Purple chicken!?!

Yeah... Purple chicken! It makes a great show for dinner and pairs well with a nice kale salad, or some other kind of healthy stuff. Now I know you're asking, "Why the hell is it PURPLE!?!" and I'll tell ya! Just wait!

But not too long, it's wine... Red wine. A marinade of sorts. I made it a few nights ago... But it sure looks awesome!!! I made the marinade out of wine I opened a few weeks ago, can't drink it, might as well cook with it! And I know the worries, people say use wine to cook a few days after opening, but weeks are fine to. Now I highly recommend against drinking said wine, unless you are wanting a horrible tasting ipecac type liquid to painfully slide down your throat. Always remember, the taste of wine changes after cooking, it gets sweeter, more mild, more delicate.

I chose a few things that seemed to pair well. At least they smelled good. I don't measure so I can't tell you exactly how much I added but this isn't baking, use your judgment.  It's easy too, I just threw it all in a large Tupperware container, put a lid on it and put it in the fridge. With homemade marinades, I have learned it is best to make them and let them rest for a day or so to allow time for all the flavored to fully marry. And being in the plastic container you can easily mix with a few shakes!

When its been a day or two, two max, pull the marinade and meat out in the am. I recommend chicken but this 'nade works with steak too. Place the meat in a large plastic zipper bag and pour the 'nade over the top. I also like to add an onion for flavor, I use yellow onions. Add this the day of so its not too pungent! Place the bag in the fridge for 4-8 hours, or until you can't wait any longer and you're ready to cook. The longer the meat rests the better the shade of purple it turns! 

Once the meat has time to rest in the marinade; preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom of a baking dish with extra virgin olive oil and place the chicken in the dish. Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 30-45 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, lets work on our side dish! This meal pairs well with any vegetable, like most things, but I'm going to make a light kale salad with it. I enjoy making kale salads because it's not a typical salad. I buy my kale frozen because kale is bitter unless cooked and frozen is cheeper. Place the frozen kale in a medium sauté pan over medium high heat. cover and let steam and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Once the kale has fully cooked down I like to drizzle a little balsamic vinaigrette over the top. I am using a pomegranate flavored balsamic vinaigrette, but any will do.

Now, back to the chicken, you won't be able to do a standard check to see if the chicken is done because the juices will always run purple. So, after 30 minutes, cut a small sliver in the middle of the thickest piece and pull open enough to see in. If it looks smooth and rubbery, place it back in the oven. If it looks like done chicken should look then "HOORAH!" it's time to plate!!!

Plating this is pretty fun! Take the chicken out of the baking dish and place it onto a cutting board. Slice the chicken into thin pieces and allow the juices to settle before placing on the plate. While the juices settle in the chicken, place a serving of kale directly in the middle of the plate. After letting the chicken rest for a minute or two, place the chicken slices around the kale center piece. This will show off the purple color of the chicken with a nice dark green background.

Pair with your favorite white wine and enjoy!

What you need

2-3 Chicken breasts [depending on how many people you're serving]

Day to week old red wine [hopefully you enjoyed at least one glass of it]

Garlic paste

Lemon juice

Salt

Yellow Onion

Frozen kale

Balsamic vinaigrette [flavored or not, your choice]

Lobster Ravioli ... Oh la la!!!

Yeah! Lobster Ravioli! Classy shit huh? Well before you expect me to teach you how to make noodles and stuff them and ravioli and all that, don't. Remember, I'm not a professional ...

BUT! Publix had a two for one special on some semi-made lobster ravioli! So all I have to do is boil it and its ready to go, technically. But I cant just do that! I have to make it my own with my own sauces and blends of seasonings. Also, I'm going to put some awesome super healthy asparagus with it!

I've been told before that asparagus is a difficult vegetable to cook... I was shocked when I heard this. It's one of my favorites to cook because of the ease! All you have to do is cut of about an inch from the bottom, place it in a skillet with some water over medium heat, cover, and steam. I like to add a little salt for flavoring. I've also added butter but that takes away some of the "healthiness" of the asparagus. It doesn't take long. You really only need to steam it for about ten minutes or so, just until they bend a little without breaking.

The ravioli is pretty simple to cook. Boil a pot of water over high heat. The pot size depends on how much ravioli you're making, but remember you can't boil in too much water. Once the water is boiling then put the ravioli in and season with salt. Bring back to a boil and boil and lower the temp to medium high for about five minutes or until the ravioli are tender. When the ravioli are done pour them in a strainer to drain all the water. Cool the pot down with cold water, dump out the cold water, and replace the ravioli in the pot if you're not planning on using a serving dish. If you are putting the ravioli in a serving dish then just throw that pot in the sink!

