Curry, curry, curry...

Yellow chicken curry is one of those dishes that never ends up having leftovers. No matter how large of a batch I plan on making, our little family of 3 has no problem packing this meal away. Don't ask me how we do it, or where in our bodies we store it away, but we are lucky if maybe a half portion is leftover for Ty's lunch the next day. This recipe is terribly easy, and doesn't even take that long to make...perfect hearty meal idea for that night you don't have anything planned and little time to whip something out.

Here we go:

Peel and dice 3 medium potatoes, boil and chill. Our family favors those potatoes, so our recipe usually consists of more like, 5 potatoes.
I usually always have a few chicken breasts already pre-baked and sitting in my fridge for east access, so I grab a couple of those and dice them up.
In a separate bowl, mix together 2 1/2 TBSP curry powder, a tsp or two of crushed red pepper flakes, 2 TBSP minced ginger, 3+ cloves minced garlic and 2 tsp salt. Make into a paste. I just throw this into my mini-food processor and it works wonders.
In a saucepan, saute a sliced onion and a red bell pepper. Add the chicken cubes and heat through. Reduce heat,m add the curry paste. Stir quickly, you don't want this part to burn! It will taste bitter and ruin the dish. Add 1 can of coconut milk and mix through. Add the diced potatoes, some bamboo shoots and heat through. Serve over a bed of rice, and top with some fresh cilantro leaves.
Now, how easy was that? Quick and delicious. Especially easy if you already have leftover rice, chicken breast and some baked potatoes sitting in your fridge. So simple and satisfying :)

I found LEMONGRASS!!!!!!

I know, I know. Sounds silly to get excited over, right? Well, not in this house! With Asian cuisine being the main hit in the Kearsley household diet, we need this staple ingredient used in a lot of our favorite Thai recipes. During one of our nearly every weekend trip to downtown Naples (is not as easy said than done, mind you!) I found our beloved ingredient for sale at the Asian market! After asking, "quanta costa?" and finding out it was only 50 cent Euro per KILO (WOW) I cleaned them out and bought all they had! My husband nearly jumped out of his seat when I showed him what I found and we were both so excited to enjoy our lemongrass chicken, tom yum soup and one of my most favorites of all time...LARB! Which brings me to the following recipe...my beloved Larb (thai salad). It doesn't sound that appealing, but it is SO DELICIOUS! Not only is it extremely healthy and light, but full of rich flavor and spice. First of all, pick your meat of choice. Usually I do pork or chicken, but it's delicious with turkey or beef as well.

First off, assemble your dressing. Whisk together the following and chill.

Juice of 5 limes (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
Juice of 1 lemon (about a 1/4 cup)
2 1/2 TBSP honey
2 1/2 TBSP fish sauce

Larb:

Saute' the white parts of 2 stalks of lemongrass, 1 chopped red onion, 3 thinly sliced shallots, 2 cloves minced garlic, 4 inch piece of grated ginger, 2 finely chopped green chilies and salt and pepper to taste. Add your minced meat of choice (so if using chicken, I bake the breast, then finely mince up), add some sambal oolek (I use a nice rounded TBSP), the dressing and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste one last time. Arrange a bed of whole lettuce leaves on a serving plate.
In a separate saucepan, quickly fry a 1/4 cup of minced garlic. Spoon meat mixture onto lettuce bed, and top with a handful of cilantro leaves, chopped peanuts, diced cucumbers, the crisp fried garlic, red onion and mint. Enjoy! I know this is pretty much a weekly meal in our house, and what a wonderful guilt-free meal to sit down and devour :)

MMMMMMM...PHO!!!!!!

