Craig Cooks Chicken Wings

Ohhai blog. It's been a while. Sorry 'bout that.
So, several months ago Craig made chicken wings. From what I remember they were amazing. They also involved tossing the wings and transferring pans and things I'd never done whilst making chicken wings. Unfortunately since this was the end of the September that's all I really recall.
Nevertheless here is photographic proof that the wings existed.














Chicken Wings, Six Ways (though we just did one)
Adapted from "How to Cook Everything"
makes: 6-8 servings

1/4 c relatively mild hot sauce
4 T butter, melted
2 T white wine vinegar
1 T minced garlic
3 lbs chicken wings, rinsed and patted dry with paper towels, cut into 3 pieces each
2 T neutral oil

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Combine the hot sauce, butter, vinegar, and garlic in a small bowl.
2. Put the chicken wings in a large roasting pan, drizzling with the oil, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then spread the wings out in a single layer. (it's okay if they're a little crowded, they'll shrink.) Put the wings in the oven and roast, undisturbed, until teh bottom of the pan is coated with fat and the wings are beginning to brown, about 30 minutes. Use a spoon to bast the wings with the drippings, then carefully pour them out of the pan. If the wings are still sticking to the bottom of the pan, return them to the oven until they release easily, another 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Turn the wings over, baste again, then carefully pour off any more fat. Return them to the oven until nicely browned, another 20 minutes or so (again, they'll release easily from teh pan when they're ready).
4. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Carefully pour off any accumulated fat, then drizzle the wings with the hot sauce mixture and toss to coat. Spread them back out into a single layer and return them to the oven. Cook, tossing once or twice, until crisp all over, about 10 more minutes.

Smoky Chile Lime Variation (which these were)
Omit the hot sauce, vinegar, and garlic and replace the butter and neutral oil with extra virgin olive oil. make the tossing sauce by combining the olive oil with 2 T freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 T chili powder and 1 T smoked paprika. Proceed with teh recipe, using this sauce to coat the wings in Step 3. Garnish with lime wedges and cilantro and serve with Avocado Yogurt Sauce.


Avocado Yogurt Sauce
1 cup yogurt
1 t minced garlic
salt and freshly ground pepper
Freshly squeezed lemon juice if necessary
1/2 avocado

Combine the yogurt with garlic, a pinch of salt and a grinding or two of pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding some lemon juice if necessary. Stir in 1/2 a ripe avocado or more.

Craig Cooks Broiled Fish and Potato Salad

Once again Craig triumphs in the kitchen. I come home from work and Craig's standing in the middle of the kitchen with his cookbook in his hands. "Oh, you're home early!" We were out of mayo. So rather than go to the store (which by the way is IN the building we live in), Craig decided to just make mayonnaise. I don't know who this guy is, but he's pretty fabulous.


More chopping, no more injuries:

Potatoes were chopped up and boiled:

Mayo was mixed with a bunch of stuff:



To make this potato salad:

Somehow in all the hoopla of potato salad-ing, I didn't take any pictures of the fish until it was plated. It was broiled:


Broiled Fish Fillets
Adapted from "How to Cook Everything"
makes: 4 servings

3 T extra virgin olive oil
about 1 1/2 pounds thin fish fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
Lemon wedges for serving

1. Heat the broiled until quite hot. Move the rack as close to the heat source as possible (3 or 4 inches is good). Put a sturdy pan on the rack and heat it for about 5 minutes.
2. When it's hot, remove the pan and pour in the oil, then put the fillets in the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Time under the broiler (for salmon or 1 inch thick pieces will be 10 minutes) for thin fillets 2 minutes 30 seconds.
3. To serve, carefully remove the fillets with a spatula, sprinkle with parsley, if you like. Garnish with lemon wedges.

Potato Salad
makes 4 servings

1 1/2 pounds waxy potatoes
salt
1/2 c minced fresh parsley
1/4 c chopped scallions or onions (we used shallots)
1/2 c mayonnaise
3 T white wine vinegar

1. Peel the potatoes if you like, then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Put them in a pot with enough water to cover them and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the water bubbles gently. Cook the potatoes until tender but still firm and not all mushy, 15 min or so, depending on the potato. Drain, rinse in cold water for a minute, then drain again.
2. Whisk together the mayo & vinegar. Toss the still-warm potatoes with the parsley and scallions. Add the mayo mixture until it is dressed as you like. Season to taste with black pepper. Serve as is or refrigerate to chill first. (At this point, you may refrigerate the salad, covered, for up to a day)

Craig Cooks Pad Thai

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our first dinner fail. I know Craig would say Sausage and Beans was, but I disagree. You see, we ate the sausage and beans - on Pad Thai Night we ordered pizza.


It all started out well enough. I was working late, Craig was chopping up peanuts.


He was measuring things out and refilling the bean sprouts bowl after he munched a few too many.


I got home and eggs got a crackin'.


This is where it starting going off the rails a little. You see our closest grocery store is a Sobey's Urban Fresh store. This means a lot of times they don't have exactly what we're looking for. Such was the case with our noodles. The recipe said to soak them for 15 minutes, but since they weren't the right kind they were still quite.... stiff at that point.


The recipe also said to turn the heat up to high and dump in some garlic. We weren't using the shrimp it called for so that garlic pretty much instantly burned. That's me getting rid of the evidence.


