Category Archives: Mains

Nov11

Thai Shitake Mushroom Coconut Chicken Stir-fry

Posted on November 11, 2013 by athaidek

Because what else is there to do after you run 7 miles with your soul sistah?!?! “We’re goin ta flavor town with this one!!” would be the response we’d get from Guy Fieri if he were interviewing my friend Sarah and me on DDD. SOLID post-run meal if you were wondering, and also good with white vino. I was telling someone the other day that it’s gonna be a longggg road before I feel comfortable recommending wine/spirits pairings with food, but hey, the cheapest bottom shelf Pinot Grigio at Whole Foods worked well here. So there you go.

If any of you out there have listened to the Parent Trap Pandora station, you’ll understand my confusion when the entire playlist throughout this cooking experience provided us with songs from the 1950s. To give those non-Parent-Trap-lovers some perspective, the classic was filmed in 1998. NEVERTHELESS, OLDIES BUT GOODIES. AHHH what a great night it was. And really, you should make this for a group of four. Preferably to impress them with your chopping skills because you’ll have some mastery after all these veggies go in.

Being all non-cultured with the appropriate seasonal vegetables, we were not aware that Whole Foods does not sell Napa cabbage this time of year. Luckily, savoy is a useful alternative my friends! Serve this recipe from EatingWell circa 2010 over some simple short grain brown rice or rice noodles. You can’t go wrong! Honestly. In fact, if you’re nervous about cooking meat, just eliminate the chicken and throw in a few more mushrooms.

Can someone help me with my Thanksgiving pinterest board by the way?? I’m struggling big time. I seriously need some advice on sides?!

Props to Sarah you’re my chopping hero. We used chicken breasts and pounded them thin to get the pieces all tender!

Friends all hangin out and whatnot – Scallions + Ginger + Jalapeno

Mushrooms simmering away in coconut milk, fish sauce, and lime juice

Cabbage!

We almost bought a basil plant to get this lil bit…but then we found some. The end.

Nov8

Swiss-chard wrapped Black bean Bell pepper Quinoa Burritos

Posted on November 8, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

Good news, swiss-chard can be a substitute for collard greens! Maybe not the best green to wrap into burritos, but they’ll work! I very slightly adapted this recipe (literally only swapped swiss chard for collard greens bc they didn’t have it at Publix) and served two of them with a burr and some salsaaa. Goes perfect with some chips on the side but you know, I pretty much ate those as my appetizer and “protein powder” for getting me through the cooking process. For the record, I do realize there is no protein in tortilla chips.

My sister stopped by and although she wasn’t the biggest fan of the green leaves, she gave another stamp of approval for this flavor-rich filling. When to serve this? I’d suggest it for a low-key dinner for you and one other friend. Jill says you can make the filling a day in advance, and it’s not the kind of meal you really want to prep for a big dinner or party. All that leaf-wrapping-and-stuffing-flying is not the mood you’re going for on an entertainment night, right?

I ended up with some leftover quinoa great for lunch the next day, and I made a few without cheese that ended up great as well! One problem with using swiss chard is when you try and cut open the burrito, the tough red center of the chard is difficult to cut without a steak knife. So, get in your steakiest mood and whip out the big guns!

Start by blanching your chard or collard greens in a boiling bath of salty water. Takes a bit of the toughness out of the greens. Meanwhile get your quinoa going on a smaller burner.

Quick peek! See ya soon!

Got my quinoa going, time to make the filling. Shred up the carrots and scallions (I used 4 instead of 3)

Garlic is in the pan cooking with the cumin+coriander+oil

Filling infusing with spices! I added some salsa to make it more saucy

Set up your station. Don’t forget to put potholders underneath hot pans. Key step here is to slice the chard’s stem so it can wrap easily over the filling.

Here’s how I went…quinoa, filling, cheese, roll, REPEAT (I am now a military chef)

Example uno

Little guys before going in the oven, covered at 350 for 20 mins.

MMMMMMMMM helllooo

The cut open pic wasn’t as cute, so I’ll spare you 🙂

Oct23

Mushroom Spinach Wheat Crepes with Dill and Sherry

Posted on October 23, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

I’m not sure if I’d try crepes again, BUT, I am so glad I made these, because the filling was bomb. Although this was a rich dish, I strayed away from adding cream because I wanted to really test a healthier version. The problem was, every single recipe I could find was either so creamy or it was super vegan. Always somewhere in the middle, what can you do.

So, I mushed some together and here’s what I came up with. Ingredients:

– 4-5 shitake mushrooms

– 1 lb button mushroom, sliced thinly

– 1 onion, thinly sliced

– a big ole handful of dill, chopped roughly

– 1/4 cup sherry

– 1/2 cup white wine

– 3/4 cup chicken stock

– 1-2 TBS butter

– 1/2 tsp dried thyme

– A whole bag of fresh spinach

– 1 TBS flour

– a few cloves of minced garlic

Steep the shitake mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Strain and reserve liquid.

Make this recipe according to Alton Brown’s recipe, substituting white wheat for All Purpose if you have it. Set aside in the fridge while you whip up the filling.

