Charming Chicken Pie

Using dishes available

When I first moved out of home, I had quite a glory box stashed away – linen, lots of pottery, fine bone china, kitchen odds and ends etc. I also had a few cookbooks – not many, as I had not done much cooking apart from at school, and didn’t know how much I would come to enjoy playing around with food later on. This was pre-Internet too (wow, I cannot imagine going back to that!).

One of the cookbooks I had was a small, slim hardback, a pocket sized book almost, containing chicken recipes. It was part of a set, and I think I had 3 or 4 different ones. I can’t remember much about the books, but I do know that my chicken pie recipe came from this time, and was one of the first successful recipes I actually cooked in my new “adult” life. For many years it was a staple in my house, and I later adapted it to make a vegetarian version by just leaving out the chicken and putting in chunks of carrot, potato, pumpkin or whatever else I had lying around.

This week I decided to make a chicken pie for the first time in about 4 or 5 years. The only trouble was, as I am in between houses (move part 1 down, move part 2 coming up in about 10 days’ time!) and most of my kitchen stuff is in boxes, I have limited baking dishes at hand – and my favourite pie dish is not at hand! I am trying to use up what is in the fridge/freezer this week, and I had two sheets of shortcrust pastry to use, but they don’t quite stretch to fit the larger-than-pie-dish I had available. I ended up just improvising and making the shape of the pie slightly freeform (that’s all the rage now anyway, right?) within the dish. I was a bit worried the filling might ooze out during cooking, but in fact it worked out really well and was totally delicious.

Freeform is trendy…

Conveniently using a store-bought cooked chook, this pie is great cold the next day, and also reheats well.

I did blind-bake the underneath pastry sheet this time, but if short of time I don’t always bother – it depends how you like your pastry, and I don’t mind mine a bit soft and raw underneath (and yeah, I did used to nick bits of pastry and raw sausage meat when Mum was making sausage rolls, as a kid).

I also had to place a square of foil over the centre after the first 10 mins or so, or else the pastry would have burnt.

Served with eggplant skewers

Chicken Pie

1 barbequed chicken

2 sheets frozen puff or shortcrust pastry, thawed

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp plain flour

2 button mushrooms, finely chopped

½ green capsicum, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

⅔ cup milk

1 ¼ cups chicken stock

cracked pepper, to taste

beaten egg, to glaze

Line a greased pie dish with 1 sheet of pastry. Optional – bake-blind for a few minutes until puffed up slightly.

Pull the meat from the cooked chicken, discarding skin/bones. Depending on the size of the chicken you will probably need about ⅔ of it, so put the rest aside to use in something else.

Chop the chicken meat and place in a dish with the mushroom, capsicum, celery and parsley. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add flour, stir well to break up any lumps and cook until bubbling. Add the milk first and then the chicken stock, gradually, stirring constantly to form a smooth sauce. When all liquid is incorporated, fold the chicken mixture through the sauce and gently combine over low heat for a minute or so.

Pour chicken mixture into pie dish. Top with the second sheet of pastry, press down to seal edges, and glaze with beaten egg.

Bake in 200C oven for approx 30 minutes, or until pastry is puffed up and golden brown. If the pastry puffs up too quickly and starts to burn, cover with a square of foil over the centre.

For vegetarian version – leave out the chicken and instead, add chunks of vegies of your choice – if using hard vegies like potatoes, partially steam for a couple of minutes in the microwave first before adding them to the sauce. Use vegetable stock instead of chicken.

Serves 4-6 depending on appetites and what you have with it.

Happy Fooding!

 

Crazy For Cauliflower

I do like cauliflower. A lot. It doesn’t have to have cheese/white sauce on it or be anything too fancy, and I adore it as cauliflower rice. So the idea of roasting a cauliflower whole, slathered in a yoghurt/spice mixture, was something I could not resist trying when a friend shared the post on facebook recently. You can find the recipe here at PureWow blog.

