Tom Kha Gai

My husband and I are always looking for new and interesting meals.  He found this link on Youtube and we just had to try it.

Hot Thai Kitchen - Tom Kha Gai

With a few additions to make the dish complete our end product is one for the books. This is one of those Thai comfort foods that we will return to often.

We followed the soup recipe exactly, when plating (or bowling) added steamed basmati rice, and wilted kale.  This is a very simple recipe and very delicious.

Happy cooking
Sherri

Clams & Linguini

I am still in a swoon over this dish.  This is a personal interpretation of a dish that I've picked up from a review of Don Pepe's in NY.

We have been searching for a good Clams & Linguini dish for a few years now.  Everything that we have tried has come up short...Until today.

3 full bulbs of garlic.  peel cloves and snip off the ends
3-4 lbs of clams - shucked and juice saved
1/2 cup chopped italian parsley
~ 1 tsp Sea Salt
~ 1/4 tsp fresh ground Pepper
1 - 1.5 cups Olive oil
Fettucini pasta

1 really nice loaf of sourdough bread

Peel cloves, shuck the clams into a bowl, saving as much liquid as possible...this is the essence of this dish.

Put water on to boil for the pasta.  You will want to time the pasta with the completion of the sauce

Put oil in a shallow saucepan.  You will need all of it.  warm it to a medium temp and add all of the garlic cloves.  DO NOT cut the garlic up, full cloves are required.  You will need enough oil for the cloves to bathe in.  Slowly cook the cloves until the turn a nice rich medium brown.   If they are cooking too fast, turn your temp down a bit,  you want them soft, sweet and browned.

 Once the garlic is done, add parsley, clams, salt and pepper.  Bring up to a simmer, add ALL the clam nectar left, and one small ladel of pasta water.  Your sauce will taste a little salty but once you add it to the pasta it will even out perfectly.

Drain pasta, place in a serving bowl or deep plate, pour the clam sauce over top and serve with bread and wine.

Pictures to follow

This is a classic favorite
Cheers
Sherri 

Mac - N - Cheese Epiphany

One of my comfort foods from when I was growing up was my mom's homemade Mac-n-cheese with tomatoes casserole.  I've made it a few times for my own family but the reviews have always been negative.  Why?  Even the Mac-n- cheese that i've made for the kids isn't really a hit.

I've been totally put off by the finding that Kraft Mac-n-cheese contains Tartrazine (Sp?) which is the yellow coloring for the cheese.  This is known as having a direct link to Cancer.  Why they would continue to put it in their product is boggling to me.

So I try to opt for homemade.  My Hubby always says that my version tastes flour-y in texture.  Sure I put a spoon of flour for thickening...that's how my mom always did it.

This week I had an epiphany.  We made Alfredo sauce from scratch this week at home.  Oh soooo easy and quick and Really Yum! And...you guessed it... No flour.

So we tried the Mac-n-cheese version today with great success

Here's the recipe:

1 cup of dried macaroni

1 cup of Milk or cream
1/4 cup butter
1 cup (or more) of grated cheddar cheese
a dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp prepared mustard
a dash of garlic/onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Make sure your macaroni is mostly cooked by the time you start the sauce.  Melt butter and milk/cream together.  Add remaining ingredients and combine until the cheese is melted.

Drain macaroni, and put back into the pot, add the cheese sauce, combine and warm. It will start to thicken with the starch from the pasta.

Enjoy!
Sherri

Chicken Terragon Casserole

Whenever I roast a chicken, invariably there are leftovers that will end up going to waste.  Here is a great  chicken noodle casserole recipe that the kids LOVE.

3 cups bowtie pasta

Boil water and add Pasta.  Cook until al dente and drain, then place in casserole dish

1 Tbsp Butter
2 Cups Chopped fresh mushrooms

1 carrot chopped however you like

2 stalks Celery Chopped

3 spring onions chopped

1.5 cups chicken or Veg Broth

1 tsp Minced Garlic

1 bay leaf

In a Wok melt butter on high heat and add mushrooms.  Cook until the liquid evaporates.
Add Carrot and Celery and stirfry for another 3 minutes.  Add onion, Garlic, Bay leaf.  Stirfry for another minute then add the broth cover and simmer until carrots and celery are tender.

