sticky lemon chicken

What a fantastic month August has been. With the passing of another month tomorrow, we take one step closer in saying goodbye to fresh tomatoes, in season berries, peaches, nectarines, peas, pineapples, various melons, kiwis, mangoes, etc. Soon the supermarkets will be filled with ripe apples, various squashes and the vegetable I look forward to the most in autumn: pumpkin.

For dinner tonight, I decided to go back to an all-time favorite recipe that's never let me down. Gordon Ramsay's Sticky Lemon Chicken. The marriage between the savory soy sauce, zesty lemon and sweet honey is one to die for and the mark of a genius. Scrape down the side of the leg and chop off the end bone to cook the chicken leg faster and create an awesome bone presentation. Love him or hate him, Gordon Ramsay works miracles in the kitchen and his food speaks for itself.

I've roughly decided what to do with the marinade and yes - it will involve pork. It's more suited for the weekend but maybe I'll surprise myself and make it during the week.

Out of curiosity: what are some of your favorite things about autumn?

Sticky Lemon Chicken
By Gordon Ramsay, Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 8 chicken legs (can use chicken breast, chop into bite size pieces)
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- juice of 1 lemon
- 0.333 (one-third) cup water
- 1 lemon, finely sliced
- 3 tablespoons of honey
- few sprigs of fresh thyme
- bunch of fresh parsley, chopped

1) In a hot pan, add olive oil and brown the chicken on all sides. Season with salt, pepper and dried thyme leaves. About 2 - 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate once browned and remove some of the oil, leaving about a tablespoon in the pan.
2) Add the minced garlic and saute for about a minute until fragrant.
3) Return the chicken legs to the pan.
4) Deglaze the pan with soy sauce and add sherry vinegar.
5) Add the lemon juice, lemon slices and the water. Reduce down the sauce until at a syrupy consistency and turn the chicken legs occasionaly to glaze evenly. Should take about 10 - 12 minutes. Read step 6 before stopping here.
6) About 5 minutes before the chicken legs finish cooking, add the 3 tablespoons of honey over the chicken.
7) Add freshly chopped parsley at the end. The chicken legs should be cooked through after the 12 minutes.
8) Plate the chicken legs and drizzle some of the sauce over the chicken. I had mine with mashed potatoes but feel free to have pasta, rice, bread, etc. It's delicious regardless of what you serve it with.

pork chops with caramelized onions

I'm tired of hearing about chicken breasts, ground chicken, turkey breasts, turkey sausages, and ground turkey as the only source of protein at school. Yes chicken breasts and turkey meats are lean and good for you but what's the point in cooking if you're limiting yourself to only those meats?

It's not so much that people don't like the flavor of other meats like cattle and pork but it's this myth that these cuts of protein are bad for your health. That's absolute bollocks (as Hameed likes to say) and I'm on a mission this year to get my peers to eat/cook other cuts of meat.

To debunk what you may hear on TV, it doesn't matter how healthy you eat if you're going to eat over your daily caloric expenditure. Yes, that's right. It doesn't matter if you're cooking/eating chicken breasts and your turkey varieties if you eat in large quantities. Whole wheat pasta? Yes, it's healthier for you because of the vitamin/mineral and fiber content but calorie for calorie, it's actually higher (in most cases) than your regular pasta. There are some amazing RD's, RD's to be and fitness trainers that visit this blog and I recommend you shoot them an e-mail if you have futher questions or don't believe me.

This pork chop is a lean piece of meat that's full of flavor and high in protein. I hate how pork cuts get forgotten around school except for the bacon and ribs. The pig is a magical and versatile animal that has so much to offer. I topped my chops off with caramelized onions and with a warm apple salad. Pork is a dense meat so it goes perfectly with the sweet and dense flavor of apples.

Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions
Original, Serves 2

Ingredients:
- 2 pork chops, bone-in
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed with the skin
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1 onion, halved and sliced
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- half of a radicchio, sliced
- 2 braeburn apples, sliced with skin-on
- few tablespoons of cider vinegar

1) In a hot pan, add olive oil and the sliced onions. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sweat down over medium-low to medium heat for about 5 minutes.
2) Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and sweat down further until browned and caramelized. About 20 more minutes. Keep warm and set aside until needed.
3) In a hot pan, add olive oil and fry for 3 - 4 minutes on both sides. Add the crushed cloves of garlic and sprig of thyme when cooking the second side. Baste the pork chop with the excess oil to cook the pork even more and develop texture on the chops. You can add butter to do this if desired.
4) Cook the pork chops to medium, firm but springly when pressed. Remove to a plate and rest while you make the apple salad.
5) Slice the apples - skin on - and slice half of a radicchio.
6) Add olive oil to a hot pan and add the apples first. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Sautee for about a minute.
7) Add the sliced raddichio and toss a few times to evenly distribute. Deglaze with cider vinegar, circling around the edge of the pan. Remove from heat.
8) Spoon the warm salad in the middle of the plate, place rested pork chops on top and spoon some of the caramelized onions on top of the chops. Eat and conquer.
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Going home for a couple days to pick up stuff and see the family before tests hit the fan. If I don't post before then have an awesome Friday and a great weekend!

green pea & potato frittata with tomato sauce

*Edit: so...I don't have any eggs left for tomorrow morning. The price to pay for a delicious dinner I guess. Also, I'll be working on revamping the blog so if you notice that the layout/color/ is messed up, I apologize in advance

Desperate times call for inventive measures and that's exactly the situation I was in today. A mess that could've easily been avoided had I decided to hop into my car and dedicate 30 minutes to grocery shopping. But today - that wasn't happening. My pantry/fridge? 3 eggs, onions, garlic, Russets, frozen peas, Parmesan cheese, milk and a late discovered can of diced tomatoes.

