How to cook Crispy and Juicy Fried Chicken

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Homemade Smoked Pork Loin

Smoked Pork Loin served with roasted mushrooms, baby urugula and lettuce salad 

This is one of those unexpected flavors that worked well together. The pan-roasted mushrooms gaved that tacky earthy flavor and well contrasted with the balsamic vinaigrette, that tangy strong bite of urugula which is neutralized with the bland lettuce and that smokey taste of every bite of the homemade smoked tender loin (courtesy by Chef B.)   The flavors are dancing in the tongue of every bite which was really enjoyable that i cant afford to miss a post about it.  Oh well, i wouldn't remember it for sure after sometime, which makes this blog handy.  

I am not going write much about the salad because it is easy to make.  Let me write about how this smoked tender loin was made because it entailed a lot of processes and expertise to do it. Practice makes perfect indeed, and this one is nailed perfectly.

Oh well, Chef B isn't really blogging but I can do it for him! (winks!) I think i can do his recipe it if i had more patience! ssshh.  I had a lengthy interview while enjoying dinner last night. Don't tell him I blogged about it. Anyway, its not for him.  I will keep the recipe for our budding little Chef L.

Here's how he made the Smoked Pork Loin:

1.  Prepare a brine which is a mixture of 200g of salt per liter of water and freshly ground pepper.

Make sure the whole meat is soaked in the brine for a day and half at room temperature

2. Remove from the brine and soak meat in plain water for at least 2 hours. Pat Dry with a kitchen towel.

3. Whilst the meat is still moist, roll it on a bed of freshly ground pepper until all the surface of the meat is fully covered with pepper.

4. In goes the meat to the smoker for 5 hours at a very low temperature in continuous smoking.  He used mixed of Hickory and apple cider wood chips.

5. Chill the meat when done.  Wrap it cling wrap tightly until ready to serve. Slice as thinly as you can to serve.

This smoked loin has a perfect texture with just the right tangy flavor and succulent to the bite.

This goes well with this salad which was made by pan roasting the mushrooms, then toss with the leaves (baby urugula and lettuce).  Vinaigrette was made with fresh ground garlic (1 clove), salt and pepper, balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Mix the vinaigrette until emulsified and drizzle over the salad.

For winter soups, we usually chop the loin finely and sprinkle it over our soup.  It eventually will sink and invisible therefore our little chef calls it "treasure" as she has to find the sinkers.  If she doesn't like asparagus soup, we negotiate with the "treasures" and she eventually loved asparagus soup.  Mushroom soup is not a problem, she just loved it since first serving, but she doesn't eat mushrooms! thats when she can see them on her plate. It is the sight of it she doesn't like but when blended, she cant see the mushrooms! By far, the "treasure" trick is still working.  She'll bust me out one day like how she busted me with the toothfairy!

#thekitchenjournal #homemade

Honey lemon glazed pork loin with freen salad

Pan-grilled tuna steak with baby pechay puree and steamed diced potatoes

The puree

Puree is made by sauteeing garlic and onions with the baby pechay, add 1/2 cup of water and let it simmer for a few minutes.  Turn off the heat and set aside to cool down.  Once cooled pour it into the blender or food processor, add a handful of fresh baby spinach to make it more green. Blitz for a minute.  It is ready to serve on the side of any  main dish.

I love doing this puree because not only it is full of flavor, it also transforms it into paste form (almost liquid) and one good spoon means a lot of goodness in there for my daughter who doesnt like vegies, but she's always tricked with this.  I bet she cant even finish 5 leaves of pechay but with the puree, she finished what was on the plate.   Even myself i personally can eat more of it than chewing the leaves itself.

Tuna

Prepare the tuna by drying it with a kitchen paper, add a lot of freshly ground pepper and some salt.  Massage some oil on the fish and grill it on a preheated pan. 1 minute each side on high heat.

Steamed potatoes

Steamed the diced potatoes for 8-10 minutes, season with salt and pepper.  

Chicken steak with steamed red baby potatoes and salad

One of those quick and easy to do with simple flavors.  All you need is chicken breast, salt and pepper and a little oil to rub on the chicken.  The steak can be prepared ahead and cooks really quick. 

