Fought with kitchen knives and skewers

Bah Bah Bah ba Bah.  My therapist said not to see you no more. . . What's up cats?  I hope your weekend was as awesome as mine was.   Actually, I was sick and you can count my misery by the crudded tissues littering the nothugs house.

Anyway, I needed something spicy and peanuty to get my through.  True story: a Netherlander looked at me in disgust when she discovered  I ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I told her she was spitting on the American flag.  Then she described the Netherlander equivalent to a peanut butter and banana sandwich.  To wit:  Bread, white Dutch cheese, bananas and ketchup grilled like a panini.  I love living in this time.  This is another guaranteed meal--eat it with rice because it is spicy!

What you Need:
bamboo skewers, soaked
12 oz. chicken tenders, cut
4 C brown rice
Cilantro

Peanut Sauce:
1/2 C H2o
1/3 C rice vinegar
1/3 C creamy Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 tsp red pepper




Spicy Peanut Chicken on a Stick

Cook the Rice first!
Sauce:  Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth.
Transfer to small pan and cook, stirring over meduim heat until thickened.  Do not boil!

Then . . .
Add half of sauce to chicken in storage bag and refrigerate 30 minutes.

And . . .
Thread chicken onto skewers.  Preheat Broiler.  Then broil 2-3 minutes each side.


Lay it out on the plate and add cilantro and remaining reheated peanut sauce.  Delicious!

Total Time: 10 minutes plus refrigeration.
Drink:  Pomegranate juice
Music:  James

How to throw a party for $10 a person.

Our annual Fall Equinox party has been an off and off affair for the last ten years.  This year we nailed it in spectacular fashion.  I'll go ahead and tell you I doubled the recipe below to feed 15 people and 24 hours of marination is required.

The  official Equinox happens to occur this Friday on my birthday so, maybe, it would have made more sense to throw the shebang next week, but come on, it's a party.  Drinks were served, sage was burned, mysterious scratches were had-- memories were fogged.
 The summer is gasping people. . . if you listen you can hear it, softly crying, "I'm not dead yet."     

What you need:
 Marinade:
1 t. whole all spice
1 t. black peppercorn
4 whole cloves
1/4 cup brown sugar, lime juice
and soy sauce.
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 t. paprika
8 garlic cloves
3 large shallots, cut in half
3" piece of ginger, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded

* process this and add to--


2 lbs boneless Chicken, cut into 1" chunks.

Veggies:
1 pineapple, cubed in 1" chunks
3 peppers, cut into 1" chunks
Mushrooms
Onions
Artichoke hearts

* If you haven't figured it out yet--we're making skewers.




Grilled Spicy Jerk Chicken Kabobs

Heat first 3 ingredients in a pan over meduim heat, cook 1 minute.
Add cooked spices to rest of marinade and process until smooth.  Add to chicken in bag and refrigerate overnight.
Cut up veggies. 

Then . . .
Assemble skewers.
*Importante!  Save marinade.
Grill skewers and baste with remaining marinade.

There you have it.  This fed enough people that we had left overs.  We've cooked this meal 2 years running and I have to say it is quite delicious.

Total Time: 45 minutes plus marination
Drink: Sangrias
Music: M. Ward

It's Contributors Week, Mothers!

Today's recipe comes from the great dry state of Nevada.  It comes from cook, blogger and mother, Laura Hojnacke from the  Blog to My Health.  Take it away Laura.

Hello, I'm Laura.  I stay at home with my four children while my husband slaves away at a computer.   Over the last 4 years I have been changing our diet to include whole foods.  I now grind my own flour and TRY to make everything from scratch. This recipe was sent to me by my sister a few years ago.  She got it from a friend (who probably got it from another friend). Being a huge fan of sundried tomatoes, I just had to try it.  It is quick and easy to make, and is now a family favorite.   I'm hoping to make my own bowtie pasta for this dish one of these days.

Our cream is raw, but you can use pasteurized cream for this.  I make it without the chicken these days, so feel free to skip the first two ingredients and skip straight to the second step if you prefer a vegetarian meal, as I did. 

 What You Need:
Hearty Greek Pasta
feeds our family of 6
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken, sliced diagonally
3 T. olive oil
1 8oz. jar sundried tomatoes, drained and julienned
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c. fresh basil (or 1 T. dried basil)
1 12 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
1/4  to 2 cups heavy cream, depending on how you like your sauce
1 lb. pasta (farfalle or rotini)
6 oz. feta cheese
1 t. dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomotoes and Artichokes

Cook pasta per instructions on package
while you make the sauce.
Brown chicken in oil until cooked.
Add sundried tomatoes and garlic and saute for 2 minutes
Add basil and artichokes to pan and saute for 1 minute.
Stir in cream, remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
Season with oregano, salt and pepper.
Drain pasta and place in bowl.
Toss with sauce and feta cheese.

* Should you have some left over, refrigerate.  When ready to eat more,  just add a little cream and heat in a pan or (cringe) microwave.









There you have it.  Be sure to check out Laura's Blog here: Blog to My Health.

Psycho Chicken- Qu'est-ce que

You may remember the movie Julie and Julia.  I'm sure it brought hope to many a blogger that all the writing they hammer and photos they snap will one day be turned into cinematic silver.  Well, I have no desire to share my personal whimsy with the world.  However, the film also brought two good things into my world.  One: I saw Julie and Julia with my friend Julia.  So it is indelibly in my mind.  Two: It unleashed The Art of French Cooking by Julia Childs back on the market with a 30% off the cover price sticker. 



photos by DMG

From what I gather from French cooking it involves copious amounts of butter and entails the use of a multitude of steps and cooking devices.  I don't have a broiler with a medium setting so I Americanized this one a bit.

What you Need:

2 1/2 lb. chicken breast
4 Tbsp. butter, melted in saucepan
3 C. bread crumbs
3 Tbsp. shallots, minced

Herbs, Oils, Etc.
Salt and Pepper, pinch
2 Tbsp. oil
6 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. basil or thyme
Cayenne Pepper, pinch

Poulets Grilles A La Diable

*Important!!! Keep the fat on the chicken for authentic French cuisine

Melt butter in saucepan, add oil

Dry chicken, paint it with butter and oil                    

Place on broiling pan, five to six inches from flame

and broil until very lightly browned

* Saute every five minutes with mixture

* Should time to about 8 minutes per side (keep and eye on it)

Remove and salt lightly, retain melted fat

Meanwhile . . .

Blend mustard, shallots, herbs and

seasonings

Drop by drop, beat in half of basting fat

until mixture becomes mayonnaise-like                               

Reserve remaining fat for later 
Paint chicken with mustard mixture                      * I added a dollop of mustard to use as a dip.

Roll or pat breadcrumbs onto chicken

Then . . .

Place chicken back on broiler pan

dribble half basting fat over them

Broiler  8-10 minutes per side

(keep an eye on it)

Baste with remaining fat after turn

Mangez-le vous tromper américain!

Like I said, this is a multi-step meal heavy on the butter and fat.  We have a few French friends and they told us the secret to all this decadent cooking and slim waistlines is leaving the sauce and gravy on the plate.  It is apparently poor form to soak anything up with bread.  This recipe originally called for two 2 1/2 lb. broiler chickens.  If you desire to have a larger meal, add 2 Tbsp. butter.  You can also use real homemade breadcrumbs. 

Total Time

30 minutes

Drink

Penn Pilsner

Music

The Decemberist