HomeCookin’- dinner- filet mignon w/ kale, cabbage, tomato & radish salad w/ blood orange Dijon vinaigrette.
HomeCookin:Thai green curry chicken w/ green beans, mushrooms and chili
Kit and I love a good curry and most often we eat Red Curry based meals. I wanted to try something different and so based this delicious Chicken Curry in the Green variety…
I love the Thai Kitchen curry paste and so I pick up a small jar of it.
1 large boneless chicken breast, chopped into bite size pieces
4 cloves of garlic
2 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 large bunch of Cilantro
1 large red thai chili
zest of one lime
juice of one lime
extra virgin olive oil
1 cup brown mushrooms/or Shitake
1 cup green beans - cut in half
1 large onion diced
3 tablespoons of Thai Green Curry paste
1 can coconut milk
*Marinade for chicken. In a food processor, blend 3 cloves of garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, cilantro stems and about 1/2 cup leaves, zest of lime, half red chili, a squeeze of lime juice and 2 tbsp olive oil until it forms a loose paste.
In a bowl mix the chicken into the marinade and put in fridge, covered while you chop and prepare all the veggies.
Chop the remaining garlic and ginger finely. Chop the half chili finely. Dice the onion, mushrooms and trim and half the beans.
In a wok, heat some oil and then saute the garlic, ginger and a few pieces of chili until fragrant.Add the onion and saute until soft. Add the mushrooms and beans and cook until the beans are tender but still have bite.
Remove the veggies to a bowl for now….
In the wok, heat a little more oil and saute the chicken/marinade until browned and cooked through.
Make a well in the center of the wok and fry off 3 tbsp of curry paste, pour in a can of coconut milk and then stir through. Incorporating the chicken into the curry broth.
Add the veggies and heat through.
Serve with jasmine rice or rice noodles.
Garnish with cilantro and chopped chilies.
HomeCookin’: Lean Mean Burger Machine Homemade burger, Munster cheese, caramelized onion, bacon, tomato & chipotle crema
Sometimes you just gotta have a little big burger for dinner.
On a night that followed hours laying in the sun on our roof, we decided to really *summer* it up and make burgers…
1lb lean ground beef
salt & fresh cracked pepper
Sriracha or good hot sauce
1 glove finely grated Garlic
1 Ciabatta loaf - cut in half to serve two burgers
1 tomato - sliced
6 slices of bacon
1/2 large onion sliced into rings
4 slices of Munster cheese
1/4 cup Sour cream
1 chipotle in adobo
** In a bowl gently mix the ground beef with grated garlic, salt & pepper and about a teaspoon of hot sauce. Mold into burger mounds, and round & tighten.
In a large fry pan, cook the bacon until crispy. Rest on paper towels.
Reserving some of the bacon fat, cook the onions until caramelized. Hey, I won’t tell anyone if you splash a little beer in there. Hell, it’s only gonna make them taste AMAZING.
Push onions to the side of the pan.
Drizzle a little olive oil in the pan and then place the burger down to cook on a med to high heat.
I cooked my burgers about 6 mins on either side.
Once you flip the burger (after the first 6 mins) add the sliced cheese on top of each. The last 3 mins, I put a lid on the pan so the cheese really melted.
Take out the meat to rest.
Drizzle your Ciabatta with a little oil and put face down in the pan to warm.
I added the bacon back on top of the onions to warm up.
In a small bowl, mix sour cream, chipotle and a squeeze of lime juice.
Assemble burgers.
Bun, sour cream, burger w cheese, onions, bacon, tomato, sour cream, bun.
DONE.
Deeeeeelicious.
HomeCookin: Grilled Shrimp tacos w/ garlic black beans, caramelized onions, guacamole & chipotle crema.
*Toss peeled deveined shrimp in salt, pepper and Spanish paprika.
*Saute 1 clove chopped garlic and 1 large sliced onion in a pan until caramelized.
*In a pot, saute 2 tablespoons chopped onion, 1 clove chopped garlic and a teaspoon of crushed red pepper. Add a can of organic black beans. Simmer on low for 15 mins. Season with S & P.
*For guac - mash a large ripe avocado with a 1/4 cup diced tomato, salt, pepper, lime juice and a teaspoon of hot sauce. Stir through a handful chopped cilantro.
* Mix 1 finely chopped chipotle in adobo with 4 tbsp sour cream.
*In a hot pan, saute shrimp in olive oil until cooked.
Serve the shrimp and fixin’s with soft flour tortillas.
DELICIOUS!
HomeCookin: Cacio e Pepe with fennel, tomato and parsley salad.
Thank you Bon Appetit for the awesome recipe for Cacio e Pepe. I may have tweaked it a little here and there. But generally the recipe was SPOT ON.
