Simple but Deliciously Tender Roast Chicken

Ingredients :
1 whole chicken about 1.5kg - cleaned and gutted (pat dry)
1 whole lemon (poked throughout)

Spice rub :
1 tbspful salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp paprika
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

Heat oven to 180 deg C.

Mix spice rub ingredients together well. Rub all over chicken and remember to season the cavity as well. This can be done a few hours ahead.

Place lemon in cavity and place in roasting pan. Roast for about 1-1.5 hours. Serve chicken after at least 15mins of "resting". It really is simple (except that fat on chicken skin may spatter and the oven has to be cleaned after).

Enjoy!!!

Stuffs I Made...

Lotsa BBQ-ed stuffs since the gas BBQ came... wings, ribs, potatoes, burgers, sausages... so much for telling Barry that I won't really use it... Ha! Ratatouille...just because of the movie... There is a step to it.. I followed this recipe : onions go into the pot first followed by garlic, bell pepper strips, tomatoes, Provencal herbs, pepper, aubergine and lastly zucchini. Et voila! Ratatouille!
Lobster Roll (no picture) - May brought back 2 spiny lobsters from her holiday in Kota Kinabalu. I boiled the whole lobster in boiling water with some salt, bay leaves and garlic added. 8 minutes (lobster was about 500gms each) after water started to boil, it was done. I used very low heat so that it was more like poaching to keep the flesh tender.

I ripped the lobster apart and tore the flesh into pieces, mixed with chopped celery, mayonnaise, chilli powder and freshly ground black pepper, it was good to go as a filling for a nice bun with slices of tomato and cucumber... Classy lunch!

Dragon Willow Stirfry and Hot and Spicy Chicken Wings

To be honest, washing leafy vegetables does scare me a little - am always paranoid about not cleaning them enough and would spend hours soaking and rinsing and soaking and rinsing.... my mom used to tease that if I cook leafy vegetables, the whole family would go hungry because not only would I spend ages washing them but I would also throw away a lot of "imperfect" leaves.

I saw this "dragon willow" veg at pasar malam the other day and I made a mental note to try it out some time because they looked like they have less dirt on them compared to most other leafy vegs. Didnt know it was called "dragon willow" until a visit to Jaya Jusco yesterday where stuffs are labeled unlike pasar malams.

I thought dried shrimps would go with it but checked with an elderly lady who was arranging the vegs then. I was told that garlic would do fine but if want extra kick, some belacan would do the trick. Now, the idea of belacan is great for me but I don't think it will go well with my other half. So, the solution was to stick to dried shrimps and garlic.

And she added that it's good to be eaten when having stomach upsets as it has soothing effects - this I have to study a little before believing. However, I had no luck when I tried to Google "dragon willow". The search produced results related to alchemy and magic and I didn't really have the patience to do further research. So, any info on this is most welcomed by a very ignorant-about-leafy-veg me.

I soaked the whole bunch and washed them well before breaking them into 1.5 inch lengths. I made sure that they were well-drained and separated the stems from the curly beard-like tendrils/shoots (I think).

Chopped up some garlic and soaked some dried shrimps before washing and draining water off the shrimps.Then, I proceeded to heat up some corn oil in the pan before frying the garlic and dried shrimp till fragrant. Added in the stems. Increased the heat and stirfry for a little while before finally adding the tendrils of the "dragon willow". Gave a few shakes of salt.

I liked the stems a lot - for some reason, the tendrils were very much crunchier than the stems even though it went into the pan not too long after the stems. Overall, delicious with steamed rice or porridge.

Summary of ingredients for "dragon willow" stirfry :
"dragon willow"
corn, canola or any cooking oil
garlic
dried shrimps
salt

On a different subject, I also made some hot and spicy chicken wings just because it's weekend and we were craving wings.

The most important thing about making wings is to ensure that they are patted real dry... so that the skin won't be gooey when grilled. Mine weren't THAT dry cos I was in a hurry (as usual).

The wings were then rubbed with some olive oil and seasoned with chopped garlic, paprika, Tabasco sauce (darn, makes the chicken wet again...it was supposed to be chilli flakes but I have been hunting for chilli flakes for months and the nearest I could lay my hands on was chilli powder which I do not like), dried oregano, freshly ground sea salt (more would be better) and black pepper. I left the seasoned chicken in a sealed container overnight. Give it a little shake or two.

BBQ them wings after. Or you can grill them in the oven (with a drip pan below to catch the fat - watching the fat dripped down made me less guilty about eating wings) at approx. 220 deg C for 25 to 30mins or until they are golden. Watch the wing tips though - they burn fast - seal with aluminium foil if needed.