Did I mention Craig accidentally bought flavoured tofu? Luckily it wasn't anything weird, like peach flavoured - just herb.

Doesn't that look totally awesome?


All those black bits you see? Burnt garlic. But it was actually just the uncooked noodles that made it inedible.

I think I'm going to get the right ingredients one day and we'll attempt this again.


Adapted from How to Cook Everything:

Pad Thai

Makes 4 servings

Time: 30 minutes

12 ounces dried flat rice noodles, 1/4 inch thick

5 tablespoons peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn

3 eggs, lightly beaten

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 ounces small shrimp, peeled

4 ounces pressed tofu, or extra-firm tofu, blotted dry, sliced

2 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and trimmed

2 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

2 teaspoons tamarind paste or ketchup

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 small fresh green chiles, preferably Thai, seeded and sliced (optional)

1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Put the noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Soak until softened, at least 15 minutes; if you want to hold them a little longer, drain them, fill the bowl with cold water, and return the noodles to the bowl.

2. Put 2 tablespoons of the oil in large skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the eggs and scramble quickly for the first minute or so with a fork almost flat against the bottom of the pan; you're aiming for a thin egg crêpe of sorts, one with the smallest curd you can achieve. Cook just until set and transfer the crêpe to a cutting board. Cut into 1/4-inch strips and set aside.

3. Raise the heat to high and add the remaining oil. When hot, add the garlic and shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp lose their raw gray color, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate next to the stove. Add the tofu, scallions, and half of the bean sprouts to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to the plate with the shrimp.

4. Put the drained noodles, eggs, nam pla, tamarind, and sugar in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are heated through, then add the stir-fried tofu mixture. Toss once or twice and transfer the contents of the pan to a serving platter. Top with the peanuts, cilantro, chiles, and remaining bean sprouts. Serve with the lime wedges.

Vegetarian Pad Thai.

Omit the shrimp and increase the tofu to 8 ounces. Substitute soy sauce for the fish sauce.

Craig Cooks Fish Tacos

Anything that involves jalapenos is okay by me. Honestly, I've never made fish tacos before, only ever ordered them in restaurants. Craig tends to order red meat when we go out since I don't cook it at home, so I don't think he's ever had them. I was surprised at the amount of people who had never even heard of fish tacos before.


This week Craig practiced much safer chopping skills. Look at that with the fingers tucked and everything. I'm happy to say the splint is gone and there's barely a mark left from the Great Knife Incident of '09.

When I first saw that you just threw the onions, jalapenos and fish into the pan with a tablespoon of water I was concerned that we would end up with one giant stuck to the pan mess. I guess I don't know so much about cooking then because it wasn't even close to sticking.



Yummy tortillas and salsa from Culinarium.




Pretending to be happy about cooking.


Condiments. Really quite needed since the fish is kind of bland. I found the inclusion of cucumbers weird, but I was wrong, they totally made the taco.


They were messy, as tacos often are - but delicious. The salsa was amazing and the fish was soft and moist. We could have used more and/or larger tortillas, but otherwise perfect.

Adapted from "Fish Tacos" - New York Times

Fish Tacos

Yield 4 servings

Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 jalapeño, stemmed and roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 pounds cod or other thick white-fleshed fish fillet
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 6-inch corn tortillas, or 8 12-inch corn or flour tortillas
• Fresh salsa
• Hot sauce or chili paste (optional)
• Sour cream or grated cheese (optional)
• Chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and cilantro sprigs (optional)
• Lime wedges

Method

• 1. Put onion and jalapenos in nonstick skillet. Add 1 tablespoon water and the fish; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and place over medium heat. Cook about 6 minutes, or until the fish is done.
• 2. While the fish cooks, heat the tortillas. Toast them in a skillet, one at a time, over medium heat, flipping once or twice until hot, a minute or so. Or heat in a microwave, a half a dozen at a time wrapped in a slightly damp towel, for about a minute.
• 3. To serve, put a portion of the fish along with a bit of the onion and jalapeno in a warm tortilla. Top with salsa, hot sauce, cheese or sour cream and vegetables. Squeeze lime juice over all. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

Craig Cooks Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken

Mmmmm... Thai. I love Thai food. It's probably the main thing keeping me in Toronto. You can't get good Thai in the 'burbs.

Once again this recipe required a lot of chopping. I think I need to start picking recipes that will stretch his skills a little past chopping and throwing stuff together in a pan or pot. Although that is about 90% of the cooking I perform as well.

We may have overestimated the size of pot needed.
Craig concentrating on the chopping. More on that later.

I should mention, he hates mushrooms.


Chop, chop, chop, nom, nom, nom.


Chicken waiting to be dumped in the giant pot.

Ginger, lemongrass, chile peppers, all removed from the giant pot after simmering for a while.Craig pouring fish sauce in giant pot.

gSaid Giant pot bubbling away.

Craig pouring lime juice into giant pot.

Mostly I just thought this picture looked gross. Like worms or something.

Oh my god.


I love this soup. It tastes almost exactly like my favourite soup at Lime, but without all that laborious walking across the street to get to that restaurant. That's valuable time that could be spent eating more soup.

Now, about all that chopping:


Turns out practice does not make perfect. This sucker bled for over 24 hours until we resorted to this ridiculousness. Craig promises to be more careful around sharp knives in the future. We'll see when we resume with Craig's adventures in chopping.