Surinamese Herbed Chicken

This recipe I adapted from Kayotic Kitchen, an absolutely beautiful food blog by a woman based in the Netherlands.

What, I asked myself, is Surinamese cooking? Kay from Kayotic Kitchen just LOVES food from this country, but I know little about the place or its history. Sounds Asian, right? Wrong! Suriname is located in South America, on the northern border of Brazil, and it was once a Dutch colony. Hence the connection to the Netherlands. This recipe does have a very Asian feel to it, despite its South American origins, (umm, Galangal doesn't get much more Asian to me). This is because of the many immigrants from South Asia, ala
Indonesia, to the country, of course!

Kay's original recipe calls for Laos (galangal powder), Walnut oil, garlic oil (never did find this exact thing, so I'm using garlic infused olive oil), and Chervil (nope, can't find that either). For the Galangal, I purchased from Importfoods.com. The Walnut oil I purchased at my local Kroger, actually! As for the Chervil... This is a fresh herb, a form of Parsley, beloved of the French, spread around Europe by the Romans. I boldly substituted a bit of mint in its place, but just a few leaves. Alternatively, you could use cilantro. I won't, because I hate the stuff.

Kay pounded her chicken flat. Because I'm lazy with a full time job, I simply bought mine already thinly cut. Once you've created the spice mix, rub it into the chicken breasts and let them sit, ensuring that the spices stick.

I didn't have any 'garlic oil' that Kay called for, and I failed to find any. I believe its an Asian ingredient, but Owensboro's brand new little Asian grocery store didn't have any. (No, there really is an Asian grocer in Owensboro. For real real! Miracles do exist.) So, I went to TJ Maxx and found this. Thought I'd give it shot. Stuff smells amazing when opened, and the chicken came out tasting great. Works for me!


Place the oil in the pan and heat it to medium high. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the chicken.

Cook the chicken for about two minutes, then dump the onion and red pepper right on top and around the edges. The chicken will need about 5 minutes each side - once you've hit that mark on the first side, flip it. Stir the vegetables occasionally to prevent burning, although YOU WANT DARK BROWNING OF THE ONIONS AND PEPPERS. This stuff that gets stuck to the bottom of the pan is an important part of your sauce.

Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, add the water, herbs, sugar, bouillon and lime juice. I actually added more sugar than the original recipe called for, because I'm an American and we like things sweet. (Don't deny it, Americans!) Ditto for the lime juice, the original recipe called for only 1 TBS, and I added about 2.

Let the sauce simmer for few minutes, scraping some of the stuff off the bottom, creating a very unique and scruptumpulicious sauce. John loved it! Put this one in the 'make again and again' pile.

Fried Chicken BLT Grilled Cheese

The Surgeon General ordered me to post this warning before the rest of this blog: This sandwich is SEVERELY bad for your cholesterol, triglycerides, waist line, thigh size, cellulite fighting efforts, and everything else you might be worried and/or vain about.

Oh, but it is so good.

I mean, look at that. Look at it. Who comes up with stuff like this? KFC ain't got nothing on John and me. (The chicken came from Lee's Famous Recipe, fyi.) This sandwich was largely John's idea, so I give him credit. In all honesty, I was reluctant to make the thing. I value my figure. I'm supposed to be getting in shape for a wedding! 

A bit about assembly - place mayo on one bread piece, and then cheese slices on the other piece. Set bacon on top of cheese, stick chicken to mayo. Then add tomatoes, lettuce. Try to keep the lettuce away from the heat. Look at them towering out of the fry pan! Sheesh. Was not easy to flip, but I got her done.

 I used the same pan I made the bacon in to fry the sandwiches. Dumped most of the grease out, and then wiped it down. This is a very fried sandwich, no? Fried chicken, fried bacon... Technically the grilled cheese is a type of fried sandwich. I didn't butter the outsides of my bread, but instead placed the butter slab straight into the pan. Oh, yeeeeaaaaaah. You know you want some!

I swear, I sweat grease afterward. At least no one will wonder why I've gained weight.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Katie, where have you been?? Or so I like to think people think. Reader's could be thinking 'Oh look, another blog entry from that woman that likes to talk about what she occasionally cooks/bakes. How nice. Pffft.'

Truth can be so painful.

