What’s Hot in the Kitchen

Category Archives: What’s Hot in the Kitchen

Dan’s Summer Salsa

Written on May 9, 2012 by Jennifer.ferguson in What's Hot in the Kitchen

We keep flirting with the warm sunny weather, but so far, it has only been a day here and a day there, and after a few tries at grilling in the pouring rain, or snow as we had in late April, we start to do things to help us push in summer, at least in our own minds anyway.

I’m going to give you my salsa recipe today! It’s a light, fresh, delicious snack, very easy and inexpensive to make, and I think that it’s better than any salsa you’ll find in a jar, taste wise and good for you wise, and you’ll be able to actually pronounce the name of every item in this dish.

To make about 2 cups (500 ml) of salsa, you’ll need:

3 ripe tomatoes (don’t put tomatoes in the fridge – they should be kept and served at room temperature)

½ of a large SWEET onion

½ of a jalapeno pepper (use ¼ of it and leave any seeds out if you don’t like it hot. Add the whole pepper in if you like it hot)

1/3 of a red pepper

1/3 of an orange or yellow pepper

1/3 of a green pepper

*you can just use one whole pepper of any colour if you don’t like the variety, or you don’t have the three pepper combo on hand*

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

¼ cup of white vinegar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Start by dicing up the tomatoes, onions and peppers very small. Really chop the tomatoes up, almost juice them up a bit. Add everything together into a bowl. Chop the stem ends off of the cilantro, right up to where the leaves start on the stems. Chop of the bunch of cilantro very fine. It will almost look like chopped green oatmeal when you’ve chopped it enough. Add that in to the mix and stir.

Finally, add the lime juice, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. You can serve this right away, but it’s even better after it has sat in the fridge overnight, allowing the flavours to really combine and mellow a bit. Use this as a garnish for just about anything, in an omelette, or just to dip tortilla chips into. All fresh ingredients, no fillers or preservatives that you can’t pronounce the name of, and when you serve it to

your guests, they will be extra impressed that you made homemade salsa!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dan’s Coconut Lime Chicken

Written on April 25, 2012 by admin in What's Hot in the Kitchen

Hot In Kitchen – Coconut Lime Chicken

Boneless skinless chicken breasts. They are the darling of the grocery store chicken aisle. They get the biggest, most prominent display case, and people just can’t seem to get enough of them. But sometimes you can get into a boneless skinless chicken breast funk. You can only BBQ them so often, and if you don’t cook them exactly right, they are tougher than shoe leather.

Today’s recipe can be used with chicken breasts, but they are even better if you use thighs or drums. The dark meat. The part of the chicken with the most flavour! It’s a completely different take on chicken and I guarantee you that no BBQ sauce is required.

You’ll need:

About a dozen chicken thighs or drums

1 cup of shredded coconut
1 cup of bread crumbs (you can even use crushed saltines in this recipe for extra crunch)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp chili powder

½ cup flour

2 eggs

Zest and juice of 1 lime

Start by removing the zest from your lime and save it for later. Put all of your chicken into a baking dish, and cover the pieces with lime juice. Get it in the fridge and let it bathe in the glorious lime juice for a good three hours or better.

When it is time to get rolling for supper, get your oven on and up to 400 F. In a big bowl, add the coconut, the crumbs, spices and lime zest and mix it up well. Put the flour into a second bowl and beat the eggs up into a third bowl. Coat each chicken piece in the flour first, then dip them into the egg, then coat it well with the coconut mixture.

If you can line your pan with parchment first, the chicken will turn out even better, but if you don’t have any parchment, just get the chicken back into the pan and cook them until the internal temperature of the chicken is about 175 F. It will take about 40 minutes in the oven to get it there. If you are not familiar with parchment or cooking with it, it looks a lot like waxed paper (but there is no wax). You find it in the section of the supermarket where the plastic wrap and aluminum foil is. It makes a great, non-stick surface for baking.

Don’t let the words lime, coconut and chicken scare you, especially all of the “meat and potatoes” people in your family. Cook these up nice and crispy, and they’ll be asking for more!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dan’s Ginger Honey Garlic Wings

Written on April 18, 2012 by admin in What's Hot in the Kitchen

With the main TV in many households being taken over these days for the viewing of NHL playoff hockey, it’s only fitting that we all get into the FULL spirit of game watching. That means a comfy couch, game on TV, and some delicious snacks to enjoy while watching the game. Chicken wings are a main staple of the game watching snack family, and today, something a little different than the standard, deep fried breaded chicken wing that you can easily make in your own oven.

