TURMERIC CHICKEN WINGS

Just in time for summer, my friend Dana gave me a copy of Sunset's: The Great Outdoors Cookbook and I have to tell you, I now have a serious jonzing to go camping, sleep under the stars, cook by the campfire... The book is packed with tasty recipes for campfire grilling, wood fire ovens, beach cookouts, and even a Caja China. So much inspiration! I'm buying a bunch of copies of this book to give to my grill-lovin' friends.

A camping trip isn't on our near horizon, but when I saw the recipe for Tamal Chicken Wings, I couldn't wait try it. The lemongrass, turmeric, garlic, cilantro rub called to me, and luckily the chicken was super easy to cook on our backyard grill (and I think this chicken would be great to feed a crowd). My whole family scarfed down the flavorful, juicy wings with smiles on their faces.

Have you cooked with turmeric before? It wasn't until we lived in Bali that I introduced this aromatic root into my kitchen. Turmeric, with its electric yellow hue, is a powerful anti-inflammatory as well as a delicious seasoning. Beware that turmeric stains like crazy: be careful of your cutting boards, food processor, anything that can quickly soak up the natural dye. Clean up turmeric immediately or you'll find a strong yellow tint is left in its wake.

INGREDIENTS lightly adapted from Sunset's The Great Outdoors Cookbook
printable recipe

• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass (available at many Asian grocers); or 3 strips lemon zest chopped
• 3/4 cup cilantro sprigs ( I strongly suggest using the stems as well as the leaves)
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 chicken wings

Make your rub at least a hour before cooking, if not the night before, so that the chicken has time to really soak up the flavors.

Trim lemongrass and slice into 1/4 inch rounds. Place lemongrass in a food processor along with the cilantro, garlic, salt, turmeric, a few generous grinds of black pepper and olive oil. Blitz until the ingredients are integrated and chopped into a coarse blend. Rub mixture onto the chicken wings. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. (Remember to immediately clean turmeric from your cutting boards and food processor to avoid stains.)

When you're ready to cook, prep a medium heat grill (350-450 degrees). Using paper towels, rub the grates with cooking oil. Grill the chicken covered for 14-16 minutes flipping occasionally until the meat is no longer pink at the bone.

Eat right away!

serves 2-4 as a main, 8 as an appetizer

CHICKEN WITH 40 GARLIC CLOVES

It's gotten so cold and blustery these past two weeks - once the sun goes down, all I want to do is cozy up with my little family for a warm meal and go to bed nice and early. These long dark evenings suit my homebody tendencies.

This easy chicken dish, from Alice Waters' fantastic new cookbook Art of Simple Food II, is just the kind of comforting one-pot main that calls my name this time of year. The chicken is tender, moist and infused with a subtle herby garlic flavor - plus all those roasted garlic cloves are heavenly squeezed onto little toasts. And oh my is the sauce delish... you can't help but mop it up with a smile on your face.

As Alice suggests, you'll only need a simple arugula salad (sauteed spinach is also nice) and toasted bread on the side and you're done. Family meal accomplished.

For those of you who didn't see my last post, don't miss out on a sweet opportunity to buy a signed copy of Alice's Art of Simple Food II to benefit the Edible Schoolyard. Be sure to place your orders by December 15th.

INGREDIENTS from Alice Waters' Art of Simple Food II
printable recipe

• 4 chicken legs, or one whole chicken cut into pieces
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 40 unpeeled cloves garlic (from 3-4 heads)
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme 
• 1 bay leaf
• for serving: toasted slices of crusty bread {Bay Area GF folks: Mariposa baguettes are quite nice here}; simple arugula salad or sauteed spinach

Note: If possible, generously season the chicken with salt and pepper the night before cooking.

Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. First, deeply brown the skin side of the chicken - 10-12 minutes. Flip the pieces and brown the underside for another 4 minutes or so. (In order not to crowd the chicken pieces, I do the browning in a couple of batches.)

Preheat oven to 375.

While the chicken is browning, separate garlic cloves leaving their skins on but removing excess papery skins. Place 40 individual garlic cloves in the bottom of a lidded baking dish. Add thyme sprigs, a bay leaf and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Toss to coat.

When the chicken is nicely browned, nestle it on top of the garlic and herbs. Cover the pan with foil, then the lid. Place pan on the middle rack of your hot oven. After 50 minutes, take off the lid and foil and let the chicken cook another 10 minutes to crisp the skin a bit.

Serve slices of toasted rustic bread with the chicken to dip into the delectable juices in the bottom of the pan.

