Loui

Loui thinks natural balance should be more SENSITIVE in their 

marketing of low calorie food. 

Zuni inspired roasted chicken

I purchased this beautiful cookbook after i attended a dinner held by a local friend.

If you are in the San Diego area, get on the email list for cellar door. 

Logan and Gary are amazing.

The Zuni Cafe roasted chicken is traditionally served with a bread salad 

which is delicious but not great for my type1 diabetic loved one. 

In this blog recipe I omit the bread salad this time but encourage anyone 

willing to grow and experiment in the kitchen to order the book.

This recipe requires that you salt and season the bird days in advance,
no additional fat is added, the succulent fat from the skin will be enough.
The recipe in the book is three pages long and can be a little intimidating.
I have edited this down tremendously by skipping the bread salad and instead
serving my chicken with fresh roasted vegetables, whatever is in season.

Ingredients:

1 small chicken (I used farm raised and organic)
4 sprigs of thyme
3 sprigs of rosemary
Minced garlic
Salt
Pepper

Step 1
Remove the inside of the chicken and discard,
wash chicken and pat dry.
The chicken must be dry, this is very important.
Use the tip of your finger to loosen skin from the thick part of the thigh,
place sprigs on thyme and rosemary into the pocket (for each side).
Season the chicken.
A wet chicken won't sizzle and give you the crispy skin results.
Season chicken liberally with salt and pepper.
Be generous with the salt on the thicker areas (breast) and less liberal
on the thin parts (ankles).
Sprinkle a little salt inside the chicken, rub minced garlic on
the bird and cover loosely with plastic, I let mine sit in the fridge for
two days.

Step 2
Roast the chicken.
Prepare your pan and preheat oven to 475º.
Choose a dish/roasting pan barely larger than your chicken and ensure the pan is
completely dry so your chicken won't stick to it.
Place the empty pan in the oven for 10 minutes,
pat your chicken dry.
Remove pan from oven and add your (breast side up) chicken, it will sizzle!
Place the chicken in the oven (center of your rack) and roast for 50-55 minutes,
listen for the sizzling sound after twenty minutes and watch the skin start to
brown.

Step 3
Remove chicken from oven, carefully remove the chicken from the pan and
place on a large plate and let it rest.
Add fresh carrots, purple potatoes, onions, mushrooms or any fresh
vegetables of your choice to the pan with fat in it and return to oven for 15 minutes.

Step 4
Serve the chicken!
Remove vegetables from oven, cut the chicken and serve
on the bed of fresh roasted vegetables.
Drizzle the chicken with the juices/fat left in the pan, this is super flavorful.
ENJOY!

Piña colada cake

This is one of my absolute favorite cakes. 

It took me a couple of tries to get this right but THANK the Lord above, 

sweet success is all MINE now!

Do not make the mistake i initially made and use coconut cream in this

recipe, the ONLY thing that will give you that coconut sweet flavor is 

CREAM OF COCONUT. There is a big difference!

This is the stuff you want to use

I found mine at a local Latin market in the beer and wine section.

You can't use coconut cream, you will be disappointed with the results. 

But lets just jump right in and enjoy this delicious boozy recipe, shall we?

Ingredients 
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark rum
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup cream of coconut
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple 

(or pineapple from a can if those are the circumstances 

in your life. I prefer fresh pineapple but it is not always in season).

To brush on top of the cake
1 to 2 tablespoons of additional rum 
2 tablespoons pineapple juice 

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of fine sea salt
1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple juice

2 tablespoons dark rum for sprinkling over cake 

(optional, I told you this is very boozy).

Preheat oven to 350°F. 

Butter and flour a round cake pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar with 

an electric mixer at medium 

speed until fluffy, then beat eggs, one at a time, and the rum. 

Add cream of coconut and mix; the batter will look funny but 

it turns out okay once baked. 

Add dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing and scraping down bowl between additions. 

Mix only until flour is just incorporated. 

Using a rubber spatula, fold in bits of fresh pineapple.

Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. 

Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 

35 to 40 minutes. 

I made individual round cakes by using remekin molds 

so you can do that too and adjust the 

temperature to 28 minutes. 

Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then run a knife around edge of pan/ramekins. 

For extra flavor, while the cake is still hot you can brush it with rum.

Cool cake completely at room temperature.

Once cake is cool, place powdered sugar and salt in a small bowl with 

1 1/2 tablespoons pineapple juice and whisk until a thick glaze forms. 

Thin glaze only as needed, adding additional pineapple juice a teaspoon 

at a time until glaze is just thick enough to pour. 

Pour glaze into middle of cake and if it’s too thick to crawl to the edges itself, 

nudge it with a spatula until the top is covered. 

Serve immediately or let it set in the fridge for 20 minutes or so.