While steaming the potatoes, mix the salad and prepare the plates with portion of salad on it.  Cook the steak about 2-3 minutes each side on high heat.

To prepare the steak:

You need a meat tenderizer and cling film

Ingredients: 

Chicken breast, salt and pepper, oil.

On a flat working surface, place a kitchen cloth, then lay flat a piece of cling film, (spare enough size to cover the chicken), lay the chicken breast flat and cover it with the remaining plastic cling film, pound with the meat tenderizer with enough pressure just to spread the meat nice and thin.  When desired thinness  is achieved, season the meat with salt and pepper.   Keep in the fridge until ready to cook.

(This is really easy, i hope i can do the video on the tricks.  This is one of those hard to explain in words, a short video would be great.   I'll put this on the list.)

For the side:

Cut the baby potatoes in half, stea for 8-10 minutes, season with salt and pepper.   Serve it together with the salad, add the steak on the plate.  Serve while steak is still warm.

Crispy Chicken Strips

Crispy Chicken strips

Crispy Chicken Strips

This is so simple and easy to make.  I like the versatility you can do with this.  Can be served with any of your favorite sauce or dip, or salad, potatoes, or rice. The cornmeal is the essential ingredient for its crispiness that you don't have to worry if it sits for awhile, without getting soggy.  I guess i don't have to elaborate more on the quantity as it is self-explanatory.  The more chicken, the more flavoring and coating you need.  Rough estimates won't do harm.

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast (sliced into thin strips)

dried oregano

pepper (freshly ground)  ( i used pepper grinder all the time)

salt

oil for frying

Season the meat with salt and pepper, add a generous amount of oregano,  Give it a little rub so it will stick to the meat.

In a bowl, place the corn meal,  Add the meat and set aside. Shake each strip to get rid of extra cornmeal before frying.

Heat the pan and add oil for frying.

shake to get rid of extra cornmeal before frying.  Shallow fry for about a minute each side until golden brown.

watch the video:

Stir-fried seafoods with salad

I got this pack of frozen mixed seafoods sitting in the freezer for awhile. In it are slice squid, clams(meat only), mussels and scallops.   i wouldnt say its not great but it was a little bit tricky as i put it out of the fridge on the last minute, probably it would have been easier if had it planned and thawed it earlier. Well, it took a while to stir-fry as it turned watery at first, then i took some if the liquid out of the pan, otherwise it will be boiled.  I lost some if the flavors, but i got no choice.  I am surprised the squid and scallop didnt turn out rubbery as i expected.  Served it with salad.  Nevertheless, different twist for dinner tonight.  Hubby made the lemon vinaigret for the salad. 

Note to self: dont buy that frozen seafood mix again.  It is not cooking evenly because it has different size of of meats.  

fettuccini with shrimps and spinach

Seriously do you need a recipe?  Well, most of the times moms are always on the rush juggling a lot of things in the house, not to mention cooking is not an exemption on the list.  All you need is to do is open the fridge and see what you can cook the easiest way possible.  Imaginations just keep on popping on your mind and then thats all there is to it.  Grab the right pans and preheat them while   prepping the ingredients in no time.

Ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic (minced)

1 large white onion (finely chopped)

2 bunches of spinach (stalks removed and chopped)

Fettuccini (prepared according to packet instructions) until al-dente

Shrimps (shelled)  (i used frozen pack)

250 ml all pupose cream

1/2 c. Evap. Milk

Oil for sautéing

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese (optional)

****************

Prepare the pasta according to packet instructions until al-dente. While waiting for the water to boil, sauté onions until frangrant (translucent) add shrimps, stir until the liquid has evaporated.

In another sauce pan, blanch the spinach for a minute and drain; add into the sautéed shrimps. Add cream, minced garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add enough milk to thin the sauce. Add  pasta. Mix well until.  Add some parmesan cheese just before serving.

Note: one of my daughter's fave!   she doesnt eat spinach, but little did she know, she had a lot. Happy mommy! 

