Chicken with cauliflower

So, I'm moving along well with my new year's resolution to share a delicious recipe from all of my cookbooks. And tonight it is chicken with cauliflower. Perhaps you can tell that I'm not terribly inspired today to write this post. Don't let my laziness fool you. This dish may be the best thing I've made in the last 6 months. It.Is.So.Delicious. You've been warned. Oh, and it is probably better when you follow the directions. I guess those two glasses of pinot noir distracted me a bit. To the cook goes the spoils, err, big glass(es) of wine!

Aren't you intrigued?

This fabulous recipe is from Regional Indian Cooking, by Ajoy Joshi and Allison Roberts. The pictures in this cookbook are great and the recipes even better. I can't wait to try another offering. (And I can't believe I've waited six years to try out these recipes!)

Ingredients

2 yellow onions, roughly chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 tsp ground tumeric
16 oz ground chicken (the recipe called for 8 oz, but I've got a hungry husband to feed, so I used 16 oz of chicken thighs)
2 tbsp unsalted roasted cashews
2 tbsp unsalted roasted peanuts
2-3 tbsp hot water
1 cauliflower, about 1 3/4 lb
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)
1 can coconut milk (I used the light version)

1 tbsp slivered blanched almonds, toasted (I was lazy and didn't toast them)
Chopped fresh cilantro

 Directions

1. In a spall food processor, combine onions, garlic, and ginger and process until finely chopped. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add half of onion mixture and cook stirring often, until golden brown, 3-4 minutes. Set the other 1/2 of the onion mixture aside in a bowl.
2. Add garam masala and 1/2 tsp tumeric to cooking onions, stirring, until fragrant 1-2 minutes.
3. Raise heat to high, add chicken, and cook until chicken changes color, 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
4. Transfer chicken mixture to food processor, add cashews and peanuts, and process until well combined. Add enough hot water to process to a fine paste.
5. Cut florets from cauliflower, keeping stalks short .In saucepan, heat remaining 2 tbsp oil over medium heat. Add remaining onion (that you set aside in step #1) mixture and cook, stirring, until golden brown, 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, salt, chili powder, and remaining 1/2 tsp tumeric and cook until tomoatoes break down, about 10 minutes.
6. Stir coconut milk and chicken mixture into pan. Place cauliflower in pan, heads down. Cover and cook over low heat, turning cauliflower florets once, until cauliflower is tender, 15-20 minutes.
7. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as needed. Transfer to serving dish and top with almonts and cilantro. Serve hot, with rice or nan.

Zucchini fritters

Being born north of Toronto (a stat that Justin likes to use to bolster my snow and cold credibility), I always am amused by the alarm elicited by a bit of snow in North Carolina. The first thing most Carolinians do upon news of a dusting of snow is visit the local grocery store to stock up on bread, eggs, milk, and beer. (I never understood the eggs and milk thing, given the possibility of losing power. Whatever.) Oh, and the lines are long!!!

While others drink beer, I drink Glogg, gifted to me by my dear friend Keri.

So, when work was closed early, I immediately headed to the grocery store. Um, what else would I do when gifted with a few extra hours and the possibility of being stuck at home for the night other than cook? And instead of making something characteristic of cold climates (e.g. chili, soup, hot chocolate), I decided to make something reminiscent of a warmer place and of course chose Spain. (Yes, I promised to fill my blog with tons of Spanish recipes in September after I returned from my honeymoon. Better late than never, right? And yes, I know that one is not a ton. Be patient!)

So the weatherman wasn't joking about this storm. This is the road. Impossible to drive (or walk our dog!)

So, today it'll be zucchini fritter tapas. These were awesome. And messy. (Don't let my brother in law tell you about the bomb I exploded in his kitchen when making fried green tomatoes. It was kind of like that, but Justin, not Spence, cleaned up the oily mess!)

Oh, and to maintain my new year's resolution  of revisiting my cookbooks, this recipe is from "Tapas, a Classic Collection of Spanish-Style Recipes."

Ingredients

1 lb baby zucchini
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp paprika (I used smoked Spanish)
2 tbsp milk
1 egg
Corn oil, for shallow frying
Coarse sea salt

Pine nut sauce

Scant 2/3 cup pine nuts
1 garlic clove, peeled (I used 2 and it was a tad too garlicy. You've been warned!)
3 tbsp Spanish extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
Salt and pepper

Directions

1 - Make the sauce first. Put the pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and blend to form a puree. With the motor still running, gradually add the olive oil, lemon juice, and water to form a smooth sauce. Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn into a serving bowl.
2 - Cut zucchini on the diagonal into thin slices (about 1/4 inch). Put the flour and paprika in a plastic bag and mix together. Beat the egg and milk together in medium bowl.
3 - Add the zucchini slices to the flour mixture and toss well together until coated. Shake off the excess flour. Heat the corn oil in a large, heavy-bottom skillet to a depth of about 1/2 inch.
4 - Dip the zucchini slices, one at a time, into the egg mixture, then slip them into the hot oil. Cook the zucchini slices, in batches of a single layer, for 2 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown.
5 - Using a slotted spoon, remove the zucchini fritters from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Serve the fritters piping hot, lightly salted. Accompany with pine nut sauce.

