Scrumptious Schnitzel

I've been trying, both pre-New Year and post, to really take stock of what I eat and reflect on how I could make it healthier.  Regardless, I had a breaded chicken craving that simply needed to be addressed a few weekends ago.  How to accomplish this?  Though I might not be militant when it comes to adhering to a low fat, high fibre diet, I know enough to avoid the dangers of KFC or similar fried chicken outlets.  All I have to do is remember the cloudy, peachy-pink tinged blood plasma of a particularly portly gentleman I met at Canadian Blood Services to know how instantly harmful it can be... seeing pretty much pure lipid coming out of this guy's arm has been enough to ensure that I haven't eaten from there since.

Luckily, I opened my G.I. Diet cookbook and found that yes, you can have fried and breaded chicken and still be healthy about it, by way of their chicken schnitzel.  Now, let's face it... I don't have a German bone in my body.  As such, I don't think I'd ever had a "traditional" schnitzel before, so I have no idea if I was "missing out" by making a G.I.-friendly version.  It featured a higher-fibre breading made from wheat bran, whole wheat breadcrumbs, and omega-3 eggs, not too much oil for frying, and a fresh apricot-and-green-onion based sauce for the top.  Sounded delicious enough, so I busted out my new rolling pin (thanks again, Kimmi!) and bashed away at a helpless boneless skinless cut of chicken to see how things would turn out.

Schnitzel, frying away, with breading station in the background.  Sometimes I wonder if my neighbors can hear me pounding out meat... and if so, what do they imagine is going on in my apartment?

Finished product, with a salad alongside.

You just knew my post wouldn't be complete without a closeup, right?

Chicken Schnitzel

Adapted from "The G.I. Diet Clinic" by Rick Gallop

 

Serves 1 (just me... multiply as necessary for multiple people.  

And you thought math class was a waste of time!)

•  1 boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1/8 cup whole wheat flour
• Pinch each salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 omega 3 egg
• 1/8 cup wheat bran
• 1 Tbsp wheat germ
• 1 Tbsp dry Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup fresh orange juice*
• 1/8 cup chicken stock (low fat, low sodium)
• 1/8 cup thinly sliced dried apricots
• 1 chopped green onion

1. Using meat mallet or rolling pin, pound chicken breast between 2 pieces of plastic wrap until about 1/4 inch thick.
2. In large, shallow dish or pie plate, combine flour, salt and pepper.  In another plate, whisk eggs.  In third dish or pie plate, combine bran, wheat germ, breadcrumbs, and orange zest
3. Pat chicken dry and dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess.  Dip in egg, letting excess drip off, then dredge in bran mixture, coating completely.
4. In large non-stick frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Fry chicken for 4 minutes per side or until golden brown and just cooked through.  Transfer schnitzel to platter and place in 200ºF oven to keep warm.
5. In same frying pan, combine orange juice, stock, and apricots.  Bring to boil and reduce until slightly thickened and syrupy, about 3 minutes.  Stir in green onion.  Pour sauce over schnitzel.

*One of the paradoxes of the G.I. Diet is that they discourage you from drinking orange juice... yet they include it as an ingredient in various recipes.  I avoid this conundrum by freshly juicing a real orange (you need one anyway for the zest, right??)

Unwritten direction: Do not share with greedy, misbehaving cats.  I like to think she's saying, "Oh, what's that over there, mom?" in an effort to distract me and pilfer my chicken.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the schnitzel itself... though I wasn't as huge a fan of the apricot/orange/green onion sauce (mostly due to the apricot texture; the flavour was nice).  I might try to adapt the sauce by puréeing... or swap it out entirely for some G.I.-diet friendly tomato sauce (read: no sugar added.  Try to find a jarred pasta sauce without added sugar; it's HARD!).  I could see this atop a modest serving of whole wheat pasta, with a bit of low fat mozzarella sprinkled on top... clearly, the Italian heritage is asserting itself over this twist on classic German fare.  Ah well.  I did really enjoy the healthy "breading", so I could see myself using this to make chicken fingers, too (even if that meant dipping them in the unhealthy-but-delicious Manitoba classic, honey dill sauce).

