Tuesday, July 04, 2006

VODKA HERB CHICKEN


To cook the chicken:

Drizzle with Olive oil and sprinkle with dried thyme, rosemary, cumin, oregano, black pepper and salt. Sear both sides in a pre-heated skillet. Take the chicken out and place in a plate and set aside. In the same skillet, saute'e some chopped garlic. Deglaze with vodka then add some demi glaze and a bit of tomato paste. Worcestershire or chicken boullion can be used if demi glaze is unavailable. Bring the chicken back into the skillet and allow to fully cook in the oven at 350*F. Butter may be stirred into the sauce for a richer consistency. SUGGESTION: Heavy cream

Meanwhile, slice the potatos and blanch in salted water for 3 minutes. Drain well and sprinkle with paprika. Fry until golden brown in a small amount of vegetable oil. Drain excess oil in paper towels and set aside for service later.

Prepare Collard Greens:

Wash the collard greens thoroughly. Remove the stems that run down the center of the each leaf, leaving only the tender green parts to be used. Stack them on top of one another and roll up to make thin slices.

In a pot, sweat chopped onion in butter or rendered bacon fat. Add the collard greens and lightly saute'e. Pour some chicken stock or water and cook until tender. Season to taste.

Healthy Snacking


I was having one of those irresistible sweet craving today. So, I went over my kitchen cabinet for ingredients that I can use to make something simple yet really healthy. My heart jumped for joy when I found a jar of oatmeal, a couple of boxes of dried fruits (raisins and apricot), some unsalted sunflower seeds in a plastic bag as well as some shredded coconut. All that was missing were honey and brown sugar and I was ready to make me a snack. Yes, I found them also.

GRANOLA is a breakfast food and snack food consisting of nuts, rolled oats mixed with honey, or other natural ingredients. The mixture is baked until crispy. During the baking process the mixture is stirred to maintain a loose, breakfast cereal like consistency. Dried fruit, particularly raisins or dates, are sometimes also added. But feel free to try other dried fruits that you like.

INGREDIENTS:

6 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup dried apricot
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
1 cup margarine (or vegetable oil)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch salt

Procedure:

Preheat the oven at 375*F

In a large bowl, toss together oats, shredded coconut, sunflower seeds, cinammon and salt. Whisk in a separate bowl the brown sugar, honey, softened margarine and vanilla extract. Mix well into the bowl of oat mixture. Spread this mixture in a baking sheet and bake stirring constanty until golden brown for about 25 to 30. Add the raisins and chopped apricots and allow to cool.