Showing posts with label january. Show all posts
Showing posts with label january. Show all posts
Friday, February 13, 2015
January HEB Primo Pick Cookwell Company Agave Dijon Glaze Featuring Agave Dijon Chicken and Apples
This month’s HEB Primo Pick featured product is Agave Dijon Glaze from Texas-based Cookwell & Company. Cookwell imakes a full line of soup starters and delicious gumbo starters, salad dressings/marinades, and sauces! Agave Dijon Glaze contains pure agave nectar (similar to honey), Dijon-style mustard, tequila, fresh orange juice, rice wine vinegar, and a special blend of seasonings. The glaze is tasty and extremely versatile: it can be used to glaze salmon, pork chops or chicken…and it makes a wonderful dip for chicken strips too!
I used this sweet-tangy sauce to make a quick and healthy dinner for us the other night. I found a great recipe for Dijon Chicken with Apples on Cookwell’s website, and I knew that it was exactly what I was looking for to highlight this yummy sauce. It doesnt get much simpler: chopped chicken tenders and diced apple are sautéed quickly. Then theyre flavored with the Agave Dijon Glaze, which coats the chicken and apples. I tweaked their recipe just a bit...I added some fresh thyme and a finely diced shallot that I had on hand in my kitchen. It took less than 30 minutes to make this quick skillet meal. That was just enough time to cook a pot of rice to round out this super-quick skillet meal. We loved the combination of flavors in this dish...and wait until you see how easy it is to make!Agave-Dijon Chicken and Apples
adapted from Cookwell & Company
Step 1: Add 2 tbs. olive oil to a large non-stick skillet and heat over med-high heat. Add 1 lb. diced chicken tenders and season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute the chicken until browned on all sides, stirring constantly. Turn the heat to medium and add the following ingredients: 1 diced honeycrisp apple (peeled and cored), 2 tbs. finely diced shallot, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, and ½ cup white wine – I used pinot grigio. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The apples should be cooked by then -- you want them to hold their shape and be slightly al dente.
Step 2: Add ½ cup Cookwell & Company Agave-Dijon Glaze and stir to evenly combine with the other ingredients. Cook for 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and coated/glazed the apple and chicken. Remove the thyme stems and serve the chicken mixture over your favorite rice. I cooked a package of garlic-butter rice, which worked nicely with the flavors of the chicken and apples.
This dish has a lot of flavor going on – chicken and the sweet-tart apples coated in a sweetly citrus glaze balanced with just a hint of Dijon mustard. The shallot and thyme provided a really nice balance of earthy background flavors to the sweetness of the dish, so Im glad I added them in.
Michael and I both really enjoyed this dish...and I especially liked that it only dirtied one pan and was ready to eat in less than 30 minutes. Can’t beat that! This recipe will be part of my ongoing weeknight dinner rotation for sure. My Texas readers can find Cookwell & Company Agave Dijon Glaze --and all HEB Primo Picks -- at their local HEB grocery store.
Monday, February 9, 2015
Culinaria San Antonio to Hold Inaugural Winter Restaurant Week January 19 24!
The San Antonio restaurant scene has literally exploded over the past 2-3 years...its been such fun to see so many great new restaurants popping up all over the city! Culinaria is San Antonio’s premier food and drink non-profit. Their goal is to celebrate, educate, and collaborate with local chefs, winemakers, and bartenders to support the city’s food and drink culture. To help expand San Antonios culinary reputation on both the regional and national level, Culinaria coordinates and hosts elegant wine dinners, extravagant cocktail tastings, and fun food and wine events throughout the year. Theyre kicking off 2015 with their first ever Winter San Antonio Restaurant Week January 19th through 24th!! Restaurant Week will highlight many of the best local chefs and restaurants. Summer Restaurant Week is held annually in August and is one of the citys culinary highlights. I know the Winter edition will be very popular as well. |
| August 2014 -- We enjoyed a three-course gourmet dinner at Bite during Restaurant Week! |
In addition to serving local food lovers fabulous food, every participating restaurant will donate a portion of their proceeds to benefit Culinaria and its continued outreach initiatives. For every meal ordered specifically for San Antonio Restaurant Week, participating restaurants will donate $1 from each lunch menu and $2 from each dinner menu ordered to benefit Culinaria. Participating restaurants will offer multi-course prix-fixe lunch and dinner menus in two pricing tiers:
- Tier 1 establishments will offer a $15 three-course lunch menu and a $35 three-course dinner menu.
- Tier 2 establishments will offer a $10 three-course lunch menu and a $25 three-course dinner menu.