I've been busy, okay? I've got a wedding to plan (September of next year, y'all), and, for those of you who don't know, I have another hobby which I'm obsessed with, writing fiction. I'm sure there are some people rolling their eyes about now, but I've been PUBLISHED. And that's kinda like a big deal, m'kay? A new story of mine will be released soon in The Realm Beyond #5, titled 'Ugly Roses'. Buy a copy! Buy one for your Mom! Your Dad! Your dog! It's Sci-fi! That's right, I write SCI-FI. And Fantasy. And Horror. My coolness factor just climbed by like, 3 massive points.

So, who here has had pumpkin something-or-other mixed with chocolate before? In the foodie world, this is a popular combination. Really big last year. Why? Because its AWESOME. Pumpkin hot, pumpkin cold, pumpkin mixed with chocolate just one day old!

This is a quick bread recipe, adapted from Taste of Home. The recipe on TOH seemed a bit lacking to me, as if it wouldn't come out pumpkin pie-y like it should. Called for cinnamon only in the spices, and no brown sugar. A pumpkin pie uses so much more. So much more!

So, I left the original amount of cinnamon, but also added some nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice. (There are those who say you don't need cinnamon or nutmeg when you use pumpkin pie spice. Me no care. Me no listen to anyone, anyway.) Gave it a very nice spice kick, and the brown sugar adds that caramel flavor that underlies a good pumpkin pie.

A beautiful, sweet and spicy combination. Maybe next time I'll add pecans?

The BLT

Anyone need some tomatoes? I planted 3 bushes this spring. Just 3. And I've got so many tomatoes they are going to waste! It's criminal.

However, someone, or should I say, SOMETHING, has been helping itself to what I'm not using. I noticed there were big holes in some of my roma tomatoes, like someone had opened up the side and eaten just the guts. Weird, I think to myself. Birds, maybe? I've seen the local cardinals going in and out of the bushes. But you wouldn't think they'd be so messy. I mean, they're just little birds, right? But I've found the gutted bodies of tomatoes dragged out to the front yard! How mysterious.

Well, low and behold, I come home one day early from work, and guess what I see? Squirrels. Squirrels, resting on the tomato cages, having themselves a grand old time! I got out to ask if they'd like some basil and mozzarella to go with that, make a nice caprese salad. Afraid they took off before I got the chance to ask, however. Oh, well. I'm not going to put nets over my plants to keep them out. Apparently they do that for water. Can't begrudge 'em, if they're thirsty. And I've got plenty to share.

So, BLTs. The Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. A jewel of a sandwich, that summertime essential.

Hard to mess this one up. Bacon, (done extremely crisp as John likes it), lettuce, and fresh tomatoes, either from your garden, somebody else's, or from a local farmer's market. The taste of summer, as far as I'm concerned. Look at that deep red color!

Mine sandwiches were made with Nature's Own Oatnut toasted bread. Have y'all ever had that before? Very good stuff. I highly recommend. A little light mayo on both pieces of bread. (If your having bacon, might as well go for broke and put plenty of mayo on, too.) Then cut it down the center. Serve.

Ugh, the mouth is watering right now, and its 10 in the morning!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

It's been a long time since I've blogged! Not since the end of June... I should feel bad about that. But, I've been busy, busy, busy. All kinds of things happened in July, including John and I getting engaged!

I can't tell you how excited I am about that last bit. It was a wonderful surprise, and I'm thrilled to exchange vows with the man I love, committing ourselves to something bigger.

On to food! I've done some cooking over the past weeks, but not much. Too much summer fun going on around here. John and I have been boating quite a bit. Hard to argue with going out on the boat on a hot summers day.

This recipe - Buffalo Chicken Salad - is one I found and adapted from Pinterest. Who doesn't love Pinterest? I used to laugh at friends who couldn't stop talking about things they discovered on the site (the fools!!), and then, what do you know, I've become just like them! 'Do you see this? Yup, found the idea on Pinterest!' Karma. She always comes back around.

I love me some spicy food. The spicier, the more I tend to like it, too. I'm a glutton for punishment. If you want less spicy salad, use less buffalo sauce. I used Texas Pete's Buffalo Sauce, but I'd also highly recommend Tabasco's Buffalo flavor sauce. Good stuff, either way.

Instead of using just mayonaise, I've substituted half of it for no-fat Greek yogurt. Also added bits of celery and carrots, like you'd get with you chicken wings. (Plus, vegetables are good for you. Sneaky, sneaky.)

Cracked pepper, some green onion, and two cans of pre-cooked white chicken meat. This is actually a fairly lazy recipe. Perfect for hot summer days, when there is so much to do, and the warm weather only lasts so long!

