Tea Smoked Chicken

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns

1 teaspoon five-spice powder

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

1/4 cup white rice

3 tablespoon Chinese black tea

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons medium-dry sherry

2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably dark

1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

5 scallions (white and green), thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/2 head iceberg lettuce

Sriracha sauce or other Asian chili sauce, to taste

Juice of 1/2 lime

Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Cool slightly, and then crush in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle with the salt and five-spice powder until very fine. Rub seasoned salt all over the chicken thighs. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight.

Bring the chicken to room temperature about 30 minutes before cooking.

Line the bottom of a wok, skillet or heavy pot with a double layer of aluminum foil. Mix the rice, tea and brown sugar together and mound on the foil. Set a steamer on top, and evenly space the chicken on the rack. Cover and cook over high heat. Hot smoke the chicken until smokey-brown colored and cooked through, about 12 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, whisk the sherry, soy, ginger, and sesame together in a small saucepan. Bring to boil over high heat, remove from heat and steep for 5 minutes. Brush over cooked chicken.

To serve: Dice the chicken into very small pieces. Toss with the scallions and peanuts in a medium bowl. Cut the lettuce leaves into 40 squares or triangular scoops. Place a drop of Sriracha on top of each lettuce cup, and top with about 2 teaspoons of the diced chicken. Squeeze lime juice over the top, and drizzle the remaining soy-ginger sauce over the chicken. Serve.

Happy New Year 2012

Happy New Year to all. Hope 2012 will bring you lots of joy, great health and good food.

What do you plan to eat more in 2012? I suggest putting your focus on whole, real foods instead of seeking out the next big superfood or eating diet.

IN: Real Butter. OUT: Margarine.

IN: Whole eggs, cage free. OUT: Egg Whites.

IN: Grass-fed meats. OUT: Processed soy protein.

IN: Sea salt. OUT: Low sodium.

IN: Healthy Fats. OUT: Fat free.

IN: Farmstead cheese. OUT: Processed factory cheese.

IN: The Family Dinner. OUT: Activities trumping meal time.

IN: Fresh produce. OUT: Excessive supplements.

IN: Portion Control. OUT: Elimination Diets.

Just some food for thought. I know that I really want to change my habits and those of my family. So begins the change....How about you?

Olives the fruit of the Gods

From time to time I attend the food and trade shows here in Vancouver. It's a great way for those of us in the industry to keep in touch with new products, technology and for me personally to see so many familiar faces. I love going up and down the isles looking at everything new or discovering things I was looking for but didn't know where to start looking.

All of a sudden I come across OLIVES. This may not be so new of an item, but I have really come to appreciate these little fruits in the last couple of years. I marvelled in how these were so fresh and had so much flavour and well 10 times better then what I have been buying in the local grocery store at times. The unfortunate thing is I can't even recommend where you can buy these from, because here I am dealing with Restaurant Wholesalers who don't sell to the public.

But my point is don't miss an opportunity to find these little gems in some Mediterranean or even little Italian store tucked away somewhere or at the fresh markets that Vancouver has to offer.Use them as a snack, cut them up in a salad, fry them with chicken or fish there is endless possibilities.

Pour yourself a glass of wine, place a small bowl in front of you and just enjoy.

Caipirinha....Capa What??

Caipirinha is Brazil's National Drink made with Cachaca Rum. I discovered this drink a few years back and decided to revisit it one night with some friends. It was a great visit.

Cachaca is a distilled spirit from Brazil that is in a class of it's own, but is often associated with rum. The difference is that cachaca is made from sugar cane juice where rum uses molasses.

Step 1: You will need 2.5oz of Cachaca, 1 Lime, and 2tsp of granulated sugar.
* Slice the lime into 8 wedges.

* Muddle the lime wedges and sugar in a highball glass.

* Add ice to the glass

* Add the cachaca to the glass

* Stir and enjoy

Tip: Consume these in moderation

BEETS...earthy flavor

Roasting beets concentrates their rich, earthy flavor...while keeping them firm and almost potatoe-like texture.

The only thing roasted beets need is a light vinaigrette to be absolutely perfect. Always roast a few extra beets to use in salads and sandwiches or in other beet dishes.

Try this: 4 medium beets(trimmed & scrubbed)

2 medium oranges

1 Tbs. sherry vinegar

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. salt

2 Tbs. olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 F. Wrap each unpeeled beet in foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 40minutes or until beets are tender enough to be pierced with a knife. Cool until easy to handle.

Grate 1/2 tsp. zest from 1 orange: set aside. Trim ends away from both oranges, stand fruit upright and remove peel and pith with a knife. Holf fruit over bowl to catch juice. then cut segments from the membranes. Cut each segment in half and place in separate bowl.

Whisk together 2 Tbs. orange juice in a bowl, with vinegar, orange zest, lemon juice and salt. Gradually whisk in oil.

Peel beets by rubbing off skin under cold water. Cut beets into 1 inch pieces, and add to bowl with ornage segments. Top with vinaigrette, and toss well. Chill several hours before serving. Can be made ahead up to 2 days.

The Crab Feast in Tofino

March 18th I decided to make a trip up to Tofino with my family. A friend of mine had just finished building a cabin and we decided to take our families up there to enjoy a weekend of ocean, fun and hopefully fishing.

Living in Abbotsford made the trip a little longer then I would of liked. The whole time driving up there my children kept asking "are we there yet". The trip was taking too long for a 8 year old and a three year old to handle and they kept saying they were never coming here again. I kept telling them never say never...or at least until you see this place.

We went out on a fishing boat on the Saturday and it was spectacular. He took us out crabbing and we caught about 12 dungeness crabs in no time at all. We were also lucky to catch some beautiful spotted prawns, I was so excited about the feast we were going to have. The fisherman driving the boat took us around to see the sea lions, we fed the eagles off the back of the boat and saw some amazing senerery. He commented that the adults seemed more excited than the 3 kids that we brought along for the ride.

That night we did feast on everything that we caught, it has to be hands down the best dungeness I have every eaten. You could not have eaten anything as fresh as catching it that day. Unfortunately we had to leave the next day. My kids were asking me when we were coming back. I guess the drive was worth the experience.

The Wolf Trap

One day my wife had a friend over for the afternoon. My wife, Annette had bought a bottle of red and her friend brought over a bottle of South African, The Wolf Trap. Picture this, 2 Mom's, 3 kids, 2 bottles of wine and a Friday afternoon. Well this little unknown bottle of the Wolf Trap was a Syrah, Mourvedre and Viognier blend. It's no shy red, oozed big plum flavor with smoke and cracked black pepper.

Needless to say when I got home in the early evening that day. The 2 Mom's were feeling like they were having way to much fun, the kids had over run the living room area and the 2 bottles of wine....well let's just say...GONE. I did get to taste just a small glass of the Wolf Trap but I have bought this name again and again and would recommend to buy.