Friday night dinner - Curried Chicken with sweet potatoes and coconut milk
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Posted:Apr 6, 2013 5:35 pm
Last Updated:Apr 8, 2013 5:08 pm
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This is just a simple 1 pot Indian curry dish that includes onions, peas, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, crushed tomatoes, and coconut milk.
You control the amount of heat and the amount of curry by how much you putin. All together, the flavors blend wonderfully. I sat on the couch eating this saying, Damn this tastes good; while my girlfriend who ate it later when she came home from a workout, said it was ok, not one of my best, and I put too much curry in it. We eat separately now on Wed & Fri nights because starting in April for the 5 months, I leave at 5:20pm for a 6pm bike ride and she's at the woman's workout gym.
I heated olive oil in the pan, diced the chicken and tossed with curry powder. Garam Masala is also a nice alternative for this dish. Stirred the chicken a few times and when almost done, I added garlic, sliced onions, carrots, cauliflower, one diced sweet potato, a little crushed tomatoes, 1/2 cup chicken broth (most will soak into the sweet potatoes), 1/2 cup of coconut milk (do not buy light coconut milk), and the spices, 5 Tb honey, more curry, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 lemon and the zest, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 cup raisins, optional 1/4 cup of lightly toasted sliced almonds.
Then you cover, bring to a boil, lower to a hard simmer, stir periodically closing the cover, and when the sweet potatoes are soft, it's ready. You can serve this over rice if you choose, I don't. This should be moist but there should also be very little liquid left. If too dry, you should have added more liquid, if too wet, you added too much!
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Thursday night dinner - Chiptole Ranch Chicken with pasta, peas, cream sauce
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Posted:Apr 5, 2013 5:58 am
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9769 Views
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No, Ranch Chicken is not home on the range, bbq, around the fire, chicken. It's thinly sliced chicken breast that I buttered with ranch dressing, then sprinkled on paprika, chili powder, italian seasoning, then sprinkled on chiptole crumbs. The more you sprinkle on, the spicier the chicken will be. You control the spiciness.
I cooked the chicken on both sides and then when almost done, I added minced garlic, moment later I added 1/2-1 cup of peas, 1/2 cup white zinfandel wine, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 1/2-1 cup of crushed tomatoes. Let it simmer for a bit until heated. I plated the chicken, and tossed the spaghetti in the pan to coat and then served, topped with a GOOD grated cheese. The better the cheese, the better the dish will be.
Tonight, an Indian curry dish with tomatoes and sweet potatoes included.
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Tuesday night dinner - Pistachio and Chiptole encrusted Fish with white chocolate sauce
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Posted:Apr 3, 2013 11:32 am
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9400 Views
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I don't like to post how to do it with each and every post but I do get new viewers aka sweet potatoes.
Only 1 way I eat sweet potatoes by themselves, is baked and only at 450 for 70 minutes. The sugars in the sweet potatoes caramelize and they become very sweet.
Same with cauliflower, only baked aka roasted, but not as long as the sweet potatoes!
I made extra sauce and put a touch over the cauliflower and sweet potatoes and how good was that!
If you've been following along with my blog, the recurring theme is "Chiptole" panko crumbs. The taste, texture, and spiciness of the Chiptole and panko takes it up a notch. You control the spiciness by how much Chiptole crumbs you mix in. The crunchiness of the panko adds a lot to the dish.
If you want a fancy name for this dish, I can call the white chocolate sauce white Chocolate Beurre Blanc which means a sauce using butter that has a wine reduction, specifically "white butter".
I took the fish, I used tilapia, but cod, weakfish, some others would work well. You can either bake this or fry it. I choose to fry it in canola oil. Most times when I fry, I cover to keep the heat in so it cooks faster and keeps the moisture in the food.
I dipped the fish in an egg/milk mixture and seasoned with salt, pepper, and paprika, coated with crushed toasted pistachio nuts and Chiptole Panko crumbs. You can redip again in the egg milk misture and coat again with the panko crumbs or use Italian seasoned bread crumbs. I then cooked the fish in a pan with canola oil, removed and put the sauce on top of the fish, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.
When you toast the pistachio nuts in a frying pan, go VERY LIGHTLY on the toasting, the slightest brown or burnt flavor will ruin the dish.