Served with a simple Fennel, tomato and parsley salad, this was a deliciously simple Friday night meal….
Cacio E Pepe: Adapted from Bon Appetit
1 packet of Spaghetti, Bucatini, or we used Perciatelli
4 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup grated pecorino
1/4 cup grated parmigiano
3/4 cup pasta water
2 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
Boil your pasta in salted water till almost al dente. Drain and reserve 3/4 cup pasta water.
In a saucepan melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Swirl through a little EVOO.
Saute half the pepper for a min and then add the pasta water and simmer.
Stir through the pasta until coated in sauce. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of butter, and the pecorino.
Toss the pasta until the cheese melts through the sauce.
Add the rest of the pepper and the parmesan.
Serve immediately!
We served ours with a simple salad. Toss thin slices of fennel with halved cherry tomatoes, a bunch of chopped italian parsley, lemon zest, olive oil, salt a pepper. Toss through with a little squeeze of lemon juice.
Bon App!
HomeCookin: Dinner tonight - Roasted lemon & garlic chicken Souvlaki, whole wheat pita, Greek Salad and dill & cucumber tzatziki.
Inspired by this REAL SIMPLE recipe - although instead of Rotisserie Chicken, I just roasted some Chicken thighs and then pulled the meat.
*Chicken - Preheat oven to 350F.
In a bowl, toss 4-8 thighs in olive oil, salt, pepper, 2 cloves chopped garlic, lemon juice, handful of fresh dill and 1 tsp dried thyme.
Sear in a pan with a rougly chopped onion, until skin is browned and then roast on a tray in oven for 25 mins.
*Greek Salad.
Mix halved cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives, cucumber, feta and fresh dill. Toss with salt, pepper and olive oil. Add a little lemon juice for freshness.
*Dill cucumber Tzatziki
Mix one small plain greek yogurt with 1 clove chopped garlic, 1/2 cup finely chopped cucumber, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1/2 cup chopped dill. Salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Take chicken from oven and pull/shred the meat from the bones. Take the caramelized onions from the tray and chop through with the chicken.
Serve with warmed whole wheat pitas.
Opa!
HomeCookin: Salad Feast
Kit and I wanted something healthy and light and I was sick of the typical one big salad meal. So with a little inspiration from the NY Times article *101 Simple Salads for the Season*
I created us a feast of delicious and simple salads.
*Roasted baby beets, blood orange, scallions & cilantro dressed with lemon juice & olive oil.
*Cucumber & frisée w/ dijon vinaigrette
*Cherry tomato, kalamata olive & cilantro
*Italian Tuna, capers, lemon & olive oil
*Apple, radish and fennel
*Whole wheat crostini
AND a little treat we love…. smoked oysters.
Paired with a delicious Rose, this TUESDAY night dinner was unreal.
HomeCookin: Dinner tonight - Sweet potato, eggplant & portabella Jalfrezi curry w/ basmati and cucumber raita.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Toss cubes of sweet potato, eggplant and mushroom with 1 clove chopped garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of ground corriander, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, salt and pepper and 2tbsp of Olive Oil.
Roast in the oven for 30 mins or until sweet potato is tender.
In a pan, saute 1 cup diced onion and a clove of chopped garlic. Add the roasted veggies, 1 chopped tomato, 1/2 red bell pepper chopped and a handful of chopped cilantro.
Stir through a jar of *Seeds of Change* Jalfrezi Curry Sauce and simmer until warmed through.
**Serve with basmati rice and cucumber raita.
Raita:
Mix 1 cup finely diced cucumber with 1 small container of plain greek yogurt, 1 clove finely diced garlic, salt & pepper & a squeeze of lime juice.
HomeCookin’: Vegetable Pot Pie w/ fennel, carrot, leek, zucchini and corn.
Pre-heat oven to 400F. Thaw out a sheet of pre packaged Puff pastry. Or… g’head… make your own. ;)
In a large pot, saute 2 cloves garlic, 1 cup diced onion, 1 cup chopped leeks, 1 cup chopped fennel, 1 zuchinni, 1 cup button mushrooms, 1 large carrot and 1 cup of fresh/ or frozen corn until tender. About 10 mins…
Stir through 2tbsp flour and cook through for 1 min.
Pour in 3/4 cup of stock and 3/4 cup of milk and bring to the boil. Stir through 2 tbsp dijon mustard.
Simmer until sauce thickens. Stir through a 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. Add salt and pepper to taste and a 1/4 cup of cheese.
Pour vegetables into a pie dish and cover with puff pastry. Poke a bunch of holes for ventilation, and brush with egg. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Bake in the oven until pastry rises and browns. About 25-30 mins.
Let the pot pie stand for 10 mins before serving with a crisp salad.
