Chocolate Cupcakes

The dessert accompaniment to the Greek dinner I brought my friend who had the twins was chocolate cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting (two girls!). I had leftover cupcakes that I am bringing to my moms group for snack, so I died the leftover buttercream icing teal and just went with it. Yum! 

Normally I would have made these from scratch, but I was under a time crunch, so I did the next best thing: dress up a box mix. It's never my first choice, but they still turn out really good, and once you put that buttercream frosting on, they could taste like cardboard for all anyone else will care.

Chocolate Cupcakes (shortcut)

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 1/3 cups water

1/2 cup canola oil

3 eggs

3 T cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla

Combine all ingredients in either a stand mixer or a large bowl and beat until well combined. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake on 350 deg F for about 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

Buttercream Frosting

1 stick butter, softened

2 cups confectioners sugar (added gradually)

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 T milk

In a stand mixer cream together the buttercream and about a cup or so of the sugar. Slowly add the sugar until a thick icing starts to come together. Add the vanilla and the milk and beat until fluffy. You may need to add a bit of sugar and/or milk to get just the right consistency.  If desired, color with food coloring before icing.    

Chicken Souvlaki

This is the kind of recipe that elicits that coveted dumb founded, mouth ajar look from its consumers. Success in its ultimate culinary form. Admittedly I have always shied away from trying to make souvlaki at home, but I was wanting to bring a friend of mine who just had twins a really delicious meal for her family, so I bit the bullet. It was so fresh and delicious, accompanied with some hummus and pita points (recipe here), it was a perfect Greek dinner!

Being that I was previously unsure of my Greek making skills, I searched for what I thought looked like a good souvlaki recipe online; a definite departure from my usual wing it method. I came across one from Emeril Lagassee...truly I did not adapt the recipe much, so most of the credit goes to him for sure on this one. 

Chicken Souvlaki

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

1/4 cup olive oil

2 T red wine vinegar

2 T lemon juice

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Pita breads to serve on

Pita Salad (recipe follows)

Tzatziki Sauce (recipe follows)

Feta cheese crumbles

Combine chicken, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, rosemary, oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Cover and marinate, refrigerated, for 2 hours.

Meanwhile put together the Pita Salad and Tzatziki Sauce:

Pita Salad

3 cups shredded lettuce

1/2 of a large cucumber, seeded and peeled and finely chopped

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise

1/3 cup olive oil

3 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl; adjust seasonings as necessary.

Tzatziki Sauce

1/2 large cucumber, seeded and peeled and finely chopped

1/8 tsp plus 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 T olive oil

1 tsp fresh lemon juice + 1 tsp lemon zest

1-2 tsp dried dill 

1 tsp minced garlic

Put the cucumber in a strainer set over a bowl. Sprinkle with 1/8 teaspoon salt and drain for 1 hour. 

Combine the cucumber and yogurt in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

After the chicken is finished marinating, heat a skillet over medium high heat with a drizzle of olive oil and cook the chicken until browned on all sides and cooked through.

To assemble, place the pita salad on top of a pita bread, top with chicken, feta cheese and tzatziki sauce.  Serve with hummus and pita points! 

Tomato Bacon Soup

What is a better partner to a grilled cheese on a chilly Sunday afternoon than tomato soup? I decided to mix up my basic tomato soup recipe and add some smoky bacon flavor, a risk that ended up paying high dividends if I do say so myself. Oh, and it was really easy so it also satisfied the lazy-Sunday-I-don't-really-feel-like-cooking mentality. I whipped up another rendition of the Irish soda bread for the grilled cheese sandwiches: Dill! (sub 1 T dried dill for the rosemary)

Tomato Bacon Soup

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dried basil

3 slices bacon, chopped

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups chicken broth

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add the salt, garlic and onion powder, and basil and stir to combine. Add the bacon (if you're using already cooked bacon, this will only take a few minutes to bring out he bacon flavor, but if you are using uncooked bacon, it will take longer to crisp the bacon before proceeding) and cook until fragrant. 

Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and chicken broth, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 15 minutes. Working in batches, ladle the soup into a blender and process until smooth (conversely you can leave it chunky if you like chunky tomato soup). 

Pour straight from the blender into bowl and garnish with sour cream and dried basil. A few crispy bits of bacon up on top would be excellent as well. 

Chicken Cutlets

I often forget how quick and easy chicken cutlets are, although you have to have perfectly thawed chicken in order to execute them properly. This is a rarity in this house because invariably I am pulling out frozen chicken an hour before I need to use it (sighs). Tonight, I had perfectly thawed chicken waiting for me in the refrigerator, so chicken cutlets it was. 

These are so crispy and I love how quickly they cook since the chicken is so thin. Vegetable fries (recipe here) and a side salad were the perfect accompaniment. I made a quick dill dressing (recipe follows) for the salad...which is also good if you like to dip your veggie fries as my son does!

Chicken Cutlets

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Kosher salt and olive oil to season

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

1 cup panko bread crumbs

Canola oil, for pan frying

Place each chicken breast between two large pieces of plastic wrap and using a meat tenderizing mallet, beat the chicken until it is about 1/4" thick evenly. Pat dry, then season both sides with kosher salt and a little drizzle of olive oil.

In a shallow dish, combine the parsley and panko well. Heat a skillet over medium high heat and just coat the bottom with canola oil. Dredge each chicken breast in the panko mixture on both sides and carefully lay down in the skillet. Cook a few minutes on each said until golden brown and crispy. Work in batches depending on how big your skillet is.

Dill Dressing

1/3 cup light mayo (or half mayo half sour cream)

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 T dried dill (fresh would be even better)

2-4 oz water 

Whisk all ingredients together, or use a small food processor. Start with a small amount of water and add until desired consistency.

Whole Wheat Bread Resurrected: Bread Pudding

Not wanting to throw out the whole wheat bread or simply eat it out of obligation, I decided to try and resurrect it by making a bread pudding. Typically bread puddings are made from stale French or Italian loaf breads, or at least some type of white bread, not wheat bread. But I figured it was worth a try. Admittedly, I wouldn't make this bread pudding on a regular basis, but it actually was quite tasty and is the perfect back up recipe for bread gone awry!

Bread Pudding (whole wheat)

Whole wheat bread (stale or dry and cubed); I used 4 decently thick pieces for 2 ramekins of bread pudding

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 T butter 

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 of the eggs, the milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the bread cubes, toss gently, and allow to sit about 5-10 minutes to soak up the liquid. Meanwhile, grease 2 medium ramekins with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 deg F.

Divide the bread mixture into each ramekin and place in preheated oven, spaced evenly apart. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over LOW heat (you don't want to scramble the egg) whisk continuously the other egg, the brown sugar and butter until a sauce forms.

Remove the ramekins from the oven just long enough to drizzle the brown sugar mixture evenly over each and return to the oven. Bake another 10 minutes, or until the sauce starts to bubble and caramelize.

If you want to prepare additional ramekins, just increase the ingredients proportionally.  

Salted Caramel Brownies

Have you ever had the salted caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks? It is ridiculous. So good, really. We were having dinner at a friends house tonight and my contribution was to be wine and dessert. For some reason I was thinking about this sinful concoction that the master minds at Starbucks dreamed up and I thought, hey why don't I make salted caramel brownies? If you like the combination of salty and sweet, these are the brownies for you. I will be making these in the future for sure... my only recommendation may be to use store bought caramel sauce, it was a bit ambitious of me to make my own caramel sauce, having never made it before. It is a tricky little confection to say the least.   

Salted Caramel Brownies 

1 stick butter

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/4 cup + 2 T cocoa powder

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

Caramel sauce (see below for recipe)

Kosher salt, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 deg F and grease an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.

Melt the butter in a microwave then combine in a medium bowl with the sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with a spoon after each addition.

