Sunday Supper: Chile Garlic Chicken

With the Christmas holiday only a week away and all of us busy preparing, this weeks Sunday supper is a dish that tastes like it's been simmering for hours but will only take you a cool 45 minutes to prepare. This would also make a great weeknight meal to last a couple days. Make a big pot of this chicken and you'll have delicious leftovers for the next day. I found this dish in my inbox a couple weeks ago a la my ever trusty Martha Stewart daily recipe newsletter. Simmering the chicken in the sauce makes it so moist and flavorful and I found that it was even better heated up the next day. The chicken soaked up the flavor even more. Just throw some rice in your rice cooker and dinner is done!

Chile Garlic Chicken

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4-6 chicken legs, thighs and/or drumsticks
4 garlic cloves, chopped
3/4 cups white vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup sugar

Heat oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Add chicken to pan, skin side down, and cook until skin is golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn over and cook about 2 minutes more. Transfer chicken to plate.

Discard all but 1 tbsp fat from pan. Add garlic and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Stir in vinegar, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, and sugar. Return chicken to pan, skin side up, and submerge in liquid to cover as much as possible. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low until liquid is gently simmering. Cook 15 minutes. Uncover, raise heat to medium and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Serve chicken over rice.

recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Holiday Cocktail: Warm Apple Cider for Grown Ups

My license says I'm an adult, but I'm not so sure my friends would agree. I'm just a big kid at heart and like kids, I love the holiday season! Yesterday the hubs and I spent a lovely Sunday celebrating the holidays. We went and got our tree and some holiday decorations to dress up the farmhouse. It was a very chilly Sunday so by the time we got home we couldn't think of anything better to warm us up while decorating our tree than a hot toddy in the form of warm apple cider, grown up style.

I made up this recipe a few weeks ago when my mom was visiting and it turned out pretty yummy. The first time I made it though I didn't add any sweetness other than the natural sweetness of the apple cider and it was good, but the lemon was a bit strong. This time around, I added some honey which cut the acid just enough and made it even yummier. I suggest grabbing your biggest pot and making a triple or even quadruple batch of this cider for any holiday celebration, even if its just you and your hunny. Keep it warm on the stove and it'll keep you warmed up all night!

Grown Up Warm Apple Cider

1 cup whiskey
3 cups apple cider
1 tbsp honey
lemon, 2 slices about 1/2 inch thick
8-10 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks

Mix whiskey and apple cider in a small pot or dutch oven. Add honey. Make 4-5 small slits in outer edge of lemon and insert one clove in each slit. Add lemons and cinnamon sticks to pot. Heat mixture over med-high heat and bring to a boil. Let boil 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand about a minute so still hot but no longer boiling and serve.

Sunday Supper: Turkey Meatloaf with Mushroom and Herbs

It's getting cold here in central New Jersey and I'm craving warm comfort food. My mom introduced me to turkey meatloaf a year or two ago when she came out to San Francisco on one of her many visits. She made a delicious BBQ turkey meatloaf which one day, I shall share with you. From then on, I've tended to gravitate towards recipes using ground turkey rather than the classic ground beef, which is against the wishes of the hubs. He loves the classic version- straight off the french onion soup box. But then again, who doesn't!?

I found this recipe from epicurious.com and since we love mushrooms in this house I thought I'd give it a shot. I think it'd make a perfect Sunday supper on a cold day. What sounds better than a warm fire, some comfy clothes, slippers, and a steaming plate of comfort food after spending the day tree trimming and decorating for the holidays? I sure as heck can't think of anything!

Turkey Meatloaf with Mushrooms and Herbs

2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups day old crustless bread, cut into 1/3 inch cubes
1 cup chicken broth
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (crimini or white button are great)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley (or 1 tbsp dry)
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tbsp dry)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1lb ground turkey (about 15% fat)
1lb ground turkey breast

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a loaf pan with olive oil.

Toss bread with broth in a large bowl. Let stand about 10 minutes, until bread absorbs liquid and softens. Mix in mushrooms, eggs, shallots, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Add turkey, mix just until blended. Transfer to loaf pan.

