Chicken with Hummus and Yummy Veg

The best thing about having a long day at work, followed by an energized bike ride home, then a long walk with my dog, is finally coming home and sitting down to enjoy an amazing meal. I consider myself an insanely lucky woman to have the husband that I have. After days like today, i'd probably just settle in at home with some toast or raisin bran (Yes, i'm thinking of you Teresa!). I guess having someone to cook for can make all the difference in the world. Especially someone who appreciates it. And I appreciate it soooo much, you can't even imagine. Tonight's dinner is very fun and has a ton of flavour. I've even got leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

What you’ll need

Red onion

Red pepper

Cubanelle pepper

2 Chicken breast

Hummus

Olive oil

Oregano

Chili flakes

Cumin

Pita bread

What to do

Cut the chicken breast into cubes or chunks. Cut the peppers and onions into long wedges. Toss the veggies in olive oil with oregano, chili flakes and cumin. Place them in an oven safe pan. Toss the chicken in the leftover mixture and place in pan on top of the veggies. Cook for 16 minutes or so on broil, until black a bit. Stir once. 

Spread some hummus on a plate. 

Place the veggies and chicken on top. Serve with pita.

Total time, approximately 30-40 minutes.

Shanghai

$

I was excited that we ate here this evening because i've been wanting to add them to my list of restaurant reviews. We eat at Shanghai fairly often. They have, in my opinion, the best asian dishes in Ottawa and the best dumplings i've ever had. Ever. I get so excited leading up to eating them it's crazy. We got our usual tonight, the Shanghai Dumplings – pork-filled wontons, pan seared with fresh coriander and chives on a bed of bean sprouts and rice sticks, Vegetable Pad Thai – rice vermicelli, tofu, green peppers, egg, coriander, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and peanut and chili sauce, and Coconut Curry Shrimp in Spicy Peanut Sauce – shrimp served with a sauce of thai red curry, coconut milk and peanut on a bed of broccoli. I absolutely love these dishes. They have so much flavour and the coconut curry shrimp peanut sauce is to die for. Tonight we brought in the food, but it is a wonderful restaurant to eat at. It's not your traditional bright Chinese food type of spot, it's very warm and cozy inside with red walls, dim lighting and great service. They always showcase local artists work on the walls and they have fun theme nights or live DJs every now and then. If you've never been, go, you won't be disappointed. If you happen to go on a Saturday night after 9, you'll have a very entertaining evening – their Saturday night karaoke is the most interesting karaoke i've ever been to. Apps range from $1.50 to $7.50 and mains from $6.95 to $16.95.

www.shanghaiottawa.com

Chicken with Lemon and Tarragon

Tonight's dinner was divine and right out of a magazine. My husband started us (my mother-in-law was in town) off with a rillette, olives and baguette. Then he served a homemade celery soup, followed by our main, the chicken with lemon and tarragon served with wild rice. I didn't get all the details of the soup, he made it while I was walking the dog. But it was pretty much a mish-mash of leftover vegetables from the fridge, mainly celery, puréed into this delectable soup. I do have the recipe for the chicken though. It's actually quite easy, but if you didn't know, you'd think there was more work involved in it. The meat literally fell off the bone as you ate it and the lemon gave it the perfect tang. Serve with wild rice.

What you’ll need

Chicken drumsticks

Garlic

Olive oil

Lemon juice

Lemon slices

Tarragon

Salt and pepper

What to do

Toss the chicken in an olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper mixture then place them in a baking dish. Sprinkle the tarragon on the chicken and then add in the lemon slices. Cook at 425 for one hour. 

Total time, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes – mostly spent in the oven.

Vittoria Trattoria

$$+

Well it's been an Italian week for me to say the least. I've got my month's worth of starch and i'm ready to take on the world! We had a friend in town last night who was in the mood for Italian and wanted to eat in the market. So that was a no-brainer. Vittoria Trattoria has been consistently good for as long as I can remember. The atmosphere is perfect for an evening out, with dim lighting, beautiful stone walls and excellent service. They also have a pretty extensive wine list suitable for the average joe to the the most knowledgeable wine connoisseur. There's always a sommelier on staff who can help you choose the best wine. And he did just that last night, bringing us a delicious bottle of Colognole Chianti Rufina (2003). The wine went wonderfully with my choice in dishes, I went for the specials of the night, a roasted pumpkin purée to start and calabrese sausage with spinach, red onion, mushrooms and red peppers on whole wheat spaghetti with a marsala rosé sauce. The soup was absolutely divine, with a great blend of spices and the pasta had a medley of flavours that worked together and complimented the slight spiciness of the sausage. I've got leftovers for my lunch today and i'm just counting down the minutes until I can dig into it. Apps range from $7-$14 and mains from $13-$36.