Ever since Jen from jglee posted her phenomenal looking ratatouille recipe, I had been wanting to make her ratatouille. Then today, Kristen from simply savor posts another delicious looking recipe of marinara sauce. Needless to say, I needed to get my weekly fix of tomatoes - today.

Gene from Eat, Drink, Man suggested a frittata for dinner via Twitter so I decided to combine the 3 ideas.

I made a frittata using the 3 eggs, cubed potatoes, green peas and grated Parmesan cheese. I made a ratatouille tomato sauce base by sauteeing off onions and garlic with cumin. The result came out surprisingly well and there were no survivors.

Green Pea & Potato Frittata w/ Tomato Sauce
Original, Serves 2 or 1 Hungry College Student

Ingredients: (Tomato Sauce)
- one 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed/minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin

Ingredients: (Frittata)
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk
- 0.25 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 0.5 cup cubed potatoes, 0.25 inch
- 0.5 cup parboiled green peas

1) First, make the tomato sauce. Dice the onions and mince the garlic cloves. In a hot pan, add olive oil and sautee off the onions and garlic until the onions become soft and translucent. Season the onion/garlic mixture with salt, pepper and cumin.
2) Once translucent, add the diced tomatoes and bring back up to a boil. Simmer the sauce and leave on the side until needed. Adjust seasoning as needed.
3) Preheat the broiler.
4) Whisk together the eggs, milk, grated Parmesan cheese and salt/pepper together. Leave aside until needed.
5) Dice the potatoes into 0.25 inch cubes and parboil the green peas. Once the green peas are parboiled, refresh under ice water to stop cooking. They'll cook further in the pan/oven so it's important not to overcook them.
6) In an broiler-safe pan, add olive oil to a hot pan and saute off the potato cubes for 2 minutes.
7) Add the green peas and saute further for about 30 seconds. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
8) Add the egg mix and cook until the eggs are almost set.
9) Place the pan under the broiler for 1 - 2 minutes until golden and browned on the top. Remove from the oven and place onto plate.
10) Spoon some of the tomato sauce over the frittata and sprinkle some chopped parsley over if wanted.

the "chewy" : brown butter

Do you like the new fall colors to the blog? Well, it may undergo even more changes in the near future. Not only the color but even bigger. Gasp, I may be changing the name. I don't mind the current name but I'm not the biggest fan of it either. I have an idea but if you have one also, I'd love to hear it.

I'm convinced that anyone who's heard of or watched Alton Brown has made/ate his delicious, chocolatey, soft chocolate chip that's simply known as the "Chewy". After baking countless number of recipes to discover the perfect chocolate chip cookie with a crispy edge, soft and tender interior, I had found it at last. Fast forward a few months and I run across what I hate to admit is possibly...better...and more delicious...than the Chewy.

That's right, I had come across the widely popular chocolate chip cookie recipe by Jacques Torres in the NY Times. I was skeptical to say the least - 72 hours for a batch of cookies? But curiosity overcame laziness and the cookies were made. Long story short, that's my go to and my only chocolate chip cookie recipe that I use.

I came across a brown butter "Chewy" recipe on TasteSpotting a couple weeks back and I knew it was time for me and good ol' AB to reconnect. The result was a nostalgic goodness that warped me back to memory lane. Slightly nuttier than the original Chewy but the cookie still retained the crispy edges and that ever soft interior.

Chewy, I'm sorry for neglecting you the way I did. You and JT's recipes will forever remain in my heart - and stomach - as the only chocolate chip cookies I make. (Whoever is going to AB's Good Eats live this week in Atlanta: I'm jealous!)