Remove from heat, Strain and set aside 1 cup of broth.  Discard any remaining liquid or add more water if less than 1 cup remains. Put veggies in a casserole dish and cover

1/3 cup Flour

2 tbsp Cornstarch

1 cup Milk
1 Cup Reserved broth
1 tsp Terragon
1 tsp Salt
1/3 cup White wine
1 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

Wisk together four and cornstarch to combine in the wok.  Slowly add milk whisking briskly to avoid any lumps.  Once combined add stock, Terragon and Salt.  Place over medium heat wicking constantly until the sauce thickens.  Add wine and continue to whisk until thick.  Remove from heat.  Add cheese and combine.

1.5 Cup Cooked chopped chicken

Combine chicken, veggies, Noodles and sauce in casserole dish.

1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup bread crumbs

In a small pan melt butter and add bread crumbs,  combine until evenly coated and sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 375 for 30 - 45 minutes or until it is bubbling.

Keep those Kids Happy!
Sherri 

Butter Chicken - Murg Makhani

After having put all of our possessions in storage, I realized that I did not transfer my recipe file from our PC tower to my external hard drive.  As a result I have been forced to recreate certain recipes that were once tried and true.

A Painful realization, but in some cases this has been a blessing, as I believe in this case  I have improved on my Butter Chicken recipe.

If you look online you will see that almost ALL recipes call for you to marinate your chicken in a yogurt/spice concoction.  This is not a proper method, and I feel reaps an inferior product.

Butter chicken is a Punjabi dish which was devised as a way to utilize left over Tandoori chicken, and as such you should ultimately marinate your chicken in a tandoori masala.  In Canada/US you can find Tandoori Barbecue spice in your ethnic Aisle in the supermarket, or head to India Town and pick some up at a grocer.  It is a powder form and should be rubbed into scored chicken along with some fresh lemon juice, and salt and possibly garlic powder if you wish.  ** I will be working on a fresh tandoori Masala recipe to be posted later**

If you do not have Tandoori masala, fear not.  Dice your chicken, and season with salt and juice from 1 lemon (Or a Tbsp of white vinegar/rice vinegar would do fine as well) If you use this alternate marinating method, only Marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hr.

While that is marinating you will want to start your sauce.

You will need:

4-6 TBSP Butter
1 Medium Onion Finely chopped
8-12 Roma Tomatoes Diced
1 Bay Leaf
6 or so Cloves
1 inch Cinnamon stick
4 - 6 Green Cardamon Pods
4-6 Cloves of Garlic finely chopped
2 inches of fresh Ginger either Julienned or grated (about 2 TBSP)
1 tsp Kashmiri Chili Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Ground Almonds
1/2 - 1 cup Yogurt
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream (Devon cream)
Fresh Chopped Cilantro or Garnish

Nobody ever said Butter chicken was great for a diet, but it is one of my family's favorites.

The amounts on the ingredient list are 'approximate' meaning, I don't really follow the recipe to the T every time, and you can tweak to suit your taste as well.

Method:

Use approx. 2 TBSP of Butter.  Heat in saucepan and add the finely chopped Onion, bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, cardamon (Hit them with the side of your knife to break them open then add).

** Note: to get a really finely chopped onion, leave the end on the onion so that it holds together while you slice then dice.  When you leave the end on (the end with the roots) you can slice it really finely and then dice it to get a consistently sized dice from end to end.

fry onions until they begin to become golden, then add the Garlic, Ginger, fry for 2 minutes, then add the tomatoes.  Stew the tomatoes over medium/high heat until they resemble a well cooked stew and gain some vibrant red color.

Remove from heat, Pour into your blender, and puree.  **at this point you can strain your mixture if you see tomato skin bits that haven't broken down, but it is usually not a necessary step (and is quite messy).

Using the same pan, melt approximately 2-3 tbsps of butter on Medium high heat.  Add your chicken pieces.  If there is marinade juice do not add to the pan - drain chicken and discard marinade.

