what-i-cooked: coq-au-vin pour deux

after booking our trip to paris and italy last week, i decided to try some french cooking and came up with this coq au vin.  this is a traditional rich stew of chicken and red wine and is great for a cool, winter-y day.

serves 2
ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
4 ribs celery
4 carrots
7 pearl onions (fresh)
7 sprigs of fresh thyme
4 cloves garlic
1 bottle bordeux 
chicken stock
salt
pepper
4 strips bacon
butter

directions:
pre-heat a dutch oven over medium heat with 1 tablespoon butter and then after cleaning the chicken add it the pan and brown on both sides.  then add the chopped bacon and cook alongside the chicken.  in the meantime chop the celery, carrots, pearl onions and garlic and then layer on top of the chicken and saute for 5 minutes before pouring in 2 cups of the bourdeux with 1 cup of chicken stock and the fresh thyme and salt and pepper to taste.  bring the mixture to a simmer and then cover, stirring occasionally for an hour and a half.  serve with some crusty bread for dipping.  

*regretfully my camera cord and car died within 5 minutes of each other and i am unable to post photos of this meal at this time- will post as soon as i get a new camera cord and hopefully the mini will be up and running soon too:)

what-i-cooked: spicy-lamb-burgers with a lemon-mint-yogurt sauce and mediterranean-orzo-salad

my favorite way to eat lamb is in the form of a burger dressed in a cool yogurt sauce. i decided to spice up my burgers tonight with some savory seasonings and added some citrus and mint to the yogurt sauce for a complementary cool clean taste.  this pairs well with my mediterranean orzo pasta salad and the recipes are posted below.

lamb burgers: (serves 2)
3/4 pound of ground lamb
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 pinches ground cumin 
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 tablespoon evoo
2 pieces of naan
mint leaves
crumbled goat feta

directions:
mix the spices and the chopped garlic in a bowl. then mix with the ground lamb and evoo. form the burgers in the palm of your hand- each should be about the size of a falafel and there should be 3 burgers per person.  then, heat a grill pan over high and cook the burgers until they are medium.  while the burgers are cooking, arrange some crumbled feta on top of the naan.  once the burgers are done, place them atop the crumbled feta and top each burger with a mint leaf.  drizzle with cucmber lemon yogurt sauce.

cucumber-lemon-yogurt-sauce   
ingredients:
1/2 cup of traditional greek yogurt (full fat)
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
7 mint leaves
small handful of chopped cucumber
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic

directions:
process the cucmber and mint leaves with the lemon juice and garlic in a food processor until smooth. then add the yogurt with two shakes of salt and pepper and process until fully blended. 

mediterranean-orzo-salad:
ingredients:
3/4 cup of orzo
salt and pepper
handful of chopped cucumber
handful of chopped goat cheese feta
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 shallot finely chopped

directions:
heat a pot with boiling water and two dashes of salt for the orzo and then cook the orzo until al dente. rinse the orzo with cold water after you strain it and then combine with the chopped cucumber and shallot before adding the balsamic and one shake of pepper. then, gently fold in the goat cheese feta before serving.  

what-i-cooked: caprese-lemon-anise-salad

i made julia child's boef bourginon this past saturday for my family and decided to whip up a tomato salad to go with it. i added some chopped anise to the dish which complemented the citrus perfectly- the recipe is posted below- enjoy!
serves 5

ingredients:
3/4 pound of tomatoes -preferably a mix of grape, yellow and cherry tomatoes
1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 anise root
1/2 pound of pearl mozarella balls
20 fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste

directions:
chop the tomatoes into bite size pieces- i chose to halve my cherry tomatoes and dice my romano tomatoes. then mix with the chopped anise bulb and the pearl mozarella in a large glass bowl.  squeeze the juice from 3/4 of the lemon and add the evoo with some salt and pepper to taste.   wash the basil leaves and then roll them up and shred into ribbons before mixing with the caprese-salad.  enjoy! 

what-i-cooked: creamy-orzo-with-savory-peppers

this is one of my husband's favorite meals and although it is quite simple it definitely hits the spot when we're in the mood for some good comfort food.  this recipe was first developed in college with my friends maria and jodi and i have been transforming it ever since.  the recipe is posted below:
(serves 2)
ingredients:
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 box of orzo
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup of grated parmesan
cayenne pepper
italian seasoning
red chili powder
4 cloves of garlic
evoo

directions:
heat a pot of water for the orzo and then begin chopping the peppers and garlic.  place two swirls of evoo in a second fry pan and heat over medium before adding the peppers to the pan. season the peppers with 3 dashes of chili powder, 2 dashes of cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons of italian seasoning.  when you have about 4 minutes left of cooking time for the al-dente orzo, add the garlic to the pan with the peppers and season with salt and pepper to taste. once the orzo has finished cooking, strain it and return it to the pan and mix with the butter, parmesan and milk.  divide the creamy orzo between two bowls and top with the seasoned peppers. 

what-i-cooked: chicken-in-wine-sauce and scalloped-potatoes

my mom used to make chicken in wine sauce when i was little and i always loved how the house smelled while it was cooking and always couldn't believe she was letting me drink wine (little did i know the alcohol was actually cooked off).  i attempted re-creating her recipe tonight which is super easy to make and perfect for a week night meal.
i chose to pair this with some tasty scalloped potatoes and posted my recipes below:
chicken in wine sauce (serves 2 but can be easily doubled)
ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
salt 
pepper
chardonnay
oregano
1 roma tomato
bacon (pre-cooked)
evoo

directions:
first pre-heat the oven to 375 and then rid your chicken breasts of all the gross white parts.  pat the chicken dry with paper towels and then sprinkle with salt and pepper before lightly browning on both sides (3 minutes) in a warmed saucepan with one swirl of evoo over medium heat. once the edges are lightly browned, transfer to a glass baking dish and layer each slice with two pieces of bacon-making an x, top with two slices of roma tomatoes and then pour wine in the pan until it reaches the same depth as the chicken breasts and sprinkle liberally with dried oregano.  place in the oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink.

scalloped-potatoes (serves 2):
ingredients:
2 potatoes ( i used one large red and one large yukon gold)
1.5 tablespoons butter
1 and 1/4 cups water
grated and shaved parmesan
1 tsp salt
1 tsp peper


directions:
pre-heat the oven to 375.  thinly slice the potatoes into scallops and then layer on the bottom of a glass baking dish, place the butter on top and season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.  cover the potatoes with the grated parmesan first and then shaved parmesan second.  then pour the hot water on top and place in the pre-heated oven for 30-45 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. enjoy!