Thai Red Curry With Chicken

One of my favorite meals, smells amazing cooking up on my stove! I've heard this version referred to as 'jungle curry'- it has more ingredients than a traditional red curry might, and is creamier. Ryan cooked this up last night for me- what a guy!

Vegetables:
green beans or snap peas
red pepper
squash/zucchini/eggplant
Several cloves garlic
1-2 tblsp red curry paste- We use Thai Kitchen, pictured above- or you can make your own (This too, coming soon...)
1/4-1/2 yellow onion
2 cans coconut milk (We like Thai kitchen or Taste of Thai)
fish sauce
1/2 lime or kaffir leaves
thai sweet basil/ regular basil
bamboo shoots/ water chestnuts/ baby corn
pinch sea salt
pinch sugar
handfuls fresh cilantro
(chicken breasts)
2 teaspoons olive oil/peanut oil
thumb size piece of grated ginger/ galangal
1- 1 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1. If cooking with chicken, cook the chicken first in butter and cilantro and reserve.
2. In large saucepan, pour in one can coconut milk and 1-2 tblsp red curry paste, depending on your tolerance for spice. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes.
3. Add vegetables, spices and seasonings, then second can of coconut milk and continue to simmer another 15 minutes.
4. Add chicken, stir frequently, adjust seasonings to taste.

Serve over jasmine rice!

Yellow Curry with Vegetables (& Chicken...)

This is a delicious recipe I got from my dad. I've made it more veggie-full and cut back on the salt. He uses 'cream of coconut' instead of coconut milk to give the curry a touch of sweet- just go easy with it and taste as you add it in. You have been warned on that one.

-1/4 lb green beans
- 2 red peppers, sliced thin
- zucchini, cut in thin slices
- small red or creamer potatoes
-cilantro
-chicken (if you like that sorta thing, lol)
-olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion
-6 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 inch of ginger
-1/8 cup cream of coconut (cocktail mix)- to taste
- 3-4 tsp curry powder- to taste
-3 cups chicken stock
-salt, to taste


1. Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil in a deep pan.
2. In a separate pan, saute the chicken with a handful of cilantro.
3. Once chicken is cooked, combine with onion & garlic, add in ginger and saute.
4. After a few minutes add in chicken stock, curry powder, and cream of coconut, tasting to adjust flavors of spice and sweet.
5. Allow to simmer as long as desired to deepen flavors
6. Add in potatoes while simmering, and then about 10 minutes before serving, toss in green beans, pepper, and zucchini to keep the vegetables a little crisp. Salt to taste.

Serve over jasmine rice!

Chicken Titty Sandwiches

Yup, that's what they're called. Cuz I said so.

Chicken breasts
tomato
bacon
lettuce
English muffins (If you can get Portuguese muffins in your area, then those are the best, as they are a little sweet! I'm thinking a brioche bun could also serve here, too)
mayonnaise
swiss cheese

Fancy & Optional:
Avocado
Red onion

Cook the bacon and set aside. Grill chicken breasts, or cook as to your preference. Place swiss on top to melt. Mayo the muffins, and then layer the ingredients on top of the grilled chicken breast.

Voila.

Sage & Prosciutto-wrapped chicken

This one is a fabulous Dean & Deluca-inspired recipe. And of all the recipes I make, this one remains almost pure, practically perfect right out of the cookbook (what a rare, and wonderful occasion!) We serve this one to our friends, and it usually is a hit. A few lessons learned the hard way: THIN pieces of chicken, that will cook quickly. THIN. If prosciutto starts to smoke or butter browns, turn down heat and cover saute pan with a lid. Your chicken is not thin enough. You lose. THIN. My other tip is do not look at this recipe and shudder at the butter required. If you're gonna do it, go all the way. Slather on that foaming, golden butter, and don't look back.


4 Chicken breasts (or 6-8 cutlets, see step 1)
salt and pepper
1 stick unsalted butter
8 whole sage leaves (1 per piece)-more if you really like sage the way I do, I'd double to 16
1/4 pound of thinly sliced prosciutto
2 eggs, beaten
8 thin slices fontina cheese

Sauce:
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh minced sage, or more if you, like me, can't get enough
1/2 stick of butter

1. The breasts: You want them to be thin pieces. Remove the "flap" under each fillet, and save for another use. Cut the breasts into two equal square-shaped pieces. Pound them out nice and thin- we have discovered this step is crucial, because if they are too thick, there is cooking issues later. MY new solution: just by chicken cutlets instead. Season with pepper, put aside.

2. Heat butter in pan over moderate heat. When foaming, add in the pieces of whole sage, and cook 1 min on each side. remove and place 1-2 pieces on each chicken piece, per your taste.

3. Wrap a piece of prosciutto around each chicken cutlet, and dip in the egg. Make sure there is plenty of foaming butter in the pan, and not browned. Cook chicken a few minutes on each side, until just past pink inside and golden on the outside. (If the pieces of chicken are thick, which we have had trouble with, it will take much longer to cook through, and the butter and prosciutto will brown!!)

4. Place chicken on baking sheet and cover with a piece of fontina. Place in broiler until cheese just melts, about a minute.

5. Sauce: While in broiler, take the butter and chicken bits from the pan into a sauce pot. Add in a cup of white wine, and reduce to 1/2 cup. Add in sage, and whisk in the additional butter. Adjust seasonings.