This was very easy and smelt fantastic when cooking. I’m using an unfamiliar oven at the moment, whilst in my temporary home for a few weeks, and I wasn’t sure how it would go – it did start to burn on the top so I covered it with foil for the last 10 minutes.

The result was pretty good (apart from a pan with the bejeezus burnt out of it because I didn’t think to put baking paper underneath, and the yoghurt mixture kind of dripped down the sides like icing on a cake!), but I do think it needed something more. Maybe a type of gravy or some extra yoghurt, or a drizzle of lemon juice/EVOO would have given it a finishing touch. It was cooked beautifully without being soggy, which surprised me after such a long cooking time.

This would be well worth trying with broccoli too, I think! We had it with very easy Honey Baked Chicken, for a simple Sunday night lazy meal, as we’d already been out for lunch with friends at Edgecombe Bros winery in the Swan Valley. We had shared platters of delicious local nibbles, and tasted wines – a very relaxing way to spend a Summer Sunday afternoon!

Happy Fooding!

Spicy Chicken

I had this delicious chicken dish at my aunty’s house whilst in Melbourne over Christmas, and immediately had to try it myself when I got home. It did not disappoint, and was fabulous served with a light and refreshing Cucumber & Dill Salad and some steamed broccolini.

This salad was amazing! I did it exactly as the recipe stated, and bought a piece of Danish feta to sprinkle over the top as I thought this would be a great addition to the flavours of cucumber, dill and zucchini – however, I completely forgot until we’d finished eating, that the feta was still sitting in the fridge waiting to be used! Oh well, I’ll try that idea next time, as I fully intend to make this salad again.

You can use whatever chicken pieces you like – I love drumsticks, and they’re great for picking at cold the next day. This would be a great picnic dish too.

My quantities are double the original, so increase/decrease accordingly as you see fit!

Aunty Helen’s Spicy Chicken

1 tbsp olive oil

8 chicken drumsticks

Spice Rub:

2 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar

2 tsp ground pepper (I had a jar of ground pepperberries so used that)

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp curry powder

2 tsp dry mustard powder

Sauce:

6 tbsp mango or lemon chutney

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp worcestershire sauce

a splash of white wine

Combine spice mixture and coat chicken in it (I placed it all in a plastic bag to shake it around easily). Leave for at least 1 hour (overnight is good) in the fridge.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Place in a casserole or baking dish.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Spoon over the chicken pieces.

Cover with foil or lid and bake at 180C for 40 minutes.

Remove foil/lid and cook, uncovered for a further 20 minutes.

Happy Summer Fooding!

Fajitas, Thai Style…

This chicken mince dish, kind of Thai larb-ish, is adapted from a that’s life! reader recipes compilation, and I served it with tortillas and Greek yoghurt, to make it a fajita meal. Yum. The coconut milk gave the chicken a definite Thai flavour.

Soooooo quick, the whole thing was cooked and ready to serve in 20 minutes. Definitely one to rival Jamie with his very quick meals – including chopping time it was less than 30-minutes from start to finish. A weeknight winner, and especially good at this crazy time of year!

Thai Chicken Fajitas

2 tbsp olive oil

500 gms chicken mince

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped

165 mls low-fat coconut milk

¼ cup sweet chilli sauce

2 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or wok. Add chicken, garlic, chilli, onion and lemongrass, and saute, stirring often to break up lumps, for about 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with tortillas and Greek yoghurt (optional – add shredded lettuce as well).

Serves 2

Happy Summer fooding!

Not For The Calory Counters Amongst You……

Lots of rich, dark chocolate!

Rich. Decadent. Fattening. Very Fattening. But…..to balance that….CHRISTMAS!

You can be forgiven for many foodie indulgences at this time of year, so I make no apologies for leading you astray with this bewitching balls recipe!