The sauce I used was pretty basic. I had a jar of marinara sauce in the pantry that needed to be used. I poured that into a small sauce pot to heat it up. I added a few dashes of basil, about a teaspoon of mashed garlic, and some cheese. I prefer a cheese like parmesan or mozzarella, but all I had was white cheddar. It worked though, the goal of adding cheese to a marinara sauce is to give it an extra level of flavor and the creamy texture. I added about half a cup of shredded cheese, but I have yet to find an amount of cheese that was too much.

The sauce should be used rather conservatively. You don't want the flavor of the sauce to over power the flavor of the ingredients inside the ravioli pouches. The best thing to do, if you're not using a serving dish, is to place five or six ravioli pouches on a plate and drizzle a small amount of sauce over the top. The ravioli are still traumatized by almost drowning in the pot and don't want to have to relive that experience on the plate! If you are using a serving plate you should do ravioli and sauce in layers, do a layer of ravioli and a layer of sauce and repeat. Be gentle, the pouches are fragile and you don't want all those delicious insides to go spilling out.

Plating is pretty simple. The ravioli are already on there so now you just need to add the asparagus. Take a few stalks and place them opposite the ravioli. Make sure all the juices are drained off the asparagus because asparagus water doesn't do great things to other parts of your meal. Once its all plated you can present the beautifully colored meal to your fellow diners, or Instagram if you dine alone!

Pair with your favorite red wine and enjoy!

What You Need

Store bought lobster ravioli [any brand will work]

Basic marinara sauce

Dried basil

Garlic Paste

White cheese [preferably mozzarella or parmesan]

Fresh asparagus

Salt

HOLY TILAPIA!!!

Fish, most people are scared of it. I see it as a wonderful challenge that I feel super special accomplishing! Granted I usually stick with Tilapia or Salmon, some of the easiest fish to cook!

So it all started at 1130 today, my stomach started rumblin' and a thought, what can I eat? I "Hannah Hart style" jaunted over to the refrigerator [google it] and peered into the frozen abyss. Among the many things in there I found one lonely piece of tilapia. And yes, I know, frozen fish is improper and shouldn't ever be consumed ... blah blah blah ... its from Publix, so it's classy!

The decision was made; tilapia! But wait, tilapia is just a bland white fish, what seasoning would I use? So I immediately went to the spice box! [a shoe box cause I'm too poor]


I found a spice, a special blend I got from a specialty spice shop in Savannah, GA. It's called coastal blend and is said to taste great on everything but is specially blended for seafood. It's a mix of garlic, chives, green pepper, and something called lemon verbena. It's good, light, fresh.

The fish was pretty easy actually. Perks of frozen fish is that its already de-boned and skinless! So, all I had to do was drizzle a baking dish with a little EVOO and place the fish on top. I sprinkled the amazing seasoning over the top and baked it in a 400 degree oven for 12ish minutes, basically till you can poke a fork through the middle and its all flakey and delicious looking!

Anyhow, as I was looking for the spices I stumbled upon a can of peas, sweet peas. I thought "Heck yes! I haven't had peas in forever!" So I found the can opener and plopped the peas in a pot and heated it over low heat while the fish cooked. I just let it sit there on the heat the whole time the fish cooked and by the time that was ready I had hot peas! Add a little salt drain the juices, bada bing bada boom! It was a delicious lunch!!!

Now you're just going to have to picture this meal because it was so scrumptious smelling that I devoured it before I even thought to add it to my food porn folders... Ah Well!

What You Need

Tilapia Filets [deboned, no skin if possible (frozen O.K.)]

Garlic powder, chives, dried green pepper flakes, lemon juice

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Sweet Peas [optional]

Hello!

Hi! My name is Caleb. I am 25. I cook. I'm an 8th year undergrad student.

I have been cooking for as long as I can remember. I have always loved it, but not enough to study it. I cook anything from simple to complex meals and love to share it! I get called an Italian mother by my friends cause I love to cook rich and hearty meals for them all.

If you are looking for a typical recipe blog, this ain't it. I will post meals that I cook and techniques that I've learned along the way! I was raised in and still live in the south but was born in the midwest but my cooking style is whatever I want it to be. I do end up making a lot of southern foods because, lets face it, they are delicious!!!

Let's get cookin'