What's in the Fridge - ALRIGHT ENOUGH CHICKEN

Well, I know that if you have not figured it out by now, this week, I am making CHICKEN, POLLO, FRANGO…whatever you want to call it. So many of us get tired of having chicken, but at the end of the day, after pigging out all summer – I need to loose some weight and also, it is the only thing in the freaking FRIDGE!!!!!!!

So, I pull how two chicken breast – with the skin on.

Let’s see! Got Potatoes, frozen peas and carrots.

Also, I am a fan of one pan cooking if you can. Keeps the woman of the house from screaming about the dishes!!!

Grab my infamous oven-friendly frying pan, heat it up. Also turn the oven to 350 – need to preheat it.

This is fast so hold on!!!!

Grab some seasoning. Got Sesame Seeds, Dried Rosemary and Cumin. Place that in a pan over high heat. Let them toast up!!!!! Meanwhile, clean the chicken breast, place them in a bowl. Make a dry rub!

Got Old Bay Seasoning, Salt, and Pepper (don’t need a lot of salt – Old Bay has a lot). Onion and Garlic powder.

Grab the potatoes cut them up. Also found some plum tomatoes. Cut them up also. Grab the peas and carrots. Rinse them off in a strainer with some warm water. Put them (everything) in a bowl, a little seasoning – salt, pepper, garlic.

Take the toasted items put them in a coffee grinder if you have one (if not does not matter) grind add to the chicken. Make sure your chicken is fully covered with the rub.

Same pan, add some olive oil. Place breast skin side down. Let them sear up (get brown – I like them to smoke actually – not burn but definitely brown)!!

Flip, add the Potatoes Mixture to the pan. Cover. Place it in the oven –45-60 minutes or until
brown! Don’t really need to watch it, flip it or anything.

Uncover – turn the heat up to broil (500). Make sure the chicken breasts are skin side up!!

Depending on the heat of your broiler / oven – you only need 5 -10 minutes.

Now you are ready to eat.

Plate and enjoy. Your meal is completely ready.


I promise, I will make something else beside Chicken (well I like Chicken) !!!!!!!

What's in the Fridge - Gonna Make Sum Chicken

I am feeling a little Caribbean, a little Latin based on all the videos on the site – www.everydayguy.tv. Need to make something to eat. Let’s see – What’s in the Fridge?

Chicken Breast – Skinless
Carrots (2 or 3)
Apples (2 or 3)
Ginger (1 tablespoon sliced)

Beautiful.

I also grab some Basil, Thyme and Chives from the garden.

One Spanish Onion – Chop save ¼ for the string beans.
Garlic (happens to be paste)
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
Two Slightly (Maduro) Yellow Plantains (Platanos).

One pack of French Cut String Beans.

Heat a Frying Pan that you can cover and place in the oven. Happen to have one available. Preheat Oven to 350.

Add Olive Oil. Chop Onion, Apples, Carrots and Plantains (Platanos)
Season Chicken Breast with salt, pepper. Place in pan on high heat. Let them begin to brown. After 2-4 minutes. Add the Onions, Apples, Carrots, Ginger, Platanos and Ginger. You can also add the herbs at this point (chop them slightly first).

Now – I held back – the secret a cup of dark rum and one cup of water (or I used apple juice). Had some Captain Morgan’s available.

You can turn your chicken breast and scrape the pan to help loosen up some of the good stuff (caramelized seasoning).

Cover – place in the oven 30-45 minutes.

Don’t touch. After 30 minutes. The bottom should be golden brown, everything almost done. Flip the breast again. Spoon the liquid (broth) over the chicken. Turn up oven to broil – 500! Add two – three pads of butter (yeah butter). We will want to keep basting the chicken for about 5-10 minutes.

Okay now the beans, I use a regular frying skillet – fill it with water. And bring it to a boil (with one bay leaf). Unpack the green beans. Place in the boiling water. Add salt, pepper, tablespoon of garlic paste. Let cook in the boiling water for 3 minutes.

Now take the beans off the heat / strain. (Don’t forget to baste the chicken). Place pan back on high heat – add olive oil. Now sliced remaining onions, let them get translucent.
Add beans back to the pan. Toss for 3-5 minutes. (Alternating while basting the chicken).

