Thursday, March 26, 2009

French Onion Orzo

Based off this recipe from Serious Eats.
I totally forgot to take a picture! Bad food blogger, bad! So here's a pic from the original recipe/site. They used a different kind of pasta and added a Parmesan Crisp at top, that I couldn't make cause I didnt have shredded parm - oops!

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound onions (about 2 large), very finely sliced
1 tsp flour
4 cups beef stock
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
12 oz box of orzo
1/4 cup Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Cook onions in oil in a large, deep saucepan, stirring occasionally, until onions are very soft and a deep brown color, 25-30 minutes. As the onions cook down, they may start to stick to the bottom of the pan; whenever this happens, deglaze with a small quantity of cold water, scraping with wooden spoon to dissolve brown bits.

2. Remove about 1/4 of onions from pan, reserving for garnish. Season with salt and pepper and cover to keep warm.

3. Sprinkle flour over the onions in the pot, stirring to incorporate. Add beef stock and dried thyme and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer, adjust seasoning, and add pasta. Cover pan and simmer, depending on type of pasta, for 6-9 minutes, or until pasta is al dente and most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir once or twice during cooking to prevent sticking.

4. Remove pasta from heat and stir in Parmesan. Adjust seasoning if necessary. To serve, top with reserved onions.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Chicken Fricassee Cuban Style

Adapted from this recipe from recipezaar.com.



Marinade:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
6 garlic cloves, peeled & minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 teaspoon cumin
1/3 cup olive oil
2 red potatoes (or amount to equal 1 cup, peeled and cubed)
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup white wine
1/2 cup raisins

Directions:
In a large non-metallic bowl, whisk together the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken pieces, cover and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours, preferably overnight.
Remove chicken from marinade & blot on paper towels to dry. Reserve marinade.
Sprinkle chicken with cumin & dust lightly with flour.
In a large frying pan, heat oil until it starts to smoke. Quickly add the floured chicken, browning on both sides, just a minute or 2 on each side. (Do this in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding in pan). Remove chicken and set aside.
In the same pan, sauté the potato cubes until lightly browned on all sides.
Remove potatoes then sauté onion and pepper until limp.
Return chicken and potatoes to pan. Add reserved marinade, tomato sauce, wine, and raisins.
Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer until the chicken is done, 20-30 minutes. Don't overcook.
Serve the chicken pieces over white rice with plenty of sauce.