buffalo chicken chili

So the last few weeks have been crazy busy for me not to say stressful. After having just left a horrible rental that had a horrible kitchen I was finally ready to start cooking in my new kitchen in my new home. Then BAM, the flu hits me like a Mac truck. Literally a week after getting settled into my new home I get the stomach flu, then I get the flu. And now, as I type this I am still sick, not as sick as before, but better. I've never been this sick before for this long. Whatever bug it was called it was morphing from stomach flu to flu flu to 'I-feel-better-now-oh-wait-no-you're-not-better-flu'. Strangest flu I've ever had. I thought it was the swine flu too, but it wasn't. It was so hard to just stay in bed and do nothing, I love to keep busy. And have you ever watched daytime TV? Awful. Thank goodness for Food Network. Did you know that Barefoot Contessa is on two times during the day? Yeah, so everyday, the highlight of my day was watching Ina at 1pm then again at 4pm. I just love when she says "isn't that fabulous?" I always say "oh heavens yes!".
It feels like it has been decades since I've baked or cooked anything. I've been eating a lot of toast, ginger ale, live active cultures, chopped ginger, saltines, and other granny-foods. I just want some damn chili already--I need hot chili to open up my sinuses!! Not really having the strength or patience for 'from scratch foods', I made a quick 'everything-in-the-cupboards-must-go chili'. Yeah, I know, it's really not from scratch. Shame! I know I know. It really was good though and I have valid excuses. So if ever there is a night or two when you are strapped for time, really don't want to cook because you are recovering from the flu and are craving buffalo chicken chili, well have I got just the perfect recipe for you!

Note: while having the flu I am walking, talking and breathing, but I still have the memory of a tsetse fly, so I think I got all the ingredients down, maybe not.

buffalo chicken chili w/ blue cheese drizzle
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Chili:
3-4 chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and olive oil (rubbing on chicken to roast)
1 large red onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed (I can't remember how much, enough to kill a cold)
½ finely chopped carrots
A couple tablespoons chili powder
1 TB ground cumin
2 jars of Newmans Own Garden Salsa (might need a bit more)
½ cup spicy bbq sauce
Couple big squirts of ketchup (fancy eh?)
1/4 cup or so of Coca Cola
Some chipotle peppers, diced
1-2 TB honey
1 cup black beans
1 cup red kidney beans
Some fresh lime juice
(add whatever you want, it's chili, it's easy & laidback)

Creamy blue cheese topping:
½ cup or so of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
¼ - ½ cup blue cheese dressing
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake in oven until done, about 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool, then chop into chunks, set aside.
In a large pot, pour in some olive oil, then heat up the red onions, carrots, whatever else veggie you want to use up. Sautee them a bit, then add in the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, Mix a bit, then add in the salsa, bbq sauce, ketchup, Coke, honey, all the beans, and the chopped cooked chicken. Heat mixture through and taste-test; see what else it needs. I added in some lime juice, salt & pepper, and some fresh lime juice.
If you want the blue cheese topping, just mix all the ingredients and let chill in fridge a bit before using. Serve with buttered toast or corn chips. Taste even better the next day.

chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ raspberries

Are you guilty, like me, of eating puff pastry plain? Taking strips of puff pastry rolling them in sugar and cinnamon or making them savory by sprinkling them with cheese baking till a perfect crisp and then devouring? I have all intentions of making something grand with my puff pastry (and it's not cheap to buy either), but then there are some days where I just want to make it simply for the sake of eating it for that "buttery crunch".

This time I made something fun out of the puff pastry.
Taking a perfect chocolate mousse, adding it to a baked crispy puff pastry, then drizzling it with some chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries.
Heavenly. Puff pastry and chocolate will always be a match made in heaven.
This is fairly easy to make too, the only downside is that it does not keep. Pretty much has to be eaten right away--no problem right? We all know puff pastry does not keep it's crunch after about four or so hours, maybe longer. But can I just say the crispy puff pastry teamed up with the chocolate mousse, the fresh raspberries and a int of chocolate ganache is just heavenly. I mean I know I always say this, but really all those flavors in one bite...oh baby! So good. See the photo below, two bites.
And should you not want to make chocolate mousse from scratch?
Use pudding!  So easy.



chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ ganache & raspberries
print recipe

Chocolate mousse (from epicurious.com):
2 cups chilled heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Cook Notes:
you might want to do the ganache first as it needs a bit of time to cool.
Don't have time to make the mousse? Use instant pudding in a pinch.

for the custard: Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently.
Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.
Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks.
Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.
I then chilled my mousse in a glass bowl, covering the mousse with plastic wrap until ready to use.

puff pastry: Unroll the puff pastry and shape into whatever size you like. I did a long rectangle.
Bake according to package directions. Let cool a bit, and then fill with ready chocolate mousse.

chocolate ganache strips:
If you want to decorate the pastry with chocolate ganache strips then:

6 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
2 TB unsalted butter, room temp

Melt the chopped chocolate with the heavy cream in a double-boiler. Make sure to stir occasionally until fully melted. Once melted, take off the heat and add in the butter bits. Make sure to whisk this up good. The better you whisk the glossier and smoother the ganache. I waited about an hour and a half for it to cool then poured it into a plastic bag to pipe onto chocolate pastry.
Just before the Ganache strips set up, decorate with raspberries.
Let set up about 15 minutes and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, optional.

thai noodle soup

Alright, it's time for winter to move along now. I'm tired of the snow, I'm tired of the cold. I need a second mortgage for my heating bill this year. Last year us New Englanders had a pretty rough winter and we all promised, rather comforted ourselves with the fact that we would be blessed with a warm, sunny spring and easy summer. Did that happen? No. We got a rainy cold spring and an even rainier (is this a word?) summer. So basically it feels as if we've been through one very lonnnnnnng double winter. I know the sales at our local tanning salons are up, way up. People are craving that heat and sun, myself included. My bones are just so cold this winter. Soups and tanning salons do help a lot to warm them up. So does a whirlpool tub, but I have to wait a while before I have the money to re-do my bathroom.
I stole this recipe from Kevin over at Closet Cooking. When I saw this I instantly knew it would warm up the bones. Plus this soup is filled with a a lot of healthy ingredients. Serve this baby hot and you will feel renewed! This is a terrific soup for cold ass freezing winter.
I made a few slight changes to the recipe.

thai chicken noodle soup
From closet cooking (makes 4-6 servings; served 3 in my house)

1/2 pound rice noodles
6 cups chicken stock (I used 5 cups)
1 pound chicken breast (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 carrot, sliced thinly on an angle (I used 2 carrots)
2 stalks lemongrass, peeled & chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (couldn’t find these)
2 birds eye chilies, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb sized piece galangal or ginger, grated
1/2 pound baby bok choy, separated
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed & sliced (I used 6 oz. as I LOVE these)
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (I used 3 TB)
1 lime, juice & zest
pepper to taste (I added salt too)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat.
Add the noodles, cover and let sit until cooked al dente, about 5-8 minutes.
Drain and rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot.
Add the chicken, carrots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, garlic, galangal and simmer until cooked, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms and simmer until the bok choy just wilts, about 1-2 minutes.
Reduce the heat and mix in the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice & zest, salt and pepper.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
Remove from heat and mix in the noodles, cilantro and green onions

cheesecake brownies

Nothing fancy this time around, just some good old yummy kicked up brownies. I used the recipe from david lebovitz. Cream cheese with brownies, come on, it's way better than a plain old brownie. Never tried a brownie with cream cheese before, well I have, but it was awful. The cream cheese just melted away into the chocolate. Don't like that. If you're going to put cream cheese in a brownie mixture I am a firm believer you should see the cream cheese filling before, during, and after baking. Right? Good. So, that's why I tried Dave L's way--perfectly done, perfect pairing.

Note: If you want swirls, and just chunks of cream cheese, then swirl the cream cheese batter around more than I did. I love big globs of the stuff.