Bake about 1 hour 25 minutes, until thermometer inserted into center reads 170 degrees. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

recipe adapted from epicurious

Deliciously Simple Weeknight Meals: Salmon with Hoisin Glaze

I had the best salmon the other night at the farmhouse and I don't even like salmon, unless it's in sushi form. I try to incorporate some sort of fish into our weekly rotation as much as possible and I'm pretty sure I'll be making this dish much more often. I think from start to finish it took me maybe 20 minutes. The glaze was an easy 4 ingredients and I'm pretty sure it would be darn tasty on just about any fish. I may even try it on chicken one day. It's sweet from the honey, tangy and slightly smoky from the hoisin sauce. All in all it's insanely good, even easier to make and I think I only dirtied a total of about 4 dishes, including the hubs and my plates.

Salmon with Hoisin Glaze

1 tbsp fresh orange juice
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tsp honey
4 salmon fillets
salt and pepper

Heat broiler. In a small bowl whisk oj, hoisin sauce, and honey. Rinse salmon and pat dry. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Brush both sides of salmon generously with glaze. Broil salmon about 4 inches from heat, basting about half way through, until opaque in center, about 10 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Sunday Supper: Creole Fried Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Carmelized Apples

I'm a day late on Sunday Supper, sorry! But, this actually was my Sunday supper so I still feel it's appropriate!

This weeks Sunday Supper was inspired by wanting yummy fall ingredients, but trying to stay far away from all things Thanksgiving since all that goodness is just a few short days away. But I was craving sweet potatoes so I searched for something yummy with sweet potatoes and came across this recipe from Emeril. It turned out pretty delish and is something I will definitely make again, but with some tweaks, which I'll add in my tips below. And as much as I was trying to not have a turkey day type meal, I think the mashed sweet potatoes could be a great Thanksgiving side dish. It would be a nice alternative to plain old mashed potatoes and it's ridiculously easy. Plus, sweet potatoes are bigger than regular old potatoes so you'll have less to peel, and less work is always a good thing, right!?

Creole Fried Pork Chops with Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Carmelized Apples

1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
salt and pepper
5 tbsp butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 thick cut pork loin chops (about 2 inches thick)
Cajun seasonings
2 cups seasoned flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/ inch thick slices
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cane syrup
1 tbsp bourbon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil potatoes in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and put in a large bowl. Mash potatoes and add 3 tbsp butter, cream, vanilla, and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm.

To a large hot oven proof saute pan (I used a cast iron skillet) heat 1/2 cup of the oil. Season pork chops with cajun seasonings and dredge in seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Place chops in hot oil and pan fry until golden brown, about 4 minutes per side. Move to preheated oven and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.

Heat a saute pan and add the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Once melted, add sliced apples and saute about 5 minutes, until just beginning to soften. Add lemon juice, cane syrup and bourbon and cook until apples are carmelized, about 2 minutes.

To serve, place potatoes on plate and top with fried pork chop. Top pork with a few carmelized apples. Serves 4.

Modern Housewife Tips:
1. The mashed sweet potato recipe calls for vanilla but I found that it overwhelmed the dish so next time, I'll forego the vanilla altogether. I think the natural sweetness of the potatoes is enough.
2. Emeril's recipe calls for his creole seasoning, which you can find the recipe here, but I just used McCormick's Cajun seasoning which has basically all the same ingredients as Emeril's.
3. Find a recipe for seasoned flour here, which makes more than you'll need but you can store in an airtight container and is great for seasoning other meats too. I'm definitely going to try it with fried chicken sometime soon!
4. For the apples, I found the lemon juice to be a bit strong so I suggest cutting it in half and only adding 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice.
5. I couldn't find cane syrup at my grocery store (although I'm pretty sure they sell it at Whole Foods if you have one close to you) but I did find agave nectar which I substituted for the cane syrup. I think maple syrup or honey could be a nice alternative as well.

Recipe adapted from Emeril via Food Network

Cooking For One: Savory French Toast BLT

The hubs is travelling for business this week which means I'm cooking for one the next few days. I actually kind of enjoy making dinner just for me because I can be a little selfish and I can make anything that sounds good to me, and only me. I do think it can be difficult though to come up with a yummy dinner that is easy to make just enough for one person without having way too much leftover. But, a warm, savory sandwich is perfect on a cool night and you can easily control your portions so that you aren't left with way too much after you enjoy.

