Clementine chicken

Or tangerine chicken. Or even orange chicken.  #anythingwillwork

Had a friend (Wendy, dear dear Renee's daughter, my age, ex-teacher, great reader, lovely sense of humour and as caring as her wonderful mother....) to lunch.  It had to be a slow-cooker job as we were in church all morning, so....

Chicken.6 - 8 thigh fillets
6 small clementines
1 small onion
1 carton (284ml) single cream

Brown 6 - 8 thigh fillets or chicken breasts with one finely chopped onion in butter.
While it is cooking, place three sliced clementines (the kind that are DIFFICULT to peel, not the kidn with loose skin) and four small new sprigs of rosemary at the base of the cooker.
Put the chicken on top, add another couple of tiny clementines, sliced, season.
Deglaze the pan with a little water - perhaps 50ml or a little more.
Cook for 4 hours on high.

Mix a large tablespoon of cornflour with a little cream. Add a ladle of juice/stock from the slow cooker, stir, return to slow-cooker. Heat up remainder of a 280ml carton of single cream in the microwave until hot but not boiling, add to slow-cooker. Let cook for a further 20 minutes if there is time, tasting and adjusting seasoning with a squeeze of lemon juice and more salt if required.

Absolutely delicious served with rice and mixed salad.

Slow cooker creamy chicken, leeks and mushrooms

This is my recipe, but I found a very similar one at magicskillet.com 

Put in slow cooker:

3 large thinly sliced leeks

1 cup cubed potatoes (optional - may leave out if serving with mashed potatoes)

750g chicken pieces: thigh or breast fillets, seasoned with salt and pepper.

Pour over a good half to one cup lemon juice or white wine. 

Cook on High.

After 3 hours, add 100 - 200g thickly sliced mushrooms and 3 large cloves of garlic, crushed.

Cook for another hour, then remove lid. 

Add half to one cup of cream, or to taste.

Cook for a further hour, half covering with lid if it looks as if the liquid is not simmering well.

Total cooking time: 5 hours on high.

More good slow cooker recipes here.

Baked salmon with nuts

This recipe is from LeAnn over at She Cooks:

Pistachio Crusted Salmon with Creamy Dijon Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 salmon filets, approximately 6 ounces each
• salt and pepper
• 4 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted but not hot (room temperature)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 lemon

Creamy Dijon Sauce

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Remove the skin from the salmon and pat with paper towels to dry the filets completely. Lightly salt and pepper the filets.

In a small bowl, combine the Dijon, butter and honey.

In a shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs, pistachios and parsley.

Brush the Dijon mixture onto the salmon and then roll in the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place in prepared baking dish. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the salmon. (Reserve the other half for garnishing.)

Place in the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until the salmon flakes easily with a fork.

Prepare Creamy Dijon Sauce while salmon is baking.

Combine heavy cream and Dijon mustard in a saucepan and bring to a low simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking frequently. Whisk in butter until melted. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, spoon a small pool of sauce onto plate and place salmon filet on top. Drizzle a little more sauce over the salmon. Garnish with a slice of the remaining lemon. You can also garnish with a sprig of parsley and a few pistachio nuts.

Joan's cheesecake

This is possibly my newest recipe. Uncooked cheesecake. Joan, who I know from Alpha and its follow-on, produces this wonderful dessert at every social occasion.  I'm not sure I have the recipe exactly right, but it's good enough:


Uncooked ginger cheesecake

Stir 75g butter or hard margarine into 250g crushed ginger biscuits. Press into an 8" tin with removable sides, or onto a plate within a circle of waxed card, which works just as well. Possibly better.

Beat 400g room temperature cream cheese with the zest and juice of a lemon. Stir in 250ml whipped cream until completely mixed. Pour onto biscuit base and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.  Drizzle with a little chocolate melted with a teaspoon of butter.