6. Serve sauce over and around chicken. We like this very rich dish with a green vegetable- usually either wilted spinach, asparagus, or bok choy. Roasted potatoes make a great side, or yams, or squash.

eggplant/chicken parmesan

Chicken/Eggplant Parmesan

4- 6 eggs
bread crumbs
chicken cutlets/ eggplant*
olive oil
2 jars spaghetti sauce (even better if homemade!)
shredded mozzarella, parmesan
1 clove garlic
oregano
salt & pepper
fresh basil

*To prep the eggplant: Peel and cut into ½ inch slices. Sprinkle with lemon to preserve color and generously salt. Let stand for 30-60 min in colander, then rinse quickly and press out juices. Otherwise, they will soak up the oil and be soggy.

To cook:
Heat olive oil in pan. Crack and beat 2 eggs in bowl. Coat cutlet in egg and bread crumbs and then cook in oil. Drain on paper towel. Preheat over to 350 degrees. In baking pan, cover bottom with tomato sauce, then layer chicken/eggplant, cheese, basil, garlic and seasonings. Cover with tinfoil and bake 30 minutes for chicken, about 15 minutes for the eggplant. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe is a classic. Love it all year long!

Roast Chicken with Garlic, Shallot, and Rosemary

This is a dean & deluca inspired recipe:

1 roaster- we went for 6.5 lbs (organic! antibiotic free!)

rub:

3 tblsp chopped fresh rosemary

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper

12 shallots, peeled

20 cloves garlic, peeled

for the jus:

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine

Bed of Veggies:

mushrooms

carrots

fingerling potatoes

Preheat oven according to bird weight/ approximately 350 degrees. Prep the veggies. Mix the rub in a small bowl. Clean out the giblets, wash and pat dry the chicken. Place veggies in bottom of roasting pan, then the chicken, making sure there is enough room for air to circulate. Disperse the shallots and garlic in the pan. Rub the olive oil mixture all over the chicken, the veggies, the garlic and shallots. Be heavy handed. make sure to get inside the cavity, coating every surface. Roast the bird, basting every 20 minutes. Add a little water and white wine to the pan juices. Turn the bird belly side up for about 15 minutes, then back over. After about 2-2.5 hours, test to see if bird is done. While resting, prepare the au jus: scrape the pan juices into a small pot, add in 1 cup stock and 1/2 cup white wine. Reduce to 1 cup. Serve over chicken.

Notes: The veggies carmelized and were amazing!! The garlic was sweet enough to eat whole...And this really was tender, flavorful chicken!

chicken dijonnaise

Now that it is fall, it's time to break out those cool-evening classics. I love this recipe because it is very simple- with only 3 ingredients, and turns out great!

Chicken cutlets or breasts

mustard: at least 1, up to 3, dijon, honey, grainy, dusseldorf, whatever you like.

white wine

salt & pepper

heavy cream- for sauce

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a lipped baking dish, cover chicken with mustard. Pour white wine around chicken, and salt and pepper.

3. Bake 30-40 minutes

4. When chicken is done, carefully pour juices and mustard into saucepan. Put chicken back in oven to stay warm. Pour some heavy cream into mixture, and a little more wine. Reduce over medium heat, salt and pepper. You will know it's good to go when it turns a darker color, and by the smell. You should be able to smell the wine cooking through the cream.

Serve the chicken and pour the sauce on top.

*goes great with wilted spinach or bok choy, and a sweet potato.

A Farewell Fiesta: the enchilada recipe

Last week I hosted a little dinner party with some friends before my departure to Boston. I've always enjoyed cooking mexican food, and I have trouble finding a restaurant that creates the flavors I can create in my own kitchen. Last week I served a crazy concoction that I call a baked enchilada. I basically use an enchilada filling, but no sauce, and I bake them until the tortillas crisp on the outside. I can't stand the smothered-in-cheese- soft -shell enchilada in restaurants- it just doesn't have the zip I crave.

I also serve grilled corn and a black bean salad on the side or rice, and usually I'd mix up some guacamole and salsa, too. Ryan will mix up some of his insane margaritas, and voila. One delicious meal.

If you, like I, are seeking a different kind of enchilada, here is the recipe!!

Ingredients- makes 8 enchiladas- eyeball the veggies, about a fistful or two of each.

cilantro

tomato

red onion

green/red/yellow pepper

jalepeno pepper- 1/2 to a whole, seeded or unseeded, depending on spice preferences

2-3 cloves garlic

cumin

cayenne

recaito or mexican seasoning

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small container sour cream- 8 oz

salt

pepper

1/2 lime

1 bag mexican shredded cheese

chicken cutlets or 2 breasts

tortillas

1. Saute the chicken in butter until cooked just past pink. Set aside to cool.

2. Preheat oven to...350

3. Dice all the vegetables into small pieces

4. shred the chicken with your hands. Mix the vegetables, seasonings, cream of chicken, and 1/2 the sour cream together. Mix well, add in 3/4 of the bag of cheese.

5. butter two baking pans. fill the enchiladas and wrap them.

6. bake for 40 minutes, put remaining cheese on top, bake additional 5 minutes.

Sides:

Black Bean Salad-

You need to make this one a few hours in advance and let it chill. Light and refreshing, a healthier alternative to refried beans.

1 can black beans- drained and rinsed thoroughly.

jalepeno

cilantro

1/2 lime

1 clove garlic- use sparingly and to taste

red/green/yellow pepper, very finely diced

red onion- finely chopped

tomatoes- tiny as possible

cumin

recaito

corn kernels

salt & pepper- you're going to want a healthy pinch of salt here!

Mix all ingredients together, tasting to adjust the amount of lime and cilantro. Chill until ready to serve.

Hope you enjoy the fiesta- maybe later this week I'll reveal the secrets of Ryan's margaritas. It may or may not involve a lot of lime and booze...