Andrew's Curried Chicken

Okay! I've posted this before but its what I'm cooking today! I made it for my baby before he left for the Air Force. Today I'm making it for my other baby who needs to put a little weight on her thin little frame. Its a family favorite.

Soccer is almost over and basketball is . . . well we're not participating in basketball this year! Woohoo free time! . . . After I get this Teacher dinner thing over with on wednesday that is . . . but I got other people to cook it up for me 'cause I'm sneaky like that!

Here it is from way back in May . . .

I spent all weekend trying to feed my baby too much because he's deserting me for the USAF.

I also spent all weekend (18 hours) watching a photography webinar by Penny De Los Santos . . .

I got leg cramps! Who knew I couldn't sit still for that long? I had trained for it. I spend hours each day doing nothing after all!

Now I'm going to be burning food while I try to create light, color, shape, composition and tension in each photo! Oh and tell a food story too. . .

Do you think these vegetables are telling a story?

I think their story is "What is she going to use on us first? The knife in the corner of the recorder over there?" Bell pepper is always such an optimist!

These are the vegetables I put in my Gentle Giant's curry by the way!

I only chopped up half of it because it was so big! Green bell pepper is sort of bitter and curry powder is sort of bitter so let's not over do it.

Some sweet juicy carrot! Yes I use the little snack carrots. If they're willing to do some work for me I let them. They cook up just fine for this purpose. I suspect Penny De Los Santos would insist on carrots with tops and bits of dirt clinging to them . . .

Oh and the celery! The beautiful celery! I'll admit I ended up chopping it up just a little further. Ideally the vegetables become soft, tender, bits, that the children don't notice . . .

I had lots of red onion bits in the fridge so I grabbed them all. Peeled off the dry bits. Used the knife where necessary until I had just the fresh beautiful parts. By the end I had 1/2 to 3/4 of an onion.

It just wouldn't be the same if we didn't have lots of garlic and ginger!

Peel 'em up and give them a nice chop. They're basically minced. Everything is under 1/8th of an inch. You could make them smaller with a grater or put the garlic in a garlic press if that's easier for you. I just wanted them slightly course and rustic. Okay, I didn't want to go back to the kitchen and find the other tools . . . I was watching Penny make photos! Throw all the veggies in a bowl and toss them around a little. You're going to use them later.

Now for the chicken! Yes, I put my chicken in my sink. I do, really! I washed the sink with dish soap and water just like I would any pot or pan! It's a lot easier to manipulate in there. I like my meat in the sink because it's so easy to sanitize afterward. Besides we're going to cook the meat. Really . . . it'll be fine! Seriously, trust me! My mother said I could! She grew up with an actual icebox and diesel powered washing machines! On a farm! No food poisoning for three generations! Take deep breaths! It'll be fine.

Throw some salt and pepper on it! Chicken likes salt and pepper. It makes it feel, dressed! Now for a parting of the ways. If you don't like chicken skin or are short on time you CAN skip browning the chicken in oil before you stew it. I have done this recipe with . . . gasp . . . boneless skinless chicken breast. It just won't be as rich and tasty . . . it won't be . . . Andrew's Curried Chicken . . . My favorite choice would be bone in chicken thighs with no skin if you want to skip this.

Now with either chicken preference throw a little flour on the chicken . . .

 . . . and mix it all together. The chicken will get a little pasty . . . now please note I just have to step over to the other side of the sink to wash my hands! See how I've limited the possibility for cross contamination? Huh? See!

Heat some oil in a skillet! Then go DOH! I should of used the beautiful enamelled dutch oven I'm going to use later!

It's making LOTS of noise because of the bits of water clinging to it! I'm just giving them a quick brown on pretty high heat. Turn it down if you see any mist rising cause that's not STEAM its SMOKE from the oil!

It's all bubbling away! Now since I have gas burners that wave in every passing breeze I find it nice to rotate my pan every minute or so. Just to even the browning out a little. If you've got an older electric stove with hot spots you can do the same. If you've got the heat up nice and high in two to four minutes you should start to see some browning.

Can you see where the color is starting to change on the edges? I'm going to go ahead and give it a look-see and see if it's brown.

Some are browner than others! Now if your chicken is stuck hard and fast to the pan try waiting a minute. If you put it in a hot pan with hot oil it'll flip as soon as it has formed a little crust. The meat will release when it's ready to be flipped.

Oh and look there's the pot I should of browned them in! The pot that would of helped me not get grease all over my counter . . . but it would of probably taken three batches!

Please, be smarter than me and remember to put a throw rug in front of the stove to catch your grease splatter before you start to slip, before the cat starts to lick the floor, before you turn to grab a rag and end up pirouetting like a ballerina! Oh and don't wear your favorite red blouse either!

Second batch! I've got to hurry. My webinar lunch break is almost over!

Take about half the chicken and put it in the bottom of an oven safe casserole or be like me and use a nice Dutch Oven type pot. Start to throw on some of the chopped veggies!

