Curried Honey Mustard Chicken

I made this quite a while back but never got around to posting it.



It was a really tasty dinner that everyone enjoyed. Well... not Bob... but everyone else really enjoyed it.

This was a great for a night when you have chicken thawed, not a lot of time and have no idea what you want to do with it.

This is stuff I always have on hand, so it came together pretty easily.

Curried Honey Dijon Chicken
Chicken breasts, boneless/skinless
1/3 C Dijon mustard
1/2 C honey (I think I'd use a little less next time)
1 TBLS curry powder
a good pinch cayenne, more or less depending on how hot you like it

Whisk together all ingredients and pour over chicken.
Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Into a 400F oven for 20 - 40 minutes, the internal temp reaches 165F and/or juices run clear. About half way through, base the chicken with the honey mustard sauce in the pan.

That's it. Pretty easy, huh?


Whisk together sauce ingredients



Don't forget the cayenne!


Arrange chicken breasts in a baking dish and pour sauce over them.


Cover and pop that in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Put that covered dish into the oven; preheated to 400F.

Baste chicken about half way through.


When chicken reaches 165F, it's done!


Add a side and some veggies... and it's dinner time!

May Wine Tasting ~ Pinot Grigio & A Little Bit of Garden

It's Wine Tasting time again. The wine of the month is Pinot Grigio.

This whole wine tasting thing is mostly just educational for me. For some reason I was thinking that I'd like Pinot Grigio better than Chardonnay. I didn't like Chardonnay at all. I have to say, so far, I'm not a big fan of Pinot Grigio either.

The first wine we tried this month was HRM Rex~Goliath Giant 47 Pound Rooster. I selected it because, as much as I don't like Chardonnay, I was pleasant surprised when I tried the Giant 47 Pound Rooster Chardonnay last month. I still wouldn't say that I liked it. But it wasn't as gross as I expected.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the Giant 47 Pound Rooster Pinot Grigio.

Name: HRM Rex-Goilath Giant 47 Pound Rooster Pinot Grigio

Price: $8.99

Year: 2008

PHOTO of bottle:




Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
From the bottle: Bright, juicy and floral - say howdy to our California version of this Italian classic: cultured but racy and very romantic.

From the website: This wine expresses lovely aromatics of pear and honeydew. Bright, juicy flavors of citrus and apples that lead to a sweet mineral core. The finish is soft and lingering; thanks to a balanced acidity that carries the fruit well into the back of the palate. Yum. I can think of a number of foods that would be great with this wine. Try it with a bowl full of Little-necked clams, steamed in a broth of Pinot Grigio, garlic, onions, and butter (my personal favorite!), Linguini with homemade pesto (OK, my other fave), or baked boneless-skinless chicken breasts that have first been rubbed in a lemon zest/Herbs de Provence mixture and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Fantastico! - Marty Spate, Enologico

Review:
Very pale yellow.

Me ~ smells like wine... I liked the Chardonnay better. It feels warm and burny... tongue puckery... definitely not diggin' it... can't pick out any specific flavors...

Jon ~ ooooo tart... tastes good... tastes like an energy drink... first sip was the best

Ericka ~ likes it

Drew ~ a little sweet... oh interesting, a little tart...

Would you buy again?: probably not

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I'd cook with it.

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Name: Fish Eye Pinot Grigio

Price: $7.99

Year: 2008

PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
From the bottle... It's floral, crisp, refreshing and bright. An Ideal match for sole, fowl or light pasta dishes.

From the website... The aromatics in this bottle are like a tropical adventure in paradise! There's a spirited and fresh infusion of ripe melon, apricot and white ginger with intense citrusy notes of juicy red grapefruit and mineral that lingers on the finish. Pair with sushi, shellfish, crisp salads or anything that calls for some zing!

Review:
Very pale yellow

Me ~ Not as puckery as the 47 Pound Rooster... but still not diggin' it... I tried mixing this with 7up to make a wine cooler... and that didn't help.

