Chicken Tinga (with fresh tomatoes, not canned)

My daughter craves this, and has loved saucy Mexi chicken since she was little. This recipe originally came from a noted Mexican restaurant in SF, and I have made it several times, but tonight was extra special. 

We made it with fresh Early Girl tomatoes and it was fantastic! So much better than the original recipe that calls for canned chopped tomatoes. I'll never do that again. 

We had the good luck to stay at a friend's house in Napa last week and returned with several big, beautiful fresh summer tomatoes, so when I realized I didn't have the proper canned tomatoes, I decided to take the chance with fresh. Glad I did. It was a game-changer. 

We served it on tiny street-taco sized corn tortillas, cooked in a hot cast-iron skillet to melt grated jack cheese, black beans, topped with avocados, sour cream and very simple cabbage/cilantro/lime/juice/mayo slaw. And Tapatio hot sauce. 

So instead of thinking Italian with all those garden tomatoes your kind friends give you, think this and invite them over for Tinga Tacos. 

Chicken Tinga for tacos or tostadas

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  - poached and shredded (instructions in one of my first posts way back...) or shredded rotisserie chicken (not as good)

2 tbsps oil

1/2 onion, sliced thin

2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

2 medium very ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped - save all juice and seeds, you'll add it all

2 tsp kosher salt (necessary)

Couple of slices of jalapeño, optional

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Add 2 tablespoons oil and the sliced onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Add the minced/pressed garlic to the onions. Cook, stirring, 1 minute more.

Add the fresh chopped tomatoes and their juices, salt and the sliced jalapeño. Simmer vigorously about 10 minutes, until the liquid had reduced slightly. 

Season to taste with additional salt. The tinga should be slightly saucy but not overly wet; if it looks thin, simmer it a bit longer to reduce the liquid. Stir in the shredded chicken and cilantro and warm gently.

Serve in tacos, on tostadas, or nachos with sliced limes and sour cream. 

Braised Red Cabbage, Austrian-style

 My CSA box gifted me a large head of red cabbage, and the San Francisco spring gifted me another day of fog, so to accompany the braised pork recipe I posted a few months ago, I made this red cabbage recipe. 

I originally had a dish like this at Leopold's, and Austrian restaurant here in SF that we frequent after out Tuesday evening yoga class (Q: How wrong is schnitzel and beer after yoga? A: Very wrong.) and while I liked the idea of it, theirs is cloyingly sweet with a strong taste of honey. One bite and I am completely repulsed. I know it's a strong word, but it's how I feel. Also disappointed. I should love this dish but really dislike it.

So after some deep dives googling Austrian red cabbage recipes, I found one I'm super happy with. I didn't screen-shot it and it just took me half an hour to find it again, so I need to get it blogged asap. 

Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage

1/2 large head of red cabbage, sliced 1/4 inch thick

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons sugar or agave

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and black pepper

Melt butter in a sauté pan add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted, 5 minutes.

Sprinkle sugar or agave and stir, then add balsamic. Bring to a simmer on medium-low. Cook about 20 minutes until soft, to your taste. 

Season with Salt and pepper. 

Sauerkraut I actually like

I hate sauerkraut. There I said it. 

Most people like or LOVE it. Not me. It's sour, mushy and gross. 

But I love cabbage, and many have told me I'm missing out on sauerkraut. My fam likes Reuben sandwiches and I can make a great one at home for them - homemade Russian dressing and all, but I always buy sauerkraut. Until today. 

I had all the sandwich ingredients but not sauerkraut, and realized I might be able to make some with fresh cabbage and kale. Glad I tried! Total success and I don't even hate the homemade stuff. 

Homemade Sauerkraut

This is enough to top four sandwiches generously, but it will keep for a few days in the fridge so you could have it for lunch tomorrow, too. 

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup white vinegar, or 1/4 white and 1/4 white wine vinegar

handful of kale, chopped

1/4 onion, sliced

1/2 head cabbage, shredded medium-fine

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

shake of pickling spice, if you have it (it's kind of key, but also optional)

pinch of black pepper, to taste

In a saucepan or pot, combine all ingredients and bring to boil. Stir and cover, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes to desired mushy-ness. Or crispness, if you are like me. 

Cool and store in a clean glass jar. 

Enjoy not hating sauerkraut anymore!

Panang Beef Curry is my JAM

A friend told me she made this recently in a crock pot and said I should give it a try.

Because I'm trying to perfect my braised-meat-skills during Covid lockdown, I decided to do it the old-fashioned way, in a Le Creuset dutch oven, in the oven. It was a lot more work, but the results were worth it. 

I browned the meat on the stovetop and braised it in water for 2.5 hours, then made the red curry sauce separately, because I was worried the off-juicing of the meat would make the curry too *beefy* and overpower the magical coconut curry flavor. Maybe next time I'll use the slow cooker, but for now I'm convinced this is the way to go. 

Set the meat to braise in the late afternoon, then the curry sauce comes together quickly right before serving as you are making the rice and accompanying vegetables. We served it with coconut rice, quick sauté of kale and home-made crispy shallots. 