*if you decided to skip browning the chicken this is where you'd start to follow the recipe again. May I please, please beg you to use skinless chicken thighs with bones in them? Pretty please? You'll keep a lot of richness if you do! Okay . . . you CAN use the boneless, skinless, thighs . . .

Add about half of the vegetables to this first layer of chicken. Aren't they pretty?

Penny told me to seek the light! The only light at this point was in the office on a chair. I had to use a cookie sheet to reflect some too. Penny's VERY inventive. This is probably not the "sense of place" that she was talking about. Photo stories should give a "sense of place" you see.

Add the rest of the chicken and vegetables. Remember the chicken is still very raw at this point! Be safe!

Remember that pan you browned the chicken in? There's a lot of delicious goodness that in there. If I messed up my kitchen for it I'm using it!

So tip your pan over and wait a few seconds. We just want to get rid of the oil! Let the crusty goodness settle to the bottom. Then dump the oil.

Now please, please, wipe the grease off the outside of the pan before you put it back on a burner! It can ignite in quite a dramatic fashion! I try to only set things on fire when I'm pregnant . . .

Get yourself some spices. I always use curry powder and a cinnamon stick at the very least. Give you curry powder a little taste. I'm not particularly fond of the curry powder I have here so I'm jazzing it up with some cumin powder and a little garam masala. Add some red pepper if its not spicy enough for you!

Now turn the heat on to about medium. Curry spices really appreciate some toasting and it's a good way to integrate the lovely browned bits. Even if you're skipping the whole chicken browning thing I'd still heat up the spices in a pan a little!

Now . . . as far as I know . . . there's no wine in Indian cooking. But, heck, it's me! Let's add a little wine . . .

It'll form a nice paste when it cooks in . . .

Now get very angry and frustrated when you can't fine your regular can opener. You know the one that makes the little triangular holes in the top of a can? The one that makes pouring controlled and easy? The one that's missing because it's got a bottle opener on the other side? That one?

Pour it in however works for you!

When it's smooth take it off the heat! You might want to taste this and see what your salt level is like. This is our cooking liquid and it's only going to get blander. Add some salt if it's not VERY flavorful at this point.

*if you added flour it'll be slightly thickened

Pour it over everything! It'll only fill the pot halfway. The plan is that as it heats the chicken and vegetables will release their moisture and form a nice sauce! Just enough sauce to cover everything!

So put a lid on it! A nice tight lid! Now I stuck it in the oven at 300 deg F. for a couple of hours. It bubbled, it toiled, it troubled . . . okay it just bubbled. I toiled cleaning up grease splatters. I troubled myself over how it was doing and checked and poked it every 30-60 minutes or so. If the chicken isn't nestled in sauce after the first hour go ahead and add a little water. 

Sorry for the complicated cooking terms again. Nestled means it's 1/2 to 3/4 covered. Otherwise it's be covered, submerged, swimming etc.

Oh be still my heart!

Now! The chicken is salty and spicy with all sorts of lovely aromatic spices! So I like some nice basmati rice. The texture of it is lovely against the silky, moist chicken. The peas are a lovely sweet counterpoint to the highly flavored foods. The naan well it . . .

Makes a lovely platform for the goodness to travel to your mouth! Excuse me . . . I need a moment . . .

. . . to see if there's any leftovers . . .

Andrew's Curried Chicken
serves 4

8 chicken thighs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 cups of diced, bell pepper, carrot, onion, and celery
1/4 cup minced ginger
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup curry powder
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala or Chinese 5-spice powder (optional)
1/4 cup dry white wine (optional)
1-14 oz can low sodium chicken broth
vegetable oil
salt and pepper

Mix all the vegetables together and set them aside. Season chicken with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Chicken should be very lightly coated. Cover bottom of dutch oven or large skillet with oil (2-4 Tbsp) and heat over high heat. Brown chicken in two batches. A few minutes per side should make them nicely brown. Turn heat off. Set chicken aside. Drain grease from pan. Put pan back on medium heat and add the spices. Heat them until they're fragrant. Add wine and broth and scrape bottom of pan until it forms a light sauce. Reserve. Layer chicken and vegetables in pan and pour sauce over everything. Cover and bake at 300 deg F. Check after an hour to make sure a sauce is forming. I like to rearrange the chicken so it is all at least partially covered. Add water if necessary. Cook one more hour.

**Serve with a lovely ice cold IPA style beer! They don't call it India Pale Ale for nothing.

Gorilla Bread

I've mentioned my herbs are thriving haven't I? If I wasn't out there regularly it'd be a jungle out there!

One herb I haven't used much is my rosemary. I love rosemary and only one little tiny branch of it survived the winter. Why is that? Rosemary is supposedly a perennial. Yet, it's my annual herbs that come back every year?

Well after a very slow start . . .

It's grown into a beautiful plant!

Just in time for fall recipes!

I am ready to bake bread again! I want to bake. I need to bake. The only recipes swirling through my head right now involve yeast and flour and the oven. I also want gravy. Why is no one interested in gravy these days? The 103 F heat? Wimps! So when my girlfriend brought me some spaghetti sauce over I thought . . . hmm, wouldn't some garlic bread be good?

