Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Liver and Onions



Ingredients:
Liver ½ pound
Onion 1
Fresh sage about 10 leaves
Shiitake Mushrooms about 1 cup fresh
Bacon 3 strips
Flat leaf parsley 3 T
Butter 2T
Flour (I used almond flour)
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:
Cut liver into strips and lightly dredge in flour seasoned with sea salt and cracked pepper. Set aside.

Fry uncured, pastured bacon until crisp and all the fat has rendered out.

Add sliced onions and continue to cook until well browned.

Add 2 tablespoons pastured butter to the hot pan and swirl to combine with the remaining bacon fat.

Add sliced brown mushrooms and sauté until they begin to crisp on the edges.

Make sure that the skillet is still good and hot, then add strips of floured liver and coarsely chopped fresh sage and flat-leaf parsley. Cook until well browned, turn and brown on the other side.

Arrange on a plate, drizzle with pan juices and enjoy.



Review: This just goes to show that anything cooked in bacon grease is delicious. I liked it and Sarah did too. I used the fresh pastured chicken livers from Soul Foods Farm, not sure it would taste as good with regular old liver.

Chicken Scaloppine With Saffron Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 lb chicken cutlet (4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded flat to 1/4 inch)
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron thread
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped


1. Warm the coconut oil in a large skillet, over high heat. Season the chicken cutlets with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken until golden and cooked through, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
2. Transfer the chicken to serving plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
3. Turn the heat to medium, add the shallots and the garlic and cook until tender, about 2 minutes.
4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Using a wooden spoon,scrape all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine is almost evaporated.
5. Add the chicken broth and saffron threads, bring to a simmer and reduce for 10 minutes. Add the cream, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and simmer for 1 minute to blend the flavors.
6. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately.



Review: This was yummy. The saffron flavor made me feel like I was in a fancy restaurant. The sauce was a little thin, next time I might try to find the xanthan gum which is in the back of my cabinet. Also this tasted great the day it was made but the leftovers were not as good, so I would not advise a huge batch.

Sugar Glazed Walnuts

Today's recipe:

SUGAR GLAZED NUTS




1/2 c. butter
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
4 c. nuts, pecans or walnuts
Microwave on high 1 minute in 1 1/2 quart dish. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Microwave 2 minutes, on high. Mix well. Add nuts and mix to coat. Microwave on high 3-5 minutes. Spread onto wax paper to cool.


I soaked the Walnuts for 24 hours in salt water then dried them in my dehydrator, to get rid of any bothersome enzymes. Instead of brown sugar I used rapadura, which is raw cane sugar. One teaspoon of the stuff has 11% of your daily iron, doesn't that make you feel better about eating sugar?








After all the trouble getting organic ingredients and soaking the nuts, it did seem wrong to cook these in the microwave, but it sure was easy.






Review: These were easy and yummy, but way too sweet for me. Next time I'll have to try them with Stevia or Splenda, and maybe some spices.


And, we have a new kitchen gadget today!




I've been using a plastic (gasp) microwave steamer, today I got a nice old fashioned stainless steel one to steam veggies on the stove.