Tag: chicken

Meatballs in a Creamy Sauce – and a great way to involve your kids in the kitchen

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Just imagine for a moment, tiny hands making tiny meatballs as you sit back and sip a glass of mine.  How heavenly is that?

Well, you could do that with your kids.

Everyone loves meatballs – I know that I do and you can use them in so many ways.

Here I have them in a creamy sauce with Indian flavors but you can flavor them any way that you like and have them with pasta, make mini burgers, as a snack – the sky is really the limit.

For the mix:

Use your choice of meats – mix and match all you like

Use:

beef, pork, chicken, veal or lamb.

Chop up some herbs like cilantro, mint or dill and add to the meat.  Season with salt and pepper and some garlic would be nice.

Now for the secret – how do you make and keep the meatballs soft?

Bread – plain old white bread – moistened in water and then squeezed – trust me, this is waaay better than bread crumbs.

For the sauce, I added some whipped yogurt and a tiny bit of tomato paste for a lovely hue.

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After your kids have formed the balls, just saute them lightly in some oil and then add to the sauce.

If not using a sauce, just finish cooking them and then make mini burgers for your minis.

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This is where I used the same meatballs with pasta, extra dill and red chili flakes.

I urge you to experiment and get your kids involved.  I promise they will eat everything they make and give you a breather.

Until I cook again!

Home Made Chicken Corn Soup

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  • It all started with a whole chicken and a recipe I read about steamed soy sauce chicken.  That is a story for another day but for the purposes here I made a chicken broth.

    You can do this by covering a chicken in cold water – add aromatics like sliced fresh ginger, couple garlic cloves, cilantro stems and a few green chilies.

    Let the water come up to a boil uncovered and then simmer for about 30 minutes and you have chicken broth.

    Remove the skin and shred the chicken.  Set aside.

    To defat the broth, you can use the fat separator or leave the broth in the fridge overnight – a layer of fat with form on top which you can remove.

    Don’t throw the fat away though – use to cook potatoes 🙂

    When ready to make soup – bring the broth up to a boil and dissolve 3 table spoons of corn starch in cold water.

    Season the broth with salt or soy sauce – it will change the color of your broth if you use soy sauce.

    When the broth is hot, slowly drizzle about ½ the cornstarch into it, stirring constantly.

    Let it come up to a boil and see if you like the consistency.  Chinese restaurants make this soup way too gloppy – you make it as thick as you like by adding more of the cornstarch slurry.

    Add the frozen corn and the chicken – when you do this doesn’t really matter.

    When the soup has thickened, beat two eggs and pour them into the hot soup.

    Stir as you drizzle if you want the egg to break up or let the eggs make larger strings by not stirring.

    Taste the soup for seasoning.

    For garnish, I like to slice green chilies and add them to white vinegar.

    I serve the soup with my favorite sirracha, sesame oil and cilantro leaves.

    Let your guests add as much seasoning as they like.

    Try this soup – it is so simple, so much better than your local Chinese restaurant and o so soul warming.

    Until I eat again!

Seafood and Chicken Paella

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  • Summer is upon us and most of you who are lucky enough to have a grill are probably making all your meals on it.  Well, I’m jealous and I don’t have a grill and so I focus on lots of seafood.

    I love one dish meals.  They require very little attention.  Once you set it up – you can walk away and dinner prepares itself.

    This one is simple, beautiful and delicious of course

    6 Chicken thighs, bone in

    2 tbs. oil

    ½ tsp. steeped in warm broth

    2 cups rice of your choice (short or long grain – basmati, arborio, etc.)

    4 cups broth (chicken, shrimp or even water will do)

    a variety of seafood (about 2 lbs)

    shrimp, scallops, mussels, fish, clams, etc

    1 cup frozen peas

    2 lemons cut into wedges

    salt and pepper

    You will need a large flat skillet for this – if you don’t have one, you might make do with a Dutch over.

    Season the chicken  with salt and pepper, and sear on both sides in the pan till nice and golden brown.  Remove chicken and set aside.

    Add the rice to the pan and coat with the oil, mixing gently.  Add the stock, salt to taste and the saffron.  Add the chicken back to pan with the rice.  Cook about 20 minutes.  Just as the rice is almost done, layer the top with the seafood and cook another 5 to 7 minutes or till the seafood is just cooked.

    Serve hot with wedges of lemon and a garnish of chopped parsely.

    Until I cook again!

SIMPLE ROAST CHICKEN OVER VEGETABLES

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There is nothing more comforting than a roast chicken for dinner.

While it is the easiest thing to prepare, it is also the test of a good cook.  When I was in cooking school, we spent a lot of time learning how to roast the perfect chicken and I think I have mastered it.

I would like to share some of the things I learned.

Get the best chicken you can afford – from a butcher or Whole Foods.

Kosher chickens are fabulous as they are treated with salt and cook faster and have a wonderful flavor without having to work at it.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Dry the chicken with paper towel and remove any innards that might be in the cavity.

Cut up vegetables that you like – for example potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, turnips, squash – anything.

Season with salt and pepper and your favorite herbs like thyme, rosemary or marjoram.

Season the chicken inside and out with salt and pepper and add an onion, lemon and herbs in the cavity.

Now massage it generously with olive oil or butter.

Place the chicken over the vegetables and bake at 450 degrees for 40 minutes.

Turn the heat to 300 and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

Check with a meat thermometer and it should read 160 degrees.

Let the chicken rest on the counter, tented for about 10 or 15 minutes.

Carve it and serve with vegetables.

You can removed the vegetables, add broth and or white wine to create a sauce if you like.  If you add wine, make sure you cook it out on a high heat and finish with a pat of butter for a luscious sauce.

