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.

Creamy Ricotta Spaghetti

While I love spending hours in the kitchen, there are some days that there's so much going on that a quick and easy dinner is the way to go.

I recently gave this recipe a try (courtesy of delish). The idea of using ricotta as a sauce intrigued me.

There are only three steps to this recipe. 

First cook the spaghetti and reserve one cup of the pasta water before draining.

Next, saute some garlic and stir in the ricotta, some of the pasta water, and a bit of lime zest. The recipe calls for lemon zest, but that fruit isn't readily available here. Limes, on the other hand, we have by the boatload.

Finally, add the pasta to the sauce and give it a mix so all the spaghetti is coated.

I garnished our plates with a bit of crushed red pepper and chopped basil. Overall, we thought the dish was okay, but not great. The ricotta worked well as the sauce, but it just felt like something was missing from a flavor standpoint.

A number of days later, I made this again. But this time, I added some chopped tomatoes and crispy bacon. That did the trick! Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture. But imagine a forkful of pasta, drenched in the creamy ricotta sauce, the burst of tomato goodness, and the salty crunch of bacon bits all in one bite. it was delicious. 

I think this is a good, basic recipe that can be a vehicle for almost anything you might have hanging out in your fridge, looking for a home. Have leftover chicken bits? Broccoli? Throw 'em in there and in 20 minutes you can have dinner on the table.

Roasted Garlic Tomato Soup

For the last number of days, we've been having a cold front hovering over us. Now a cold front for Belize means the nighttime temps can drop into the mid-50s, and the daytime temps may make it to the low 80s. Factor in gusty winds and most folks here have donned long pants, hoodies, and even put on socks! I know many of you in the States are suffering the effects of an epic cold snap, and will roll your eyes at our weather, but trust me, once you get acclimated to heat and humidity, the dip in the temps comes as a shock.

It's just this type of weather that screams for something warm and comforting to eat. And when I think of comfort food, homemade tomato soup comes to mind. The fact that I would be near the stove also helped, in order to get warm.

Casting around my pantry and fridge, I decided to do a bit of a riff on just plain tomato soup. The first thing I did was cut off the top of a head of garlic, placed it in some foil, drizzled olive oil over it, then wrapped it up and put it into a 400-degree oven for about 30 minutes. Within no time, our kitchen smelled of garlicky goodness.

With the garlic baking away, I warmed a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and added some chopped onion, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes.

When the onions were tender, two 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes (with their juices) were added to the pot, along with the now soft and delicious smelling baked garlic cloves, and about a cup of homemade chicken stock.

Everything got stirred around and was left to simmer for about 1 1/2 hours, then tasted for seasoning. It needed just a pinch more salt.

I dug out the immersion blender and whizzed it through the diced tomatoes. We like a bit of texture in our soup, so I left some of the tomato chunks.

At this point, about a 1/2 cup of unsweetened condensed milk was added (cream or half & half would also work), along with some grated Parmesan cheese. The soup then simmered for about another 20 minutes.

While the soup was doing its thing, I julienned some basil and fried up some slices of bread. Boy, is fried bread awesome!

I put a thin slice of Parm on top of the soup, along with the strips of basil.

In spite of using canned tomatoes, this soup was packed with flavor. The roasted garlic permeated every spoonful, and brought a back note of sweetness. The crushed red pepper flakes offered up their zing, but not in any sort of overwhelming way. And the cheese lent a saltiness that balanced everything out. 

All in all, a great soup for chilly weather no matter where you live.

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.

Hummus

I love hummus. To me, it's a lovely carrier for all kinds of flavors. The only problem I had, when making it from scratch, was that it would always end up with a slightly grainy texture. It didn't matter how long I whizzed those chickpeas in the food processor, the end result was always the same.

As luck would have it, I happened upon a cooking article that solved the grainy texture mystery. It's the skins of the chickpeas that were causing the problem!

Anxious to see if this was really the case, I soaked some dried chickpeas overnight.

The next morning, the chickpeas were drained, placed in large pot, along with some smashed garlic cloves, and covered with water. Now here's an interesting tip to facilitate the removal of the skins: add about a teaspoon of baking soda into the cooking water. 

Once the chickpeas are tender, reserve about a 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid, then drain the chickpeas.

Place the drained chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water.

Now this next part is kinda' tedious, but worth the time and effort. Agitate the chickpeas (I just used my impeccably clean hands), and the skins will come off. Some will float to the top, but some will sink to the bottom of the bowl. Scoop those babies out, wherever they are, and discard. 

