I’m always looking for new, creative recipes to try – and you guys inspire me with your creativity! Whenever I read my favorite blogs (and you know who you are ;) ), I bookmark any recipe that captures my fancy. Currently, my list of recipes I must try is longer than my arm … and my leg … and Maddie’s leg …
When I first saw Lazaro‘s Tostone with Braised Chicken, I knew I had to make this savory dish as soon as possible. The genius of this wildly international dish is its beautiful multilayered presentation. Check out Lazaro‘s blog for his tasty version – and see below for my take on the dish (restricted mostly by ingredient availability :) ).
I began by braising the chicken breast … Lazaro, I know you’re a chicken leg man, so just ignore this part. Then I worked on the various layers. I don’t have Lazaro‘s secret pickled onions – so, caramelized onions it is!
Preparing the roasted tomato layer:
I had leftover broccoli in the fridge, so my economical tendency pushed me to combine it with an avocado to make: green super mash! I added a little olive oil, sweet paprika, and salt & pepper to the mix.
Pre-mash:
Smooth and rich.
And of course, the FRIED PLANTAINS.
I used a potato masher to flatten the fried plantain slices, which left them looking like inverted waffles.
Also, I only fried the plantain slices once. What?? Future-RD here, remember?
Constructed stacks, drizzled with a sauce made from deglazing the braising pan with chicken broth and white wine.
My taste buds are very glad I decided to make this dish. Cheers, Lazaro!
Next up in the recipe queue: muffins from the Muffin Queen!
With a name like Chocolate Mud Muffins, how could you go wrong?? And, I didn’t :)
Chocolate chip shot!
And, of course, a Scooby Doo version for Peter:
Thanks for the great recipe, Kelsey!
Q: Where do you get your recipe inspirations? What’s your favorite online recipe? Feel free to provide a link!
For this post, I will attempt to connect everything I write to something I have mentioned in a previous post. That’s right: this post is all about ME, ME, ME. Don’t believe I can do it? Read on, my skeptic friend.
First of all, thanks to everyone who offered suggestions as to what we should cook sous-vide with Peter’s new creation. I’m excited to try some of them in the near future and I’ll let you all know how they turn out! In the meantime, Peter hauled his new sous-vide machine to our favorite restaurant: Forbidden City in Middletown, CT, so that he could show off his mad skillz demonstrate the sous-vide machine to our owner-friend, Eric. (As a side note, I previously wrote about the greatness that is Forbidden City here and here.)
Eric was so excited about the sous-vide machine, he immediately set it up in the restaurant’s kitchen to make a batch of “perfect” eggs. Here’s Peter watching protectively over his creation while Eric drops a whole carton’s worth of eggs in the hot water bath:
How did they turn out? With a little Asian-inspired sauce (created by Eric), this perfect egg was a creamy treat for our tastebuds.
Stay tuned for more exciting sous-vide adventures! :D
Secondly: breakfast!
This patch-worked beauty employs my favorite four quadrant technique that is the hallmark of an indecisive Jessie. Check it:
Clockwise from upper-left: regular PB, chocolate almond butter (just for you, LeQuan!), peach preserves, and chocolate hazelnut butter. The peach preserves are the same preserves I alluded to in this post. I think they turned out well, don’t you?
Penultimately, check out my guest post on Lazaro Cooks! for a look at an unusual ingredient I learned to love in Hong Kong. And um, I refer to Hong Kong in this post. That’s a connection. Yes.
Last of all, Peter and I will be participating in an … event this weekend. This cryptic statement is a reference to a previous post, but I’m not going to name which one it is – bwah ha. For you longtime readers, you may recognize this picture from the aforementioned secret post. A hint, if you will:
Q: What is it, precious? Can you guess?
P.S. I’ve also updated some of THIH’s pages (Happy Jessie (slightly), Healthy Eats, Educate!). I can’t think of a way to connect that statement with a previous post. I am an imperfect being, after all.
P.P.S. Have a great weekend! :)