To make enough wings for 4 people, here is what you’ll need. Double or triple the recipe as needed.

The Sauce:

Start with 1 ¼ cups of warm water

1 ¼ cups of soya sauce

2 tbsp of minced garlic

1 tbsp ground ginger, or 1 ¼ tbsp. fresh chopped ginger

1 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

½ cup honey (save until the end of cooking)

36 chicken wings – helpful if they are already split into the flat and drumette

1 green onion, chopped, for garnish

1 tbsp sesame seeds also for garnish

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl (minus the honey). Put all of your wings into a large bowl or pan and marinate them in 2/3 of the sauce for at least four hour, overnight is even better if you have the time! Reserve the other 1/ of the sauce in a clean container in the fridge for finishing later.

When you are ready to cook the wings, budget yourself about 40-45 minute for cooking. Pre-heat your oven to 375 F and make sure it is up to temperature before you begin. Line some baking sheets with parchment, or use a non-stick baking pan. There is so much sugar in these wings that if you try and use a glass or non-treated pan, half of your wings are liable to weld themselves to the baking pan! Parchment is a great thing to have in your kitchen, and you just need to tear it off the roll in sheets like waxed paper. Set the wings on the lined pans, and get them into the oven. About half way through, flip them over so that the other side has a chance to crisp up a bit. Keep your eye on things as you approach the 45 minute mark, again, sugar burns, and after 45 minutes, they may well have had enough.

In the final minutes of oven time, take out your reserved sauce, add in the honey, and bring to a low boil for 30 seconds in a pot on the stove. Remove the wings from the oven into a big bowl, coat them with the sauce, and plate them up on a nice platter. Garnish with the chopped green onion and sesame seeds. The wings will be extra tender, and an explosion of flavour in every bite! Be careful though, if you make these wings for too many people, they are going to want you to make them all the time.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dan’s Chicken & Pepper Tostadas

Written on April 11, 2012 by admin in What's Hot in the Kitchen

It’s a never ending battle in our house not only to get all of the kids to eat the meal you’ve prepared, but to get them to eat the nutritious stuff on their plates too. We’ve gone to great lengths to hide spinach, carrots and broccoli in a lot of different things. Once in fact we made spinach and carrot brownies! Loaded with both veggies, and enough brownie to cover up the objectionable stuff.

If you try and make dinner a little more fin, and less of a chore, the fun might just rub off on the kids. My chicken & pepper tostadas is easy to make, it’s fun to eat, and it’s a great dish for anyone watching their waistline and diabetic friendly as well.

You’ll need:

4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Olive Oil
1 cup of chopped red and green peppers
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 teaspoons Mexican or taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar or part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preparation

Get the broiler on high in your oven. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet, and lightly coat with some olive oil. Put them into the oven and turn them once. Leave them in until your tortilla is crisp and nicely toasted. When they are ready, take them out and set them aside.

Stir fry your chicken pieces and peppers for 3 – 4 minutes on high, and add in the spices. Continue to sauté the mixture until the chicken is cooked through. Top each tortilla with 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Put them back into the oven under the broiler for about 1 minute or until the cheese melts. It’s a fast, easy and fun meal to make and at 260 calories per serving, your waistline will love it too. And the kids, well, there was no need to hide anything in this dish as they loved every bite!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dan’s Deviled Eggs

Written on April 4, 2012 by admin in What's Hot in the Kitchen

Easter weekend is on our doorstep and aside from the ham, and the turkey, beans, and pie that we are going to overindulge in – one of the best treats that you can serve at your easter dinner is deviled eggs!

Some folks like to call deviled eggs “dressed eggs” to avoid the connection with satan, but deviled or dressed, it is a delicious, easy to make side dish!