Anything with six, yes SIX, Cherry Ripe bars in it has to be a great thing, right? Damn straight. Chuck them all in the food processor along with cocoa and a packet of Nice biscuits (ouch, more sugar), blend to a pile of powdery goodness then mix through a can of condensed milk. OMG. This is so full of yum-ness that you just have to rush out buy Cherry Ripes right now and make this! I made them for a Christmas party (also made my yummy Teriyaki Chicken Bites, perfect for taking a plate of nibbles to a function at any time of year, and always popular), but really you don’t need an excuse, at this time of year, to spoil yourself with something so sweet and delicious.

The full recipe can be found here……and whilst it can be quite an expensive recipe to make, with all of those chocolate bars, I was lucky enough to get them on special for half price this week, yay.

Apparently Cherry Ripes are now Australia’s oldest chocolate bar, having been around since 1924. I didn’t know that until today, although I knew they were my very favourite 🙂

Happy Christmas Fooding!

Relishing Royalty

Finally Summer has hit with a vengeance, and I’m loving it. My social life is crazy right now, as everyone is just happier in the warmer weather and there are so many outdoor things to enjoy in Perth when the sun is shining :), not to mention the silly season is upon us – Christmas parties, lunches, concerts, street festivals – so much is going on right now and I’m really having a ball.

I was recently reading historian Kate Williams‘ book Young Elizabeth : The Making of Our Queen, which mentioned the dish created by royal chefs to be served at the Queen’s coronation lunch in 1953. Aptly titled Coronation Chicken, this dish has become an iconic British chicken salad dish, with many variations.

Basically this is poached chicken, dressed with a mixture of mayonnaise, curry powder and fruit chutney.

You can see both the original recipe and a healthier, modern take by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, here. I made mine above by taking elements from both – I used low-fat mayonnaise and Greek yoghurt for the dressing base, and fruit chutney rather than apricots, but I did poach 2 chicken breasts rather than use leftover cooked chicken. I also topped with shaved parmesan to cut through the sweetness, but actually it was still too sweet for me – too kind of “fruity” in an overpowering kind of way.

I like the concept, and it was easy to make, but I will try it again with just yoghurt and no mayo next time, and chopped dried fruit instead of the very strong fruit chutney.

Happy Summer Fooding!

 

The Warmth Hath Arriveth

I should have mentioned about the lack of Summer weather earlier, because as soon as I posted about how cold and wet it was, the heat arrived! And I am certainly not complaining now – it’s quite lovely and should remain so now for the next 5 or so months. Hooray!

So……salad time.

After a couple of days of not eating proper meals, in fact not eating much at all I have to say, as well as too much wine consumption (what can I say, my friends are a bad influence….), I was badly in need of something healthy and vibrant. This dish, adapted from a recent Super Food Ideas recipe, fit the detox bill perfectly – light and crunchy, great colours, full of vitamins and goodness, and tasting great too.

Chicken & Broccolini Salad

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 skinless chicken breast fillets (about 500 gms)

2 bunches broccolini, cut into 3cm pieces

⅓ cup pine nuts

¼ cup dukkah (whatever flavour you like – I used Hot Chilli by Gourmet Spice Blends from Mt Tamborine, Queensland)

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

60 gms baby spinach leaves

Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a deep fry pan or wok. Add chicken fillets; brown on both sides then add the soy sauce, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes until cooked all the way through (add a splash of water if it starts to stick). Remove from pan, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes then slice and put aside.

Steam broccolini pieces in microwave for 2 minutes on HIGH; let stand for a few minutes then drain.

Heat the other tbsp of olive oil in the same frypan or wok; add pine nuts and dukkah and stir frequently for 1-2 minutes until starting to toast and become aromatic. Returned sliced chicken to pan along with all remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly and gently heat through until spinach wilts.

Serves 2-3

Happy Summer Fooding!

