How to Spatchcock A Chicken: Pesto Chicken
Whenever I go to the grocery store I usually just buy chicken breasts or whichever part of the bird I want to cook that night, but there is something to be said for taking the time to cook a whole bird every now and then. This week whole organic chickens were on sale at my work for only six bucks, so I had to get one. The reason I usually don’t cook a whole chicken, and probably why you may not either, is dealing with cutting it off the bones afterwards. This is where spatchcocking comes in handy.
Spatchcocking a chicken is basically cutting out the spine, breast bone and ribs, so that you are left with only the meat and the bones for the limbs. It makes it extremely easy to cut and serve the meat once the chicken is cooked. For my spatchcocked chicken, I added pesto and onions to make a tasty dish. One benefit of keeping the skin on the bird it that you can stuff any sort of spices or seasonings in between the skin and meat to cook it with extra flavor.
Throwback Thursday: Caribbean Shrimp w/ Peppers & Lime
It’s Thursday again, wow these weeks have been flying by. My recipe for this Throwback Thursday really brings me back. This was one of the first “unique” recipes I learned and one of the ones that really got me excited about cooking. I am excited to share it with you, since it kind of hit a soft spot in me (I know cheesy, but it is what it is).
This recipe is so simple, but so good. I make it a lot without the coconut milk, but it is extremely good with coconut milk as well if you have the extra money to buy it! I recommend using a lot of lime, it just makes it even better. I hope that this recipe can get you excited to cook like it did for me! Also, thanks to my mom for these photos. =)
Inside-Out Onion Ring Sliders w/ Adobo BBQ Sauce
One thing I really miss about summertime is being able to grill. Grilling is fun, social and delicious. I have really been craving some warmth and sunshine lately, maybe it was the week of -30 degree temperatures a few weeks ago that made me sick of winter. Either way, with hopes for an early spring, I decided to make burgers this week, except I sauteed them instead of grilling them since winter is unfortunately still here for now.
I had seen a photo of an inside-out burger recently and the idea seemed pretty awesome. I added one homemade onion ring to the top of each slider to create a seriously tasty combo; added a bit of adobo barbecue sauce that I had made previously and voila! The perfect miniature burger for a spring-time grill out.
Spiced Pork & Chickpea Stew
Soups and stews are great for an easy, worry-free dinner. All you need to do is combine the ingredients and let the pot work its magic. If you have other things to do, or don’t feel like slaving over your stove, I highly recommend making a soup or stew. Me being the spice lover that I am, I like to go buck wild when making mine. You would have to add a LOT of spices to mess up… When in doubt always give it an extra shake. It is also important to taste along the way with soups and stews as well though, just in case the flavor needs to be adjusted. I usually try to wait until the end before adding any salt.
This stew is healthy and delicious. If you were a fan of my Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup, I suggest making this one as well. Many pork stew recipes use hominy, but I opted for using chickpeas because they are packing with nutrients and are much healthier than a corn based product. If you like your stew spicier, add a bit of cayenne pepper to this recipe. This is great serves with a toasted loaf of French bread.
Pizza Party!
After cooking many meals for friends, I realized that nothing excites people more than a delicious pizza. This week I threw a pizza party with friends. We only had one oven and two pizza trays, so we could only cook two pizzas at a time. In the end, I made six 14″ pizzas. We cut each pizza into ten slices, one for each person, and sampled one slice of each pizza. We would decide which pizzas were coming next while the previous two were baking. By the sixth pizza, we could barely take another bite!
We made all sorts of pizzas- from BBQ Chicken to Chicken Alfredo to Meat Lovers all the way to Hawaiian. Each time a new pizza was taken out, everybody was riled up- “This one is my favorite!” “Wait, no, THIS one is my favorite!” “Ah, no, THIS one is definitely the best!” I have never seen my friends so excited about something I cooked. This made me being to think about the wondrous pizza pie. A fresh pizza crust is like a blank canvas for a chef. You can combine any flavors you want to create your own unique masterpiece. I suggest to all of you that you make homemade pizzas at some point. My advice? Be adventurous, take risks, mix unlikely combinations- you’ll be impressed with the outcome!
Throwback Thursday: Beef Goulash
I have decided to start a new tradition- Throwback Thursday. Each Thursday I will re-post an old recipe from my Tumblr blog, until all of my recipes are finally listed on this site. This way you can find everything you need all on one site! This week’s throwback recipe is a Hungarian beef goulash that I made while in New Zealand last summer. Enjoy!
Pizza Casserole
Recently, I have been thinking about how great it would be to do catering. I have also been cooking for friends quite a bit, which I love. Both things involve cooking for a crowd, which can be hard to do. The more I do it, the more fun it gets. It is hard to think up original recipes for large groups sometimes, so I am really excited to share this one. This week I needed a meal to feed 14 friends. I didn’t want to do chili again, so I began to brainstorm and search the web. Casserole recipes are great for large groups and pizza is great for parties, which makes this pizza casserole the ultimate party dish. The original recipe that I found, form Country Kitchen Cooking, used pasta instead of breadsticks. Since I work at Noodles & Company, I decided against using the pasta. I think the breadsticks give it much more flavor. I made my green bean casserole to go with the meal and help my ski bum friends get some nutrients into their dinner. This spin off pizza is easier to make and won’t keep you in the kitchen for the entire party!
Cajun Salmon w/ Spicy Eggplant Salsa & Minted Cucumber Relish
This is probably the fanciest recipe I have ever made. A friend of mine typed this recipe up and sent it to me during her vacation, I had been looking forward to cooking it with her. I was like a little kid with a new toy while I was cooking and plating the food. It is always fun to make fancy dishes that you can plate nicely. This recipe has a LOT of flavors in it, but my friend and I decided that the cucumber relish really isn’t very necessary and it would probably have been better without it. The eggplant salsa was very unique, but really good!
Trailer Trash Pot Roast
My friends and I decided to have an early holiday dinner to celebrate Christmas this week. A little while back, I came across this recipe on the Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy blog, but hadn’t gotten a chance to make it. A pot roast is a great thing to make during the holidays, because you can begin cooking it early, then cook everything else while it finishes cooking. This recipe combines Coca Cola and Chili Sauce for a perfect combination of sweet and spicy.
Spinach, Caramelized Onion, & Feta Quiche
Today I crossed another “Culinary To-Do” off of my list, bake a quiche. I think I ended up putting too many potatoes in mine, because I didn’t have room to add all of my egg mixture. I changed my recipe to fix this by reducing the amount of milk and potatoes. I was afraid that my quiche was going to spill over, but it turned out perfect! The breadsticks make the crust extra delicious. If you ever are going to make a quiche, this recipe is the one you need to try! (Original recipe from Cooking Light on MyRecipes)
