Peruvian Chicken

If these two words mean anything to you, you've probably tried it - and I'd put money on the fact that you liked it.  If they mean nothing to you, I am sad and sorry.  I'll paint the picture:  rotisserie chicken that has been rubbed with a just-spicy-enough paste of seasonings and vinegar (whoop whoop).....pile of fried yucca ...mild and hot dipping sauce options, one/both of which will most certainly receive a fat dunk by each beautiful morsel of chicken and yucca "fry". 

There are a couple of joints that specialize in this delicacy in the Northern VA area.  "Edys Chicken and Steak" and "Crisp and Juicy" both sound kinda ghetto, and the facilities themselves actually sort of are.  But after experiencing the goodness inside the doors, any regard for aesthetics goes out the window.  Ryan's former workplace was close to Edys, and I knew it had to be good when I noticed one day that he had replaced our children's photo on his cell phone background with a picture of an Edy's platter.  I'm not even kidding.  Now that these establishments are no longer in our hood, Ryan has pulled out all the stops to replicate this feast at home. 

He removed the automatic-turn rotisserie from his gas grill and rigged it on his charcoal grill for a more authentic flavor.  This craziness motivation entailed manual turning every 15 minutes.  For anyone with curiosity, here's the spice rub recipe. (Ryan's tweaks: he used just 1 Tbsp paprika, and he added an extra Tbsp of  vinegar as well as a Tbsp of sugar for extra zip.)

Since we usually mix the mild and spicy sauces at the restaurants, we opted to attempt a hybrid.  This version's secret ingredient is aji amarillo paste, which necessitated a visit to a Latin market.  This fascinating adventure opened my eyes to a truly vast world of ethnic cuisine, whose surface I've hardly scratched despite my relentless culinary pursuit.  Also purchased at this market: two massive yucca roots.  If you haven't tried yucca before - and I've only had it fried with Peruvian chicken - there isn't much to say about its mild flavor.  I personally find its fried-state texture to be its most pleasing element. 

While breaking these suckers down took both time and muscle - even with a gargantuan knife, it was worth the effort to wind up with a crispy snack that even Molly loved.  Hallelujah for that alone.  The technique:  peel and cut the roots into 1/4 inch wedges, par boil for 10 minutes and then fry in super hot peanut oil.  After placing them onto a paper towel lined plate to drain, I sprinkled some salt on top and let them hang out in a 200 degree oven until the chicken's cooking and resting was complete. 

Okay, so I realize not many who read this will embark on an at-home quest for Peruvian Chicken.  My hope is that if one day you somehow find yourself standing in front of of a genuinely sketchy 'pollo' joint, you will at least consider going inside!

Saturday Breakfast

It's hard not to be happy while being circled by two little pj-clad, bed-headed sweethearts chasing each other, absent of any care in the world...all while I'm holding a perfectly enormous, hot cup of coffee and thinking only about what to have for breakfast.  I love a cozy Saturday morning, free of expectation and agenda.  Those seem to be the days when the most special memories are built.  It's not always sunshine and butterflies, mind you.  Typically at least one child will end up crying from some kind of minor battle wound earned in the course of the chaos.  (Assuming it's not serious), it's all part of the fun!

What could further enhance this happy picture?  Well, food of course.  The kids have seemed to embrace the rally over meal prep in our house, and breakfast time is no exception.  Saturdays are particularly nice, as they allow us to linger over our plates with no urgency for clean-up, or anything for that matter.

Cinnamon French Toast

The secret here is clearly the bread!  This is a cinnamon bakery loaf from Montana Gold Bread Company (on Cary Street, Richmonders).  Lots of places have good cinnamon bread, but you could also use another yummy loaf like brioche or challah.  Whatever the variety, I do prefer the unsliced stuff so I can ensure generous portions.  I'm shameless.  Here's the slightly tweaked batter recipe from sweet ole Mrs. Crocker:

3 eggs

3/4 cup whole milk

1 Tbsp sugar

1/2+ tsp pure vanilla extract

pinch of kosher salt

Unsalted butter for the skillet - don't hate on it

You know the rest!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I am all about banana bread, because it's easy, uses up the bananas that have gone to mush, makes the house smell divine and offers fab versatility as breakfast, snack and (with the now seemingly required presence of chocolate chips) dessert! 