Jon ~ not as intense as 47 Pound Rooster

Whitney ~ mmmmmmm

Jeff ~ Dry & fruity

Would you buy again?: No

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I'd cook with it.

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Name: Black Tower

Price: $8.99

Year: 2006

PHOTO of bottle:


Short intro from the wine maker about the wine:
From the bottle: Full of fruit flavours with a touch of spice.

From the website: Black Tower Pinot Grigio has the typical spicy character of Pinot Grigio and expressive fruit. Full of flavour and with a warm finish.
This wine is a perfect match for dishes with mushrooms such as wild mushroom risotto or rocket salad with pears and walnuts.

Review:
Golden color

Me ~ better than the 47# Rooster & Fish Eye... but I think I'm just not feeling the Pinot Grigio... I'll be tasting some more with my mom and niece over Memorial Day weekend... so we'll see...

Jon ~ This one is sweeter and peppery

Whitney ~ Very mild... nice not puckery... consistent flavor... no aftertaste

Would you buy again?: probably not

Wine Pairing Ideas/Recipes: I would cook with it.

Have you joined the BakeSpace Wine Club yet?

What are you waiting for??

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A garden update....

My grape tomatoes... 10 days difference
April 29...............................May 9


The barrel of violas is bright and beautiful!


Flowers & herbs doing well...


Little Lil Pete came out to get some sun.


Everything survived Mother's Day Eve!

Flan = FAIL... well... kinda...

Ok... so when I was putting together my Cinco de Mayo menu, I wanted to try dishes I hadn't made before. I thought flan would be nice. Who doesn't love caramel & custard right?

So after perusing the internet for a while, this is what I came up with.



Spryte's Flan ~ Take One
1 1/2 C white sugar
5 eggs
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 TBLS vanilla
a little lemon zest (possibly where I went wrong?)

Preheat oven to 350F
Start by making caramel.
Pour the sugar into a saucepan over medium low heat and stir until liquid and golden.
Pour caramel into a 9 inch glass baking dish. (I used a deep dish pie plate)
Beat eggs; then beat in sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and lemon zest.
Pour into baking dish.
Bake in a water bath. Carefully put baking dish into a roasting pan, fill roasting pan with hot water until it's about halfway up the baking dish. Carefully move to oven and bake for 60 minutes or until center is set.
Cool on rack to room temp, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled.
To serve, gently loosen edges with a knife and invert onto a rimmed platter.
Slice & serve.

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This was also my first time making caramel. I was a little nervous. I stirred it continuously and kept the temperature pretty low.

Also... I started out using a whisk. Don't do that. As the sugar starts to melt, it accumulates inside the whisk. I had to change to a spoon pretty early on.



Nice and melty.


When it's copper colored, pour it into the baking dish.


Now to make the custard.

First... I didn't beat the eggs alone. This could be mistake number 1.

I poured the milks and the eggs together and beat them at the same time.

Does that matter? I have no idea!

The only custard I've ever made was creme brulee, one time and honestly, that didn't set up very well. But it was so long ago, I have no idea how I made it.

Anyway... I threw the milks & eggs together and beat them.


Beat in vanilla and lemon zest


Now pour the egg mixture into the baking dish with the caramel.


Next it needs to go into a water bath for baking.

I don't have a roasting pan and my widest shallow baking dish wasn't wide enough to fit this pie plate.

So I had to put in into my GIGANTIC cast iron skillet. That weighs a million pounds on it's own, let alone with a full pie plate and filled with water!!

So put the baking dish into whatever pan is big enough to accommodate it.

Then put in enough hot water to go half way up the baking dish.


Now into the preheated oven for 60 minutes or until it's set in the middle.


Cool on rack to room temp, then into the fridge until thoroughly chilled.

To plate, run knife along the edge to loosen and invert into a serving plate with edges.

You want to use one with edges incase the caramel is runny (which is what you want)




The flavor of this flan was delicious. However the texture was weird. It wasn't grainy; it was almost like tapioca or something. A little chunky?

