Brussels Sprouts, Chicken Sausage, Panko Crumbs, Oh My!!

Fads!  Don't you just just hate 'em?  Car fads, sports fads, clothing fads, political fads, and even Occupy fads.  It's hard to wake up in the morning without some type of fad in your face.  And don't  get me started on the internet and twitter and what's-trending-now fad.  When I logged onto Facebook the other day, here's what was trending:  Julien MacDonald, the designer whose gown adorned Taylor Swift just days after its debut at London Fashion Week (like Taylor Swift really needs something to make her more attractive),  Net Neutrality and the FCC approving 'open internet' rules stating:  No entity should control free open access to the internet (DUH!!!).  And what about Tumblr's #TheDress!!

But enough of my trending rants.  Let's get back to fads and of course food.  Food fads are often used to describe catchy diets.  I am amazed at how creative our current marketing professionals are:  Morning Banana Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet,  and Fruitarianism.   Really?  Fruitarianism?  And trending on the food side we have Cronuts?  Seriously?  Croissants and donuts together?  Hey, how about this idea - put a hot dog and a hamburger in a vice and squeeze.  The result, HamburDog!!  And what is up with kale?   Whether we approve, take part, or completely reject, fads are here to stay.  But that's ok because fads and trends, like diets, can be IGNORED!

And that's what I choose to do when it comes to pasta and the trend to NOT eat it.  Pasta being high in carbohydrates doesn't always get the thumbs up...especially from the low-carb and paleo folks.   But I love pasta and choose to ignore the trend.  When I was single, pasta used to be a staple in my diet.  What could be easier than bringing water to a boil in a large pot, dumping pasta in, waiting 5-8 minutes,  draining the water,  pouring the pasta in a large bowl, and finally adding olive oil, garlic, and parmesan cheese before serving on a plate.  Takes 15 minutes at most.  Add a glass of wine and you're almost ready for date night.  Add store bought tomato sauce and you are ready for date night.  Take an hour before prepping the pasta to make your own tomato sauce and you're sure to score on date night.  Add meatballs to your homemade tomato sauce and you're a date night, wait for it... legend.

Unless of course you live at my house where not everyone eats meatballs.

Now do not for a minute think that I am not a date night legend at my house.  Date night legend DOES exist and continues to happen, only without meatballs.  After all, there is plenty of stuff to heave on top of a plate of noodles - I mean to serve delicately with elegance and grace on a bed of fresh pasta.

The other day,  I cruised the internet looking for #trends in pasta....just kidding.  But I did explore recipes containing pasta, veggies, and chicken.  I thought as long as there are veggies and chicken, my wife will eat pasta.  I found some very interesting ideas and settled on replacing meatballs with brussels sprouts and chicken sausage.  Yes, I was aiming for date night legend.  I decided to use andouille chicken sausage (not off-limits in my house as long as it is organic, cage free, and humanely treated).  And of course brussels sprouts happen to be a family favorite and without controversy unless the tricky spelling and capitalization rules count as a controversy.  Yeah, look it up.

I also decided to make pesto because, well, I've been craving it.  I noticed we had pine nuts left over from my wife's excursion into homemade lemon bars (YUM!!!).  We also had fresh garlic along with olive oil  And so I picked up a few bunches of fresh basil and some parmesan-reggiano cheese.  I meant to get pecorino-romana but was just too excited to read the label.  I'm sure those of you that are Certified Cheese Professionals (yes, there is an exam for that) are shaking your heads in disgust at my faux pax but I don't care.  I'm making homemade pesto and will use whatever I please.  BOOM!!!

We will build this dish in three basic steps; pesto, topping and pasta.  Here are the ingredients:

• Pesto
• Two bunches fresh basil leaves (2 cups packed)
• 4 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1/2 cup grated cheese (pecorino or reggiano or parmesan - you choose)
• 1/2 - 2/3 cup of olive oil
• Salt, Pepper
• Topping
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 2 tbs butter
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 lb or up to 3 cups sliced and trimmed brussels sprouts
• 1 pound sausage (I used andouille chicken but pork would be just as good)
• 1 cup Panko crumbs
• Salt and Pepper
• Pasta
• 1 lb fresh pasta - I used papparelle but anything would do)

First we make the pesto.

