Curry Love

GWH and I are completely in love with all things curry so I checked this book out at the library.  I  will definitely have to buy it and add it to my collection.

Sweet Mango Curry Chicken

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced lengthwise

1 hot green chile pepper, minced (I used two)

1 tbsp minced ginger root

1 tbsp Indian yellow curry paste or masala blend (I used Patak's Madras)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup chicken stock

1 large firm ripe sweet mango, peeled and sliced

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

2 green onions, thinly sliced

1/4 cup thin strips red bell pepper

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened and starting to brown, about 3 minutes.  Stir in chile pepper, ginger, and curry paste; cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add chicken and stir until coated with spices.  Stir in coconut milk and stock; brint got a simmer, scraping up bits stuck to pan.  Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring often, until chicken is no longer pink inside and sauce is slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
3. Increase heat to medium and stir in mango.  Cook, stirring gently, just until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.  Stir in salt.  Serve sprinkled with green onions and red pepper.

I served the chicken with basmati rice and rotis. Delicious.

which comes first the chicken or the egg?

This month's Daring Cooks challenge was to poach eggs and there were a couple of recipes that were provided to us along with this challenge.  The obvious one, of course, is Eggs Benny, which is one of my favourite dishes.  I have made Eggs Benny several times and in many different variations - back bacon, spinach, tomatoes, ham, lox, crab, shrimp, to name a few - so I decided to make the other recipe provided, Oeufs en Meurette.  This is a recipe that I have never even heard of, let alone made.

We usually have a big breakfast/brunch on at least one day of the weekend so this Oeufs en Meurette was going on my menu for Sunday.  I don't know if it was the power of suggestion after reading the recipe for the Oeufs en Meurette but I had an urge to make Coq au Vin for dinner on Friday.  When preparing my grocery list, I soon realized that the sauce for both of these dishes was VERY similar, in fact close enough that I could kill two birds with one stone.  I decided to make the Coq au Vin on Friday night and reserve some of the sauce to have with the Oeufs en Meurette on Sunday...... so in this case the chicken, definitely, came before the egg.

   

Coq au Vin

Recipe from Alton Brown Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

24 to 30 pearl onions
4 chicken thighs and legs, or 1 (5 to 7-pound) stewing chicken, cut into serving pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons water
6 ounces salt pork, slab bacon, or lardon, cubed 

8 ounces button mushrooms, quartered

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 (750-ml) bottles red wine, preferably pinot noir
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 medium onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, quartered
2 medium carrots, quartered
3 cloves garlic, crushed
6 to 8 sprigs fresh thyme

2 cups chicken stock or broth 

Directions

Cut off the root end of each pearl onion and make an "x" with your knife in its place. Bring 2 to 3 cups of water to a boil and drop in the onions for 1 minute. Remove the onions from the pot, allow them to cool, and then peel. You should be able to slide the onions right out of their skin. Set aside.
Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the chicken pieces, a few at a time, into a large (1 or 2-gallon) sealable plastic bag along with the flour. Shake to coat all of the pieces of the chicken. Remove the chicken from the bag to a metal rack.
Add the 2 tablespoons of water to a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat along with the salt pork. Cover and cook until the water is gone, and then continue to cook until the salt pork cubes are golden brown and crispy, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the salt pork from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, using the remaining fat, add the pearl onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until lightly brown, approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the pan and set aside. Next, brown the chicken pieces on each side until golden brown, working in batches if necessary to not overcrowd the pan. Transfer the chicken into a 7 to 8-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven.

Add the mushrooms to the same 12-inch saute pan, adding the 1 tablespoon of butter if needed, and saute until they give up their liquid, approximately 5 minutes. Store the onions, mushrooms and pork in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Pour off any remaining fat and deglaze the pan with approximately 1 cup of the wine. Pour this into the Dutch oven along with the chicken stock, tomato paste, quartered onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf. Add all of the remaining wine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the chicken in the oven and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the chicken is tender. Maintain a very gentle simmer and stir occasionally.

Once the chicken is done, remove it to a heatproof container, cover, and place it in the oven to keep warm. Strain the sauce in a colander and remove the carrots, onion, celery, thyme, garlic, and bay leaf. Return the sauce to the pot, place over medium heat, and reduce by 1/3.

Depending on how much liquid you actually began with, this should take 20 to 45 minutes.

