Mini Frittata Brunch Bar

INGREDIENTS

10 

large eggs

1/2 

cup cooked Mexican chorizo

1 

cup spinach, finely chopped

1 

leek, sliced lengthwise (green parts discarded) and thinly sliced into half moons

1 

cup shredded mozzarella

1 

pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 

tablespoon fresh oregano

DIRECTIONS

• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
• Heat a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil in a medium skillet and add the leeks. Season lightly with salt and pepper and saute until slightly browned, 3 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
• To the pan, add the chorizo and cook until until it's softened, 5 minutes.
• Pour the eggs into a non-stick muffin tin.
• Sprinkle the leeks evenly into each eggy mixture.
• Followed by a good dollop of the chorizo.
• Go ahead and throw that spinach in there too.
• It would be wise to sprinkle some cheese and oregano on top of each frittata.
• Throw the whole thing into an oven, preheated to 375.
• Bake for about 10 minutes, checking at the 8-minute mark. They should be puffed up and set in the middle. Let cool a few minutes and serve at your next brunch!

Peanut Butter Chicken Tortilla

2 pounds chicken thighs (skin on)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cloves
2 teaspoons whole coriander seed
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
2 medium onions, sliced thin
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons salt
4 large dried Guajillo chilies (1.4 ounces)
2 large dried Ancho chilies (1.4 ounces)
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1¾ cups stewed tomatoes (380 g)
1 cup water
⅓ cupThe Heat Is On peanut butter
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
½ cup Peanut Butter & Co. Honey Roasted Peanuts, roughly chopped
12 corn tortillas

Procedure

1. Generously salt and pepper the chicken. Heat a heavy-bottomed pot over medium high heat until very hot. Add the oil and then place the chicken, skin side down into the pot. If the chicken doesn’t all fit in a single layer, split it between two batches. Fry the chicken until the skin is golden brown and it doesn’t stick to the pot anymore. Flip the chicken over and fry until the other side is browned, then transfer it to a plate.

2. Add the cloves, coriander and cumin seed to the pot and fry until the spices are fragrant (about 1 minute).

3. Add the onions, garlic and salt and turn down the heat to medium low. Let the onions and garlic sauté, stirring regularly until the onions are soft and turning brown.

Add the bay leaves, Mexican oregano, stewed tomatoes and water, and then stir to combine, scraping up any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot, and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is extremely tender and falls apart when prodded with a fork. Because stoves and pots vary in the way they cook, you may need to add some water part of the way through cooking. Just check it periodically to make sure it’s not burning. If the liquid is getting low, you can add some more water.

6. Remove the chicken from the pot let it get cool enough to handle. Use a fork to shred the chicken meat (you can discard the skins at this point or leave them in if you like). Skim off any excess oil from the braising liquid, then put the braising liquid into a food processor or blender along with the peanut butter. Puree the sauce. If you’re using a blender, start it off at low speed, as the sudden escape of steam could cause the lid to blow off, flinging hot chili sauce all over your kitchen.

7. Strain the sauce through a mesh sieve to remove bits of chili skin. You’ll need to press it through with a silicone spatula. You’ll have about double the amount of sauce you need, so put half of it in a container and refrigerate. It’s great on grilled chicken or as a condiment.

8. Add the shredded chicken to the remaining sauce and stir to combine. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.

9. Serve the chicken with warmed up corn tortillas, chopped peanuts and cilantro.

Chicken Vol-au-vent Recipe

Chicken preparation
Diced chicken in cubes
Add a bit of corn starch , salt and pepper
Reserve for later

Butter and oil in casserole
Add a bit of cornstarch
Place chopped half onion, half diced celery, and 1 diced carrot
Add mushrooms,  (optional)
season with a little salt and pepper
Add chicken stock
Add potatoes (optional)
boil for 15 mins
Add chicken
Add water if necessary
Boil for 5 mins until chicken is well done
Add cream
Add salt and pepper to taste
Add cornstarch if the sauce is not thick enough
Serve on Vol-au-vent pastries

