Wonderful

Last night's dinner was a surprise. Not in the "I'm making it for the first time and it's good" surprise-y kind of way. But in the "I forgot how satisfying this is" way. The past few meals I've made, I've always felt a little unsatisfied by it. Not last night. A complete & tasty meal.

Bazaar Couscous! I started making this a few years ago. It's slightly different each time I make it. This was just awesome and to me the best I've had! In a nutshell. You have Israeli Couscous--larger grains than traditional couscous, a variety of nuts, dried fruit, vegetables and spices. All tossed together. I gave it the name because it felt like something I'd come up with if I were exploring a Persian marketplace.

What made last night so good? Usually the couscous is a side to a piece of chicken. Well, why not make it a one pot, one bowl meal? So I cut the chicken up, spiced it up with my own blend of spices--Baharat spice blend. Once nearly cooked through, I added diced red onion and diced carrot. Let that start to soften. Add diced red & green bell peppers. Season with Zatar spice blend and Charnushka seeds. Stir in the cooked couscous with dried cherries and golden raisins. Finish with diced tomatoes and toasted almonds and pistachios. Finish with a light sprinkle of extra Baharat. Serve hot. The only thing missing was some awesome flatbread and a bit of chopped parsley, maybe.

And with only a single tablespoon of oil--avocado oil--it's pretty good for you. A fair amount of starch from the couscous, plenty of veggies and fruit, lean protein from the chicken and nuts. I only had a small bit of seconds!!!! Seriously good! And BTW, if you want to make this vegetarian--just skip the chicken. I'm sure you could add some tofu if you wanted...or add extra veggies...whatever you like!



A final note...if you cook with nuts, know that you can enhance the flavor and 'freshen' them up if they've gone stale by giving them a quick toasting either in a dry pan on the stove top or in the oven. I prefer the stove top, as I feel I have more control. I did this with both the almonds and pistachios. But only one at a time, they may toast at different times and you don't want to burn them. Just keep tossing them and moving them about so they don't scorch and get nasty.

Maybe a new favorite cookie???

I've grown tired of the common chocolate chip cookie. Perhaps because I've had too many that just are worth their weight in chips. Dry, brittle, crumby, etc...why bother. So when I have been choosing my cookies for consumption, the chocolate chip is usually towards the bottom of my list.

So, I was pleased to see the following recipe on Serious Eats the other day. Soft Molasses Cookies. Highly spiced. Chewy gooey goodness. This might be a new favorite cookie for me.

Butter and sugar creamed together, then add the molasses. Molasses is one of those ingredients that with the first sniff, I fly back to my childhood.

After the sugar, molasses and butter, you add spices, eggs and flour. Let the dough rest in the fridge for an hour.

Scoop the dough into balls and coat in granulated sugar.

Give them some space on the pan and place in a 350 degree oven.

Ten minutes later you are left with a soft, chewy, fragrant, spicy cookie. Mmmm!

Soft Molasses Cookies
from Serious Eats.

- makes 44 cookies -

Adapted from The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion.

1 cup (2 sticks , 8 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup (7 ounces) sugar, plus more for coating the dough
1/2 cup (6 ounces) molasses
2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cloves
3/4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 large eggs
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
Procedure

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the molasses while mixing at a slow speed, then the baking soda, salt, and spices. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated. Stir in the flour. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.

2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

3. Shape or scoop the dough into 1 1/2-inch balls; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Roll them in granulated sugar and put them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between them.

4. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. The centers will look soft and puffy, which is okay. As long as the bottoms are set enough to lift partway off the cookie sheet without bending or breaking, they're ready to come out of the oven. Cool the cookies on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Not for Dieting

Oh glorious butter. And sour cream. And chicken...with the skin on!

This is not diet food, but it is very delicious.

Last night's dinner was Chicken Paprikash. A dish I've made before, but last night I approached it differently and I think that was key to making a very tasty dish. I used the same ingredients, just used them in a different order and with a few different processes.

Season skin-on chicken thighs with salt & pepper. Place in a large pan set over medium-high heat and cook. No need to add any butter or fat at this point. Sear the chicken, about 5--8 minutes, skin side down. The fat will render/melt out of the chicken. When brown, flip and cook for another 3-5 minutes. The chicken won't be cooked thru, this is ok. Work in batches, so the chicken isn't crowded in the pan. If it is, it will steam.

Remove the chicken to a plate and pour out the excess chicken fat. Melt butter.


Add onions and garlic to the melted butter. Saute for a few minutes until they become translucent and soft. Sprinkle with paprika. Cook for 1-2 minutes. This will allow the paprika to "bloom" in the fat, allowing the flavors to really pop. Add water and stir.


