Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori chicken is an all time Indian favorite. I finally found a recipe that didn't require a Tandoor, and it served as one of my appetizers for my New Year's Eve dinner... it was delicious! If you want to see a step by step video of how to make this, check out Sanjay's Youtube post. The other items in the photo are Samosas with Green Chutney...mmmmm

Ingredients

6 chicken legs

1 tsp Coriander Powder

1 tsp Cumin Seed Powder

1 tsp garam masala pdr

1 piece Ginger garlic paste

1 Lemon's Juice

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp Peppercorns pdr

1 tsp Red Chili Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp turmeric

6 tbsp Yogurt

Directions:

1. Clean and Cut 2 or 3 long slits on each piece. Apply salt, chili pdr and lime juice all over the chicken and keep aside for 15 minutes.

2. Make marinade with coriander pdr, cumin pdr, red chili pdr, turmeric, garam masala pdr to a smooth paste. Add 1/2 tsp salt to the paste and mix well with yogurt.

3. apply it all over the chicken, making sure to apply well between all the slits and inside. Marinate for a few hours.. I left mine overnight.

4. Preheat your oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit. Lay your marinated chicken in a baking dish on a bed of carrots and onions or whatever else you can find. Its so the juices drip down and it will feel like your chicken was cooked in a tandoor. Cook for 20 to 35 minutes till the chicken is tender. Remove from oven.

5. Remove from oven and serve hot, garnished with sliced onions and lime wedges. I made mine ahead of time and heated them on a griddle when we were ready to eat, and it turned out excellent!

Chipotle Salmon Tacos

1 1/4 lbs salmon fillet (with skin)
1/4 tsp salt
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (seeded/chopped)
8 hard taco shells (or we fried mini tortillas)
1 can mexicali corn (or barbecued corn from the husk)
1 can black beans
1 box prepared spanish rice
1 bag mexican cheeses
1 cup medium-hot salsa (the chunky stuff)

1. Heat oven to 450*
2. Place Salmon, skin side down, in 11x7x2" baking dish. Season with salt and chipotle pepper (sauce and peppers).
3. Bake for about 18 minutes or until salmon is cooked (when it flakes easily with scraped with a fork). Heat the taco shells in the oven for the last three minutes of baking time to warm them.
4. Heat corn and beans (microwave or saucepan on oven). Flake the salmon to break it up.
5. Spread beans on warm taco shells. Layer Lettuce, Rice, Salmon with corn. Top with Cheese and Salsa.

Christmas Feast

I seriously haven't been cooking, but I wanted to share what I ate on Christmas day. I didn't do anything besides open oysters, and pop these snails into the oven... oh yea, and lay everyone down on a nice pretty tray!

This guy was my favorite! A nice Langoust (what is that in english?) kind of like lobster, but with a sweeter taste! With him on the tray are different kind of snails we eat cold, and really tasty shrimp.

This little guy is called Tourteau Crab. I didn't really like it. The legs and pinchers were good, but the stuff in his body was kind of gross. Sorry little guy!

Now this was the main course on Christmas Eve! I actually cooked this: Ostrich steak with baby sauteed potatoes and green beans. Ostrich is delicious!

Here was one of our appetizers on Christmas Eve: Lump eggs and Fois Gras! This was really really good. I think next time we will try to get real caviar, but these were already pretty tasty!

Oysters are always a staple when doing a classy dinner. Eric opened these because I have no idea how to do it, but these little beauties are from Normandy. We ate them with just a squeeze of lemon. Delicious!

All of this.. FOR 2!!

Turkey Lasagna (Crockpot)

Ingredients:
1lb Ground Turkey
1 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 15oz container of Ricotta Cheese
2 cups shredded Italian-blend Cheese
10 oz Spinach
12 Lasagna Noodles
1 jar (26oz) Chunky Pasta Sauce (find some with mushroom and green peppers or add it)
1/2 cup Water
Grated Parmasean Cheese

Directions:
1. In a skillet, Brown Turkey (5-7 minutes). Season with Oregano, salt and red pepper flakes. Remove from Heat.
2. In a medium size bowl, mix Ricotta cheese, Cheese blend and Spinach.
3. In a 5qt CrockPot, layer half of the noodles (some can overlap). Then Spoon half of the Turkey mixture. Pour half of the Pasta Sauce and half of the Water. Spread half of the cheese mixture. Repeat the layering.
4. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 1/2hrs. Sprinkle parma cheese upon serving.

Roasted Tomatoes

Roasting tomatoes concentrates their natural flavors and gives them a buttery rick texture. You can toss your roasted tomatoes in pastas, use on pizza, or serve with chicken or beef.

Preheat oven to 400F. Slice and core tomatoes. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.



