Devilish Chipotle

Looking for something new and delicious for your holiday table? We made these chipotle deviled eggs at Thanksgiving and loved them. A little spicy, but the heat can be tempered by lessening the the amount of chipotle peppers used and/or adobo sauce. I have found the simplest way to get a consistency conducive for piping is to place the hard-boiled yokes and remaining ingredients into a food processor, pulsing until smooth. A pastry bag fitted with a #22 tip (open star) is perfect for deviled eggs, in my opinion. Spooning the filling the old fashioned way is just as yummy. 

Chipotle Deviled Eggs

12 large eggs, hardboiled

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 TBS canned chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (reduce to 2 tsp or even 1 tsp if heat sensitive)

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Cilantro and scallions for garnish

Cut eggs in half, separating yolks from whites. Place egg whites on a platter; place yolks in the bowl of a food processor with mayo, chipotle peppers, and mustard. Pulse yolk mixture until smooth. Spoon into pastry bag fitted with #22 decorating tip and pipe into egg whites. Garnish with cilantro and scallions. Serve immediately or refrigerate in an air tight container. 

Sheet Pan Supper #2

I tried to like the Instant Pot. I really did. I tried many times over to get the hang of it and make it do all of the things so many promised me that it could do. My Instant Pot failure is another notch on my belt that proves to me....

Things that are popular just never work out for me.

I think my expectations are a little too high. If it's popular and receiving rave reviews, then it must be some sort of magical. If the Instant Pot is supposed to be faster than the crockpot, maybe I expected it to be George Jetson fast. Like super-futuristic-nearly-magical fast. Perhaps I wasn't patient enough.  At any rate, I feel the IP is never gonna work for me and I can't keep small appliances around that don't carry their weight in productivity. The only food I successfully cooked from the Instant Pot were super yummy, buttery, golden potatoes. However, for an appliance to hold a spot on my pantry shelf....you gotta be able to make more than potatoes.  I guess I'm old school when it comes to kitchen cooking tools and I couldn't get on board with the IP fascination that so many of my friends have come to enjoy. I felt the same way about Botox. I tried to like it, I really did.  Everyone told me it was wonderful...everyone was wrong. The headache, the inability to move my muscles - My GOD-given muscles! Yes, I know that is supposed to be the point, but I guess I didn't close the loop on what Botox actually is/does until it was too late. WHAT are we doing to ourselves?! Does it really improve my life to  inject toxin into myself? Not one bit. I think it actually made my life worse. I may be the only person to spiral into a full on panic attack....from Botox. Won't be doing that again any time soon. Just let it be already. YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE. (Psalm 139:14) We get to Jesus at the finish line no matter what sefl-inflicted, fountain-of-youth tactics we do to ourselves beforehand. However, true to my gender, I reserve my right to change my mind at any point that I feel like trying something irrational again in the future. I digress... 

When the Instant Pot did not work out for me, I went back to my tried and true oven and my ever faithful sheet pans. 

Preheat said oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Toss 6 plums (halved) with 1 Tbs. of olive oil, 1 tsp. ground cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. Spread them onto parchment lined sheet pan. Thinly slice 1 red onion and coat with 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add onion to the sheet pan. Season entire pan generously with salt and pepper. 

I realize from looking at the picture that I used more than six plums or else I most likely quartered them. You get the point though. Throw some plums on the sheet pan. Add some thinly sliced onion. Heat 3 Tbs. of butter in a cast iron skillet and lightly sear two pork tenderloin roasts...

Place seared pork tenderloin on your bed of plums and red onion....

Roast uncovered in 350 degree oven for about 45-50 minutes or until pork reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Let meat rest for about 15 minutes before serving. 

Slice pork and serve with roasted plums/onions and a complementary vegetable - steamed asparagus works for our family, but caesar salad would be nice as well or a buttery green bean. Do what works for you! Enjoy! 

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Sheet Pan Supper #1

I adore cooking and find it very relaxing especially after a long day of baking. I know it may seem contradictory to enjoy being in one kitchen after having spent your entire day in another, but as any foodie will tell you....cooking and baking are two entirely separate beasts just as owning a bakery and managing a home kitchen are two boats in completely different ponds. That said, I've been dying for more simplicity when it comes to dinner time with 6 people. We are not fast-foodies or even convenience-foodies which only serves to complicate dinner when there are limited shortcuts between beginning the meal prep and all of the ingredients actually reaching edible. I am venturing into sheet-pan-suppers and trying to find ways to get our evening meal executed with minimal cookware, resulting (with any luck) in minimal dishes. This sheet-pan-supper was my first attempt and turned out incredibly savory. So simple and a very flexible recipe that will allow for a myriad of seasonings and vegetables for numerous variations. Change it up! 