www.vittoriatrattoria.com

Smelts

Please allow me to introduce you to one of my best friends – Dino. I met him on my husband's and my second date 9 years ago. He was the second man I ever met who skillfully prepared amazing meals. The evenings my husband wasn't cooking, we were over at Dino's enjoying one of his many mouthwatering dishes. We don't eat at his place as often anymore, but when we do it's always a treat, and tonight was no different. We snacked on some homemade bruschetta when we arrived. Then he served a light fried smelts dinner on bok choy. It was very yummy. I didn't take down a specific recipe, although I did follow him around with a camera (not a hosts favorite thing in the world i'm sure!) – but he was very accommodating. 

Homemade bruschetta.

Mmmmm smelts....

Toss the smelts in some flour and fry them with butter. Squeeze some lemon juice on them and sprinkle with salt and voilà!

Flying Piggy’s Bistro

$$+

A coworker of mine gave me a gift certificate to this restaurant a few months ago. I'm sorry it took me so long to finally go; however, I do find Italian food more cold-weather friendly (I can eat way more for some reason). The minute we walked in we were greeted by the best smile i've ever had walking into a restaurant. The interior was very cute, and not what you would expect coming in off Bank Street. It's very warm and cozy. As usual when presented with a great menu, I had a hard time deciding what to eat. I managed to narrow my decision down to either the Rutabaga, Pear and Maple Soup with Curry Oil Drizzle and the Roasted Lamb Sirloin and Hazelnut-Raisin Brown Butter with Pumpkin and Spinach Bread Pudding from the daily specials or the Escargot Crostini – Garlic Snails with Blue Cheese Sauce and the Ravioli of the day – Duck, Ricotta and Raisins stuffed in their homemade pasta and smothered in a wonderful Rosé Sauce. If you haven't noticed by my last two posts, I have a soft spot for ravioli. So I went with that. They brought some warm buns with oil and balsamic to start. I did the best I could not to fill up on bread. Then my appetizer came. It was delicious! And it took all of me not to lick the last of the blue cheese sauce off the plate. My main was also very good, and I really enjoyed the raisins in the ravioli, it was a unique and fun change to your typical Italian dish. All in all, it was a wonderful evening. Apps range between $7 and $12 and mains between $14 and $26.

www.flyingpiggys.com

Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter Sauce

Here's the original recipe that the sweet potato ravioli came from. If you are trying to decide which one to make, the maple cream sauce version my husband made is much better. This one is really good too, but the other one is more of a wow kind of dish because of the sweet flavours. Below is the recipe copied from epicurious.com. My husband served this with warm baguette and a mesclun mix salad with pumpkin seeds and shaved parm.

What you’ll need

Ravioli
2 1-pound red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams)
2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
1 12-ounce package wonton wrappers
1 large egg, beaten to blend

Fried shallots and sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large shallots, cut crosswise into thin rounds, separated into rings
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter
8 large fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

What to do

For ravioli:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil rimmed baking sheet. Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise; place cut side down on baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 35 minutes; cool. Scoop potato pulp out of skins into small bowl. Spoon 11/3 cups pulp into medium bowl. (Reserve any remaining potato pulp for another use.) Add sugar and butter; mash well. Season filling with salt and pepper.

Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Place wonton wrappers on work surface. Using pastry brush, brush wrappers with beaten egg. Place 1/2 tablespoon sweet-potato filling in center of each. Fold each wrapper diagonally over filling, forming triangle. Seal edges. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature while preparing fried shallots and sauce. (Can be made up to 5 days ahead. Freeze, then cover and keep frozen. Do not thaw before cooking.)

For fried shallots and sauce:
Heat vegetable oil in heavy small saucepan over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, fry shallots until crisp and dark brown, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Cook butter in large pot over medium heat until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add sage and red pepper.

Meanwhile, working in batches, cook ravioli in pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. Add ravioli to pot with butter sauce; toss to coat. Transfer to plates, drizzling any sauce from pot over ravioli. Top with fried shallots and pine nuts; serve immediately.

Total time, approximately 2.5 to 3 hours. Mostly spent on making the ravioli.