Recipes

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Coq au Vin

This recipe looks relatively simple and straight-forward. It isn’t. Break it into steps to do over several days or set aside at least 6 hours before you expect to eat just to be safe.

Coq au Vin

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 ounce chunk of lean bacon

  • 2 tablespoons of butter

  • 2.5 to 3 pounds cut-up frying chicken

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1/8 teaspoon pepper

  • 1/4 cup of cognac

  • 3 cups of red wine

  • 1 to 2 cups brown chicken stock (see recipe)

  • 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

  • 2 cloves mashed garlic

  • 1/4 teaspoon thyme

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 12 to 24 brown-braised onions (see recipe)

  • 1/2 sauteed mushrooms (see recipe)

  • Salt and pepper

  • 3 tablespoons flour

  • 2 tablespoons softened butter

Directions

  • Remove the rind and cut the bacon into lardons (rectangles 1/4 inch across and 1 inch long). Simmer for 10 minutes in 2 quarts of water. Rinse in cold water. Dry.
  • Saute the bacon slowly in hot butter until it is very lightly browned (over low heat). Remove to a side dish.
  • Dry the chicken thoroughly. Brown it in the hot fat in the casserole (over medium high heat).
  • Season the chicken. Return the bacon to the casserole with the chicken. Cover and cook slowly (over medium low heat) for 10 minutes, turning the chicken once).
  • Uncover and pour in the cognac. Averting your face, ignite the cognac with a lighted match (HA! Use a long stick flame please). Shake the casserole back and forth for several seconds until the flames subside.
  • Pour the wine into the casserole. Add just enough stock to cover the chicken. Stir in the tomato paste, garlic and herbs. Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer slowly for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the chicken is tender and its juices run a clear yellow when pricked with a fork. Remove the chicken to a side dish.
  • While the chicken is cooking, prepare the onions and the mushrooms.
  • Simmer the chicken cooking liquid in the casserole for a minute or two, skimming off the fat. Then raise the heat and boil rapidly, reducing the liquid to about 2 1/4 cups. Correct seasoning. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf.
  • Blend the butter and flour together into a smooth paste. Beat the paste into the hot liquid which a wire whip. Bring to the simmer, stirring and simmer for a minute or two., The sauce should be thick enough to coat a spoon lightly.

Notes

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    Yogurt Banana Bread

    Yogurt Banana Bread

    Ingredients

    • 4 cups all-purpose flour

    • 1 cup sugar

    • 0.5 cup packed light brown sugar

    • 2 teaspoon baking soda

    • 1 teaspoon salt

    • 6 very ripe, darkly specked bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)

    • 0.5 cup plain coconut yogurt

    • 4 large eggs

    • 0.5 cup vegetable oil

    • 5 teaspoons vanilla extract

    • 2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or chocolate chips

    Directions

    • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper (overhanging on the two long sides) then grease the parchment paper with cooking spray.
    • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
    • In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, Greek yogurt, vegetable oil and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in the chopped nuts or chocolate chips then scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
    • Bake the bread for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
    • Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool completely in the pan before using the parchment paper overhangs to lift the bread out of the pan to slice and serve.

    Notes

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    Bok Choy with Garlic and Oyster Sauce

    Bok Choy with Garlic and Oyster Sauce

    Ingredients

    • 3 bunches baby bok choy bottom end removed

    • 3 tablespoons oyster sauce

    • 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar

    • 2 teaspoons minced garlic

    • 10 teaspoons water

    • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

    • 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

    • 3 tablespoons cooking oil

    • Salt to taste optional

    Directions

    • Combine the oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and water in a bowl. Stir. Set aside.
    • Combine oil and garlic at the same time in a pan. Turn the heat to on. Cook the garlic in medium heat until it starts to turn light brown.
    • Pour the oyster sauce mixture in the pan and sprinkle some ground black pepper. Stir. Let boil.
    • Add the bok choy. Stir and cover. Cook until the sauce reduces to half. You may add some salt if needed.
    • Transfer to a serving plate. Serve with rice.