Watch the video

Roasted Australian Beef Topside

Topside of beef, also know as silverside and top round, is a second-class cut of beef from the top of the hind leg. Topside is a lean, boneless piece of meat best suited for casseroles, stews and roasting. It can be a difficult cut to cook correctly because of its low fat content, and when prepared incorrectly, it tends to be very tough and chewy. Roasting the meat, however, showcases the flavor and creates a tender and juicy piece of beef. By Marie Price, eHow Contributor

I’m always intimidated to cook beef especially the best cuts that are most likely expensive cuts because, I tend to overcook it.  Someone is not happy with a well done beef.

When I saw a nice piece of beef on the rack in Carrefour, I didn’t hesitate to grab one not knowing what to do with it.  Thanks to loads of ideas on the internet, I couldn’t get the perfect ingredients that are mentioned but as usual I have to settle what is in the pantry.  This time, I am proud to say “I did it” in medium rare.  Ohh, the secret? Its in the massage ;-)

Happy that I pleased someone. 

Ingredients:

650 g. Australian Topside beef

marinade:

5 Tablespoons   Jack Daniel Barbeque Sauce

1 glass   Merlot wine 

4 cloves garlic

1 onion

pepper

In a zip lock bag, place the piece of topside, add all the marinade ingredients and do a gentle massage onto the meat by squishing gently the bag of goodness.  (Using this method you keep your hands free from the marinade mixture). Chill it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, giving it a gentle massage every now and then.

Drain the marinade and put it aside, dry the meat by patting it with a kitchen paper.  Add some more freshly ground pepper. Pat it again so the pepper would stick to the meat. Drop some few drops of olive oil and gently massage it into the meat. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees C. at the same time, preheat a pan (with heavy bottom) over the stove until it becomes very hot.  Remembering not to oil the pan, but oil the meat. Once heated, gently place the beef in wait for at least 3 minutes on each side to brown the outside of the beef before turning it to another side, until all the sides have browned.  At this stage, you can feel that the meat is still juicy on the inside, but browned outside.

Place it on a roasting rack. Here, i put on cooling rack and place it over a pan of potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.  Roast for 2 hours at 250 degrees C.  After 2 hours, let the meat rest for 5minutes before cutting for serving.  Serve immediately while still warm.  The roasting time should give enough time to prep the table, so just put the cutting board on the table so it will be on the plate right away, ready for the hungry carnivores. ;-) 

To prepare the gravy, on the same pan used with the beef, add the marinade and let it simmer .  Ad a cube of beef broth until it becomes a little bit sticky like a gravy consistency. Drain with a sift and discard the residue. Serve gravy warm with the beef. 

 This how it should look to achieve tenderness..  pink and juicy inside. Serve it with the potatoes.

Fish in a parcel

Opened, ready to eat

Serving Suggestion - Serve it piping hot from the oven straight to the plate.

This is one of my my favorite influences of "The Naked Chef" Jamie Oliver.  I like the way he does things in a quick and easy way with full of flavors.. lots of goodness!!!  This recipe has never failed me by far. Preparation can be done in advance, it gives time to prepare other goodness for the dining table and just pop it in the oven when everything is ready. 

There's nothing more surprising than opening a main course just like opening a present and the aroma just meets you straight away with steaming goodness. 

Here's a guide: there is nothing precise on the portion of the ingredients as long everything can fit and wrapped securely without any leak.  The ingredients is up to your liking as well. Others can be skipped or maybe substituted.  Keeping in mind the balance of its acidity of lemon and portion of butter/olive oil.  Lemon can be overpowering but it is necessary.

Ingredients: 

Fish fillet

peeled garlic 

chopped onions

chopped leeks

chopped spring onions

red capsicum

butter

lemon

olive oil

salt and pepper

Cut a portion of  baking paper (about 1 foot long) and lay it flat on a plate.  Place the fish fillet in the center and season with salt and pepper;  add onions, garlic, leeks, spring onions, capsicum on top of the fish add a knob of butter on top, squeeze a lemon and drizzle a little olive oil.  

Fold the ends lengthwise first, pressing the crease each fold and secure the sides.

To wrap everything, fold the baking paper lengthwise, make a crease each time by pressing it with your fingers, (make 3-4 folds), then secure the ends by creasing crosswise, making the last fold facing down.

Secure the ends by folding the ends, press the crease each fold

Lay it flat in a baking dish with the crease on the top side.

