KooKoo for Coconut.

Pinterest is all the rage. A friend of mine has referred to Pinterest as the "new black".  It has instantly become one of my "online happy places" and also a resource for recipe inspiration! I recently tested a recipe I found on Pinterest for Coconut and Chicken Curry Soup from a site called Cooking for Seven. You can find the original recipe here but I adapted it to fit Madame Munchies' tastebuds. I wanted to incorporate more vegetables and I also kicked it up a notch or two in my cookbook.

Easy peasy is the name of this soup, it came together swiftly and is a great meal to make for the autumn season (that is if you are lucky enough to enjoy cooler temperatures right now).  As I have become more comfortable in the kitchen, I find myself feeling more comfortable to change recipes to not fit only fit my taste buds but also what I may have on hand that I could use or needs to be used.

Coconut & Chicken Curry Soup (Makes 4 hearty servings)

Adapted from a recipe posted on Cooking for Seven

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil

1 lb (give or take) skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized chunks

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 cups chicken broth, low sodium

1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk, full fat

2 teaspoon curry powder

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 jalapeño, seeded, minced

2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

1 red bell pepper, sliced thin

Kernels of corn, from one ear of corn

½ tomato, chopped

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups freshly cooked rice (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium sized soup pot over medium heat. Add the chicken to the oil, season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté until the chicken is cooked through and golden. Remove chicken and set aside. Sauté the onion, adding more oil if necessary, until tender.

2. Return the chicken to the pot with the onions. Add the ginger and garlic - cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, curry powder and jalapeno. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add bell pepper, tomato, corn and cilantro and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Stir in lime juice or lemon juice, cilantro and basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Optional: Spoon rice into 4 bowls. Top with two ladles of soup. Serve.

Holly Jolly Christmas 2010.

Christmas 2010 was definitely holly and jolly. Not only did I have four days off, but I got to spend time with family and friends, socializing, cooking, and eating - what we do best! And isn't that part of the blessing of the holiday season??? Weeks before Christmas, my dad, stepmom and stepsister started planning the Christmas meal. I offered to make dessert and my Nana's traditional stuffing. We settled on a menu and at the last minute a few additional changes were made, but here's what we ended up with:

BBQ chicken and ribs (made by Dad and served with a traditional BBQ sauce and an apricot mint spicy sauce (Bobby Flay recipe);
Potatoes Au Gratin (made by Clarissa);
Traditional Stuffing (made by yours truly);
Green Bean Casserole (made by Clarissa);
Creme Brulee (made by Uncle Stormy); and
Molten Lava Chocolate Cakes (made by Madame Munchies).

Everything turned out fantastic, each dish was flavorful and complimented one another very well. Prior to making the stuffing, I had consulted my Nana about a few steps she didn't include in her recipe and I ended up tweaking it and making it my own. There's nothing like my Nana's stuffing and I think I actually improved it.

Nana's Traditional Stuffing (adapted by Madame Munchies)
Serves 8-10

2 large white onions, chopped fine
3-4 celery stalks, chopped fine
1/2 pint of button mushrooms, chopped fine
3-4 carrots, peeled and chopped fine
4 tbs. unsalted butter
3-4 tbs. fresh thyme, chopped
15 oz. seasoned croutons
1 head of roasted garlic
1 lb. turkey necks
1 lb. turkey giblets
water
salt and pepper

In a large stockpot, add the turkey necks and giblets, cover with water and bring to a boil. Skim the foam and reduce to a simmer for 2-3 hours. Continue to skim as it simmers. Add more water to the pot, if any of the turkey parts are no longer submerged in water. When the stock is ready, strain and save the turkey necks. Discard the giblets. When cool to the touch, pull apart meat from turkey necks and chop finely.

While the giblet broth is simmering, heat a large skillet and add the butter. After the butter has melted, add the chopped onions, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Saute until soft and add the fresh thyme. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large mixing bowl, add the seasoned croutons, sauteed veggies, turkey meat, and roasted garlic. Mix together well. With a ladle, add the giblet broth to the crouton mixture and incorporate. Add additional broth, until the mixture is moist but not super soggy. Season to taste.

Put the stuffing into a lightly greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350-375 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

I failed to get a picture of the molten chocolate lava cakes, but the link above gives you the visual as well as the recipe. A super easy dessert and it's also rather impressive for entertaining. Instead of serving it with it freshly whipped cream, I bought a pint of vanilla bean ice cream. Decadent, rich and uber chocolately, it was the perfect ending to an already coma-induced meal.

Budget Bustin' Weeknight Meal.

Like the rest of the U.S. population, I too, am trying to be creative in my kitchen. Not only creative in a culinary sense, but also when it comes to my pocketbook. We all have our "go-to" recipes, a few winners that we know we could bust out at anytime. It's been quite some time since I've made this one myself, but it's one of my most favorite chicken dishes. It's great during the week or if you're planning on inviting a few friends over for a feast.

Indonesian Ginger Chicken is easily one of my kitchen hat tricks and tonight I busted it out. Chicken parts are marinated overnight in a sauce of ginger, garlic, honey and soy sauce. Could it get any simpler than that? You bake it for 30 minutes covered and then bake it for another 30 minutes uncovered. And you end up with super moist chicken. It's sweet, almost decadent and well, slightly addictive. The sauce alone is worth its weight in gold. I usually make rice to go with it since it soaks up all those yummy juices and extra sauce. And trust me there is plenty of sauce to drizzle around your plate. Bon appetit!