I don't really have a favorite recipe.  Sometimes I just go with one requiring ingredients I already have at home.  Knowing that I had a handful of bananas approaching the yuck, I picked up some buttermilk the last time I was at the store to make Betty's classic version of this.  Here are my minor changes included in the recipe below: I use unsalted butter, not margarine; I typically have extra large eggs around as opposed to large; and I substitute the nuts with a cup of chocolate chips.  My friend Allison made chocolate chunk banana bread for me years ago, and I will be forever indebted to her for adding this new dimension of joy to my life. 

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsalted, room temperature butter

2 extra large eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 8" loaf pans (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2) or one 9" loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3).  Mix sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Stir in eggs until well blended.  Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla, and beat until smooth.  Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until just moistened.  Add the chocolate chips and give the mixer two or three rounds to incorporate.  Bake 8" loaf for 45 minutes to an hour, and the 9" loaf for 1+ hour - until toothpick comes out clean.

Greek Yogurt Parfait

There's nothing new about Greek yogurt, but only recently has it assumed staple status in my fridge.  It's a great thing to have around for savory sauces and baking.  But right now I'm singing its praises for  starring in the breakfast parfait.  Okay, so this photo reflects more of a mixed up mess than a neat, layered dish.  But the flavors are all there, and they taste darn good.  I like to use granola with dried fruit for textural interest. The berries add a bright sweetness that offsets the tang of the yogurt.

Another delightful partner for Greek yogurt, I've learned, is lemon curd.  I'm not creative enough to have dreamed up this breakfast time flavor marriage myself.

I have a stranger that I met at the meat counter at Whole Foods to thank for that.  We were both waiting in the non-line that I've griped about before, when I noticed that she had about 20 Fage yogurt containers in her cart.  While I don't usually intrude on the contents of other carts, she had offered a smile and her own gripe about the painful wait, and this seemed to open the door for pleasantries.  So I inquired what she was making with all that GY, and she said she just stirs lemon curd into it for breakfast.  Thank you, meat-line stranger, for this beautiful idea!

Backlog - Sweet

Onto the sweets for Part 2!

Pecan Pie with Cream Cheese Crust

I've provided this recipe before, but I've not expressed the enthusiasm it's due.  To me, there is little, I mean very little, better than the experience of meeting and subsequently devouring fresh pecan pie.



I can't say which component rocks my world the most: the toasted pecans, scrumptiously sweet and sticky goo or flaky crust.  All I know is that their combination - of course piled high with vanilla ice cream - is just Heaven.  Seriously, I know Heaven will be the most gloriously perfect place, and there has just got to be a lot of pecan pie there.



I'm kind of embarrassed that the below shot was taken just three (obviously massive) slices in.  We made this pie for our dear friend and sent him home with half of it.  Thank goodness; otherwise, I would have had to pay for this single dessert with the next 30 Pilates classes.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Blossoms

I saw a blurb in Real Simple about out-of-the-box uses for pretzels.  This technique - I can hardly call it a recipe - seemed like a totally fun activity to do with Andrew while his little terror sister napped.  We were  also bringing a meal to friends with a new baby that needed a sweet finisher.  Perf!

I don't know whether Andrew or Mommy has more fun during our kitchen adventures.  I'm even getting the giggles right now looking at his sweet little posed authentically in-action hand in this photo.  It is just a blast to create things together.....such a blast that my extraordinarily Type A self seems to forget about the mess factor.  To be totally dorky, lessons on addition/fractions/measuring are easy to sneak in.

The method:  In a bowl, stir together 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 1 Tbsp room-temp butter, 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp confectioner sugar and 1 cup crushed pretzels.  Roll into balls and freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Dip into gently melted milk chocolate, and allow to harden in the fridge.  Okay, so these are clearly less than gourmet.  But they sure were fun!

  Backlog temporarily cleared.  Till next time!

Backlog - Savory

Despite somewhat frequent ramblings, I have accumulated a bit of a backlog of food photos not babbled over in this forum.  I'll take an opportunity to walk through them with an attempt to keep the discussion part short and sweet.... well, make that short and savory.  I'll follow up with some sweet on the next post!

Artichoke Ravioli with Tomatoes

Friends, I seriously cheated here.  In lieu of homemade pasta, I used wonton wrappers from the produce section. 