If you decide to bake the fish, look at the top shelf, 7 minutes in a 350 oven or a few minutes longer.
For the white chocolate sauce, my girlfriend said this was excellent, I thought it was just ok. This was my first attempt and I need to work on this and improve it. I felt I overcooked the sauce in the small sauce pot. I may do this next time in a double boiler. I also will change the ingredients, using nutmeg as one. Below is what I did last night to make the sauce for the first time.
1/3 cup of shallot, minced, don't use onion! cooked in a pan in canola oil until softened, then add 1 Tb minced garlic (next time roasted garlic! I will mix in) add 2/3 cup dry white wine (next time I will change the wine, maybe a dessert wine such as almondberry wine by Cream Ridge winery) reduce this by half then add 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of coconut milk and reduce this by half (next time I made add a touch of flaked coconut also or I may use Malibu rum, a coconut infused rum in place of the wine), then add 3 Tb white chocolate, and simmer on very low until melted. Do not buy the white chocolate chips, buy a chunk fo white chocolate! For this dish, the chips are garbage and won't melt smoothly nor will it add the flavor you are looking for. When the white chocolate is melted, it's ready to serve. You should start the sauce before you start preparing the fish!
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Monday night dinner - Chiptole Mustard Chicken with marsala sauce, mushrooms, peas
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Posted:Apr 2, 2013 7:19 am
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9600 Views
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2 parts, make extra sauce and use it for pasta, and/or vegetables. I used the sauce for the defrosted frozen mixed vegetables and my girlfriend said it was the best vegetables yet. I put the vegetables in a hot pan with olive oil, swirled around, added some butter, when done added some of the marsala mushroom sauce, then served.
For the chicken, thinly slice the breasts, butter each side with mayo and a touch of yellow mustard, then sprinkle and pat on 4C Chiptole Panko crumbs. I did not season the chicken but you are welcome to. Chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper would work well. But first, saute the thinly sliced mushrooms in olive oil and butter. Render them down and when almost done, add some minced garlic, little more time and then remove. Add some more olive oil and the chicken, when almost done on each side, add the mushrooms and a few defrosted peas, just a few. Add 1/3-1/2 cup or so of marsala wine, 1/4 cup of chicken broth, optional a touch of crushed tomatoes. Only a touch, you are not making a red sauce, 1/4 tsp salt. Flip the chicken to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Use some of this sauce for the frozen vegetables in the other pan, you can also use this sauce for pasta, or if using pasta, plan to make more from the start.
It's always best when making pasta and a sauce to finish the pasta in the pan with the sauce. As the pasta finished cooking, it soaks up the sauce and the flavors. Toss the pasta of course in the pan.
And Tuesday night dinner, planning to make weakfish with a white chocolate sauce, maybe with baked sweet potatoes and cauliflower florets. How much I hate cauliflower and only eat it when roaste and in Indian cuisine but the white chocolate should make it taste better! I like green, go green, eat green vegetables but don't eat green cheese!
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Wednesday night dinner - Chicken with Marsala tomato sauce & artichokes, peas, mushrooms
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Posted:Mar 27, 2013 5:49 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9674 Views
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I made this dish and added peas to it and it was ok. I think it may have been better without the peas but I wanted to get green vegetables in my diet.
I started a pot with salted water, when boiling, I added spaghetti. I like thin spaghetti, and prefer linguini, but it doesn't matter.
I sliced the chicken breast thin, seasoned with paprika, chili powder on one side and Italian seasoning, salt, and freshly ground pepper on the other. I put this in a hot pan in olive oil, added the thinly sliced mushrooms as they take a while to bleed down, flipped the chicken and removed it when done, added the defrosted frozen artichoke hearts, peas, and garlic. Use whatever amount seems appropriate. Stirred and when almost done added 1/3 cup or so of marsala wine, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and 1 cup of Redpack crushed tomatoes. You could add just a little more tomatoes but you are thinning the taste of the marsala wine too much unless you increase it. Let it sit and cook for a few minutes and then added back the almost cooked chicken breast to finish and the drained spaghetti, swirled it around, let it sit, and then served.
I thought this was good. My gf thought it was outstanding. OK, I'm here to please her, aren't all males?
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Soft Pretzels
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Posted:Mar 26, 2013 4:51 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9604 Views
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This recipe came from Food Network, Alton Brown.
