Spicy Mango Coconut Chicken

Actual Thursday Menu – Spicy Mango Coconut Chicken

This was another winner. YUM! I’ve had this dried mango I got from Trader Joe’s in the pantry for a while now. I bought them and then wasn’t sure how to use them. For Christmas I got this really great book – The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. It is not a cook book, but an index of ingredients with a list for each of what goes really well with it. So I looked up mango, and put together this recipe. I want to say I wrote this recipe. I’ve struggled with this for years – What are the guidelines for writing an original recipe? Do you need to create the flavor profile? Can you borrow techniques? Thoughts…please share!

Spicy Mango Coconut Chicken
Inspired greatly by http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spicy-coconut-chicken-casserole

1 T olive oil
4-6 pieces of chicken thigh, bone in or boneless, skinless
Salt and pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 can 14 oz coconut milk
1 ½ cup chicken broth
½ cup water
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
½ dried mango, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup frozen green beans
2 T lime juice
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Brown chicken, 6-8 minutes total; work in batches if necessary. Transfer chicken to plate.

To Dutch oven add coconut milk, broth, water, curry paste, and mango. Bring to a boil; stir in rice. Return chicken in a single layer and any juices to the pot. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook without stirring 15 minutes.

Scatter green beans on top, cover and cook 8-10 minutes more. Add lime juice, stir, sprinkle with scallions, and serve.

Braised Lamb with Butternut Squash

Actual Wednesday Menu – Braised Lamb with Butternut Squash, Rice

DELICIOUS! This one gets high praise. YUM! I’ve been saving up my last bag of Butternut Squash frozen from CSA season for this one for awhile now, and as you can see it was well worth it. I will provide the link to the recipe I followed, but I’m going to write it below the way I made it and with any changes I’d make for next time. The biggest difference will be that I’m leaving out the gremolata (parsley, lemon zest, garlic). I didn’t think the dish needed it, but I do see the value in a little citrus flavor as garnish. I’m thinking of using a lemony cilantro pesto recipe from my favorite Butternut Squash soup as the garnish for this dish in the future.

What happened to Tuesday you may be asking? Tuesday became a mixed up day and I managed to make grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids for dinner.

Braised Lamb with Butternut Squash
Adapted from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/lamb_shanks_with_butternut_squash/

4 T olive oil, divided
2-4 pieces of lamb shoulder
Salt and pepper
Entire head of garlic gloves, peeled
4-6 celery ribs, coarsely chopped (keep them big, I recommend picking them out later)
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 6oz. can of tomato paste
2 cups red wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 strips of orange zest
3 lb. butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 15oz. can cannellini beans

Heat 2 T olive oil in Dutch oven. Season the lamb with salt and pepper, add them to the pot and brown, 4 minutes per side. Transfer the lamb to a plate.

Arrange the racks in the oven to accommodate the Dutch oven and a baking dish for the squash. Preheat the oven to 350. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, and onion to the Dutch oven. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato past and cook stirring, about 2 minutes. Add the wine; boil over high heat until the liquid is syrupy, from 7-15 minutes.

Return the lamb to the pot; add the stock and zest. Bring to a simmer. Cover the pot and braise in the oven for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender.

In a rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash with 2 T olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for about an hour, or until tender.

Remove the pot from the oven. Cool slightly. Remove the lamb and celery from the stew; reserve the lamb and discard the celery. Puree the remaining ingredients with an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender. If the mixture remains chunky with the immersion blender it will add nicely to the texture of the dish.

Return the lamb to the pot. Add cannellini beans and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until warmed through. Serve with the squash stirred in or on the side. Make sure to have at least one bite with lamb, and sauce, and squash all together. DELICIOUS!

Amchur Chana

Actual Monday Menu – Amchur Chana, Stir Fried Beets and Turnips, Naan

Amchur Chana is chickpeas with mango powder. This dish would make a great appetizer served with pieces of Naan or pita. It would be great for a potluck, which is where my friend had great success with the dish. They were delicious! The dish just wasn’t right as a meal for us – too many chick peas all at once. I was going to make Chole, a chickpea curry, but my friend with the wonderful spice cabinet brought me some of the amchur powder. The Chole will keep for another day. The beets and turnips were from the farmer’s market and prepared with the method from the stir fry I posted on Feb. 6 minus the lo mein noodles.

Amchur ChanaClosely
adapted from 660 Curries, Raghavan Iyer
From http://thespicedlife.blogspot.com/

2 T vegetable oil
1 t cumin seeds
2 green cardamom pods
3 cinnamon sticks (3 inches long)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 T amchur powder (mango powder available at Indian grocery stores)
1 scant T ground coriander
1 t ground cuminsalt to taste
1/2 t paprika or cayenne
1/4 t turmeric
3 cups cooked chickpeas
2 T chopped cilantro, divided in half
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Heat the oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat. Add the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and roast until fragrant. Add the cumin seeds and continue to roast until the seeds are fragrant and browning--but do not burn. This will be a matter of seconds. Add the tomatoes, mango powder, coriander, ground cumin, cayenne/paprika and turmeric. Sprinkle a pinch of salt in to taste as well. Bring the sauce to a simmer and lower the heat to medium or medium low. Continue to simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the oil starts to separate from the sauce. This will take 5-10 minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas, 1 cup of water and half of the cilantro. Cover the pan and simmer the curry, stirring occasionally, until the flavors blend and the sauce thickens, about 20-25 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with remaining cilantro and chopped red onion, and taste for salt.

