Man Meals: Southwestern White Bean Chicken Chili January 23, 2013

Brrr … it’s cold outside! It’s the coldest it’s been this winter here in Cincinnati, so that can only mean one thing:

CHILI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, with the Super Bowl coming up, I’m sure you’re also trying to find crowd-pleasing recipes—and let me tell you, this Southwestern White Bean Chicken Chili is it!

I’ve been thinking about chili for awhile now (is that weird? I sometimes think about recipes for weeks before I make them), and I really wanted to make something lighter than a traditional all-beef chili but with all the full, well-developed flavors that make us love chili in the first place. Sounds like a good plan, right?

Weeknight Delight: Thai Red Curry August 2, 2012

Summer has been keeping me busy. Between all my personal chef and catering gigs, my editing work, and my sister’s wedding coming up in about 40 days (bachelorette party this weekend!), life has been nuts—which means easy but flavorful weeknight meals for Doug and I.

I’ve actually made this particular recipe with both chicken and tofu, and I really enjoy both versions. The tofu version comes together even easier because you don’t have to cook the tofu before you add it to the pot, but alas my meat-loving hubby is opposed to tofu (“opposed” being somewhat of an understatement), so chicken it is!

Curry paste is one of those amazing things that you can pick up at the Asian mart in a small can, and it lasts forever! In fact, I opened the can a few months ago, transferred it to a small Tupperware container, and kept it in the back of my fridge until I’m ready to use it. I think I’ll get about three curries out of one baby-sized can—that’s $1 well spent!

Grill it! Rosemary-Citrus Chicken Thighs May 9, 2012

I’ve been really digging marinades lately. They’re so easy to prepare (Mix all the ingredients together. Add meat. Wait.) and, with a little planning, you can have all the work done the night before so you just have to throw the meat on the grill when you’re ready to eat the next evening. Score!

I made a chicken kabob marinade similar to this one a few weeks back at a 50-person party I catered, and it was such a huge hit that I thought I’d recreate the flavors here for you. Let me tell you, juicing citrus for four is so much easier than juicing it 50. That’s task I wouldn’t wish on many, but having my super-awesome new citrus juicer attachment for my stand mixer made it a whole lot easier.

Takeout With A Twist: Chicken Green Masala May 7, 2012

As a lover and promoter of all things Indian (remember this Chicken Saag with crispy onions and this Chicken Tikka Masala? Holy yum!), I’m often looking for interesting new Indian preparations to try. Lucky for me, I got to spend a week with my adorable sister Annie in Washington D.C., and she knows all the best restaurants in town, including the most tasty Indian spots. With some finagling we got a small table in the lounge area of Rasika‘a Penn Quarter location and I was happy as a clam. Score!

Classics, Updated: Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole March 27, 2012

In a house with four children (me + my triplet brother and sisters), my mom was always looking for new ways to 1) feed her children to satiety quickly (we all tend to get VERY grumpy when we need to eat. My sister Paige calls it hangry. Hungry + Angry = Hangry.), and 2) get us all the nutrients we needed to get through our mad rush of daily activities, from swimming to baseball to student council.

As a classic Southern woman in the vein of Paula Deen—minus the Southern drawl—my mom often turned to hearty one-pot casseroles to feed our family of 6. To this day, I still wax nostalgic about my mom’s casseroles, in particular her Broccoli-Cheese Casserole and her Chicken Tetrazzini, which I already updated here. So when I saw a post on Broccoli-Quinoa Casserole on my gal Jessica’s blog, Dishin’ About Nutrition, I knew I had to make my own version!

Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has gotten very popular in the past few years, and Doug and I have most definitely jumped on the bandwagon. Quinoa looks like a grain, but it’s actually an ancient tiny seed that the Incas used to eat as a primary form of nutrition. Quinoa, unlike wheat or rice, is a COMPLETE protein, which means not only does it have a lot of protein, but it’s also a balanced source of essential amino acids. And, it’s gluten free! You cook quinoa in the exact same way as rice (2 parts water to 1 part quinoa), except you give it a little rinse first.

Quinoa tastes like a nuttier, more delicious version of rice, at least in my opinion. I like to buy it in bulk bags at Sam’s Club or Costco, but you can most definitely find it in well-stocked supermarkets and specialty markets. I like to substitute it for rice in many recipes, this one included. As a nutritional powerhouse, quinoa supplies many of our needed vitamins and minerals, so it’s great for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Big Bites: Herb-Marinated Chicken Sandwiches December 7, 2011

Winter is upon us. But that doesn’t mean we still don’t crave the fresh flavors of spring and summer, right? I know you’re with me here, dear readers. And while I love a good soup, stew or braise just as much as the next person, it’s nice to put some light and fresh flavors on the table during the cold months to remind us that, although winter is just starting, spring isn’t really that  far away.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken Kabob Flatbreads with Aleppo Pepper August 12, 2011

My trusty Weber grill seemed sad that I hadn’t used it much this summer. (Or was it the other way around?) Either way, my charcoal grill needed to see some action, and I needed to feast on some grilled meats—which always taste better when cooked over charcoal, by the way.

It’s meals like these where I really enjoy the cooking process. I literally do everything on the grill, including my side dishes if I can. There’s just something so fun about cooking outside (besides the fact that I’m not in my sweltering kitchen) and over an open flame.

Take Out at Home: Chinese Stir-Fried Chicken and Noodles July 20, 2011

After cooking all that Mexican food I had a hankering for something completely different, and I was in luck because I had picked up some fun ingredients when I was in Chinatown a few weeks ago for dim sum with my gals Eva and Nicole. Specifically, I had finally gotten my hands on thin, authentic rice noodles, which I don’t think are hard to find in general, I just don’t like the ones at my local grocery store.

Your Next Theme Party: Food on a Stick July 15, 2011

I jumped up and down when I opened my mailbox and saw a review copy of Matt Armendariz’s On a Stick! Everybody, absolutely everybody, loves food on a stick, and this is one area where I don’t differ from the crowd.

I had high hopes for Mr. Armendariz’s book, and in the end it did not disappoint. What better way to test recipes then by hosting a Food on a Stick Party? Doug and myself (actually my friend Rae cooked with me instead of Doug—go figure) and two other couples prepared three of recipes from the book for a total of 9 recipes, which I thought was a pretty good test run of any cookbook.

Mexican Master Class: Mole, Cricket Tacos, and A Whole Lot More July 12, 2011

I spent almost 60 hours of the past two weeks preparing traditional dishes from each of Mexico’s 31 states. It was a wild ride: the kitchen was hot, the pace was frantic, the ingredients were exotic, and the food? The food was extraordinary. I really wanted to give you, my dear readers, an overview of some of the fantastic stuff I got to make in the last week of my Mexican Master Class, which culminated in a banquet and reception at Kendall College for over 100 hungry folks.