Summary of ingredients for wings :
chicken wings
olive oil
paprika
Tabasco or chilli flakes
dried oregano
salt
black pepper
garlic

Too bad I didn't make any dip (I like blue cheese dip, yum!!!)

Stuffed Chicken

I love stuffed food.... both making and eating them. I like the fact that I can keep the side dish hidden within the main meal itself until the last moment and the flavours merge. It can also be a surprise for the person you are making them for.

Tonight, I made stuffed chicken - a little bit different from my usual way of rolling the stuffing in the meat. This time, I made a slit each on the breast meat and push the stuffing in.

Most veggies can go in as stuffing... even a different meat or seafood. Taste and preferences dictate what goes in. Also, what is available in the fridge, I guess.

The stuffing for the stuffed chicken pictured here is a combo of diced bell pepper, red onion, white button mushroom, canned tomato and just a wee bit of its juice, a little bit of shrimp (I think wihout would be better), chopped garlic and grated Parmesan cheese.

I would suggest cooking them slightly so that there is no need to cook the chicken too long in the oven. Heat some olive oil and then fry the chopped garlic till fragrant but not brown. Add in the onion and then the rest of the ingredients except cheese. Stand to cool before mixing in the Parmesan cheese.

In the meantime, pat dry chicken breasts and make a narrow deep slit with sharp knife - a paring knife would do the job. Fill the pockets with the cooled stuffing and ensure it is compact. Secure with toothpicks which have been soaked in water for about 15 mins at least.

Season well with freshly gound sea salt and black pepper. Brush with a bit of olive oil. Place extra stuffing on top of chicken, if available so as not to waste. Bake in a preheated 200 deg C oven for about 20 to 30 minutes (depending on how thick the meat is). Spoon the pan juices over chicken halfway through cooking.

If like, you can serve with some greens like haricot vert (green beans), honey beans, broccoli etc which can be cooked in the pan juices about 5 to 10 minutes before end of cooking time depending on the size of veggies and your preference.

Try it - it is not as daunting as it looks!

Bacon Chicken Wrap

Ingredients
1 skinned chicken breast (cut into 2 pieces thickness-wise; if you are making as appetiser, you can cut further width-wise) - Cut criss-crosses on all surfaces.
Cracked black pepper
4 bacon strips

1 egg (lightly beaten)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1 tbsp butter (to grease frying pan)

Method

1. Rub black pepper onto chicken meat. Lay 2 strips (1 strip on 1/4 of a chicken breast if making appetiser) of bacon on each half of the chicken. Roll up and secure with an oiled toothpick.
2. Dip the rolled chicken/bacon pieces into the beaten egg followed by breadcrumbs/Parmesan cheese mix.
3. Fry onto lightly greased non-stick pan over very low heat till brown on all sides.

Pesto Alla Calabrese Stuffed Chicken

I had cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, half a bottle of Calabrese pesto and chicken breast to finish up.

So, pesto alla Calabrese stuffed chicken it was for dinner with tomato and corn salsa.

Ingredients :
3 skinned chicken breasts

Filling (mix well together) :
1/2 of 185g bottle pesto alla Calabrese (I use Agnesi)
1 green bell pepper (very finely chopped)
4 tbsp breadcrumbs
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Tomato and corn salsa (mix all ingredients and cover with cling wrap and place in fridge) :
1 can of sweet corn kernels (drained)
10 cherry tomatoes (quartered)
1/2 lemon (squeeze juice)
2 shallots (chopped finely)
2 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
A pinch of salt


Method :
1. Heat oven to 220 deg C.

2. Cut chicken breasts in the middle of the thickness but not all the way so that it opens up to an almost rectangle (I find this easier than flattening the meat with a mallet). Do use the back of a cleaver to flatten the meat slightly.

3. Season meat all over with some black pepper - no salt is required.

4. Place 2 to 3 tbsp of filling on the chicken. Either roll or wrap like a parcel. Secure ends with oiled toothpicks.

5. Place the stuffed chicken rolls/parcels on oiled baking tray and bake for 20 mins at 220 deg C. Remove and spoon oil from baking tray onto the chicken and bake for a further 10 to 15 mins till slightly brown and crisp at the edges.

6. Serve the stuffed chicken with the salsa and crusty bread.

Chicken, Fennel and Orange Salad

Wanted a very refreshing dinner after the weekend binge. Not that I am on diet or what, just like to balance up the heavy meals over the weekend.

