Chez Darren Andrew

Author Archives: DarrenSavery


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Thai Tuna and Avocado Wrap

Thai Tuna and Avocado Wrap

Makes 2 serving:

Calories: 374 / Carbs: 37 / Fat:17 / Protein: 23 / Sugar: 1 / Fibre: 9

  • 1 Avocado
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 birds eye chili, finely minced
  • 2 tbsp fresh cilantro
  • 1 green onion, sliced
  • 1 can of chunk light tuna, drained (low sodium, water packed tuna is best)
  • 1 cup of shredded cabbage coleslaw (prepackaged for convenience)
  • 2 whole wheat tortillas

Optional ingredients (not included in nutritional information):

  1. Mash the avocado with lime juice. Mix in the chili, cilantro, green onion.
  2. Mix in the tuna and coleslaw mix until evenly coated with avocado mixture.
  3. Divide the filling into two warmed whole wheat tortillas and wrap up.
  4. Serve as is or with sweet chili sauce or hoisin sauce as a condiment.
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Finding Balance

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been taking a more active role in my well being lately, putting my physical health in top priority to help with my struggle to maintain good mental health. As important as my dedication to the gym has become in finding balance in my life, food also plays an extremely important role in maintaining a healthy mind. As the old saying goes, “You are what you eat” and to be a healthy living organism, it is important to eat foods that are as close to being in their natural living state as possible. That being said our lives are very complicated and I’m not one to completely turn my back on vice, what fun would life be if indulging in hedonistic behaviours wasn’t available to balance out the banality of virtuous living. Setting long term goals and striving to achieve them helps our minds stay healthy and stimulated by the accomplishments that we are all able to obtain. What I’ve really come to realize is that finding balance is the most important goal to set and recognizing that along the journey to reach our goals moments of failure are bound to happen. It’s in those moments of failure that fuel our minds to regain the momentum to pick ourselves back up and continue to strive toward finding balance.

You might be wondering what all this has to do with a blog about food. Food is the life force that drives our lives, it’s the fuel that we need to exist. It’s also a drug that comforts us when we are down, a vice to escape from the world. It’s a powerful thing that can aid or hinder the results we want to see in our lives. So perhaps its time to offer more than just recipes that come out of my kitchen and explore food in a little more depth, explaining what I’m eating and why I’m eating it.

Many changes to come at ChezDarrenAndrew.com as I seek balance between my fitness goals and the many temptations of the culinary world.

Thanks for reading!
-Darren Andrew


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Crunchy Toffee Shortbread

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Adapted from Taste Magazine Winter 2012, Toffee Crunch Shortbread pg. 170

Makes 3-4 dozen

2 3/4 cups AP flour
2/3 cup corn starch
3/4 lb salted butter, softened
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup tightly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups toffee baking bits

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 13×9 baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on two sides to create handles to lift the shortbread out of the pan when done baking.

In a large bowl sift together flour, cornstarch and salt and set aside. In a food processor fitted with the blade attachment, cream together butter and sugar until completely incorporated, scraping down the sides as necessary. You may use a stand mixer or hand mixer for this also.

Add the flour blend 1/2 a cup at a time, making sure the flour is completely mixed in before adding more. If the dough becomes too thick you may need to knead in the remaining flour. Knead in the toffee bits until evenly incorporated.

Press the dough firmly into the parchment lined baking pan. I recommend taking a second piece of parchment paper and using either a rolling pin, if you can fit it into the pan, or a metal spatula to create a smooth surface. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork all over to allow steam to escape while baking.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and prick the surface again to ensure air bubbles have not formed under the surface of the dough.

Bake for another 20 minutes or until the cookies are lightly browned around the edges.

Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before attempting to remove the cookies from the pan. This is important to prevent the cookies from becoming shortbread crumbs. Carefully lift the shortbread out of the baking pan, and onto a cutting board. Cut the shortbread lengthwise into three long pieces, and then cut each into four pieces. You may now cut each of these pieces into 2, 3, or 4 pieces depending on how large you’d like them. I suggest cutting into thirds making 36 pieces. Allow the shortbread to completely cool before transferring to an airtight container.


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Greek Yogurt Chicken Tetrazzini

This isn’t a traditional tetrazzini recipe by any means but I think you’ll enjoy the satisfying combination of flavors with less guilt than a full fat recipe.

