Category Archives: Poultry

Moroccan-Style Chicken Pie

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Geek Baker| 4 Comments

This is another recipe that I saw come across my RSS feed from the craving-inducing magazine that is Bon Appetit. Its a recipe inspired by Morocco’s traditional B’stilla (which is made with squab).  Here’s a link to more information about Moroccan cuisine if you’re interested!


Simple ingredients, ample amounts of aromatic spices, and a lovely delicate crust make this savory/sweet pie a truly enjoyable experience for all your senses!





The finished product in all its flaky, rich, delicious glory…




Moroccan-Style Chicken Pie


Adapted from Jeanne Thiel Kelley of Bon Appetit




NOTE: I strongly suggest making at least the filling ahead of time.  The entire process (including cooking time) took me around 2.5 hours…



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Ingredients -
Filling:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped (I can’t believe I did not have an onion on hand…I used onion powder instead.)
  • 1 cup of broccoli, chopped
  • 3/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • Sea salt
  • Ground Pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (I used a heaping 1/2 teaspoon since I omitted the saffron.)
  • 1/8 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads (I left this out only because this month’s budget did not allow for $20 spice…I know its a great spice, but this dish turned out really well without it.)
  • 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
  • 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs (I used three large breasts.)
  • 1/4 cup chopped golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (Omitted this.)
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley (And this.)

Phyllo:

  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  • 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 10 sheets (about 17×12 inches) fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed
  • 1/2 cup (about) unsalted butter, melted (for brushing) (and PAM Grape Seed Spray)
Directions –

For filling:
1. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. (I instead sauteed my carrots and broccoli.) Mix in cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and saffron; stir 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute.

2. Add broth; bring to simmer. Sprinkle chicken with salt; add to broth mixture. Gently simmer chicken uncovered until cooked through, reducing heat if necessary to prevent boiling, about 20 minutes. (My breasts took over 30 minutes to cook.  I had to add a bit more chicken stock during the process.) Stir in raisins. Set skillet aside until chicken is cool enough to handle.

3. Transfer chicken to plate. Shred chicken coarsely (a fork works just fine) and return to skillet. If sauce is thin, simmer over medium heat until sauce coats chicken thickly. Stir in cilantro and parsley. Season filling with salt and pepper. Cool filling completely. Can be made 2 days ahead. Just cover filling and chill. (I made mine about 8 hours before cooking.)

For phyllo:

1. Finely grind almonds, powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and cinnamon in mini processor.  (I got to use my new food processor for the first time.  :)   )

2. Stack 10 phyllo sheets on work surface. Invert 9-inch glass pie dish onto stack. Cut around dish through phyllo, making ten 10-inch rounds. Remove dish. Cover rounds with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel.  (Note: Phyllo dough dries out very quickly and once its dry, its a goner.  I covered mine with a sheet of plastic wrap and a few damp paper towels and replaced both after removing each phyllo piece while assembling the pie.)

3. Brush same pie dish with melted butter. (I sprayed with my PAM.) Place 1 phyllo round on work surface; brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almond mixture. Top with another phyllo round, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat stacking with 3 more phyllo rounds, butter, and almonds. Fit phyllo stack into prepared pie dish. Brush with butter.  (Note on butter: I had read reviews that stated the finished product tasted a bit too greasy so I only brushed every third phyllo with melted butter (and the top crust) and sprayed the rest with PAM. My finished pie was not too greasy nor too dry.)

4. Spoon filling evenly over. Place 1 phyllo round on work surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo round, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat with 2 phyllo rounds, butter, and almonds. Place stack atop filling; top with remaining phyllo round. Tuck in edges. Drizzle more butter over top. Cut 4 slits through top phyllo stack to allow steam to escape.  Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.  (I assembled my pie about 6 hours before I put it in the oven.)

5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered until phyllo is golden and filling is heated through, about 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into wedges. Reheating: It reheats ‘okay’ in the microwave but if you want some of the crispness to come back to the phyllo crust, use the oven…..plus, it makes your whole house smell delicious again!




The filling simmering away on the stove…








and a pic of me via the now-sweden-bound swede…









ps….I did not participate in February’s Daring Bakers Challenge due to a lack of time and desire. It was tiramisu and for whatever reason, that has just never been very high on my Desserts-I-Love-List….and yes….its a very long list. ;) This month’s challenge looks interesting but its another ‘serve immediately’ type dessert…which doesn’t work well with my far too solitary lifestyle. Guess I will have to invite the neighbors over for dessert one night…

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Posted in Pies, Poultry

Chicken Pesto Gnocchi

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Geek Baker| 2 Comments

Last Friday night I made Chicken Pesto Gnocchi.  As I mentioned before I did not want to take the time to make the gnocchi or pesto from scratch but I did want to serve a fabulous tasting meal.  Exactly how does one do that?

