Exotic Fried Chicken

Okay, y'all. I hope you've been eating well! I certainly have - but I haven't been blogging. I'm stuck at the moment on trying to figure out how to replicate a tlayuda at home. I'll have to get back to you on that.

In the meanwhile though, I'm now making some killer fried chicken. Come over. I'll make it for you. I've made this fried chicken served with a curry potato salad and greens, and it is pictured here with garam masala sweet potatoes and spicy Brussels sprouts. And I admit I've reheated it and had it with some mayonnaise for leftovers. You just can't go wrong!

A fried chicken treat

An end-of-the-week dessert

Best with company

Here goes:

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 lb chicken thighs
1 quart buttermilk
1 bunch fresh mint, torn
1 bunch fresh cilantro, torn
1 can green chilis
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1 quart coconut oil
garam masala
chili oil
1 Tbsp salt
flour to coat (I use gf all-purpose)

1. The night before cooking, remove the skin and excess fat from all chicken. Combine in a large bowl: buttermilk, mint, cilantro, chilis, ginger, garlic and salt. Add the chicken, cover, and refrigerate overnight.
2. The happy day of fried chicken: prepare any side items first. Heat the coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until hot and a drop of water dances across the top.
3. Fill a pie pan with flour and sprinkle with garam masala and salt. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and settle the chicken in the fryer, a few pieces at a time.
4. Let the chicken fry, covered with a spatter screen, for 5-6 minutes and turn over with tongs to fry for another 5-6 minutes. Prepare a plate with papertowels to let the excess oil drain from the chicken after the frying. Use a meat thermometer to test the temperature of the chicken and remove from the pot when the internal temperature reaches 165F.
5. Sprinkle with a little chili powder or chili oil and serve! That's it!

Next time, I'm going to experiment with a batter, but I like the lightness of this fried chicken and the smell of the marinade as it cooks. Let me know what you think if you try it!

Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken

It is crock pot season!  My new goal is to fit in some healthy home cooking by doing a quick grocery shopping on Tuesday nights (my grocery store has cheese plates and wine that you can enjoy there, so it's not too bad), and to throw things together Wednesday morning for consumption the rest of the week.  It had to be planned because things have gotten so busy schedule-wise in my house that we found ourselves eating take-out just too often.

One of my favorite recent recipes (and these are so easy) is this Moroccan Chicken with sweet potatoes.  One of my students came in for lesson and said, "It smells even better today!"  So.

Moroccan Chicken
A perfect five syllables
A tasty haiku

Ingredients:

• 2.5 lbs bone-in skinless chicken thighs (if you can have a glass of wine while the butcher at your grocery store skins the chicken for you - even better)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (this is a new addition to my spice drawer)
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 15oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 15oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• cooked couscous or quinoa for serving
• sliced almonds to garnish

1. In a large ziplock bag or tupperware, combine chicken thighs with cumin, coriander, pumpkin-pie spice and 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper.  Refrigerate overnight.
2. In slow cooker bowl, combine chicken brother, tomatoes, beans, sweet potato, onion and apricots.  Place chicken in slow cooker bowl on top of vegetables.
3. Cover and cook 5 hours on low or until chicken is cooked through or until you get home from work later.  At this point, you could remove the chicken and debone it and skim and discard the fat from the cooking liquid.  Or you could just call it a day and dig in.
4. Serve chicken and vegetables over cooked couscous or quinoa, drizzle cooking liquid over to and garnishing with sliced almonds.

Banana Cream Pie

I have been making this pie for a while now.  I wish I had the picture my Dad took at my first attempt to make it - when I somehow got whipped cream all over the kitchen.  Alas, I have become good at this pie and have no more disastrous anecdotes to share.

Too pretty to eat

But the first bite is sublime

Never leftovers

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups graham-cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter + 1 Tbsp non-melted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 4 egg yolks
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 medium bananas
• 1 lemon
• apple jelly

1. Preheat oven to 375degF.  In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs (to make: blend in a blender or place in a strong bag and rolled fine with a rolling pin), 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter.  With back of spoon, press into bottom and side of pie dish, making a small rim.
2. Bake 8 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool.
   
