1/27 - Oven Roasted Chicken Drumsticks

• chinese bbq sauce (shachay) (5 tbsp)
  
• bbq sauce (3 tbsp)
• chicken drumsticks, skin on (7 ea)

1. preheat oven 425
2. stir together sauces + salt and pepper to taste...add lil hot water if to thick (i didn't do this when i made it first time)
   
3. add chicken with sauce mixture and toss to coat (if have time, marinade like this overnight for optimal flavor)
   
4. spread on a pam sprayed, foil lined sheet pan
5. place on middle rack of oven and set timer for 35 minutes
6. turn up heat to 450 and cook for 5 more minutes til skin browns
7. serve over rice

grade: A-

• great flavor but needed more salt
• 2 sauces mixed very well together...chinese bbq sauce is amazing...first time roasting with it
• served with asparagus sauteed with garlic and oyster sauce
• chinese sauce lil too lumpy...next time thin it out first with bbq sauce before mixing might be better
• prob best is marinade overnight
  

1/27 - Best Breakfast Potatoes

• butter
• rosemary (2 sprigs)
• bay leaf (2 ea)
  
• garlic (6 cloves minced)
• russet potato (1 ea, 1 cm dice)
• water
  

1. over a medium fire, add butter, olive oil, rosemary and bay leaf
2. when hear crackle, add garlic and turn heat to med low
3. when garlic slightly browns and is soft, add potato + several pinches of salt, turn heat to medium and toss
4. add 2-3 tbsp of water and cover
5. after 5 minutes when potato is browned and softens, toss and flip potatoes and cook covered for 2-3 more minutes til browned
6. add pepper and toss...take off heat and serve with a side of runny eggs and sausages
7. optional: serve with ketchup
   

grade: A

• very tasty stuff
• best breakfast ever
• garlic was crispy and slight bitterness...tasted fried
• potatoes had slight crunchy exterior and interior was oozy
• eggs were made with cover on which resulted in oozy interior
• no photo because ate it too fast
• served the potatoes with ketchup
  

1/26 - Mushroom & Pea Soup

• onion (diced)
• celery (2 stalks diced)
• tomato paste (1/2 can)
• red wine (1/2 cup)
• button mushrooms (diced)
• Frozen Peas (2 cups)
• chicken broth (1 quart)
• water (1 cup)
• bay leaf (2 ea)
• optional: truffle oil
  

1. saute celery + onions in olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven + add a pinch of salt
   
2. when softened, add mushrooms and cook
3. add tomato paste and stir frequently til caramelizes on the bottom
4. deglaze with red wine...
5. add frozen peas + chicken broth + water + bay leaf
   
6. simmer for 40 minutes
7. blend on "liquify" til very smooth
8. add sour cream and blend more to finish....
9. serve with bread
10. (optional) add several drops of truffle oil
    

Grade: B

• pretty good soup but not enough mushroom flavor
• tastes better with truffle oil
• tried to blend with stick blender first but still not smooth...too hardy...blender works way better
• was going to add potato to it for more body but was already thick enough
  

1/8 - roasted baby russet potatoes

ingredients:

• baby russet potatoes (sub any potatoes), similar to size of fingerlings...(cut into quarters)
  
• garlic, minced
  
• rosemary, chopped
  

steps:

1. preheat oven to 400
2. scrub and prep potatoes
   
3. bash garlic, rosemary, salt, and evoo in mortar and pestle (consistency should be runny)
   
4. toss with potatoes with several more tablespoons of salt...then spread on a foil lined baking sheet (cut side down)
5. cover and roast til soft...about 45 minutes
6. take off foil and turn oven to 450 and roast til crisp on cut side...about 15 minutes
   

tips:

• with cut side up, the potato does not get crisp, hot pan and oil is what sears it
• add a good amount of salt as potatoes are dense and need to be highly seasoned
• best to cook as fast as possible so potatoes remain as juicy as possible
• very tasty just that mine cooked for too long as i tried to figure out how to sear the cut side up potato pieces...
• love the crisp cut side and texture the skin gives
  

1/8 - Quick Braised Chicken Thighs

ingredients:

• 5 skinless chicken thighs
• flour
• 2 big tablespoons of bbq sauce
• 1 can chicken stock
• 1/4 can of tap water
• 1/2 onion sliced
  
• 2 bayleaves
• 2 garlic cloves smashed
  

steps:

1. season thighs with salt and pepper
2. lightly dust the thighs on all sides
   
3. heat to mid-high and when hot, sear skinless chicken thighs on dutch oven with couple tablespoons of oil..about 2-3 minutes per side til rich brown...took 2 batches as to not crowd pot
   
4. turn heat to medium, add onions and cook til slight coloring...about 3 minutes
5. add chicken stock and bbq sauce, then scrape fond
6. add back chicken, garlic, and bayleaves...
7. if not enough liquid, add just enough to go slightly above 1/2 up chicken...(was about 1/4 cup water for me
8. when strong simmer, cover and turn heat to med-low
9. braise for about 30minutes til meat very tender and nearly falling off bone and middle is hot
10. serve with braising liquid as sauce..should be correct about of saltiness

flavor:

• very nice...my bbq sauce has whiskey (old crow) in it so it tasted similar to a coq au vin
• meat was so tender...amazing texture
• very complex salty and sweet flavor...umami-like in my opinion
• sauce is just slightly thickened as the flour from the chicken was able to give it a nice silky consistency
  
• browning of chicken with the flour made the outside taste very very similar to chicken skin...very nice...
• aroma is amazing...like a complex ketchup but not...
• one of the best chicken recipes i ever made