Panang Beef Curry

-- for the BEEF --

2 lbs cubed chuck stew beef

1/2 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper

Shake/coat beef cubes lightly with flour mixture and brown slowly in a heavy dutch over being careful not to crowd it so it browns well. Use enough oil (it will feel like alot, keep adding it when it is absorbed!) and try not to burn the browned bits that stick to the pan, you want those for flavor later on. Brown cubes in batches and set aside finished ones until all are nice and brown on all sides. Patience here will pay off later!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Once all are browned, cover with about an inch of water and bring to boil on the stovetop. Cover pot with foil then a heavy lid, and transfer to oven to braise for approximately 2-3 hours, checking at 2 hours and add water if necessary. Once beef reaches your desired shreddy-ness, remove from oven and set on stove for finishing with sauce below. Reserve the beef cooking liquid you will use it later in the curry sauce.

--for RED CURRY SAUCE-- can use this with just veg for a great curry too!

8 tbsp MAESRI brand red curry paste (or Thai Kitchen could be ok too?)

1 medium onion, sliced or chopped

2 cans coconut CREAM (not milk!! it's too thin, you will be disappointed)

8 tbsp fish sauce (to taste)

2 tbsp agave syrup --OR-- 3 tsp sugar, (to taste)

12 Kaffir line leaves, deveined and julienned thin - or lime zest/juice to taste

1 generous tbsp peanut butter 

Couple slices of Jalapeño or Serrano chili if you are brave

Heat large/deep skillet or a second dutch oven with 4 tbsp oil. Fry curry paste until dark red then add onions, fish sauce, coconut cream, agave and 8 tbsp of beef cooking liquid to taste - your personal taste is key here, sample along the way to make sure it's how you think it should be. Add the beef chunks and simmer for 10 mins or so, add lime leaves and peanut butter and simmer a bit more. Adjust seasoning and add chili slices if you need more heat. 

Serve over coconut rice, topped with chopped Cilantro and crispy shallots. 

This is even better on day two when flavors really settle, so if you are organized, make it the day before. Or enjoy your leftovers even more then next day!

Chuck Roast/Pot Roast and maybe even beef stew?

I've always been scared to cook things like pot roast because: 
1. there is NO CUT OF MEAT at the butcher counter called "pot roast" - so what do I use?
2. Any meat that I don't grill usually turns out tough
3. Only shreddy-beef I usually like is of the Mexican variety
4. I hate gravy
5. I really hate the mushy vegetables that accompany this sort of dish

But a blind fit of prepper-life in this state of quarantine, I bought a giant (4.5 lb) chuck roast at the meat counter and was determined to make it good. I got home and started researching chuck roast, and huh, it's what a POT ROAST is. 

I gotta say, it came out really good. So here's my recipe.

Depending on appetites, leftovers can be repurposed several ways. We ate half, and I pulled out half of the meat (sans gravy) and froze for a Shepherd's Pie; and I used the rest of the meat in the gravy for an outstanding Beef Vegetable Barley soup. 


Quarantine Pot Roast

One 3- to 5-pound chuck roast 

1/2 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Seasoned salt like Lowry's or any spice mix you like

4 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thich-ish
2 whole onions, peeled and sliced

A few ribs of celery with the leaves on, chopped 
2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 or 3 sprigs fresh oregano

3-4 cups beef broth
1 cup red wine (optional, I didn't use this because I don't like wine-y food either)
+ + + + +
For the roux:
3-4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour

Any vegetables you like, carrots, potatoes - cleaned and prepped. You will add these at the last hour of cooking so they aren't mushy, or you can roast them separately while the meat rests, like I did... I also roasted mushrooms, onions and broccolini. I prefer this, but you do you.



Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. 

Salt and pepper the chuck roast, then coat each side in the flour you seasoned with your seasoned salt/spice mix. BEWARE do not over salt at this point. You can adjust salt in your gravy later. 

Heat the olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven (with a solid lid that you will use later in the oven) over medium heat. Add the sliced onions/garlic to the pot, allowing to brown, and if you have the patience, go ahead and caramelize them on low heat for awhile. I did this and the flavor it resulted in was really worth the effort. I don't do well with caramelizing onions so I really forced myself to be patient and not burn them and I'm happy I did. Watch that the garlic doesn't burn, just nice and toasty. 

Remove the onions/garlic to a bowl.  

If needed, add more olive oil to the very hot pot. Place the meat in the pot and sear it for about two or three minutes on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Again, another exercise in patience for me and I'm glad I did it, the finished roast will have a better outside texture. Be careful to brown it and not burn it. Remove the roast to a plate. 

With the burner still high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a whisk or spatula. Add the caramelized onions/garlic, celery and the whole sprigs of herbs, then place the roast back into the pot and add enough beef stock/water to cover the meat halfway. 

Add a sheet of foil on top and put the lid on. Roast for about 1 hour per pound of meat: 3 hours for a 3-pound roast. For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. 

If you like mushy carrots and potatoes, add them during the last 1.5 - 1 hour of cooking and remove them before you make the gravy. 

The roast is ready when it's fall-apart tender when forked.

Remove the roast and turn your oven up to temp for your roasted vegetables. You know how to cook these so I won't elaborate. 

Remove the roast to a plate or sheet pan, skim off excess fat on the top of the remaining broth and reserve for roux. 

Strain out the onions/celery/garlic into a blender or Vitamix pitcher and remove and discard the herb stems. Using a blender or Vitamix, puree the onions/celery /garlic. 

Transfer the remaining liquid broth from your dutch oven to a large measuring cup or bowl and reserve. 

Back in your dutch oven, add the strained fat from the broth and melt about 3  tablespoons of butter, then and add the 1/2 cup of flour and cook over medium heat into a golden roux. 

