Flavor en Fuego!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Fun flavors + Uncomplicated prep + Crock Pot = a recipe I had to try!

I’m always on the lookout for new recipes – especially those I can toss in my Crock Pot. I found this one while browsing a favorite site -- AllRecipes.com. The Buffalo style flavor profile and the super simple prep made it a standout on the site. If you like Buffalo style hot wings, this recipe will give you a healthier stand-in. I won’t go as far as to call it healthy (in case my trainer reads this!), but this version is sans skin and simmered versus fried, so it certainly saves you some calories. It isn’t, however, any less messy than an order of wings, unless you choose to knife and fork it.

The Prep:

Just place, stir and pour—really! 1) Place chicken pieces in the bottom of the crock pot. 2) Stir the wing sauce and ranch dressing mix together. 3) Pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and put the lid on your crockpot. Let the chicken simmer for a few hours, shred chicken and then let it simmer a little longer. Presto—dinner!

The Details:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I used thighs, see "Tweaks" below)
1 (17.5 fluid ounce) bottle buffalo wing sauce, divided (I used Louisiana Hot Wing Sauce)
1/2 (1 ounce) package dry ranch salad dressing mix
2 tablespoons butter
6 hoagie rolls, split lengthwise (I obviously chose a different roll...)

1) Place the chicken breasts into a slow cooker, and pour in 3/4 of the wing sauce and the ranch dressing mix. Cover, and cook on Low for 6 to 7 hours.

2) Once the chicken has cooked, add the butter, and shred the meat finely with two forks. Pile the meat onto the hoagie rolls, and splash with the remaining buffalo wing sauce to serve.

The Meal:

The dish smelled great while cooking and didn’t disappoint on the plate. The chicken is super spicy and delicious. The meat was fall apart tender and incredibly moist. I was nervous/uncertain about the level of heat that the chicken would take on during cooking. And it was lip tingling hot, but not so much that I didn’t enjoy it. I also added about a tablespoon of light blue cheese dressing to my sandwich to echo the hot wing experience and to tone down the heat a bit. Go for ranch dressing if that’s more your style.

The Tweaks:

I tweaked a few things in the recipe -- of course! Because I was shopping the night before “Snow-mageddon,” my closest grocery store was out of chicken breast, (bread I can understand but chicken breast??). I opted for skinless (bone in) chicken thighs, and that choice may have upped the moisture factor, as chicken breast can dry out in the crock pot if you aren’t careful. One addition to the original recipe was a sprinkle of garlic salt and freshly ground pepper onto the chicken before pouring the sauce over the top. Because I had bone in pieces, I shredded the meat and removed the bones after it had simmered on high for about 3 hours, then kicked it to low and let it finish.

After-dinner thoughts ...

I can see myself making this again SOON, probably for a crowd or a party. And I might go with a lower sauce to chicken ratio—just to cut the heat. As the author of the recipe noted, you can add more hot sauce to your sandwich. I also like the idea of topping the chicken with a blue cheese slaw as recommended by one reviewer to give it an crunchy texture. May try that next time too.

Cheers!

Spaghetti Puttanesca with Jamie Oliver

Sweet Fancy Moses! Jamie Oliver's recipe is a great, easy to prepare interpretation of the classic, Spaghetti Puttanesca. As for where the the recipe originates--and what puttanesca is all about -- here's a link . The name has a rather salty connotation to go along with the salty flavors of the dish....

All of the ingredients for Spaghetti Puttanesca may not be readily on hand in the typical kitchen: capers, anchovy fillets, kalamata olives; however, the other ingredients: spaghetti, canned tomato, garlic, dried oregano, crushed red pepper (my deviation from his call for chile peppers) and fresh basil probably are. And if you need to make a run to the market for anchovies and capers-- it's worth the trip!

Why I like it
This is a dish with very strong, distinct flavors (or flavours for Mr. Oliver). And while it is not a "saucy" pasta, it is full of flavors/flavours that play off of one another. Foils you might say, if this were a drama.  Spaghetti Puttancesca features the sweetness of basil and tomato against the salt of anchovies and the tang of capers (no tang comments please -- particularly if you read the wikipedia link!). The key for this dish to be successful is as with many things -- quality, fresh ingredients. The flavors here are clean and complex, qualities that are often typical of Mr. Oliver's cooking style.

Another reason I like Jamie's recipe is this: it allows for and ENCOURAGES cooks to adjust the flavors of the dish to their taste. He calls for "handfuls" of olives and capers -- talk about subjective measurements! He also asks cooks to adjust the seasoning at the end. I know that I love the salt of the anchovies and the heat of the pepper -- so I adjust for that. You may love the flavor of the olives and tomato above all else, so add more! Have fun with it. In the words of American Idol, "Make it your own." Then, enjoy! 

The Preparation
I made this dish in 20 minutes or less. I recommend prepping the saute ingredients while your pasta is boiling. Start heating your olive oil when the pasta has about 4 minutes left until al dente, then saute away!