By taking store bought ingredients and making them better with easy techniques…that’s how!

  • Chicken breasts are always delicious simply seared in a little olive oil.
  • The secret really is the gnocchi.  If you’ve never been crazy about gnocchi before, you will almost certainly fall for it this way.  Often people don’t like its fluffy softness thinking it should be more like regular pasta.  But by frying it in a little oil it develops a lovely light crisp that makes it truly special.






Chicken Pesto Gnocchi

Ingredients –

  • 3-4 chicken breasts
  • Pre-made gnocchi
  • Concentrated pesto paste (I always buy concentrated pesto if I don’t make my own.  Otherwise, store-bought pestos can be very very oily.  Buying concentrated allows you to decide how much oil you want to add, or in my case, gives you to option to flavor other sauces with it.  When buying a paste look to make sure the first ingredient is basil, not oil.)
  • Olive oil
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1-1.5 cups of milk (I used skim)
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions –

For the Gnocchi:
1.  Cook the gnocchi according to the package’s directions.  (This usually entails boiling it for 3-4 minutes.)

2.  Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Fry the gnocchi until it is browned and has a nice light crisp on the outside.

For the Chicken:
1.  Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.

2.  Generously season breasts with salt and pepper. Sear chicken until a dark golden brown on both sides.  You may or may not cook your chicken completely this way.  If your breasts are too thick to cook completely through before the searing is done, simply pop them into an oven preheated to 390 degrees and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is completely cooked.

For the Pesto Sauce:
1.  Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a small sauce pan of medium-low heat.

2.  Add 2 tbsp of flour to the butter and whisk constantly until it tans ~ 3 minutes.  (I like to create a browned butter taste by cooking this mixture until it begins to turn a nice brown color.)

3.  Add milk little by little.  Add milk until it is just a bit thinner than you would like the finished sauce to be.  Continue cooking it until the sauce thickens up again to your desired consistency.

4.  Add  2.5 tbsp of pesto paste, or to taste.  Stir until completely combined and serve immediately.






Add a side of your favorite steamed vegetables and enjoy!

(Oh, how I hate taking pictures in the dark! I cannot wait for summer when natural light will still be available after 5pm!)

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Posted in Noodles, Poultry

Creamy Lemon Chicken

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Geek Baker| 4 Comments

I was in the mood for lemon chicken and after seemingly exhausting the internet for recipes, I decided to come up with my own version of Creamy Lemon Chicken. I took a simply seared chicken breast well-seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper and topped it off with a creamy and tart lemon sauce.  Add a little rice and broccoli and you’ve got lovely dinner.  :)



Creamy Lemon Chicken

Ingredients –

  • 4 chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • olive oil
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup sour cream  (Note:  I think 1/2 cup creme fraiche would be lovely instead, but this is what I had on hand it and turned out very well.  You could also easily just use all sour cream if that’s what you have.)

Directions –

1. Generously season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Sear chicken in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat until completely cooked.  (I seared mine until completely cooked because I like when my chicken gets a bit charred and crispy on the outside.  You can see the dark spots in the picture below.  If you don’t like it that done, sear the chicken until its golden brown and put in a glass dish or roasting pan.  Finish cooking chicken by placing in a preheated oven at 390 degrees for approximately 12-15 minutes, or until done.)

2. Remove chicken from pan and drain all but a tbsp or 2 of the oil/fat mixture.  Return pan to medium heat and add lemon juice, greek yogurt, and sour cream.  Stir over medium heat until completely combined.  Let it simmer for a couple of minutes.

3. Drizzle lemon sauce over chicken and garnish with lemon zest.  (Drizzle is key here. This is a very lemony sauce…which I like.  If you want it less tart, use the juice and zest from half a lemon.)




I served my chicken with broccoli and rice (I’m all out of brown…ack! Lord knows how old that white rice I used was…. :S).

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Posted in Poultry

Honey Cardamom Chicken

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Geek Baker| 4 Comments

I cannot say how delicious this chicken was enough.  It. Was. Fabulous. And that’s saying something coming from me.  As the years go on I eat less and less meat.  But with company coming over for dinner on Saturday I thought I would prepare some chicken – since not everyone is as excited by the thought of having beans and tofu as a main course as I am.  (Ooh…speaking of, I completely nailed skillet cooking tofu this weekend.  I’ll share the technique soon!)

This recipe immediately caught my eye.

  • For one, I already had everything in my kitchen.
  • For two, it looked simple enough so I could actually enjoy the evening instead of fretting it away over the stove.
  • And finally, for three – it uses cardamom.  I knew that cardamom was used in some Indian dishes, but I had only ever baked Scandinavian breads and sweets with it.  I was anxious to find another use for the the unique spice…..