Deglaze with the cooking broth, then add the onion puree and simmer a few minutes until thickened to your preference. Adjust seasoning, salt, pepper.

I cut my roast into large chunks (or leave it whole) and return it to the gravy to reheat. 

Keep warm until your vegetables are roasted or if you are serving with mashed potatoes, mash them now. 

Serve with some chopped parsley or chives, and some toasted hearty bread smeared with soft brie. Eat and repeat. 


+ + + + + +
You could probably chunk this up and make it into beef stew if you like that sort of thing? I think the trick is cooking it low and slow and season it well. 

Quick Chili (because I'm impatient)

This recipe was torn from a tattered cookbook that I had when I first graduated from college, one of those in the 101-easiest-pasta-sauce-recipes-from-whatever-is-in-your-pantry type of book. That was back when it was ok to eat pasta. 

Chili-as-a-pasta-sauce has a special meaning in our house, because my husband comes from a place where it is completely normal to eat it that way.

I, however, do not. And my childhood chili was always served with toasty warm flour tortillas (heated directly against the gas burner of your stove, to be very specific < try it it's life changing) and then slathered with butter. I've evolved to at least tolerate the chili-over-pasta thing, even though I don't practice it myself. 

What I like these days is serving it over a baked yam (the orange-flesh sweet potato thing) with shredded cheese and sour cream, and a few extra shakes of hot sauce. Perfection.

This is a great, basic chili recipe that gets the spices right, and is super fast - from here you can add all the vegetables you like. Personally, I don't eat beans, so I double up on meat by chopping up some Evergood Hot Link Sausages and browning them in the pan to render all the delicious spicy red oil, then remove them and use that oil to saute the onions, garlic and ground beef.

Now, this recipe is a weeknight go-to and I will often double it and freeze it for an even quicker dinner in the future. Can you say Chili Nachos?

Quick Chili - just double it, you will be happy you did

3 tbsp olive or veg oil
(or the equivalent of the spicy oil you rendered from those chopped Evergood Hot Link sausages^^^)
1/2 lb ground beef
3 medium garlic cloves, crushed, or 2 tsp garlic powder if you don't have fresh
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp cumin
3 tbsp chili powder (make sure it's mild, if it's spicy, use to taste)
1 - 28 oz can of tomatoes, any kind, crushed, diced, sauce, if they are whole, then crush by hand
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp sugar, if your tomatoes taste tart
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
shakes of black pepper

In a large skillet or saucepan, heat oil and add onions, garlic and then beef. Saute until the beef has lost all of it's pink color and if you can, get it to leave a toasty brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. Sometimes it will release a lot of liquid and you can't get that glaze. It's ok. 

Add the cumin, chili powder and (garlic powder, if this is your option) and toast that up for two mins.

Add the tomatoes and stir to scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze (get all the flavor bits off), add the oregano  - and the hot link sausage if that's in your plan, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes. 

Taste for seasoning, add the sugar if it tastes a little tart or sour, and season with salt/pepper as you like.

Just before serving, add the rinsed beans just to heat them. If you simmer them, they will get mushy and gross. Maybe you like that? 

Serve over any shape of cooked pasta, a baked sweet potato/yam, or the proper way—with toasty buttered flour tortillas. 

Sesame Noodles by Beth

Always on the hunt for a good sesame/peanut noodle recipe, my friend served this with teriyaki salmon and I was instantly hooked. 

Like obsessed. Couldn't stop eating it. 

My apologies if you become obsessed too. Remember it's Beth's fault, I'm just the messenger. 

Sesame Noodles 

2 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil

2 tbsp toasted Sesame oil

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp Sambal Oelek - or any spicy chili sauce, season to taste

2 tbsp pasta water, post cooking but before you drain the pasta

10 oz any kind of pasta  - spaghetti, angel hair, fettuccini etc… cooked al dente

chopped scallions, toasted sesame send or chopped roasted peanuts, optional

Combine first six ingredients and whisk.

Cook pasta, add the 2 tbsp pasta water before you drain it. 

Toss hot pasta with sauce, mix and let sit for a bit. 

Serve warm, room temperature or cold - sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds or peanuts. 

Lemongrass Sausage in lettuce cups

I am always looking for an easy dinner that I can throw together quickly (I mean really...who isn't) and took a pic of this one out of my friend's famous monthly cooking magazine. 

This recipe is a fantastic two-fer, because although I think it was intended to be an appetizer (which I have yet to do), I have made it for dinner several times. As an appetizer, I can guarantee that you will be the toast of the party if you bring these babies as your hors d' to share. 

Often big chain supermarkets (and of course, Asian grocery stores) carry stalks of fresh lemongrass, which is essential this dish. I use about three stalks stripped to the soft inner core to equal 1/2 cup. 

I usually double the recipe and freeze the patties, then tightly wrap in plastic wrap and store in a zip-top bag for an even quicker lunch or dinner. Just thaw for 20 minutes and proceed with cooking.