This is the 3rd recipe I've used to make soft pretzels and by far the best so far. These are great and a treat for the whole family. should enjoy rolling these out by hand.They are very tender and moist, and not chewy at all.
Instead of making "pretzels", I made pretzel logs. I just rolled the dough into pretzel logs, you could roll them thinner into pretzels sticks, or even very thick to make pretzel hot rolls and use them for hot dogs, sausage sandwiches, deli meat sandwiches.
I love soft kosher dill pickles, pizza, ice cream, and soft pretzels. I even will eat soft pretzels the next day! and after I've frozen them and put them in the microwave, and they are terrible, tough and chewy. But I'll do the same for next day pizza!
This recipe is three parts, mix the ingredients and raise and knead the dough, a dunk in a baking soda water bath, and finish in the oven. To knead and rise the dough, I used my bread machine.
This makes 12 6" long pretzel logs.
1 1/2 cups warm water to rise the yeast, 1 Tb sugar, 1 package of yeast or 2 tsp fresh yeast, allow to foam up and then put in the bread machine, use a mixer with a dough hook, or knead by hand.
22 ounces of all purpose flour, about 4 1/2 cups, 2 tsp kosher salt, less for table salt, 2 oz butter, mix, knead, and let it rise for one hour. To rise, you can turn the oven on low, let it warm for a few minutes, and then turn the oven off. The oven can't get higher than 120 degrees! You want a warm oven, not a hot oven.
Form into pretzel logs, or a pretzel shape. Then put into boiling water, 8-10 cups water, with 2/3 cup baking soda. The pretzel will sink to the bottom and then rise, about 30 seconds, waiting 1 minute is fine also. Remove and put on plate or rack, brush the pretzel with an egg and water or milk wash, then sprinkle kosher salt or any other seasonings you want on them. Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes at 450. Let cool for 5 minutes.
It's best to bake the pretzels on parchment paper or a silicon baking sheet. If you use a greased pan, THEY WILL STICK! You can probably use an oiled rack. I haven't tried as I have a silicon baking sheet.
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Hey, Mango Habanero!
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Posted:Mar 25, 2013 5:52 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9333 Views
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For any who are brave enough to try the Mango Habanero recipe, it's good. It certainly gives a different taste. Tonight I use some of the remaining to put on chicken, and then I defrosted and used frozen mixed vegetables and mixed in some of the mango hab sauce in that. Different flavor, neither better or worse, just different.
Sometime this week, I'm making falafel, one or two mushroom dishes, and fish topped with a white chocolate sauce.
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Chicken with dry rub and Mango Habanero sauce
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Posted:Mar 25, 2013 9:02 am
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9537 Views
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This can be a spicy meal, you determine how spicy but however you do it, it will have some heat to it. I got the recipe from Food Network by Bobby Flay, one of my favorite chefs.
Make a dry rub of the following and rub it on the chicken at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. Then when almost done on both sides, put the sauce on top, either in the pan if not hot, or on the chicken on the plate if heated. If you want to take it up a notch for a garnish, slice some long mango slices and lie it next to the chicken.
Choosing and cutting a mango. A mango should be just a hair soft on the outside. Cut each end flat to allow the mango to stand, then take a medium size knife, preferably a filet knife, and cut the skin off going from the top to the bottom as the mango is standing. There is a very large long flat pit inside the mango. To cut slices, cut long slices in it, top to bottom and then carefully cut under the slices to lift out. To dice for the sauce, after you cut the long slices, cut across the slices, and then cut flat way making the pieces drop off in chunks.
Dry rub: 1 Tb coriander, 1 Tb ground ginger, 1 Tb light brown sugar (dark is ok), 1/2 Tb onion powder, 1/2 Tb garlic powder, 1/2 Tb kosher salt, 1/2 Tb cayenne pepper, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dry thyme, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp cloves, mix well.
Mango Habanero Sauce
Put all of these in a small sauce pan and heat for 15-20 minutes and then put in a blender and blend. If the mixture is too thick, add just a drop of water or vinegar.
I made some adaptions here and noted as such. When I made this, I cut everything in half, used it for two chicken breasts, and still had a lot left over except for the mango, I used only 1/2 mango. Using half of a mango doesn't mean it's right or makes it better, it's what I did. I needed the other half of the mango for a quinoa, black bean, mango salad.