Start by placing your veggies of choice on a sheet pan. I opted for baby carrots and onion, but potatoes would be oh so yummy as well. I will definitely try with fresh brussel sprouts next time. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried oregano. Dice and cook 8 oz of bacon and cook in a skillet.  Remove bacon and sprinkle on top of your sheet pan veggies. Cut up a whole chicken (or buy it already cut up if you prefer), season chicken well with salt/pepper, and brown chicken portions in the bacon fat of your skillet. You may have to do this in batches to get all of the chicken browned. Layer your seared chicken portions on top of your veggies and pour any remaining bacon fat and juices from your skillet over the sheet pan of chicken/veggies. Place your sheet pan in a 400 degree oven and carefully pour in 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 cup dry white wine (sauvignon blanc is my favorite to cook with) OR you can use 1 cup of chicken broth and skip the wine if you prefer. Set your timer for 1 hour and roast it all together until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. You will have ample yummy broth in your sheet pan to pour over your plated chicken.  Or use the fluid to make a flavor filled gravy to drown your day in as many calories as possible. Why not?  Sometimes life calls for exactly such salve. Enjoy!

My apologies for the photo quality - I didn't set out to blog this recipe, but when I witnessed how delectable it was shaping up to be, I couldn't help whipping out the iPhone an snapping what I could before my people devoured the goodness.

Eat More CHIKIN'

It was 1989 in rural Shawnee, OK and I was not quite a teenager.  My older brother had become enamored with the idea of having several chickens to raise - a task which proved far more difficult than we could have imagined as many wild things like to devour chicken as a midnight snack while the rest of us are sleeping. We eventually learned how to protect our babies and their eggs, avoiding danger from the big, bad wolf. There is no place where the circle of life is more poignantly displayed than on a farm. Animals give birth, animals die, we eat the animals. Knowing this, I’m not quite sure why I was surprised when it came time to butcher a few of the chickens - naturally, we had named each of them. I was a little slow on the uptake back then as I still am now. I’ve never had an exceptionally strong stomach and one would think farm-life would have sent me straight to devout vegetarianism. One afternoon, with little warning as to what would ensue, I found my outdoor activity abruptly disturbed as chickens were taken out to the butcher block. No classroom-taught, nervous system science lesson can compare to the automatic response of a freshly slain chicken. As it hopped to its feet and raced about in a headless frenzy of chaos, I mirrored its activity in equal frantic behavior. In that moment, I believed in all things angel and demon, life after death, and the need for exorcism - much to the humor of all those around me. Several chickens were de-feathered, cleaned, and preserved that day while I stood by - mostly watching and hardly helping. As time marched on I learned many different ways to prepare chicken and this lean and versatile bird has a place on our family’s table at least twice every week. As a light, cold salad on a crostini or a hearty, comforting main course, chicken is sure to leave tummies full and hearts happy. 

Spatchcock Chicken

1 whole organic chicken

2 sprigs rosemary, finely chopped

1 stick of salted butter cut into 8 Tbs.

6 slice bacon

4 cloves garlic

1 Tbs. olive oil

Kosher salt

Pepper

Dried Oregano

Rinse chicken thoroughly and pat dry. Place chicken breast side down and beginning at thigh end of chicken cut along ones side of the backbone with a pair of very sharp kitchen shears; repeat on the other side of the backbone and discard. Flip chicken over and open it like a book; press firmly on breastbone to flatten. 

Take 4 cloves of peeled garlic and smash with flat side of a knife. Put the garlic in a cluster on your roasting pan and place chicken over the garlic. The smashed  garlic will steam during roasting and flavor the chicken from the inside out. Using a finger gently separate the chicken skin from the meat and stuff 3 tablespoons of butter between the skin and flesh of each breast and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter between the skin and flesh of each thigh. Gently rub the outside of the bird with 1 tablespoon olive oil and generously sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper and dried oregano. Sprinkle on the rosemary. Lay strips of bacon vertically across the body of the bird and continue on the thighs. Roast in a 400 degree oven, basting often, for approximately 1 hour or until meat thermometer reaches 190 degrees. 

Chicken Cucumber Salad

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3-4 breasts)

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

3/4 cup fresh corn

1/3 cup finely diced red onion

1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/2 cup cucumber vinaigrette 

Fresh chives for garnish

Poach chicken breasts, cool, and dice. Combine chicken, corn, onion, avocado, cucumber, and cucumber vinaigrette in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a toasted crostini. Garnish with chopped, fresh chives.

Cucumber Vinaigrette

1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded

2 TBS white wine vinegar

2 TBS dijon mustard

2 TBS fresh chives

1/2 cup olive oil

Place cucumber, vinegar, mustard, and chives in a food processor and process until smooth. With the machine running, drizzle in olive oil and process until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Photo Friday #49 - West Side Story