Crockpot Chicken Casserole

The weather in Perth has been crap lately! Whilst bushfires and awful heat is raging on the East coast, here the warm weather just won’t properly start. We get a couple of warm days full of promise, in fact yesterday got quite warm, but the nights are still freeing and then the cold and rain comes back. It’s really been awful, and I am soooooo over wearing Winter clothes. I am hanging out for shorts and little Summer dresses! It is quite weird, as usually our heat has already started and the East is still getting the cold….not the other way around.

As with clothes, the weather is still making me feel like stews and soups, to go with being cosy inside listening to the rain pouring down (we had the wettest September here since 1930, and October has been wetter than normal too).

This warming comfort dish was not intended to be blog material…..I just threw the stuff in the crockpot thinking well it won’t be anything to write home about, but I’ll be at work all day and it will be great to come home to something cooked. No one to eat it but me, so if it’s not exciting it will still be nutritious and give me some leftovers as well.

I was pleasantly surprised! The chicken was tender and literally had fallen apart, so there is no need to cut it into chunks beforehand – just throw it all in. You could double it for a larger family meal too.

Chicken Casserole

600-700 gms skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of any fat

400 gm can cream of celery soup

1/2 cup chicken stock

6 baby potatoes

2 carrots, peeled & cut into chunks

1 large brown onion, cut into wedges

1 large red chilli, finely chopped

cracked pepper, to taste

1 tbsp plain flour (use gluten-free cornflour if you are GF)

Place the chicken, potatoes and carrots in crockpot. Mix the soup, stock, onion, chilli and cracked pepper together in a bowl, and pour over the chicken.

Cook on LOW for 7 hours.

Blend the flour with a little cold water, into a smooth paste. Add this to the crockpot and give it a stir.

Cook for a further 1 hour.

Serves 3-4 depending on whether you serve it with side dishes or not.

Happy Fooding!

Parmesan + Mayo + Chicken = Ranting Chicken

I am fond of the Ranting Chef blog, and whilst I don’t make many of the recipes, which tend to be very meat-oriented, I do try the occasional one. This easy chicken dish appealed when it arrived in my inbox this week, as I was about to leave for work and realised I had all of the ingredients on hand. All I had to do was thaw the chicken breast fillet in my freezer, which turned out to be 2 fillets in fact – no problem, that meant food for the next day as well.

Mine didn’t turn out as great to look at as the Ranting Chef’s, which looks much more “fried” than mine did – but it still tasted okay and very tender. I think it could have done with more parmesan though, as I couldn’t really taste that very much. The chicken itself didn’t dry out, as sometimes happens with breast fillets, and it was easy enough to throw together after work without being time-consuming.

I received a gorgeous bottle of Petra cherry balsamic vinegar from Margaret River, for my recent birthday, from the gorgeous Lucy at work. I drizzled some of it over some fresh asparagus (so cheap and in season right now!) and snow peas, along with a splash of olive oil, and grilled that to go with the chicken. Delicious side dish.

Happy Fooding!

Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

Don’t be fooled by the title above and the ingredients below – this actually does not taste sweet! I think the soy sauce counter-balances the juice and sugar, making it just right.

Simple and tasty, this recipe is based on one of those random facebook postings that you get, designed as a sort of ad but giving you something to entice you into clicking the link. There are a lot of those popping up in people’s feeds lately I’ve noticed – not just recipes, but also a lot of home-remedy cleaning tips. I never click on the links, but I do sometimes write down the recipe ideas, and this one worked really well.

Definitely use thigh fillets here and not breast, as it will be way too dry with breast.

Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

1 kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of any fat/skin

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup light soy sauce

cracked pepper

1 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp cold water

1 cup sugar snap peas

Combine chicken, pineapple juice, sugar, soy sauce and pepper in crockpot. Mix well and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours.

Blend cornflour and water then add this and the peas, to the crockpot. Stir to blend and cook for a further 1 hour.

Serve with black rice, yoghurt & naan bread if desired.

Serves 4

Happy Fooding!