Tag: Speedcook

Chicken, Main Course

Spicy Orange Chicken

by Wendi15 Comments on Spicy Orange Chicken
by the time i grabbed my camera, this is all that was left of spicy orange chicken.

With all of the crazy in my world right now, I feel a pronounced need to look for some balance.  And strength.  And focus.  And flexibility.  So I’ve decided to give yoga a try.

The idea of me stepping into the yoga studio is laughable.  I am not the least bit athletic and I’m clumsy as all hell.  I also have a constant stream of consciousness chatter going on in my head.  So the notion of working week after week to get to a place of inner quiet while simultaneously moving through poses without falling flat on my arse is a lofty goal.  I expect the namaste to kick my butt for a while.  And that’s ok.  Because with practice I will learn to focus and breathe and move.

What I didn’t expect was to find myself quietly weepy at the end of each session.  After moving my body through Mountain, Warrior, Tree, Bridge, and all the other poses whose names escape me, my emotional defenses are down.  And as I lay on my mat, focusing on my breathing, the tears just appear.  I don’t fight them.  They roll down the side of my face and into my hair, or fall onto my mat.  In that moment, I relinquish control to The Universe.

And as yoga helps me to find balance, strength, focus, and flexibility in the physical world, I’ve got a hunch that it will also help me to find those same things emotionally.  It may take me thousands of sun salutations and downward dogs to get there, but each one will take me one step closer.

Wish me luck.  I’m definitely going to need it.

Spicy Orange Chicken

Adapted from GE Advantium Cookbook

BAH Note:  To make this in a regular oven, bake at 375 degrees.  Check for doneness after about 20 minutes.

  • 4 to 5 (5 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use Perdue Perfect Portions)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • zest and juice (approximately 1/4 cup) from 1 large orange
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Combine salt, paprika, allspice, and ginger and coat the chicken breasts completely.  Place the spice coated chicken in an oblong baking dish and set aside.

In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the orange juice, zest, and brown sugar.  Pour the liquid over the chicken.  Place the baking dish on the metal tray.

Press SpeedCook, and scroll to My Recipes, New Recipe.  Set the time for 20 minutes at the following settings: U=7, L=7, M=3.  Check the chicken after 15 minutes and add a bit more orange juice or some chicken broth if the liquid has reduced too much.  Check for doneness after 20 minutes and continue to cook for 5 minute increments, at the same settings, if needed.

Baste the chicken with the liquid before serving.

{printable recipe}

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Tenderloin Filet a la Advantium

by Wendi20 Comments on Tenderloin Filet a la Advantium

So as I talked about earlier, I am the proud new owner of a GE Advantium oven.  And as part of my collaboration with GE, I’m going to go on an adventure to see how this new technology can help me do more in the kitchen and share what I learn here on BAH.

The first thing I learned is that my kitchen is now smarter than I am.  But I mean that in a good way.  The Advantium comes with over 175 preset cooking programs for everything from bagel bites to tenderloin filets.  With the press of a button and the turn of the knob, you can set it and forget it until the Advantium lets you know that you need to do something…like flip your filet or get to eating.

Through the various cooking modes you can:

  • Microwave
  • Convection Bake
  • Speedcook
  • Warm
  • Proof dough
  • Broil
  • Toast

All that in a single appliance.  I swear, I am not making this up.  It’s as though a bit of Jetson’s technology is living in my kitchen.  And that’s good news for me because the Advantium solves some of my big problems.

First, I’m terrified of my broiler.  I avoid it at all costs which means that I forgo things like sizzling hot steaks.  I think my fear has a lot to do with not being able to keep a close eye on what’s happening under that flame.  With Broil, I can see through the window and monitor what’s happening to my steak.

Second, there is no room on my counter for a toaster.  It lives in the cabinet above the stove which means I have to find the step stool, get it out of the cabinet, and clean up whatever crumbs spill out of it each and every time I want to make some toast.  Then I have to wait for it to cool off, shake out the latest batch of crumbs, and climb back on the step stool to put it away.  As you might imagine, there has been a prolonged toast shortage here at BAH.  Thank you Toast setting for allowing me to reunite with toasted nooks and crannies.

Third, I don’t have a good spot to set bread dough to rise.  The kitchen is drafty and inside the big oven is where the pots and pans live.  Every time I set about making bread or rolls, it’s a crap shoot whether my dough is even going to rise.  I can see myself making good friends with Proof.

And maybe most exciting of all is how Speedcook will make things like roast chicken a viable weeknight meal option.  Monday through Friday, I don’t have 90 minutes for dinner to cook.  But I can carve out the 45 minutes Speedcook needs to roast a 5 pound whole chicken while I do something like speedwatch the episodes of Modern Family that have accumulated on my Tivo.  Speedcook, I see you as my newly acquired super power.

So the Advantium wasn’t even out of the box before I was plotting what to make in it first.  Flipping through the cookbook that came with it, I spied Steak au Poivre.  This is the dish that I had seen demo’d down at GE in the spring.  And I knew that’s how I would christen my Advantium because it’s the kind of recipe that I would be too intimidated to try either on top of the stove or under the broiler.

The filet was prepped and ready and went into the oven using the Speedcook preset for 1 filet cooked to Medium.  And without a single moment of preheating, it was done in 16 minutes.  Hell, it would take my big oven that long just to heat to 500 degrees.  Not only did it cook in less time than the entire process would have taken in my traditional oven, I also didn’t have the wasted energy of the big oven heating to an incredibly high temperature before I could begin to cook.

So what’s my verdict?  The tenderloin filet came out of the Advantium sizzling hot and was cooked to a perfect medium.  Being that I’m more of a medium rare girl, I’m going to take advantage of the ability to add custom cooking programs and set myself up with a Medium Rare preset.  Which means that next time I’m only going to have to wait about 12 minutes for my sizzling steak needs to be met.

Yes, I think Advantium is going to make me a Super Hero in my kitchen.

Disclaimer:  As part of my partnership with GE, I received an Advantium oven.  All opinions posted about my Advantium experience are my own.