chicken

the pinewood tippling room – decatur, ga

kdavis 2 Comments

after finishing the publix half marathon and full marathon a couple sundays ago, you can bet we runners were ravenous.  we met up with everyone in the neighborhood of decatur at the pinewood tippling room, unexpectedly coming across the perfect restaurant review opportunity.

known by the locals as the pinewood, this spot is a cozy neighborhood bar serving up “extraordinary cocktails and reinterpreted regional fare.”  their space is clean without much fuss, and although they equally support what they call the high-class and “home-spun,” i felt a touch out of place in my running tights and sneakers.  the other customers were dressed to the nines, it seemed, after maybe just having left church service with their family and friends.  perhaps if i were coming on a different day i would have felt a little more comfortable.  maybe that’s why they seated us way in the back…?  nah, i don’t think so.  i think it had more to do with the fact that we were a party of 12 and that was where they had room.  i should have positioned myself on the other side of the table so that i could really take in the ambiance, for i was stuck facing a white-washed brick wall.  oh well!  good thing atmosphere is only one element of a restaurant, right?  sure!

although i probably needed a couple gallons of water to rehydrate my body, i didn’t wait a moment to order a mimosa.  something refreshing and crisp sounded like the perfect ticket, and these glasses were a great balance of orange juice and champagne.  cheers!

mimosas for everyone!

mimosas for everyone!

the pinewood closes at 2:30 p.m. on sundays, so we all had to somewhat hastily make our selections.  with a decently sized brunch menu, though, i don’t think it was hard for many of us.

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honey teriyaki appetizer

kdavis 1 Comment

last week i got caught up in the flurry of an online recipe exchange – how exciting!  i had received a honey teriyaki appetizer dish from our good family friend mary b., and with so much free time over the holiday weekend, i roped my mom into giving it a try with me.

maybe you should give it a try, too?  go on!  flex those cooking muscles, ya beast!

okay, i’ll stop.  you know how i cannot help getting carried away at times.

wait, carried away?

“i get carried away, by the look, by the light in your eyes, before i even realize the ride i’m on, baby, i’m long gone”  “i get carried away, nothing matters but being with you, like a feather flyin’ high up in the sky on a windy day, i get carried away”

ha!  gotcha!  i couldn’t help myself.  who doesn’t love indulging in some classic george strait?  that’s right.  EVERYONE loves indulging in classic george strait.

okay, i really will get down to business with this recipe so that you can enjoy it.

did you say “get down to business?”

“let’s get down to business to defeat the huns”  “did they send me daughters when i asked for sons?”  “you’re the saddest bunch i’ve ever met, but you can bet before we’re through, mister, i’ll make a man out of you”

okay, OKAY!  i really, really do promise that’s the last of it.  at least for you.  this show in my mind is 24/7.  ah, to be so lucky…

ingredients

8 ounces of cream cheese, very softened

1 – 1 1/2 cups of shredded chicken (you can also chop it if you need to save a little time; don’t worry, the chicken doesn’t know if it’s shredded or chopped, so i promise it will taste the same)

*also!  this chicken can either be a rotisserie you picked up from the grocery OR you can poach/boil the chicken yourself.  it will really depend on what’s available and how much time you have.

garlic powder

shredded carrots (the recipe calls for shredded, but we only had matchstick carrots on-hand and found those were a great choice because their crunch held up; just personal preference)

coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts

chopped green onions

honey teriyaki marinade (just look for a bottle of this stuff in the international aisle of your grocery store)

directions

for a few hours, marinate the chicken in some of the honey teriyaki marinade (not marinate, for marinate is the verb and marinade is the noun; the more you know!).

mm, marinated chicken.

mm, marinated chicken.

grab a greased glass baking dish (a 9 x 13 will do, or something a tad smaller; you don’t want an 8 x 8, though, for that won’t be enough space) and spread the cream cheese out on it.  sprinkle with the garlic powder.

all i want to do is put raspberry jam on it and eat it with a bagel.

all i want to do is put raspberry jam on it and eat it with a bagel.

add ze chicken.

IMG_20141226_165431

now, at this point you can take this dish in one of two directions.  direction one is to serve it warm.  direction two is to serve it chilled.  i will detail both directions so that you can wisely make a choice.

direction one (warm)

on top of the chicken, add the carrots and peanuts.

drizzle on some more honey teriyaki marinade.

IMG_20141226_171355~2

pop the baking dish into a warm oven for 15 minutes to get everything warmed through and slightly bubbly.  be careful, though; you don’t want to burn that cream cheese.

top with the green onions and serve with crackers.

