The Breakphast Of Champions

Most probably you have heard of Michael Phelps' whopping 12,000 daily calorie intake and his much talked and blogged about breakfast that NBC's Bob Costas reported as:

"...Three sandwiches of fried eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato, fried onions and mayonnaise, add one (five-egg) omelet, a bowl of grits, and three slices of French toast with powdered sugar, then wash down with three chocolate chip pancakes."

To celebrate Phelps's GR-EIGHT performance, for breakfast I made chocolate chip pancakes and a 5-egg omelet filled with the freshest shiitake mushrooms and onions sauteed in butter and seasoned with very little Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and sea salt. Yummy breakfast for *couch potato* champions like myself.

shiitake mushrooms that look like pancakes growing on logs

I'm no champion eater, I can barely finish 2 pancakes and less than half of the omelet

Algerian Chicken Tagine With Apricots And Spiced Pine Nuts

This North African chicken tagine or tajin recipe by Farid Zadi is adapted from the February 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine. According to the cookbook FROM THE LANDS OF FIGS AND OLIVES, the North African tajin differs slightly from the tajin of the Middle East. In North Africa they use more herbs and spices. I love this recipe for its sweetish sauce, the subtle spices that blend so well together, and the crunch of the spiced pine nuts.

Chicken Tagine With Apricots And Pine Nuts
tagine
1 whole chicken, about 3½ pounds
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 large shallots, finely chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of saffron (optional)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons bitter-orange marmalade
1 two-inch cinnamon stick
1 thyme sprig
2 cilantro sprigs
6 dried apricots. chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro

spiced pine nuts
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
pinch of cayenne (optional)

garnish
lemon wedges

• Tagine: Cut out chicken into serving pieces. Pat chicken pieces dry and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat and brown chicken pieces. In a 6-quart pot, saute shallots in the butter and remaining oil, stirring frequently until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, and paprika, and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the browned chicken, saffron, and ½ tsp salt coating chicken well. Add water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Turn chicken and add orange preserves, cinnamon stick, thyme cilantro, and apricots. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken is very tender, about 15 minutes more.
• Prepare pine nuts while chicken cooks: Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat then stir in pine nuts. turmeric, paprika, and cayenne if using, stirring frequently, until nuts are lightly browned, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• To serve: Transfer chicken to a platter, keep warm. Boil the sauce and reduce to 1 cup. Discard herb sprigs and cinnamon stick. Stir in chopped cilantro and spoon sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with nuts.

Algerian Flatbread

I have bookmarked in January this flatbread recipe from the February 2008 issue of Gourmet magazine but have forgotten about it. The issue was buried somewhere and found it while I was cleaning out the magazine table of junk. And since I'm into Middle Eastern cuisine I made Algerian Chicken Tajin and flatbread. The yummy flatbread is similar to pita, chapati, and naan but flakier and crispier. I used the Indian whole-wheat atta which surprisingly is so easy to handle, the dough is very soft and there was no problem rolling the pieces into very thin rounds. King Arthur fine ground whole wheat-flour is an excellent substitute if you can't find Indian atta.

Farid Zadi's Algerian Flatbread
3 cups finely ground whole-wheat flour, preferably Indian atta
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup olive oil, divided
1½ cups water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric

• MAKE DOUGH: Stir together flour, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Slowly stir in water until a soft dough forms. If necessary, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking, until smooth and elastic, about 15 minutes. Form dough into a ball and coat with 2 T oil in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough stand at warm room temperature for 1 hour. Mix together cumin, paprika, turmeric, and remaining ¼ C olive oil in a small bowl.
• FORM FLATBREADS: Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and, keeping remaining pieces covered with plastic film, flatten 1 piece of dough into a disk. Roll out disk as thinly as possible (into a 9-inch round) on a lightly floured surface with a 6-inch dowel or rolling pin (my note: use a plastic chopping mat to prevent staining your counter). Spread 1 tsp spiced oil with your fingertips or small pastry brush, then roll up tightly into a long cylinder and coil into a tight spiral. Transfer into a large sheet or parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Make 11 more spirals in the same manner.

roll into very thin round, brush with spiced oil, roll into a cylinder, coil into spiral

• FINISH AND COOK FLATBREADS: Roll out one spiral into a round approximately 6 inches in diameter. Heat a dry large cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium heat until hot, cook flatbread, turning once, until puffed and browned in spots, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer to a plate and cover with a kitchen towel. Roll out and cook 11 more flatbreads, stacking them on a plate.

chicken tajin with apricots, orange preserves, and spiced pine nuts

Coffee Roasted Butterfish

There is only a handful of recipes that caught my interest that look really good on paper but when actually cooked are disappointing. This original recipe created by Romy Dorotan which is in the Filipino cookbook MEMORIES OF PHILIPPINE KITCHENS (Chapter 6: Cendrillon Recipes) is one of them. I have always wanted to make it since I got this cookbook almost 2 years ago, the combination of coffee and different spices sounds new, interesting, and yummy. Aside from cracking the spices which he did not mention in the procedure, I did not alter his recipe at all. The spices are dominated by the coffee and the fact that the sauce has a muddy color makes it very unappealing. I think adding too many ingredients and flavors is an overkill and will not make this again or recommend it. I'm posting the ingredients but not the procedure to save you the trouble and money in making this dish. I still prefer to cook this kind of fish either steamed Chinese-style with salted soy beans or simply fried eaten with vinegar and garlic dipping sauce. Sometimes simple is better.

The ingredients:
butterfish or pompano
salt
oil
shallots
garlic
lemongrass
bay leaves
fresh red chiles
cinnamon sticks
cardamom pods
black peppercorns
coriander seeds
coffee beans
coconut milk
fish sauce
lime juice
cacao beans (optional)