3. In 2-quart saucepan with spoon, mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and salt.  Stir in milk until smooth.  Over medium heat, cook mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to boil (about 10 minutes).  Boil 1 minute.  Remove immediately from heat and set aside.  ***
4. In cup with wire whisk, beat egg yolks with small amount of hot milk mixture.  Slowly pour egg mixture into saucepan, stirring rapidly to prevent lumping.  Over low heat, cook, stirring constantly until very thick (do not boil) and mixture mounds when dropped from spoon.
5. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla.  Pour into bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate until cool, about 2 hours.
6. Peel and slice 3 bananas over bottom of piecrust.  Top with filling.  Chill until set, about 2 hours.
7. Whip the heavy cream and spread evenly on top of pie.
8. To garnish, grate peel of lemon; sprinkle around top edge of pie.  Cut lemon in half and squeeze juice into bowl.  Into juice, peel and slice 1 banana; toss to coat; drain on paper towels.
9. Arrange banana slices in center of top of pie.  
10. In 1-quart saucepan over low heat, heat 1/3 cup apple jelly **** until just melted; brush over banana slices.  Chill.

***   If using Gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Bob's Red Mill brand, add 1 Tbsp psyllium husk powder at this point in the recipe.

****  Apricot jelly is lovely in place of apple jelly.  And microwaving is fine instead of heating over the stovetop.

This recipe is adapted from the 1989 Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook.  My first grown-up cookbook.  Previously, I used one illustrated with Disney characters.

Emergency Dessert

Coconut Flakes, toasted in the broiler.  Sprinkled on top of....
One scoop of vanilla ice cream...
Drizzled with honey.

My favorite ice cream is Coconut Bliss Vanilla Bean.  FYI.

Steamed Chinese Dumplings

These Chinese Dumplings are fantastic!  My regular foodie blog readers may have noticed that I went  a whole year without blogging.  Well, I made these Chinese Dumplings as a part of my Year-of-the-Horse Chinese New Year dinner party last year.

Steamed Chinese Dumplings

What's better than a dumpling?

'Think I'll make some now

It was fun and festive and delicious.  And then the attention of the Gods was on me and all my other horse friends and blogging has just been impossible.  Let me catch you up though!

Ingredients:

• One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1/2 pound ground chicken or turkey
• 1 scallion, finely minced
• 2 tsp ginger, finely minced
• 1 Tbsp Chinese rice wine or sherry
• 1 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce (or the regular kind - whatever)
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

1. Squeeze out all excess liquid from thawed spinach.
2. In a bowl, mix together spinach, chicken, scallion, ginger, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper.  Stir well until mixture holds together firmly.  Refrigerate while preparing dumpling wrappers (wrappers recipe below).
3. Place a small spoonful (about 2 tsp) of dumpling filling in center of dumpling wrapper.  Bring wrapper end together over center of filling and pinch.  Pinch ends of wrapper together on one end.  Carefully pinch wrapper together to enclose filling.  Repeat on other side of wrapper.
4. Place round piece of parchment paper in Chinese steamer.  Lightly oil parchment paper and place dumplings on top of parchment paper, making sure dumplings do not touch each other (otherwise, they will stick together when cooked).
5. Bring water to a boil in bottom of Chinese steamer.  Place steamer pan with dumplings over boiling water, cover, reduce heat to medium-low and steam for 12-15 minutes until cooked through.
6. Eat immediately, or let cool, and freeze.  To freeze, line a plate with plastic wrap.  Gently place cooked dumplings on plate.  Cover dumplings with plastic wrap and place in freezer.  After dumplings are frozen, store them in a container or Ziplock bag, and keep in the freezer.  To reheat, steam until hot.

Chinese Dumpling Wrappers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tapioca starch
• 1 cup fine rice flour
• 1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 Tbsp light olive oil
• 12-14 Tbsp cold water
• glutinous or sweet rice flour

1. Whisk together tapioca starch, rice flour and xanthin gum in a bowl.  Add oil and 12 Tbsp of water.  Mix well, adding a little bit of water at a time if necessary to form a firm, but not dry, dough.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap while preparing dumpling filling.
2. When ready to make the dumpling wrappers, sprinkle a cutting board or pastry sheet with glutinous rice flour.  Form dough into a long log.  Cut dough into 24 even pieces.
3. Flatten each piece into a small round on floured cutting board.  Using a rolling pin, roll each round into a 2 1/2" to 3" circle, flipping the dough over, and turning the circle as you roll it out.  The dough is fragile, so roll it out carefully, and be sure to keep both sides floured so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin or cutting board.  Cover rolled dumpling wrappers with plastic wrap until all the wrappers are made.

