Czech in the Kitchen

Baked Sticky Chicken

Posted by Pussycat in About Me, Main Dishes | Leave a comment

11August2014

Yum

I’ve been busy in my garden these days and it is starting to feel like it’s paying off….

The strawberries are just finishing and the beets are still little, the tomatoes are just starting and the cucumbers are misshapen and of varying sizes but there will be lots. The beauty of home gardening with heirloom veggies in an organic way… a challenge to get what you want when you want it … and as much or as little as you want but it is certainly tasty!

Today I made a chicken recipe based on the premise of a recipe that I found on foodgawker posted here the original recipe is made with italian bread crumbs… which I don’t have handy… in fact I didn’t even have regular bread crumbs handy BUT I did have a loaf of jalapeno garlic bread drying out on the counter. SO a quick crush in the blender and problem solved.

There seem to be two keys from this recipe that are right on the mark. First – bake your chicken on parchment! I typically have used aluminum foil to avoid the baked on mess but I have to say that parchment is way better. The chicken doesn’t stick at all and clean up of just some grease is easy enough. Second – the topping of half and half vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar) and honey mixed together and then poured over the chicken in the last 5 minutes makes it super GOOD.

So my recipe is different than the one that I originally found but I have to say it was fabulous… thanks Port and Fin for the idea!

Chicken

8 – 10 pieces of chicken (I used legs and thighs because we like dark meat)
1/4 Cup olive oil
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1-2 cups breadcrumbs (use any good leftover bread – I used a jalapeno garlic loaf)
1/4 Cup parmesan cheese
1/4 Cup honey
1/4 Cup cider vinegar

First place chicken pieces in a bowl and cover with olive oil, garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper, mix well to ensure all pieces are coated. Then mix together the bread crumbs and parmesan and coat the chicken pieces in the mixture. Place on parchment and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Turn the pieces of chicken over and bake for another 30 minutes. * In the last 5 minutes pour the mixture of honey and vinegar over the chicken and once done serve.

BONUS – Cucumber salad!

Not sure if you notice but I served the chicken with pan fried baby potatoes …. YUM … and a salad of fresh cucumber salad. This is an easy salad that can be made with any cucumbers though I have to say mine was especially good because it came from the bowl of veggies I had picked earlier in the day and it is incredibly simple.

Use a mandolin to slice some peeled cucumbers very thin. Then salt and pepper and add a dollop of sour cream…. mix… let sit in the refrigerator for a few minutes and mix again. The cucumbers will let out some juice and that mixed with the sour cream makes a tasty and easy dressing. Yes… I know… it’s not exactly diet food… but sometimes you have to just let go!

Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup

Posted by Pussycat in Soups | Leave a comment

27July2014

Yum

There is nothing like a good hearty bowl of soup when the weather is a bit cool outside, cool and rainy, which is how it is here right now. I’ve been restricting my carbs which includes starchy vegetables like peas, carrots, potatoes etc… just because I’m trying to drop a couple of pounds.

But when the weather is yucky and the craving is taking over… time to cave in… sometimes you just have to indulge and enjoy… guilt free!

My indulgence this time was a nice bowl of split pea soup, with loads of garlic and marjoram… these flavours remind me of home…. enjoy!

Ingredients

1 bag dried split peas (454 grams)
1 Litre Chicken Stock (I use low sodium)
1 – 2 Carrots
1 Whole Onion peeled
1 Bay Leaf
Chunk of Ham and/or Chorizo
1-2 Teaspoons Marjoram
4 – 5 Garlic Cloves Minced (or more depending on taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sized pot add chicken stock, dried peas, carrots, whole onion, bay leaf, and meat. Bring to a boil and simmer until the peas are soft and cooked. Take out the ham and set aside, take out the bay leaf and onion and throw them away. Use an immersion blender to cream the soup (with the carrots). Cut the meat into small chunks and place back into the pot. Season with marjoram, salt and pepper and add minced garlic (the garlic loses it’s kick the more it’s cooked so if you don’t want a strong garlic flavour add it earlier and cook for a while, however if you like a strong garlic kick like I do then add the garlic last). If the soup is too thick add a bit of water and if it’s too runny cook some of the water off.

I like to eat my soup with home made croutons and I’ve found the easiest way to make them. Chop bread into bite-sized cubes and season with salt, pepper, marjoram and garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic). Sprinkle with olive oil and either spread on a baking sheet and bake until toasted OR you can place them in a microwavable container and microwave on high for 1 minutes, shake them about and place back in microwave for another minute, continue until they are crispy. Be careful in the microwave though as they can go from crunchy and crisp to burned very quickly! Serve croutons with your soup.

