Yogurt Marinated Chicken

There's something about marinating chicken in yogurt. Every single recipe I've tried I love it. I am a big chicken breast fan. And marinating with yogurt almost guarantees I will have a juicy chicken breast.

I had to search several stores for Garam Masala spice...ended up finding in my local grocery store just 1/2 a block away. Go figure. Love this spice. Love the smell and the flavor. I have to watch myself though because I know I could go overboard with it.

One thing about this recipe, you have to plan. It calls for 8 hour to one day of marinating.

YOGURT MARINATED CHICKEN
Serves: 4

1 large White onion, 1/2 chopped, 1/2 thinly sliced
3 cloves Garlic, smashed
5 tablespoons Fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons Chopped peeled ginger
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon Garam masala
8 Skinless chicken drumsticks
2 teaspoons Olive oil, plus more for grates
1 Cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced crosswise
1/4 cup Fresh cilantro
Naan or pita for serving


1. In a blender, combine chopped onion, garlic, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and ginger. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides of blender as necessary, about 30 seconds. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in yogurt, garam masala, 2 teaspoons salt, and teaspoon pepper. Add chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (or up to 1 day).

2. Heat grill to medium; clean and oil hot grates. Remove chicken from marinade, wiping off excess. Grill chicken until cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes, turning occasionally.

3. In a small bowl, combine cucumber, sliced onion, cilantro, oil, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice; season cucumber salad with salt and pepper. Serve chicken with salad and naan if desired.

Beef Rendang

I've had this recipe since 1995 and never had an opportunity to actually try it. It sometimes surprises me how long I've harbored some of these recipes just waiting for the right moment to make the dish. That "right moment" seems to never come around.

Which is why I went to the brandy snifter of recipes. There need not be any "right moment", it just needs to be a day of the week.

Ironically enough, after so many years, I can't say it was worth the wait. The recipe was just okay. I'll keep it though because I may - at some point - make it again - it'll definitely be in the yearly cookbook.

BEEF RENDANG
Serves: 4

1 pound Lean boned sirloin steak
teaspoon Vegetable oil
1/3 cup Chopped shallot
1 tablespoon Grated peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon Minced peeled fresh lemon grass
1/2 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
3 cloves Garlic, minced
2 cans Fat free beef broth, divided
1/2 cup Unsweetened light coconut milk
1/8 teaspoon Salt
4 cups Cooked rice
4 teaspoons Chopped fresh cilantro

1. Trim any fat from steak, cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add steak; cook 4 minutes or until steak loses its pink color. Drain well and set aside. Wipe drippings from skillet.

2. Place skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until hot. Add shallots, ginger, lemongrass, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic; saute 1 minute. Return steak to skillet. Stir in 2 cups broth; bring to a boil.

3. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 45 minutes.

4. Stir in remaining broth; cover and simmer 45 minutes or until steak is tender. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut milk and salt.

5. Serve over rice; sprinkle with cilantro

Baked Manicotti with Meat Sauce, Garlicky Broccolini and Crispy Garlic Bread

I'm not usually a fan of manicotti. But I saw this photo and it just looked so dang good. I knew I had to make it. My BigBro, my Seattle Sister-in-law and Blueberry are all walking in the Breast Cancer 3 Day 60 mile walk this coming weekend. They were coming to dinner tonight to discuss logistics as I will be their "walker stalker" for the 3 days. I figured they needed to "carb load" for the walk. Pasta is a good carb, as is bread. The broccolini was thrown in because I LOVE broccolini and just knew they'd love it too.

BAKED MANICOTTI WITH MEAT SAUCE
Serves 6-8 Easily 8 unless the 6 haven't eaten for days.
1 Onion, chopped
6 ounces Sliced pepperoni
1 pound 85% lean ground beef
1 tablespoon Tomato paste
5 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
2 cans (28oz ea) Crushed tomatoes (recommended San Marzano)
3 cups Ricotta cheese
2 1/2 cups Shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cups Shredded provolone cheese
1 large Egg, beaten
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 cup Finely chopped basil
16 No boil lasagna noodles (these are the bomb. If you've never used them they quite frankly ROCK)

1. Adjust oven rack to upper middle position and heat oven to 375F. Pulse onion and pepperoni in food processor until coarsely ground. Add beef and pulse until thoroughly combined.

