Unfortunately, my tandor was in the shop...

...so, I had to make this delicious Tandori Chicken on my outdoor grill. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and actually pulled out the measuring spoons and followed it to a T (well, I cut it in half). So, I can't take credit for this one, but it was still tasty.

"Tandori" Chicken

1/4 cup plain full-fat yogurt
1/2 lemon--juiced
2 cloves garlic--minced
1/2 tsp. fresh ginger--grated
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
two sprinkles of cayenne pepper
2 chicken breasts, cut into large cubes

Mix all ingredients for marinade and add chicken. Let it sit in the fridge for 4-24 hours. Remove chicken pieces and thread 4-5 pieces each on skewers that have been soaking in water (soaking keeps the skewers from burning). Grill at med-high heat for 3-5 mins on each side.

I served mine with grilled zucchini and onions and aromatic basmati rice. Here are those recipes:

Grilled Zucchini Skewers

1 zucchini
1 small onion
olive oil
salt and pepper

Split zucchini in half then cut into 4-5 slices and cut an onion in quarters. Thread zucchini (longwise) and onion pieces alternately on skewers, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill on med-high heat for 10 minutes, turning once or twice.

Aromatic Basmati Rice (Rice Cooker)

Rinse two rice cooker sized cups of basmati rice and then soak them for about an hour. Fill the rice cooker with water just past the two cup fill line. Add:

1 sprinkle of allspice
1 sprinkle of cinnamon
2-3 sprinkles of cumin
a quarter of an onion, peeled and left whole
1 bay leaf

Turn the rice cooker to cook. When finished remove the bay leaf and onion and fluff with a fork. It's that easy. I seriously heart my rice cooker.




PS, I remembered to take a picture this time..of my husband's half finished plate. Hmph...I'll make it to Pinterest someday.

Traditional Chicken Enchiladas--kind of

Growing up, my definition of chicken enchiladas was a soggy flour tortilla filled with boiled chicken and smothered with canned cream soup, sour cream, and colby jack cheese. While this concoction is admittedly delicious, it is, I'm sure, quite the offense to real Mexican food. Over the past four years, I've tried and tried to make a good red sauce and corn tortilla enchilada, but it has always been too spicy, too tomatoey, too soggy, or too corny, until tonight's batch. Even my increasingly picky 15 month old devoured it. This recipe is definitely worthy of living forever on the Interwebs. *remember: all of my measurements are estimates*

1/2 medium onion--diced
1/2 green pepper--diced
2 garlic cloves
1 chipotle in adobo--diced
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/4 cup-1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. parsley flakes
 salt and pepper to taste
2 chicken breasts
8 white corn tortillas
1 cup mozzerella cheese
1 cup cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp. sour cream

1. Saute onion and pepper in olive oil on medium heat until soft. Add Garlic and chipotle; saute for one minute. Add tomato sauce, water, sugar, spices, and chicken breasts (I cut each breast into fourths so they would cook faster).
2. Bring to boil then reduce to simmer (Thanks to my girl Anne Burrell, I'm starting to understand this concept so my herbs don't burn, unfortunately it is extremely difficult to achieve a slow simmer on my crappy stove.) Simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
3. Remove chicken, shred it, and add back to sauce.
4. Strain the sauce and put the chicken and onions in one bowl and set the sauce aside for later. This would be a good time to preheat the oven to 425.
5. Add the mozzarella cheese to the chicken (I know what you're thinking: Mozzarella cheese has no place in Mexican food. But quite frankly, neither does cheddar cheese but try telling your neighborhood Mexican joint that. This is something I've never used before, and I think it may have made all the difference. It added a really nice salty, rich flavor.)
6. Wrap the tortillas in paper towels and microwave for 40-60 seconds so they won't crack when you roll them. Fill the tortillas with the chicken mixture and place them seam side down in a pan sprayed with cooking spray.
7. Spray the naked enchiladas with cooking spray or brush them with oil and cook for 7 minutes. This helps the tortillas avoid a soggy fate.
8. Whisk sour cream into the sauce. Cover enchiladas with the sauce, then sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 3-5 minutes or until very bubbly.

Butternut squash soup

1 butternut squash
2 apples
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 tbsp butter
3 cups chicken broth
A splash of cream
A dash of cumin
A dash of cayenne pepper

Peel and cube the squash and apple and place on a sheet tray, season with oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 450 for 30 minutes, stiring halfway through.

Meanwhile, dice onion, carrot and celery veggies and sautée in butter until soft. Add squash mixture and broth and bring to boil. Blend mixture and add cream, cumin and cayenne.

Holiday Caramels

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sweet and condensed milk
2 cups corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1. Scald cream and condensed milk over medium heat. Set aside.
2. In a heavy pan, bring sugar and corn syrup to a boil on high. Boil covered for two minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium/medium-lowish and stir in butter.
4. Spend 3o minutes slowly adding cream mixture to sugar mixture a ladleful at a time.
5. Simmer until mixture reaches the firm ball stage Use a candy thermometer and the cold water test. On my thermometer, in high altitude, firm ball stage is about 225-230 degrees. (Traditionally, firm ball stage is 240 degrees, so it's important to do the cold water test.) To perform a cold water test, drop a spoonful of the mixture in ice water. When you remove the mixture, it should form a firm ball, one that won’t lose its shape when you take it out of the water, but remains malleable and will flatten when squeezed.
6. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Let set for several hours. Cut and wrap in wax paper.

