Blackened chicken drumstick with sweet potato fries, kale salad & yogurt sauce

Kale; the super food that has recently turned up on almost every foodies and health freak blog in every shape and form. Chips, in a smoothie, various pie constellations and just the way it is, raw. I'm surprised no ones made a kale cupcake yet. Oh wait! I take that back, according to Brooklyn Magazine, "Kale Cupcakes Are a Thing", read their post about them here. I'm not surprised, why not do a mash-up of two foodie trends? I'm just pissed I didn't think of it first. More and more people are getting hooked on the kale trend; what kind of foodie would I be if I didn't join the craze?

I went with a kale salad to match this blackened chicken and sweet potato fries, because to be honest, you really don't have to do much with kale. It tastes great just the way it is (you can always dress it up a bit like Cupcakes and Kale has done, with apples and walnuts. See her recipe here!). Add a bit of olive oil and some freshly squeezed lemon juice if you like and you're all set for a salad packed with fiber, protein, iron, magnesium, vitamin A, C, B6 and calcium, to name just a few. You can read more about it here.

The What

4 portions

4 chicken drumsticks

2 large sweet potatoes

4 handfuls of kale

Greek yogurt

feta cheese

fresh thyme

Marinade

1 dl olive oil

½ dl soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

1-2 garlic cloves

salt & pepper

The How

Mix the marinade in a large plastic bag or in two smaller bags. Add the chicken. The marinade should completely cover the chicken. Close the bags and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, turning the bags once. 

Set the oven to 200 degrees. 

Cut the sweet potatoes into sticks, I cut mine a bit bigger than regular fries, but you can do as you like. Keep in mind that thinner fries have a tendency to get dry faster so keep an eye on them in the oven. Spread the fries on an oven tray, season with salt & pepper as well as chili flakes, if you like. Drizzle over olive oil and put in the oven for about 20 minutes, depending on the size. 

Put the chicken in an oven safe dish and set in the oven. The chicken is done when the juice is clear, the meat is white and comes easily off the bone. If you're unsure, cut one open and check. Better safe than sorry! 

Crumble the feta cheese, add the yogurt and some pepper. Mix together and top with fresh thyme. 

Serve with the kale salad, just as it is or with some freshly squeezed lemon, olive oil and salt & pepper. 

Chicken pie with asparagus and broccoli, topped with Parmesan

If you have a lot of ingredients at home that you can't really use for a full meal, like 1 chicken breast or 4 mushrooms or ½ a piece of ham, then make a pie! Easy and good, gets rid of all your leftovers and it's easy on your wallet too.

This is what I used:

Dough

3 dl flour

125 g butter

3 tbs cold water

Filling

6 eggs

6 dl whole milk

thyme

1 chicken breast

½ piece of smoked ham

300 g broccoli

6 mushrooms

asparagus

1 spring onion

2 cloves of garlic

grated Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

The How: 

Start making the dough as it needs to sit for about 30 minutes in the fridge before pre-baking it in the oven. Cut the butter in small pieces, put in a bowl together with flour and use your fingers to "nip" the dough together. Add the water and mix to a doughy consistency. Put the dough in your pie form and use your fingers to press it out evenly in the form. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the dough and stick it in the fridge for 30 minutes. Set the oven to 225 degrees and while it heats up, start with the filling.  

Cut the chicken into slices and fry in oil until cooked all the way through, add salt and pepper while it fries. Don't cook it too long, you don't want it to get dry! Put to the side for now. 

Cut the ham into smaller pieces, put to the side. 

Cut the mushroom, slice the onion and finely chop the garlic cloves, add salt and pepper. Fry in oil in a pan until soft and until the mushrooms have let out most of their water. Put to the side. 

Cut the broccoli in smaller bunches and break the asparagus to get rid of the thready part. Blanch in salted boiling water and quickly cool down under cold water. Put to the side for now. 

Mix the eggs, milk, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add fresh thyme. 

Take out the pie crust from the fridge and pre-bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and put the chicken, mushrooms, ham, onions, garlic and broccoli in the crust. Pour in the egg and milk mix and top the pie with the asparagus. 

Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes. You may have to cover the pie with some foil after about 30 minutes so that it doesn't burn. When there's about 10 minutes left, take out the pie and top it with Parmesan cheese. Finish off in the oven. 

Serve with a nice salad!

I realize the HOW looks super difficult, but I promise, it's not. It's just a lot of steps. The prep time is only about 20 minutes and worth it to get a really good pie, bursting with flavor. And you can use whatever ingredients you like, which means that you can minimize the prep time. 

