Archive for the ‘Ethnic’ Category

« Older Entries
No Comments

Thai Chicken Curry (With Extra Kaffir Lime Leaves Please!!)


2010
07.13

Posted in Chicken, Thai | No Comments »

So I have been craving this all day since I talked with my buddy Ali about different kinds of curry I enjoy and my newly attained Kaffir Lime tree from Four Winds Growers.

While their site was difficult to actually figure out HOW to buy the tree, at least for me, the shipping and received product made it more than worth the effort. The tree came with a great little booklet to get you started, and it has already doubled in size since I got it. I know I will get my moneys worth just from the bounty it will provide me this summer, and I hope to give it refuge indoors over the winter, to begin the process anew next spring. Time will tell if I have what it takes to keep this little guy alive. *fingers crossed*

So this is a very simple recipe but still one of my favorites. So here goes:

Ingredients

  • 1 tbs chopped ginger
  • 4-5 medium sized garlic cloves chopped
  • 1.5 lbs skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 medium potatoes, cubed
  • 1/2 can of Maesri red curry paste
  • 1 can of JFC Coconut milk (seriously, don’t buy that Goya shit anymore)
  • 2 cups of freshly rendered chicken stock from last nights carcass… (or whatever you have)
  • 6 kaffir lime leaves (2-3 for mere mortals)

Directions

  1. Pop the onions, garlic and ginger in some olive oil on med high and cook until the onion is translucent.
  2. Add the curry paste and walk it around the pan a bit to get the garlic and kaffir lime rind all happy
  3. Add your chicken and stir, cooking just enough to lock in the chickeny goodness
  4. Add everything else, stir and put on med high until it starts to simmer
  5. Once simmering drop down to low and let that bad boy stew for about 20 minutes.
  6. Thats it. See…I told you it was easy

Can't you just smell it???

No Comments

Saag gosht


2010
04.10

Posted in Chicken, Indian | No Comments »

A quick, inexpensive and tasty meal. Here is the recipe for just the saag but it is great with chicken, lamb or even as a saag paneer.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seed
  • 1 Indian green chili pepper, seeded and diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons ground turmeric
  • 1 pound chopped fresh collard greens
  • 1 pound chopped fresh spinach
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

  1. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat, and cook and stir cumin seed, chili pepper, garlic, and turmeric until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  2. Stir in the chopped collard greens and spinach a little at a time, adding the tougher parts first (the stems and thicker leaves). Continue to add greens, and cook and stir until all greens have been added and all are thoroughly wilted. Stir in the cumin, coriander, and salt. Cover; reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender, about 10 minutes, adding water as needed to keep the greens moist.
No Comments

Zuppa Toscana


2010
03.15

Posted in Chili/Soups/Stews, Italian | No Comments »

A great and easy soup that will definitely have repeat performances. C’mon potatoes, sausage…how could one go wrong?

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound bulk spicy Italian sausage
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • about 6 cups chicken broth
  • 6 potatos, cubed
  • 1/4 – 1/2 bunch fresh spinach(depending on desired Popeye factor), stems removed

Directions:

  1. Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
  2. Cook the bacon in the same skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the pan. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  3. Pour the chicken broth into the skillet with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Inspiration/Stolen from:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Super-Delicious-Zuppa-Toscana/Detail.aspx

No Comments

Lamb pita burgers stuffed with goat cheese and covered with Tzatziki Sauce


2010
03.08

Posted in Greek, Lamb | No Comments »

Don't you wish we invited you to dinner?

I am so ready for the grill. I mean…I just cant wait for summer to be here. If fact…I’ve already started hitting the grill. Dusted off the snow from the top of the rusty old weber and made some amazing porterhouse steaks. But alas they are not here because everyone knows how to cook a porterhouse…including me…with three glasses of wine in me.

So here it is. On the verge of some fabulous greek-ish flattened lamb meatballs, otherwise known as oblong burgers, and then.. the grill.. the gas.. nada. So this will be the broiled rendition which turned out fabulously, although I will give them a go on the grill when the climate is warmer…and the grill is …well..fuller.

