Chicken Cacciatore and Pecorino Polenta

I’m a big fan of Bravo’s TV show “Top Chef,” and I was disappointed last week when one of my favorite All-Stars, Fabio Viviani, was sent home. He was hands down my favorite All-Star to watch because of his comedic and playful approach to cooking. The episode for restaurant wars where he works the front of the house was his best performance yet. He showed strong leadership, appreciation to the customers, and his admirable love for everything to deal with food. I thought it would be fitting to pick something from Fabio’s recipes for a special dinner at home to honor my fave All-Star and I wanted something Italian to prepare.

Normally, Eric and I, do not celebrate the festivities of Valentine’s day. We call it the anti-holiday of the year because I don’t need a box of chocolates, overpriced flowers, fancy jewelry, or anything lovey-dovey because we have that every day of the year. (I’m a lucky girl!) Also, because the only holidays we really celebrate and buy gifts for each other are birthdays and anniversaries. Eric went all out this year for my birthday, and bought my fancy DSLR camera that I have been coveting for the past 2 years. Of course, I wanted to thank my love with a wonderful home-cooked meal just because it was Monday and not a stinking lovey-dovey holiday.

This dish was every bit scrumptious and Top Chef worthy. More importantly, it was definitely the perfect way to say I love you and thank you for everything special that you have given to me.

Thanks hubs!

Enjoy!

Chicken Cacciatore with Pecorino Polenta
Adapted from Fabio Viviani
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
8 chicken legs (about 2 pounds)
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
2 red onions, sliced
2 cups red wine
8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 cup capers
1 cup manzanilla olives, sliced
¼ cup fresh oregano
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 5 sprigs of thyme, chopped
6 to 10 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups half and half
2 cups pecorino cheese, grated
2 cups polenta
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large dutch oven, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Add the tomatoes, onions, red wine, mushrooms, olives, oregano and let cook for 45 to 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the chicken legs on a large jelly roll pan. Cover with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, a couple tablespoons of chopped garlic and thyme. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Add the baked chicken in the tomato mixture, and let soak overnight.

When ready to serve, pressure cook the chicken in tomato sauce for 20 minutes.

Prepare the polenta while the chicken is in the pressure cooker. In a medium dutch oven, add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and sauté the garlic for 1 minute on medium heat.. Add the half and half, pecorino cheese, and bring to a boil. Slowly add the polenta (cornmeal) in and whisk frequently to prevent clumping, the mixture should come together, reduce the heat to a simmer. Polenta should look smooth. Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper. Add the 2 tablespoons of butter before serving, and mix until combined.

Serve the chicken cacciatore with pecorino polenta. Garnish with chopped thyme and grated pecorino cheese.

Review: Wow…this was truly a delicious Italian meal and full of bold flavors. Simply delicious. My husband and I ate every single bite, the chicken was falling off the bone tender and paired with the tomato-wine mixture melded beautifully together. The pecorino polenta was simply luscious and smooth with each bite. Definitely a Valentine’s dinner that we enjoyed together. Maybe we’ll have to venture to visit Fabio at his restaurant and try more of his tasty Italian dishes.

Rick Bayless & Cookbook Giveaway

Happy October and fall-ish weather!  I have wonderful and exciting news to share. I finally bought my custom domain name. I'm officially a dot com and I have created my own official Facebook page. Yipee!! (picture me jumping up and down in joy.) Please bookmark and update your feeds to my new site at http://www.mrsregueiro.com/. There is a new RSS and I have my own official email as well. You can find my Facebook page link to the right side, and if you love my fun-foodie posts please like me! But you'll have more reason to like me because I have an awesome cookbook giveaway.

Recently I was contacted by Everywhere about an upcoming fun-foodie event with Macy's Culinary Council member, Rick Bayless. Top Chef Master, Rick Bayless, would provide a food demonstration from his new cookbook "Fiesta at Rick's." After the cooking demonstration, he would sign copies of his book. The event cost $5 but the proceeds were donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. Of course I would attend - I have Rick Bayless listed on my foodie fun list as one of the many chefs that I would love to meet someday. I brought two of my foodie girlfriends along for the event, and a big thanks Kathy and Monica for coming along with me, too.

