Dijon Chipotle Chick'n

Hello! Life has been busy this week, so I haven't been able to post much--I've got several back-logged recipes I've been eager to post! This recipe, Dijon Chipotle Chick'n, marks the sad conclusion of recipes featuring chipotle sour cream (see: zucchini pancakes,  smoky lentil soup, and a reference to it in roasted vegetable omelet).

When I travel, I like to buy the magazine Food and Wine. I wind up dog-earing about 50% of the pages for recipes and ideas to try. A great cold weather recipe I stumbled upon was Chicken Dijon, which called for sour cream, since I had almost precisely the amount of chipotle sour cream left, I figured it was kismet. I made a few adaptations based on what I had, as well as adjusting some of the cooking since I used Quorn veggie chicken rather than the real stuff.

You may remember that I'm currently loving my new speakers in my kitchen. Since I made this to complement my shallot smashed potatoes, I was still listening to Decemberists, Picaresque. 

Dijon Chipotle Chick'n (serves 4)

• 1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 Quorn chicken filets (or your favorite veggie chicken brand)
• salt & pepper
• 1/3 C onion, finely chopped
• 2 C faux chicken broth or veggie broth
• 2 Tbsp whole grain mustard 
• 4 Tbsp chipotle sour cream

1. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat, add the coriander seeds and cook til fragrant, gently shaking the pan, about 2 mins. Remove the coriander seeds, and when cool, crush with a mortar and pestle.
2. In the same skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Generously season the chick'n filets with salt and pepper. When the oil is very hot, add the filets and cook, turning frequently, until nicely browned, about 12 mins. 
3. Add the onion and cook until just softened, about 3 mins, add garlic and cook an additional min. Pour in the broth and coriander and bring to a boil, monitoring the temperature to prevent scorching. Reduce to med-low heat and cook for about 10 mins, or until sauce is thickened.
4. Remove the chick'n from the skillet and keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard and chipotle sour cream. Add to the sauce on the skillet, and cook on medium heat for about 5 mins, til thickened. Return the chick'n to the skillet and coat thoroughly. Serve immediately. 

Kitchen Notes: If using proper chicken, the original recipe called for 8 drumsticks. You will need to adjust the cooking time to safely ensure the doneness of chicken, the original recipe can be found here. I find that the mortar and pestle is more effective at breaking down the coriander than a spice grinder is. I used Maille whole grain mustard (no I don't speak French).

Verdict? I thought this was super tasty. If you read my blog frequently, you'll be aware of my current obsession for chipotle sour cream, and I think it elevates this meal. I was concerned about the blending of the chipotle with the grainy mustard, but it was awesome. This has a smoky sweetness, and reheats beautifully. Enjoy!

Chipotle Roasted Veggie Omelet

In the continued quest for Things that Would Be Delicious with Chipotle Sour Cream, indexed in recipe, Smoky Lentil Soup, we revisited Baked Goat Cheese Quesadillas, which took to the flavored sour cream well. This time for veggies we used: (1) red pepper, (1) zucchini, (1) green bell pepper, (1) poblano pepper, (3) very tiny Yukon gold potatoes, (1/2) red onion, (1/2) yellow onion, seasoned with chili powder, garlic powder, Goya Adobo seasoning, and McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning. We used the leftover veggies to make a kick-butt omelet.

  A beautiful, warm, October day...Great for eating on the porch, but not for taking photos!

I must give credit where credit is due. This idea to throw our leftovers in an omelet comes from my husband. Problem is, I didn't really know how to make an omelet. Sad, no? So, it was Google, You Tube, and Jacques Pepin to the rescue:

I selected the country style omelet. I haven't quite developed a taste for the class French omelet. The video is worth a watch, even if you have graduated from the French Culinary Institute, just because his accent is so charming. I recommend that you follow his directions, rather than my paraphrased ones, the result will most likely be far better.

Roasted Vegetable Omelet (serves 2)

• 1 C roasted vegetables ( from baked goat cheese quesadillas, following the recipe below, or based on your own  whims)
• 1 chipotle pepper & adobo sauce, chopped
• 4 eggs
• salt & pepper
• butter 

1. Combine the chipotle pepper with the vegetables and set aside.
2. Place 2 tsps of butter in an omelet or (gasp!) fry pan and begin to heat. Meanwhile, crack open the eggs and place in a bowl, whisk vigorously with a fork until the albumin begins to break down. Add salt & pepper to the eggs and continue to mix. 
3. When the butter has begun to brown, add 1/2 the eggs. Very lightly stir with a fork or chopstick (I drew lines across the pan, like cutting a pizza).  Cook for about a minute, or just to your level of doneness.
4. Add 1/2 C veggies on half of the egg mixture, then fold the other half of the egg over the mixture. 
5. Invert the omelet onto a plate (really, you need to watch Jacques do this). Repeat the above with the 2nd omelet. 