Taiwanese Vermicelli Stir Fry

Ingredients

Original recipe makes 4 servings Change 

• 1/2 pound thinly sliced pork loin
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
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• 4 dried Chinese black mushrooms
• 1 (8 ounce) package dried rice vermicelli
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• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried small shrimp
• 3 carrots, cut into matchstick strips
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 4 leaves napa cabbage, thinly sliced
• salt to taste
• 3 sprigs fresh cilantro for garnish

1. Place the pork into a mixing bowl and pour in the soy sauce and rice wine. Sprinkle with the white pepper, five-spice powder, and cornstarch. Mix well, then set aside to marinate. Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of cold water for 20 minutes, then pour off the water, cut off and discard the stems of the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms thinly and reserve. Soak the rice vermicelli in a separate bowl of cold water for 10 minutes, then pour off the water and set the noodles aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Pour in the eggs, and cook until firm, flipping once, to make a pancake. Remove the egg pancake, and allow to cool, then thinly slice and place into a large bowl. Heat 2 more tablespoons of the vegetable oil in the wok over high heat. Stir in the garlic and dried shrimp, and cook until the shrimp become aromatic, about 20 seconds. Next, add the pork along with the marinade, and cook until the pork is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in the carrots and onion, and cook until the carrots begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Finally, add the bean sprouts, napa cabbage, and sliced mushrooms; cook and stir until the vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes more. Scrape the pork mixture into the bowl along with the eggs, then wipe out the wok and return it to the stove over medium-high heat.
3. Heat the remaining vegetable oil in the wok, then stir in the drained rice vermicelli noodles. Cook and stir for a few minutes until the noodles soften, then stir in the reserved pork mixture. Scrape the mixture in to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro to serve.

Pork Chops with caramelised onions

So what can you do to ensure you get a moist, tender, flavorful pork chop?

1. Brine it – One of my secrets to getting a flavorful juicy pork chop every time, is to brine it in a solution of salt and sugar. In the same way that it benefits lean meats like turkey, brining your pork adds flavor and moisture to the meat, lending a helping hand to even the leanest of chops.
2. Don’t overcook it – While you have to decide for yourself what temperatures you’re comfortable cooking your meat to, I tend to cook pork chops to 141 degrees and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.
3. Buy heritage pork – If you can afford it, try finding pork chops that come from a heritage breed of pig such as Berkshire(a.k.a. Kurobuta) or Ibérico. Heritage breeds haven’t undergone the selective breeding aimed at reducing the fat content of pork. They’re expensive, and may not be as healthy, but they certainly taste better.
4. Use rib chops – As with most meats, tenderness in pork chops often comes at the cost of flavor. I like using pork rib chops because they have more fat than a loin chop, but less connective tissue than a blade chop, helping them strike a great balance between the two ends of the spectrum.Best Pork Chops

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Servings	Prep Time	Cook Time	Passive Time
4	5 minutes	10 minutes	240 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 1 inch thick pork rib chops
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 4 cups water
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion sliced thinly
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

Servings: 

Instructions

1. In a gallon size sealable freezer bag, add the sugar, salt, garlic and water. Seal the bag and swish it around to dissolve the sugar and salt. Add the pork, press out as much air as you can, then seal the bag. Let this sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight.
2. Remove the pork chops from the brine and use paper towels to remove as much moisture from the surface of the pork chops as you can. If there's water on the surface of the pork chops, they will not brown.
3. Add the oil to the pan and heat over medium high heat. Place the pork chops in the pan while the pan is still cold. Because the pork chops are brined with sugar, they'll burn before they cook through if you put them into a hot pan.
4. Flip the pork chops over and fry the second side until well browned and an instant read thermometer reads 141 degrees F (60.5 C). Transfer them to a plate and let them rest.
5. Drain the excess oil out of the pan, and then add the onions and garlic. Sauté until the onions are soft.
6. Add the wine, honey and mustard and then turn up the heat to boil off the alcohol and thicken the glaze.
7. When the glaze is nice and thick, add the pork chops back to the pan and flip them over repeatedly to coat them with the glaze. Once there is no liquid left in the pan, the pork chops are done. Top with the caramelized onions and and serve with mashed potatoes.