After removing as many of the skins as possible, put the chickpeas and the garlic cloves, along with some salt, in the food processor and pulse a few times to start breaking them down.

Scrape down the bowl, then add about 1/4 cup of tahini and the reserved cooking liquid. Continue to pulse away until everything is combined and smooth. I found I need to scrape down the bowl a couple of times to ensure everything was incorporated.

After reaching the point of having silky smooth hummus nirvana, scrape the mixture into a dish, then make a well in the middle. Drizzle olive oil into and around the well, then finish with a dusting of paprika.

In future batches, I plan on using roasted garlic to give it a more pungent kick. And when my basil plants are ready, I foresee dabbing some pesto on the top. The possibilities are endless!

Cabbage and Sausage Casserole

I have no earthly idea what prompted me to make this dish (courtesy of Smitten Kitchen). Generally, I'm not a huge fan of cabbage. Even David was mildly shocked when I told him about the recipe. On top of the cabbage element, there is also the fact that the ingredient list is really short. My success rate with simple recipes is not high. But whatever the reasons, I got to work.

The first step is to blanch thickly cut cabbage.

When the cabbage was done, I drained it into a colander and ran cold water over the chopped leaves to stop the cooking process. I was concerned about how much water the cabbage would retain, even after draining. So, even though the recipe doesn't call for this step, I placed the cabbage on a tea towel (a clean one, of course) and wrung out more liquid.

With the cabbage out of the way, I placed about a third of the cabbage in a buttered baking dish. Bite-sized chunks of sausage were scattered on top, along with some dabs of butter and salt/pepper. 

I repeated the cabbage, sausage, butter, salt/pepper layering and placed the remaining third of the cabbage on top. This too was dotted with butter.

Parchment paper was placed over the baking dish and sealed shut with aluminium foil. The dish was placed in a pre-heated 300-degree oven for two hours.

After two hours, I removed the foil and parchment paper and let it continue to bake for another 30 minutes. There wasn't much water, which was a good thing, but taking the cover off allowed the cabbage to brown up a bit.

Ready to eat!

David sliced up some oat and wheat sandwich bread, and we slathered some Dijon mustard. Yes, the recipe calls for grainy mustard, but I couldn't find any.

We then spooned the cabbage and sausage mixture on top of our bread slices.

The taste combination was surprisingly good. There's almost a sweetness to the cabbage that was balanced by the spiciness of the hot Italian sausage and tang of the mustard. 

This is a hearty meal that is perfect for chilly nights and would also be great at a serve yourself dinner party. 

Cabbage. Who would have thought it could taste that good?

A Duo of Dips

A tradition that David and I have is to put together a snack tray for lunch or dinner (sometimes both) every weekend. There's homemade bread, a variety of cheeses, and a selection of dips. And while there is a limited variety of dips available in grocery stores, I sometimes like to make my own. Here are two that recently made an appearance.

Sriracha Roasted Carrot Dip

We love the kick of Sriracha and something magical happens when veggies are roasted, so this recipe (courtesy of 12 Tomatoes) was a must try and so easy to do.

All you need to do is peel and roughly chop some carrots, onion, and garlic. Toss with some olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and cumin.

Put the veggies on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast for about 35 minutes in a pre-heated 425-degree oven.

When the veggies are done, pop them into a food processor, add Sriracha and yogurt and whiz everything around to combine. Drizzle in some olive oil to get the mixture to the consistency you like, pop the dip in the fridge for 20 minutes, and -- Badda Bing -- you're done!

I think you will love the sweetness from the roasted carrots, combined with the heat of the Sriracha. Depending on your heat tolerance, you may want to start out adding 1/2 tablespoon of the sauce. If you want more heat, it's easy enough to add more.

Onion Dip

And speaking of quick and easy dips, here's another one (courtesy of Alton Brown) that comes together in almost no time at all.

For this recipe, simply saute some chopped onions in some oil until they start to turn brown. Remove the pan from the heat and let the onions cool.

In the meantime, combine some sour cream, mayo, garlic powder, and pepper. Stir in the cooled onions and you're all set.

I love this dip. The onions are sweet, but still a bit crunchy and the sour cream/mayo action brings a level of richness to the tongue. As an aside, I think it would also be superb to use it as a sandwich spread. 

