Country Chicken Pie

Darn it! Forgot to take photos. I'll post the recipe and redux it another day.

It's a pie-a-thon. Between the leftover Key Lime Pie and today's chicken pie, I'm all pied out. Use storebought pastry if you don't want to make it from scratch and it's a quick pie fix.

• 500g all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 450g cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch bits
• 1 cup iced water, plus more as needed

Whizz the flour, butter, salt and sugar in a food processor or mixer with a dough hook until it resembles breadcrumbs. Then, dump in all the water at one and continue mixing until the dough starts massing around the blade/hook and pulls away from the sides. Pull the dough on a floured surface and knead lightly so that it comes together and roll into a ball. Cover with cling wrap and let it chill in the fridge while you make the filling.

• 1 large chicken breast, skin removed and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 8 mushrooms, sliced
• 2 small potatoes, cubed
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons plain flour
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 2 cups chicken stock
• Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Roll the chicken cubes in flour till evenly coated. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot and sear the chicken until brown. Add the onions and fry till soft and translucent. Throw in the carrots and potatoes and give it a stir, then add the remaining flour and continue stirring till everything is mixed well. Pour in the chicken stock until the meat and veg are covered.

Add the mushrooms, mustard, thyme and pepper to the stew and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 1 - 2 hours till vegetables are tender.

Once stew is cooked, add salt to taste and remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Now, to assemble the pie.

Grease a 10-inch pie tin. Using 2/3 the dough and roll out evenly until you have a circle with a 3-inch edge larger than your pie tin. Gently press the dough sheet into the pie tin, leaving the edges untrimmed.

Roll out the remaining dough into a circle with a 1-inch clearance for the top. Pour the cooled filling into the pie tin, and place the dough sheet on top and press the edges of the top and bottom crust together gently.

Trim the dough so you have a 1/2 inch clearance of dough, then pleat the edges inward to form a nice crust. You can also use the back of a fork to create pretty lines.

Pierce a few holes in the top of the pie to let steam vent and brush over an egg wash (1 beaten egg with 1 tablespoon water).

Bake pie at 200C for 30 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken Salad

Since I've been defeated by chicken eggs, I will take my fury out on the chicken itself.

Yet another opportunity to try out the Egyptian spice mix for chicken. Once again, I don't know what's in it, but here's my best guess on replicating it.

Burn in my spices and oven you fowl thing!

Serves 2 for entree, 4 for appetizer.

• 1 large chicken breast with skin on, deboned
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

Mix the spices with the olive oil and lemon juice till everything is evenly blended. Rub the chicken breasts evenly with the spice paste till well coated and leave to marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Roast, skin up in a 180C oven for 20 - 30 minutes until skin is golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 20 minutes. In the meantime, make the salad and the dressing.

• 2 servings salad greens
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper and salt

Chuck everything into a jar with a tight screw-on lid and shake the heck out of it. Alternatively, you can whisk until emulsified. Pour over greens and toss well. You can skip this altogether by using your favourite bottled dressing of choice.

To serve, slice the chicken breast on the bias and serve atop a bed of salad greens.

Other healthy things:

• Spiced braised lamb shanks with grilled vegetables
• Crabmeat waldorf salad
• Black pepper and mushroom steak with lemon-scented broccoli
• Garlic herb shrimp with a potato and french bean salad

Roast Chicken with Lemon & Thyme

Today I'm going back to basics because there's nothing as delicious as a perfectly roasted chicken.

Over the years, I've picked up techniques from people and books, and combined them into what I think makes for a great recipe.

• 1 chicken
• 1 lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 sprigs of thyme
• 1 tablespoon roasted garlic paste
• Freshly ground salt and black pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock

Remove leaves from one stalk of thyme and finely chop, putting the rest aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, juice of half the lemon (save the skin), thyme, garlic paste, salt and pepper.

Wash and clean the chicken, removing the head and feet. Make sure the chicken is patted dry with paper towels, both inside and out.

Squeeze the juice of the other half of the lemon into the cavity of the chicken, rubbing well. Stuff in the cloves of garlic, remaining two sprigs of thyme and the lemon rinds into the cavity. Using a skewer, "sew" the skin to close the cavity.

Stuffing the cavity with the lemon and herbs keeps the bird moist and as the chicken cooks, imparts a rich lemon and herb flavour to the meat.

Now, you want to truss the chicken. Trussing keeps the wings and legs close to the chicken and the wingtips tucked under. This allows the chicken to cook evenly, without the wings and legs drying out, as well as prevents the wing tips from burning.

First, tie a loop of twine around the neck of the chicken. Then cross over the back and loop around the wing tips.

Make another cross and bring the twine to the front of the chicken. Bring the leg ends together and tie off with the twine.

Place the prepared chicken in the bowl of marinating liquid and coat well all around. Leave the chicken breast down and cover with cling film. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 160C. Prepare a baking dish with a small wire rack at the bottom and pour in the chicken stock.

The reason I like the bird elevated is that the bottom cooks nice and crisp. I really hate for the bottom to swim around in the juices and get all soggy.