LEMONGRASS SAUSAGE LETTUCE CUPS

1/3 cup coarsely chopped scallions


1/4 cup finely chopped fresh lemongrass

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon granulated sugar (I use agave liquid, either is fine)

1 teaspoon lime zest

2 medium garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated  (optional, but delicious)

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground chicken thighs

1 tablespoon neutral oil

12 butter lettuce leaves (from 1 head)

1 cup matchstick-cut carrots

Fresh mint and cilantro leaves

Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese fish sauce) 

Toss together scallions, lemongrass, ginger, salt, sugar/agave, lime zest, and garlic in a bowl. Mix in ground pork and chicken

Shape ground pork mixture into 12 (2-inch) patties. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Working in batches, cook patties until well browned and no longer pink in center, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet; let rest 5 minutes.

Stack 2 lettuce leaves to form a cup; repeat with remaining leaves. Place 2 patties in each lettuce cup with matchstick carrots, mint, cilantro, and nuoc cham.

Ground Chicken/Turkey Thai Larb Salad

I really should have posted this recipe years ago, because I make it often and often lose the recipe. 

Right now, it's living on my phone as a blurry photo, and so I decided to type it out and post it for-real so that I could find it in a hurry. 

We are fans of anything you can put on a salad and call dinner, and this is a good one. Served with steamed rice, quick-pickled onions, lettuce and a handful of chopped herbs, and you have a 30-minute dinner, and makes perfect leftovers for a salad lunch tomorrow. 

CHICKEN/TURKEY THAI LARB SALAD

1 lb of ground chicken or turkey - I usually double this recipe for leftovers!

1/2 red onion, sliced for pickled onion

4 cloves minced garlic

3 sliced green onions/scallions

some fresh jalapeño slices of you like a kick

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp Vietnamese fish sauce

Lettuce of your choice: butter, red leaf, romaine, spinach, whatever

Chopped/torn herbs, to taste: cilantro, basil, and mint

Dressing

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar/agave syrup

1 tbsp water

shake of red chili flakes 

Chopped roasted peanuts or sliced almonds for garnish

If you like pickled onions: thinly slice half a red onion and place in a small bowl with a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, a shake of sugar and two pinches of salt. Let it rest in the fridge until you're ready to eat. 

Next, steam some white rice. Or be lazy like me and open a bag of TJ's frozen brown rice and empty it into a covered dish, microwave 3 minutes.

Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. 

Add ground turkey/chicken, minced garlic cloves, three thinly sliced scallions (whites and greens), and a couple of slices of jalapeño. 

Season with a black pepper and cook until chicken is cooked through and browned. 

Stir in soy sauce, fish sauce, a small spoonful of sambal oelek or  sriracha, cooking until the liquid is almost completely reduced.

Toss dressing over warm meat and serve with rice, Bibb or butter lettuce leaves, lime wedges, quick-pickled onions, more hot sauce if desired, and chopped/torn herbs.

Basil Chicken, Thai style

I am always trying to replicate—or make better—dishes that I eat at restaurants, especially dishes that seem so simple it's more work to put on shoes and go out to eat them. 

I also hate eating out, because I hate to wait (an hour +) to be seated, hate to be rushed by the waitstaff (and anxious wait-ers, sending side-eye to your table with silent thoughts of GTFO), and wanting  desperately to drink my own wine with my meal, and not some crappy 2-buck sauv blanc. 

SO, this tastes just like the take-out version, is super easy to make, and pairs nicely with your slightly better than crappy sauv blanc. 

One last note: Dishes like these are only "good" if they taste like YOU want them to taste. 

I mean, the taste that you are used to from your favorite take-out place. So if it doesn't taste good to you, by all means, experiment with the fish sauce, soy, sauce, oyster sauce, etc. until it matches your favorite take-out place. Then, you know you have a successful dish in front of you! PS write down your personal proportions so you can replicate it. 

BASIL CHICKEN, THAI STYLE

2 cups minced chicken breast

1/2 cup roasted cashew nuts

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 cup white onion

1 cup Thai basil (if unavailable, use normal basil)

3 tablespoons oil 

11/2 tablespoon fish sauce

11/2 tablespoon oyster sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1 teaspoon sugar (I use agave syrup, sold at Trader Joe's in baking section)

1 splash water (optional)

Mix the soy sauce in a cup with the agave, and stir to dissolve.

Heat a wok or frying pan on medium to high flame for 20 seconds. Add 3 tablespoons oil and swirl the wok/frying pan so that the oil is evenly distributed.

Add minced garlic and fry for 10 seconds. Quickly add minced chicken and continue frying until chicken turns white.

Pour the sauces into the chicken and mix well. Add the basil and fry for another 30 seconds. If the chicken looks dry, add a splash of water. Throw in the cashew nuts and turn the flame off. Stir the cashew nuts into the chicken.

This dish goes well with rice, over cooked soba noodles or on top of a salad of lettuce and mixed herbs like cilantro, basil and mint. 

(celebrating annual) Hot Crab Dip (Day)

I'm done searching my computer for this damn recipe - I only make it once a year, on Super Bowl Sunday, with any leftover crab I froze from our Annual Christmas Eve Crab-fest. We are fortunate that Dungeness crab season runs November to March in our area, so I'm not sure why I only make this once a year?* (see next paragraph) I think it would make a great crab enchilada filling with a green chile sauce. 

*Don't be frightened by the recipe - this is dip is ridiculously rich, so make sure you are prepared for the fat-bomb that follows. 
Boom.

HOT CRAB DIP

This recipe can be scaled to make an infinite amount, which is good news because that's how much you will want to eat.  

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce, I prefer Frank's

1/2 tsp. seafood seasoning or seasoned salt

6 ounces fresh lump crab, drained

Preheat oven to 350°.

