Thanksgiving Dish #4 - Herb-Butter Roast Chicken

As legend has it, in the first Thanksgiving, the settlers didn't really have turkey. It was some kind of bird, but it was never specify what. With several types of fowl to chose from I went for a whole chicken.  I would have gone turkey, but cooking a 25lb turkey for two is a bit much don't you think? Plus, imagine how much left over there would be. One can only go on turkey for so long until you get tired of eating leftovers for a while.

This a perfect match with those honey-herb biscuits. I also put a simple recipe for chicken gravy as well. Juicy, drool-worthy chicken. Luckily, since I was cooking for two, I didn't have to fight for the leg or thigh. Ha!

Herb-Butter Roast Chicken

1 2-3 lb whole chicken

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme - chopped

1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary - chopped

3 sprigs of thyme

3 sprigs of rosemary

1/2 sweet onion
1 lemon - halved

Salt

pepper

paprika

Preheat your oven to 375˚F. Combine the butter, chopped thyme and chopped rosemary in a small bowl.  Set aside. Tie to sprigs of rosemary and thyme together. Set aside.

Remove the giblets (usually packed in the cavity). Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Season (all over) with salt pepper and paprika. Rub evenly over the surface as well as in the cavity. Gently separate the skin from the breast. Stuff the butter in between. Rub into the breast and neck area. The stuff the tied herbs, onion and lemon into the cavity of the chicken. Gently place on a roasting pan and cook for roughly 1 1/2 hours until the thickest hart of the thigh is at 180˚F.


Baste every 20 minutes with it's own juices. If the skin looks to be browning quicker loosely cover with foil. When done roasting let the chicken rest for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm. 

Chicken Gravy 

3 tbsp flour, 
1/2 c Chicken drippings from roast
1/2 c chicken broth

Take the drippings of the chicken and place in a cup. Let it sit for a moment to let the fat separate from the juices.  When it floats to the top remove as much of the fat with a spoon. If you have a fat separator, you may use that. 

Once the fat has been removed whisk in the flour. Stir until smooth and no lumps. Serve with chicken.

Thanksgiving Dish #3 - Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole

I love green beans. I love casserole, but I didn't want to go the traditional route of the green bean casserole with the canned mushroom soup. There's just something about the canned stuff that I'm not a fan of. So I searched the interweb for a recipe that didn't use the canned stuff. And I found one that was made by Alton Brown (original recipe here). Woohoo... Love Alton Brown. I love Good Eats. It's a fun show and I actually learn quite a bit of stuff about certain ingredients and history about dishes that i wouldn't otherwise have known.

Now I didn't have the crisp onions to put on top and I sort of tried to bake some in the oven, but those turned out burnt to a crisp. Bummer. So I just kinda used it as decoration on top of the casserole, not really much for eating.  So I put some panko crumbs on top instead, which turned out pretty tasty actually. And sauteed the portion of onion that I didn't used into the mushroom brean bean mix. Oh, you can use crushed crackers, too. The original recipe also called for half and half, which I don't have. I'm not much of a coffee drink in my own home. I used evaporated milk instead. The whole thing turned out pretty tasty even with the substitutions. This is a recipe I will be using over and over and over for sure. There's no need to use the canned stuff. Yay!!

Serves 2-3

Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole
Original by Alton Brown
Adapted by Bread + Butter


salt (plus 1 tsp)
1 pound fresh green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces sliced baby bella mushrooms
1/2 sweet onion - sliced
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 c panko crumbs or crushed cracker


Preheat your oven to 350˚F

Bring a pot water seasoned with salt  to a boil. Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain to and immediately soak in cold water. Drain again and set aside.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onions, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid and onions are tender. Add the garlic and nutmeg. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine.  Add the broth and simmer for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the evaporated milk. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally for roughly 6-8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the green beans and place into a baking dish. Top with the panko crumbs or crushed cracker. Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, roughly 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

Thanksgiving Dish #2 - Honey-Herb Buttermilk Biscuits

No meal can't be complete without some type of bread. I figured biscuits was the only way to go. I took my usual buttermilk recipe (here) and jazzed it up a little by adding some herbs and a dash of honey. I love making these biscuits as you can get your hands in there to mix up the dough. The taste of it actually reminds me a little of those from Red Lobster.

This was actually the first thing I made on Thanksgiving. It was a good way to start the day with the smell of fresh baked biscuits cooking up in the oven. You can actually smell the herbs as they bake up. A good way to start the day.

Makes 9 biscuits.

Honey-Herb Buttermilk Biscuits

1 1/2 c All Purpose Flour (cake flour works too if you don't have anything else)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

2/3 c buttermilk

1/2 c unsalted butter (best if cold, cut into cubes)

1 Tbsp dry thyme

1 Tbsp dry basil

1-2 Tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 425° 

Sift flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a bowl. Add dry basil and thyme. Crumble in butter and mix well until almost like a powder-thick consistency. Add honey and buttermilk again mix thoroughly well until it is of a dough consistency. You can add more milk, if needed. 

Then place the dough on a well-floured flat surface and knead a few times. Cut dough into desired size and place on baking sheet. Baked in oven 10-13 min.

Thanksgiving Dish #1 - Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend that followed full of family, friends and, of course, full of good eats.  I'm thankful for so many things in my life in all aspects if it...you, the reader, included. :) The weekend was well spent. With belly fulls of yum yums. 

As always I like to do things simple. I don't like to fuss around too much in the kitchen especially during the holidays. But this was a good excuse for me to spent some time in the kitchen. I've been pretty busy with work related things that I haven't been able to cook as much as I would like. I did enjoy the several hours I spent making this meal and I'm happy with how it all turned out. With a little smoke alarm going off. No worries. Nothing major. I just think my smoke alarm is jealous for not being able to eat the delicious food on the table. So, it's a dinner for two. I always have the trouble of sometimes cooking too much or too little. No matter how much you calculate it. It's never exact.  But I think I did pretty well fine this year. 

