Meatball Subs with Caramelized Onions on Torpedo Rolls

I don't know about any of you, but sometimes I get such a craving for certain foods and will do just about anything to make the meal a reality.

Case in point -- I really, really, really was in the mood for a meatball sub. I generally am not a huge fan of meatballs, but something about the idea of some juicy meatballs, cheese, tomato sauce, served on a great roll was stuck in my mind.

And while making the meatballs and sauce didn't pose a problem, the rolls did. You see, there are very few places here in Corozal that carry the type of rolls needed for this type of sandwich. I wanted something that wasn't too soft, something that had some toothsome quality. So what did I do? Made my own.

I selected this recipe for topedo rolls (courtesy of One Perfect Bite), as they seemed to be just what I was looking for.

With the roll situation under control, I turned my attention to the meatballs. I decided to try this recipe (courtesy of Smitten Kitchen). 

As you will note in the recipe, any ground meat can be used. I opted for ground chicken, mostly to achieve a moist and juicy meatball. 

After combining the ground chicken with the various herbs, spices, egg, and bread crumbs, I formed the meatballs and set them aside.

I caramelized some onions and warmed up some homemade tomato sauce that I had in the fridge.

The meatballs were browned and simmered in the tomato sauce.

Ready for assembly:

The rolls have just the right ratio of chewiness and stood up well to the sauce and meatballs. The browned exterior of the meatballs offered a wonderful taste and texture, with the insides being oh-so-juicy. 

Craving taken care of and there's the bonus of now having a tried and true sandwich roll that I can whip out in the future. Sweet!

Deviled Chicken Thighs

The number of recipes that are available online to prepare chicken thighs just amazes me. And if I have my way, I will make as many of them as I can. Why? Because we love that part of the bird, and I firmly believe a good meal that contains chicken thighs puts everything back to rights...or close to it.

This was the latest way I made them for dinner (courtesy of the New York Times).

I first pre-heated the broiler, set to high. The thighs were seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides. When the broiler was ready, in went the chicken, skin side up. 

While they broiled away for about five minutes, I mixed together some Dijon mustard, minced scallions, and a pinch of cayenne pepper.

When the chicken skin was golden brown from the broiler, I removed the pan and turned over the thighs. The mustard mixture was spread on the underside of the thighs, then the pan was popped back under the broiler for about five minutes.

The thighs were then removed from the broiler, turned skin-side up, and the remaining mustard mix was brushed on the tops. Back under the broiler for almost five minutes. I tested the internal temp of the thighs and it was a steady 160 degrees. Perfect.

Now for the taste -- in a word, divine. The skin was crispy and the tang of the Dijon mustard came shining through, but not so much to overwhelm the chicken. The meat was moist and juicy, making almost it's own sauce that was absorbed into the basmati rice I served the chicken on.

This is definitely a recipe I will be making again, while continuing my quest for other chicken thigh recipes.

Bacon Chicken Potato Casserole

It will come as no surprise that this recipe (courtesy of 12 Tomatoes) had me with the word bacon. Bonus points for it also having potatoes and being super simple to put together.

Now you may note that one of the early steps in this recipe is to cut the potatoes into wedges and place them in lightly greased baking dish. I would strongly suggest that you par-cook the potatoes, either by boiling or steaming them, beforehand. Don't know about your potatoes, but I've never had mine be tender in only 30-35 minutes in the oven.

Anyhow, with the potatoes out of the way, the chicken thighs get seasoned with some salt and pepper, then dredged in a spice mixture of garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne. 

The thighs get browned on both sides in a large skillet, then are placed on top of the potatoes.

There should be some spice mixture left over from the dredging. Whisk it up in some olive oil and drizzle over the chicken and potatoes.

On top of that, place crispy, crumbled bacon. The recipe calls for 1 cup, but I may have used a teeny bit more than that (ahem).

Put the whole shebang into a pre-heated 400-degree oven for 30-35 minutes. When the chicken is thoroughly cooked through and the potatoes are tender, remove from the oven and let everything rest for about 5-8 minutes.

To appease the Vegetable Gods and my husband, I steamed some broccoli.

