Tuesday, May 3, 2011
…served atop Curried Quinoa with Chickpeas and Almonds. But I’m gonna be mean and make ya wait for the quinoa recipe. hehehe
Before I talk about this delicious dish, I must say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who left kind comments congratulating us! Y’all are beyond awesome! Every once in a while I’ll catch Nathan reading something on his iPhone, and I’ll ask “Whatcha reading?” and he says “Oh, just all the comments on the blog.” 🙂 Ok, now, on to the chicken.
This chicken recipe was selected after I had already chosen the quinoa recipe. I needed something that would go alongside the curried quinoa, and I wanted a simple seasoning or marinade I could whip up fast. With some quick googling on my iPhone (seriously, how did I live before this thing?), this was one of the first recipes I found. Not only did it taste delicious, it was so quick & easy to throw together. Part of the reason I decided to post these in two separate recipes is because they did come from different sources, but also because the quinoa could stand alone as a vegetarian main dish, and this chicken could easily be paired with other things.
Is it authentic Indian? Well, I’m not quite sure, I’ll have to ask Vivek’s opinion on that. What I do know, is it was a perfectly spiced & seasoned meal. I’ve really been venturing more into different spices lately, and enjoying every minute. If the list of spices in this meal seems overwhelming, don’t be intimidated. Just commit to buying one new spice each week, and before you know it, you’re pretty well stocked!
I definitely recommend this dish if you’re looking for lots of flavor with minimal effort!
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Indian Spiced Chicken
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon ginger, ground
1/2 teaspoon cumin, ground
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, ground
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 skinless chicken breasts
4 lemon wedges
Directions:
In small bowl, stir together oil and garlic. Stir in water, paprika, ginger, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric and cayenne pepper.
Spoon 1 tbsp into another small bowl; stir in lemon juice and set aside. Arrange chicken in single layer in shallow glass dish; brush with remaining spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate chicken for 1 hour.
(Chicken can be prepared to this point and refrigerated for up to 24 hours; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.) Place chicken, flesh side down, on greased grill over medium-high heat; close lid and cook for 5 minutes.
Turn and brush flesh with reserved lemon mixture. Close lid and cook, turning often, for about 12 minutes longer or until chicken is no longer pink inside and juices run clear when chicken is pierced.
Serve with lemon wedges.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Remember “The Boy” who became “The Fiance”? Ladies & gentlemen… let me introduce my husband, Nathan. 🙂
So… don’t feel left out if I didn’t tell you… I actually didn’t tell ummm… pretty much anyone. Despite the blog, Twitter, Facebook, & more, I’m actually a pretty private person. I don’t like attention. And I didn’t want a “wedding”. I just wanted to be married. When I first began my blog, I knew Nathan wouldn’t like me talking about him online. So I created a pseudonym for him. But he feels much more comfortable with it all now. And I’m ready to talk to y’all about him like I do in real life.
He’s everything to me. He grounds me, calms me, and makes me whole. He’s the coolest guy I know. Nathan is my best friend, and now I’m proud to say I am his wife.
PS. Yes, he has a big afro. And it was my idea for him to grow it. I told you, coolest guy I know. Quite the departure from what his hair looked like in my very first blog post, eh?
These are just iPhone photos. I’ll show y’all the pro ones when they are done! And since this IS a food blog after all, I can’t not mention how AMAZING the food was. We had our reception dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Nashville, Amerigo on West End Ave. It’s actually the place he took me on our very first date! We’ve returned there many times for Nathan’s birthdays, we had dinner there the night we closed on our house, and of course just casual dinners & lunches. To end our sweet night, we ate salted caramel gelato (one of our favorite flavors) from Bravo Gelato!
Friday, April 15, 2011
One thing I rarely buy is packaged cookies. I mean, really, why would I do that? There’s no dough to eat! Oreos are an occasional exception. One redeeming factor is, they can be used in other baked goods. So when Harris Teeter had a great deal on Oreos, I bought them. As I was adding them to the cart, I said to The Fiance “These are not for snacking. These are for me to BAKE WITH. Do not open these. Do not eat these.” He did pretty good for a while. But you see, I hadn’t baked anything in a while, and we didn’t have any other desserts in the house. So one day he says to me “I opened the Oreos. And ate some.” And by golly, I look in the cabinet and there’s only about 9 cookies left. There’s no telling how long the package was opened before he informed me of his misdeed, but I doubt it was very long.
