Crispy Shallots

Hi all,

I've been a terrible blogger again and I've managed to not update this blog for over a month! I've been really busy, or at least convincing myself of that, and haven't found time. Well, now I'm rectifying this situation! I'll be posting a bunch of recipes in relatively rapid succession (There's also some Soul Dog shots that will be mixed in for those of you who know and love their ridiculous hot dog toppings... I don't think I've ever had a dog there with less than 3).

Also, I realized that I don't make many vegetarian things, I'll also try to change that. In fact, there's no meat in our recipe for today... but it goes really well with a steak.

So, since they're called crispy shallots, you're going to need a shallow, sliced into nice, thin circles.

Those are not so thin, but they'll work. Separate them out and then get your self a whole mess of butter. Paula Deen, eat your heart out.

For one shallot you need between one and a half to two tablespoons of butter!

So, get that going in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it's all melted, add in your shallots and a pinch of salt. Maybe some pepper too.

Then, just stir them around. They're basically getting deep fried in the butter.

At this point, they've gotten soft and are starting to turn brown. I think this was around 7 or 8 minutes, but don't take my word for it.

So, just let them go, stirring every so often until they are fully brown, then remove them to a paper towel.

It's that easy!

 These may look like they're gone too far, but they're actually freaking delicious. Serve it on top of a steak and you won't regret it. They would probably also go really well with the Pork Chops... mmm... but what doesn't go well with those?

Chicken in a Balsamic Cream Sauce

Holy crap, I really didn't post for the entire month of March. To be honest, I was having trouble coming up with new recipes to try, and I had some pretty bad failures. Mostly, there were problems in executing actually decent ideas. I did, however, manage to make this little gem. It combines the acid of balsamic vinegar with the smoothness of cream to make a delicious sauce, which doesn't curdle!

Anyway, start by taking two chicken breasts, salt and pepper them and pan fry them.

I feel like so many of my recipes start this way. Anyway, while you're waiting gather these ingredients.

Oh, and butter... I forgot the butter. When the chicken is done, melt the butter in your pan (the same one you just took the chicken out of) and then add in your flour. For a good roux, you typically want about equal parts flour and butter. BTW, that's what we just made, a roux.

You want to cook the roux for about two or three minutes, just to get the raw flour taste out of it. Once that's done, add in your balsamic vinegar. It looks like I used about a tablespoon.

Stir it all around and try to get some of the chickeny goodness off the bottom of the pan. Then let it cook down for about a minute. We just need to allow the acid to cook down a bit. It will stop us from curdling the cream later. The fat may also do that... I'm not a chemistry person.

Perfect! Now it's time for the chicken stock. About a quarter cup will do. This is why we made the roux, so that we can get the chicken stock in our sauce to tighten up. See, it all makes sense... right?

Stir that all up and allow the stock to cook down for around 2 minutes.

Look how dark is got after that little amount of time. The balsamic is really integrated in. Now it's time for the good stuff... heavy cream. Just a tablespoon or two is probably good. I may have done three, I don't remember. Cream makes my memory hazy.

Stir all that cream in, and you will end up with something that is a brown-ish color. Not ugly brown though, smooth brown. At the end, I threw in around a half teaspoon more of balsamic, just to give it a bit of vinegar bite. It was worth it.

Damn, I love balsamic vinegar.

Something possessed me to warm up some tortillas and serve this over rice. It was a momentary thing. So, I warmed up the tortillas in the toaster. Just a minute or two on a low temperature.

Hi Mr. Toaster, it's been too long.

Then serve it up.sa

It's just my bad photography: I promise that the sauce is much more appetizing in person.

Here's the recipe so that you can enjoy this too.

Chicken in Balsamic Cream Sauce

2 chicken cutlets
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp + a dash balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chicken stock
3 or 4 tbsp heavy cream
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Salt and pepper chicken cutlets and pan fry in olive oil.

2. Remove the chicken and add butter and flour. Allow to cook for about two minutes.

3. Add balsamic vinegar, deglazing the pan, and allow to cook down, about one minute.

4. Add chicken stock and stir vigorously. Allow to reduce by about half (2 minutes)

5. Add heavy cream and stir again. Add salt and pepper to taste. Return cutlets to the pan and then serve as you would like.