In medium bowl, combine all ingredients except crab and beat with a stand mixer or by hand until smooth. Gently stir in crab., and sprinkle with some homemade Emeril's seasoning (you can Google that). Spread gently into a greased shallow baking dish. I like a thin layer of dip so there is lots of crusty top for everyone. 

Bake 30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly, and hopefully a little toasty on top. 

Serve with your favorite dippers. Ours include regular flavor Doritos. 

Crumb topping (a gift to you)

Been invited to a birthday party this weekend and the invite says "no gifts."

I am a bit relieved just because we all have so much stuff, it's hard to come up with a little something special that most can't acquire themselves - so I've taken to bringing a breakfast baked-good from my baking-company days as a thank you/hostess /birthday/whatever gift. 

Nothing says I care about you like breakfast the next day after I've drunk all your wine and danced on your kitchen island, am I right??

Here's a crumb topping recipe that I keep in a zip-top bag in the freezer for all sorts of occasions. I use it to top unbaked cranberry or raspberry coffee cakes, any sort of fruit pie, and today, on a fool-proof, insanely easy apple bread recipe that I (think I?) I cut out of the WSJ food section last year about this time...?

Make a bag and then know you have a secret gift in your freezer at all times. 

Cinnamon Crumb Topping (photo on my Instagram - too lazy to link right now)

1 1/2 sticks unsalted (or salted) butter - room temp to slightly soft

1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt (omit if you only had salted butter)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
few shakes of ground nutmeg

Mix the dry ingredients in a medium to large bowl (I use large because I am, after all, a hot mess). 

With your hands, rub the soft butter into the dry ingredients until fully incorporated and you have a range of clump sizes, a little powder all the way up to biggish clumps. 

For optimum clump size, freeze it all on a metal tray for about 20 minutes, then move to zip top bag; or just put topping straight into the bag and into the freeze, relatively flat so your clumps don't turn into one giant frozen clump. That's a bummer, you have to wait for it to defrost a bit before showering your baked-good with crumby goodness before it goes into the oven. 

Whatever you top, bake generally as instructed. 

And the recipient will thank you. 

Easy Chicken (Coconut) Curry

I recently read a book about minimizing the chances of Alzheimer's and dementia through diet that threw alot of data at me. Great, fine, I love data and I am sure no one wants brain deterioration, but I don't know how many people are willing to make (extreme) dietary changes (ie sacrifices) at present? 

Something certainly NOT a sacrifice is eating curry. One of the chapters mentions Turmeric as a spice in the curry blend (the yellow one) that (according to DATA) can help ward off brain disease. Well that's easy, I love curry! 

Here is a recipe that I found on a very random curry powder jar years and years ago. We liked the recipe so I have kept that darn empty curry jar in my spice cabinet for nearly 20 years, just so I wouldn't lose the recipe. Now I will finally write it down. 

I started out making it according to the jar directions, using whipping cream, but now that I have learned about the super healing power of coconut (as told to me in the book and also backed by DATA) I've been doing it with coconut cream. (Thanks to TJ's!) 

Canned coconut cream is alot thicker and richer than the canned coconut milk I had been using for curries. Trying to recreate Thai curries at home just never worked because they were too runny and not rich like restaurant versions. Well I think the key is using coconut cream. But NOT the sweetened Cream of Coconut in the mixer section of the grocery store. Save that for your Piña Coladas! 

Easy Chicken (Coconut) Curry 
serves 2-4 depending on how much your people eat

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil (I use coconut oil because it's so healing!)
1 small yellow onion, chopped or sliced thin, depending on how much onion you want present in your finished dish (chopped will disappear more)
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt (full fat if you want to be super brain-healthy) **OPTIONAL for coconut version
1 cup heavy cream --OR-- 1 - 14 oz can of coconut cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
(I use more because I like my curry with heavy salt & pepper)
2 chicken breasts (organic and pastured, of course) sliced really thin into bite size pieces
Cilantro for garnish

Steamed rice to serve

In a medium/large saucepan, heat the olive or coconut oil over medium/low heat and cook onions until soft, trying not to brown them, about 5-8 minutes. I am lame and usually somehow let them brown, it's not a crisis. ADjust the heat to medium and add the curry powder. Stir so it doesn't burn. 

Add the chicken and cook in batches, if necessary, until it just turns white, not really cooked through. Add the whipping cream or coconut cream and yogurt, and simmer 3-5 minutes until chicken is just cooked through but still tender. Season with the salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve over rice with a side of sautéed or roasted vegetables, kale, whatever you like!

I call this my dinner-party curry because you can make a vat of it and it's a crowd pleaser. Plus, now it know it's good for us. 

Doesn't your brain feel younger already?

Quick/easy Steak Marinade

I am sure (well, I hope) everyone has some hand-me-down trashy comfort food recipes from their childhoods that they bust out now and then - mine is my Mom's Beef Stroganoff with a base of Campbell's Tomato Soup. Maybe I will post it sometime, if you promise not to judge. It's pretty tasty. 

My friend's secret is the package of Lawry's powdered meat marinade. Who knows what evil lurks in that little envelope, but toss some grass-fed rib eye steaks in it and in 20 minutes you have some tasty meat to grill. 