We thoroughly enjoyed this meal. The chicken was tender and the spice mixture added some zip, but wasn't overpowering. The potatoes soaked up the spices too and as some of the potato edges were browned, there was a crispy factor. And the broccoli, well, it's steamed broccoli. What else can I say?

But seriously, this is good, quick meal for any day of the week.

Vinegar Braised Chicken

Back in the day when David and I were both working and he was doing all of the cooking, one of his go-to dishes was balsamic chicken and onions. The dish comes together quickly, tastes delicious, and is the perfect comfort food after a long day at the office.

So when I saw this recipe (courtesy of Epicurious), I realized with a few adjustments to the ingredients, this could take our chicken and onion dish to a whole new level. Yes, it does take a bit of time, but you won't regret one single second. 

I got the ball rolling by browning up some diced bacon. 

The recipe calls for pancetta, but that isn't something I've been able to find in Corozal.

After the bacon was browned, I used a slotted spoon and transferred it to a bowl.

Next, I tossed a bunch of chopped onions into the pan that the bacon browned in.

I used regular yellow onions, instead of cipolline or pearl variety. Again, not ingredients you find in these parts.

When the onions started to brown a bit, garlic cloves were added and left to cook for a few minutes. The onion/garlic combo was then spooned into the same bowl containing the bacon.

It was time for the chicken!

Working in batches, I seasoned the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and browned them on both sides. When each batch was done, it was added to the bowl containing the bacon, onions, and garlic.

The excess fat was removed from the pan and balsamic and red wine vinegar were added. WARNING: At this stage do not attempt to take a sniff of the steam emanating from the pan, unless your sinuses are completely clogged. Not that I would pull such a bonehead move, but...

Chicken stock, the pancetta, onions, garlic, and chicken thighs were then put in the pan. After letting everything come up to a boil, I reduced the heat and let it simmer for about 40 minutes.

While the chicken was simmering away, I made a batch of smashed potatoes and got ready to plate.

The chicken was moist and juicy and the sauce? Oh my gosh, it was magnificent. The combination of balsamic and red wine vinegars brought just the right level of punch, without in any way being overpowering. The sweetness of the onions came shining through, and, of course the richness of the bacon. A truly delightful and amazingly delicious dish!

Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Sauce

Recently I was casting around for a different way to cook chicken thighs. As luck would have it, I found this recipe (courtesy of Italian Food Forever). The idea of combining mascarpone cheese with mustard to make a sauce sounded interesting. 

To get the ball rolling, I made a batch of mascarpone the day before I made the chicken, as it needs time to set up.

The next day, I started on the chicken. Thighs were seasoned with salt, pepper, and oregano and roasted in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

While the chicken was baking, I got started on the sauce. The recipe calls for browning up some diced pancetta. That being an ingredient that is hard to come by, here in Corozal, I substituted bacon instead. 

When the bacon was done, I tossed in some finely diced onions and minced garlic. After that, some dry white wine was added, and let to reduce by half.

From there, some homemade chicken stock, thyme, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper were added. The heat was reduced a bit and the mixture was left to simmer for about nine minutes. The mascarpone cheese was then whisked in.

It was time for dinner!

I served the thighs over a bed of rice, spooned some of the sauce over top, and garnished with some of those lovely bacon bits.

The chicken was tender and moist and the sauce was outstanding. Not overly heavy (the chicken stock helped to keep it tasting light), with just the right amount of tang from the Dijon mustard.

I had sauce left over, so it got incorporated in a chicken taco recipe I made a few days later. Just warmed it up a bit before drizzling on top of the chicken bits and other goodies the taco contained. Delicious!

Chinese Chicken Pasta Salad with Sesame Dressing

It's August. It's hot. It's humid. It's time to break out a pasta salad for dinner. This recipe (courtesy of The Recipe Critic), contains so many of the Asian flavors that we love, so I decided to give it a try.

I had all of the ingredients on hand, except for the chow mein noodles. I knew what the author was intending, which was to use the cooked and crunchy noodles. Couldn't find any here, so I made my own.

This is the package I worked with:

I eyeballed about how much I would need, broke them off from the rest of the package...

...then cooked the noodles until just done.

Then I heated up some vegetable oil in a saute pan and added them into the pan in batches.