2. Cook meat mixture over medium heat, breaking up mixture with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Transfer 1 cup beef mixture to paper towel-lined plate and reserve.

3. Add tomato paste, garlic and pepper flakes to remaining meat mixture and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the cans of crushed tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Combine ricotta, 2 c mozzarella, 1 c provolone, egg, salt and pepper, basil, and reserved meat mixture in a large bowl. Pour 2 quarts boiling water into 13X9 inch baking dish. Soak noodles until pliable, about 5 minutes. Drain noodles on kitchen towel.

5. Spread half of meat sauce over bottom of baking dish. Top each soaked noodle, one at a time, with 1/4 cup cheese filling, roll, and arrange, seam-side down, over sauce in baking dish. Spread remaining sauce over manicotti.

6. Cover with foil and bake until bubbling around edges, about 40 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and provolone. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Let cool 15 mins.



GARLICKY BROCCOLINI
Serves 4
1/3 cup Water
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 bunches Broccolini (about 1 lb), trimmed
2 cloves Garlic, grated
1/8 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons Grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring water and salt to boil in large skillet. Add broccolini and cook over medium low heat, covered, until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and cook until liquid evaporates, about 30 seconds.

2. Stir in oil, garlic and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to platter and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


And last but not least...

CRISPY GARLIC BREAD
12 tablespoons Unsalted butter, softened
4 cloves Garlic, grated
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
12 slices Garlic bread

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position, place rimmed baking sheet on rack, and heat oven to 425F. Using fork, beat butter, garlic, sugar, slat and pepper in small bowl until combined. Spread butter mixture evenly over both sides of bread.

2. Arrange buttered bread on heated baking sheet and bake until golden brown on first side, 8-10 minutes. Flip and bake until golden brown on second side, about 5 minutes. Serve.

Panaeng Beef in Red Curry Peanut Sauce

Que delicioso! I'd say that in Thai if I could, but I cant'.

I'm a big fan of red curry. BIG FAN. I can't say that this tastes any different than my normal red curry favorite (chicken, red curry and coconut milk), and yet this was sooo good. The recipe called for 2T of red curry paste and I thought, "Good Lord I'll never feel my tongue again." So I opted for 2 tsp. Wasn't enough. I added 2 more tsps and then added just one more. That was perfect. And almost 2T.

I did some research on this an panaeng is one of Thailand's signature dishes

PANAENG BEEF IN RED CURRY PEANUT SAUCE
Serves 4-6
1 cup Unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 lb Boneless beef, such as flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise into 2 in strips
2 T Panaeng curry paste or red curry paste
2 T fish sauce
2 T brown sugar (the recipe calls for palm sugar - but I can never find that)
3 T finely chopped peanuts or peanut butter
3 wild lime leaves torn or cut (yah, never could fine wild lime leaves, so skipped this)

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and the water and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat. Sprinkle in the sliced beef, stirring to keep the pieces from sticking together, and simmer 5 minutes, until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, scoop the meat out into a bowl and set aside, leaving coconut milk in a pan to return to a gentle boil.

Stir in the curry paste and cook, pressing and stirring to dissolve the paste, 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce is fragrant and smooth. Return the beef and any juices to the pan, adding the remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk, and bring back to a gentle boil.

Add fish sauce, brown sugar, peanuts and lime leaves, if using. Stir well and simmer 3-4 minutes more until the sauce is smooth.

Serve with rice.

PASTA WITH CHICKEN AND MUSHROOMS

this is one of my all time favorite dinners. It's super flavorful and super easy. It makes for leftovers that I'll actually eat. It's great cold too. I am not a fan of reheated chicken - so I make this a pasta salad for day 2. Delicious!

