Gastronomous

I love chicken wings, but was looking for a more “figure-friendly” version. So I asked myself  why not try making my very own by baking them? I had to find  the right combination of technique and ingredients that would give taste and crispiness to satisfy the most demanding palates (not interested in their figure) . After many tries… here it is!

They can be make with fresh or frozen chicken; if using frozen increase cooking time by 15 mins (total) . For a low-carb version, use a low carb sweetener instead of sugar. The best part is that you have the freedom of making the wings as hot or as mild as you like, even within the same batch!

Enjoy with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, or whip up a batch of honey-mustard sauce.

Ingredients: (4 to 6 servings)

5 lbs chicken wing sections
salt, pepper and or seasoning to your taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil such as canola oil
1/2 stick of butter
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbls sugar or artificial sweetener
Hot sauce to your taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Salt, pepper and or condiment chicken wings, place on a baking tray and cook in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn wings over once and let cook for another 10 minutes or until wings are brown.

In large sauté pan, melt the butter and slowly incorporate the vinegar and the sweetener. Add hot sauce to taste, start with a tablespoon and remember to taste often. Once the sauce is to your desired heat incorporate 1/4 the wings, turn to coat with the sauce, let cook for a minute and remove with thongs. Incorporate another batch and repeat the operation.
Serve immediately with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing. Enjoy!

BRRRRRR it’s cold outside just in tim for this simple chile. How can something so good be low carb? It’s done Texas style…with NO BEANS! 

This is a hearty dish that stores well for a couple of days. The best part is that you can adjust the heat to your taste.

Use cayenne, ground chipotle, Anaheim or simple hot sauce if you are in a jam!

3 tsp canola oil
2 Lbs ground or chopped sirloin
1 large onion chopped
1 yellow, orange or red bell pepper chopped into quarter size cubes
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
chili powder ( enough to your taste)
1Tbs ground oregano
salt and pepper to taste
HOT pepper ( to taste)
Shredded cheese and chopped green onion to top off

In a large skillet, heat the oil and cook the onions and the chopped peppers till onions are translucent.
Remove from skillet and set aside.
Add meat to the same skillet, and add chili powder, little by little, as you brown.
How much ? you may ask, just enough so it smells right. About 1/4 to 1/2 cup Add salt and pepper to taste.

Once all meat has browned, add the cooked onions and peppers, the tomatoes and the hot pepper.

Let cook on low heat for 20- 30 minutes till it “becomes chile”.

Serve in a bowl topped with shredded cheese and chopped green peppers.

A trick of the trade: if you added TOO much spice, add a little sugar and cheese to the chile ( it should cool it off)

As much as we try, eventually cold and flu season catches up with us. We are miserable,
our taste buds are numb and congestion is …there. What to do?
Have some chicken soup! Not the canned abomination loaded with sodium, the other type!

This recipe was created to maximize benefits of its cold fighting/soothing ingredients.
It also happens to taste delicious!

Ingredients ( makes 4 cups):

2 green onions, both white and green part chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 carrot chopped into pea size bits
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 Tbls chopped frozen spinach
1/2 cup roasted chicken breast chopped
2 cups water or chicken broth
1/4 cup whole wheat angel hair pasta
2 Tbls olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
a dash of hot sauce ( or to taste)
2 tsp lime juice

In a small pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium high heat and saute the onions, add the carrots and cook till they are tender (about 3 minutes), add the garlic, the chicken and mix Salt and pepper to taste, then add the water with the hot sauce. Once it gets to a simmer, add the frozen peas, spinach and angel hair; let it get to a low simmer again, turn off the heat and cover. Let stand for 5 minutes. This allows just enough to time to cook the pasta al dente , and keep the peas and spinach a bright green
Taste one more time and adjust for salt and pepper ( Remember: if you are congested, your taste-buds are not A-OK).
Ladle into a bowl and add a touch of the lime juice.
Enjoy with grated parmesan cheese and crackers .

This is a great summer  or winter dish . It’s fragrant, delicious and  certainly a more upscale version of the canned stuff . It’s the perfect answer to what to do with all those very ripe or “much less than perfect tomatoes”.

It’s lovely topped with grated cheese; use ground white pepper instead if you are watching your fat intake. Try adding a dash of your favorite hot sauce for flare. 
 Did you know that roasting tomatoes increases the amount  of the antioxidant lycopene released? Now that’s an ideal food! 

 Try it with our cornbread or panini bread and yummy yummy; back to the good old days of a warm satisfying wholesome supper.

 Ingredients:

8 medium tomatoes, whole
4 shallots, quartered
3 cups broth either chicken or vegetable (check for soy, corn, gluten)
5 Tbls olive oil
3 springs of thyme
salt and freshly cracked white pepper

To Roast the tomatoes: Preheat oven to 450 degrees, mix the shallots and the tomatoes with the oil. Place in a shallow roasting dish. Cook till the shallots are golden brown and the tomatoes collapse.

Place the roasted veggies in a food processor or blender with 1 cup of broth, process till smooth. You can sieve the mix if you would like. Put the mix in a pan and add the rest of the broth, taste for salt and add the pepper and the thyme. Heat the mix without boiling. Ladle the soup into serving dishes, sprinkle with pecorino cheese if desired.

I had a little bit of everything, but not much of anything in particular: two half peppers, half an onion, two stalks of celery, three big mushrooms and small portion of beef. What could be made out of this? The jack of all trades but ace of none of all culinary dishes: the STIR FRY!

What we all love about stir fry is that it cooks quickly and has lots of color and flavor. Stir fry’s are also great because there is no concern of exact proportioning, measuring or ingredients! But there is a pressing matter of prepping. The only way a stir fry can go wrong  is if its components are overcooked or undercooked, and has to do with the size and texture of the ingredients.

Here is list what works best:

Vegetables:

Celery, peppers, carrots and green onions : cut the same size ( about 1/4 inch julienne)

Mushrooms : cut stem, then slice 1/4 inch thick

Onions: Slice lengthwise into 1/4 inch C’s ( see picture)

Garlic: mince or chop

Meats:

Beef : cut into 1/2 inch cubes then salt pepper and let sit at room temperature 30 mins

Chicken: cut into bite-size portions then salt and pepper.

Pork, lamb or veal: cut into 1/2 in cubes, salt and pepper

Sauce

And here comes the last  blast of flavor: use a soy sauce to make it oriental, chipotle or hot sauce to give a south-west twist, or a little wine for a European touch. I found that white wine works well with  all the meats, but red gives a strange hue to chicken.

How- to:

Prep your meats and your vegetables. In a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat , heat 2Tbls of canola oil. Add the meat and stir fry for 2 minutes, add garlic and sauce or wine and stir fry for another minute. Remove from heats and set aside in separate bowl, cover to keep warm.

In the same skillet add 1 tsp of oil and add the onions, stir fry for a minute then add other vegetables. Lastly, add the mushrooms ( if any) and cook for an additional half minute to a minute, just enough time to see the mushrooms change from white to golden.

Serve immediatly over Rice, orzo or cous-cous  by aranging the plate as follows:  Base of rice, orzo or cous-cous, then layer with vegetables, and top with the meat .

Please note: that all time are approximate and depend on your particular cook-top.