Honey Cardamom Chicken

adapted from Simply Recipes


Ingredients -

Marinade

  • 4 Tbsp honey
  • 2 Tbsp sherry (I used a dry white wine since it was what I had on hand.)
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds, ground (I used both pre-ground cardamom and pepper…if you have the actual seeds/corns on hand, the flavor is always better if you grind them yourself!)
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns, ground

Chicken

  • 6 chicken breasts, or one whole chicken, cut into parts (I used 3 MASSIVE chicken breasts)
  • 2 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 lemon, thinly sliced
  • Salt and pepper



Directions –

1. Preheat oven to 390°F. Warm the honey (in the microwave…just long enough to make it liquidy), stir in the sherry, cardamom and peppercorns. Place marinade and chicken in a large bowl making sure to coat chicken with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan at medium high heat. Sear the chicken, skin side down, until golden.  (I browned mine until they were a darker golden brown like picture below.)
3. Place lemon slices in a roasting pan/glass dish. Lay the chicken pieces on top. Brush with the marinade. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place in the oven and bake until done, approximately 15 minutes for breasts, 20 minutes for thighs, wings, and drumsticks. (NOTE:  the baking time will really just depend on how done your chicken got when you seared it.  The marinade should prevent any dryness from minor over-baking, but you don’t want to push it too far!) Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Pour out drippings from the pan into a gravy boat for gravy.

4. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes, or couscous. (I served mine with brown rice with the leftover marinade drizzled on top.)

(Picture courtesy of SimplyRecipes.com…..my chicken was being eaten before I even thought to grab the camera.  I will also say that the chicken does indeed turn out this beautiful.  The searing makes all the difference.)


Verdict: Amazing. I am thrilled to have found a new use for the large jar of cardamom in my cupboard and also to now have another and different way of flavoring chicken.  Make this. You will not be sorry you did!




coming soon….feisty green beans, chocolate chip cookies, and white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies…oh my!

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Posted in Poultry

Chicken Pot Pies….mmmmmmm

Posted on December 31, 2009 by Geek Baker| Leave a comment

Nothing says *comfort food* like Chicken Pot Pies.  (And nothing helps my waist line continue to expand quite like them either…)

There’s been much MUCH eating going down at the Parents-of-Geek Baker-residence and these little pies have been my favorite dinner meal so far.  You can make them in a large pan and dish individual servings from there, but I prefer making individual pies, both for their looks and the fact that each person get more of the delicious crust.

I looked at several recipes and ended up making my own.  You can play around greatly with the filling and if you don’t fancy using canned soup, there are plenty of recipes out there to make your own sauce.  It was just a very easy way to get that thick creaminess I wanted.  Someday – when I have more ambition – I’ll come up with a proper recipe filled with fresh veggies, amazing spices, and homemade sauce….until then, this tasty substitution will have to do!

Enjoy!

Tara’s Individual Chicken Pot Pies

Servings: 4

Ingredients for the Pastry -

  • 1 1.4 cup flour
  • 1/2-1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt (If you’re using salted butter just leave this out.)
  • 3-4 tbsp ice water

Ingredients for the Filling -

  • 1 8oz bag of mixed vegetables (Any variety you want.  You can also put in any fresh, steamed, or canned vegetables.  Be aware that if you used fresh veggies they will not get as soft.)
  • 1 10 3/4oz can cream of chicken soup (I’m sure cream of potato or mushroom would work fine as well.)
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1-2 cups boiled potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (or turkey)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper (Play around as you please with the spice.  I think paprika or cayenne could add something…)

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Combine the first 5 ingredients for the pastry crust until crumbly.  (You can use a pastry blender, knives, or your hands to do this.) Add the water one tbsp at a time until the dough forms a ball.

2. Divide dough into 8 equal balls and roll out 4 of them large enough to cover the bottoms of 4 oven-safe bowls.  (We used small cereal bowls, but many recipes suggested ramekins.)

3. If you are using frozen vegetables, defrost them partially in the microwave for about 3 minutes.  Stir together the soup and milk.  Stir in all the remaining filling ingredients, including the vegetables.

4. Spoon in an equal amount of filling into each of the 4 prepared bowls.  Roll out remaining 4 balls of dough into circles large enough to cover each bowl.  Top each bowl with a dough circle, trim and pinch the sides, and cut vents on top of each pie.

5. Place pies on a baking sheet and bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.  (I think I ended up baking mine at least 45 minutes…)

While this was a very simplied version and didn’t necessarily have the complex flavor of a completely homemade pot pie….it was excellent comfort food that was easy to make with items already in the pantry and in a short amount of time.

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Posted in Pies, Poultry