Then I wondered if some garlic-herb bread would be even better.

Well of course it would!

Oh, and what if there was just a teeny, tiny, bit of cheese in it?

Eureka!

Then I realized it was 1:00 in the afternoon. We had soccer. We had cross country. We had church meetings. We had HOMEWORK!

So I reached in my freezer . . .

. . . and grabbed out the nuggets of goodness!

Now how to get all that garlicky, herby, cheesy goodness into the bread as quickly and simply as possible? Hmm, what about monkey bread? Monkey bread starts with plain dough! Let's make a savory monkey bread! Let's make Gorilla Bread!

Since it was dead frozen I decided to throw it in some tepid water to accelerate the thawing process. Just for 5-10 minutes while I get my other ingredients ready.

I thought some olive oil would be a nice change. You could melt butter if you liked though.

I went ahead and oiled up the pan while I had it out! I'm using a lot because I want it to get crusty. I like crusty bread.

I chose 4 smallish cloves of garlic.

Then I minced it right into the oil.

Now for a bit of salt. Salt helps grind up the garlic and makes it release all its garlicky lovelyness into the oil.

Now I've got my beautiful sprig of rosemary and I'm pulling all the leaves off by running my fingers down it the wrong way. If rosemary was a cat it'd be angry right now.

Then I chopped it up a bit. I figured those inch long needly leaves would be unappetizing for most people. If this was thyme I'd have less work. Hmm? Wouldn't thyme bread be good with chicken?

Throw your herbs in the oil.

Mix it up! Add some black pepper at this point if you like.

Now retrieve your dough nuggets from the sink. Mine are still rather firm . . .

But they're almost easier to cut that way!

Go ahead and cut them in fourths. I didn't bother cleaning my board because I'm getting ready to rub that stuff on it anyway!

Now, get some grated Parmesan ready. I have about 1/3 cup of the pre-grated stuff here. If you're grating it yourself you'll need almost 1/2 a cup because it's fluffier!

Let's get monkeying . . . or whatever you want to call it . . .

First we dip it in the oil . . .

There it goes! Nicely coated.

Now roll it in the Parmesan!

Beautiful! Throw it in the greased pan and start with the next one.

After about the fourth one I got a little bored . . .

So I just drizzled all the oil and herbs over the dough.

Then I tossed them around a little. They still have frozen centers so they toss pretty well. If I had let them get warm and sticky? No way.

At this point I was wishing I had made my oil mixture in a bigger bowl! Be wise, plan ahead for laziness!

Then I sprinkled the bowl of cheese over it and tossed them around again.

What beautiful pillows of deliciousness they are!

Throw them in your pan.

Cover them up and let 'em rise!

I used foil because . . . it was the only thing I had. I've spent the last two weeks buying foil just to make sure that my Dear One had adequate supplies for his camping trip. Every time I've been by the wrap section of the grocery I've thought--Does he have enough foil? Better get some . . . instead of picking up the plastic wrap that I was clearly running out of. Now if I had only packed the right food . . .

Side by side before and after shot. See how they've grown? It's not a huge difference. But they are starting to fill it in. How long will this take? Well if the dough had been completely thawed 20-30 minutes would of been fine. My dough was half frozen so I kept it on the stove while I preheated and it took 45 minutes or so.

I decided to throw on a little more parmesan on top before it baked just because I love parmesan cheese.

Now, you did preheat your oven to 400 F for at least 15 minutes?You want to get the walls warm so it can get back up to temperature quickly after you open the door!

In it goes! Twenty minutes later . . .

Mmmmmm!

It smells divine! Garlic and rosemary are wafting up at me with undertones of fresh baked bread . . .

Little flecks of rosemary, garlic and parmesan perfume each tender pillow. These are sprinkles for grown ups!

The bottom of each one has a little crust of baked Parmesan where it was resting against the oiled pan! It adds a crispy, cheesy, bite to each soft nugget.

Gorilla Bread-Garlic Herb bread

1 lb package of frozen bread dough, partially thawed
3 Tbsp of olive oil (or melted butter)
1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary (about one large sprig)
4 small cloves of garlic, minced *
1/2 tsp of salt *
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese plus extra for sprinkling **

Grease an 8-9 inch cake pan with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Mix together remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil, rosemary, garlic and salt in large bowl. Cut dough into small pieces and toss in olive oil mixture until each piece of dough is well covered. Add 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese to bowl and gently toss until each piece has some cheese on it. Place in greased pan, covered and allow to rise until almost doubled in size, 20-40 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven at least 15 minutes to 400 F. Uncover dough and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve immediately.

*My daughter wanted this to be saltier and more garlicky. So if you like your garlic bread to be intense add another 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder when adding the salt to the oil mixture and proceed with the recipe.

**If you are grating the cheese yourself it will be much fluffier and I recommend you add 1/2 of a cup instead of the 1/3 cup measurement.