Looking forward to using my new meat mallet (thanks again, cuz!) to pound my way to more breaded chicken goodness,

-Honeybee

Going to the chapel...

I've been meaning to write a bit about Kimmi and Seanno's wedding, which went down on October 16th as part of the Weeks of Insanity.  It was most definitely the high point of that busy time!  It's been put off  as I've been finding myself blogging less, simply because I've actually been going out and doing things... apparently, I seem to have gotten a bit of a life here in the 'Peg!  Regardless, the writing bug is still festering... and I can only watch so many episodes of anime before a serious sushi craving kicks in.  Maybe I should attempt a bento box at some point in the future...

Sorry.  Way off track there.  Let's talk about my most favourite newlyweds.

And here they are, the new Mrs. Kimmi and Mr. Seanno!

  Kimmi and I have a lot of interests in common, a love of good food among them.  So, I've known for some time that her wedding celebration would feature delectable edibles.  In a way, though, I feel like a terrible friend... due to my desire to document said food, and a significant intake of wine, I think I took more pictures of plates than of people.  Ah well, that's what the professional photographer is for, right?  On with the show!

At the rehearsal dinner, which was held at Aroma, a Portuguese restaurant just a few blocks from my old apartment.  This was some delicious chicken, with a hint of the piri piri pepper that seems so central to Portuguese cooking.

The rehearsal dinner was absolutely fantastic-- wonderful people, lovely entertainment in the form of a live singer, and delicious food.  In addition to the above chicken, bitoque was also on the menu... a fried steak topped with a fried egg, and french fries.  Mmm.  Hubs, being the consummate red-meat carnivore, opted for that... I got to taste a bit, and it was to die for.  We got to start off with caldo verde, as well, which was a delicious potato, kale and chourico soup.  Hubs really enjoyed that as well, so Kimmi's mom offered to share the family recipe.  To finish off, in keeping with wanting to save the best for last, we got a Portuguese custard tart.

Image from this cookbook website, which incidentally boasts a simple recipe for these beauties.  I may be tempted into another Portuguese baked-goods DIY project here...

Let me talk to you about these tarts for a minute.  If you don't like custard, fine... just skip this paragraph.  But these things are, simply, amazing.  They're about the size of a standard buttertart, but much better, in my opinion.  Instead of a dense shortbread-like crust, the shells are a bit flaker.  Not as flaky as phyllo, but closer to that idea... according to the above link, puff pastry is used.  The filling is a fantastic, not TOO sweet, firm yellow custard.  What really does it for me is that the tops are caramelized, almost brûléd, which adds a great depth of flavour.  This isn't just some sickly sweet pastry... it's an art form.  We had a huge platter of these at Kim's sister's baby shower, and I'm ashamed to admit that I ate about three of them.  They're just so worth it.

Next up, the food on The Big Day!

Sweet potato soup, with the delicious white wine, my bridesmaid flowers, and a DJ in the background.  I'd never had a soup made with sweet potato before, but it was fantastic... and very much in keeping with the sunset-hued fall colour scheme of the wedding.  The only downside?  We ladies all stuck our napkins in our necklines to prevent drops of this scrumptious concoction from splashing on our fancy dresses.  I'm considering trying out this recipe to see if I can recreate the experience, since I doubt that The Delta London Armouries is willing to give out theirs.

Main course!  Chicken breast with a roasted red pepper sauce, combined with a well-prepared medium/medium rare beef tenderloin au jus.  Parisienne potatoes and steamed veggies went alongside.  DELICIOUS, and very filling... good thing we relaxed for a bit listening to speeches before the dancing began!  As a testament to how thoughtful and considerate Kimmi is, she'd specially arranged for Hubs to receive two pieces of beef to accomodate his poultry prejudice.  What a sweet bride!

Dessert #1.  Fresh strawberries atop chocolate and vanilla mousse, held in a caramelized sugar tuille of sorts, which was cemented to the plate with dark chocolate.  Oh, my.  Yes, please, and thank you.

Dessert #2.  Much later in the evening, we enjoyed the delicious pétit fours created by Seanno's talented cousin.  This was an excellent way to soak up some of the inebriation we were experiencing (as evidenced by my flushed face and the many glasses on the table... these belonged mostly to Hubs, I swear).  A toast to the happy couple!!

