Archive for the 'chicken & turkey' Category
I have no exciting way to introduce you to this salad of sorts; suffice to say it has taken care of many lunches, and even a few dinners over the past few weeks. It’s the Ichiban salad of my childhood, glammed up with chunks of roasted chicken, and made extra toasty by popping crushed dry noodles in the toaster oven along with the sliced almonds. (Note: do not leave the toaster oven to go check your email. For real.) The resulting jumble is crunchy, sweet and sour, and makes a satisfying sum of its parts. Also: a ginormous bag of coleslaw mix (enough to last at least a week) costs $3, a packet of noodles about a quarter, and a handful of almonds aint much. You also get the health plusses of all that slaw, and the nuts, and a few peas if you want to add the dregs of the bowl of leftovers from the other night. (OK… honestly? I put them in there so I could call it chicken noodle salad. I thought it was catchy. It is kinda fun though, right?)
More selling points: If you’re starving when you get home, it can be put together in under ten minutes, before you devour two pieces of toast and a handful of granola. All the things in it keep well enough to keep on hand in the cupboard or fridge – cabbage has staying power. (You don’t have to add roasted chicken, but if there’s some in the freezer or fridge, it’s a Very Good Thing.)
I’m going to drive structured recipe lovers crazy for awhile here, because this is again one that gets tossed together without reference to measurements.
For two big pasta-size bowls, or enough to put on the dinner table as a side, here’s what I do:
- Crush a bag of Ichiban noodles (spicy chicken is my fave, although you’ll just use a sprinkle of the packet) in its bag, then open it up and shake the contents out onto a baking sheet – it should fit in the toaster oven. Add a handful of sliced almonds and toast until everything smells nutty.
- Mound a generous amount of thinly sliced cabbage or coleslaw mix in a bowl. A couple handfuls per person, I’d say.
- Get a jar, and pour in about 1/4 cup olive or canola oil, 2-3 Tbsp. sugar (it’s sweet), 3-4 Tbsp. rice vinegar and a sprinkle of the seasoning packet. Shake it up.
- Add the toasty nuts n’ noodles to the slaw, add some chopped chicken if you like, and drizzle the lot with dressing. You probably won’t need all of it, but that part is up to you. Toss and eat.
Now I’m all hungry.
April 12 2012 | chicken & turkey and salads | 12 Comments »
I love butter chicken. In fact, I don’t know of many people who don’t. It’s the sort of lunch or dinner or midnight snack that’s happiness-inducing. There are few foods I really crave anymore, but butter chicken is one of them. Sometimes give in and go fulfill my desires an east Indian lunch buffet where I almost always shame myself on the stuff, with fresh naan.
Contrary to its name, butter chicken doesn’t generally contain actual butter. Heavy cream, yes. It’s rich and wonderful and velvety, but not typically buttery. I made a batch recently, in response to a Facebook request to lighten a recipe that had – gasp – 1 cup of butter and 3 cups of whipping cream! This time, rather than overthink things or turn to my (still totally disorganized) bookshelf or laptop in search of what (some may claim as) the ultimate recipe, I just did it.
Onions and chicken and tomatoes and spices – I might have been making cacciatore if it weren’t for the curry paste and splash of cream at the end. It was easy. And fast. And used up ingredients I usually have in the freezer and pantry. And made just enough to feed everyone, which is a far better idea than the bottomless steam insert of the buffet.
And when I said we were having butter chicken for dinner, there was a lot of grinning and maybe even some jumping up and down. I may do this again sometime.
And next time, make a batch of fresh naan to go with. Think of the glee!
Butter Chicken
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
6-8 skinless chicken thighs (with or without bone)
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
1 28 oz. (796 mL) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1-2 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. curry paste or powder
1-2 tsp. garam masala (optional)
pinch cinnamon
1/2-1 cup half & half or whipping cream
salt and pepper
steamed rice, for serving
In a large, heavy skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the chicken thighs, pushing the onions out of the way, and brown them a bit on all sides – don’t worry about cooking them through. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or two.
Add the can of tomatoes, the tomato paste, chili powder, curry paste, garam masala and cinnamon and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the lid and cook until the mixture thickens and looks more saucy and uniform.
Stir in the cream, season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve hot over rice. Serves 4-6.
January 19 2012 | chicken & turkey | 19 Comments »
I made dinner again. It was a chicken roasted in a pot. Again, something that seems simple and obvious and yet I was drawn in to the hominess of it – I fell for it like an afternoon advetorial, strapped into my WestJet seat and watching the Food Network on the back of the seat in front of me.
I admit I’m preoccupied with the thought of the crispy skin that comes on a roasted chicken. It’s kind of the best part. Then again, tossing a chicken into a pot (on top of a chopped salad of onions, carrots and celery) and baking it with the lid on ensures incredibly juicy meat – so if that’s what you’re after, this version is about as foolproof as it gets. You can peel off the rubbery, fleshy skin and feed it to the dog. I’d prefer to not share the “after” photo here; it’s not enticing.
So what Michael does is he returns the pot to the stove, sans chicken, and tosses in cherry tomatoes and spinach to wilt down in the juices along with the carrot and celery that have already cooked with the chicken. Good idea.
I admit Mike was a little more enamored with this part than I was – it seemed a little soupy to me, and so the next night I shredded the chicken and returned it to the pot and turned it into somewhat of a soupy chicken stew. It worked.
Which, reading the end of the recipe now, it turns out was the whole point to begin with.
