Peanut Curry Chicken – Check Please!

There’s a show called “Check, Please! Bay Area,” which features three locals who try each other’s favorite restaurants, and then compare notes with host, Leslie Sbrocco. We get lots of great ideas for places to try, and every once in a while I hear about a dish that I really want to make, and this peanut curry chicken is the latest example. The restaurant was called Old Skool Café, and the dish was “Abu’s West African Peanut Butter Stew.” 

I was working while it was on, and not paying full attention, but I remember thinking that it sounded like something I’d like to try soon. That was a year ago. 

Last week, Michele and I ended up going there, and I finally had my chance to order the stew, and reverse engineer the recipe for a video. Except, I didn’t order it. I have this mental defect where have to I order fried chicken every time it’s on a menu. Michele was no help, since she has the same affliction with shrimp and grits. 

Anyway, someone ordered it at the table next to us, and I overheard them discussing it, which provided plenty of inspiration for this version. I decided to not follow any specific recipe, but instead do a simple composite of every peanut curry I’ve ever come across. 

Unlike Abu’s stew, and many others, I didn’t use coconut milk, as I feel that’s a little too sweet and rich for the peanut butter. I loved how this came out, and I can’t imagine it being any richer. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for 4 large portions:

For the spice blend:
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
                                                                                  
2 1/2 pounds chicken boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup ketchup 
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I recommend using an all-natural style that doesn’t contain sugar. If you use the regular stuff, you won’t need the brown sugar called for below). 
1 packed tablespoon brown sugar 
about 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, depending on desired thickness 
1 pound zucchini, cut into chunks 
1 red bell pepper, cubed 
1 green poblano pepper, diced 
1/2 cup roasted peanuts 
chopped cilantro and fresh lime to garnish 
serve on rice
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Goat Cheese Giveaway!

Credit: The Original Chèvre
The first time I went to Paris I discovered a tiny little cheese shop that I swear was dedicated 100% to goat cheese. There were goat cheeses of all sizes and shapes, some with rinds others covered in ash and others wrapped in leaves. It was like a whole new universe of cheese. A delicious one.

Fortunately these days there is a wide range of goat cheese, both domestic and international available in the US. There are fresh soft fluffy cheeses, gooey triple creme style cheeses and drier aged goat cheeses. To learn more about goat cheese as well as great pairings, head over to Culture Cheese magazine. Today you'll find my post with two recipes--one for Scallop Selles-sur-Cher Crostini and another for a dead simple Five Spice Fig Compote with just 5 ingredients.


GIVEAWAY! 

I am giving away 5 French goat cheeses so you can test, taste and create your own recipes. You will also receive a package of tried and true recipes for inspiration and trivia cards so you can learn a little bit of history on French goat cheeses and temporary tattoos to wear your love for Original Chèvre.

Leave me a comment about how you most enjoy eating or serving goat cheese and what kinds of recipes you'd like to explore. You must have a US mailing address to win. You MUST leave your email address in the field where it is requested, it will not be visible to the public only to me. DO NOT leave your email address in the body of your comment. I will choose a winner on October 1.

Disclaimer: My thanks to Culture Cheese magazine and Goat Cheeses of France for sending me goat cheese samples and providing me the opportunity to participate in this promotion, I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post on the blog. 
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Cheeseburger Stuffed Shells


You read that right, Cheeseburger Stuffed Shells.  If classic Italian stuffed shells and good ol' American cheeseburgers made sweet love and had a baby, it would be this dish.  A perfect, family friendly, crowd pleaser.  Make it ahead, pop it in the oven, freeze the leftovers.  I apologize for not writing in full sentences but I'm so tired.  The second week of school is WAY more intense than the first.  But, my delirious state of mind aside, it was so much fun cooking with Hoda and Carson this morning on Today!  If you missed the segment, you can check it out here.  Enjoy the weekend!

(Photo credit: the lovely Director of Culinary Production at the Today Show, Bianca Borges)
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Smoked Trout Schmear – Because There’s No Cool Way to Say, “Spread”

Schmear,” on the other hand, is impossible to say without sounding cool. Try it, you’ll see. You also have to love a recipe whose name describes what you’re supposed to do with it. You make a schmear, and then you schmear a schmear.