Panic ensued last night when I checked the pantry for a magic little envelope and I was all out - friends were coming in an hour and I didn't have time to get to a store that actually carries it (ie trashy grocery, not Whole Foods) so I tracked this marinade down. Easy because all the ingredients are pantry items, and quick because you just toss it all in the blender.

Delicious – and bet a lot healthier than the packet of Lawry’s marinade, with just a little more work!

Quick/easy Steak Marinade

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
4 scallions, washed and rough chopped
2 large cloves garlic
1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
2 pounds inside skirt steak, cut into 3-4 equal pieces - I am sure you can use any cut you like tho

In a blender, put in oil, soy sauce, scallions, garlic, lime juice, red pepper, cumin, and sugar and puree. 

In a large heavy duty, zip top bag, put pieces of skirt steak and pour in marinade. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible. Allow steak to marinate for 1-1.5 hours in refrigerator.

Remove steak from bag and grill until done. Don't overcook! When finished cooking, cover with foil and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Remove meat from foil, reserving foil and juices. Slice thinly across the grain of the meat. Return to foil pouch and toss with juice.

Chicken lemon meatballs

Ok and now, back to dinner. 

My sister has been sick and I have been doing my best to drive down each month with a few meals so the pressure is off her to feed the family. Because even when you are sick, you can't escape the pressure of dinner, which sucks. She escaped to my house for a few nights last month, and I revived an old favorite for her. This is one of my jotted-on-a-crumpled-stained-sticky-note favorites, from a friend I used to work with. She shared a few more winners with me, and when I locate those sticky-notes, I'll blog them too. Enjoy!


Chicken lemon meatballs
I usually double the recipe to serve 4 and a few left over...if you are lucky...

Most of the time, I serve this with couscous I've fancied-up with curry powder, chopped sautéed veggies, currants, pine nuts or almonds, and lots of salt and pepper.

1/3 cup soft, coarse fresh breadcrumbs (don’t use crusts)
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice - maybe some zest if you are motivated to zest
1 lb. freshly ground lean chicken (light and dark meat) or ground turkey breast
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste - optional
2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2/3 cup minced onion, sautéed in 2 tbs. butter or olive oil until translucent
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. butter

Make the meatballs:
In a large bowl, soak the breadcrumbs in the lemon juice until plumped and the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the ground chicken or turkey, salt, paprika, cumin, pepper flakes, parsley, and sautéed onions, along with the oil in the pan. Mix gently but thoroughly. Shape into 1-1/2-inch meatballs; maybe 20 per lb of meat. I use a one ounce scoop with a spring release.

To fry: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. When the butter has melted, add the meatballs (take care not to crowd the pan) and cook, turning gently, until browned on 2 or 3 sides and cooked through, about  8 minutes total. Transfer to a 350 oven to finish cooking and hold until all meatballs are cooked.

I will often fry first and finish in the oven to be sure the meatballs are cooked thorough. Frying is such a mess though. And mine don't keep that round meatball shape. So sometimes I just bake them...

To bake: place meatballs on an oiled rack/pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. This is the easiest, least messy option. You will want a rack pan that can catch the juices, which you'll use for the sauce.

Then finish sauce in the skillet: add a 2 tbsp each of butter and flour to the pan and gently brown for three minutes (make a roux) then deglaze the pan with a 2 cups of chicken broth. Finish the sauce with a half a cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste. Nestle the cooked meatballs and any remaining juice they released into the sauce and return to a simmer before serving

To finish if baked: Add a 2 tbsp each of butter and flour to the pan and gently brown for three minutes (make a roux). Scrape the browned bits and juice from the base of the rack pan into the roux then deglaze the pan with a 2 cups of chicken broth. Finish the sauce with  half cup of heavy cream and salt and pepper to taste. Nestle the cooked meatballs and any remaining juice they released into the sauce and return to a simmer.

Waffles for Dinner

We got off the waffle train about a year and a half ago. Our trusty wedding-gift waffle maker was looking bald of it's non-stick coating, which is always a sign for me that we've ingested it all and it's time to start poisoning ourselves again with new non-stick. A friend who house-sat recently gave us a new waffle maker, but I never mastered it.  And besides the child had moved into a chocolate chip pancakes phase, so we have been busy eating the non-stick coating off the pancake griddle.

A few Sunday mornings ago, someone in the family announced they wanted waffles and it up and started again, the waffle obsession. It was time for me to master the new waffle maker, and needed to burn a few before getting the temperature setting and cook time just right. The new waffle maker consists of four big squares and is semi-deep—not like those fancy, deep two-sided Belgian ones - but rather a hybrid between traditional and Belgian. And it is huge. Maybe I could eat two squares max, then fall back into bed in a carb-and-syrup induced coma. 

Since that Sunday, we've made waffles every weekend **successfully** in the new waffle maker. No, we didn't eat them for dinner. But you could! I just put that in the post title because the blog is called Hot Mess Dinner and I felt like I needed a tie-in.  See below for a savory waffle note. 

Really Good Waffles from Scratch

This makes about three full (4 square) waffles in my waffle maker, which is giant.

You can double this recipe to make a lot more waffles and freeze them for later. 

Just pop in the toaster to reheat. 

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp white sugar

2 eggs, separated (!!!)

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup buttermilk (my obsession continues)

> mix and warm them on the stove top or in the microwave for a minute or two so they are not ice cold

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled a bit

1 tsp vanilla 

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar and set aside. 

In another bowl, temper the egg yolks with the warm milk and combine. Add the melted butter. 