First up, sweet potato. No thanksgiving should go without sweet potato in some form. I chose to mash them up instead of serving the traditional mashed potatoes and serve it along with the chicken gravy, which I will post that recipe with the roast chicken. I first steamed rather than boiling them and I used evaporated milk instead of heavy cream to make it smooth along with a couple pats on butter and shredded mozzarella cheese. Delicious! Smooth and creamy.


Serves 2-3

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

3 medium to large sweet potatoes 

1/3 c evaporated milk

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

pepper

1/3 c shredded mozzarella

Steam the sweet potatoes until fork tender.   Once cooked, cool the sweet potatoes before handling and remove the skin. Then place them in a small pot and mash the sweet potatoes thorough. Turn the heat to a medium flame Add the butter, evaporated milk. Stir until combined and the butter has melted. Then add the mozzarella and stir once again until cheese has melted. Season with a a little pepper. Keep warm until ready to serve. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Oh the holiday that puts a smile on food lovers across the United States. Many will be in the kitchen preparing for the holiday feast.

Here's my menu:

Herbed butter Roast Chicken 

Chicken Gravy

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits

Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole

Walnut and Pistachio Strudel in Phyllo dough

Recipes to follow in the coming days. :)

For now, I hope you all have a great holiday and weekend. 

Enjoy it with family and friends. Eat up and be merry!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Zono Sushi

I'm still craving soup. There's no deny the fact that rainy and cold weather stirs up the soup cravings. On this dreary cold day, my mom and I ventured into our Sunday lunch thinking soup once again. No, the lobster bisque from the previous day wasn't enough. We head to Zono Sushi. I had written about this place before a while back (here). It was quiet with few customers. I guess it would also be the fact it's kind of hidden away at the courtyard of the Glendale Exchange.

I remember coming here every Sunday after mass when I was younger and ordering their bento lunch. The place looked really different then what it looks like in the picture above. We seat ourselves in an open booth. Out waitress hands us out menus, which also has a new design. She brings out a small bowl of fresh edemame and miso soup. Yum!

We finally make out order.

I order the Sushi Combo 1, which is 5 sushi pieces (tuna nigiri, shrimp nigiri, salmon nigiri, and 2 mackrel nigiri, topped with fried onion shavings.  I ate them all up along with the pickled ginger the usually accompanies any sushi. Have I mentioned that I love sushi?

The combo also included a piping hot bowl of udon noodle soup. Served in a cast-iron bowl with a square piece of wood under to keep the pot from burning the table.  Look at those noodle deliciousness. There were a few slices of egg, bamboo and heads of shiitake mushroom in the broth as well. I love the way it's served. I need to find me some cast-iron bowl/pots like those. I ate this all up as well.

Aren't soup days great?


Zono Sushi (Glendale)

139 N Maryland Ave
Glendale, CA 91206

(818) 507-4819

Harry Potter, Car Trouble, and Lobster Bisque-- Just another Saturday

Saturday was an interesting day. First, I had myself a little car trouble. Nothing to do with the engine, bu more to do with my window. And it just so happens that on that day it was raining. Not fun. Then a matinee trip to the Cineramadome at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood to watch Harry Potter. Yes, I'm an HP geek. I've read all the books and I love the movies. I wouldn't miss seeing it on opening weekend. I've been wait for the movie for the past year, soooo worth it! Cant wait for part 2.

Then spent a couple hours after trying to fix my window again. I need to take it to an auto body shop. Ugh! :( By then my stomach was grumbling, I was stressing out and it was getting late. I'm kind of picky sometimes at what times I eat. So I took an early dinner with my mom to Granville Cafe at the Americana. I've written about the place before in this post. Our trip this time around was basically just to relieve some of the stresses of the day. 


As we made our way there, we passed by another restaurant and conversed about a lobster bisque they had on their menu. We spend a few good minutes on that. Ha. 


We arrive at Granville and take our seats. First thing we ask was the soup of the day. I had been craving soup for a while and rainy days are perfect for those. Our waitress kindly tells us, which was...lobster bisque. Well...wouldn't you know? So we each order a cup. We also order the rest of our meal from the Shareables section. 

Loberster Bisque seasoned with apple brandy. Two toasty slices of french bread with herbs. Not to mention the two large chunks of lobster in the soup. I enjoyed this one. It's got a nice creamy texture to it. I love how the toasted baguette slices didn't soak up the soup too much, so you got that nice soft/crunch when you bite down onto it. and they were generous with the pieces of lobster. It wasn't those pea-sized pieces.

Sweet Potato fries with ranch dressing, ketchup and blue cheese dressing. I'm a sucker for this. Any restaurant. I'll be tempted to order it no matter what. This was when I realized that I had a small deep fryer at home. I had a mini lightbulb moment. 

Lettuce Cups.  Butter lettuce with a mix of mango, avocado, grape tomato and asian slaw. Served with a side of asian dipping sauce. My mom had ordered this before but with some slices of beef. This time around we left it purely vegetarian style. Still tasty.

Granville's Artisan Cheese Quesdilla

Fontina, Gruyere and Mozzarella Cheeses in a flour tortilla, with Basil Pesto, Grilled Vegetables, Caramelized Onions and Crumbled Goat Cheese

I like quesadilla. Period. Need I say more. Hehe...okay. I love the chunks of veggies that were in it. Zucchini, bell pepper...

It was a good way to end a semi-stressful day. A good meal and an awesome movie. 

Grandville Cafe (Glendale) 

The Americana at Brand

807 Americana Way

Glendale, California 91210

(818) 550-0472