone.

If you have time...and it's not eaten up already, make a little whipped cream to serve on top. As  you can see....that didn't happen in my case.

Note: cake batter from a box does not have the same end result as this recipe. (been there, done that)

Carnitas and Tex-Mex Squash Casserole

Here you have some very basic, standard, simple ingredients. When you add a few spices and cooking techniques, they become exquisite.

I'm talking about two fantastic recipes from The Homesick Texan Cookbook by Lisa Fain. I swear...I just LOVE this book. It has become one of my favorites and for some reason, as the days get longer and sun gets hotter, I start cooking more Mexican and Tex-mex meals. They just seem to go with the season. I have a feeling that my new favorite cookbook will be getting a whole lot of use over the next couple of months.

Carnitas
Printable Recipe

3 lbs boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2" chunks
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup lime juice
4 cloves of garlic (wait...what? only 4 for all that meat? I used the whole damn head of garlic)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste

In a large heavy pot, combine all of the ingredients

Add enough water to just cover the meat. Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered for 2 hours.

Don't touch, don't stir. Just let it be.

Once the 2 hours have passed, turn the heat up to medium-high and continue to cook, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes or until all of the liquid has evaporated and the fat has rendered (which means that all of the fat has left the meat and is not sitting in the pot, which by the way, will not evaporate).

You will know that the pork is done when it has browned on both sides.

Serve with tortillas, salsa and avocados.

Now...while that is cooking, lets make the Tex-Mex Squash Casserole.

Tex-Mex Squash Casserole
Printable Version

2 TB butter
1 lb yellow squash, sliced
1 lb zucchini, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 jalapenos, seeded and stemmed, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 TB all purpose flour
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups crushed canned tomatoes
1/2 cup half and half
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (more for garnish if desired)
2 cups tortilla chips, crushed
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350' F and lightly grease a casserole dish (13" x 9")

In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the yellow squash, zucchini, onions and jalapenos.

 

Saute until the squash is tender. This could take about 10 minutes or more.

Add in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Cook for a minute and add the salt and pepper to taste.

Add the flour and stir until you have a light brown paste. This takes maybe a minute or so. Stir in the broth and crushed tomatoes, stirring until everything thickens up. Add the half and half, sour cream and cilantro. Remove from heat.

In the bottom of your  prepared casserole dish, spread out the crushed tortilla chips. Pour the incredibly yummy squash mixture over the chips.

Cover the top with the grated cheese. Bake, uncovered for 30 minutes or until the top is brown and bubbly.

Garnish with more cilantro if desired

Serve along side your Carnitas

Let me tell how good this was. The meat had fantastic flavor and it was incredibly tender. The Tex-Mex Squash Casserole....wow! It reminded me of tortilla soup, only in a casserole form. Simple delicious.