Why the chicken stock at the bottom of the pan? In the hot oven, it turns to steam, and keeps the bird moist and juicy. It also catches the drippings from the chicken for a nice jus to go with the roasted bird.

Roast at 160C for 1 hour, making sure you rotate it every now and then so it roasts evenly. Use the leftover marinade to baste. In the last 15 minutes, crank up the temperature to 190C so the skin gets golden and crisp.

When done, remove from oven and let the chicken rest for 15 minutes. In the meantime, pour the juices from the roasting pan into a saucepan and boil until reduce until thick for a nice jus.

Panfried Foie Gras with a Balsamic Raspberry Reduction

This is simple, yet utterly decadent.

Personally, I don't eat foie gras because I have peasant tastebuds, but since GBF loves it, I'm going to spoil him today.

The thing that makes foie gras great is it's rich, fatty and buttery flavour, but it can be too much, so often a bit of of an acid contrast is needed to liven it up. I chose raspberries for two reasons. One, I have leftover frozen raspberries from jam making day. Two, it has a strong flavour that won't disappear in the foi gras. But mostly because I have leftovers.

• 2 pieces goose or duck foie gras, cleaned
• 10 raspberries
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Pinch of salt

In a saucepan, combine raspberries, water, vinegar, honey and salt. Bring to boil, stirring constantly to break up and liquify the berries. Once the sauce has reduced by half into a thick liquid, strain to remove seeds.

The key to frying foie gras is a very hot pan and quick cooking. If you let the foie gras cook too long, you'll end up with a puddle of very expensive goose fat. In a smoking hot skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Sear one side for 2 minutes until golden brown, then turn and do the other side.

Once cooked, remove from pan and drizzle over the reduction. Garnish with a side of greens and serve.

More for the last meal:

• Buttermilk pancakes
• Perfect scrambled eggs
• Saffron-scented pumpkin and apple soup
• Rosy borscht
• Crabmeat pasta in a creamy tomato sauce
  
• Shrimp paella
• Triple chocolate cake
  
• Lemon meringue pie

Singaporean BBQ Chicken Wings

This is a must-have at any BBQ, and this is my mum's recipe - with a few of my modifications of course.

If you're not going to barbeque these chicks, then roasting in the oven at 180C for 30-40 minutes till golden brown works well too. For a deeee-lish beer snack, deep fry the wings and serve with a sweet Thai chilli sauce.

Smoky, spicy, caramelly and absolutely to die for, the trouble of starting up the barbeque will be well worth it.

For 8 wings with drumlet attached:

• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp chinese rice wine
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp ginger juice (Pound ginger and squeeze out juice. Ginger is a natural meat tenderizer so your chicken wings will be melting off the bone when cooked. Plus it gives it a spicy zing.)
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Japanese teriyaki sauce (optional)

Wash and dry chicken wings and marinade with all ingredient except the soy and teriyaki sauces. Cover with cling wrap or place in airtight container and marinate for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight ideally.

The reason why you should only add the soy sauce or any salt to any marinated meat just before cooking is that salt leaches the juices out from the meat and causes it to toughen. Now you know.

Before cooking, add soy sauce and skewer onto metal or wet bamboo skewers. Soaking the skewers in water prevents it from burning when on the barbeque. Skewering them opens out the wings and helps the meat get crisp and brown evenly. It also makes for faster cooking which is always welcome at a barbeque.

As you barbecue the wings, use the leftover marinade to baste for extra flavour.

See the rest of the BBQ Bonanza menu here:

• Roasted garlic hummus
• Mussels in white wine broth
• Singaporean BBQ chicken wings
• Fish in lemon, butter and dill sauce
• Honey, mustard and herb beef kebabs 
• Mediterranean salad
• Roasted garlic mashed potatoes

Cheater Chicken Rice

Here's another quick-fix weekday meal. Fast and easy to make, even faster to wash up.

I love Chicken Rice, but it's also fattening. This is an easy version that's oil-free, but full of flavour.

Once again, the trick is stocking up on some store-bought essentials ahead of time:

• Chicken stock - This is essential for any kitchen. You'll need it in most recipes, and replacing water with stock provides an extra burst of flavour.
• Chicken rice paste - Woh Hup is good.
• Frozen chicken
• White rice
• Chicken rice chilli - I like SingLong.

Serves 2:

• 1 cup rice
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 5 tablespoons chicken rice paste
• 2 pieces chicken parts, diced into bite-sized chucks
• 2 pandan leaves, bruised and tied into a knot (optional)
• Chicken rice chilli and dark soya sauce to serve

Wash the rice and drain the water. Add chicken rice paste, stock, pandan leaves and chicken meat to the rice and stir. Cook, eat and enjoy.

Quick and dirty 6-ingredient chicken curry

If you're a curry snob, then this recipe is NOT for you.

But if you are, like me, a time-strapped working stiff who needs to throw something together in a hurry, then this is the perfect no-fuss dish. Great for days when you get home at 7ish after a long hard day at work.