When we lived back in the states, my favorite place to go and eat was this little Vietnamese restaurant called, "Green Papaya." My sister and I have been meeting here for lunch/dinner dates for almost a decade. We would sit and order fresh salad rolls, and a big steamy bowl of soup, nearly 2-3 times a week at the very least. I crave that beef noodle soup on a daily basis. My husband knows I could eat it everyday, anytime of day, it ran through my veins I ate it so much back home. Moving to Italy, I was bummed to find out that if I ever wanted to eat it here, I would have to make that beloved broth here at home. Now, if I plan for it right, it's a process that starts around 8 in the morning, and it's ready by dinner time. It IS a long process, but it's totally worth every bite in the end. Through many batches, I have perfected that golden taste I love, and here is my recipe as close as I can remember to the measurements.

Ingredients:

For the stock:

5-6lbs Oxtail Beef Bones
1-2lbs beef (I will do anything bone-in and meaty like chuck shoulder, etc)
1 onion
4 inch piece of ginger
8+ star anise
3+ cardamom pods
1 1/2 TBSP coriander seeds
6-7 whole peeled garlic cloves
1 TBSP fennel seeds
1 1/2 TBSP whole black peppercorns
1 TBSP salt
Sugar to taste
Fish sauce to taste

For the soup:

Pho Rice noodles
Steak sliced extremely thin (ask the butcher to do this for you)
Thin sliced onion
Chopped Green Onions
Mint, Thai Basil and Cilantro
Lime Wedges
Bean sprouts
Hoisin and Sriracha


Bring some water to a boil, place oxtail in and boil about 15-20 minutes. Dump out, place bones back in the pot and fill with 8 quarts of clean water. Bring it to a boil and skim the scum that rises to the surface. In the meantime, slice your onion in half, and place that and your ginger (both unpeeled) in your oven on broil and roast/char. Once done, peel both, and place in the broth. Turn the stove down to med heat and simmer the broth, continuing to skim the surface of the gunk. Take mesh spice bag and place the star anise, cardamom, peppercorns, garlic, coriander and fennel. Also add the beef chuck. Simmer for 2 hours, continue skimming. After 2 hours, add about 1-2 tsp sugar and some fish sauce. I usually start out addin about 1/4 cup first, then add it gradually after that to my preferred taste. At this point, also remove the beef chuck and set aside. You can eat this later in your soup if you prefer, I usually don't but I slice it up and my husband adds it to his. Continue simmering for 2 hours, and taste it here and there-adding sugar and fish sauce to your preference. Once ready to eat, I remove the onion, spice bag, ginger and run the broth through a cheesecloth.
A few things to do while your broth is simmering all day:
Slice an onion really thin and place in a vinegar bath. For my vinegar bath, I just mix 2 cups water, 1/4 cup white vinegar. Just soak for like an hour or so. This makes the onion really strong, a perfect garnish for this soup.
Soak your noodles in water. Once ready to eat your soup, bring some water to a boil and quickly boil your noodles-it only takes but maybe a minute so watch closely.
Slice up your green onions and limes, and get your mint, basil, cilantro and bean sprouts washed and rinsed.
Once ready to assemble the soup, place your cooked noodles in your bowl. Top with the RAW thin sliced steak. Ladle the HOT broth (I make mine scalding hot, because the broth is what cooks the raw steak) into the bowl and garnish with the mint, onion slices, green onions, mint, cilantro, thai basil, bean sprouts and some hoisin and sriracha hot sauce. I spoon an extra bit of the 2 sauces into a little ramekin and dip my steak slices into that as well. SO DELICIOUS! Enjoy your meal, it will even smell like a Vietnamese restaurant in your house after cooking the broth all day :)

Tantalize your Tastebuds!

A friend of mine told me today, that she felt she officially transitioned into the Fall season this past weekend. I have to say, I totally agree! The air changed, the leaves are officially falling to the ground in crunchy, orange and brown heaps, and I now am awake before it's light outside every morning. This afternoon my family came home, and it was one of those, change-into-snuggle-clothes, type of days. I figured why not concoct a nice big pot of soup that matched our moods? So, following is my version of...well, honestly I have no idea. I kind of just threw some stuff into a pot and went off my cravings/taste. Didn't turn out so bad, and my husband said he definitely wants me to make it again...and I will-probably for a luncheon with my church ladies!!! Tee-hee :) If you try this, have fun with it-don't be afraid to play around with the ingredients! All of mine are just approximates on measurements. I eyeballed everything so go by your taste buds.

