Zesty Cook » mustard

Chicken Curry w/ Spinach Lemon Cous Cous

zesty — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:58:33 +0000

Happy Friday to you! I have about 8 minutes to complete this post and than head to the office so bear with me for the quick and simple low down on how to make tender chicken legs with little to no effort. Slow roasting food, all be it takes some patience, but it is definitely one of my favorite things to do. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the bbq, the broiler and of course pan searing – but there is something about the slow roasting technique that really gets me cranked up.

The smell fills the room, people around you get happy and the reward at the end of the wait is well…. worth it! Last Sunday I had some chicken legs thawing on the counter without a whole lot of ideas bouncing thru my head as to how I was going to prepare them. A coated potato chip crust, went thru my head and left. A simple dry roast with some herbs came and left and then I realized that I had some curry paste left in the fridge.

Curry and mustard with some dried oregano and lemon zest was screaming my name. I ran to the fridge – well probably just walked quickly and gathered my lemon, the curry paste and mustard. Quickly turned the corner and grabbed the oregano and I was set. Ripped down a roasting pan, grabbed a bowl and open the chicken legs like someone with a fluffy tail was chasing me.

I had this concoction ready to go before I even preheated the oven. Oh so easy… Oh so good. As it was just finishing up, I tossed in some cous cous and threw in a little chopped spinach and lemon to compliment the chicken and let it cook. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Toss it with a fork and garnish with some green onion.

I will be honest here, as I pretty much always am…. I don’t like cous cous but Mrs. Zesty loved it. Needless to say she had the left overs.

Ingredients

8-10 Chicken drumsticks
2 Tbsp. Curry paste
1 Tbsp. Mustard
Splash of soy sauce
1 Tsp. Dried oregano
1/4 Cup water
zest of a lemon
juice of a lemon
Cracked black pepper
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 Onion, peeled and chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Assemble chicken in roasting pan, add carrots and onions
In a bowl mix together remaining ingredients and toss over chicken and vegetables
Cook uncovered for about 90 minutes, allowing the sauce to thicken and the chicken to caramelize.
Remove from heat and serve with your favorite side dish.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: If you find the sauce too thick just add a little water before tossing it in with the chicken. You want the sauce to pour easily. Be sure to baste the chicken during cooking maybe 2-3 times.

Alright, so last day of work before a holiday weekend and lots to get finished up. I hope you have a great day and you know what next week means. Turkey ideas and leftovers for all…. and maybe a recap of the infamous turkey day at the zesty in-laws. Talk on Monday!

Take care

zesty

Maple Salmon with A Lemon Butter Crust

zesty — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:30:52 +0000

Hi All! First of all I would like to thank you for all the emails and comments on New York City and listing your experiences and choices for when we land there in full force later next week. I am pretty excited and cannot wait to explore the big Apple.

As we get onto the food of the night last night, I opted for simple flavors with big taste. What do you get when you combine salmon, Canadian maple syrup, mustard, garlic, lemon and butter? To describe in more detail the salmon was very tasty! The crusted bread crumbs on top mixed with lemon zest and butter really brought it over the top. Super simple to make and takes just 8-9 minutes.

I paired the salmon with the nice crunch of homemade Kale chips which turned out to be a great combination. Ever have Kale chips? So delicious and oh so easy!!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

4 Portions of Salmon
2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp. Mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
Sprinkle Red pepper flakes
1/2 Tsp. Lemon zest
1 Tbsp. Butter
3/4 Cup bread crumbs

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine maple syrup, mustard, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and garlic and mix together.
In another bowl, melt the butter in the microwave; then add lemon and breadcrumbs. Mix together and set aside.
Lay out the salmon pieces on the parchment paper. Place the maple mustard mixture over the top with a spoon and rub it in gently; continue you for all 4 pieces.
Then spoon the bread crumb mixture on top.
Bake in the oven for about 8 minutes. Switch oven to broil if need be to create a golden brown crust on the top.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: You can try whatever type of protein you want with this combination. White fish, chicken, or even pork would work with this flavor profile.

