Ring in the New Year with Brainy Thai Peanut Chicken...

 

 

Who doesn't have their version of 'Thai Peanut Chicken'...right?

Thai food is always full of flavor and its because of the ingenuity that goes into it. That's because its brainy cooking and anyone who is brainy can make their version of Thai Peanut Chicken.  

For this dish you will need: boneless, skinless chicken breasts (as many per guest), white rice, colorful veggies (suggested: carrots and green beans), coconut oil, lightly or not salted roasted peanuts, buttermilk, flour, seasonings and fresh lemon. 

To get started... cut the chicken into strips and marinate in buttermilk. In a plastic (used breadbag) mix flour with crushed peanuts and seasonings: garlic powder, pink salt, red pepper flakes and paprika. 

Take a skillet and melt in 1/4 cup of coconut oil and the same of peanut oil or vegetable oil. Next, put the chicken (a few pieces at a time) from the buttermilk into the bag of flour mixture. Shake and lay into the oil when it is hot enough for frying. Brown all the chicken pieces in this way. 

Move the chicken from the frying pan 'skillet' into a glass baking dish, sprinkle with either more crushed peanuts or some bread crumbs or tempura mix if you have. The oven should be heated to 250f. Put the chicken into the oven while you prepare the rice and veggie stir fry of your choice. 

Don't forget to put out the Spicy "Asian" Orange Sauce or any hot sauce you have... I also like to top with sunflowers seeds and raisins.

~ Tutti a Tavola...
 

 

 

Brainy Gourmet Pancetta or Carbonara... Its what you Make of it!

 

Most Italian cooks when making carbonara use only pancetta which is an Italian bacon made of pork belly meat that is salt cured and spiced with black pepper and sometimes other spices. However, you may not have access to Italian bacon. Be brainy and use your favorite bacon.

For this dish, you will need to have: bacon, onion, angel hair pasta, asparagus tips or fresh peas, one egg, butter and fresh baby arugula. To begin, saute diced bacon and onion in a skillet of olive oil until the bacon and onion start to crisp on the edges.

Then add several washed asparagus tips. Set aside to prepare the pasta. Once the pasta is tender, drain and quickly return to the pot in which it was boiled, add a large dollop of butter and crack in one raw egg; stir quickly until you see that the egg is cooked by the hot pasta.

Pour out the pasta onto a low lipped serving plate, top with the pancetta with asparagus or peas and serve topped with arugula and Parmesan cheese.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Brainy Bistro Beef Stroganoff...

When Beef Stroganoff is served, you should be thinking... rich and creamy and romantically delicious! Given that, you could easily imagine that you are at some far off tucked in European bistro...

For this dish you will need: quality cuts of beef (stew meat or thick sirloin cut into chunks), one medium onion, dark brown Bavarian mushrooms, beef stock, heavy cream and wide egg noodle pasta - Parppardelle.

To begin, marinate the beef in balsamic vinegar and pink Himalayan salt for 30-40 min. When that time is nearly finished, in a large skillet saute the onion in olive oil until dark brown on the edges.

Remove from skillet and in the same skillet, brown the mushrooms, adding 3 tbs of butter. Once the mushrooms are darker and tender, remove from the skillet putting them aside with the onion and sear the beef in chunks (drained) in the same skillet, adding a drizzle of olive oil.

Bring back into the skillet the onion and mushrooms, pour in about 3 tbs of beef stock, a half shot of either white wine or vermouth a, stirring on high heat. Then turning down the heat, add the heavy cream about 1/2 cup, cover and let simmer while you prepare the pasta and a side of blackened asparagus.

Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water until tender, drain and ladle onto a low lipped plater. The asparagus should be flash stir fried in olive oil, then cover to simmer on medium high adding 1 tbs of beef stock.


 Serve all together, start the music and pour the wine...

~ Tutti a Tavola

Brainy Blood Sausage with Creamy Polenta...

 

For cozy at home winter dinning... try  something different and make creamy cornmeal polenta served with Bavarian mushrooms and blood sausage. As you may have guessed, blood sausage is made with pig's blood along with bits of organ meats plus barley or rice which are necessary fillers or catalysts.

In Italy, regional varieties of blood sausage are known as 'sanguinaccio'. In Tuscany, buristo is a sausage made with pig's blood and fat cooked in a pig's stomach. Variants are found worldwide. Pig, cattle, sheep, duck, and goat's blood can be used, varying by country. In Kenya, fillers include fresh minced goat or beef, fat, and red onions.

You may ask, why would anyone want to eat barley and blood mixed together and put into a casing? Well, the answer its simple food; and, that means its a fast and frugal dinner that is filling and very tasty. Today, many people don't know that you can eat almost every part of an animal for food. At least, folks did for many years as a means of being frugal.

Polenta -
2 tbs of olive oil
one whole onion chopped
2-4 cups of chicken stock
2 cups of yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
4 tbs of butter or 1/2 stick

Heat oven to 350F. On the stove, saute your onion in the olive oil in a deep oven safe pot until browned on all edges; then, add your stock (2 cups thicker) and 5 cups of water. Heat to boiling on high and slowly whisk in the cornmeal. Then cover and bake for 45-50 min.with an occasional stir - about every 10 min. Remove from the oven, add the butter and Parmesan for one last stir, then let it set covered.

 












Keep in mind that the polenta (made earlier) can be kept warm in the oven on low heat in a double boiler: one oven safe pot with the polenta sitting inside a wider oven safe dish filled with enough water to cover the bottom.

 

You can pan fry the mushrooms in a skillet with olive oil and butter. The blood sausage can also be pan fried in the same skillet; either separate or with the mushrooms. Or you can do a roasting pan of sausage in the oven for 40 min in olive oil glaze.

 ~ Tutti a Tavola!