Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Orange Mustard Chicken with Simple Salad


Firstly I would like to update some recent posts and inform everyone that this recipe, along with the ceviche, tartare, and steak with tomato salad recipes are all friendly to those with celiac disease. I have a few family members affected by this, so naturally my interest in creating recipes that don't exclude those with this issue has increased. Here's another one.

Orange-Mustard Chicken with Simple Salad
serves 3-4



Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved and butterfly cut
2 oranges, supremed with scrap and juice reserved
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
2 pints plain yogurt
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp stone ground mustard
4 handfuls mixed greens
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and sliced
2oz lemon juice
6oz olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Firstly, a butterfly cut (for the chicken) is when the piece is sliced lengthwise in half, but not all the way through, so the piece folds open and looks similar to a butterfly's wings. I didn't make up the name, but it makes sense. Also supreme cuts (in reference to the oranges) is when the orange is peeled and cut into segments.

In a pot, combine the con starch and orange juice. Add the yogurt and mustards. Simmer and stir until the sauce reduces to a thicker consistency. Add the orange segments and set aside.

In a separate pan, on medium heat, add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan and sear the chicken breasts after seasoning them with salt and pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes on each side, or until cooked all the way through. Remove from the pan, and set aside.

For the salad, combine the mixed greens, red onion, cucumber, lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.

To serve place handful of tossed salad on the plate. Next to it stack the chicken breast and pour the orange-mustard sauce over the chicken. Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Making Lemons out of Lemonade



So every night, at the end of dinner service, my restaurant is one of the few that I have worked in that participates in a restaurant tradition called family meal. We provide a meal at the end of the night for those that have worked so hard for us, while using up product that otherwise would go to waste. You do it at home too; it's called using leftovers. This is a key example: at the end of a night, when our roasted vialea onion dish did not sell too well, (we cook in small daily batches on a lot of our items), I took our leftover onions, and pieces of filet that were beyond too small to create a portion with worthy of selling, and made a classic dish, with a Spanish twist........I do work in a Spanish restaurant after all.





"Spanish Onion Soup"


serves 4-8






Ingredients:
1-1.5 vidalea onions, sliced & roasted
8 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
6 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 handfuls button mushrooms, halved
white wine
beef scrap
1 liter water
2C chicken broth
8 pieces bread, grilled
4 slices manchego cheese, sliced in half
S&P to taste
2 tbl smoked sweet paprika

Directions:
In a pot, add enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Add garlic, mushrooms and carrots and saute on medium high head until the garlic becomes translucent and soft. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked sweet paprika. Turn up heat to high and add beef scrap. Allow beef to brown slightly and deglaze with a splash of white wine, chicken broth, and water. Allow
water to come to a boil, lower the heat to medium high, add the roasted onions and let reduce by half in volume. Adjust seasoning as needed.

With the grilled bread, place a piece of manchego cheese on each slice and pop in the oven(400F) until cheese is melted. To serve, place soup in a bowl and cover with cheesy bread.

So basically french onion soup is beef broth, with a ton of onions and a crouton with some type of swiss cheese (usually Gruyere). What did I do different? How did I make it Spanish? Outside of adding a more produce, the Spanish twist was the use of paprika and manchego cheese.

In the end, the point is to make use of what you have.