March Madness Story
Life & Culture March 8th has a twist on march madness. Division 16 and the spicy sandwich battle. A Fun story idea and interesting twist. I would like to see the data and how this is displayed back to the voters.
Author: Chef Francis Xavier
Food Trends 2023
Life & Culture from Wednesday January 25 2023 has a short clip about Food Trends. It is an interesting thought, Trends. I have the mindset of consistency and basics. For My look ahead in 2023 i will still look for simplicity, clear thought, consistency and […]
2022 Most Popular recipes data analytics – there is an AI story in there… someplace.
From NY Times – “Most popular recipes of 2022” the title captured my interest. Surprised and delighted that NY is tracking. Not sure. It continues as Sometimes the chaos of life calls for an all day cooking project. Examples are given ( and I like the simplicity) of a big pot of Sunday sauce. Delightful. back to recipe story – how is trending captured? The data analytics kicks in. New York Times Cooking readers clicked on the most in 2022 – with the outliers being recipes for special projects such as Thanksgiving. still have to clean up that data.
Big data is watching, but can big data cook a big pot of Sunday sauce
2022 winner == StickyCoconut chicken and rice
Sticky Coconut Chicken
NY Times readers most "clicked" on recipe
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds Chicken thighs boneless skinless cut into 2 equal pieces
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil stated neutral similar to Safflower
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoons garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons ginger minced
- 1 1/2 cups short grained rice rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups chicken stock
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk
- 1 yellow pepper chopped 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 scallions chopped
- 1/2 cup cashews
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Coat the chicken w one tablespoon of oil, season with one teaspoon of salt and one quarter of teaspoon pepper
- Add the chicken to the Dutch Oven and sear. Remove the chicken from the Dutch Oven
- add oil, garlic and ginger.
- add the rest of the oil and coat the rice
- add remaining garnish
- finish with stock and coconut milk
- bake in the oven until done.
- add cashews to the finished dish
Notes
#I like adding the Dutch oven to the warm up cycle of the oven so that when the prep is ready – the Dutch oven can give a nice sear to the chicken. Work the chicken in until it has a good sear. (#Sear == Medium raw) take the chicken out and set aside. Add the remaining oil, ginger and garlic until translucent. I like to hear the garlic and ginger sing – but do not burn. Give it 30 seconds. Add the rice, stir evenly and coat with the oil. add bellpepper, scallion and cilantro.
Add chicken stock and Coconut milk. Cover and place back into the oven. approximately 25 minutes
“Were Open”
Denver Post Life & Culture Dec 28, 2022 writes Denver Food Scene “Were Open”. Nearly three years after the pandemic began, it finally feels like Denver’s restaurant scene is starting to get back to its grove. My goodness. From where I sit, we definitely have […]
herbs de Provence
while actual herbs that make up the blend, usually it is a combination of lavender, rosemary, savory, and thyme: basil, bay leaf, fennel, marjoram, oregano, sage and sometimes not. the full power of herbs – beyond the dried herbs is bringing forward a warm summer […]
Dining Out @
Dining out we sampled the fares at Chicken and Beer as Estes Park eatery. the decor is the first indication that this is a fun eatery. the 1909 carriage house on the grounds of the Stanley Hotel is remodeled and comfortable … as is their food. Comfort food. Fresh sides are flavorful. We sampled the brussels sprouts and Coleslaw. Everything chicken that was tried (and fried) is really good.
really good Cole slaw 
Loved the inverted Tree. 
Festive Luminaires 
Salad with Chix 
fun interior 
Fried Chicken and waffle w Gravy. Spot on.
Our waitress was proud to tell us that the Fried Chicken breading is gluten free… She sold it as her favorite and it did not disappoint. It is worth the stop in you are looking for Snow and stop in Estes Park Colorado.
Lingers. a treat
A restaurant visited last night (Halloween 2022) Lingers is a treat that surprised and delighted. (a bit of back ground) Lingers is housed in a former mortuary in the Highland Neighborhood. the celebrity at the restaurant last night was HarleyQuinn and Maleficent. We wished to […]
Artisan Baking
Life & Culture Denver post 2022-10-26 feature article is Sourdough. a thing that makes me think … Hmmm. the article starts with a sub heading Hops and Pie overhalls pizza menu, highlighting the way chefs are thinking about crusts… Hmm Hops & Pie Artisan Pizzeria. […]
Stuffed Shells.
Week Night Dishes from DenverPost Life & Culture 2022-10-26 had a crave for stuffed pasta shell. It was from ‘Five Recipes that you will crave’ our of NY Times and written by Emily Weinstein
‘Week night dishes’. Assemble stuffed shells earlier in the day and bake when you are ready. My goodness. This pasta dish was tough during service. Prep daily and with the ricotta filling – they went into the steamer and were often forgotten. Not one of the recipes that I crave as I still have service scars.
Apples
DenverPost’s 2022-10-25 Life and Culture has apples as savory accompaniment to Roasts. Specific to Pork roast. What is your thought on fruit with Roasted meats? Hmm. For myself – the twist here – is to keep the apples roasted on the savory path, Not sweet. […]