Saute' some chopped carrots, some minced/chopped garlic and a large chopped onion, in some extra virgin olive oil. After a few minutes, when they are crisp tender, throw in some chopped potato (or use some canned beans of your choice if you prefer or don't have potato on hand), a bay leaf, hefty couple tablespoons of oregano, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, basil, onion powder, crushed red pepper (we use a handsome bit of this, just because we love the spice-leave it out if you don't want a zing) stir it up real nice. Add your beef stock so it's at a somewhat thin consistency, because you are adding about 4 cups of shredded cabbage towards the end. I didn't have beef stock on hand, so I used water and au jus mix...that way I don't have to use salt in my recipe as well, since there is plenty in that alone. If you use beef stock, I add beef bouillon as well, I really love a rich soup stock. I sliced up a rope of beef (or use turkey) kielbasa, and added that, along with about a 3 TBSP of cider vinegar and a heaping TBSP of brown sugar. Use more or less to taste, add little by little and be careful about adding too much vinegar! Throw in a can of stewed or diced tomatoes (16oz can WITH juice) a few glugs of red wine, and let it simmer and cook through about 10 min or so. Just keep an eye on it. You want to wine to reduce down and meld into that rich flavor of the broth. Stir in the shredded cabbage and give it a few stirs-let simmer a few minutes and serve with some yummy crusty bread! For color, use half white cabbage and half red-it will make it so pretty in color and give it a twist to the regular. I hope it warms your bellies as it did ours...my husband is returning to the kitchen for his second bowl :)

Fall is a delicious time of year!

Fall is BY FAR, my favorite season of the year! There is something magical about the way the air turns crisp and chilly, the leaves turn a golden color, and it sets the mood perfectly for the next 4 wonderful months. Along with the change of season, so does the wonderful dishes that come with it! Comfort foods start to come into cravings, and my husband drops, "subtle," hints for those rich flavors of fall! Last night, we entertained a family new to the Naples area. We introduced them to some wonderful Italian dishes, but I couldn't help but also throw in some of that country girl flavor I was raised with! Following is a recipe that I initially came up with to forever remember the flavor of the apples my family grew on the farm back home. My family has always had the best desserts floating around, and I hope one day this one will be one that makes it's way around the family recipes as well! This is my apple pie recipe, I am not a baker by any means, but this one is a blue ribbon winner and paired with some vanilla ice cream-it's the perfect ending to a meal.

Make a flaky crust recipe, I always lattice top my pies, use your preference. Set aside.

On the stove, melt a stick of unsalted butter, add a few tablespoons flour and make a soupy roux. Stir in a teaspoon of vanilla, teaspoon cinnamon, half cup brown sugar and white, 1/4 c water, couple shakes of nutmeg, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and mix with about 6 apples, sliced and peeled.
Brush egg whites to the bottom pie crust, this prevents it from getting soggy! Place apple mix inside, top with crust, and brush egg whites to the top crust. Sprinkle with sugar, bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes.
Enjoy! This is all that is left of ours :)

Football Food!

With football season upon us, it's time to reconnect with that part of my brain that acknowledges my husband's love for food that isn't the most healthy-but puts a big smile on that handsome face of his. The first on the list today, is the infamous chili. It's one of those dishes that is hard to screw up-but you want it to taste a way you can't really put into words. I sat down this time and really put together a recipe I thought might meld the flavors together I was looking for...instead of just, "winging it," like my husband says. I think it was a step towards success, as I watched my son and Tyler devour it-whether over chips as a nacho topping, or by the spoonfuls, accompanied by cheese, large dollops of sour cream and chopped onion. I snuck the last bit away into the back of the freezer for a later date-let's hope this is one blog Tyler doesn't read so I can keep that little bit of goodness to myself!!

