Recipe | Chez Darren Andrew

November 21, 2012
by DarrenSavery Leave a comment

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.

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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October 4, 2012
by DarrenSavery 1 Comment

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)

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!

September 22, 2012
by DarrenSavery Leave a comment

Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken

(Sorry for the bad picture, I’ll update it with a better one once I serve it.)

For the sauce:
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/3 cup of white vinegar
1/2 cup of tomato purée
1/2 cup of pineapple juice, or whatever comes with the can of pineapple chunks
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp of ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground garlic
1 tsp chili flakes

4 chicken breasts or 8 thighs, skinless and boneless, chopped into large bite sized pieces
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/4 onion, sliced into thin strips
2 carrots, sliced or shredded into matchstick
1 can of pineapple chunks, juice reserved for the sauce

Directions:
Whisk all the sauce ingredients in the slow cooker until thoroughly combined. Add the chicken and cook on low for 5 hours. After 5 hours stir in the vegetables, carefully not to break up the chicken.
Cook for another hour and serve over brown rice.

September 21, 2012
by DarrenSavery Leave a comment

Banana Chocolate Chip Crumb Muffins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Muffins:

In a large bowl, combine:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup walnuts
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

In a medium bowl, cream:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar

Stir in:
2 eggs, beaten
4 or 5 mashed overripe bananas
1 tsp vanilla

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine, approximately 10 times. (Be sure not to over mix, there may be some floury looking spots but that’s okay!)

In lined muffin tins scoop the muffin batter into the muffin papers. Then generously sprinkle with the Crumb topping:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

The recipe made 12 mini muffins and 12 medium muffins.
Bake the mini muffins for 15 minutes and the medium muffins for 25.

July 18, 2012
by DarrenSavery Leave a comment

Quinoa, Black Bean and Sweet Corn Salad

For the Salad:

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 small red onion, finely diced
4 green onions, chopped finely
1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped finely
1 cup quinoa (2 cups cooked), cooked as per package instructions (in chicken or vegetable stock) and cooled
2 cups of frozen sweet corn, blanched in hot water
500 ml can of black beans , rinsed and drained
1 red bell pepper, diced

For the Dressing:

1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dijon mustard
juice of 1/2 a lemon, or a tbsp of bottled lemon juice
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp of ground cumin
Salt and Black Pepper

Instructions:

Combine all dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add the jalapeno, red onion, green onion, cilantro and let sit while quinoa cooks and cools. Cook the quinoa in chicken or vegetable stock as per the package instructions, and when it is ready cool it by either placing the pot in cold water and frequently string and changing the water out until cool. Another option would be to make extra the day before to have leftovers to make salads like this one, rice or other grain like barley or millet could be used instead of quinoa. Mix all reaming ingredients in the bowl to distribute the dressing evenly throughout the salad.

This salad is best if left to mingle in the fridge overnight, but it’s great right away also. Enjoy!

July 5, 2012
by DarrenSavery Leave a comment

Cold Sesame Noodle Salad

Sunny days are few and far between here on the west coast, but when we do get a beautiful warm sunny day it’s mandatory to spend the day in the sun instead of in the kitchen. This cold noodle salad is the perfect lunch or snack to pack up and bring to the beach. Even though I use spaghetti noodles in this recipe you can feel free to use a more traditional soba, that is if you can figure out how to perfectly cook them without them getting gummy or falling apart when marinated over night in the dressing.

Cold Sesame Noodle Salad

For the Salad:

1 package of Spaghetti noodles, cooked as per instructions for al dente, drained and rinsed under cold water
2 stocks of celery, sliced on the bias and roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled, julienne or shredded
1 red pepper, sliced into strips
1 bunch of green onions, sliced thinly on the bias
1/4 cup of cilantro leaves, roughly torn apart
1/4 cup of toasted sesame seeds

Dressing:

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 thumb size piece of ginger, minced
1 – 2 tsp dried red chili flakes
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp sesame oil or 1 tbsp toasted sesame and 2 tbsp of a neutral oil (canola, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed ect.)
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
Black Pepper

Directions:

In a very large bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the dressing, tasting and adjusting seasoning to your taste. Add the cilantro, green onions, and well-drained pasta to the bowl, tossing well, to coat every noodle with the dressing. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine. Refrigerate over night or as long as you can possibly resist digging into this delicious salad.

Tips:

Use a large 4.5 L lidded Rubbermaid container to make the salad in, it makes it easy to toss the ingredients around to make sure everything is evenly coated with dressing
Serve this salad with sliced avocado and some grilled chicken or salmon for a complete meal
This salad makes 4 – 6 meal sized servings, consider doubling the recipe for a crowd

Chez Darren Andrew

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