Drizzle with EVOO, sprinkle salt and pepper and sliced garlic. I also added basil... you can be creative :)



Bake 30 - 60 minutes until juices have evaporated. Store in plastic zip lock bags in your refrigerator or freezer for future use. You can also slow roast tomatoes for 3-4 hours.

Baked Apples

This is a yummie Fall Dessert! Enjoy! :)




Ingredients
Apples
Brown sugar
Butter
Cinnamon
Marshmallows (optional)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.Scoop out the core from top of the apple, leaving a well. Do not cut all the way through. Stuff each apple with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon. Optional: Stuff Marshmallow on top!



3.Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, until sugar begins to caramelize and apples are tender.

Mussels with Fries

I love mussels and fries! I don't know why more people don't do this at home because it's really easy and way cheaper than eating out at a restaurant. This is my MIL's recipe, but you can add a whole bunch of stuff if you want. It's just as good when it's simple. We eat these with our hands. It's one of the rare dishes that the French actually eat without a knife and fork. You eat the first one, and the empty shell of your first mussel serves as a grabber.

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:1 gallon fresh mussels

2 small or 1 large onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:

1. Soak the mussels in some water and clean them well. If there is any greyish or green moss on the shells, scrape it off. This is the longest part.

2. Sautee the onions until just a bit golden in the butter in a large pot.

3. Add the clean mussels WITHOUT WATER , and cover the pot. Cook on medium to high for 10-15 minutes stirring once in a while. The mussels should all be open. If there are a few that are not, its because they are no good. Do not try to eat them. They do not need salting because they are already salt watered.

Serve with fries.

Some people add white wine or beer or cream to the mussels while they are cooking. All versions are excellent!

Mint Cucumber Cocktail

This is more of a Summer Cocktail. But you can still pull it off with 90* Palm Springs Fall weather. :)

2 cucumbers
Small ice cubes
1 cup fresh mint leaves
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 to 3 limes)
4 ounces (1/2 cup) vodka
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Cointreau

1.Cut 4 thin spears from 1 cucumber, and reserve for garnish. Peel remaining cucumbers, and quarter them lengthwise. Scrape out seeds with a spoon, and discard. Coarsely chop cucumbers, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.

2.Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add mint, sugar, and lime juice, and shake. Add 3/4 cup cucumber juice, the vodka, and Cointreau, and shake. Strain into 4 glasses filled with ice. Garnish each cocktail with a cucumber spear.

Leek Pie

Hello everyone, I'm back! I haven't posted in a while because I seriously haven't been cooking, and when I do, I've been making things I've already posted, or heating up ready made dishes. I make this about once a week, and when there is company, they volunteer me to make this. I have been cooked for a bunch, but my MIL makes food that you need to spend at least 2 hours in the pressure cooker on, which is impossible for the working woman who does not own such a device.....So, when she contemplated the Leeks in the garden and then declared "tonight is Leek Pie," I jumped for joy and grabbed my camera!
Serves 4 as a main course, or 8 as an appetizer
Ingredients:
-1 pack of low sodium bacon, cut into little pieces with the big fat cut off
-1 pie crust in dough form
-4 Leeks (those things that look like giant green onions)
-Bechamel sauce
-3 egg yolks
-shredded swiss cheese
Directions:
1. Clean the leeks by cutting lengthwise and rinsing all the dirt out. Cook them by boiling them for a long time.. like 45 minutes... or stick them in the crock pot the night before so they're tender, then let drain until they are nice and dry, then cut in little bite size pieces with kitchen shears.
2. Cook the bacon in a pan and drain the grease.
3. Put your pie crust in your pie tin, and poke holes in it with your fork.
4. Place a layer of leeks, then bechamel, then bacon
... and then do another layer of each
5. Cover with shredded swiss cheese
6. In a bowl, whisk your 3 egg yolks and brush them onto your pie
7. Cook for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees in the oven

We served some home fries with this, but did not even eat them because it was so filling. Otherwise, serve with some salad as a side to make a complete meal!

Bechamel Sauce

Bechamel is one of the sauces I use to make my Lasagna, but it is also a very common sauce used for many different French dishes. This time, it is for my Leek Pie, but I will later on bust out another recipe where bechamel is used.

Makes about 2 cups of sauce.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 large Tbsp butter
2 cups milk
Salt/Pepper to taste
Directions:
1. In a sauce pan, melt the butter on medium heat and wisk in the flour.
2. Take off heat, and pour in the milk, a little bit at a time while wisking.
3. Once all the milk is in, put back on heat and wisk until it thickens a bit. It should not be watery, but it should not be as thick as mashed potatoes. It should be like a thick sauce. Watch it, though, because you don't want it to burn. Once it is at its desired thickness, take it off the heat. Some people add a dash of nutmeg.

I very unfortunately do not have a picture of this... sorry