Aside:  Though not attempted, homemade pasta is an aspiration of mine.  I've actually been on the verge of purchasing a pasta maker/machine on several occasions.  I hereby commit to tackling this project in 2011.  Ooh, I'm already excited.  End aside.



Rather than layering and baking this dish (week night!), I threw the ingredients listed in the "assembly" section of the recipe into a pan and made a quick sauce on the stove.  Voila!  This was a bright and tangy supper that my crazy babies actually ate (despite my considerable nerves).  You gotta like artichokes for this, because their flavor sings in this dish.

Patty Melt with Balsamic Onions and Swiss Cheese

Sorry for no recipe clickage, but aside from being delicious, this is super easy and weeknight safe.  Saute sliced onions over medium heat for 20ish minutes along with some salt, pepper and a dash of sugar.  Add a splash of balsamic vinegar at the end and toss.  Top a (seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked!) burger with the onions and a few slices of Swiss cheese. Nestle this yummy pile between two slices of toasted rye bread that have been just lightly spread with whole grain (or deli or Dijon or whatever) mustard, and press in a panini maker.  The crunchy bread offers the perfect package for the juicy goodness inside.  Though unexciting, I'll mention that the side dish is just simplicious sweet potato fries from the frozen section.



Garlic and Herb Roasted Tomatoes

I'm always on the hunt for quick-prep veggies, and these tomatoes are both fab and fast!  The marrying of garlic, tomatoes and fresh herbs over heat yields a surprisingly delicious and sweet result that's ready in under 10 minutes.  That sounded like a commercial.  Sorry 'bout that.

Andrew recently asked, "why do you take pictures of food all the time, Mommy?"  I told him that food makes me happy, and I like to share that with my friends.  Hope you enjoy!   

Cook Schmook

Who says an awesome dinner requires cooking?  One our favorite meals is an antipasto platter of yummy items simply collected from the olive bar and deli counter at the store.   On the occasion that we "make" this, we take a totally casual approach by assembling everything on a huge, inviting plate and parking it on the couch in front of a funny TV show to enjoy the effort-free feast.  A baguette slice offers the foundation for impromptu, open faced sandwiches built with random selections from the smorgasbord of goodness.



I am going to take a second to ramble about some components of this particular platter, as I believe each deserves a tribute. 

Bufalo mozzarella - this is the creamy and far more flavorful cousin of fresh mozzarella...requires no salt, no pepper, just your face. 

Sopprossata - our usual go-to is Genoa salami, but this was a glorious, salty substitute.

Peppadews - I seriously love these.  They are tangy and sweet with a wee bit of spice all at the same time.  We love to keep these around, as they are the perfect, zesty addition to a boring sandwich.

Roasted red pepper stuffed olives - Ryan happens to not care for olives of any kind, which sort of pains this olive-obsessed girl.  So I just get them anyway and ask him to overlook them.

Cipollini - these little balsamic marinated onions have kind of changed my life.  I simply adore their vinegary bite and could just eat them all day with a fork.

Cherry Pepper Poppers - we go halfsies on these oil-marinated hot peppers stuffed with proscuitto-wrapped provolone; this results in a manageable amount of heat vs. getting burned out (not to mention looking ridiculous) stuffing a whole one in my mouth.

The moral of this story is that no-fuss assembling can be as exciting and delicious as an all day cooking fest.  Awesome ingredients equals awesome meal.

Fondue Fun

We have somehow found ourselves in possession of three fondue pots.  I am pretty sure we received two as wedding gifts, but as to how a third one has joined the ranks, your guess is as good as mine.  The point is that we actually use them....sporadically if I'm being entirely honest, but they do venture out of their boxes at least once or twice a year.  I personally think the experience of fondue is a blast and need not be confined to the four walls of The Melting Pot.  Please know that I'm so not hating on that place; on the contrary, I love it.  But I also love to eat at home for the sakes of frugality and relaxation, as well as to rock the clearly necessary expandable pants without shame. 

Our great friends helped me celebrate my birthday with a seriously fun, delicious, and rather disgustingly excessive fondue feast.  We skipped the main course, raw meat bit and opted to simply gorge ourselves on cheese and chocolate.  I mean, that's the good stuff anyway, right? 