Amaretti cookies

I've always read that the key to a successful relationship is compromise. For me, such compromises take the form of putting away my shoes, cleaning out my work bag when I return home, and tolerating a colder than preferred house. (If I had to guess, Justin's compromises would be putting away my shoes, cleaning out my work bag, and keeping the house warmer than he prefers!) Nonetheless, few people warn you about how to deal with your loved one's peculiar habits. Now, hubby is pretty white bread, but he has one peculiarity: he is addicted to caffeinated diet soda. I find this so strange. Does this man ever drink water other than what drips into his drinks as the ice cubes melt? I guess the reason I really don't like it is that I'm afraid of what decades of ingesting chemicals will do to him. So, I've devised a strategy; I will switch him from soda to coffee! Believe it or not, Justin is doing quite well during this time of transition. He's drinking more water and only regressed one time last week.

So you might be asking yourself what Justin's love of caffeinated diet soda has to do with Amaretti cookies. I'm glad you asked! Last Saturday we were in the mood for an adventure and drove out to Durham to check out Pizzeria Toro (http://www.pizzeriatoro.com/).  Justin of course ordered an espresso to top off our delightful meal and for $1 extra you could get an Amaretti cookie. Um, wow! I could have eaten 10 of these cookies with a strong almond flavor. So, I of course went right home and found a recipe so I could indulge my new addiction. BTW - this recipe is super-easy, so you don't even have to wait very long to indulge!

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups of almond flour -or- 3 cups of blanched slivered almonds, finely ground up
• 1 1/4 cup of baker's sugar (superfine sugar)
• 3 egg whites
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• Extra sugar for dusting

Method

1 Preheat oven to 300 F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2 In a food processor mill together the almond flour and sugar. Add the vanilla and almond extract and pulse for a few seconds. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to process until the dough is smooth.
3 Place teaspoons of the dough on the parchment paper and dust with sugar. I usually bake them for 20-22 minutes since I prefer them chewy. If you'd prefer your cookies more like biscotti, bake for 24-27 minutes. 

Yield: Makes about 30 cookies.

Cheesy chicken tamales

I've been a bit amiss with my blog, so I'm using the NFL playoffs as an excuse to make up for lost time. Today I've chosen to make tamales. A few weeks ago my friend Andriena treated Justin and me to her homemade tamales. They were delicious, but, man, her mouth must be made of asbestos! I usually fear no spicy food. For example, the last time we visited our local Indian spot, I ordered my entree medium-hot and thought it too mild. I would never say that about Andriena's tamales. Fortunately she had plenty of milk in her fridge. I drank 2 cups!

This recipe uses poblano peppers, which are quite mild.

So, I decided for a training wheels version of Andriena's tamales and found one in the Food & Wine Best of the Best (volume 8) cookbook. This is a great cookbook. It has a lot of variety and the pictures are inspiring. Although I bought it 4-5 years ago, I peaked on Amazon and it is still available.

Makes approximately 18 tamales, 4-6 servings
Start early - there are a lot of steps. Also, the husks must be soaked for 1.5 hours and the tamales steamed for 1.5 hours.

Ingredients

Kitchen string/twine
1 8-ounce package dried corn husks
2/3 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned grits (just NOT the instant version)
1 1/4 cups chicken stock, plus more for tamale batter if required
3/4 cup masa harina (A very finely ground corn flour made from corn that has been dried, cooked, ground up and dried again. I found it at the local Mexican tienda.)
2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup lard or vegetable shortening (I used vegetable shortening)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sal
1 1/2 cup cooked chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
1/2 lb Monterey Jack or mild cheddar, coarsely grated
4 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded, peeled and coarsely chopped

1. Combine the corn husks and enough water to cover in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Place a heavy plate or pan atop the husks to keep them submerged and boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and soak until the husks are soft and pliable, 1-1.5 hours. Drain the husks, remove any corn silk, and pat dry.
2. Process the grits in a food processor for 1 minute. Bring the chicken stock to a low boil in a small saucepan. Transfer the grits to a large bowl and add the hot stock. Let stand, uncovered, for 10-12 minutes. Add the masa harina and cumin and mix until evenly combined. Cool to room temperature before processing.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, whip the lard until smooth, light and creamy, about 2 minutes. (I don't have a paddle attachment and it worked just fine.) Stir in half of the masa mixture and whip until well blended. Add the remaining masa mixture, little by little, until the batter resembles thick cake batter, adding additional chicken stock if needed. Add the baking powder and salt and whip for 1-2 minutes, or until well incorporated and smooth.
4. Lay 1 corn husk on a work surface with the narrow end closest to you. Top with a second corn husk so that the fat ends overlap in the middle and the narrow ends point in opposite directions. Spoon 1/4 cup of the masa batter into the center of the husks and, with the back of a spoon, spread it into a 4-inch square. Place about 1 generous tbsp each of the chicken, grated cheese, and chopped poblanos in the center of the masa square.
5. Fold 1 side of the corn husk over the filling, fold the other side over the filling, and then the top and bottom ends. With a piece of kitchen string or thin strip of leftover corn husk, tie the tamale together loosely so that it resembles an oblong rectangular package. Repeat with remaining corn husks and filling.
6. Once the tamales are assembled, line a steamer basket with any remaining corn husks and layer the tamales inside the steamer basket, leaving enough room for the tamales to expand slightly while cooking. Cover the tamales with another corn husk, cover the steamer with a tight fitting lid and steam for 1 1/2 hours, or until the tamales are tender and pull away easily from the corn husks. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