Reservations are not required, but they are encourage; contact each participating restaurant directly to make reservations. For a complete list of participating restaurants and their Restaurant Week lunch and dinner menus, visit the Restaurant Week website. Also be sure to follow Culinaria on Twitter to learn more about their #eatdrinkgive campaign and events. Im very excited to share that The Weekend Gourmet will be taking part in next weeks Restaurant Week festivities for this months The Weekend Gourmet Dines Out feature.
Disclosure: The Weekend Gourmet will be partnering with Culinaria to provide media coverage during Restaurant Week. To facilitate coverage, Culinaria is providing us complimentary meal vouchers to participating restaurants. Culinaria is an independent not-for-profit organization committed to promoting San Antonio as a premier wine and food destination while fostering community growth and enrichment. Culinaria is a registered 501 c (3) tax-exempt organization. There is a valued volunteer board of directors who represent the community and guide the organization in its mission.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Lighten Up Salads for January TheSaladBar Featuring Mexican Winter Salad
This month, #TheSaladBar is focusing on Lighten Up Salads…salads that pack a lot of nutrition and flavor, but not a lot of calories and fat. After a few weeks of holiday indulging, many of us are focusing on healthier eating habits this month. I’m sharing a side salad that pairs really nicely with grilled chicken or fish. My Mexican Winter Salad features fresh, vibrant flavors…and a dressing that has only 1 tbs. of olive oil. My jumping off point was a salad that I found at Cooking Light’s fantastic website. I made a few tweaks and additions to make their salad my own.
I added dried cranberries and juicy mandarin orange segments in place of avocado, and I traded pine nuts for pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds). Jicama and pomegranate arils are ingredients I dont use often in salads, giving the salad extra crunch. This colorful salad is a snap to put together, especially if you buy ready-to-use pomegranate arils and bagged chopped salad mix from the refrigerated produce section.
Mexican Winter Salad
adapted from Cooking Light
Ingredients for two side salads:
- 2 cups ready-to-use bagged chopped salad
- 1/3 cup diced jicama
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 2 green onions, sliced
- 1/3 cup pomegranate arils [NOTE: I used POM Wonderful POM POMs]
- 1/2 cup diced mandarin orange segments
- 1/3 cup pepitas
For the dressing:
- 2 tbs. lime juice (approx. 1 large lime)
- 2 tbs. pomegranate juice
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- 1 tbs. honey
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or grated
- 1/4 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. fresh cilantro
- Salt & pepper to taste
Step 1: Add the salad blend to a large mixing bowl. Top with the rest of the salad additions. Refrigerate while you make the dressing.
Step 2: Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk to combine and drizzle on top of the salad ingredients in the bowl. Toss with tongs to combine all of the ingredients. Plate to serve.
This salad is bursting with the big flavors I love....the fact that it’s also chock full of healthy ingredients is even better! The dressing is fresh and fruity, and the salad ingredients mesh very nicely together. The tangy pomegranate arils and juicy mandarin oranges work really nicely with the earthy jicama. I could eat this salad all day and not feel the least bit guilty! To make this a main dish salad, simply add some seared jumbo shrimp or maybe cubed chicken breast. If you’re enjoying a meatless day, perhaps add crumbled cotija or feta cheese for a bit of protein.
Make sure to check out the salad creations the rest of this month’s #TheSaladBar participants are sharing. They’re all lower in calories and fat, but big on taste and nutrition. That’s a win-win combination, my friends!
);
Sunday, February 1, 2015
January Foodie Recipe Collection Big Flavor Casseroles One Dish Wonders for Busy Cooks
Check out Big-Flavor Casseroles -- One-Dish Wonders for Busy Cooks!
by Wendy Wofford-Garcia at Foodie.com
For this months Foodie Contributor Recipe Collection, Im focusing on a subject thats very near and dear to my heart: casseroles. Theres something very comforting about cooking -- and eating -- a hearty meal thats baked in the oven until bubbly. For me, casseroles bring back memories of my childhood. As an adult, casseroles tend to find their way to my dinner menu on a weekly basis. Casseroles are a busy cooks best friend, because theyre a filling and complete meal thats baked in one dish. That means less cleanup after dinner -- and leftovers make a delicious lunch the next day!
Casseroles can get a bad rap from those who consider them too retro or old school for modern cooks...but that definitely doesnt have to be the case! The recipes Im sharing this month have one thing in common: they all feature robust flavors that will temp your tastebuds and warm your stomachs on a chilly Winter evening. Ive got everything from Tex-Mex to pasta bakes...and even a couple of casseroles that can be assembled the night before and baked the next morning for a leisurely weekend brunch. I hope youll give these flavorful one-dish wonders a try in your own kitchen!
Disclosure: This is a compensated post on behalf of Mode Foodie. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)