Bake for 30 minutes in the oven..  Make it the last thing you put on the plate so that it remains warm upon serving.

Just perfect for a weekend lunch.


BTW, I had posted one with a different variation long time back: fish in a parcel

Spaghetti with Chicken in Mushroom Sauce

click picture to enlarge

Spaghetti with Chicken in Mushroom sauce

My 4 year old daughter loves mushroom sauce and sometimes she prefers pasta over rice, so this is a product of her taste, trying to incorporate some vegetables in it and at the same time, the mother tries to avoid rich creamy sauce for some obvious reasons (i.e. she’s deliciously creamy enough!).  Seriously, for this recipe,  I skipped adding cream, as I used to, instead I boosted the amount of garlic and pepper to have some contrasting flavors of the earthy mushrooms, hence, it is still yummy less the extra calories.  But I found another way to make it tastier by using low fat milk loaded with garlic, will tackle that in another post with that picture.

Meantime, for reference, here it is.

Ingredients:

250 g. chicken breast, thinly sliced

300 g. button mushrooms, sliced

6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 bulb of white onion

1 red capsicum/bell pepper

1 green capsicum/bell pepper

1 cube of chicken broth dissolved in 1 ½ C. warm water

olive oil to stir fry

1 T. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. water

Freshly ground pepper

Salt

250 g. spaghetti – Prepared as per packet instructions.

Brown mushrooms in a heavy sauce pan with a dash of olive oil, set aside.  Sauté onion and garlic until translucent and fragrant, add chicken, add browned mushrooms, add warm water with chicken broth, and season with freshly ground pepper.  Bring to boil. While boiling, add cornstarch mixture gradually until the sauce thickens.  Add cooked spaghetti and mix.  Now add cheese and serve while it is still warm.

Note: As this has been a family favorite, a different variations has been developed, skipping the amount of water in the recipe.

1.     Add cooking cream to thicken the sauce and add 1 clove of garlic (grated)

2.     Alternative to the cream, 1 ½ C of low fat milk and 1 clove of garlic (grated)

It is also worth noting that while cooking the sauce, prepare the pasta at the same time so when the sauce is ready, mix the pasta straight away while it is still hot. It takes a skill to do it but once you’ll get the hang of it, it’s gonna be easy. Timing is essential.

CONCHIGLIONI WITH SAUTEED SHRIMPS AND MUSHROOMS

CONCHIGLIONI WITH SAUTEED SHRIMPS AND MUSHROOMS

Conchiglioni - a variety of pasta shaped like a conch shell.

CONCHIGLIONI is a variety of pasta that is shaped like conch shell.  It is large and suitable for stuffing, but I love breaking rules, so I didn't stuff it. That is because, this wasn't planned and I just cook free-flowing of ideas as to what is available in my pantry.  There was no recipe to follow, so I did the best of what I could and quite pleased that it worked what i imagined it would be. creamy with mushrooms and shrimps.

I like the mushrooms and sauce being cupped inside the pasta with the shrimps peeking out.

Ingredients:

pan roasting the mushroom brings back
its earthy flavor.

6 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 can button mushrooms (sliced)
1 white onion (finely chopped)
250 ml all purpose cream
1 cup milk
500 g Conchiglioni
2 Tablespoons corn oil
grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al-dente and set aside.

sauté mushrooms, shrimps, garlic
and onion together

Preheat a sauce pan and put  few drops of oil, pan roast the mushrooms until they turn brown and some are slightly blistered, add the shrimps until they turn orange. Add chopped garlic and onions, add a little oil and sauté together for a few minutes. Add the cream and milk stirring occasionally until it reduces a little bit like a thin cream consistency, season with salt and pepper, add the pasta and mix them slowly taking care not to break the conchiglioni.  Continue cooking over a low fire until the pasta has absorbed the sauce and its flavor.  Add cheese and serve.

Beef Lasagna

Lasagna

Lasagna is not a dish; its a way of life! - GARFIELD     :-)

Finally nailed it down. Lasagna with a firm 6 layers of goodness. The trick is not so liquidy meat sauce and used a scraper to spread the layers of meat sauce and béchamel sauce. Best of all I used homemade fresh pasta.