Add the cocoa and beat until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat well. Pour the batter into the prepared dish and begin baking. 

Meanwhile make the caramel sauce (or if using store bought, heat it slightly to make it more runny to pour). Once the brownies are just about set on the top, remove them from the oven and drizzle with the caramel sauce, making whatever design and using however much you want. The brownies should be nearly cooked at this point. Return to the oven and finish baking until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If you add the caramel too early, it may either sink into the batter, or even burn. 

As soon as you remove the cooked brownies, lightly salt the top with a few pinches of kosher salt (sea salt would be good too). Don't be too liberal, a little salt goes a long way. You just want a slight hint of salty to balance out the sweet. Serve with vanilla ice cream.  

Caramel Sauce

1 cup of sugar

6 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup whole milk (apparently heavy whipping cream works best, but I didn't have any...use heavy whipping cream if you can! My caramel was a bit runny which I attribute to not having enough fat from the whipping cream)

Heat the sugar over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed 3-quart or larger saucepan (the mixture will bubble up later). As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to make sure it doesn't burn. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. 

When all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), immediately add the butter to the pan. The mixture will bubble up considerably. Whisk until the butter has melted.

Once the butter has melted, take the pan off the heat and wait a few seconds (I waited about 5). Slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. It will bubble up again. 

Continue to whisk until the caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass container and let sit to cool to room temperature. Any unused sauce can be refrigerated for a couple of weeks; heat it up slightly when re-using as the refrigerator will make it quite viscous. 

Whole Wheat Bread (bomb)

I have been meaning to make my own whole wheat bread literally for months now. We go through a substantial amount of bread each week in this household, so I thought this may be a money saving opportunity. My hesitancy, as may be expected, is the process involved with yeast breads. I'm a quick bread girl if you haven't noticed. 

I found a couple of recipes online, including a few from the whole wheat flour company King Arthur. So I fiddled with a few of them to create what I thought would be a winner. There is very little wiggle room when it comes to yeast breads, so I was equitable with my adjustments.

The result? Well...the bread actually tasted pretty good and was moist even ... but it didn't rise and looked reminiscent of cafeteria food. I actually the think the recipe was good, my yeast however was not. Expiration date: May 2009. Oops! I'm chalking it up to the lack of pantry purging and will likely make this again with fresh yeast!

Whole Wheat Bread
5 cups whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten
1 seven gram packet of instant yeast (or two teaspoons)
2 cups water
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons canola oil


Place about three cups of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the yeast and carefully measure 2 cups of room temperature water. The water should feel slightly cool to the touch. Mix the water with the flour with a dough hook for 30 seconds or until the yeast is dissolved and the ingredients begin to combine. Scrape the sides if need be. 


Add the salt, sugar, and oil and continue mixing. Add the remaining flour, the wheat gluten, and continue mixing at a medium speed for at least four minutes adding more flour as needed to reach a soft dough consistency. (It is important that the dough be mixed for at least four minutes to develop the gluten.) The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but will be soft, not firm, to the touch.


Once the dough is mixed, place it in a large greased bowl, turning once to coat both sides, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.


The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature--about three hours. The dough should rise to nearly double in size.


Once the dough has risen, form two loaves. You may need to coat your hands with flour and gently form each loaf. Lay each loaf gently in a well-greased loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Let double again in size, about 1 1/2 hours.


Preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Once the dough has doubled (mine did not but the loaf should be very puffy), place the two loaves on a shelf in the top half of the oven, well-spaced so that air can circulate between the loaves. Bake for thirty minutes or until done. 


Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks. Let cool completely before cutting. 

Irish Soda Bread: Take II

I liked the Irish Soda Bread so much that I decided to make it again, making a few changes to play with different flavors. Truly it is so easy to whip up this little orb of a loaf, I can see how this was quite literally the Irish's daily bread. So. I decided to use rosemary this time, and added a bit of whole wheat flour for some fiber. It was just as delicious as the original, and makes a righteous grilled cheese! There are limitless possibilities with this base recipe (here). 