Serves 4

Wishing you all warm, peaceful, healthy holidays!!!!

IRRESISTIBLE GREEN POZOLE

Do any of you cook with hominy?

Last year, when I saw a bag of Rancho Gordo hominy at my local butcher shop, I couldn't resist snatching it up. I had never cooked with hominy before and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it - an impulse buy you could say.  Some weeks later I was thumbing through the Ruth Reichl's Gourmet Today cookbook and found her recipe for Pozole, a wonderful Mexican stew packed with chicken, hominy, tomatillos and topped with lime, avocado, radish and cilantro. Bingo! Now my hominy had a purpose.

Well I have to tell you, that pozole was good - irresistibly good - and I knew I wanted to share it with you guys. Finally, here I am.

As you have probably noticed, I tend to favor recipes that are simple and quick to make, not fussing too much with the natural deliciousness of good ingredients. As I am in the thick of recipe testing feedback for my book ( thank you wonderful testers!), one of my favorite compliments is that the recipes are surprisingly easy. This makes me happy. That said, this pozole recipe is kinda time consuming and makes for a ton of dishes, but it's so worth the effort. And when you're done, you have this amazing one-bowl meal that is deeply satisfying and delish!

As a little side note... I wanted to give a shout out to Kimberley Hasselbrink, the talented cook and photographer behind The Year in Food. I got to meet Kimberley in person last week when she graciously invited me for lunch. She cooked up a few really tasty items from her upcoming book to be published by Ten Speed next year. If those bites were any indication, her book will be as delicious as her blog. I cannot wait to cook from it!

If you are going to prepare your own hominy, and not use the canned stuff, allow yourself soaking and cooking time before you get set to make the pozole. I suggest soaking your hominy the night before you want to cook. Then cook the hominy a few hours before getting started on making the rest of your pozole.



INGREDIENTS very slightly adapted from Ruth Reichl's Gourmet Today
      {printable recipe}

• two 15 ounce cans cooked hominy, or 4 cups home-cooked hominy (8 ounces dry will yield approximately 4 cups)
• 1 large white onion, sliced thin lengthwise
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• bay leaf
• salt
• 3 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs (I'm sure you could also use breast meat, but I don't think the resulting broth would be as flavorful)
• 1/2 cup pepitas
• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed with warm water
• 1 -2 bunches fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon dried epazote or dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Delicious Garnishes:

• avocados, chopped and tossed with salt and lime juice
• radishes, chopped
• small white onion, chopped
• additional chopped cilantro
• lots of limes
• more epazote, or crushed oregano

As I mentioned above, if you are using dried hominy, it needs to be soaked and cooked before you can make the pozole. I followed the instructions on the package.

In a stockpot, bring 8 cups of water to a boil.  Add 1/2 sliced onion, 3 cloves garlic, bay, and a teaspoon of salt to the pot. Cover the pot, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Next, add the whole chicken thighs to the pot. Skim off any foam that forms. Simmer very gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Use kitchen tongs to remove the chicken and set it on a platter to cool. Strain the broth and set it aside for later. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers and set aside.

Grind pepitas in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. ( I think it's brilliant that this recipe uses these ground pepitas for a thickener for the stew.) Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat 3 cups water with remaining 1/2 onion and tomatillos over high heat. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 10 minutes, until veggies are tender. Discard the cooking liquid and place the cooked tomatillos and onions into a standing blender along with 1/4 cup cilantro, 3 more cloves garlic, epazote, and 1.5 teaspoons salt. Blend thoroughly.

Heat canola oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pureed veg to the hot pan - be careful as it will be splattery. Cook the sauce uncovered, stirring regularly until it thickens - about 10 minutes. Add the ground pepitas and 1 cup of the broth reserved from cooking the chicken, stir and cook another 5 minutes.

Finally add the shredded chicken, cooked hominy, and 3 cups of reserved broth to the pot. Simmer partially covered for 20 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped cilantro. Season with additional salt to taste - though keep in mind that adding freshly squeeze lime to soup will add a nice punch.

Scoop warm pozole into low bowls and serve with all the wonderful garnishes. Damn, that's good.

serves 6

.......................................

I don't know about you, but I'm THRILLED spring is here. We've been buying ranunculus at Monterey Market lately. I'm so happy to see that organic flowers are finally starting to be more readily available. It's about time!

