Recipe: Spicy Garlic Black-Eyed Peas with sauteed Chicken Breast

Ok little cuties, if you have even the smallest admiration for black-eyed peas, you must make this dish. Heck, you can save the recipe for New Years day. This is hands down the best recipe for black eye peas ever. The best thing is that they are healthy AND scrumptious. Here is how I make them:


For black-eyed peas:

4 turkey bacon slices
4 scallions, chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
2 celery rib, finely chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 big pinches of hot red-pepper flakes
3 (15-ounces) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
garlic powder to taste
onion powder to taste
about 8 dashes of hot sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tsp paprika


For the chicken breast:

1 lb of chicken breast or chicken breast tenders
1 swirl of EVOO
brown sugar
coriander
black pepper
sea salt
cinnamon
smoked paprika
star of anise seed (ground)
garlic powder

Prepare black-eyed peas:

Put two swirls of EVOO in a large stock pot then cook turkey bacon in a over medium heat until browned but not crisp. Transfer bacon to a plate, then tear into small pieces. Cook scallions, carrot, celery, bell pepper, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, red-pepper flakes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the same stock pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are pale golden, about 10 minutes. Add black-eyed peas and broth along with the garlic powder, hot sauce, onion powder, brown sugar, and paprika. Stir in the turkey bacon and simmer 10 minutes.

Prepare Chicken:
While the black-eyed peas are simmering mix all of the spices for the chicken together making a dry rub. I just eyeball the amounts, with the brown sugar as my base. Cover the chicken thoroughly with the rub and saute in an oiled pan over medium heat.

Spoon black-eyed peas in your serving bowls and top with chicken. Enjoy with a beer. (Well at least that's what I do).

Deliciously Yours,

The Culinary Cutie

Picky Pizza II - Chicago Giordano's



Next up in the pizza wars of Chicago was Giordano's. Giordano's opened in 1974 and was named after the owners' mother. With over 55 locations in Illinois and Florida, their pizza is always steadily evolving. Giordano's is famous for it's stuffed pizza. Although I must say that the thin crust was really great. After my experience at Pizza Uno, I was reluctant to try another "famous" Chicago style pizza. The ambiance is something you would expect from a pizza joint. Nothing surprising, red checkered tables and red booths. I would have liked for the bar to be a bit larger and more accessible given the long wait time for a table and pizza. After my Uno experience I decided to switch form the deep dish to thin crust, which was not the thin crust that I am used to.



It didn't take long for my pizza to come out after we were sat. I was looking forward to a fresh, hot and melty (yes, I made that word up) pizza, and I found it at Giordano's. Unlike Uno's their cheese was actually melted, which was a plus. The pizza sauce was tangy and plentiful but not overwhelming. I decided to have a cheese and pepperoni pizza, and my husband got the same with green olives. Surprisingly, the pizza wasn't greasy even with the addition of the pepperoni. Although they are very busy being a tourist attraction the customer service is still pretty good. Again,better than Uno's.

Based on the pizza I had in Chicago, Giordano's gets my vote as the most delicious pizza in the Windy City. I would definitely chow down here again.

Winning with Giordano's.

Deliciously yours,

The Culinary Cutie

www.giordanos.com