Cooking up a storm!

It has been an amazing flavor ride lately. With keeping to our theme for the month we have whipped up some amazing dishes. Some of the creations we owe a great deal of credit to Jared, Allison, and Josh for inspiring great food at a budget price. Now to the food!

Our first meal was a group collaboration. Simply Stir Fry!
Jared, Allison, Josh, Mandi, and I all went to the store and pitched in for a meal that was light, hearty, and satisfying. Bok choy, bell pepper, onion, garlic, gave us our veggies all cooked to a light crisp. We could not decide on one meat so we used shaved pork loin, shaved chicken thighs, and shaved beef all marinated in a light garlic, ginger, and soy sauce marinade. For those who wanted some starch we had some rice noodles cooked to perfection to add to the mix. Of course all this was prepared using Chao technique. For those of you who do not know stir fry is just a general term used to describe two methods Bao (rapid, very high heat, each ingredient is put in the wok one after the other) and Chao (high heat, similar to sauteing, where each ingredient is cooked separately and then added back in at the end). Jared and Allison put together a simple, yet zingy ginger salad as a side dish that was to die for.

Our next dish combined simple Mediterranean inspired pasta and a Cajun flared chicken. We started off with a whole wheat thin spaghetti pasta tossed in a lemon garlic butter topped with sauteed cremini mushrooms, onion, zucchini, and sweet orange bell pepper. Now to make this a bit different we seared some chicken breast cutlets to lock in flavor and moisture. Reducing the heat and covering the skillet will also make sure your bird is juicy and succulent in each bite. Some say 170 degrees for breast but in my opinion that is overcooked. I cook my chicken breast to to temp at 160F and no higher than 165F. The last ingredient we used was Applegate brand bacon cooked to a crisp, chopped, and sprinkled over the top.

Now for a little thinking outside the box. We were able to get a hold of some ultra fresh Dover sole fillets. What to do with sole? Its fish taco time. The firm flesh and delicate flavor make this dish an awesome catch. Mandi gave me this great idea. Marinate the sole in the amazing pineapple/habanero jelly we bought from the fresh market. So I took the jelly smeared the whole jar on about 1.5lbs of delectable catch, a pinch of salt, a dash of black pepper and let it sit for several hours. The jelly infused the fish with a great tangy depth. The bite of hellish habanero softended by the sweet acidity of the pineapple finish off the flavor. Seared to perfection the fish was combined with a fresh jalapeno pico de gallo, creamy salsa refried beans, all on a crunchy corn tortilla shell.

As a side note I always try to buy hook and line caught fish as I do not support commercial fishing operations. The fishmonger at the local market knows me well and is always poised to answer my questions on origin, freshness, and the like.

There is more to come for this month's theme and if you like what you see here let me know and I will post the recipe for the dish you would like to prepare. Food is life, bon appetit!