The "Chewy"
Originally by Alton Brown, Adapted from RecipeGirl

Ingredients:
- 2.25 cups bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 sticks of unsalted butter, melted until brown
- 0.25 cup granulated sugar
- 1.25 cups dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon of milk
- 1 tablespoon of heavy cream (you can omit this and use 2 tablespoons of milk)
- 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 cups of chocolate chips (I used bittersweet Ghirardelli)

1) Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. Set aside. Tip: if you don't have a sifter, just whisk together everything for awhile to break up any lumps.
2) Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a saucepan over low heat. Keep melting down and cooking the butter until browned.
3) While the butter is browning, mix the 2 sugars together. Once the butter is browned, add the butter to the bowl with the sugars. Whisk together until incorporated well.
4) Add the milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract and then the eggs one at a time.
5) Add in the flour mix, a third of the mixture at a time until all mixed in. Do not overmix. Stir in the chocolate chips and mix again. Tip: I add the chocolate chips right before the dough becomes complete to prevent overmixxing.
6) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. I did 24 hours but overnight is fine as well.
7) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Take out the bowl 10 minutes or so before baking to thaw the dough out a little bit.
8) On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, scoops the dough with an ice cream scoop or roll the dough into balls with your hands.
9) Bake for 10 - 12 minutes until the edges are browned. This is key when making chocolate chip cookies. The cookies will finish baking as it cools outside the oven. If you bake the cookies until it's completely browned, you'll end up with a tough, tanned and sad cookie.
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Hunger and curiosity overcame me while I was preparing these cookies. How do they differ in taste/appearance if I bake them with 2 hours of fridge time vs. 24 hours? The results?
This was the cookie that came out when the dough was chilled for 2 hours. After you compare, you can see that it was a little lighter in color. Yes, they were baked for exactly the same amount of time: 12 minutes.
And this cookie was the 24 hour batch. Darker in color but still delicious. The verdict?

The 24 hour batch I felt was a little sweeter and more "developed" in flavor vs. the 2 hour batch. There was a color difference also that was instantly noticeable. If you have the Bread Baker's Apprentice, you'll notice that - to be generic - a sponge is made and left to develop for flavor overnight. I can only guess that this adopts the same principle - but with eggs included. Really though, the point is this: it's delicious and should be baked ASAP.

angel hair pasta w/ crab

Maybe it's the fact that after Sunday comes (8am lab) Monday or maybe it's because I actually did wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Regardless, I do feel that I was a little harsh yesterday in my statement against one of FN's stars: Sunny Anderson.

At first, I thought it was some joke. A mere poser pretending to be a celebrity but to my surprise, it was Sunny herself. After reading her comment and reflecting on my post, I realized I had forgotten why I - all of us - started cooking in the first place. I love food.

As we journey further into the never-ending realm that is food, we lose focus of why we started to cook or become fascinated by food. We become tangled and entrenched by techniques, Michelin stars, fancy ingredients, gorgeous photographs, etc. as we become more seduced by this wonderful passtime,tradition and culture.

This phenomena isn't just in the case of food: it's everywhere. We start to play a sport because it's fun and you like playing against friends and peers. As you become more involved and develop as a player, the "fun" element is lost only to be replaced by stats, equipments, fame and W's.

Although I still hold my opinions about FN, I do believe that celebrity chefs are a necessary - and essential - force to develop future cooks and chefs. I've always made fun of Rachael Ray and Sandra Lee of how ridiculous some of their creations are. However, if they can motivate another mother/father, another child or another Ryne to start cooking - they've succeeded. Even if they use store-bought marinara sauce, absolutely butcher a classic dish or the end product looks like goo out of Alien, as long as homemade food is being shared and loved with friends/family, it's a triumph in the name of food. And really, who gives a damn what it's called (of course to a certain extent). If it tastes good, it tastes good. If you love food, you love food.

So I challenge you chefs and homecooks alike, rediscover your love for food and go back to the passion that started it all: What made you start cooking or sparked your interest in food?

On that note, I leave you with a fast and easy recipe that's perfect as a weeknight meal. I used white crab meat but feel free to use jumbo lump, lump or even claw meat. The fresher the better but regardless - it's still going to be a tasty dish.

Angel Hair Pasta with Crab
From Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong Live, Serves 2 as a Main or 4 as a Starter

Ingredients:
- 0.5 lb angel hair pasta
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 1 red chili, sliced thinly
- 5 spring onions, chopped
- 0.333 (third) of a cup of white wine
- juice of 2 limes
- 0.5 lb white crab meat
- handful of parsley, chopped once

1) Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and once it's at a rolling boil, add olive oil and add the pasta. Cook the pasta to al dente, which should be about 2 - 3 minutes: just enough time to make the sauce.
2) In a hot pan, add olive oil and saute the garlic, chili and spring onions for a minute or two. Season with salt and pepper.
3) After sauteing briefly, deglaze with white wine by circling around the edge of the pan.
4) Reduce the white wine to a syrup consistency and add the crab meat and the juice of 1 lime. Heat the crab meat through.
5) Drain the pasta and season lightly with salt/pepper and add a little extra-virgin olive oil to the pasta to prevent sticking.
6) Add the pasta to the sauce and throw in the chopped parsley. Stir to combine.
7) Serve immediately with another squeeze of lime juice before diving in.
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Come back tomorrow to find out what that melted butter will be used for. It's a familiar recipe to all that has been hailed as one of the best (although I may have to disagree).

dear FN & heston's roasted potatoes

Before I start, I just want to say that British cooking shows on channel 4 are absolutely, hands down, 100% better than the crap we have here on FoodNetwork. Not only are you captivated by the amazing food while your stomach aches in hunger, you actually learn something! You actually learn something about food - where it comes from, how it gets there, why it's prepared a certain way and why ingredients work the way they do.