In yet another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm and set aside.

Add the liquid mixture (egg yolks, milk, and melted butter) to the dry mixture (flour, etc) and mix just until combined. It may look  a little lumpy, that's OK. Gently fold in the egg whites until they are evenly distributed. Don't over mix, you don't want tough waffles. 

Scoop the batter into a preheated waffle maker that has been sprayed with cooking spray or brushed with melted butter or coconut oil.  

Cook until your waffle is crisp and dark golden. 

You can throw a few handfuls of mini chocolate chips into your batter and make yourself a chocolate chip waffle. Top it with whipped cream and that's a perfect dinner!


>>Little note here: After some inspirational pancakes at the St Francis Soda Fountain, we've done the savory waffle thing a few times now and it is deeeeelicious.

Start by putting some julienned proscuitto into your waffle maker (spray with cooking spray first) and let it cook until crispy. Respray and add some waffle batter and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Mix it around so the cheese is covered with batter, otherwise it may get a little burny.

Cook until waffle is done, and serve with some sour cream and chopped green onion. Maybe a fried egg on top?

Now this IS a waffle you could have for dinner. 

Andi's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread/Muffins/Whatever you like

Went walking with my new friend Rachel this morning and we talked about obsession with all things pumpkin. It's in the air this time of year.

Not that I am one of those obsessed people. In fact I might have been the opposite - I remember once having a pumpkin mask applied during a facial and it stung like a thousand evil bees. Made me a little wary of those innocent looking pumpkins. But I have been making this recipe since college and no one has ever claimed I was inflicting torture by serving it. 

I have received marriage proposals, venture capital offers, eye rolls of ecstasy and pledges of eternal friendship -  all resulting from baking this bread. And so, in honor of all the co-workers, family, friends, neighbors, Teacher Appreciation Day eaters, random school bake sales, pre-school morning treat eaters, high school advisory breakfast eaters AND new friendships, I'll post it.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread/Muffins/Whatever

The original recipe MAY have called for this to be baked as muffins, but I have really only made it in mini-loaf pans, until last week, when I made a double batch and just needed to get it all baked. Then I finally tried muffins, which came out great. Be sure to fill your cups very close to the top to get that magical muffin top goodness. 

Although I haven't tried, if the butter freaks you out, it might work to do 50/50 butter and applesauce. 
I will say that this recipe is worth the butter.

1 stick of unsalted butter, melted and cooled enough to not cook the eggs
1 cup plain, canned pumpkin
2 eggs, preferably at room temp

1 cup sugar
1 2/3 cups flour
1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (I measure this generously)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp (fine) salt

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350º
Coat whatever you are baking in with no-stick cooking spray. 

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl. To save doing more dishes than necessary - I melt the butter in a medium microwaveable bowl and let it cool for a bit. Then mix in pumpkin and eggs. 

Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then fold in chocolate chips. Don't over mix. Mo one like tough muffins. 

Here comes the whatever-you-like part. I use mini loaf pans, but muffin tins work great too, and I am sure you could make this in a regular-size loaf pan too. You'll just have to wait the extra time for it to bake, which I guarantee will be torture. Fill your receptacle(s) almost to the top. I don't think I've ever had spillage from this recipe and I have made it about 10,000 times. 

My mini loaves take about 20 mins (give or take) in my oven, muffins maybe 15-18. Watch carefully for doneness, a toothpick will come out clean when done. Try again if you hit a melted chocolate chip. Remove immediately and let cool in pans 10 mins before removing from pans. Then try to control yourself. Usually I've inhaled two loaves before I break my pumpkin trance and realize what I've done. 

And here's hoping you will make many new friends and maybe score some venture capital with this recipe.  

Cumin Honey Garlic Chicken and appropriate sides

Some of the best meals I have made literally come from that weeknight Top Chef Quickfire Challenge ***PANIC*** that I have about 30 minutes to get dinner on the table and a small assortment of strange and limited ingredients. Usually things that need to be used that night, and a smattering of leftovers my husband refused to eat for lunch. I'll never forget my daughter breezing in at 6 pm from school, she was probably seven at the time, and announcing that she "felt like something with peanut sauce" for dinner. Well, I like a kitchen challenge, so I busted out some damn good peanut noodles tossed with (leftover) diced pork tenderloin and snow peas. Boom. 

Although I didn't have any stray leftovers to use, tonight's dinner was a success, so I figured I'd document it. 

I use my iPhone notes section to save all sorts of recipe ideas, menus, and general food-related info that I'm sure I wanted to remember, but subsequently have forgotten why. Today I saw an entry that said Cumin Honey Chicken and Tahini underneath. No recipe, no chef name, no cookbook or website. So tonight I just went for it. 


Cumin Honey Garlic Chicken
I like the idea of this spice combo because it can go a few directions with sides - 
Latin (I'd serve it with roasted potatoes topped with Poblano Crema)
Middle eastern (maybe with an awesome Fattoosh salad and some tahini-ish sauce)
Moroccan (definitely with curried couscous full of veggies and nuts and currants)
Tonight, I served it with some potatoes that had started to grow eyes (roasted, with a few handfuls of chopped Kale and some sliced red onion thrown in during the last ten minutes of cooking) and a Caprese salad. All things that needed to be used up tonight! 

