Half Assed Kitchen

Crunchy three-bean salad with fresh cilantro

Would you believe we didn't even know black-eyed peas were a New Years' thing? No idea. It's a Southern custom that's supposed to bring luck and prosperity. Apparently, black-eyed peas should be the first thing you eat on New Years Day.

This recipe, then, couldn't be more timely.

And we just made it because our mom found it on Epicurious and raved about it.

Anyway. This three bean salad is a fantastic, fresh, holiday-cookie-and-butter-cleansing dish. It's not hard to make at all and infuses you with extreme well-being and self-contratulatoriness after shoveling in three platefuls eating it.

We pretty much copied this recipe verbatim from Epicurious. Though we added red pepper flakes because we felt it needed a little more pizzazz.

Rating: 3/4 assed (Onion and celery chopping. That's why.)

Here's what you need and how you do it

1-1/2 cups frozen, shelled edamame

1/4 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin

Generous pinch red pepper flakes (if you like a kick)

1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed

1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, rinsed

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

2 cups sliced celery

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped

1-1/2 teaspoons salt (yes, you really do need this much)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Cook edamame in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan of boiling water, uncovered, for four minutes. Drain in a colander, then rinse under cold water to stop cooking.

Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over moderately low heat until hot but not smoking, then cook cumin and red pepper flakes, stirring, until fragrant and a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Pour into a large heatproof bowl.

Add edamame and remaining ingredients to cumin oil and toss to coat. Let stand 10 minutes for flavors to blend.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Coq au vin

The French classic, coq au vin, translated means "rooster with wine". Though instead of a tough old bird, we used the supple thighs of chicken nymphs. We actually adapted (barely) this recipe from Sunset, subtracting a few steps and a couple ingredients, but otherwise sticking pretty closely to the original instructions.

If you do the same, you'll end up with a rich, one-pot, fantastical dinner spiked with herbs and lots of chardonnay. People rave about this entreé. Try it. You'll see.

Rating: 3/4 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 cups peeled, baby carrots, cut in half

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 medium onion, minced

4 slices bacon

1-1/3 cups chardonnay

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh, flat-leafed parsley

1 teaspoon herbs de provence (we found this in the bulk section of our local co-op)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

In large saucepan or dutch oven, brown bacon. Remove bacon and drain off most of the fat. Cook chicken thighs in remaining bacon fat until about halfway done. Add salt, onion, carrots, and celery to pan and cook until onion is tender. Add broth, wine, pepper and herbs de provence.

Chop bacon and add it back into pan with chicken, cover and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until all vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through (about 20 minutes).

Chop parsley and stir into stew.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Rum balls

Ready for a boozy, good holiday cookie? Then rum balls are your ticket. Utilizing store-bought cookies in the dough, these are sort of half-homemade and perfectly half assed.

Please welcome the fabulous guest poster Vanessa, on loan from 40licious.

Rating: 1/2 assed 

First you get some balls …

JUST KIDDING.

This recipe is great on so many levels. You can really customize it for whatever cookies, nuts, garnish and alcohol you have in the house already, or if there’s a strong penchant for, say, ginger snaps in your home over vanilla wafers. OR go ahead and use Oreos and see if we care! (let us know how that turns out, would you?) Also, you don’t have to cook anything. And, people think you’ve gone to a lot of trouble when you bring them over as a party gift.

Here's what you need and how you do it

3 ½ – 4 cups crushed cookies (for the batch shown we used half gingersnaps, half vanilla wafers, which you can buy very reasonably at Trader Joe’s)

1 cup powdered sugar (reserve some for covering the balls)

1 cup chopped nuts (Highly recommending pecans, but again, they’re your balls.)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 Tablespoons corn syrup

1/3 cup rum (or bourbon, or, really, whatever else you fancy. Schnapps, anyone?)

In a food processor, grind the cookies finely, and then add sugar, corn syrup, cocoa and blend.

Add chopped nuts and give it another whirl.

Add rum and whirl around again.

The mixture should be the consistency so you can make a 1-inch ball that will just stick together when pressed, but you don’t want it too gloppy. If it’s too dry add more rum, too wet add more cookie crumbs.

Roll balls in reserved powdered sugar and chill.

You can also garnish with pretty much anything else that strikes your fancy!

Try:

Crushed candy canes

Chocolate sprinkles

Coarse sea salt mixed with powdered sugar

Melted white or dark chocolate

Chopped nuts

(Editor’s note: we don’t have a food processor, so we mixed the cookies in our blender, then transferred them to a large bowl, added the rest of the ingredients, and stirred with a spoon.) 

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

*****

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Bacon jam

Bacon jam is new to us. We read about it while perusing a popular food magazine that starts with an Everyday and ends with a Food. But we didn't go with her recipe, so no need to promote someone that doesn't need promoting here, is there?

Anyway, we couldn't stop thinking about Bacon Jam. What would it taste like? Coffee and syrup and onions? Really?

So we finally had to make it. And the verdict: it's...intense. Rich. All consuming. While you're eating bacon jam, you kind of forget that there's a whole world spinning around you. You get lost in the sweet, spicy universe in your mouth.

We were inspired by Not Quite Nigella's recipe, but modified it a bit. Namely, we took out the sugar. That plus the maple syrup was just too much for us. We wanted the savory to shine through a little more. Also, we skipped the food processor, because it's simpler to not use it and because we like our jam a little chunky.

We introduce our version of Bacon Jam!

Rating: 3/4 assed (teetering toward 1/2 assed though)

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 pound bacon

3 cloves garlic

1 onion, minced

1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper plus adobo sauce it comes in

1 cup coffee

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/8 cup maple syrup (or to taste)

Black pepper to taste

1/4 cup water, or slightly more depending on consistency

Cook bacon in skillet until just done. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Remove bacon. Add garlic and onion. Cook about five minutes until onion is tender. Here you have a choice. You can add bacon back in, chipotle, coffee, vinegar, syrup and pepper and let it all simmer for two hours on your stovetop. Or you can transfer it all to a slow cooker where you'll set it on low and let it go for 3 to 4 hours. Either way, your house is going to smell divine!

If simmering on stovetop, keep checking and stirring from time to time. At about the one hour mark, we stirred in the 1/4 cup of water. You may need to add water a little more frequently, but this worked for us.

When it's cooked down to a chocolately looking mass, remove from heat and let cool.

Serve on bread, burgers, crackers, pancakes...the opportunities to use bacon jam are endless.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Cocktail: Poinsettia

This is our new favorite cocktail for the holiday season. Three ingredients and you're good to go with this light, refreshing, and festive drink.

Rating: 1/4 assed

Here's what you need and how to do it

Sparkling White Wine

Grand Marnier

Cranberry Juice

Mix one part Grand Marnier with one part cranberry juice and four parts sparkling white wine.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Giveaway: Jessica Seinfeld's Double Delicious!

Head on over to Half Assed Kitchen's Review and Giveaways blog to read about Jessica Seinfeld's new Double Delicious! cookbook and to win one of two free copies!

We made awesome Chicken & Biscuits and Sesame Beef using her recipes.