Football Chili!

Brown a pound of ground sirloin, set aside. Heat some oil in a pan, and add minced jalapenos (we do 4-5 but we love it scorching!) a couple of anaheim or poblano chiles minced, and a chopped onion and saute until onion is translucent. Add a generous amount of garlic and saute a minute longer. Add a couple teaspoons of onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, cumin, paprika, a handful of finely chopped coriander stems, couple teaspoons crushed red pepper, salt and black pepper. Fill the palm of your hand with chili powder, about a quarter cup, add that to the pan. Add a can of tomato sauce, and a small can of tomato paste, I use a large (soda can size) of V8 as a substitute when short handed and it works fine, and stir that through. I also sometimes coarsly puree a can of stewed or diced tomatoes and add that for texture, and then add beans of your choice. I use 3 cans, sometimes 4-depending on the consistency of the chili at this point. Usually whatever I have on hand, a can of kidney, pinto and great northern is what I used this time, then add a beer (we used a medium ale), a cup of pre-made au jus, the ground sirloin, and stirred it all together. I simmered it on low heat, stirring every so often for about an hour or two-just making sure it wasn't sticking, or cooking the liquid out too fast, I like mine a certain consistency. We topped it off with sour cream, chopped tomatoes, scallions, a dash of hot sauce, fresh cilantro leaves and shredded cheese...served with some warm, homemade cornbread. In the future when the game is on, and friends join us, a double batch will be prepared in the crockpot! We hope you enjoy, I know our tummies were warm and happy :)

Craving some Vietnamese food!!!!

When Tyler and I were first married, our first duty station together was Guam. We LOVED it. The beaches, the culture, the beauty-most of all, the FOOD. Our love for ethnic food was filled to the brim. Asian restaurants everywhere you turned-Thai, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, and our favorite: VIETNAMESE. Our favorite place was right off the highway, and they were open 24 hours a day. Whenever we ate there (which was on a weekly basis at the very least) we ordered smorgasbord style, and felt that we had to be rolled out afterward. Among our regular steaming bowls of pho tai and their wonderful version of giant lumpia's served with romaine leaves and vermicelli rice noodles, we ordered big helpings of their beef salad. It was the most delicious, tender, slices of thick sirloin steak, charred perfectly and served over a bed of romaine, rice, cabbage and cucumbers. They served a wonderful light dressing to top it off, with some added cilantro and scallions. It was comforting, and hit the spot perfectly. Tonight, my husband and I craved that yummy salad, so I did my best to try to mimic the taste we remembered. The end result? SUCCESS!!! Our hearty meal was just what we remembered. I took measurements this time, so the next time we ache for this flavor, I know just how to make it!

Make a nice big bed of salad, made up of:

Romaine Leaves
Shredded Cabbage
Bean Sprouts
Sliced Scallions
Cilantro
Chopped Green Onions
Shredded/Julienne Carrots
Chopped Cucumbers

Meanwhile, salt and pepper some nice big sirlion steaks. I added some crushed red pepper and some garlic powder to ours as well.

For the dressing:

3 TBSP Fish Sauce
3 TBSP Water
3 TBSP Sugar
Juice of 2 Limes
Nice big spoonful of Sambal Oleek (more or less depending on your preference)
Splash of rice vinegar
Few drops of Sesame Oil

Assembly:

Top the bed of lettuce with about a cup of steamed white rice. Slice the steak and place over the rice. Drizzle the dressing over all of it and sprinkle some chopped peanuts and extra cilantro over. I added extra Sriracha to mine for some extra spice-it was delicious! You could very easily omit the rice for an extra healthy version of this filling meal, it's a meal all in itself which is an added plus :)

I think I may have been German in a past life!

