Brooke’s Chicken Salad on Croissants

3 skinless/boneless chicken breast

1 tablespoon dill weed (she prefers to use the dried spice in her recipe)

1 – 48oz can of chicken broth

1/2 cup of mayo

1/4 cup sweet pickle cubes

salt and pepper

In large pot add chicken broth and 1/4 cup of water over high heat.

Cut the chicken breast into strips.

Add the chicken to the pot.

Boil for 25 minutes and then remove from the pot and let cool.

Shred the chicken into a bowl, which Brooke did by hand.

Add dill weed to the bowl.

Add salt and pepper.

Add pickle cubes.

Add mayonnaise.  Depending on how you like your chicken salad, you may end up adding a little more mayonnaise until the mixture gets to the right consistency.

Mix all indgredents well.

Time to assemble, cut the croissants in half and add chicken salad.

And there you have it-one of the best chicken salads I have had. Thank you Brooke for sharing your recipe and being a guest on my blog. Here is picture of the two of us before we headed to the party.

Tonight Jen and I have date night so I am not cooking. We are going to eat dinner at CHOPS – one of my favorite resturants in Atlanta. Tomorrow we are going to see Art and Melanie who just a baby girl and I am going to grill out for them. Check back tomorrow for recipe and pics!

Happy Cooking!

Cuban Style Pork with Arborio Rice

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup paprika

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons rum (and one shot for you)

3 tablespoons of chopped garlic

2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 pounds boneless pork chops (1 inch thick), trimmed, and cut into cubes

2 cups of white onion, chopped

2 cups arborio rice

1 – 48oz chicken broths

1 can diced tomatoe

2 tablespoons capers

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

16 large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups of artichoke hearts that have been in water

1/2 cup roasted red peppers, cut into strips

salt and pepper

Combine paprika, lime juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, rum, 2 teaspoons of the garlic, oregano, salt, pepper and cumin in a medium bowl, stirring to make a paste.

Add pork to the bowl and stir to coat.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pork, and make sure you leave any excess spice mixture in the bowl because you will use it later. Cook the pork, stirring, until just cooked on the outside which is about 4 minutes.

Transfer the pork to a plate.

Put the dutch oven back on the stove and add onion and the remaining garlic and cook for 4 – 5 minutes (make sure stir often)

Add rice and cook, stirring until coated with the onion mixture.

Stir in broth, tomatoes, capers, turmeric and any of the remaining spice mixture.

Preheat your oven to 350. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low simmer, cook for about 15 minutes and make sure you stir occasionally.

Stir shrimp and artichokes into the rice.

Cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and add pork and any accumulated juices from the plate.

Scatter roasted peppers on the top, cover and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Here is how I did the plating:

So if you are ever looking for a dinner that is full of spice and has exotic flavors you should really try this.

Tomorrow night we are going to a party and I will write on Saturday morning about the appertizers one of our friends Brooke is making.

Happy Cooking!

Check back tonight for recipe/pics.

Happy Cooking!

Chili Steak and Chicken Tacos

3 chicken breast

1 package of flat iron steak

1 jalapeno

1/2 small red onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of fresh cilantro (and yes Jen doesn’t mind it in the salsa just not a lot)

1 lime, juiced

1 tablespoon honey

3 medium avacados

1 lemon

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

one small container of plain yogurt

1 package of Uncle Ben’s 90 second spanish style rice (this really is simple and taste great)

The first thing to do is take a pot of water and add the chicken and let it boil while you do the rest of the meal. Add taco season to the water for the chicken.

Time to make our salsa and guacamlole cream sauce.

For the salsa, place two chopped tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, garlic, cilantro, lime juice, and honey in a blender.

Blend until smooth and add to a bowl for serving.

To make the guacamole cream sauce, take three avacados, cut them in half and remove the pit. Here is a simple way to remove the pits.

Take your knife and push into the pit:

Turn your knife while holding the avacado and the pit will stay with the knife while the avacado will seperate:

Place sliced avacados, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, and yogurt in the blender.

After blending, transfer the guacamole cream sauce to a serving bowl.

Dinner is almost done, so now it is time to season the steak (this is the time to start heating up the grill-turn it on high heat). Take chili powder and coat both sides of the flat iron steak.

Then pat the chili powder into the steak:

Let the steak sit for a few minutes and chop up the tomatoes, onion and add to the serving dish with mexican style cheese.

Now that the grill has preheated, it istime to transfer the steak to grill.

The steak takes no longer than 10 minutes which I let the steak cook for 2 minutes on each side and work on my grill marks. Remove the steak from the grill and let sit for 5 minutes (this is a good time to put the tortillas on the grill for about 30 seconds on each side).

Time to shred the chicken. Just remove the chicken from the pot which it should be done about now (30 minutes) and shred the chicken by hand then season the chicken again with taco season.

Slice the steak and plate for serving.

Time to make the taco which for me I put a lot of everything on:

Oh and not to forget the wine to match this meal:

I hope you enjoy– we sure did. I have Wednesday night off from cooking since Jen has tennis practice so I will have left over tacos. Check back on Thursday night for dinner recipe/pics.

Happy Cooking!

This is not a nice to have, but I consider this a must in the kitchen. I have many different types of thermometers but if you are just starting out cooking look into something like the Polder THM-160. This thermometer has a built-in presets and alerts you as the food is being cooked has reached the USDA safety temperatures for the meat you are cooking.  The green light on the bottom of the device illuminates when safe cooking tempature has been reached. With that being said, I never cook my steaks well-done (unless someone tells me too, which hasn’t happened yet) so if you are not sure on temperature for the desired doneness, it even has the USDA food temperature chart on the cover for the probe:

Depending on where you get it, the price could range from $10.99 – $12.99. With the stock market the way it is, this is a better investment than buying a car company stock because if you use this tool correctly you are ensuring your dinner guest won’t get sick from improperly cooked food tempature.