I found a tomato (sliced it).

Now I am ready to plate.

Hungry.

Recession Relief ....Need a Drink

After watching the debate, the recent occurrences on the financial disasters (inevitable), trying to understand what would happen if Sara Palin ever became President, I decided it was time to do two things – First PRAY!!!

Second, a glass of a good wine has always helped to calm you down – yes I believe you can pray and have a glass every now and than.

My last trip to Brazil I happened to taste some great wines. While I am by no means a connoisseur or sommelier, I happened to know what I like. I like wines that have a taste to them. That stands up and justify themselves. Most important thing is that they don’t give me headache in the morning (either from drinking too much or costing too much!!!!!) Not opposed to buying good wines, but as an EverydayGuy, I always have a cost/performance ratio running.

So let me tell you about three wines that I found and fell in love with (all are from the Miolo Family):


Miolo Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon - Cabernet Sauvignon
Safra 2006. Great Red Stand up against any wine in the $15-25 range. At about $6-10 USD a bottle, it is a great buy. They even have reasonable prices in the restaurants.

Miolo Lot 43 2004 – Cabernet Sauvignon – Here is a wine that I put against some of the Bordeaux that I love from France. This wine is exceptional and in limited supply. I do not believe it is available in the states. It is in limited supply in Brazil (one available per Citizen – they actually ask for your Brazilian CPF – that also means if you can afford it). At $30-35 dollars a bottle, it is a steal!!! Almost worth the flight to Brazil. Find a friend that can get you a bottle if you are not able to make the trip...

Miolo Fortaleza do Seival Pinot Grigio 2008. – Now for those of you that like white wines, I happen to like drinking this one. It is about the same price as its “brother from another mother” Reserva Cabernet and has a lot of body for a Pinot Grigio! Love it, great bottle even with cheese, dessert.

Okay, I have had my drink – back to the rat race.

Stay safe, and God Bless!!!!!!!!

My Secret Place - Garden

Thyme, Oregano

One of the most important things to me for a lot of reasons is My Garden. Gardening does a lot of things for me.

- A good garden is the key to Great Cooking!!!!!
- A place to relax after working or a long trip!!!!
- A source of accomplishment!!!!!!!

While I do everything from buying seeds from a site like www.burpee.com or picking up plants from my local greenhouses (even Home Depot) and open-air markets (like Union Square Flea Market – NYC), the important thing to look for is quality. A lot of time, you get “bad seeds”, or the plants are dying, or you don’t get them in soil fast enough.

While not an expert, I can share with you what I have done to help my plants and flowers grow. First, as you can see from the pictures, almost everything I grow is in pots. I happen to use a few tricks that I have learned – eggs shells and charcoal.

Yes, I like to use them as fertilizer when I am initially planting the seeds or putting the seedlings in the pot. Charcoal is especially great because, it helps you regulate the amount of dirt you need. Another important thing is the size of the pot. With plants, like tomatoes and peppers, the larger / deeper the pot, the better the growth, but you don’t need to fill it all with dirt, try putting charcoal in the bottom using about a 8 : 1 ratio.

The key is to enjoy what you are doing and use it daily in your cooking. (not fancy pots as you can see from my pictures - LOL!!!!!!!)

Marjoram, Dill, Thyme, Chives

ENJOY

What's in the Fridge - Lettuce Wraps

I am dedicating myself to documenting everything that I eat daily. Hence, like many of use, we get tired of eating the same thing all the time. For me, it is Chicken and Seafood.

In the Fridge today, I found:

- Chicken Breast grilled 2 days ago. (Shredded using a food processor - one of the best gifts ever).
- Hamburger patty - mixture (ground lamb, turkey, bison)
- Onion - Diced
- Carrot - Diced
- Lettuce - Romain, but any cabbage works, actually good old fashion Boston is what is traditionally used.
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Hoisin Sauce

Let's makes some wraps.

In a small pan, heat it, add peanut oil (if you have it) canola or olive works as well.

Place the patty in let begin to cook. After is has browned on one side, flip, begin to break it into piecies.

You are about 50% there!

As you already know, always have herbs. Grab some basil and chives from the garden. Add this.
A teaspoon of "Wally's" sofrito (see the recipe on www.everydayguy.tv).

