Village Chicken Salad

Note: Needs to be refrigerated overnight before serving.

8 chicken breast halves, skinned

1/2 c. soy sauce

1/2 c. cooking sherry

2 stalks celery with leaves

1 1/2 tsp sugar

Mashed garlic - 2 cloves worth

Combine in a deep frying pan and cook until chicken is tender 30 minutes.

Cool chicken and remove bones. Cube. Return to cooking liquid.

Steam 1 small bunch of broccoli, broken into flowerettes (no stalks) until bright green but still crispy.

3/4 c. mayonnaise

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp soy

Mix together, add drained chicken cubes.

Toss chicken with broccoli and:

1/2 c chopped celery,

1/2 c chopped scallions,

1/2 c salted or unsalted cashews, to taste,

crasins to taste

Refrigerate overnight. Nice served with fresh pineapple.

Great Recipe from the Food Network!

Here's a great recipe from the Chef that won the Food Network challenge. She gives us American food with a twist of Indian spices. I appended it a little.

Here's what I did:

I made my own Indian mixture of garam masala using equal proportions of :

Cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, cardamom, dried ginger, and nutmeg. I added a little black pepper. I mixed a teaspoon of each of the first 5 spices, and a half teaspoon of ginger and nutmeg. I added a pinch of the black pepper and stored it in an air tight jar.

Garam masala may be purchased in Indian markets and in the gourmet section of some supermarkets; since I couldn't find it in my local stores.

I used a less hot green chile pepper instead of the serrano (which was too hot for me). Because raisins have a lot of sugar, I substituted craisins, instead. You could use beef instead of turkey. It was great, and smells fabulous when cooking!!!

Sloppy Bombay Joes
Recipe courtesy Aarti Sequeira 2010

Prep Time: Cook Time: Serves:
35 min 1 hr 4 to 6

Ingredients

Sauce:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 serrano chile, seeded and finely minced (save the other half for the turkey)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water

Turkey:
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
Small handful shelled pistachios, about 1/4 cup
Small handful raisins, about 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 large white onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, seeds and membrane removed, finely diced
1/2 serrano chile, seeds intact (don't chop it up unless you like things spicy!)
Kosher salt
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup half-and-half
Small handful chopped fresh cilantro (soft stems included)

4 to 6 hamburger buns

Directions
Begin by making the sauce: Warm the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, until it shimmers. Add the ginger, garlic and serrano pepper. Saute until the ginger and garlic brown a little. Add the garam masala and paprika and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until thickened, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile for the turkey, in large skillet, warm 2 tablespoons of oil. When shimmering, add the pistachios and raisins. Cook until the raisins swell up and the pistachios toast slightly. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Return the pan to medium heat, add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of oil, and warm until shimmering. Add the cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for about 10 seconds, or until some of the sizzling subsides. Stir in the onions and bell pepper; saute until softened and starting to brown. Add the serrano pepper. Saute for another couple of minutes, seasoning with a little salt. Stir in the turkey, breaking up the big lumps. Cook until opaque, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, your sauce should be ready. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the turkey. Stir and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the mixture has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Once the turkey is cooked and the sauce has thickened a little, remove the serrano pepper (unless you want to eat it whole, like my Dad does!). Add the honey, half-and-half, pistachios and raisins. Stir through and taste for seasoning. Before serving, garnish with fresh cilantro.

Toast the buns, fill with the turkey mixture and serve. Eat (with your hands!) and enjoy!

Caponata

The most successful of my holiday dishes, and vegetarian!


Mix in a slow cooker:

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cubed at 1/2 "
1 14.5 oz can diced Italian plum tomatoes
1 med chopped onion
1 red bell pepper - chopped to 1/2 "
1/2 c. medium-hot salsa
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 t oregano leaves
3 cloves of minced garlic
1/2 t salt

You can add 2 T of capers, I prefer it without

Cook on low in a slow cooker for 7-8 hours until flavors meld.

To serve - put in a serving dish and add 1/3 cup of fresh basil strips
Serve on toasted Italian bread, like bruschetta.

For protein lovers, you can toast thin slices of provolone and or prosciutto on the bread first, then spoon the caponata on the top. (Very low cal without the cheese or meat!)Note: the picture above shows it served on eggplant slices. Bread works better!

Enjoy!

From our Christmas table

I'm not contributing much to the Christmas dinner this year, except the ingredients. I've had an illness since Thanksgiving that tripped up my immune system, and my glucose levels have been all over the board. Had a breakthrough this week when they started me on injectable insulin; glucose is starting to stabilize and the antibiotics finally appear to be taking hold. Nonetheless, I didn't feel much like cooking, so Tom and Andrea are in charge of our traditional turkey dinner. I had a burst of energy this morning and three big sweet potatoes, so I took the opportunity to make an old family favorite for the first time in a long time. I think Kelly wanted the recipe, so here you go, Kel...


Sweet Potato Biscuits

1.5 cups mashed, warm sweet potatoes
(I boil mine with skins on, strip the skin and chunk them to mash)

2 cups all-purpose flour
6 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons white sugar (or use Splenda)
2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons margarine
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or use Pam on two baking sheets.

Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together. Cut in margarine with pastry cutter or two knives until it is cut and blended in fine pieces.

Add sweet potatoes and mix into biscuit dough - adding milk as necessary.
Turn soft dough onto a well-floured board and knead flour in. Roll or pat to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut with biscuit cutter or glass. Small cutter will result in crustier biscuits, larger cutter will make them softer. Place on baking sheets (should yield about 24 small) and bake 12-15 minutes.

We like these topped with a choice of butter or sour cream.

ENJOY!