Meet Fred

The newest Hound at Hooves and Hounds Farm

With the addition of our new puppy Fred , tomorrow night we add puppy kindergarten to the already crazy farm schedule.

This weeks menu is a combination of do a heads and quick fixes.

Monday : Home made spaghetti sauce, side salad and bread

Tuesday: Vietnam Fried Rice w ground Pork

Wednesday: Grilled White fish sweet potato and green salad with berries.

Thursday: Biddeford's First Burger Crawl

www.biddefordsavings.com/burgercrawl/

walking tour of downtown Biddeford while stopping at 4 local restaurants ro enjoy burgers

Friday Black Bean Corn Chicken Taco Bake

Saturday: Pizza in the Wood Fire Oven

Fred's Room

Cider-Braised Chicken Thighs with Caramelized Apples

      This one is for Sunday ,from William Sanoma

                 

Braising is a cooking technique that uses moist heat in a covered pot with cooking liquid. You will often see a recipe calling for you to ‘‘deglaze the pan and scrape up all the browned bits.’’ Don’t skip this important step. The bits contain a lot of flavor that you want to incorporate into the sauce.

Cider-Braised Chicken Thighs with Caramelized Apples

6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 2 1/2 lb. (1.25 kg) total
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 large shallots, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) apple cider
1/2 cup (4 fl. oz./125 ml) low-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbs. cider vinegar
2 1/2 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into slices 1/2 inch (12 mm) thick

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.

In a heavy fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches as needed to avoid crowding, add the chicken to the hot pan, skin side down, and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Do not wipe the pan clean and keep it over medium-high heat.

Add the shallots to the pan and cook, stirring once or twice, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook just until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the apple cider, broth and vinegar, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up, and nestle it in the sauce. Cover and simmer
until the chicken is opaque throughout (no pink should show when you cut in next to a bone, and the chicken juices should run clear), 25 to 30 minutes.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a serving platter and cover with aluminum foil. Raise the heat to high and cook the sauce until nicely thickened, about 10 minutes. Add 1/2 Tbs. of the butter and stir until
melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and keep warm over low heat.

In a fry pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. butter. When the butter is melted and slightly browned, add the apples and sauté until golden brown, flipping them as you stir to cook on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes.

To serve, pour the sauce over the chicken and mound the apples on top. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6

Cool Nights

Using chorizo and green olives puts a Portuguese  twist on this hearty braised chicken dish that can easily be whipped up in a single Dutch oven . 

Chicken and Chorizo Stew

2 lb. (1 kg) bone-in chicken thighs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. (500 g) Spanish chorizo, sliced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. fresh oregano
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) white wine
4 cups (32 fl. oz./1 l) chicken stock
1 can (28 oz./875 g) plum tomatoes
1 lb. (500 g) baby potatoes, halved
1/2 cup (2 oz./60 g) pitted green olives

Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper. In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches if necessary, sear the chicken, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer the chicken to a platter.

Pour off all but 1 Tbs. of the fat from the pan. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer the chorizo to the platter with the chicken. Add the bell peppers and onion to the pot and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in the oregano, paprika and cumin and season with salt and pepper. Add the wine to the pot and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot, until the wine is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the stock, tomatoes and potatoes. Return the chicken and chorizo to the pot and stir to combine.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Uncover the pot and transfer the chicken to a platter. Increase the heat to high and cook until the liquid is reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot, stir in the olives and serve immediately. Serves 6.

End Of Summer

Been trying to get every last tomato in , before summers end.

 Have made lots of salsa and pickles.

Been working peppers and tomatoes in to the menu.

When writing the menu this week quick and easy is a must , cooking dinner late after exercising the boys.

Monday , holiday and a little more time to cook : Roast Pork loin green beans potatoes and fig sauce.

Tuesday: BLT on Tomato and Basil Bread

Wednesday: Burgers green beans and tomato salad

Thursday: Hoisin Chicken Stir Fry

Friday: Sweet corn off the cob Ditali pasta with cherry tomatoes and Jalapeno