Healthy West Orange Shares Tips and Advice As Local Chefs “Get Cooking”

Yes Chef! – Healthy West Orange Shares Tips and Advice As Local Chefs “Get Cooking”

We all know the drill. Groceries are expensive, time is short, and getting a homemade dinner on the table seems out of the question. What’s a family to do?

That’s why we’re proud to team up with the folks at Get Cooking to bring you 12, that’s right, 12 chef-designed recipes to feed a family of four for $20. Get Cooking works with local chefs to build and teach a new recipe every month. With chefs from Norman’s, Ravenous Pig, Kaya, Soseki, and more, their restaurant cuisine is translated into simple, budget-friendly dishes that are equally delicious. These chefs are full of knowledge and money saving tips to teach families how to cook healthy, affordable meals, and we’re kicking off with recipes from our first three chefs in our 4 part series.

Roasted Chicken with Cheesy Grits and Coca Cola Collard Greens – Chef Norman Van Aken, Norman’s

Chicken:
4 skin on, bone in chicken thighs
1/2 cup of flour
2 tablespoons of oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Grits:
3 cups of whole milk
1 cup of water
4 ounces of butter
1 tablespoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 cup of corn grits
1 cup of shredded cheese

Collards:
1/2 cup of bacon
2 tablespoons of oil
1 yellow onion
6 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of dried red pepper flakes
3/4 cup of brown sugar
6 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of course mustard
2 lbs of collards, stems removed
1 cup of chicken broth
3 cups of Coca Cola

Directions

For chicken- preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dust with flour. Set aside. Heat a large skillet. When pan is hot, add oil. Place chicken skin side down. Brown. Flip and brown the underside. Put in oven to cook for 20 minutes.

For grits- Put milk, water, salt, pepper and butter in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Whisk in grits. When the grits starts to bubble, turn heat to low. Stir often. When thick, about 15 minutes, add cheese. Whisk again for about 1 minute. Season to taste.

For collards- cook bacon in a large pot over medium heat with oil. Meanwhile, dice onion and garlic. When bacon is crispy, add onion, garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 3 minutes. Add brown sugar, vinegar and mustard. Cook for 2 minutes. Add collards with salt and pepper. Allow to wilt, 3-5 minutes. Add chicken broth and coca cola. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove collards to a separate serving bowl and reduce remaining liquid 15-30 minutes until it is saucy. Pour over greens.

Coconut Chicken Curry – Chef Clay Miller, The Ravenous Pig

Ingredients:

1 large white onion
4 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 Idaho potato
3 cloves of garlic
4 oz of canola oil
1 Tablespoon of turmeric
1 Tablespoon of ginger powder
1 teaspoon of paprika
4 Tablespoons of sherry vinegar
4 Roma tomatoes
4 oz of tomato sauce
3 cups of chicken stock
2 cans of coconut milk
4 cups of kale stemmed and chopped
1 head of cauliflower
2 cans of chicpeas/garbanzo beans, drained

For the rice:

2 cups of MEDIUM grain rice
2 cups water
1 Tablespoon of oil
1 tsp of salt

Directions:

Begin by dicing onion, celery, carrots and potatoes. Add to a large pot, season with salt and sauté with 4 ounces of canola oil. Meanwhile, peel and mince garlic. Add to other ingredients in pot and sauté 10 minutes or until onion is translucent and vegetables are tender.

Add tumeric, ginger, paprika. Stir about 30 seconds. Then add vinegar and reduce to 50%. While liquid is reducing, dice the Roma Tomatoes. Add tomatoes and sauce to the vegetables. Stir to combine. Add chicken stock and coconut milk. Simmer 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the chicken thighs into 1 inch strips. Set aside. Cut cauliflower into large florets. Add both the chicken and cauliflower to the pot, along with the kale and chickpeas. Simmer all ingredients for 20 minutes.

For the rice:

Bring water, oil and salt to a boil in a medium size pot. Add rice, stir and bring to a simmer. Cover over low heat for 15-20 minutes.

Chicken and Dumplings by Chef Greg Richie, Soco

Ingredients:

1 TBL of vegetable oil
2 strips of diced bacon
2 cloves of garlic
1 small yellow onion
3 ribs celery stalks
4 ounces button mushrooms
¼ tsp kosher salt, divided
½ tsp black pepper
2 TBL of flour
½ TBL of white vinegar
6 cups chicken stock
½ tsp of dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup whole milk
1 tsp soy sauce
1 can of peas, drained
2 carrots
1 cooked rotisserie chicken

For Dumplings:

1½ cup AP flour
½ TBL baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
2 TBL chives
3 ounces butter
6 ounces milk

Directions:

In a large pot on low heat, add bacon and oil. Mince the garlic and add to pot. Stir. Raise heat to medium. Dice onion and add to pot. Stir. Dice celery and add to pot. Stir! Slice mushrooms. When the onions are soft add mushrooms and stir. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.

When mushrooms are cooked, add flour and stir to incorporate. Add vinegar. Cook for a minute or two. Add chicken stock. Whisk constantly while adding bay leaf, thyme, milk, soy sauce, peas and salt.

As the broth heats to a simmer, begin making the dough for dumplings. In medium sized bowl, mix together all dry ingredients with a whisk. Add chives.

Melt butter and pour into milk. Pour most of milk mixture into the dry ingredients, withholding an ounce or so to make sure it is needed. Mix the dumpling dough until it just comes together. It should be tacky.

Return to the simmering broth and add cut carrots and peas. Begin to scoop and drop the dough by the tablespoon into the simmering broth. (Be careful not to scoop on top of another dumpling.) Once all the dough has been added, give them a little push to get some broth on the top of them and then place a lid on the pot. Set the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Don’t open the lid to peek. Pluck the roasted chicken and put a portion into the serving bowls. Ladle a few dumplings on top and cover with broth.

Serve.