PASTA WITH CHICKEN AND MUSHROOMS
Serves: 4
3/4 pound Bowtie pasta
1 pound Chicken tenders, halved lengthwise, then again crosswise
2 tablespoons Butter
1 pound Mushrooms, stemmed and halved
1/2 cup White wine
1/2 cup Heavy cream
1/2 cup Chopped fresh parsley

1. Cook pasta. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

2. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add chicken; cook turning once until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.

3. Add mushrooms to pan; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium heat until mushrooms release their liquid, about 5 minutes. Uncover; cook until liquid has evaporated, 3-5 minutes. Add wine, cook stirring until evaporated 2-3 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to low. Add cream and chicken; stir to coat. Transfer to pot with pasta; add parsley and pasta water (if desired - sometimes there's enough liquid). Toss to combine. Season as necessary.

Country Captain Chicken

As I've undoubtedly mentioned before there are a couple recipes that hit me right in the "OMG" zone. This recipe...it's 1) a keeper and 2) an instant remake (as in the next couple weeks).

I've made a version of this before, but this one was way better. It could be I'm a better cook now than I was when I tried the Rachael Ray version, or it's just that I followed the recipe. Either way, I highly recommend this recipe.

I mixed white rice in with this entire dish and served it. It doesn't really indicate if mashed potatoes or rice is better with it. I liked the rice because it makes a great left over. You know how I feel about left overs right...? I LOVED this as a left over.

COUNTRY CAPTAIN CHICKEN
Serves 4

8 bone in, skin on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin and fat
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp Vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped coarse (I only used one large and it was fine)
1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped coarse
2 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 1/2 T Sweet paprika
1 T Madras-style curry powder (I couldn't find Madras style so I used yellow curry powder)
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
3 T All purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes
1 Bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Adjust an oven rack to the lower middle position: heat the oven to 300 degrees. Dry the chicken thighs thoroughly with paper towels, then season generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large oven proof dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add 4 of the thighs, skin side down and cook without moving them until the skin is crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces and brown on the second side for 5 minutes. transfer to a large plate. Repeat with remaining chicken thighs.

Discard all but 1 T of fat from the pot; when the chicken has cooled, remove and discard the skin.

Add the onion and bell pepper to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika, curry powder and cayenne and cook until the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the broth, scraping up any browned bits that may have stuck to the pot. Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme, raisins, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chicken pieces and any accumulated juices, submerging the chicken in the liquid. Return to a simmer, cover and place pot in the oven; cook until the chicken offers no resistance when poked with the top of a pairing knife, but is still clinging to the bones, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove pot from oven.

Stir in parsley and discard the bay leaf.

Fettuccine with Sausage, Garlic and Mushrooms

About 2 months ago, QFC was having some tasting stations. At one of those stations I tasted this chicken Italian sausage. It was in links and so delicious. I didn't buy any then because I had no idea what I'd do with it.

Enter this recipe. I went back and bought - thankful I could even remember what it was called - a package.

HikerGirl and Blueberry joined me for dinner and they both took home the left overs. God I love my friends...

I can't say this was a favorite. In fact, it was kinda boring. I didn't like just the wine as a sauce, so I added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Made a much better flavor. I did, accidentally, overcook the pasta...I hate when I do that. blech!

FETTUCCINE WITH SAUSAGE, GARLIC AND MUSHROOMS
Serves 6
3/4 pound Cooked low fat smoked chicken or turkey sausage
1 tablespoon Olive oil
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 pound Fresh mushrooms, brushed clean and thinly sliced
1 cup Dry white wine
1/4 cup Chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper
1 pound Dried fettuccine

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Slice sausage into rounds about 1/4 inch thick. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. When hot, add the sausage slices and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3-4 minutes.

3. Add the garlic and mushrooms and stir until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the wine and boil over medium heat until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes longer. Stir in parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper.

5. While the sauce is cooking, add the fettuccine to the boiling water, stir well and cook until al dente.

6. Drain fettuccine and place in a warm shallow serving bowl. Pour the sauce over the top and toss briefly to combine.