What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25??
#11
  Re: (...)
What's on the menu for everyone??

Since Monday is review day for Maryann's Review Menu, I'm making her dinner.
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#12
  Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by cjs (What's on the menu f...)
If I can get myself together, I'm going to try to cook up several experiments and pack them in the fridge for next week. But dinner has been commanded by William. He wants to try the Crab Pizza! YUM!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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#13
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by Gourmet_Mom (If I can get myself ...)
Going to try an experiment with chicken that I've been pondering for a while. Can't say much else, yet, since it won't all come together until I am in the kitchen.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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#14
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by labradors (Going to try an expe...)
I'd love to hear the results of the experiments, Daphne and Labs!

We had the Honey Lime Chicken Fajitas and Grilled Corn with Spicy Dressing from #69. Really tasty combination, and it's easy to do most of the prep in the morning so all you have to do is grill the chicken and warm the tortillas when it's time for dinner. These are always a hit around here!
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#15
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by karyn (I'd love to hear the...)
Another winner!!!! YUM!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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#16
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by Gourmet_Mom (Another winner!!!! ...)
Experiment was a good start, but could use a little adjustment. First, here's what I did:

Hibiscus-Poached Chicken


  1. Place about a cup (35 grams) of dried hibiscus flowers (called jamaica in Spanish and used as a kind of herbal tea), one chopped red bell pepper, one chopped red onion, one minced big clove (or two small ones) of garlic, a little bit of salt and a boneless, skinless chicken breast into a saucepan (the ingredients are probably enough for two chicken breasts).
  2. Add about four cups of water (enough to cover everything).
  3. Bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat to a simmer.
  5. Poach until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
  6. Serve topped with slices of avocado (I prefer Haas).

The need for adjusting arises from my wanting the flavour to be stronger. It WAS tasty, but somewhat understated.

Marinating the chicken over night in the mixture, rather than (or in addition to) poaching in it would probably help the flavour, but I wanted to try the poaching first.

Butterflying the chicken breast could have helped some, as well (i.e. more surface area and a thinner chunk of meat), but I'm not sure how much that would be offset by the fact that that would probably reduce the poaching time.

Maybe combining both adjustments would help even more.

Either way, I liked the result, and shall continue experimenting with this combination.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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#17
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by labradors (Experiment was a goo...)
That sounds really interesting, Labs! I love the flavors you used that I'm familiar with. Do you think a little acid (lemon juice, perhaps) would perk up the flavors, or does the hibiscus add that component? I've never tried hibiscus tea, so I'm not sure what it tastes like. I totally agree with you about Hass avocados. They have a much better taste and texture than other varieties.
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#18
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by karyn (That sounds really i...)
Jean, thanks for the reminder of the review dinner.
Rob, that sounds very interesting, wish you could send me a bit to taste.

I cooked dinner for our friends at their house again. I made schnitzel, kase spatzle, and a salad with a buttermilk based dressing.

Jean, have you tried kase spatzle yet? Or have you forgotten about it by now?
Theresa

Everything tastes better Alfresco!
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#19
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by chef_Tab (Jean, thanks for the...)
Labs, what if you used much less liquid and allowed it to reduce concentrating the flavors more? You'd have to stir quite often, but..... ?

Theresa! I forgot about the kase spatzle!! - will do a search for where you described them and put it on the top of the 'to do now!' stack. Make all kinds of points with Roy.

Karen, I don't remember "Honey Lime Chicken Fajitas and Grilled Corn with Spicy Dressing from #69." Off to look up.

And, Daphne, congratulations on your new recipe!!

Another day I wish I was at everyone's house
Retired and having fun writing cookbooks, tasting wine and sharing recipes with all my friends.
www.achefsjourney.com
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#20
  Re: Re: What's for Dinner, Sat. 9/25?? by cjs (Labs, what if you us...)
Karyn, the lemon juice sounds like a good idea and wouldn't really throw off what I was looking to do. The hibiscus isn't very acidic. Other acids, such as vinegar, would take away from the desired effect.

Jean, with everything else that was in the saucepan, the most I could do is to start with just two cups of water. In that case, the chicken will have to go into the pan first, else everything else would keep it from being covered with liquid. That's actually about the amount of water I had originally considered, but since I had saved the deboning of the chicken until last (i.e. not contaminating the cutting board until everything else was done), the meat was way up on top of the veggies and hibiscus by the time I added the water.

This was just a first-time experiment, though, and I am going to be trying again. Now that I know that I was heading in the right direction with the flavours, I'm not going to do ONLY the poaching the next time. Instead, I'll marinate the chicken over night, INCLUDING some lemon juice in the mixture AND using less liquid, BUT ALSO simmering and reducing the marinate a little bit BEFORE adding the chicken. That way some of the flavours in the poaching liquid will have begun to intensify. Otherwise, having the chicken poach longer as the liquid reduces could make the chicken tough.

Thanks for the ideas!
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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