Arroz con Pollo

"What are we having tonight?" my husband asked. "Arroz con Pollo. Rice with Chicken." I replied.
"I see you remembered something from your Spanish classes after all."

Yes. Yes I did. Five years of Spanish, and I remember enough to translate what we're eating. That's better than nothing, I guess.

I think you're suppose to have more chicken in the dish, but we only had two drumsticks. Ours is truly Rice with Chicken. Lots of rice, not a lot of chicken. Just enough for two, and some rice leftover.

In our household, we usually eat Chinese fried rice. This Spanish fried rice was a much welcomed flavor change. It's an easy, delicious, and homey meal.

Arroz con Pollo
adapted from Simply Recipes

2-4 chicken drumsticks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp paprika
4 tbsp olive oil, separated
2 cups medium or long grained rice
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tbsp red pepper, chopped
2 tbsp green pepper, chopped
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1/8 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Rinse and pat dry chicken drumsticks. Mix salt, black pepper and paprika with flour. Dredge chicken in flour. Fry chicken until all sides are browned.

In a skillet, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in medium high heat. Add rice, spread it out and let it brown for three minutes. Stir to let the other side brown.

Add onion, peppers, and garlic. Stir until onions have softened, about three minutes. Place the chicken on top of the rice.

Add chicken stock, tomatoes, oregano, and salt. Bring it to a boil and turn the heat down to low.

We don't have a lid for this pan. But no worries...I covered it with tin foil. Simmer for 25 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and it's time to eat!

Served with cilantro and lime wedges.

Chinese Dumplings with Beef and Green Onions

I have only a few childhood memories of helping my mom cook in the kitchen. Usually she handles it all. In one of them I remember chopping Napa cabbage furiously for the dumpling filling. Then we made snakes out of the left over dumpling wrappers, which I believe were homemade. This dumpling recipe doesn't have Napa cabbage in it, but it's made the same way--homestyle.

Chinese Dumplings
About 60 dumplings

1 lb ground beef
2 inch fresh ginger, minced
4 stalks green onions, finely chopped
4 large Shiitake mushrooms, softened and finely chopped
4 oz firm tofu, finely cubed
4 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp finely ground pepper
1 tbsp corn starch
Dumpling wrappers

Dipping Sauce
6 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 stalk green onion, finely chopped
Hot sauce (Sriracha), optional

Prepare filling by putting ground beef, ginger, green onions, Shiitake mushrooms and tofu in a large bowl. Add soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and ground pepper. Mix a little, then sprinkle corn starch in the bowl. Combine until all ingredients are just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Set up a baking sheet with plastic wrap for placing dumplings and a bowl of water for sealing the wrapper.

My dumpling station

Place about one tablespoon of filling in the wrapper. If it's store-bought, one side will be less floured. That's the side to fill. Dip your finger in the water, then wet half of the dumpling wrapper along the side. Pinch in the middle, then seal both sides with your thumb and forefinger. Homestyle.

I made 45 dumplings this time. One serving is about 10 dumplings in my family. The uncooked dumplings can be frozen. Keep them on the pan while they freeze. Once they are frozen, keep in a freezer bag. It's so convenient when there are frozen dumplings in the freezer! The leftover filling is good for Chinese meatballs or Ants on Branches (future posts).

frontside

backside

Usually we fry half to make pot stickers, and cook half in boiling water. First the boiled kind: Add dumplings to about 3 quarts of boiling water. Stir carefully to prevent dumplings from sticking to the bottom of the pot. After they float up, wait two minutes, then use a slotted spoon to spoon them out. Carefully stir with a wooden spoon or chopsticks and a little bit of dumpling water so they don't stick together in the bowl.

To make the sauce, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Sprinkle in green onions. Add hot sauce if desired.

To fry dumplings: Heat 2 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat. Place dumplings bottom side down. Fry until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Turn dumplings so the backside is down. Fry until golden brown.

Turn dumplings frontside down. Add about 1/2 inch of water carefully to avoid splashes. Cook until all the water is gone, and wait 2 minutes until the side that is down is also golden brown.

