miscellaneous-dishes

Indian Spiced Eggplant

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:16:56 +0100

This was originally added on August 3, 2010.

So...we received 3 small to medium eggplants in our last CSA delivery and I was looking for a way to serve them. A quick check of the spice rack and I was thinking of a spicy and aromatic dish to heat up the rather chilly summer day. This should make your kitchen smell a bit like late fall due to the spices used and it definitely put a smile on my face.

Indian Spiced Eggplant (serves 2)
Ingredients:
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 cup water
1 tbl sugar
1 tbl red wine vinegar
2 small or 1 large eggplant, cut into 2" pieces
2 tbl butter
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp fresh coriander

Steps:
1) combine all spices in a bowl and mix well
2) combine water, red wine vinegar, sugar and stir
3) melt butter over medium heat
4) add spices to butter and stir for about a minute to prevent burning
5) add eggplant pieces and toss to coat well
6) add vinegar, water, sugar mixture
7) cover and simmer about 10 minutes; eggplant will become soft
8) uncover and increase heat; cook 15 minutes but do not burn eggplant
9) remove from heat and cover again for about 5 minutes
10) garnish with fresh coriander

Hot, Spicy, Oh So Nice Wings

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:17:28 +0100

So here's part 2 of the great wing fry/bake of Saturday the 14th!

I was browsing around the intarnettubes and saw a non saucy hot and spicy wing recipe that made me go, "hmmmmm". I contemplated this after reading through the ingredients and scratched my chin and again said, "hmmmmm". A quick trip to the pantry and I noticed I had everything except the chicken so I was good to go.

A couple of observations first...I prepped the sauce first and did the same fry/bake procedure but with this dozen I dipped the entire wing in the sauce and then put them on the lightly greased aluminum lined oven sheet. I think next time I will just do the coat one side, flip and baste a couple of times procedure because these wings were more sticky and some of them were getting baked to the foil, so watch out for that. Second, the original recipe calls for 20 minutes of baking the wings at 350; I'm not quite sure that would be done enough for my liking.

Ingredients
1 lb or 1 dozen of wings (whichever you prefer...this recipe can accommodate 2 dozen wings easily)
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3 - 5 tbls tabasco/hot sauce (again, I used the Tapatio)
2 tbl red pepper flakes
2 tbl chopped jalapeno peppers (I also threw a habanero in the mix because, why wouldn't I? I also kept the seeds and veins because I wanted a little kick)

Frying needs:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbl butter
1 tbl hot sauce

Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine tomato sauce, seasonings, hot sauce, pepper flakes, jalapeno in a medium - large bowl
3. Rinse and pat dry chicken
4. Heat oil over medium high heat; add butter and hot sauce
5. Fry chicken to nice crispy brown; drain on towel lined plate
6. Transfer drained chicken to oven sheet; use a brush to cover the top of the chicken with sauce
7. Bake about 10 minutes, flip chicken and apply sauce
8. Bake about 10 minutes, flip chicken and apply sauce
9. Bake about 10 minutes, flip chicken and apply sauce
10. Remove from oven, flip and apply final sauce

Maple Bourbon Chicken Wings

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 07:18:01 +0100

Clarissa and I were invited to our friends' home, for a sweet sixteen celebration for their daughter, Alexa, and ribs were already on the menu. Seeing that I'm low on funds but wanted to bring something yummy along (wings are in the top 5 of Alexa's favorite foods - this data has not been proven scientifically however) I decided on giving a maple bourbon flavored wing sauce a go. I also made a dozen of spicy wings (recipe in separate post) that were aided by some delicious peppers from the CSA.

It is at this point that I must confess; the whole reason I did this was so I'd have a solid reason to buy some more bourbon! Who knew 1/4 cup isn't really all that much out of a bottle?!

This was a two step process in that I pan fried the chicken in oil then baked and basted in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. A deep fryer would be ideal for the first step because it would save a lot of time but you work with what you have.

