Jamie Oliver's - Chicken Stroganoff

This was a huge hit! My sister and her friend where raving about it for a couple days after I made it asking me to make it again. The photo isn't the best I had to use my cell phone because we'd just moved in and I couldn't find the battery charger to my lovely camera. But trust me on this recipe it's pretty simple and it's a winner. Savory and light at the same time, thank Jamie Oliver not me! It's from his new cookbook Food Revolution. ;)

Chicken Stroganoff (serves 2)

Serves 2

Ingredients:
sea salt
1/4 cup long grain or basmati rice (I used brown basmati rice)
1 large leek
a big handful of crimini or oyster mushrooms (I used pre-sliced white mushrooms)
2 chicken breasts (I used the equivalent amount of chicken tenders from the butcher)
olive oil
a pat of butter
a glass of white wine
freshly ground black pepper
a bunch of fresh parsley
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 lemon

Method:
Pour boiling water from the kettle into a 2 quart saucepan, place on a high heat and add a pinch of sea salt. Add your rice, bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down slightly. Cook for the length of time given in the instructions on the package.
Cut both ends off the leek, quarter lengthways, slice across thinly, then wash well under running water. Slice the mushrooms. Slice the chicken breasts into little=finger-size pieces.
Put a large frying pan on a high heat and add a good lug of olive oil and a pat of butter. Add the leek to the pan with the white wine, a small glass of water, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Let it bubble away for 5 minutes, covered loosely with a piece of aluminum foil. Meanwhile, finely chop the parsley, stalks and al. Remove the foil and add the chicken strips, most of the parsley, the cream, and the mushrooms. Stir, bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain your rice. Just before serving, cut your lemon in half and squeeze the juice of one half into the stroganoff. Season to taste.
Spoon some rice onto each plate and top with the stroganoff. Scatter with the rest of the chopped parsley. Serve with the other lemon half, cut into wedges.

Humboldt Winter

I moved to Humboldt County last November. This area is wonderful for salad, vegetables, and fruit! We can always get something fresh, organic, local, and that might be out of season anywhere else! Sometimes I can do a salad up right with Trinidad's Sun dried tomato cream cheese sprinkles or local humboldt fog blue cheese with steak. Humboldt fog is one of the best blue cheeses I've ever tried and has won first prize awards from the American Cheese Society three times. http://www.cypressgrovechevre.com/
Clockwise: Steamed and Broiled Veggies with Spanish Steak & White Truffle Mash Potatoes. Humboldt Fog Blue Cheese & Steak with Sugar Snap Peas. Pot-Roast Meatloaf (Jamie Oliver's Recipe)- chickpea tomato sauce with. And Winter could be Summer in Humboldt Salad; Trinidad Bay Cream Cheese with Fresh Strawberries, Nectarines, Squash, and Onions.

Oregon Red Currant Sauce

Honey Pork Tenderloin with Polenta and Red Currant Sauce:
This was a fun recipe to make. Believe it or not the pork tenderloin was broiled not grilled. All I did was cover it in honey, ginger, garlic, a bit of karo, and creole seasoning. Then filled the bottom of the broiler with some chicken stock, apple vinegar, dried pineapples, and a bit of white wine. Turned the broiler to high and cooked it 20 minutes (turning it over half way through). Made some creamy polenta to go with and wa-la!
The star of this dish was the red currant sauce which I adapted from a recipe on http://blog.healthyeats.com
The recipe called for half a cup either champagne or white wine vinegar, which I found kind of odd sense they are very different in flavor. I took a gamble and went with the white wine vinegar thinking the currants might be a bit tart and the vinegar might do the trick to counteract that. In the end the sauce turned out pretty wonderfully although next time I am going to go with champagne instead because the vinegar was good with pork but on a different protein such as lamb for instance I think you wouldn't appreciate the vinegar's acidity as much, as with pork I also used apple cider vinegar (which is common).


Red Currant Sauce
Makes 1/2 cup

1 pint red currants
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup Champagne or white wine vinegar (I recommend champagne)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 whole garlic clove, peeled

In a small saucepan, combine currants, sugar, vinegar, salt and garlic. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes until currants burst and liquid has reduced by half. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer, cool slightly and serve.

Baked Brie with Honey

Ingredients:
1 small brie cheese (approx. 6 inches)
4 tbs. apricot jam and/or honey
4 oz. toasted sliced almonds

Preparation:
Cut the rhine off of the top of the cheese only
Spread apricot jam or honey on top of cheese.
Bake at 300 degrees F. for approximately 12 minutes.
Sprinkle with toasted almonds and cook for another 5 to 10 min until cheese is bubbly.
Serve with crackers, grapes, or sliced apples.