My stove is uneven so the dumplings are all gathered on one side

Fry to perfection and serve with sweet chili sauce.

It's our favorite meal. What's your favorite homemade meal?

Celebrating Pi Day With Ramekin Pies!

Today is Pi Day. To celebrate, we made four pies in ramekins.

Of course, we had to have Bill's favorite: Chicken Pot Pie. We like our pot pies personalized. Here's another version.

Ramekin Chicken Pot Pie
2 servings

1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
6 tbsp butter
5 tbsp ice water

1 chicken breast
1 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1/2 stalk celery, finely diced
1 tbsp flour
1 cup cream
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt & pepper

To make Rough Puff Pastry: Combine salt and flour. Cut butter into flour until it resembles cornmeal. Set in fridge for 30 minutes. Mix in 4 tablespoons of ice water until dough comes together. Add the last tablespoon of ice water if there are loose flour. Wrap in plastic and form a disk of dough. Set it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Fold in thirds like an envelope. Set it back in the fridge for 30 minutes. Repeat one more time.

Meanwhile, cook chicken breast in water over medium high heat until inside is no longer pink, about 25 minutes. Cube chicken. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and cook for five minutes. Sprinkle flour and cook for one minute. Turn heat down to medium low. Add the cream and mix in nutmeg, salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes until cream thickens. Stir in chicken cubes.

Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cut it in half. Add the filling in the ramekin, and cover with dough. Bake for 25 minutes.

On one, we cut an X. On the other, we cut a heart. Note to self: don't fill the ramekins too full next time, or it will bubble over. Oops.

Filling is very hot.

For dessert, cherry and pecan.

Yum. Happy Pi Day everyone!

Bread of the Week: Viennese Rolls

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

This week, I made some rolls with two awesome birthday gifts I got last month. My thoughtful stepsister sent me a recipe book filled of delicious bread recipes. I picked the Viennese rolls to make first because they looked so deliciously mouthwatering. They are also very versatile--we had them for dinner twice in a row!

Coincidentally my mother-in-law sent me a vintage bread bowl and a butter paddle. It's perfect for this recipe, as you will see.

Viennese Rolls
Makes 6 to 8 rolls
Adapted from Bread

2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm milk

2 large eggs
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
4 cups bread flour, separated
4 tbsp softened butter

Let the yeast dissolve in the milk for five minutes. Mix in the eggs, sugar, and salt. Add 3 1/2 cup bread flour and mix until combined and smooth, about five minutes. The dough will be very soft and sticky.

Cover with a towel and keep it in room temperature for 30 minutes. Next, knead in the bowl 20 times. The paddle comes in handy here as the dough stays very soft and sticky. Cover and let rise for one and a half hours. Then, knead 20 times. Work in the butter and sprinkle the rest of the flour to keep the dough for sticking. Cover and let rise for one hour.

Divide dough into six large rolls, or eight smaller rolls. This dough works kind of like drop biscuits. Line and sprinkle a baking pan with cornmeal. Drop the rolls on the pan. Cover and let rise for 20 minutes next to the stove. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with a pan of water on the lower rack. Bake for 18 minutes without opening the oven door for the first 10 minutes.

The first night, we had them right out of the oven. Warm and wonderfully soft. Even better with butter.

Served with roasted chicken and green beans.

The second night, we had them as burger buns.

Grilled mushrooms, cheese, homemade patties. Now that's a burger!

Honey Mustard Meatloaf

One of the first things I baked in my loaf pan was a loaf of meat. Before this and this, there was meatloaf.

This recipe, adapted from here, is tangy and sweet. Perfect for any day of the week.

Honey Mustard Meatloaf
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 tsp chopped dried leaf basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs, seasoned
1 1/2 lb ground beef
2 tbsp chopped green onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk two eggs in a large bowl. Mix in onion, pepper, basil, salt and pepper. Mix honey with mustard in a small bowl. Add half to the egg mixture, and reserve the rest. Add the bread crumbs, then the ground beef and mix until incorporated. Shape into a loaf. Bake for 30 minutes.