Lamb Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1/2 cup diced onion
  • 1 1/4 pounds ground lamb
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 2 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper

The cheesiness

  • 4 ounces soft goat cheese
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh basil leaves
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh oregano

Directions:

  1. Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir the onions in the oil until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
  2. Gently knead together the softened onions, lamb, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, salt, and pepper. Divide the mixture into 5-6 parts and roll into balls, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
  3. Mix together the goat cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, basil, and oregano until well combined; cover and chill for 5 minutes.
  4. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-high heat.
  5. Working with one portion of meat at a time, make an indentation in the center of the ball with your thumb. Fill the indentation with a heaping tablespoon of the goat cheese mixture. Gently pull and form the meat patty around the cheese filling, making a burger-shaped patty. Repeat with each ball of the lamb mixture.
  6. Broil those suckers until burnt to a crisp, or about 5 minutes on each side if your not an ASS..

Tzatziki Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1 cups plain yogurt
  • 2 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
  • about 3/4 english seedleess cucumber (because I am a pretentious ass)- semi-peeled, seeded and chopped

Directions:

  1. Use a cheese cloth to strain the yogurt over a bowl for 2 hours, or don’t shop at the seven eleven safeway and buy REAL greek style yogurt. Which has already had the bullshit water removed.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together the cucumber and strained yogurt. Mix in the garlic, salt, pepper and mint. Chill the mixture for 1 to 2 hours. Or 30 minutes if you’re a hungry bastard.

How did I envelop all this magical goodness? Not a bun…not a roll…not a pita. Yes thats right. A big old slab of Naan. Best dinner in at least.. a couple of days!

Enjoy!

Ripped this off from:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Goat-Cheese-Stuffed-Lamb-Burgers/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tzatziki-Sauce-II/Detail.aspx

No Comments

Lazy Chipotle EnchiladAss


2010
02.17

Posted in Mexican | No Comments »

This is a lazy version of creamy enchiladas with a chipotle twist and a wall of cheese.

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts, about 1.5 lbs
  • Water (you have that right?)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp Adobo Sauce (from the can)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3-4 Chipotle Chiles from a can, seeds removed (your hiney will thank you later), diced
  • 1 cup heavy cream (I know right?)
  • Pack o’corn tortillas (you will need about 18)
  • Wall of cheese. Some might go for a nice 8 oz. I shred off the huge block I got from Costco until I feel the dish is sufficiently…cheesy.
  • Your fav toppings. I like sliced avocado and maybe some Crema.

Directions

  1. Boil the chicken in salted water for about 15 minutes until cooked. Reserve 2 cups of the liquid. Shred the chicken.
  2. Heat the butter and add flour and cook until brown, about a minute, to kill the raw flour taste.
  3. Slowly whisk in the 2 cups of chicken stock until well mixed.
  4. Add the Adobo sauce and let sit on low while you do the next part.
  5. In a pan add the olive oil and saute the onions, garlic and chipotle until soft.
  6. Add the cream and onion “stuff” to the broth mixture and simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes.
  7. Preheat the oven to 375°. OK now I know you are thinking there will be some tortilla frying and rolling etc. Well, that is why these are lazy, so what you are going to do is put a few spoons of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, drop in 6 tortillas, flat. Add a nice amount of chicken and cheese and drizzle on some more sauce. Add another layer of tortillas, chicken, cheese and sauce and finally top with 6 more tortillas. Add the remainder of the sauce and cheese to the top.
  8. Bake for about 20-25 minutes with the dish covered in foil to lock in all that moisture. Pop the foil and broil for about 5 more minutes to brown the cheese and crisp any exposed tortilla-age.
  9. Top and serve.
No Comments

Italian Sausage Meatloaf With Blue Cheese, Fresh Herbs and Potato Gravy


2010
01.19

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Beef, Italian | No Comments »

Wow that title is quite a mouthful but it is kind of hard to quantify this dish with a short one.