• Measure 2 packed cups of fresh basil.  The fresher the better.  I removed the stems and just used the leaves.  

• Measure out pine nuts, cheese, and garlic.  I used the food processor to grate the cheese.  I prepped the garlic by removing their skins of 4 cloves and coarsely chopping them.

• Place the nuts, cheese, garlic and basil in the food processor.

• While pulsing, drizzle olive oil onto the mixture very slowly being careful not to puree the mixture.  You want a coarse texture.  I use a 5-second technique which not only allows me to ensure a coarse mixture but also gives me the opportunity to add salt if needed.  Pulse for 5 seconds then stop.  Pulse for 5 seconds then stop.  At each stop, you can check texture and/or salt.  Here's what my pesto looked like after about a minute and a half of pulsing.

• With the pesto done, it is time to make the chicken-veggie topping. Add 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 TBS of butter to a large nonstick skillet and bring temperature to medium heat. 
• Add the brussels sprouts and stir occasionally for 7 minutes.

• With the brussels sprouts partially cooked and browned, add the sausage to the skillet and cook until browned.

• Once browned, add 1/4 cup of chicken stock. Bring the heat up to high and cover the skillet.  Cook until the stock has reduced completely.  This will soften up the brussels sprouts.  Make sure there is no more liquid before moving to the next step.
• Stir in the Panko crumbs and cook until crisp, 3 minutes. 

• When the Panko crumbs are fully infused within the brussels sprouts-sausage mixture, cover the skillet and turn the heat to low in order to keep warm but not to cook.
• Time to start the pasta.  
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
• Cook pasta according to directions until al dente.  Use fresh pasta for date night legend status.
• Drain the pasta and place on plates.
• Drizzle pesto on top of pasta.

• Toss your pasta with the pesto sauce to coat.
• Cover pasta with the brussels sprouts, sausage, and Panko crumb mixture.
• Sprinkle cheese on top to taste.

A glass of wine and you are a date night legend.  Enjoy!!

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Osso Bucco

I love lamb.  I love everything about those fluffy four-legged critters.  They're so cute and cuddly.   Did you know that a lamb stays a lamb until its first birthday?  It then transform into sheep.  Now, don't get me started on SHEEP!  As a celtic musician, I know enough Scot's out there to know too much about sheep...and I worry about them.  The sheep, not the Scot's.

But going back to the cuteness factor of lamb, how many of you out there remember Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop?  I LOVED Lamb Chop as a small child. I had a stuffed Lamb Chop toy and carried it around everywhere.  Lamb Chop was my hero, as was Shari Lewis...until now because as I write this I have a sudden epiphany... Lamb Chop is the source of LAMB CHOPS!! Shari Lewis, how could you!!  Had I the wherewithal to understand Lamb Chop was a lamb chop at the time, I'm sure I would have boycotted her show and her puppets.

A few years went by..

Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop finally worked their way out of my consciousness and I had eaten and enjoyed many lamb chops (thanks mom!!).  I was a teen growing up in urban Canoga Park, California.  Ironically, farms were right down the street from our house.  My friend Tom lived on one of those farms.  His family owned chickens, goats, horses, and lambs.  Or maybe they were sheep as I never asked their age.  I loved everything about Tom's family farm.  We built houses in walnut trees, chased chickens, rode horses, and one day, we peered into one of the work rooms and saw Tom's father getting ready to butcher one of the lambs.  Talk about being a confused adolescent.  I loved lamb chops but I couldn't bear seeing one slaughtered.  No, that was it for me...no more lamb chops.

Until a few years later again..

I was in my 20's and ordered Osso Bucco at a restaurant not realizing it contained lamb shanks  And it was FABULOUS!!  Fall-off-the-bone tender and in a perfect trifecta of sauce from veggies, spices, and wine. I just couldn't get enough.  Lamb chops were once again fair game for dining.

