Top Chef Tonite

A new season of Top Chef begins tonight on Bravo. It begins at 9:00pm central time. If you don't catch it this week they will probably play it again next week before they play the newest episode. I really like this show and if you like reality tv or cooking you will too.

Basil(less) Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce

I want to expand my culinary repertoire. I really, really do. Despite a few obstacles - dirty diapers, loads of laundry, no groceries, lack of willing taste-testers, hair that needs washing - last night I was able to get one step closer to actualizing this dream of mine. I printed this recipe a month ago and have looked it over several times, but the list of ingredients contains things I've never knowingly eaten or purchased. What the hey is cardamom? Will I even like it? And what does coriander taste like? If it tastes like black licorice I'm screwed. Is this Indian food? Honestly, I don't know, but I think it may be Indian. You tell me. Please. You tell me, is this Indian food?

So to make a short story long, cardamom spice costs $10 at Wal-mart. That means it is now an optional ingredient. I opted to leave it out since I have no idea what it will taste like and since I play the lottery each week and never win I figure my luck ain't so good. The basil was wilted and black at Wal-mart, Even though it is important enough to be listed in the recipe title, it is now optional, too. I skipped the Worcestershire for two reasons: (1) I don't love it and (2) if this is an Indian dish, I doubt Indians use Worcestershire (unless they live in Texas).

I doubled the amount of meat that was called for in the original recipe. I wanted the new flavors, but I wanted them less condensed. The end result was pretty good.

Basil(less) Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
adapted from Elise Bauer's version at Simply Recipes

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon tumeric

2 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs (you can use breasts, but the thighs are more flavorful)

1 large red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
2 Tbsp olive oil or grapeseed oil

1 14-oz can coconut milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger


1. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, ground coriander, cumin, ground cloves, cinnamon, ground cardamom, black pepper, chili powder, and tumeric. Set aside.

2. Rinse chicken, pat dry. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Put into a bowl and sprinkle the spice mix over all the pieces. Coat well and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.

3. Add 1 Tbsp oil to large skillet and heat on medium high heat. Add one half of the chicken pieces, spreading them out on the pan so they are not crowded. Brown for a few minutes on each side. When the chicken pieces are cooked through, and no pink remains, remove from pan, add to the bowl with the onions. Cook the second batch of chicken pieces the same way. Remove from pan, set aside. Use the same pan for the next step.


4. In same skillet heat 1 Tbsp oil on medium high heat. Add the onions and jalapeños and cook for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the onions, peppers and garlic from the pan and put into a medium sized bowl. Set aside and add to chicken.

5. Add the coconut milk, minus a couple tablespoons, to the skillet. In a small bowl, mix the remaining coconut with the corn starch to dissolve the corn starch. Add the corn starch mixture back to the skillet with the coconut milk. Cook on medium heat and scrape pan for crusty brown bits leftover from chicken. Stir till thick and bubbly. Mix in the Worcestershire sauce. Add chicken mixture, basil, and ginger. Cook 2 minutes more to cook through.

I served mine with Jasmine Rice and sugar snap peas. The Jasmine rice is so yummy.


(above) I cooked the chicken in 4 batches.

This is right before I took it off the heat to serve.

Confession: After I bought the ingredients for the Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce, I reread the recipe. Where the heck is the curry in this ingredient list? Oh good gravy, what have I got myself into? I did a little research (i.e.: I read the ingredient list on the curry powder jar) and apparently we are making homemade curry. I guess that makes this a really fancy recipe. Maybe the curry powder would have been easier and tasted just as good? Maybe not. Who knows!

Did I mention that this meal was good? It was. It was good when I ate it with the family last night, it was better when I ate it for lunch today. Alone. Without interruption. In silence.

** This is not a kid friendly meal.

Wanted: Room Mother - must bake

I think I have mentioned before that I don't bake. It is more or less a defense mechanism that I have self-imposed to keep me from eating every last bite of what I create. I lack self control when there is no one else around to judge pigginess. In college I started baking what I call "fake cakes". My mom gave me this cookbook for dorm dwellers (I wish I still had that book...it taught me how to make fried rice using a hot plate). The "fake cake" was derived from some recipe I found it this pseudo cookbook. I don't remember the recipe exactly, but it had a yellow cake mix, a can of peaches and a stick of butter...I think? As a college student I tried to make this cake as cheaply as possible and resorted to Jiffy muffin mixes for $0.33. I convinced myself this "fake cake" was healthy because it had peaches in it and was a muffin not a cake.