I dunno. Was it that I didn't beat the eggs first by themselves? Did the lemon zest do something funky?

It definitely needs work.

So... do you know how to make my flan creamy?

Cinco de Mayo - Chile Relleno Casserole & Carnitas

More recipes from my Cinco De Mayo Party over the weekend. =)

It would be cool if I was one of those really together bloggers... who have all of their holiday recipes ready to roll out the week before a holiday... but usually mine all go out the week after the holiday. This time I'm lucky enough to be cranking a couple out just by the holiday!

On Friday Heather over at girlichef posted a yummy recipe for Chile Rellenos. I had been thinking about them before that... and her post pushed me over the edge of HAVING to have them! Coincidentally... she has a giveaway going on to win a TexMex cookbook, Food and Flavors of San Antonio by Gloria Chadwick.

Click HERE to check it out and enter!

Anyway... I mentioned wanting to make Chile Rellenos, but not wanted to fry stuff during the party. So Shane from Culinary Alchemy suggested Chile Rellenos Casserole.

This is based on his recipe and bunch that I browsed online.



Chile Rellenos Casserole
1.25 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minces
1 TBLS epazote
salt & pepper
7 or 8 fire roasted poblano peppers, seeded and cut in half
3/4 lb shredded queso blanco
8oz tomato sauce
onion powder
garlic powder
oregano
salt & pepper

Topping:
1 1/2 C milk
1/4 C flour
1/4 C cornmeal
Salt & pepper
4 beaten eggs
Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce

Preheat oven to 350F
Brown ground beef, onions and garlic.
Drain off excess fat
Season with salt, pepper and epazote.
Combine tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano and salt & pepper and pour into the bottom of a baking dish. (I think I used a deep 13x9 foil pan)
Place half the chilies on top of the tomato sauce.
Spread beef mixture over chilies.
Sprinkle shredded queso blanco over meat.
Arrange remaining chilies over the cheese.
In a bowl, combine the milk, flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, eggs, and several dashes of Chipotle Tabasco sauce.
Beat until smooth.
Pour over the chilies.
Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Let cool for 5 -10 minutes before serving, so the cheese has a chance to set back up.

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You can check HERE or HERE for directions to fire roast the poblanos.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Saute onion and garlic with ground beef, epazote and salt & pepper.


Combine tomato sauce, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, and salt & pepper and pour a thin layer to coat the bottom of the baking dish.

Place a layer of poblanos over the top of the tomato sauce.


Cover the poblanos with the ground beef... then the cheese... then the remaining poblanos.


Whisk together topping ingredients and pour them over the top of the chilies.


I really could have used one more poblano... so I filled in the blanks with diced canned green chilies.

Bake at 350F for 45 to 50 minutes, until eggs are set.

Remove from oven and let stand for 5 - 10 minutes before cutting.


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And... since it's Cinco de Mayo... here is my Carnitas recipe too!



Is there anything better than shredded pork?

I started by putting a pork roast (Boston butt) in the crock pot overnight.




Add some onion & garlic


A chipotle pepper or two


Some epazote & cumin and salt & pepper


Put the cover on, turn the crock pot to low and go to bed!


In the morning... you should have something like this.


Scoop out the pork and shred it with forks.


Then spread it on a cookie sheet and bake at 350F until it's as caramelized and crispy on the edges as you like.


Now it's ready for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas or just as is!


Enjoy!


Need more Cinco de Mayo recipes?

Check out these blogs...

At My Tasty Treasures ~ Donna's Grilled Chicken Fajitas

At Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice ~ Reeni's Chicken Tortilla Soup

At girlichef ~ Heather has a ton of Mexican Recipes

At My Italian Grandmother ~ Michele's Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde

At Good Things Catered ~ Katie's Mango Salsa

At Closet Cooking ~ Kevin has a TON of TexMex Recipes

And don't forget the Margarita Jello Shots!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo and Happy Birthday Judy!!