Grilled Chicken with Toasted Chiles, Coconut Milk, Lime, and Crushed Peanuts

McHubby takes the credit as the primary cook this time. He selected the recipe and did most of the work to prepare the dish, which was delicious! After making the sauce last night, we were able to grill the chicken tonight and quickly assemble the dish.

I have to say that the sauce required the most time and effort in preparing this recipe. The sauce is the key element of this dish—it’s where the flavor is. It has a delicate, smooth, buttery sweet flavor. The gorgeous orange-red color comes from the blend of the chiles and turmeric. The peanut-cilantro garnish perfectly complements the flavor of the sauce in this tasty dish.

Source: Grilled Chicken with Toasted Chiles, Coconut Milk, Lime, and Crushed Peanuts, Boy Gets Grill

Ingredients
For the sauce:

3 dried New Mexico chiles
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil, such as canola
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 (14-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
¼ cup canned cream of coconut
Juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the chicken:
¾ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
For the sauce:
Heat your grill to high or heat a heavy skillet on the stove.

Place the chiles on the grill and toast on each side for 20 seconds. Remove from the grill, discard the chile stems and seeks, and coarsely chop the chiles. Leave the grill on if you’ll be cooking the chicken right away.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 7 minutes; do not brown. Add the turmeric and cook for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, cream of coconut, and chiles and cook for 10 minutes.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until smooth, or use a handheld blender in the pot. Add the lime juice and honey and blend again. Strain the mixture into a bowl and season to taste with lime juice, salt, and pepper. (The sauce can be made a day in advance, covered, and kept refrigerated. Rewarm before serving.)

For the chicken:
Heat your grill to high.

Combine the peanuts and cilantro in a bowl and toss together. Brush the chicken on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper.

Grill the chicken until browned and firm, about 3 minutes. Turn the breasts over, reduce the heat to medium or move to a cooler part of the grill, and cook until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more.

Remove the chicken to a platter or serving plates and drizzle with the sauce. Sprinkle the peanut-cilantro mixture over the chicken and serve immediately.

Caprese Sandwich with Bacon

Inspired by the Insalata Caprese (Caprese Salad), which is one of my favorite spring and summer salads, I used the same ingredients to make this sandwich. Then I topped it with bacon, (because everything is better with bacon). These sandwiches were super easy to assemble—just a matter of cooking the bacon, cutting the tomato and mozzarella slices, chiffonading the basil leaves, and building the sandwich layers. The result is a colorful, fresh, light sandwich with contrasting flavors from the salty bacon and the sweet tomatoes and balsamic vinegar.

For a vegetarian version of this sandwiches, simply omit the bacon.

Ingredients
4 slices bacon
2 fresh club or hoagie rolls
Pesto
1 large or 2 small Roma or plum tomatoes
6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
6 fresh basil leaves
Balsamic vinegar

Directions
Add bacon to a cold frying pan, placing the strips side by side. (Do not heat the pan first, as that will cause the bacon to shrink and curl more.) Cook over medium-low heat. (Cooking the bacon over low heat will render the most amount of fat out of the bacon.) Turn over the bacon once in a while, to cook it evenly. When the bacon reaches a deep brown color, it is done. Remove from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels to drain the fat.

Cut the tomatoes and mozzarella cheese into ¼-inch slices. To cut the basil in a chiffonade, stack the leaves, roll tightly, and cut across the roll to produce ribbons.

Spread a thin layer of pesto on the bread. Place the cheese slices on the bottom piece of the sandwich bread. Layer the tomatoes next. Evenly sprinkle the basil chiffonade on top of the tomatoes. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar next. Then top with 2 of the bacon slices on each sandwich and serve.

Rainbow Chopped Salad with Orange-Oregano Dressing

Nutritionists say that we should “eat the rainbow,” and this recipe puts the rainbow on your plate. This lettuce-free salad is so pretty and colorful with a crunchy texture. The dressing has a fresh, light flavor, accented by the sweetness of the orange juice. This salad is a beautiful dish!

Source: Rainbow Chopped Salad, Orange-Oregano Dressing, EatingWell.com

Ingredients
1 ½ cups bell peppers, chopped
1 ½ cups broccoli florets, chopped
1 cup shredded carrots
½ cup radishes, diced
Orange-Oregano Dressing, (recipe below)
1 tablespoon red onion, minced

Directions
Place bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, radishes, Orange-Oregano Dressing, and onion in a medium bowl. Toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Orange-Oregano Dressing
Ingredients
½ teaspoon orange zest, freshly grated
½ cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped, or ¾ teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Place all ingredients in a jar. Cover and shake to combine.

Strawberry Shortcakes

I was pretty sick for about a week, and McHubby took great care of me, even going so far as to squeeze fresh orange juice every day for me. To thank him, I made this special treat tonight.

Shortcake is a sweet biscuit, made as a dessert. These shortcakes are a lovely golden brown color, crumbly and lightly sweet. This recipe pairs the little cakes with strawberries, but any sweet seasonal berry could work. Also, I used vanilla sugar instead of regular granulated sugar to enhance the flavors.

Source: Strawberry Shortcakes d’Amour, Bride and Groom First and Forever Cookbook

Ingredients
Shortcakes:
3 cups cake flour, plus more as needed
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon, plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Strawberries:
2 cups hulled and quartered strawberries
1 tablespoon raspberry preserves
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Whipped Cream:
⅓ cup cold heavy cream
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar for dusting
6 mint sprigs

Directions
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with vegetable-oil cooking spray.