Spoon over chicken and vegetables and dinner is served.

Until I eat again!

Corn and Seafood Stew

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IT’S CORN SEASON AND SO MAKE A SEAFOOD STEW WITH IT

Corn is the great American vegetable – there are hundreds of ways of making it (ok tens of ways) – this stew is easy and o so good.

4- 6 ears of corn, husked

1 cup chorizo sliced ( optional)

use bacon if you like – the pork provides a great depth of flavor to the broth

2 cups prosecco, white wine or broth

1 lb. mussels

1 lb. little neck clams

(use as much or as little seafood as you like)

6 new potatoes, cut into quarters

1 cup hatch chili paste

(I am lucky to have a friend in New Mexico who supplies me with hatch chilies that I freeze and make a paste in the blender with water to use in different dishes – if you can’t find those chilies, roast any of your favorite chilies like jalapenos, serranos and or poblanos)

Salt and pepper to taste

Juice of a lemon

cayenne pepper to taste

2 tbs oil

Heat a casserole with the oil.  Brown the chorizo till caramelized.  Add the chili paste, potatoes and corn.    Season with salt and pepper – be aware that the chorizo is salty – add more later if need be

Cook for about 15 minutes or till the potatoes are soft.

Sprinkle with cayenne if using and add the prosecco.  When it comes to a boil add the clams and mussels.

Cover and cook till the shell fish is just open.

Squeeze lemon juice – taste for seasoning and serve hot with crusty bread.

Enjoy.

Until I eat again!

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Seafood and Chicken Paella

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I love one dish meals. This one is simple and beautiful – delicious of course.

This dish is reminiscent of yesterday’s pulao – I really hope that you try it and let me know what you think.

Feel free to add more ingredients of your choice.

6 Chicken thighs, bone in

2 tbs. oil

½ tsp. saffron steeped in warm broth

2 cups rice of your choice (long grain is best)

4 cups broth (chicken, shrimp or even water will do)

a variety of seafood (about 2 lbs)

shrimp, scallops, mussels, fish, clams, etc

1 cup frozen peas

2 lemons cut into wedges

salt and pepper

Season the chicken sear on both sides till nice and golden brown.

Add the rice and coat with the oil. Add the stock and the saffron. Cook about 20 minutes. Just as the rice is almost done, layer the top with the seafood and cook another 5 to 7 minutes or till the seafood is just cooked.

Serve hot with wedges of lemon

Until I eat again!

HOME MADE CHICKEN CORN SOUP

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indianculinarycenter:

Home Made Chicken Corn Soup

It all started with a whole chicken and a recipe I read about steamed soy sauce chicken.  That is a story for another day but for the purposes here I made a chicken broth.

You can do this by covering a chicken in cold water – add aromatics like sliced fresh ginger, couple garlic cloves, cilantro stems and a few green chilies.

Let the water come up to a boil uncovered and then simmer for about 30 minutes and you have chicken broth.

Remove the skin and shred the chicken.  Set aside.

To defat the broth, you can use the fat separator or leave the broth in the fridge overnight – a layer of fat with form on top which you can remove.

Don’t throw the fat away though – use to cook potatoes 🙂

When ready to make soup – bring the broth up to a boil and dissolve 3 table spoons of corn starch in cold water.

Season the broth with salt or soy sauce – it will change the color of your broth if you use soy sauce.

When the broth is hot, slowly drizzle about ½ the cornstarch into it, stirring constantly.

Let it come up to a boil and see if you like the consistency.  Chinese restaurants make this soup way too gloppy – you make it as thick as you like by adding more of the cornstarch slurry.

Add the frozen corn and the chicken – when you do this doesn’t really matter.

When the soup has thickened, beat two eggs and pour them into the hot soup.

Stir as you drizzle if you want the egg to break up or let the eggs make larger strings by not stirring.

Taste the soup for seasoning.

For garnish, I like to slice green chilies and add them to white vinegar.

I serve the soup with my favorite sirracha, sesame oil and cilantro leaves.

Let your guests add as much seasoning as they like.

Try this soup – it is so simple, so much better than your local Chinese restaurant and o so soul warming.

Until I eat again!

Simple Chicken Curry

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Curries are a staple in our house hold – chicken, lamb and goat mostly.

This is a very simple recipe and I hope that you try it.

2 tbs. vegetable oil

3 onions, sliced

12 skinless drumsticks (you can use thigh or a combination – just make sure it is skinless)

4 ripe tomatoes, diced (or 2 cups of whole peeled tomatoes, crushed)

1 tsp. cumin seeds

2 tbs. coriander powder

1 tbs. cumin powder

1 tsp. cayenne pepper or a chili of your choice as long as it is not smoked

4 whole cardamon pods

3 tbs. minced garlic

2 tbs. minced ginger

Salt to taste

Cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds.  Wait for a few seconds till they start to sizzle.

Add the onions, cardamon pods and salt – cook on medium low heat for about 15 minutes until nicely caramelized (like you would for onion soup).

Add the ginger and garlic, along with the coriander and cumin powder.  Stir will and make sure the spices are well incorporated and give them a couple of minutes to cook.  The spices will absorb the oil – just keep stirring and cooking on a low flame and they will once again release the oil – this is a sign that you are ready for the next step.

If need be add another tbs. of oil.

Now add the chicken and brown for about 10 minutes.  The onions and spices should be well mixed in with the chicken.

When the chicken gets some color, add the tomatoes and about 1/2 cup of water.

Mix well, bring to a boil and then simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until the chicken is cook.

Taste for seasoning and adjust if need be.

Garnish with cilantro and serve over basmati rice, roti or pita

Enjoy and please tell me how it came out when you try it.

Until I cook again!