Chicken Drumsticks with Barbecue Sauce

Barbecue sauces aren’t just for barbecue. There are many different types available in various regional styles. These sauces add a big flavor to the dish and are perfect for a quick and easy dinner. There was a bottle of Wegman’s Memphis style barbecue sauce in my pantry and a pack of chicken drumsticks in the refrigerator. I pulled out a pressure cooker, and the dish was ready in 30 minutes. My husband particularly liked the spiciness from the chipotle chili powder, my secret ingredient, which also adds smokiness to the sauce. If you can’t take the heat, smoked paprika may be a good substitute.

Read More

Chicken Marsala

Let's face it, inviting friends over for a dinner could be stressful.  You try to impress them by offering French cuisine that you can hardly even pronounce.  Picking complicated, time-consuming dishes can land you in the kitchen all day long.  Unless you are really into cooking and enjoy spending time in the kitchen, that could be a torture.  Even worth, complicated dishes take away from the time you should be spending with your guests and that's not fun. If you want to have a stress-free dinner party, you need what I'll call, "easy-fancy."  A great example of easy fancy is chicken marsala.  It's easy to make, takes no longer than 30 minute, and it can be prepared in advance. If you are preparing it in advance, take the pan off  the heat before you add the heavy cream.  Reheat and add the heavy cream just before serving.  Serve with pasta, bread, or rice. Enjoy!

Read More

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken with Gorgonzola and Thyme

When I cook something for dieters, I'm trying not to cook dishes which scream "diet."  Many restaurant and food manufacturers offer low calorie menus or products for health conscious customers, and I've tried them. Some of them are okay, but sadly most of them are like eating cardboard. Yuck! Stop eating tasteless, boring "diet foods."  Those foods may fill you up for a short while, but they don't satisfy you. Eventually you'll be stressed out.  Being on a diet or eating healthy doesn't mean you have to give up on tasty foods.  Let's admit. We love to eat, don't we? So, here is  a recipe for those who care about their health but still want to enjoy eating.

Read More

Chicken Curry

Cooking Indian curry from scratch had been one of my greatest challenges for quite some time.  I started collecting spices and trying to cook authentic Indian curries since the mid 90's when I caught the bug for cooking. My interest in Indian cooking had waxed and waned over the years.  But my curry fever came back when I moved near an Indian community.  However, despite many attempts, my curries always fell short in flavor. I've read tons of recipe books and watched countless youtube instructional videos but couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.  So I asked my Indian friend for help, and I'm glad I did. Since then, I have been trying to improve my recipe, and after trail and error, I finally created the ultimate chicken curry recipe.

Read More