Spinach and Artichoke Bread Pudding (Stuffing Muffins)

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Chatty Kathy

This is a great change from the usual stuffing – goes really well with any roast – beef, turkey, chicken or lamb. We’ve had it with all! Now a family favourite. Even better is that leftovers make a fantastic snack or breakfast.

Trust me - this will be your new favourite savory stuffing or bread pudding!

Preheat oven to 350

1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 tbsp roughly chopped garlic

Saute until onions, celery and garlic are soft and translucent. Set aside to cool.

In large bowl combine:
12-14 cups cubed stale bread (I like calabrese or french)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp Italian seasonings
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 tin artichoke hearts, roughly chopped (tough outer leaves removed)
1/4 cup minced parsley

Toss gently to combine

Mix together:
4 large eggs
3 cups cream
2 cups milk

Add the onion mixture and the egg/milk/cream mixture to the large bowl with bread and vegetables.

If the bread does not absorb all the liquid right away – set aside until it does.

Put all the mixture into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and sprinkle the top with more freshly grated parmesan and a dusting of salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour.

Our family really likes the crunchy bits of stuffing or bread pudding, so I baked this earlier in the day in muffin tins so there were lots of edges, then turned it into a clay baker and warmed it all up for dinner.

If you really want to take this over the top …. crumble a bit of brie cheese into the dry mixture before adding the onion and milk mixtures.

Mashed Garlic Herb Potatoes

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

Often I like to do what I call “smashed potatoes” which includes the skin and all … a more rustic look. Tonight I felt like a more refined approach (and had rustic russet potatoes with not very pretty skins..) Try this with a Sunday roasted chicken or beef – or tonight we had it with lamb shanks!

Creamy Smooth, Luscious Whipped Potatoes

Wash, peel and quarter potatoes – cover with water – once water comes to a boil generously season with salt, and add a few garlic cloves. (as much garlic as you are interested in)

Turn heat down to a moderately high heat and cook until potatoes are just tender to a fork.

Remove from heat, drain well.

Add milk (whole milk or cream works best), butter, salt and pepper. Use a potato masher to blend well, and then sprinkle in your herbs – stir in.

NEVER use a food processor. This will turn your potatoes into glue.

A hand potato masher works, as does a hand held blender, or a potato ricer.

Spoon into serving dish, dot with butter and sprinkle paprika over top. Put into a heated oven for a few minutes and the edges will crisp up and everything will just look so luscious … yum yum

Asian Style Salad with Red Rice

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

I love salads that make a whole meal – perfect for hot summer nights that let you feel satisfied but not stuffed!

Asian Style Salad with shredded chicken on a bed of cooled red rice

Tonights version included:

base – cooked red rice
mixed greens and fresh seasonal vegetables
poached shredded chicken (easily substitute prawns)
roasted peanuts and sesame seeds
slivered green onions

DRESSING
2 tbsp Thai sweet chile sauce
1/4 tsp chile flakes
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp raw sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 rounded tsp peanut butter
1 garlic clove

Blend all ingredients until smooth – gradually add in 1/4 cup peanut oil until well incorporated.

Every brand of these ingredients is different. Start from here and then taste it. I usually take a lettuce leaf and dip it in. If I don’t love it, keep adjusting! It should have a balance of sweet, salty, spicy and tangy ….

Tabouli Salad

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

This tabouli salad is made with quinoa, so a complete meal for a vegetarian option, or serve alongside a grilled chicken breast …. or tonight’s choice – chicken wings with a Pomegranate Molasses Barbecue Sauce …. yumminess.

1 cup quinoa – rinse well
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, torn in rustic pieces
1 small bunch kale, very finely chopped (remove stem)
1/2 English cucumber, cut into fine quarters
1 cup finely chopped assorted colored sweet peppers
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (pickling instructions below)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp lemon zest and juice of 2 lemons
1 tsp orange zest and 2 tbsp fresh orange juice

Pickling red onions: Thinly slice red onions and pour boiling water over for 10 seconds – drain off, and cover with fresh squeezed lime juice and a sprinkle of kosher salt. They turn such a great color.

Tabouli
Place the rinsed quinoa in a medium sauce pain, ccover with 1 3/4 cup cold water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, lower the heat and cook until water is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 18-20 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork and let it cool.

In a large bowl toss all prepared vegetables and the cooled quinoa.

Dressing
Combine zest and fruit juices, drizzle oil slowly in to incorporate. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss with prepared Tabouli Salad and taste …season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Tonight tabouli salad was also made with some grilled zucchini and served on a fresh bed of spinach

Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

This salad dressing makes a large jar – use it on anything! So great for pasta salads, rice salads, dressed up grilled vegetables, brush it on chicken for grilling, let your imagination run wild. You will love it – something we first had with my “Red Rice Rocks”, also known as a bowl of goodness.

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 generous tbsp tahini paste

2 cloves garlic, crushed

red chili flakes (optional)

1 1/4 – 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients except the oil in a blender – blend briefly, and then slowly drizzle in the oil until smooth and creamy.

Crispy Peanut & Sweet Chili Chicken Wings

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

2 pounds chicken wings
1 tbsp. oil
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp tamarind concentrate
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp. sriracha sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ” piece of ginger, minced

Marinate chicken wings for as long as you have available – Remove from marinade (reserve marinade) then bake on a rack in preheated oven (400 or 425 convection) until golden brown and crispy – at least 30 minutes.

Heat the marinade in a small saucepan until it boils and reduces slightly.

