Coffee Cocoa rubbed chicken roast with roasted veggies

I had been wanting to sample on coffee rubbed ribs for the longest time. Ever since i became a mom my cravings were less gratified as i would rather stay home with Ysabela and force myself to try to cook that which i am craving rather than spend a ridiculous amount of time stuck in traffic.

I had some of my good friends coming over so i said why not give it a try.

t'was good (at least thats what they said)

this was fairly easy to make  

For the dry rub i mixed 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp of Paprika and 1 tbsp espresso powder

1. smile (you can do this)

2. Clean the chicken and rinse with cold water (set aside to dry or dry with a clean towel)

3. rub generously with butter (this will help make the skin crispy)

4. rub with the coffee and cocoa mix

5. refrigerate for atleast an hour

FOR THE VEGETABLES

Slice and/or cut onions, carrots, potatoes into same size pieces

season with salt and pepper

and thyme

(i added 3 cloves of crushed garlic and green beans)

DRIZZLE CHICKEN AND VEGGIES WITH OLIVE OIL

ROAST VEGETABLES AND CHICKEN AT THE SAME TIME around 30-40 minutes in a 350F oven (you can also grill it if you wish)

Baste chicken with its juice every now and then

if the chicken browns easily, cover with foil and continue roasting until cooked

this will prevent the skin from burning.

June-July 2012 kitchen adventures

Banana Crunch Muffin

Oven Roasted Garlic Rosemary Chicken with roasted vegetables and homemade gravy

Dalandan Soda Pork Adobo

Veggie Stir fry (top)
Crispy Rosemary Salmon Belly (bottom)

Potato Gnocchi with mushroom in creamy butter parmesan sauce

Chocolate buttercream filled yellow batter cake

my crab omelette

Pineapple infused spice rubbed Babyback Ribs with Oriental garlic bbq sauce

Today is probably one of those days where my happiness meter is HIGH.

why? 

well let me count my blessing

1. I woke up because my daughter wanted to snuggle with me. (i am so so so lucky)

this made me so that happy i made her some mini cheese crepe for morning snack (okay 1 for her and 2 for  me)

2. Had mama's pork bbq for lunch

3. was able to exercise and walked about 3km with my daughter this afternoon

4. also I recently joined Human milk 4 human babies and helped a mum and her premie baby by donating BM today.

I was in such a feel good mood that i deserved some babyback ribs.

BABY BACK RIBS

1. pressure cook for 20-25 minutes, 1 slab of babyback ribs with about 2 cans of pineapple juice or until fully covered. 

2. drain (save the liquid)

3. For the spice rub combine 1 tsp each of rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, & paprika and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper.

4. rub the ribs with the spice rub generously. (show the meat some love and make sure all sides are covered)

5. In a griller on high, grill each side of the ribs until spices form a nice brown crust (or you can do what i did and pan sear all sides of the slab until brown)

6. for the sauce, combine 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 2 tbsp catsup, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1/4 - 1/2 cup of the leftover liquid from the pressure cooker or pineapple. let simmer and reduce for 5 minutes. add salt and pepper to taste. thicken with corn flour and brush or smother on ribs. 

Enjoy.

Pandan Chicken

my other saturday stress buster...

3 pcs chicken thigh or breast fillets skin on, (cut into large cubes)

1 tsp oyster sauce

2 tsp soy sauce (i used kikoman light)

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp ginger juice (you can squeeze grated ginger for this)

2 tsp brown sugar

1. mix all ingredients together, taste marinade, add more sugar if too salty and marinate chicken for atleast an hour

2. individually wrap chicken in pandal leaves & deep fry until golden brown

3. use excess marinade and let simmer for about a minute, use as dipping sauce

Rosemary & Thyme Chicken Fillets on Parsley Cream Pasta with Bacon & Enoke mushroom

I miss my parents sorely whenever they drive back to La Union for the week. Our family bonds over food and I enjoy good food whenever they are around. I actually only cook whenever they aren't here because then i can only imagine good food while I settle with processed and canned goods. Hence this meal.





For the marinade

1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cloves crushed garlic
juice of half a lemon
1/2 diced shallot

1. mix all ingredients in a bowl and marinade chicken fillets for at least an hour.

2. pan sear the chicken until lightly browned

3. transfer in a pan and then bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 350F.

For the Pasta Sauce

about 1 cup of Parsley

1 cup of cream

salt

pepper

cheese (fontina, gruyere & mozarella)

enoke mushroom

minced garlic

onions

1. saute the bacon in a little oil until crisp. Set Aside.

