Caribbean & Curry Flavors

Tonight's dinner was courtesy of Fine Cooking...and it really is about as simple as you can get. We had cumin-coriander & tumeric spiced rubbed chicken that was grilled on our baby grill. The chicken was then served with pineapple salsa with radishes, peppers and cilantro. (sort of)

The chicken...in a small bowl mixed: 1 TB dark brown sugar, 2 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp kosher salt, 3/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground tumeric. Then sprinkle and rub onto a pound of chicken. I had a pound of chicken tenders, I grilled those on our little grill.

Chicken Little!

The chicken was served with a fresh little salsa...mix all the following in a bowl and let stand while cooking the chicken: 1/2 fresh pineapple cut into small cubes, 4 large radishes trimmed and cut into a small dice, 1/2 orange pepper cut into a small dice, small handful of cilantro chopped, 2 TB fresh lime juice and kosher salt and fresh pepper.

My Giant sort of sucked today, so I didn't have radishes or cilantro...I improvised...needed something green, something crunchy, something red and something a little peppery. So I used a little celery, parsley, tomatoes and jalapeno...all cut into a small dice.

The salsa doing the cha cha!

I served with jasmine rice flavored with lime juice and parsley.
It looked really good!

And then for dessert...this weekend we made a trip to Eastern Market (more in a day or two on that) and I picked up some fresh strawberries...there was some left over pineapple and I found a jar of NUTELLA>>>>! YEAH BABY! Better than fondue!!!!

Oh Sweet Jebus it was sooo tasty!

A good dinner when all is said and done. The chicken was good...and the salsa was interesting, I'm sure we'll have this again...but in the meantime, Fine Cooking had two other spice rub/salsa combinations I might try!

Mark you calendars

I'm a little late to this, but the upcoming summer Restaurant Week dates have been announced!

Wahoo!!!


FYI: Blogger has been acting up a bit over the past week, seems to be working fine now...hope it stays that way!

Thanks Terri

Terri in WI shared pictures from the Cooking Without Borders Coconut Chicken Curry event. Terri used green peppers instead of green beans and said she loved it!!!

Do I see a martini in there? Good Girl!

Movie

OMG! If this is true I might just pee my pants…Joan Cusack is filming a bio-pic about Julia Child!!! Based on MY LIFE IN FRANCE and the great sense of humor Julia showed whenever she was on TV, this is could be a really good match with Joan Cusack!

Appetite for Deconstructed Pesto

The most recent issue of Fine Cooking had some great recipes, including one that I found curious at first, then I became really intrigued and had to try, so without further ado...

Deconstructed Pesto Pasta
serves 4-6 as a main course

Kosher Salt
1/2 cup pine nuts
1 lb shapely pasta
6 TB Olive Oil
8 Cloves of garlic, thinnly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsley grated Pecorino Romano
2 cups basil leaves, cut into 1/4 inch strips

Our friends getting ready for the party.
Brought to you from our friends at Barilla!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a 10-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until golden in places, about 5 minutes. Pour onto a plate and set aside to cool. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to directions until al dente.

Pine nuts cooling down after getting toasty with one another.

While the pasta is cooking, gently heat the olive oil and sliced garlic over low heat in the same skillet used for the nuts, stirring frequently, until the garlic starts to turn golden, 4 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in 3/4 tsp kosher salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

The garlic and oil doing their thing.
You'll notice I added a pinch of red pepper flakes for shits and giggles!

When the pasta is done, scoop out 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and reserve. Drain the pasta and return it to the post. Pour the garlic and olive oil over the hot pasta and toss. Pour the reserved pasta water into the skillet, swirl it around, and pour it over the pasta. Toss well. Add the pine nuts and the cheese and toss again until thoroughly mixed.

Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool for 5 minutes. Then, just before serving, toss in the basil. Pass extra cheese around for those who want more.

Dinner

OK, so when all is said and done...this was a fine experiment in deconstruction and understanding the quality of your ingredients, but it just isn't as good as taking all the ingredients and whirling together to create your own homemade pesto. Don't get me wrong, I ate two bowls of it and am fully stuffed, I enjoyed it, but in terms of a sublime meal, ehh!


