Baked Chicken + Fresh Vegetable Parcels

My siblings-in-law-to-be (try saying that five times fast) knew exactly what I wanted for my birthday this year—a subscription to Donna Hay’s cooking magazine. It’s a glorious thing, my friends. So many recipes and ideas and so little time to try them in. I can guarantee a few more Donna Hay-inspired recipes after this one!

I was inspired to try this chicken and vegetable dish for both its tastiness and simplicity for elegance. I was a bit wary of baking with baking paper packages until I saw our friend Kelli serve up an amazing halibut feast for us a few weekends back (Kelli’s got a special kitchen talent all her own, which you’ll be reading about soon in an upcoming Christmas surprise! Join the mailing list to find out more). The virtues of baking paper parcels should not go un-extolled; the meat comes out juicy and tender, the vegetables steamed and mouth-watering, and let’s not even get into the virtues of easy plating and clean-up!

Be sure to try this recipe for your next dinner party or special occasion. Yum!

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Edited: December 12th, 2010

Chilled Corn & Bean Salad with Chicken

This chilled corn and bean salad with chicken is a result of one of those nights when you have some stuff in your fridge and it just kind of sits there and stares at you, and you know that you have to eat some of it but you aren’t sure what, how, or why. You wouldn’t think that this is a problem that I face frequently, but it happens more often than I enjoy. However, once you hone in on a couple ingredients and skim through a cookbook or two (or ten), some really yummy dishes can result!

If you’re stuck for dinner one night or want a recipe that’s pretty fail-safe, give this a go! It’s pretty quick and cost effective besides.

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Edited: September 22nd, 2010

Shakshuka (Egg in Tomato Sauce)

Something with that much cheese and olives on it has to be delicious, right? Right. I’d never heard of this dish until I saw it in this post on Smitten Kitchen. I wasn’t doubtful per se of the recipe, it just seemed a bit unusual—but the recipe stuck in my head for months. There’s just something about the idea of a delicious tomato sauce with an oozing egg yolk paired with fresh feta (or ricotta) and olives… how could I not give it a try? The results: a delicious and simple weeknight meal for two. It felt more like comfort food than a healthy dinner, but shouldn’t most worthwhile recipes?

Shakshuka (or shakshouka) is a Middle Eastern dish, now primarily recognized for its prominence in Israel. Apparently it also resembles the Latin American dish huevos rancheros, which is more often a larger breakfast meal. Though, in its simplicity, I can imagine it would match a few other dishes too!

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Edited: July 8th, 2010

White Fish + Black Olive Salsa

This recipe (almost) qualifies as a guilty pleasure of mine, as our flatmate doesn’t like fish, olives, or spicy foods. Fortunately my boyfriend does! This was a culinary adventure of ours (inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe, of course), while our flatmate was out for an evening.

This is a very flavourful recipe without too much effort. Since fish cooks so quickly and the sauce only requires a bit of chopping, it would be a great weeknight meal or a tasty option to serve to guests with minimal stress.

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Edited: May 15th, 2010