Slow Cooker Smothered Pork Chops

On days that I have multiple cooking and baking projects on the agenda, making our dinner in the slow cooker frees up time and makes life a little easier. 

We hadn't had pork chops for a bit, so I decided to try this recipe (courtesy of Center Cut Cook). I mean how can you go wrong with ingredients including bacon, onions, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, to just name a few? The answer: you can't.

After crisping up some bacon in a pan, it got scooped out and set aside. Seasoned pork chops went into the same pan and browned. They then went into the slow cooker.

Next, onions, salt and a bit of water were tossed into the pan the chops were browned in and cooked until the onions were translucent. A bit of garlic was added for about 30 seconds, then the whole mixture was poured over the chops.

Again in the same pan, I added chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. All that was brought up to a boil, then poured into the slow cooker.

This all cooked for 7 hours on low. When the pork chops were done, I removed them from the slow cooker and tented them with some foil. 

The liquid in the slow cooker was strained into a saucepan and the solids were put into a blender, along with a cup of the liquid from the saucepan. The solids were blended until smooth and returned to the saucepan.

A corn starch slurry was made and poured into the pan and cooked over medium high heat until the sauce was thick and bubbly. A touch of vinegar was added, along with the reserved bacon.

We were ready to eat.

The pork chops were moist and fall apart tender. The sauce? Oh my goodness, the sauce. I would be happy with a bowl of that with some crusty bread. It was awesome. The Worcestershire sauce offered a great back note and the splash of cider vinegar brought a brightness to the onions. 

There's no doubt this dish will make more than one appearance on our table.

Cassoulet of White Beans with Braised Pork, Sausage, and Chicken Confit

I recently needed and wanted to spend some quality bonding time with my kitchen. Oh sure, I've been cooking and baking a variety of dishes over the prior days, but I wanted to find a recipe that I could sink my teeth into -- both literally and figuratively.

This cassoulet recipe (courtesy of Fine Cooking) was exactly what I was looking for -- lots of prep, lots of ingredients, lots of steps.

The first step was to make the confit in advance of preparing the cassoulet. Now you will notice the recipe calls for a duck confit. I opted to work with chicken, as ducks, while available, can be quite a spendy product in Belize.

The process of making a confit is dead simple to do. Basically, you are covering your protein with a slew of olive oil and letting it bake, low and slow. This is the recipe I used and this is how it looked after about two hours in the oven:

I covered the confit and stuck in the fridge until the day came to make the cassoulet.

As I noted earlier, this recipe has lots of prep. Besides chopping and dicing, there's also a good deal of oven and stove time required. The day I decided to make this recipe happen, a couple of events made my day of cooking even more of a challenge. But more on this in a minute.

The first thing I did was cut up the pork shoulder into about 2-inch pieces. After tossing the meat with some olive oil and salt/pepper, I went to heat the saute pan. But guess what? We had ran out of butane. Fortunately, our supplier is located at the end of our lane and about 35-40 minutes later, I was cooking with gas and browning the pork. 

With that step out of the way, wine was added to the pan and reduced. Next came broth, garlic, and rosemary.

The pot was then covered and left to cook on low heat for about 1 hour.

While the pork simmered away, I moved on to making the veggies and tomato sauce. This step entailed browning up some diced bacon in some of the infused olive oil from the chicken confit. When the fat was rendered, the bacon was put into a bowl. More infused oil was added and diced carrots were cooked up until just tender and golden brown around the edges. The carrots went into the same bowl as the bacon. Another glug of infused oil went into the pan and onions were added. Those were cooked until soft and caramelized. Then the onions went into the bowl with the bacon and carrots.

Onward to the tomato sauce. In the same pan that the veggies were cooked in, another glug of oil went in and some minced garlic, which cooked for 20-30 seconds. Chopped tomatoes were added, along with some salt, and about 5 minutes later it reached a chunky consistency.

By this point, you can probably guess that the kitchen sink was filling up fairly fast with dirty pots, pans, and utensils. While I had a little break in the action, I figured I would tackle the stuff in the sink. Small problem. We had no water pressure. Sigh. The dishes were left as they were and I continued with the recipe. 

Now I was now coming into the home stretch. Sausages were browned up, set aside to cool, then cut into quarters.

While the sausages were cooling, I combined cooked beans with the veggie/bacon mixture and put it into a Dutch oven.

The sausage was put on top of the bean mixture, then a layer of pork shoulder, then the meat from the chicken confit.* The broth that the pork was cooked in was poured in, along with the bean cooking liquid.