~!

Sunday Photo

About a month ago, I made some cookies and took plenty of pictures but I only posted the one photo for the cookie I shared the recipe for....I never posted the other recipe because I wasn't fond of the final results...but I really liked this photo...with the sun shining in.

Oh Martha!

A few days/weeks ago, I was watching MARTHA, you know...the show you get after spending a year in prison! Right. Anyway Martha's main cooking guest was this sweet sweet woman from the South; I can't remember from where exactly. But she was a cook at this plantation that is still operating, but mostly as a historic site. My understanding is that Martha was there as a guest, or to do a segment for her show, and at lunch, she had this cake for dessert that she just had to have. So when MARTHA went into production, Martha contacted Dorothy Mae Brown and invited her to New York to make the cake before the studio audience. Ms. Brown is probably in her 60's, she'd never been to New York, let alone on a plane! This woman needs her own show...she was soo sweet and silly and full of cookery knowledge. Such a sweetie!

Anyway, Ms. Brown was generous and gave up her secret Apple Spice Cake recipe and I need to share it with you.

APPLE SPICE CAKE
Serves 10

1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 TB ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3 to 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups)
1 cup chopped assorted nuts, such as pecans and walnuts (optional)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Caramel Sauce (see below)

Nonstick cooking spray with flour

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup bundt pan with cooking spray;
set aside.

2. Working over a large sheet of parchment paper, sift together flour,
cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; gather sifted ingredients into center of
sheet; set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,
combine vegetable oil, sugar, and eggs; mix on high speed until lemon
yellow.

4. Fold reserved parchment in half lengthwise; with mixer on medium
speed, gradually shake in dry ingredients until just incorporated.

5. Add apples and, if desired, nuts, to batter; mix to combine. Add
vanilla, mixing until incorporated.

6. Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake until a cake tester inserted in
the center comes out clean, 75 to 90 minutes.

7. Remove from oven, and cool slightly on a wire rack.

8. Invert cake onto rack; turn cake right-side up to cool completely on
rack, and serve drizzled with caramel sauce.

CARAMEL SAUCE
Makes enough for 1 cake

1 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

1. Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook,
stirring, until thickened to desired consistency.

Both recipes by Dorothy Mae Brown

NOTES: I don't have a bundt pan, so I thought it would make sense to use a muffin pan and turn these into Apple Spice Muffins. Well, it sort of worked. These don't really rise, so they are more of a flat top muffin...but they still taste great. If they are to rise, I'm sure they need just a smidge of baking powder. Outside of that change, this is a great recipe with lots of great taste! The caramel sauce...it's wonderful...sinful...decadent...great for this cake, or ice cream...or just for a taste when you're looking for a snack in the fridge. All that said, the cake is great even without the sauce. So for those of you who like the sweet, but not the SWEET, don't worry about the sauce....or just put a light drizzle on the cake.

Drizzle Drizzle on my flat-top head!

The whole apples and nuts are perfect in the cake, especially with the sauce!

Another Julia dinner

I continued flipping through Mastering The Art of French Cooking this weekend and found another something I wanted to try;

Boeuf À La Catalane
Beef Stew with Rice, Onions and Tomatoes

Serves 6 people
Takes about 3 hours from start to finish

Here is a hearty dish from the Spanish-Mediterranean corner of France.

¼ lb of bacon
2 TB Olive Oil
3 LB lean stewing beef cut into cubes
1 ½ cups sliced onions (1 large onion)
1 cup white rice
1 cup dry white wine
2 to 3 cups beef bouillon/stock
Salt/Pepper
2 cloves mashed garlic
½ tsp thyme
Pinch of saffron
1 crumbled bay leaf
1 lb. ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, juiced and chopped (1 ½ cups)
Extra bouillon as needed
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325.

Cut the bacon into ½ inch slices and simmer in 1 quart of water for 10 minutes. Drain, dry and brown lightly in oil in the skillet. Remove with a slotted spoon to a 3 quart oven proof casserole.

Dry the beef on paper towels. Heat the fat in the skillet until almost smoking then brown the meat a few pieces at a time. Place in when browned in the casserole.

