Chicken Marbella

Chicken, Garlic, Main Dishes, Olive, Wine

Kathryn Purcell via Lisa Damour

This is a wonderful dish for those times when you need to make something that seems fancy, but you don’t have any time to cook. It takes about 10 minutes to throw this dish together the night before you need to serve it. A green salad and some wild rice complete the meal.

  • 3 – 4 lbs. of chicken parts (breasts, legs, thighs)
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/4 cup dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 cup pitted prunes
  • 1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
  • 1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white wine
  • salt and pepper to taste

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a casserole. Combine remaining ingredients, pour over chicken, cover, and let marinate overnight, flipping the chicken in the morning and letting it marinate all day. Preheat oven to 350°. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, basting frequently with marinade in casserole. Chicken is done when thickest pieces yield clear yellow juice when pricked.

Chicago, March 2024

Travel

Friday, March 1, 2024

We went on a quick weekend trip to Chicago to go to a concert, celebrate my birthday and to visit with friends and family. Courtney and I picked up Jack at his place at 12:30 and hit the road for an easy car ride to CHI arriving around 5:00PM CST. We stayed at Soupy’s place in the south loop which is wonderful – even a free place to park. We visited with Soupy for a bit before he left to go to the Loyola BB game with friends. We then hit the pavement and walked for about an hour and a half down to Michigan Ave, then walked along the river walk and then cut back across the loop back to the south loop. We had an excellent dinner at Sofi on Printer’s Row and then stopped for a glass of wine at Printers Row Wine Shop and then walked black and quickly fell asleep.

It was a beautiful night to be walking downtown.
The Riverwalk is amazing
Enjoying a nightcap at a cool little wine bar on Printers Row

Saturday, March 2, 2024

I walked across the train tracks on Saturday morning to get some bagels and fixings for breakfast from a Whole Foods. It was already fixing to be a beautiful day.

After breakfast we did a walking architecture tour that I put together – focusing on 10 buildings mostly in the loop.

The Manhattan building – 1889.
The Old Colony Building – 1893.
Monadnock Building – 1891 and 1893.
The beautiful Fisher Building – 1895.
Going into the Harold Washington Library – 1991.
The top floor of the library has a beautiful indoor winter garden.

Exterior detail of the Marquette building – 1895.

The lobby of the Marquette building. Each of the brass elevators has a bust of someone who played a part in Marquette’s history.

Admiring the spectacular Tiffany mosaics, tile-work and marble in the Marquette building.

The Rookery – 1888.

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The amazing lobby of the Rookery – Frank Lloyd Wright – 1905.
Chicago Theatre – 1921.
City Hall – 1911.
The Aqua – 2009.
We walked back along the park, stopped for lunch on the way and took a rest for an hour or so before heading out again.
We drove out to the Chicago Botanical Gardens to meet George, Weston and Maddie.
It was a beautiful day to walk around the dormant gardens – knowing that Spring was right around the corner.
It was a beautiful afternoon and Iook forward to going back when everything is in bloom.
After saying goodbye to George and the kids we drove down to Lincoln Park and met Andrew at Pequod’s on our everlasting quest for the best pizza. We’ve never been there before and it is on top of many best of lists for CHI pizza – but we found it just mehhhh. It was great to see Andrew though.
We drove just a few miles to the concert venue, parked, and walked to have a quick beer at Off Color Brewery and then headed to the show.
The show was at The Salt Shed – the iconic Morton Salt warehouse that we have driven by dozens of times. It was converted into a concert venue about a year ago and it is fantastic. Everything is new, the sound is great and it is pretty small. Courtney and I bought seats with this great view and Jack had floor tix.
Show was great. Greensky Bluegrass is so great to see live. This is the second time we have see them and I can’t wait to see them again. Such vibes.

Show lasted until about midnight – we got out with zero probs and were back at Soupy’s in less than 15 minutes.

We woke up early the next day and met Soupy at Walker Brothers in Wilmette for breakfast. We all ordered 49 flapjacks. Duh. Can’t resist perfection. We headed out after breakfast happy with our quick weekend trip.

