Chicken Pot Pie

I love pies in all shapes and sizes but a hearty chicken pot pie is the definition of comfort food. It's warm, filling and tasty to the very last bite. Not to mentions it's surprisingly easy to make. All you really do is make chicken soup, thicken it up and place some sort of crust on top of it then bake it. Easy as pie. Here is my rendition of this classic pie where I use puff pastry for the crust which always turns out flaky and delicious. They sell puff pastry in the freezer section of your favorite supermarket right next to the pre made pie crusts. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 5 stalks celery diced
- 6 carrots peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 pound green beans chopped
- 2 ears white corn, husk and kernels removed
- 1/4 pound mushrooms quartered
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme minced
- 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
- 2 cups milk (2% or higher)
- 3 cups good chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons chicken base
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 whole roasted chicken roasted and meat shredded
- slurry of cornstarch and water (2 parts water, 1 part cornstarch)
- 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry
- 1 tablespoon of melter butter

The Process
1. Take your puff pastry out of the freezer and set on the counter to defrost and also preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, over medium heat heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large pot then add the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, green beans, corn and peas, stir to combine. Sauté for about 8-10 minutes or until all the veggies have released their liquid. Stir in thyme and unmelted butter and cook for 2 additional minutes.
2. Add milk, chicken stock, chicken base, poultry seasoning, and salt, pepper and shredded chicken and bring to a boil over medium high heat. When boiling reduce heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes or until all the veggies are soft.
3. Bring heat back up to medium and stir in part of your slurry making sure to continually stir while it gets completely mixed in. If it isn't thick enough add some more, then a little more, then a little more until you get the thickness you are looking for. It should be pretty tight as far as the consistency.
4. Add your pie filling to 4 individual bowls and set aside. Take the puff pastry and cut into squares large enough to cover the bowls then place on top of the bowls. Place your 4 bowls on a cookie sheet and brush with melted butter. Then poke 3 - 4 holes into each pie with a knife to allow for the steam to escape.
5. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until the puff pastry is nice and golden brown. Be careful when you take them off the pan they are going to be crazy hot. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Serve with a little bit or black pepper and Tabasco.
6. Enjoy!!!

If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

Scratch Made Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken teriyaki is one of my all time favorite things to eat. It is crazy good and whenever I go to some teriyaki joint, I make sure to either get a plate full of it or half a plate with something else that's pretty good. The kicker for me is that it's grilled and you get the sugar all crystallized and the smokiness of the grill. Man I am getting hungry right now.

This recipe is pretty universal and can be used to marinade all different kinds of things. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs but I have had success with regular chicken thighs, skirt steak, pork, tofu basically anything. You make this sauce and put some form of protein in it and place in the refrigerator for a couple of days and I guarantee you will love the results.

The only strange thing on the ingredient list is the sweet soy sauce but don't fret, they sell this stuff at your favorite grocery store. It will most likely say exactly that, Sweet Soy Sauce, and be in a red bottle (mostly). It should have the consistency of molasses.

Ingredients
- 1 cup soy sauce
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup sweet soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1/2 cup pureed pineapple (about 1/2 a can or a 1/4 of a fresh pinapple)
- 6 cloves garlic, skin removed and roughly chopped
- 2 inches of ginger root, sliced
- 6 green onions, roughly chopped
- 1/2 medium onion, sliced
- 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1. Take the soy sauce and brown sugar and place in a bowl and mix with wire whisk. When the sugar has completely dissolved add the vinegar, sweet soy, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil and pineapple puree. Mix well.
2. Place the garlic, ginger, green onions, regular onions and chicken in a resealable bag. Make sure to mix the chicken around with the veggies. Pour the sauce into the bag with and seal the bag trying to get as much air out as possible. Make sure all the chicken is covered with the marinade. Place in fridge for 2 days.
3. Preheat your grill for direct heat. Remove the chicken from the bag and set aside. When the grill is hot, place the chicken directly on the heat. Flip once when the side down has nice grill marks on it. It should take about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove pieces when they are done and when all are finished, cover plate in foil and let rest for 5 minutes.
Optional Step. Take the marinade, strain it, boil and then reduce by half.
4. Slice the chicken and serve over rice with optional sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions.
5. Enjoy.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup is one of my all time favorites when it comes to soup. You might have seen in my previous posts that I alway say X amount of cups of good chicken stock. What I am referring to is homemade chicken stock which I suggest you make for this recipe. Trust me it's worth the effort and people will think you're cool I hope. If you don't want to make it just skip the first recipe and use your favorite chicken broth and the rule of thumb is, the more you pay the better it is kind of like whiskey and mail order brides (just kidding baby).