Lower heat to moderate, and brown the onions lightly. Remove them with a slotted spoon and add to the casserole.

Still in the same fat, stir the rice over moderate heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns a milky color. Scrape into a bowl and set aside until later.

Pour any remaining fat out of the skillet, add the wine and stir for a moment over high heat to dissolve any browned bits, pour into the casserole.

Add stock almost to the height of the meat. Salt lightly. Stir in the pepper, garlic and herbs. Bring to simmer on top of the stove, cover tightly, and set on the lower rack of the oven to simmer slowly for 1 hour.

Remove casserole from oven. Stir in the tomatoes, bring to a simmer on top of the stove, cover and return to the oven for an additional hour or so of very slow simmering. When the meat is almost fork-tender, remove casserole from oven. Raise oven heat to 375.

Tilt casserole and skim off fat. You should have 2 to 2 ½ cups of liquid; add more stock if necessary. Stir in the rice. Bring to a simmer on top of the stove, cover and set again in lower third of the oven. Regulate heat to keep liquid at a full simmer for 20 minutes so the rice will cook. Do not stir the rice. Ad the end of this time it should be tender and have absorbed almost all the liquid. Remove from oven and correct seasoning.


**May be prepared in advance to this point. Set aside, cover askew. To reheat, cover casserole and place in a pan of boiling water for about half and hour.**

Just before serving, delicately fold the cheese with a fork into the hot beef and rice. Serve from the casserole or on a hot platter with green salad, french bread and a big fat red wine.


Outside of the time commitment, this was pretty easy to make. There is a great aroma that permeates your house!

Overall this was very tasty. Some changes...a little more thyme and tomatoes. No parmesan...it didn't heighten the flavors, it had a certain pungency to it, but nothing transcendent. Maybe bring the wine to 1 ½ cups of wine, instead of 1 cup, and then a touch less broth. I would finish the dish on the stove (cooking the rice) instead of the oven, a little easier to manage the cooking process. The beef was super tender and flavorful, so well worth the time. As for simmering the bacon in water. That's interesting. In Julia's book, she says she does that for American bacon because of its extra saltiness and smokiness...the simmering pulls that out. It seemed to work, but not so much that it is worth the extra step. Oh, and an extra pinch of saffron, I think I was too conservative and didn't want to use too much, but in the end, you couldn't taste the pinch I added. Bon appetite!

CCC: Chicken Coconut Curry

click me if you don't know what this is?

Mmmm, it's sooo good! Did you like it? Did you make it? Let us know what you think, what you did? When we get comments from everyone, I'll post them all together. Please feel free to leave the comments in this post!

The chicken doing it's thing.

It's all come together.

Ready to eat?

~

It's not too late,
you can still join us tonight!

I'm so excited....

I have signed up for my first cooking class....homemade pasta and some sauces....at Sur La Table in Pentagon Row! Yippee....I have made my own pasta, a few times actually, but each time it's different, so an official class will help that out. I can't wait!!!! End of June.

And with that, I have succeeded in all my 2006 goals...before the year is officially half over!

Go Me...I'm a rock star!!!

God Bless France

I say praise the French. Hallelujah!

After several years of cooking, I have tried my first true Julia Child recipe, one pulled from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. As you might imagine, it really is all about the sauce, hot damn!

Ahhhh....help.....callll 9...1.........1!!!

OK, sauce induced heart attack over, yes there is one cup of heavy cream and 5 tablespoons of butter...big deal....moving on.

Yummy, pretty easy....and I'm so going to make it again!

Suprêmes de Volaille Achiduc
Chicken Breasts with Paprika, Onions and Cream

Serves 4

2/3 cup finely minced white onion
5 TB butter
1 TB fragrant red paprika
1/8 tsp salt

4 Suprêmes
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
Big pinch white pepper

1/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup port, Madeira, or dry white vermouth
1 cup whipping cream
Salt & Pepper
Lemon juice as needed
2 TB minced parsley

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Drop the minced onions into boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, run cold water over them, and drain again. Cook the onions with salt, paprika and butter in a covered casserole for about 1o minutes over very low heat until the onions are tender and translucent, but not browned.

The onions, butter and paprika!

