Herbes de Provence Roasted Chicken

The real secret to cooking anything is marination. If you don't marinate your meat, your food will not be as tasty.

Last night I decided on roasting some chicken quarters for lunch. My marinade was very simple yet proved to be very tasty. In fact, this could possibly be the best roast chicken I have made in ages!

My marinade had the following ingredients:

Herbes de Provence

Smashed garlic

Freshly ground pepper

Chicken powder

Fish sauce/Patis

Olive oil

I made sure to clean the chicken quarters  with rock salt to remove all the grime and trimmed it of all excess fat. This ensures the chicken from having any foul odor and foul taste. As we say in filipino, it removes the "lansa".

Marinate the chicken overnight and I assure you, you will have really great tasting roast chicken.

Arrange the chicken on a roasting tray and put pats of butter before roasting in the oven at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

For the gravy, use the pan juices, add flour and cook through. Add some chicken stock and adjust seasoning.

That's it. Very simple and tasty roast chicken.

Herbes de Provence

Herbes de Provence (French pronunciation: ​[ɛʁb.də.pʁɔ.vɑ̃s]) is a mixture of dried herbstypical of Provence. Formerly simply a descriptive term referring to herbs typical of Provence, in the 1970s, commercial blends started to be sold under this name.^[1] These mixtures typically contain savory, fennel,basil, thyme, and, for the American market,lavender leaves, and other herbs, though lavender was not used in traditional southern French cooking.^[2]

Information from: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbes_de_Provence

Lamb Shanks with Apricots

Tonight's menu: Lamb shanks with apricots, couscous with tomatoes and basil and a Mediterranean salad. Simple, yet hearty. 

Please, try this at home!

For the lamb:

Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper, dredge in floor, and pan fry in olive oil until all sides are brown. Set aside.

In the same pot, sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil. After 5 minutes, add canned whole tomatoes, bay leaves, chopped apricots, chopped raisins, carrots, potatoes and add the previously browned lamb shanks. Season with salt, pepper, fine herbs and cinnamon. Add some water and simmer.

When sauce is thick and lamb meat is soft, adjust seasoning. Add herbs, spices, salt and pepper as needed.

For the couscous:

Boil 1 part couscous to 2 parts water until water is absorbed.  Transfer to a bowl and mix with chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, and fresh basil leaves. Season with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Done!

For the Mediterranean salad:

Arrange lettuce leaves in a bowl. Top with tomatoes, onions, olives and orange segments. Dress with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Lamb shanks with apricots + couscous + mediterranean salad = The formula for a simple, elegant and hearty meal

Enjoy! Eat with gusto!

Delicious Tacos, I promise!

I love pancake house tacos! But I really thinks its ridiculous to pay over 100 pesos for a taco that isn't filling at all! So when I'm craving, I like to make them at home. 

Here is a simple, yet super delicious way of making your own tacos. Affordable too!!

For the meat filling:

Sauté onions and garlic in olive oil, then add ground beef and bay leaves. Add tomato sauce and then Add some herbs like basil and oregano, salt and pepper and let it simmer.

Let it thoroughly cook and sauce should be thick. Adjust the seasoning.

For the special taco sauce:

Add all the ingredients together.

Chopped onions

Chopped tomatoes

Chopped parsley

Tomato sauce

Vinegar

Sugar

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Now, time to assemble your taco!

Toast the taco shell.

Layer with meat first, shredded lettuce, taco sauce and lots of cheese!!!! Then DEVOUR!!!!!

Enjoy!!!

Italian sausage spaghetti

Chicken giaponese fettuccine

Kani and Chicken Spaghettini in Lemon Cream Sauce

Very cheesy tuna and mushroom enchiladas suizas

Grilled rib eye with sautéed Haricot verts and mushroom sauce

Crispy adobo rice

Pork sinigang

Moroccan Grilled Chicken

It's summer once again and the best thing to do during this time is to barbecue!!!

Today I wanted to try something new. I don't like the typical Filipino pork barbecue. I don't really eat pork unless it's prosciutto or jamon serrano! Yes, I'm a bit of a pork snob!

Anyway, today felt like a spice-y kind of barbecue day. What better way to go than Moroccan!!!

I actually marinated these for 2 days before I grilled them. It's really quite straightforward.

Just mix together the following in a Tupperware and store them in the refrigerator for two days.

1/2 kilo of boneless chicken fillets
1 lemon, juiced then cut in rings
2 Tbsps olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

After marination, discard the lemon and grill the chicken. Serve with lemon wedges and onion salsa. Recipe as follows.

Onion salsa
1 white onion, diced finely
Extra virgin olive oil, enough to cover the onions in a bowl
Salt
Pepper

Enjoy with a salad and rice!!!

Rolled Oats Chicken Caldo

For those of us who want to avoid rice but still want to have "arroz" caldo, don't fret! You can still have it! Just replace the rice with rolled oats and you can have the comfort food you grew up with, sans the guilt! You may think it's weird since we are all used to having oats in a sweet manner rather than in a savory dish, but believe me, it works! Just make sure you use rolled oats or steel cut oats and NOT instant oats.

Here is a recipe that I make at home that everyone enjoys.