Rosemary Bread

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat fluor

1 T white sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp wheat gluten (optional to help with rise, if you have it)

1 T dried rosemary

Stir the milk and vinegar together, and allow to stand until curdled, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Grease a cast iron skillet, if you have one. Otherwise a small baking sheet will work. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt and wheat gluten. Stir in the rosemary. Gradually stir the soured milk into the flour mixture until the dough just comes together, then turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead a few times, and form into a round shape. 

Place the dough down in the cast iron skillet. Using a knife, cut an X shape into the top of the dough to help the bread keep its round shape. Sprinkle lightly with flour and a few sprigs of rosemary. 

Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.

We arrived back home from church around 11am this morning and we were eating grilled cheese sandwiches with this bread by noon...yea, it's that easy.

Spinach Pasta with Shrimp & Sun Dried Tomatoes

I happened upon some penne pasta in Whole Foods last week that is  made of spinach (well powdered spinach, but still). I thought, wow a pasta even more healthy than whole wheat pasta, I have to try this. Plus I am always trying to sneak veggies into my son's diet and he adores noodles of any variety. 

Normally when making a creamy pasta, I would start with a roux. A roux is a cooked mixture of flour and a cooking fat, like butter, that is used to thicken sauces. I wanted to forgo this method and try something new. I decided to use the starchy cooking water from the pasta, which incidentally was rich from the spinach in the pasta, and milk. It ended up being quite tasty, but I do have to say it will not be as good leftover, so perhaps adjust the portion for who you are feeding, or make this when you have a crowd. 

Spinach Pasta with Shrimp & Sun Dried Tomatoes

1 lb. spinach penne pasta

1/2 lb. frozen raw shrimp, thawed (shells and tails removed)

6-8 sun dried tomato pieces + 2 cups water

2 T butter

1 shallot, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid from pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Make sure to reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid before draining the pasta. Return pasta to the same pot after draining and put over low heat. Add the reserved cooking liquid and milk and sit occasionally (it will take about 20-25 minutes to thicken). 

Meanwhile, immerse the sun dried tomatoes in the water in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and let sit for about another 5 or so minutes. 

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the butter, shallot and garlic. Cook for a few minutes until fragrant; you may need to lower the heat to low to make sure the garlic does not burn. Make sure the shrimp is patted dry and season with a few pinches of kosher salt. Add to the skillet and cook just until pink (about 5 minutes).   Make sure the shrimp are coated well in the butter, garlic and shallot mixture. 

Add the shrimp mixture to the pasta and stir well. Remove the sun dried tomatoes from the water bath and dice them, adding to the pasta pot as well. Stir well to combine. Keep the pasta over low heat until it is thick and creamy. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve immediately.  

St. Patty's

Happy St. Patty's. I wanted to add a bit of the Irish to my dinner plans tonight (salads, whoa) so I did a little bit of research on Irish soda bread. Turns out that this is just a very basic quick bread (i.e. non yeast) that the Irish used as their daily bread, but did not require yeast OR an oven because most of them had neither. Rather, it uses baking soda for leavening and sour milk to help with the rise since it lacks yeast. 


Apparently, this dough used to be placed in a large dutch oven and cooked over coals since ovens were a luxury. Further, it is so simple to make because "luxury" ingredients such as butter and eggs were scarce as well.

I had never made Irish soda bread, but I think it was  literally the easiest bread I have ever made and it was so delicious. Bravo Ireland. Of course I had to serve my bread with some green beer, which I am convinced is an American tradition, but fun nonetheless. Lastly, how about some sugar cookies masquerading as good luck clovers? Yes, please. 

Irish Soda Bread

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 T white sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 T caraway seeds

Stir the milk and vinegar together, and allow to stand until curdled, about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Grease a cast iron skillet, if you have one. Otherwise a small baking sheet will work. 