Return the chicken, skin side up, to the pan. Place in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove chicken from the pan. Add broth to the onion/butter/paprika mixture. Stir to incorporate and simmer for a few minutes until reduced. Turn off the heat and stir in the sour cream.


Serve the chicken on a bed of hot buttered noodles and spoon the sauce over the top. Enjoy!

A Major Change for Next Time

I've shared my opinion on Saffron. I know as a wanna-be foodie, I should love it, but I just don't. It's not the first time this spice has ruined a meal for me. Sad. I am not going to write off this recipe. I will make it again, but I will skip the saffron completely and maybe cut back on the mint, just a touch. For all the work you go through to layer the flavors and with all the great aromatic herbs and spices, you don't want any one to be smothered and suffocated by another arrogant spice. This took me an hour and a half to make, and in the end, I had a few bites and pushed my plate away and had toast with peanut butter for dinner. The saffron was just so ridiculously strong, I couldn't do it.

Anyway, I was making Chicken Biryani and I've had it before and it's lovely, but the minute the saffron crosses the threshold from "I can't taste it" to "did you put anything but saffron in here," for me, it became inedible.

Let's get started shall we.

Here's something that went right. The rice is par-boiled in a broth made with ginger, cinnamon, cumin seeds and cardamom. The cardamom should be in pod form, which I didn't have, so I just added a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the water. The broth was highly fragrant and wonderfully spiced.


Another major flavor component is fresh mint. Chop finely and mix with freshly chopped cilantro for the lively herbal blend. Next time I will keep the mint, but cut the amount by half. After the saffron, the other flavor I had was muted mint.


The rice is partially cooked, the mixed with saffron and dried fruits such as currants or golden raisins. This turns the rice golden yellow and releases the saffrons flavors.


Another great flavor level...carmelized onions, garlic and jalapenos...all cooked in butter.


Here's the rice stirred up with the raisins. It looks lovely.


The signature of Biryani is layers...rice mixture, onion mixture...

...then seared chicken thighs and mint/cilantro...

...more onions and more rice. Cook for thirty minutes with some of the flavored broth the rice was cooked in. The chicken will be tender and cooked thru and the rice will be light and fluffy.


The plate. Not the prettiest photo, but it should be full of great flavor. Maybe next time...

Coming out as a hater

Saffron; the world's most expensive spice.

Let me just put this out there, I think you are overrated. There I said it.

I have tried to love you. I have openly embraced you. And what have you done for me? Huh?

That's right! On several occasion you have ruined my dinner. You have spread your perfume far and wide, overwhelming entire meals with your intoxicating aroma and your brilliant colour. Shame on you. I have tried using you gingerly, with barely a strand and what do you do, you run and hide. Then I turn around and use recommended amounts of you and what do you do, you stand up and smack me in the face with a complete lack of respect.

Saffron, the world's most expensive spice, I do not like you. You have bitten me in the rear more than once and I'm not going to let you do it again.

Hot Pockets

This week has been wonky. So I apologize for not getting everything up that I've promised. Here's another. Last night I made what can best be described as a Middle Eastern Hot Pocket--I need to come up with a name. They were tasty, filling and not all that bad for you.

What was supposed to be an Irish inspired treat ended up being ground beef, garbanzo beans/chickpeas, pine nuts, golden raisins, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and lots of redolent spices and wrapped and baked in a store bought pie crust. I'm very pleased and I think this will be a very versatile dinner. I'll work on the recipe and get that to you later...I promise.

Curried Calzone? Maybe!

This is very interesting and I'm so very happy with the results. I'll get the recipe worked out in the near future; but in a nutshell. Leftover pizza dough. Potatoes. Great spices. Onions & Jalapenos. A little leftover chicken. Wow, these were great and super filling. I also made a yogurt dip with Greek yogurt, cucumber, dill, salt & pepper. A perfect meal.

Like I said, I'll work out the recipe in the next few days and post later. But in the meantime, you must enjoy these photos.

The main flavor base. Onions, jalapeno, curry spices!

Some chopped green beans and boiled potatoes.

This was the basic filling. I had some leftover pollo verde (Green Chicken w/Cilantro and Chilis) that I chopped up and added as well. Great compliment, but totally not needed.

The filling wrapped up in dough, given an egg wash and a sprinkle of salt.

Golden goodness.

These were fairly large. If I make them smaller in the future, they would be amazing little appetizers for a party.

I'm very happy. If only I could get a proper name for them.


Aloo Bonda maybe; an Indian potato and spices dumpling. Not really authentic I'm sure, but again, great flavor.

Rub Your Chicken*

*for maximum flavor!