1 Tb canola oil for the sauce pan, and then put in
1 small finely diced Spanish onion (I used a regular onion, but a red onion would be the best 1st choice, vidalia the 2nd choice, a Spanish onion is very sweet)
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 habanero pepper, finely chopped (I've made this twice, once using a regular hot pepper; the 2nd time using a mango habanero hot sauce)
2 ripe mangoes (I used 1 mango instead of 2)
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Thursday night dinner - Chicken over angel hair pasta with artichokes, peas, pistachios
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Posted:Mar 22, 2013 6:39 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9492 Views
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Thursday night dinner - Chicken over angel hair pasta with artichokes, peas, pistachios
This is an excellent dish and easy. It's so good, it can be served to guests and impress them with your culinary skills.
Salted the water, brought it to a boil, put the angel hair pasta in, 1/2 box for two people.
Took the chicken breast, cut it in 3 thin pieces and then diced each piece, buttered with mayo by throwing 2 Tb or so of mayo in a bowl with the chicken and mixing with a spoon, then seasoned with chili powder, oregano, sprinkled in and mixed, seasoned bread crumbs and 4C Panko Chipotle crumbs, and stirred again, putting this in a hot pan browning it, then adding minced garlic, as much as you like, 1/2 cup or so of defrosted frozen peas, 6 oz of defrosted frozen artichoke hearts, 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup course chopped pistachio nuts, 1 tsp salt, freshly ground pepper, stirred, added 3/4 cup of white zinfandel wine, 1/4 cup of homemade chicken broth, stirred and when you think the artichokes and peas are done, I added some heavy cream for thickness, coloring, and sweetness (this is optional), and when the sauce has thicken slightly by evaporating the liquid, I dumped the angel hair pasta in and stirred, then grated Asiago cheese in and mixed and served.
Let the guests know that they are eating pistachio nuts because my girlfriend wasn't told, and she was pulling them out thinking they were pits or something bad as they darkened!
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Lemon Yogurt Cake
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Posted:Mar 22, 2013 11:35 am
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9505 Views
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Today for lunch I made a Quinoa Mango Black bean salad, which I am not posting until I improve the recipe I got from EatingWell off of Lifestyle at MSN. Isn't it terrible when a recipe doesn't work?
Tonight I'm doing a very spice rub on chicken with a Mango Habanero sauce that is pureed and then heated and put on the top.
Then today I made a Lemon Yogurt cake which is absolutely terrific. I had to cut a piece to try it before my gf got home!
This recipe is not mine. It came from the Food Network. I am not a baker, I seldom bake because of the calories and the sugar.
This cake has a texture like a pound cake but with a lemon flavor. It is so tasty and so moist, and easy to make. This is a Winner! and sure to be loved by all. It seems to be foolproof and absolutely great for parties and entertaining. It calls for a sugar glaze on top but I chose not to. However, it might be nice with some roasted sliced almonds on top, for at least the appearance.
This cake is baked at 350 for 50 minutes and is put into a loaf man, 8 1/2" x 4 1/4" x 4" or so. I use a silicon loaf pan so it doesn't stick, it you don't, you will need to grease the pan.
Though I don't feel it's necessary, if you want to put a glaze on it, mix 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2 Tb fresh lemon juice and pour over the cake when warm, you may have to slightly heat it to mix.
For the cake, mix in 2 separate bowls, wet and dry, and then mix together.
Mix the dry
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/8 tsp salt
Whisk the wet
1 cup whole milk yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 extra large eggs
2 tsp grated lemon zest from 2 lemons
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Then whisk well the wet and the dry
then fold in
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
Bake for 50 minutes at 350
Let the cake, sit for 10 minutes and then pour on top lemon juice and sugar, let cool
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice from 2 lemons
1/3 cup sugar
heat in a sauce pan to melt and mix and then pour on top of the cake 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven.
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Wednesday night dinner - Chicken Murphy over egg noodles
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Posted:Mar 20, 2013 6:33 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9639 Views
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Chicken Murphy - I call Chicken Murphy when I have wine, tomatoes, potatoes, and peppers in it. You search the internet and you'll find lots of recipes for Chicken Murphy. Some will include mushrooms, some will eliminate the potatoes.
