Curry Chicken Burger - November Secret Recipe Club

Today is Secret Recipe Club day!  I had Jane from Jane's Adventures in Dinner.  She is an accomplished baker and loves a good burger re-do.  Her philosophy on the "twisted" burgers?  Take everything she loves about a certain dish and put it between two slices of bread.  For example, her Beef Curry Burgers are based on take-away curry that she loved while living in England.  Curry paste, chutney, ginger, cilantro, and grated carrots all got mixed into ground beef to recreate one of her favorite dishes.

I am a big fan of the re-do, so I thought I would run with her curry burger and translate it into some of my favorite Thai flavors.  To approximate a red curry, ground chicken is combined with red curry paste (or sriracha) lime zest, onion, garlic, ginger, and cilantro.  I made a quick peanut sauce to accompany the burgers and topped them with crunchy red bell pepper and carrots.

It's been really difficult to get me in the kitchen during the transition from boot to walking, but this completely motivated me.  At the end of the day, I'm exhausted and stressed and all I can think about is two bags of frozen peas sandwiching the ankle and a bowl of salsa and chips.  I constantly feel frustrated by how much I can't do yet.  People stare at me when I'm out and all I want to do is blend in to the city like normal.  The people who pitch for charities downtown all come up to me now because, and i QUOTE, "You can't run away from us!"  Yes, people that happened.

So thank you, Jane, for giving me a great way to be creative.  Be sure to check out all of the other group B submissions!

Watermelon Cilantro Granita - October Secret Recipe Club

Inaugural Secret Recipe Club post!  This was supposed to happen last month, but unfortunately I broke my ankle and had surgery the day of my first reveal.  Oops, sorry SRC!  But no fear, my post was covered and I'm ready and raring to go for October!  Well, more puttering than raring but you get it.

The blog I was assigned is an adorable four-sister venture called Crumbs and Chaos.  It is run by Becca, Emily, Kate, and Megan and there are so many recipes I want to try!  The ladies have lovely baked goods, a focus on seasonal food, and highlight their fellow bloggers every week with their 5 on Fridays posts.  Bonus - the incredibly creative children's parties like the Minnie Mouse Party and the Spiderman Party.  I loved the Caramel Apple Cinna-minis for their tiny package of big fall flavors, the innovative Apple Pie Salsa that would perfectly pair with some baked pie crust pieces, and the supremely simple but flavorful Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wraps.  However, I don't have a crock pot or two legs to stand on so I chose something that was simple and fast so that I wouldn't hate my kitchen by the time I was finished.  Enter Watermelon Granita!

I love granita for its ease of preparation, its versatility, and (in my versions) a balance of tangy and sweet flavors.  The basic idea is to combine juice from any fruit(s), sweeten with a touch of sugar or simple syrup, freeze, and scrape (read: fluff) with a fork to create a light and airy frozen treat.  The key is to find the balance in the "base" of the granita before freezing by slowly adding the lime juice and simple syrup and tasting in between.  I chose cilantro and lime to complement my watermelon base, simple and unadorned flavors.

And you may be asking me, "Sarah, why are you doing a frozen dessert when my google reader and facebook is filled with apple and pumpkin recipes?"  Well, first of all, I made this last week when it was still 70-80 degrees out in DC so I could still comfortably wear shorts outside.  I hadn't taken my boots out of their boot shapers since April.  But most of all because it was barely fall yet.  This week, I feel like it is finally time to flood me with all things pumpkin and spice yet here I am with a granita.  Oh well, win some lose some.  Thanks, Crumbs and Chaos, for the inspiration!

Roasted Poblano Grilled Cheese

I am a proponent of the shop the outsides theory.  What that means is that when I go grocery shopping I do not go into the aisles, just the produce, meat, and dairy section.  The exceptions to the rule are frozen fruits and vegetables and the ethnic aisle.  LOVE the ethnic aisle.  I could spend hours and hundreds on all of the interesting and new flavors found there.  My grocery store also has a little section of hispanic refrigerated products, which include fresh cheeses, corn husks, and arepas.  Arepas are flat round breads that can be made from corn or flour, typically eaten for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

So how fitting is it to use arepas for a grilled cheese!  It's a little grown up, combining roasted poblanos and goat cheese with a slightly sweet creamy corn and cilantro spread.  And also addictive . . . Don't tell anyone but I totally made a second one after polishing off the first.

