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April 30, 2013 by Julie

Meatballs: Not Bill Murray Style

I love that movie.. anyway..

A little sin is always the best flavor so how about introducing chicken to pancetta? Garlic, onion, parsley? A little tomato paste? Yes!

These are going to be rustic and not perfect unless you want to take the time to chill everything down once combined and use damp hands. Me? I just want to eat them as fast as possible so rustic is usually my poison of choice.

  • 1lb ground chicken
  • 1/2c chopped pancetta
  • 1 small onion or 5 scallions finely chopped – I use whatever I have on hand
  • 1 clove garlic smashed
  • 2tb chopped fresh parsley
  • 2-3tb tomato paste
  • 1 large egg
  • Half to 1tsp salt – I use 1tsp
  • Ground pepper

I use parchment paper to line my lipped baking sheet to make cleanup easier.

Note: As you can’t taste as you go, raw chicken darlings!, a good trick is just to cook up  a bit on the stove then adjust seasonings as you see fit. What we used to do when making sausage is create patties and tuck them away sealed in foil, tossed into a hot fry pan, then unpeeled and sampled after about 5-10 minutes. No cleanup that way. As always everything is flexible so make it how you want.

Note 2: If you are not living a gluten-free lifestyle a cup of roughly torn bread soaked in a 1/3c milk, is a killer addition. Like rice? Add a cup of cooked rice to the mix.

Oven to 400

In a fry pan combine garlic, onion, salt, pepper, pancetta at a medium heat, about 5 minutes, or until the onion is tender. Cool down and make sure to save back the fat from the rendered pancetta.

In a large bowl add the egg, ground chicken, parsley, 1-2tb tomato paste, the cooled pancetta mix.

Combine all ingredients

Using two spoons to help mold start making your meatballs with an inch space between each one. Depending on the size you could end up with 10-15-20. Just keep the sizes consistent so they cook evenly.

Take the last 1tb of tomato paste and combine with the pancetta fat using a basting brush then dab over the top of each meatball. This was not my idea and I really think my girl Kat came up with it but neither of us can remember. Oh well.

When I make a dozen it takes 30 minutes and I rotate the pan halfway through to keep the baking even.

Eat up!

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April 29, 2013 by Julie

Hey everyone! Life had to take the front seat for awhile but I’m back and ready to fire up the stove. Thanks so much for being patient! The magic will be happening yet again.. shortly.

Until then, if you have any questions feel free to post and I’ll respond with the quickness. Cheers!

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November 5, 2012 by Julie

Egg Drop Soup

Its cold outside! You might have a cold! How about something savory, nice and cozy to sip or slowly spoon in? Easy to make and nutritious. Your body will thank you.

This is for one serving, can easily be doubled. Depending on how I’m feeling I’ll add more ginger and coconut aminos as it’s a really flexible recipe.

  • 2 cups chicken stock – hold back 1 tablespoon
  • ½ teaspoon grated ginger
  • 2 teaspoon coconut aminos
  • ½ tablespoon tapioca starch
  • 1 beaten egg – I find that using something that has pouring lip to work the best when adding the egg to stock
  • Salt and Pepper to taste – Esthetically white pepper is the best but if it’s for me or friends? Whatever I have on hand but I really love the added spice of Szechuan peppercorns!
  • 1 thinly sliced scallion

Bring the stock, grated ginger and coconut aminos to a boil. In a small container blend the 1 tablespoon of stock and ½ tablespoon of tapioca starch together. Slowly pour into the stock while stirring the stock until thickened. This will happen pretty quickly. Reduce the heat to simmer. Now stir the stock while slowly pouring the beaten egg in. It will start to spread out into nice shreds and ribbons, think “feathering.” Take off the heat.

Pour the soup into a big bowl, add the scallion, enjoy!

Note: If you like sesame oil and chili garlic sauce little drops on top are fantastic additions!

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October 11, 2012 by Julie

Perfect Roast Chicken

I just recently discovered via friends that many seem to have trouble with roasting a chicken successfully. No! This breaks my heart especially as I eat two whole roasted birds myself each week. Anyway, I seriously do not approve and have decided that this must be remedied.

35 pounds of juicy roasted birdies later, and a sign off from my Kat, and there are officially two methods that I’m going to share, one of which I give to all you darlings today. You’ll have to wait for the second but I promise it will be given up soon. Waiting is part of the fun!

