Tag: chicken

Weekend Finds 8:3:14

I love the summer. I really do. Yesterday’s trip to the farmer’s market was beautiful – everything smelled so good, and I wanted to bring it all home with me. I wish my little sister was here to help me pick out the best tomatoes. But there’s that thing that’s starting to nag in the back of my mind. I look at my closet and wish I could wear some of my favorite sweaters. I wish I could make tea anytime after 10 a.m. and not be too hot to drink it. But then I look at the tomatoes, and I’m ok with summer for a while longer. On to these late summer weekend finds:

1. Homemade Ice Cream Tips

Ice Cream Tips // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
If this picture from Bon Appetit doesn’t make you want ice cream, I don’t know what will.

Tis the season for homemade ice cream, and these tips from BA are really helpful if you’re new to the game. Overall, these tips are mostly about time – take the time to cook your custard well, take the time to add your chunks and ribbons at the right moment, and take the time to let the ice cream set up in the freezer. Trust me, it’s worth it.

2. Gazpacho without a recipe

Gazpacho Non-Recipe // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Gazpacho is happening.

This is exactly the non-recipe I’ve been looking for. Thanks Food52.

3. Ricotta Ice Cream

Ricotta Ice Cream from David Lebovitz // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
I could certainly go for a scoop of this right now.

Speaking of ice cream… David Lebovitz knows his stuff when it comes to ice cream. So I trust him. And when he says to make a ricotta ice cream with pistachios and candied lemon, I listen. This ice cream sounds like it would be sublime on top of a berry crumb cake or polenta cake or something like that. Talk about a lovely summer dessert.

4. Chicken with Plum Chutney

Chicken with Plum Chutney // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
This chicken with plum chutney is a perfect August dinner.

I posted this recipe 2 years ago (wow), and I was reminded of it this week because there’s a plum tree on our walk way, and the plums are starting to ripen (and fall). This means it’s almost time to make plum chutney. And the chicken that goes with it. This is by far one of my favorite summer dishes, and I can’t wait.

5. Alternative Pie Crusts

Alternative Pie Crusts // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
How pretty is this filo dough pie crust?

Now you know I love my pie crust, but sometimes it’s time to try new things. All of these alternative crusts look awesome, as in I would like to try all of them now. I’m particularly intrigued by the rice crust.

Weekend Finds 5:18:14

I’m writing this post from my hotel room in California, where I watched my baby sister graduate yesterday. Her school threw an incredibly fun party, where we ate good food and danced with my adorable grandmother and family. What a lovely way to celebrate. Now, on to weekend finds.

1. Storing Asparagus

Storing Asparagus // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Storing your asparagus correctly involves trimming the ends and standing it in water.

In our house these days, you will usually find at least 3 bunches of asparagus in the fridge at any given time. Clearly, my housemates and I are ready for spring/summer produce, ready for a change, ready for something other than root vegetables and kale. Because as good as all that stuff is, it’s really hard to eat it for 6 months and not get tired. And sometimes, we play a game of “Whose asparagus is that?” Anyway, my point is, these tips for keeping your asparagus fresh and lasting longer will be welcome in my household.

2. Foodies, a Documentary

Foodies, a Documentary // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
A film about foodies? Yes please. And I’ll eat some truffle popcorn while I watch it.

A documentary about my people? Yes please. I’ll go see it for sure. The trick is to find out where it’ll be playing. And also to figure out how I can hop a flight for my dinner reservation.

3. Supper.mx

Supper.mx // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
A screenshot of the Supper.mx website: recipes, Spotify playlists, descriptions, etc.

I’ll definitely be trying out this music app at my next dinner party. Simple as that.

4. Parmesan Broth

Parmesan broth on Food52 // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
Always save your rinds!

I love using up as much flavor-creating ingredients as I can, and one thing I can’t stand to throw away is parmesan rinds. Now that I’ve found parmesan broth, I’m going to make lots of it, and use it in probably all of the ways listed in this article.

5. Crack Slurp

Crack Slurp on Lady and Pups // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust
These noodles look oh so good.

Yes, that is the name of this recipe from Lady and Pups. The guide to Asian noodles, this recipe has you frying up chicken skin, the “crack,” and reserving the fat to stir in with some fresh delicious noodles and sprinkle the fried skin on top. I don’t know if I can find all of the ingredients she uses, but I certainly hope to try recreating some version of this.

Thai Larb with Lettuce Wraps

Thai Larb // Serious CrustThai Larb // Serious Crust

A couple of weeks ago, my roommates had a problem. I had gone with them to the climbing gym, and on our way home, we decided to stop at the store to get some food for lunch. We were thinking about what we already had in the house that we could use, and they started talking about how they had too much lettuce. See, they’re more spinach eaters (in salads and scrambles and such) than lettuce eaters, and so had a head of lettuce that they didn’t particularly want to eat or know what to do with. I had an idea: Thai larb.