Triple Black Garlic Spagetti

Triple Black Garlic Spagetti

serves 4 as a side dish

for stir-fry

Spaghetti or Linguine1 tablespoon oil or butter
5 cloves garlic minced
3 cloves fermented black garlic, minced
2 small bok choy shredded
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper
2 scallions shredded

Boil the noodles until they are slightly firmer than the final consistency you want, since we will be stir frying them (a little less than one minute). Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a small bowl, mix the oyster sauce, honey, fish sauce, and white pepper. Heat a wok or cast iron skillet until very hot. Add the oil or butter and both garlics and stir-fry until the fresh garlic starts turning browning. Add the bokchoy and give it a quick toss. Add the cooked noodles and sauce, and toss until the noodles are coated with sauce and the noodles are heated through.

Chicken Ramen

• Chicken Ramen
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Servings	Prep Time	Cook Time
4 bowls	30 minutes	135 minutes

Ingredients

• 900 grams chicken bones
• 450 grams chicken wing tips
• 1 small leek cut into 4 pieces
• 4 centimeters ginger - fresh sliced into 8 coins
• 4 large cloves garlic unpeeled
•  vegetable oil for frying the aromatics
• 7 centimeters dashi kombu
• 10 cups water
• 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
• 3 scallions white part only, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 portions ramen noodles boiled according to package directions

Servings:  bowls

Units: American (Metric)American (Imperial)MetricJapanese 

Instructions

1. Bring a kettle full of water to a boil. Lay the wing tips and chicken bones in a clean sink, then pour the boiling water over the chicken. Wash the chicken with cold water, scrubbing off any clumps of blood. This step solidifies some of the blood on the chicken so you can wash it off and it doesn't end up in your soup.
2. In a small saucepan, add the leeks, ginger and garlic, then cover with vegetable oil. Gently fry over medium low heat until the aromatics are dark brown, but not burnt (about 30-40 minutes).
3. Add the kombu, wingtips and bones to a pressure cooker and cover with 10 cups of water. Bring it to a boil uncovered, then skim off the scum that floats to the top. Continue skimming until you don't see any more scum. Remove the kombu and discard, then add the fried leeks, ginger and garlic. Seal the lid, then cook under high pressure for 1.5 hours.
4. When the stock is done cooking, let it cool to room temperature. Pour it through a large strainer into a large bowl. Squeeze the solids with your hands to extract as much liquid as possible. You'll notice that the liquid starts turning a creamy white. This is what gives the soup its body so be sure you get every last drop. Pour the strained soup through an extra fine sieve (such as a tea strainer) into a clean container. You can either stop here and refrigerate the stock or keep going.
5. If you refrigerated the stock, it should be fairly easy to scrape off the excess fat with a spoon. If not, use a fat skimmer to skim off the extra fat and set the fat aside. In either case, you want to leave a little fat behind. Measure your the soup. You should have about 6 cups, if you have more, you should boil it down to 6 cups, if you have less, add water.
6. To make the caramelized scallion oil, add the sesame oil along with about 2 tablespoons of chicken fat that you've skimmed from the soup to a small saucepan. Put the saucepan over medium heat, then add the minced scallions. Fry the scallions until they are medium to dark brown in color. Turn off the heat, then carefully add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce. The oil will sputter, so be very careful. This caramelizes the soy sauce, giving it a wonderful toasty aroma.
7. 
8. To make the soup, add the 6 cups of strained stock to a pot, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of salt, and the soy milk and gently heat.
9. Boil your noodles according to the package directions or make a batch of homemade ramen noodles.
10. To finish the ramen divide the noodles between four bowls, pour the soup over the noodles then top with your choice of toppings. I served this with a soft boiled egg, menma, shredded scallions, and chicken chashu, but what you top it with is up to you. Boil your noodles according to the package directions. Put the boiled noodles in the bowl and add the toppings. Cover with the hot soup, then drizzle on some of the caramelized scallion oil. Serve immediately.