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the caraway seeds. Gradually stir the soured milk into the flour mixture until the dough just comes together, then turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead a few times, and form into a round shape. 

Place the dough down in the cast iron skillet. Using a knife, cut an X shape into the top of the dough to help the bread keep its round shape. Sprinkle lightly with flour and a few caraway seeds. 

Bake until golden brown, about 40-45 minutes.

Now, onto the cookies. Let me preface this by saying that my husband and I like a drier, more crunchy sugar cookie, not a buttery soft one. So, I have cut the butter in half (yes in half), so if you like buttery sugar cookies, by all means use 2 sticks of butter!

Shamrock Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Chill dough for about 15-20 minutes in the refrigerator. 

Roll dough out on a lightly floured service and use cookie cutters to make shapes as desired. 

Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 deg F for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely before icing.

I used royal icing, which is just a ratio of confectioners sugar and water (some people use milk, but I prefer water). I used about 1/2 cup sugar to about 1 T (cold) water. Drizzle the prepared icing over each cookie, spread it out with a knife or the back of a spoon and garnish with sprinkles.  You can also pipe the icing around the perimeter, as I did on a few.

Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

Okay, nothing special about the salad we had for dinner, but I did attempt a new dressing, a creamy orange poppy seed dressing. I rarely buy dressing and prefer to make my own and keep it in the refrigerator, but at one time I did buy this orange poppy seed dressing that was not creamy, but still pretty good. It tasted processed, as most dressings do, but good enough that I wanted to create my version. It is quite good!

Orange Poppy Seed Dressing

1/4 cup sugar

1 T cornstarch

3 T soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sesame oil

2 T rice wine vinegar

2/3 cup water

Zest and juice from one large navel orange

1 T triple sec (optional)

1/4 - 1/3 cup light mayo + 1-2 oz. water

1 tsp poppy seeds

In a small pot over medium low heat, combine the sugar through the triple sec and whisk together just until it comes to a boil. Remove from heat and cool completely. In a food processor, combine the sauce with the light mayo and water (adjust according to your preference for consistency and taste). Fold in poppy seeds and refrigerate.  

Spiced Apple Oat Bread

I had a plethora of packaged, sliced apples in the refrigerator that were quickly approaching their expiration date, so I decided to make a quick bread incorporating them. I took my basic recipe base for banana or zucchini bread, but added rolled oats and kicked up the spices. It turned out moist yet hearty...virtually gone within 24 hours...did I mention my household only consists of 2 adults and a one year old? ...

Spiced Apple Oat Bread

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground all spice

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup rolled oats

2 cups grated apple (I actually left the skin on mine)

2 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/3 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 deg F; Grease a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and all spice. Stir in the brown sugar, and oats. 

Add the shredded apple, eggs, milk, and oil. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Pour into prepared pan and lightly tap to release any air bubbles. 

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until done. Let rest in the pan about 10 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.  

Pulled Chicken with Caramelized Onions & Kale Chips

I am normally am not so cavalier with my recipes, but I think this dish would be easier to describe in paragraph form than in a traditional list and method form. Basically, I wanted to make pulled chicken sandwiches out of frozen, boneless, skinless chicken breasts. As you can imagine, it is often difficult to imbue these type of chicken with good flavor, particularly for a dish that tastes best when the meat is smoked.

I decided to take the idea of smoking (placing meat over a bed of wet, fragrant wood chips and cooking it with smoke and indirect heat for hours) and translate it into something I can actually do on a week night for dinner. I took a large baking sheet and combined: a few cloves of crushed garlic, a lemon sliced, a small onion roughly chopped, a handful of parsley, a few bay leaves, salt and pepper and a healthy drizzle of olive oil. I placed a grill rack over the aromatics down in the baking pan and placed the chicken on top (seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil). I concentrated this "pile" of ingredients such that when I laid the chicken breasts over them all that good flavor would waft up and into my chicken. I made an aluminum foil tent over the chicken and baked it for 40 minutes on 350 deg F. 