The cassoulet was baked in a pre-heated 350-degree oven, uncovered, for 45 minutes.

During this baking time, I combined more of the infused olive oil with some breadcrumbs and grated cheese. When time was up for the cassoulet, I sprinkled the breadcrumb mixture over top and the pot was put back in the oven for another 45 minutes.

By this point, our water pressure returned and David kindly started on the now even bigger pile of dirty pots and pans.

After the cassoulet hit the 45 minute cooking mark, I removed it from the oven and let it rest for another 45 minutes.

It was then time to eat.

Both of us thought this was excellent. All of elements came shining through and worked together beautifully. However I wouldn't be so heavy handed with the breadcrumbs next time. We also agreed that it could use more liquid. As we had more than enough for leftovers, I added some homemade chicken stock, which did the trick.

So while there a couple of glitches during the process of making this meal, the time and effort were certainly worth it. This recipe will definitely enter into my rotation for a future kitchen bonding day.

* I used about 1 1/2 leg/thighs from the confit. Also, I halved the entire recipe, because I was only cooking for the two of us. If you make the full recipe, trust that you will have enough to feed an army.

Bo Peep Pie

I've never been a huge fan of Guy Fieri, but back in the day when he actually cooked on his show instead of just being a host, there were a few of his recipes that I tried out. This recipe is one of them.

There are a number of components to this dish, and I started off roasting the veggies and garlic. 

While the veggies were in the oven, my attention then turned to browning up sausage and some chopped sirloin. When that was done, some onions were tossed into the same pan and cooked until they caramelized a bit. The browned meats were then returned to the pan, some flour was added, then the pan was deglazed with some beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. The roasted veg, minus the garlic, was then added to the pan.

While the meat and veg mixture hung out together, I made the garlic mashed potatoes. After the potatoes were cooked and drained, I added in the roasted garlic, salt, butter, milk, and grated Parmesan cheese. The recipe calls for Asiago, but that's not something we can get in Corozal.

Anyhow, with all these pieces and parts ready to go, the time came to assemble the dish.

The meat/veg  mixture was put in a baking dish, then topped with the cheesy mashed potatoes.

A healthy sprinkle of more grated Parmesan was put on top of the potatoes. This hefty dish was then placed in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

That's some tantalizing goodness right there.

We thoroughly enjoyed this combo. The meat provides a rich taste and texture, the roasted veggies lend their sweetness, and those mashed potatoes are to quote Mr. Fieri, "Out of bounds!" And it tastes even better as leftovers! 

Poached Whitefish with Tomatoes and Saffron

If you're looking for a quick, easy, and super delicious fish recipe, your search is over. This whitefish recipe (courtesy of Epicurious) is a big winner.

I don't believe I've ever seen cod in any of the stores here, but there is almost always a hefty supply of snook. I've used this firm fish in other recipes calling for cod or flounder with good results. This recipe was no exception.

Now let's talk about the quick and easy part of this dish. All you need to do is quickly saute some garlic and pepper flakes, then add some canned tomatoes, wine, bay leaves, saffron and water. Let all of that simmer for about six minutes. 

Season the fish with salt and pepper, pop it into the skillet containing the tomato mixture, throw a cover on it and let everything simmer for about five minutes.

I served the fish over Basmati rice and spooned the tomato mixture over everything. For such a simple dish, the taste is complex and full-bodied. This definitely a meal I will make again.

P.S. The recipe suggests Aleppo peppers, but crushed red peppers are perfectly fine. Also, I used diced tomatoes instead of whole ones. Again, no big issue with the overall taste/texture.

Ratatouille-Inspired Stew

Now that we are having cooler temperatures, the urge to make stews and soups hits me. I wasn't in the mood to make something like chili, but the prospect of doing a riff on Ratatouille appealed to me.

I decided to see what kind of veggies were available at our favorite market stand and came home with some lovely carrots, squash, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes. All of these items were cut into bite-sized pieces. And to give an extra boost in the flavor department, I coated them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and put them in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 40 minutes.

When the veggies were done, I put them all in a pot, poured in about two cups of chicken broth and a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes.

I let the mixture simmer until the sauce thickened a bit.

The end result was awesome. The roasted veggies bring a richness to the stew that we really loved and the variety of veggies added various textures. This stew really comes together rather quickly and is the perfect dish for a cool evening.