If it wasn't bad enough that I awoke to Rachael Ray yesterday morning, the first thing I saw when I turned on the TV today is Sunny Anderson - another hellspawn of the network, smiling as she presents a plate of mess that can only be considered pseudofood. On the schedule was a "Yaki-Mandu" that was inspired from her time in South Korea.

Now, if you know anything about Korean history - which a lot of people don't - you'll know that old school Koreans and Japanese don't get along. Now I have nothing against the Japanese, actually - I like them a lot! I even took Japanese 1 my freshman year of college. Long story short, it has to do w/ the invasion and enslavement that Koreans were under by the Japanese in the past. So putting a Japanese word and Korean word together and presenting it as Korean food was the first fault. The second? Yaki means grilled not deep-fried Sunny. It doesn't involve a dutch oven with oil at 350 degrees F to deep fry the dumpling. And lastly:

Quote Sunny Anderson:

"Hoisin is like a Korean version of BBQ sauce."

Way to properly educate America about Asian food guys. With that, I'll stop for today about how much I hate the fake FoodNetwork "chefs". Alton, Giada, Duff, Iron Chefs and Tyler (even though you sold out to AppleBee's), I salut you for keeping alive what little is left of good, food TV.

I was watching Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection the other day and saw his crazy method of achieving the ultimate roast potatoes. It took freaking forever but in the end, I'd say it was worth it. Now, I wouldn't do this everyday - it's definitely reserved for a Sunday lunch - but the results are spectacular. The inside is soft and tender but the outside is crispy and infused with garlic and rosemary. Adding the garlic and rosemary the last 10 minutes of cooking doesn't allow the garlic to overpower the potatoes and really helps bring out that fresh earthy flavor of the rosemary.
Roast Potatoes
Adapted from Heston Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection, Serves 4 as a Side

Ingredients:
- 6 russet potatoes, cut into eigths (Heston uses maris pipers but the russet is the closest I can find)
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 3 cloves of garlic

1) Peel the potatoes and reserve the potato skins. That's right, don't throw them away. Cut the potatoes into quarters or eigths to preference
2) Add all the potato skins to a cheesecloth and tie together. Bring a salted pot of water along with the potato skins to a boil. We're essentially creating a potato stock.
3) While the water is coming to a boil, run the potatoes under cold water for about 2 minutes to wash away some of the starch.
4) Add the potatoes and boil for 20 - 25 minutes until tender. It's important that they're still somewhat firm. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
5) Drain the potatoes and let it steam by itself a little bit in the colander.
6) Add olive oil to a hot roasting pan and coat the potatoes all over in oil. Season with salt and pepper and once the potatoes have been covered in oil and seasoned, place in the oven for about an hour.
7) In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add in 3 whole cloves of garlic and a sprig of fresh rosemary.
8) Serve warm with a Sunday roast or as a side dish.

lunch 08/22/09 - turkey provolone panini

Nature's Own Organic Honey Wheat bread, Applegate Farms Natural Turkey, Sargento Provolone Arugula, Dijon mustard, Brown Turkey Figs, glass of milk.

The only thing that could've made this better was not hearing the cacophony that is Rachael Ray when you first turn on the TV after waking up.

How do you make a panini you might ask? Well you probably already know but I'm going to tell you anyways in case some readers don't know. It's almost as easy as counting by 5's in the pharmacy:

bread, spread dijon, provolone, turkey, arugula, (optional dijon), bread

Preheat a grill pan to medium, lightly butter/oil the pan and place sandwich on top. Press down with another pan/pot, plate, pharmacology book, or anything that'll weight down the sandwich. Flip over to the other side once golden (about 2 minutes or so) and repeat the process.

quick beef bourguignon

I sit here on a Friday night, defeated, tired, sore - oh so incredibly sore (curse you squats) - yet content, full and in a pretty good mood. Friday night is the one night of the week in college where we can relax, let go of those 4 pound textbooks and worry about the tests and projects for a later time - by which I mean Sunday night at 10pm for most kids.

Here's the thing about being a food crazed, gastronomy seeking and a humble aspiring cook (if Marco doesn't consider himself a chef, then I too will never achieve status of chef). Oh did I mention MALE? I've been wanting to see Julie & Julia for the past month now. Okay maybe not just the past month: pretty much ever since I heard of its production. In reality though I can't go into the theater by myself and watch the movie by myself. Why? For egotistical, obvious masculine reasons. Go with friends you say? I'm afraid to say almost all of my friends could care less about a mirepoix let alone the amazing memoir of the woman who's helped define the French cuisine many of us know today. "Who the hell is Julia Childs?" they'll say, as I gaze at them in shocking disbelief as if I just finished eating a McDonalds hamburger.