I LOVE OMELETS

Ever since I started Yummy Supper, I have wanted to do a post on my love of omelets, which may just be my favorite meal for lunch, breakfast, or dinner for that matter.  You can stuff them with greens, mushrooms, asparagus, crab, cheese, or keep it light and simple with just a bit of herbs. My mom has always made incredible omelets and she taught me her ways when I was a teenager. People can be quite opinionated about the "right" way to make an omelet.  I'm not so sure I buy into dogmas, but I do know that this is an omelet I love - the eggs are nice and fluffy, while the inside is tender and filled with goodies.



SPINACH + FETA OMELET (makes two)
(printable recipe)

• large bunch spinach, leaves removed and cleaned
• 1 small hot chili (optional), finely chopped
• 4 small or 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoon butter (1 for cooking the spinach + 2 more tablespoons for cooking the eggs)
• 4 tablespoons crumbled feta
• 4 large or 6 small eggs
• salt 
• pepper

First, prep all of your ingredients for filling.  In a large saute pan, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat until bubbling. Add chili, garlic, and shallots. Cook a minute or two until everything starts to soften. Add the washed spinach leaves (we used beautiful water spinach - an ubiquitous ingredient in Bali - but any spinach would be wonderful.) Stir to coat. Saute until tender. Remove cooked spinach from heat and set aside to cool a bit. When the spinach is cool enough to handle, squeeze out any excess water. (If you don't, you'll end up with a sad, watery omelet.) Rough chop spinach and separate into 2 piles. Set aside.

Crumble feta. Set up two equal sized piles of cheese (2 tablespoons each).

Most people who regularly cook omelets have a pan they use just for this purpose. A little well-seasoned cast iron pan with rounded sides is my favorite at home in California. In Bali, where we made omelets at least once a week for lunch, we used a non-stick pan and it worked just fine.

In a small mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk 2 large, or 3 small, eggs. Add a pinch of salt (you may not need any salt at all if your feta is really salty), a few grinds from the pepper mill, and a splash of water. Whisk to integrate.

Here's the way my mom taught me, and this is the method I will pass on to my kids. I hope you like it too!

All of the cooking happens in a number of minutes so be patient with yourself if you are new to cooking omelets.....

Warm pan over medium heat. Plop in a tablespoon of butter. Tilt pan to coat all sides with the butter. When butter is hot and the bubbling has slowed, pour in eggs. Again, tilt the pan to spread the eggs evenly over the bottom of the pan.

When the eggs begin to cook, and big bubbles form, start the technique I show in the photos below: Use a wooden spoon to pull back the eggs from the side of the pan, then tilt the pan letting the runny egg fill the void....

Do this in three or four places until you have a nice, rumpled surface....

 Then add cheese....

Then spinach....

Then flip that omelet out of the pan and you are ready to eat.

Enjoy!

Makes 2 omelets.  

Travel note: We made it to the Greek Islands - so dreamy, yet completely different from Bali. Will have photos to share soon...

BALINESE GARDEN STEW

When we left Bali last week, my paradisical travel bubble burst: ceiling fans and lush sweet frangipani flowers have been replaced by fake orchids and round-the-clock air conditioning; locals devoted to poetic offerings to their ancestors are now overweight twenty somethings obsessed with beer, lots of beer; and the charming wood carving studios are now adult superstores.

I won't mention the name of the city we are currently stuck in in Northern Australia - but suffice it to say, I won't be coming back here. Did I mention that is is beyond expensive here too. Ugh.

In wanting to savor the taste, smell, and vibe of Bali, I offer Mini's superb recipe to you.....

Mini is a fabulous cook. Everything she makes is full of flavor and belly-warming goodness. Recently, I got to spend the afternoon in her kitchen and learned a number of her delectable dishes. This stew was my favorite. I ate it for lunch for five days straight! It was that good.

 At Sarinbuana, a small eco-resort tucked in the mountains of Bali, you order your meals at the beginning of the day so that just the right ingredients can be plucked fresh from the organic garden. This is not your run of the mill organic kitchen garden, but a permaculture food forest in the mountain jungles of Bali. Wow!

Okay, in most of our lives we don't have access to magical rain forest ingredients, but I do think that if you use whatever veggies you grow yourself or pick up ultra fresh at the market, you will be rewarded with a really tasty, and ridiculously quick meal. So many veggie combinations would work for this soup. Play around with the recipe and use what is in season.

Cap Cay ( pronounced "chap chai") is a traditional Indonesian dish and I think is going to become a staple meal in our household. Mini and I made this stew in a single serving size (for my dinner in fact) and I thought a solo lunch or supper recipe would be a nice thing to have on-hand.  You can easily double, triple, quadruple this recipe to suit your needs.

Mini's notes and condiments for the day's meals...