Meanwhile rub the suprêmes with drops of lemon juice and sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper.

Bring the butter to a high simmer, allowing the butter to foam. Quickly roll the suprêmes in the butter, place a lid on the casserole, leaving it slightly askew and place in hot oven. After 6 minutes, press the top of the suprêmes with your finger. If still soft, return to oven for a moment or two. When the meat is springy to the touch, it is done. Remove the suprêmes to a warm platter and cover while making the sauce.

Return the casserole to the stove over high heat. Pour the stock and wine into the casserole with the cooking butter and boil down quickly until the liquid is syrupy. Stir in the cream and boil down again over high heat until the cream has thickened slightly. Off heat, taste carefully for seasoning and add a few drops of lemon juice to taste. Pour the sauce over the suprêmes, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once.

Voilá! My precious, rich, delicious, decadent lovely!

OK, so you've been asking...suprêmes? Basically, those are boneless skinless chicken breasts! Those silly French! (Love you!)

NOTES:
The onions are boiled, I'm assuming to slightly cook them, but mostly to remove some of the sulfuric compounds that make onions bitter and you cry. I cooked them, it was fine, but I feel just soaking/rinsing in cold water accomplishes mostly the same thing...I do that when I make salsa and it works well....so my suggestion, no need to boil the onions, soak in cold water for a few mintues, and rinse.

My suprêmes actually took 20 minutes. Perhaps my oven wasn't hot enough. I wasn't worried, and wasn't in a rush...my rice still needed to finish!

Speaking of the oven and casserole...I used my medium sized oven safe skillet. I don't have a casserole that can go on the stove. I think Julia could have been referring to a Dutch oven, but that doesn't sound too French. My skillet worked very well!

I used a dry chardonnay, as I don't have port, Madeira or vermouth. I think it was fine.

I forgot to put a little lemon juice in at the end. It might have been more exciting, but it was still great without. And the lemon juice sprinkled on the suprêmes...I'm not sure that made much difference. I wouldn't worry if you dont' have lemon juice.

And I didn't have parsley, but since that is just a garnish, no worries.

Also, served this with plain rice...if I had the forsight, I would have prepared a basic risotto to go along with this. Sadly, that probably would have killed me! I would have died happy though

Don't forget the jicama

In the most recent issue of Fine Cooking (#79-July '06), I was pulled in by an article on chopped salads. This suprised me because I'm not really a salad person. I get cravings for salads, but they usually include romaine lettuce, croutons, carrots and chicken. The photos were what really drew me in...and the more I looked, the more I knew I had to try to make on of the salads.

I give you:
Chopped Mexican Salad
with Roasted Peppers, Corn, Tomatoes & Avacado
Serves 8

Chopped Salad sans dressing

For the Peppers & Corn
2 large orange bell peppers
2 ears fresh corn
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper

For the Honey-Lime-Cumin Vinaigrette
1 small clove garlic
Salt & Pepper
3 TB fresh lime juice
3 TB fresh orange juice
2 tsp finely chopped shallot
1 TB honey; more to taste
¾ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

To Assemble
2 large firm-ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into ¼ inch dice (1 ¾ cup)
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into ¼ inch dice (2 cups)
2 large firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and cut into ¼ inch dice (about 2 ½ cups)
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Roast the peppers and corn
Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425. Line a heavy duty rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem, seed core and ribs. Put the pepper halves on the baking sheet cut side down. Hust the corn and put the ears on the baking sheet. Drizzle the oil over the peppers and corn and rub it around to coat the pepper skins and corn kernels evenly. Sprinkle the corn with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the peppers are soft and slightly shriveled and browned and the corn kernels are slightly browned in a few spots, about 20 minutes (rotate the corn occasionally as it roasts.)

When the vegetables are done, let them rest until cool enough to handle. Scrape away the pepper skin and cut the flesh into ½ inch dice. Cut the corn kernels from the cob. You should have about 1 ½ cups kernels.

Make the vinaigrette
Mince and mash the garlic to a paste with ¼ tsp kosher salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the garlic paste with the lime & orange juice, shallot, honey and toasted ground cumin. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream, whisking until well blended. Season to taste with black pepper and more salt and honey, if you like.

