What to do with your leftover chicken?

As you know, chicken is a way of life for us at Copper Canyon and Stanford Grill. But what can you do with all that leftover chicken at home?

Give your leftovers new life with this fast, healthy and easy recipe. A simple bacon-mustard vinaigrette dresses up romaine lettuce and shredded rotisserie chicken for an easy and satisfying meal.

Share with us any of your favorite leftover chicken meals!

Grilled Chicken Salad

What you need:

• 4 slice(s) bacon, each cut in half
• 2 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon(s) Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon(s) olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 tablespoon(s) coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 bag(s) (9 ounces) cut hearts of romaine
• 2 cup(s) (about 10 ounces) shredded skinless rotisserie chicken meat

What to do:

1. In a saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat for 6 minutes or until browned. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon drippings from saucepan.
2. Add vinegar, Dijon, oil, salt, and pepper to drippings in saucepan, whisk well and heat to boiling over medium heat. Remove from heat.
3. Place romaine in large serving bowl. Pour hot dressing over romaine; toss until coated. Add chicken and toss until well mixed. Crumble bacon and sprinkle over salad.

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Fish: cooking techniques

One of our most popular dishes is our famous salmon at Copper Canyon Grill! In keeping with this theme, we encourage you to learn some basic cooking methods to create your own healthy fish dishes at home. After all, aren’t we always told to eat fish at least 3 times a week?!

Grilling: probably the quickest and easiest method for cooking fish, grilling imparts a hearty, smoky flavor and delicious blackened edges and striping to fillets and whole fish. It is best for thick (at least half-inch), meaty fillets or steaks with strong flavor that can stand up to the smoky tang of the grill. Swordfish, tuna, salmon, mackerel, and bluefish are ideal choices because their natural oils help keep their flesh moist.

Sauteing: pan-sauteing is a favorite way to cook fillets of fish — especially thin, delicate ones like trout, sole, or flounder. The fillets are quickly cooked in a hot saute pan in very hot fat, leaving them with a crisp exterior and moist flesh inside. Dusting the fillets with a light coating of flour before sauteing will help the fish develop a delicate crust.

Roasting: Fish can be roasted in the same manner as meat – uncovered, with no liquid, in a high-temperature oven – and with similar results: a papery, crisp exterior and tender flesh with concentrated flavors inside. While it’s possible to roast fish fillets, this cooking method lends itself best to whole fish. Stuffing the fish’s cleaned cavity with aromatics, like lemon wedges and whole branches of fresh rosemary and thyme, will perfume the flesh more potently than anything you rub on the outside.

Baking in parchment: a fish cooked en papillote is wrapped in parchment paper, and baked in a medium oven so it gently steams in its own juices. Aromatics, such as dill, sliced onions, and olives, are also enclosed in the package to flavor the fish. When the fish is done, the parchment will puff dramatically.

Steaming: setting fish over simmering water allows fillets of white-fleshed fish like cod and halibut, as well as small whole fish like sea bass, to retain their delicate flavor. You do not need an expensive steamer; a wok with a wire rack and cover works fine.

Poaching: this refers to foods that are gently cooked in water or broth at the barest simmer. Poaching firm-fleshed fish in a liquid flavored with vegetables and herbs provides a rich, fat-free broth that can be served with the fish or reserved to use as a soup base.

Happy cooking!

How to: create your own cocktails

Have you sampled our famous cocktails at any of our locations? How about experimenting and making some of your own at home this summer?

To make fantastic, creative cocktails, a half-dozen base spirits and a few mixers will not only allow you to turn out a surprising number of cocktail classics but also give you enough to tinker with to come up with some cool drinks of your own.

The Liquors

Cognac: For sidecars, brandy milk punches, crustas, daisies, and smashes.

White Rum: For daiquiris and mojitos.

Gin: For martinis, gin and tonics, Tom Collinses, etc.

Bourbon: For Manhattans, old fashioneds, and whiskey sours.

Vodka: Vodka is the workhorse of the liquor cabinet, used in basic drinks such as vodka tonics, screwdrivers, and the vodka martini.

Tequila: For margaritas, sunrises, and palomas. The best tequilas are made from 100 percent agave; check the label.

The Mixers

Cointreau: A bar essential — clean, full of natural orange flavor, and not too sweet.

Red Vermouth: For Manhattans.

White Vermouth: Essential for truly sublime martinis.

Bitters: Bitters are used not to make the drink taste bitter but to help other flavors blend.

How To Make: Tortilla Soup

One of our favorite days of the week is Friday, and not just because it’s the start of the weekend, but also because our soup of the day is the classic Tortilla! This spicy stew never fails to please (unless, of course, “spicy” isn’t for you!), and today we would like to provide you with a quick and easy recipe to make this soup at home.  With only a few ingredients and fellow spice-lovers to share with, this recipe will become a permanent one in your home!

Ingredients

2 (10.5 ounce) cans condensed chicken and rice soup

1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

8 ounces tortilla chips

4 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, combine the soup, tomatoes and chilies and tomato sauce. Bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Place some tortilla chips in the bottom of an individual bowl and sprinkle cheese over the chips. Pour soup over the chips and cheese.

Easy, right? Enjoy!

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