Pan Bagnat

I am, to put it simply, obsessed with this sandwich. Cannot get enough of it! The fresh, juicy tomatoes, tuna mixed with a home-made vinaigrette, capers, celery, sliced boiled egg... And two secret ingredients, my own herbs de provence mix, and anchovy paste.

I know, right? Anchovy paste, ewww! Well, I've yet to actually eat an anchovy, but the paste adds something special to recipes. It's commonly used in Cesar salad dressings. If you're at a nice Italian restaurant, for instance, and the dressing there has a certain, savory quality that you just can't find in the store bought Cesar dressings, that's the difference. Anchovy paste! No grocer in Owensboro carries Anchovy paste, naturally, so I ordered it from Au Marche, an online European grocer. I also purchased the lavender for my herbs de provence mixture, and Cornichons, a French cucumber pickle.

Cornichons are a small, French style Gherkin. Its flavor is rather like a cross between a dill and sweet American pickles. No sweetness, but they are spicy and sour. Turns out, I LOVE them. Can't get enough of the little things! Never really saw myself as a sour food eater, but I'm wrong. Capers, lemon juice, vinegar and cornichons. All sour. All get a big *heart* from me.

Pan Bagnat translates to a 'bathed' or 'wet' sandwich. The tough beignettes are given time to absorb the juices from the tuna salad mix and the tomatoes, softening up the bread. It's delicious and amazing. The Pan Bagnat reminds me of Nicoise salad, only on bread. Most recipes call for olives, but because I'm not fond of the fruit, I left it off.

For the vinaigrette, you'll need a lemon, white wine vinegar (red wine or sherry vinegar will also work), herbs de provence, a shallot, dijon mustard, and capers. Finely dice the shallot, mix together all the ingredients, and allow the lemon juice and vinegar to semi-pickle the shallots. This is a classic vinaigrette, and goes very well on all sorts of foods. 

Sandwich assembly goes like this: mix your vinaigrette, let it sit. Then add the celery, onion, capers and tuna. Set aside.

Your eggs should already be boiled and sliced. Tomatoes should also be chopped. Cut the cornichons in half lengthwise, roughly chop romaine lettuce. Assemble whatever other goodies you want on your 'wich, like olives, green pepper, radishes, etc.

Once the prep work is done, cut the beignette into fourths. Cut each fourth in half, lengthwise. Take the bottom half, and remove some of the breading. Carefully place a layer of tomatoes down, into the area where the bread has been removed. Then place lettuce.

On top of tomato/lettuce, place the eggs, cornichons, green pepper, etc. The tuna mixture should be the last addition, so that it touches the top piece of bread. Place the top half on, and carefully wrap it up into wax paper. Repeat with each loaf chunk. Place in fridge, and allow to sit for at least an hour. Eat!

Make sure to have napkin and fork on hand, because these sandwiches are quite sloppy.

Herbs de Provence

French food, and cooking, is something I've only spent a small amount of time on. I make a mean Coq au Vin, but that's about it. I like French wine, does that count too?

This recipe is the most famous of French herb mixes. It will be needed if you want to make my most recent eating passion, Pan Bagnat. And it's also perfect for the theme of this blog, which is how to handle not having unusual ingredients easily available in town. (In this case, the dried lavender flowers.) I purchased the flowers online, from a grocery store called Au Marche. Quick delivery, excellent quality items. Wish I could go to the actual store itself!

There are 10 different types of herbs in this mix. I had to buy 5 fresh off the shelves just for this: Tarragon, Marjoram, dried Rosemary (I keep a bush in the back yard for fresh), Summer Savory, and of course the Lavender. My friend JH asked if it was my '$65 herb mix'. Oh, the painful stab of truth! Yeah, JH, it is. It is. More expensive than that, honestly. *sigh* Whoever said cooking at home is cheap? (Actually, cooking at home IS cheaper. It's the building up of the pantry that's expensive!)

This mix makes enough to last a looooong time. Herbs de Provence possesses a wonderful scent. Reminds me of summer fields, when they are ready for baling, back in Nebraska. (This thought then makes me groan, as I remember how hot, difficult and itchy baling hay is.)

Dried savory, or dried summer savory as its also called, is similar to sage. It is NOT a reference to savory flavoring.

I've been placing this stuff on just about everything lately! Fish. Potato salad. Be creative!

Also, a Princess pic. Because she's just so darn cute! Not supposed to have milk, but she really, really, really, reeeeaaaaally wanted it.