Chicken Roasted in a Pot
adapted from Chef Michael Smith
a couple onions, peeled and chopped
a head of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
a couple celery stalks, chopped
a carrot, peeled and chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, tarragon, oregano or thyme – if you have them
a bay leaf or two
a whole chicken
a couple handfuls of spinach or chard, torn
a couple handfuls of cherry or grape tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Toss the onions, garlic, celery and carrot into the bottom of a heavy lidded pot and set the chicken on top. Sprinkle the lot with salt and pepper and toss in a few sprigs of rosemary or thyme or whatever fresh herbs you have, if you have them.
Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake the chicken for 90 minutes or so, until the juices from the cavity run clear and the joints wiggle in their sockets. Remove the chicken and rest on a plate, covered with foil, for 15 minutes or so before slicing.
Meanwhile, set the pot over medium-high heat and bring the onion mixture to a simmer. Add the spinach and tomatoes and stir until the spinach has wilted and the tomatoes have heated through. Slice the chicken, removing all the meat. Toss the meat with the spinach and tomato mixture. Serve immediately.
November 23 2011 | chicken & turkey and one dish | 7 Comments »
You really should know about this slaw. It seems altogether very lowbrow, what with the bagged coleslaw and shredded chicken and thousand island dressing (which was made from scratch, including the mayo, if that counts for anything), but somehow it works. It’s crunchy and creamy and sweet and tangy, and perfect to pack in a container and take with a folding chair down to the river to nibble with your feet in the water while the boys and dog splash. (Bonus: It isn’t quite as alluring to random canines as previous snacks of peanut butter and cheese have proven to be.)
Remember when I used to post what I made/bought/ate for dinner every day? Me too. Now I’m not sure I can remember what was for dinner any given night since Thursday, when we finally (after approximately a decade of saying we would) took Mike’s mum to the Banff Springs for afternoon tea.
Friday was pizza and wine for lunch, more of the same for dinner. (As the latter was a birthday, there was also ice cream cake and apple pie from Pearson’s Berry Farm, by way of Valta Bison.)
Saturday was the third annual Sugar Bowl, a blast of a lawn bowling fundraiser for the Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation, which included a barbecue with burgers, dogs, crunchy things, beer from Big Rock and wine from Tinhorn Creek. Bliss donated cupcakes.
This afternoon Erin, Lisa and Katie fed me almond-flavoured pink cake with fluffy meringue frosting.
They made a Community Cookbook. It comes out next weekend.
And tonight good friends grilled us dinner – every course done outside – planked chicken and grilled veggie salad and grilled bananas brushed with rum-honey-cinnamon and served with vanilla ice cream. Which is so making it into my regular rotation. (If I really have one?)
Until then, you should really know about this Thousand Island slaw.
Thousand Island Slaw with Chicken
adapted from Gourmet, July 2007
1 cup mayonnaise (homemade, if at all possible)
1/4 cup ketchup
1 Tbsp. rice or cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. sweet relish
1/2-1 bag coleslaw mix
1/4 cup grated sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla – optional)
2 cups shredded roast chicken (from a rotisserie chicken)
a chunk of red or yellow pepper, thinly sliced
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, ketchup, vinegar and relish. In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw, onion, chicken and red pepper; drizzle with dressing and toss to coat.
Season with salt and pepper if it needs it. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.
August 28 2011 | chicken & turkey and salads | 20 Comments »
I know, right? This makes perfect use of all that mint growing behind my garage.
This morning we had a corn dog contest at the CBC pancake breakfast to kick off the Stampede. Tonight I’m at the Bessborough in Saskatoon, scheduled to visit canola growers and processors early tomorrow morning, having just square danced (that’s right, envision it if you can) at a ranch after a dinner of pitchfork fondue. I’ll explain exactly what that is, with pictures, tomorrow. When I have the gumption to dump all the photos off my camera and sort through them.
So I got permission to share this recipe from a brand new cookbook I’ve been anticipating – Bal’s Quick & Healthy Indian, by Bal Arneson, author of Everyday Indian and host of Spice Goddess on the Cooking Channel. I have a lot of cookbooks, and Everyday Indian is one I actually use, and flip through for inspiration, and is not gathering dust in the basement on my third surplus cookbook shelf.
Bal’s Quick & Healthy Indian is sure to be as well used, starting with these mint and ginger chicken kabobs. Perfect for summer grilling, no?
Mint and Ginger Chicken Kabobs with Spicy Raita
reprinted with permission from Bal’s Quick & Healthy Indian by Bal Arneson (Whitecap)
1/2 cup (125 mL) finely chopped mint
2 Tbsp (30 mL) tamarind pulp
2 Tbsp (30 mL) grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp (15 mL) freshly grated ginger
1 Tbsp (15 mL) garam masala
1 Tbsp (15 mL) brown sugar
salt to taste
1 lb (500 g) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1½-inch pieces
6 metal or wooden skewers
In a large bowl, combine the mint, tamarind pulp, oil, ginger, garam masala, brown sugar, and salt and mix well. Stir in the chicken. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.
Preheat the barbecue to medium heat. (If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before using.)
Thread the chicken onto skewers. Grill the kabobs on the preheated barbecue for 15 to 20 minutes, turning frequently to make sure all sides are cooked through. Serve with Spicy Raita. Serves 4.
Spicy Raita
This dip can be made ahead of time and it will keep well in the refrigerator for three to four days.
1 cup (250 mL) plain low-fat yogurt
1 Tbsp (15 mL) chopped mint
1 Tbsp (15 mL) finely chopped chives
1 Tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice
1 tsp (5 mL) prepared grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all the ingredients in a small serving bowl and stir until well mixed.
Makes about 1 cup.
July 08 2011 | appetizers and chicken & turkey and on the grill | 15 Comments »
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