The amount of cabbage I consume on a regular basis is not normal. Any kinds, red cabbage, savoy, bok, chinese, white, you name it, I love it! Steamed, sauteed, baked, raw, I almost think I am nuts-I actually crave this stuff! Well, tonight I was starving while deciding what to feed the family. I couldn't decide between stuffed cabbage rolls, and shepherd's pie. Well, after going back and forth-I thought, "shoot, I am going to make both!" I am focusing this entry on the cabbage rolls, they are what we ate tonight, the pie is in the fridge all ready for another meal. I have to say, I am so full, but my tummy is oh-so-happy! I ended up omitting rice and serving these over mashed potatoes instead. They turned out so delicious! Exactly the taste I was craving. The cabbage leaves were just the right tenderness, with the center of the rolls being melt in your mouth juicy, moist, and extremely flavorful. I will have to make them again soon!

Preheat over to 375 degrees. This recipe takes a couple hours from start to finish so make sure you have plenty of time.
Start with prepping your cabbage leaves. Make sure the head of the cabbage is nice and large, you want large enough leaves that they will wrap up the whole way. Get some water to a boil on the stove. Core the cabbage, and carefully pull away the leaves-coring it first will help with this process. I learned the hard way. If you try just pulling away the leaves, the closer you get to the core, the harder it is and the leaves tend to tear. If the veins of the cabbage are thick, fillet them thin as you can. Dunk the leaves into the boiling water and boil until they are pliable enough to work with.
In a separate bowl, mix a pound of ground sirloin, a chopped onion, some minced garlic (couple cloves), Worcestershire (about a TBSP or so) salt and pepper, and I threw in a mix of spices I have all pre-mixed in a bottle (it consists of onion and garlic powder, thyme, oregano, paprika, chili powder, basil) and some pre-mixed au jus I keep on hand to use instead of beef broth (makes for a stronger flavor for things, and I prefer this). Mix it all up really well and get ready to roll!
Take a cabbage leaf and a heaping spoonful of the meat mix. Wrap it up like you would an eggroll, sealing the edges and ending with a mini burrito looking thing. If a few of the leaves are too small, leaving them open isn't a big deal. Set aside in whatever casserole dish you are baking them in. Now, you have another option here as well, which I didn't do tonight because I didn't have enough time. Instead of just placing in the casserole dish, you can melt some butter in a dutch oven or oven proof sauce pan and brown each sides of each roll. It tastes wonderful either way. I go ahead and do this when I have time, but tonight it was already getting late and these take another hour and a half to bake.
On the stove, start making your tomato topping. Saute a chopped onion, some minced garlic, and cook until soft. Add a can of diced tomatoes, some oregano, thyme, salt and pepper. Take a half cup more of the au jus and mix in a TBSP of corn starch. Stir into the tomato mix and let thicken. Pour this mix over the cabbage rolls and pop into the oven. Bake an hour, to hour and a half. Ground meat needs to come to a 160 temp before it's done. I served these over mashed potatoes and it was delicious! If you want this to be a one dish meal, add some cooked rice into the meat mixture before rolling and they can be a meal all in itself. This is what my finished product looked like, so delicious!


Enjoy-I know we did! Tyler is in a food coma already :)

Welcome to my kitchen :)