Pan-Banging Sugar Cookies

Cookies, Desserts

Sarah Kieffer; thevanillabeanblog.com

MMMmmm these are the perfect sugar cookies – crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside and a little bit salty. Sarah Kieffer’s cookie recipes are so good.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cup (350 g) granulated sugar, divided
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F [180C]. Line three sheet pans with aluminum foil, dull-side up.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar. 
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 1/2 cups [300 g] of the sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix on low speed to combine. Add the flour and mix on low speed until combined. 
  • Form the dough into 3 oz [85 g] balls [1/4 cup] (PJH: 60 g BALLS – 4 COOKIES ON TRAY). Roll each ball in the remaining 1/4 cup [50 g] of sugar. Place 3 or 4 cookies an equal distance apart on the sheet pan. Bake the cookies one pan at a time. Bake until the dough balls have flattened but are puffed slightly in the center, 8 minutes. Lift one side of the sheet pan up about 4 in [10 cm] and gently let it drop down against the oven rack, so the edges of the cookies are set and the center falls back down. After the cookies puff up again in 2 minutes, repeat lifting and dropping the pan. Repeat a few more times to create ridges around the edges of the cookie. Bake for 14 to 15 minutes total, (PJH: 15 MINUTES )until the cookies have spread out and the edges are golden brown but the centers are much lighter and not fully cooked. 
  • Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to finish cooling. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days (or refrigerate for up to 3 days). 

Key Lemon Pie

Cream, Desserts, Lemon

This was very good and super easy. I made the crust GF with GF graham crackers, GF ginger snaps and a handful of almonds.

Sallysbakingaddiction.com

Graham Cracker Almond Crust

  • 11 (about 160g) full-sheet graham crackers
  • 1/2 cup (62g) salted almonds (I used roasted)
  • 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
  • 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling + Topping

  • 2 (14-ounce) cans full-fat sweetened condensed milk
  • 3/4 cup (180ml) fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
  • 4 large egg yolks*
  • garnish: lemon zest, lemon slices, almonds, whipped cream, or meringue topping

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C).
  2. Make the crust: Using a food processor, pulse the graham crackers and almonds together into crumbs. A few larger pieces of nuts is OK. Pour into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom “corner” where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust⁠—this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
  3. Pre-bake crust for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave the oven on.
  4. Make the filling: Whisk the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and egg yolks together. Pour into warm crust.
  5. Bake the pie for 19–21 minutes or until only *slightly* jiggly in the center. You want it mostly set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, cover and chill for at least 1 hour (and up to 3 days) before serving.
  6. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Notes

  1. Make Ahead Instructions: You can prepare and pre-bake the crust up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and store at room temperature. Likewise, you can mix up the filling up to 2–3 days in advance. Cover and refrigerate, then assemble and bake. Freezes well up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Pie Dish | Whisk | Cooling Rack
  3. Graham Cracker Crust: If you purchase graham cracker crumbs, you need 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) for this recipe. Even though they are already crumbs, you can still pulse with the almonds. If you want to skip the almonds, use this graham cracker crust recipe instead and pre-bake for 8 minutes.
  4. Leftover Egg Whites: Here are my recipes with egg whites, or you can make a meringue topping for the pie.
  5. Non-US Readers: ​​Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 180g ground digestive biscuits instead (about 12 biscuits), with the same amount of almonds and butter, and add an extra Tablespoon (12g) of sugar. Pre-bake for 10 minutes.

Greek Lemon Chicken

Chicken, Garlic, Lemon

downshiftology.com

Ingredients

  • 8 bone-in chicken thighs
  • ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup lemon juice
  • 4 garlic gloves minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Make the marinade: In a small bowl, stir together the oil, lemon juice, garlic, oregano, thyme, mustard, salt, and pepper.
  • Marinate the chicken: Add the chicken thighs to a large bowl and pour the marinade on top. Marinate for 1 to 2 hours (and up to 8 hours) in the fridge. 
  • Transfer to baking dish: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Place the chicken in a baking dish and pour the remaining marinade on top. 
  • Bake the chicken: Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and registers 175°F (80°C) on an instant-read thermometer. Optionally, you can baste the chicken a few times while it cooks. And for extra crispy skin, turn on the top oven broiler in the last 2 to 3 minutes. If you’re serving this dish up for a dinner party, you can garnish it with lemon slices if you’d like.

Cajun Shrimp w Garlic Aioloi

Uncategorized

Nyssakitchen.com

For the Cajun shrimp

  • 1 pound peeled, tail on shrimp 
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  •  pinch of chili flakes (optional)
  • pinch of cayenne (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin 
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt 
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil or ghee + more as needed
  • parsley or chives to garnish

For the garlic aioli

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a small bowl mix together mayonnaise, grated garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 
  2. Peel shrimp if necessary, and pat super dry with paper towels – the drier the shrimp, the more crisp they will get when you fry them.
  3. In a small bowl mix together the cayenne, garlic powder, onion powder, chili flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, sea salt, and black pepper. 
  4. Toss shrimp with seasoning mix until evenly coated.
  5. Heat 2 tablespoons avocado oil or ghee in a large cast iron or non stick skillet over medium high heat. 
  6. When oil is hot and glistening, add shrimp in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan. Cook in multiple batches if needed, add a little more oil for each batch.
  7. Cook for about 1 minute per side, until just barely opaque in the center. 
  8. Garnish with some fresh parsley / chives and serve immediately with garlic aioli for dipping!

