Ever wonder why there is "Dark" and "White" meat?

Dark -vs- White Meat

So you're sitting at the table on Thanksgiving Day and a one of life's questions arises. White Meat or Dark Meat? What is the difference? What makes dark meat dark and white meat white? Look no further, I have your answer!

Muscles use a protein called Myoglobin to store oxygen when that muscle is used. The more that muscle is used, the higher the concentration of Myoglobin. The higher the concentration means darker the color. Since Chickens and Turkeys fly very little, if at all, the breast and part of the wing has a low concentration of Myoglobin. However, they do a lot of walking and running around which would give the legs and thighs a high concentration of Myoglobin. This also explains why ducks are all "dark"meat. They actually use the breast and wings to fly.

Other Poultry facts:

• The muscle tissue of poultry is similar to mammals except in the way it stores fat. Poultry doesn't have "marbling", it stores fat in it's skin, abdominal cavity, and the fat pad near it's tail.
• Poultry fat is softer and has a lower melting point than other animal fats.
• A flightless bird, such as an Ostrich or Emu, is called a "Ratite".
• To get a bird to cook evenly, truss it. Trussing is where you tie the legs together and the wings are tucked neatly behind the bird. This keeps the bird's legs and wings from overcooking.
• Tryptophan is the chemical in turkey that makes you sleepy.

I hope this blog post satisfies your curiosity if you've ever asked the question, Dark or White?

I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Chicken Puttanesca

A couple weeks ago, while at work, a fellow coworker was demoing Chicken Puttanesca. I've always wanted to make it and after trying his, I knew I HAD to make it!

Puttanesca is an italian sauce made of Tomatoes, Olives, Capers, Garlic, Onions, Anchovies, and Herbs. It's very simple to make and very quick. It is also very fragrant, which leads me to the origin. According to this website, there are mulitple translations as to how this dish was derived. The version I heard said that it was made in brothels either to lure men in with the aroma or to feed the men while waiting for their "turn".

But for whatever reason it was made, it is a very tasty and vibrant sauce that you can make quickly on a weeknight and put over pasta or chicken.

I added the chicken to a Pasta Puttanesca recipe from my fellow coworker, Damian.
The sauce recipe can be found on Epicurious:

Chicken Puttanesca
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 35 min
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Dried Linguine
• 5 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tbls Anchovy Paste
• 1/3 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 (28 oz) Can Tomato Puree
• 1/2 C Pitted Kalamata Olives, chopped
• 2 Tbls Capers, drained and chopped
• 3/4 C Basil, coarsely chopped
• 1lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• Flour, for dredging
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 Tbls Oil, for frying (any oil you prefer, see step 2)

Directions:

1. Bring pot of water to boil for pasta.
2. While water is coming to a boil, Cut Chicken into 1/4" slices. Season with Salt & Pepper.
3. In a large skillet with deep sides, heat the oil for frying over medium high heat.
4. Dredge seasoned Chicken in the flour until slightly coated and shake off excess.
5. When oil is hot, toss in the floured chicken and cook until no longer pink.
6. Remove Chicken and set aside.
7. Add the Olive Oil to the hot pan. Add Garlic and Anchovy Paste and let cook stirring occasionally. It will look a little yellowish.
8. Add Tomato Puree, Olives, and Capers. Simmer until Pasta is just about al dente.
9. Drain pasta. Add Chicken, Pasta, and Basil to sauce and simmer for just a couple of minutes longer until the pasta is al dente.
10. Serve and enjoy! Goes great with Garlic Bread!

Seasoned and Sliced Chicken and Flour for Dredging

Dredging the Chicken

Frying the Chicken

Cooking the pasta

Pressing Garlic

Anchovy Paste and Garlic in the oil

If you don't have tomato puree, you can puree whole tomatoes in the blender.

Chopping the Olives

Everything in the sauce except the basil and pasta.

Everything mixed together, minus Basil. I used dried since I did not have fresh.

Finished dish

You can add or remove ingredients to you tastes. You don't have to add the flour, but it helps the sauce "stick" to the chicken better. 

As always, please feel free to leave any comments, positive or negative. I would love honest feedback on all my posts!

First Lunch Done!

Today was our first lunch! It went pretty well! I was the Kitchen Manager and Allison was the Front of the House Manager. A couple of hiccups but that was to be expected being the first one that we were in charge of.

First off I want to say thank you to all who came to help. Jameel, Amanda, Carol, and Emily, we appreciate all your help. To all my classmates, everyone did a great job!

So our theme was German Food. Just in time for Oktoberfest! We served Reisling, Lemonade, Water, Tea, and Coffee.

 Here is a picture of our menu:

My Menu

Allison's Menu

Now for the pictures!

Menu and Place Setting

Chilled Soups: Grape Gazpacho, Creamy Tomato Basil, and Butternut Squash.

 

Allison's Sauerbraten with German Fries and Red Cabbage

My Chicken Schnitzel Stapel with Potato Galette and Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

Special Dessert for my Sweetie!!

My Pistachio Cheesecake with Cherry Sauce and Chocolate Filigree.

Allison's Black Forest S'mores.

Excuse my appearance. Took a break to come out and say Hi to the family.

Overall, I think it turned out well. If you've never been to one of Mercyhurst University's Lunch Series, you must definitely come out and try one. Unfortunately, they are all booked up for this term.

Oh, and I forgot to introduce my partner, Allison.