I was beyond thrilled to see a Top Chef Master in action because you know I am such a wannabe-chef and crazy foodie-fan. I have only made one Rick Bayless recipe in my kitchen, mexican beans with chorizo and greens, and it was full of spicy flavor. I knew that Rick Bayless would provide insight on some new Mexican-inspired dishes because he seemed like a genuine and humble chef. I'm always on the lookout for new inspiration on recipes, its more chef-knowledge in the bank for me. Plus, I love his Frontera products of salsa and have been dying to sample one of his yummy Mexican dishes. We got to sample three of his dishes and they were all delicious and caliente!

Rick Bayless was very charming and very likable, and explained to the 200+ audience about his inspiration for his latest book - he loves to entertain and throw parties for the heck of it. Wow, I would love to be your neighbor and celebrate the harvest of corn or tomatoes. Who does that? Ahem, well I love to entertain and host parties for no reason at all, to celebrate birthdays, kitchen renovations, and I'm always finding an excuse to hang out with friends and family. He also dished about his winning challenge on Top Chef Masters and explained to us that it was one of the hardest challenges that he has ever done. He was in total awe of all the other chefs that were competing as well.

Rick Bayless had commented that America "is a chip and dip culture" and that we love our "dip." He made a point that white onions are different compared to yellow and brown and white onions are best used in guacamole for its light flavor. Funny thing, he was making bacon guacamole as one of his demo dishes. His cookbook is filled with numerous versions - he bacon-ifies it, sweetens it with mangoes, or adds a fall touch of pumpkin seeds to guacamole. Bacon guacamole is so good, and you have to try it. It's smoky and buttery and you'll be eating the entire bowl before you know it.

Overall, I had a wonderful time at the food demonstration, sampled wonderful eats from Rick Bayless and got through the book signing very quickly. I was simply in awe of the wonderful entertaining recipes that this cookbook had. Lots of drinks, appetizers and party-planning ideas are all throughout the cookbook and it has my head brewing with Bayless-inspired items. I can't wait to have a Rick Bayless themed-dinner party! This is a wonderful cookbook with a unique twist. Each chapter is broken up into an outline for a party from drinks, appetizers to main course, including group size and even a suggested playlist. If you want to throw your own Fiesta but do know where to start- this is definitely the book for you.

Now onto the giveaway for one lucky reader, I’m giving away a signed copy of Fiesta at Rick's by Rick Bayless. I picked up an extra copy thanks to Everywhere for one lucky reader. I had to share the wealth of Rick Bayless's recipes with my readers because he's just awesome and a food hottie. One of the audience members told him that she had a food crush on him, and called him a food hottie. He blushed as red as the chipotle peppers sitting on the counter. My, my Rick Bayless, you're a food hottie!

To enter the giveaway for Rick Bayless's new cookbook: Fiesta At Rick's: Fabulous Food for Great Times with Friends:
Leave a comment telling me what dish that you love to entertain with! (I love to hear your thoughts.)

I will keep the comments open until Saturday, October 9th, MIDNIGHT PST, and announce the winner (using a random number generator) on Monday, October 11th. This giveaway is open to US addresses ONLY.

Comments will close at MIDNIGHT – PST on Saturday, October 9, 2010.
Bonus Entries: (*Each bonus entry requires a separate comment to be counted!*)
Become a fan on Facebook. Come back and leave a separate comment telling me you’ve done so (or if you already “like” me on Facebook).

Sign up on my RSS Feed.  Come back and leave a separate comment telling me you’ve done so (or if you’re already a subscriber).

Buen provecho and good luck!

Top Chef in Irvine

Yesterday, I went to see Bravo's Top Chef Tour at the Irvine Spectrum. The tour had started in April but was dwindling down to the last two stops of the tour...my old stomping grounds, good ole Irvine! At each tour stop, there were 2 Top Chefs that would give a cooking demonstration and answer questions about everything and anything. One of the tallest chefs in history (he's 6'8) - Top Chef - CJ Jacobsen, from season 3, was one of the chefs there that day. He is actually from the OC, and he graduated at El Toro High School. That's where most of my mom's family went to school, and my little cousin will be graduating there next week!  Another favorite chef of mine, Top Chef - Richard Blais from season 4 was there as well. I really wanted him to win that season, but some things happen for a reason. Richard is a big promoter of the sous vide machine and his latest creation is a liquid nitrogen, nutella and marshmallow shake. Hmmm, sounds interesting and tasty!

CJ had prepared a salmon dish and started off by preparing some dashi and ghee. The fresh aroma of warming ghee was a delightful tease for the dish. He used some fresh and interesting ingredients like fresh apricots and goat butter, which he said is something similar to goat cheese but it's butter. I didn't get to sample the dish because I wasn't one of the lucky people who rsvp'd for seats, but I was a happy bystander. A girl nearby let me take a picture of her dish for my food-frenzy paparazzi-ness.