For the roasted vegetables:

• 1 red pepper, sliced thin
• 1 zucchini, sliced thin
• 1 green pepper, sliced thin
• 1 poblano pepper, sliced thin
• 3 very small Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced thin
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
• olive oil
• chili powder
• garlic powder
• Goya Adobo seasoning with cumin
• Montreal steak seasoning 
• pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a roasting pan, toss all of the vegetables and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the veggies until well coated with the oil.
2. Liberally add the above seasonings to your liking. I probably used about a 1/2 tsp for each. Stir the veggies until coated with oil, seasoning mix.
3. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 mins to avoid sticking. 

Kitchen Notes: This recipe can take poetic license regarding the seasoning and veggies used. This recipe for me was based on the convenience of what I could cobble together quickly.


Verdict? This recipe was just fun for me. It rivaled a good quality omelet from a fancy brunch joint, allowed me to use up some leftovers, and to learn how to cook something new that I really should have mastered long ago!

Crepes with Blueberry Sauce

Couple weeks ago, we went to Pontius Farm to pick blueberries. (Hurry! Their final season of U-Pick is coming tragically close to an end) I am embarrassed to say the blueberries languished in our fridge in for almost 2 weeks. When I took them out, they were as perfect, fresh and sweet-tart as the day we plucked them.
    
                                                      
                                                        2 lbs berries for $4? Criminal, right?


My husband pleaded for crepes, so I made crepes with blueberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. Because the berries were delightful, I wanted to avoid a complex recipe, let the berries showcase themselves. I found this recipe on Joy of Baking , recipe by Stephanie Jaworski with modifications by me:

Blueberry Sauce:

• 3/4 C sugar (I used turbinado--it's what I had. I also used 1/2 of the sugar recommended in the recipe)
• Scant Tbs cornstarch
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 C water
• 2 lbs blueberries
• 1/8 tsp vanilla extract
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice of 1 lemon

1. Place sugar, conrstarch, salt, & water in a saucepan; stir with a fork until smooth;
2. Add the blueberries & cook over medium heat. Stir frequently--sauce will thicken and some berries will burst. Be careful--berries may spill over and make a sticky mess, decrease the heat if needed.
3. Add vanilla, lemon, lemon zest. Without burning your tongue (hardest part of the recipe) sample and add additional sugar, lemon, zest or vanilla if needed.



Sauce can be used immediately or refrigerated. Sauce will continue to thicken, more so if refrigerated. 

                                       A cauldron of blueberries...Amazed at the color change




Crepes
This recipe comes from Marion Cunningham's The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. I do not have a crepe pan, I use a Le Creuset cast-iron skillet. I struggle to get my crepes to be nice and circular--let me know your secrets to round crepes!

• 2 eggs
• 1 C milk (I use whole--let's not kid ourselves)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1C flour
• 2 Tbs melted butter

1. Beat the eggs well, then add milk, salt, flour  & butter. Let stand 30 mins. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy--the lumps will smooth out when you cook the crepes.
2. Melt some additional butter in the crepe pan on medium-high heat. When butter is foamy, but not browned, add a small ladle of batter or 2 and swirl around in a pan. 
3. Cook for a minute or 2, so the underside is a bit browned--top should still look raw--and flip over. Cook for another minute or 2. 


Repeat til the batter is gone. If you don't feel like making all the crepes at once, the batter stays fresh for 2-3 days in the fridge. Usually, with me the 1st crepe is a loss--make your dog happy with that one. Frequently, I need the lower the heat partway through the cooking process. As your working, keep crepes in a low temp oven or warming drawer before serving. 


Spoon some of the blueberry sauce in the crepe, fold over. Add additional sauce, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and a small scoop of ice cream. 

                                                   
   You can tell I'm new at this blog thing, especially with photography--the crepe looks green and you can see the chip on the plate. Oops.


Verdict? The blueberry sauce caused the fresh blueberries to loose their impact. The sauce, while tasty, imparted a vague vegetable flavor. If I make the sauce again, I think I'd make a ginger-blueberry flavor, mixed berry, or replace the lemon/lemon zest with orange. I've got a lot of leftover sauce, so I'll keep brainstorming what to do with the remainder.