Baked Sesame Chicken

I envisioned something different. But alas, this is the best that it gets when it's baked and not deep fried. Visually, not terribly appealing. It tasted okay, but I don't think I'll be making this again any time soon. It does not even come close to the sesame chicken you'd get at a Chinese restaurant.

TheFoodeningBlog - Baked Sesame Chicken

Ingredients

2-3 lbs chicken body parts (drumsticks, thighs, wings, etc.)
1/4 c white sesame seeds, toasted
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
pinch of fresh ground black pepper
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp soy sauce 

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1. In a 9 x 11 x 3 baking dish, add soy sauce and tilt the dish so that the soy sauce covers the bottom evenly.

2. In a shallow dish, combine sesame seeds, flour, salt, and black pepper together. Dredge each chicken piece in the dry ingredients. Lay chicken in a single layer in the baking dish.

3. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the thickest part of the chicken measures 160 F on a meat thermometer. Remove from oven and serve hot.

Corn Chowder

What started out as a vegan recipe, turned into one not so vegan friendly. I don't usually stock vegetable broth since it's mostly just vegetables laced with onions that have been boiled in salt water for a period of time. Instead, I used beef bouillon as the broth base.

The Foodening Blog: Corn Chowder

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

2 c vegetable or beef broth
1 lb organic cut corn, frozen or fresh
One 14-oz can of organic coconut milk
3 organic celery ribs, diced
1 yukon gold potato, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil or unsalted butter
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp celery seed

Quick beef broth:

2 tsp Better than Bouillon Organic Beef Base + 2 c hot water

Directions

In a medium stockpot, melt butter or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic, celery, spices, and salt. Stir until the garlic has started to brown. 

Add the bell pepper, corn, potato and broth. Let this cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 10 minutes.

Last, add the coconut milk. This might take some serious spooning as it is winter and coconut fat is solid at room temperature.

At this point you could reserved a cup of the vegetables. Use an immersion blender to turn the soup into a chunky chowder. And then, put the reserved vegetables back in.

Serve hot.

Garnish: fresh ground black pepper and/or minced chives