That being said, a future Friday night will be reserved for me and that DVD as I celebrate by eating a 3 course French cuisine which will be most certainly be finished with creme brulee. But for now, a bourguignon will have to suffice my French cravings. Because I was extremely hungry and I didn't have time to wait 3 - 4 hours for food to hit the table, I made a quick, bastardized version of beef bourguignon. It lacked the complexity of flavor that a traditional bourguignon has but it was still tasty, rich and fulfilling.

Speedy Beef Bourguignon

Adapted from Gordon Ramsay, Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 1 large onion, finely chopped

- 4 garlic cloves, minced

- few sprigs of thyme

- 4 strips of bacon, cut into lardons

- 1 package of baby bella mushrooms, quartered

- 1 lb eye round or rump steak, cut into bite size pieces

- 2+ tablespoon of butter

- 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard

- splash of red wine vinegar (about 2 tablespoons)

- 100 mL of beef stock

- 2 tablespoons of red wine

- 1 tablespoon tomato puree

- 2 tablespoons of heavy cream

- chopped parsley for garnish

1) Heat some olive oil in a pan and saute off the onions, garlic, bacon lardons and thyme until the onions are soft and the bacon is lightly golden. Remove to a plate and set aside. Season lightly with pepper.

2) Add some more olive oil to the same pan and saute the mushrooms until golden and they shrink in size. Season with salt and pepper. Remove to the same plate as the onion, garlic, bacon and thyme.

3) Season the steak with salt and pepper and add some more oil to the same pan. Add the steaks and sear on all sides until carmelized well. Add a knob of butter the final minute of cooking and baste over the steaks for texture as well as flavor.

4) Spread some mustard over the top of the steaks and transfer the beef to a separate plate to rest.

5) Deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar and then the red wine. Add the tomato puree and saute off for 30 seconds to take the bitterness out of the puree.

6) Add the stock and heavy cream afterwards and reduce the liquid down to about a third until slightly thickened.

7) Return everything - the vegetables, steak, etc. - to the pan and simmer for 5 more minutes. Adjust seasonings and add another knob of butter for a velvety, glossy finish.

8) Garnish with fresh parsley - chopped once, not butchered and destroyed like FoodNetwork chefs like to do - right before serving.

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Serve alongside some french bread or in my case, a ciabatta that I purchased from Earth Fare to soak up those sinfully delicious juices of the bourguignon.

dinner 08/20/09 - deja vu chicken

Did I mention from my chicken bulgogi post that it can be frozen for future use after it marinades overnight? My mom prepared a whole frozen batch for me as she saw me off to another year of torment, happiness and peasantry living - all wrapped tightly together like a mozzarella ball - that is college.

Now don't get me wrong: I love cooking. I love food. I love hearing it. I love making it. I love smelling it. Heck I even love getting burned by that tiny drop of oil as you add something into a hot pan. But there's just some days when all you want to do is kick it, turn on on the oven and relax with some quality TV like No Reservations.

I've been living off my lemon vinaigrette for the past week and although I love the stuff, it's getting a little old. Time to switch it up for next week. I had some egg noodles along with the chicken bulgogi and garnished it with fresh spring onions and toasted ground, sesame seeds.

Just one more day of waking up at 6am, one more day of quick fix meals and one more day of drug-filled classes until the weekend. I can't wait.

honey dijon chicken

An easy, cheap and fast recipe that's perfect for the weeknights. Bake chicken thighs in the oven with a honey, dijon mustard glaze and in 25 minutes a delicious piece of poultry comes to life.

Green beans were $0.99 per pound at the grocery store and I blanched them for a minute and a half. I drained the green beans and transferred them to the mixing bowl to mix with a lemon vinaigrette. 3 parts extra-virgin olive oil, 1 part lemon juice, a splash of water, salt and pepper. An extremely simple, tasty vinaigrette.

Always buy chicken bone in and skin on. Why? It's cheaper and it's been processed less. Taking the thigh bone out is a snap and definitely worth the 2 minutes of trouble to debone. 6 skinless chicken thighs cost just as much as 10 skin on, chicken thighs with the bone. To put it simply: you get 4 more chicken thighs which equals (in my case) 2 more servings for the same price. I actually like baking it with the skin as it gets really crispy and keeps the chicken really moist. You can always take off the skin after it bakes anyways.

Honey Dijon Chicken
Original, Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 10 chicken thighs, deboned and skinless if preferred
- 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper

1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2) Salt, pepper and drizzle some olive oil on the bottom of the roasting pan.
3) Mix together all of the ingredients for the glaze. Add salt and pepper to the glaze and brush the glaze all over the chicken.
4) Cook for 25 - 30 minutes brushing more of the marinade half way through the cooking process.
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I know what you're going to ask, "Sean, can I use chicken breasts instead even though it's just 1 extra gram of saturated fat per 4oz?" Yes, you can. Just adjust the cooking time to 20 - 25 minutes at the same temperature and you're good to go!

fresh tomato sauce

Like I promised in my last blog, this is the direction that I'll be traveling for the time being. I'll post what I had to eat and post it whenever I can throughout the week. I'll still be posting recipes but you may see some posts without recipes and deja vus of old recipes.