After letting it rest for a few minutes, I pulled it apart with two forks...it was moist and so flavorful. While I was baking the chicken I tossed an onion in a pan over low heat with some olive oil and let them caramelize. For the sauce, I combined store bought BBQ sauce with some apple cider vinegar, tomato sauce, and a few pinches of everything rub (recipe here). This, to me, makes store bought sauce taste a (tiny) bit more home made... for one it is less sweet when cut with the vinegar and tomato sauce (I have also used ketchup).

A perfect accompaniment to pulled chicken sandwiches is kale chips, literally one of my favorite things to eat. It's like potato chips for those peace, love and granola lovers.

Kale Chips

1 bunch curly kale; de-stemmed, washed and torn into pieces

1 tsp kosher salt

2-3 tsp olive oil

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and toss to coat kale pieces. Spread in an even, single layer on a large baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes on 400 deg F until crispy (keep an eye on them so they don't burn!)

Curried Chicken with Couscous

It has been some time since I prepared chicken thighs for a dinner, so tonight I decided to make a curried chicken dish with them; it's kind of a stew really, but served over couscous. 

Curried Chicken with Couscous

2 T olive oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T curry powder

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp turmeric

1 cup chicken stock

1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (13.5 ounce) can light coconut milk

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or small soup kettle over medium-high heat; add the chicken thighs and sear on each side. Add the onions and saute until golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix together the spices in a small bowl. 

Add the garlic; saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spice mixture; toast until fragrant, 30 seconds, making sure the chicken is coated well with the spices. Add coconut milk, tomatoes and broth and scrape the bits up from the bottom of the pot. 

Bring to a boil; then reduce heat to low and cook covered until flavors blend and stew is thick, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Serve over couscous (I added a few shakes of turmeric when preparing my couscous). Garnish with flat leaf parsley and cashew pieces. 

Red Beans & Rice and Plantains

There is this great little restaurant in our neighborhood called Cafe Con Leche that has excellent Cuban/Caribbean food. Our favorite thing to order is the chicken and rice and beans (arroz con pollo), and green plantains (tostones). I wouldn't necessarily give this  meal an A+ for being uber healthy, I mean the plantains are fried, albeit not deep fried or anything. But I use wild rice which is really healthy, and plantains themselves are full of fiber (complex carbs vs. simple starches) , B vitamins, and minerals. Plus, red kidney beans are full of vitamins, minerals and protein. Yes, that does make me feel better. 

Tonight I created that meal. So good. I must note that my husband is particularly good at preparing the plantains, as he did tonight.

Red Beans & Rice

1 T olive oil

1 cup wild rice

2 tsp ground cumin

1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, undrained

1 3/4 cups water

1 cup chopped, cooked chicken (you can use leftovers, or grill up some chicken in olive oil and toss it with a few pinches of kosher salt and ground cumin)

Heat a medium pot over high heat and add the oil and rice, stirring frequently to toast. Add the cumin and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the undrained beans and the water and stir well to combine. Cover and reduce heat to low to simmer. Stir about every 5 minutes until cooked. Fold in the chicken chunks just before serving.  

Plantains

2 unripe (green) plantains, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

Canola oil for frying

Kosher salt to season

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add enough oil to cover the bottom completely (these are not deep fried). Place about 8-10 pieces of the plantain cut side down into the pan and fry for a few minutes on each side. Using tongs, remove each piece to a cutting board and using an object with a flat surface (I used the back of a metal measuring cup), apply pressure directly down onto each piece to smash it down. Return to the oil for about 30 seconds to crisp, then drain on a paper towel and season with kosher salt immediately. You will need to work in batches so you don't crowd the pan, probably 2-3 batches for 2 large plantains.  

