Weekend cooking

Saturday: Rice with green onion and cilantro omelet and saute Mexican squash with garlic


Sunday: Vegetarian Lasagna with soy Italian sausage, Mexican Squash and green peppers

Hue food

Hue, the old Vietnamese capital, a city like a shy girl hiding her face behind the gentle flow of the Huong river, with shady streets winding between castles, temples and old glory. I only had half a day here on my last visit to Vietnam, a few hours of driving alongside the river, walking amongst the trees and old buildings that form the old town with its Forbidden City, an hour to eat like a Hueian, with my eyes, my ears and my heart. Portions here are small. Tiny dishes with spoonfuls of food, which are meant as much for your palate as they are for your stomach. Hue people eat slow, too busy contemplating on past and present, too engulfed in music and conversation to devour what is being put down before them. Each dish requires a different dipping sauce even if it is only a bite of steamed rice flour topped with shredded shrimp. I fell in love with Hue by the second course of lunch. A plate with four different types of hearty pastry,very simple in ingredients yet so sophisticated in the way you eat. Each with such distinct flavor my palate finally wakes up and asks for more. I fell in love with Hue leaving the city behind to continue on my journey, a longing in my mind for something I have discovered way too late. But I will be back. There are too many things we have not yet shared with each other.

Chicken Piccata and sautee mushroom

Chicken Piccata must be one of my boyfriend's favorite dishes, so it became the first dish we have tried to cook together. There have been ups and downs, but what follows is the best that has turned out, so I am sticking with it from now on. My secret ingredient - green olives. It goes oh so well with capers and lemon juice. I usually serve this with some pasta and a side of sautee mushroom because most of the ingredients from the chicken piccata can also be used for the mushroom.

Chicken Piccata

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 pound total)
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine (or water if you have nothing on hand)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup green olives, sliced
4 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Butterfly the chicken breast, cover the whole thing with plastic wrap and give it a few whack with the back of your knife. This will help the piece of chicken cook more evenly and tenderize the meat. Don't overdo it though! This is your meal, not your stress reliever!
Mix the flour with parmesan cheese and a dash of salt and pepper. Take your piece of chicken and dredge it in the flour mix.
Add 2 tblsp of olive oil in a hot, deep frying pan (the deepness will come in handy later). Add the dredged chicken pieces. Make sure not to crowd the pan so the chicken can cook properly. Cook each side of the chicken for about 5 minutes, or until they are nicely brown. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Put aside, cover to keep warm. Repeat the process if necessary with the rest of the chicken.
To the hot pan (after you are done with the chicken) add the wine/chicken stock/water. Using the spatula scrape up all the brown pieces at the bottom of the pan. Then add the rest of the ingredients, stir and bring to a boil.
Reurn the meat to the pan. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Move the chicken in the pan half way through to make sure each piece is cover with sauce.

Sautee mushrooms:

Ingredients:

8 oz mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 tsp oregano leaves
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter (you can omit this and use 2 tblsp olive oil instead of 1)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Clean the mushrooms.
In a pan add the olive oil, butter and garlic. Cook the garlic for about 2 minutes or until the butter is melted and hot. Add the mushroom, oregano leaves, salt and pepper. Give the pan a shake. Add the white wine. Let the whole thing cook for about 6-8 minutes, shaking it occasionally. The wine should be reduced to a third.

Serve hot with pasta, chicken piccata and white wine.

Jambalaya

This recipe was based on the original recipe from all recipes.com
see link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-and-Shrimp-Jambalaya/Detail.aspx?src=etaf
However, I made a few changes due to lack of ingredients and it came out fine. I especially like the heat from the jalapeno.
The best thing about jambalaya - it is an one pot dish, which means less to wash and rinse. You will spend about half an hour chopping everything, but once you start cooking, it's a breeze. The house will smell wonderful and you will still have the time to set the table while the rice is cooking.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 pound fully cooked smoked sausage link, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 cups sliced celery
• 2 cups chopped green bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers (that's a about 2 full ones, I kept the seed for extra heat, but you can cut out the white part with seed for a milder flavor)
  
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (28 ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 3 cups water
• 2 cups chicken breast, cut into 2 inch pieces
  
• 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( I actually did not have it the last time I cooked it, but if you have it on hand, use it. Your dish will have a nice smoky flavor)
  
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• about a tbsp of olive oil
  

Directions:

1. In Dutch oven over medium heat add olive oil, sausage, onion, celery, peppers, and garlic. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 3-4 minutes. Adding the sausage first will help rduce the amount of oil you need to get the rest of the ingredients cooking. Add the chicken and sautee until chicken is opaque on all sides, about 4-5 minutes. The pieces of chicken don't need to be fully cooked, you will continue to cook them some more. Now add the remaining ingredients, start with the canned tomatoes, then the spices and herbs, then the rice). Give everything a stir. Bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat and simmer 20 to 25 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove bay leaves. Serve with a side salad or some boiled veggies.