For the first time at Cuisine and Culture, I've added video! These videos were taken via my Blackberry, so it is NOT HD quality; I appreciate your patience with my learning curve. (And I was streaming a jazz channel via Pandora on my laptop, so you may hear the music in the background.)
 
It's my attemt to try and keep the blog dynamic folks  -- better technology is on the way as soon as I get my Droid!

Video links:

Sauteeing the Ingredients


The Finishing Touches


Ciao bellas!




Jamie's recipe as copied from www.FoodNetwork.com (also linked above):

Ingredients


1 pound (455 grams) dried spaghetti, the best you can get
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 handful capers, soaked in water and drained
2 handfuls big black olives, pitted
12 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped
3 small dried red chiles, crumbled
1 tablespoon dried oregano
Extra-virgin olive oil
2 (14 ounce/400gram) cans tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 good handful fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the spaghetti in salted, boiling water until al dente. Meanwhile fry the garlic, capers, olives, anchovies, chiles, and oregano in a little olive oil for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, bring to a simmer, and continue to cook for 4 or 5 minutes, until you have a lovely tomato sauce consistency. Remove from the heat, plunge the drained spaghetti into it, toss it over, and cover with the sauce. Rip all the basil over it, correct the seasoning, and drizzle with good extra-virgin olive oil.

Prepackaged Salad Greens vs Fresh

Since the first recipe I posted is a salad, I'm sharing my few thoughts about preparing your salad from fresh, whole heads of lettuce versus the pre-packaged version.

Fresh versus the Bag

• Taste -- The difference between fresh and bagged lettuce is amazing. It's like the difference between frozen lasagna and the real thing. Bagged mix tends to taste flat rather than complex.
• Texture -- Fresh lettuce is crisp and some varieties pack a satisfying crunch. The fresh version has a high water content-- 94.5% according to the University of Illinois Extension. This water content is the main reason that it can't be preserved for long periods of time.  Cut lettuce, as found in prebagged varieties has already begun to lose water, freshness and texture. How many times have you opened a "new" bag of salad mix that is already getting slimy?
• Cost - I buy most of my produce at Publix. Bagged salad mix is usually $2.99 or $2.50, if on sale. An entire head of romaine lettuce costs around $1.79 and red leaf lettuce at $1.49.  I can get three to four times the amount of lettuce from the less expensive fresh variety. Then I use the savings on salad additions like red bell pepper, avocado and fresh mushrooms.

You will notice that I did not mention iceburg lettuce. Iceberg is tasteless and nutritionally void. Romaine contains three times the folate, 8 times the beta carotene and vitamin A of Iceberg and has a wonderful flavor. No contest, right? 

Packaged salad has been marketed as a shortcut/timesaver. I don't see any time savings as both varieties must be washed during preparation. And, I find that tearing lettuce into bitesized pieces takes about 30 seconds. And if you've ever seen the mechanical "wash" that bagged lettuce endures before making its way onto your plate, you can understand why it tastes flat, feels wilted and just doesn't meet your foodie standards.

Bon Apetit!
Andrea 

California Sun Salad

Romaine and Red Leaf Lettuce, washed, dried and torn (about 3 leaves each)
2 TBSP Sundried Tomatoes, slivered
4 tsp Pine Nuts, toasted
3 Green onions, thinly sliced
2 oz goat cheese
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 sliced avocado
Jerk Seasoning (dry)

Coat chicken breasts with jerk seasoning to taste, then grill approximately 5 mins each side or until cooked through. Let chicken rest while arranging salad.

On two large plates arrange lettuce leaves, sundried tomatotes, pine nuts, green onions, and sliced avocado evenly divided between the two salads Add goat cheese in smaller pieces to each salad.

Slice each chicken breast vertically and then horizontally into bite sized pieces. Add chicken to the top of each salad.

Serves 2

Enjoy!

The World Needs a New Foodie Blog

Right? Ha, ha. No the world has plenty of us babbling on about enjoing food and the art of cooking. I am the one who needed another blog. Posts here will be all about the ways I enjoy spending my spare time. I love to cook and entertain. I enjoy a nice glass of wine and a good novel. I love traveling to new places and experiencing local cuisine. Everyone has hobbies and pursuits that they enjoy; Here I share a few of mine with you.

I will start with a very popular topic --- FOOD.

My kitchen is my art studio. I enjoy every aspect of preparing a meal -- from selecting recipes and ingredients, to the chopping and measuring, to the active cook time and then -- most of all--enjoying something the resulting flavors. I also enjoy sharing my culinary efforts with friends and family. My husband has been my taste tester for about 15 years now and there have only been a few failures.

I especially enjoy trying new recipes and tweaking them to perfection. Sometimes I even make up a few recipes of my own. You will find my original and customized recipes here, along with any sources of inspiration. Some of my favorites are Epicurious.com, MyRecipes.com and Allrecipes.com. and Southern Living.

While you are here, check out one of my latest creations - California Sun Salad.