Filmmaker/Director Miranda Sajdak shares recipe for Raspberry Chicken today!

I love Twitter. It's a cool thing when 140 of your typed characters meet 140 characters from someone in a totally different state or even country. Romances flourish and end, people connect and disconnect or just get crazy wild on Twitter.  Foodies like me can't be concerned with all of that though. There's more important things that catch our attention like gawking at twitpics and instagrams of pictures of food and sharing recipes.  That's how I met Miranda Sajdak (@BearRanda), Los Angeles filmmaker/director, and self-professed foodie.  

Somehow, through the chaos of millions of fellow Twitter buffs, we found each other and after an exchange of  tweets about recipes and food, well, one thing led to another and here she is...in my virtual kitchen sharing her recipe for Raspberry Chicken.  Thank you Twitter! Thank you Miranda!

Please welcome my multi-talented guest, Miranda, Chef-in-the-Kitchen today:

Raspberry Chicken

The first recipe is for what I refer to as "Raspberry Chicken," something I adapted from a German restaurant called The Student Prince,  that I used to go to near my home town in Springfield, Massachusetts. Having loved the recipe there for some years, I played around with a number of different ideas until I adapted it over time to taste like the recipe at The Student Prince. So - this is my adapted version:

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Chicken Breasts (fillets or tenders work here)
• 1-2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup raspberry vinegar
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Pepper (to taste)

While I heat a saute pan over med-high heat, I dredge the chicken in a mixture of flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper.

Once coated, I brown the chicken lightly on both sides in 1/2 stick butter (this is one of those "super-healthy" recipes ;). Careful, as both flour and butter have a tendency to burn - stir frequently.

Remove the chicken from the pan and keep warm to the side.

Mince shallots.

Add minced shallots to pan and saute 1-2 minutes, or until slightly translucent.

 Add the chicken stock and raspberry vinegar, and saute another 4-5 minutes until the stock/vinegar is reduced. 

Around this time I add about 1/2-1 tsp more salt, or to taste (pepper if needed).

Once the stock/vinegar has reduced, place the chicken back in pan, and add heavy cream. You may want to remove the heavy cream from the fridge and let it sit to the side when starting the recipe; it has a tendency to separate at high heats, though I've never found this to be a major issue with flavor here - more an aesthetic thing. 

Once the mixture is bubbling again, put the heat down to med-low/low, place a top on the pan, and cook for 20 mins, flipping the chicken to the other side and stirring at the halfway mark.

While the chicken is cooking, I make spaetzle:

Recipe for Spaetzle:
(this recipe is pretty much the same everywhere you look online; I've gotten it a number of different places over the years, but here's one I found recently that's closest - from Design Sponge)

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 fresh farm eggs (good eggs = good spaetzle!)
• 1/2 cup whole milk

Spaetzle is one of those weird foods that can only be found at specialized (German/Swiss/Austrian) restaurants in America, but seems to be everywhere in Eastern Europe. Basically it looks fancier than it is, and acts as a very versatile but not particularly difficult side dish, for those of us not counting the carbs.

Fill pot with water and place on stove on high (whichever pot you cook pasta with should be fine, size isn't hugely relevant here). Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately.

Gradually add wet ingredients to the dry, mixing together until you have made a sticky batter (it will be thick and stickier than you think it should be). I'm a bit partial to spaetzle, so have a spaetzle-maker, but you can easily do this with your fingers or a spoon if you prefer.

 Scoop tiny bits of batter into boiling water. 

Within a few seconds they will float to the top - that's when your spaetzle is done. 

Notes: I just add salt/flour as dry ingredients, but you can add garlic powder or cayenne or any number of ingredients to spice this up. Also, when I have time, I usually will cook the spaetzle in some butter/oil over high heat for a few minutes after removing from the water - this makes them crisp up really nicely for some extra texture.

Note 2: Living with a lactose intolerant-y makes these dishes a bit difficult (heavy cream/milk - oy!) - but though I can twist her arm for the heavy cream part of the chicken, I make spaetzle with soy milk. It sometimes helps to add a little extra at the end to make the batter a bit more malleable - that stuff is really sticky. Usually I just pour probably what amounts to 1/8 cup over the batter at the end to make it pliant.