There you go, I hope you enjoyed this simple versatile recipe that really pushes the flavor to the next level by just using simple fresh ingredients. I am heading to work to wrap up the week and than it is back to yard work.

The grass needs to be cut, flower beds need weeding and some pruning is awaiting in the garden. Speaking of garden – it is coming along really well and I will share with you some of the highlights at the first of the week.

Have a super weekend.

Take care

zesty

Chipolte Chicken and Pear Salad

zesty — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:00:33 +0000

Holy Salad again! I am starting to impress myself with my eating habits of late. This was just a quick last minute put together dinner that was tasty for sure but I was starving by 8:00pm. Not the end of the world as you know I love eating and it was just in time for the hockey game to start. For my evening snack I went with a bowl of cereal and my traditional handful of “All Dressed” chips well OK, maybe 2 handfuls and a bit of chocolate at the end.

It takes me back to the sweet and salty post from a while ago. I am definitely both!

Back to the salad

For this simple salad I went with the combination of chicken and fruit which I love. The crisp pear was a great match for the spicy chicken. I just had some frozen boneless chicken breasts that were done up chipolte style from the grocery store. I roasted them in the oven for 25 minutes and chopped them up with some other fruits and vegetables. Here is the mix.

Ingredients

Baby Romaine Lettuce
Sliced strawberries
Sliced Pears
Cooked Chicken breast
Balsamic vinegar
Cucumbers
Carrots
Tomatoes
Olive oil

Method

Cook and slice chicken breasts
Prepare all fruits and vegetables in the salad by washing and chopping to your desired sizes
Organize the salad in the bowl
In a small jar, mix 2 parts oil to one part balsamic – add a dash of mustard and shake.
Dress the salad and serve
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The addition of mustard to the dressing allows the oil and vinegar to combine into a nice rich texture and not break.

So there you have yet another simple salad for your Wednesday pick me up! I don’t really have much to say other than I hope you enjoy the salad. I am not sure what I am going to post for Friday as of yet but I did make another sweet potato dish a couple of weeks back that may be worthy of sharing. Have an awesome hump day and keep smiling.

Take care

zesty

Rosemary Mustard Pork Chops

zesty — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:00:18 +0000

Happy Friday! I hope you are having a great day and in the mood for a quick pork dish. You can whip these rosemary mustard pork chops when you are in rush or if you’re really unsure about what to make for dinner.

For this dish I decided to use a simple sauce to enhance the pork flavor. From there, the pork chops will sit on a large dollop of mashed sweet potatoes. Can you really beat that?

I started off with a simple sear of the pork chops with a little oil and salt and pepper. From there I de-glazed the pan with the base of the sauce and then continued to add flavor. To finish, I jazzed up some sweet potatoes with nutmeg, milk, butter and a dash of brown sugar. Oh dear – I love sweet potatoes!!

Ingredients

4 Pork chops
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. French’s mustard
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 Cup chicken stock
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. rosemary (dried)
1 Tsp. black pepper
1 Tsp. salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350°.
Preheat saute pan/frying pan to medium high heat and dry the pork chops with a paper towel.
Combine soy sauce, mustard, paprika, brown sugar and rosemary in a bowl; mix together.
Season pork with salt and pepper.
Add pork to pan and begin to sear on one side, about 3-4 minutes. Once complete on one side, flip and do the same on other side.
Remove pork chops and place on plate.
De-glaze the pan by adding the chicken stock and scraping all the bits off the bottom of the pan.
Add the sauce mixture from step 3 and let thicken for 2 minutes.
Add pork back on the pan and place into the oven to finish the cooking process; about 12 minutes.
Remove from oven, baste with sauce.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: When trying to caramelize meat and/or fish, it is essential that you pat it dry (with a paper towel) to remove any excess moisture on top of the meat. This will eliminate the steaming process and let the meat/fish sear and caramelize more effectively.