Which brings me to today.  As I mentioned before, there are some in my household that do not approve of my indulgence with certain animals so I rarely cook them.  This includes lamb.  Here's a recent conversation at home regarding lamb:

Me: But sweetie, I love Osso Bucco with lamb shanks and sometimes dream about them.
Wife: Fine, you can dream about them but you can't cook or eat them in my presence.
Me:  But they're so good.
Wife: Either them or me.
Me:  I would never eat you.
Wife: Grrrrrrrrrr

So, I've taken to Turkey Drumsticks as my Osso Bucco surrogate.  I know, it's not quite the same but it keeps the peace in my house and comes very close to satisfying my desire for that perfect fall-off-the-bone-with-trifecta-sauce.

I'd like to now share with you a recent Turkey Osso Bucco recipe:

Here's what you are going to need:

• 1 1/2 TBS Sea Salt
• 2 TSP Ground Cumin
• 2 TSP Chipotle Chile Pepper
• 1 TSP Ground Coriander
• 1 TSP Garlic Powder
• 1 TSP Onion Powder
• 2 or 3 Turkey Legs
• 2 TBS Olive Oil
• 2 Medium Carrots, Chopped
• 1 Medium Onion, Chopped
• 2 Dried Chili Peppers
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 3 Garlic Cloves, Coarsely Chopped
• 2 Cups Chicken Broth (Low Sodium if possible)
• 1 Bottle Beer (I used IPA but you can use anything you like)
• 2 TBS Butter
• 2 Limes, Halved

Cooking this dish requires the turkey legs to be seasoned over night.  Once seasoned, the real party can begin.

• Combine Sea Salt, Cumin, Chile Pepper, Coriander, Garlic and Onion Powder into a rub mixture.

• Spread rub mixture over the turkey legs and place in the refrigerator overnight.

• On day 2, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Remove turkey from refrigerator and allow to stand for 30 minutes to come to room temperature.
• Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat.
• Brown turkey legs in dutch oven on all sides.

• Remove turkey legs to a plate and let stand while you prepare the trifecta.

• Chop the carrots and onion and saute them in the turkey leg drippings in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  This will take about 10 minutes.

• When the carrots and onions are in their happy place, stir in the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.

• Parties getting started now.  With the carrots, onions, and garlic all happy, it's now time to add the dried chile peppers and cinnamon stick.  Saute for an additional 5 minutes making sure all the brown bits are stirred up.  You should smell the cinnamon after a few minutes.

• Stir in the broth and beer.  I highly recommend taking a big swig of the beer before dumping into the mixture.  Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.

• The turkey legs can now join the party.  Place them in the mixture.

• Cover the turkey legs with parchment paper.  Place the lid on the Dutch oven making sure it is a tight fit.  Then place in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for up to 2 hours.

• Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and let stand, covered, for 30 minutes.  During this time, preheat the broiler with an oven rack about 7 inches from the heat source.  
• After standing for 30 minutes, discard the parchment paper from the Dutch oven.

• Carefully remove the turkey legs and place them on a lightly greased rack.  Place them in the broiler for 3-4 minutes per side until the skin crisps.  When done, remove them to a serving platter.

• The remaining liquid in the Dutch oven has had time to settle
• Skim off the fat that may have accumulated at the top of the mixture.  
• Pour the liquid through a strainer into a medium sauce pan discarding all the solids from the trifecta sauce you are about to create.
• Bring the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until the sauce reduces slightly.
• Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until it is melted and the sauce is smooth.
• Squeeze the lime over the turkey breast followed by a healthy helping of sauce.

Congratulations!!!