I've done this BBQ dry rub twice now and really like what it does for the chicken.

For enough rub for about 20 pieces of chicken (thighs/legs):
5 TB BBQ of the Americas
2 TB BBQ 3000
2 tsp Kosher salt
3 tsp Brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground Ancho chili
1/2 tsp ground Cumin
1/2 tsp ground Coriander
Pinch of Cinnamon
30 grinds of fresh Black pepper

Blend together. Store in an airtight container until you're ready to use.

To use, liberally coat the chicken and rub the spices into the chicken. Allow the chicken to sit for an hour or more to let the flavors soak in. This time I left the chicken overnight in the fridge.


Grill the chicken until it's done. I get about 4 minutes per side when the grill is good and hot. Then give the chicken a brush of a little BBQ sauce, to glaze the chicken. One extra minute per side to let the sauce get hot and sticky.

Here's the finished chicken (and hints of two other posts that are pending). Looks a little more done than you might like. The chicken had great flavor and was juicy. It is a little blackened. I forgot to set the timer, so the first four minutes was actually something like 7-8 minutes for one side! Oops. That's ok. For the thigh, I just took the skin off.

So, there are two dry rub blends that start this new blend. The first time I made this, I had both of those blends. I didn't have enough of the America's blend and the 3000 blend is a little too smoky (artificial smoky) for my taste, so I put the two together with some additional flavors. Worked well. This time I adjusted the quantities a little more and liked it very much. The cinnamon was a new touch. Barely there, but noticeable.

How Bazaar? How Bazaar!

Tonight was a late night at work and I wasn't sure I was up for making dinner when I got home. But a little advance planning made tonight's dinner a no-brainer.

Bazaar Couscous with Baharat Chicken!

The Bazaar Couscous is really a salad bowl of some of our favorite thing...things that can change based on what you have in your pantry, garden, fridge or what you can get at the markets. This has Middle Eastern Couscous, Carrots, Peppers, Onions, Golden Raisins, Dried Cherries, Pine Nuts and Pistachios. Throw in some herbs and spices with some olive oil and you're done! Divine. And it's really easy.

The chicken is flavored with a spice blend known as Baharat. I intended to grill chicken tonight, but the timing wasn't right, so I threw the chicken in a pan with some olive oil. It's spicy, but not hot and full of plenty of flavor. If you have a spice grinder, or a coffee grinder, make some of your own Baharat blend. You'll be very happy.

An Expensive Habit

My expensive habit needed a fix this weekend. Sunday morning, we loaded in the car and drove around the Beltway to the Rockville Pike. Hello Penzeys.

Ouch! Nearly $100. I had a list and I got what was on my list. Problem with the store? I can sniff four types of cinnamon and decide that the one I wanted is great, but the one I really really want is twice the price. Oops. Vanilla? Sure I need the more expensive one!

When all was said and done I only bought three things that weren't on the list. The most satisfying: the dutch processed cocoa. Penzeys has jars that you can get a sniff of the herbs/spices/flavors. Well, this cocoa was unlike any cocoa I've bought in the past. I had to have it for some baking that was planned. Which is why you see two tubes of vanilla beans! Bought some more curry. A one pound bag of Tellicherry Black Pepper. A mid-sized jar of Garam Masala.

Four Spices

A little new fun tonight. Quatre Epices on my chicken, which was placed on a pile of mashed potatoes...no, not mashed potatoes, mashed white sweet potatoes...yes, white sweet potatoes....and quatre epices.

Primarily a French blend, Quatre Epices (Four Spices) brings together the flavors of pepper, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. There might be variations of the spices. For kicks, I picked up my tin of quatre epices from Dean & Deluca. I loved the flavors it brought to the chicken and might try to find other ways to use it in the future, including side dishes or event spicy desserts.
Now White Sweet Potatoes. Fun. Really they tasted the same as its orange-coral cousin, just a little pigmentally challenged. I mashed my taters with a little salt and some butter. Unlike a regular mashed potato, I didn't go crazy with salt or butter, and I omitted the cream altogether. And unlike the orange sweet potato, I didn't go into the sweet/sugar realm.

I think these two items played together very well. The spices on the chicken held their own against the sweet potato and vice versa. Well played good friend.


When I plated up, I put down a pile of taters and placed the sliced chicken breast on top. To finish the entree off, I tossed a finely diced shallot into the fry pan and a little dollop of butter, I spooned this on top. Good...not necessary and didn't really bring anything to this party. Maybe I'll find something in the alcohol family to make a quick glaze next time. We'll see???


If you can find the white sweet potatoes, use orange sweet potatoes or even mashed potatoes...or some other mashed veg...turnips? parsnips?