Chicken Tikka Masala

We tried this Serious Eats recipe for "The Best Chicken Tikka Masala". It did make a very delicious curry, but I think we can make some adjustments to make this a little easier. The original recipe has you use bone-in chicken, char it, and then take the meat off the bone partially cooked. I found this unnecessarily difficult and don't think we'd lose much flavor by going boneless, so am recommending that change to simplify.

Below is the recipe with notes for revisions for next time.

INGREDIENTS

• 5 pounds bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, legs, or a mix), skin removed
  ~2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 3 tablespoons toasted ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons toasted paprika
  We used 2T smoked paprika and 1T sweet paprika and liked the blend
• 2 tablespoon toasted ground coriander seed
• 2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 12 cloves garlic, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, divided
  or replace with equivalent garlic paste if available. I crushed garlic in the press.
• 3 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated on the medium holes of a box grater, divided
  or replace with equivalent ginger paste. I grated some and minced some.
• 2 cups yogurt
  if using 2lb boneless chicken, reduce to 1 cup yogurt
• 3/4 cup fresh juice from 4 to 6 lemons, divided
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use about half as much by volume
• 4 tablespoons butter or ghee
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  or chopped. it gets blended into the sauce at the end so works either way
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly mashed
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1 cup heavy cream
  we used half and half and it was fine

METHOD

1. Place the chicken pieces on a cutting board. Score deeply at 1-inch intervals with a sharp knife. Place in a large rimmed baking dish.
2. Combine cumin, paprika, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne in a small bowl and mix well. Set aside 3 tablespoons of spice mixture. Combine remaining 6 tablespoons spice mixture, 8 cloves garlic garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, yogurt, 1/2 cup lemon juice, and 1/4 cup salt reduce by half to 2T in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Pour marinade all over chicken pieces, using hands to coat every surface. cover loosely and refrigerate. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for at least 4 hours and up to 8, turning occasionally.
3. Line a broiler pan with heavy duty aluminum foil and preheat the broiler to high with the rack set 6 inches below broiler element. Wipe excess marinade off chicken and place on foil-lined pan. Broil until charred and blackened on surface, about 8 minutes (chicken will not be completely cooked through—this is ok). Transfer to cutting board and allow to rest 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat butter or ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until melted and foaming subsides. Add onions, remaining 4 tablespoons grated garlic, and remaining 2 tablespoons ginger. Cook, stirring frequently, until dark and beginning to char in spots, about 10 minutes. Add reserved spice mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and half of cilantro, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan with a spoon. Simmer for 15 minutes, then puree using a hand blender or by transferring to a tabletop blender in batches.
5. Stir in cream and remaining quarter cup lemon juice. Season to taste with salt if needed.
6. Cut chicken into rough bite-sized chunks. Transfer chicken chunks to pot of sauce. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is just cooked through, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve with rice or naan.

Hot and sour soup and Chinese Sesame bread

Placeholder -- I forgot to write it all down last time, so I'm putting this here to remind me to do it.

Here were the photos from the first time, though:  (I kind of burned the bread, but it was still good!)

Dan dan noodle

This came from the V-Street cookbook.  I had to substitute a lot and it came out great.  I believe the original would also be great!

A few notes:
* Usually dan dan noodle is a peanut sauce; this one is tahini-based, probably both to reduce salt and because of the subtler flavor.

* The technique with the oven roasted mushrooms is great and could be used other places!

First is the recipe for the Dan Dan sauce.  Next is the recipe for the mushrooms.  Basically you cook noodles and toss them in the dan dan sauce.  Then top with roasted mushrooms.

Dan Dan Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 C sriracha [ we used gochujang beacuse we had no sriracha ]
1/4 C tahini
1/4 C tamari [ we used soy sauce ]
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp chile oil
1/4 tsp Szechuan peppercorns [ we used david's szechuan oil ]
1/4 tsp sugar
3/4 c vegetable stock [ we used some extra chicken stock we had ]

Combine all ingredients in a blender until saucy.

Noodles:
Cook noodles according to package instructions.  Drain and toss with dan dan sauce, stiring to coat.

Serve with mushrooms on top.  [I mixed them in and ate these for leftovers and that worked just fine].

