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This is a delicious way to make a one pot meal. It all goes into a big roasting pan and you are done! I started with leg quarters- if I am not roasting a whole chicken, I like to cook leg quarters. Dark meat has a lot of flavor and is very forgiving as it doesn’t over cook.

When using very few ingredients, it is important to use very bold flavors. In this case, I used garlic, pancetta and balsamic glaze. I cooked the pancetta and then mixed it with the garlic, thyme and the glaze. I then slathered the chicken with the yummy mixture and roasted it.

To make things more interesting, I lined the roasting pan with slices of delicious sour dough bread and some potatoes. The potatoes and the bread come out deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I especially love the bread- all the flavors absorb really well.

I served this delicious meal with a green salad and a delicious glass of red wine. I love simple, delicious food with very good quality ingredients!

• 4 leg quarters with skin
• 6 to 8 slices of sour dough bread
• 4 to 5 small potatoes, peeled and cut in half
• Salt

Marinade

• ¼ cup pancetta, chopped
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze

Cook the pancetta in a hot frying pan until the fat is rendered on medium heat- it should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and take out in a bowl.

Pound the garlic, salt and thyme in a mortar and pestle till smooth. Add the olive oil and balsamic glaze. Mix well and add to the cooked pancetta. Mix well and keep aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the bread slices in a medium, lined baking sheet (9X13). Smear some of the marinade on the bread. Add the chicken quarters and the potatoes. Rub the marinade all over covering all the surfaces. Sprinkle salt generously all over. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and finish roasting till the chicken is done. Serve a piece of the chicken on top of the cooked bread with potatoes on the side.

I am sticking with the Asian theme so here is another delicious dish. One of our favorite Asian greens is Chinese broccoli. I love it! We make it a point to order it every time we go for dim sum. They usually steam it and serve a delicious hoisin sauce which is equivalent to a barbecue sauce. I love the earthy leaves with the crunchy stems.

A trip to the Asian store resulted in a big bunch of the greens and some of the tofu noodles. I realize once I get obsessed with an ingredient- I use it all the time. This dish can be served with any starch including white or brown rice- but we just love the tofu noodles. I also bought one ponzu sauce from the store. Ponzu soy sauce is a savory sauce with citrus notes- very yummy. I used it to marinate the chicken to give it a delicious flavor and I used it in a yummy sauce as well. The sauce also includes tamari, agave and orange juice- to mimic the ponzu flavors.

Overall it was a very easy and quick dish to make. It is super healthy and great for a weeknight meal…
Click here for the recipe… »

So here is my interpretation of one of our favorite dishes. We all love Thai cuisine and almost every trip to a Thai restaurant includes panang curry. I love the perfect balance of sweet, sour, savory and spicy. It is delicious. We drive 45 minutes every couple of months to our favorite Thai restaurant- Pad Thai in Highland Park. It is a bit far but the food is totally worth it. A few years ago, my daughter would wonder why we travel all the way there but now she gets it.

The food there has been consistently good for over 15 years. I know I just dated myself by making that statement, but that is okay.

Anyway, I usually don’t end up making too many Thai dishes at home but somehow I got inspired and decided to make this dish. The flavor is very similar to what we eat but it is not the same.

This dish does require a lot of ingredients but once you buy them, you have them for a while. So, definitely make this dish.. totally worth the effort…
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This is a delicious dish for a chilly weeknight or even weekend evening. When I hear ragu- I think of red wine. In fact I used the same red wine for cooking as I did for drinking. That is one of the secrets to a successful dish. If you use a subpar wine for cooking, it will intensify in the dish and taste really bad- but if you use a reasonably good quality wine- it results in a delicious dish. By good quality I don’t mean a super expensive wine. It is amazing what $10 to $15 can get you.

Anyway, this is kind of like a coq au vin but a lot easier. Also it is served on top of creamy, herb polenta. My daughter is not a big fan but my husband and I love it. I made it with chicken broth and milk and added fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme. The combination of the herbs and Gruyere made the polenta super flavorful and creamy.

Overall the dish was fabulous…
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It is that time of the year again- my favorite. Since last year, we have been spending Thanksgiving in Mexico. I really didn’t want to do it – not wanting to miss my all time favorite holiday. I love it so much because it is all about food- thats it… nothing else. I agreed to the vacation since everyone else wanted to go at that time of year. I decided to cook and celebrate Thanksgiving the following weekend- and it was great! I didn’t find the crowds in the food stores and everything was cheaper- including the turkey.

I make turkey breast, as everyone in my family prefers white meat. It works well for us- plus not a lot of leftovers. I know most people like a lot of leftovers- but I don’t. I like to be done with the meal and not worry about consuming any food later in the week.

Anyway, I digress from discussing this delicious turkey. I am still the the Latin cuisine mode- so guess what? This years Thanksgiving meal is made with lots of Latin flavors. Enjoy!!
Click here for the recipe… »