Ginger Stir Fry & Rice with Carrot Ginger Salad

As the blog post title indicates, ginger was the inspiration for tonight's dish. The impetus, however, was actually a craving for that famous carrot ginger dressing served at most Japanese restaurants; after that I built the meal around that flavor combination. I used wild rice, which is so much more healthy than white rice...in fact I simply can not remember the last time I ate, or even cooked, white rice. I flavored the rice with a bit of ginger root. Similarly, I flavored the stir fry with both ginger root and ginger oil, and of course the dressing featured ginger root as well. Good thing I caught on to the idea of peeling and freezing ginger root, it lasts a lot longer and is much easier to grate when frozen. This is particularly helpful because most grocery stores sell a 'hand' of ginger in a Paul Bunyan size that rivals the needs of even a commercial kitchen!

Ginger Stir Fry & Rice

2 T ginger oil (I have olive oil infused with ginger, but regular olive oil would work fine; additionally you could flavor your own oil first by adding ginger root to olive oil and cooking over low heat)

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2" piece of ginger root, peeled

1 cup tri-color peppers, sliced

1 cup broccoli, chopped, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup carrots, sliced into small sticks

1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into wide, thin strips (I used a vegetable peeler)
1 T teriyaki marinade + 1 T water to dilute (see tips here)


Ginger Rice
1 cup wild rice
1 T olive oil
1/2" piece ginger root, peeled
1 3/4 cups water


Start the rice first, it will take about 30 minutes or so. Heat a medium pot over high heat and add the olive oil and rice, stir to combine and toast the rice for a few minutes being careful not to burn it. Grate in the ginger root right before adding the water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low and simmer until cooked. Using a bit less water than the typical 2:1 ratio for cooking rice will yield a more fluffy (less sticky) rice. 


Meanwhile, heat the ginger oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sautee a few minutes, then add in the ginger and garlic by grating them into the skillet; stir well. Add in the peppers, broccoli and zucchini and stir to combine. Drizzle the teriyaki mixture over the stir fry and toss to combine. Remove from heat and serve with ginger rice and a ginger-carrot salad (recipe follows). You could easily add chicken to this stir fry, or mushrooms, peas/beans ... anything you like really.


Carrot-Ginger Dressing
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
1/2" piece ginger root, peeled
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
3-4 T olive oil


In a food processor, add the carrot and shallot, grate in the ginger root, add the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Turn the processor on and slowly drizzle in the olive oil just until the dressing comes together. In a large bowl, toss together the dressing with the salad greens of your choice. The dressing is plenty to dress 4 salads.

Hot Jam'wiches

 My husband loves jelly. I mean L.O.V.E.S. So when I noticed the other day that he had opened a new jar of raspberry jam, a nice change from its tiresome and endemic jelly counterparts grape and strawberry, I decided I wanted to use it in a recipe. For some reason grilled cheese sandwiches popped into my head, and I thought what if I added the raspberry jam to a grilled cheese sandwich?! 

The combination of salty and sweet is one of my favorite pairings...this was going to be good. The trick would be to select just the right cheese. As I perused the cheese case in the grocery store, my eyes fell upon Brie. Soft, gooey, delicious, yet mild Brie. Perfect! Let me tell you, these were so delicious. I don't know if I made this up, or if others have thought of a similar combination (I didn't bother to look online or anything), but these will be a repeat in this kitchen for certain.

Hot Jam'wiches

2 bakery sourdough rolls

1/2 lb. Brie cheese

3 T raspberry jam (or any flavor you like!)

Butter (to spread on outside ends)

Cut each roll into thirds so that you will have enough bread for 3 sandwiches (the thicker the roll, the better...this would work with sliced bread too, but the sourdough rolls do add a lot). Butter the outside ends of each piece of bread. Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat.

Spread the Brie cheese onto the inside of each sandwich, top with 1 T jam and spread evenly, place top piece of bread on top and grill until golden brown and crispy on each side. 

(the method for making these is basically identical to making a grilled cheese...also I put the jam in a small bowl first and mashed it around so it would be more homogeneous and spread more evenly...you know how jelly can be clumpy).