Mushroom Ingredients:
1 Tbsp black vinegar
1/4 C sesame oil [ I used 1/8 C because I chickened out ]
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 lb shiitake mushroom caps sliced 1/4 thin strips.  [ we used trumpet mushroom, also good ]

Mushrooms:
Preheat oven to 450F.  Combine black vinegar, sesame oil, white pepper, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk.  Toss mushrooms in it and place in single layer for roasting.  Roast 10 min or until edges crispy.

Four things to do with holiday turkey breast

Four things to do with holiday turkey breast

I baked a stand-alone breast right after the Thanksgiving holiday because I missed the usual post-holiday meals. The turkey, from whole foods and Distel, was organic boneless, about 5 pounds, I think. The directions are clear and the turkey tasted fine.

Regular dinner: I had leftover gravy, served it on turkey slices with roasted brussels sprouts and roasted little potatoes. these were made at 425  degrees tossed first i olive oil and a clove of garlic salt and pepper. Basically, the recipe in Dave’s and Maria’s cookbook.

Sandwiches: Dave’s bread, turkey, avocado, lettuce, mustard, mayo—winning combo. Sliced sourdough with turkey, cranberry relish (or sauce, but we had relish to use up), neufchatel cheese, thin slice red onion, and lettuce tastes good to me but not Mark.

Soup:  turkey or chicken broth, mirepoix from TJs, egg noodles, chopped spinach at the end, shreds of turkey meat at the end.

Pasta: shells with peas and alfredo sauce, shredded turkey stirred in at the end, fresh pepper on top.

Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes with Tzatziki Sauce

Greek lemon Chicken and Potatoes with Tzatziki sauce

Friends returned from a trip to Greece with a gift of tzatziki sauce spices, and I wanted a delicious main dish to go with it, something more exciting than pita bread sandwiches.(For one thing, I wasnt up to making fresh pita bread--it sounds as hard as croissants). I hada recipe from my 1990s "Too Busy To Cook" book from Bon Appetit, and :I found this updated version that I liked a lot. Four pounds of chicken left lots for another meal, even though the recipe says "serves 4|" and I had six.

The quality of the chicken makes a difference--I got organic thighs from Whole Foods. The recipe was also substantially enhanced by the sauce, which I'd never served before. It took the dish from solid and presentable to something special.

I've made this with skinless, boneless chicken breasts, which taste okay--they are ready about 10 minutes faster--but are a pale shadow of the original dish. I've used fingerling (barely passing flavor) and unpeeled yukon gold potatoes (better but not as good as russets).

Ingredients:

4 pounds chicken thighs, bone in and skin on

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 pinch cayenne pepper

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, minced (I use TJ's frozen or minced in jar, also|)

3 russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

2/3 cup chicken broth plus a bit more to deglaze pan

fresh oregano for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place chicken pieces in large bowl and sprinkle salt, oregano, peper, rosemary and cayenne. Mix it around. Whisk or shake oil, lemon juice and garlic to blend it. Pour it over the chicken and mix again. Add potatoes and mix until everythingn is evenly coaated.

Put chicken pieces, skin side up, in pan, reserving the marinade. Distribute potato pieces among chicken pieces. Drizzle with 2/3 cup chicken broth. Spoon remainder of marinade over everything.

Place in preheated oven for 20 minutes. Stir, keeping skin side up. Bake another 25 minutes until chicken is browned and cooked through. An instant-read thermometer should read 165 near the bone.

Move chicken to platter and keep warm. set oven to broil on high. Toss potatoes in pan juices and place under broiler until potatoes caramelize, about 3 minutes.

Place roasting pan on stove over medium heat. Add a splash of broth and stir up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Strain; spoon juices over chicken and potatoes. Top with chopped oregano.

Thanksgiving 2019--Notes for next time

The location--Dobie Central, very lightly decorated for the occasion.

The guests: Shavers, Second Dobies (Emily, Kristin and Philip)|, Jane Rognlie, and Dobies Sr.

|The Menu:

This is my first year to try out the following dishes from Whole Foods:

Organic Turkey, 12 to 14 pound
Vegan Mushroom Gravy
Apple Cider Braised Brussels Sprouts with Pepitas
Maple Syrup Sweetened Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Herb Dressing

Emily and Kristin brought
Wild Rice Dressing (essentially mushrooms sauteed in butter plus wild and brown rices)
Three small Beckman's pies for dessert:  pumpkin, berry and apple

Carolyn made an extra-big apple crisp (see recipe on this blog) with cranberries and toasted nuts.

