Maddy

Recipe: Chicken Pasta with Salami

Wait, what? Salami?? Why would you do such a thing? Well I’ll tell you why. I had a birthday party recently, and had almost an entire tray of salami left over. When cooking greens – bacon. When cooking pasta – pancetta, guanciale. So… why not? P.S. It’s delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb chicken breast
6 slices of Italian salami
3-4 large cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp each of dried oregano, thyme, rosemary (1 tbs each if fresh)
1 cup white wine (or chicken stock, but seriously, wine is better)
3/4 lb of linguini (or spaghetti)
4-5 tbs of olive oil
1/3 cup grated parmesan (not shredded)
Salt to taste
Optional toppings: pepper, fresh basil, parmesan cheese

TOOLS:

5+ qt pot
Deep sauté pan (or any other pan with a 3 qt minimum)
Pasta ladle
Spatula
Bowls
Knife and cutting board
Meat tenderizer (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

If using fresh herbs, chop them as fine as you can. Put them in a bowl.
Dice the garlic, and set aside.
Slice the salami into strips and microwave for 30 seconds.
Put the chicken on the cutting board and hit it repeatedly with the meat tenderizer (optional). Slice the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Mix the oregano, thyme, and rosemary and about 1 tsp salt into the chicken.
Using the deep sauté pan, cook the chicken in 2 tbs olive oil until done. Put chicken in a bowl so it does not continue to cook, and take the pan off the heat.
Boil about 8 cups of water. Add enough salt to it so that it tastes almost as salty as ocean water.
Add the 3/4 lb of linguini (or spaghetti) to the water. You can go ahead and add the whole 1 lb box if desired, but it will impact your meat to pasta ratio.
As for the the sauté pan, put it back on the heat and add the rest of the olive oil, salami, and garlic. Cook until garlic is starting to look golden.
Immediately deglaze the pan with 1 cup of white wine or chicken stock.
Check your pasta regularly. When it is almost done (just a tiny bit crunchy), remove it from the water with a pasta ladle and transfer it directly into the sauté pan.
Add about pasta boiling water as needed to the sauté pan.
Cook until pasta is al dente, and then turn off the heat.
There will still be some liquid left. Add grated parmesan and stir vigorously.
Mix the chicken in, the residual heat from the pasta will warm it up.
Top (or not) with pepper, basil, and/or parmesan.

Recipe: Mexican Chorizo “Paella”

Yes well. But I didn’t have any Spanish chorizo on hand, and I really wanted some paella. Or in this case, “paella.” I don’t even know what this is. I liked it, I really did. It didn’t taste like the paella I had at a GREAT Spanish restaurant I went to recently, but it was really good. Honest. I doubled the recipe myself, but assuming normal humans aren’t inhaling carbs like a maniac, I cut everything in half and put it below.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb Mexican Chorizo (the ground crumbly kind)
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion
1 bell pepper any color
1/2 tbs smoked paprika (important!)
3 cloves of garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups Arborio rice (yes I know this is Italian I don’t know where to get Bomba rice)
1 lb seafood mix (you know the frozen stuff at the grocery with squid mussels and clams? If you can get it fresh even better!)
Salt to taste

TOOLS:

A freaking large pot (or in your case, 5 qt+)
Something to stir with
Knife and cutting board
Bowls or plates

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put the heat on medium. My stove is good at a 4/7.
Brown the Chorizo until cooked all the way through. Put it aside in a bowl or plate.
Dice onion and bell pepper and add it to the pot (that has chorizo juices in it). Add 2 tbs olive oil while stirring.
Add salt to the pot to help the veggies sweat it out – don’t overdo it. The Chorizo is already pretty salty. Meanwhile, dice up your 3 cloves of garlic.
Add the garlic and 1/2 tbs paprika to the mix until it gets nice and fragrant. Keep stirring.
When it looks like it’s pretty dry, add the 1/2 cup of wine to deglaze.
Then add in the 4 cups chicken broth and can of diced tomatoes.
Dump in the 2 cups of rice. Mix.
Cover with a lid. Lower the heat to simmer, or in my case, “lo.” Ignore for 15 minutes.
If the liquid level looks soupy and not like the photo below, leave it uncovered and boil it down a bit.
When the liquid level is right, as in the texture you want to eat, mix the Chorizo back in.
Throw the seafood mix on top, and cover for about 10 minutes, still on “lo.”
Mix and serve.

Recipe: What is a Denver Steak?

A Denver steak is a cut of the beef chuck. Whaaaaat? The chuck may be a tough piece of meat, but the Denver steak is fairly tender, well marbled, and super flavorful. And to make things even better, it is an inexpensive cut of meat, running around $7 a pound. Compared to the popular New York strip, ribeye, T-bone, filet mignon, and so on, it does have slightly more chew, but with its great price and superb flavor profile, the Denver steak has definitely made it to our dinner table again and again.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb Denver steak
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs canola oil (or other high heat oil)

TOOLS:

Cast iron skillet (or fry pan)
Small baking sheet
Silicone (or pastry) brush
Tongs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the steaks on a large plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (that is a way of saying season to your personal preference, don’t actually taste your raw steak!). Flip the steak and do the same with the other side.
Using a brush, apply canola oil generously to the steak. Flip and repeat.
Meanwhile, place a baking sheet in your oven (I use a toaster oven for convenience) and preheat to 400.
Heat your pan on the stove top, a cast iron skillet if you have one, for 4 minutes on medium high. Only you know your stove, so this may need some adjustment. For me, that is a 5 setting out of 7. DO NOT APPLY OIL TO YOUR PAN! The oil is already on the steak, just let that pan get nice and hot.
Place the steaks one at a time in the pan. You can use your hands or a pair of tongs. If the pan is not sizzling loudly when you put down the first steak, simply pick it back up and wait another minute or so. A strong sizzle is essential.
When the pan is hot enough, sear the steaks 3 minutes on each side for a steak around 1 inch thick (2 minutes for a thinner one).
Using oven mitts, take out your preheated baking sheet from your oven. Using tongs, place the steaks on the sheet and bake for 6 minutes.
When 6 minutes are up, put the steaks on a plate, and cover with aluminum foil for 10 minutes. This allows the meat to rest and prevents all the juices from running out of it.
The steaks (adjusting for your pan and oven temperature) should be a nice medium to medium-rare and are READY TO EAT! Serve with your favorite sides or go straight up carnivore. I had mine with sauteed green beans and air fried sweet potatoes.