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Champagne-Citrus Explosion Salad

I have a confession... I'm addicted to salad and lately I just can't get enough. So many colors, textures and flavors with endless possibilities of combinations. This citrus spinach salad has a lot of depth, for so few ingredients. It's simple, fast, and popping with flavor. Since it is so simple, I thought I'd take a minute to go over technique and show a few shortcuts to chopping up your ingredients like a pro. 

Champagne Citrus Explosion Salad

Ingredients: 

6 oz (1 container) organic baby spinach 

1 avocado, cubed

2-3 Cara Cara oranges, segmented 

1/2 cup sliced almonds 

2 large handfuls of shredded Parmesan 

1/4 cup Champagne vinegar dressing. I used Girard's Light Champagne Dressing

Freshly ground black pepper to taste, after tossed 

Directions:

Toss all and serve with a sprinkle of more cheese and the black pepper on top. Now try to share and enjoy! 

Notes:

Turn this into a meal by serving with protein. Salmon or grilled chicken will pair perfectly.

*See below for a knife skills technique lesson.

*Segmenting citrus:

1- Cut off the end where the fruit was attached to the tree and the opposite end. 

2- Place cut side down on your board, hold the top and slice end to end all the way around removing the skin and pulp as shown in image 2 and 3.

3-  Slice down the middle and carefully pull the segments apart with your fingers.at this point you can leave them whole, or cut in half horizontally for cubes.

*Slicing and cubing an avocado:

Cut around the long side of the avocado with a chefs knife going lightly through to the pit and around. Put down the knife and hold the avocado with both hands. Twist opposite directions to open the fruit. Carefully remove the pit. Take one half at a time and hold cupped in your palm. Using a paring knife, slice vertical lines evenly through the fruit being careful to not cut through the skin. This will give you slices, to cube, cut evenly the opposite direction to make squares as shown. Scoop slices out with a spoon. To cut out squares, invert the half as shown and slice along the bottom into the salad bowl as seen below. 

BACK TO BASICS: Making your own Chicken Stock

I've had a lot of requests recently from followers like you, looking for ways to improve their cooking techniques and make the most out of the time they do have to spend in the kitchen. This has inspired me to start a new segment called "Back to basics" I'm emphasizing the title for you to become familiar with, knowing that any post going forward with "Back to basics" in the title, will be a great "how to" teaching tutorial.

I'll start this exciting new tutorial off with "Making your own chicken stock". You might be surprised how easy making a rich and flavorful stock truly is, if given the couple of extra steps and time. 

We all get busy this time of year and sometimes grabbing a whole roasted chicken on the way out of the grocery store is the best we can do for dinner. Don't be ashamed, I love roast chicken and end up with these golden babies on my table often. They are on the pricier side, so why not get the most bang for your buck and repurpose the leftovers into chicken stock?

Making your own stock also allows you to control the amount of sodium and  the quality of the ingredients gong into it. I've seen organic chicken stock go for $6 a box, clear up to $13 for gourmet brands! That's a lot of money for chicken flavored water!

Chicken stock isn't just for soup or stews either. Stock can lend it's rich flavor to so many other dishes. Mashed potatoes made with chicken stock are elevated to an entirely more complex and savory flavor. Try sautéing green vegetables in stock and even use it in place of water in your stir-fry's. 

You will need:

1 roasted chicken carcass, leftover meat, skin, bones and all
1 large onion, chopped into fourths and layers separated
2-3 carrots, skin on and scrubbed clean, cut into fourths
2-3 celery ribs, cut into fourths
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
7-10 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
5 sprigs of fresh parsley, including stems
1 tsp. fine sea salt

Instructions:

Add all of the above into a large stockpot, cover with water to fill a few inches over the chicken (about 4 quarts) and bring to a rolling boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for at least an hour and a half, but longer if you can for the most flavor*. You can skim solids off of the surface periodically for clearer broth while it simmers, but I find skipping this step and allowing the broth to cool completely solidifies all of the solids and fats on the surface and is easily scraped off. I usually do this step the next morning, removing the solid layer before bottling.

Before removing the broth from the heat, carefully taste a spoonful for flavor. Keep in mind that broth will taste saltier as it cools and adjust seasonings accordingly, if needed.

Turn off your heat once the desired concentration of flavor is met and allow the stock to cool for 30 minutes.

Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or clean pot. If using the cooling method to remove unwanted fat and solids, now is the time to refrigerate. Once you have removed the solids as described above, you can now bottle the remaining stock.

You may now use immediately or refrigerate for up to five days. If you are not planning on using within a day or two, freeze the remaining for up to 3 months.

*From what I've read, I wouldn't suggest going too long over four hours, as the vegetables will start to break down and cause your stock to become murky and might possibly muddle the flavor. This is a much debated time frame, but an hour and a half to two hours yields great flavor. 

