Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

Brussels Sprouts Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

I'm trying to cut down on the starchy sides at dinner time. I wanted to try another way to eat brussels sprouts. I  been cooking with brussels sprouts in my brussels sprouts purée, and the crispy salad on top, made me think of making a salad.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 medium brussels sprouts, thinly sliced

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

• 1 handful hazelnuts, toasted with honey

• 1-2 blood oranges

Dijon vinaigrette:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

• blood orange juice (I squeezed the core after filleting it

• salt & pepper

Directions:

Dressing: Shake the ingredients in a mason jar, season with salt and pepper.

In a large bowl toss brussels sprouts and shallot together with the dressing until everything is well-coated. Plate the salad and top with blood orange fillets and hazelnuts.

Braised Balsamic Chicken

Braised Balsamic Chicken

Our local pizzeria serves a rotisserie chicken with a balsamic sauce and a lot of bell peppers. I love this dish, and it is my go-to for days when I don’t cook. The dish is sweet and sour in the Italian way.

In my version the chicken is braised in the sauce to keep the chicken juicy, and for a one-pot-dinner, easy to make on a weeknight.

You can also make this dish in a slow cooker, cooking for about 3-4 hours on high heat.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs with drumsticks (without skin)
• 1 can crushed tomatoes 
• 1 onion, halved and sliced 
• 3 bell peppers 
• ½ cup (1,25 dl) red balsamic vinegar (use a good quality)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• salt & pepper
• olive oil for searing

Directions:

Season chicken with salt and ground black pepper. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or in a skillet, and sear the chicken. Take out the chicken. Pour in tomatoes, sugar and the seasoning, add the chicken, onion, garlic and bell peppers. Pour the balsamic over the chicken. Put the lid on and let simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 45 minutes. 

Serve with roasted potatoes and broccoli.

Stuffed pork chops

Stuffed pork chops

I love pork chop, but sometimes I need to change it up. Stuffing the chops gives them so much flavor and keeps them juicy.

This time I stuffed the chops with roasted garlic, olives, semi dried tomatoes, scallions and feta cheese. And it worked so well, I am defintely going to make this one again.

serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 pork chops, center cut, no bones
• 1 garlic roasted
• 3 scallions
• 5 olives
• 2 semi dried tomato
• 2 tablespoons feta cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

Chop up the ingredients for the stuffing. Cut a slit/pocket in the pork chop. Fill the pork chop, press it a bit. Use a skewer to lock the stuffing in. 

Roast the chops on a skillet or on a BBQ on indirect heat, for about 20 minutes until done. Be careful not to roast the meat to hard, them it will be hard and dry, by the time it's done.

I serve the pork chops with jalapeño poppers and small boiled potatoes.

Tom Ka Gai - Coconut Chicken Soup my way

Tom Ka Gai - Coconut Chicken Soup my way

We love soups in my house, we try to have soups at least every other week. We had this soup as a "skrub af suppe" directly translated to "go away soup or go home soup." It's kinda midnight snack, a nice way to end a party, getting some salt into people there has been drinking all your wine a liquor. ;)

This is my version of Tom Ka Gai soup, it not the original recipe, but made to my taste.

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (450 g)chicken breast tenders
• 2 teaspoons chicken paste
• 850 ml water
• 1 inch minced ginger
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 lemongrass
• 1 lime the juice of
• 3 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1.5 can coconut milk

Topping:

• 5 scallions/spring onions
• 1 chilli, thinly sliced
• a few sprigs fresh cilantro

Directions:

Cut chicken tenders into bite size pieces. 

Blend ginger, garlic and lemongrass with a splash of the coconut milk, till it has the texture of a thick paste. If you like the soup spicy, add some chilli  to the blender. Bring water, chicken paste, ginger paste and chicken to a boil while stirring. Let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and bring soup to a low simmer. Season the soup with lime juice and salt. 

Serve the soup hot with scallions, cilantro and chilli as topping.

Enjoy!

Chicken Braised in White Wine (Coq a Vin Blanc)

Chicken Braised in White Wine (Coq a Vin Blanc)

I really love the regular coq au vin. The first dinner i ever made for my husband  when I first met him, was coq au vin. Little did I know, that he didn't like wine. Well I didn't scare him off completely and now I learned him to drink wine. I must be a bad influence...

Normally I'll make coq au vin with red wine, but at a cooking class at Sur La Table we learned to make it with white wine, and it was so delicious, the perfect simmer food.

Ingredients:

• 200 g thick-cut bacon, cut into cubes
• canola oil, as needed
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 good sized chicken for roasting (4 to 5 pound), cut into 8 serving pieces 
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 2 large celery ribs, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 1 leek, trimmed, white and light green parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces 
• 3 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 head garlic, halved 
• ⅓ cup  (30 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 bottle full-bodied dry white wine, such as white Burgundy.*
• 2 teaspoons chicken paste
• 500 ml water
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 3 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, for garnish

Gremolata:

• handfull Italian parsley
• 2-3 lemons, the zest of
• 3 garlic cloves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the bottom third. 

Place bacon in a large Dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Cook bacon until crispy and fat has rendered, about 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate, leaving some of the fat in the Dutch oven. 

Season the chicken pieces generously on all sides with salt and pepper. Place chicken in the Dutch oven and sear to a deep brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes, working in batches as needed. Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet. 

Add onion, carrot, celery, and leek to Dutch oven and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and garlic and cook, stirring often, until tomato paste turns a deeper red, another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle flour over vegetable mixture and cook, stirring to incorporate, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine to Dutch oven and, using a wooden spoon, scrape the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits. Cook until wine mixture begins to thicken, about 4 to 5 minutes. 

Return chicken to Dutch oven along with any juices from the baking sheet and add chicken base and enough water to barely cover the chicken. Add thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns, stirring to combine. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven. Braise the chicken until fork-tender, about 50 to 60 minutes. 

Remove Dutch oven from oven and, using tongs, carefully transfer the chicken to a rimmed baking sheet. Cover loosely with foil to keep warm. 

Discard the thyme sprigs and the bay leave. Place dutch oven over high heat and cook braising liquid until reduced and thickened, about 10 to 12 minutes, skimming the surface for excess fat. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. 

Serve family style with gremolata, mashed potatoes or vegetables.

Serve immediately.

Gremolata:

Rinse the parsley, zest the lemons and peel the garlic cloves. Finely chop the ingredients together. I use the mini chopper that came with my Immersion Blender. 

* Don't use a oaked wine, since oakey wine can turn bitter when reduced.