Sautee your thinly sliced onion in butter on medium heat until the onions soften. Sprinkle with salt and pepp. Add garlic but cook only for a minute before adding mushrooms, as they can burn easily. Add sliced mushrooms and let them get a little brown and soft. Remember, mushrooms like their space so spread them out! Slice up your shitake too. Again, season with a bit of salt and pepp. Once the mushrooms are soft, add in your sherry and turn up the heat to high, cooking off the ALCH. Then add in your wine. These ingredients are based on what flavor you like, but I added a lot since I thought that without the cream it needed a big boost of flavor.

At this point I added the dried thyme, and let everything meld together before adding in the chicken stock. In addition to the chicken stock, I added a bit of the shitake mushroom cooking liquid. I let it boil, then wilted in the spinach and returned the heat to low. Simmer for around 15 minutes, and I added flour because I thought the sauce needed some more thickener. If you’d like to add cream, that’s an option as well! At the very end, with a few minutes left, add in the dill.

Get your bad self on with the crepes. After I had the sauce all simmering and bubbly, I set up the crepes right before eating. Ugh, I don’t think I can provide any advice on how to do this, but follow Alton’s directions!! I added in some chopped dill to my crepes to give them flavor. Serve with a big ole salad and some vino! Big point here is have everything ready with the filling so you can focus entirely on making the crepes that cook really quickly. If any other bloggers/experimenters/crepe lovers out there have any recommendations to help me in the future, share your crepe recommendations below s’il vous plait!!

Sep30

A Bon-Appetempt wannabe – Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Cardamom Rice

Posted on September 30, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

Here’s to my favorite blogging video of all time. If you’ve been around me, my new iPhone, or anything with wi-fi, I’ve probably showed you this vid. I just absolutely love Amelia Morris’ sense of humor and weird voices. Mostly because I am all about the loud voices and imitations, whether or not I’m in the kitchen. The best part of this vid is definitely BAKED CHECKEN GETCHA BAKED CHECKEN. Sadly, my photo skills have really got to pick it up. I’m so excited about the food that I forget to take pictures before it’s all gone. Forgive me, but srsly make THIS AND WATCH THE VIDEO.

I love this dish because it’s deceptive comfort food. The dill and parsley and cilantro give it this fresh texture that lightens up the extremely moist and rich chicken and rice. It’s that chicken and rice base that represents comfort food for so many cultures that I love. My grandma’s Chicken Tikka Masala is our family’s traditional comfort food as well as the ultimate Khausway, a Burmese chicken dish that reminds me of every family memory with my Dad’s side.

For some families, it’s that chicken, saltine, rice, and cheese casserole-y thing that makes you want to curl up in a ball and be a cat-lady (wut?). No, but seriously, sometimes that stuff is zooo good. It was really fun to make this comfort food with my friend Caelan as we are both adjusting to post-grad life, moving into the “real people” phase. Just kidding, but honestly it was a great Sunday night meal for two friends catching up. I encourage you to make this with a friend on a night when you have the time to wait for a hearty chicken dish to simmer slowly for a solid half hour, leaving you time to share your exciting stories from the weekend and calm each others’ nerves for the week!

I feel so blessed.

Caramelized onions…my friend Kelly and I could eat these like a dip or even plain…

yummy chicken with spices…it pays to have an Indian grandmother with whole spices in her cabinet 🙂

omg yes. Follow the rules and don’t move your chicken around too much! Let it get crispy

When you add the rice, get it all coated with oil and spices before adding in the water. Ours was SOOO oily, so there’s really no need to add more oil if you ask me

Mysterious, I know

Sep16

A Runner’s Feast: Deb’s Baked Pasta with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Posted on September 16, 2013 by athaidek

Standard

When your dad makes you run a race with him, you somehow get roped into making cheesy pasta bake the night before. You also end up arriving at the race a whopping 40 minutes too early and thus leaving an extra 40 minutes to sleep in the car dreaming of carb mania dinner from last night. But hey, you ran 9 miles THUMBS UP CHICA

Deb, you were thinking of my dad when you wrote this post I think. He is ALL ABOUT baked pasta with hot Italian sausage and hearty greens. I’ve never cooked broccoli rabe before, but am a HUGE fan. It always makes me think of when I went to Philadelphia during the college tour days and told my dad I wanted to go to a REAL Italian establishment in Philly. I ordered pasta with broccoli rabe, the waiter’s name was Dominic, and the restaurant was an old converted mansion. It was awesome.

On Atlanta’s first perfect fall day, I visited the St. Phillips farmers market for the first time and bought this delicious hot Italian sausage. The rapini I found at the regular grocery store actually and used part-skim mozzarella (use the block kind not shredded!!). I couldn’t find campagnelle but am a fan of rigatoni’s ridges. I slept soooo well after this meal and used some of the broccoli rabe, cheesy goodness and sausage to make scrambled eggs after the race.

This recipe’s going on my “college guy friends come to visit need food lots of it” list. And this bechamel ohhhhh. You could honestly make this without cheese and it’d be great with the bechamel. Since it’s cooked in the hot italian sausauge drippings, it has this spicy and full flavor thats so different from any bechamel I’ve made before.

Thank you Deb for this recipe!!

Served it with a salad, homemade balsamic, honey, lemon vinaigrette and some failed homemade croutons (feelin the sistah love coffield and grubes on the burned croutons)

(I added a few mushrooms)

Chop up the broccoli rabe