If you own a large pressure cooker, you may reduce your cooking time by half, still infusing the most flavor into the stock without making changes to the ingredients. The only change, depending on the size or your PC, might be slightly less water, as to not overfill. Use the maximum capacity guidelines on your PC as a guide.

After you have added all of the ingredients to the PC, cover and secure the lid. Raise the heat to high and bring the pot up to full pressure, (about 15 minutes).

Once full pressure is reached, lower the heat to maintain pressure and start your timer. Cook fo 45 minutes, remove from heat and wait for the pot to release pressure. Once the pressure has been released, follow the same instructions as above to skim the solids and bottle for storage.


P.s. I do not have a photo of the strained and finished broth yet, as I used mine to make some delicious chicken pot pies in a mug. I'll post the recipe for the pot pies and pictures of the finished stock very soon. :)

Italian Stuffed Roasted Artichokes

I'm so happy artichokes are back in season! They are my favorite veggie indulgence in the Spring and Summer months. My family and I have been known to steam up a batch and rip off the leaves as fast as our fingers can move, dipping each savory bite into a bowl of garlic-lemon butter. Some cooks feel because of the careful preperation involved, artichokes are too much hassle to prepare at home. If you've never tried to cook an artichoke at home, this post will give you easy step-by-step instructions to take out any intimidation you feel.  And for the advanced cooks out there, here is just another delicious way to prepare a great appetizer or side dish with a beautiful presentation you may not have tried before. Either way, your efforts will be worth it. not only in flavor, but in nutrition as well. Artichokes are a good source of folate, dietary fiber, and vitamins C and K. Artichokes are also full of antioxidants; they come in at number 7 on the USDA's top 20 antioxidant-rich foods list. So even drowned in butter, you can still feel good about your indulgence.

According to greek legend, the artichoke was created when the god Zeus turned the object of his affection, a beautiful woman named Cynara into a thistle after she rejected him. The story goes; while Zeus was visiting his brother Poseidon, his eyes fell upon Cynara. He was instantly infatuated with her. And in true Zeus nature, he seduced her and decided to make her a goddess so she could live closer to his home in Olympia. Cynara was flattered of course, and accepted. Now Zeus could have his affairs conveniently while his wife Hera was away from Olympia. Cynara became homesick and missed her mother terribly. She snuck back to Earth for a quick visit with her mother. When she returned, Zeus was enraged over her "betrayal". In his anger he threw her back to Earth and transformed her into a thistle, which is today the artichoke that we know and love. 

I bought a pack of 4 medium sized artichokes at Trader Joe's. Once halved, they fit perfectly into my baking dish. If you are using large artichokes, only use 3, but keep the ingredient ratios the same. Slice off the very top of the artichokes to remove most of the thorns. Trim the stem, leaving 1/2" and cut in half as shown above. 

Use a paring knife to remove the dark purple inner leaves and fiber strands. The leaves are very sharp, so be careful to not poke your fingers. Cut right along the edge of the fibers to leave the tender meat (heart) in tact. The heart is the tasty good stuff that makes all the prep work worth it! Rinse each half under cold water, once the centers are removed to clean off any remaining small fibers or sharp leaves.

Line up the halves in a large, glass baking dish. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with chopped garlic and 1/2 cube of melted butter, making sure to really soak the center and inner leaves. Squeeze half of a lemon over the top and sprinkle with garlic salt and lemon pepper.

Spread the parmesan and breadcrumb mixture evenly over the center of each choke.

Cover with foil and bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, remove foil and broil on low for an additional 5, or until golden brown on top. I used convect roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes and then proceeded to broil. If you're unsure if they are done, carefully poke a paring knife into the heart. If it gives with little resistance, they are done. Do not overcook, there should be some slight firmness. Think Al Dente pasta, you don't want them to end up mushy.

Plate and serve with a lemon garnish and the lemon-garlic butter. You may drizzle the butter over the top, or serve on the side for dipping. I prefer drowning each morsel in butter. If I'm going to have butter, I'm going to mean it. :)

Ingredients:

4 medium artichokes, prepped and halved

2 large lemons, halved. Reserve 1/2 for garnish

1 cube of butter, 1/2 to drizzle and 1/2 for the sauce (I never said this was low fat, live a little!)

4 T. minced garlic (reserve 2 T. for the butter sauce)

2 T. olive oil

1/2 ts. lemon pepper

1/2 ts. of garlic salt 

Mixture for topping:

1/2 C. Italian bread crumbs

1/2 C grated parmesan cheese

Dipping sauce:
(prepare while artichokes are roasting)
1/2 cube of butter
2 T. of minced garlic
The juice of one lemon

Place the above in a tall tempered glass jar (prevent spill over)  and microwave for 30 seconds, or until butter is melted. Carefully remove, as the glass will be very hot. Place in a small ramekin to serve the sauce on the side, once cooled.