Rolled oats
Ginger, sliced
Garlic, sliced
Onions, sliced
Chicken, shredded (cooked)
Chicken stock
Cilantro, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
Patis/fish sauce

Cool the oats in the chicken stock together with everything except the cilantro. When cooked, add the cilantro and season to your taste.

Yes, I am serious. It is that simple!

Garnish with chopped spring onions and crispy garlic. Serve with calamansi or lemon and patis/fish sauce on the side.

Enjoy!

Scallops with Edamame and Tomatoes

Season scallops with salt, pepper and toasted sesame seeds. Sear in olive oil until all sides are brown. Add edamame and tomatoes and cook for a few minutes. Adjust seasoning.

Seriously, it's that simple! Serve with rice, pasta or if you have X.O. Sauce, indulge and make an X.O. fried rice!!!

Beef With Potatoes and Broccoli

A different take on beef with Broccoli. Simple and very delicious!

Cook 1 cup baby potatoes, cut in half, in 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of chicken stock with 5 cloves of smashed garlic. Cook until potatoes are tender and sauce is reduced.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and then Add 2 cups of tenderloin strips marinated in garlic powder, pepper and Knorr seasoning.

When beef is almost cooked, add 1 cup of cooked broccoli florets and 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce.

Serve with steamed rice. Yummy!!!

Cheese omelette

Tenderloin Salpicao and Mixed Vegetables

Lentil stew with sausage and mint

Miso baked Alaskan Pollock

Teriyaki Salmon with Corn

Breakfast Paella

Sardine and Caper Pasta

Homemade Pesto Pasta

Miso-coriander Pompano Fillets with Ginger sauce

Banana-Carrot smoothie with Chia seeds

I wanted a healthy start today. I was at the salon yesterday and my hairdresser was talking to me about the Raw diet which he is currently doing. he said it makes him feel "fucking amazing". pardon my French! an he looked good, so i got inspired. So today i thought, Something raw, something easy, maybe a smoothie.

I found 2 bananas and a carrot. That's all I had. It's time for me to really make a trip to the supermarket! Anyway, I worked with what I had and it came out delicious. Try it! Here is the recipe!

2 ripe bananas
1 peeled carrot
1 cup milk
1 cup water
2 Tbsps Chia seeds

Throw everything in a blender, whiz until smooth, pour into a glass and enjoy!!!

Rib eye fried rice

Chopped up left over rib eye steak
Olive oil
White onions, chopped
Garlic, chopped
Red rice, cooked
White rice, cooked
Organic eggs, beaten
Green peas, frozen
Kikkoman Soy Sauce
Black pepper
Spring onions, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a pan, and brown the meat until almost crispy. Add the onions and garlic until brown and caramelized but not burned. Add the red and white rice. Season with kikkoman soy sauce, and black pepper. Make a well in the center of the pan and add some oil, add the eggs and whirl around until cooked. Then mix everything and adjust seasoning.

Transfer to a bowl and top with green onions.

Enjoy!!!!

Oops, I did it again!

I made my signature dish again but this time I used boneless lamb leg.

Recipe posted a few recipes ago. :-) Try it!

Beef bourguignion with vegetables (No fuss)

2 kilos beef cubes
Olive oil
4 white onions, quartered
Baby potatoes, quartered
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
1 bottle Shiraz Cabernet
4 cups beef stock
Dried herbs - I used basil and rosemary
Black pepper
Salt

Heat the olive oil in a pan and seat the beef until brown and caramelized and all sides. Add the onions and sauté until caramelized. Add everything except the vegetables.

Summer until beef is tender, and sauce is thick ad syrupy. Add the vegetables until cooked. Adjust seasoning to your taste.

Serve with rice!!!

Beef bourguignion with vegetables (No fuss)

2 kilos beef cubes
Olive oil
4 white onions, quartered
Baby potatoes, quartered
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
1 bottle Shiraz Cabernet
4 cups beef stock
Dried herbs - I used basil and rosemary
Black pepper
Salt

Heat the olive oil in a pan and seat the beef until brown and caramelized and all sides. Add the onions and sauté until caramelized. Add everything except the vegetables.

Summer until beef is tender, and sauce is thick ad syrupy. Add the vegetables until cooked. Adjust seasoning to your taste.

Serve with rice!!!

Miso-honey Chicken Thighs with a Spicy Cheese Glaze

I've been obsessed with miso paste this whole week, I've been putting it in every recipe. I put it in my Tan Tan Men, in my Pork Adobo, I even put it on my bagel! So when I saw the big fat chicken thighs in my chiller, my first thought was "Roasted Miso Chicken"!

I have to always come up with new and exciting recipes, K doesn't like eating leftovers or repeats of the same dish. So I am constantly racking my brain for ideas of what to cook. Today, this is what I came up with.

Marinate the chicken in the following:
Miso paste
Honey
Garlic
Onion
Ginger
Pepper
Sesame oil
Roasted sesame seeds

Bake at 350 F until the chicken is fully cooked.

Meanwhile, mix the following in a bowl: cheese sauce( I used cheese whiz), Gochujang (spicy korean soybean paste)
Milk
Sesame oil

You should have a thick sauce.

When the chicken is cooked, plate on a serving dish. Drain the juices to remove the solid pieces of ginger, onion and garlic. Pour it over the chicken then put the cheese sauce over the chicken as well.

Torch until sauce is caramel used or broil in oven.

Voila! All done! Enjoy!!!