Cucumber Salad- Din Thai Fung Copycat

Appetizer

Din Thai Fung is one of our favs in Las Vegas. Their cucumber salad is a must and this copycat recipe I found on the internet is pretty close.

http://www.platingsandpairings.com

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 Persian cucumberssliced into 1/2-inch thick pieces
  • 1½ Tablespoons kosher salt

DRESSING:

TO SERVE:

  • 1/2 Tablespoon chili oil or more, to taste
  • ½ Tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 fresno chile pepperminced (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Add sliced cucumber to a small bowl. Sprinkle with 1 ½ TBSP kosher salt and toss to combine. Let sit for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
  • After 30 minutes, rinse off the salt mixture and pat the cucumbers dry.
  • Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small bowl whisk together the rice vinegar, mirin, sugar, sesame oil, garlic and salt. Mix well and set aside.
  • Toss the rinsed and dried cucumbers with the dressing and let marinate for a minimum of 4 hours, up to 2 days.
  • To serve: Taste for seasoning, and add additional salt if needed. Drizzle with chili oil and sprinkle with fresno chile and serve chilled.

New York City, February 2023

Travel

Saturday, February 18th, 2023

Jack and I went on a sort of last minute long weekend trip to NYC – left CLE bright and early at 0600 and flew to Newark, NJ.
We had no problems with our flight and arrived at Newark just on time. We took the NJ Transit train right to Penn Station from the airport. We checked out the beautiful new train station at Penn Station and then had a nice breakfast at a nearby diner – mapping out our day.
We walked over to Hudson Yards – just a few blocks away and admired the new architecture and the ill fated Vessel that is now closed because too many people have been jumping off it to their deaths!
It was a beautiful, blue skied sunny morning. Perfect for exploring Manhattan.
The High Line starts right at Hudson Yards and we walked down looking forward to coming back some time in Spring or Summer when everything is blooming.
The High Line is amazing in all the development it has spurred. It is interesting to see the very old and the very new along the path. One can argue the costs and benefits of gentrification but not sure how you can’t think this a good thing.
We stopped at the Little Island towards the end of the High Line that opened up a few years ago that is literally a park build on a pier. Super cool.
Nice views of downtown from the top of the park.
We walked through Chelsea Market, walked through some of the meatpacking district and made our way to the Whitney Museum.
I somehow finagled my way to get free tickets to the Whitney on their website fiddling around.
It was a beautiful museum – all American art with lots of cool stuff,
There was an Edward Hopper exhibit going on that was super impressive. He was a very prolific artist dabbling in everything and very talented.
After a couple of hours in the museum we continued to walk south through Greenwich Village and Soho and stopped at a nice spot for tacos, guacamole and beer.
We kept walking south and stopped to admire the impressive 1 World Trade Center.
The solemn 911 memorial fountains.
Nice shot.
The Oculus – the World Trade Center train station. Makes you feel like you’re in Star Wars.
Jack bought a swatch 🙂
Walked further downtown through Wall Street…
…and eventually made it to the Brooklyn Bridge – along with the rest of the world – it was super crowded. We walked across, caught an Uber on the other side and went to our hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for a well needed rest.
We took the subway back to Manhattan in the evening heading uptown to the Guggenheim.
The Alex Katz exhibit is the reason why I wanted to go to NYC. This was the last weekend that it was hear so super happy that we made it happen. Courtney is also a big Katz fan and was upset that she couldn’t get off work to come with us.
The exhibit was amazing – taking over the whole Guggenheim. His wife Ada was his muse for many years and this is the famous multiple Ada’s in a black dress,
upside down Ada.
deconstructed Katz.
Such an amazing place – and so so so happy we were able to make it happen.
We decided to head back to Brooklyn after the museum. Jack had been researching the best Brooklyn pizza joints so we did a small tour. First stop was Best Pizza – very Brooklyn sitting outside on folding chairs and drinking cans of Budweiser. Pizza was excellent.
Next stop was Rosa’s – more of a fresh mozarella vibe – but good none the less.
Last stop was L’Industrie where we had two more excellent slices as well as a nice bottle of natural wine. All places were excellent – there’s dozens more too. Best was my favorite.
Long day of walking

