Here's some recipes I've tried over the past few weeks which are fab and delish. You'll note that the Indian dishes aren't from actual Indian people... well... what can I say? Traitorous. Or maybe these dishes are best described as "inspired by" rather than straight-up authentic. They taste just like how I remember them when I was in India. Or do they? It's been five years. Let's just go with "delicious" and leave it at that.
Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food Vindaloo
I make this with chicken or pork or whatever's in the freezer without marinating. It takes me 2-3 hours to do this thing because it involves toasting and grinding spices. But this is ohmigoddelicious. So pungent and flavorful. I'd even go so far as to say it's the best vindaloo I've had. Someday soon, I'm just going to go ahead and make and freeze the vindaloo paste so that this can magically become a quick meal.
Here's the recipe: http://offthespork.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html
The picture is from Off the Spork too.
Emeril Lagasse's Tandoori Chicken
This calls for a grill. Baking in an oven at the highest possible temp followed by 3 minutes under the broil under high gets a close approximation of the tandoori oven.
Recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/grilled-tandoori-chicken-recipe/index.html
Photo from Mad Man the Mighty. His photo is how tandoori made at home looks like rather than the bright red that you get from food dye at restaurants. You can get those crisp burnt edges from the broiler.
Cold Thai Salad
This is an adaptation of other recipes using whatever vegetables and pasta I had on hand. It's quick sesame-spicy deliciousness with a hint of lime tang. Perfect for hot days.
Dressing
I prefer a lightly dressed salad. I ended up only using maybe 3/4 of the dressing for an 11 by 5 inch bowl of thai salad.... that was like 3/4s of a box of pasta.
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
5 tbsp dark soy sauce (any will do, dark is a bit nuttier)
1-2 tsp of chili garlic sauce (or whatever spicy thing you have on hand)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 lime (2-3 tablespoons of juice)
2 garlic cloves minced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Make pasta. Stir fry whatever vegetables you like until done; sprinkle with a pinch or two or salt. I had zucchini and tomatoes on hand from the garden. I boiled green beans too because they have such a slower stir-fry time than the other ingredients... can never get the timing right on those. Drain juices from vegetables if there is any. Chill everything for a few minutes or until it's not hot. I do this to avoid cooking the pasta further via the slightly hot juices of the vegetables. Toss together with a cup of chopped thai basil (really, this is much better than italian basil for this) and a cup of cilantro. Serve when cold.
Strawberry Chocolate Tart
Oh my god this tart is decadent. It's delicious amazing tingle-inducing crazy yum. The recipe says it serves 9... but that's only if people aren't greedy. I had two slices and thought I'd never move again.
The recipe is originally from Ms. Martha Stewart but is shocking in its simplicity. This is super super easy. The original calls for raspberries, but whatever fruit tastes good with chocolate (um, all of them) will make a fine topping. A friend and I did this in lieu of bar hopping... and finished in time to feed it to our friends that did go out to the bars. The best part is the next day: the fruit juices sink into the tart and flavor the chocolate extra.
Ingredients:
8 oz box of whatever graham cracker thing you have (MS suggests chocolate wafers... we used chocolate Teddy Grahams and both agreed that you couldn't taste the chocolate in it)
2 tbls sugar
Salt
6 tbls unsalted butter, melted
12 oz chocolate chips (Ghiradelli 80% cocoa is perfect)
1 1/4 c heavy cream
fresh fruit for topping
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine cookies, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Process until very fine crumbs form. Add butter and pulse until mixture just comes together. Press crumbs firmly into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Place on a baking sheet and bake until crust is dry and set, 20 minutes. Let cool.
2. In a large bowl, combine chocolate and a pinch of salt. In a small saucepan, bring cream to a bare simmer over medium-high. Immediately pour cream over chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Stir gently until chocolate melts and mixture is completely smooth. Pour chocolate into cooled tart shell and refrigerate until set, 30 minutes. To serve, remove tart from pan and scatter fruit on top.
We're having our second annual bbq rib-off at our house this weekend. So looking forward to the good eats! YUM.