I thought I would be somewhat balanced and add some green frozen peas to the plating dish along with a huge serving of garlic mashed sweet potatoes. I hope you enjoy the day and I will see you all Monday.

Question of the day: What are your Christmas cooking traditions?

Take care

zesty

Braised Pork Chops in Sweet Apple Mustard

zesty — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:15:03 +0000

I am still in a conference… last day!! I wanted to re share one of my favorite pork chop recipes I have ever created. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. ENJOY!

Yesterday was the first time I was unsure about what to post on zesty for todays recipe. I always have a few options saved from both the weekend and earlier in the week. However, this time, I wasn’t sure what to do to continue the trend of unique dishes. That is, the sauteed spinach from Monday, the slow cooked beef on Tuesday and yesterdays little sweet treat in the caramel drizzle ice cream tart. So with that being said, I thought I would tell you about a pork chop I made.

This really is just a plain old pork chop but the flavor was incredible. I have not had a pork chop in a long time especially with the bone in but when I saw these little morsels of goodness on sale at the supermarket – I knew they were coming home with zesty.

Pork chops have to be one of the fastest meals to prepare and lately I am all about speed and flavor. This meal was ready in about 35 minutes. Have a look and tell me what you think?

Ingredients

4 Pork Chops
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Tsp. Rosemary (Dried)
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard (Or Prepared Mustard)
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Apple Juice
3 Dashes of Hot Sauce
Salt and Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.

Warm saute pan to medium high heat.
Add olive oil.
Season pork chops with salt and pepper.

Add them to pan and cook on one side until they begin to brown and caramelize, then flip.

Cooking on the other side the same as step 5, once complete about 5 minutes remove from the pan and set on a plate.
De glaze the pan with the apple juice while still on high heat.

Combine all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
Once the apple juice comes to a boil, add remaining ingredients.
Cook for about 2 minutes and then add the pork chops back in the pan.

Place pan in the oven for 15 minutes. The sauce will reduce and thicken with both texture and flavor.
Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The key to big flavor with meat is to let it brown/sear well. Do not move it in the pan and do not turn it multiple times. Let the meat caramelize and brown on its own, you will know when to flip the meat. Use your sense of smell, it will never let you down.

For this dish I prepared some sweet potato fries as a side dish and cooked them off at the same time the pork was in.

I just started them a little earlier in the process. Sweet potato fries were a great addition to the pork.

Take care

zesty

Pickle Me With Mustard Pickles

zesty — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:00:13 +0000

This week has flown by thus far! In a way it is good as the weekend is approaching but on the other side of the coin another week is gone and the house is not completed. We are still shooting for early December but some people are looking at me funny when I mention that.

Remember back on Tuesday I shared with you a simple cranberry preserve? Today I wanted to talk about another one of my favorite yet classic preserve – MUSTARD PICKLES. These pickles are drop dead amazing if you like mustard pickles at all. The tartness of the vinegar combined with the crunch of the cucumbers and the silkiness of the sauce = YUM.

This can be a little bit of chopping project, however the cooking process is very quick and simple. For me, mustard pickles are such an awesome addition to a meal. Whether it is on the side or a roast chicken dinner, or in the bread of a nice hearty beef sandwich – I chalk this up as a must have preserve.

Ingredients

20 Cups Cucumbers
3 lbs. Onions
1 Cauliflower
1 Red pepper
1 Green pepper
7 Cups white sugar
2 Tbsp. tumeric
4 Tbsp. coarse salt
1 1/2 Cups flour
2 Tbsp. dry mustard
2 Tbsp. mustard seed
4 Cups vinegar

Method

In a large pot peel and cut up fine, cucumbers, onions, peppers and cauliflower.

Mix all dry ingredients together; add vinegar slowly, mix well.
Pour over vegetables and bring to a full boil.
Boil two minutes.
Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal immediately.
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: The pickles will thicken slightly after the cooking process is completed so do not be concerned if you think the mixture is too thin when you go to bottle.

Well I hope you enjoyed another preserve recipe. It really is a big party of fall cooking. This is such a popular preserve down here especially when the pickling cucumbers are out in full force – late summer, early fall.