Sunday, February 19th, 2023

After a good night’s sleep we hit the road – first stop Black Seed Bagels a few blocks down from our hotel where I go a sesame seed bagel, scallion cream cheese and bacon.
We walked across the Williamsburg Bridge this time to get over to Manhattan. It was much more pleasant as we were about the only ones on it.
While not as historic or picturesque as the Brooklyn Bridge it is still a cool bridge with nice views.
We wandered around the Lower East Side, then walked up to the East Village – walked through Tompkins Square Parked then jumped on the subway to midtown.
We went on a walking tour of Grand Central Station and the area directly around there.
Grand Central Station is beautiful and it was interesting to hear the history that surrounds it. The tour was good but could have been about 30 minutes shorter.
The beautiful Chrysler Building.
It was lunch time so we decided to head down to China Town to explore down there and find somewhere to eat.
China Town was bustling. Always amazed how big it is.
Food options were endless – we checked out lots of different places.
We ended up at a place that I don’t remember what the name was – but was almost like a food court with lots of diffent options. We had these really good dumplings as well as several other plates of things. We were about the only non-Asians there so it was a good choice.
Had to try out the gelato in Little Italy
Hung out on Tompkins square for a bit.
Went back to Brooklyn for a rest… couldn’t say no to milk bar. Cereal milk soft serve is a must.
We decided to stay in Brooklyn for the evening and went to a bunch of different bars around Williamsburg. First stop was Other Half brewery where we had a couple of good beers.
Next stop was <what was it called???> a nice little place where I had a fancy cocktail, Jack had a glass of natural wine and we had a plate of bruschetta.
Went to another place and had some oysters and drinks.
Went to this other bar that only had aperitifs… super wacky bartender was interesting to watch and gave us lots of tastes.
Ended up at a jazz club that we unsuccessfully tried to get in early for a manhattan night cap in a nice setting. Unfortunately just missed the band. Fun night

Monday, February 20th, 2023

Got up, packed up our stuff and went to a breakfast place a few streets down in Williamsburg that unfortunately was closed. So we took the subway to Manhattan – grabbed some bagels and coffee and walked around mid-town.
A little hungover after all those manhattans.
Another Kusoma takeover on 5th Avenue.
Walked through central park admiring the new tall skinny skyscrapers where the 0.01% live.
After a nice walk through Central Park we spent the rest of the morning and mid-afternoon at the Met.
I thought I have been there before… but after wandering around I realized I haven’t because it is the most amazing place ever. Amazing stuff around every corner like this famous portrait of Gertrude Stein by Picasso.
They don’t have just famous works by artists… they have multiple ROOMS of stuff by the artist.
A whole wing for an Egyptian temple.
We were there for 3 hours and barely made a dent.
Back on the lovely subway… (I love all subways)…
Strolled around for an hour or so…
Empire State Building. We eventually made our way back to Penn Station where we took the train to Newark to catch our flight home. Of course when we got to the airport our flight was delayed 2 hours… but Newark actually has a really nice airport and we were tired so just found someplace to put our feet up, had another beer or two and we survived. Great trip.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

Uncategorized

Sarah Kieffer’s cookie recipes are great. We made her pan banging chocolate chip cookies several times. These chocolate sugar cookies are just about perfect – crunchy, chewy and chocolatey.

Sarah Kieffer

  • 2 cups (284 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup (50 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated sugar, plus 1/2 cup (100 grams) for rolling
  • 1 large egg plus 1 large yolk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • Adjust an oven rack to the middle of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line three sheet pans with parchment paper.
  • In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 3/4 cups (350 grams) of the sugar, and beat again until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the egg, yolk, and vanilla, and beat on low speed until combined. Add the flour mixture and beat again on low speed until combined.
  • Place the remaining 1/2 cup (100 grams) of sugar in a medium bowl.
  • Scoop the dough into 1 1/2-ounce (45-gram) portions (2 tablespoons). Roll each ball in the sugar. Place 8 cookies on each sheet pan.
  • Bake one pan at a time, rotating halfway through baking. Bake until the sides are set and the top begins to crackle, 12 to 14 minutes.
  • Transfer the sheet pan to a wire rack and let the cookies cool for 5 to 10 minutes on the pan, then remove the cookies and let them cool completely on the wire rack. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
  • PJH comments: I make 40 gram portions as 45 grams seemed to big, I rolled in raw turbino sugar and cooked them for 13 minutes and they come out perfectly.