I roasted the poblanos (and a lone jalapeno) in my oven at 400 F for about 45-50 minutes, turning every 15 minutes or so.  Once the skins were blistered and slightly puffed I pulled the peppers out, put the roasted pepper in a bowl, and covered with plastic wrap.  The steam generated will you to remove the skin, which you should remove along with the core and the seeds.  DO NOT RINSE!  It takes aways all the flavor.  Trust me, the extra work is worth it!

To assemble the grilled cheese, I first toasted up both sides of the arepa in a little butter over medium heat.  The creamy cilantro corn, handful of roasted poblanos, and a healthy dose of goat cheese was spread between the toasted arepas and returned to the pan for another minute or so to melt the cheese.  Addictive slightly spicy grilled cheese, the perfect grown up afterschool snack!

Mussels in Thai Green Curry Broth

In addition to a bakery and a butcher directly behind my family house, we are within 15 minutes to ridiculously good seafood at this little family owned fish shop.  Giant slabs of tuna, beautiful orange and white sea scallops, jumbo lump crab, and a great supply of mussels that are cheap and always open (that's what he said?).  My first experience with mussels at 9 years old, when I convinced my aunts I could handle a whole pot of mussels by myself.  The briny bites of goodness were infused with the garlicky white wine broth, too good not to finish!  The Belgians take their mussels seriously and now so does our family!

When we found out we could get great mussels at the little fish shop, it was game on.  At under 5 bucks a pound, we would grab a bottle of white wine and a loaf of crusty bread and steam away.  Recently, I've seen places like Mussel Bar in Bethesda get creative with their broths.  I took license with their thai green curry version and created a spicy coconut and lemongrass based broth to steam open the mussels.  I cleaned the mussels by getting rid of any open (bad) mussels, removing the beards, and soaking the mussels in water with a little flour added to help get rid of any grit.

I built the broth by first sauteing shallots, ginger, and garlic.  Next, I added green curry paste from the can.  Sarah?  Using a prepared product?  As many times as I've tried to replicate the flavor of curry paste, I haven't come close yet.  Best leave that to the experts and focus on the mussels instead.  I then added the zest and juice of 2 limes, a can of coconut milk, the same amount of stock, a bruised and knotted lemongrass stalk (ends trimmed, outer leaves removed), a smidge of honey, and a few whole stalks of thai basil.  When all of the flavors had come together with a balance of spicy, sweet, sour, and salt from simmering  over medium high heat for 5 minutes of so, I added the cleaned mussels, chopped thai basil and cilantro, covered and steamed until all of the shells had opened.

Serve with hunks of good dipping bread to get all of the yummy broth.  We forgot bread so we toasted some english muffins and when we ran out of bread my mom and I just attacked the broth with spoons.  No shame, it's THAT GOOD!

Mango Beef Stir Fry

First beef dish!  I'm trying to ease into this whole cooking meat thing by using a quick cooking meat that I couldn't screw up!  I got inspired by the grocery store sales, 10 for 10 on oranges and champagne mangos as well as discounted stir fry meat.  Done and done.  So, I mixed up a sweet and spicy stir fry perfect to put on top of soba noodles or lettuce as a salad.  And look, it's so colorful and exciting!

I've been very into the combination of agave, sriracha, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil.  Last week I used it in a quick salad dressing as well as combined with tamarind concentrate to marinate the chicken pieces.  I made enough stir fry sauce to enjoy for the rest of the week, which is why only a 1/2 cup is incorporated into the stir fry.

Word to the wise - this is the kind of dish to prepare everything before you start cooking.  I cut up all of my vegetables, prepared my sauce, and seasoned the beef before even turning the pan on.  I used coconut oil, which can be used 1 for 1 for olive oil, because it is great for high heat cooking and frying like stir fry.  It can be found at asian markets and in the baking aisle at Whole Foods.

Cilantro Cashew Pesto Crusted Tuna Steaks with Mango Avocado Salsa

If you haven't figured this out yet, I love cilantro.  I feel so sorry for anyone who cannot enjoy cilantro because of that pesky gene!  Its brightness perks up almost any dish, including desert.  Today, I decided to use the power of cilantro in a pesto, used to crust a tuna steak.

To top the tuna, I made a quick salsa with champagne mangos and avocado.  I like to use champagne mangos because I can always tell when they are ripe due to their smaller size and yellow flesh.  I have wasted many a mangos cutting in before they are fully ripe, but never a champagne mango!

This meal was easy to prepare and made me think spring!