Now when you first look at how to make this it might seem a little intimidating. You are going to spend a little time on this but let me tell you the benefits, are numerous. You get a much better tasting dish for whatever you are using this for and much deeper and richer flavors. When you buy broth canned you get a liquid that has chicken base dissolved into it and ends up looking somewhat clear. They don't take the time to actually boil bones until the flavors have been infused with the water. You can freeze what you don't use or even better, freeze it in ice cube trays and pop one into whatever you are cooking when you need a little stock. Jussayin.

Home Made Chicken Stock

Ingredients
- 2 large onion chopped
- bulb garlic
- bunch celery
- 10 carrots
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 4 bay leaves
- water
- 2 pounds of chicken bones
- EVOO
- Salt and Pepper

1. Chop up all the veggies and place in a large stock pot. Don't worry about peeling the carrots or de-skinning the garlic and onions it's all going to get strained out in the end. Add the peppercorns and bay leaves to the pot as well. If you have fresh herbs in your yard add those are well. It's all good.
2. Add all the bones and carcass to the pot.
3. Fill stock pot with water until 1 inch below the top of the pot. Place pot on stove and bring to a boil uncovered. When boiling, reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and simmer for 8 hours then let stand for 4 hours. Best to do before you go to bed so you can do the next step in the morning.
5. In another large stock place a strainer on the inside of the empty pot. Making sure not to burn yourself, dump the liquid through the strainer into the new pot. Place the strained liquid into the fridge until completely cooled and a layer of fat has congealed at the top.
6. When the liquid has cooled and using a spoon, scoop all that white fat from the top of your soup and discard.
7. You are done!!! Use in any recipe that requires chicken broth or stock. Now this hasn't been salted yet so make sure that you season whatever you use this in. Can be frozen. Enjoy.


Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients
- 2 medium onions diced
- 6 stalks celery diced
- 8 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme minced or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 tablespoons chicken base (only necessary if using homemade stock above)
- 10 cups of good chicken stock
- 1 whole roasted chicken roasted and meat shredded
- 8 ounces egg noodles

1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium high heat and add onions, celery, carrots and garlic and sauté until veggies release their liquid about 6 - 8 minutes. Add the thyme and cook for another 1 minute until fragrant. It should be smelling awesome.
2. Add the chicken, chicken base and chicken stock. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook for 20 minutes until veggies are soft.
3. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the egg noodles. When the noodles are done, drained and the veggies are soft, add the noodles to the soup and simmer for 5 more minutes.
4. Ladle into bowls and serve with grilled cheese. Top with freshly ground pepper and a little Tabasco to give it a kick.
5. Enjoy!!!

Any questions please feel free to email me.

Hawaii 2010

It has been quit a while since I went to Hawaii. It has also been a while since I have spent some significant, alone time with the one I care about the most that being my beautiful wife. Not to mention that we didn't have a honeymoon last year when we got married and that sucked. So we decided that this year we would go all out. We went to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. We were there for 8 days and we did a ton of shit. We went to the volcano, ate an insane amount of raw fish and local (Hawaiin) food, beach hopped, snorkeled, swam, laughed, sang karaoke, drank, swam with turtles, went to a luau and a snorkel tour and say family and friend. We seriously put 700 miles on our rental car. It was the most amazing trip I have ever been on. We had too much fun.

