by Josh on October 13, 2009
Almond bark is an ideal snack. It’s not exactly healthy, but it beats out a bag of chips, and just a few bites goes a very long way towards satisfying a chocolate craving. I like it straight from the refrigerator because it’s brittle at first bite, and then melts into a rich, chocolaty mouthful spiked with crunchy almonds. It’s also so simple to make that it barely requires a recipe, but here goes:
Almond Bark
Ingredients
12 ounces dark chocolate or chocolate chips (I like Ghirardelli 60%)
2 cups slivered or sliced almonds
kosher salt (optional)
Special Equipment
Microwaveable bowl or double boiler
Parchment paper (wax paper will do in a pinch)
Instructions
- Melt chocolate in a microwave or a double boiler over simmering water. Stir in almonds.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread out the chocolate-almond mixture on the paper until it’s reached its desired thickness. Sprinkle lightly with salt if desired.
- Freeze the chocolate mixture until hard, then peel off the parchment paper and break the chocolate into pieces by cutting with a knife. The almond bark will store in the refrigerator until you eat it all.
by Josh on October 7, 2009
I started off calling this post “Skewerless Chicken Satay,” but it felt oddly deceptive. Because for me, Chicken Satay translates roughly as “Peanut Sauce on a Stick,” and there’s no peanut sauce (and no stick) in sight. Not to say that you can’t serve these chicken tenders with peanut sauce. Because that would be mighty delicious, but I didn’t do it here.
Instead, I looked for a way to make a classic Thai appetizer into a convenient weeknight dinner. I love the light flavor of chicken satay. It’s subtle but distinctly Thai. And that yellow color. And those delicious brown grill marks. They make me weak.
So it’s really no surprise that I loved this dinner, and even more because it was so simple to throw together. Without the tedious skewering of chicken satay, I spent less than 10 minutes on prep work. And in the time it took the chicken to marinade, I was able to make the rest of the meal.
Thai Chicken Tenders
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/3 cup coconut milk or light coconut milk
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch wide strips
Special Equipment
Grill pan or grill (a skillet will do in a pinch)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together all ingredients except chicken to create a marinade.
- Toss chicken with marinade and let sit 30 minutes at room temperature (or up to overnight in the refrigerator).
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- Heat a grill pan on medium-high heat with a little oil. Grill chicken tenders on both sides until cooked through.
- Serve with sweet chili dipping sauce (store bought or homemade).
by Josh on October 5, 2009
If you’ve seen the latest episode of Glee, you’ll understand why I spent the entire day after it aired belting out renditions of Somebody to Love by Queen. By evening, even I was willing to admit that I needed something else interesting and complex to distract me from the broken record in my head. As usual, I turned to the kitchen for help, and that’s when I thought about West African peanut soup.
I’d heard about this soup a while ago, but never bothered to look up a recipe. Making a peanut soup sounded like something that would take hours and lots of concentration, and I thought it would be the perfect distraction. For better or worse, it actually turned out to be quite simple, and I ended up chopping and stirring to the beat of the
music. But let me tell you, that music made one hell of a tasty soup.
This soup is beautiful, its earthy orange tones flecked with red and green bell pepper. And even though making it didn’t distract me from my music, eating it certainly did. It has a remarkably complex flavor that’s a mix of familiar and exotic. The ingredient combination might sound a bit weird, and in fact, it is. But it works. It really really works. And if you make it and disagree, I’ll be happy to take any of your leftovers.
West African Peanut Soup
Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green), chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained and juice reserved
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
11 cups low sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock
1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1.5 cups brown rice (uncooked)
3/4 cups creamy peanut butter
Salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and pepper and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 1 minute.
- Stir in drained tomatoes. Cook until they break down (about 5 minutes).
- Increase the heat to high. Stir in the sweet potato, chicken stock, reserved tomato juice, and hot pepper flakes. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low. Add the brown rice and simmer for 50 minutes, until rice is cooked.
- Stir in peanut butter and stir to dissolve. Simmer another 5-10 minutes, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
by Josh on October 4, 2009
In the best stories, the protagonist always has a foil to emphasize different facets of their personality. This is also true for the best meals. The main event needs contrast in order to shine, and a good side dish provides that contrast in spades.
This is a great side dish for anything grilled, but it’s particularly wonderful alongside red meat. It’s way healthier than mashed (or baked and loaded) potatoes, and it’s also easier to make. The tomatoes and cucumbers are juicy and fresh, reminiscent of summer even as it fades away. They contrast beautifully with the deep, rich meatiness of a grilled steak, making the meal as sublime as it is simple.
Cous cous is wonderful because it cooks in 5 minutes. And with this side dish, you can do all the rest of the prep work (chopping 2 tomatoes and a cucumber) in that short time. Because it requires almost no work, this dish would be perfect to double (or triple) for a crowd. Another reason it’s good for a party: it tastes even better the day after it’s made, so make it well ahead of time and then just let it hang out and do its thing in the fridge.
Mediterranean Cous Cous Salad
Ingredients
1.5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1.5 cups cous cous, uncooked
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 medium clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a saucepan, boil the water and salt. Remove from heat and add cous cous. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes while the cous cous absorbs the water.
- Fluff cous cous with a fork, and pour into a bowl. Refrigerate until cool.
- Stir in tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, and lemon juice.
- Refrigerate until serving. Garnish with parsley if desired.
by Josh on September 7, 2009
This summer’s weather has kept me mostly indoors. First, it was cold and rainy (for an entire month straight, Don’t get me started.) and I stayed inside to keep warm and dry. Since then, it’s been oppressively hot and humid, and I’ve spent most of my time inside trying to keep cool. Mind you, my cooking has kept the kitchen extra hot, but I sit under the ceiling fan and suck it up, because quite frankly, it’s no better outside.
But every once in a while, we get a perfect warm, but not hot, dry sunny day that tempts me outside with a promise of perfect relaxation. And on those days, heating up the kitchen with a hot stove is the last thing I want to do. In fact, spending time indoors at all seems like blasphemy.
Today was one of those days, and blog posting be damned, I was not going to waste my afternoon chopping, mincing, roasting and sautéing. Instead, I made the easiest, most refreshing snack I could think of off the top of my head, and threw it together in 5 minutes. Tzatziki, that delicious cucumber-yogurt-garlic dip from Greece, sounded perfect, but I wasn’t in the mood for what would inevitably turn into an endless supply of chips and dip. By deconstructing tzatziki, I cut down on chopping and ended up with something that was beautifully suited for a perfect summer day.
Tzatziki Bites
Ingredients
8 ounces plain greek yogurt
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
2 cloves garlic, pushed through a garlic press (or minced)
Salt and pepper
1/2 english cucumber, sliced into thin circles
1 bag pita chips (or homemade pita chips: recipe another time)
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper
- Assemble: put a cucumber slice on a pita chip. Top with yogurt mixture. Serve immediately.