Today, I made a quick fresh tomato sauce using plum tomatoes that were on sale. At $1.29 a pound it was definitely a steal. On the side, a spring mix salad w/ a simple lemon vinaigrette (I got a HUGE tub for $1.99) and a couple slices of roasted pork loin that was also on sale this week for $2.59 per pound. It's a fresh tomato sauce because it doesn't require any cooking and you can really taste the freshness of the tomatoes.

Here's the thing about eating healthy on a budget during college. Buy seasonally as the produce will be cheaper if it's in season and look for deals. Of course, fresh apricots are expensive as heck and I don't endorse that you go crazy over them even if they're in season but you should notice that the peaches are pretty cheap right now. Apples will start to drop in price starting September and you'll see various fall vegetables drop in price as well.

Also, if you're buying pre-packaged vegetables (which I don't endorse unless it's EXTREMELY cheap like the spring mix I found), make sure the weight is worth the money you're paying. When you see 2 for $4 deals, iceberg lettuce mix by weight does NOT equal baby spinach by weight. Furthermore, 3 romaine hearts weighing at about 2lbs is almost the same price as 1lb of prechopped romaine hearts. Do the math and you'll discover that 10 seconds of knife work will save you about $2.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Gordon Ramsay, Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 6 ripe, plum tomatoes
- 15 sundried tomatoes in oil
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 4 shallots or 0.5 of an onion, roughly chopped
- 0.5 cup of extra virgin olive oil, plus more to preference
- juice from half a lemon

1) Core and make an X on the top of each plum tomato. Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch the tomatoes for 45 seconds.
2) Cool the tomatoes in an ice bath and peel the skin.
3) Cut the tomatoes in half and take out the seeds.
4) Roughly chop both the garlic clove and the shallots. We're going to blend so it doesn't really matter if it's perfect.
5) Add all of the ingredients to a blender, season with salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and the juice from half a lemon. Blitz.
6) Blitz until it's at a smooth consistency adding more oil to arrive at that texture. Taste and adjust seasoning.
7) Mix a little sauce with the pasta and spoon more sauce over the pasta before serving.

fried tofu w/ spicy soy sauce

A big change looms in the near future friends. No, not the promises of change we've been promised but this blog is about to undergo a face lift.

This year in school, I'll be blogging about how to cut down costs while maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With respect to recipes, I may be posting less recipes but rather what I have throughout the week. The format will be somewhat like Jennifer's Last Night's Dinner. What? You haven't heard of this blog? It's an amazing blog run by a foodie couple that blog about what kind of food they have on a daily basis. Click on the link and go for a visit!

Tofu is a great source of protein if you're a vegetarian/vegan and an excellent alternative to meats. Being Korean (or Asian for that matter), I grew up on this stuff and I absolutely love this stuff. There's many ways to cook tofu but one of my favorite ways to eat it is simply pan fry firm tofu and drizzle spicy soy sauce over it.

Scared about its estrogen effects guys? Although there has been evidence to consumption of tofu and development of female characteristics, it has to be in tremendous, huge, colossal, excess amounts. Eaten once a week is a tasty way to control dietary fat, cholesterol and eat healthier.

Fried Tofu w/ Spicy Soy Sauce
Originally by Mom, Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients:
- 1 package of firm tofu
- 0.25 cup soy sauce
- 1.5 to 2 teaspoon Korean red pepper powder (absolutely crucial, you cannot substitute for paprika/cayenne)
- 0.25 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
- pinch or two of finely chopped spring onions
- a touch of vinegar to taste (may omit, so taste the soy sauce before adding)

1) Cut the firm tofu about half an inch thick into slices.
2) Add a neutral oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat and color for 2 minutes on each side or until golden.
3) While frying, make the spicy soy sauce by mixing all the ingredients. Whisk to incorporate evenly.
4) Place tofu on a plate and drizzle the soy sauce over and serve.

cheeseburger: protein style

This will be my last outdoor grilling recipe for the summer as I will be heading back to school. Only to be greeted by limited cookware, finding time to eat oh and yes, tests, tests, lab write ups and oh yeah: more tests.

I was going through stuff I've posted during the summer and noticed that I didn't have a burger on here. I refuse to end a summer without a proper hamburger representing my blog.

I didn't have any hamburger buns on hand, only sliced bread, but I did have some ground sirloin that I was going to make bolognaise with. Although the first hamburger was served between two slices of toast, I just decided to keep it light and wrap it around some crisp lettuce - what In-N-Out Burger dubs its "Protein Style".