Note 3: I generally also serve with a side salad/peas/broccoli/something green.

Mouth watering raspberry chicken and spaetzle!

Miranda, thank you so much for taking the time to share your recipe and great photos!

More about Miranda Sajdak: 

On your Twitter profile, you describe yourself as a queer filmmaker, movie-lover, foodie,  bookaholic,and  laughaholic.  Those sound like the perfect  ingredients for a fun and interesting person to be around.  Can you tell us any current projects you're working on?

Well, I certainly HOPE I'm fun and interesting! :) I'm working on a lot of things these days; my last short film project, Snapshot, got into Outfest and Palm Springs, as well as a number of other queer festivals (yay). My current project, Gone, is aiming to do even better! Gone got a great write-up in Autostraddle this week (http://www.autostraddle.com/gone-might-be-the-best-movie-youve-never-seen-109671/), and we have a Facebook (www.FaceBook.com/GoneMovie) and a Kickstarter set up (www.tinyurl.com/GoneTheMovie ) should you be interested in learning more about it!

You live in Los Angeles, movie capital of the world. How exciting! What's it like? Give us a snapshot of a day in your life.

What's great about LA is that it's always changing - I have access to incredible food, a wide range of people, and resources that aren't available in many non-metropolitan areas. My weekly life is generally pretty full of day-job stuff, but on the weekends I can do anything from going to Disneyland to browsing the local shops. One of my favorite Sunday activities is to get up early, hit the Hollywood Farmer's Market (where they have everything from fresh produce to locally-made ice cream and even a massage booth!), then head across the street to Arclight Hollywood to see a movie at a theater that doesn't have advertisements or cell phones interrupting your film experience. Makes for a great day combining two of my loves: food and film. 

You mention that you're a foodie.  Do you have any favorite chefs, cooks, bakers, Food TV personalities?  food TV shows? What makes you a foodie?

I have many favorite chefs, but I'm really a sucker for classical-style cooking. Ina Garten is probably my favorite modern TV personality, and I love her cookbooks as well - hearty, fresh ingredients are always the best. Healthy matters, too, but I'm never one to sacrifice flavor - spices are a necessity to any kitchen. But I think my dad is probably my favorite cook in the world. Though he doesn't cook for a living, he can make pretty much anything taste delicious. He definitely inspired in me my love for all sorts of ethnic cuisines, and I was lucky enough to grow up in a town where, within a block, you can find Moroccan, Tibetan, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and of course classic American food. Gotta love that! 

What's your favorite food? dessert? least favorite?

My favorite food is probably my dad's cooking. Really anything he makes is incredible. I'm also a sucker for ethnic cuisine, with Indian and Chinese probably being near the top of that list. Dessert - German Chocolate Cake. Not actually German, surprisingly! Who knew? But still delicious.

Do you prefer to bake? cook? both? Any humorous kitchen situations or food disasters you'd like to share?

Oh man...I love to do both. My favorite baking book is Maida Heatter's Great Chocolate Desserts. I just live for her FBI Cake. Yum! But I think cooking is probably the thing I lean towards most - perhaps because it's more of a necessity than baking. Though I love to bake on special occasions.

Food disasters...Well, this one time I was trying to prep for an International Cooking Day, and I decided I was going to make Rouladen for the first time (note: not a great first-time meal). Anyway, I bought way too many ingredients and didn't have the right kind of pan to cook them in, so I just shoved everything into a (relatively small) pot and hoped it would turn out all right. Of course, the bottom burned, the top was raw, total disaster. Just another lesson in the kitchen! Fortunately, we had every cook's Kitchen Savior at hand: speed dial for pizza delivery.

Here's a question for the single ladies.  Are you single? partnered?

I am happily partnered! 

Dinner for two...would you rather go out to dinner or cook for her? Or would  she cook for you?

Ohhh...well I think she'd rather have me cook, but I like to cook or to go out. I definitely like to cook to relax on the weekends, though the dishes sure do pile up. When I'm really looking to kick back, I enjoy a nice night out where neither of us have to worry about cleaning or prep. She's not so great on the cooking, but, fortunately, she is fabulous at eating my meals (and quite flattering about my kitchen skills as well - definitely a good thing to have in a girl).

