October 11th, 2011

40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken (Or in my case, 35)

My mom used to make 40 clove chicken, but I had forgotten all about it until I caught a rerun of Alton Brown the other day. I think it was halloween themed because this dish is sometimes jokingly called Vampire Chicken, thought it is actually a french classic. My mom probably used The Frugal Gourmet recipe, back from when PBS on Saturday mornings was the extent of “food tv.” My mom made this with a whole chicken, I’m sure of it. Most of there recipes I found called for cut up chicken except for Alton’s so I sort of used that, with a splash of smitten kitchen thrown in.

This seems like a long, time-consuming recipe, but it really isn’t. It took about 20 minutes to prep the garlic and brown the chicken and then it was in the oven for about an hour and a half. This recipe doesn’t taste like over-garlicky either. It is just amazingly moist roasted chicken.

40 Cloves of Garlic Chicken
makes: 1 chicken

40 cloves of garlic, peeled (I used three heads which resulted in 35 cloves, but a few were big ones.)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped (I used some leftover pearl onions plus some white onion)
handful of fresh thyme
whole chicken
1/2 c white wine
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Rinse and dry chicken (check to make sure there isn’t anything lurking in the cavity), sprinkle with salt and pepper
3. Heat large skillet or heavy bottomed pot on medium (or medium high) heat and melt olive oil and butter.
4. Brown chicken 5 minutes per side in butter and oil.
5. Remove chicken from pan (I put it on a platter for a minute, but a cookie sheet would work too)
6. Add wine to pan, deglazing if needed. Turn off heat.
7. Add onion, thyme and garlic to pan and place chicken on top.
8. Cover and cook in the over for one hour.
9. Uncover and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes until internal temperature is 165 degrees and juices run clear.
10. Remove from pan. Yum!
11. You can either carve and serve the sliced chicken or do a platter presentation. I also cooked some brussel sprouts in garlic and lemon and put those on the platter with some lemon wedges.

Pan before the chicken

Ready for the oven.

Bonus recipe!
Lemon Garlic Brussel Sprouts: rinse and halve brussel sprouts, trimming ends if needed. Heat some olive oil in a skillet, add sprouts and two minced cloves of garlic. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, until sprouts are soft and bright green. Squeeze half a lemon over sprouts and sprinkle with salt.

October 7th, 2011

Easiest Banana Bread Ever

I know, I know, you all are thinking – how hard is banana bread, why does it need to be easy? Here’s the thing: I don’t always want to get out the stand mixer. I don’t own a hand mixer and most banana bread recipes call for mixers. I never know if they need a mixer or the author is just mechanically because it’s their preferred method mixing. So, I’ve been working on this one and it can be made with a bowl and a big spoon. That’s right, banana bread made with one bowl, one spoon (or spatula), a pan, and measuring utensils. (I am also too lazy to mix the dry ingredients separately. I usually find out with a disastrous first batch with the separate mixing is required, not desired.)

Also, this bread is moist. Very moist. If you like your banana bread light and fluffy, just run away now. There’s yogurt and applesauce in this banana bread. It’s one of the most moist, dense and delicious banana breads that I’ve ever made. Sometimes the top gets sticky leftover. Of course, this is rarely an issue because the toddler and I can devour a pan of banana bread through the course of one day.

Easiest Banana Bread Ever

makes 1 pan

1 cup mashed banana -about 2 large or 3 medium
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar lightly packed
1 cup white sugar
1/2 vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups flour
cinnamon sugar (I keep a jar mixed in the pantry, but if you need to make some, mix 1 teaspoon cinnamon with 2 teaspoons white sugar and use any leftover on some toast.)

1. Butter and flour a loaf pan and preheat oven to 325.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas. I like to mash each banana in the bowl, then sccop it out and put it in the measuring cup and then dump it all back in the bowl when I reach 1 cup.
3. Add yogurt and mix well, breaking up any remaining chunks of banana.
4. Add apple sauce, oil, eggs, sugars, vanilla, baking soda and salt mixing very well after each ingredient.
5. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, gently stirring the flour in with each addition.
6. Pour the batter in to the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
7. Sprinkle the top generously with cinnamon sugar
8. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in to the center comes out clean.
9. Let cool in the pan for at least an hour and then stuff it in to your face. (I slice and serve from the pan, but if you want to pop the whole loaf out, slice around the edges and invert onto a plate (or your hand) and then flip back on to another plate.)

