Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

 

When I get in the mood for curry, and I do, nothing is going to satisfy me until I have made a big pot. This is the easiest way to make curry that I can think of, because it is all done in the slow cooker. Other than dicing the chicken, it’s all just dump and stir. If you’d like, you can dice onion, and add it to this, and/or grate (or mince) some fresh ginger into the mixture. Add what you like to make it your own. It’s very good, and very satisfying. Serve it over rice and top with chopped scallions, minced cilantro, or a sprinkling of dry red pepper flakes. Do what you like; you honestly can’t go wrong.

 Slow Cooker Chicken Curry

 2 lbs. chicken thighs, diced

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 2.1-oz. pkg. dry chicken noodle soup mix

1 T. instant minced onions

3 T. curry powder

Pinch cayenne

1 10.5-oz.  can cream of chicken soup

6 oz. coconut milk

1 c. whole milk

1/2 c. heavy cream

2 t. cornstarch

1 pkg. frozen peas and carrot mixture

Spray the bottom of a slow cooker with PAM. Place diced chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Crumble the bouillon cube over the top, and sprinkle the dry package of chicken noodle soup overall.

 In a small mixing bowl whisk together minced onions, curry powder, cayenne, chicken soup, coconut milk, whole milk, heavy cream, and cornstarch. Pour over chicken, and give everything a good stir.

 Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours until done. One hour before cook time is up, stir in frozen vegetables. Serve over rice.

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Not Caesar, But Still a Pleaser Salad Dressing

 

I’m old enough to remember when servers would come to your table, crack an egg into a large wooden bowl, and thus begin their creation of the freshest Caesar salad dressing that you can imagine. This would then be tossed with crisp greens, served on chilled plates, and not a remnant of dressing remained behind in that bowl. I love Caesar dressing, but call me squeamish, I don’t like the idea of raw egg. That’s where this salad dressing comes in very handy. It can be made two ways, with the mayonnaise, or by substituting the mayonnaise with olive oil if you’re not looking for a creamy version. Me? I prefer it with mayonnaise. No, it isn’t Caesar, but it is darned good. Now, dig out that wooden bowl and crisp up some greens.

  Not Caesar, But Still a Pleaser Salad Dressing

½ c. Duke’s mayonnaise
¼ c. grated fresh Parmesan
1 clove garlic
½ t. capers
½ t. anchovy paste
½ t. champagne vinegar
1½ t. Dijon mustard
1½ t. Worcestershire sauce
Juice of half a lemon
¼ t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground black pepper

Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a mini food processor, and blend until combined.

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Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

 

For Easter (remember it?) I decided that I wanted to make myself a ham dinner, so I bought myself a small ham, and I am talking tiny. But, like the fishes and the loaves, this ham seemed to last forever. I had ham and eggs, ham salad, ham sandwiches (both hot and cold), ham steak, I was half out of my mind with ham, and I do believe I was starting to oink. This, thankfully, is the last of it, in this tasty ham of potato chowder.

Creamy Ham and Potato Soup

Slightly adapted from smalltownwoman.com

 2 T. olive oil

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 carrot, sliced into thin rounds

1 3-lb. bag Melissa’s Peewee Dutch Yellow potatoes, halved

2 c. cubes fully cooked ham

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ t. onion powder

2 T. chopped parsley

3 c. chicken broth

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 c. whole milk

Salt and pepper

 In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and ham. Sauté until the onions become translucent, approximately 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic, onion powder, and parsley; cook for 1 minute.

 Stir in the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce and simmer until the potatoes are tender, approximately 15 minutes.

In a skillet, melt butter and whisk in flour. Whisk over low heat for 3-4 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk to make it creamy and remove any lumps. When thoroughly mixed and thickened, slowly whisk or stir into soup. Simmer until warm and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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Mushrooms au Gratin

I’ve mentioned before that I watch a lot of Italian television. I also watch a lot of French television. The fact of the matter is, I watch a lot of international television, far preferring it to most of what America has to offer. I do so because I am a subscriber to MHz Choice. I am not affiliated with them in any way, I just absolutely love their programming. The other day I was watching “Les Petits Meurtres d’Agatha Christie (The 70’s)” when I noticed that commissaire Annie Greco (who loves food as much as I do) ordered mushroom au gratin. This is the first time I had ever heard of that dish. Sure, I’ve had potatoes au gratin, but mushrooms? Mushroom lover that I am, this sounded so good, and something that I absolutely had to try. I got to thinking about how I would make this dish, and came up with the following. It is so decadent! It’s good on its own — you only need a small amount because it is rich — it is also excellent as a topper for a baked potato, particularly if you are using a large potato as a meatless main dish. You might also consider spooning it over baked chicken. This is a must try. I’m not kidding you. 

Mushrooms au Gratin

2 T. butter

8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced

1 .5-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried shiitake mushrooms

1 .5-oz. pkg. Melissa’s dried oyster mushrooms

2 scallions, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

½ c. dry white wine

 ½ c. sour cream

¼ t. seasoned salt, more or less to taste

1/8 t. ground black pepper, more or less to taste

2 T. flour

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

½ c. grated Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 400° F. Spray an au gratin dish (or any other shallow baking dish) with PAM; set aside.

Hydrate dried mushrooms according to package directions. Drain, and roughly chop; set aside.

In a medium skillet, sauté fresh mushrooms with butter over medium-high heat. Add scallions and sauté another 1-2 minutes. Add chopped hydrated mushrooms and garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Stir in wine and cook down until half has evaporated.