Note - I don't have a tamale steamer (no place to put it in my overcrowded kitchen.) Instead, I used a metal steamer insert in my Dutch oven and placed the tamales atop it. I added about one inch of water, brought it to a boil, and then turned it down to simmer and covered the pot.

Blue cheese and bacon coleslaw

Have you ever visited eastern North Carolina? Well, if you have, you'll know that barbeque is kind of a big deal there. Although I'm in the triangle, there are plenty of eastern North Carolina barbeque joints to frequent. This recipe was inspired by a trip Jennifer and I took to Fullsteam brewery after a grueling run. Yes, I admit, drinking beer after running seems a bit counterintuitive. Oh well, it was a nice reward. For dinner that night, we frequented the eastern North Carolina barbeque truck. In addition to the vinegary goodness that characterizes the pork sandwiches in our neck of the woods, the proprietor spiced up his coleslaw with blue cheese. Now, coleslaw is usually mushy and tasteless. This was addictive. So of course I needed to find a way to recreate it. This recipe did the trick. So much so that I snacked too much on it while making the meatball sliders and didn't want any with my meal.

FYI: Justin called this "slawsome!"

Ingredients

8 bacon slices, chopped (I should have made 10-12, since hubby snacked a bit)
3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used low fat and it tasted great
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp honey
16 ounces coleslaw mix (typically available in any salad area of your local grocery store)
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. Arrange bacon on broiler with pan underneath to catch grease. Cook until crispy, about 25 minutes. Flip after 15 minutes. Place on paper towel and crumble when cool.
2. Whisk mayonnaise, vinegar, and honey in large bowl. Stir in coleslaw mix, cheese, and bacon. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before serving.

Meatball sandwiches

Selecting the first cookbook for my new year's cooking resolution was easy: Better Homes and Gardens. Why this somewhat antiquated cookbook that belongs as a prop in Betty Draper's kitchen you may ask? Well, because this was the cookbook used by my grandma, my mom, and of course me when I was learning to cook.

Now, I'm not going to say that everyone should rush out and buy this. Other than the pie and pie crust recipes, there really aren't a ton of recipes that appeal to me. And of course I'm not going to make a pie, however delicious, right after Christmas. I, like you perhaps, indulged a bit too much during the holiday and do not need another reason to add another mile to my run.

So, I poured over this a bunch and found a recipe that would make hubby and me happy: meatballs! Now, this was a meatballs and pasta recipe, but I decided to switch it up a bit and make meatball sandwiches. Yes, I'm already shifting my resolution to make success easier. Oh well, the sandwiches were great. (You're warned that I made a ton of sauce because that's what I like. Decrease proportionally if you don't feel the same as I do.)

Makes ~ 8 sandwiches

Sauce

1 cup onion (notice that this is for the sauce. More onion required below for the meatballs.)
3 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
2 14.5 ounce cans tomatoes, cut up (or squeeze with hands like I did)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
28 ounces tomato sauce
3 Tbsp parsley
3 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (this added a noticeable amount of heat. Adjust as desired.)

Meatballs

2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used a mix of panko and Italian)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion 
3 Tbsp green onion, finely chopped
1/2 Tsp dried oregano
1/4 Tsp salt
1 lb meatloaf mix (combination of pork, veal, and beef)

Sandwich components

Arugula (soak in water beforehand to remove grit)
2 baguettes (I tried another type of bread the second day and was not as happy with it.)
Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F.
1. For sauce, cook 1 cup onion and garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the tomatoes (paste, whole, and sauce), Italian seasoning, sugar, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. While sauce is simmering, combine eggs, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup onion, green pepper, and salt. Add meatball mixture and mix well. (I used my hands.) Arrange meatballs on a baking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes until no pink remains. Set on paper toweling to absorb remaining fat.

Increase oven temperature to broil.

3. (This step isn't necessary, but makes the sandwiches better. An easier option would be to toast the bread beforehand.) Slice baguettes lengthwise 3/4 of the way through. Place 4-5 meatballs in baguette, cover with sauce, and top with shaved Parmesan cheese. Place on cookie sheet in oven for 4-5 minutes or until cheese is melted and bread is toasty. Keep an eye on the sandwiches; they can burn easily. Top with arugula and serve.