Coq au Riesling

Mar 8, 2014

Having family stay with me always means I’m going to try something special in the kitchen. This one had been at the top of the list for quite a while. But while it seems kind of fancy (it’s a little like the chicken version of boeuf bourguignon), it’s actually not that difficult or time consuming. And it tastes awesome.

This dish’s flavor combination is so rich and layered—you build a base of the bacon and onions and garlic sauteed in butter and oil, simmer for a while with some sweet white wine, then finish the whole thing with some cream. It’s rich, but not overly so—the mushrooms and chicken keep it from becoming too much.

You can serve as you see fit, over rice or pasta or mashed potatoes. While I’m not really a mashed potato person, my garlic mashed potatoes were the perfect foil for the sauce (which is fairly runny). You probably do need to serve it over something, though, or the sauce will be hard to corral.

Easy Sesame Chicken

Jan 2, 2014

How have I not tried this recipe before?!

This is one of those things that has sat on my Pinterest board for a couple years now, and every week I look at it and then pass it over for something else. Why? I have no idea. Sesame chicken is my jam when I get Chinese food. But over the winter break I decided to give it a try since it looked simple and I was already making a dessert as well. And I’m so glad I did—this recipe is simple, delicious, and mostly healthy. You can add whatever veggies you want and it can be ready in the time it takes to cook your rice.

The one major change I’d make is to double the sauce recipe…as you can see in the picture above, there is NO sauce to spare. I like my sesame chicken saucy, so it can soak the rice a little, so double the sauce and you’re good to go.

Giving crockpots a chance (Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken)

Jul 26, 2012

I’m not a huge fan of crockpots. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great for chili, potato soup, and rotel queso dip, but for actual dinner entrees I’ve never understood the appeal. But my dinner diet of prepared ravioli and sauteed kale needed a little shake-up.

The key was finding a good crockpot recipe to test that sounded good and didn’t utilize ingredients like cream-based can soups and cream cheese—those just aren’t things I like to put in my body when I can avoid it. Since I love Asian food, this recipe was intriguing and didn’t call for all sorts of crazy ingredients.