It's that weekly stuff out of the freezer night! This time it's Chicken that Sam wants to use up, along with the last of the chianti we used earlier in the week for the Cormarye and mayhaps this random can of beans we discovered in the cupboard.
B, normally not the most adventurous of individuals in the kitchen (except with pie) surprised Sam a couple weeks ago with this red-wine chicken breast that (apparently) was absolutely amazing. Since B is at work, Sam is endevouring to recreate the dish tonight.
The beans are for something else.
Chicken A La Brandon
What We Used:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 cup red wine (we have chianti, which is a dry, fruity red. We think B used a merlot.)
- 1 yellow pepper
- 1 orange pepper
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/4 onion
- garlic powder
- seasoning salt
- white sugar
- 1/4 cup Oil (back to the grapeseed again)
- Olive oil (for frying the chicken)
B originally used a pre-mixed club house roasted garlic and peppers spice thing, but being wierd and liking to do things the hard way Sam decided that we were going to do this ourselves, gosh darnit, and we sure do have peppers in the fridge that need to be used.
Sam cut the peppers into good sized chunks and put them in a small roasting pan lined with tin-foil. The peppers were joined by six cloves of garlic, peeled but whole, and some leftover red onion that needed to be used also chopped into large pieces.
The peppers, garlic and onion were covered in oil, then a little bit of salt and sugar were sprinkled over. The pan was put into the oven uncovered and then watched like a hawk (garlic apparently is notorious for burning) and stirred occasionally until the vegetables were soft.
Meanwhile, while the veggies were roasting, Sam was butterflying the chicken breasts and setting them aside.
Since the wine is dark, we opted not to roast the veggies for too long to add a bit of color to the dish, and proceeded to chop them into even smaller pieces. The other option was to mulch them, but I liked how they looked.
Once the veggies were finished cooking and set aside, Sam put the chicken into the Mok Wok to fry with the garlic powder. Once both sides had a bit of color, she added the red wine and braised the chicken breasts till they were cooked through. We removed the chicken from the red wine and sliced it into pieces. The wine was emptied from the pan and the chicken was placed back in with the veggies, then when everything was good and hot, the dish was done!
Verdict?
I liked the peppers! I actually did! This is a bit wierd for me, but the roasted pepper flavor all over the chicken was fantastic. Though if I had my way, there would be six more cloves of roasted garlic in.
What the Noob Learned:
- Braising
- Butterflying a chicken, ie: more wiki for you, gives you more meat for your buck.
Sam's Experimental Veggie Casserole
What We Used:
- 1 can beans (we have fava beans.... and a nice chianti now that I think about it. Heh.)
- 2 cups short grain white rice
- 1 stalk celery
- 3 tomatoes
- 1/4 onion
- 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 3 cups of stock or water
- onion powder
- oregano
- black pepper
The rice was pre-cooked on the stovetop in the broth, then placed into a large Pyrex baking dish. The beans, veggies and cheese were all stirred in and it was placed in the oven at 375 (same temperature used to roast the veggies) until everything was a hot gooey mess.
Verdict:
Even before the thing came out of the oven we had to appreciate the smell. Admittedly, I was apprehensive about the casserole since I am the sworn enemy of rice (especially white rice) but it was good! A little less spicy than I like, but that can be tailored to whomever is making the thing.
What the N00b Learned:
- Rice + Beans = complete protien!! Which makes this recipe good for vegetarians!
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