Crispy Chicken Stew With Lemon, Artichokes, Capers, and Olives

This recipe was a Facebook post by Francie.  I was going to make it on the weekend but because of the blizzard I was unable to get a few ingredients on Saturday and Sunday.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, peeled, and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup capers with brine
• 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups canned artichoke hearts
• 1 cup Kalamata olives
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano

 

Directions:

 

In a large bowl, combine the granulated garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the sea salt, and the dried oregano. Add the chicken thighs and rub the seasoning into the chicken until evenly coated; set aside. You can also cover and refrigerate the chicken thighs and marinate for 2 to 24 hours.                                    

1. When you're ready to cook the chicken, heat the ghee or oil in a cast-iron skillet or sauté pan over medium-heat.
2. Remove the marinated chicken thighs from the bowl and, using paper towels, pat the chicken thighs dry. Place the chicken thighs, skin side-down, in the hot ghee or oil, spacing them evenly, and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the skin begins to brown. Turn the chicken thighs and brown on the opposite side for 5 minutes. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the onion, garlic, capers, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon slices.
4. Add the white wine and deglaze the skillet, stirring to loosen any browned bits stuck to the bottom. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 5 minutes.
5. Add the chicken broth, return the thighs to the skillet, and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Add the artichoke hearts and olives and continue simmering for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the chicken thighs from the skillet, pull the meat from the bones, and roughly chop. Add the chicken meat back into the skillet and stir to distribute evenly. To serve, scoop the stew into serving bowls and garnish with the chopped fresh oregano.

Beef Mushroom Barley Soup with Bacon

NYC going to have a blizzard this weekend!  time to make soup!     

Ingredients:

3 strips bacon (3 to 4 ounces), cut into 1/4-     inch pieces 

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 pound button or cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved

1 lb. round cut stew beef

2 tbsp. tomato paste

2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium beef broth

1 cup barley

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

1. In a large pot (6 to 8 quarts), cook bacon over medium-high heat, stirring often, until crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.         
2. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring often, until they are tender and pot is almost dry, 5 to 10 minutes (depending on type of mushrooms). Stir in tomato paste, and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add the round cut beef.
4. Add broth, barley, oregano, and 3 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, partially covered, until barley is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Add more water to thin soup, as needed. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in vinegar. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with parsley.

Mushroom Leek Pie

Recipe provided by Francie.  I shopped for for the prepared pie crust.   The supermarket was out.  It was a simple to make the pie crust.  Similar to Mike's quiche.

Ingredients

Pastry for single-crust pie (recipe follows)
12 ounces fresh chanterelle, baby portobello or oyster mushrooms, or a combination of mushrooms
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 medium leek (white portion only) halved and sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup cold diced butter
2 tablespoons cold water if necessary

Combine flour and salt in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with water; blend until mixture holds together.

Shape dough into ball; place on lightly floured surface. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Line pie plate with pastry. Turn edge under; crimp as desired.  Place the pie crust in the refrigerator.

To make the filling:

Wipe mushrooms clean with a damp tea towel. Trim stems; quarter or slice large mushrooms.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat. Add leek; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until tender. Remove from pan.

In same pan, heat remaining butter over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms; cook 4-6 minutes or until tender and liquid has evaporated. Stir in leek, salt and pepper. Cool slightly.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup cheese onto bottom of pastry-lined pie plate. Top with mushroom mixture; sprinkle with remaining cheese. In a large bowl, whisk eggs and cream until blended; pour over top.

Bake on a lower oven rack 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. If desired, sprinkle with parsley before serving.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/mushroom---leek-pie?trkid=FBPAGE_TOH_20160117_Breakfast

Pink Zebra Cake

I saw this on Youtube and just had to make it. Friday night we made this cake and on Saturday morning we made the stripes out of chocolate fondant.

Ingredients:

White cake mix
pink, and black gel paste
vanilla buttercream
black fondant
pink buttercream

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350F/170F. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the mix as directed on the box. 

Divide batter into three different bowls with one bowl having half of the batter and the other two have a quarter each.  ½ the white cake batter, and the rest divide smaller two with black and pink respectively. Mix colouring until no light streaks remain.

Spray two 8” pans with non-stick spray and line bottom with parchment/baking/wax paper.

Place four tablespoons of white batter into the center of each pan. Then, directly into the middle of the white batter, place two tablespoons of black batter. Directly into the centre of the black batter, place two tablespoons of pink batter. Repeat white/black/pink batter additions until all the batter is used up or pans are ⅔ full.

Place pans into oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire wrack.

Once cake is cooled, level, stack and cover in white buttercream.

To cut the fondant pieces, roll fondant out very thinly and using a rolling cutter (pizza or pastry) slice long, narrow stripes and arrange on white cake as desired.

To finish the cake off, using the pink buttercream pipe a small beaded border along the bottom of the cake.

German Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan Frosting

We made the cake for our friends birthday.  Two people simplified this task.  I made this coconut pecan frosting while Mike made the cake. 

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
2 cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for pan
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Coconut-Pecan Frosting (follows)
1 cup unsweetened shaved or flaked coconut, lightly toasted, for decorating
15 pecan halves, toasted, for decorating

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with parchment paper, and coat with cooking spray. Dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk. Beat in chocolate. Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan, peel off parchment, and let cool completely on rack. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour (or overnight) to make it easier to slice.

Using a serrated knife, slice cake horizontally into 3 layers. Spread 1/3 of the frosting over bottom layer. Repeat, layering cake and frosting, finishing with frosting. Mound coconut in center, and arrange pecan halves around edge.

Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Ingredients:

3 large egg yolks
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and brought to room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 2/3 cups (7 ounces) sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

Directions:

Combine egg yolks, evaporated milk, and brown sugar in a saucepan. Add butter, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick, about 10 minutes. Pour through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Stir in vanilla, salt, coconut, and pecans. Let cool completely. Frosting can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 day; bring to room temperature before using.

http://www.marthastewart.com/316151/chocolate-cake-with-coconut-pecan-frosti