Hakka Chicken

Re-wind to August 2012 - last year.

My brother-in-law was just a day or two away from moving to Spain. He had to go ahead of his family to procure a home, vehicle, and various other requirements that the government of that country needed to have met. Then the would grant visas to his wife and children.

He was in the city just for a few days - selling the van, tying up a few loose ends, and waiting for his flight.

Let's celebrate this momentous occasion.  Let's go out for dinner. Indian food? YES!!! Let's go to Taste of India.

We ordered rice, naan (pronounced 'naaaaaaaaaaan' - like when you say aaaaaaa for the doctor, not Nan - the name some people use for their Grandmother), and various delicious dishes with veggies and meat.

The "Hakka" portion of the menu caught our attention and I remembered a columnist on CBC talking about this delicious blend of Indian and Chinese cuisines. We were intrigued. We ordered the chicken.

It was amazing. Incredible. DE-Lish-OUS!!!

My newest favourite dish and something I craved from the moment I finished licking the sauce off the plate. I used naan, by the way, not my tongue.

I was instantly addicted.

I need to eat this again. Yes, need. Soon. Like... tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

How can I make this at home? It is too good... and A Taste of India is too far away to make this a daily order.

RECIPE: Hakka Chicken

Ingredients:
chicken wings
oil
madras curry powder (the yellowish curry powder)
garlic
salt

sweet chilli sauce

Method:

> in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the wings, mix oil, garlic powder, and madras curry powder (I know I have not put quantities here - that is because some will like it more garlicky, others more curried, and the third lot will realize that cayenne is magic in this recipe)

> the idea is to thoroughly coat the chicken wings in the curry oil

> now line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil so the foil goes over all the edges and put parchment paper over that; this will save you from the wings sticking to the cookie sheet and makes clean-up super simple

> here us where a slight deviation occurs and you can do this one of two ways

A> bake the wings at 400°F or 205°C for about 40 minutes or until they are 84°C or 180°F internal temperature

A> pour the sweet chilli sauce into a clean bowl, then the chicken wings on top; I use about 1/2 to 1 cup

A> toss the wings in the sweet chilli sauce and enjoy 

OR

B> bake the wings for 30 minutes, toss them in the sweet chilli sauce, and finish baking them to sticky perfection

Kosher Salt & Mint Crusted Leg of Lamb

When our church announced we would be moving locations for Sunday mornings to a Jewish Temple, we knew we wanted the first church lunch there to be inspired by the Jewish culture.

Clearly, lamb would HAVE to be on the menu.

After some research, we found an amazing local farm with fresh lamb available weekly. To order your own, go here.

RECIPE: Kosher Salt and Mint Crusted Lamb

Ingredients:
1 leg or shoulder lamb roast (with or without the bone)
1 large bunch of fresh mint
1/3 cup kosher salt
2 tbsp kosher salt
up to 1 cup olive oil

Method:
1. in a blender, blitz the mint, 1/3 cup kosher salt, and add olive oil until the mixture blends into a thick, liquidy mixture

2. place the lamb roast and the mint mix into a ziplock bag and allow to marinate for one day

3. once you are ready to cook the lamb, preheat the oven to 190ºC or 375ºF

4.  place the lamb in a roasting pan and pour over the remainder of the marinade then sprinkle 2 tbsp of kosher salt over the works

5. roast until cooked through - the FDA suggests a temperature of 145ºF or 63ºC

6. slice the roasted lamb and serve in the roast drippings

Garlic Confit: easier to make (and use) than pronounce

Garlic confit (say con-FEE) is simply garlic slowly poached in oil. 

Here are the steps:

1. skin garlic

2. poach in oil

3. enjoy

Step 1

- smash the garlic head to break up all the cloves

- place garlic into a metal bowl

- cover bowl with inverted metal bowl

- hold tightly and shake it for all you're worth

Here's how it is done...

Step 2

- place the peeled garlic into a pot and pour oil to just cover the garlic (you can use olive oil for this or any other oil you would like infused with garlic)

- turn the pot on LOW or 2 and allow to bubble away for 40 to 50 minutes or until they are golden and soft like warm butter; stir occasionally

Step 3

Enjoying this treat is the best part! How can you use it? Here are a few ideas:

For the oil...
- use the oil for a vinaigrette salad dressing
- roasted garlic vegetables - use the oil to toss the veggies before broiling to perfection
- for frying eggs in the morning
- lightly garlic toast for two - oil a cast iron skillet with garlic oil, then toast the bread on both sides
- for a lighter pizza, brush the shell with garlic oil instead of pizza sauce
- use in place of butter or oil - the options are almost limitless

For the garlic cloves...
- salad dressing - smash the cloves and mix with mayo and water to thin then salt to taste
- use in cream pasta sauces
- garlic bread - smash the garlic together with butter (and a little salt if your butter is unsalted) and spread on bread to be toasted in the oven
- use whole in recipes that call for a smaller amount of fresh minced garlic, for example, spaghetti sauce, homestyle chowder, or in stir-fries
- in mashed potatoes; pop them into the milk and butter (or garlic oil) while you are warming them before adding the potatoes and mashing the works; is wonderful this way with fresh goat chèvre

Storage

Keep in a sealed glass jar in the fridge. Keeps for about a month in the fridge as long as the garlic oil stays above the level of the garlic. If the garlic cloves are exposed to air, they are able to spoil more quickly.

When I make this, I use it up before it has a chance to go bad. Once you have made and used this garlic confit, I am sure you will find it disappears fairly quickly.

Roasted Chickpea Snacks

Today's lunch was simple to pull together, delicious, and fun to eat. The beauty is, these chickpeas can be combined with veggies and a starch for a simple lunch or can be a tasty snack on their own.

Satay Chicken

RECIPE: Thai Satay Chicken

This is currently my favourite thing to eat!! I have also recently shared it with several groups of friends and family. This posting is for those who have been hounding me for the recipe and for those who want a super simple, incredible dish that is certain to impress every time.

For the Love of Potatoes

When the kids and I arrived home around 7:00 pm, I asked Chris what he wanted for dinner. "Deep fried anything, covered with cheese," was his answer.

Obviously I was not going to deep fry anything. I made a basic salad, chicken, and oven fries.

At my house, oven fries are super simple:
1. tiny potatoes washed & quartered
2. into the bowl: oil, powdered garlic, pepper; stir then add quartered potatoes
3. dump onto a rimmed cookie sheet and broil on high, removing every 5-7 minutes to flip (2-4 times)
4. when they are golden and perfect, salt then eat them

En Papillote

One of my favourite ways to cook fish is the french style 'en papillote' (in parchment). All it means is that you cook the fish in the oven, wrapped in parchment paper. The result is always perfectly done moist fish. Here is how it breaks down...

Company's Coming!

We stayed home all weekend (it was snowy outside) and lazed around, not doing much of anything. It was 10:04 am on Monday and I realized that friends of ours were coming for dinner. I had not cleaned and there was no plan for dinner. There was a whole turkey in the freezer... if I turn on the oven right now...

Simple & Classy

When I make dinner, my goal is usually to make one thing that is special and make everything else simple. This makes the meal feel classier and takes little effort.

A few weeks ago, dear friends of ours came to visit with their four children. We then had six children in the house, ages 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, & 5 as well as four adults.

What do you feed to an active bunch like this?

Roasting Vegetables

There is something about this time of year that sends me in search of winter vegetables for roasting. Carrots, yams, parsnips, beets, and various squash all find themselves sliced, tossed in a light oil, salted & peppered, and laying patiently on my roasting pan, awaiting the scorching heat of the broiler.