My brother is visiting this weekend, so I should be cleaning the back bedroom right now. Should being the key word there. I cleaned up a bit, then came across a Rachael Ray magazine. August 2009, with page 85 distinctly marked. Moroccan Skillet chicken with Pine Nuts and Couscous. Mmmmmmm.
This is one of my most favorite recipes ever. No really. It's incredible! It's the perfect recipe to make while you sip some red wine (St. Julian's Red Heron, if you're a classy lady like me). It's both exotic and accessable at the same time. What's even better is that it's quick to make, and it's probably good for you, too (if you don't over-indulge).
Moroccan Skillet Chicken with Pine Nuts and Couscous
Every Day with Rachael Ray, August 2009, pg. 85
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon sweet paprika (about a palmful)
* 2 teaspoons turmeric (about 2/3 palmful)
* 2 teaspoons ground coriander (about 2/3 palmful)
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin (about 2/3 palmful)
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 pounds skinless, boneless dark- or white-meat chicken, cut into 2-inch pieces
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
* 1 large onion, thinly sliced
* 4 large cloves garlic, crushed
* 2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
* Salt and pepper
* 2 1/2 cups chicken stock
* 1 cup pitted large green olives
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 1 1/2 cups couscous
* 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
* 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
Directions
1. In a large bowl, mix together the paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin and cinnamon. Add the chicken and toss to coat.
2. In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat until rippling and beginning to smoke. Add the chicken and cook, turning, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onion, garlic and sliced lemon; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is softened, 6 to 7 minutes. Add 1 cup chicken stock, the olives and lemon juice, scraping the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken stock and the butter to a boil. Stir in the couscous, cover, turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the pine nuts. Top the chicken with the parsley. To serve, spoon the chicken and sauce over the couscous.
A few tips:
1) I never toast the pine nuts, and it tastes just fine.
2) The first time I made this with the olives and it was great. I forgot that Aric doesn't like green olives, so now when I make it, I omit the olives. It still tastes good, but I miss the salty bite.
3) When you slice up the lemons, be sure to get the seeds out before tossing them in the pan. The first time I tried this, I forgot about the seeds. When it came time to eat, I bit down on a lemon seed, thinking it was a pine nut. Not good.
4) Watch out for the turmeric. It stains everything it touches a crazy yellow-orange - including your nails.
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicken. Show all posts
9/18/09
Crockpot Coconut Chicken Curry
Ah, alliteration. Gotta love it.
So the other week I was watching Iron Chef American (it's a guilty pleasure) and the secret ingredient was coconut. The challenger is a master of Indian cuisine, and he was battling Morimoto (sp?), the Japanese master.
Frequently on the show they'll serve something that makes me go, "Ew!" But this time? All of their dishes looked fabulous, including the seafood, which I've never been able to bring myself to eat.
The dish that most caught my eye was coconut curry. Both challengers created their own versions, and they both looked so sweet-spicy-creamy-delicious that my mouth began to water. I knew immediately that I had to make some.
After hours of searching the internet, I was able to find a recipe that suited my needs. And so, I present you with Coconut Curry Chicken: Crockpot Edition. (I wish I could give someone credit for this recipe, but I lost track of whose it was and where I found it. If you are reading this and it is your recipe, thank you so much for posting it!)
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, more if desired)
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
* 2-3 tablespoons toasted flaked coconut (optional)
Directions
1.Heat oil in a medium fry pan.
2.Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
3.Place potatoes and onion in crock pot.
4.Place chicken breasts on top.
5.Combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, hot sauce and chicken broth in a bowl and stir thoroughly.
6.Add to crock pot.
7.Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
8.One half hour before serving, add peas on top of chicken mixture.
9.Just before serving, stir mixture thoroughly and sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using.
10.Serve over rice or Asian noodles, if desired.
I decided not to serve it with the flaked coconut, and it was great. Hardest part was not eating the food before it was ready. The whole house smelled of creamy, coconutty curry. I almost had to leave.
One hint, however - shake your can of coconut milk before you open and pour it. Apparently coconut milk seperates if it sits too long, and trying to mix it once it's in the crockpot is awkward and frustrating. Save your time and your sanity and give the can a good shake before you pour it.
So the other week I was watching Iron Chef American (it's a guilty pleasure) and the secret ingredient was coconut. The challenger is a master of Indian cuisine, and he was battling Morimoto (sp?), the Japanese master.
Frequently on the show they'll serve something that makes me go, "Ew!" But this time? All of their dishes looked fabulous, including the seafood, which I've never been able to bring myself to eat.