The recipe is copied from Women's Weekly Great Fast Recipes cookbook with some modifications on the amount of chicken meat. I used less of chicken meat (200g) as I wanted to eat more veg than meat. And no olives as I ran out of olives (not a fan of olives in salad but like them on their own like Kalamata olives in olive oil).

Ingredients :

1 tbsp olive oil
30g butter
500g chicken fillets, sliced thinly
1 fennel bulb (550g), sliced thinly
1/2 cup seeded black olives, quartered
3 green onions, chopped coarsely
2 medium oranges (480g), segmented (I used navel oranges as they are sweet!)
80g rocket (aragula) leaves

Dressing (combine in a screwtop jar) :
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method :

1. Heat oil and butter in large frying pan. Cook chicken, stirring until well browned and tender; drain.
2. Combine chicken (wait till cool a bit - I was in a hurry, so my veg were a bit wilted as a result of the hot chicken), fennel, olives, onion, orange, rocket and dressing in a large bowl; toss gently.

Serves 4.

Very citrusy and refreshing for a hot day.

We always have leftovers of salad which we really enjoy the next day when the dressing is really soaked through the salad.

Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Salad

We had Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Salad as starter for dinner tonight followed by a medley of beef, bell peppers and mushroom for main course and finished off with toasted blueberry Pop Tarts.

Very low carbs - we wanted a light meal.

Am not proud of the beef as I had left it to warm for far too long while waiting for Barry who was playing chess at the pool with our neighbour, Tim.

Anyway, here is the recipe for the Balsamic Vinegar Chicken Salad which I made - enough for 2 person. Should have used my plain white plates - didn't intend to blog about it...




Ingredients

Chicken :
1 boneless and skinned chicken breast (cut criss-cross on both surfaces)
Extra virgin olive oil (I like Colavita)
Salt
Coarse black pepper

Dressing (shaken in a screwtop jar) :
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard (I like Maille)
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar (I use Borges)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
coarse black pepper

Salad leaves (butterhead, mizuna, baby romaine, lollo rossa, red chicory)
Cherry tomatoes
Teardrop tomatoes

Method

1. Marinade chicken with just a wee bit of olive oil, salt and pepper for about an hour.
2. Brush some dressing on the chicken before grilling in a pre-heated oven at 250 deg C for 10 minutes. Remove and turn the chicken pieces. Brush dressing again and grill for a further 5 mins.
3. Cut chicken pieces when cooled to 1/2 cm slices.
4. Arrange chicken slices on a bed of cold salad leaves. Decorate with cold halved tomatoes.
5. Brush some dressing onto the tomato halves and drizzle the balance all over the leaves.

The dressing went well with mushrooms, bell peppers and beef too!!!

Pesto Angel Hair Pasta

It has been nearly a week since I moved into Barry's... 6 days to be exact; out of which I was away travelling for 2 days.

Strange...been caught by the cooking bug...Bought two thick cookbooks compiled by Woman's Weekly : Food We Love and Great Fast Recipes.

Haven't tried any yet but will do so soon.

Anyway, I made Pesto Angel Hair Pasta for dinner last night - DELICIOUS!!! Am not really a fan of cream in cooking but added sparingly as in this case, tastes yummylicious. My recipe as follows (For 4-5 person) :

INGREDIENTS

1. 3 chicken breasts (no skin)
2. Half pack of angel hair pasta
3. A bunch (encircle them with your tips of forefinger and thumb touching each other) of asparagus
4. 2 bell peppers (any colour) the size of your fist
5. 2 tbsp of cream (I use Bulla)
6. 3 tbsp of basil pesto (I use Agnesi)
7. About 15-20 white buttom mushrooms (I love shrooms!!)
8. Sundried tomatoes (8 slices)
9. Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10. Some extra virgin olive oil
11. A tsp of chopped garlic
12. 1/2 cup of dry white wine (if desired)

METHOD

1. Cook pasta till al dente in a pot of water with some olive oil - drain and set aside

2. Heat some olive oil in non-stick pan. Lay the smashed chicken breasts and sprinkle some salt and black pepper. Turn after 3 mins and do the same. Remove and leave to cool. Cut into desired size.

3. Roast bell peppers - then remove from oven and put in plastic bag. Once cooled, remove skin and chop coarsely.

4. Break asparagus into 1 inch lengths and slice mushrooms.

5. Heat a bit of oil in a deep pan. Fry garlic and sundried tomatoes till fragrant.

6. Add in asparagus. Then the chicken pieces followed by shrooms and roasted bell peppers.

7. Stir in cream and white wine. Leave to boil. Add in pesto. Reduce heat. Add in pasta. Mix well.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove and serve.

Easy peasy.