Who rules the kitchen? You or your girlfriend?

Oh, I rule the kitchen. Many a time I've had to rearrange the fridge post-grocery-shop when the lettuce isn't in the crisper! But we get a good laugh over my Kitchen OCD behavior, and at least good food comes out of it all. 

Gang, keep your eyes on this talented woman, I'm sure we'll see more of her projects coming soon to a screen near you.

 

Blackberry/Strawberry/Blueberry Pie

It gets really HOT here in Arizona in the summer and that puts a damper on many outside activities.  So what's left to do when it's over 100 degrees and you don't feel like swimming or going to an air-conditioned mall?  Bake? Cook? Go out to dinner?  The latter gets expensive after awhile so I chose to bake and cook.  Berries are in season and I thought what better thing to do than bake a pie that consists of many of the delicious berries that are in season right now...blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries!  I found this great recipe in a Rachel Ray magazine so let's give it a try together shall we?

Recipe:
3 containers (6 oz each) blackberries (about 3-1/2 cups)
1 cup sugar (plus more for sprinkling)
1/4 cup quick-cooking tapioca (not pearl)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
8 oz strawberries (about 2 cups) halved
1 container blueberries (6 oz) (about 1-1/4 cups)
1-1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick butter (8 tbsp) plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg separated
Ice water
She suggests serving strawberry ice cream but I used vanilla. Serve it with the pie!

Wash 2 cups of strawberries and 3-1/2 cups of blackberries.

Wash and take off the stems of the blueberries (1-1/4 cups).

Blackberries, 3-1/2 cups.

Halve the strawberries.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup blackberries, 1/4 cup sugar, the tapioca, and lemon juice, mash with a potato masher. (I know this picture is blurry but it's kinda' hard to take photos when you've got fruit and flour on your hands!)

Stir in the strawberries, blueberries, and remaining blackberries, and 3/4 cup sugar.  Let stand for at least 20 minutes, gently stirring once or twice.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt.  Add 8 tbsp of butter and with a pastry blender or 2 knives (I didn't use either and used my hands instead).  Cut the butter into the flour until crumbly.  Continue working with your fingertips until the mixture is flaky.  In a cup, combine the egg yolk with 1/4 cup ice water.  Drizzle over the flour mixture and stir with a fork until incorporated and the dough is slightly moist but not wet. (Test by pinching some of the dough; if it doesn't stay together, sprinkle about 1 tsp more ice water and gather the dough into a mass).

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out to 13-inches round, rotating the dough occassionally to keep it even and to prevent it from sticking to the surface. Don't worry if you don't get a round shape.  It'll just make the top of your pie look a little more interesting :-)

Roll the dough up onto the pin and unroll over and into the 9-inch pie plate; center it and let the excess pastry drape over the edges.  Gently press the dough into the pan. I would have taken pics of this but my hands were covered in flour!

Spoon the berry mixture evenly into the pan, making sure to pour in all the juices that have collected in the bowl.

Dot the top with the remaning 2 tbsp butter.  Gently fold the pastry up and over the berries, pleating as you go around. In a small bowl, beat the egg white with a fork until frothy.  I used an electric blender.  With a pastry brush, lightly glaze the pastry all over with the egg white.  Sprinkle the dough with a few pinches of sugar. I like my pie crust a little on the sweet side so I was a bit liberal with the pinches of sugar!  

Bake the pie until the the berry filling is bubbling well, about 1 hour; check after 40 minutes and if the crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of foil.  You might also want to put some foil under the pie pan because the filling will probably bubble over.  It'll save having to clean the oven afterwards.

Let the pie cool completely, at least 4 hours, before cutting and serving with scoops of vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

This is a really easy recipe to make so I highly recommend you give it a try. Hey, if I can do it, YOU can too.  One bite and your family and friends will be asking for more.  I've made 3 of these pies in one week by demand!