Part Deux and Part Tres: Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Earlier this week, I blogged about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and my attempt at one of his recipes, which turned out pretty damn tasty. I also promised a future post on a few other recipes from his book which I made later in the week. Chicken and Leek Stroganoff and Italian Pan Seared Tuna.

The Salmon Tikka I made at the beginning of the week was delicious, satisfying and a terrific choice for a quick weeknight fix. The Chicken and Leek Stroganoff, not so much. I had high hopes for this recipe, but it just turned out into something bland and a bit on the boring side. And let's be honest, with the cream, it wasn't exactly "healthy".

The Italian Pan Seared Tuna on the other hand, was scrumptious. Seasoned with salt, pepper and oregano, I seared the tuna in a little olive oil and kept it warm in the oven while I sauteed cherry heirloom tomatoes, anchovies, olives and a ton of basil. I finished the dish with some bowtie pasta and I couldn't have had a bigger smile on my lil' face. There are still a few recipes I want to try before I return the book to my library, but one can't argue with 2 out of 3 recipes named a success.

Panang, Take That!

I'm obsessed with coconut milk, it's true. Ever since I've been making a conscious effort to reduce eating highly processed foods and having been enlightened as to the many benefits of coconut, I'm "coo-coo" for coconut. This in turn has created a frenzy in my pantry - half of one shelf is entirely dedicated to Thai pantry items, including fish sauce, coconut milk, straw mushrooms, tamarind paste, a variety of curry pastes and kaffir lime leaves in my freezer.

Last night, I made yet another one of Jet Tila's recipe from his recent stint at New School of Cooking - roti panang. This curry was served with paratha (an Indian bread) at the class, but last night I opted to pair it with fragrant, nutty brown rice. The beauty of curry is its flexibility, you can do anything with it really. I substituted bamboo shoots for straw mushrooms, added more onions and red bell pepper, and upped the amount of extra curry paste for kick. It was delish. The real key to raising your "curry" bar is cooking a few tablespoons of the coconut milk with the curry paste over medium-high heat. You're looking for the paste to melt together with the coconut milk and brown. This browning process brings out all of the flavor of the paste and will intensify your curry.

Christmas Dishes.

This Christmas was definitely one of the better ones for me personally. While it was major change of scenery (compared to the last few years in Indiana), it was a pleasant surprise in many ways. My dad invited my uncle over for Christmas under the guise of preparing one of his recipes, Poulet en Foillette. Until recently, I knew he was a fabulous cook, but didn't know that in November 1978, he was featured in a dead column called Guys and Galleys in the Los Angeles Times. This section featured home cooks and their personal recipes. I was eager to search for a copy of the article through the archives and was lucky enough on Christmas Day to find and purchase a copy through the LA Times website.

But more pleasing than this, was the opportunity to spend quality time with my uncle, father, brother and my dad's new ladyfriend, and yes, get to prepare and sous chef a wonderful Christmas meal. Uncle Stormy walked me through all of the steps in preparing said Poulet en Foillette, a fancy phrase for Chicken wrapped in phyllo dough. But foodies, trust me, this not simply chicken wrapped in phyllo dough.

Chicken breasts (on the bone, skin on) are poached in a swimming pool of lemon juice, vermouth, various herbs and chicken stock for about an hour. Once cool to the the touch the meat is removed from the bone and sliced into decent hunks of meat. Two sheets of phyllo dough are generously brushed with butter. The phyllo dough is sprinkled with seasoned bread crumbs, then a piece of chicken is wrapped with prosciutto and placed near the top of the phyllo dough. Grated mozzarella cheese is sprinkled, along some with gruyere and the phyllo concoction is gently folded and wrapped into a lil' burrito and brushed again with more butter and sprinkled with a wee shake of paprika. Baked in the oven for 15-20 minutes and doused with a gravy made from the leftover poaching liquid, this dish is a masterpiece fit for one's mouth.

My dad's lady friend made a side dish of roasted brussel sprouts and potatoes with pancetta and shallots, a perfect sidekick for the main event. I put together a simple salad and baked some homemade "no knead" bread again, which according to my uncle, was a great mop for the leftover gravy on the plate. I also baked a batch of linzer cookies, which weren't my most favorite cookie, but my best linzer recipe is still packed. Good vino, good conversation, lots of belly laughing, and celebrated were had by all. I hope you and yours enjoyed a most memorable Christmas with your loved ones. I'm looking forward to setting aside time to do this again, it was well worth the work and the weight. Here's to more fabulous dishes in 2010. Cheers. More importantly, it was a great opportunity to spend time with family and to enjoy each other's company, which is rare these days.

Easy as 1, 2, 3.

Why do we make cooking so complicated? Why do we insist on over the top? Why do we think if it doesn't take an hour, it won't be delicious and good for you? Maybe, I'm on this soapbox all alone, but I highly doubt it. Those of us who value cooking as an art form, perhaps even a form of therapy, do not mind investing the time into preparing a lovely home cooked meal. But let's face it, with the weak economy and penny pinching, it's important to get all you can for your hard earned money. I usually am notorious for meal planning, if I don't plan it, I won't make it. And while this requires some extra effort, there is often a great reward, for the most part. In an effort to save money myself, I'm constantly looking at recipes that I can "half" or use for something else, or something that is easy on my tummy and my pocketbook. You know there's at least one cookbook, you turn to when your mind is blank and belly is screaming, for me, that's How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Recently, this cookbook celebrated it's 10th birthday! This cookbook ranks up there with The Joy of Cooking, in my humble opinion. Anyhoo, last night I made a simple and delicious stirfry with chicken and Napa cabbage. I piled two scoops on top of some fragrant, nutty brown rice. It was food for the soul. Not only was it tasty, but super easy to make!