Roman Style Chicken - Recipe from Giada

From here

Total Time: 1 hr 0 min

Prep 20 min

Cook 40 min

Yield: 6 servings

Level: Easy

Ingredients

4 skinless chicken breast halves, with ribs

2 skinless chicken thighs, with bones

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1 teaspoon

1/4 cup olive oil

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

3 ounces prosciutto, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons capers

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.

If serving immediately, add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. If making ahead of time, transfer the chicken and sauce to a storage container, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat the chicken to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the capers and the parsley and serve.

Per serving: Calories: 266; Total Fat 13 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 28 grams; Total carbohydrates: 8 grams; Sugar: 4 grams; Fiber 1.5 grams; Cholesterol: 76 milligrams; Sodium: 1,307 milligrams

My favorite vineyard in Los Olivos/ Santa Barbara

Demetria Estate in Los Olivos

6701 Foxen Canyon Road

Los Olivos, CA 93441
805.686.2345

This is my most favorite vineyard in Los Olivos area. it's small, private, with live music on weekends and by appointment only. We brought our lunch and have a picnic on their table side tasting service. With a view like that..... who can beat it?

Loved their wines too! I am in love witht their chardonnay ..  a little sweet but good.

Vegetarian Dan Dan Noodle Recipe

From here

Vegetarian Dan Dan Noodles
Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal

• 8 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 8 ounces smoked tofu, finely chopped
• 8 ounces dried Chinese egg noodles
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 scallions, white and green parts chopped
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or salt to taste
• 1 handful dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Chinese sesame paste or tahini
• 1 tablespoon Chinese black rice vinegar, or substitute good quality balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chili oil (adjust according to your tolerance of spiciness)
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper

1. Soak the shiitake mushrooms in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes, until softened. Drain the shiitakes and squeeze out the excess water. Finely chop them and set aside.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the noodles according to package instructions. Drain the noodles, rinse under cold water, and drain again. Transfer the noodles to a serving dish.
3. Prepare the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, soy sauce, sesame paste, vinegar, chili oil, sesame oil, sugar, and Sichuan pepper. Pour half of the sauce over the noodles and toss so the sauce is evenly distributed. Set aside.
4. Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion whites and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the chopped mushrooms and smoked tofu and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Adjust the seasoning with salt if desired. Add the chinese rice wine/dry sherry here.
5. Spoon the tofu and mushroom mixture over the noodles, sprinkle the chopped scallions greens and chopped peanuts on top, and serve.

Sauteed Fried Tempeh (Sambal goreng tempe)

Ingredients

• 1 lb tempe, cut small like matchsticks
• 0.33 lbs dried salted fish
• 0.45 lbs peanuts
• 2 red chilli, take out seeds, sliced and sauteed in oil for a little bit
• 1 tbs tamarind water (which I skipped)
• 1 tbs sugar
• vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon kecap manis/ sweet soy sauce

Ingredients for spices that you should put in a food chopper so all the spices turn smooth.

• 6 shallots
• 3 garlic
• 5 red chilli
• 1 inch galangal (which I replaced with giner)
• 1 ts salt

Cara membuat sambel goreng tempe:

1. Fry the tempeh, salted fish and peanuts separately. On the tempeh, you wan to deep fry it until it turns slightly brown.
2. Leave only 3 tbs of frying oil, sauteed the spices above with tamarind water and sugar.
3. Put in tempeh, salted fish and peanuts and mix all the ingridients. Add the sliced red chilli and sweet soy sauce.

This is not exactly the healthiest recipe. but oh so good! We used to have this at least once a week in Indonesia.

Chicken khao soi

From here

Ingredients

Khao Soi Paste

• 4 large dried New Mexico or guajillo chiles, stemmed, halved, seeded
• 2 medium shallots, halved
• 8 garlic cloves
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, sliced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro stems
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon curry powder

Soup

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, halved lengthwise
• 1 pound Chinese egg noodles
• 3 tablespoons (or more) fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• 1 tablespoon (packed) palm sugar or light brown sugar
• Kosher salt
• Sliced red onion, bean sprouts, cilantro sprigs, crispy fried onions or shallots, chili oil, and lime wedges (for serving)

• Ingredient Info

  Dried chiles are available at Latin markets; Chinese egg noodles and chili oil are available at Asian markets. All can be found at many supermarkets.

Preparation

Khao Soi Paste

• Place chiles in a small heatproof bowl, add boiling water to cover, and let soak until softened, 25-30 minutes.
• Drain chiles, reserving soaking liquid. Purée chiles, shallots, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, coriander, turmeric, curry powder, and 2 tablespoons soaking liquid in a food processor, adding more soaking liquid by tablespoonfuls, if needed, until smooth.

