At the end of the last school year, my son’s wonderful third grade teacher gave me a gorgeous and interesting cook book alice’s Cook Book by Alice Hart.  It has very creative recipes with pairings that I wouldn’t think of; which for me makes it even better! 

Last night I perused it to find something to make with the chicken breasts that I had to use.  Not surprisingly I found a wonderful recipe and it is quite easy. 

I was fairly certain but not absolutely that my kids would eat it— well, without any fuss.  I added green beans to give them one vegetable I knew they’d like and thought would go well with the dish.  I opted not to use the hot pepper as my middle son is especially sensitive to hot spices. I added it to my own dish afterwards.  You could also use Siracha. The cilantro I had looked too sad, so I left it out. 

Vietnamese Chicken & Sweet Potato Curry

2 full chicken breasts (or 4-5 thighs), cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp galangal

2 tsp brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1-2 shallots, diced

1 inch piece, fresh ginger, grated

1 lemongrass stalk, chopped or 1 tsp dried

2 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp canola or grapeseed oil

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1-2 sweet potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 can unsweetened coconut milk

½ cup water

handful fresh green beans, cut in half/thirds

handful fresh cilantro, chopped

optional: hot pepper flakes to taste

Mix the curry powder, galangal and salt together (‘spice mixture’).  Take approximately half and mix with the brown sugar, reserving the other half for later.  Coat the chicken with the brown sugar/ spice mixture and set aside.  Lightly sauté the shallots and garlic in canola oil, add ginger, lemongrass, pepper flakes and the remaining spice mixture. Add sesame oil, fish sauce, chicken, sweet potatoes, water and coconut milk.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes then add the green beans.  Simmer another 5-10 minutes until potatoes and chicken are cooked.  Finish with cilantro.  Serve with brown, jasmine or basmati rice.

I was right in that only my eldest ate the sweet potato, but all three really enjoyed it and I will definitely make it again!  It was so delicious and just what I was in the mood for!  Will try with fish or shrimp too!

At this month’s Cooking Club we had a Latin American theme.  I usually try to make something I’ve never tried making before or something I think is creative or challenging.   So, I made arepas (sort of like corn flour rolls) but in case they didn’t work out, I had bought some frozen empanada dough discs (made with yucca and annatto).  It wouldn’t have mattered - I ran out of time- so if they didn’t work SOL.  (They weren’t too bad, but wasn’t my best dish.)

Anyway, on the following night since I had already defrosted the empanada discs and some stew beef from our CSA I suggested to my husband he make empanadas for dinner, which he did (he’s good like that).   I helped by grinding the beef in the food processor and making some of the sides, but that’s about all. I wasn’t too sure the kids would eat the empanada without any fuss, but I figured if they tried a bite they’d probably like them.  We told them that they were similar to tacos.  They all love tacos, and it stuck.  They just called them “those taco things” for days afterwards.

I was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm for the dinner even before it was fully assembled and in the oven; especially by my youngest two.  They were thrilled to see the meat go in the shells (I think meat is such a boy thing) and ate them with such gusto. 

We served a salad, black beans, brown rice, salsa and my husband’s delicious guacamole with the empanadas.  Though my youngest wouldn’t touch any beans, salsa or guac—he’s the pickiest of all three.

Beef Empanadas
10 pack of empanada shells (used Goya with yucca)  
1 pound beef (ground)
½ onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cumin
handful chopped fresh cilantro
olive oil
water
salt & pepper

Pour Tbsp olive oil in a fry pan and get it hot.  Add the ground beef and cook until browned.  Turn down heat to medium and add onions and sauté until nearly translucent.  Add garlic, chili powder and cumin.  Cook stirring often for a couple of minutes then add the oregano and tomato paste.  Thin out with about ¼ cup of water (adjust according to desired consistency).  Salt and pepper to taste.  Take off heat and cool.  Stir in cilantro when cooled. 
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place about 2 Tbsp of mixture onto center of a shell, brush a little water along edge then fold in half and press outside edge together.  Press with a fork around round edge to completely seal. 
Add Tbsp olive oil to hot pan.  Sauté each side until brown, then bake on parchment lined cookie tray for 20 minutes. Serve while hot. 

We had 4 extras that went into the freezer instead of the oven – my middle son asked me to serve it for dinner the following night (he had to wait 2 nights, but I was happy to oblige).

I am blessed in my friendships— I have such wonderful friends around the globe.  I’ve been helped out of many a mess; shared in fun times; been proud of their accomplishments (I truly have some super-women friends); and inspired by so many of them.  One area (not surprisingly) in which I have been inspired, is in my cooking and baking.  I love cooking with friends too — my house or theirs, I find it a fun thing to do together with a glass of wine or cocktail in hand and fresh news to share. 

Two of my girlfriends are a constant in inspiration and cooking camaraderie.  One (AK) has 3 kids and one (SO) 2 kids— all that eat well (as in, they like our food).  I love when we can all get together and cook/eat/play.  We always have fun.

Recently for SO I tried out one dish that AK had cooked for my family- stuffed pork roast— which is stuffed with stuffing (as in traditional Thanksgiving-style sausage stuffing).  I think my girlfriend made it better than I did, but it was still quite good.  I was too afraid of getting the stuffing mushy that I erred on the side of too little stock to moisten the stuffing so it was too dry. The pork itself was great. 

I also introduced SO and her girls to kale chips which my boys and I love. I made some with sesame oil, canola oil and salt and some with olive oil, salt and pepper.  The boys were cheerfully exclaiming, “kale chips!” when they saw them.

Simple Sausage Sage Stuffing
4 links, casings removed, Italian sweet sausage
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
4 cups croutons
Handful fresh sage, chopped
Approx 1 cup chicken or veg stock
salt & pepper

In a large stock pot sauté the sausage until cooked.  Set aside. Then sauté the onion and celery in olive oil (or sausage fat) until onions are translucent.  Add sausage back in with croutons, sage, ½ tsp salt and pepper. Mix well and slowly add stock until stuffing sticks together nicely but isn’t too mushy.  Add more salt if necessary.  Let cool then stuff your meat/bird. (Tie if necessary to keep in the stuffing.)

I’d never stuffed anything with this type of stuffing besides a turkey or chicken.  Now, I figure I’ve tried something new thanks to my friend.  And this is only one of many dishes/desserts these two are introducing me to…and inspiring me to do it too.