Homemade Pici Pasta

Without a doubt (at least for me), the best holiday David and I have taken was when we went to Florence, Italy. I spent most of the time walking around with my mouth hanging open being awed by the architecture, art, sculptures, and yes, the food. Dear readers, please believe me that I did manage to not chew my food with my mouth open.

Whenever I'm feeling nostalgic about that particular trip or Italy in general, I reach for the books written by Frances Mayes. You may be familiar with her for writing Under the Tuscon Sun. One of her novels that I recently read is Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life. In one chapter, she relates a dinner that was made that included pici pasta. Now I've read this book before, but this particular passage never jumped out at me. Maybe that I've been making my own pasta, it now caught my eye. Whatever the reason, I did some research and found this recipe (courtesy of Italian Food Forever).

I went ahead and made the dough and let it rest for almost two hours. It's interesting that this is the first pasta dough recipe I've run across that doesn't include eggs. 

I divided the dough in half, covering the portion I wasn't using back in the plastic wrap.

The dough got rolled out to about a 1/4 inch thickness.

Using a pizza cutter, the dough was cut into strips.

Then, using my fingertips, each strip was rolled out to form a tube. The technique is similar to making bread sticks.

I let the pici dry for about 25 - 30 minutes, then cooked them in a pot of boiling, salted water. During the time the pici were drying, I heated up some home made pasta sauce.

The end result:

The pici were tender, not at all mushy. The sauce was great. But...I can't say I love this pasta. It just seems somewhat overwhelming with its thickness. Maybe pairing it with a Bolognese sauce would help? I'm willing to play around with it again and maybe try to make the pici a bit thinner. But make no mistake, pici or no pici, this girl is always happy to make a culinary trip to Italy.

Ricotta Stuffed Pork Chops

During a recent reorganization of our freezer, I came across a container of ricotta that really needed to be used sooner, rather than later. Casting about for what to do with it, I remembered this pork chop recipe (courtesy of Fine Cooking).

First step: Saute some red onions, garlic, roasted pepper, rosemary, red pepper flakes. When done, the mixture was transferred to a bowl.

Second step: when cooled the onion mixture was stirred into the ricotta cheese.

Third step: I made a slit in the pork chops and spooned in some of the ricotta mixture.

Fourth step: The chops were then seasoned with salt and pepper and given a quick sear on each side/

Aren't these just gorgeous?

Fifth step: The chops were transferred to a pre-heated 325 degree oven and left to roast for about 10 - 12 minutes.

Sixth step: Plate it up!

Okay so on the high side, the ricotta filling was very tasty and would definitely like to use it again in other applications (maybe a ravioli filling?). On down side, I screwed up the cook time for the chops, so they weren't as tender and juicy as I would have liked. Man you take your eye off the prize for one second and BAM! your chops are toast. Well they weren't that bad, but you know what I mean. Sigh.

Pasta with Shrimp and Chorizo

On a recent trip to Frank's Meats, David spied a package of chorizo. As it's not a sausage we frequently have access to, we decided to buy it and stick in the freezer.

As luck would have it, a few days later this shrimp and chorizo recipe (courtesy of Fine Cooking), popped up on my Facebook feed. I immediately tagged it for a meal the following week.

The first step was to brown the chorizo. A couple of things to note about this particular product. First, the casing is plastic, which clearly isn't going to enhance a dish if placed in a hot pan. The second thing is the texture of the chorizo was on the dry side and rather crumbly. Not that it's a bad thing, just different from some other chorizo I've cooked with.

After the chorizo browned, the peeled/deveined shrimp went into the pan. They were left to cook only until they turned pink and just started to curl. 

It's really important not to let the shrimp cook all the way through. The recipe suggests about a two minute cook for the shrimp, but depending on your stove top, it could be less.

When the shrimp were ready, they and the chorizo were transferred to a bowl.

Some diced onion was put in the pan...

...then some garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes.

While that mixture cooked away, I made the pasta. The recipe calls for linguine, which I could have made, but was feeling a bit lazy. Instead, I used packaged rotini. 

After the pasta was cooked and drained, the shrimp/chorizo were added to the pan with tomatoes, onion, and garlic. 

The shrimp only needed about a minute to finish cooking through, then the pasta was added.

Overall, we liked the dish but wished the chorizo had a bit more heat to it. That being said, I would definitely make this again and probably add a bit more red pepper flakes if using the same chorizo. 

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!