Hmmm, maybe I'll have to stop by his restaurant, The Yard, again to see if this dish is available.

After the cooking demo was finished, then the question and answers began. We weren't allowed to videotape anything but cameras were allowed. I did my best to remember all the questions and answers, but with 30+ people asking away - there were so many!

Q: How hot was Padma Lakshmi in real person?

A: CJ - VERY HOT in real person!

Q: What were some of the hardest challenges/quickfires?

A: CJ - Where we had to make something in 10 minutes? Come on, are you serious?
Richard - The improv challenge where we had three words "Green Perplexed Tofu." It seemed impossible but we made a Tofu steak marinated in beef fat with green curry - if vegetarians can make "soysauge," I can certainly cook tofu in beef fat.
Q: Who was your least fave Chef? What chef do you most get along with?
A: CJ -This question always is asked...are you the person that comes around and asks this every time? Well if I have to choose someone it has to be Hung during the season, but now he's so easy-going and nice. Lia is my favorite.
Richard's response: Lisa personality was pretty much as you see it, so it was hard to get along with. Antonia is my favorite - she's up here in LA.
Q: What was the craziest things you guys did in the stew room?
A: CJ - Blow up gloves to be balloons? We're in the stew room for hours sometimes 6 to 9 hours at a time...it's one of the times that you get to drink the most alcohol, and you just kinda lose it. That's why at judging's table you see us crying!
Richard - Mark wanted to be the gladman and we wrapped him in plastic except for his lip. It was pretty fun in that stew room.

My question that I asked and kinda directed it to CJ: "From your restaurants, what would you say is your signature dish because I've actually been to your restaurant - The Yard?"
They both nodded their heads in disagreement because they both couldn't give me an answer...saying that they avoid signature dishes. They are non-signature dish kind of people, and that I'm a nice girl for coming to his restaurant. I blushed of course, but it's a honest answer.
 
After the questions, we got to meet them and I got autographs from both of them. I was first in line and ready for my photo-op with the Top Chefs. I was mad at myself for not bring my Top Chef cookbook, but it was a last minute decision. They had "free" photographs for us as handouts.
 

My cool autograph from Richard, he drew me a pork belly with some garnishments on the plate.

Thank goodness, CJ was sitting down for this one, because I would have felt really short! I did ask him when he would be in house for his restaurant so I can see him in action. He told me all this week he would be out of town and in Phoenix for the last stop for Top Chef.

What an awesome experience, and I wasn't as star-struck meeting these Top Chefs as when I met Fabio last year at the Gilroy Garlic Festival. I didn't want to seem like a crazy foodie-fan, but I am! Can't wait to watch the new season of Top Chefs!

Eggs in a hole

I love our weekend breakfasts, I always make something for Eric & me to enjoy versus our normal "Peanut Butter & Jelly/ Coffee breakfast "during the week. I usually make waffles in the morning on the weekends with our Cuisinart wafflemaker...it makes the best waffles. But I had a craving for french toast, and had remembered my Top Chef: The Cookbook had a recipe! This comes from the quickfire challenge where they had to make Padma breakfast.

French toast is pretty basic, but I loved this interpretation of eggs in a hole, eggs in a raft, eggs in a basket, bird's nest, or my fave "One-eyed jack." I can't wait for the new season to start tonight!

Ingredients:

**1 grapefruit**I omitted this, because I didn't have any!

4 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 slices multigrain toast

4 thin slices proscuitto (I didn't have any, so I substituted canadian bacon)

Maple syrup for serving.

Preparation:

1. In a wide, shallow dish, whisk together 2 of the eggs, the milk, sugar, salt & cinnamon.

2. Using a 2 1/2 inche round biscuit cutter, cut a hole in the center of each of the 2 slices of bread. Put all 4 slices of bread in the egg mixture and let them soak for 1 minute on each side.

3. In a saute pan or skillet large enough to fit in the bread slices in one layer, melt the butter over medium-high heat. When the foam subsides, carefully transfer the bread slices to the pan. Crack 1 egg into each hole in the bread slices. Cook until the bread is well browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Gently turn the slices over and cook until the second side is well browned, about 2 minutes.

4. Place 1 of the holeless bread slices on each of the serving plates. Lay 2 slices of the proscuitto/canadian bacon over each and top with the bread slices with egg. Drizzle with maple syrup and serve immediately.