Jen has a tennis match tonight and I am not going to slave in the kitchen for just me, so we will go out to dinner late tonight and support one of the local chefs. Tomorrow’s dinner will be Mexican, which has been requested by several of the blog readers, and I am happy to oblige. 

Happy Cooking!

Grilled Ahi Tuna with Wasabi Vinaigrette

1 Ahi tuna steak

sesame oil

salt and pepper

2 avocados, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced

1 bag of sweet butter salad mix

handful of vine tomatoes cut int half

Preheat the grill and brush tuna with oil season.

Season the tuna with salt and pepper on both sides.

Grill tuna on high heat for one minute on each side and obtain grill marks (since Jen is not a fan raw tuna I cooked each side for 2 minutes).

Remove from the grill and let rest for several minutes.

While the tuna is resting time to make the Wasabi Vinaigrette.

Wasabi Vinaigrette

1/4 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons wasabi horseradish

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients.

It should look like this:

Slice the tuna:

Plate with salad, tomatoes, tuna and drizzle dressing.

Happy Cooking!

Chicken

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons fresh black pepper

kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 large chicken breasts with bone in and skin on

1/4 cup canola oil.

In a bowl combine then stir the ancho powder, cumin, coriander, ginger, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, allspice, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, 2 tablespoons salt, black pepper and cayenne.

Brush both sides of the chicken breast with the canola oil and season with salt.

Rub a few tablepoons of the rub on the top side of the chickens and set aside (this is a good time to start the grill).

Here is a close up of the spices on the chicken breast:

Time to make the sauce for the chicken.

Black Pepper Vinegar Sauce

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper

Combine the vinegar, oil, mustard, honey, salt and pepper into a blender and blend until smooth.

Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and set aside (I clean the blender right away because you will need it for the slaw).

Green Onion Slaw

1 cup chopped green onions, white and green parts

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons honey

2 serrano chiles

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1/2 cup canola oil

kosher salt and fresh black pepper

1 bag of angel hair cabbage

1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

To make the dressing for the slaw, combine the green onions, vinegar, honey, chiles, mayonniase, oil and salt and pepper to taste in a blender.

Blend until the sauce is emulsified and transfer to a bowl to use later on the slaw.

Combine the cabbage, cilantro, red onion and poppy seeds in a large bowl.  We used the dried cilantro because Jen isn’t a big fan of the taste of fresh cilantro (a bit overwhelming), but you can use fresh cilantro if you choose.

Fold in the dressing, stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cover and refrigerate while you grill the chicken.

Place the chicken on the grill rub side down. Grill until golden brown and slight charred.

Turn the breast over and continue cooking the chicken until it is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the grill and drizle with the black pepper vinegar sauce. Tent loosely with foil and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes.

Here is how I plated the dish.

So the next time you are having people over for dinner and you want to make something easy yet rich in taste try this out. Check back tonight as I am making Ahi Tuna.

Happy Cooking!

Salmon with Pistachio Basil Butter

1/4 cup pistachios – shelled or you can get the ones that are already shelled

15 fresh basil leaves

4 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup of butter (I didn’t say it was healthy but butter is soooooo good!)

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 cup of white wine

4 – 6 ounce salmon fillets (since this was for a party I doubled everything)

In a food processor combine butter, pistachios, garlic, basil, and lemon juice.

Once everything is combined in the food processor remove the butter mixture, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 400 and cut the salmon into strips.

Place the salmon strips skin down into a buttered baking dish.

Cover the salmon with wine and bake till opaque which is about 10 minutes. Place 2-3 tablespoons of butter mixture on each piece of salmon and continue to bake for about another 5-6 minutes.

Remove from the oven and there you have it Salmon with Pistachio Basil Butter.

If you like Salmon, you really need to try this recipe.  For only taking a total of 30 minutes to cook, it truly has a very rich taste.  Guys, your ladies will think you spent hours slaving in the kitchen over this meal and will be VERY thankful for all of your hard work. 

Happy Cooking!

Arugula Salad with Chicken

1 bag of arugula

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I cooked the whole package-3 chicken breasts–and will take the other chicken breast into work for lunch tomorrow)

half of a white onion sliced

1 red pepper

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 table spoon of honey mustard (I grabbed the wrong mustard out of the fridge for the picture)

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

handful of vine tomatoes

1/2 cup shaved parmesan (I use a vegetable peeler for this)

salt and pepper to taste

eat up a skillet with olive oil and add salt and pepper and let the chicken cook.

While the chicken is cooking I slice up the onion, tomatoes, and red pepper.

Now time to add the arugula to the bowl and start making the lemon vinaigrette dressing.

To make the lemon vinaigrette combine lemon juice, olive oil, honey mustard, and lemon zest to a bowl. Whisk until everything is combined.

Chicken should be about done now–make sure to check the internal temp–then let the chicken sit for about 10 minutes to cool.

Add to the bowl of arugula, onion, red pepper, and tomatoes.

Time to mix everything well and add the vinaigrette.

Transfer the salad to a bowl and add chicken and parmesan for plating.

So there you have it, a dinner salad with a lemon vinaigrette you made yourself!

Happy Cooking!