Spicy (or not) Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup
I am definitely into “Fall” ingredients and flavors right now. You can tell by my last couple of posts (pumpkin, sweet potato, butternut squash). This soup is excellent and has a nice balance of sweet, savory, spicy, and creamy. I found this recipe in the latest edition of the Rachael Ray Magazine. As usual, I changed some of the recipe.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Our new favorite ethnic cuisine is becoming Indian. We have a great Indian place by our house, and they are now building another one down the street. All the dishes are tasty, but I picked a “classic” dish for my first experiment. This dish is actually is not a traditional Indian dish, but has become the most popular Indian dish in the world. I got my recipe from the October edition of Cooks Illustrated.
Serves 2 (recipe can easily be doubled)
Inactive prep time: 30 minutes (marinating)
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
Chicken Tikka
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 lb. chicken breasts (about two)
1/2 c. plain whole milk yogurt (recommended Brown Cow)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 tbsp. fresh ginger, grated
Masala
1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced (or 1/2 of a medium sized)
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1 serrano chile, de-seeded and minced (leave this out for less spiciness)
1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tbsp. garam masala (found in the spice aisle)
1 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes (recommended Muir Glenn)
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 c. heavy cream
2 tbsp. cilantro, finely chopped
Basmati Rice, for serving
For the Chicken:
Preheat Broiler and adjust rack to 6 inches above the heating unit.
Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle over chicken breasts on both sides. Let marinate on a plate, covered, in the refrigerator for 30 minutes while you are preparing the other elements of the dish. In another bowl, mix together the yogurt, garlic, oil, and ginger. Set aside.
For the Sauce: (You could also start the Basmati Rice now)
Meanwhile, in a large pot (or Dutch oven), heat oil on medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and stir frequently until cooked for 8 minutes, or until golden. Add the garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala. Cook for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to a light simmer. Remover pan from heat and cover to keep warm.
For the Chicken:
Using tongs, dip chicken in the yogurt mixture. Cover chicken generously. Put in on a foil lined baking sheet. Broil chicken for 8 minutes on each side or until the thickest part register 160 with an instant read thermometer.
Remove chicken and let sit for 5 minutes. Cut the chicken into 1 inch pieces and stir into the warm sauce. Do not simmer the chicken in the sauce. Stir in cilantro and adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve with Basmati rice and naan bread.
Halibut with Coconut Curry Sauce
This meal is a perfect finish to any long day. It satisfies, yet, is very healthy. Between Erik and I, we ate an entire bag of spinach. It also only took about 30 minutes to make! This meal is also great to entertain with. If you prep everything in advance, there is only about 20 minutes of cooking time while you entertain your guests.
Steak Fajitas with Guacamole
I realized I had no Mexican food in my catalog of recipes, however, I have to say that Mexican food is probably one of my favorite cuisines. The key to this recipe is to marinate the meat for a long time because it becomes very tender, and the flavors are amazing!
Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
My friend Nazra gave me this recipe a couple of months ago. Erik and I have tried it before, but I decided to modify it before I put it on my blog. The recipe called for a sour cream based dressing, and I changed it to an olive oil based dressing. The flavors are delicious, and it takes less than 10 minutes to make.
Asian Beef Kabobs and Cilantro Rice
Summertime is meant for Shish Kabobs. My mom used to make them all the time on her fancy metal skewers, but she would put mushrooms on them (and I don’t like mushrooms). Now, as an adult, I can put whatever I want on them! I found the marinade for this recipe on Epicurious.com. This is my recipe but feel free to use any type of protein (chicken, lamb, beef, or tofu) and you can also use different vegetables as well (zucchini, japanese eggplant, green bell pepper, yellow onion, or mushrooms).
Serves 2
Prep time: 30 minutes
Marinading: 1 hour or up to 1 day
Cook time: 25 minutes
For Kebabs:
4 (7-inch ) bamboo skewers (or fancy metal ones)
1/2 c. tamari or soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. grated ginger root (grate on a microplane)
1 thai chile, seeded (if preferred) and finely minced
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. sesame seeds
2 tsp. black pepper
3/4 lb. top sirloin, cut into 1 inch chunks
10 scallions, thicker parts only cut into 2 inch slices (reserve thinner parts for rice)
1 large orange bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
For Rice:
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 red bell pepper, finely minced
Kosher salt
1/2 c, jasmine rice
1 c. water
10 scallion tops (leftover from kebabs), finely minced
3 tbsp. finely minced cilantro
Directions:
Soak bamboo skewers for 1 hour in a Ziploc bag with water. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, garlic, oil, ginger, sugar, vinegar, chile, sesame seeds and pepper. Add the meat, scallions, and peppers to marinade. Empty entire contents into a Ziploc bag. Remove all the air and marinate for 1 hour or up to a day.
Preheat broiler oven or grill. Remove marinade from fridge and skewer a piece or meat, scallion, and pepper. Repeat until all the contents are on the skewers. Pour leftover marinade in a small sauce pan. Bring marinade to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and reduce to desired thickness.
Meanwhile, bring another pot with the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Saute the red peppers for 2 minutes, season with salt. Add rice and saute 1 minute. Add water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cook covered for 20 minutes.
When the rice has 10 minutes left, put skewers on a baking sheet or on grill or grill pan and cook, turning, for 8 minutes (4 minutes per side).
Remove the skewers from the oven or grill. Take the rice off the stove and fluff with a fork. Add in chopped scallions and cilantro.
Scoop rice on the bottom of a plate and drizzle reduced marinade sauce over top. Give each person 2 kabobs and enjoy!
Steak with Caribbean Salad
Corn is in season right now. They are selling it for the bargain price (ha!) of 2 husks for a dollar at my local Whole Paycheck (Whole Foods). So, because the corn looked so fresh I decided to search for a recipe where it could be the focal point. I found the salad recipe at www.cookinglight.com, and decided that a steak would compliment the side dish very nicely. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the black beans in this recipe but it was good without (what can I say…I am a flake sometimes).
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
4 steaks of your choice to grill, recommended 1/2 lb. per person
Steak seasoning and Olive Oil to coat steaks
1 tsp. vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 ears fresh corn, husked
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 jalepeno, chopped (ribs and seeds removed if you don’t like spice)
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
kosher salt, to taste
1/8 tsp. cumin
1 large mango, chopped
1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups mesculin greens
Preheat a grill. or grill pan to medium high heat. Season steaks with steak seasoning, or a generous amount of kosher salt and cracked pepper and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Cook steaks 3 minutes on each side or to desired doneness. (I like mine medium rare. Also, remember that your steak has to rest for at least 10 minutes after you cook it to distribute the juices!) Once you finish cooking it, put it under a tin foil tent and let the yummy juices soak back inside the meat. If you skip this step, your steak will not be as succulent.
Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over med-high heat as well. Add garlic and saute for 15 seconds or until you can smell it. Stir in corn and cook for 4 minutes or until brown. (My suggestion is to let the corn brown by leaving it in the bottom of the pan and searing for a couple of minutes and not stir it. Then stir it again and let it brown some more. ) Add red onion, red pepper and jalepeno. Saute 2 minutes until just heated through. Place corn mixture in a large bowl and add remaining ingredients except mesculin greens. Stir to combine.
Serve steaks with mesculin greens topped with the corn salad.