You’ll need:

Eggs

Mayonnaise

Paprika

Optional: Finely diced onion

Sliced Olives

Deviled eggs start with a properly hard boiled egg. Make sure that you have lots of water in the pot to cover all of your eggs. Add 1tbsp of vinegar to the boil water. Bring the eggs to a full rolling boil for 90 seconds, then remove the pot from the heat, cover, and allow the eggs to finish cooking. It should take about 12-13 minutes using this method, but you will be guaranteed an egg that is not overcooked. Also, if you can use old eggs (ones that have been in the fridge for a few days) they will peel much easier than farm fresh eggs.

Once the eggs are done, add them to a pot or bowl of ice cold water. Peel the eggs and cut them in half. Remove the yolks and add 1 – 2 tbsp of mayonnaise. This is really a personal preference measurement. If you like you can add some finely diced onion to the mixture.

Spoon or pipe the filling into the egg halves, sprinkle with paprika and top with an olive slice! Put them in the fridge for at least one hour before service if possible.

The key to great deviled eggs is the way that you boil them! A properly cooked egg will make the best deviled eggs! Enjoy and happy easter!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Gourmet Grilled Potato Cheese Dogs

Written on March 27, 2012 by admin in What's Hot in the Kitchen

I’m sure that your outdoor grill has seen a lot of action in the past couple of weeks with the warmer weather comes the smell of meat burning throughout the neighbourhood… Ahhh the sweet sweet smell. Kids can be a little more finicky, and often to appease them we throw a couple of tube steaks on the grill alongside that nice rib steak or NY strip.

The trick is how do you put hot dogs in front of them and expect them to eat their potatoes? Well, here’s how.

My gourmet grilled potato cheese dogs are the perfect marriage between hot dogs and potatoes. My Dad used to make these for us as kids. You can even make them in the oven or toaster oven if you don’t have an outdoor grill. Make these for the kids, and everyone will be happy!

You’ll need:

Hot Dogs – don’t get the cheapest ones you can find or they might not survive what is to come. Try and get a hot dog that is a little more robust, with a little more girth if you will.

Day old mashed potatoes. Cook them up the night before, and pull them out of the fridge just in time to make them up.

Shredded cheese

Put the hot dogs into a container of WARM water. You just want to loosen them up a bit. Split the hot dog down the middle, but don’t cut all the way through. You want to cut the hot dog the same way a hot dog bun is cut.

Fill the void with the day old mashed potatoes. You will want to re-mash them with a fork before you fill the hot dog.

Put them on the grill, cook them until they are almost done. Top with the cheese, and allow it to melt down a bit.

You can then eat them on a bun, or just on a plate with a knife and fork.

This is NOT fine dining by any means, but it is a cheap, fun, and different way to get the kids to eat the hot dogs AND the potatoes.

0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Dan’s Burgers (Homemade)

Written on March 21, 2012 by admin in What's Hot in the Kitchen

Propane suppliers were not happy about the recent change in the weather, and I knew it was a sore spot when the driver who came to fill up the tank at my house grumbled when he could only squeeze in $200 worth of propane this month. But when I drove by the propane office to pay the bill yesterday, the guy at the desk was grinning ear to ear as he smelled propane fired grills heating up all over the area! BBQ season never really ends, but how can you not want to fire up the grill on days like today?

I want to talk about burgers today. You may have been following the e-coli scare that has recently been in the news over some select brands and lots of boxed burgers. You may also sometimes think about some of the extra additives that can go into boxed burgers, and it may be something that might make you consider making your own hamburgers, by hand, from scratch. Here is a twist on a classic burger recipe that you can try this week if you plan on firing up the grill!

You’ll need:

1 lb ground beef

1lb ground veal (you can use a pound of pork of you just aren’t into veal)

1 tsp Clubhouse Sweet Chili Heat spice mix

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp ground black pepper

6 dashes Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce (or any kind you like will be fine too)

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together. Really work the mixture with your hands, and form into a ball. Allow it to sit in the fridge for about 20 minutes to let the spices establish and for the meat to cool back off (your hands are warm)! Get the grill hot, and form into patties, placing them immediately on the grill. Flip once when they are halfway cooked. They are done when the juices run clear, or the internal temperature is at least 160F. Don’t cut into burgers to see if they are done, or continually press down on them with your flipper – all of the good juice will be pressed out!

A fast, and easy way to make great homemade burgers – and the added flexibility of making a smaller burger for a child, and a larger burger for that extra hungry member of your family!

0 Comments - Leave a comment!