Tomatillo Chicken Soup

I went to school in San Diego at SDSU and for part of my first semester,  I lived in the dorm called "Zura Hall".  Most of us at "Zura" ate on meal plans that our parents purchased.  These plans provided unlimited access to "the commons" during the week which was an all-you-can-eat cafeteria with decent food like burgers, dogs, cold and hot cereal, eggs, salads, and assorted hot meals.  But it didn't quite matter where or what we ate, only that we ATE!  I mean really, I was living in San Diego with kindred spirits, unsupervised, and with limited responsibilities.  What more could I have asked for?  When I wanted something different, I crossed the street and ate at Blimpies or Jack-In-The-Box.

Now you may be asking why I was only at the dorm for part of the first semester.   The reasons are complicated but let's just say it was due to an involuntarily separation that involved me, my roommate, a towel shoved under the door preventing certain smells from drifting into the hallway,  and a particularly obnoxious resident assistant.  Moving off campus was just another rite of passage for us.  We settled a few miles away in a two-bedroom apartment in La Mesa for the remainder of the first semester and all of the second semester.  The good thing about "being asked to leave the dorm" was that all our friends from the dorm now had a place to come visit without any resident assistant hinderance.  The bad thing was that we were forced to start cooking for ourselves.  Neither the commons nor the grocery store were nearby.  Fortunately, my roommate had a car and we were able to do our own shopping when he wasn't out galavanting with his girlfriend.  Yet even with this down side, there I was, living in San Diego with kindred spirits, unsupervised with limited responsibilities.  Feed me anything, I'm good.

Don't let me misrepresent.  We weren't morally starved for good food.  We just didn't care.  We did dine five time that first year at nice restaurants.  Both sets of our parents came to visit and always took us out for nice dinners.   Also, I won a free dinner at a restaurant once for winning a talent show on an open mic night.  But truth be told, I stacked the deck by bringing most of my kindred spirits with me to clap.

The decision to move to the beach in our second year at SDSU was an easy one.  I mean seriously.  Beach of Inland?  No brainer, eh?  So we moved to Mission Beach.  That's when food started playing a bigger role for me.  We grilled burgers and butter fish on hibachi BBQs, cooked spaghetti and chili in crock pots, roasted chickens, and dress up tuna fish sandwiches.  And man, could we dress them up.   My roommate taught me how to add hard boiled eggs, scallions, and whatever else was in our refrigerator to a can of tuna.  More importantly, I learned about street Mexican food back then.

I learned that there were two types of Mexican food for college students in San Diego.  The first was in Mexico - the Tijuana (TJ) street vendor tacos.  We spent many weekends drinking cheap beer in Tijuana at the Long Bar.  By the end of the night, we found ourselves walking back to the US border.  This was always an important walk since it allowed us to sober up a bit and gave us a change to scarf on tacos sold on carts in the streets of TJ.   For $1.25, you could get three tacos.  They weren't big but they were OUTRAGEOUSLY good.  Ok, we were drunk but they were still great.  Three small tacos were never enough but we usually spent our dinero's on beer at the Long Bar keeping just $1.25 tucked away for street tacos.  That was the extent of weekend budgeting!

The other type of Mexican food in San Diego for us money challenged college students was fast food.  But not the Taco Bell or Super Taqueria you find on today's streets.  We had Roberto's and Umberto's and a host of other places with first names.  They were one-offs, not chains that sold amazing tacos and burritos.  I was into the rolled tacos (taquitos).   Yummy shredded beef rolled inside a corn tortilla about the diameter of a corona cigar.  They were deep fried, smothered in guacamole and topped with shredded Mexican cheese.  Three to an order.  They were a bit more than $1.25 but well worth it.  Oh man, I can taste 'em now.

In my years going to school and living in San Diego, I moved from Mission Beach to Pacific Beach to Point Loma to Ocean Beach and back to South Mission Beach tasting Mexican food every where I went.  One day I realized I had to grow up (another involuntary experience) and get a real job so I moved up to the Bay Area and lost that relationship with first-name Mexican joints.   And so I started cooking tacos and burritos myself.

Over the years, I've learned to cook many Mexican dishes.  I am particularly proud of my Tomatillo soup.  My family raves about it and I hope you will too.