Names aside, this smoked trout schmear is incredibly easy, and very versatile. Obviously, it’s great spread on any kind of bread or crackers, but slathered atop a freshly toasted bagel may be it’s finest expression.

By the way, this is one of those recipes were you almost have to ignore the exact ingredient measurements I give below, since the ideal amount of salt, acidity, and heat are very subjective. Equal proportions of cream cheese and smoked trout is a good starting point, but everything else should be added “to taste.”

Smoked trout is relatively easy to find in any of your fancier grocery stores that sell smoke salmon, and unlike its more common cousin, I think it provides a richer, more interesting flavor, especially in spreads like this. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!


2 trout boneless, skinless fillets (about 5-6 ounces total), checked for bones and crumbled
6 ounces cream cheese (3/4 cup), softened to room temp
2 teaspoons capers, drained
1 rounded teaspoon hot prepared horseradish, preferably homemade
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch of cayenne
1/2  lemon, juiced (about 4 teaspoons), or to taste
2 teaspoons fresh chopped chives
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
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Global Grub Pad Thai Kit

I generally don't review cooking kits since I'd rather cook something from a recipe instead, but there are exceptions. Try as I might, I cannot make my own tamales from scratch taste quite as exquisite as the ones from Global Grub. I'm pretty sure it has to do with the mix of chiles in package.

Which brings me to the lastest cooking kit from Global Grub, Pad Thai. It’s all about the ingredients. There are a lot of recipes for Pad Thai out there and more often than not they use ingredients that just don’t belong in it such as ketchup, rice wine vinegar or honey. For more authentic versions, check out the recipes in Pok Pok by Andy Ricker or Thai Street Food by David Thompson (which also includes the fascinating history of the dish).Or even easier, you can use the latest Pad Thai kit from Global Grub. Having tried the kit I can vouch for it. Along with rice stick noodles, the kit contains tamarind, fish sauce and preserved radish which you might not have on hand but make all the difference in this simple but satisfying dish. It tastes just like what you get in a restaurant not in a cheap kit or from making it without the right ingredients. The balance is right, but so is the texture and the toppings.  I asked Carley Sheehy the founder of Global Grub how this kit came to be.

“I’ve been infatuated with Pad Thai since I had a huge delicious plate of it in Thailand (for only a couple bucks). When I came back to the US, none of the Pad Thais could compare! I realized the Americanized version oftentimes uses ketchup instead of tamarind, which makes a big difference. I also realized what makes the dish extra challenging is the balance between sweet, salty, sour, spicy. It’s a lot of contrasting flavors to balance, plus everyone has their own taste/preference. So basically, I’ve been “studying” it for a long time and trying to perfect the recipe (over and over again). I also was lucky enough to have my brother go to Thailand last year where he officially learned to make authentic Pad Thai; he passed all his learnings to me. 

One of the reasons why Pad Thai made so much sense as a kit was not only the hard-to-find ingredients (especially the tamarind paste and preserved radish), but that you can really “balance” the flavors the way you like it e.g. if you like it spicier, add more chili flakes, etc. I’m really trying to encourage home cooks to use the kits as is or “make it yours.” 

Give the kit a try, and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Global Grub for providing the kit for me to review. I used my own tofu, egg, garlic, shallots, bean sprouts, green onions, lime, roasted peanuts and shrimp to make the dish and was not compensated monetarily to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 
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Colorful nacho dinner!

There are nachos, obviously, topped with beef, avocado, tomatoes, a lovely cheese sauce from Stonewall Kitchen, cilantro, pickled onions and sour cream. Yum!
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Veggie Pizza Balls


By now, if you're a parent, your children are probably back to school (if not, I offer you my deepest condolences).  You're probably also in major "fall schedule" mode.  Back-to-school shopping and haircuts and soccer and dance (and figure out those carpools!) and school open houses (with so many forms to fill out) and easing back into homework.  It's a lot!  It's so much!  And on top of it all, you probably keep forgetting you need to feed your children breakfast and pack their snacks and lunches and figure out something (what!?) to make for dinner.  Which is why I love finding things you can make the night before, or in the 20 spare minutes you find during the day, and can pop in the oven that night.  Weelicious to the rescue!  If you're not familiar with her site, check it out.  She offers a slew of easy, healthy, kid-friendly recipes.  Like these Pizza Balls you can stuff with anything!  Cheese, marinara and then, if you think your kids will eat it... veggies.  I added some finely chopped cooked cauliflower to mine.  My kids loved them (oh, and I ate 10).  Check out the recipe here.
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Next Up: Something with Smoked Trout


