Chicken Tikka Masala and Garlic Naan

My first attempt at Indian food! This is my favorite Indian meal...the naan could use some work but I think the chicken tasted great!

Tikka Masala

Ingredients

Marinade & Meat

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  
• 2 teaspoons ground red pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  
• 6 bamboo skewers
• 1-1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 1-inch cubes

1. For marinade, mix all ingredients together until well blended; add chicken and toss to coat.
   
2. Thread chicken on skewers, and marinate (in the refrigerator) for an hour or so (I just marinated the chicken in a Ziplock bag and threaded onto the skewers before grilling).
3. Discard marinade when done.
   

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala (buy from Indian market, use McCormick's, or make your own - see recipe below)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Grill or broil chicken, turning occasionally, to cook through- about 8 minutes.
2. For sauce, melt butter on medium heat.
3. Add garlic & jalapeno; cook 1 minute.
4. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala, & salt.
5. Stir in tomato sauce.
6. Simmer 15 minutes.
7. Stir in cream; simmer to thicken - about 5 minutes.
8. Remove cooked chicken from skewers; add to sauce.
9. Simmer 5 minutes.
10. Garnish with cilantro
    
11. Serve with basmati rice and naan (see recipe below)

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Garam Masala

• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp crumbled bay leaves
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  Mix all ingredients until well blended
  

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Garlic Naan

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional; I used this)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.
   
2. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough.
   
3. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth.
   
4. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
   **Note: I used my bread machine for the above steps - the manual will give instructions about making just dough**
   
5. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray.
   
   
6. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
7. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
8. At grill side (I used a Foreman!), roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle.
   
9. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes.
   
   
10. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.

Pesto Bruschetta Chicken and French-Cut Green Beans

When I started on my natural / non-processed foods kick in September, this was the first meal I made. Everything is natural and as good as it can get, short of growing it all myself!

French-cut green beans are a favorite, simple side dish of mine; until recently, I've always gotten them from a can. Why not try to make these fresh, too?!



Pesto Bruschetta Chicken

For Pesto:
Ingredients

• 2 cups packed home-grown basil (or fresh as you can get)
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts, cooled
• 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese or romano cheese (either or both)
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/4-1/2 cup EVOO, depending on how creamy you want it (I used 1/4 cup)

Directions

1. Put into a food processor first 4 ingredients.
   
2. Pulse to blend.
3. Slowly add oil through feed tube to make a nice paste.
   
   

For Chicken:
Ingredients

• 1 lb all-natural or organic chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) - I cut them lengthwise for this
  
• 1/2 cup homemade basil pesto
• 2-3 plum tomatoes, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line baking sheet with foil.
3. Place chicken and pesto in medium bowl; toss to coat. [or spread the pesto on top of each piece like I did here]. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet.
   
   
   
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.
5. Remove from oven; top with tomatoes (if desired) and cheese.
   
   
6. Bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

French-cut green beans:
Ingredients

• Fresh green beans from produce section (I used organic)
• Splash of extra-virgin olive oil
  
• Seasonings to taste (I use dried onion, minced garlic, black pepper, and a touch of salt)

Directions

1. Wash green beans.
2. If the beans are long, first cut them at an angle into lengths of about 2 inches.
3. Cut them in half lengthwise, running the knife down the flat part between the seams of the bean.
4. In small pan, heat oil; add beans and seasonings
5. Toss over medium heat until until desired softness.

Julia's Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

I'd never been in love with cheesecake (I only like cream cheese in moderation - I won't even put it on my bagels!), until one fateful trip to the Cheesecake Factory at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore when I was a teenager. I was with my family and before heading back to the hotel for the evening, we stopped in and grabbed some cheesecake to go. It was like an ice cream shop with a zillion different flavors - all of which sounded absolutely fabulous (well, everything except "plain cheesecake"). I ordered something chocolaty with Heath Bar topping.......and I was instantly in love.

Until then, I hadn't known that cheesecake wasn't "instant" (*cough cough* JELL-O brand No Bake), mixed up in 5 minutes and refrigerated. I obviously had a lot to learn.