These dumplings are a bit of a pain to make - but they're definitely worth it!  Be very careful with the wrappers as they're delicate.  And be very careful that they don't touch in the steamer!  These dumplings are excellent with shrimp instead of the poultry.  Boil and peel the shrimp and mince.  Enjoy!

Recipe from Jeanette's Healthy Living.

Tamale Pie

The first time I ever encountered the idea of a tamale pie was in a wonderful little cafe called Better Living through Coffee (get a window seat for a beautiful view) in Port Townsend, Washington (a great place to vacation).  Unfortunately, I was on a vacation that left me no room for extra eating, so I grabbed my quick coffee, took a picture, and vowed to make one as soon as I could.  One year and nine months later, I present you with TAMALE PIE!

Memorable pie

Is the kind without sugar

Savory desserts!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 pound 90 percent lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 jalapeno chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano or 3/4 tsp dried
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen corn (thawed if frozen)
• 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 3/4 cup coarse-ground cornmeal

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Add ground beef and cook, breaking up large clumps, until just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
2. Stir in onion, jalapeño, and 3/4 teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in chili powder, garlic, and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  
   
   Stir in beans, tomatoes and their juice, and corn and simmer until almost al liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes.  Off heat, stir cheese into beef mixture and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Transfer mixture to 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate or 3-quart baking dish.
3. Bring water to boil in large saucepan over high heat.  Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, then slowly pour in cornmeal while whisking vigorously to prevent clumping.  Reduce heat to medium and cook, whisking constantly, until cornmeal thickens, about 3 minutes.  Stir in remaining 2 tablespoons oil.
4. Spread cornmeal mixture over top of beef mixture and seal against edge of dish.  Cover with aluminum foil that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray, and bake until crust is set and pie is heated through, about 30 minutes.  Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

I like to use a little more jalapeño and cheddar cheese for a bit more of a kick.  The pie is excellent served with a dollop of plain greek yogurt and a side of taquería-style pickled vegetables (recipe to follow).

Recipe from America's Test Kitchen's How Can it be Gluten Free Cookbook.

Strawberry Shortcake with Biscuits

Strawberry shortcake and champagne is my favorite celebratory meal.  I'm not sure that it can really be called a meal though given its low nutritional content - but nonetheless - here it is:

Strawberry shortcake

One time an eighties cartoon

Always a dessert

Ingredients:

• Strawberries frozen or fresh, 1 tsp sugar
• Powdered sugar
• Whipping cream
• Vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp powdered psyllium husk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
• 3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice, plus some extra

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, psyllium, sugar, salt, and baking soda in large bowl until combined.  Add butter to flour mixture, breaking up chunks with fingertips until only small, pea-size pieces remain.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg, oil, and lemon juice until combined.  Using rubber spatula, stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture until thoroughly combined and no flour pockets remain, about 1 minute.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Defrost the frozen strawberries or slice the fresh strawberries.  Set aside.  

1. 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.  Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and place inside of second baking sheet.  Using greased 1/3-cup dry measure, scoop heaping amount of batter and drop onto prepared sheet.  Repeat with remaining batter, spacing biscuits about 1/2 inch apart in center of prepared sheet.
2. Bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking.  Transfer sheet to wire rack and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
3. Put half of the sliced strawberries in an oven-safe dish, sprinkle with 1 tsp of sugar, and put in the oven while the biscuits cool to bring out the juices and slightly soften (approx 15 minutes). Toss the remaining strawberries with the remaining lemon juice.
4. Whip the cream with vanilla to taste.
5. Mix the sweetened baked strawberries and the citrusy fresh strawberries together, including the juice.
6. Serve each plate with one biscuit, surrounded by strawberries, topped with vanilla-whipped-cream and dusted with powdered sugar.

Biscuit recipe taken from America's Test Kitchen How can it be Gluten Free Cookbook.