Caprese Quiche

Today, my guest butch in the kitchen is Amy, also known as @Pirate71, on Twitter.  I met Amy a few months ago on Twitter and during the course of discussing food, women, and joking around about life in general, I asked if  she'd be willing to share something with us and she agreed!

If  you haven't tweeted before, I suggest that you give it a try. It's a fun way to exchange ideas, chat, & just goof off with other like-minded folks. Believe it or not, there are A LOT of foodies on Twitter.  I've had some fun conversations with lots of them and also learned about new and cool recipes too.  If you want to follow me, click on the "follow me" button with the bird on it to the right of this post. From there you can see who I'm following and follow them as well. then jump in and chat me up!

Alright, let's get on to today's project in the kitchen! Amy sent a recipe for Caprese Quiche with step-by-step photo instructions.  Ready? Got your whisk? Bowls? Here we go...

Recipe for the quiche (1 each):

1 deep dish pie shell

2 oz sun dried tomatoes, rough chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil chopped

4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

5 eggs

1-1/4 cup half/half

Salt/pepper/nutmeg to taste

Step 1 - Pre-bake the deep dish pie shells for 8 minutes at 400 degrees then set aside to cool.

Step 2 - Dice fresh basil.

Step 3 - Shred mozzarella, chop sun dried tomatoes, and add eggs in a bowl.

Step 4 - Add half and half to the eggs.

Step 5 - Whisk eggs.

Step  6 - Take a picture of Amy, our Butchie in the Kitchen hard at work...

Step 7 - Add sun-dried tomatoes to pie shells.

Step 8 - Add mozzarella on top of the sun-dried tomatoes.

Step 9 - Add freshly chopped basil.

Step 10 - Pie shells are now ready for the egg mixture.

Step 11 - Add egg mixture.

Step 13 - Loosely cover edges of crust with foil as shown below:

Step 14 - Into the oven they go!  Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes THEN 300 degrees for 30 minutes.

Step 15 -Remove foil from pies and wha la! No burnt edges.  Let them cool a little.

Step 16 - Prepare a nice salad with romaine lettuce, carrots, and Roma tomatoes.

Step 17 - Serve your quiche with the salad and enjoy!

Looks delicious! Amy, thank you for sharing your recipe with us!

About Amy:

Tell me about yourself. Hobbies? Happily married? partnered?

I am happily partnered for now but hopefully next April, if Renee still agrees to marry me, will be happily married.  We have been together for over 5 yrs. I’m pretty sporty, love the beach, outdoors and camping.  We spent memorial day this year camping on the beach, best part of which was making and eating breakfast about 20ft from the coast. I spent about 5 yrs of my life cooking in a kitchen, a pizza kitchen, but still a kitchen.  I loved making and creating wonderfully tasty things but after several years I started to lose that fun and it became work so I did what I needed to do and changed my career path.  I currently work in the communication/technology field and my love for creating in the kitchen has returned.

Do you prefer to bake or cook? or both? 

I actually like both but I think I’m better at cooking while she is much better at baking and making homemade jams & curds.

What is your favorite meal of the day to cook? Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Why?

I prefer to cook either breakfast or dinner. In my opinion lunch is kind of boring cause it is a meal you just eat for the sake of eating while breakfast & dinner can be elaborate meals that you can sit, savor and enjoy.

Who wears the apron strings in the kitchen? You or your girlfriend? 

Well, she looks “very nice” in an apron but we actually both have aprons but rarely wear them and we have found that we can cook very well together.

What made you pick Caprese Quiche to cook? Is it a family favorite? 

Well, Quiche is a household favorite and who does not like caprese salad? so I thought…why not mix them and see what happens.

Do you have an audience when you're cooking or are you solo? like kids, pets, wife?

Audience, yes but not intentional. We have cats and I have been labeled “The kitty food giver” so once I enter the kitchen the kitties come running to see what I’m doing.  Plus since we have teenagers and well they are usually always hungry they usually mill around the kitchen and see what is happening while dinner/breakfast is being prepared. 

That was yummy , what're we cooking next?

If you've got a recipe you'd like to share, either here or on your own blog and would like to link to this one, hit me up via email at: butchinthekitchen@gmail.com.