Once the sauce has thickened, add the pearl onions, mushrooms, and pork and cook for another 15 minutes or until the heated through. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary, remove from the heat, add the chicken and serve. Serve over egg noodles, if desired.

NOTES/VARIATIONS: 

• I did not marinate the chicken overnight. 
• I added all the ingredients to the slow cooker and cooked it on high for about 3 1/2 hours and on low for about another 1 1/2 hours.
• I served it with mashed potatoes.
• I omitted the tomato paste, quite by accident, but the results were good anyways.
• Delicious!

Oeufs en Meurette

From Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, seen on Epicurious

Ingredients

8 eggs (size is your choice)
1 bottle red wine (750ml/25 fl. oz.)
2 cups (400ml/16 fl. oz.) chicken stock

1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Bouquet garni (thyme, parsley, bay leaf)
½ tsp. (2 ½ ml/3g) black peppercorns
2 Tbl. (30 ml/30g) butter

¼ lb. (115g) mushrooms, sliced
¼ lb (115g) bacon, diced

16 pearl onions, peeled (200g/7oz.)
Vegetable oil for frying
8 slices of baguette, ¼” (6mm) thick
2 Tbl. (30 ml/30g) butter, room temp.

2 Tbl. (30 ml/20g) flour 

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat wine and stock together in a large pan and poach eggs a couple at a time for 3-4 min. Yolks should be firming but still a little soft. Set them aside.

2. Add the veggies, herbs, and peppercorns to the poaching liquid and let the sauce simmer until reduced to half volume. This will become the meurette sauce.

3. In a separate large skillet, melt 1 tbs. (15ml/15g) of the butter on medium-high heat and sauté the mushrooms until soft and then set aside. Add in another 1 tbs. (15ml/15g) butter and the bacon, frying until browned, then set aside on a paper towel. Turn down the heat to medium, add in the pearl onions and sauté until softened and browned. Then drain off the fat and add the bacon and mushrooms back to the pan and set aside off the heat for the moment.

4. In a medium skillet, heat a few tbs. of oil and then fry the baguette slices until browned on each side. Add more oil as needed. Set the fried bread (croûtes) on a paper towel and then place on a baking sheet in an oven that is set to 200F/95C/gas mark 1/4 or whatever your lowest setting is to keep them warm.

5. Blend 2 Tbl. (30ml/30g) butter and flour together to form a paste of sorts that will be used as the thickener for the sauce. Whisk this into the reduction sauce until the sauce starts to thicken.
Strain the sauce over the skillet of mushrooms, bacon and onions, and return the skillet to heat, bringing to a boil. Season with salt & pepper to taste, then set aside again.

6. Reheat the eggs by placing them in hot water for a quick minute. To serve, plate a poached egg on top of a croûte, and then ladle some of the mushrooms/bacon/onions and sauce on top.

NOTES/VARIATIONS:

• I used the sauce from the Coq au Vin for the  Oeufs de Meurette
• I cracked the eggs into a pot of gently boiling water with vinegar
• I use a very scientific method to check to see if the eggs are done - I touch them with my index finger
• I usually drain the poached eggs on a paper towel

Blog-checking lines: Jenn and Jill have challenged The Daring Cooks to learn to perfect the technique of poaching an egg. They chose Eggs Benedict recipe from Alton Brown, Oeufs en Meurette from Cooking with Wine by Anne Willan, and Homemade Sundried Tomato & Pine Nut Seitan Sausages (poached) courtesy of Trudy of Veggie num num.

nut butters - daring cooks challenge for july

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

The nut butters were fairly easy to make but it meant using a food processor.  My food processor of twenty years recently packed it in.  I had to borrow my mother's food processor for the pate challenge and my girlfriend offered to lend me hers for the nut butter challenge.  I finally ordered another food processor but only after GWH researched it inside and out because that's what he does.  Just sayin'. 

Anyways, last night as I am making my last recipe for this challenge, look what showed up.  Listen, can you hear that?  It's me making  Tim "The Toolman" Taylor sounds.

It is a beautiful thing and I can't wait to use it but timing is everything!

Where were you when I needed you?!

There were four recipes provided to us and we had the option of choosing from these and/or choosing one of our own using a nut butter in a savory dish.  I made three out of the four recipes as well as a few of my own creations. 

These were the recipes that were provided:

Chicken with Curried Tomato Almond Sauce 

This recipe was quite good.  Curry, need I say more?