To make the shortcakes:
Sift together the flour, the ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, the baking powder, and kosher salt in a medium bowl. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and pulse 3 or 4 times at 2-second intervals until the dough resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and process until the dough begins to come together, a few seconds more. It will still be crumbly at this point. Do not overwork or the shortcakes will be tough.

Transfer the dough to a well-floured work surface. If the dough is sticky, sprinkle it with more flour. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 12 inches long. Fold the left end to the middle and the right end up over the left end to form 3 layers. Roll out the dough to ¾-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch-wide biscuit cutter, cut into 3 individual cakes. Gather the scraps, roll out the remaining dough, and cut out 3 more cakes.

Place the shortcakes at least 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the tops lightly with the beaten egg mixture and sprinkle with the 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. Bake until the shortcakes are light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the strawberries:
Stir together the strawberries, raspberry preserves, granulated sugar, and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Put 1 cup of the mixture in a small bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. Add to the strawberry mixture and set aside.

To make the whipped cream:
Combine the heavy cream, sour cream, granulated sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on high speed until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. The cream should slowly fall over forward when lifted with a whisk. Alternatively, use an electric hand mixer.

To serve, using a serrated knife, cut 2 shortcakes in half horizontally and place the bottom halves on each of 2 plates. Top with the strawberries, dividing evenly. Add a dollop of whipped cream and top with the remaining shortcake halves. Dust with powdered sugar and garnish with the mint sprigs.

Chicken Enchiladas

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we cooked chicken enchiladas for dinner at home tonight. (It beats fighting the crowds to get a table at a local restaurant!) I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly these came together. McHubby helped by shredding the chicken for me and making the Spanish rice and beans side dishes. The enchiladas were flavorful and spicy, with a touch of contrasting sweetness from the corn and tomatoes. This recipe makes 16 enchiladas, so you can easily cut it in half.

Source: Chicken Enchiladas, Tyler Florence

Ingredients
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ pounds skinless boneless chicken breast
Salt and pepper
2 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced
1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes
½ teaspoon all-purpose flour
16 corn tortillas
1 ½ cups enchilada sauce, canned
1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses
Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Directions
Coat large sauté pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken over medium

heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink. Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning. Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

Sauté onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles. Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, sauté 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to sauté pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to lightly coat. Spoon ¼ cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling, place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve with Spanish rice and beans.

Oyster Po' Boys

I noticed the farmer’s market opened again this past weekend, but I got there late. Most of the vendors had already left, and the two that were there were packing up. I promised to show up on time next weekend, but before I left, one of the vendors generously gave me two loaves of bread—a baguette and ciabatta loaf—and made my day! With my new unexpected gains, I wanted to make something really good, and decided upon oyster po’ boys.

Usually, oyster po’ boys are constructed on a hoagie roll or French bread, but I used the ciabatta loaf. I also used green leaf lettuce instead of iceberg. These sandwiches were so tasty! The fresh Chesapeake oysters were sizable and delicious, and the chipotle mayo was a perfect flavor accent.

Source: Oyster Po’ Boys, Gourmet, October 2001

Ingredients
½ cup mayonnaise
1 ¼ teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
6 cups vegetable oil
1 large egg
¼ cup whole milk
2 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups cornmeal
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups shucked oysters, drained (about 36)
1 (12- to 14-inch-long) loaf soft-crusted bread
3 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

Directions
Make chipotle mayonnaise. Whisk together mayonnaise, chipotle, and lemon juice. Chill mixture, its surface covered with plastic wrap.

Heat oil in a deep heavy pot (preferably a cast-iron Dutch oven) over high heat until it registers 375°F on deep-fat thermometer, about 12 minutes.

While oil is heating, whisk together egg, milk, and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Shake cornmeal, remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and pepper in a plastic or paper bag until combined well. Working in batches, add oysters to egg mixture, then lift out, letting excess drip off, and transfer to cornmeal in bag, shaking to coat well.

Carefully transfer to oil, knocking off excess coating, and fry, turning occasionally, until golden and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Coat and fry remaining oysters in same manner, returning oil to 375°F for each batch.

Halve loaf crosswise and horizontally, cutting all the way through, and spread one cut side of each piece with mayonnaise. Sandwich oysters and lettuce between bread, pressing gently.

Spring Asparagus Risotto

Risotto is one of my favorite comfort foods. This recipe incorporates fresh spring-time asparagus. I added some baby peas as a complementary vegetable in this dish—just add a cup of frozen peas after the liquid is absorbed with the rice and reduce the amount of asparagus by a cup. I also drizzle white truffle oil on top just before serving to add a rich finishing flavor. Simply delicious!

To make this a vegetarian dish, just substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

Source: Spring Asparagus Risotto, Cooking Light, April 2009

Ingredients
4 cups (1-inch) slices asparagus (about 1 ½ pounds), divided
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
1 ½ cups water
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large)
2 cups uncooked Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
½ cup dry white wine
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Place 1 cup asparagus and 1 cup broth in a blender; puree until smooth. Combine puree, remaining 2 cups broth, and 1 ½ cups water in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine; cook 2 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add ½ cup broth mixture; cook 2 minutes or until the liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add remaining puree mixture ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 30 minutes total). Stir in remaining 3 cups asparagus; cook 2 minutes.

Stir in ¾ cup cheese, cream, salt, and pepper. Transfer risotto to a bowl. Serve with remaining ¼ cup cheese.