Ingredients:
fresh pasta
meat sauce
bechamel sauce
cheese

Fresh Pasta
300 g. flour
3 eggs

Place the flour on a flat working surface, make a well at the center and add 3 eggs. Mix the eggs with a fork and slowly incorporate the flour with the eggs until mixture forms a dough. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a log and cut every 2 inch. Shape each cut into another log and flatten with a rolling pin as thin as you can dusting with flour when necessary. Note that working with a smaller portion at a time is easier than making a bigger one. (just a personal point of view)  Cut the pasta into desired shape. (spaghetti, tagliatelle, lasagna etc.)


Meat Sauce
1/2  kg. ground beef
1 onion (finely chopped)
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 tsp rosemary (dried)
1 tsp thyme (dried)
1 tsp. basil (dried)
1 can tomato sauce (250 g)
4 tsp. tomato paste
salt and pepper

Sautee garlic and onion until translucent. Add rosemary, thyme and basil, add meat. Stir occasionally and let it simmer until the liquid has evaporated, add tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes, season with salt and pepper, add tomato paste. simmer for another 2 minutes.  The sauce must not be liquidy, it must be a little thicker like a paste.

Bechamel Sauce
3 Tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic
3 Tablespoons butter
salt to taste

Peel garlic and crush it at the back of a knife  until it becomes a paste and add it to the milk, season with salt. Melt butter in a saucepan in low heat, add flour and mix it with a wooden spoon until it forms a paste, add milk and mix vigorously until it thickens.

To assemble the lasagna:

Preheat oven at 350 C.
In a rectangular pan, place pasta sheet, add a thin layer of meat sauce, béchamel sauce and cheese. Repeat the layers until the pan is full; ending with cheese on top. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees C.

Roasted Pork Belly with crispy crackling

This one pot dish is heavenly delish.. Love the crispy crackling skin! Nope it wasn't me who made it, it was my dear hubby. This can not be done quickly as it will take two hours of roasting in the oven. But it was worth waiting and the house smelled like there was a big feast whilst it was just the two of us feasting on this for lunch with a bottle of red wine. Tell you what, it wasn't really that heavy lunch. It was light meal full of goodness. Light in a sense that the portion was just enough. The potatoes were perfectly done, not overcooked, carrots were still a little bit firm to the bite, it was just the cabbage were a little bit overcooked. The meat was tender on the inside, well done but what I love the most was the crispy skin! That crackling sound every bite was the highlight for me.

I could have elaborated more on its procedure how it was done if I made it myself, but I was busy with other houseworks and left hubby in the kitchen. All I know is he seasoned the pork belly with olive oil,salt, pepper,thyme (dried), fresh basil and parsley (from our tiny garden). He seasoned the meat nicely by massaging all the flavors into it for few minutes. In an oven proof dish, he put quartered potatoes, chunks of carrots, cabbage and the remaining marinade from the meat. Placed the pork belly on top, added a glass of white wine and roast for 2 hours in the oven at gas mark 7 and finished with gas mark 8 on the last 10 minutes.

This was an indulgence for us because we have been watching our fat intake but we are not really that strict on our diet and once in a while, we treat ourselves with good stuffs, needless to say, some good foods are packed with fats.

Grilled Pork with Caper Sauce

This is my favorite easy-to-do recipe. I have tried it in one of the restaurants before but it was with white fish and figured out it would be nice to try it with pork, hence since I tried it at home, it became a regular on our dinner table.

Here's how to do it.

prepare the pork:
Sear the pork in very hot pan until slightly brown, grill in the oven for 20 minutes just cook the pork completely. While the pork is in the grill, prepare caper sauce.

prepare the caper sauce:
Sauté garlic and butter, add the the capers with brine, season with salt and pepper, partially crush the capers with the back of a spoon to release its flavor.

Take out the pork from the oven and let it rest for 2 minutes, serve with the caper sauce on top.
Here, I served it with steamed potatoes and asparagus, but it also works well with rice.

Grilled Fish with Garlic Fried rice

Simple food is the best. Fresh fish grilled to perfection; juicy in the inside, that's how I like my fish to be. Tender and Juicy. I'm not a big fan of overcooked fish but my cousin is. He likes fish fried or grilled until almost crispy, I find it overcooked and dry and all the goodness had gone.