We kicked off the party with a dainty appetizer of Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, courtesy of my Barefoot BF.  It's a yummy departure from the standard shrimp cocktail we've all had, and the spicy sauce is fantastic.  The appetizer certainly wasn't necessary from the perspective of food quantity.  I mean, we were preparing to park ourselves in front of a mound of savory dippers and a pot of cheese - which I'll chat about in a sec - followed by a pot of rich chocolate and a platter piled with bite-sized sweet things to dip into that.  I guess I just thought the addition of shrimp demonstrated an attempt at nutritional redemption in the otherwise truly naughty meal.  Yes, I'm calling it a meal.

I realized later that I actually forgot to take a photo of the cheese course.  I suppose the overcoming excitement to dive in presented too much distraction.  We dipped Granny Smith apple slices, cubes of a bakery sour dough loaf, baby carrots, cauliflower florets, and my personal fave, tangy cornichon, into a glorious pot of Neufchatel Cheese Fondue.  This is a 50/50 mixture of grated Gruyere and Emmenthaler, which I think has a great amount of flavor without being too sharp.  The technique is fun and easy: 

Neufchatel Cheese Fondue

1 clove garlic
1 cup dry white wine
10 oz Emmenthaler cheese, shredded
10 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded
1 1/2 Tbsp corn starch mixed with 1/4 cup kirsch or brandy
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Rub a heavy bottom sauce pan with a clove of garlic.  Place the pot over medium heat, add the wine and bring to a boil.  Immediately reduce heat to low, and add the cheese, stirring slowly until just melted.  Add cornstarch mixture, pepper and nutmeg, and simmer for about 2 minutes more.  Pour the fondue into a warmed fondue pot and serve immediately.

I mean, yum.

Next came the chocolate!  The first step was to prep the yummy dippers:

I don't know if it's the experience of fondue or what, but rational dessert portions go out the window when a pot of chocolate is present.  When would it normally be okay to eat multiple brownie bites, rice krispie treats, macaroons, pound cake cubes and marshmallows - and THEN dip them in a mixture of chocolate and heavy cream?  I think I'll just put that thought behind me and rest in the fact that the damage is done.  You know what?  It was worth it!

Classic Chocolate Fondue

1/4 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp kirsch, triple sec or brandy
9 oz milk chocolate, preferably Swiss, chopped

In a double boiler over simmering water, heat the cream and liqueur or brandy.  Add the chocolate, and stir until smooth.  Transfer to a warmed fondue pot, and serve immediately.

Don't write off fondue for a fun dinner party or girls' night option!  It's easy, fun and totally scrumptious.

The Experience

The obvious reason I adore food is to savor flavors.  The time and location are typically of no consequence as long as the cuisine is delicious.  As many know, often the best food is actually found in hole-in-the-wall joints where patrons rub elbows around a possibly dirty, circa 1978 table that probably hasn't moved since the place opened.  These establishments are the gems of the culinary world...nothing fussy - just fresh, homemade, tasty food.

Now having said all of this, sometimes I just love a completely gorgeous table that begs a lingering, four-course experience accented with a delicate glass of pinot noir and a cozy cup of coffee to accompany dessert.  I allow myself to melt into the chair (figuratively...I'm still vertical) and offer up all my senses to drink in the atmosphere.

The best of both worlds, in my mind, is to create a special, beautiful, and foremost delicious experience in the comfort of home.  Who achieves this with a perfectly tasteful, simple and yet still casual/unfussy approach?  Well, Ina Garten, of course.  I mean, who wouldn't want to dine at this table next to fun, food-loving friends for hours on end?  Clearly, I do.


Picture courtesy of Town and Country

 Here's another shot with her signature orange tulips adding effortless freshness.  What is that wine there?  Whatever it is, I want some.


Picture courtesy of House Beautiful

  Another picture of her "barn".  (Aside for those unaware: this woman has a barn that was built solely for entertaining.  This pig would be very comfortable in that barn.)


Picture courtesy of House Beautiful

Don't get me wrong here; it's still all about the food and the people gathered to eat it.  If either is upstaged by the table or setting, I think the point has been missed.  But putting a bit of thought into the dining atmosphere does seem to provide an extra welcome to friends coming into your home, as well as an opportunity for creativity.  While I find it blissful to imagine it, you don't even need a barn in the Hamptons to do it.