2. saute onion and garlic for 2 mins

3. add the mushroom and continue to saute for another minute

4. add the cream and cheese and let simmer for 5 minutes

5. toss in pasta and serve hot

Oriental Orange Chicken

We bought oranges yesterday. It was a fun shopping trip as I had finally figured out how to let my lil one enjoy the activity as well. My 11 month old daughter prefers being carried over being pushed in her stroller. You can say that she hates it as much as sitting on those toddler seats in push carts. The secret as I have learned it to be is to 1. make her sit in the cart giving her space to reach for the goods and inspect them at will 2. make her enjoy the food at the free taste counters (my lil one had her share of cheese and bread) 3. hand her the items (those safe ones that aren't choking hazards) and allow her to play with them.

Anyway, back to the oranges. I initially wanted my baby to enjoy drinking freshly squeezed orange juice but saw that she looked like she was being punished with each sip so i decided to make Orange chicken instead and let her taste chicken marinated in orange juice...

FOR THE MARINADE
1/2 cup chicken broth
3/4 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup packed  brown sugar
3 tbsp rice wine
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
4-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 1/2 tbsp orange zest
I used 7 pcs boneless chicken Fillets and cut them into strips but you can cut them into chunks or whichever way it may please you. Dredged them in corn flour mixed with chinese 5 spice powder and shallow fried them they were crispy and brown.

FOR THE SAUCE

Set aside 1/4 of the marinade
let simmer and thicken with corn flour

enjoy

Ebi Tempura

As I drove home from my sister's dorm last night I suddenly had this craving for Ebi tempura and other Japanese food. I'm allergic to shrimp and most crustaceans but it never stopped me from popping an anti-allergy pill and indulging in their savory goodness - especially crabs.

Tempura Batter
1. Sift together 3/4 c flour, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt
2. add one egg yolk
3. stir in 200ml of iced cold water

the contrast between the coldness of the batter and the hot oil makes the prawns extra crispy

Clean the prawns, removing the head and shell. devein.
dust with corn starch then dip in the tempura batter.

deep fry til crisp =)

for the dipping sauce
combine 2 tbsp kikoman, 1 tsp sake, 1tbsp sugar and garnish with finely grated radish squeezed off of water & juices.

hello happy tummy =)

kitchen experiment - honey mustard lamb chops

I always look forward to weekends because its the time of week where my parents are here in Manila and my sister comes home from a whole week of studying. It's also the only time of the week where I get to go and dine out. This week however, my folks had their own engagement out of town and my sister had to review for her upcoming examinations. So its bye bye to ding out and again I had to make do with what was in the freezer.

We've had lamb in the freezer for a while now. I didn't want to touch it as I had no idea what to do with it. We have no grill pan and my Ate was the one who always cooked lamb chops for us. I wanted to eat meat so bad hence this kitchen experiment.

For the Marinade:
1/4 cup of dijon mustard
1 lemon sliced
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup kikoman soy sauce
salt
pepper

I baked them at 350F for 15-20 minutes until there was slight caramelization of the marinade and browning of the meat.

They turned out surprisingly tender and tasty. delish with mint jelly.  I ate mine with pasta.

Spaghetti and meatballs

i made these for my friend jaypee when she came over to visit. i wanted a food that was filling and comforting at the same time. 

For the meatballs, mix

1 medium sized carrot, grated

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 celery, finely chopped

1 egg

250 g pork, ground

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

sear all sides, set aside

For the Sauce

saute 1 medium onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 diced bell pepper

then add

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 tsp basil

1 tsp italian seasoning

1 tsp oregano

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp butter

1/4 cup cream

season with salt and pepper 

Honey Soy Glazed Salmon

When my hubby and I were still dating, I had a lot of kitchen misses trying to impress him.

1. I over seasoned our fish meal with salt which ended up being saltier than the dead sea.

2. my fall of the bone baby back ribs ended up making our teeth fall as i was ignorant in using the pressure cooker then

i had wanted to redeem myself to him for the longest time as i was a living joke in the kitchen for him

so i started out simple with honey soy glazed salmon & bacon mushroom pasta

HONEY SOY GLAZED SALMON

Salmon Fillet

4tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp honey

1 star anise

2 tsp rice wine vinegar

3 cloves garlic minced

1 tsp corn flour diluted in 1 tsp water

bring ingredients to a simmer

marinate fish for at least an hour

and bake at 350F