**I use a large sized butterfly chicken breast cubed to serve 4.  Add more if you want leftovers or have more guests. (you may also want to increase the tomatoes in the sauce base accordingly) You can also use boneless thigh, or a tandoori chicken cut into pieces for that matter**

After your chicken is cooked add the Almonds, chili and salt.  This will soak up all the butter and toast the almonds slightly. Then Pour in the Tomato puree.  Heat through, then add the Yogurt, cream.  Heat through, garnish with Cilantro, and serve.  Do not continue to simmer for a long period after the cream is added as the sauce may separate.

You can serve with Basmati rice or Chapati/Nan.

 Balance off your meal with a Kuchumber salad:

1 seeded and diced Cucumber
1 Diced onion
4-5 Diced Roma Tomato
2-3 TBSP Chopped fresh cilantro
Juice from 4-6 Lemons Juice
Salt to taste
Chili Powder to taste
Chat Masala to taste (Approx 1-2 tsp)

RICE NOTE:  Remember if you are cooking Basmati rice that you need to rinse it thoroughly before cooking or it will be sticky, not fluffy.  My Mother-in-law say to rinse it 6 times, and I have always heeded her advice.

Pictures to come at a later date!

Enjoy!
Sherri 

Day 1 - Basic Short Ribs & Brownies

While Ravi has made I would have to say the best lamb soup today that I feel I have ever tasted, soup is merely lunch... midnight comfort... etc.  The key we have found is to not add any potatoes, rice, noodles or starch of any kind because after chilling will turn the broth to goup. Whereby it is no longer considered soup in my book.   If you can't drink it from a mug it just doesn't cut the mustard.  I cannot attest to everything that went into this soup, but the veggie ingredients were carrot, swiss chard, mushrooms, onion and celery....heavy on the broth...light on the veggies.

We have been in search of the perfect short rib recipe for quite some time now.  My personal favorite, but not my dear husband includes shallots, tomatoes, country style mustard and wine reduction, however I feel we have found one today that will fit the bill for both.  Since I have discovered my slowcooker, I find that if I think it will work, I will alter any recipe to fit this easy to use cooking option.  It was the simplest recipe imaginable:

1c red wine or more (I used a lighter beaujolais which seems to suit)
1 onion sliced
mushrooms
salt
pepper
a dash of thyme, garlic powder
1c sour cream

The process was simple.  Saute the onions.  Braise the seasoned ribs.  My trick is salt pepper, put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven on a high broil.  This makes less mess on your stove, and less cleanup.  Pop the ribs in the slow cooker, onions on top, pour the wine into the onion pan to deglaze and then pour into the slow cooker.  I added a bit of broth and a bit more wine to increase the liquid, then turned it to high and let it cook for 4 hours.  Once the ribs are cooked remove them from the slow cooker and set aside, then saute the sliced mushrooms (amount depends on you) in butter, add the juice from the ribs, your herbs and salt to taste and bring to a simmer to reduce by half.  Remove from heat and add the sour cream. chopped parsley to garnish and voila.

This is a great dish! We served with mashed potatoes and broccoli, but I could definitely see egg noodles as an alternative.

Desert was brownies from scratch.  A recipe gleaned from my friend Lynne.  Also a very simple recipe, and a good base, but I would probably tweak this recipe a bit for maximum Yum factor.  Here it is:

1c White Sugar
1c Brown Sugar
1c Butter Melted (I used salted)

Combine well then add

3/4 c of cocoa
3 eggs - one at a time

1c Flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla (Just pour some in)

Pour into a greased and floured pan (9 x 12) and bake on 350 for 30 minutes.  These brownies did get frosted...thanks to Duncan Hines.  With everything going on today there wasn't much time for anything else.

I think in future I would try melted chocolate rather than cocoa... amounts to be determined, and I would add some walnuts or chocolate chips to the batter.  Overall they were a great tasting brownie, but not quite as dense as I would like.  I think the melted chocolate would take care of this issue however. I will keep you posted when I try this recipe again.

The best part of the brownie experience was sharing it with my 1 year old son.  There was some major finger tasting going on at every stage of this batter.  The result was a VERY chocolate covered baby and a lot of smiles.

Until next time!

Sherri