Abby and Julia made Cranberry-Orange relish in the morning. Stephen took on the carving (he always does) and got the carcass into my crockpot for delicious day-after broth--twice, because it was too big to fit in all at once. Whatta guy!!

I'd give the turkey and gravy five stars--everyone agreed, not just me, that the flavor and tenderness were top-notch. The turkey produced enough juice that I might have been able to combine it with a turkey broth and make my own sauce, but pouring some into the mushroom gravy worked perfectly.

I would give the maple sweet potatoes and herb stuffing a 3 1/2 star rating. Good, solid flavor. Easy enough prep--just tuck in the oven or microwave as though I'd cooked it earlier myself. With a little doctoring up, they were very presentable sides. The brussels sprouts were irretrieveable little rocks with no flavor. They b ear no resemblane to the delicious ones we've had in restaurants.




So why, one might ask, would a person who has years of experience with and has schlepped dozens of raw, big, heavy, gross, scary-looking turkeys plus sides from store to table, decide to let Whole Foods do it? Well, yes, all of the above. In the words of a note over one of my turkey and gravy prep plans from years past, "sounds so easy, looks so scary." There are the years the gravy failed, the turkey platter slid down the counter and crashed onto the floor, it was underdone in the legs or overdone in the breast (even on the same bird), the brining container wouldn't fit in the fridge, and on and on. Most years were fine. Like wine producers or farmers, I've had my banner years and my off years with the whole shebang. Lately I'd been thinking about a backup dish to have on hand just in case something major went wrong (like the year I didn't know I had to pick up the turkey at Dittmer's the Butcher's the day before, back when all the stores were closed for the holiday, except, it turned out, the local 7-11) or the year I simply couldn't fit everything in the fridge and was more than grateful for the key to the neighbor's front door. Even w;ith a relatively smaller group, the back=up meal is expensive and takes up fridge space just when I need it for the hope-it-won't flop food

This year,'s is a small, easy-to-seat, exquisitely manageable group, I thought as I planned it out. I might actually have time to enjoy their company myself. (I don't begrudge the years I watched my family enjoying each other--the Rule According to Carolyn says that renewing ties is the main reason to do these holidays.) But the idea of not worrying about any of it was irresistably seductive. As I was going online to check out the prices of Whole Foods organic turkeys (raw) and stumbled across the photo of the Whole Foods Organic Turkeys (deliciously prepared, delectably browned, sourced from the same farm as the raw one I would have purchased) I was in.

"This isn't like going to a restaurant with food from God knows where, or like the Safeway-prepared Thanksgiving Aurora and I shared when our children were mostly preschoolers" I thought to myself. Whole Foods knows what they are doing, they know their audience and they aren't going to mess around with any food failures--they've had years to work the kinks out of the system," I told myself. It became rather like having a neighbor make the turkey. |Yes, it would be cold, but a lot of folks I know make the turkey the day before, anyway.

Being Carolyn the Suspicious, I didn't just assume any of this. I dropped into the store and checked it out with the Holiday Foods Rep seated at their order-taking table, who clearly thought I was (a) from another planet or (b) a plant from Molly Stone's. Questions about the turkey were easy: Distel Farms in Sonoma County not only raises them, they also cook and deliver, and they have been doing it for many years. I felt really good about that. Questions about the freshness of the vegetables and the amount of time from farm to prep to my table were harder. I determined that the foods are mostly or probably hand cooked in giant kitchens in Emeryville and they try to keep the prep to three days before delivery date. "Do you have people working around the clock to meet that schedule? How do you find enough food prep staff to make that work?" I enquired cheerily. The Holiday Orders Lady took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and said "I think I need my boss to answer some of these questions and she isn't here right now...." I told her not to worry, I appreciated everything she had told me, and hoped she would have a happy holiday.

|Looking back, ours was  a happier holiday, if less dramatic and adventurous, for Whole Food's help. Even picking it up on Thanksgiving morning was a cheery, happy moment, with lots of people to say thank you do. I| would do the same turkey next year for sure, and the same gravy. Sides? Iwill make that call at the last minute, depending on who's here, what the weather is like, whether any major appliances are on the blink, and so forth.






 

Spinach and feta in saag paneer style

From the book Indian-ish.

Recipe:  https://www.thekitchn.com/saag-feta-indianish-22956242

We've made it twice now and it's really good!  Would also be good with real paneer instead of feta.