Stuffed Chicken

If you read my blog you know by now that I love to buy whole chickens and hardly EVER buy parts, unless the occasional thigh package if I'm making a curry or something. This is so economical to me as I use every part of the chicken, and today I'm showing you how I use the skins. After saving many skins from many chickens by gently taking them apart I collected them in my freezer and decided to whip them out for a special treat. Other times we do a crackle crispy chip by simply cutting them up in squares and baking on a sheet with some spices and a drizzle of oil to crip them up (the skin has oil/ fat in it but you need to get it sizzling)  It's absolutely delicious!

This is an arabic style stuffing rice mixture that, in my opinion, has it all! Rice, meat, veggies and delicious dried fruits and nuts.  It's a cross between a stuffing recipe and an Iraqi biryani. I'm using round rice and cooking the rice with ground beef (or lamb) first along with peas and then separately preparing small cubes of fried potatoes and carrot and finally pan fried dried fruits like raisins (you could add dried currants too, or apricots) and the addition of toasted nuts (almonds and pine nuts)

The directions below are pretty easy to follow from the photos. For the chicken breast I simply flatten it out and marinade in a mixture of lemon juice and worstershire sauce as well as some salt for seasoning. The chicken skins are good as is and I use a small bowl to lay the skin in and fill up with rice then close like a small pouch. Use a tooth pick to fasten if needed and then flip it out onto a pan and bake. I like to bake chicken on a high temperature so 400-425 F is ideal and you want to cook it well so that the chicken is cooked through properly. With regards to the stuffed chicken skin you cook until it's crispy, remember to brush with a little butter or oil before baking and sprinkle with salt.

Curried Okra Fry

Curry Okra Fry

1 package fresh okra, remove tops by slicing off and cut into thick rings

Oil, about 3 tbsp, I use avocado oil or any flavourless high smoke point oil

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 thumb size piece of ginger, grated. Frozen is fine as I keep mine in the freezer anyway

Spices:
1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp corriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp black mustard seeds

Salt and chili, to taste

1 tsp big teaspoon tomato paste

1 big or 2 small tomatoes, fresh and chopped in quarters (then you can just pick 4-8 pieces of skin out of the dish)

Fresh cilantro, for finishing and garnish

Heat the oil and add the onion, fry until edges are beginning to brown then add your spices and fry, mustard seeds may pop a bit.
Add your garlic and ginger and it will smell amazing at this point! Don't let it burn.
Add your chopped okra and finally tomato paste and chopped tomato.

If it needs a little water you can add a couple of tbsp and then cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes or so until okra is tender. At this point if there is any liquid still in it you can turn up the heat and just leave the lid off while keeping an eye out until it begins to dry up.

Add chopped cilantro and enjoy!

I serve with quick spelt rotis which I whip up using spelt flour, a drizzle of oil and enough water to create a pliable but not too sticky dough (Spelt can be sticky)
 I roll out small rounds and fry in a oiled pan (non stick works best)  flipping on both sides and removing once blisters appear.

This dish is delicious! Serve hot or room temperature!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Cranberry Orange Muffins
Courtesy of Sally's Baking Addiction

Ingredients:

Cream:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

Add:

1/2 cup  granulated sugar

1/4 cup  dark brown sugar

Add:

2 large eggs, room temperature 

Add:

1/2 cup sour cream

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

zest of 2 oranges

Blend in another bowl:

1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add dry to wet and add:

2 Tablespoons orange juice

2 Tablespoons milk (any kind)

Fold in:

1 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)

Bake in a muffin tin lined with muffin cups or an oiled and floured muffin tin. Makes about 12 

Bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 425 F oven then lower to 350 for another 18-20 minutes. Cool and glaze.

ORANGE GLAZE:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

3 Tablespoons  orange juice, or half orange and half lemon juice

Roasted & Braised Duck Pretzel Pockets

Lately I find myself short on time in the kitchen and so when I do have a couple of moments I try to utilize them well. Instead of creating and freezing full recipes I've been experimenting more with ingredients, like in my previous post about leeks! And this is what I love about this recipe because though it is a little lengthy, it's hands off for the most part and with an ingredient like duck you're left with many components to use for other recipes, plus it's high on flavour.

It's always a good day when you find a duck in your freezer, like the other day when I discovered the bird but then remembered that it must have been there for a little over a year! Lucky for me it wasn't freezer burnt and the flavour was incredible!

Once the duck was all thawed from hanging out in the fridge for a couple of days I rubbed it down with grapeseed oil and seasoned generously with salt and black pepper, and off it went into a 375 F oven for 2 hours until the skin was crispy and the whole duck was golden. Occasionally I'd check on it and pour off any of the extra fat in the pan, that stuff is liquid gold and perhaps just about the best part!

All those delicious things you could make with duck fat, from roasted potatoes to sauteed eggs, meats and wintery vegetables... the possibilities are endless!  Let me know what you like to do with leftover duck/goose fat in the comments below!

So back to the duck.  Once cooled I removed the skin.  I'd suggest setting that aside as a little something for the chef (you!) there isn't very much of it and it tends to go soggy unless eaten right away!

Nothing goes to waste here so I save those bones! There is a ton of flavour to be had from those bits and pieces of roasted skin, fat and savoury goodness left behind, all are going to a bit pot and allowed to bubble away for a couple of hours yielding the most delicious stock!

And last but not least those pan drippings! Adding a little stock or warm water to loosen up those bits and pieces then thickening makes an incredible gravy. A whole other recipe right there!

So to sum it up, out of one roasted duck you get fat, rich stock, crunchy skin, gravy and shredded meat. That's a lot of deliciousness for future meals right there!

Back to today's recipe... and that shredded meat! We'll also be using the pan drippings, first skimming off any extra fat and adding it to the fat pile and then adding a little warm water to remove all the yummy bits from the pan and straining it over top the duck meat, You want to use a small saucepan and have the liquid just covering the meat. Cover the saucepan with a bit of foil so that no steam escapes and cook on medium low for one hour or until the meat is nice and soft.  After an hour mix a little bit of cold liquid (water) and about a tsp of flour and then add it to the duck to thick the sauce, at this point there should be no liquid, just almost a glaze surrounding the shredded duck.

Cool the filling and add chopped green onion if desired then set aside.

Now for the Pretzel dough

1 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

2 tablespoons margarine

1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Later:
4 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons baking soda

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Proof for 5 minutes.
Mix in butter or margarine, flour, and salt. Cut dough into gold ball size balls and roll out into small flat circles. Fill with some cooled duck filling and seal up like a half a circle or small pockets.

Set on a tray and cover with a damp cloth or a piece of cling wrap. Allow to proof for 45 minutes to an hour.


This part goes really quick... it involves boiling and baking and you want to boil only what fits on the tray and into your oven one batch at a time.

Heat oven to 475 F.

In a cast iron or other nonaluminum pan, bring water and baking soda almost to a boil. Gently lower pockets into the water for about 90 seconds, do not allow water to come to a full boil.  Remove pocket with a large slotted spoon that supports the pocket well yet allows water to drain off and place on the parchment lined baking tray. You could put up to 5 pockets in the pot at a time. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake at 475 degrees F (245 degrees C) for about 12 minutes.

I froze the leftover duck filling and whipped it out on Chinese New Year 2016 (Year of the Monkey) to create these wontons. They of course went into duck broth that was made from the bones of that roasted duck! So so good!