Chicken Delights

Here's a great appetizer or healthy, after school protein snack. It's so easy, tasty and really, really quick. Enjoy!

Makes about 28 appetizers

For Chicken Balls:
One pound of ground chicken
1 shallot, minced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 tablespoons mango chutney
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon mixed pepper
3/4 cup Pepperidge Farm® Herb Stuffing crushed into breadcrumbs
— OR — 3/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
½ cup almonds, coarsely ground
Cooking spray
For Glaze:
11/2 cups mango chutney, puréed

1. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Mix all Chicken Ball ingredients together well.
3. Using your fingers, form the mixture into bite-sized balls and place them on a lightly sprayed baking sheet.
4. Bake until just firm, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook or they will dry out, but make sure they are cooked through.
5. While the bites are baking, purée the chutney. When you take them out of the oven, paint them with the chutney using a pastry brush.
6. Insert serving picks and serve immediately.

Chef Lynn’s Secrets:
• These little bites can be made ahead. Make the balls and flash freeze them (cooked or uncooked) on cookie sheets. As soon as they are frozen, transfer them to plastic freezer bags and freeze up to 3 months. Return them to cookie sheets to thaw in the fridge. Then proceed with the recipe.
• My favorite chutney is Major Grey®, available in most grocery stores and markets.
• They are also good at room temperature and make healthy after school protein snacks for kids. If anyone has a nut allergy, just leave the nuts out.

http://www.chefsblogs.com/

Two cookbook corrections

While preparing the vegetable casserole (page 77) and the Cabbage balls (page 69) for the FOX2 news show, I noticed that in both cases there is an ingredient listed in the method that is not in the ingredient list. Please note that there is no whipping cream in the vegetable casserole and there is no bacon in the cabbage balls! Sorry about that. Someone said that's what makes first editions so valuable. :)

Chef Lynn

Coconut Macadamia Nut Cookies

This is a question about a recipe that is in the cookie chapter of the Flavor Secrets Cookbook. Anke mentions that her cookies stayed mounded and did not spread at all. This is correct, Anke. These cookies do not spread much, if at all. The mounds keep the coconut chewy and moist, which accounts for the great taste.

I just returned from gastronomic heaven in NYC. One day we even had a double dose of Daniel!... Cafe Boulud for lunch and the restaurant Daniel in the evening. I feel like I have been trying to commit suicide by eating! Going to restaurants is always a shot in the arm for trying new things or getting out of a cooking rut. What did I learn? Never weigh yourself the morning after a week-end like that!!!

Flavor Secrets: Back to the Basics cookbook

I couldn't be happier with the reception for my new cookbook. I knew that chefs who looked at the galleys liked it. But now, customers are reacting the same way. This is really important to me because I wrote it from my heart - for you... my students and others who want to learn to build flavor cooking at home without professional equipment.

The book focuses on different cooking techniques and "secrets" of building flavor, as well as what you can make ahead and what you can do to save money by using leftovers. It's available at www.amazon.com and www.spitzpress.com. It would make a great holiday present for anyone who loves to cook at any level. Please take a look and then join me here with your cooking questions.

Caramelization

Caramelization is really a mis-used term. We all know that it means "browning"but it actually only applies to the browning of sugars. When you brown proteins, what you are seeing is actually something called the "Maillard reaction". This is the correct chemical term for what is happening. What's important though, is that browning increases flavor. Whatever we call it, it does make things taste better and that's what counts!

Oil Storage

I just received a question from a reader of my book about keeping oils in the refrigerator. He found that the oil thickened and then he had to leave it at room temperature a long time before he could use it. You can handle this two ways. One is to pour the oil into a container with an opening large enough to accommodate a spoon or ladle which you can use to place the oil in your pan when you want to use it. The second is to keep enough at room temperature for short term use and replace it when it's gone. Oils can quickly become rancid, so be sure to keep them out of the sunlight and at least in a cool, dark place.

Flavor Secrets

Hello food lovers! My name is Chef Lynn and I'm an experienced cooking teacher. In this forum, you can share recipes and ideas or ask me anything you want to know about cooking. I'll check in as often as I can and answer to the best of my ability. Let's talk about food!

I have just released a new cookbook called "Flavor Secrets: Back to the Basics". In the book, I share tons of chef tips (that I call "secrets") for building flavor when cooking at home. You can find out more about it at www.spitzpress.com. My cooking class web-site is at www.curious-cooks.com.