I found this recipe from Martha Stewart a couple weeks ago and I've been dying to try it but I knew the hubs wouldn't be much of a fan, therefore tonight was the perfect opportunity! I absolutely love french toast and I absolutely love BLT's, so to me, this was a match made in heaven! I altered Martha's recipe a little since I consider myself really great at making both BLT's and french toast and also since I was cooking for just me. Below is my version as well as a link to Martha's version in case you'd like to compare and contrast. I know it sounds a little funky, but seriously, give it a shot! SO delish!

P.S. The yummy little green nuggets in the background of the photo above are homemade bread and butter pickles made by my mama. It's my grandmother's recipe and if I ever get the recipe then maybe one day I'll share with you!

Savory French Toast BLT

2-3 slices thick cut bacon
about 1/4 to 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
2 eggs
1/2 cup cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp butter
2 slices crusty bread
a couple lettuce leaves
2 slices tomato
mayonnaise, optional

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add bacon to pan and just enough maple syrup to lightly coat (you don't need much maple syrup at all, just basically enough to swirl in the pan). Cook bacon until just crisp, about 5 minutes, turning half way through.

Meanwhile, combine eggs, cream, chives, and salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Add bread and soak each side. In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt butter. Add bread and cook until golden and crisp around the edges, about 3 minutes on each side, flipping once.

Assemble sandwich with a very light layer of mayonnaise (optional), lettuce, tomato, bacon, and sprinkle any leftover chives on top. Serve warm.

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

Sunday Supper: Lamb and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie

It's been a long and eventful day and I very much wish that I was having this for my Sunday supper but the hubs and I have taken on the task of painting our living room so tonight we are throwing some baked potatoes and a london broil in the oven because it's easy and frankly, I'm tired. Not that london broil and baked potatoes are bad, I absolutely love them both. But it's not quite the same as a Lamb and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie and all the love that goes into it.

My parents often made Shepherd's Pie growing up. I think it was to use up leftover potatoes, or so I would guess. Their version always included ground beef and corn. It was good, but until I found this recipe, I had no idea how good Shepherd's Pie could be! Obviously this version isn't quite as economical as the version my parents made, but it's totally worth the extra coin. The lamb is so tender afte simmering in the liquid and I like to add extra mushrooms because I think every bite should be the perfect bite and here, the perfect bite consists of a piece of lamb, a mushroom, and a little mashed potatoes. So if you're looking to spice up and old classic, definitely give this dish a shot. I can guarantee that you'll discover a new favorite!

Lamb and Mushroom Shepherd's Pie

2lb shoulder blade lamb chops, trimmed of fat and bone, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1lb assorted mushrooms, stems removed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
2 tbsp all purpose flour
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp ground allspice
3 tbsp olive oil
3 large shallots, minced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
1 3/4 cups beef stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
about 1 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes
1/3 cup whole milk
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together flour, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and allspice. Add lamb and toss to coat evenly. In a large frying pan, over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil. Add lamb and saute until well browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil to pan. Add shallots and garlic and stir over medium heat for 1 minute. Add mushrooms and bay leaf and saute until well browned, about 6 minutes.

Return lamb to frying pan, stir in stock and tomato paste, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until juices thicken about 2 minutes. Transfer filling to a 9 inch pie or baking dish.

Meanwhile, make the mashed potato topping. Put potatoes in a large saucepan and add water to cover. Salt water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover partially and cook, stirring once or twice, until potatoes are fork tender, about 25 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add milk, butter, 1/2 tsp salt, and season to taste with pepper. Mash well with a potato masher. Stir in half the chives. Spoon the potatoes on top of the lamb mixture to cover it completely.

Bake pie until it is heated through and potatoes just begin to brown on top, about 35 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining chives and serve. Makes about 4 servings.

A couple modern housewife tips:
1. For the lamb, I told my butcher what I was making and they suggested I use lamb stew meat which was perfect because it was already cut into about 1 1/2 inch chunks so I basically just had to cut each chunk in half.
2. For mushrooms I usually choose 3 out of the following: oyster (I always use oyster because they are delish!!), shitake, portobello, cremini, or the typical white button mushrooms (the button mushrooms are a good option for this dish because they hold up well when being cooked for so long- they don't get mushy, like a softer mushroom could).

recipe adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Cookbook: The Essential Recipe Collection for Today's Home Cook