Finally cleaned up the house's kitchen and decided to get cooking. I am a huge fan of Dave's Insanity Sauce brand. Last time I was at the larger Market of Choice on Willamette I noticed that Dave's makes a jerk sauce. I love Jerk chicken, but normally it is fairly expensive to make due to the ingredients involved. I figured I'd give it a shot. Marinated a chicken breast in the sauce, seared it off in my cast iron skillet and finished it in the oven.
I have never had a straight dish of collard greens that I have ever liked enough to try it again. It's bitter aftertaste is just a bit too unpleasant. The best preparation I have tried to date (prior to tonight) was at an Ethiopian restaurant in Sacramento. They use half collards and half spinach in their dish. I gave it a shot with my own spin and the dish turned out awesome. I started with some diced bacon which I rendered in a pot, then I added sliced onions and let them caramelize with the bacon. I added the collard greens and some water and salt, then let them simmer for about 30 minutes. I then added frozen spinach, seasoned it again, and let it simmer for about another 20 minutes. Right about the time my chicken was finishing up, I uncovered the pot, kicked up the heat a little, and cooked away most of the remaining liquid. Collards are normally really cheap and healthy, and this is a great way to prepare them in a delicious way.
I was pretty disappointed with the chicken. Dave's jerk sauce isn't too great, not anywhere near as hot as its other sauces and somewhat bland. The collards turned out great and I'll definitely be making them again. I ate half the plate and plan to eat the rest tomorrow for lunch.
Hopefully the workload won't be too awful this semester and I can start cooking and posting again.
I have never had a straight dish of collard greens that I have ever liked enough to try it again. It's bitter aftertaste is just a bit too unpleasant. The best preparation I have tried to date (prior to tonight) was at an Ethiopian restaurant in Sacramento. They use half collards and half spinach in their dish. I gave it a shot with my own spin and the dish turned out awesome. I started with some diced bacon which I rendered in a pot, then I added sliced onions and let them caramelize with the bacon. I added the collard greens and some water and salt, then let them simmer for about 30 minutes. I then added frozen spinach, seasoned it again, and let it simmer for about another 20 minutes. Right about the time my chicken was finishing up, I uncovered the pot, kicked up the heat a little, and cooked away most of the remaining liquid. Collards are normally really cheap and healthy, and this is a great way to prepare them in a delicious way.
I was pretty disappointed with the chicken. Dave's jerk sauce isn't too great, not anywhere near as hot as its other sauces and somewhat bland. The collards turned out great and I'll definitely be making them again. I ate half the plate and plan to eat the rest tomorrow for lunch.
Hopefully the workload won't be too awful this semester and I can start cooking and posting again.