    Notes

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    PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps

    PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps

    Ingredients

    • 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

    • 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

    • 3 cloves garlic minced

    • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

    • 2 tablespoons water

    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch

    • 2 teaspoons sesame oil

    • 8 oz. white mushrooms minced

    • 1/4 teaspoon salt

    • 5 oz. water chestnuts drained and minced

    • 1 lb. ground pork

    • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil

    • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

    • 1 head lettuce

    • diced green onions for garnish

    Directions

    • First, make the sauce. Place all the ingredients for the sauce into a small bowl. Whisk until the corn starch has dissolved and then set aside.
    • Next, cook the ground pork. Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add the sesame oil. When the oil is fragrant, add the mushrooms to the pan and season them with salt. Sauté the mushrooms for 5-7 minutes so that the moisture is released from the mushrooms and then cooks off a bit.
    • Add the water chestnuts to the pan and toss them with the mushrooms and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and water chestnuts from the skillet and set aside.
    • Place the skillet back over the heat and add the ground chicken. Break it up into small pieces with a spatula and cook the chicken over medium/high heat. Add the soy sauce to the skillet and mix with the chicken. Cook the ground chicken for 5-6 minutes or until fully cooked.
    • Add the mushrooms and water chestnuts back to the skillet and toss with the chicken.
    • Next, pour the sauce over all of the ingredients and toss the sauce with all of the ingredients. Heat the mixture over medium/high heat. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil and allow the sauce to simmer for 2-3 minutes until thickened.
    • Once the sauce has thicken remove the skillet from the heat and fold in Thai basil and cilantro. Serve the chicken mixture inside of the lettuce wraps with sliced green onion for garnish.

    Notes

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    Roasted potatoes

    Roasted potatoes

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound small new potatoes, any color, halved if large

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil

    • Salt and pepper

    • 1 tablespoon dried rosemary

    Directions

    • Prepare a sheet pan with aluminum foil (if desired) and preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Toss the potatoes with the olive oil, then add the salt, pepper and rosemary and toss to combine.
    • Spread the potatoes in a single layer and roast for 25 minutes or until they yield easily when pierced with a fork.
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    Sirloin Steaks

    Sirloin Steaks

    Ingredients

    • 2 small 2” thick sirloin steaks

    • Salt & Pepper

    • Olive oil

    • 8 tablespoons butter

    • Rosemary

    • 2 cloves crushed garlic

    Directions

    • Salt the steaks about an hour before cooking and let it sit out to come to room temperature. These are thick cuts, so go a little heavier than you usually would.
    • Season with crushed black pepper and rub lightly with olive oil about 10 minutes before cook time.
    • Sear the edges first. Then cook 5 minutes each side, which should get you close to temperature: 135-137 degrees Fahrenheit.
    • Add a stick of butter, rosemary, and a few cloves of crushed garlic in the pan with the steak drippings. Spoon over the steak once it melts down.
    • Once your steaks are at temp, remove from the pan. Add some red wine to the pan with the drippings and let it reduce for a sauce if you like. Thicken to liking and strain.

    Notes

    • I had frozen compound butter to use up and chimichurri sauce left over from a chicken dish earlier in the week so I used that for a sauce instead of doing the reduction.
    • recipe from our friend SerraTheBoneDaddy
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    Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

    Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup or 8 oz of egg whites from about 8 eggs

    • 1 3/4 cups or 12 oz sugar

    • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

    • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

    • 5 sticks of butter, room temperature

    • 8 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled

    Directions

    • Fill a 3-quart pot with 1 1/2 inches of water and place over medium-low heat.
    • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, salt and cream of tartar. Place over steamy water, stirring and scraping constantly with a spatula until thin, foamy and 175 degrees on a digital thermometer, about 10 minutes.
    • Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on high until glossy, thick and quadrupled in volume, about 5 minutes.
    • Reduce speed to medium and continue whipping until the bowl feels cool to the touch.
    • Add butter a tablespoon at a time, waiting about 5 seconds between each addition. As the frosting comes together, you can add a little more of the butter at a time. Once the butter is all incorporated, add the melted and cooled chocolate.

    Notes

    The temperature of the ingredients is very very important. The butter MUST be room temperature and the eggs MUST cool completely prior to incorporating the butter or it will be a mess. And the chocolate has to be warm enough to be melted but not warm enough to melt the butter. Also there may be a stage when the whole thing looks curdled and weird and awful. Just keep whipping and it will come back together. One of the reasons the too-sweet frosting is popular is it’s easy: just powdered sugar and butter. This one has a bit of a learning curve.