When they are starting to get golden brown and crispy, toss them in the reduced marinade and put back on rack to get all crunchy.

Garnish with chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Thai Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Chicken

Posted on February 23, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

All Thai dishes should have a balance of hot/sour/salty/sweet. Whatever recipe you use, keep tasting and adjusting until you get that balance just right. I do a lot of Thai cooking, and we love it all – but this is the first recipe that our Thai student Ping claimed was exactly like chicken he eats at home.

hot-sour-salty-sweet
Gotta get that balance in Thai cookery!

MARINADE:
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper (white if you have it)
1 garlic clove, minced
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate

Blend all ingredients together well – then add chicken.

This is enough to do 4 chicken breasts, or 8 chicken thighs. If using breasts I like to pound them lightly first – just enough to make them equal thickness which is easier to grill. Allow to marinate for whatever length of time you have – I have made this with only 1/2 an hour to marinate, and up to overnight.

Grill until cooked through – slice into strips and serve with dipping sauce.

DIPPING SAUCE
2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
1/4 cup asian fish sauce
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 minced clove garlic
1 small Thai chile – seeded and minced
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients except cilantro – TASTE!! Adjust to your preference, and if you like it really spicy, drizzle in a little chili oil. I have also drizzled on sesame oil to finish it. Once you have a good balance of flavour (which means you can’t stop yourself from continuing to taste) then stir in the cilantro.

Asian Noodle Stir Fry

Posted on February 12, 2014 by Chatty Kathy

This is easily one of the simplest noodle stir fry dishes I have made, and packs lots of taste in every bite. I think the secret is the spicy vinegar for the finishing touch!

¼ cup vegetable oil

½ red onion, julienned

1 sweet red pepper, julienned

2 cloves garlic, chopped

⅓ cup oyster sauce

⅓ cup water, mixed in with oyster sauce

2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

Flavoured Vinegar

½ cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons palm sugar (or natural sugar)

1-2 tablespoon chili oil

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

salt

Stir all vinegar ingredients together and set aside – really important to do this to your individual taste – SOME LIKE IT HOT …

Mix oyster sauce with water

Soften egg noodles according to package directions, but be careful not to overcook them.

Heat oil in wok, add onions and saute until softened and translucent, add ginger, garlic and red pepper. Stir fry until just softened.

Add some of the oyster sauce and stir until well combined – add most of the rest of the sauce and stir in the noodles. Stir fry until all the noodles are well coated and heated through – finish with the last drizzle of the oyster sauce.

Serve with chives to garnish. I served the vinegar on the side for everybody to add as they pleased, but it could easily be added as soon as the dish is finished.

This dish is really made for you to experiment with – go green instead of red and stir in chopped fresh spinach or sliced snow peas right before serving and garnish with cilantro, green onions and bean sprouts.

For a complete meal add some prawns or thinly sliced chicken – stir fry with the onion/pepper mixture before adding the noodles.

Backstrap Venison ….. Thai style!

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

We had the good fortune to have backstrap venison grilled at our good friend Rob and Mandy’s ….Rob being the hunter … and further good fortune as they sent us home with the leftover, rare grilled venison. It was amazing the first time, and just as fabulous as a “leftover” … repurposed as a Thai style salad.

The instructions for this are VERY loose. It involved what I call creative cooking, or clean out the fridge.

Pan roast some peanuts, and if you are fortunate enough to have a mortar and pestle, grind them up a bit with about 1 tsp chili flakes (obviously to your taste). Add tamarind, palm sugar (2 tsp?) freshly squeezed lime juice, light soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, roasted sesame seeds and even a bit of peanut oil. A little of this, a little of that. Keep doing that until your taste buds sing and you can hardly wait to dress your salad.

Thinly slice red onion, and pour boiling water over. 10 seconds later, yes, TEN SECONDS, pour the water off – add a bit of kosher salt, a few chili flakes, and cover with freshly squeezed lime juice …. (if you run short top it up with regular vinegar)

Cook up a few ramen noodles, or rice noodles, or whatever you have on hand.

Lay the cooled noodles over a serving platter, and build your salad on top of that with whatever strikes your fancy. (and is in your fridge) Add some thinly slivered protein – i.e. the venison, or you could use cooked chicken, steak, and prawns. Again – totally up to you! (and if you are looking for a vegetarian option – do some tofu!)

Top with the quick pickled red onion, some of your roasted peanuts, sesame seeds – and although I didn’t have any today – I would have loved some bean sprouts and fresh cilantro over it all …..

Chicken in Caper Cream Sauce

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Chatty Kathy

4 boneless/skinless chicken breasts – lightly pounded to uniform thickness

1 tsp lemon pepper

(or finely grated lemon zest and 1 tsp freshly ground pepper)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

3 tbsp. butter

lemon juice

olive oil

1 cup whipping cream

4 tbsp capers – drained and rinsed

garnish: parsley/lemon slice

Lightly rub chicken breasts with lemon juice and a wee bit of olive oil. Combine all the spices and sprinkle over the chicken, allow to rest for a bit.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Increase heat to medium high and add chicken breasts – turning often until they are browned – about 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium again and cook for a further 7 minutes, until chicken is just barely cooked through. Remove chicken to a warm serving platter and keep warm.

Increase skillet heat to high, add whipping cream and whisk continuously until sauce has reduced enough to be thick and glossy. Remove from heat and add capers. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (add any juices that have run out of the chicken)

Spoon over the chicken breasts, garnish with parsley, lemon slice and serve over a bed of herbed noodles.

Variation: Use dill weed instead of paprika!

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