New England Turkey Burgers

Actual Sunday Menu – New England Turkey Burgers, Homemade Fries, Salad

This meal was an all around hit – the turkey burgers have been a family favorite for years. The ground turkey and potatoes were the ingredients used from the freezer and pantry. I heard a chef suggest in one of my many food podcasts recently that if you want to eat junk food make it yourself at home. Of course, moderation is always the key, but you are invested in the process and have more control of fat, salt, etc. I liked that suggestion and put it to use here with our Homemade Fries.

New England Turkey Burgers
From Every Day with Rachael Ray October 2008

2 T unsalted butter
1 McIntosh Apple – peeled, cored, and finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Salt and Pepper
1 ¼ pounds ground turkey
Flat leaf parsley, generous handful finely chopped
1 T olive oil
1 cup cranberry sauce
1 T finely grated orange zest
2 scallions, finely sliced
4 English muffins, toasted and buttered
Bibb lettuce Leaves

In a skillet melt 2 T butter over medium heat. Add apple, onion, celery, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally until onion is tender, 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool 5 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and set aside for burgers.

Add turkey and parsley to apple mixture and combine. Form into 4 patties. In the skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook the patties for 6 minutes on each side, lowering the heat for the last 2 or 3 minutes.

During any downtime mix the cranberry sauce, orange zest, and scallions. Toast the English muffins and butter.

Place the lettuce on the buttered English muffin bottoms, top with burger, cranberry relish, and buttered tops.

NOTES: In the first step I used 1 T olive oil and 1 T butter. I always like that combination and was trying to lessen the amount of butter. I didn’t use parsley last night, and would only add it if I had it on hand. We prefer 1 T of orange juice in the relish and no zest. I usually don’t have an orange on hand and originally put the OJ in as a substitute, once I did have an orange around and wanted to try the zest. My husband and I really prefer it with the OJ. We used salad greens from the farmer’s market on our burgers and for our salads last night.

Homemade Fries

3-5 potatoes depending on size and family needs, cut into sticks
Olive oil
Salt

Place potatoes on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes, flip, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
I keep this in my head by remembering 400 for 40 minutes.

NOTES: The fun in making your own fries is you can add seasonings to compliment the rest of the meal. Like last night I could have added poultry seasoning to compliment the burgers. I love adding a splash of lemon juice to the potatoes, but I suspect my husband doesn’t like lemon based on recent reviews of dinner. Last night I sectioned my portion off to the side of the baking pan and added my splash of lemon juice. He later told me they were the best batch of these I’ve ever done. No more lemon juice for him!

CSA on The Splendid Table

The Splendid Table hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper is American Public Media's show that shares information on food preparation, appreciation, and culture. We are faithful listeners at our house.

Yesterday's show lended their support to CSAs. Check it out.
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/100220/
They break up the show into segments - you can listen to only the piece on CSAs or the whole show.

Happy Listening!

Pantry Week II

The Pantry and Freezer aren’t empty yet. Every meal in the menu I put together for this week uses at least one significant item out of the pantry or fridge, maybe two or three. Yes, I do have to head to the grocery store. At the very least I need yogurt and confectioner’s sugar, right? I’d love to head to the farmer’s market, but I still have salad greens, tomatoes, turnips and beets in the fridge. I’ll try to use those up too!

The menu…

Sunday – New England Turkey Burgers, Homemade Fries, Salad
Monday – Chole (Garbanzo Curry), Naan, Turnips and Beets
Tuesday – Sorrel Fish Cakes, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes
Wednesday- Spicy Mango Chicken with Rice, Green Beans
Thursday – Lamb with Butternut Squash, Rice
Friday – Chicken Satay, Broccoli
Saturday – Ravioli, Salad

Pantry Week Wrap UP

Actual Thursday Menu – Leftovers
And yes, it helped empty out the pantry and freezer by finishing up all that had been cooked this week AND getting rid of all those small little plastic containers in my fridge!

Actual Friday Menu – Date Night!
The kids had Spaghetti and Meatballs and peas & corn.
And yes, it also helped empty out the pantry, freezer, and fridge!

Tonight we’ll wind up getting a pizza. The chaotic fun of date night is that my friend and I are swapping babysitting duties this weekend– tonight I get to go play with her kids. It turns out it will be easy and fun because they are going to an early movie so our whole family is headed over there for playtime and pizza. In addition to the pizza I’ll bring some treats - which leads me to the debacle of Pantry Week…

Early in the week the kids and I made ice cream cone cupcakes. They have been begging to make these since they showed up at school for a birthday and then they found a recipe on the side of an ice cream cone box. It was a perfect compliment to Pantry Week. We’d use up that box ice cream cones, the box cake mix they got for Christmas, and I had tons of confectioner’s sugar in the pantry to make our icing (or so I thought). I had the butter etc. creamed and ready to add the sugar only to find the big bag I thought I had was almost empty. I was sure it would turn out fine and added all the sugar I could find. It was not fine! It was a disgusting looking blob of yuckiness. I had to throw it away. So the cupcakes went in the freezer – much to the dismay of some very disappointed children. BUT I wasn’t going to the grocery store! Today I will return to the grocery store, we’ll get some confectioners sugar, make some icing and take the cupcakes with us as a fun treat to share with our friends.

I had a great time doing this and there are still lots of good stuff stored in the pantry and the freezer, so stay tuned.