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Greek Yogurt Chicken Penne Tetrazzini

1 package of whole grain penne, cooked as per directions on the package

Precook the Proteins:
2 slices of thick sliced bacon
2 large chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes (seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano)

Veggies:
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 rib of celery
4 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeño

1 cup of green peas

For the Sauce:
1 tbsp butter and 1tbsp flour, cooked over low heat to make a light roux
2 cups of chicken stock, warmed
1 cup of fat free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. In a large oven safe heavy bottom sauté pan, cook the bacon over low heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside. Cook the cubes of chicken over medium heat until browned, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the veggies, except for the peas, to the pan and sauté for about five minutes, remove from the pan and set aside.

The pasta water should now be boiling, add a good pinch of salt and cook pasta according to the directions on the box.

If you haven’t made the roux ahead of time, turn the heat to low and whisk together the butter and the flour in the pan until the color darkens slightly. Increase the heat to medium-low and whisk in the chicken stock, the roux and stock should come together and thicken. Continue to whisk, add the yogurt, half the Parmesan cheese and seasoning. Stir in the chicken, sautéed veggies and peas. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and top with crumbled bacon and remaining Parmesan cheese. You can now either broil the pasta to crisp up the cheese or serve as is.


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Baked Chicken Parmesan

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Quick marinara:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large tomatoes, diced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of basil, stem and all
2 tbsp Italian blend seasoning
1 tbsp balsamic vinegars
1/4 cup of red wine, optional

In a large shallow dish combine:
3/4 cup bread crumbs, Homemade from sprouted grain bread
1/2 cup of shredded Parmesan
2 tbsp Italian blend seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

In a large shallow dish whisk together:
1 egg
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

4 chicken breasts, cut horizontally to make 8 cutlets
Salt and Pepper

1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a large baking sheet with foil and parchment paper. Take each chicken cutlet and dip in the egg/mustard mixture, then dip in the seasoned breadcrumbs, and place onto the baking sheet. When all the chicken is breaded placed into the preheated oven, bake for 30 minutes turning after 15 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking prepaid the marinara sauce. In a large oven safe frying pan, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat. Once the onions are translucent add the garlic, sauté for 30 seconds, add the red wine and balsamic vinegar, reduce by 2/3. Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, bay leaf, basil and dried herbs. Turn to low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and basil.

In a large baking dish, add the marinara sauce, place the baked chicken over the sauce and top with shredded mozzarella. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Serve over pasta or with a side of salad or vegetables for a lighter meal.


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Spiced Cranberry-Apple Chutney

Lately I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about condiments. Weird, I know, but condiments can take the beautiful fresh, local produce that we consume and either transform them into amazingly gourmet dishes or in some unfortunate circumstances destroy the integrity of our diets. I would really like to explore the unknown and dive into the world of food accompaniments.

With Canadian thanksgiving coming up this weekend (I’m thankful that I don’t have to cook!), I decided that I wanted to start this exploration of condiments by making a delicious cranberry chutney. I haven’t really made many chutneys in the past, but I hope this one becomes one you will love.

Spiced Cranberry-Apple Chutney
Makes 4 cups (1000 ml)

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1 cup apple cider vinegar, unfiltered organic
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 Granny Smith Apple, peeled and finely diced
1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
10 whole cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
4 1/2 cups fresh or thawed frozen cranberries

Add all of the ingredients, except for the cranberries, to a heavy bottom high sided pot and heat them over medium low heat for 10 minutes stirring frequently.This is a great time to get the enameled cast-iron Dutch oven off the shelf as they maintain heat and cleanup easily. After ten minutes turn the heat to medium and as the mixture begins to bubble add the cranberries. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes until the cranberries all burst, stirring frequently. Turn the mixture to low heat and continue to stir until the chutney is thick and jammy. At this point transfer the chutney to clean containers and once they have cooled completely, cover the chutney and store in the fridge for up to one month. I would highly recommend that you make this several days before you need to serve it, as the chutney will mellow in flavor and deepen in complexity. You can serve this as a great side to your thanksgiving turkey, or on a sandwich with leftovers. I think it would even be great with a delicious buttery triple cream Brie on a baguette or topping a baked wheel of Brie for an appetizer, perhaps adding some chopped pecans.

The options are endless, that is the goal of making a great homemade condiment, making great food taste better!

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