This recipe is one I decided to dedicate to our friend who recently had a baby and a birthday (you know who you are, Eric). It's a quick, easy, and a deceptively fancy tasting dish (just like Eric! -jen). The leg quarters could be substituted with any cut of chicken (and the sauce is awesome on pork as well so use what ya got). The polenta could be rice, or pasta, or mashed potatoes so the main thrust of this post is the chicken and the sauce. The cooking time is about 45 minutes for the chicken and the sauce reduces down during that time period so it's not hard to pull off at all. I had to listen to The Descendents song "Sour Grapes", of course, because they kick ass. Balsamic vinegar...sour grapes...though unlike the song lyrics, this sauce leaves anything but a "bad taste". -justin
BAKED CHICKEN WITH BALSAMIC REDUCTION
4 leg quarters
poultry seasoning
adobo seasoning
salt and pepper
1 cup Balsamic vinegar
4 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F. Season both sides of the chicken with a light dusting of poultry seasoning, adobo seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook in shallow baking sheet at 350 F for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, whisk together Balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, careful not to let it boil over. Once it comes to a boil, lower heat to keep sauce at a gentle boil for about 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. If your sauce is rising to the top of the pan, your heat is too high. You want to get your sauce to be like molasses - thick but drizzleable (which is not a word).
You could serve the chicken with the sauce on the side, drizzle it over the chicken, or drizzle it over the plate and place your chicken atop it.
Served here with a garlic-herb polenta and steamed cauliflower. (My attempt at better plating! It's a work in progress -jen)
I can't really take credit for this recipe... this one, like the beans in the last post, is my mom's recipe. Only she made it with Bailey's, which is also pretty kick ass! Always a favourite of the whole family... I didn't even like cheesecake until she started making this recipe! But I've had the Peppermint Mocha Kahlua hanging around since Christmas and it's not getting used, so I thought it'd be tasty. -jen
Doh! Forgot to put down what we were listening to while I baked last night! Kind of defeats the purpose of a punk rock cooking page, doesn't it? Then it'd just be a boring cooking blog that nobody followed... instead of a kick ass punk rock cooking blog... that nobody follows. And actually... we weren't even listening to punk rock while I baked. Had an electronic 80's Pandora station on - lots of Gary Numan, New Order, Depeche Mode.
Crust
Nonstickcooking spray
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted
Filling
2-1/4 pounds (4.5 bricks) cream cheese, room temp
1-2/3 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, room temp
1 cup Peppermint Mocha Kahlua
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Coffee Whipped Cream
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
For Crust: Preheat oven to 325 F. Coat 9-inch springform pan with nonstick vegetable oil spray. Combine crumbs and sugar in pan. Stir in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1" up the sides of pan. Bake until light brown, about 7 minutes. Maintain oven temperature at 325 F.
For Filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in sugar. beat in eggs 1 at a time. Blend in Peppermint Mocha Kahlua and vanilla. Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips over crust. Spoon in filling. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips. Bake cake until puffed, springy in center and golden brown - about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool cake completely.
For Whipped Cream: Beat cream, sugar and coffee powder until peaks form. Spread mixture over cooled cake.
This one isn't going to have the delicious coffee whipped cream because I'm taking it in to work. Going to try to get pictures of it out of the springform pan!
Song Title: Memphis Album: Indestructible (2003) Lyrics: "By the time we made it to New Orleans, it must have been half past three. By the time we made it to Memphis, we were crazy."
