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About a week ago, it got unseasonably cold up here in Alaska. It rained and rained and that's characteristic of August up here. There's even talk about it possibly being the Coldest Summer Ever (with the fewest days to get above 65 degrees). I think we'll probably just eek it out but it'll be close.
But as it was, it was cold and rainy but still "summer" so I had a dilemma. I wanted something warm but not autumn-y. The solution presented itself in the form of a spicy tortilla soup. Warm, fulfilling but not wintery. I found it on All Recipes and went with several modifications, as always. And maybe it's just me but the cheese and sour cream seemed kind of essential. I taste tested it from the pot without both and was a little uncertain. Then I bowled it up with the accompaniments and VOILA! Delish!
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Adapted from All Recipes.com, Submitted by Betty
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup chunky salsa
~4-5 corn tortillas (or tortilla chips)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
In a large pot over medium heat, boil the chicken in a little water with a garlic clove and salt until done. Let the chicken cool until it can be handled and shred the chicken by hand. In the soup pot, saute the onion until tender, add the chicken and spices and then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lemon juice and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Cut the corn tortillas into narrow strips. Spray with a little cooking spray, add salt to taste and bake in the oven until crisp (or fry in a little olive oil on the stove until light golden).
Top bowls of soup with the Monterey Jack cheese, tortilla strips and a dollop of sour cream.
I absolutely love good Buffalo chicken wings. When I was at university in Austin, TX, there was a place (Wing Zone for all you with access) that had the best wings I could find. And they were close and fast and I swear I ordered from them so much, they probably knew my name and order by heart ('Oh, hi, Niki! 10 Medium wings with potato wedges and ranch dip, right?').
I've had a hard time since moving away from my beloved Wing Zone to find a chicken wing of equal caliber. Hot but not too hot, fresh and really, really saucy. So I've gone without for a while but every so often, the craving rolls around. Usually it's when I see the words "buffalo chicken"... This just so happened when I was browsing chicken recipes the other day and came across this one.
I'd never stuffed anything before so it was a mystery to me but I was more concerned with cooking the meat all the way through than the cheese melting out everywhere. Of course, the bleu cheese taste was practically lost in all this melting away cooking process and I only cooked the minimum amount of time. Were I to make this again, I'd probably skip the stuffed part and just add a side of homemade bleu cheese sauce/dressing. Then I could drench the chicken in the buffalo sauce and be good to go because the sauce? Awesome. I did add a little more hot sauce than it called for but that's my personal taste and you'll have to decide for yourself when it comes to that. But I definitely liked how that sauce came out. It brought (awesome) teardrops from my eyes.
SPICY BUFFALO STYLE STUFFED CHICKEN BREASTS
Adapted from George Duran via Food Network
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup blue cheese
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 tablespoons hot sauce OR to taste (recommended: Frank's Hot Sauce)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
Celery, sliced thin, to serve
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a sharp knife, cut a pocket into each chicken breast. Stuff 1/2 of the blue cheese into each breast. Secure the openings with toothpicks and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a nonstick, oven-proof skillet over medium heat and sear the chicken on both sides until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Put the chicken into the oven until it is cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.
In a small pot, add the butter, hot sauce, and white vinegar and cook over medium heat until bubbling. Pour half the sauce over the hot chicken and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove the toothpicks and serve with extra sauce garnished with sliced celery.
When I started this blog almost a year ago, I didn't set out to make only desserts. They just turned out to be the most fun (to eat) and the prettiest! Baked goods can't help being so awesome.
There's also something I love about baking that I think might make me a Non-Cook: it's almost a science. There are measurements, exact times and procedures. Cooking regular food (read: not dessert) is all about throwing stuff in a pan and tossing some salt and pepper and going by taste. There's a certain amount of freedom that both fascinates and terrifies me but there's also that other thing: huge room for error. I almost always fall on the side of error. I admire people (like my mom) who can just throw stuff together and know what'll work or how long to steam vegetables or whatever. I am not that person (yet). It's something I know only comes with practice and I'm working on it.
In the spirit of expanding my horizons, I attempted to make a MEAL. Salmon seemed like the easiest beginning: not only is it hard to mess up but because it's always good, I had frozen fillets handy. I had to adapt a recipe a coworker had raved about but it was minor things like using my oven instead of a grill. I came up with a couple sides dishes out of nowhere (because how does one construct a meal, anyway? Does zucchini go with salmon??).
It all came out pretty good, if I do say so myself. The original recipe called for 1/4 tsp crushed Habanero peppers which I laughed at. BUT I bought a little pepper and took about five seeds and stirred that into the glaze (couldn't taste them, thank God). But then, I licked my index finger. ...The one that'd just been touching the pepper. It was like INSTANT FIRE on my tongue. I stuck my head under the sink. Good God.
So this is my toned down, adapted version (which I can personally attest was not too sweet or spicy and quite lovely). The original is here for you brave, grill-having, spice-loving souls.
TERIYAKI SALMON WITH HONEY GLAZE
Adapted from Karan Dersham of Dersham’s Outlook Lodge
For a 2-3 pound salmon fillet
Marinade
1 cup soy sauce
I cup golden brown sugar
1 tbsp. minced fresh garlic
1 tsp. course ground pepper
set aside 1 tbsp. of this marinade for the glaze
Glaze
1 1/2 tbsp. reserved marinade
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
Combine the marinating ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Reserve 1 1/2 tbsp of marinade for glaze later. Pour marinade into plastic baggie (or shallow ceramic or Pyrex pan) with salmon fillets and refrigerate for 1-2 hours, longer if fillet is thick.
Position oven rack to highest level and heat broiler to high. Place marinated fillets in a shallow baking dish (such as a pie plate) and broil 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove from highest rack and turn off broiler. Place fillets on a lower rack for an additional 2-3 minutes in the warm oven to ensure it cooks fully.
Plate fillets and brush or drizzle the honey glaze on top of each before serving.
SAUTEED ZUCCHINI AND SQUASH
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper
Cut zucchini and squash into half-inch thick slices. Heat oil and butter until melted in a frying pan over medium. Toss zucchini and squash in pan, coating slices with butter. Add about 1 tsp of salt and pepper.
Lower heat to low and cover with lid, allowing one side to stay open, releasing steam. Cook for ten minutes (or until vegetables reach your preference of firmness), stirring every so often to evenly cook.
(Couscous: follow instructions on box! I used chicken broth instead of water to flavor it.)
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