Add the rest of the honey mustard on top of the meatloaf. Sprinkle with green onions. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Served with a leafy salad.

Fresh Linguine with White Sauce

Here's another recipe for a romantic date at home, served with a slice of Italian Bread.

I love noodles. Since I got the pasta attachment for my KitchenAid, I can't get enough of fresh pasta. Bill usually doesn't like linguine, but he loved this meal. Homemade makes all the difference!

It actually takes less than an hour to cook this whole meal. Since the pasta is fresh, it takes less than five minutes to cook. As long as the chicken was prepared ahead of time, the sauce is pretty fast to cook as well. We had some leftover Chicken Under a Brick from a weekend dinner party and it was full of flavor, perfect for this meal.

Fresh Linguine
2 servings

2/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg

White Sauce with Chicken
3 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1/2 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
2 tbsp flour
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1 cup cooked chicken, cubed
2 oz fresh spinach

Make the pasta dough with the flour, egg and salt. Carefully mix the egg with a fork on top of the flour. Gradually incorporate the flour and make a soft dough. Once most of the flour is incorporated, knead with your hand until it's smooth.

Divide the dough into three to roll out with a pasta roller. For this recipe, I stopped at level 6. Cut the pasta. Dust with flour to prevent it from sticking together. Before sauce is completed, cook the pasta in boiling water for 4 minutes.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 3 minutes. Add the milk, and stir in tomato, garlic, salt, black pepper and basil. Cook for 5 minutes. Whisk in the flour, one tablespoon at a time. Cook for 3 minutes or until thickened. Stir in Romano cheese, chicken, and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted and the chicken is heated. Add the drained pasta to the pan and toss in the sauce. Serve with a slice of bread. Enjoy with a glass of wine!

Sour Cream Spinach With Toasted Pine Nuts

Easiest, healthiest, most delicious side dish ever.

Sour Cream Spinach With Toasted Pine Nuts
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed but not dried
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp sour cream
Pine nuts, toasted

Heat a nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add spinach and sprinkle salt over it. Put a lid on for 3 to 4 minutes until spinach has wilted. Mix in sour cream. Top with pine nuts.

Sweet Potato Ravioli

Got my pasta roller for Christmas...it's time to make some sweet (potato) ravioli! It's another one of Bill's favorites. I can't remember how many times we go to a new restaurant, and I would ask him, "You're getting the ravioli, aren't you?" And the answer is nearly always "Yep!" This dish has very few ingredients, yet it's so delicious! Another great dish for date night at home.

Sweet Potato Ravioli
Makes two servings

1 cup sweet potato, cubed
1/3 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
Ground black pepper
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
Salt
Olive oil and Romano cheese to serve

Cook sweet potato in salted boiling water for 15 minutes. Mash it and add Romano cheese, sage, and pepper.

Make pasta dough and roll out into sheets. I use a pastry cutter. It's less uniform than a ravioli cutter, but it works. Fill pasta with sweet potato filling and seal with a second square. Press the middle lightly.

Uneven ravioli adds character, no?

Cook for 7-9 minutes.

Serve with olive oil and more cheese!

Imitation Crab Cakes

I admit it. I like imitation crab. It might sound like heresy coming from someone who lived in South Carolina for a year, but imitation crab is not all that bad. In fact, we have this dish pretty frequently because it's ridiculously easy to make and it looks as good as it tastes. Plus, these are healthy because they're baked! Add some blue cheese for some zing.

Imitation Crab Cakes
Makes 9 cakes

6 oz imitation crab, in small chunks
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 large carrot, grated
1 scallion, chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 egg
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tbsp dried dill
Salt & pepper
1 cup bread crumbs, divided
4 tbsp blue cheese (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix imitation crab, celery, carrot, scallion, onion in a large bowl. Add the egg and mustard and stir. Season with dill, salt and pepper. Stir in half a cup of bread crumbs. Add blue cheese if desired.

Oil baking pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Form crab cakes and dip them in the remaining bread crumbs. Place on baking pans and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with lemons and tartar sauce. Enjoy!