Popcorn Pudding

Posted by Pussycat in Sweets | 1 Comment

13July2014

Yum

You know how sometimes you see something in a magazine and it just makes you stop dead in your tracks? Well that happened to me as I flipped through the most recent issue of Food and Wine. Popcorn Pudding? What! Seriously??? I read through the rest of the magazine and put it away… though the thought of popcorn pudding lingered…. I just couldn’t resist… for any of you who know me…. I. LOVE. POPCORN. So this was a no brainer no matter how hard I tried to resist.

Ingredients (as taken from Food and Wine with a little added explanation since I read it at least a dozen times and seemed to miss a key point!)

2 1/4 cups whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon popcorn kernals
3 large egg yolks
4 teaspoon cornstarch
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Using the oil and popcorn, make the popcorn and set aside. (I had made popcorn for us to eat the night before and set some aside for this recipe… about 2 cups of it)

In a large saucepan combine the milk, cream sugar and salt and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar then remove from heat.

Take the popped popcorn and put it into the milk/cream mixture and cover. What you’re doing here is letting it steep… like tea… after about 10 minutes you can strain it into…. the next bowl.

In a medium bowl cream the egg yolks and cornstarch and make sure all the lumps are mixed thoroughly. Very slowly add the strained, still warm cream/milk mixture into the egg yolk and cornstarch mixture… making sure to whisk all along to avoid scrambled eggs.

Once all the mixture is together, place back into saucepan over medium heat and whisking frequently cook until it bubbles just a bit and is thickened. It will thicken even more once refrigerated. Scrape the mixture into either a bowl or into separate cups/bowls and then take plastic wrap and literally cover (touching!) the pudding and cool until it chilled.

Serve with popcorn as a garnish… YUMMY… Next time I’m going to do this in chocolate or caramel… its’ very good…

NOLA – Best Places We Ate

Posted by Pussycat in Reviews | Leave a comment

9July2014

We’ve been home now for a few days and I just wanted to post some of the best places we ate. We certainly didn’t eat at all the best places that were in New Orleans… often we avoided the ones that required reservations since we had it in our minds to use our feet as our main mode of transportation. Consequently we were often very hot, sweaty and not exactly in our Sunday best wear. So we stuck to places that were within about 6 miles from our hotel. At any rate, here are some of our favourites.

This was my fried fish plate at the ACME Oyster House…. Fried Oysters, Shrimp and Whitefish…. in the background you’ll notice my partner’s Roast Beef Po’Boy… very good!

We also really loved Poppy’s Crazy Lobster. This place was by the River Walk and we went there a couple of times…. seriously good!

The fish boil, whichever combination you had was served with a couple of potatoes, corn on the cob as a sausage. The spicy kick from this was just enough to make my mouth happy.

We also had the lobster salad…. YUP… there’s half of a lobster there… all the meat was nicely taken out of it… and it was good.

But MY most favourite place was Cafe Amelie, in the French Quarter. It’s a lovely courtyard and though they had lots of room to sit inside, we chose to enjoy the heat. We found this place the day before we left and had lunch…

The first time we went there we had Grilled Salmon…

And I had the Fireball Mozzarella Salad…. the cheese was marinated in hot sauce…. a seriously fabulous bit….

And finally… a super amazing Shrimp and Grits….

I know it doesn’t really look that amazing but it was so good I can honestly say that I absolutely fell in love with it…. so much so that since P picked dinner for our last day… I chose this place to go back to the next day for our final lunch…… and I had the salad and I had YUP you guessed it Shrimp and Grits! P had the Poutine… which was served with Cajun Pulled Pork…. YUM!

Did I mention how good the Shrimp and Grits were?

Really so stinking good that I’m going to spend the next several months trying to find and recreate this luscious meal…. if ANYONE has any suggestions or thoughts on how I can meet this new mission of mine I’m ALL OPEN! I did, by the way, ask our server if I would be able to get the recipe and she very politely told us… likely not…. so I’m just putting it out there…. I do know that the chef has a Cajun background and she did tell us that often the shrimp sauce is based on their cooking background… HELP …. ANYONE?

Just in case you missed it earlier… 🙂 Here is my favourite meal… the most amazing Shrimp and Grits at Cafe Amelie…..

Honestly, I’m not sure that we’ll get back to NOLA anytime soon… there are just so many wonderful and amazing places to go and eat… but SERIOUSLY… I can’t imagine not ever having these most amazing Shrimp and Grits again!

Now we’re back home and I’ll have some of my home made meals to post…. look for Popcorn Pudding… YUP… straight from the Food and Wine Magazine… and it’s good!