Sambal Chicken Sandwich

I've made this sandwich a few times now and it's so darn good. Sambal Oelek is a red chili paste that doesn't have any garlic or vinegar, so it's just ground red chili's and it's really hot. Sambal Oelek is primarily used as a cooking additive and not really a condiment like Sriracha sauce. For this chicken sandwich I marinated the chicken breasts in the Sambal Oelek for just 15 minutes before grilling. When done the chicken has a nice mellow chili flavor that's not too hot. What really takes this sandwich over the top is the raw garlic rubbed on the inside of the toasted sliced sourdough French bread.

 

Ingredients:

1 large 1/2 chicken breast per 2 sandwiches

Sambal Oelek

Sliced sourdough French bread

1 - 2 large garlic clove

Romaine lettuce

Soft white cheese like Monterey Jack or Munster

Mayonnaise

 

Preparation:

Take the chicken breast and cut in half so the chicken breast is half a thick. Place the chicken breast on your cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound the chicken breast so it's about a 1/2" thick. Repeat the process with the second chicken breast.

 

Place the chicken breasts on a plate and spoon on a nice coating of Sambal Oelek on all sides and let marinate for 10 - 15 minutes.

 

Heat a 12"  sauté pan to medium high. Spay on a little olive oil and place into the sauté pan for about 5 minutes per side. When the chicken is almost done add the cheese and let melt.

 

To assemble the sandwich, toast the sliced sourdough French bread to golden brown. Take the garlic clove and rub on the inside of the bottom piece of toast. Next add some mayo, romaine lettuce and chicken breast. Take the top piece of toast and rub on some garlic and then some mayo and place on the sandwich. Cut in half and serve with fries or simple salad.

Teriyaki Beef Skewers

 

 

This is one of my favorites that quick and easy. Here I'm using some flank steak and cutting into strips and marinating in teriyaki sauce. They turned out charred on the outside and medium rare on the inside and totally awesome.

 

Ingredients:
1 cup white rice

1 flank steak

Kona Coast Island Teriyaki
10 - 12 wood skewers
Diced green onions
Sesame seeds
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Cook the rice according to instructions, which is 1 cup rice, 2 cups water and some salt.

Take the wood skewers and place in some water for 30 minutes.

Cut the flank steak into thin strips and thread onto the wood skewers. Place the skewers on a medium baking pan and brush on some teriyaki sauce on all sides. Let marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat the grill to high. Use some spay oil to give a light coating to the meat skewers. Place on the grill and cook about 3 minutes per side. When done, let the meat skewers rest for 5 minutes and you're ready to serve.

To serve, place a portion of rice on a serving plate. Top with 3 - 4 teriyaki skewers and garnish with diced green onions and sesame seeds.
 

 

Grilled Chicken Breast Salad

There is a simple beauty to a properly cooked seared chicken breast. The skin is somewhat crispy and the breast meat is tender and juicy, but how do you do it? The key is really hot pan. I've tried to get this right many times on my gas stove, but without success. I finally got it right when I used my grill pan on the BBQ. I kept the heat high, but not high enough to burn and allowed the chicken to cook long enough to get a really nice golden brown sear. Once the skin is perfectly cooked, I reduced the heat while the breast cooks through. Lastly, letting the chicken rest 5 minutes before serving is when you will get that moist juicy breast meat.

 

Indoor outdoor grill pan

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast with skin

Olive oil

Salt & pepper

Mixed greens

Brianna's Vinaigrette

 

Preparation:

Take the chicken breasts and place skin side down on a plate covered in paper towels. Let the paper towels soak up any moisture on the chicken breast. Salt and pepper the breast and then brush on some olive oil on the skin side of the chicken breast.

 

Place the grill pan on the barbeque on medium heat. Put the chicken breasts on the grill pan skin side down. Adjust the heat if necessary, but it should be hot and you should here the chicken sizzling away. Continue to cook skin side down until the skin is nice and golden brown. At this point the chicken should be 3/4 cooked. Reduce the heat to low and turn the breasts over and cook for the final 5 minutes until done. Remove the chicken to a plate and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

 

To serve, place some mixed greens in a large salad bowl and toss with some Brianna's Vinaigrette dressing. Place a portion of greens on a serving plate and top with sliced chicken breast.

One pot Linguine with Tomato, Basil and Garlic

Tonight I'm making a one pot linguine pasta dish. There is a lot of controversy about this dish because, as we all know, this is not how you cook pasta. However, I've read a lot of reviews of this cooking method, people like it and I'm going to see what it's all about.

First of all, the preparation is very easy, just as advertised, place all the ingredients into a 12" square sided sauté pan. Cook the pasta at a slow boil for 30 minutes or until all the water is absorbed and you're done.

The first thing I realize is that you've got to get the salt right. The reason is because you're not draining off the salty water as you normally would, all the salt you add will be absorbed into the pasta. If you add too much salt, there's no undoing it.

With the salt just right, I notice is that I taste all the flavors of the tomato, basil, garlic and onion in the pasta, I kind of like that. Secondly, the pasta has the consistency of risotto; creamy yet with an al dente mouth feel. Overall, I think it's a win!

