My goodness! Too much cooking/blogging, too little time. No matter. I’ve been keeping track of new tasty treats in my handy dandy notebook, and I hope to spend the next month or two getting caught up on what I’ve missed. Alas, there are very few pictures involved, as I keep forgetting, but I’ll supplement with stock when I can. On to the food!

Oven-fried chicken, in my mind, was never meant to be a substitute for the real thing. Just like Cheese Whiz and EZCheese are their own distinct foods (and decidedly not cheese), this recipe stands on its own as something I crave. Crisp and sassy, juicy and full of flavor, you may just crave it too.

Oven-Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 2-3 pounds chicken drumsticks
• 2 cups unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Combine the first seven ingredients in a large zip-top bag and add chicken. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible, and squish so that chicken is thoroughly coated. Refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook, remove chicken and drain, discarding milk mixture. Preheat oven to 425° F. In a shallow dish or pie pan, combine breadcrumbs, melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder. Dredge chicken in breading and place on sheet pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165° F. Serve hot or cold.

My goodness! Too much cooking/blogging, too little time. No matter. I’ve been keeping track of new tasty treats in my handy dandy notebook, and I hope to spend the next week or two getting caught up on what I’ve missed. Alas, there are very few pictures involved, as I keep forgetting, but I’ll supplement with stock when I can. On to the food!

This is a great spring/summer dish with lots of fresh flavors; it’s another throw-together meal that was created out of desperation and lack of planning.

Ginger-Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces udon
• 3 carrots
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2″ piece ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds

Prepare udon as per package directions; drain and set aside. Dice the carrots into 1/4″ cubes. Heat a sauté pan over medium-high heat and add vegetable oil and carrots. While carrots are cooking, grate or juice ginger (see below). When carrots have just begun to soften, add ginger, red pepper, sesame oil, vinegar, and soy sauce. Stir to combine. Add noodles to pan and toss to coat. Continue to cook until noodles are heated through and begin to take on a bit of color. Add sesame seeds and toss well before serving.

Serves 4-6.

Ginger tip: Keep your ginger in the freezer.To season, cut off the required amount and microwave for 20-30 seconds. Cool and squeeze ginger over a bowl to release the juice. This is my favorite way to get fresh ginger flavor into a dish without the hassle of grating.

It’s not cabin fever if you’re not going crazy…Mer and I were both home today due to the lovely snow and ice that was dumped on us last night. I made mention this morning of making soup from last night’s leftovers, but got into the groove that is work-from-home goodness and forgot about it. A few hours later, I noticed Mer had something brewing on the stove. What followed may be the best damn chicken soup I’ve had in a long time (which is saying something, because I don’t generally like rice in my soup.)

Pardon me. I need to pause to go get more soup. Yum.

The end result is a bit more like porridge than soup – sticky, viscous, and just a little bit sweet. If you prefer your soup more…soupy, add more water with the rice at the end.

An extra bonus – it’s not only hearty, but cheap! I’d estimate that this entire pot of food cost us less than $3 to make. (We buy most of our food in bulk and on sale, so YMMV.)

Anyway…here’s the recipe, as best as she can remember it. Eat. Share. Enjoy.

Minimalist Balsamic Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken drumsticks, roasted and cooled
• Water (see below)
• 1/2 cup dried minced onion
• 1 tablespoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste or chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups medium-grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons chicken base*, or to taste

Separate meat from bones and set meat aside. Place the bones in a pot with enough cold tap water so that they float above the bottom of the pan. Set over medium heat and cook, uncovered, for about an hour, adding more water if needed to keep bones covered. Add onion, celery salt, garlic, ginger, and vinegar. Continue to cook for 2-3 hours, adding water if needed, until bones become soft and easily breakable. Strain and return liquid to pot. Add reserved meat, rice, and chicken base. Continue to cook over medium heat until rice is tender; serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

*The link goes to a product called Better than Boullion, which is our preferred soup base. I encourage you to seek out local supplies (restaurant supply stores sometimes carry them, as do farmer’s markets), but please don’t use those awful foil-wrapped boullion cubes here.

Today, like so many others, was an unplanned dinner day, where we pick and choose random things from the pantry and hope we end up with something good. Our base for this meal was a package of wonderful smoked pork chops from the box of meat* my dad gave us for Christmas. I started with the idea of a traditional pork chops and applesauce meal, and this chutney was born out of necessity: with no apple sauce in the house (and no time to make any before dinner), I decided to make a chutney from the dried apples on the shelf.

I didn’t really have any idea what I was doing, and ended up partially live-blogging the experience (and the resulting cup of tea) on Facebook, which went a little something like this:

1. Boil water to rehydrate apples
2. Pour water on apples
3. Make tea with leftover water
4. Drink tea
5. Add dried cranberries to the soaking water, ‘cos I can
6. Get ass in gear because Mer’s already frying pork chops
7. Drain and chop apples, cursing inwardly at the fruit that is still roughly the temperature of its soaking water
8. Decide to fry this shit up
9. Drink tea while waiting for Mer to finish frying pork

The end result (above), served with a side of cous cous cooked in chicken broth, was a completely amazing dinner that I can’t wait to make again. I only hope tomorrow’s leftovers are as good as tonight’s meal.

Dried Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups dried apples
• 1/2 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
• 1 quart boiling water
• 1/4 cup dried minced onions
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups hard cider**

Place apples and cranberries in large bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover tightly and let sit 15 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine cider and onion. Let sit.

Carefully drain excess water from fruit, but do not squeeze. Chop apples into bite-sized pieces.

Melt butter in a sauté pan set over medium heat. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in fruit and vinegar. Increase heat to medium-high and allow to reduce by half. Add salt, pepper, and cider.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced to a light syrup. Serve immediately or cool and refrigerate.

Makes 2 1/2-3 cups.

*Yes, we got a box of meat for Christmas. My dad, a chef, gave us a box of assorted meat and poultry from his local butcher: steaks, chicken, top-quality burgers, and the yummy smoked pork we’re eating tonight. Best present EVER.

**I used Magner’s, our favorite hard cider that the local beer distributor inexplicably imports from Ireland.

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and bite-sized appetizer recipe, look no further. These mini-tarts are deliciously simple to make and eat – if you’re in a real hurry, use store-bought pie crust dough and leftover baked chicken to speed things up.

Miniature Chicken Tarts

Ingredients:

• 2 pie crusts (use your favorite recipe or a pre-bought crust)
• 1 boneless skinless chicken breast, poached and cooled
• 8 oz. whole fresh mushrooms, cleaned
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Line mini-muffin cups with pie crust. Dock the bases of the cups with a fork and blind-bake. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, mushrooms, and garlic, and sauté until chicken is lightly browned and all liquid from mushrooms has evaporated. Season. Deglaze pan with vinegar; continue to cook until pan is almost dry. Cool slightly.

Pulse cooled mixture in food processor with milk until a smooth, fluffy paste has formed. Spoon into prepared crusts and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Makes 48 tarts.