Earl's Thai Chicken salad

I have loves this salad so much.  I have alsoade it so hot that my spicy loving husband found it too hot but I, a mild to possibly medium spicy lover, could not stop eating it.

Dressing / Marinade 

-¼ cup Ketjap Manis (sweet soy)

-2 tbsp Sambal Oelek (spicy garlic chili sauce)

-2 cloves garlic, grated

-½ tsp sesame oil

-juice 1 lime

I using uncooked chicken, marinate in some of the dressing.  Otherwise just use a roasted chicken.

Cooked Asian noodles

Romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

Cilantro

Roasted salted Peanuts

Mint

Toss altogether and top with dressing.  So good you'll eat the whole thing yourself.  No need to share.  I mean, you could but why bother.

Chicken Cherry Pie 🍒

This pie is an adaptation from a medieval text Platina Book 6.  Another Crust with Tame Creatures is a strangely delicious recipe which features both canned sour cherries, chicken and herbs in a quiche like structure.

Chicken Cherry Pie
Makes 2 pies

1 roast Chicken or 3 chicken breast cooked
2  9" pie crusts
1 cup or so or drained cherries
8 eggs
2 tbsp wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
4 tsp finely chopped mint
Salt and pepper

Line the bottom of the pie crust with cherries, chicken and herbs.

In a pot, combine eggs, vinegar, broth, salt and pepper cook over low until thickened.  Once thickened, poor over other ingredients. 

Bake 400° for 15 min and then 350° for 25 minutes. Bake until the egg mixture is set.

A Recipe from my Youth

My mum is a fabulous cook, and always had some interesting recipe up her sleeve that she would crack out and it would leave a mark in my memory.  This recipe is one of those lovely memories and the best part is that I actually have a recipe to go along with that memory. 

This is a Sweet Curry Sauce that works really well with chicken and rice.  I bet that it would work well with just about anything but I have use it for chicken with rice, because that is the way that mum did it.

I have adapted the recipe a bit with ingredients that I keep in the house.  I am more likely to have greek yogurt in my house then sour cream or light sour cream.  Plus, I love the extra protein found in fat free plain greek yogurt.

This is not a true curry, since I am sure that real curries would never include ketchup.  Don't let the ketchup keep you from trying this; it has a great flavour.

Sweet Curry Sauce

Makes 4 servings, 2 Points+ per serving.

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 cup Onion, diced (I usually don't measure but use a whole small/medium onion)

2 tsp Curry Powder (I add more when I feel like it)

4 tsp Ketchup 

4 tsp Dry White Wine (I use white cooking wine with tarragon in it)

4 tsp Apricot Jam (I used cloudberry jam since that is what I had in my house at the time, it is also good. Probably any light coloured jam would do)

3/4 cup Fat Free Plain Greek Yogurt.

~In a saucepan over medium, saute the onion in the oil until they are translucent, about 2 minutes.  Keep stirring to keep the onions moving so they do not burn.

~Add curry powder and cook 1 minute.

~Add ketchup, wine, and jam and simmer until reduced by half (this does not take very long.) 

~Add yogurt to the cooked onion and stir.

*You can serve this sauce hot or cold.

*If you want to make it a head of time you can cook it up but leave out the yogurt until you have reheated the onion mixture.

Saute the onions.

After I have added the ketchup, jam and wine, then reduced.

My completed dinner including; 2/3 cup white rice, chicken thighs and carrot parsnip mash.

BBQ time

I don't used the BBQ often since my husband does such a great job at it.  I never liked chicken wings until I was pregnant with Ladybug.  I don't generally like bones in my food, I find it gets in the way of eating it.  So I came across a good adaptation of a Honey Garlic Chicken Boneless Wing, and it has been a party hit for the last few years.  I have to thank Greta and Janet Podleski for their Lord of the Wings.  It is the most ingenious recipe I have seen for wings, but then again I haven't really been looking at recipes for wings since I am not pregnant with Ladybug anymore.

So I was supposed to be having a few people over for dinner on Saturday, but it turned out that my friends from out of town were able to join us.  Ted, Tash and Baby T were already over since we had spent the day together so I decided that some grilled veggies and the boneless chicken wings would be great with a side of grilled corn and white rice (with the lovely teriyaki sauce that Ted brought me :)

Grilled Veggies

1 eggplant, cut into approx 3/4" rings 

4 small zucchinis, sliced lengthwise

6-8 beets, sliced

1 sweet onion, cut into rings approx 3/4".

4 ears of corn

1 clove garlic

2 red peppers, keep them whole with the stem.

*Spray with spray oil or drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and rub with garlic (I didn't actually use garlic on Saturday since I was lazy)

*place on the grill hot grill until one side is golden and then flip over and cook the other side. With the red pepper keep turning until all sides are blistered and black. 

Honey Garlic Boneless Chicken Wings

1/2 cup Honey

1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce

3 tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

3 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

2 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger (I freeze mine and then use a microplane to grate it)

1 tbsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Sesame Oil

1/2 tsp Curry Powder

1/2 tsp Coriander, ground

1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper

3 lb Chicken thighs, opened to make it wide(left to right) and cut down the middle (from top to bottom)

*Mix all the ingredients in the measuring cup and whisk to combine.
*Pour half of the mixture into a large ziploc, leaving the other half for basting.
*Marinate the chicken for 1 to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
*When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 400*
*Roll up thighs to make a wing like shape.
*Bake for 10-13 minutes to set the shape and par-bake the wings.
*Preheat the BBQ
*Place par-baked chicken on the BBQ and baste with the reserved sauce.
*Turn once or twice, repeatedly basting to ensure a moist glaze on the chicken.  Try not to burn the chicken.
*Enjoy.  It is tasty with a blue cheese dressing.

Mixed up sauce makes just over a cups worth of mariade, so I reserved a 1/2 cup for basting while cooking.

Here are the rolled up chicken thighs, getting ready to par-bake in the oven.  This lowers the BBQ time and sets the shape.

Another view of the chicken waiting to be cooked.

Par-baked and just on the BBQ, I haven't even basted it yet.

BBQ'd and tasty and juicy and delicious!!!

These are the other half the recipe that baked tonight (Monday)  Since I forgot to take any pictures until afterwards and there was only the last lonely pieces left.

Last lonely pieces.  I did finally put them out of their misery, I did throw myself on that grenade, happily.