Wash you lettuce leaves. Place one entire leaf on a plate.

To the mixture cooking, add the some shredded chicken, herbs, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar.

let it "COMBINATE" for about 3 minutes.

Grab a tablespoon.

Take a tablespoon of the mixture place it on your leaf wrap, top it with the diced onion and carrots.

Fold it, Open your mouth, Bite down and ENJOY!!!!!!!!



This quick and easy dish satisfy your hunger, light on the stomach and pocketbook. Have two or three if you want - I DID!!!!!!!

What's in the Fridge - Rice Torta (Cake)

It is the next day, I have some company come over to discuss www.everydayguy.tv and our future. It is time to make something for the company. Yesterday, I made the feijao and rice.

Just want to make some appetizers, tapas type of food for people to snack on while we sit around and talk (bate-papo)!!!!!!!

So WHAT'S IN THE FRIDGE ?

Rice, eggplant, cheese, herbs, eggs.

Let's make a Rice Cake.

Ingredients:

- Cooked Rice (about 2 cups)
- One Eggplant
- Herbs (fresh) I had Cilantro, Chives
- Green Onions
- Serrano Pepper
- Bacon (4 strips)
- Cheese (Gouda, Provolone)
- 3 eggs
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic

This dish is very easy!!!!!!!

C
Dice the eggplant, green onions, cheese, bacon and peppers
Brown off the bacon in a pan.
Place them in a bowl with the rice.

Now, crack the eggs in a bowl, beat them.
Add your salt, pepper and garlic to the rice mixture. Chop the herbs and add them as well.Take the bacon place it on a paper napkin to remove some of the grease. (With the cheese, you will get a lot of oil, don't need more).

Add in the bacon, stir the mixture to thoroughly mix all the ingredients.

I am using a Bunt baking pan to make the cake.

Make sure your oven is preheated at 350.

Line the pan with olive oil. Add in the rice mixture.

Cover with aluminum foil. If possible, use some rocks or something to place on top of the aluminum foil, this will press the cake and help shape it.

20-30 minutes later.

You are ready!!!!!!!

Let sit upside down on a plate till cool.

Remove the pan. You are ready to serve.

Wally's Beans - Feijao de Wally

It is a beautiful day in Salvador, Bahia. We have got the Churrasqueira going and will have some visitors over.

As some of you may know, I love meat and salads. Have company coming over. Need to do some more things. I am going to make an appetizer (will be in the next post) my take on an Italian Rice Cake. But for sure, Brazilians need Beans (Feijao) well at least I think (haha).

So I really don't understand how you can do Feijao in Brazil and make it light. I mean I am trying to watch the diet but every now and than, you need some good hearty food.

Wally's Feijao includes the follow:

- Pack of Beans (1lb) - (Soaked over night in water with Garlic, Onions, bay leaf and salt).
- Assorted Dry Herbs (that is what I can get), including oregano, bay leaf, thyme and basil.
- Fresh Cilantro
- Garlic
- One whole Onion
- One Green Pepper
- One Red Pepper
- One Serrano Pepper (wanted to go hotter but decided to leave it on the side).
- a small piece of thick cut bacon - about 3 strips.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Cumin
- Curry

In a large pot, go the onions and peppers that have been diced. let them "sweat" for about 2 minutes. Now remove the beans from the water and add them to the pot. I like to let everything at this point begin to "Combinate" (not a word but I am branding it - hahaha) Combination and Marination is the key to Wally's cooking.

Add in the herbs, salt, pepper, cumin, curry.

Now I typically let everything sit on low to medium heat for at least 5 minutes. Constantly stirring, add a little more Olive Oil. Now the Beans are really seasoned. Coated with all the seasoning - they have been through the C & M process.

Add water to cover the beans. Cover. Let it stay on a low-medium heat for about 1.5 - 2 hours. You will need to constantly check the pot and add cups of water so not to burn. After the 2 hours - turn up the heat about 20% uncover and began to stir the beans while mashing some of them with something like a wooden spoon. The starch in the beans will assist in thickening the beans. The beans are almost done. - About 15 minutes of stirring and they should be ready.

Hope my friends like them!!!!!!!!!