Kid friendly chicken

1 cup chopped scallions, give or take
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp. sesame oil
3 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Around 4 cloves garlic, minced

This makes enough marinade for a couple of chickens, around 15 drumsticks, or 20 wings.
Combine marinade ingredients and pour over chicken. Marinate  for up to a day in the refrigerator.
Bake at 375F for about 30 minutes, basting now and then. Then turn up the heat and bake at 450 for 15 more minutes to make it crispy.
(If you are like me--lazy, that is--you can bake at 350F for 90 minutes, basting now and then and you're fine.)

Salmon with soy lime marinade

½ cup soy sauce
½ teaspoon black pepper
Juice of 2 limes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup peanut oil
½ cup chopped scallions
4 pounds salmon filets

Combine all marinade ingredients in a bowl and place fish in dish and cover with marinade. Refrigerate 3-6 hours.
Preheat broiler. Broil fish for 4-8 minutes. Or to roast, preheat oven to 400F degrees and roast for 20 minutes.

Pasta gratin with leeks, spinach and asiago

3 10-oz. bags fresh spinach, stems removed
Salt to taste
1 lb penne or rigatoni pasta
4 tbsp unsalted butter
4 leeks, white part only, cleaned well and thinly sliced
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup light cream
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp. cayenne
1 ½ cups grated asiago cheese
½ cup grated fontina cheese
½ cup fine dry bread crumbs

Wash spinach well and drain but do not dry. Place half the leaves in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let stand until soft then drain. Repeat with remaining spinach. Squeeze completely dry.
Bring large pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook until not quite al dente. Drain well and toss with 2 tablespoons butter in a large bowl. Set aside.
Heat oven to 425F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish.
Melt remaining butter in a large sauté pan.
Add leeks and season with salt. Sautee until soft, about 10 minutes. Finely chop spinach and stir into leeks. Add cream, stock, nutmeg and cayenne, mixing well. Remove from heat and stir in Asiago. Season to taste with salt.
Add leek mixture to pasta, mix thoroughly and spoon into buttered baking dish. Combine Fontina Cheese and panko and sprinkle over top. Cover and bake 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until pasta is completely done, about 10 minutes more.
Serves 6-8.

Picadillo
serves 4
Cooking time:  25 mins

1.5 lbs lean ground beef
a little vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large can of tomatoes
large handful of raisins
cinnamon to taste

Sautee the onion in a little oil until soft.
Add ground beef and brown.
Add the can of tomatoes.  Chop the tomatoes (you might not want to add all the liquid).
Add a large handful of raisins.
Add a generous sprinkling of cinnamon.
Cook and reduce the sauce.

Chicken with winter vegetables
serves 4
Cooking time:  1 hr 15 mins

6 lbs skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
a little flour
vegetable oil
1 leek, white part only, washed and sliced
1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and sliced (can use 2 carrots if you prefer more veggies)
1 celery stalk, trimmed and sliced (can use 2 celery stalks)
10 fl. oz. of chicken stock

Cut the chicken into small chunks and roll them in flour and brown them in a little oil for 3-4 minutes.
In another frying pan, sauté the leek and onion in a little oil for 5 minutes until soft and golden.
Put the chicken into a casserole together with all the vegetables and the chicken stock.
Cook in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 1 hour, stirring halfway through.
If you are preparing for an infant, you can puree it with the cooking liquid in a food processor.

CONTINUED
1 | 2 | 3 | Next