sweet and savory

This butternut squash and pomegranate galette featured on Sunday Suppers looks incredible! Would make the perfect snack/appetizer for those of you who are entertaining tonight. Check it out.

Wishing everyone a great start to 2010!! 

Photos: Karen Mordechai via Sunday Suppers

hungry for change

I recently watched Robert Kenner’s Food Inc. for the first time -- and then had to watch it a second. Wow.

This environmental documentary really reinforced for me things that I already believed, but never truly realized the full extent of -- showing that "cheap" food comes at an enormously high price.  

All I can say is this is a film that everyone MUST see...and share.  Check out the website to learn more and find out how you can get involved.

Photo: The REEL Addict

curry retake

Not sure if you recall, I made a way-too-spicy vegetable curry a while back...

Well it's taken some time for the taste buds to recover -- but I finally reworked some of the recipe proportions.  Let me tell you -- this version turned out SO MUCH better!  I ended up making a chicken pumpkin curry (the result of an impulse pumpkin purchase and some leftover chicken in my fridge), but the general concept is the same.

Recipe --

1 chicken breast, around 1/2 lb, thinly sliced on the bias (optional)

2 cups cubed pumpkin

1 13 oz can coconut milk

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 tbl minced ginger

1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz water

5 tbl thai red curry paste (such as Thai Taste)

3 tbl palm sugar

1 tsp fish sauce

1 lime, juiced

fresh basil, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

Start by sweating onion, garlic and ginger in about 1 tsp veg oil until tender.  Add chicken and cook briefly, just long enough to start the cooking process (around 2 min).  Add pumpkin and bell pepper and cook 1 minute more.  Season the mixture.

Add curry paste to the chicken and vegetables and cook for a few minutes (careful not to burn the curry).  Add coconut milk and water and bring to a simmer.  Continue to simmer gently until pumpkin is cooked through and tender.  Finish with fish sauce, lime juice, and additional seasoning to taste.  Garnish with fresh basil. 

Ladle over steamed rice and enjoy!

christmas shopping + quesadillas

We swung buy a few shops last night -- trying to finish up our Christmas shopping (heading home to O-hi-O in just over a week).  This inevitably brought up our usual conversation, "what should we eat for dinner tonight?"  I was in the mood for Indian, "How about Pakwan?"  To which he responded, "YES!"...errr....if only we could find parking.   After tirelessly driving around the Mission with no luck, we ended up back home and disappointed. Darn.

Fortunately, I'd stocked the fridge with all the fixings for quesadillas (thinking ahead) -- and even had stuff to make my guacamole (which is really good...or so I've been told)!  So it all worked out in the end.  Sigh.

Guacamole recipe --

3 ripe avocado (I like hass)

1/2 small red onion, finely diced

1 med garlic clove, minced

1/2 large jalapeno, minced

3 limes, juiced

2 tbl minced cilantro

salt + pepper, to taste

Halve all avocados and remove pits.  Add onion, garlic, jalapeno, juice from 1 lime and half of the avocado (or 1 1/2 avocados) to to a med bowl.  Mash avocado with a fork and work in other ingredients until well incorporated.  Use a knife to "dice" the remaining avacados halves.  To do this hold the half in your palm and gently run the tip of our knife lengthwise (creating strips) then crosswise -- careful not to go through the skin.  Then scoop out chunks with a spoon and add to the rest of the mixture.  Gently stir to incorporate, leaving the chunks in tackt.  Finish with the remaining lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. 

stone fence

This is a really nice and festive fall/winter cocktail.  We've served it two Thanksgivings in a row -- and is sure to be a crowd favorite!

Recipe -- "The Stone Fence"

3  cups  apple cider

3/4  cup  Calvados (apple brandy)

1/8  teaspoon Angostura bitters
1  (26 oz.) bottle sparkling apple juice ice
8  slices unpeeled apple
8  cinnamon sticks

 

This drink is incredibly simple to prepare.  Just combine apple cider, brandy and bitters in a pitcher and poor over ice.  To finish it off, garnish with an apple slice and cinnamon stick!  But be careful, this thing will sneak up on you...

chowda

I recently made this butternut squash and chicken chowder -- sort of a take on the classic New England version -- using ingredients I had leftover in the fridge.  And I actually really love how it turned out!

Recipe --

2 strips thick-cut bacon, diced

1 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 small leek, white + light green parts, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup water

1 cup butternut squash, cut into 1" cubes

1/2 cup cooked chicken breast, cubed

1/2 cup cream

1-2 tbl cornstarch, plus equal parts water, whisked together

salt and pepper, to taste

dash tabasco sauce
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Start by cooking the bacon in a pot with oil, until it begins to brown and fat is rendered.  Add onion, celery and leeks to pot and sweat for a few minutes until softened. Next incorporate seasoning (thyme, bay leaf and old bay seasoning) and cook a couple minutes more.

Add chicken stock, water and cream to the bacon and vegetable mixture and bring to a simmer.  Then add squash and cook until tender -- 10 to 15 min.  The squash will naturally thicken the chowder slightly, but it will still be a bit too runny.  To thicken, I prepared a "slurry" -- which is the combination of water and cornstarch (in equal parts).  Add a small amount of the slurry and allow the mixture to come to a boil.  Continue to do this until you achieve the desired thickness.  If you accidentally over-do it, just add a bit more water.  Simmer for 5 more minutes, then add a dash of tabasco and adjust seasoning.  Top with cheese and serve.  Pretty easy! Love it!!