4 bone-in, skin on chicken breasts (or one per person, however many you are)

2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil (I cook with avocado oil but use what you like) 
1-2 tablespoons honey (use 1 tablespoon if you don't like savory things super sweet)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic, chopped or through a press
ample salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400º

Pat your chicken breasts dry and put them in a roomy baking dish sprayed with something to try and keep it from getting too messy - I use awesome spray coconut oil. (Thanks TJ's!)

Mix all the other ingredients together and pour over the chicken, making sure you coat all sides. 

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of your breasts. If they start to brown too much (the skin gets burn-y) then slip a piece of foil over the top. I use an instant-read thermometer and take my breasts out when they hit 155-160º, then cover them with foil and let them rest for ten minutes. 

I put my roasted potatoes in the oven about 15 minutes ahead of the chicken and they were done at the same time. 

Too bad I am a crappy photographer or I would have included a photo. Maybe the next time I make it for a dinner party, I'll shoot it. 

Finally, THE BEST Banana Muffins

Because of my baking business, I'm not posting a lot of (um, any) baking recipes **sorry you're gonna have to buy that triple-layer coconut cake** plus this is a dinner blog, NOT a baking blog. But my daughter and I made some pretty awesome Banana Nut Chocolate Chip muffins tonight and I wanted to write down the recipe before I forgot it. 

I have searched for years for the perfect banana bread/muffin recipe but with no luck. When you buy it out at a cafe, it's perfectly moist, thick slices of banana goodness or sky high, fluffy muffins. But the many, many recipes I have tested were generally disappointing.

One thing I did differently tonight is use my immersion blender to blend the wet ingredients. I was really frustrated with mashing the bananas - maybe they weren't ripe enough? Skins were black, but they were still pretty firm inside. So after I mashed them with the potato masher, I put all the wet ingredients into a 4 cup measuring cup and whizzed it a few times. Just like a banana-buttermilk-raw egg-canola oil-smoothie. Yum. You could probably get the same results with your regular blender. Just more parts to wash. 

If you know my baking, you may know that I am OBSESSED with buttermilk. Maybe you don't know that, because I don't publish my recipes?! But literally every cake-ish thing I make for the business contains buttermilk. It is magic stuff. It gives a rich tang, a perfect crumb... ah I could go on. But I won't. Here's the recipe: 

My BEST Banana Muffins

2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup buttermilk (NO SUBSTITUTIONS, just buy a quart)
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (do I really have to tell you **pure**?)
1 large egg
2-3 large bananas, very ripe, well mashed with a potato masher
1 cup chopped walnuts
at least 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375º

In 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup or another high sided bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mashed bananas. 

With your stick blender (Or heck, put all the above in your real blended if it fits) blend until smooth. 

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt then mix thoroughly.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently by hand using a wooden spoon or my implement of choice, a rubber spatula  *** DO NOT OVER MIX, or your will have TOUGH MUFFINS **

Generously spray muffin tins with cooking spray, including the top surface, so when the muffin top rolls over it won't stick.  

Use a 2 ounce ice cream scoop to measure out the batter into muffin cups to the TOP. That's right, fill 'er up to the top. Then your muffins will be big and beautiful - finally appreciation for a generous muffin top!

18-22 minutes or until muffins spring back with touched and tops are nicely browned. Rotate mid-way through the cooking time and check at 16 minutes with a toothpick - you don't want to overcook these babies. 

Let rest in the pan five minutes if you can possibly wait that long. If you don't, you may burn your fingers getting them out. Slather with butter and eat them all immediately like we did. 

Another fast/easy pork marinade

Thanks to Alton Brown for this recipe cuz it is damn good. I like the idea of pork but it inevitably ends up dry. Not these!

I served them at a Fall dinner party with an arugula, pomegranate and persimmon salad, plus roasted cauliflower drizzled with Calabrian chili oil. For a Summer BBQ, I'd pair them with fresh corn-on-the-cob, a kale salad (uh this will be the next several posts...my obsession with kale salads) and maybe some heirloom tomatoes and really good Burrata. 

Be sure to rinse them well (like rub them under running water) if you don’t want the salty-crustyness when it’s been BBQ’d – I think that’s the best part but it can be intense. 

I also halve the recipe when it’s for just the three of us – I can fit five or so chops in a half recipe of brine.

Easy Pork Chop brine

Thick loin-end pork chops  (or use what ever cut pork you wish)
3/4 cup kosher salt (DO NOT use regular white table salt!)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon mustard powder (do not use prepared mustard!)
2 cups cider vinegar (heated until hot)
1 lb ice cube

Heat the vinegar in a microwave-proof glass container (I use a Pyrex measuring cup) until very hot, not boiling

Measure the salt, brown sugar, peppercorns and mustard powder into whatever container you will brine in. I use a deep plastic container with a tight lid, or a 9x13 glass dish if you are doing a lot of chops.

Add in the HOT vinegar and swirl to dissolve the sugar and salt completely.

Let the mixture stand for 20 minutes at room temperature to develop flavor.

Add in the ice cubes and shake to melt most of the ice.

Add in the pork chops, making certain that the meat is completely covered with the brine.

Cover with lid and refrigerate for 2 hours (real recipe says NO MORE than 2 hours! But I think you could go 30 mins longer for thick cut chops **BUT** you need to rinse them well or the outside will be VERY VERY SALTY.)

Rinse the pork WELL under cold water before cooking.

Cook as desired. I usually go 4 minutes each side and then let them rest for awhile.