The kicker was getting to meet my wife's dad during our layover. This was my first time getting to meet the guy and he was super cool. I feel more complete know and whole knowing the other half the best story in my life. That really made the trip. So check out the new pics and let me know what you think.

Direct Link

New Camera, New Pics

I have upgraded to a new camera and let me tell you, it's pretty awesome. With my new to me Canon 50D I jumped from 10.0 mp to 15.0 mp which is great but the kicker is the big jump in my shutter speed and the increased low light options. I should have this camera for a while and now need to get some new lenses. The one I have is great and I love using it but I would like to get a macro lens and something that shoots really great pics from far away. We'll see what happens.

Anyways check out my new pics and let me know what you think. As always if you want one let me know and I will email it your way. Thanks for checking them out.

Direct Link

Chicken Marsala

This is one of my favorite all time dishes to order from an Italian restaurant. The mushrooms, the wine, the accompanying pasta it's all so good. It's crazy easy to make too, I'm serious. So simple, so good. Just make it. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, filleted into 2 pieces
- Salt and Pepper
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1 pound of button mushrooms sliced
- 1 cup Marsala wine
- 2 cups good chicken stock
- 1/4 cup cream

1. Heat 4 tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Take the chicken pieces and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place flour in a flat dish and dredge the chicken in it. Shake off excess flour and set aside.
2. When butter is melted add your dredged chicken and cook until both sides are golden brown about 4 - 5 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. In same pan add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms have released all their liquid about 8 minutes.
4. Add the wine and scrape all the little pieces off the bottom of the pan. Simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Add the chicken stock, remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and cream. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
5. When the sauce is boiling reduce the heat to medium low and return the chicken to the pan making sure all the chicken pieces are submerged in sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Remove pan from heat. Add precooked pasta to your plate, then take 2 pieces of chicken and set on the noodles. Ladle the sauce over the noodles. Garnish with parmesan cheese.
7. Enjoy!!!

Sweet and Sour Pork

Okay so I know that most people have a phobia about cooking any sort of Asian cuisine but it's not that tough. As soon as you get a couple of items in your pantry from your local Asian supermarket you will be good to go. Now this is a good recipe for Sweet and Sour Sauce and can be used as a dipping sauce, a wing sauce or on meatballs. You can also substitute the pork for steak, chicken or tofu. Now the breading on this recipe isn't super thick but does an excellent job of sucking up the sauce. Seriously, it's super good I highly recommend it. Please email me if you have any questions. Enjoy everyone.

For Marinade
- 1 pound pork cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white rice wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon corn starch

The Stir Fry
- 1/4 cup mochiko flour (found in the Asian section of your favorite supermarket)
- 2 red peppers sliced 1 inch thick then cut on the bias
- 1 onion sliced
- bunch of green onions cut on the bias
- 2 cups cubed pineapple or one 14 oz can drained
- Peanut oil for frying

The Sauce
- 1/2 cup pineapple juice
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons sherry

1. Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl with meat and marinade in fridge for one hour.
2. Combine the pineapple juice, ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, pepper flakes, and sesame oil.
3. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 15 seconds or until fragrant.
4. Add the pineapple juice mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, 2 to 3 minutes. Don't worry if it's super runny we are going to thicken it up on the next step.
5. In a bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the sherry and make a slurry.
6. Add the slurry to the simmering sauce and whisking constantly. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
5. Heat up your deep fryer to 350. If you don't have a deep fryer add 2 inches of peanut oil to the bottom of a wok over medium high heat. If oil starts to smoke turn it down.
6. Combine mochiko flour with the marinaded pork. Basically you are looking for all the pieces of meat to be covered in the flour.
7. When oil is heated shake off excess flour and fry in batches until the pork is golden brown. Remove from oil and set on paper towel aside.
8. Take wok and remove all but 1 tablespoon of oil and return to medium high heat. Add your pre-chopped veggies and saute for 5 minutes until they start to sweat.
9. Add the sauce and pork to the work and stir until sauce is covering everything.
10. Remove from heat, garnish with sesame seeds and serve over white or brown rice.
11. Enjoy!!!