I went back and updated two of the recipes. I just wanted to improve a few things from the first time I made them. Most of the improvements are small but make a big difference in the finished product. Enjoy!
Recipe Updates
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Chicken Stock
Continuing on with my homework assignment from the cooking classes, I took the chicken carcass from the other night and made a chicken stock. The recipe is very simple, the only difficult part of the recipe is that it takes 4-5 hours to make. You can use the stock as a soup or you can use it in sauces or other dishes you decide to cook. If you have the time I would recommend trying to make your own chicken stock.
Spicy Honey Brushed Chicken
After practicing breaking down the chicken I decided to make a spicy honey brushed chicken. This dish is very simple and can be prepared in a few different ways. First you can either only use chicken thighs, or you can mix it up with various chicken pieces. Then when it comes to cooking the chicken you can either use the grill, broiler, or oven. Whatever way you choose to cook it you can’t go wrong. Right before the chicken is finished cooking you brush it with a honey sauce that glazes over the chicken giving it a sweet taste that is then complimented by the slight spiciness of the rub. I hope you give this dish a try!
Breaking Down A Chicken
Today I practiced the techniques for breaking down a chicken I learned on Monday. As you can see from the first picture I started with the whole bird. I then used the knife skills I was taught and broke the bird down into quarters, also known as European style. I then further broke the bird down into eighths, also known as the American style. For the dish I wound up making I had to cut the chicken breasts in half so everything would cook evenly. If you look at the bottom left corner of the third picture you can see I also attempted to French the chicken wing. The chef in the cooking class went over this technique briefly but I thought I would give it a try.
Sichuan Boiled Beef
I saw a recipe very similar to this the other week and wanted to make it. However, it turns out Sichuan peppercorns are quite difficult to find and after visits to many supermarkets I came up with nothing. I wound up getting the peppercorns off of Amazon. They were well worth the purchase. They give of a tingly and numbing spiciness that I had never tasted before. This dish bring a lot of heat, but the sensation of the peppercorns makes the heat from the chilies tolerable. This dish is best served over rice noodles. If you want to try a new Chinese dish and you like spicy food I recommend giving this dish a shot.
Cooking Class Week 1: Poultry
The first week of the cooking class was focused on poultry, particularly chicken. At the start of the class we learned about the different types of chickens and talked about various ways to prepare a chicken to make sure it does not dry out. After the introduction to chicken we were taught how to break down a chicken in both American and European styles. The American style of breaking down a chicken separates the bird into 8 pieces while the European style leaves you with 4 pieces. We then took the preparation skills we learned and applied them to a recipe.
We were able to choose between four recipes. Maryland fried chicken, chicken Kiev, Cornish Hen with sausage stuffing, and grilled Cornish hens Diable. I chose to cook the Cornish hens with sausage stuffing. To prepare the chicken I had to cut out the spine, then remove the ribs and breast plate. The head chef showed me a few techniques and by the end of the preparation I felt fairly confident in the knife skills I had just learned. After prepping the bird I made the sausage stuffing. when the stuffing was finished I stuffed the bird then sewed it back together. This was the most difficult part of the recipe but after a few pointers I was able to stitch the bird back together. I then trussed the bird and rubbed butter over the skin then seasoned it with salt and pepper before putting it in oven.
I learned a lot of new techniques in this class and will be practicing them throughout the week. So expect to see quite a few chicken recipes out of me in the next few days.
Cooking Classes
Excited to start cooking classes at the Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College tonight. New recipe posts will be coming this week!
Pork Chops with a Normandy Style Pan Sauce
After experimenting with the duck dish earlier in the week I wanted to make something that used the duck fat I had saved. In the end I decided to make a Normandy style pan sauce to put over pork chops. This sauce is very rich and packs a lot of flavor. It would go well over chicken and lamb as well so feel free to mix it up.
Shrimp Scampi
Today I made my take on shrimp scampi. While most scampi’s use a lot of butter, I tried my best to make this dish as healthy as I could. I only used 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter. The crushed red pepper gave the dish a it of heat but was not overwhelming. This is a very simple, quick, and easy to prepare dinner that is perfect if you are short on time.
Valentines Day Dinner Ideas
A reminder to all the guys out there, tomorrow is Valentines Day. If you haven’t thought of anything to do for your Valentine yet how about cooking them dinner? The following recipes are easy to prepare but look and taste impressive. A few of these recipes I have posted on the blog before while others will get a full post in the future. Enjoy and I hope this helps with your Valentines Day plans.
Penne Pasta in Vodka Cream Sauce
Pan Seared Duck Breast in Honey Balsamic Pan Sauce
Steak Dinner: Show her you are the master of the grill and pick your favorite steak, or her’s. Season it with kosher salt and pepper and grill to your desired finish. Serve it with a baked potato, salad, or other vegetable. You can never go wrong with a well prepared steak dinner.
Honey Mustard Pork Tenderloin: I’ll give you the shortcut for this recipe, longer recipe will be a blog post later. Marinate the pork in honey mustard dressing overnight. Cook in oven at 350 degrees F for 20-24 min or until done. While pork is cooking take spinach, garlic, shallot, olive oil, lemon juice, and whole grain mustard put in pan and saute spinach until wilted. Serve pork with spinach and wild rice. This is a very simple recipe with great flavor.
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