Express-ier than Panda

I experiment a lot with Asian stir fry. My husband usually isn't that big of a fan, but it's a good way to get in some veggies. (That's probably why he complains...) But tonight, while slipping a green bean into his mouth, he let-out a mmm. I was like, "What? You don't even like green beans." His reply was: "I like anything that tastes this good." So, here's the recipe:

canola oil
salt and pepper
a handful of carrots--julienned
1/2 yellow onion--julienned
a handful of green beans (I used frozen)
1 center cut, boneless pork chop
1 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 garlic cloves--minced
1 Tbsp. hoisin sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
steamed rice

1. Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a wok over medium heat. Add veggies and a dash of salt and pepper and stir fry for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, pound pork until it's 1/4 inch thick, then thinly slice it. Place pork pieces in a zip top bag; add flour, seasoning, and corn starch; and shake to coat.
3. Remove veggies from wok. Add another Tbsp. of oil, heat for 1 minute, and add pork. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until brown.
4. Meanwhile, make sauce by mixing soy sauce, sugar, garlic, hoisin, ginger, and red pepper.
5. Add veggies and sauce to meat. Simmer for a few minutes so the sauce can thicken and the flavors can blend.
6. Serve over steamed rice.

I'm Back!

I know my posts haven't ever been all that regular, but I underwent a cooking hiatus for a couple of months because...well...I'll be going from newlywed to new mom in February! Back in July and August, baby hated everything, so I didn't do much cooking. But I think it's starting to warm-up to food again, as this week alone I've made three delicious home-cooked meals, the recipes for which I'd like to share.

Tuesday: San Pellegrino-Battered Fish Tacos
Sunny Anderson was making beer battered fish tacos on Food Network, and due to baby and my personal and religious beliefs, I was fresh out of beer. So I scoured the fridge for a possible substitute and found a can of San Pellegrino Aranciata (orange flavor), and thought I'd try it. It was delicious, and since I didn't have any real citrus to dress my tacos, it was the perfect touch.

2-4 cups cooking oil
2 tilapia fillets, cut into medium chunks
1/2 cup flour
corn tortillas, warmed in a frying pan.
party salsa (a version similar to others I've made and posted)
special sauce (mayo, sour cream, Chalula)

batter:
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
1/3 cup San Pellegrino Aranciata (or Limonata, or just plain sparkling water)

Heat oil to medium. Dredge the tilapia chunks in flour. Dip them in batter and place in hot oil. Cook until golden brown. Remove, drain on paper towels, and season with kosher salt. Serve on warm tortillas with salsa and special sauce.

Wednesday: Corn Chowder
This is one of the few recipes I've made over and over again. I got it from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook back in college and have made it a lot since. I'm writing the recipe here so it won't ever be forgotten. I served it Wednesday with grilled cheese sandwiches.

2 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion. diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
3 red potatoes, diced
2 cans chicken broth
3 cups frozen sweet corn
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp. flour
1/4 cup bacon bits
salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper to taste

Cook onion and pepper in butter on med heat until soft. Add broth and potatoes and boil on high for 10 minutes. Add corn and cook another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, stir flour and milk together. Add milk to soup and cook until it bubbles and thickens. Add bacon and seasonings to taste.

Thursday: Autumn Chicken
I was going to make a boring chicken and rice meal, and this is what came out. No recipe--I just added things as I went. It was quite delicious. Mark said it tasted like Thanksgiving. I think next time I'll try making it with pork chops.

2 chicken breasts
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 onion, sliced
1 apple (Gala), peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1 stalk celery, diced
1 can chicken broth
2 handfuls dried cranberries
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
dash of dried thyme
tiny dash of cinnamon
tiny dash of nutmeg
1 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp butter

Cook onion, apple, and celery in oil on med heat. Add chicken (seasoned with salt and pepper) and brown on both sides. Add broth, cranberries, mustard, and seasoning and simmer on med-high heat for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce has reduced by half or so and the chicken is cooked. Remove chicken and stir sour cream and butter into sauce. Serve chicken and sauce over a bed of cooked rice.

Cruncy Asian Noodle Salad

I found this recipe on Food Network, but made it my own way (of course). This is good for a pot-luck or barbecue.

salad:
1/2 lb. penne pasta
8 oz. sugar snap peas
1/2 red bell pepper--julienned
1 medium carrot--julienned
2 green onion stalks-cut at a diagonal
1/2 cup fresh parsley--chopped
3 Tbsp. sesame seeds--toasted

dressing:
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. ginger
3/4 cup canola oil

directions:
1. Boil pasta according to directions. With about 2 minutes of cooking time left, add sugar snap peas to blanch. drain and rinse with cold water
2. Meanwhile, add all dressing ingredients to blender except oil. Puree, then slowly drizzle in oil.
3. In a large bowl, mix cooked noodles and peas, dressing, and other ingredients. Let sit at least an hour.