We always have lemon in our kitchen. It’s so versatile I’ll put it right beside kosher salt and fresh ground pepper as my top go-to flavor enhancers for anything from salads and appetizers, to main dishes and desserts. This time I used it to marinate the chicken tenders. It gives a slight acidity to counter the saltiness of the flour coating and dip. I’m not sure if lemon juice adds to the tenderness, but the chicken pieces were a joy to sink my teeth into. They were very juicy. Yumm!

When Elle posted a baked chicken wing recipe on her site, I craved for these BWW wings. However, as you can see on what we’ve been posting lately, the past week has seen the height of all things unhealthy in our household. I decided to make something less life-threatening . I tried to get the goodness of wings into a healthier package for a guilt-free eating experience by:

(1) using chicken tenders instead of chicken wings;

(2) baking instead of frying in vegetable oil; and

(3) using canola oil instead of butter.

Just to give you some perspective, butter has 62% saturated fatty acids, while canola oil only has 7% [source: On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen], the lowest of all common edible oils. Addendum: According to the nutrition information on the label of the oil I used, it contains 1g of saturated fat per tablespoon. I used half a cup or 8 tablespoons for the recipe and there were leftovers. After baking, some of the oil were left in the pan as well.

Doesn’t that make it a lot more appealing to indulge in these?

I’ll be bold enough to say that they taste better than the BWW wings we cooked before:

It has the right amount of spice and a nice blend of garlic flavor, but not too much to keep you from engaging in a conversation (hehe). It’s a fantastic substitute for spicy chicken wings. Better flavor, but less the fat. What more can you ask for?

Give it a try next time you’re in the mood for wings. Here’s the recipe: Continue Reading

Last Saturday I suddenly had the urge to try making ginger chicken because we had ginger and I’ve never made that dish before. [How's that for cooking logic?] While Dan prepared the marinade and the meat for the herb crusted flat iron steak we were having for Sunday night, I cooked this for our late lunch.

It’s one of my Asian cooking experiments. I didn’t follow any recipe and just went ‘by taste’, so it could be very different from Chinese cookbook versions. [I haven't checked.]

I’m surprised and quite happy with the results: the chicken was tasty and perfectly tender; the sauce’s ginger taste was just right and it blended well with the onion flavor, plus it has a kick from the ground pepper; the mushrooms added a nice flavor and texture to the whole dish; and the carrots…are cute. This will surely be a repeat dish in our household. If you’d like to give it a shot, I’ve measured the ingredients and outlined the cooking steps below. Enjoy!

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This week seems to be about Filipino food, eh? I swear it’s not intentional, although it can be explained by the fact that I need my comfort foods. I’m here in Vancouver and I’m not really liking the cold and rain and cold and rain.

Welcome to winter in Vancouver. It’s raining hard outside and the wind is howling as I type this. Brrr.

Adobo is a popular Philippine dish, and a lot of people (including me) consider it the national dish. It’s chicken and/or pork marinated and cooked in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic and spices. There are many variants of the dish, depending on the region of the Philippines, much like every province there has its own dialect. Others like it sour, others like it dry, others like it with chicken liver — it’s all about preference. I have tried numerous recipes over the Internet, but none of them satisfied my picky tastebuds. They tasted OKAY, but it doesn’t bring me back “home”. It makes me think of Chicagoans [ahem, Dan :-)] who think/say that pizza and hotdogs in Chicago are much better than in any other place. In other words: Not the same as home.

Anyway, finally…tonight! Mark it! I’ve cooked an Adobo that I think will make my foremothers proud. Hehe. I actually measured the ingredients just for you folks. If you try it, do let me know what you think!

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Cold, cold go away. Come again another day. We just want to enjoy our Christmas Day.

I’ve been able to avert the cold so far (thanks to Cold FX) but Dan has been battling the darn virus since Thursday. I made this chicken soup for us last Thursday night. It’s easy to make and quite yummy, according to my now-recovering half. There’s no need to slave over making chicken stock–who can do that if you’re already sick?

So for all those who are not feeling well, we’re thinking of you today. Feel better. Have some soup! And enjoy the holidays!

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It’s a fresh idea for the Valley. Fresh in both new store experience and in the quality of the food you get there. Dish, located on Scottsdale Road and Doubletree in the Gainey Village shopping center, offers freshly prepared food for home cooking or you can dine in the Bistro and be served some of the finest dishes around Scottsdale.

We didn’t get anything from the grocery side but by the time we left the Bistro, the grocery was closing. Joy ordered the herb chicken with saffron rice and I ordered the pork roast with the saffron rice as well, albiet slightly different from the intended side from the menu.

The chicken was perfection, as Joy dove into her dish. The same can be said for my pork roast as well. Perfectly seasoned and even though by the end of the plate the temperature I wanted was darker than I wanted, but even with that, the pork was still just right.

Dish is a fine addition to Scottsdale’s fine dining experience but you don’t have to break your wallet to get it. Perhaps next time, we’ll get a take-out dish or something from the grocery and see how well those stand up. Eat hearty!

Our first post is based on a knock-off recipe for the wing sauce from a resturant, Buffalo Wild Wings. Below are the results of the first tier hot flavored (pictured left) and the medium spicy garlic style (pictured right).

Since we made these for a dinner party for about 8 people, the original theory was to make 10 of each and it should be enough for everyone, given the spiciness. It did not happen that way. They were gone in 20 minutes, if that is even an accurate assumption. The hostess admitted to eating at least 4 of them. I had quite a few myself. – This recipe would be our first true vocal success. There is a request for more when the time comes. If you would like to share in making these, you will need a few things first –

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