I diced the chicken breast, seasoned with paprika, smoked paprika, chili powder, put in a hot pan in canola oil, then removed when almost done, I just wanted to brown it.
I put in the pan the diced chunk potatoes and browned them, added some garlic, thinly sliced peppers, sliced onions, peas, crushed tomatoes, red wine, molasses, curry powder, paprika, thyme, chili powder, and let it simmer for 30-60 minutes until the potatoes are tender. I put this over egg noodles.
I thought it was good, my gf thought it was excellent.
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Turkey Sausage sandwich with peppers & onions; Potato salad
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Posted:Mar 19, 2013 4:41 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9579 Views
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We had to take our cocker spaniel to the vet tonight for an ear infection. The vet has a unique antibiotic that she uses a syringe without the needle and packs it into the ear and then it's absorbed and dissolves while giving a longer lasting treatment. So I did not have much time for dinner.
I defrosted some turkey sausage, cut it in half, fried in a pan, cut up some strips of green peppers and slices of onions, in a different pan in oil, sprinkled some chili powder on both and covered. When the peppers and onions were almost done, I put them in the same pan as the sausage to absorb the sausage juices and flavoring, moved the sausage to the side, put some ketchup on the sausage and peppers and onions, and then on the peppers and onions, some canned crushed tomatoes, sprinkled some bottled Italian salad dressing, mixed it up, some store bought shredded 4 cheese Mexican blend, sprinkled that on the peppers and onions and sausage and covered. Bought two torpedo roll and put the sausage on and covered with the peppers and onions. I thought it was delicious.
For a side dish, I made potato salad this morning. There are so many potato salad recipes, I have a few special but tonight I just put it together, potatoes which I boiled and added 2 eggs in with the potatoes to add to the potato salad. When tender, I dumped the water and then filled the pot with ice and water to cool. I made the dressing with 1/2 cup mayo, 1/4 cup sour cream (or yogurt), celery seed, chili powder, tarragon, cayenne pepper, 1 Tb brown mustard, 2 Tb white balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of dill pickle juice, 2 Tb minced garlic, the juice from 1/2 fresh lemon and the zest. I lightly browned the minced garlic in a hot pan with EVOO to flavor the oil and then added it to the vinaigrette.
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Mustard sauce on meat, mashed potatoes with peas
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Posted:Mar 18, 2013 5:27 pm
Last Updated:May 1, 2024 11:44 am
9568 Views
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You go to a restaurant and they have all these fancy names for foods and then you read the description of the ingredients and it sounds great. I'm not good at coming up with names and I'd like to put the ingredients in the subject line so you know what to expect!
To make this dish you HAVE TO like mustard.
the shorten version is:
This recipe came from a marinade and I adapted it to make a sauce. I sliced chicken breasts very thin, put it in a pan cooked it, removed and put peas in the pan and added th sauce, then reheated in the microwave mashed potatoes, then mixed the sauce with the mashed potatoes.
The long version to make this:
Make a mustard sauce, 1/4 cup of whole grain mustard like Guldens, 2 Tb Dijon (optional), 4 cloves minced garlic, 3 Tb white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar, 1 Tb soy sauce or tamari, 2 Tb honey, 1 tsp dried rosemary or 1 Tb fresh roemary finely chopped, 2 tsp Spanish paprika or 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1 tsp paprika or the hell with it, 2 tsp paprika, 1/4 salt, 1/4 cayenne pepper. Mix well
Slice the chicken breast thinly, butter with the mustard sauce, sprinkle on seasoned bread crumbs and some 4C Panko Chiptole bread crumbs or the hell with the Chiptole crumbs. Pan fry these in olive oil or canola oil. When almost done, lightly spoon on some of the mustard sauce. When done, remove and put in the pan the defrosted frozen peas, about a cup, don't know, I just dump in 2 servings worth. I hate peas so I try to hide them in something. If they are green it's good; other than mold, if it's green mold, it's bad. I reheated the mashed potatoes from last night and put them on the plate with the chicken next to it. I put the mustard sauce in with the peas and added 2 Tb butter, swirled it around, heated everything, then dumped the pea mustard mixture on the mashed potatoes and mixed it in with a fork. That's all folks! Ate it. It was good. But you gotta like mustard. It certainly has a tangy flavor to it. This was excellent and my gf complimented me on it.
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