In no time at all, I had a pile of crispy, crunchy noodles.

From there, it was just a matter of combining chicken, lettuce, pre-cooked rotini pasta, cabbage, onion, carrots, and almonds. I didn't want the chow mein noodles to get soggy, so I left them as a garnish once the salad was tossed with the dressing.

And speaking of the dressing, all it takes is vegetable oil, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey, dijon mustard, soy sauce, sesame seeds, plus a bit of salt and pepper. Whisk it all together until combined, then pour over it over the salad.

The chow mein noodles were scattered on top and we were ready to eat.

This salad has it all -- sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy, nutty. We loved it and it will make return appearances on our table year round.

Chicken Tinga

I greatly admire Marcus Samuelsson as a person and chef, and have always had great success with his recipes. This one, for Chicken Tinga, is no exception.

The first step was cooking the chicken. In this recipe, the chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper then placed into a pot with water, peppercorns and bay leaves.

This all was brought to a boil, then reduced to a simmer to cook for about 20 minutes. Throughout the cooking time, I skimmed off whatever schmutz came to the surface to keep the stock as clear as possible.

Once the chicken was done and cool enough to handle, it was shredded up and set aside. 

The stock the chicken was cooked in was reserved for this next step...the sauce.

Onions were sauteed in some olive oil, minced garlic was added, along with diced tomatoes (with their juices), some of the reserved stock, and some chipotles in adobo. I used a very light hand with this last ingredient, due to it fiery nature and the fact that I am a wuss about overly spicy, hot food.

The sauce was allowed to simmer away for about 20 minutes. It was then put into a food processor, pureed until smooth, then poured over the chicken.

To plate the dish, I put some of the chicken/sauce mixture on a homemade tortilla, then topped it off with a lightly dressed slaw containing cabbage, red onions, and carrots.

We are talking about some seriously good chicken. The kick from the sauce was countered very nicely with the slaw, which also provided great crunch and color.

I have no doubt that this dish will be making a repeat appearance on our table.

Sticky Chicken

On days when the thought of firing up the stove or oven makes you question your sanity, dig out your slow cooker instead. In a matter of four short hours, you can serve up a batch of sticky chicken (courtesy of Six Sisters' Stuff).

Now while the recipe calls for chicken wings, neither David or I really love them. Instead, I used skinless chicken thighs. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

Let's start with the sticky part, which contains all matter of goodness.

Honey, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic cloves, ground ginger, and some hot sauce all get put into a sauce pan and cooked for about 5 minutes. You want the sugars to dissolve and the sauce to thicken.

Let it cool down for a bit, then pour it over your chicken that you already have put in the slow cooker.

Pop the lid on the cooker, turn the heat to high and go off and enjoy a cold beverage. After about two hours, turn the chicken pieces over, return the lid to the cooker, and let it continue to cook for another two hours. 

When the chicken has finished cooking, remove the pieces to a plate. Mix together some cornstarch and water, pour it into the cooker, and give it a stir. Return the chicken to the cooker and let it cook for about 10 minutes. You should notice that the sauce has thickened up.

Now it's time to eat!

I served the chicken on a bed of rice and garnished with some sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, and some of the sauce. This dish is really love at first bite. The chicken came out fork tender and packed with flavor. Granted, it's a teeny bit on the sweet side, but the soy sauce and hot sauce balance it out. 

Remember a slow cooker can be your best friend when temperatures start getting out of hand.

Braised Chicken with Tomato

There are certain chefs I really admire and trust when it comes to their recipes. Alex Guarnaschelli is one of my favorites. She brings so many flavors to the table and her recipes never disappoint.

That's why I knew this chicken recipe was going to be a winner.

The first step was to brown the chicken for about 4 minutes a side.

Once both sides were done, I removed them from the pan and set them aside.

While the chicken was browning, I prepped the onions, garlic and ginger. 

Before adding them to the pan, I toasted up some cumin seeds and chili flakes. The aroma was swoon-worthy.

The onions, garlic, and ginger joined the party, some salt was added, and everything was given a good stir to combine.

Tomatoes, cinnamon and bay leaves were added and the mixture simmered for about 10 minutes.