You have no time to go to the supermarket, waste time prepping or even wash dishes. The natural urge to is to make a detour on your drive home and tar pow some food, or reach for the phone to call McDonalds home delivery. Travel and waiting time considered, it'll take at least an hour and you won't be eating till 8ish.

So, it's gonna take an hour any which way, you might as well whip up something home-cooked and give your body and taste-buds a break from crappy msg-laden junk food. Here's how to get this recipe done in under an hour.

When you do your regular grocery shopping, stock up on a few packs of curry powder and packaged coconut milk. The potatoes, onions and curry leaves can keep up to a month in your fridge. The chicken parts you can freeze and white rice in a rice cooker is a no-brainer.

• You get home, put your crap down, turn TV on and pour yourself a big glass of wine - 5 mins
• Chuck frozen chicken into microwave and nuke - 2 mins
• Wash and cook rice in rice cooker - 3 mins
• Small sip of wine - 5 secs
• Peel and dice onion - 3 mins
• Peel and cut potatoes - 5 mins
• Grab packaged curry powder, coconut milk and curry leaves - 1 min
• Big gulp of wine - 10 sec
• Actual cooking time - 10 mins
• Sit in front of TV and drink more wine - 30 mins

Total cooking time - 24 minutes
Total time from getting through the front door to putting food in your mouth - 59 minutes 15 seconds

Serves 2

• 4 pieces cut chicken parts (Breast, thigh or drumstick. If using wings, use 6-8 pieces.)
• 3 small waxy potatoes, peeled and halved
• 100g pack of your favourite curry powder
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 large red or yellow onion, diced
• 500ml coconut cream (Kara brand is good)

Heat 2 tablespoons on high heat in a pot. Throw in the curry leaves and let sizzle for a few seconds, then brown the diced onions till soft and translucent. Add curry powder and let the heat cook the spices till fragrant, about 2 minutes. If you prefer more heat in your curry, add a few tablespoons of packaged chilli paste.

Add chicken, making sure it's evenly coated with the curry powder paste and cooked through. This will take about 3 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked, drop in the potatoes and pour in the coconut milk. Top up with some water to ensure that the chicken and potatoes are covered. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Season to taste with salt.

I did the math on the wash-up count:

• 1 cutting board
• 1 knife
• 1 veggie peeler
• 1 pot
• 1 cooking spoon or ladle

If you count the serving dishes and rice cooker:

• 2 bowls or plates
• 2 spoons
• 2 forks
• 1 rice cooker pot and lid

How's that for quick and dirty curry, with a quickie clean-up?

Beer butt chicken

I have a theory about how this recipe came about.

Some skanky chef ho probaby got tanked on beer in a sleazy bar, picked up a random dude and got laid hard in a one night stand. The next morning, she woke up with a blazing hangover and a really sore ass. She looked around and one-night-stand guy was gone. It was probably the best lay in her life, and she was devastated knowing that she'll never see (and screw) him again. And so, she created a dish to remember him for all eternity.

The alternative backstory is that some guy put together all his favourite things ever - beer, buttf*cking and chicken. I think this is the more probable of the two.

Here's what you need for a drunken anal taste delight (pardon the puns, I simply can't resist):

• One big fat juicy chicken
• 1/2 cup dry salt and spice rub (This is basically a combination of sea salt and spices. I like rosemary, chilli flakes, paprika, thyme, coriander and ground black pepper, but you can use any spices you prefer. If you can't be arsed, then use any store-bought marinade.)
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp of honey
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can of beer (Different types of beers give different flavours, so experiment. I personally like a dark wheat beer and Guinness as it gives a rich and deep flavour. Using Coke is also an alternative, but if you do, don't add honey and include a generous dash of bourbon.)
• 1 cup of garlic butter (Make this by mincing 3-4 garlic cloves and mixing into softened butter.)

Wash and clean the chicken. Slide a finger between the skin and the breast meat to make as large a pocket as possible, being careful not to tear the skin. Stuff in the garlic butter in the pocket, using your hands to squeeze the butter over as much of the breast meat as possible and even out the layer of butter. This helps keep the breast meat moist as the chicken cooks and gives it a killer garlic kick.

Rub the salt and spice mix liberally over and inside the chicken. Add the olive oil, honey, mustard and half a can of beer and massage that chicken good.

Let him soak in the tub for at least a couple of hours in the fridge, overnight if you have the time.

Preheat the oven to 160C.

Stuff the beer can with the remaining beer up his butt and stand it up on a roasting pan or dish. The trick is to make a "tripod" with the can and the two legs. You'll find that the law of physics will prevail and you'll have a surprising stable bird.

Roast at 160C for 1 hour 15 mins, making sure you rotate it every now and then so it gets an even tan. Use the leftover marinade to baste. In the last 15 minutes, crank up the temperature to 190C so the skin gets golden and crisp.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. This helps to juices return back into the meat. In the meantime, get cracking on the gravy.

Remove can from butt and pour all the juices into a saucepan. Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with as little water as possible to make a paste and add to roasting juices. Bring to a boil and the gravy will thicken. Chuck in a knob of butter for some gloss and you're ready to chow down.