Luckily though, I had just the right amount of cookies left to bake into these brownies. Also, it gave me a chance to finally try out a version of Ina’s Outrageous Brownies I’ve seen many rave reviews over. I must say, these were quite delicious. But I don’t think they were “OMG THE BEST BROWNIES ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET!!!”. Still definitely scrumptious, decadent, & rich, but perhaps I had just seen so many people hype up over these, I was expecting them to be life-changing. I hope I’m not talking anyone out of making these. Don’t get me wrong you will NOT be disappointed if you make these!! I chose to add in white chocolate chips instead of semisweet chocolate, and I’m glad I did, as it adds a bit more pop in color, plus I think the white chocolate flavor helps compliment the chocolate. This is a great brownie to bring to any gathering!
(This isn’t the only brownie on my blog! Be sure to check out this Double Chocolate version, Cocoa Brownies with Peanut Butter Chips, or a lighter, but still delicious Fudgy Brownie.
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Outrageous Oreo White Chocolate Brownies
Ingredients:
8 ounces unsalted butter
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
4 ounces white chocolate chips
8 Oreo cookies, broken up
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350º F (180 C). Line a 13×9 inch metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.
Melt the butter, 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly.
Stir (do not beat) eggs, vanilla, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and cool to room temperature.
Stir 1/2 cup of flour, the baking powder, salt and espresso powder together in another bowl then add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the Oreo chunks and 4 ounces of white chocolate chips in a medium bowl with remaining 2 tablespoon of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into pan
Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 10 minutes more, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool, then chill brownies. Lift from pan and cut into squares.
Makes about 32
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Kale. Oh how I love thee. Despite the fact that I’ve done 4 summers as a member of a CSA, it wasn’t until 2010 that I really fell in love with kale. It’s a shame that I don’t have more kale recipes in my blog to represent how much I really love it. I guess because I often prepare it so simply, I’ve never felt the need to snap a photo. This recipe came about one night when I knew I wanted kale as a side item, and I also thawed some frozen salmon, with no definite plans for it. I found this simple recipe on my friend Cathy’s blog. I actually got the chance to meet her a couple years ago when I was in New York. We met up at the most amazing cupcake + wine shop, Sweet Revenge. Check out my post from that trip!
Ok, back to the recipe. This recipe was so light & delicious, and easy to whip up. I like to eat really healthy on Mondays & Tuesdays, partly to recover from indulging over the weekend, but also because I just really like light & healthy meals! By all means, you don’t have to serve the kale with salmon, and vice versa. We’ve had this kale alongside roasted pork, as well as chicken. And salmon is something we eat pretty often, so I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it.
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Lemon Pepper Salmon & Sautéed Kale
Ingredients:
SALMON:
1 lb salmon thawed if frozen
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
2 cloves garlic, minced
lemon wedges (optional)
KALE:
4 cups kale, chopped, thick stems removed
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste
lemon wedges (optional)
Directions:
SALMON:
Rinse fish and pat dry. In a small bowl, combine ingredients (juice through garlic). Place fish in a zip top bag and add marinade. Turn to coat evenly. Marinate in fridge for 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.
Drain fish, reserving marinade. In a broiler pan 4 inches from the flame broil fish for 6-8 minutes on each side, brushing with the reserved marinade halfway through. Discard any remaining marinade. Fish is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork.
Before serving, squeeze lemon juice over the fish.
KALE:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until it just begins to golden. Add kale to skillet, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Pour in broth and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Season with salt & pepper, and continue to cook another 10-15 minutes until kale is softened to desired texture. (Some people like it softer, some like it crunchier.) Remove from heat, squeeze lemon wedges over, and serve immediately.
salmon recipe from: Cathy's Kitchen Journey, originally adapted from Better Homes & Gardens; kale: ErinsFoodFiles original
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