Note: This is basic and simple, no bells and whistles. You could massage a compound butter with herbs all over when done but personally? If done right you don’t need to do a thing. Simple perfection, juicy meat, crispy skin.

Let’s do this!

  • 1 Whole chicken, wing tips snipped with scissors, any goodies in the cavity removed
  • Salt and Pepper – Combine generous pinches of salt and grinds of pepper in a bowl, I like Diamond Kosher salt
  • Twine, unwaxed dental floss, white sewing thread – whatever you have

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

Rinse your chicken, then dry with paper towels inside and out.  Seriously pat it down like you’re an arresting officer as you don’t want any steam action when the roasting begins.

Rub the salt and pepper mixture all over the inside and outside of the bird.  Now..

Truss!  This is not difficult, and if you roast chicken often, it’s a good technique to feel comfortable with as it helps the chicken to cook evenly. I could tell you how to truss or.. you could watch this great video on how to do just that! Sometimes I find visuals to be the best way to go. Thanks Chow for helping the people out.

All trussed up and ready to go, place the bird on a rack in a roasting pan or large saute pan. Point the legs towards the back, most hot part, of the oven.

Roast for 45 – 50 minutes or until the juice run clear. I like an internal temp of 165.

Place on your counter for about 15 minutes, gotta let the magic settle in!, and then eat the hell out of it.

Hooray!

And just to show that yes I will totally MacGyver to get it done and am not talking out of my ass when saying things such as “thread” “unwaxed dental floss” boom! Totally legit.

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July 10, 2012 by Julie

Goat Frozen Yogurt with Lemon & Blueberry

I ‘scream, you ‘scream, and I’m sure you know the rest of this so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.

It’s hot! Cold confections are needed! Frozen goat yogurt with lemons and blueberries? Why yes, thank you.

What I have below is just trial and error lumped together over the past couple of years of chatting with friends, random recipes, tasty ideas. It is solid deliciousness and beyond refreshing.

Homemade ice cream and frozen yogurts generally keeps well for a week, after that they start to lose their flavour and creamy texture. You can always make more!

This should give you just about 1 quart which is two pints.

The base:

32oz container goat yogurt

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon powdered unflavored gelatin, I use Great Lakes, OR one 1/4-ounce package unflavored powdered gelatin

2/3 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup tapioca syrup

1/2 cup half and half

Important: An ice bath staged and ready to go

The compote:

1 cup blueberries

3 tablespoons coconut sugar or to taste, you can always add more

1 teaspoon water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

The day before you want to make this, sorry!, you need to prepare the yogurt. A huge trick is using “Greek” style, as this strained yogurt will provide a smoother texture by eliminating much of the liquid (whey). If you don’t want to use goat and deal with the straining process making this with regular cow Greek yogurt is great.

Fit a colander over a bowl and line with two layers of cheesecloth or buttercloth. Pour the yogurt into the colander, cover, and refrigerate 24 hours to drain. I actually do 48 hours but you don’t have to – I’m picky. Save the whey as it’s good for a bunch of things, would be a shame to lose it.  Measure out 1-1/2 cups of strained yogurt – this is the base. Save the rest for other eating projects.

Prepping to churn and churning:

Pour 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice into a small bowl. Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let stand for 5 minutes.

In a small pan, whisk the rest of the lemon juice with 2/3 cup of the coconut sugar and the tapioca syrup. Bring to a boil and cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about a minute or so. Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon gelatin mix.

In another bowl, go for medium sized if you can, mix the yogurt and zest together. Stir in the lemon juice/gelatin mixture, now whisk in the half and half. Set the bowl of yogurt base in the ice bath and let chill, stirring every once in awhile, until cold, about 20 minutes. This cools the base down fast so less ice crystals will form. None of your ingredients can ever be too cold and I will refrigerate overnight after this process.

Pour the lemon goat yogurt mixture into an ice cream maker and start churning. Whew! I know, so many steps but it’s worth it.

The sauce:

Mix the blueberries with the rest of the coconut sugar and the water. Simmer over medium heat with occasional stirring until it starts to look saucy, the berries will be softening up, about 5 minutes. Let cool. This can be made the day before or day of.

After churning and into the freezer:

Layer the yogurt and blueberry sauce, alternating spoonfuls, into a container. Using plastic wrap or parchment paper, this keeps ice from building on the top, press directly onto the frozen yogurt and pop the lid on. Toss into the freezer for at least 4-hours and viola! Done and ready to eat. It’ll keep ya cool even on the hottest day.

 

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