Orangey Chicken

I found 2 lonely chicken thighs
laying around in the fridge the other day : (

So sad...
Let's find a way to cook (then eat!) them instead : D

i was poking my head into the fridge,
trying to figure out what ideas i can get for this experiment.

Then, i spotted:

I poured some OJ + added some rosemary into a bowl,
then drowned the thighs overnight.

Next day, i browned the thighs on a pan,
while realizing that these thick, chunky meat
probably won't be thoroughly cooked 0_o

I was hungry, so i didn't wanna wait another hour
for the oven to preheat + cook the thighs '_'

What then?



Yep, i committed a crime:
i stuck them into the microwave,
after brushing BBQ sauce & honey over them '_'

They turned out sizzling hot, juicy,
and 110% cooked......
[Warning: Unless you are desperate, like i was,
try not to use the microwave to cook meat.
Parts of it (if not the whole thing) would taste CHEWY.]

I'd still say though,
this is quite a fabulous experiment : )
The chicken totally absorbed the citrus flavor deeply,
and the BBQ sauce accompanies this really well : D

GO AHEAD! OJ your meat!

Welcome! Taste Testers!

It's a beautiful thing
to have friends come over to our place,
and be the taste testers of my cooking ; D



Well, as the saying goes...
Friends don't let friends go hungry... RIGHT? : D



Thanks to David,
we got some shots of my cooking in action!



Black bean Garlic Pork Chops bubbling in its sauce ; )



Lap Cheung (Chinese Sausage) diced,
awaiting to be added to the rice : )



The kindest guest, Aaron,
washing dishes for us : )



I made the stir-fry cabbage/corn dish too spicy,
with too much Garlic Spicy sauce... 0_o"
So i was trying to reverse the trauma
by adding sugar... : b haaa!



Yay for friends!
YAYYYYYY for God's blessings & provision,
that we have a home to accomodate others
while serving them with yummy yummy : )

Fake Chicken Cacciatore

I set out to try to make Chicken Cacciatore
for the first time. EVER.
(ack... i can't even spell CACCIATORE by heart.)

The night before:
Marinate Chicken thighs (skin on) with salt / pepper overnight.

Next day:
Drenge them in flour : ) so juice would stay in, i suppose?



Slice up some onions



The recipe suggested chopping rosemary.
but i failed miserably... -_-"
i couldn't find a way to chop them without them flying
all over the place.
i gave up before they had a chance to land on my eyeball 0_o"



Sauteed the onions, rosemary with minced garlic : )
AROMATICS! : D ahhh haaa!
i learned that word from Mr. Alton Brown.



Ohoh... backtrack a little.
before cooking the aromatics,
i deep-fried the thighs in the same pot with olive oil.




There's gotta be some sort of starch to go with this dish, right?
So i decided, SHELLS pasta would be a good match : )



Although, i didn't realize how long it'd take for them to cook,
just because they're LARGE 0_o (14-16 mins!)



While the pasta's boiling away,
my focus turned back to the sauce.
Added a) Dry White Wine + b) Canned Diced Tomatoes : )



After a while, dump all the chicken back into the rich, beautiful sauce.
(Private remorse of the moment: NOOO!
There goes the crispy skin! : / )




On my way home from work,
i saw my new favorite veggie: Mini cabbages!
For some reason, they taste somewhat buttery *_*
BUTTERY veggie!
Can you imagine how satisfying this is,
for those that enjoy the intense flavor (& thought) of butter
minus the horrifying calories?!



After lots of bubbling in 3 pots...
TAAAA DAAAA! : D



Goh goh's comments:
- "I don't know what I'm eating,
but I'm hungry!"

Okay, what he meant was this:
This dish does not taste like what he expected
of Chicken Cacciatore...
The sauce is not as thick as it usually is --
(which brings the question... does it mean i should use:
a) cornstarch? b) tomato paste instead of diced tomatoes?)
BUT IT TASTES GOOD NONETHELESS!