 In a small bowl, blend together sour cream, salt, pepper, and flour. Stir into mushroom mixture. Heat through, transfer to your prepared baking dish, sprinkle with chopped parsley and cheese, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese has melted, and it is bubbly around the edge. 

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Brie Careful What You Wish For, a Grilled Cheese Mystery, Reviewed

  

This is the first time that I have read anything by this author, having not heard of this culinary mystery series before. I have to be honest with you, what drew me to Brie Careful What You Wish For, aside from the rather charming cover (Yes, I do judge books by their covers.) was the fact that the main character in the book, Carly Hale, operated a grilled cheese restaurant, and recipes were promised at the end of the story. I am an avid fan of grilled cheese sandwiches of all kinds, like books that offer recipes, and am rarely let down. That is until this one, where only two were provided, neither of which, alas, really blew my skirt up, but I digress.

 One thing that I didn’t like about this book, besides the cutesy title, was the repeated mention of the pandemic. First of all, I think in the long run that’s going to date this book. Second, I think that is a time that is best left behind all of us, so mere mention raised my hackles just a bit. I’m also wondering how she manages to stay in business considering she gives away so much food, I know, it’s fiction, but that annoyed me because it seemed as though she gave away more food than she sold, and I found that unbelievable.

 All of that said, the book is nicely paced with largely likable characters in a vibrant setting. The mystery is a good one, and the culprit surprised me, something I always find pleasing. I found the restaurant setting to be a lot of fun. I enjoyed reading about the customers, the goings on in the kitchen, and all of those delicious sounding grilled cheese sandwiches. I would have liked the lesser characters to have been a bit more developed than they were, but that is easily overlooked.

 I would have appreciated (and this is not just limited to this book, but most books in general) a listing of characters at the beginning of the book to refer back to during the course of my reading.

 All in all, I think this is a good, solid, four stars, and I would recommend it.

 You can purchase a copy here.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Beyond the Page publishers for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Jamie Oliver’s Minestrone

 

I recently read an article about an Italian family who boasted longevity. Family members would routinely live well into their upper 90s many even into the hundreds; the most recent member of their family to pass did so at the age of 109. When asked to what they attributed their longevity, a spokesperson from the family said that every day for lunch they had a bowl of minestrone, a piece of bread, and a glass of wine. Guess who has altered her lunch plans from here on out? Yes, that would be me. I decided to try a different recipe for minestrone than the one that I generally use, and chose this one by Jamie Oliver. This is the first time that I have ever used kale in soup, and I really liked it. Now for that piece of bread and glass of wine..catch you later.

Jamie Oliver’s Minestrone

Slightly adapted

 1 clove of garlic

2 small onions

Extra virgin olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 carrots

2 ribs celery

2 large handfuls of curly kale

1 14.5-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 15.5-oz. can cannellini beans

1 15-oz. can kidney beans

1 T. vegetable soup base

½ c. ditalini pasta

Parmesan cheese

Crusty bread, to serve

 Peel and finely chop the garlic and onion. Put a large shallow casserole pan on a medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Add the garlic and the bay leaves, followed by the onions.

Trim and chop the carrots and celery into rough ¼” dice, adding to the pan as you go. Remove and finely chop any tough stalks from your greens and add to the pan. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring regularly, or until softened and caramelized.

 Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, beans, and a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

 Shred your greens and sprinkle into the pan, add soup base, and top up with 4 c. of boiling water. Add the pasta, cover, and leave to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pasta is just cooked and the soup has thickened to your liking.  

 Season the soup to perfection, then serve it with a grating of Parmesan cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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Springtime Brunch Tablescape

 

 I don’t know about the rest of you gardeners out there, but I get very eager for seed planting long before I’m able to do so. As tempting as it is to plant seeds on the warm days that we have in April, I know there are going to be some cold, plant-killing frosts before we reach the second week in May, after which it is safe to plant for those of us who live in Zone 6B.

As a consequence, I feel compelled to do tables with a gardening theme, so this is my offering for the month of April. The seed packets scattered about on the tablecloth are part of a set. I am so excited about these because it will allow me to grow things that I haven’t grown before -- at least from seed -- scallions, for example. Fingers crossed that they grow.  

The Sonemone dinner plates that I used in this table are a recent acquisition. They struck me as being Scandinavian, and because I’m such a big fan of Scandi noir, I had to have them. Plus, they’re so different from everything else that I have.

  I paired them with round woven placemats atop of which I placed Bordallo Pinheiro geranium leaf chargers. 

 

 Picking up the salmon pink in the plates, I decided to use my salmon water and juice glasses (pattern unknown) that I bought straight out of college. I fell in love with these because they were the perfect match for a set of Fitz and Floyd “Coquilles” dishes that I spent years buying piecemeal as I could afford them. Funnily enough, I seem to have lost track of those.

 

The wine glass that I chose featured blue hydrangeas that echo the blue hydrangeas the bunnies are holding in the centerpiece. This glass is by Portmeirion.

 

Also from Portmerion is the cup and saucer. The glass and the cup and saucer are a part of their vast “Botanic Garden” and “Garden Harmony” collections. I find this entire set irresistible, but my wallet says no.

 

The “Urban Villa” green napkins are from Amazon, the silverware, also included in last month’s table setting was a gift from a friend and is by International in the “Contessa” pattern.

 

The pair of bunnies at center is reused from my Easter table. They work well in a garden theme, although most gardeners do not want bunnies in their gardens. The little stand holding the brunch menu I got from Michael’s years ago. I don’t use it nearly as often as I should. I have decided that I am going to find one of my mother’s handwritten recipes and use this stand to display it in my kitchen.

 Hopefully, enjoying meals at this table will satisfy me until I can get out and plant those seeds.

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