Get going, make use of your leftovers!

Chicken burger on sour dough bread with mango dressing, spicy fries and baby spinach salad.

You know when you really feel like having a burger? But then you're like "No, I really shouldn't, I have to think about beach 2014...". Living in Sweden I will only get about 2 months (if I'm lucky) of sun and it won't even be strong enough to make me tanned. To be honest with you, I would love to have that will power to say NO to pasta, NO to cheese, NO to wine, NO to the occasional pizza or burger and really go for that tight sexy beach bod this year.. But I just can't, food is just too damn good!! ... and also, I am a bit too lazy.

Chicken burger on sour dough bread with mango dressing,
spicy fries and baby spinach salad.

Take some advice from one of the greats: 

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” 

― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Or as I like to say:

"The belly rules the mind".

- Spanish Proverb

The burger below is actually quite easy to make your own; you can eat it without the bread and you can use whatever dressing you like, add or take away anything really to make it more, or less, healthy. This is what I used (and it tasted amazing!):

Prepping; sliced tomatoes, mozzarella, baby spinach
 and the mango dressing.

The What:

500 g minced chicken breast

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 egg

Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese

200 g baby spinach

Tomato(es)

2 dl creme fraiche

Mango Chutney to taste

10-12 potatoes

chili flakes

salt and fresh ground pepper

Sour dough bread

Making the chicken patties; It's a lot easier using a spoon
and make the patties right in the pan!

The How:

Put the oven to 200 degrees.

Slice the potatoes into halves and slice the halves into sticks. Put the potato sticks in an oven safe dish, add olive oil, salt and fresh ground pepper and chili flakes to taste. Put in oven for about 20 minutes. 

Put the finely diced red onion, the grated garlic and the egg in a bowl. Using a spoon, mix together with the minced chicken breast and finish with some salt and pepper.

Mix the mango chutney with the creme fraiche to taste, add more if you want it extra mangoey!! Add salt and pepper here too if you want, although it's not necessary.

Slice the tomatoes, the mozzarella and wash the baby spinach.

Heat a pan with olive oil and use a spoon and make the chicken patties straight  in the pan. Fry until they are a golden brown and cooked all the way through. They burn quite easily though so be careful!

Cut the bread into slices and put them in the oven on top of the fries when they've been in the oven for about 15 minutes. 

Home made fries in the oven; letting the bread soak
up the oil and spices.

Put the bread on a plate, add the chicken patty, mozzarella, tomato, baby spinach and finish with the mango dressing. Serve with the chili fires and a nice spinach salad.

Lime Chicken with a Green Curry Sauce, Beer and Good Friends

All you really need for a great night is good friends, a table, some drinks and of course some good food that doesn't take all night to make. 

We started with a bottle of Langlois Crémant de Loire Brut (no 7404 for 121 SEK at Systembolaget for all the Swedes), a fresh dry sparkling wine from the Bollinger Family and a few Bruschettas to match the liquid gold. 

 The What 

4 medium sized ripe tomatoes

1 large garlic clove, crushed

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, to taste

10 fresh basil leaves, finely diced

salt and freshly ground pepper

1 rustic baguette, sliced

The How

Finely dice tomatoes and put in a bowl. Crush the garlic clove into the tomatoes, add the olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, the basil leaves and stir carefully with a spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let stand in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. Put the baguette slices in the oven at 120 degrees and toast lightly. Spoon the tomato mix on to the toasted baguette slices and serve with a basil leave on top. 

While the guests finished the Bruschetta I got started on the Lime Chicken, which is really easy to prepare and gives you plenty of time to hang out with your guests. 

The What (serves 4)

4 chicken fillets

1 lime, zest and juice

2 tbsp green curry paste

1 tbsp honey

1 can (400 ml) of Coconut Milk

1 cube of chicken stock

Half a cup of water

The How

Sear the chicken in olive oil in a pan until they are a nice brown color. Be careful not to burn them. Mix together the Coconut Milk, the green curry paste, the honey and the half a cup of water in a bowl. Zest the lime and squeeze the juice over the chicken fillets, let simmer for about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk mixture, add the cube of chicken stock and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, round off with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with jasmine rice and stir-fried beans. 

This dish is a little bit spicy with a lot of flavor which makes a nice light lager perfect to serve it with. I chose one of my favorite beers, Miller (no 1579, 15,20 SEK per bottle at Systembolaget), which actually brings out the flavors of the dish instead of taking them over. 

A Saint Albany and a Camembert to round things off, a few more beers and the night was made.