Forgotten Recipes

Have you ever forgotten one of your favorite recipes? I must have made this dish a zillion times but I had forgotten all about it until this week. Maybe it was all the fun I was having with my curried chicken salad that sparked my memory. This is another great curry recipe that is light and goes wonderfully with a fruity salsa like mango or pineapple.


Apple Curried Chicken with Mango Salsa
adapted from Cuisine at Home

8-10 chicken legs (or any part)
1/4 cup curry powder
1/4 cup good quality apple jelly
1 tblsp red pepper flake
salt and pepper

1 mango (or 1/2 pineapple), diced with some juice
1/2 small red onion, diced
handful of chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
fresh lime juice
sprinkling of salt to taste

In a large Ziploc bag add the chicken legs, curry, jelly, and spices. Seal and mix together until the chicken is coated. You can mix this in advance and have it ready to go whenever you need it. Meanwhile dice the ingredients for the salsa. Adjust the ingredients to taste. When you're ready to bake the chicken, line a roasting pan with foil and preheat the oven to 450-500. Roast the legs until near done (15 mins) then turn on the broil to finish them off and brown them. Serve the chicken with the salsa over basmati rice.

The Omnivore's Hundred

The Omnivore's Hundred is an eclectic and entirely subjective list of 100 items that Andrew Wheeler, co-author of the British food blog Very Good Taste, thinks every omnivore should try at least once in his life. I found this over at Chocolate and Zucchini and thought I'd try it out. However, I'm new to this whole food world thing so I'm sure there are many things I have not tried but would like to.

The rules:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4. Optional extra: post a comment on Very Good Taste, linking to your results.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (I truly dislike eggs)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (alligator yes)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Phở
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (I think so)
15. Hot dog from a street cart (you have to if you go to NYC)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle (just a little bit, not nearly enough)
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (I still can't do it)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (I've had rose, mango, and plain)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (not in it's entireity)
37. Clotted cream
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/€80/$120 or more (scotch does that count?)
46. Fugu (food shouldn't be worth dying for)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (never can you believe it?!)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantains
70. Chitterlings
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie (yeah as a kid)
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three Michelin-star restaurant (I wish!)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare (rabbit?)
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (tulips, chive flowers)
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa (I've never heard of rose)
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

lunch: solved

After much deliberation (ok not too much) I think I have temporarily solved my lunch problem. Not only have I uncovered a typical lunchtime food made over, but this recipe is also nutritious! Added spices, garlic, and ginger make this simple salad pack a powerful anti inflammatory, flavonoid-rich punch. This is perhaps the best chicken salad you may ever make. I'm very picky about my chicken salad. Most recipes have too much mayo or too much mustard or too much celery or too much pickle. Ugh. Not this one. Yogurt is used instead of mayo and the whole thing is spiced up to create flavors you won't believe.

This recipe will make a lot. Take it to a picnic. It's light. It's refreshing. It's good for you. This recipe comes from the latest issue of Gourmet. I tweaked it ever so slightly. I cut back a little on the salt and skipped the extra raita thinking the yogurt would be overkill. If you skip out on the cucumber and the grapes I don't think you'll have nearly as tasty a final product. The sweetness of the grapes and crispness of the cucumber balance so well with the spicy curry and cayenne. I love this. Please make it.


Curried Chicken Salad with Spiced Chickpeas
as seen in Gourmet Aug 2008

For curried chicken salad:
1 medium onion, chopped
1+ tablespoon minced garlic (I go heavy on the garlic)
1+ tablespoon minced peeled ginger (I go heavy on the ginger too)
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tsp salt
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cup plain whole fat yogurt
2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1 rotisserie chicken, meat coarsely shredded (about 3 to 4 cups)
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved

In a medium skillet heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Cook the onion, garlic, and ginger until soft and fragrant. After a couple minutes, when the onions start to get some color, add the curry, cumin, and salt. Stir to combine and cook a minute or so longer. Finally add the tomatoes and stir for several minutes until everything cooks down into a nice paste. Remove the pan from the heat and put mixture in a large bowl. To the bowl add the yogurt, cilantro, and chicken. Stir well to combine and chill while you make the chickpeas.

For chickpeas:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can chickpeas, rinsed, drained, and patted dry (and I mean dry!)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt (you could probably skip the salt here)

In a cleaned skillet, heat the oil until it's very hot and starts to glisten. Carefully add the dried chickpeas. They will pop and spatter and fly out of the pan like popcorn so be careful! Shake over the heat for about a minute then add the spices. Shake carefully over the heat until all of the peas are coated then remove from heat and cool. Once cooled slightly, stir the spiced peas into the chilled chicken salad.