September 30th, 2011

Recipe: Cowboy Beans

I love this recipe, so rustic and fun, but a completely different flavor profile than any of my usual chili. It is based on a recipe from a spice catalog, but that one used a proprietary seasoning that I didn’t use and I tweaked the ingredients enough that I feel comfortable posting my own recipe. Plus, cowboy beans are a thing, so if they tried to claim it, it would be like Dinty Moore claiming Beef Stew.

The funny thing about this recipe is I did my final tasting and still felt like something was missing. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it and than I had a flash inspiration: my mom always added ketchup to baked beans, I add just a little to the pot and the beans were just perfect. Love it. Thanks mom! I served this with baked onion rings, but would be great with cornbread or as a side for steak or burgers. I think it is going to be my next potluck dish for sure.

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Cowboy Beans
Serves 4 as a main, 6 to 8 as a side
4 strips bacon
1 pound ground beef
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon dried minced onion (or throw a half a fresh chopped onion in with the beef)
2 15-oz cans of baked beans (I used TJs, for )
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning (or 1/4 teaspoon each dried basil and oregano)
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 cup corn kernels (cooked off the cob, frozen or canned (drained))
salt and pepper to taste (this will vary depending on the beans used)
1/4 cup grated jack, cheddar or colby cheese

1. In a skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until cooked through. Remove from pan and drain grease.
2. Cook the ground beef in the bacon pan, seasoning with garlic, cayenne, onion and a dash of salt. Cook the hamburger thoroughly and transfer to your soup pot with a slotted spoon. (Or drain it. I’m lazy)
3. Add the baked beans (undrained) and bacon to the hamburger in the pot. Depending on the consistency of the beans, you may want to add a little water. I added just shy of half a can, but the beans I used were thick.
4. Add Italian seasoning, chili powder, ketchup and a bit of salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes.
5. Stir in the corn and cook for an additional 5 minutes to bring the corn to temperature.
6. Adjust seasonings to taste if desired.
7. Garnish with a little grated cheese (if desired).

August 18th, 2011

How to Make Sparkling Summer Lemonade

For some reason I’m working on the recipe posts instead of the party recap (greek(ish) potato salad over a Soup Or Salad today), but really without great pictures a party recap isn’t very fun. And my photos? Not so awesome. We normally serve beer, wine and water at parties with something fun for the kids. Last year I made ginger lemonade by simmering fresh ginger in lemon juice and adding it to store bought lemonade. This year, what with having an overabundant lemon tree in the back yard, I thought I would take a crack at homemade lemonade, which despite my advanced age, I had never attempted.

I decided to juice lemons and make simple syrup and wing it. The limiting factor in my recipe was the lemon juice. I hate my juicer. Hate it. I only juiced 4 cups of lemon juice before I wanted to throw it out the window. I also didn’t count the lemons. 4 cups took maybe 20 lemons. But 4 cups makes a lot of lemonade. If you just want to make a little to drink in the afternoon, juice 3 lemons and just use the ratio.

 Serving suggestions: in glasses or mason jars, by the pitcher or the bucket. Add frozen sliced lemons, ice or frozen lemonade to keep it cold when serving in bulk. A fun trick is to slice a lemon and poke a straw through it. Or, thread a straw through a lemon and then freeze to keep the drink cold and look cute at the same time. (Also a great idea for sangria. Maybe with oranges.)

Sparkling Summer Lemonade
makes 5 quarts

4 cups sugar
4 cups water
4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
12 cups sparkling water (mineral, plain or club soda works just fine)

1. Make simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring periodically until sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool and set aside. (This can be done the night before and kept the fridge in a clean container with a lid. Any extra will keep for about a week. You can use it to sweeten tea or coffee or just give it to visiting neighbor children and send them home.)
2. Juice lemons (I recommend an electric juicer. Just not the crappy one I have)
3. In serving container or pitcher, combine lemon juice, simple syrup and sparkling water in the ratio of 1:1:3. So, for 4 cups of lemon juice, add 4 cups of simple syrup and 12 cups of sparkling water.
4. Add ice and/or frozen sliced lemons and serve.
5. If you just want to prep all the ingredients in advance and make it by the glass, I’ve found a shot glass or jigger works well. Just do 1:1:3 over ice. Delicious.