Soup

• Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat. Add khao soi paste; cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened, 4-6 minutes. Add coconut milk and broth. Bring to a boil; add chicken. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fork-tender, 20-25 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Let cool slightly; shred meat.
• Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.
• Add chicken, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, and sugar to soup. Season with salt or more fish sauce, if needed. Divide soup and noodles among bowls and serve with toppings.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/03/chicken-khao-soi#ixzz2MSd9F6iH

Beef bourguignon ina garten way

From here but altered to my likings

Careful when lighting up the alcohol!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1/2 of (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
For serving:

Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_25938_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html?oc=linkback

Indonesian Soto Ayam Recipe

Home made Soto Ayam with Baked Potato Chips

Once in a while I will be craving home-made Indonesian food that I can make at home and not go out to Simpang Asia although it is a good Indonesian restaurant to check out if you have not been there.

So last week when I went to Simpang Asia, I bought a "Bamboe" instant spice for "Soto Ayam" which translates to chicken soup. I thought about making it from scratch but the list of ingredients of any Indonesian recipe is probably 10 + herbs/ spices long.... Think lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, tumeric, coriander, cummin, candlenut, sometime tamarind paste.. UGH things that are not readily available at home..

In any case I digress, I bought the Bamboe instant spice.. I don't know why it is called bamboe.. which means bamboo.. and not bUmboe.. which means spices in Indonesian language

This instant spices turn to be a hit for Arthur, he actually had 3 bowls of the chicken soup! 

The ingredients you need to buy for one instant spices package are:

-  1 lbs of chicken. I like dark meat so I used 4 chicken thigh with bone. Recommend with no skin but I got it with skin since it is cheap!

- one potato. One is plenty

- 1/2 cup of bean sprout

- 2 individually packaged bean thread/ vermicelli. See picture below, I usually get them from Ranch 99

- 1 lime

- 1 shallot

- 1 egg

- pre packaged sambal oelek to serve

- green onion to serve

This will serve 3 people or if it is someone with healthy appetite 2 people.

Vermicelli:

Sambal Oelek, which you can get at Simpang Asia or Ranch 99

When pressed for time, feel free to follow the recipe at the back of the Bamboe instant spice package, I altered mine just because I am used to my soto ayam done a certain way, see a typical picture of soto ayam  below:

Here goes, the recipe of Soto Ayam (Indonesian Chicken Soup) with the Bamboe instant spices that you can get from Simpang Asia or perhaps Ranch 99:

1. Start making Ina Garten's Rori's Potato Chips Recipe. Note also that traditional soto ayam actually use deep fried potato chips but I am trying to be healthier, thus the baked potato chips.

Modified* Rori’s Potato Chips from Barefoot Contessa Parties Cookbook – page 77

Good Olive Oil

1 Baking Potatoes

Kosher Salt

Preheat the oven to 325.  Spread each of 2 baking sheets with 1 tablespoon of oil and put them in the oven to preheat for 10 minutes.

Slice the potatoes on the longer side on a mandoline so that they are paper-thin and flexible.   Place slices on the hot sheet pans, making sure that they don’t overlap at all.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Bake the chips for 10 minutes , rotate the pans in the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.  Flip each chip and then bake for another 5-6 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove the chips to a paper towel to cool.

Repeat with the remaining potato slices.

To store the chips, cool completely and place in a plastic zipper-lock bag.  They will stay crisp several days.

*OK so original recipe asked you to slice the potatoes lengthwise so that the potato chips are longer, but traditional soto ayam has the potatoes smaller so I alter the slicing method, additionally the original recipe ask you to use black pepper.. but no no not in traditional soto ayam

2. At the same time, start cooking white rice in a rice cooker. 1.5 cups of rice for 2 people.

3. Boil 4.25 cups of water until it boils and then insert the 1 lbs of chicken. Ladle out any fat that is forming at the top. Bring the water to boil again and then reduce heat to low and boil the chicken uncovered for 30 minutes

4. Start to slice up shallots really thin and then heat up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan and fry it until it turns golden brown, immediately take it off the pan and let it cool.

5. After 30 minutes of simmering the chicken, take out the chicken and shred the meat. Discard any bone or skin if there is. Afterwards, return the shredded chicken meat into the pot

6. Add the bamboe instant spice into the pot of chicken stock and mix it up. Boil at low heat for 10 minutes.

7. Prepare your vermicelli per the instruction of your store bought vermicelli. For my case, I had to boil a separate pot of water and add the vermicelli in for 3 to 5 minutes and then take out the vermicelli. At the same time, wash the beansprout and cook it together with the vermicelli for 3 to 5 minutes and take them out too.

8. At the same pot, you can also boil one egg until it is fully cooked, about 10 minutes. Take out the egg's shell and half the egg.

9. On an empty bowl, put the vermicelli and rice to it. Add the chicken soup to the bowl, top it off with beansprouts, fried shallot, baked potato chips and 1/2 of the hard boiled egg. Serve with some lime, cut up green onion and sambal oelek on the side.