You can serve the chicken salad stuffed in a pita, with crackers or flatbread, or over lettuce. Either way make sure you serve it with thinly sliced cucumber and sweet red grapes. You can also add some fresh mint, sliced almonds, or some more yogurt to top if off.

Lunch alternatives take 2

I have been scouring my recipe collections looking for things that:

1. require little to no cooking
2. can be made ahead and eaten for several days
3. are nutritious yet delicious and
4. are appropriate for lunch

One of the first things I tried was an eggplant salad first seen over at The Amateur Gourmet from the book Roast Chicken and other Stories. It is similar to the Indian dish baigan bharta but slightly different. It was pretty easy to mix together in a dutch oven and it makes a very large amount that will last most of the week. I enjoyed the salad (though it is more of a stew) but it was very rich and hard to eat in larger portions and very hard for me to eat for more than one day. This would be great to make if you have many people sharing it over rice, naan, or flat bread. This probably wasn't the best choice to solve my lunch conundrum.


Spiced Eggplant Salad
As seen in Roast Chicken and Other Stories

2 large eggplants, sprinkled with 2 tsp salt
2 large onions, chopped
2 cans organic tomatoes
1 heaped tsp cumin
1 heaped tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbs currants (I used fresh because I had them, dried works as well)
Chopped fresh cilantro and mint
Yogurt

Dice the eggplants into cubes and place in a colander with 2 tsp salt. Let them sit for at least 20 minutes then blot them dry with paper towels. In a large pot or dutch oven brown the onions in some olive oil. The more color the more flavor will be in the finished dish. Add the tomatoes, drained, and the spices and stir together. Let these simmer for about 10+ minutes. In the meantime, saute the eggplant in a large skillet in some olive oil. I let mine get rather charred but just cook until cooked through. Do this in batches so you don't crowd the pan. Add the eggplant to the pot as you cook them. Once you've finished with the eggplant, take the pot off the heat and stir in the garlic, currants, and cilantro. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and more cilantro or mint.

If I make this again I might try to make it more like baigan bharta by roasting the eggplants in the oven then scooping out the flesh to add to the mixture. It might make for a better texture but it will still be a rich dish.

the lunch conundrum

I have a problem. I hate lunch. It is such an awkward meal. Most folks fill up on sandwiches or a salad and go back to work. I can handle that for a day or two then I want some variety. Normally I just eat some odds and ends and maybe leftovers if on the rare occasion we have any. I'll nibble on lots of different types of dried fruit, some yogurt, fresh fruit, cheeses, juices, nuts, maybe a bit of bread. The problem is that my breakfast also consists of the above ingredients so I'm quickly tired of them. Not to mention that by the end of my lunch break I'm hungry again!

For some reason I just can't bring myself to cook during my lunch break. I think I just want to avoid the dirty dishes. I'd much rather stir something together or just grab something out of a package then throw it away. But alas, I'm tired of being hungry after lunch and the nutritional value of the above snacking is very much sub par. I'm finally ready to take on lunch with more interesting and more nutritious fare.

One of my lunch options, that I had nearly forgotten until recently, is Molly's chickpea salad. True chickpeas aren't the best protein source, but I'll work my way up to meat for lunch eventually. Baby steps. This can be thrown together in minutes or the night before and chilled. I like to mix it up in a container by shaking (no need to dirty a spoon) then place in the freezer for 5 minutes or so before I eat it. The flavors really come together.

Chickpea Salad
courtesy of Molly aka Orangette

1 can chickpeas (get the good stuff, the ingredients should just say chickpeas)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp cumin or to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan to taste
olive oil to coat

Drain and wash the chickpeas well. Combine all the ingredients in a container and stir (or shake with a lid on it) to combine. Get creative and try adding herbs, different spices, vegetables, anything.

Any other lunch ideas?

Birthday at Luma

My birthday was 2 weeks ago and I'm just now finding the time to blog about it. Luckily, it was so awesome I have no problem remembering all the details. P and I and some friends went to Winterpark to have dinner at Luma on Park and afterwards relaxing and digesting at the Wine Room next door.

P got there first and ordered a nice Cab to sip on while he waited. He had a pretty bouquet of flowers put in a champagne bucket waiting for me as well, so everyone in the place knew it was my birthday. Thankfully there was no singing.