Whoa, okay I am taking a quick step back here. To those that are curious, here are the reasons behind this whole blog thing :)
On more than one occasion, I have been asked by someone for the recipe for a certain dish I have assembled. By the time I get around to finding a pen and paper, and figure out the measurements of everything (I hate measuring anything, thus the reason I hate baking) I never get the actual recipe to that person. If you are included in this, I am sorry.
Many of those that experiment with food, knows that sometimes you forget everything you put in a recipe. Most of the time I find that I am just grabbing all these different ingredients. Much love to my husband who willingly cleans up after dinner, especially when practically both my spice cabinets, numerous utensils, ingredients, etc, are covering the counters, sink and occupy the stove. So, finally! A single place I can record everything.
Also, some of my friends have told me that they want to eat healthier, but don't know how to cook, much less from scratch, and want the food to still taste good. Coming from a family of 9, there was no way we could eat all that expensive and unhealthy processed and frozen food, much less go out to eat 7 days a week! So, watching and learning from my Mom, cooking is the one of her many traits I was blessed to learn from her. I love that those who eat the food I cook, benefit from the fact that everything is from scratch, so they know exactly what they are eating.
I found that a lot of people don't eat certain things at home, just because they don't know how to make it! I find that silly. I have one of the weirdest eating habits known to man, and one of them is: "if I am craving something, I want it, and I am going to eat it!" :)
I hope this will be a place of sharing for everyone! I love feedback, and even more-those who can share their recipes as well! Inspiration for a dish has to start somewhere, right? Come cook with me! :)

Pollo Speziato alla Cacciatora! (Spicy Chicken Cacciatore)

Yesterday my family and I went to the big Caserta market. My poor son practically melted under the hot sun, but we picked out some fresh vegetables, amongst them some beautiful Roma tomatoes. The day before, I had brought home a whole chicken with intentions of roasting it, but as life changes plans, there it sat in my refrigerator since there was no room for it in our tiny European freezer. Dinner time was looming near, and my family started the whole, "I'm hungry, what's for dinner?" routine. I didn't know what to do. Irritated by the fact it was too late to do a roast chicken, and partially by my son digging through all of the snacks, I was tempted to order out! Instead, I kicked my son out of the kitchen and grabbed my boning knife. Add some fresh chopped up tomatoes, a bottle of white wine and some capers later, we had dinner. Here is the recipe. I don't do exact measurements, but I am sure I can bring some up if someone needs them. Crank up some good tunes, pour yourself a glass of wine and get ready to get cookin'!

I used a whole chicken that I cut into 8 pieces (save the carcass for some homemade chicken stock later!) but you can use any type of chicken you would like. Suggestion-2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 wings, 2 breasts.
In a bowl, get a couple cups of flour and mix it up with some salt and pepper, and if you want, whatever other spices and herbs you might like.
Heat a skillet up with a couple tablespoons of oil. Grab a pair of tongs and dredge each piece of chicken in the flour mix and brown in the pan. Just brown on each side, it will cook the rest of the way later. Place on plate and set aside.
Ditch the tongs and grab yourself a wooden spoon. I like to use a wooden spoon as much as possible, it helps "feel" the food better than metal when it cooks. That's just my opinion anyway. Add an onion and a few cloves of minced garlic (more or less to your taste) into the same pan. I prefer my onions julienne, but you can chop them if you prefer. Saute', then add a bell pepper (red or green, last night I did red because that is what I had on hand) and continue to cook. Add about a cup of dry white wine, and simmer until liquid is reduced to about half. Then add 2 cans of tomatoes with juice (you can use fresh, just add some tomato paste/sauce with some water), a cup of chicken stock with some added bouillon for richer flavor. Add some capers (I put about a 1/4 cup) oregano, garlic powder, salt and (generous) pepper to taste, a nice rounded spoonful of crushed red pepper, thyme, basil and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, add the browned chicken to the pan. Cook for about 30 minutes, occasionally spooning the mix around the chicken pieces. For even better flavor, simmer an additional 30 minutes on low. Serve over some hot pasta or rice.

This recipe is easily a slow cooker recipe for all those busy nights everyone has. Usually I take pictures of dishes I make, but last night this dish was eaten before that happened! This isn't one of the healthiest dishes I make, so to cut some of the sodium out, I like to omit salt and resort to using more spices and herbs (fresh is the best, especially to enhance flavor) and that helps with cutting down on sodium. Using low sodium stocks/broths, and removing the skin from chicken is also a few tricks I use. You can add some sliced mushrooms, my son doesn't like them so last night I didn't add any, but they are delicious in there as well! Enjoy!