The chicken was added back to the pan and the whole shootin' match continued to simmer for about 40 minutes. Really, you need to inhale the smell of all this. Your mouth will be watering.

After the chicken was cooked through, I removed the cinnamon and bay leaves.

Now here's where I deviated from the script a bit. I removed the skin from the chicken and, in a separate pan, browned it up until crispy. Many thanks to Sonja Jamison for that great tip.

Dinner was ready!

I spooned some of the luscious, rich sauce over the chicken, served some rice, and sprinkled the crispy chicken skin and some cilantro over the top.

Oh my!  

Chicken Salad with Cranberries

Whenever I roast off a whole chicken, I usually use some of the leftovers to make chicken salad. And boy, were there leftovers this time around. I scored a bird weighing in over 7 pounds at Caribbean Chicken! That's the biggest one I ever saw since we moved here.

Anyhow, the chicken salad...

This particular recipe is a favorite of ours. 

Here's what you will need:

4 cups of cubed cooked chicken
1 large celery rib, cut into 1/4-inch slices
3 tablespoons of finely chopped onion
1 cup of dried cranberries
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and let it hang out in the fridge for a bit so all those yummy tastes have a chance to come together.

I love the vinegar element in this salad, because it gives a subtle kick. And the cranberries offer a delightful pop of sweetness.

Don't be afraid to change the proportions to your liking. Some people might like more mayo or celery. Some folks might want to up the vinegar a tad.

This a great dish all on its own. But it's also great filling in a tortilla or lettuce wrap. Give it a whirl.

Poulet Mere Blanc

I recently read the memoirs of chef Marcus Samuelsson (Yes, Chef) and this dish was mentioned a time or two. Always looking for different ways to prepare chicken, I let my fingers do the walking on my keyboard to see what recipes were out there.

Not surprisingly, there were many to choose from. I decided to go with this one, mostly because the ingredients made me laugh and there was just enough of a challenge to see if I could it off.

You will note that the first ingredient calls for "one beautiful chicken". Well as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I thought these chicken thighs were delightful. I also figured the dark meat would add even more richness to the dish. 

You might also note that "Paris mushrooms" are called for. Having no clue what a Paris mushroom is, I figured by its name alone it wouldn't be something I could get in Corozal. But the Internet came to my rescue again. Turns out, it's basically a standard, button mushroom. Well heck, even I can get those (most of the time).

I got the dish started by browning the chicken thighs on both sides, using an obnoxious amount of homemade butter. The quartered onions hung out in the pan during this process.

With the thighs all nice and brown and set aside, I added the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and let the 'shrooms give up their liquid.

When that was done, I deglazed the pan with white wine and let the liquid reduce. 

From there, I added the inordinately crazed amount of cream and, instead of a bouquet garni, stirred in some Herbs de Provence. When that was all mixed together, the thighs went back into the pan, along with the accumulated juices.

This all simmered away for about 30 minutes. About halfway through the cooking process, I took a taste of the sauce. Readers...it was amazing. Like swoon amazing. Like I wanted to down it all, right then and there. Fortunately, I gathered my senses and let the cooking process continue.

Final plating:

I do not exaggerate this is one of the best meals I've ever made. The chicken was moist and tender, the sauce was so rich and flavorful, and those crazy mushrooms just helped to bring it all together. 

We reserved some of the sauce and David used it to make a white pizza that weekend. Oh my goodness. If it wasn't for the artery clogging, cholesterol-laden elements of the dish, this sauce would be our constant companion.

P.S. I highly recommend Yes, Chef. It's an excellent read about Chef Samuelsson's life, multi-cultural background, and all the people and events that led him to his love of food and cooking.

Chicken Bacon Pasta

While putting together my weekly dinner menu, I try to incorporate dishes that are at least somewhat healthy. But then I run across a recipe that blows all those good intentions right out the window. Such was the case for this recipe (The Recipe Critic).

Seriously, who could pass up the opportunity to pair bacon with pasta, smothered in a cream sauce? Not me. 

First off, I fried up some bacon.

While that was cooking, I combined the ingredients for the dry rub that got put on the chicken breasts. Just a quick note -- I substituted thyme for the sage called for in the recipe.

