Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut Sauce

Adapted from Weber's Ultimate Grilling (2019) by Jamie Purviance, Fine Cooking Magazine

This is a recipe that Steve found and adapted. They are so good.  He loves making rubs, marinades, and sauces so this recipe was right up his alley.  The seasoning made the chicken flavorful all by itself, but the dipping sauce was delicious and added even greater flavor.  Tyler wants to use the dipping sauce recipe for the Pad Thai that he makes.  

From the magazine:

Skewered thigh meat is much more likely to turn out juicy than skewered breast meat.  Its inherent richness can handle the dry heat of the grill without losing too much moisture, especially if you arrange the pieces so that they are just touching but not tightly packed together.  

For the dipping sauce:

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk, stirred
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2-3 teaspoons Thai red curry paste

In a small saucepan, combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, and curry paste.  Cook over medium heat just until the sauce comes to a gentle simmer, whisking until smooth.  Remove from the heat, cover, and set aside.  Just before serving, whisk the sauce to bring it back together if it has separated.  

For the chicken:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6 to 8 thighs), trimmed of excess fat
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 thin scallions, white and light-green parts only, thinly-sliced on the diagonal
Lime wedges, for serving

If using bamboo skewers, soak twelve 10-inch skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before cooking time.  Alternatively, use metal skewers.

Cut the thighs into 1 1/2-inch pieces.  In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, lime juice, curry paste, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Add the chicken to the bowl and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Heat the grill to 500 degrees F.  When hot, brush the grill grate clean.  Prepare the grill for direct cooking, and reduce the temperature to medium-high (400-450 degrees F).  Thread the chicken pieces on the skewers so that they are just touching but not tightly packed together.  

Grill the skewers over direct medium-high heat with the lid closed until the meat is firm to the touch and opaque all the way to the center, turning once or twice, 8 to 10 minutes.  Arrange the skewers on a platter, and garnish with the sliced scallions.  Serve immediately with the dipping sauce and lime wedges.

Beer and Cheddar Fondue

Our family occasionally has fondue for lunch or dinner (especially during a Packer game).    Here is one of Tyler's first recipes, with a picture of a younger Tyler making it.

4 cups shredded cheddar or cheddar jack cheese (that is a combination of cheddar and Monterey Jack)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup beer
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon coarsely-ground pepper

For dipping:  French bread (cut in cubes, sprinkled with extra-virgin olive oil, and toasted slightly under the broiler), apple chunks, tortilla chips. 

In a large bowl, combine the cheese and cornstarch.  In a fondue pot, heat the beer, garlic, and pepper over medium heat until bubbles form around the side of the pot.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add a handful of cheese mixture.  Stir constantly, using a figure-eight motion, until almost completely melted.  Continue adding cheese, one handful at a time, allowing cheese to almost completely melt between additions.  Keep warm and serve with French bread cubes, apples, tortilla chips, and any other fruits and vegetables you'd like to dip. (I'm trying not to say bacon here....  Okay BACON.)

Fondue was popularized as a Swiss national dish by the Swiss Cheese Union in the 1930's as a way of increasing cheese consumption.  The Swiss Cheese Union also created pseudo-regional recipes as part of the "spiritual defense of Switzerland."  After World War II rationing ended, the Swiss Cheese Union continued its marketing campaign, sending fondue sets to military regiments and event organizers across Switzerland.  Fondue is now a symbol of Swiss unity.  This dish became popular in the United States in the 1960's and 1970's.  Every new bride received at least 3 fondue sets as bridal shower and wedding gifts!

Minestrone Soup

Source:  allrecipes.com

Try to make the minestrone soup a day early and refrigerate as this improves the flavors.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese and/or chopped fresh parsley.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek, sliced

2 carrots (7 1/2"), chopped

1 zucchini, thinly sliced

4 ounces green beans, cut into 1" pieces 

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

1 1/2 quarts vegetable stock

1 pound Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, with liquid

1/4 cup elbow macaroni

salt and ground black pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan, over medium heat.  Add leek, carrots, zucchini, green beans, and celery.  Cover and reduce heat to low.  Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock, tomatoes, and thyme.  Bring to a boil, then replace the lid, and reduce heat to low; simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Stir in the cannellini beans with liquid and pasta.  Simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.  Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Nutrition:

Per serving:  320 calories; protein 12 g, carbohydrates 44.5 g, fat 12 g, sodium 740.9 mg.