Cooked to a perfect medium, the burger was juicy and oh so tasty as any burger should be. One of the great reasons why you should skip McDonalds tonight and buy some ground beef to grill your own burgers! (I bought 1 pound of ground sirloin for $2.84, which has 10% fat. Make 0.25 pounders, use veg you should already have on hand and buy a 6 pack of hamburger buns. You can easily feed 4 people, or 2 hungry college students, for under $3 a head)

Cheeseburger: Protein Style
Adapted from Passport Foodie, Originally by Gordon Ramsay, Serves 2 - 4

Ingredients: (Hamburger)
- 1 lb ground sirloin
- 0.5 red onion, finely diced
- 6 sundried tomatoes in oil, finely diced
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
- pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) Prep all the vegetables and combine all of the ingredients, including the ground beef, in a bowl.
2) Mix to evenly distribute all the ingredients and shape into 2 or 4 patties one inch in thickness.
3) Chill in the fridge until needed.
4) Preheat the grill to medium high heat and spray the grill with oil to prevent the patties from sticking.
5) Once preheated, place the patties on the grill and grill for 10 - 12 minutes, turning once in the process.
6) In the last 2 minutes of cooking, place cheese of your preference on top of the burger to let it melt.
7) Place condiments of your preference on top of your burger and wrap around a lettuce leaf or roll.

grilled grape tomatoes and scallops

By next Wednesday, I'll be heading back to confront the demons known as pharmacy school once more. With that, I say farewell with my charcoal and gas grill until next summer. I want to make the most of what little time I have with these amazing instruments and blog about at least 1 more food on the grill.

Today, I decided to keep it simple and grill grape tomatoes and sea scallops coated in a simple vinaigrette. On the side, I had a summery salad of basil, tomatoes, red onions and fresh mozzarella.

If you've been following my blog for awhile, I'm an advocate of healthy eating without sacrificing flavor but I haven't written much about salads! While I'm at school next year, I'll be cooking a vegetarian meal at least once a week and hopefully by the end of my 2nd year I can add more green to the blog. I don't agree with the lifestyle choices of vegetarians but I believe it's important for all of us to respect their decisions and appreciate all types of food.

As I head off into school once more, I want to ask a few questions to the reader(s) as this is my first year completely off the school's awful meal plan.
1) Which cookbooks do you use as your go to's for quick fixes on weekdays?
2) What would you like to see more of in the future? (ie. recipes, improvements, etc.)
3) What is your all time favorite meal?

Grilled Grape Tomatoes and Scallops
Original, Serves 4

Ingredients:
- 16 scallops (I used sea but use whatever you can get)
- 24 grape tomatoes (or cherry)
- 8 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes
- juice of 1 lemon
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- pinch of salt and pepper

1) Soak the bamboo skewers for 20 minutes in water to prevent them from burning.
2) Preheat the grill to medium for direct grilling.
3) While the grill's preheating, make the vinaigrette. Whisk together the juice/zest of 1 lemon, olive oil and Dijon mustard. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the vinaigrette and whisk until mixed.
4) Prepare the scallops and tomatoes. The order is: (Tomato, Scallop , T , S , T) so 3 tomatoes and 2 scallops per skewer alternating.
5) Brush the vinaigrette over the skewers and place on the grill.
6) Grill for 7 - 9 minutes turning several times in the process.
7) Brush the vinaigrette over the skewers again and grill until the scallops turn opaque throughout. Should take about 3 - 5 minutes more.
8) Serve immediately over/with a side of greens.

grilled margherita pizza

Remember that boule from yesterday's post? (If you don't it's the post before this one) It was turned into a fantastic grilled pizza today.

If you haven't tried grilled pizza yet, please please please go try one before grilling season comes to an end (which is for me next week because I have to go back to school boo hoo). You get this nice smokiness from the grill and the crust is crispy.

Now, you may be wondering "Sean, aren't pizzas supposed to be round?" The thing is...I don't have a pizza peel and when I was moving the dough to the grill, it turned into this oblong, eclipse and there was no turning back after that yeasty goodness hit that grill. Okay so maybe I shouldn't have been lazy and got out the sheet pan from the top of the coverts but the point is that it was delicious regardless of the shape.

Grilled Margherita Pizza
Original, Serves 4

Ingredients: (really though you can use whatever toppings you want)
- homemade pizza dough or store-bought pizza dough
- fresh mozzarella
- fresh basil, chiffonade and whole
- extra virgin olive oil
- marinara sauce or store bought pizza sauce

1) Lightly flour a working surface and mist with oil. I took out my pizza dough from last night and made it about 6 inches in diameter and 0.5 inch thick using my fingers to flatten the dough. Let that rest for 1.5 - 2 hours. If using store bought, your resting times may differ from mines so follow package directions.
2) After waiting, lightly flour your hands and the top of the dough. You can now either toss the pizza in the air, use a rolling pin or just shape it roughly by flattening it out with your hands. Whichever method you're using, flatten it out to your preferred thickness.
3) Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.
4) Have all of your ingredients ready to go before you start grilling the pizza dough.
5) Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the dough and place the dough, oiled side down, onto the grill. Grill for 2 minutes until charred and flip over to the other side.
6) Quickly place the pizza sauce on the dough and place on the ingredients.
7) Indirect grill for 10 minutes. (if you have a 2 burner grill, have the left side on and right side off. If you have a 3 burner grill, have the left/right burners on and the middle off. For 4 burner grills, the inner two burners off and the outer two on. Etc.)
8) Serve immediately.

chicken bulgogi part 2: devour

So after marinading the chicken thighs for 24 - 48 hours, you now have to option of either grilling or broiling the chicken. Unfortunately, it was raining outside yesterday so I had to broil using the oven.

