Ranting and Raving

Two in a row?? Don’t get used to this, it’s definitely a fluke!

This is one of those instances where I stick to the recipe and only deviate by adding slightly as opposed to re-working large portions of it. The recipe is Tortellini with Italian Sausage, Fennel, and Mushroom, once again from Epicurious.

Additions to the original recipe:

• Added 1/2 cup of cooking sherry/dry white wine (Tio Pepe). I have experimented in the past with using cooking sherry in a cream sauce, and I thought that it would be a good combo here. Also, the sweetness of the wine works well in contrast with the spicy Italian sausage
• Go with the fresh tortellini as opposed to the dried

On this one, stick to the recipe and add the sherry before you add the cream to let some of the alcohol burn off. You can get fancy and light the thing with a long match if you so choose, but that’s up to you and your home owner’s insurance policy coverage! 😉

How it comes out:
DELICIOUS! A very hearty dish, with excellent flavor. The fennel seeds, the muted anise flavor, the spicy sausage….it all works very well. Go crazy with the Parmesan cheese as well….I had to grate more because I used the entire fist batch when prepping. 😉

Comments:
The heartiness and spice to this make it an excellent dish to warm you up on a chilly winter night. I would suggest pairing it with a semi-fruity white wine, if one is so inclined.

UPDATE: Sentence edit for clarity

Welcome to another edition of Cooking with RnR.

Yes, it has been a long time. I blame apathy and the fact that as a traveling tech consultant, I’m not home often enough to experiment. As luck would have it though, I was able to work from home for a few days and was able to cook some good meals.

For this post, I will be talking about my version of an Apricot Chicken with Almonds recipe I found on Epicurious.

As with many recipes I have encountered, there are some changes that were made to accomodate what I was in the mood for cooking wise, and what resources I have at my disposal.

Let us begin!

Changes from the orginal recipe:

• Used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces.
• Cooked the chicken in a pan, until just about done and then added the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2lbs (approx 2 pkgs) skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into pieces (~ 1 inch)
• 5/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
• 1 tablespoon salted butter

Preparation:

• Cook apricot preserves, soy sauce, mustard, butter, salt and pepper in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until preserves are melted. Set aside.
• Take the shaved almonds and toast them in another pan over medium heat, until they begin to brown and become aromatic. Be careful not to burn them. Set aside on small plate to cool.
• In a large skillet, heat some olive oil up and start cooking the chicken. I added Adobe, garlic powder, and onion powder. The sauce in this dish has a rich flavor, but with chicken, I always like to add just a bit of flavor while it cooks.
• As the chicken is just about cooked, begin spooning sauce into the pan and stirring to coat. It is up to you on how much you end up using, so taste as you go.
• Upon plating of the chicken, sprinkle some of the toasted shaved almonds on top.

How it comes out:
The sauce is AMAZING! The soy sauce and mustard add a nice savory flavor to it, while the sweetness of the apricot preserve adds another layer of depth to it. I plan on trying the sauce out on fish and possibly pork at some point as well.

Comments:
Since I have not really delved into the world of the boiler as of yet, I cannot compare to the original, although I mean to try at some point. As mentioned above, the sauce is the best part of this dish, and I plan on expanding it’s use. Served over rice, this dish makes an excellent meal.