my new gadgets

Well here's a pic of my 3 new kitchen gadgets..my stove 1st and formost...then for Christmas I got the Kitchen Aide dutch oven and the citrus butt chicken gadget ...I guess my mum really enjoyed the chicken :)...the dutch oven will be perfect for stews and soups and small briskets. I will let you know how they work. Once I finish painting the kitchen I will do a lil vid of my kitchen layout. BTW I used one of those Flip Video Cameras...OMG people they are amazing. (hmmm another gadget) Rosie O'Donnell swears by them and ya know...she is right...for close up stuff they are perfect...about the size of an i phone and plug directly into your computer's USB port to upload...worth every penny!!!

Waldorf Salad

I was searching in my fridge this morning for dinner ideas and came across this left over chicken. I decided to make a Waldorf Salad with it. I also ended up making a risotto too. I love risotto but I rarely make it. It isn't hard, just takes a little time. It turned out pretty good. Here's the recipe for the salad...

Chicken Waldorf Salad

2 cups shredded leftover chicken (or turkey)
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 crisp apples (like Gala or Macintosh) cored and chopped
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup non fat yogurt
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp dijon mustard (more if you like)
1 tsp honey (or agave)
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper

In a large bowl combine the chicken, celery, apples, grapes, and pecan. In a smaller bowl combine the yogurt, mayo, honey, dijon (start with the tsp of mustard, add more if you like), and salt Whisk until well combined. Add dressing to salad and toss to evenly coat. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking Light Magazine

As you will have noticed and will continue to notice...I love Cooking Light magazine. It's a great magazine, chuck full of great articles on cooking methods, eating healthy, exercising etc. It is my "go to" magazine when I need a recipe that will taste great and be good for me. I have been getting it for a few years now and can't remember ever making a recipe that failed. If ever you were to get just one cooking magazine, this should be it. The thing that is really great about this is that the recipes are so good that you don't even have to tell anyone that they are healthy. I'm sure we all have a few people in our lives that could stand eating healthier but just say that and they freak! You truly need to get a subscription to this magazine!!!!

Roasted Cauliflower Gratin with Gruyere

I just realized that I hadn't posted this recipe from the meal I made last week. It was a hit. So much so that I have been asked to make it for Christmas dinner. So here it is...

Cauliflower Gratin With Gruyere

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 2 lbs.)

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided
1/2 tsp spike

2 tsp butter

1/3 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

3/4 cup shredded Gruyere cheese, divided

2 tbsp finely chopped chives

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1-2 roasted garlic cloves, chopped up

3 tbsp all purpose flour

2 cups 1% milk

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp olive oil plus

1-2 tsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Place cauliflower on a non stick baking sheet. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tsp spike and 1 tbsp olive oil. Toss to coat. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes or until almost tender. Let cool.

Preheat broiler. Meanwhile, melt butter in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and stir in panko, then stir in 1/4 cup cheese and chives. Set aside.

Heat medium saucepan over medium high heat. Add 1-2 tsp olive oil. Add onion and saute for approx. 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds or so (just to warm it a bit). Add flour. Cook 1 minutes. Make sure to stir constantly. Gradually add milk, (stir with a whisk). Bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or so, until it thickens. Make sure to constantly stir. Remove from heat. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Put cauliflower in a 2 quart broiler safe baking dish. Pour mixture over the cauliflower. Toss to coat. Top with cheese/panko mixture. Broil for approx 3 minutes (or until golden brown)

You can prepare this dish a day ahead. Just refrigerate the sauce, panko mixture, and cauliflower separately. Assemble it all the next day before baking. Warm the cauliflower and cheese mixture in the oven before adding the panko mixture and broiling

Citrus Butt Chicken

I was watching Paula Dean one day. She had Rosie O'Donnell on. She made this Beer in the Rear Chicken. It looked so good that I had to try it. I changed it up. I used a can of Dole's Tangerine Orange and didn't make the BBQ sauce but instead used a bit of Diane's Chicken n Rib BBQ Sauce. The dry rub is absolutely amazing. After trying it with whole chicken, I decided to try it with chicken pieces...sort of like a shake n bake. It was fabulous! I cooked the chicken pieces for about 45-50 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Citrus Butt Chicken

Ingredients

5 lb. whole chicken, rinsed, patted dry

2-3 tbsp dry rub (recipe follows)

1 (12oz.) can citrus pop (like Dole's Tangerine Orange)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degree F.

Rub chicken all over with the dry rub making sure to get some around the cavity opening as well. (I ended up using closer to 3-4 tbsp of dry rub). Put the chicken in place over the citrus can on top of a roasting pan (I removed about a 1/3 of the can of citrus pop...ok ok so I drank it). Put the chicken in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 325 degree F and roast for 90 minutes. Periodically baste the chicken with the drippings until very tender. Very carefully remove chicken from the can, cover with foil and let rest for 10 minutes (the can and juice inside will be extremely hot, so be very careful). Serve with Diane's Chicken n Rib BBQ Sauce ( or your fav BBQ sauce)

Dry Rub

2 tsp salt

2 tsp sweet paprika

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp celery salt

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garlic power

1 tsp chili powder

pinch cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients together and store in an air tight container.

Original recipe...Beer in the Rear Chicken by Paula Dean 2008

Oven Baked Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

This is the recipe I made with the Roasted Potatoes with Parmy. They were yummy, but next time I would cut the orange down to 2 oz. instead of 4...

Oven Baked Orange Glazed Chicken Wings

12 whole chicken wings (I used wings that were already separated)

1 (6oz.) can frozen orange juice concentrate (use 4 oz)

3 tbsp hoisin sauce

2 tsp honey

1 tbsp soy sauce (I used tamari soy sauce, I like the taste better)

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (I omitted)

I added 2 cloves of roasted garlic

Directions

Place a 6 quart saucepan with a steamer basket and 1  inch of water in bottom, over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Remove tips of the wings and discard or save for making stock. Using kitchen shears, or a knife, separate wings at the joint. Place the wings into the steamer basket, cover, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the wings from the basket and carefully pat dry. Lay the wings out on a cooling rack set in a half sheet pan lined with paper towels and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 425 degree F.

Replace the paper towels with parchment paper (I couldn't find mine so I used a non stick baking sheet) Roast on the middle rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the  wings over and cook for another 20 minutes or until meat is cooked through and the skin is golden brown.

During the last 20 minutes of cooking the chicken, place the orange juice concentrate, hoisin sauce, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and red pepper flakes into a small saucepan, stir to combine and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the mixture to about 1/2 cup, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool at least 5 minutes.

Remove the wings from the oven and transfer to a large mixing bowl along with the glaze and toss to coat. Serve warm.

Recipe by Alton Brown, 2007

Roasted Potatoes with Parmesan

I mentioned the other day that I was going to make these. I hadn't made them before so this was a 1st. They turned out so well! Even my nephew (my sous chef) loved them.

Roasted Potatoes with Parmesan

6 tbsp parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 bag small red potatoes, quartered

1-2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt (I used kosher but sea salt would work too)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degree F. Place quartered potatoes in a bowl and toss with olive oil. Combine  1/2 the parmesan, salt, garlic powder, paprika and cayenne in a small bowl. Then add the parmesan mixture to potatoes and toss to coat. Arrange potatoes on a non stick baking sheet. Bake for approx. 25 min. Remove from oven and place potatoes into bowl. Toss with remaining parmesan.