Assemble the salad
Artfully arrange the corn, tomatoes, peppers, jicama and avocado in stripes or piles on a small platter or other wide, shallow serving dish. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve the vinaigrette in a pitcher. Encourage guests to spoon elements of the salad onto their plates and drizzle on some of the vinaigrette. Or drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad platter just before serving.

This is the salad with the dressing. It looks like it's drowning in dressing...but what happened is this: I prepped everything at home, packed it up and then we went to picnic. In that time, the veg let got of a lot of it's moisture. So when I spooned the veg onto the plate, I tried to drain as much liquid as I could. It appeared to work-see above photo. Well, as it sat, more and more liquid accumulated. If you make this, I'd recommend allowing the tomatoes and peppers to drain before plating...just to be safe.

FYI: This was a great salad. We highly recommend it. Particularly the jicama!!! Wow was it good. The original recipe did call for one can of black beans....not for me, thanks! So if you want to add more to the platter, that's a great option for you.

Let me entertain you!

Hello everyone!

I’ve had several requests to restart a little something I did way back at the beginning of this blog. It's time for another Cooking Without Borders special event. For all our new gal pals, this is an opportunity to cook the same meal together on the same night (or within a few days if that night doesn't work for you) and then we all come back together and post comments on what we liked or disliked, etc.

I've selected June 1 to be the big night this time around.

This event will have a very simple, but super satisfying dinner: Chicken Coconut Curry.

Part of the game plan for the Cooking Without Borders event is that I give a shopping list to get us started, some of these thing you might already have in your pantry:

1 lb Red Skinned Potatoes-I like to get ones that are about the size of golf balls
1-1 ½ lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
Curry Powder: pick up your favorite, or if you haven't bought Curry Powder before, I generally use the McCormick Gourmet Madras Curry
1 small head of garlic
Red pepper flakes
1 can 14 oz. can of coconut milk, unsweetened
Tomato Paste, just a small can or if you can find it in a tube, that's perfect for small amounts like this
Green Beans, I prefer fresh, but frozen actually work well, but not canned!
Salt

Optional: Pita or flatbread, great for slopping up some of the sauce.

I hope you will join us! And I particularly think this is a great recipe for beginners!!! If you think you can't cook, this is a great recipe for you!!!!

See you back here on the June 1.

FYI: I started this because way back when, many of the readers of this blog were located outside of the Washington DC area and as much as I wanted to cook and invite them over for dinner, logistically that didn't quite work. Terri in WI, did give me the idea...cook together, eat together and maybe even watch a movie together...but from different locations!

Five Spice + One Spice

I stayed late at work and had plans to head to the Giant on my way home. But then I decided that I didn't have enough time to do all I wanted, so it was going to be something quick!

I found four small, thin cut, boneless pork chops. I grabbed some shallots and headed to the check-out. With less than $5.00, I was on my way.

Ladies and Germs, I give you tonight's experiment:

Chinese Five Spice pork chops with Sherry Shallot Sauce
Serves 2

4 thin cut, boneless pork chops; all fat cut off
2 tsp Chinese Five Spice (what's this?)
1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt/Pepper
1 TB Olive Oil
2 Medium Shallots, sliced thinly
2 TB Dry Sherry
1 TB Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup broth (Chicken or Vegg)

Combine the Five Spice, Cayenne Pepper, A pinch of salt and about two or three grinds the black pepper. Sprinkle this on both sides of your pork chops. Heat olive oil in medium pan over high heat. When hot, add your pork chops. Saute on boths sides for about two minutes each.

When done, remove to a warm plate. Add a small frizzle of olive oil if the pan is dry. Toss in the shallots and saute until tender. Carefully add the sherry. Stir up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan. When the sherry has reduced, nearly completely, add the vinegar and the broth. Simmer until reduced by half. Spoon over the plated pork chops!

The chops doing their thing in the pan.
The Five Spice gave them this great color and amazing aroma.

I was lazy, so I served with couscous, which actually worked ok.

Another photo for fun.