Question of the day

Do you have a favorite pickle?

Have an awesome Thursday, before you know it the weekend will be here.

Take care

zesty

Zesty's Ultimate Cheeseburger

zesty — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:00:29 +0000

Ever crave a good old fashion cheeseburger? Well this kid craves them all the time. I know it is not great for you but listen to this… How about some extra lean ground beef, a whole wheat bun, mushrooms, onions (if you like them), dash of mustard, and a splash of ketchup. Oh wait – you can’t forget the cheese.

For my cheeseburger, I play a little game called “Hide the cheese”. I can hear you saying “Oh dear, this zesty guy is crazy”. Well that is partially true but hear me out. I like to put the cheese inside the burger when I mix it. For this I cut the old cheddar cheese up in little cubes and add it to the beef mixture. By doing so, it ensures the beef to be juicy and gooey and embed the flavor in every bite.

I went ahead and paired the burger with some savory potato wedges, some sweet potato chunks and a simple salad. They were a huge hit as always.Follow along below and check out the process. Pretty simple but fun and let me know what you think of the zesty tip today.

Ingredients

2 Lbs Extra Lean Ground Beef
2 Eggs
Black Pepper
Button Mushrooms
Onions
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Cheddar Cheese

Method

Prepare the ground beef in a large mixing bowl

Preheat grill to medium high heat
Add eggs and pepper too beef and mix well.
Cut cheese into small chunks and add to beef

Using your hands, incorporate the cheese into the beef

Form the patties to the size of your liking ( I prefer to have them a larger circumference and a thinner height)

Place patties onto a plate and press your thumb in the center of the burger making a slight indentation

Clean your grill as it is reheating.
Place the burgers on the grill and do not move them until a nice crust is formed. You can do a half turn for grill marks if that tickles your fancy.

In a frying pan, over medium heat add olive oil and saute the onions until translucent.

Add mushrooms and continue cooking down until golden brown.

Turn the burgers over, add your favorite barbecue sauce if so desired and continue cooking until no longer pink

Remove from heat and let rest.
Assemble the burger to your liking.

ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: To prevent the burger from puffing up in the center as it cooks, I press down in the center. Also another great tip is too not add sauce to your burgers to early. It will just burn as most sauces have sugar in them.

So I guess that wraps up the “Zesty Ultimate Cheeseburger”. This was a really fun post to do and I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions, do not hesitate to send me an email. Have a great Thursday and I will see you with a weekday wrap up tomorrow.
Take care

zesty

A Simple Classic: Pineapple Glazed Ham

zesty — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 11:00:07 +0000

Can you believe it is Thursday already? Crazy I know – the weeks seem to be all a blur. September is upon us and it is that time of year when things start to get hectic for a lot of families and students. With that being said, I want to share with you a super simple recipe to glaze a ham.

This is great for a hot meal paired with scalloped potatoes, a cold sandwich, or served chilled with potato salad. The leftovers are great for a quiche as well as a topping for a quick salad. This ham is very straight forward to prepare and is great to do up in advance. From a price perspective it is very economical and stays well in the fridge.

Ingredients

1 Ham
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
1 Can sliced pineapple
1 Tbsp. Maple Syrup
1 Tbsp. Mustard ( prepared )

Method

Boil ham for 20-30 minutes depending on the size
Remove from water and let rest
Place in roasting pan or on tin foil plate
Add remaining ingredients (except pineapple) in a bowl and mix thoroughly
Spoon sauce over ham saving some for basting
Take the slices of pineapple and place toothpicks through the ham to hold them in place
Bake at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
Baste with remaining sauce halfway through

Remove from oven; let rest and carve once cooled slightly
ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: For small hams, roasts or chickens, use tin foil plates or tin foil roasting pans to avoid the tough cleanup. They are a great time saver and great for potlucks as well.

Have yourself a great day! Contact me if you have any questions or would like me to prepare a favorite recipe of yours.

Take care

zesty