As the holiday season approaches, I can't help but reflect on how central food and drink is to celebrations and family gatherings.  Sometimes (not at this occasion, but at certain other, completely overdone Italian weddings), I can't help but groan at the lavish overabundance of food... but really, aren't we just carrying on the medieval tradition of feasts?  Sure, we might not dine on whole roast animals so much anymore (though still popular, if the success of Danny's Whole Hog is any indication...), or take our used bread trenchers and toss them out back for the poor to scavenge, or binge and purge like the Romans... but the overall celebratory feeling is still there.  Everyone, gather round, sit, eat, talk, drink, and revel in the pleasure of good food and good company.

Looking forward to the continuation of feasting as we get closer to Christmas,
-Honeybee

The Best (and Worst!) of Winnipeg

I wrote this as I was minding Brodie, my coworker’s adorable subservient quadruped, so I thought I’d share some of her suggestions for me when I asked, “Anyone got any blog ideas for this weekend??”  Luckily, Shannon had a few, and last weekend I set out exploring them.
 

First up was Mitzis chicken finger restaurant, downtown at St. Mary’s Ave and Garry St.  Meaning “tasty food” in Chinese (not sure if it’s Cantonese or Mandarin), Mitzis has a fun backstory.  I love the idea of a home-grown, family-based restaurant, particularly when it has a “secret recipe” it’s adapted itself to please the customer.  So, large library book/solo dining companion in hand, I took a drive down to sample their famous poultry offerings.

Starter consommé soup, with green onions and rice, alongside my dinner companion book.

Stand in awe.  This were FANTASTIC.

I was NOT disappointed.  Aside from the huge portion (I ordered a “medium” platter), these suckers were juicy, tender, perfectly cooked, well seasoned, obviously hand-made, and piping hot.  The fries were your standard crinkle-cut, and were quite tasty.  Best of all: the dipping sauce.  Judging by the jar on my coworker’s table, the concept of honey dill chicken finger dipping sauce isn’t unique to Mitzis, but it was a first-time experience for me (could it be a “Manitoba thing”?) Not too sweet, and with that delicious dill flavour, this was a great condiment for the chicken.  I’ll have to find a recipe for it and use it at home, though that certainly won’t stop me from making another trip back for more of the original.

The next day, I took a trip out to the Bridge Drive-In, also known as BDI.  We’d had a conversation at work about this soft-serve ice cream/milkshake/sundae joint, and it sounded fantastic.  Fun little side note, though; not being familiar with the name, I originally thought the place was called “The Beady Eye”… and later mistakenly referred to it as “The Hairy Eyeball”.  Not exactly appetizing… luckily, the true place didn’t disappoint.  It is all soft-serve ice cream, but they offer truly unique combinations of flavours and toppings all at a very reasonable price.  I went for vanilla soft-serve swirled with black cherry flavouring… and yes, little brother, if you’re reading this, they do have the “blue goo” variety that you so enjoy.  Despite the cooler bite in the air, this place was still hopping.  I’ll definitely be back next season, once Hubs is here, for a romantic stroll on the epynomous bridge across the Red River.

  

So there’s two of the “bests” that this city has to offer.  Now, before I go on to the “worst” of Winnipeg, I need to clearly state that this was NOT one of my coworkers’ suggestions.  In fact, everyone at work warned me AGAINST trying out the following establishment.  It was I who chose not to listen.  I will never stray from their sound advice again…

Cue the omimous music...

Obviously, one of my goals has been to try uniquely Winnipeg- or Manitoba-based food fare.  Salisbury House fit the criteria.  Kyle told me a little bit about this home-grown burger joint and their relative success.  As far as I’m aware, Salisbury House does not exist outside of this fair province.  How could I live here and NOT try it?!  They’re seemingly EVERYWHERE, including the HSC cafeteria, YWG airport terminal, and the famous Esplanade Riel.  There had to be SOMETHING about them that kept people coming back, and I would not be left out of the loop.  So, last Friday I left work and drove about a block down Notre Dame Ave. to a location I’d seen before, strategically placed across the street from a Burger King and McDonald’s.  Fierce competition!