A few years ago, my sister-in-law was having a birthday dinner and I asked what I could bring. She requested "something chocolaty" so I decided to attempt one of these crazy cheesecake things. And boy did it go over well!!! Since then, I've perfected the top layer (which was originally a too-thick ganache that we practically needed a blow torch to get through!), and so here is what I came up with:

Julia's Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients
For Crust:

• 1-1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (you can get Oreo crumbs in the baking aisle)
  
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (I use Nature's Promise or Harris Teeter brand organic butter)

For Filling:

• 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips NOTE: I like to use Godiva or Ghiardelli chocolate - it really makes a difference.
  
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I use Organic Valley brand)
  
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
2. To Make Crust: In a small bowl, mix together chocolate cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press onto the bottom and 1-1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared springform pan.
   
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Allow to cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
4. To Make Filling: In a small saucepan, heat cream and chocolate chips, stirring constantly, until chips are melted. Remove from heat.
   
5. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar until smooth (I'm loving the Kitchen Aid stand mixer!).
   
6. Add cocoa and beat well. Add eggs and beat on low until just blended. Stir in vanilla and reserved chocolate mixture until blended.
   
7. Pour over crust.
   
   
8. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set (but still a little jiggly). Unfortunately I can't always avoid getting cheesecake cracks :( My only "perfect" one was the first one!
   
   

Ganache topping

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate of choice (I use dark, >60% cocoa. Again, get the good stuff)
  
• 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Decorative topping of choice (I used swirled chocolate chips this time; I've used chocolate shavings and strawberries in the past)

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream until just before boiling.
2. Stir constantly and be careful not to boil over.
3. Pour chocolate chips in the hot cream and stir with a spoon until smooth.
4. Spread over baked cheesecake and refrigerate overnight (or until ganache has hardened).
   BEFORE
   DURING
   
   AFTER
   
   

TIP: If using a decorative topping that needs to be pressed into the ganache (like the chocolate chips I used here), let ganache chill in fridge for an hour or two, until it starts to get firm. Then pull it out to decorate and return to fridge for remainder of chilling time.

I made this cheesecake in Feb 09 and topped it with chocolate sprinkles. I applied the ganache differently this time...first I chilled the cake w/out any topping. The next day I prepared the ganache and poured it over the cake *after* removing the springform pan sides. I allowed the ganache to drizzle down the sides and let it chill in the freezer for about 2 hours (then added the sprinkles and let it chill another hour or so in the freezer to get the ganache nice and firm).

Kung Pao Chicken with Sauteed Sugar Snap Peas

Okay - I've taken a LONG break from blogging, but I certainly haven't taken a break from cooking! I have months and months of food pics so now it's just a matter of getting all of those recipes typed out. So here I go:

Kung Pao Chicken


On those rare Friday nights when Bill and I are actually home (and when I'm not making pizza), we like to get take out from Pei Wei Asian Diner (the "fast food" version of PF Chang's). We tend to get the same meals every time, so I thought I'd challenge myself to recreate one of Bill's favorites - Kung Pao Chicken (modified from a recipe on recipezaar.com):

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp light sesame oil (I used EVOO)
• 3 tbsp chopped green onions (including tops)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1-1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less, to taste)
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/3 cup dry roasted peanuts (I use lightly salted)

Directions

1. Combine chicken and cornstarch in small bowl; toss to coat.
2. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet or wok on medium heat.
3. Add chicken; stir fry 5-7 minutes or until no longer pink in center.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Add onions, garlic, red pepper, and ginger to skillet; stir fry 15 seconds.
6. Remove from heat.
7. Combine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar in small bowl.
8. Stir well; add to skillet.
9. Return chicken to skillet.
10. Stir until chicken is well coated; add peanuts.
11. Heat thoroughly, stirring occasionally.

Serve over hot rice - I added a side of sauteed sugar snap peas (cooked quickly in EVOO with fresh garlic and black pepper, and a touch of Nature's Seasons seasoning salt).