Lemongrass and Coconut Brown Rice

I am not a fan of prepared food.  As busy as I am, I want to cook every part of my meal.  One of the only prepared foods in my pantry is 90 second microwavable rice.  Don't get me wrong, I love rice but I don't have the patience to cook it most nights and it pretty much tastes the same to me (horrible, I know).  Pasta take 12 minutes, couscous takes 5 minutes, and this rice takes 90 seconds.  So why would I waste time on a 45 MINUTE rice?  This is why:

Brown rice cooked in coconut milk has the consistency of risotto with the sweet taste of coconut.  I seasoned my rice with a stalk of lemongrass, an ingredient used in asian cooking that tastes like a slightly spiced lemon.  It can be found in asian markets, but I got mine from a friend in my bocce league.  I used my coconut milk can to bruise the lemongrass enough to tie it into a knot.  Saveur did a great video tutorial of this process here.  The bruising releases the flavor and the knot allows the lemongrass to fit in the pot to infuse into the liquid while the rice is cooking.  I finish the rice with a lime juice and cilantro.  It is a delicious change from plain rice and pairs well with spicy dishes.

In terms of preparing the rice, I used the directions found on the package.  Thus, your cooking times and amounts may change.  To thicken up the rice at the end, I stirred it uncovered for 3-5 minutes.

Green Papaya Salad

City living has introduced me to so many new cuisines.  One of my new favorite comfort foods is Thai food, with it's impossibly delicious balance of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy.  There is a hole in the wall place near my old apartment that I fell in love with.  Green curry with jasmine rice, crispy soft shelled crab, tom kha gai soup, and my favorite side dish green papaya salad.  Green papaya is just unripened papaya, the perfect vehicle for the spicy dressing of the salad.  I haven't been able to find the unripened fruit anywhere in DC, so I was ecstatic to bring some home from Baltimore.

The papaya should be peeled, seed, and shredded before using.  I prepared the papaya, carrots, and cucumber with the shredding blade of my food processor, but the large holes of a cheese grater would work fine in a pinch.  The shredded vegetables are combined with blanched green beans and sweet cherry tomatoes then dressed with a spicy tart balanced sauce.  It's best to let the salad soak in the dressing for a few hours before serving to allow the flavors to really pack a punch.

Chickpea and Jicama Citrus Salad

I'm a poor grad student and meat is expensive, so I try hard to get protein into my diet in other ways.  My go to is chickpeas - in salads, dips, or crisped up with spices.  For this salad, I combined the chickpeas with crunchy jicama and colorful bell peppers and then dressed it with a citrus dressing.

Cilantro Lime Grilled Fruit with Challah and Marscapone

Grilled fruit is a game changer.  Ever since I saw Alton Brown's episode on grilling, where he ended with fruit kabobs utilizing the last heat from the coals, I've been obsessed.  No fruit is safe; I've tried pineapple spears, stone fruit, lemons and limes for topping meat, and whole bananas.  So on kebab night (oh my lord spiedis straight from Binghamton, NY), I decided to switch it up with kebab strawberries!  A simple syrup infused with lime and cilantro is the star of this easy summer dessert.

Cilantro and Lime in EVERY Bite!

Warm Corn and Tomato Salad

When thinking of what to pair with the Bacon-wrapped Mahi Mahi, I knew I needed something citrus-based to cut the fat of the bacon and keep the dish light yet savory.  Fresh corn and tomatoes help deliver the bright flavor.

Zucchini Fritters

Caught in the nostalgia of Zucchini Bread, I ended up with two extra cups of shredded zucchini.  The shape and texture reminded me of the packaged shredded potato for homefries, which got my wheels turning from homefries to latkes to fritters!  Zucchini fritters!

Roasted Duck Tacos

I came up with this recipe for Cinco de Mayo with Jose Andres and Rick Bayless in mind. Really flavorful and interesting components mixing together to make something even better.  It combines the roasted duck, the summer creamed corn, the onion and apple quick pickle, and a few fun extras

Onion and Green Apple Quick Pickle

Like Snooki, I am a giant fan of pickles.  While I don't deep-throat bread and butters on the regular, I do quick pickle.  Tangy and crunchy quick pickles are perfect for cutting rich dishes while maintaining the crunch and freshness of the fruits and vegetables.  The basic formula is any crunchy veggies and/or fruits, an acid like citrus or vinegar, and any other flavors you want to add.

Today, I tried out an onion and granny smith combo with Latin American flair to go with the roasted duck leg and summer creamed corn.