Can you believe that still to this day I mix up "fake cakes" and try to feed them to my family? Now I kick them up a notch and add things that are healthy. I add pecans and flax meal for a crumble topping. I skip the butter completely and - get this - I still buy the Jiffy muffin mix. These cakes suck. They are hardly edible, especially without any butter. They are horrible. My husband, who already has an adversion to sweets, calls them "jacked-up cakes". And now the 6 year old is requesting I bake "jacked-up cake" because he doesn't know there is anything better out there (and he calls it by name - Jacked-up Cake). The 4 year old ain't fallin' for it. She has turned her nose up to the dessert (?) and would rather be sent to her bedroom for the evening than take a taste of Jacked-Up Cake. Note: Jacked-Up Cake is now a proper noun and thus capitalized.

I accidently jacked-up some cupcakes I was baking for the 6 year old's birthday snack at school. I was never asked to be the room mother for his kindergarten class and I guess I've held a little resentment. This was my time to shine, to deliver, to show those kindergartners just what I was made of. See what you missed out on? I am the mother of all room mothers! I can bake a bad-ass cup cake! Eat my dust!


Armed with one box of "Confetti Cake" mix and a stack of ice cream cones I set out to face the ones for which I so desperately longed for their approval. This is what I made.

Not being a natural baker I wasn't sure that this was the outcome for which I was looking. Do all ice cream cone cupcakes look like these? I guessed not.

Time was short. The baby was waking up from nap. I had only 4 more cones and no more cake mix. Soon the 6 year old would be home from school and he would be confronted by the ugly, fallen, raw-in-the-middle birthday cupcakes. And the truth would be out and everyone would know - I would have been a terrible room mother! Help, Calgon, take me away!

I swallowed hard. I reminded myself that these were just kids. What do they know about baking? What do they know about cupcakes? All they care about is the icing anyways. Wait a second. All they care about is the icing. Thank the Lord. Salvation at last! All they care about is the icing.

Quickly I iced the cupcakes with the store-bought tub of cream cheese icing. I pulled out all the sprinkles we had in the house, all the food coloring, all the left over Valentine's day candy, anything that would put a glimmer in a kindergartner's eye.

The bus was pulling up and I ran out to greet the boy. I revved him up by telling him he was going to decorate the cupcakes with all the fancy sprinkles and candy I've been hiding above the refrigerator. He couldn't wait to dig in. And he did a beautiful job hiding all my mistakes.

Now I remember what I had forgotten:I may not have been chosen to be the room's mom, but on that particular afternoon if my son was given the choice as to whom the perfect mother was, it was me! And that is way better than mothering a room!

Krispy Kreme for lunch?

Apparently Paula Deen is trying to kill-off her fan base one-by-one. If her Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding wasn't enough to send us all into cardiac arrest, how about this "Brunch Burger"? Although I will never attempt to make this little breakfast delight, I must admit I think it would taste rather delicious. I love mixing flavors -- and fatty with sugary with smoky would definitely apply here. But for the purpose of saving face I will denounce (and reject, in case Hillary Clinton is reading) this burger. I will stay on my strict calorie-counting diet and stick to the All American Burger at Scenic 90 Cafe for now.

Portobello Pasta

I just ate THE most delicious dinner and it was conceived out of pure dinner desperation. Those desperate dinners amazingly turn out to be some of my most memorable dishes. Tonight's creation proved no different. Here's what I was working with. I had portobollo mushrooms hiding in the crisper drawer under a bag of Romain lettuce hearts and they were turning darker by the minute. I had the obligatory pantry staple, pasta; it's ol' faithful on a dark and lonely night. I had fresh thyme in my purse. Yes, I did say I had fresh thyme in my purse. Isn't that where everybody keeps their fresh thyme? I stole it from the backyard kitchen garden of Skopelos on the Bay yesterday. And besides, I like to keep thyme on my side. Hardy har har! I had some heavy cream that was about to expire, but still smelled fine. So here's the recipe of the most delicious made-up, thrown-together dinner I may have ever made.

Thyme's on my Side Portobello Pasta
adapted from...oh wait...I don't have to give anyone else credit...it's my recipe!

16 oz. pasta
1 onion, diced
6 oz. portobello mushroom caps, roughly chopped (add more if you like, I'm going to)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
fresh thyme (about a teaspoon)
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil
salt & pepper
1 T. sherry cooking wine (this is the secret ingredient...you need it! Yummy!)
1/4 c to 1/3 c. heavy cream


1. Boil pasta as per directions on package. Make sure you salt your water well. It should taste like the Gulf of Mexico and if you haven't tasted the Gulf of Mexico lately, you should! Drain and set aside.