The dish that most caught my eye was coconut curry. Both challengers created their own versions, and they both looked so sweet-spicy-creamy-delicious that my mouth began to water. I knew immediately that I had to make some.
After hours of searching the internet, I was able to find a recipe that suited my needs. And so, I present you with Coconut Curry Chicken: Crockpot Edition. (I wish I could give someone credit for this recipe, but I lost track of whose it was and where I found it. If you are reading this and it is your recipe, thank you so much for posting it!)
Ingredients
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (or to taste)
* 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional, more if desired)
* 1 cup chicken broth
* 1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
* 2-3 tablespoons toasted flaked coconut (optional)
Directions
1.Heat oil in a medium fry pan.
2.Add chicken breasts and brown on both sides.
3.Place potatoes and onion in crock pot.
4.Place chicken breasts on top.
5.Combine coconut milk, salt, pepper, curry powder, hot sauce and chicken broth in a bowl and stir thoroughly.
6.Add to crock pot.
7.Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
8.One half hour before serving, add peas on top of chicken mixture.
9.Just before serving, stir mixture thoroughly and sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using.
10.Serve over rice or Asian noodles, if desired.
I decided not to serve it with the flaked coconut, and it was great. Hardest part was not eating the food before it was ready. The whole house smelled of creamy, coconutty curry. I almost had to leave.
One hint, however - shake your can of coconut milk before you open and pour it. Apparently coconut milk seperates if it sits too long, and trying to mix it once it's in the crockpot is awkward and frustrating. Save your time and your sanity and give the can a good shake before you pour it.
6/26/09
Adventures in Cooking - Glazed Chicken
It's about a week overdue, but I'm here to talk to you about honey glazed chicken. Aric and I had this with corn bread. I figured that with the amount of honey in this glaze, corn bread would be a nice match. And a nice match it was.
When I first read through the instructions, I was a little upset, because it said that I had to gaze the chicken every "five to seven" minutes while it baked. I thought to myself, man, that's too much work for tasty chicken! That and I don't have a basting brush.
Honestly, when chicken bakes for thirty, forty minutes at the most, it's not that big a deal. Also, I didn't need a basting brush. All I needed was a teaspoon, and it worked just fine.
INGREDIENTS
6 - 8 chicken tenderloins
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp. cracked black pepper
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Place chicken in the oven.
3) Mix glaze ingredients together. Note: the glaze should be slightly runny.
4) Glaze the chicken at five to seven minute intervals.
5) Bake chicken until cooked through completely - between 30 and 40 minutes.
HELPFUL HINTS
1) I used chicken breasts, since I didn't have tenderloins. I don't think it made much of a different - just increased the cooking time. And, as a side note, the original recipe didn't include a cooking time, it just said to cook until done. I estimate that I baked my chicken for about half an hour to forty minutes, tops.
2) I lined a baking pan with foil, then put the chicken down. There was a whole lot of liquid floating around in the pan, and it kind of grossed me out, so next time I think I'll line the pan with foil, but then find some sort of baking rack to put the chicken on, so the chicken isn't sitting in all that fat..
3) Do not taste the glaze when you initially mix it. It will taste terrible. I assure you, however, that it will taste amazing once the chicken is done.
When I first read through the instructions, I was a little upset, because it said that I had to gaze the chicken every "five to seven" minutes while it baked. I thought to myself, man, that's too much work for tasty chicken! That and I don't have a basting brush.
Honestly, when chicken bakes for thirty, forty minutes at the most, it's not that big a deal. Also, I didn't need a basting brush. All I needed was a teaspoon, and it worked just fine.
HONEY GLAZED CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS
6 - 8 chicken tenderloins
1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp. cracked black pepper
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
INSTRUCTIONS
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Place chicken in the oven.
3) Mix glaze ingredients together. Note: the glaze should be slightly runny.
4) Glaze the chicken at five to seven minute intervals.
5) Bake chicken until cooked through completely - between 30 and 40 minutes.
HELPFUL HINTS
1) I used chicken breasts, since I didn't have tenderloins. I don't think it made much of a different - just increased the cooking time. And, as a side note, the original recipe didn't include a cooking time, it just said to cook until done. I estimate that I baked my chicken for about half an hour to forty minutes, tops.
2) I lined a baking pan with foil, then put the chicken down. There was a whole lot of liquid floating around in the pan, and it kind of grossed me out, so next time I think I'll line the pan with foil, but then find some sort of baking rack to put the chicken on, so the chicken isn't sitting in all that fat..
3) Do not taste the glaze when you initially mix it. It will taste terrible. I assure you, however, that it will taste amazing once the chicken is done.
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