The song "Memphis" might be my favourite song off of the "Indestructible" album... though I suppose it depends on my mood. This song gets me going! This is the song that I play in the car as loud as my pathetic speakers will allow when I'm in a happy mood... but I will do the same thing with this song if I'm in a really pissed mood! Right from the start you're assaulted with a great, driving beat backed by what I can only describe as electric bagpipes?! When I get it loud enough... it kind of takes my breath away (awww). And then it inspires me to make some southern barbecue! Which I did... but for some reason, I was feeling like Asian food too, so it turned into Southern-Asian fusion! This came out so tasty! I'd never cooked meat in vinegar before and the flavour was so tangy, the meat was perfect and juicy, falling apart! I was almost sad to put the sauce on the meat because it was so good plain! We'll be making this again... and again! -jen
ASIAN BARBECUE PORK SANDWICHES
4-5 pound pork shoulder
4 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons minced ginger
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 cups cider vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
Asian barbecue sauce
fresh sandwich rolls
shredded carrots
fresh cilantro
Cut pork shoulder into 2" steaks. In a bowl, combine garlic, ginger, sesame oil, fish sauce, and chili paste. Place pork steaks into slowcooker. Pour vinegar and soy sauce over steaks. Spread the garlic and ginger mix over the steaks. Cover and cook on high for 7 hours. Remove pork from slowcooker and shred. Drain liquid from slowcooker and put shredded pork back in. Begin mixing Asian barbecue sauce into the pulled pork. I suggest starting with about 1/2 a cup and adding more to your taste. I ended up adding about 3/4 cup sauce all together, as I don't like my barbecue real saucy; I like to be able to taste the meat's flavours. (And now I have a lot of leftover sauce to use for other barbecuing.) Rewarm pork and serve on a roll with spicy mayonnaise, shredded carrots and fresh cilantro.
Spicy Mayo = mayonnaise with sriracha hot sauce to taste.
ASIAN BARBECUE SAUCE
34 oz tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
1 jar (8oz) Hoisen sauce
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons dark molasses
2 heaping tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon dried cilantro or oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 teaspoon Chinese 5 Spice
1 teaspoon Pasilla chili powder
1 teaspoon New Mexico chili powder
2 chipotle peppers (from a can of Chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce)
Whisk all ingredients in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
BAKED BEANS WITH BACON (Gotta give credit to my mom, Loretta, for these! I might have zipped them up a little, but she's been making kick ass baked beans my whole life and I got my base recipe from her!)
1/2 pound bacon, diced
1 can (1 pound 12oz) pork and beans in tomato sauce
1 can (15oz) kidney beans, drained
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dark molasses
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon whiskey
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
black pepper to taste
Cook diced bacon over a medium-high heat until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside on a paper towel to drain. In an oven safe dish, combine all ingredients (including crumbled bacon). Cook at 325 F for 1 hour if you like your beans saucy, or for 1.5 hours if you like thick beans (which is how I like 'em!)
The last month or so, I've been listening to a lot of music by Rancid - a great punk rock band that bridged the dirty ditches between different genres/styles of music and brought them all together with an incredible, original sound. We were lucky enough to catch bassist Matt Freeman's other band, Devil's Brigade, in San Francisco recently - it was a complete fluke that we were in town the weekend they were playing, so we jumped on that! Lars Frederiksen (guitarst) even showed up and sang a song with 'em. Needless to say, I've just been in a Rancid mood, and they've been on a lot of the play lists I've been listening to while cooking... and working, and driving, and reading, and sleeping. Sometimes I gotta wear a band out, set 'em aside for a while, and then bring them back out for a comeback.
So I got this idea in my head... what if I took a Rancid album, and made a recipe for each track of the album that somehow related to the song? I started with their self-titled 1993 album... but found it a little difficult, as it's hard to come up with any ideas other than Ramen noodles when listening to a song called "Rats In the Hallway". :\ Instead, I decided to switch to the 2003 album, "Indestructible", thinking there was a lot of mentioning of worldly places in that album; surely it'd be easier to come up with some recipes. Track 1 proved to be very inspiring and I had all these amazing ideas for Greek food and NY Deli style food... but once I got to Track 2, I had absolutely nothing.
Naturally, I came to this conclusion: Fuck it. ("Fuck it! Yes! That's your answer. That's your answer for everything! Tattoo it on your forehead!") I decided to just find kick ass songs that inspired kick ass recipes, from any Rancid album, in no particular order.
You might ask what the point of this project is, to which I would reply... "I dunno." I love punk rock, and I love cooking. Why shouldn't the two come together... in a dirty, sticky, angry, buttery mess?! Just like that porn movie you watched last night.