This Thai larb, a chicken dish with lettuce wraps, immediately popped into my head. I quickly looked up a couple recipes on my phone, and grabbed the ingredients at the store. It was a warm day, and this bright, tart, crunchy dish was perfect. Plus, they were impressed that I made lettuce into something so delectable.

Today it was 85 degrees in Portland, and tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter. In fact, it’s supposed to be beautiful (and hot) until Saturday. My suggestion? Make this Thai larb: it’s so refreshing on a hot day. I’d serve it with maybe a green papaya salad and rice (sticky rice if you can swing it).

Thai Larb with Lettuce Wraps

Serves 4

Ingredients

Dressing

1/3 cup lime juice
1 Tbl fish sauce
2 Tbl light brown sugar
1/2 tsp Sriracha

Chicken

2 lbs skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into roughly 1-inch pieces
1 large shallot, chopped
1 stalk lemongrass , thinly sliced (see this article for instructions on prepping your lemongrass)
1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 red chile, jalapeño, or thai chile, depending on your desired spice level
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbl vegetable oil
1 head romaine or iceberg lettuce, rinsed
Cilantro for garnish (optional)

Instructions

To make the dressing, stir all of the ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Set aside.

In a food processor, combine the chicken, shallot, lemongrass, garlic, chile pepper, fish sauce, and salt. Add 1 Tbl of oil, and pulse until the chicken is finely chopped, or how you would imagine ground chicken would look. In a large nonstick pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbl of oil over medium-high heat. Once the pan and oil is hot, add the chicken mixture and cook, breaking up into smaller pieces with your wooden spoon, until the chicken starts to turn golden brown and is cooked through.

To eat your larb, spoon some chicken onto a lettuce leaf, and top with the dressing and a little cilantro if you like. Be sure to eat over a plate – I can guarantee there will be dripping.

Weekend Finds 4:20:14

I know it’s not technically the weekend anymore, but this weekend was busy and I got distracted… So I’m giving you weekend finds on Monday. So maybe you can still pretend it’s the weekend.

1. Asian flavors

Sesame Noodle Salad from Love & Lemons // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I love all of the colors in this noodle salad from Love and Lemons.

I thought what would happen is that I’d come back from Vietnam and be a little tired of Asian flavors for a while. Turns out the opposite is true. All I want is Asian food, preferably Vietnamese, but Japanese and maybe even Thai will also do. (I leave out Chinese food because DAMN is it hard to find good Chinese food in Portland. Don’t even get me started.) So this noodle salad recipe will be making an appearance soon, as will, hopefully, the Bun Cha that we learned to make in Hanoi.

2. Soy and Garlic Marinated Pork

Marinated Grilled Pork // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Our grilled pork looked even better than this. I swear.

Yesterday, the weather was decent enough that we got too excited and grilled a whole meal. There was corn and Japanese eggplant, and there was also this marinated pork. I wish I could tell you what was so magical about it (maybe it had something to do with the fact that Jonah brushed the meat with the marinade every time he flipped it), but I’m not totally sure. Either way, you should fire up your grill and make it sooner rather than later.

3. Broccoli Rabe Crostini

Broccoli Rabe Crostini from Honestly YUM // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Crostini topped with burrata, prosciutto, and broccoli rabe.

In another edition of stuff I ate this week: I got excited and bought broccoli rabe (raab) at the market last week, and when I found this recipe, I knew this is what I’d be using it for. Our grocery store didn’t have burrata, so we used good old mozzarella, and it was awesome.

4. Cardamom Short Bread

The Sugar Cube (photo from Portland Monthly) // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I couldn’t find a picture of the actual cardamom shortbread, but here is a picture of the pastry case at Sugar Cube, just to tickle your tastebuds. Also, mastermind Kir Jensen on the right. (credit: Portland Monthly)

Easter was a thing this weekend, and while I didn’t really celebrate (unless band practice counts), my roommate Carmelle had her family in town, and made a sampling of beautiful desserts, including this cardamom short bread from the Sugar Cube cookbook. Now, you know I love the Sugar Cube – in face I may have a mild addiction – but even if I hadn’t already fallen in love with Kir Jensen, this short bread would’ve done it to me. It was light and flaky and beautifully flavored. Yum.

5. Honey Barbecued Chicken

Honey Barbecued Chicken from Use Real Butter // Weekend Finds on Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I love how many spices and flavors there are in this honey barbecued chicken recipe from Use Real Butter.

Apparently this week all I can think about is what I want to eat, or have eaten that I want to eat again. Since firing up the grill this past weekend, I’m on the lookout for delicious BBQ meals. This honey barbecued chicken looks pretttty flavorful and tasty, what with 24 hours marinating in that rub and then adding a glaze on top.