Eggs Baked in Cream

Camino brunch is so delicious. If you live within driving distance of Oakland, check it out. Potatoes fried in duck fat, baked eggs, homemade sausages.... don't get me started. Of course their dinner is scrumptious as well.

Russ' recipe for Eggs Baked in Cream was published in the NY Times in November. We gave the recipe a try and it was really good. We didn't have the single egg-sized ramekins that Russ suggests, so we adapted the recipe to cook 2 eggs in our eight inch cast iron.

Ingredients for 2 eggs:

• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup sliced tender leeks
• salt
• 4 sprigs thyme, leaves chopped
• 4 sprigs parsley, leaves chopped
• 2 large farm eggs
• 4 tablespoons Half and Half
• ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 with rack in middle of oven.

In an 8" cast iron, melt butter, add a splash of water, a pinch of salt, and saute leeks until tender ( just a minute or 2).



Add herbs to pan, then add the eggs. Finally pour in Half and Half until the egg whites are covered. Salt generously and add fresh ground pepper.




Bake until whites have set: about 8-10 minutes.

Turkey sandwich with avocado, arugula, and homemade mayo

I know, I know, I pledged to take a post-Thanksgiving respite from eating. But what can I say.... the call of tasty leftovers cannot be refused and honestly fasting is not my style. Here's my sandwich today....

Ingredients

• turkey, sliced
• 1/3 avocado, sliced
• arugula
• Bread of your choice
• homemade mayo

Toast bread slices. Slather with mayo. Layer avocado slices, turkey and arugula. Take big bite and give thanks for Thanksgiving.

Makes one sandwich

Chicken Corn Chowder with Popovers

Otis stayed home from school yesterday and was in need of some mama-style comfort food. I found these faded handwritten recipes stashed away in my recipe box and knew they would be good medicine. My mom used to make this soup for our family and it has always been an old-school favorite of mine: the creaminess of the pureed corn plus the added cream delightfully warms the belly.


CHICKEN CORN CHOWDER

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups corn
  
• 1 large yellow onion
• 6 ribs celery
• 2 large carrots
• 3 medium potatoes
• 1 1/2 quarts chicken broth
• 1 cup cream
• fresh italian parsley

In a stock pot, melt butter over low heat. Add whole chicken breasts and cook covered for 10 minutes, flipping once after 5 minutes. Cut chicken into cubes and set aside.

Dice onions, celery and carrots. Place in the stock pot with the butter used to cook the chicken. Saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes. (Check out the cute baby celery Otis picked from our garden!)


Put 2 cups of corn in the blender with 1/2 cup of chicken stock. Puree until smooth.


Dice potatoes . I leave the skins on because it is much healthier that way and I don't mind the heartiness they add to the soup.

Add potatoes, chicken, stock, pureed and whole corn to the pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook partially covered for 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Add cream and garnish with chopped parsley. Grind fresh pepper over the top and add salt to taste.

Eat with popovers. Yum!!!

Serves 8



POPOVERS

I have always loved popovers. What is not to like? Have one to sop up your soup and another slathered with jam and butter for dessert!

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sifted all purpose flour (gluten-free folks, try Pamela's bread mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt ( no need to add if you use Pamela's)
  
• 1 teaspoon safflower oil

Preheat oven to 450.

In blender mix eggs and milk until blended. Then add salt and flour and blend for 90 seconds. Add oil and blend for another 30 seconds.


Grease muffin or popover tin. Fill half way with batter. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Reduce to 350 and cook another 20-30 minutes. Don't open the oven door until the last 5 minutes of cooking. Popovers should be a rich golden brown and crunchy on the outside when done. Let sit for a minute or so before removing.

Serve immediately.

Makes 6 popovers (I usually have to make 2 batches for my gang)

A note to my gluten free compatriots, this is the first time I have used gluten free flour to make this recipe. The insides were a little gooey compared to what I recall from my wheat-eating days. Nonetheless, they were eggy and delicious.

Classic Chicken Soup with Rice

It's Halloween and we are all getting sniffly noses and scratchy throats. Paul kindly made yummy chicken soup for me and the kids to fortify us for a night of serious trick-or-treating.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast (bone-in)
• 1 cup yellow onion
• 1 cup celery
• 1 cup carrot
• 1 cup brown rice
• 10 cups chicken broth (see homemade broth recipe below)
• salt

Combine rice with 3 cups of water, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 45 minutes until rice is tender, but not mushy.

Poach chicken in a separate pot. Take whole chicken pieces, with bone still attached for flavor, and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook about 40 minutes until meat is done. Take chicken off the bone, shred, and set aside.