2. Heat oil and butter in pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Let onions brown and soften. Add sherry, let it reduce. Add cream, salt and pepper and let it reduce.

3. Combine mushroom mixture with drained pasta and toss. Serve with salad and crusty French loaf. Garnish with a little thyme on the side.

Here are a few pics to help you visualize the preparation.

This is why you shouldn't dice garlic and take photographs while holding a small child on your hip. Lucky for him, he still has 9 digits left! Shew! Close call.

Stolen thyme (above)

Slightly creamy, but not overdone. Just right!

My first helping of Thyme's on My Side Portobello Pasta. At this point I had no idea what I was in for, but after that first bite...it was all over!

Cook's Note: Don't forget the sherry cooking wine. It makes all the difference!

Spinach-Asiago Gratins

I've been dying to get some individual "bake & serve" ramekins so that I can make personal dishes. I found some for a good price and now I am ready to individualize dinner side-dishes for the rest of my life. Tonight I made individual Spinach-Asiago Cheese Gratins. Here's the skinney on the gratin!

Spinach-Asiago Gratins
adapted from Cooking Light magazine

1 T. butter
1 c. sweet onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 10-oz. frozen spinach
1 1/2 T. all-purpose flour
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
dash nutmeg
1/2 c. fresh asiago cheese, grated
1/4 c. parmesean cheese, grated
1/4 c. bread crumbs

1. Cook Spinach in microwave using directions on box (it's not necessary to cook until completely done, just get the chill off). Drain spinach well. Use a cheesecloth to wring out the water or drain in a sieve and use a spatula to push the water out.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Melt butter in pan and add onion and garlic. Saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add the spinach stirring to combine with onions and garlic. Remove pan from heat

3. Place flour in a small bowl and gradually add milk. Stir with a whisk until combined. Mix flour mixture into spinach mixture; add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Add cheeses. Mix.

4. Divide mixture into 4-6 individual ramekins (or one small pie plate will do just fine). Sprinkle bread crumbs over gratins.

5. Broil about 1 minute until tops begin to brown.

This is how I always drain my frozen spinach. I put a small amount in a cheese cloth and squeeze. It is much easier when you use two hands and aren't trying to take a photograph.

Reason # 1001 to Hate Wal-mart: If you are looking for cheese cloth at Wal-mart, please know that they hide it. It is not with the kitchen gadgets, like a rational person may think. It is with...the fabric, as in the material you use to sew dresses, etc.. I guess since it has the word cloth in its name they think it belongs in the sewing department.

Pot Stickers

This evening our visitors have left our home to visit the home of someone else. I have been dying to make something interesting and add something new to my cooking repertoire and since the audience was gone, I had plenty of room to make a fool of myself alone in the kitchen. So tonight for my eating pleasure and my children's disgust I made Pot Stickers.

I have always enjoyed eating Pot Stickers - the kind you get in the frozen food section of Wal-Mart have suited me well. Oddly enough it wasn't until I actually made them tonight that I figured out just why they are called Pot Stickers. Indeed, they do stick to the pot and the crisp bottoms make them all the tastier!

Many of these ingredients are also used in my Steak & Portobellos with Sweet Soy Ginger Sauce so if you have them on hand you may as well make both recipes...eventually...before the ingredients go bad...within a year or two.

Pot Stickers
Potstickers:
1 cup bok choy, finely chopped (in my case, sort of finely chopped)
1/3 green onions, chopped
1 T. low sodium soy sauce
1 t. salt
2 t. fresh ginger, minced (in my case, sort of fresh ginger)
1 t. grated lemon rind
1 t. dark sesame oil
1/2 pound pork sausage

24-36 wonton wrappers
3-4 T. vegetable oil
1-1 1/2 cups water

Sauce:
5 T. seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
1 T. honey

Combine bok choy and next 7 ingredients (through the sausage) and mix well.

Take one wonton wrapper and moisten edges by lightly brushing with water. Spoon 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons pork mixture into center of wrapper. Bring 2 opposite ends together and pinch to seal. Then bring remaining ends together to seal and pinch all 4 edges together. Set aside and continue.

Heat 1 T. oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Careful to not crowd pan, fill with pot stickers. Cook 2 minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water to pan, cover and cook 4 minutes. Uncover and cook 3 minutes or until liquid evaporates.

Repeat procedure until all pot stickers are cooked and the house smells like a Chinese restaurant.

Prepare sauce by mixing ingrediants and serve alongside the delicious Pot Stickers.