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    Chocolate Cake

    Chocolate Cake

    Ingredients

    • 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) very hot brewed coffee

    • 3 ounces (85 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

    • 3 cups (600 grams) granulated sugar

    • 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea or table salt

    • 3/4 cup (175 ml) vegetable or another neutral oil

    • 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) well-shaken buttermilk (I used 1 1/2 cups soy milk + 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar)

    • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

    • 3 large eggs

    • 2 1/2 cups (315 grams) all-purpose flour

    • 1 1/2 cups (aprox. 130 grams; weights vary between brands) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)

    • 2 teaspoons (10 grams) baking soda

    • 3/4 teaspoon (4 grams) baking powder

    Directions

    • Make cake layers: Preheat oven to 300°F (yes, 300!). and grease two 10×2-inch (but mine is 3 inches deep, and this is fine too; just no fewer than 2 inches) round cake pans. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and grease paper.
    • Place chopped chocolate in large bowl and pour hot coffee over it. Let sit together for 4 to 5 minutes, then whisk until chocolate is smooth. Whisk in sugar, salt, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla until combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time.
    • Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda, and baking powder into a second large bowl, or, if you can pull it off, right onto the top of your batter. Whisk until smooth. It always looks like the lumps will remain, but I always find that they smooth out, so don’t fret.
    • Bake cake layers: Divide batter between two pans. (Batter for one cake layer weights about 1008 grams.) Bake cake layers for in middle of oven until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.
    • [Oh wait, you only have one 10-inch cake pan? Of course you do. It’s fine. Just pour half the batter in, bake the cake layer, flip it out onto a cooling rack as soon as you can, wipe out the pan and re-grease it for the second cake layer. I’ve done this every time I make it and the batter has been forgiving of sitting around for 80 minutes.]
    • The original instructions for this recipe has you cool layers completely in pans on racks. This is fine if you have two matching pans, but since I don’t, I hurry it along, removing the cakes from the pans after only 5 to 10 minutes cooling.
    • Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove paper and cool layers completely.

    Notes

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    Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

    Full disclosure: We had the wrong kind of chocolate for this recipe and it really didn’t work. We will need to revisit this lactose-free version of a beloved pie at some later date.

    Mexican Chocolate Cream Pie

    Ingredients

    • For the crust

    • 1 1/2 c. chocolate graham cracker crumbs (You can really use any chocolate wafer cookie here. I ground my grahams in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Approximately 10 whole crackers yielded the one and one half cups of crumbs that I needed for this pie.)

    • 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

    • 1 tsp. instant espresso powder

    • For the filling

    • 4 large egg yolks

    • 2/3 c. white sugar, granulated

    • 1/4 c. cornstarch

    • 1/2 tsp. salt

    • 3 c. canned coconut milk

    • 2- 3.14 oz. disks of Mexican chocolate, chopped, melted (Mexican chocolate is sold in disks or ‘tablets’ that weigh approximately 3 ounces each. If you are substituting American chocolate in this recipe, you should use 6 ounces.)

    • 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

    • For the topping

    • coconut whipped cream, powdered sugar & cocoa powder or chocolate curls

    Directions

    • Preheat oven to 350°.
    • Mix graham crumbs, melted butter and espresso powder in a small bowl until mixture is approximately the consistency of wet sand. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9″ pie plate. Bake for 15 minutes and set aside to cool.
    • Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch and salt together in a large saucepan. Place pan over medium heat and, while continuing to whisk, pour in milk. Bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute while whisking constantly. Reduce to a simmer and whisk for one additional minute. Remove thickened mixture and whisk in melted chocolate and butter. Pour custard into a large bowl and cover with a buttered piece of wax paper (refrigerated custard will form a skin – you’ll want the wax paper to be in direct contact with the top of the custard to prevent the skin from forming).
    • Once the custard has cooled to at least room temperature, pour it over the baked crust.
    • Meanwhile, using a chilled bowl and beaters, whip heavy cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread cream over the top of the pie and finish with a dusting of cocoa powder. Chill and serve (pie can be chilled up to 1 day before serving).
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    How to Dry-Brine a Turkey

    How to Dry-Brine a Turkey

    Ingredients

    • 6 tablespoons of kosher salt

    • 2 tablespoons of baking powder

    Directions

    • Combine half a cup of Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or six tablespoons Morton’s kosher salt) with two tablespoons of baking powder in a bowl. Carefully pat your turkey dry with paper towels. Generously sprinkle the salt mixture on all surfaces by picking up the mixture between your thumb and fingers, holding it six to 10 inches above the bird, and letting the mixture shower down over the surface of the turkey for even coverage. The turkey should be well coated with salt, though not completely encrusted.
    • Warning: You will most likely not need all of the salt. In some cases, less than half will be okay; it depends on the size of your bird and your salt preferences.
    • Transfer the turkey to a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate, uncovered, for 12 to 24 hours. Without rinsing, roast, omitting any additional salting steps called for in those recipes.
    • Dry-brining for more than 24 hours will produce even juicier and better-seasoned meat. To brine longer than 24 hours, loosely cover turkey with plastic wrap or cheesecloth before refrigerating, to prevent excess moisture loss through evaporation. Let rest for up to three days.

    Notes