Ingredients:
5 - 1/2 cups water
3/4 pound Barilla Linguine
2 cups sliced cherry tomato's
1 cup basil leafs
1/2 yellow onion sliced thin
4 rough chop garlic cloves
1 table spoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon salt
Pinch red pepper flakes

Preparation:
Take a 12" square sided sauté pan and add the linguine, cherry tomato's, basil, onion, garlic, olive oil, butter, salt and red pepper flakes. Place on the cook top and 5 - 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slow you have a very slow boil and cook stirring regularly for 30 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

To serve, place a portion of the pasta on a serving plate and garnish with chopped basil leafs, fresh grated parmesan cheese and a grind of salt and pepper.

Mongolian Chicken

This is one of my all time favorites, Mongolian Chicken. I could really go either way with chicken or beef, but this time it's chicken. What is Mongolian Chicken? Some call Mongolian Chicken the near perfect Chinese dish. It's made with strips of chicken or beef, mixed with 2 kinds of onions; Yellow and green with a sauce made with Hunan, oyster and soy sauces with some crushed garlic and red pepper flakes. However, in this case I didn't make the sauce from scratch, but used a Simply Asia sauce kit for a quick and tasty meal.

 

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts

1 medium yellow onion

2 bunches green onions

4 crushed garlic cloves

1 package Simply Asia Mongolian BBQ Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

Chopped cilantro

 

Preparation:

Take the chicken breasts and cut in half so they're half as thick and then cut into thin strips. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the crushed garlic and let marinate for an hour.

 

Take the yellow onion and slice in half and then in quarters. Slice into thin strips and set a side. Take the green onions and cut into 1 inch pieces and set a side.

 

Take your 12" sauté pan and heat to medium. Add the olive oil and yellow onions and cook until the onions starts to soften up, maybe 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to high and add the chicken. When the chicken is mostly cooked, add the green onions and half of the Mongolian BBQ sauce, you can always add more, but if you add too much, you might overwhelm all the other flavors. Toss until really hot and you're done. Serve with steamed rice and sautéed broccoli.

 

To serve, place a portion of rice on the serving plate. Add a generous helping of Mongolian Chicken and some sautéed broccoli and garnish with some chopped cilantro. 

Linguine with Chicken, Spinach and Walnuts in an Avocado Cream Sauce

Here's a dish that really tastes so incredible if your a fan of avocados like me. One large ripe avocado blended with some milk, flour and salt and pepper will create a sauce that tastes as rich a an alfredo sauce, but without all the fat and calories.

Ingredients:
1 pound Barilla linguini
1 poached chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
1 large ripe avocado
1 cup milk
1 heaping tablespoon Wondra flour
1 large handful baby spinach
Chopped walnuts
Chopped Italian parsley

Preparation:

Take a large stock pot and fill with water. Add 2 tablespoon salt and bring to boil. Cook the linguine according to directions, which is usually 9 - 10 minutes to al dente, which is firm to the bite. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of pasta water. 

While the pasta is cooking, take your 12" sauté pan and heat to medium. Add the olive oil and crushed garlic and cook about 1 minute. Combine the avocado, milk, flour and salt and pepper in a small food processer and mix until you have a smooth sauce. Add the avocado sauce to the sauté pan and cook until heated. The flour in the mixture will thicken as the sauce heats. If you find the sauce is not as thick as you like, whisk in a little more Wondra flour. 

Add the linguine and baby spinach to the sauté pan and toss until the pasta is serving temperature and the spinach has wilted. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water toss and you're done.

To serve, place a portion of linguine on a serving plate. Top the pasta with chopped walnuts, fresh grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper and garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

Flat Iron Steak

As you may know, I' a huge fan of Flat Iron Steak. This steak is as tender and tasty as more expensive cuts of beef, yet affordable for the whole family. A whole Flat Iron steak which will feed a family of four will cost less than one choice New York Strip or Rib Eye steak.

 

Ingredients:
1 Flat Iron steak
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Heat the grill to medium high, temperature, 400 degrees. Brush the steaks with some olive oil and then a couple of grinds of salt and pepper. Cook for 3-1/2 minutes per side for perfect medium rare. When finished cooking, place the steaks on a plate and cover for 5 minutes then serve.

 

Wild Sockeye Salmon with Lemon Garlic Dijon Sauce

I love grilled salmon, but I'm not afraid to roast salmon in a 400 degree oven. Here I mixed up some olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, crushed garlic and parsley; basically a salad dressing and used as a cooking sauce and it turned out awesome.  

Ingredients:
Fresh wild sockeye salmon
1/8 cup avocado or olive oil
1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt and pepper

Preparation:

To make the lemon garlic Dijon sauce, add the oil, mustard, lemon juice, garlic and parsley to a medium bowl and mix until well combined.

 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the salmon in cold water and let dry on some paper towels. Remove any pin bones if necessary. Place the salmon fillets on a broiler pan, add some salt and pepper and coat with the lemon garlic Dijon sauce. Cooking time can very depending on the thickness of the fillets, but 10 minutes is a good starting point.