This was my second time at Luma. The first experience was very memorable and I'd recommend it to anyone coming to the Orlando area and looking for a really great meal outside of the kitsch Disney environment. Chef Brandon Mcglamery has a pretty impressive resume working at Chez Panisse, The French Laundry, Guy Savoy, Gordon Ramsey London, and more. The place looks amazing, right down to the futuristic bathrooms. In both of my experiences the staff is incredible, and can make some really fabulous wine recommendations. The menu changes all the time, but can have similar dishes from week to week just with different twists depending on what's available.


We started with some appetizers. Yes, I broke down and brought my camera. This food is too good and too pretty not to take a picture. Would you believe that no one in the whole restaurant even noticed? This is a similar ceviche that I had on my first visit. Imagine kona kampachi, watermelon, cilantro, avacado, jicama, and scotch sorbet all intermingling in one bite. This ceviche was just as good as the kampachi, jicama, blood orange, thai basil, avacado, and spicy citrus sorbet from my last visit. Luma knows ceviche! We also tasted a gnocci appetizer but I think I was too absorbed with my ceviche to pay attention.

P had the arctic char with a corn sauce and chard. P loved it -- a perfect balance of flavors. Corn is his favorite.

I had the maple duck with black rice and peach slaw. I'd like to know where the chef found such ripe peaches. What a slaw!

We also ordered the diver scallops with grits and pole beans. Tasting this dish reminded me of how wonderful grits can be. I'm going to try to make some at home soon.

At this point we had to get dessert. P and I shared the peach tart with giant fresh berries and thai basil ice cream. Since the peach slaw was so good, I knew this would be incredible too. I have always thought that basil ice cream would taste strange and strong but this was refreshing and mild.

Our friends shared the chocolate truffle cake with salted popcorn ice cream and caramel. I sneaked a bite and concluded that popcorn ice cream tastes NOTHING like those awful buttered popcorn jellybeans.

Comfortably full, we walked next door to the Wine Room for some dessert wines and conversation. I have to say that my 2 Luma visits have been some of the most memorable food experiences in my short foodie life. It's a pretty good drive for dinner but I'm sure we'll come back again soon. They offer a fixed price tasting menu on a couple days of the week that we might check out next. Luma is great. They even gave us one free dessert since it was my birthday.

No need to knead

Tomorrow is my birthday and my cat's. I didn't find any birthday cards for my cat in the mail today and he hasn't really received any presents except a new favorite box to replace his old worn out one. I on the other hand, got lots of wonderful presents and it isn't even officially my birthday yet. The best gift of all is my "almost brand new" Le Creuset. Thank goodness for outlet malls!


Now that I finally have the treasured cast-iron-heavy-duty-cook-anything pot, I can't wait to see what it can do. Does it really evenly distribute heat and brown and caramelize food to perfection. So far I can say yes, and yes. I've already ordered Molly Steven's All About Braising to get me started cooking in this massive thing. Anyone else know some great and perhaps unconventional uses of the Le Creuset?

I won't be cooking up a special birthday surprise for my cat but I did use it to make no-knead bread (ok, he tasted it too). I don't know what is more surprising, baking a loaf of bread in a pot or not having to knead. I can attest that it does work and boy is it simple. If you don't have a cast-iron dutch oven you can also use a regular pot (I think). I used Mark Bittman's NY Times recipes (c/o Steamy Kitchen) and threw in some wheat flour to make it more nutritious. The results were really amazing -- light and airy interior, crisp and browned exterior. Mine came out a little too "wet" but I think I didn't bake it long enough.

This is all you have to do:

The night before you want to bake the bread mix the following in a big bowl until it comes together into a wet dough.

3 cups bread flour (I used 2.5 cups King Arthur bread flour and 0.5 cups KA wheat flour)
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
3/4 tablespoon kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt)
1 1/2 cups warm water

Cover your big bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for about 12 hours or more. The longer it sits, the more the flavors will develop with the yeast. One to two hours before baking, take the dough out with wet hands and put on a floured surface. Gently fold the dough until you get it into a nice round ball. Don't use a lot of flour. Let it sit at least another hour in this shape. Before baking preheat the oven to 450 with the pot inside to heat up as well. Once everything is nice and hot, carefully place the loaf in the pan and put a lid on it. Let it bake for about 25 minutes then remove the lid to let it brown for about 15 minutes more.

That's it! I can't wait to try experimenting with this. You can add herbs, cheeses, seeds, and nuts. You can make a sweetened loaf and add chocolate or cinnamon. Hungry yet?