Allison and Olive Oil

First Lunch Series to the Public

This Thursday is our first Lunch Series at school! I will be the Kitchen Manager and my partner, Allison, will be the Front of the House Manager. We made our own menu and will be serving it to the public for the first time! I am both excited and just a tiny bit nervous. I hope everything goes well. We were able to prep a lot of stuff yesterday and today. I will definitely get pictures of everything for you all to see.

A sneak peak of the menu is as follows:

Starter

Chilled Rustic Soup Trio

Grape Gazpacho, Creamy Tomato Basil, and Butternut Squash

Entrees

Chicken Schnitzel Stapel

Chicken Schnitzel, Ham, and Gruyere Stack, like a deconstructed German Cordon Bleu.

Served with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts (Recipe can be found on this blog) and Potato Galette

Sauerbraten

Marinated braised beef with a gravy.

Served with Red Cabbage and German Fries

Desserts

Pistachio Cheesecake with Chocolate Filigree and Cherry Sauce

S'mores

Made from scratch marshmallows, Made from scratch graham crackers, Chocolate Ganache and Cherry Compote.

It's been a lot of hard work but it will pay off in the end. And everything is made from scratch! Allison even made her own graham crackers and marshmallows! I can't wait to share our meal with everyone. If you haven't noticed our theme is German Food. Just in time for Oktoberfest!

Avocado Mac 'n' Cheese

My wife LOVES avocados and she found a recipe for Avocado Mac 'n' Cheese. So we gave it a try. Here are the results!

The recipe can be found at http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/stovetop-avocado-mac-and-cheese/.
I followed the recipe exactly except I used Dry Radiatore for the pasta and Heavy Cream for the Milk. It's a very rich and tasty meal!

I found that it made more like 8 Servings using the Radiatore. And it was very "saucy".

Grated Pepper Jack Cheese

Avocado

Avocado, Cilantro, Garlic, Lime Juice, and S&P.

All processed.....

Made a roux and added cream....

......then the cheese!

Mix everything together.

Voila!

Plated with Spinach and Giant Eagle's Red Wine and Garlic Chicken Sausage.

This Mac 'n' Cheese was one of the richest I've had in a long time. But it was pretty good! I will probably make it again. If you like this recipe, make sure you head over to www.twopeasandtheirpod.com and see what other recipes they have! Oh, and as always, please comment on any of my blog posts!

Banana Melon

So, I finally had a ripe Banana Melon in the garden. This is the first time I have ever grown them. I purchased the seeds from my favorite seed company, Baker Heirloom Seed Company.

This is how they describe it on their website:
     90 days. Banana-shaped fruit, smooth yellow skin and sweet, spicy salmon flesh. 16-24 inches long, 5-8 lbs. It was listed in 1885 by J. H. Gregory’s Catalogue, which said, “When ripe it reminds one of a large, overgrown banana... It smells like one, having a remarkably powerful and delicious fragrance.” This is one of my all- time favorites, being very sweet and great for specialty markets. 

The first one was a small one, 3.668 lbs.

Me holding the Banana Melon.

Cut into the melon.

It tastes a lot like cantaloupe and is very sweet and juicy.

Let Your Garden Make You Dinner Tonight!

I know that fall is just about here and most gardening is coming towards the end of the season. But I wanted to share something about gardening. I want to encourage everyone to start thinking about next year's garden and what you are going to grow. I always have my basics.. Tomatoes, Onions, Eggplant, Zucchini, etc. That is a given. But think about trying a couple new veggies. Maybe plant a couple things you've either never had or something you've never thought about growing. Just plant a couple and see how it turns out. Sometimes you stumble upon something you love and just never thought to try. Over the years I have planted many different crops and some I love and still plant, others I will probably never plant again.

I remember planting Kidney Beans one year. It was interesting. I learned a ton of facts about them because I tried to grow them. They turned out great. One fact I did not know... Kidney Beans, if not cooked all the way, will make you ill. They contain a toxin that is present until fully cooked. Even partially cooked will make you sick. They were great but they were just too much work and hassle to harvest and store. It is well worth the cheap price at the supermarket to buy them rather than do all that work. But it was rewarding to be able to say, "I grew the beans in this Chili!!".

Other plants, I cannot wait to grow again. I found these carrots one year that had 4 different colors/varieties in it. I figured, what the heck. The white ones were SO sweet and absolutely amazing! I ended up buying that particular variety for the garden this year!

But the ultimate reward from gardening is to be able to, at a moment's notice, go out and pick something for dinner. Tonight was a great example. You don't always need a recipe to make something great. Just use what you have on hand and let your garden inspire whatever comes to mind. We took a Chicken Breast out of the freezer before I left for work, but didn't have any idea what we would do with it. So at work, I thought, how about a Lemon Chicken Pasta. So I marinated the chicken in olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oregano. I went out in the garden and picked an Eggplant, and a handful of grape tomatoes. So I sauteed the eggplant, a shallot, and then the chicken. Tossed in some white wine, and pasta water. Then tomatoes, cut in half. And I found some feta in the fridge. Threw in the Penne and voila! I had created a sort of Greek Lemon Chicken Pasta. I let the garden tell me what was for dinner! Didn't have to go out and buy all kinds of ingredients.

Moral of this blog... You don't always need a recipe to create a great dinner. Just use your imagination and whatever you have in your garden. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to try something different. If it tastes bad, you can always call a delivery place and get dinner. But at least you tried!