Here's what you'll need:

• 2-3 Chicken Breasts
• 1 LB Tomatillos
• 1 Onion
• 3 Garlic cloves
• 2 Jalapeno Peppers
• 2 TBS Olive Oil
• 3 Cups Chicken broth
• Salt and Pepper
• Chopped Cilantro
• OPTIONAL:  Cayenne pepper
• OPTIONAL: 2 Limes

There are four basic steps to this step that involve preparing the tomatillos, preparing the chicken breast, preparing the veggies, and finally putting it all together.

Prep and Broil Tomatillos

• Set an oven rack about 7 inches from the heat and pre-heat on "Broil" setting
• Peel off the husks of the tomatillos and rinse well with cold water.  I use large tomatillos to minimize the number I have to peel.  Below is what tomatillos look like with skins and without skins all cleaned up.

• Cut the tomatillos in half and place them on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil and sprayed with PAM

• Place them under the broiler to char the skins.  It should take 7-9 minutes.  When they look like this, take them out.  They can sit on the aluminum foil until you need them.

Prep and Saute Chicken Breast

• Season both chicken breast sides with salt and pepper.

• Heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a sauce pan large enough to hold your chicken breasts. Saute for 5 minutes per side.  The oil needs to be hot in order to brown the sides.

• Remove the chicken to a plate and adjust the fat in the sauce pan if needed in order to saute the veggies.

Prep and Saute Veggies

• Chop the onion and garlic
• Remove jalapeño pepper seeds and veins and chop.  You can leave them in if you like it spicy.

• Add the veggies to the sauce pan with the chicken juices and olive oil.  Sauté for 10 minutes until softened and all the brown bits of the chicken are incorporated into the veggies.
• Add the chicken broth and tomatillos. 

Putting It All Together

• Nestle the chicken breasts in the sauce pan and simmer for 15 minutes until chicken is done but tender.  

• Once the chicken is done, remove the breasts to a plate to let them cool down a bit. 
• Remove the veggies and chicken broth from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes.
• When the veggies are cool, use a blender to coarsely chop them.  Depending on the size of your blender, this step will probably be done is stages.  Pour each blended mixture into another sauce pan over a medium heat.
• By the time your blending is complete and the liquid is back into a pan, the chicken will be cool enough to touch.  Shred or chop into 1/2 inch cubes and place the pieces back in the pan.

• Taste and adjust with salt and pepper.  If it's not spicy enough, you can add some cayenne pepper.  It if is not tangy enough, you can add lime juice.  Finally, garnish with fresh cilantro, open a beer, and enjoy!!

Crispy Skinned Chicken Breast

To complete a task successfully is to "nail it!"   We've all nailed it and not nailed it before.  To nail it or not nail it is sometimes intuitive and other times just plain obvious.  For example, back in the day, I used to compete in gymnastics.  My events were rings, parallel bars, and high bar.  In all three events, if I landed up-right, arms to my side, and in perfect balance on a dismount, I KNEW immediately that I nailed it.  Once I attempted a single fly-away dismount off the high bar.  I got the speed on the giant but let go of the bar too late resulting in a one and a half flip.  This landed me in a sitting position on the gym floor matt,  supported by both hands in back of me.  CRACK!!  I knew immediately I didn't nail it (unless you consider two shattered wrists and an entire summer in casts as nailing it).

So last night I tried a new recipe from America's Test Kitchen - Crispy Skinned Chicken Breast.  As I sat down with my wife to eat, I knew IMMEDIATELY that I nailed it.  How did I know?  First of all, three minutes into dinner, my wife was half-way through her portion.  Secondly, the skins were crispy.  I mean, Crispy with a capital "C."  You could almost hear the skins snap with each bite.  Even after adding pan sauce on top of the skin,  they were still crispy.  Third, the meat was tender and juicy.  I didn't sacrifice the inside for the outside.  Fourth, the sauce, which I rarely make, was fragrant, velvety, and had just the right amount of tanginess.  That, my readers, is what I call landing up-right, arms by my side, and in perfect balance.  I NAILED IT!!