Of course, I expect soon after I begin the project, this blog will go global. I'll be offered my own Food Network show, which I will snidely turn down, though I may be inclined to accept a cookbook offer. The talented men of Rancid will no doubt start begging to come over for dinner on a regular basis and hang with us, because that's just how I roll. Soon enough, my food will inspire punk bands everywhere, I'll have to start my own band, Tim Armstrong will have to produce it...
Or... I'll just be satisfied if I can get five people to read the damn blog, let alone find someone who will actually try cooking one of the Rancid Recipes (which is probably not the most appetizing title to use in relation to food, but it gets the point across, and there's even alliteration.)
Well... without further unnecessary rambling... here is the first installment of my Rancid Recipes. -jen
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Song Title: Indestructible
Album: Indestructible (2003)
Lyrics: "the great Athenians, they're not even from Athens"
I love this album! It got a lot of criticism when it came out, but it's still my favourite Rancid album - I liked listening to the way the band evolved on this one. Thinking of recipes for this song was a no brainer! Greek food is awesome, and I even went so far as to do a little research on Athenian dishes (which is where I got the couscous idea from). Being that the internet is full of incorrect information, I don't know if couscous is really a staple in Athens or not. But I knew from the start I wanted olives involved... a butt load of olives. I'm not claiming it's totally Greek - I used mozzarella cheese, definitely not Greek. So really, my Great Athenian Stuffed Chicken's not even from Athens. But it's Greek and Punk Rock inspired! So you know it's going to be killer!
GREAT ATHENIAN STUFFED CHICKEN
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 head roasted garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 tesaspoon minced garlic
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Chop the stem-end off of a garlic head and place on large square of aluminum foil, cut side up. Drizzle with about a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top, and fold the foil into a little pouch. Roast at 500 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Let cool. Gently squeeze the whole head to squish the roasted garlic out.
Empty ricotta cheese into a large bowl. Add roasted garlic, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, basil, lemon zest, minced garlic, egg, and salt. Stir to combine. Mix in mozzarella and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pat chicken breasts dry. Place single breast between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound out until about 1/2" thick. Repeat for the next 3 breasts. Scoop about 1/4" of the ricotta filling into the middle of the breast and roll. Place chicken seam-side down on a lightly greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-40 minutes, until juices run clear. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
Punk Rock Tip #1: Don't spill food on your boots!
VEGETABLE COUSCOUS SALAD
1 cup plain couscous
1-1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Caldo de Pollo (or chicken bouillon)
1 cucumber
1 cup broccoli florets
1 roma or plum tomato, diced
3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon's worth)
oregano
fresh ground black pepper
1/3-1/2 cup Feta cheese
In a medium sized sauce pan, bring water, Caldo de Pollo, and olive oil to boil. Stir in couscous and turn off the heat. Cover and let sit for five minutes, until all the water is absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cool. Once cooled, add cucumber, broccoli, tomato, and lemon juice. Sprinkle oregano and black pepper to taste and toss. Mix in Feta cheese and serve at room temperature.
OLIVE TAPENADE CROSTINI
1 loaf of French bread
1/2 cup of muffuletta**
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives
1 heaping teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Provolone cheese
**I used Granzella's Muffuletta. If you can't find a good Muffuletta, you can always use equal amounts of kalamata olives, green olives, and giardiniera mix to make your own quick muffuletta.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice french bread into 3/4"-1" slices. Place on a cookie sheet and brush the tops with olive oil. Toast for 10-13 minutes at 350 degrees, until tops are just beginning to turn golden and crisp. Remove from oven and set aside. Turn the oven up to broil.
In a food processor, combine muffuletta, kalamata olives, capers, garlic, and anchovy paste. Pulse until it's large chunks. Add lemon juice and olive oil and pulse several more times until the tapenade is in small, spreadable chunks (but don't process too much or it will turn into a paste!) Spread tapenade thinly over toasted bread. Top each crostini with a slice of provolone cheese. Broil for 1-1.5 minutes until cheese is melted.