Italian Sausage Metloaf with Potato Gravy, originally uploaded by balyho0o.

So I was totally craving something  hearty like meatloaf and mashed potatoes so I surfed around the web and took my inspiration from a couple of different recipes which use Italian Sausage to help bring things to life. This one from allrecipes.com had some good ratings and some helpful comments and this one was the catalyst for the blue cheese, which was fantastic.

Sadly the potatoes were meant to be something like this but because I used baby reds, which don’t quite stand up the way a Russet or Gold might, what I ended up with was more of a potato gravy. ..and it was so damn good! I just love it when accidents turn in to amazing discoveries. It was a bit “gluey” but was oh so rich and yummy. Really hit the spot.

Meatloaf Ingredients:

No Comments

Chicken Enchiladas


2010
01.13

Posted in Chicken, Ethnic, Mexican | No Comments »

Chicken Enchiladas, originally uploaded by balyho0o.

Is it STILL winter. OK well it’s only the start of January and already I’m longing for spring. What better way to dash those wintery blues than a nice spicey Tex Mex dish and a glass or two of vino? Anybody?…I didn’t think so. So anyway, I started out with a pretty standard recipe and tweaked it a bit to my own liking. notice the absence of sour cream, replaced by the goat’s milk yogurt. I really like the way this tases as opposed to bland ole sour cream. That is unless you have access to some nice mexican sour cream or Crema Agria, which has a nice rich flavor as well.

Ingredients

No Comments

Chicken Korma


2010
01.02

Posted in Chicken, Indian | No Comments »

Started out with a popular version of this Indian standard from allrecipes.com and made a few modifications. Using some leftover homemade broth I found that it needed salt at the end but came out quite tasty.

Chicken Korma

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup cashew halves
  • 1 cup chicken broth

    • (more…)

No Comments

Pizza Crust


2009
12.14

Posted in Breads, Italian | No Comments »

This recipe is adapted and passed along from the original which comes from George Germain and JoAnn Kileen who own Al Forno, a pizza place favorite in Providence Road Island.

  • 1 tbsp yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt

    • (more…)

1 Comment

Curry Lamb


2008
10.25

Posted in Indian, Lamb | 1 Comment »

Curry Lamb

I am loving the lamb lately and this dish is fantastic. The texture of lamb that has been cooked in this spicy curry sauce is to die for. I hate trying to figure out what goes in while I’m cooking so I broke the ingredients up into three stages to try to make it easier to keep track. The recipe is an adaption of the one found on VahRehVah.com called Basic Lamb Curry. Serve this up with some Basmati rice and you are good to go. I’ll try to post an image next time I make this and am not feeling so lazy.

Ingredients

Part 1

  • 2-3 Cinnamon Sticks
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 10-12 cloves
  • 3-4 whole green Cardimum seeds
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1 Large Chopped Onion
  • 1 tsp salt

Part 2

  • 1 tsp Tumeric Powder
  • 2 tbs ginger garlic paste
  • 1 1/2 – 2 lbs of lamb (cubed)
  • 1-2 Tbs Chili Powder (depending on desired spicyness)
  • 1 tsp Coriander Powder
  • 1 tbs Cumin Powder
  • 1/2 cup water

Part3

  • 16 oz Coconut Milk
  • 4-6 oz tomato paste
  • 1 tsp pepper powder
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro (coriander) leaves

Directions

  1. Heat your olive oil in a large skillet. Add all the ingredients from part 1 except the salt and the onion. Toast the spices for 2-3 minutes. Add your chopped onion and cook until slightly brown. Add the tablespoon of salt.
  2. Add the Turmeric powder and Ginger Garlic paste and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the remaining ingredients from part 4 and cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat or until the lamb is about 80% cooked.
  3. Add the tomato paste, pepper powder and coconut milk and mix thoroughly.
  4. Continue to cook until lamb is done. If your sauce is too watery remove the lamb and cover and reduce the sauce until it has gravy like consistency. Add 75% of the chopped cilantro keeping the remaining leaves to garnish when served.
« Older Entries