Anyhow, I was disappointed with the result. No, the sauce was perfect...sweet, messy, with a hint of that bourbon flavor. I was disappointed I only made 2 dozen of these wings! The fact they went as quick as they did only reinforces that this recipe is quite a hit. So, I recommend you finish whatever bourbon/whiskey you have around the house and go buy a new bottle...y'know, only use the freshest ingredients!

Ingredients
24+ Wings & drummettes
1 Tbls oil (vegetable/canola/olive/coconut/whatever)
3/4 cup vegetable/canola oil (for frying)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3/8 cup maple syrup (you can adjust this up or down to your liking)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup bourbon (I used Evan Williams Black because for the money, it's delicious)
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (again, use whatever you like - I went with Tapatio Salsa Picante)
1/2 cup mayo (yes, there's a note here too...I used Nasoya Nayonaise so not quite sure how other brands of "real" mayo would affect the sauce)

Steps
Sauce
1. Chop your onion into small pieces but not finely diced
2. In a medium saucepan on medium high heat, add oil and onion. Cook the onion til golden (about 5 minutes)
3. Add maple syrup, ketchup, bourbon, hotsauce. Bring to a boil on high heat
4. Reduce to low and simmer; stir til the sauce thickens (about 5 - 10 minutes)
5. Remove from heat
6. Add mayo and whisk until sauce is smooth

Chicken - Part 1 - The Frying Game
1. Rinse chicken and pat dry
2. Heat oil in a large pan
3. Add 1 Tbls butter and 1 Tbls hot sauce for a little extra flavor
4. Use tongs and begin frying wings at least a dozen at a time
5. Transfer fried wings to towel lined plate to drain
6. Cook all chicken and drain

Chicken - Part 2 - Totally Baked
1. On a lightly greased aluminum foil lined 9 x 13 oven sheet, place chicken and keep enough room in between pieces
2. Use a basting brush and slather on the first coat of sauce
3. After about 8 - 10 minutes, flip the wings and reapply the sauce
4. 10 minutes, flip and baste
5. 10 minutes, flip and baste
6. Final flip and baste
7. Pull from oven and apply any remaining sauce...enjoy!

Sesame Chicken

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:47:20 +0100

So...I hadn't battered anything in a couple of months and figured it was time to make a holy mess of the kitchen...go figure. Clarissa had bought some Private Selection Organic Chicken Breasts and I always have a hankerin' for some sort of Chinese chicken and rice combo so the table was set. Now, it was a matter of how spicy, how crispy, and how long did I wanted to spend cleaning up! We had recently purchased some sesame seeds from the co-op just because it seemed like a lot of recipes I was looking at required them. Now that they were sitting in the pantry...what do I do with them? Sesame Chicken! This is also a great way to burn through the CSA scallions, those things grow crazy mad.

Sesame Chicken
Ingredients:
2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp raw sesame seeds
2 green onions (sliced)

Marinade:
1 tsp chicken base
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
ground white pepper (to taste)
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp wine (fruity flavored, your choice)

Batter:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 cup water (add as needed to make batter smooth)
3 tbsp cornstarch
salt (to taste)
1 tbsp oil

Sauce:
3 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sugar
salt (to taste)
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar
dash of ground black pepper

Steps:
1) Cut chicken into 1" chunks and in a glass bowl, combine with marinade and make sure the chicken is coated evenly. Cover and marinade for a minimum of 30 minutes. Longer is better to allow the chicken to fully absorb the marinade flavor
2) Combine batter ingredients and mix thoroughly. The batter should be thick enough to coat the chicken but thin enough to flow around the pieces. Set aside.
3) Using tongs or a fork, remove the chicken from the marinade and dip into the batter to coat evenly. This step is a little time consuming but don't crowd the batter with too much chicken.
4) Deep fry chicken in batches for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. I recommend Peanut oil.
5) In wok or large pan, combine the sauce ingredients and warm over medium heat. Bring to slight boil while stirring and simmer until sauce slightly thickens.
6) In your wok or pan, add chicken to coat with sauce and garnish with green onion and sesame seeds.