Right from the get, I was uneasy.  I quickly scanned the menu up on the wall behind the open kitchen, and politely told the surly and unpleasant employee that I’d like a cheese “nip” (aka burger) dinner to go, please.  The nice part was that I got to watch my order be made by a much more pleasant cook.  This was definitely not “fast food”; my burger was made right from ¼ lb of ground beef and formed into a patty right before my eyes.  That part I could get behind.  The display of red velvet cake, pie, and homemade doughnuts also looked tempting.  The whole place had the feel of a Waffle House (if you’ve ever been to one in the southern United States), which I enjoy… and their greasy-spoon breakfast menu looked quite yummy.  I started to wonder if my coworkers had been over-exaggerating a touch.

Um, no.  They weren’t.  I got home and opened up my takeout package… and saw this:

Okay, so looks aren’t everything.  Let’s rearrange:

 Slightly better.  And now to the tasting… what a letdown.  Despite being almost wafer-thin, my burger was still pinkish and cool in the middle.  I did like the cheese and fried onions, but was slightly disappointed that I was responsible for all my other toppings.  The bun was almost like cotton candy, the way it sort of dissolved as it hit my mouth… NOT good eats.  I like a bread with backbone, and this wasn’t it.  The whole mess was just as greasy as can be… it sort of reminded me of a larger White Castle burger (which is not a compliment, in my mind).  Well, okay.  Usually fries can save this kind of burger mess.  Nope, not in this case.  Y’know how sometimes fries can have a mealy, almost grainy interior and a dry, cardboard-esque exterior?  The kinds of fries that make the potato gods weep with fury?  Yeah, these were a prime example of that.  To top it all off, after eating the grease pit that was dinner, I ended up feeling a touch queasy.  

Figgy liked the coleslaw... and he seemed to be fine after his little taste.

 Not a pleasant experience, overall.  Perhaps I’ll visit the Provencher Bridge location one time in the future to enjoy a piece of cake and a coffee while looking out onto the Forks, but that’ll probably be my last Salisbury House experience.  I only wish it had been my first.

Hoping that hardcore ‘Peggers don’t run me out of town for bashing their fast food chain,

-Honeybee

The Switch-Up: Thai Coconut Curry

The title might seem familiar for those Food Network affectionatos out there; Anna Olson, host of the former program Sugar, often finished off an episode by showing how one recipe could be easily and slightly modified (whether with ingredients, assembly, cooking methods, etc.) to become a whole new dessert.  She does the same in her Sugar cookbooks as well, which I came to own through a generous gift.  I actually met Anna Olson once at her former Port Dalhousie bakery; I never thought I’d hear a Food Network chef ask me to “just swipe your debit card with the stripe facing me”.  Surreal!  But I digress.

Today’s switch-up: Thai Coconut Curry.  I found the initial recipe when I was fancying something curry-based and had two gorgeous fillets of basa in the fridge that needed to be prepared.  So, I turned to the lovely Google and typed “Thai curry fish”.  I came across this lovely recipe, which I jumped on.  Only modification?  A teaspoon of red curry paste (I’ve talked about that before) instead of chili powder, whole coriander seeds (my food processor, alas, failed utterly at turning them into a ground form), and freeze-dried cilantro (since I neglect the real deal until it rots).  I also didn’t have banana leaves, so I opted for some parchment packets (using a technique that I learned, ironically, by watching Chef Olson’s new show “Fresh”).  I also prepared the suggested coconut rice accompaniment, along with some steamed snap peas… a fantastic little Thursday night dinner ensued, followed by an even better Friday lunch.

Wine certainly helps any meal be fantastic... ;)

Now for the switch-up: coconut chicken salad.  The recipe for the coconut curry sauce made way more than I needed, so I used the rest to marinate a chicken breast overnight.  I wrestled a bit with the best way to cook the chicken, since I don’t have a barbecue and pan-frying might burn the sugars in the coconut milk.  So, I opted to bake it (like the fish) in a foil packet in the oven.  I also inserted my handy-dandy President’s Choice meat thermometer, which has a gauge that is kept outside the oven, and will sound an alarm when the meat has reached proper internal temperature for chicken.  Hooray for preventing a salmonella infection and/or overbaking!!

