Been a while hasn't it? Sorry about that. che and I have been doing so much lately that the blogging was on the back burner for a bit. No worries- I have plenty of new blog-worthy material to share with you over this coming week. So check in often...
First up, a new tradition from the Wallings, jr kitchen:
LUCULLAN-ADVENTURES!
Lu.cu.lan (adj)- extremely luxurious, esp. of food.
Every weekend, or close to anyway, che and I will whip out one of our many cookbooks and try a new and fabulous recipe. Lucky for you, we’ll share our joys and dismal failures with you here, In the Nest. With no further a due…
For our first lucullan-adventure, we decided to shake it up with two Spanish entrees and a Hawaiian dessert. Lets begin.
From our ‘Tapas’ cookbook comes CHICKEN IN LEMON & GARLIC.
This ones easy-ish, and not too exotic. We halved the recipe, which usually serves six to eight. The ingredients (in the original measures) are as follows:
-5 Tbs olive oil
-1 onion, finely chopped
-6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
-1 grated lemon peel, save the juice of the lemon
-4 Tbs chopped parsley, extra to garnish
-salt and pepper
The Business: Slice up the chicken into thin(ish) strips. Cook the onions for about five minutes in a large saucepan (very large, like titanic). Add the garlic to the onion, cook 30 seconds without browning the onion or garlic. Add chicken. Cook thoroughly. When the chicken is no longer pink on the inside, add the lemon juice and peel. Simmer until the garlic and lemon create a glaze on the bottom of the pan. Mix the chicken and glaze a few times, otherwise the lemon will burn on the pan, bad news bears. Add salt and pepper to taste. Plate it up with a spring of something green, some extra lemon juice and fancy lemon peel.
Ck- Not bad at all. Lemony, but not too lemony. I might add a bit more garlic, as it seemed to get lost in the citrus. 4/5
Che- tasty. 4/5
Next up, also from the ‘Tapas’ cookbook- TORTILLA ESPANOLA
This dish is basically the Spanish version of potato pan cakes, not at all the Taco Bell tortilla that it’s name implies.
-1 lb waxy potatoes (no idea what makes a potato waxy. We went with red potatoes)
-1 ¾ cups Olive oil, you’ll likely be needing more than that
-2 onions chopped, we used ½ that with plenty of onion-ness in the finished dish
-2 large eggs-salt and pepper
-fresh parsley to garnish
The Business: Peel and cut the potatoes and onions into small cubes. Heat up the olive oil in the pan, add the onions and potatoes. Here’s the tricky part: heat the little devils so they become soft but not browned or falling apart. That’s what the book says, you got me how to actually accomplish that. We failed big time. While the onions and potatoes stubbornly brown despite your efforts, beat the eggs in a small bowl with salt and pepper to taste. Once the potato-onion cook-fest is done (about 20 minutes on low/medium heat), strain the extra oil and set aside to use in a bit. Add the eggs to the onions and potatoes in a large bowl. Heat up the olive oil you strained in the large sauce pan. Add the egg potato mixture to the pan , flatten and cook for 3-5 minutes. The underside should be setting by then. The whole thing should be similar to a very potato-y omelet. Loosen the pan cake with a spatula, place a plate over the top of the skillet and slip the pan cake onto the plate. Slide it back in to the pan, browned side up. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. To serve, cut into several slices like a pizza and garnish with parsley.
The Outcome:
Ck: Loved it. So tastey. I was worried the onions would overpower the dish, but they cooked down into a really mild yummyness. 4.5/5
Che: the flipping was way to hard. We failed in that department majorly. They just wouldn’t stick together. There was no way to flip them as directed in the cookbook. But they did taste ubergood. 3.5/5
For dessert, PASSION FRUIT PAIN DE PERDU WITH SEASONAL FRUIT AND CHEESECAKE CREAM from ‘A Dash of Aloha’
This is actually a Hawaiian breakfast entrée, akin to French toast. I kicked up the sugar and vanilla extract a notch to make it more dessert worthy.
The Ingredients:
-fresh fruit of your choice, we chose blueberries, mango, and starfruit
-Banana, sliced (we skipped this)
-Passion fruit , which we substituted for more obtainable Manjo-Orange jucie, 1 ½ cups
-sugar, 2 tbs (I put in about a 1/4 cup)
-4 egg whites
-1/4 cup orange juice
-1 tsp vanilla extract (I used 2 TB)
-whole grain bread, four slices
For the cheesecake cream:
-1/2 cup ricotta cheese
-1/4 ts lemon zest (I used a 1 TB)
-1/2 ts vanilla extract (I used 1 TB)
-2 TB powdered sugar (I used ¼ cup)
(combine all four ingredients in mixer until creamy)
The Business: Combine the passion fruit juice, sugar and fresh fruit. Let the fruit marinate in the syrup while you work. Combine eggs, OJ and vanilla. Wisk until mixed. Dunk the bread slices and slap some premade cheesecake cream on them, making a sandwich with two slices of dunked bread. Cover and set in the fridge for about 10 minutes. In a large skillet, melt 1 TB of butter. Cook each sandwich, browning both sides. To serve, cut each sandwich in halves, spoon mixed fruit and syrup over the slices. We put some powered sugar on there as well and garnished with star fruit slices.
The Outcome:
Ck: ok. Not really a fan of this one. I want my desserts sa-weet. And this didn’t really do it for me. Even with the extra sugar it was a bit blah. I would also substitute the whole grain bread with white bread. It tasted way too wheaty. 2/5
Che: Liked it. The fruit was very tasty. The “cream cheese” stuff could have been sweeter still. 3/5.
Until next adventure-
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