Yup! I'd call this the most successful Pasta dish as of today : )
Despite the unsuccessful recipe and all...

Semi-Failure: Beef Pot Roast

YAY! New Toy : )
Do you know what this is?



The Japanese call it "Shuttle Chef,"
which in essence, is like a slow cooker
minus the electricity : )

Fafa recommended using it to make soup / congee,
but i was in an adventurous mood the other day,
so i decided to test it out & make a pot roast.

Originally, i set out to buy a pork pot roast '_'
But somehow Stop & Shop doesn't have it that day...
so i got Beef instead, thinking i can improvise...
(hmm but that might have been the fatal error...)



Aromatics / Veggies: Potatoes, Onions,
hmmm and i don't know why i used an apple also.


Everything diced up : )
you can see the garlic being diced at the corner, too!


then i marinated the pot roast with
salt, pepper, garlic powder & onion powder : )


Brown it, baby!



I skipped a few steps in the pics coz i was busy:
1) take the roast out of the pan,
2) pour the veggies into the Shuttle Chef pot,
3) put the roast back in,
4) cover it with diced garlic,
5) pour a can of chicken broth into the pot,
6) bring to a boil,
7) pour a can of cream of mushroom in also,
8) stir!



BUBBLE BUBBLE BUBBLE...



Then i put the heavy hot pot into the Shuttle Chef,
leave it in overnight, and in the morning...

VOILA!

But then... this post is named
'Semi-failure' for a reason. : /

I guess due to the nature of Beef,
the pot roast came out quite tough,
and for those that like their steak RARE,
i'd have probably killed the cow like 10 times, in their opinion.

The sauce came out really well, very flavorful,
and so was the roast & veggies.



i made macaroni to go with this : )
& Fafa suggested slicing the roast REALLY THIN,
to make up for the toughness : b
while goh goh suggested cooking with red wine next time,
to break down / tenderize the meat texture.



Yay! it's all good : )
No successes could be achieved without mistakes, right?

Deboning Session

We caught Zach in action again...
HAVING A FEAST eh, little buddy? : )

Yes, we created these BONELESS monsters again...
as requested by the Chins : )


Although, this time --
i hosted a deboning session with 2 participants--

Student #1. Donna


She's dicing some tilapia, which we were going to use
to stuff the chicken wings : )


TAAA DAAAA! Such a beautiful sight... *_*
I then, proceeded to marinate them with:
sea salt, white pepper, lime juice, garlic, rosemary...


Stuffing #2: Marinated Minced Pork with Mushrooms
(Marinated with: salt, black pepper, sesame oil...)


YAY! There you see Student #2, Nick!


According to Nick, deboning chicken wings
make his hands 'Chickeny';
& he called this thumb-in-wing action "Chicken Finger."


There, you see us putting Chef Nick at (more) work,
dicing up the mushrooms : )
This boy is growing up to be ladies' ideal man!


Meanwhile, Donna's friend Nancy came by,
and made very yummy guacamole *_*

i wonder if i can find a way to stuff chicken wings
with guac one day... that'd be something i can eat ALL DAY!

These are worth 2 hrs of hard work yo!!
(Totaling over 70 wings!)


After that, Donna had more fun with some chicken breasts...
Fajita in the making : )


Meanwhile, i sauteed the minced pork with the mushrooms.
Note: They're not fully cooked!
I just cooked them to about 70% done.

Then, we sauteed the fish also,
let them cool a lil bit,
then start stuffing! : )


Left: Minced pork/mushrooms;
Right: Apple / ham.


Goh goh seemed quite troubled,
when Donna suggested him to don an apron.


Pan-fried goodness : D

MMmmmmmMMm... O-I-L-Y.




A close-up shot of the apple & ham wings : )

After adding honey & bbq sauce,
they're put into the oven,
then transformed into these juicy, crispy beauties!



Yeahhhhhh! Such was our perfect Sunday dinner
with the company of friends & families! LOVELY! : )