IMG_20141226_171503

direction two (cold)

on top of the chicken, add the carrots, peanuts, and green onions.

drizzle on some more honey teriyaki marinade and serve with crackers.

whether you prefer direction one or direction two, the dish is going to be a hit.  now, as a cream cheese lover, i am always in favor of more than less, but the 8 ounces the recipe calls for here is just perfect.

mom recommended throwing in some water chestnuts, which are another one of my favorites.  i totally understand that they have zero flavor whatsoever, but that crunch is just so delightful!

finally, if you don’t want them on a cracker, we decided it would be just as delectable in a lettuce wrap, either for an appetizer or an entree.

boston – day 1

kdavis 7 Comments

mm, who doesn’t love an 8:45 flight on a saturday morning after a night of fireball jell-o shots at the boss’ holiday party?  ah, i knew i wasn’t the only one!  this morning my coworker vinh and i hopped aboard delta flight 104 and shut our eyes on the two and half hour trip up to boston.  we arrived a little early, were picked up by his brother-in-law, and whisked away to his childhood home.

vinh was born and raised in boston, attended tufts university, and often comes back to visit his hometown.  the neighborhood of dorchester is his stomping grounds, and it was a treat to get to see the town where he grew up and spent his younger days making memories. i’ve never been to boston, and a few months ago i heard the band the 1975 was touring in the states.  i was going to miss their atlanta show because i was out of town, but i saw they were going to be performing in boston.  well, that about sealed the deal for me.  i called up vinh and asked him if he’d like to go to the concert with me and show me around his city.  his agreement was nearly instant, and so my boston adventures began!

so much to do and so little time in which to do it!

so much to do and so little time in which to do it!

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mm, noodle soup

kdavis Leave a comment

i hadn’t really cooked for myself in a solid couple of weeks, so tonight i decided to take on homemade chicken noodle soup.  ah, yes, because soup is so difficult!  especially when i don’t make my own noodles and buy frozen ones…but, hey, who’s judging?  if you are, well, then, i got nothing…except this excellent recipe!  the inspiration came from the pioneer woman, but since i couldn’t find those ever so convenient egg noodles, i went with dumplings instead and married that recipe with ree’s.  the results?  my very “own” noodle soup recipe!  ah, just like that!  sometimes life is easy to us.

if you’re in the need of some ridiculously simple humor this evening, i urge you to take a read of all the photo captions.  i had a lot of time to think them up, considering this meal is a labor of love and took about two hours…and it helps that i think i am hilarious!

below are the steps i took after combining directions from the other two recipes.  enjoy!

ingredients

a whole chicken, cut-up (mine had the bones in and skin on and came in a cool griller pack from kroger)

2 whole carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon white pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground thyme

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

24 ounces mary b’s dumplings (use half the package or a little more or all of it if you love carbs like everyone in my household!)

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

things are getting steamy!
look at all these little buddies (almost of varying heights).
carrot peel graveyard.
stuff, all chopped up.
mary b’s!
quite possibly the most uninteresting thing in the world: chicken boiling.

directions

cover chicken in 4-5 quarts of water.  bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.  simmer 30-40 minutes.

p.s.  the smell of boiled chicken is just lovely!  (please sense the sarcastic tone)

remove the chicken from the pot with a slotted spoon.  using two forks, remove and shred as much of the meat as you can.

bring the broth back to a boil and add the frozen dumpling strips (cut to your desired size) and drop into broth one at a time, stirring frequently.

return the bones to the broth, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 45 more minutes.

remove the bones with the slotted spoon.

add the carrots, celery, and chicken to the pot, along with all the spices, and simmer for 10 minutes more.

*a quick note here:  i found my soup was underseasoned, which is either due to the excessive amounts of water or not enough spices or both.  fyi.

mix the flour with a little water, stirring until smooth.  pour it into the soup, simmering for another 5 minutes or until the broth thickens a bit.

seasoninnnngggssss.
these chips are not an ingredient. they are, however, the suggested snack while making the soup.
chicken carcass!
shredding with forks was WAY too tedious. get your hands dirty!
more chicken!

xlviii

kdavis 1 Comment

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like most of america, i spent last sunday afternoon cleaning house and preparing appetizers for my friends.  it was super bowl sunday!  what better excuse to get together, eat unhealthily, and drink?  i hosted a quaint party of ten at my condo and served up some pretty killer food.  the menu included buffalo chicken dip, spinach and artichoke dip, pimento cheese, chicken wings, and jalapeno poppers.  all homemade.  that’s right.  i slaved away in my little kitchen for three straight hours to get these prepped, mixed, and plated.  i truly do like to think of myself as the hostess with the mostess.

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