Preheat the oven under the broiler setting and cook the chicken thighs for about 20 - 25 minutes until cooked through. Flip the thighs once during the process and rotate the pan 180 degrees if needed for even cooking.

If you're grilling, grill for 14 - 16 minutes turning the chicken once until it's cooked through.

Chicken thighs are amazing on the barbecue not only because of the smoky flavor it adds but because it's pretty difficult to dry out. Even for inexperienced grillers or cooks, you can 90% of the time cook the chicken thighs correctly.

For the marinade, look at my previous post.
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Something "rises" in the horizon...

chicken bulgogi part 1: TLC

Bulgogi is one of the best known Korean dishes next to galbi and kimchi. What do you get when you mix bulgogi marinade to chicken thighs? Delicious is what you get. Today, I'll be going over the marinade for the Chicken Bulgogi. Unlike baking, this isn't exact science and you may have to deviate from the given values *gasp!!*.

Every Korean family has their own variation for the marinade and this is my mom's that has been handed down to me. I may tweak it a little bit sometime in the future it's hard to change something that's been handed down from generation to generation without feeling guilty.

Part 1: tender loving and care that the chicken thighs will get before it's broiled/grilled to delicious perfection.

FUN FACT: what's the difference between chicken breasts and thighs besides the latter tasting 10 times better? A meager 1 (one) more gram of saturated fat per 4oz. serving compared to the chicken breast. Bottom line? Don't be scared of the chicken thigh

Chicken Bulgogi
Originally by Mom, Serves 8

Ingredients:
- 2lbs chicken thighs (yes, you can use chicken breasts)
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 0.5 (half) large onion, blitzed
- 0.5 cup sake
- 1 to 1.5 cup soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons ground toasted sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoon plum extract or half of an Asian pear, blitzed
- 0.5 cup to 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil

1) Tenderly and lovingly, clean the chicken thighs, remove excess fat and place in a large bowl to marinade. It's okay if you don't get every single bit of fat off the chicken ladies. It'll render off while it broil/grills. Set aside.
2) Blitz the onions, garlic, pear if using and ginger in a food processor until puréed.
3) In a separate bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the marinade EXCEPT for the sesame oil. Taste the marinade and adjust to your liking. It should be on the sweeter side vs. salty.
However, the sweetness should not overcome the savory/saltiness of the soy sauce either. It's a delicate balance that will differ from palette to palette. You can use salt instead of soy sauce to season more to prevent the marinade from being too thin.
4) Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs and coat each piece of chicken with the sauce.
5) Now, add the sesame oil and mix briefly. I don't know why my mom does this unorthodox step (why not combine w/ the other ingredients?) but there must be a reason for her madness. Do it anyways.
6) Cover and marinade at least overnight but preferably 24 - 48 hours.
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Stay tuned for part 2 when we take our chicken bulgogi from awesome to amazing.

red lobster cheddar biscuits

If you've been to Red Lobster, you've definitely had one of their addictive cheddar biscuits. I swear they put crack into them because they are absolutely, positively, 100% awesome. I could probably eat 3 to 4 in a row and then some for dessert.

I had some sharp cheddar that was sitting in the fridge and decided to use it to recreate the popular imitation recipe floating on the web. It's close - real close - to the actual biscuits. I don't know if its the ambiance from dining out or a missing ingredient but it's not a 100% clone. You know what though, when something is this good, I'll settle for these 99% replica Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits.

On the side note, I can't believe I'll be wasting an hour of my life watching the finale of the Next FoodNetwork Star tonight. It's not about the food with FoodNetwork, it's mostly about marketing and who can sell and market foods. Thank god the Man vs. Food marathon is on tonight so I can watch that for most of the hour. Why can't our food TV be more like the UK's? *sigh*

Red Lobster Cheddar Biscuits
Adapted from Todd Wilbur, Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients: (Biscuit)
- 2.5 cups Bisquick Mix
- 0.75 cup cold milk
- 4 tablespoons (half stick) of cold butter
- 0.5 teaspoon garlic powder
- 0.5 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 generous cup of grated, cheddar

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2) Combine the Bisquick with the cold butter. You could use a fork or pastry cutter but why bother? Just use a food processor if you've got one. Blitz or cut the butter in until it's crumbly.
3) Add the milk, cheddar, garlic powder, pepper and mix until just thorougly combined. Do not overmix.
4) Use a ice cream scoop or a 0.25 cup measurer to drop the dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5) Bake for 15 - 17 minutes until the top is golden brown. While waiting, prepare the butter that you'll be brushing on top of these crack-biscuits.

Ingredients: (Butter Mixture)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 0.25 teaspoon dried parsley
- 0.5 teaspoon garlic powder
- small pinch of salt
- small pinch of pepper

1) Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl until just melted.
2) Combine the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined.
3) Once the biscuits come out, brush the butter on top of the biscuits.
4) Serve warm and forget about waist lines for one night.