I really liked this and plan to try it again. The Five Spice flavors really punch their way to the top of the flavor profile. The sauted shallots and sherry sauce help tame the flavors with a slight sweetness and pungency. The sweetness is an earthy sweetness from the cinnamon and star anise in the five spice, plus the reduced sherry. The hint of tartness is thanks to the vinegar!

Needs some work

It has been awhile since I've given some love to Ray Ray and since I wasn't totally in the mood to cook tonight, it seem appropriate to hook us up with some dinner that only took 30 mintues.

I checked out what I had bookmarked in Rachel's book: 365: No Repeats and found Southwestern Pasta Bake.

Southwestern Pasta Bake
4 Servings

Salt
1 pound penne or cavatappi
2 TB vegetable oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 TB ground cumin
1 TB ground coriander
2 TB chili powder
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, diced fine
2 TB butter
2 TB flour
2 cups milk
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup parsley, chopped

Preheat the broiler of your oven.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the boiling water and cook the pasta until slightly undercooked--a little chewy at center.

While the water is coming up to a boil, preheat a large skillet over medium high heat with the vegetable oil. Season the chicken with cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt & pepper. Add the chicken to the hot skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes. Add the onions, garlic and jalapeno and continue to cook for 5 minutes. While the chicken is cooking with the onions, make the cheese sauce.

In a medium sauce pot, melt the butter and add the flour. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes over moderate heat, then whisk in the milk. When the milk comes to a bubble, stir in the cheese, cilantro and parsley with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper and remove the cheese sauce from the heat.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it back into the large pot, add the chicken mixture and the cheese sauce, stir to combine. Transfer to a baking dish and place under the broiler to lightly brown.


NOTES:
*Ok, first off, this was not for four people. This was at least six, maybe eight! Whew.
*Second, it was alright, not great, not bad, just alright....while I was making it, I thought it was going to have a lot of huge flavors, but when all was said and done, it kind of plain.
*I covered the top with some bread crumbs to add a touch more texture, it was ok. If I do that again, I will would mix 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with some melted butter, little salt and pepper. Then put on the top of dish.
*Rachel's recipe called for 3/4 cup of cheese, I'd do at least one and maybe 1 1/2 cups next time.
*Outside of those suggestions, I'm not sure what this might need to take it from OK to good or great...? Suggestions???

I anticipated being lazy, so I used a leftover tin baking dish from Thanksgiving!
If you do make it, the recipe doesn't specify which size
baking dish; you'll want a 13x9 dish.

If I figure something out for improving this dish, it would be great for a potluck.

Sconey Goodness

Tonight before LOST, I made Ginger Scones. I have a full day staff retreat tomorrow for work, so I wanted to bring something nice to share with my new co-workers.

These are really simple and very tasty. You can see the chunks of crystallized ginger in the scones.
They are really easy and really tasty!!

The Good Book

About two weeks ago, I finished reading this:

I loved it! LOVED IT! Very inspiring and sweet and lovely. I highly recommend it. As the book is really about Julia's formative foodie years in France and the result of that, her book MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING....I had to buy it!

This arrived today:

It's beautiful! An absolute classic, even in it's appearance! Can't wait to try something from it. I was giggling earlier, the first recipe I flipped to was Duck! I've never cooked duck, but have always wanted to. This might be a sign....OH MY...that is a total lie....I cooked a full duck once for Thanksgiving....it wasn't good, that's why I say I've not done duck...but maybe now.

Red Chicken Curry

Each Wednesday is the food day in the Washington Post. Last week they had a brand comparison on Garam Masala, a dry spice mixture. Paired with the comparison was a recipe that I thought sounded really nice. So tonight, I made it. Pretty Tastee.

Parsee Red Chicken Curry
4 to 6 servings

There's only a small amount of garam masala in this curry dish, and, as is customary, it is not added until just before serving. But many of the spices that constitute garam masala are included in a paste that infuses the chicken with its pungent flavor. For convenience, we've substituted prepared coconut milk for grated, soaked and strained coconut.

We're giving a wide range of chili peppers so you can achieve a sweet-heat balance you're comfortable with. If you can stand the heat, use all 10 chili peppers and don't discard the seeds from some of them. Too much heat? Dilute the sauce with water. Serve with basmati rice. Adapted from "50 Great Curries of India," by Camellia Panjabi, a 1996 book that has just been released in paperback by Kyle Books.

