Chicken Tostada

This is a healthy, quick weeknight meal. Preheat oven for 350 degrees. 

First, you'll want to season one rinsed and patted dry skinless chicken breast with salt, pepper and cumin. Put it in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. In the meantime, prepare one avocado. I usually cut it in half, twist each half to separate, stick the end of knife in the seed and pry it out. To peel the avocado, I just tear the peel off with my fingers. I've found that this method is the cleanest (and the only way I know). How do you peel your avocados?

Once the avocado is all peeled, cut it lengthwise into thin strips.

Next, cut 1 cup of Romaine lettuce into thin strips. At this point, we're about 6 minutes into preparation.

6 minutes before the chicken is cooked, brush 4-6 corn tortillas with olive oil and put in the oven for 4-5 minutes.

While the chicken and tortillas are in the oven grab shredded Monterey Jack cheese, salsa and refried beans. You can either heat the refried beans on your stove top or in the microwave.

The chicken is done! Use 2 forks to shred the chicken or simply cut into thin strips.

Time to build your tostadas. First, beans....

cheese...

chicken...

avocado...

lettuce...

and finally the salsa. Serve immediately with your favorite hot sauce.

Braised Short Ribs

This recipe was recommended by my sister-in-law and I'm glad I tried it! From the multiple layers of flavor to the tenderness of the meat, this dish will be a permanent addition to my book of recipes. However, it does take 4 hours to prepare so it's definitely a weekend meal. The recipe is courtesy of Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef) from the Food Network. Enjoy!

Prepare the following vegetables:

- 1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

- 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

- 2 carrots, peele, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces

- 2 cloves garlic, smashed

Other ingredients:

- Bone-in short ribs

- Kosher salt

- Extra-virgin olive oil

- 1 1/2 cups tomato paste

- 2 cups water

- 1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string

- 2 bay leaves

Generously season each short rib with salt.

Coat a large Dutch oven (or pot that is oven safe) with olive oil and bring to a high heat.

Add short ribs to the Dutch oven and brown very well, about 2-3 minutes each side. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

While the meat is browning, puree prepared vegetables in a food processor.

Puree until vegetables reach a thick consistency. Do not over process.

The puree should be like a thick paste.

To tell if the short ribs are finished browning, you'll notice the caramelization on parts of the meat.

Remove the short ribs from the Dutch oven and drain the fat. Coat the bottom of the same Dutch oven with olive oil and add the pureed vegetables.

Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the Dutch oven, about 5-7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform.

Scrape the crud again and add 1 1/2 cups tomato paste.

Brown the tomato paste for 4-5 minutes. Add the wine (I used Merlot for it's full bodied flavor) and scrape the bottom of the Dutch oven. Lower the heat if things start to burn. Reduce (cook) the mixture by half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Cover the Dutch oven and place in preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically and add more water if necessary. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Serve the ribs with the braising liquid. I served the ribs with mashed potatoes and it was delicious!

Broiled Mackerel With Broccolini and Tomato Salad

It has been quite some time since my last post and I wanted to start off with a recipe that's back to basics. Fish, tomato salad and rice is a Filipino staple that I prepared a healthier version of. Instead of frying the fish I broiled it in the oven and put less salt. In addition, I used brown rice instead of white rice. This is a modest meal but full of flavor, enjoy!

Mackerel is a hearty, fatty fish with a lot of flavor and so it doesn't need much seasoning.

First you'll want to clean and cut the mackerel into fillets.

Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Broil for 15-20 minutes.

Blanch broccolini.

Dice tomatoes.

Put broccolini and tomatoes in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon fish sauce, the juice of a small lemon and pepper.

Clams, clams, clams!

We went to Seabeck yesterday (5/21/11) to go oyster picking and there's nothing better than eating fresh shucked oysters on site! We found the smaller ones to be sweeter and smooth and so delicious. While there the company, Hood Canal Seafood, had claims for $4 per pound which is a steal compared to the ones Whole Foods sells for $5.99 per pound.
Last night I prepared the clams with garlic, shallots, butter and white wine.

Ingredients:
2 pounds clams
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 large shallot, cut in thin rings
3 tablespoons white wine (any is fine, I use Chardonnay)
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
4 green onion stalks, diced

Heat oil in large skillet. Add garlic and shallots and let saute for 3 minutes then add butter. Allow butter to melt while garlic and shallots brown. Add wine and let reduce, about 3 minutes. Add clams and lemon zest and stir. Cover for about 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, tomatoes and green onions and cook until clams open. Serve with pasta or garlic bread and enjoy!

Good Find: Brioche Burger Bun

One day I was shopping at Whole Foods and didn't know what kind of burger bun would go well with salmon. Looking confused I asked one of the associates and he introduced me to the brioche burger bun. He even said, "Once you have these you will try to make burgers as often as you can." So I got home, cooked up the salmon and toasted the buns...every bite was heaven and the buns went so well with the salmon! The buns are light, a little flaky and have a hint of sweetness. To incorporate more fish in our diets I often buy cod filets and throw them on these buns. They're even good with lamb patties. I like the buns so much I put them in the toaster and spread Nutella on them for breakfast :)

The buns are from a local bakery in downtown Seattle called, Macrina Bakery & Cafe. Try them, you'll have no regrets!