 Chicken with Pecan Cream and Mushrooms

This recipe was okay but if I made it again I would add something to kick it up a notch.

Walnut White Bean Dip with Rosemary & Sage

This is one that I didn't make but it looked interesting.

Of all the recipes provided, the Asian Noodle Salad was by far the most memorable.  This sauce was like music on your tongue and when the song was over the notes lingered deliciously.  This is a tune that I will play over and over again.  Mmmm happy place.

Asian Noodle Salad with Cashew Dressing

Ingredients:
Cashew Butter
1 cup cashews

 Cashew Dressing
1/2 inch (1 cm) slice of fresh ginger, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup (120 ml) cashew butter
1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce
3 tbsp (45 ml) sugar
 I used only 1 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp (45 ml) vinegar
3 tbsp (45 ml) sesame oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp (75 ml) water
Hot sauce to taste (optional)
I used about a tablespoon of Hot Chili Sauce (Rooster Sauce)


Noodle Salad
1/2 lb (225 g) linguine or rice noodles
I used rice noodles
1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
1/2 lb (225 g) small or medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
I used leftover pork tenderloin cut into small strips
1 large red bell pepper, cored and seeded, cut into thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) slice green onions
1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped fresh basil
I used 1/2 cup (120 ml) cilantro
1 tbsp (15 ml) chopped cashews (optional garnish)
Lime wedges (optional)
I also added mango, carrots and blanched green beans and I julienned all the vegetables. 

Directions

1. Make cashew butter: Grind cashews in food processor for about 2 minutes until smooth.
2. Prepare cashew dressing:  Combine ginger garlic, cashew butter, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, sesame oil, and water in food processor or blender.  Process blend until smooth.  Be sure to process long enough to puree the ginger and garlic.  The dressing should be pourable, about the same thickness as cream.  Adjust consistency - thinner or thicker - to your liking by adding more water or cashew butter.  Taste and add your favourite hot sauce if desired.  (If the cashew butter was unsalted you may want to add salt to taste) Makes about 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) dressing.  Store any leftover dressing in the refrigerator.
3. Prepare noodles according the package instructions in salted water.  Rinse and drain noodles.  Set aside.
4. Heat oil in large non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add shrimp to the pan and saute for about 3 to 4 minutes or until opaque throughout.  Alternatively, cook shrimp in boiling water for about 2 to 3 minutes or until done.
5. Slice basil into thin ribbons.  Combine noodles, bell pepper, cucumber, onions, and basil in a large bowl.  Add about 1/2 cup (120 ml) cashew dressing, toss gently to coat.  Add more cashew dressing as desired, using as much or as little as you'd like.  Scatter shrimp on top.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over salad or serve with lime wedges.  Sprinkle with chopped cashews, if desired.

Throughout the month, I had leftover nut butters hanging out in the fridge so anything that I was making was fair game to be nuttered.  I would be like, "Hmm I wonder what this would taste like if I just added some Almond Butter".  The following are the dishes that I chose to enhance with Nut Butters and I think they turned out quite well.

 Lettuce Wraps 

with Peanut Sauce

Cedar-Planked Sockeye Salmon

glazed with Teriyaki Almond Butter and...

...served with Fruit Salsa

I recently had this wonderful, decadent Cashew Soup at a Dinner Club and it was the inspiration for this recipe. I had leftover Maple Salmon that was destined to become chowder so I decided to make the Salmon Chowder and add Cashew Butter.  Good call.  It was quite delicious.  I would suggest serving it in small portions, though; perhaps as a starter to a meal, as it is very rich. 

Salmon Chowder with Cashew Butter

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 celery stalks, chopped fine
2 carrots, chopped
2 cups baby potatoes, halved or quartered
3/4 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
2 1/2 cups homo milk
2 cups salmon, cooked and broken into chunks
3/4 cup cashew butter

Directions:
Saute onions, garlic and celery in a little oil or butter until tender.  Add carrots, potatoes, white wine and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer until vegetables are tender.  Add milk, salmon and cashew butter.  Heat through.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  If the chowder is too thick, add some more milk until you get the desired consistency.


I thoroughly enjoyed this nutty challege.  It was fun to create these dishes and fun to eat them, of course, but it was also great to see what the other Daring Cooks came up with.  There is amazing skill and creativity out there.  Check out some of the others here.