5 to 10 red chili peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
3 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
1-inch cinnamon stick, broken into pieces (may substitute 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
3 cardamom pods
3/4 -by- 1/2 -inch piece ginger root, peeled with a spoon and coarsely chopped
4 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
Salt
One 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garam masala

Place the chili peppers, cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cardamom, ginger, garlic and onions in a food processor. Pulse, scraping down the sides as necessary, to form a paste (don't worry if it isn't smooth), adding 1 to 2 tablespoons
water if necessary. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the spice paste and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes, turning once, until brown on both sides. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk and reduce the heat to medium-low so that bubbles just break the surface. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into a piece of chicken should register 165 degrees).

Add the vinegar and garam masala. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately.

The finished dish. It could look better.

This is the onion/spice/ginger/garlic mixture. It had an incredible aroma!

NOTES:
I had 1/2 a pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts, so that's what I used. The rest of the recipe I followed pretty much as is and thought it was very nice. I didn't grind up the cinnamon stick or the cloves in the food processor, but I did add them into the mix prior to cooking. I was apprehensive about the cinnamon stick and cloves grinding properly in the food processor and not having small hard bites swimming in the sauce. Blech! Oh, one other thing that was different, I used on can of diced tomatoes, drained. I did give the tomatoes a whirl in the food processor, it was already dirty from making the paste, so I thought it would be an ok thing to try. I don't think it was a problem. Oh, remembered another note, I had my pan on the stove over the flame, with the oil in it...but it got too hot, so I poured out the oil, leaving just a thin film of oil...it was enough, so don't use 1/3 cup that is called for in the recipe.

The final note...I used all 10 of the peppers, and I didn't seed them! Wooeeey! This was a little HOT! But not in a bad way. But it does need something to cool it down, I'd really suggest a yogurt sauce. We didn't have that so it was a little dollop of Daisy.

Served with jasmine rice.





More from the Washington Post:

What makes one garam masala different from another? Freshness and the right flavor balance. The literal translation for the Indian spice -- which typically includes ground cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, cardamom and fennel -- is "warm spice blend." Garam masala is most often sprinkled lightly over a finished dish such as curry.

Garam Masala Test:

HEAVY ON CORIANDER
McCormick, 1.7 ounces, $4.49.
This was bulked up with coriander, a less expensive spice than the others. It lacked a
strong aroma or flavor.

MILD
The Spice Hunter, 1.8 ounces, $6.16.
Still quite aromatic with a lot of cumin.

BEST OVERALL (This is the one that I used!)
Whole Foods, 1.56 ounces, $4.79.
Redolent with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom; had the most traditional flavor.

NOT THE USUAL
Dean & Deluca, 1.5 ounces, $4.25.
The yellow color indicated the presence of curry powder and turmeric -- flavors not usually found in garam masala.

DARK
Nirmala's Kitchen Guyanese garam masala, 1.6 ounces, $6.95.
The spices were dark and over-roasted, producing a bitter, pungent flavor.

Asian Chicken Salad

I really enjoy the food blog, Simply Recipes. The other day I had an email alerting me to a new post from Elise, so I headed over to see what was up. Seems that Elise and the girls had a night away and one of the friends made Chinese Chicken Salad. This is my take on her salad she presents. I've changed just a few little things....and the name of the dish, because of a funny Margaret Chow story. Perhaps J-lo will pipe in to tell it! Made me giggle the whole time I was making this dinner.

Asian Chicken Salad
Serves 2 as large entree salads, or 4 small side salads

1/2 lb. white chicken meat, cooked and shredded
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tsp sherry
1 TB sugar

Vegetable oil
2 oz. bean threads (a small handful) (You could very easily substitute Chow Mein noodles)

The Bean Threads after they were fried in the vegetable oil, keep reading for more!