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How to Make Your Own Prepared Horseradish – Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot

Every time I use horseradish in a recipe, I get e-mails from people asking me how they can make it at home. They mention they can get the fresh root, but can’t find anything already prepared in the jar, which in some cases is hard to believe – like when the email originates from New York City – but regardless, this is still a very worthwhile thing to learn how to make.

Worthwhile, and somewhat painful, if you’re not careful. As I mention in the video, the fumes produced by this process are very intense, and will cause burning eyes and runny noses, if you’re not in a well-ventilated space. Having said that, using a little common sense, it’s really not that bad, and so totally worth it.

This really is quite easy if you have a food processor, but if you don’t, a heavy-duty blender will work, although you may have to add more water in the first step, to get the mixture fine enough. You can also grate this very fine on a microplane, but that would probably only be practical if you’re making a smaller amount.

Once your horseradish has been ground finely, the technique is very simple. I like to wait two or three minutes (this is supposed to make it hotter), before adding the salt and vinegar. Then, I’ll simply process, adding as much water as necessary, until I have a nice, smooth, creamy mixture.

And while this looks like something from the grocery store, the flavor is incomparable. Intensely hot, and aromatic; this is the real deal. So, whether you’re one of these people, who lives in a place where they don’t have jarred horseradish, like apparently New York City, or you always wanted to try and make some yourself, I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 3 cups: you read this please in here
1 pound peeled, cubed fresh horseradish root
cold water as needed (about 3/4 cup total)
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/3 cup white distilled vinegar
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All about Hatch chiles

A few weekends ago I went to a Hatch chile roast.Hatch chiles are a very prized New Mexican variety. They are available fresh from August through September and once roasted, they can be kept in the freezer for up to 2 years. They are very high in vitamin C—one medium chile has as much as 6 oranges. 

There are 5 or 6 different chiles that are marketed with the name “Hatch” and they are each named for the valley they are grown in. The most common Hatch chile is the NuMex 6-4 Heritage, which was bred for flavor, heat level and size at New Mexico State University. They are fleshy, long and narrow. Not generally eaten raw, roasting really brings out their flavor—they are smoky but also have citrus, herbal and vegetal flavors but with distinct heat. You can get mild, medium, hot or extra hot Hatch chiles.

A year ago I was sent some hot chiles from The Hatch Chile Store and it has taken me a year to use them. They are really, really hot so a little goes a long way. You might think I had learned my lesson and would get medium heat chiles this time but I did not. In fact the chiles I got from Mollie Stone’s Market supplied by Melissa’s were fresh off the grill and I made yet another mistake, not peeling them with gloves. Ouch! I didn’t feel the sting and burn until hours later. Fortunately it does go away, eventually. 

You can still attend a 2015 Hatch chile roast at a Bay Area Mollie Stone's Market in September on the 12th in Sausalito, 13th in Burlingame, 19th in San Mateo or 20th in Palo Alto. Preorder them if you like. If you prefer having them peeled for you, you can order them from The Hatch Chile Store. They arrive frozen in a flat package and are easy to remove, one at a time. 

So what do you do with Hatch chiles? You can use them in dishes that feature them as a primary flavor such as chile verde or in chile rellenos, but there are countless other ways to enjoy them too. Here are just a few ways to use them:

* Stirred into polenta or grits 

* In scrambled eggs, frittata or quiche

* Mixed into macaroni and cheese

* As a topping for burgers or cheese burgers

* In a quesadilla 

* In chili con carne or vegetarian chili 

* Added to corn chowder

* In enchilada sauce or filling

* Added to cornbread or corn muffins 

* To spice up spinach artichoke dip 

Disclaimer: I received Hatch chiles from The Chile Store and from Mollie Stone's Market. I was not monetarily compensated to write this or any other post on Cooking with Amy. 
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