When the bacon was done, I put the strips on paper towels to drain and to be crumbled later.  Some of the bacon fat was taken out of the pan, and the chicken breasts went in to saute for about 5 minutes on each side.

In the meantime, I made the cream sauce that included heavy cream, cream cheese, parmesan, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Swoon.

The pasta got cooked and was added to the cream sauce. Another quick note -- the recipe called for the pasta to be rinsed with hot water. I don't rinse pasta, unless it will be used for something like a pasta salad. As a result, I skipped this step.

Time to bring all the pieces and parts to the plate.

Will it come as any surprise that we thought this was divine? No, didn't think so. The dry rub on the chicken brought some lovely savory and sweet notes to the dish, and the cream sauce was truly wonderful. I will say it was just a tad bit salty, but that was my error, not the recipe.

While clearly not a dish I will make on a regular basis, this is sinfully decadent for those times you want to treat yourself.

Thai-style Chicken Noodle Soup

It doesn't matter what time of year it is, sometimes a bowl of chicken noodle soup is called for to put everything to rights.

So when I saw this recipe from Honest Cooking that included some Thai-inspired ingredients, well, I just knew I needed to give it a try.

The first thing I did was to prep my chicken. The recipe says to slice it into thin strips. However, I thought it might make it easier to eat if it was cut into bite-sized chunks. So that's what I did.

With the chicken cut up, I put garlic that I minced earlier into my pot and cooked them up in some olive oil until the garlic was golden brown.

Then I added the chicken bits, turmeric, cayenne, and chili flakes. Everything was given a stir and allowed to fry away for a couple of minutes.

A quick side note about using turmeric. While it brings lovely color to a dish, be forewarned it may stain your fingers or other surfaces it might accidentally come in contact with. Don't ask me how I know this, but it's safe to presume it was a klutz move on my part.

Next up, I added the coconut milk, chicken stock, lime juice, fish sauce, and the pineapple juice, then whisked in the peanut butter.

*Note - the recipe calls for lemon grass paste, but that's not available here. 

I let the soup simmer for a bit, then added some noodles. When they were ready, it was time to plate.

The broth is so, so good! I would be happy just to have a bowl of it without any chicken or noodles. It's a wonderful combination and balance of spicy and sweet that will warm you body and soul. 

Chicken with Bacon and White Wine

Let me start by giving a big shout-out to Sonja Jamison for bringing this recipe to my attention. Clearly it contains some of my favorite things, meaning chicken, bacon, and wine. My friend knows me well.

I started off by browning the bacon,...

...while my sous chef, Olivia, offered to help take care of any bacon bits that may fall to the floor.

Next it was time to dredge the chicken thighs with flour, salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence. Another Sonja shout-out! She and her husband, Dan, gifted me with some spices when they were here last year. This spice combo has always been one of my favorites. 

The thighs were pan fried until golden brown on both sides and set aside.

Next up were the onions. The recipe calls for shallots, but they aren't something I've found in the Corozal markets. As a result, a humble yellow onion was thinly sliced and sauteed until it got soft.

I then added the white wine (the remainder of the bottle being consumed by the chef). All those lovely brown bits were scrapped up, then the chicken stock went in the pot. I also added a healthy teaspoon of the Herbes de Provence to keep that flavor going. That all simmered for a bit until it started to reduce. 

I put the chicken and bacon bits back into the pan, and put it into a preheated 350-degree oven for 40 minutes. 

The recipe calls for basting the thighs every 10 or so minutes with the pan sauce. It became quickly apparent that there really wasn't enough sauce to make basting possible. So I just flipped the chicken every so often to ensure both sides got some lovin'.

I let the chicken rest, out of the oven, for about 15 minutes. That gave me plenty of time to cook some couscous.

The final plating:

Our thoughts? Overall, the flavors were terrific. Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough pan sauce. I don't think I over reduced the stock/wine mixture, so I'm not sure what happened. I'd like to try it again and double the pan sauce ingredients, which should make a difference. 

The other change I would make is to use skinless thighs. While the skins were crispy prior to putting the pot in the oven, they lost that quality during the cooking process. 

But all in all, this recipe has lots of merit and deserves another go. I'm so glad David doesn't mind being a guinea pig.