You too can nail it with the following ingredients:

• 2 boneless, chicken breasts with skin
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tbs vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
• 1 minced shallot
• 1 tsp flour
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup chopped pickled cherry peppers (I used the sweet variety)
• 1/4 cup brine from the pickled cherry peppers
• 1 tbs butter (I used unsalted)
• 1 tsp minced fresh thyme
• 1 12 inch sauce pan
• 1 6 quart dutch oven lid (or other heavy object that will sit inside of sauce pan)

There are 2 tricks to this recipe.  The first is in the preparation of the chicken and the second is the use of a heavy object when cooking the chicken.  As you are about to see, neither requires brain surgery.

Preparing the chicken

Use a sharp knife and poke the skin of each breast.  The original America's Test Kitchen recipe calls for 30-40 pokes.  That's a lot of pokin'.  I stabbed 'em maybe 15 times on the skin side, flipped 'em over and pierced 'em again another 10 times.  Here's what mine looked like after all that defiling.

Once both sides were tortured with a sharp object,  I covered them with parchment paper and proceeded to pound them each 1/2 inch flat with a blunt force object.  I redeemed myself by lovingly sprinkling each breast with 1/2 tsp of salt, covering them with plastic wrap, and placing them in the refrigerator.  Keep 'em this way for between 1 to 8 hours.  The longer you keep them chilled, the more likely they will forget your indiscretions.

Cooking the chicken

• Take the chicken out of the refrigerator and pat dry.
• Sprinkle both sides of each breast with 1/4 tsp of pepper.
• Ready for the first trick?  Place the vegetable oil in a 12 inch sauce pan or skillet and swirl until the entire surface is covered with an even amount of oil.  Note that the skillet, at this point, should not be hot.
• Place the breasts skin side down in the oil.

• Now, place the skillet over medium heat.
• Place a heavy object on top of the chicken breasts.  I used the top of my 6 qt dutch oven.  I've heard others use a brick wrapped in foil.  The object just needs to be heavy enough to exert pressure on the breasts.

• The oil will slowly heat up under the breasts and you may hear "popping" as the skin starts to crackle.
• Cook the breasts for 7-9 minutes this way.  The skin will start to brown and the edges of the breasts will turn opaque.
• Remove the weight and continue to cook skin side down for another 6-8 minutes.

• Flip the breast, turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook meat side down for another 2-3 minutes.
• You should now see your masterpiece taking shape as the skin will have turned brown and crispy.  You will be tempted to touch to confirm its crispness but take my word for it, from experience,  the chicken is hot and will burn your little cuticles if you touch.  In other words, NO TOUCHY!!

• Remove both breasts from the pan to a separate plate, skin side up so you can still see your masterpiece.  The internal temperature should be between 160 and 165.  You can check if you don't believe me.  Limited touching is ok now :)

Pan sauce anyone?

If you've been following my blogs, good on you mates, thanks a lot.  But more to the point, you should know how easy it is to make a simple pan sauce.  We're going to do that again now.

• Pour out all but about 2 tsp of oil from the sauce pan.
• Turn the heat back up to medium.
• Time to alchemize the party by adding in the the minced shallot and stirring for about 2 minutes until softened.

• Thickening the mixture will provide further transformation and so we add flour and stir for up to a minute until the fully incorporated.

• Continue the party by heating up to medium-high and adding the broth and brine.
• With the liquid and the heat up, the party is cooking and your sauce should be simmering.  You can stir to scrape up those delicious brown bits on the bottom of the pan left by the chicken.
• After 3 minutes or so, the party should be in full swing with the liquid thickened up a bit.  The stage is now all set to knock it out of the park.

• Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the butter, thyme, and chopped cherry peppers.

• Taste with a spoon and add salt and pepper accordingly.

This sauce can be added on top of the chicken or you may want to plate the sauce first as a bed of gravy and add the chicken on top.   I ladled the nectar over half of each breasts and let it run down the sides.

NAILED IT!!