After baking and cooling, I sliced up the chicken and arranged it on a plate with some tasty baby romaine, red onion, green onion, and cherry tomatoes.  I had wanted to use mandarins instead of tomatoes, but unfortunately the container I had in the fridge had outlived its usefulness (shudder!).  I finished it off with a quick drizzle of sriracha on the chicken, for some kick, as well as a Thai-inspired vinaigrette made with canola oil, lime juice, garlic, ginger, minced lemongrass, rice wine vinegar, and a hint of Splenda.  Quite good, and just right for a light-ish Sunday night dinner before a jog.

So overall, this little curry recipe is quite versatile.  Amazing what Google will lead you to… I really had no idea that About.com ran to instructional international cooking articles.  You learn something new every day!

Encouraging continuing gastronomic education through search engines,

-Honeybee

This is what I deal with at every meal: cats who want my food.
Great companions, but terrible table manners. 

 

 

Cocky Coq au Vin

 So it's not often that I go all-out and make something so swanky for just little ol' me.  But I had the remainder of a bottle of Arabella Shiraz that needed taking care of, as well as a package of succulent boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  I swear by Rachel Ray's 30-minute version of this French classic, hold the mushrooms... honestly, I'm sure the classic slow-cooked version has its merits, but it's hard to see them in this super-easy-and-quick-and-delicious version.  I must say, I'm quite proud of myself for pulling off this presentation, hence the "cocky" in the title.

Quick Coq au Vin
Modified from "30-Minute Meals" by Rachel Ray

Makes 4 servings

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts*
• 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs (*I used eight thighs total for this, no white meat)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large sweet onion (i.e. vidalia), sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 cups good red wine
• 1 can (14 oz. or 1 3/4 cups) low-fat chicken broth (I used the stock left over from Skyooking)
• 3 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stems and chopped (since fresh herbs hate me, I used dried)
• 3-4 Tbsp tomato paste

1. Cut breasts and thighs into large chunks (I left my thighs whole, just sort of flattened them out by "unrolling" them). Mix the flour, salt and pepper on a plate and use it to dust the pieces of chicken.  Set aside. 
2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil.  Brown and crisp the chicken pieces by cooking for 4-5 minutes per side.  Remove the chicken and add the onions and garlic.  Stir every few minutes, cooking down for five minutes or so.
3. Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the tasty brown bits from the chicken.  Add the chicken broth.  Return the par-cooked chicken to the pan and add the thyme.
4. Bring to a boil and stir in the tomato paste.  Continue at a low boil, allowing the stock and wine to cook down and thicken for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve, either alongside potatoes and asparagus as I did, or with giant "croutons" made from slices of French baguette, toasted under the broiler, then brushed with garlic-infused olive oil (just microwave some olive oil with a crushed clove of garlic for about thirty seconds to make this).  They're very good for sopping up the juices!

You can see Miss Chief in the background, wanting in on this poultry action.

Who DOESN'T love these gorgeous purple baby potatoes?!

The juices made a very nice "drizzle" for the schmancy white plate

Sometimes I get little twinges of loneliness, looking down at a plate like this and wishing that my romantic partner were around to share it with me.  Then I remind myself... due to a rather dry relationship with all manner of fowl in his formative years, Hubs would gladly pass on even a super-moist and delicious offering such as this.  So I guess I'd better get my chicken kicks in before he moves out here!!

Contemplating how I'll manage to cook for my (hopefully long and happy) married life without using poultry of some sort,
-Honeybee

Table for one... a little lonely, perhaps, but quite pretty and enjoyable overall.

Skyooking

This entry is brought to you by the application Skype, the colour green, and the genus Capsicum.  Read on!

 I'm a fan of making up portmanteaux- words made out of two other words combined, like the ubiquitous "Brangelina".  These are not always well received; Hubs has a particular disdain for them.  A few people have caught onto my invention, "reversary": a "reverse anniversary", for those whose wedding is more than a year away.  Hubs and I had ours this past July 23rd, and a few kind (humoring?) friends used my new vocab to wish us well.  The countdown to our nuptials in on!!