This is really quick, simple and straight forward dish. Preheat the pan (don't put oil in it) Season the fish with salt and pepper, oil the fish (not the pan) and straight to the preheated pan. Pan grill 5 minutes on each side. Here, I served it with GARLIC FRIED RICE, other option would be plain rice or ARROZ BRANCO.

Pasta (Fettucini) with Prawns

Pasta (Fettuccini) with Prawns

I love this creamy pasta served with prawns. The prawns were fried separately to keep its shape without getting soggy. However the flavors of the prawns is being infused with the sauce using the heads and shells of the prawns. This recipe may take a little of your time, but remember, good food CAN NOT BE RUSHED. Read on.

Ingredients:

½ Kg. Tiger Prawns
1 onion (diced)
1 garlic (diced)
1 egg
1 can button mushrooms (sliced)
1 small can all purpose cream
1 small can evaporated milk
Cheddar cheese
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
Fresh herbs : sweet basil, parsley, and purple basil (finely chopped)
Fettuccini pasta for 2 persons

Procedure:

Before you start cooking, it is essential that all the ingredients must be prepared and keep them on your side coz everything happens so fast and timing is essential in this recipe.

Wash the prawns, remove the head and shells but keep the end of the tail to retain its shape, slice a slit at the back and remove the vein. Set aside the cleaned prawns. Keep the shells and the heads.

Sauté onion and garlic, add the shells and the heads of the prawns. Stir fry until the juices of the heads had come out. The color must have changed from fresh grayish to red. Add milk. Bring to boil and turn the fire off. Set aside and let it cool while preparing the white sauce. This way, the flavor of the prawns has been infused well with the milk.

Prepare the white sauce:

Pass through a strainer/sift the milk mixture (with the heads and shells of the prawns). Discard the heads and shells, hence, use the milk only.

Assemble a DOUBLE BOILER; put the cream, milk and egg in a small sauce pan. Cook over a simmering water whilst stirring constantly to avoid the egg from scrambling, add the cheeses, stir until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, you still have time to cook the other ingredients. In a hot pan, add 2 T. oil. Stir-fry the shelled prawns until done or until color has changed to red orange. Remove from heat. In the same pan, with the flavor of the prawns in it, stir-fry the mushrooms until the sides turn a little bit brown.

Now, that gives you enough time for the pasta to cook. Drain the pasta, in the same pan used to cook the pasta while it is still hot, put the cheese mixture and mushrooms. Add the drained pasta and mix altogether. Lastly, add finely chopped herbs. Toss altogether. Serve with the prawns on top of the pasta and serve immediately.

I suggest serving it with a good white wine.

Grilled Skinless Chicken Breast

This is quick, easy and simple meal. I can do it with closed eyes! Simple flavors! It’s been a while I’ve been avoiding deep fried foods, healthy options are steaming, grilling, pouching, boiling, pan-frying or stir-frying. Most of the time I go for the grill.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. cooking oil

Procedure:

1. Preheat the grill.

2. Remove the skin and sinew of the chicken breasts.

3. Make slits with the chicken breasts by making a diagonal pattern.

4. Season the chicken with salt and pepper

5. Sprinkle oil on the chicken

6. In a preheated pan, sear the chicken with the sliced side down for 2 – 4 minutes or until golden brown. Turn the chicken upside down and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Literally, just brown the chicken with a very hot pan to seal its juices inside.

7. Transfer the chicken to an oven-proof dish and grill for 4 minutes each side.

8. While the chicken is in the oven grill, pan-grill some vegetables like carrots and onions on the same pan used with the chicken. This will absorb the flavor of the chicken at the same time it caramelizes the vegetables and bring out its natural flavors. Pan grill until the vegetables are charred, or when you can see some black chars on the veg.

Serve immediately.

Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings

Sweet & Spicy Chicken wings (served with potato wedges)

I didn’t measure the ingredients, so its just a matter of preference how spicy or how sweet you like to have. The marinade shouldn’t be too runny, so avoid using so much soy sauce as it would just be wasted and the flavors are loosened as well. So, to keep the flavors intact, just keep nicely moist leaving you just enough marinate to baste on the wings when grilling.