(remember when my oven died and I had to use my toaster oven? well, these brownies were made in my toaster oven. granted I have a convection toaster oven from cuisinart, but still they came out great nonetheless. toaster ovens are handy little gems aren't they?)

cheesecake brownies
from david lebovitz
print recipe

6 TB (85g) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
4 ounces (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup (130g) sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70g) flour
1 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
1/8 ts salt
1 ts vanilla extract
1/2 cup (80g) chocolate chips

cream cheese mixture:
8 ounces (200g) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
5 TB (75g) sugar
1/8 ts vanilla extract
(I used a pinch of salt)

Line a 9-inch square pan with foil, making sure it goes up all four sides. Use two sheets if necessary. Mist with non-stick spray or grease lightly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and beat in the 2/3 cup (130g) sugar, then the eggs.
Mix in the flour, cocoa powder and salt, then the vanilla and chocolate chips. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
In a separate bowl, beat together the cream cheese, the yolk, 5 tablespoons (75g) of sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Distribute the cream cheese mixture in eight dollops across the top of the brownie mixture, then take a dull knife or spatula and swirl the cream cheese mixture with the chocolate batter.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the batter in the center of the pan feels just set.
Let cool, then lift out the foil and peel it away. Cut the brownies into squares

greek nachos

So the superbowl is coming up. I'm not a big fan of football, but any event that gives me a reason to eat appetizer-based foods is a reason to celebrate. Right? And I'm hoping that Bravo TV will do us non-football fans a favor and run a couple Top Chef marathons? In my eyes, appetizer-type foods are really the best pig out foods, as long as there are a few to choose from. If you are looking for an easy appetizer to serve for a superbowl party, make sure to add this one to your list. It is very easy to assemble together and has incredible layers of flavors. These greek nachos I stole from my friend over at Macheesmo. (Originally they come from Mark Bittman). With these greek nachos, I pretty much followed the recipe, but used whole wheat pita instead and omitted the mint as I am not a fan of mint unless it's in ice cream form.
I also added in a few more spices to the meat and pita. The sauce for these nachos is OUTSTANDING. Oh heavens was it good. I had some leftover and used it on sammies, as a dip and with my hummus rollup. A very versatile sauce indeed.



Ideas for your superbowl party:

Don't forget those cheesy tater tots I made. You know I can't forget them.

Want to get a little funky and make some pineapple-bacon crackers?

How about some hummus with artichoke bread?

Or maybe some agedd cheddar & cranberry crackers? Savory indeed.

The one dish that would steal the show is my General Dawn's Tso Chicken. Can easily be served as an appetizer.

Do you want fries with that? Sweet potato fries w/ spicy caramelized onion-horsey sauce

Make mini curry chicken burgers w/ tzatziki sauce

Are you a slider fan? Try these tangy capicola & cheese sliders outstanding & very addicting! I warned you.



Greek Nachos
(adapted from mark bittman via Macheesmo)
print recipe

12-16 pitas, cut into eights. (I used whole wheat)
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb (I used ground beef)
1 ts cumin
(I used 1 oversized ts greek oregano)

Olive oil, about ¼ cup or so, for the coating on the chips
Salt & Pepper for chips
(I used some garlic & onion powder for chips)
(I sprinkled the chips, just before baking, with paprika)

Feta Sauce:
1 Container (17.6 ounces) Greek yogurt
1 to 1 1/2 Cups Feta Cheese
1 Lemon, juice and zest
3 TB fresh mint (did not use this)
2 TB olive oil

Toppings: (whatever your taste buds crave)
1 red pepper, diced
1/4 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced (I used regular tomatoes)
1/2 Cup feta, crumbled
1/4 Cup kalamata olives, diced
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
2 jalapenos, de-seeded and diced

Take a small bowl, fill with ¼ cup (or less) of olive oil, mix in some salt & pepper, and a few pinches of garlic & onions powders, mix well.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Take your cut pita wedges and place on a baking sheet, make sure not to overlap them. Brush or drizzle the chips with a generous amount of the oil mixture. Just before baking sprinkle them all with a light coating of paprika. Bake until they begin to color, turning once or twice, about 10 minutes or less. When done you may or may not need to sprinkle with salt. Do a taste test and see. Keep the chips warm in the oven until ready to use.

In a blender or food processor, combine feta, yogurt, 1/4 cup olive oil, zest and juice of lemon; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Blend or process until smooth. (You can also mash mixture by hand, with a fork.)

Put two tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef, cumin, Greek oregano, and sprinkle with salt and pepper; continue cooking until meat is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes more.
Put chips on a serving plate and top with beef mixture, sauce, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and whatever else you desire. I highly recommend using the olives, red onions, and cukes. Should serve four.