Taco Beef Dip

2 pounds lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 - 1 1/4-ounce envelope taco seasoning mix
Several dashes bottled hot pepper sauce
4 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Dairy sour cream
1 small tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped green or red pepper
Sliced pitted ripe olives
Tortilla chips or corn chips

Cook beef and garlic in a 10-inch skillet until beef is browned.  Drain off fat.  Stir in tomato sauce, taco seasoning mix, and hot pepper sauce.  Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.

Toss cheese with flour.  Add cheese to meat mixture, a little at a time, stirring just until melted.  Transfer the hot mixture to a fondue pot or chafing dish; place over burner to keep hot.  Dollop with sour cream and garnish with tomato, red or green peppers, and olives.

Serve with tortilla or corn chips.  Makes 7 cups.

Scotch Eggs



Sometimes Tyler gets an idea to make a recipe that comes as a complete surprise.  He has a great sense of adventure in the kitchen.  This is a recipe that he has made a few times and it's a keeper.  I've tried Scotch eggs in restaurants and Tyler's are better by far.

They reheat well in the microwave and are great to take to work for lunch. 

For eggs:
5 eggs
5 sweet Italian sausages (remove casings)
Salt (to taste)
Black pepper (to taste)
Grated nutmeg (to taste)
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Canola oil (for frying)

For sauce:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Soft boil 4 eggs*. In a large saucepot, heat 1/2-inch of water to boiling. Using tongs, carefully place eggs into the bottom of the pot. Cover pot. Don't turn down the heat.  Boil for 6 1/2 minutes.

While the eggs soft boil, prepare the meat mixture. Remove the casings from the Italian sausages and mix with 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard, parsley, chives, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix together until spices and herbs are evenly distributed.

Prepare your breading station. Set up 3 separate bowls filling one with the leftover egg (beaten), one with the flour, and one with the breadcrumbs.

Prepare the deep fryer. In either a large sauce pot or a deep fryer, heat 5 inches of canola oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

After the eggs have soft boiled for 6 1/2 minutes, carefully plunge the eggs into an ice bath to stop the cooking. When they are cool (2 minutes), peel the eggs being very careful not to crack them. (They are soft boiled, not hard boiled. Gentle gentle.) Rinse the eggs under cool water to remove any extra egg shells.

Divide meat mixture into four even balls. Coat a peeled egg with flour. Flatten 1 meat ball so it covers your hand. Gently wrap flattened meat patty around the peeled egg until egg is completely covered and there are no cracks. Wet your hands and smooth out the meat ball until it is egg shaped again. Bread the meat ball by coating with flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs in that order. Be sure that there are no wet spots on the outside of the egg after it is coated with the breadcrumbs. Repeat with the three remaining eggs.

Submerge Scotch eggs into the oil and deep fry for 3 minutes. Remove and place on baking sheet. Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes.

Prepare the sauce. Mix 1/2 cup Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup mayonnaise in mixing bowl and stir until lumps disappear. Divide into four condiment cups and sprinkle cayenne pepper over each cup if desired.

Cut Scotch eggs in half and serve.

* Soft boiled eggs can be hard to peel. You may want to boil an extra egg or two if it is your first time doing this. For best peeling results, start by peeling the bottom of the egg first, where there is an air pocket.

Moscow Mule

Source: The Essential New York Times Cook Book (a favorite!)

Kate and I had the same brilliant idea for Christmas one year.  We bought each other Moscow Mule mugs.  She one-upped my gift by making Moscow Mules and wrapping them.  An excellent Christmas surprise!

"The French may complain that Americans know only one sauce, but they cannot say we have only one drink," Jane Nickerson, a columnist for the Times wrote, introducing this cocktail recipe. "Yankee ingenuity and inventiveness seem nowhere better evidenced than at our bars."