Sorry.  Back to food, and the title: 

Skyooking (skii-YOU-king). verb.  To cook a recipe while engaging in a Skype video and audio conference with an individual in a separate location, who is preparing the same or similar food.  A portmanteau of "Skyping" and "cooking".

Think I could make it into an entry on Urban Dictionary? ...yeah, you're right, probably not.  Anyway, the whole concept of Skyooking came into existence at the suggestion of my wonderful and recently married sister, Ni.  Wanting to spend time together while doing something practical (like preparing dinner), she suggested that I select a relatively simple recipe that we would prepare simultaneously- she in her kitchen in Guelph, and me in my apartment in Winnipeg.  Sounded like a fantastic idea to me!

Screen shot!! Ni and I, almost 2,000 km apart, ready with our ingredients.  Allez cuisine!!

So for our cooking adventure, I chose Ancho Chicken Tortilla Soup, by the ever-perky Rachel Ray.  Ni had requested something "easy", that could be done on the stovetop; I felt that soup fit the bill, but I wanted it to be something special.  I remember Chaddy really enjoying some tortilla soup at the on-campus restaurant in our UWO days, then trying to recreate it in our apartment; this recipe made me think of him.  Ni initially balked at the number of ingredients, but we can promise you that it's well worth it.

Finished product, with additional avocado.  I LOVE that delicious fruit...

Close-up.  Note the heavy use of cilantro; as Rachel points out, this is optional.

I was a little concerned with all the peppers in the recipe.  Not because I have issues with spice, but more because (as I've mentioned before), the texture of peppers is not my favourite.  Honestly, though, it's mostly the plastic-like skin that's the problem... so for things like roasted red peppers, or puréed peppers like in this recipe, I'm perfectly fine.  Jalapeños don't bother me, luckily... son muy delicioso, as far as I'm concerned.

All done and ready to nosh!  You can see me, in the little viewer window, just to the left of Ni's head.  Nothing like sharing a meal with family, even if you're separated by a provincial border.

Ni and I, being in different cities and therefore having different produce options, ended up with slightly varied end products.  I've been utterly spoiled by decades of Ontario sweet corn, and the offerings at the local Winnipeg Superstore were extremely lacklustre.  I just knew that, with kernels that huge, those ears of corn would be super-bitter and starchy.  Not good eats.  So, I opted for canned sweet corn, drained, well-rinsed, and patted dry.  Ni, still living in "a place to stand, a place to grow", opted for slicing the kernels off the real deal.

We also ended up buying very different chilies.  Neither of us could find red chili peppers, so we just chucked in a small palmful of dried red chili flakes (something that always reminds me of our dad).  On the whole ancho chili front: I looked them up in Wikipedia before heading to the store,  so I knew to look for either ancho or poblano peppers.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a sign indicating either.  Instead, I just grabbed what looked the most like the picture I'd seen.  I'm not really sure WHAT it was.  I think Ni ended up with at least one cubanelle pepper, and possibly a Santa Fe Grande chili.  She ended up with a bit more fire in the end than I did, I think... nothing that additional sour cream (or plain yogurt, in my case) couldn't fix.

Still fantastic, no matter what chiles were used.

One thing that we both agreed on, without even consulting each other first, was to debone the supermarket rotisserie chicken ahead of time and use the remainder (I hate to use the term "carcass" as my mom does) to make our own chicken stock.  I had this simmering the night before, with some onions, carrots, and bay leaves to add extra flavour.  Mmm.

I also used some shredded chicken the night before to make this wrap, with some PC Blue Menu artichoke and asiago dip.  A side of fresh fruit instead of chips or fries was a nice change, too!

So overall, Skyooking was a great success.  I'm hoping that Ni and I can turn it into a semi-regular occurrence, despite her busy 4th year veterinary school schedule.  Now if we could just schedule a whole family event, using iChat's four-way video conference feature between Winnipeg, Guelph, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Windsor, we'd be all set.  Having the technology to do what we'd normally do in person, despite the distance, has really made this little "adventure" of mine easier to take.


Looking forward to a long-distance Sunday dinner,
-Honeybee