In the meantime, dice veggies. Put 10 cups of broth in a large stock pot, add veggies, and bring everything to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes when veggies become tender.

Add cooked rice and shredded chicken to the stockpot; season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

I feel better already.

Homemade Chicken Broth

Homemade stock is so much tastier, healthier, and cheaper than the store-bought alternative. After we eat a Smoke Alarm Chicken for dinner, P takes the carcass and makes this delicious broth. Sometimes we make a soup right away - otherwise we put the broth in the freezer for later use.

Ingredients

• entire chicken carcass
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 carrot, cut into a few chunks
• 1 small yellow onion, quartered
• 2 bay leaves
• small handful black peppercorns
• several sprigs parsley, thyme, rosemary and oregano

Place chicken bones in a large stock pot. Cover with water (about 14 cups). Add celery stalks, carrot, onion, bay leaves, peppercorn and herbs (tied into a bundle with cooking twine).

Bring pot to a boil . Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook overnight.

The next morning, thoroughly strain broth. Salt to taste.

Carpinteria Chicken Salad

There are a million ways to do a leftover chicken salad. I like to have all the elements in separate bowls so everyone can customize to his/her taste. Even kids like this one, because they can pick and choose.

Here are the ingredients...

Leftover grilled or roasted chicken, shredded
Arugula
Fennel, julienned
Fennel tops
Radishes thinly sliced
Chevre
Toasted walnuts
Simple vinaigrette

This salad was a big hit.

Summer Vegetable Frittata

In an effort to be more environmentally and financially conscientious, our family has greatly reduced its meat intake lately. I have struggled, though, to find meals that are enjoyable for everyone and feel substantial enough after years of having meat main courses.

I've often made quiches, using the store bought shells, but have recently migrated to this simple, yummy, and healthy frittata recipe - adapted from Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. You have zucchini - use it. You have lots of onions - great. Asparagus - perfect! You can also play with the veggie to egg ratio depending upon the meal you want. I tend to load on the veggies and use the egg more as a binding.

I use an oven-proof non-stick frying pan.

Ingredients:

Veggies (2-6 cups chopped)

Eggs (3-8)

Herbs

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Garlic (3ish cloves, chopped)

Preheat oven to 350.

Saute all your veggies in olive oil, sprinkled with salt. Get them to the tenderness you want, as they will not cook much once combined with eggs. Today I used about 8 zucchini and some spring onions.

Meanwhile, crack eggs and combine with chopped garlic and herbs. Today, I used 5 eggs and a lot of basil from the garden (I would have added mint also but thought it might push the kids over the edge). Whisk mixture.

Once veggies are done cooking, mix them into the egg mixture.

Add 2T more olive oil to pan so that it will be well-lubricated (and will make it easier to remove frittata). Pour in egg and veggie mixture after a few seconds of heating. As the eggs set, lift the edges with a spatula to allow the egg to flow underneath. Continue to cook until mostly set.

I added a generous amount of goat cheese to the top.

Place in the oven for 7-10 mins (depending upon number of eggs, etc). Today, mine cooked for 9 mins. Check it until it appears set on top.

Invert onto plate (I invert it again bc I think it's prettier that way!).

Enjoy! I've served this as a bfast, a lunch, and a dinner. I recently made a couple for a dinner party, served with a big hearty salad and bread. Delish.

Smoke-Alarm Chicken

This recipe comes from Judy Rodgers and The Zuni Cafe Cookbook. I gave it this odd title because every time I make it, one of our smoke alarms goes off (it's the high heat that does it).

Take a whole chicken and salt it up the day before you are going to cook. This is all the prep you do on the bird--no butter or herbs here.

On the big day, preheat your oven to 475. Before placing chicken in the oven, preheat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat. Put your chicken in the hot pan, breast up, place in hot oven and set the timer for about 30 minutes. ( The timing depends on the bird's size. If you've got a super-bird that weighs in at 7 lbs, you may need to add five minutes to each section; if you've got a 3 1/2 lb. Hoffman, you should subtract 5 minutes.)

When your timer dings, quickly take out the bird and flip it.

Set the timer again, for 20 minutes. When that's up, flip the bird back, and set it for another 10.
When that timer dings, you are done. You never change the temperature, and you do not need to baste or stuff or anything.

Here's the option the photo explored: When you pull out the chicken, pick up the bird and pour out much of the drippings. Throw a few handfuls of greens--mustard greens, broccoli raab, arugula--into the pan to wilt. Serve with your bird.

Let the bird rest for about 10 minutes, then carve it up and eat.

Crispy deliciousness.