The Moscow Mule was popularized at the Cock 'n' Bull, a trendy Hollywood restaurant on Sunset Boulevard. John Martin, a Smirnoff salesman, claimed to have devised the recipe with the restaurant's bartender as a way of promoting the fledgling vodka brand. The drink, a refreshing zinger made with vodka, lime juice, and ginger beer, was served in copper cups.  Clementine Paddleford, Nickerson's rival across town at the New York Herald Tribune, ran a piece about the Moscow Mule a week after Nickerson.  "The nicest thing about the mule," Paddleford wrote, "is that it doesn't make you noisy and argumentative, or quiet and sullen, but congenial and in love with the world.  One wag of its tail and life grows rosy."

1 1/2 ounces vodka
4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
6 ounces ginger beer

Fill a tumbler with 4 or 5 ice cubes.  Pour in the vodka and lime juice and fill up the tumbler with ginger beer.  (Or, in our family, we just make a pitcher of mules so we can refill our copper mugs easily.)

Plain Yogurt (InstantPot)

Have you noticed there is a 'yogurt' button on an Instant Pot?  It's super easy to make your own plain yogurt and all you need is two ingredients.  Good bye little sweetie plastic containers of yogurt.  There are so many uses for plain yogurt, but I just like mixing yogurt with berries and adding some granola on the top for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon whole milk

1/4 cup plain yogurt with live active cultures

Pour milk into the Instant Pot and press the 'Yogurt' button until it says 'boil.'  Put the lid on.  (It doesn't have to be in pressure mode.)  Wait until the milk comes to a boil.  The Instant Pot will beep when it is done.  It takes about 25-30 minutes.  The milk will heat to about 180 degrees F, not to actual boiling temperature.

Remove the container from the Instant Pot and cool the milk to between 110 and 120 degrees F.  To speed this up, I put the container in a sink of ice water and keep stirring and check the temperature frequently with an instant read thermometer.  It only takes about 5 minutes to cool the milk using an ice bath.

Put 1/2 cup plain yogurt into a small mixing bowl and add one cup of the cooled milk to the bowl.  Whisk it until it is smooth, then add this mixture to the container with the rest of the milk and stir.  Put the container back into the Instant Pot, replace the lid, and press the 'Yogurt' button until the digital readout says '10:00.'  The Instant Pot will warm the mixture for the next 10 hours.

When the Instant Pot beeps, indicating that it is done, using a rubber scraper, scrape the yogurt into a container to refrigerate.  Stir the yogurt until it is smooth and refrigerate.  That's it!

Oreogasm Bark

Get ready for Valentine's Day!

Source:  www.delish.com

I've embellished this recipe for Valentine's Day by adding pink and red sprinkles.  Here is the basic recipe.

4 cups white chocolate chips, melted

1/2 cup crushed Oreo cookies (plus more for sprinkling)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

10 whole Oreo cookies

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine melted white chocolate and 1/2 cup crushed Oreos and fold them together until they are combined.  Pour the white chocolate mixture onto the baking sheet and spread into an even layer.

Twist the whole Oreo cookies in half and place them on top of the melted white chocolate mixture.  Top with more crushed Oreos (and any other embellishments).  Drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate on top.

Refrigerate until set (about 2 hours).

Break into pieces and serve cold or at room temperature. 

Outrageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from back of a bag of flour

Chocolate!  Peanut butter!  Oatmeal!  Oh my!  This is one of our family's MOST important recipes and it's Kate's absolute favorite cookie recipe.

It was given to me by my mom.  One day, I was visiting her and she handed it to me.  She had cut it off from the back of a bag of flour.  You never know where you'll find a great recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup quick-cooking or regular oats
2 cups (12-ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

On medium speed in an electric mixer, beat butter, peanut butter, granulated and brown sugars,  vanilla, and eggs in a medium bowl until well blended.  

On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture just until combined.  Stir in the oats and the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.  Cool 1 minute before removing from the cookie sheets.  Store in a sealed container at room temperature.