Ingredients:

Chicken wings
Paprika
White pepper
Chili powder
Honey
Soy sauce
Salt

Procedure:
Wash and dry the chicken wings and pat-dry with kitchen paper. Season chicken wings with salt and pepper and massage the meat so that flavors will be absorbed. Add paprika, honey, pepper, chili powder and soy sauce. Marinate for at least 30 minutes so that flavors would develop nicely. Preheat oven grill at high temperature.

Grill for 15 minutes each side, brush the remaining marinade onto each side before turning, until chicken wings turn dark brown and well done, but still moist inside. Overcooking makes the chicken dry.

Meanwhile, while the chicken wings are on the grill, prepare potatoes. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until just done, but not over-cooked. Cut the potatoes in wedges. In a hot oiled pan, pan fry the potatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little dash of paprika. Continue pan frying until the sides of the potatoes turn golden brown. Drain in kitchen paper.

Remove chicken wings from the grill and serve with potato wedges.

Hummus - A Spread that makes a difference!

My first entry to GYO (Grow Your Own), a monthly food blogging event that celebrates that we grow ourselves and the dishes we make using our homegrown products. For more information about GYO, click

Here

.



Hummus is a popular dip or spread in middle eastern countries. Its primary ingredient is chick peas mixed with garlic and lemon juice. There are many variations with spices as well.



The hummus takes the center stage of this recipe - The spread that makes the difference! Since we are not in Middle Eastern country, we can’t easily find a good hummus unless you make it at home

Since Hubby and I have lived in the middle east for quite some time, it is not unusual for us to crave for some Arabic foods that have influenced our palates like Shawarma – a popular street food made of flatbread filled with meat either chicken, beef or lamb and of course with hummus as spread. In other countries it is popularly known as wraps, but the spread is not hummus, made of mayonnaise with other variations but it’s the same idea, it is a wrap basically, but its a makes a complete meal coz it has the basic food groops, ie, carb, vegetables, meats, and its worth mentioning, the chickpeas is full pack of protein, iron and vitamin C.

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas (cooked)
2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cinnamon powder
Juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic (grate)
½ Cup Olive Oil
Fresh Parsley and basil (chopped)

Procedure:

Grate garlic and set aside. Drain chickpeas and put in a food processor or blender, add lemon juice, grated garlic, cumin, paprika and cinnamon powder. Blitz for few seconds and stir. Blitz again for few minutes, while the machine is running, add the oil gradually until very fine and smooth. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and basil.

For this recipe which has garlic, it is essential to have fresh herbs to go with it to fight the garlic breath – a distinctive odor after having some sauces with garlic. One of the cures of garlic breath is having something green, means with chlorophyll. This works wonders! Usually in Middle Eastern countries, they serve this with lots and lots of rockets, the purpose of which is to avoid garlic breath. Parsley also works well with garlic. Having that in mind, that’s why I added some parsley to the hummus.





As my option is not very limited, I just asked hubby to get me some parsley and pass it across the kitchen window, I got a handful of parsley and sweet basil, which was a great idea. So, having some greens at hand is very useful.

Straight from my tiny garden are fresh parsley and basil which we have grown them ourselves. We have a tiny garden in our terrace which original a space for ornamental plants but we squeezed them to one side to give a space for some herbs. We planted some seeds when we came back from vacation. So now, we have parsley, sweet basil, Thai basil, and Kangkong. Now I’m enjoying my little harvest for garnishes.





While the hummus is ready, prepare the meats to go with it.

Ingredients:
Beef
Sausage
White onion
Tomatoes
Cucumber

Slice onions and tomatoes thinly. Set aside

Slice the beef thinly and set aside

Grill the sausage.

While the sausage on the grill, in hot pan with a teaspoon of oil, sear beef by adding one slice by slice so that the beef will not curl up when cooked. Stir-fry until the sides of the beef is done. You can tell when its done when the sides of the beef slices turn dark brown. Remove from pan. Add the sliced onions to the same pan. Do not be tempted to add oil. Just brown the onion by moving it around, taking the flavor of the beef at the same time. Remove from pan. Take out the sausage on the grill and slice thinly.

Assemble the dish on a big tray and serve with flat bread on the side. Serve while the meats are still warm.