1 head of romaine, shredded/chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 TB chopped toasted almonds
1 TB toasted sesame seeds

Sauce:

1 TB sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 TB vegetable oil
1 TB dark sesame oil
3 TB rice wine vinegar

1. Using two forks, shred the cooked chicken (if you don't have any already cooked, poach chicken pieces in simmering water until no longer pink inside). Mix soy sauce, sherry and sugar in a bowl and add the chicken. Let soak for 10 minutes. Remove chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Fry the shredded chicken in a little cooking oil on medium high heat to make it a little crispy and to bake in the seasoning. Set aside.

2. Put 3/4 inch of vegetable oil into a small saucepan. Heat on high heat until when you flick a drop or two of water into the oil it sizzles. Take one bunch of the dried bean threads and gently break them up a bit. Test the oil by putting one bean thread into the oil. If the oil is hot enough, the bean thread will almost immediately sizzle and puff up. That's when you know the oil is hot enough. Working with a few bean threads at a time, put them in the hot oil. As soon as they puff up, remove them carefully with tongs and place them on a paper towel to cool. The paper towel removes excess oil. Set aside.

3. Toast your chopped almonds, or chop your toasted almonds; toast your sesame seeds. (Heat a thin skillet to medium high heat, add the seeds - or nuts, don't do them both together - stir frequently until they begin to brown, remove from heat, they will continue to cook. Let cool to room temp.)

4. Mix all of the sauce ingredients together, in the order listed. Just before serving the salad, mix all of the salad ingredients together - lettuce, chicken, bean threads, carrots, almonds, sesame seeds, and sauce.

NOTES:
The original recipe called for shredded green onions. I'm not really fond of raw green onions, so I skipped them. I did add shredded carrot, I liked having the carrot in there. And it added just a touch more veg. The sauce/dressing; I only used 2 TB of oil, the recipe called for 3. The recipe called for just 'vinegar' for the sauce. I thought it would be good to do rice wine vinegar, I'm sure other vinegar would be good as well. One final note, I think I would use low sodium soy sauce to soak the chicken in. I loved the chicken as it was, but maybe a touch less salt would make it superb!

I loved this salad...my head looked like a hoover vaccum, I just sucked this salad up! Make it!!!

Close up of the yummy Asian Chicken Salad

Another photo for prosperity

A quick stir fry

The other night we experimented a bit for dinner, with good results…some work still needs to happen to make it perfect, but in the meantime it was worth sharing.

I had probably ½ a pound of pork tenderloin leftover from the Peppercorn Medallion dinner and wasn’t really sure what to do with it. There wasn’t much in the fridge in terms of things to mix in with the pork to make a meal, but I did have some onions and some carrots, I figured a stir fry would be good!

Pork Stir Fry

I thinly sliced the chunks of pork, did a large dice on the onions and ran the carrots over the mini mandolin to get thin carrot rounds. I also minced some garlic and ginger.

For a sauce, I took some hoisin sauce, soy sauce, wee bit of rice wine vinegar and fish sauce and a quick splash of water. Whisked that together.

With a touch of vegetable oil in the pan, I tossed in the onion and sauted until it was all just soft and slightly browned, then the garlic and ginger went in for about 30 seconds until fragrant (and one tsp of red pepper flakes). I scootched this to the side and slide in the pork bits. Once those were partially cooked through I added the carrots and tossed to coat with little oil and let all this cook for about two minutes. I then added the sauce and stirred to coat. I added a touch more sauce than needed, so I let it simmer for about two or three minutes to slightly thicken.

Then we served with some jasmine rice. It was good. I think there was too much hoisin? That’s ok. We cleaned our plates!

So Fresh & Hot...try getting this delivered to your house!



And PS:

Joyous came over for a cooking lesson and an episode of LOST! We made the fresh fettucine with chicken, roasted peppers and pesto! It was amazing. Please consider making it and when you do, make your own pesto!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Today is the first birthday
of
EAT WITH ME


YIPPEE!!!!

I started this thing one year ago today.

One year has brought over 260 postings, nearly 900 comments and most importantly over 140 recipes!!!! (& probably 20 pounds!)

Witht that, I thank you, gentle readers, for your support and encouragement over the past 365 days! Here's to another!

PS: I know the photos have been a welcome addition to this website, but what would you like to see more of? Also, what has been your favorite thing about the blog? Favorite recipe?