Month: December 2015

Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo

Traditional Cuban dish Arroz con Pollo is a one pot rice dish so full of flavors and textures it’ll transport you to the island.

Sunday Somethings

Sunday Somethings

I figured this sand castle was appropriate since people up here are currently making mud-men because there is no snow.  Plus, OLAF! Hello, Sunday. I just love it when Christmas falls on Friday because that means two four-day weekends in a row. None of this…

African Spiced Meatballs

African Spiced Meatballs

Well, we made it through the holiday! High five to us both for that and for these African spiced meatballs with Cilantro Chutney and Tamarind Dip.

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Twas the Night Before Christmas

Twas the Night Before Christmas

   Twas the night before Christmas and all through the town Not a creature was stirring, no one was around! The stockings were hung by the TV with care With one person missing, there was only a pair. The Buddhas were nestled, tucked in for…

Smoked Salmon Bubble & Squeak

Smoked Salmon Bubble & Squeak

Traditional Irish mashed potato and cabbage patties served with smoked salmon and over easy eggs make up this easy smoked salmon bubble & squeak.

Sunday Somethings

Sunday Somethings

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Photo taken by Kettle Corn

Hello, Sunday.

Here we go, team. It’s crunch time!  Shopping all done? House all clean?  Cookies all baked?

I have accomplished…none of the above.  I have a few more gifts to buy, a whole lotta laundry to do and I can’t even look one more cookie in the face.  But I’m feeling good about this week, and am looking forward to nothing more than waking up on December 25th with nary a damn thing to do but sit, sit and sit some more.  Definitely eat.  Probably do a puzzle.  More than one movie is for sure on the agenda.

A few years ago I got Little Buddha The Pacific mini-series and we all watched the whole thing. It was good, albeit a depressing way to spend Christmas.  This year, something lighter for sure.

Lots of goodies on the internet this week.  It was a much happier place than last.

Dick van Dyke, for one, contributes to that by singing Chitty Chitty Bang Bang a cappella.  All the happiness! SN: Dude is still rocking at 90. May we all be so lucky.

To quote my old college pal Flounder, after bombing Agrabah we must bomb Mustafa and Arendelle!  “30% of GOP voters support bombing Agrabah, the not-real city from Aladdin.”  Best get on that magic carpet and skidaddle, Abu.  

I’ve said it before, karma’s a bitch.  That nasty pharma CEO just got a taste of his own medicine when his lawyer hiked his fees 5,000%.  Oh, and he also subsequently got the boot from his company, Turing. Or stepped down. We all know how that goes. What goes around comes around, man.

Wise words from wise women: “Usually if someone tells you to tone it down, usually what they want you to do is turn it up.”  Tina and Amy on life.  

More wise women:  Recipes from Jane Austen’s novels and letters.  These recipes are questionable, but can I still have dinner with Mr. Darcy?

Still, more awesome women.  Serena Williams is Sports Illustrated’s first female sportsperson of the year in decades. You go, girl!

So embarrassing.  U.S. horribly fails the U.N.’s assessment of gender equality:  While the delegates were shocked by many things they saw in the U.S., perhaps the biggest surprise of their trip, they said, was learning that women in the country don’t seem to know what they’re missing.  The question is, what are we going to do about it?

Changing times.  New Orleans is getting a makeover by removing the statues of 4 prominent Confederates.  Perhaps now it’ll be clear that the South will not rise again…

Chicago is one of the worst cities in which to be single. Tell me something I don’t know…

Love letters from the grave. A different kind of love letter.  Pass the tissues.

You know I love me a good photo.  The best of 2015.  

Need some quick DIY decorating ideas?  I’ll be making these glitter bulbs later today.

And finally, all your favorite Christmas movies summed up in one perfect post.

Written after the normal Sunday hullabaloo.

Apple Banket

Apple Banket

Dutch pastry apple banket is a holiday tradition in many households with a sweet apple filling encased by flaky pastry.

White Chocolate Egg Nog Coffee

White Chocolate Egg Nog Coffee

White chocolate egg nog coffee is all the things in one- but whenever you enjoy it, you’ll warm up tip to toe and give you just the jolt you need.

Chicken Gingersnap Stew

Chicken Gingersnap Stew

The gingerbread house. Every year the best part of decorating/the bane of my existence. Have you ever made one?  I am not so crafty that I bake it from scratch, but I do add my own embellishments to the premade kit; Chex mix or pretzels for roof tiles, candy corn and chocolate for the bits and pieces, powdered sugar or coconut for snow. At the end of the day, I love the extra fun touch that it adds to my holiday decor, but as far as building it goes…after about 20 minutes of glee, I find myself sweaty and annoyed for the remaining 2+ hours of construction,  cursing my foolishness for yet again falling under the lure of gingerbread house building.  Admittedly all bad thoughts immediately evaporate as I proudly admire my creation, and all traumatic memories of house-building are long forgotten as I sit to build the next year.
 
But, not this year.  I mentioned that this season totally got away from me, and it looks like no house is happening this year.  As a consolation, and to feel one in some way with the gingerbread, I decided to remake hasenpfeffer that I had made before in a prettier way, substituting chicken dark parts for rabbit and making the whole thing a heck of a lot prettier.
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This one I named simply chicken gingersnap stew because to call it hasenpfeffer would be inaccurate since that technically means hare stew, and we do try to be accurate here at the HB.
 
Recipe notes:
The whole thing comes together rather nicely and the meat falls off the bones. I’d advise against using chicken breast for this because I wager it’d come out un-nice and dry.  
 
I saw gluten-free gingersnaps galore. If that’s your thing, this should be in your wheelhouse.
 
I imagine this would work in a slow cooker.  Set the timer for four hours on high and see how everything tests.
 
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Written late into the night, rocking out to the N’SYNC Christmas album.  You know you like it.

Chicken Gingersnap Stew

December 15, 2015
: 4
: 10 min
: 2 hr
: 2 hr 15 min
: Easy

This chicken gingersnap stew is inspired by the Dutch rabbit stew, hasenpfeffer, this mixes it up with chicken for a more supermarket friendly find.

By:

Ingredients
  • 4 chicken thigh, bone-in, skin-on
  • 4 chicken legs, bone-in, skin on
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
  • 2 large carrots, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 4 medium size Yukon gold potatoes, chopped into 2" chunks
  • 1 TB unsalted butter
  • 1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 2 TB tomato paste
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 2 cups chicken stock, low sodium or homemade
  • 1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed gingersnap cookies (7-oz bag)
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, to serve
Directions
  • Step 1 Preheat oven to 375F.
  • Step 2 Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. To a large Dutch oven (or similar), melt the butter and brown the chicken, about 3 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Step 3 Back to the Dutch oven, add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add in the tomato paste, wine and stock and bring to a boil.
  • Step 4 Add in the potatoes, gingersnaps and chicken. Cover and place in the oven for about 1 hour, 15 minutes to 1 hour, 30 minutes until the chicken is fork tender and the potatoes are cooked and soft. Give it all a good stir.
  • Step 5 Mix in the parsley and serve hot.
Sunday Somethings

Sunday Somethings

Hello, Sunday. Christmas is less than two weeks away! How are you all doing with that? Me…not so good.  I’ve managed to put up only two decorations in my apartment.  TWO.  Sadness.  I just have not had the time or motivation.  Let’s blame the sixty…