So Good: Food & Wine with Heather Johnston

Chicken Curry

 

I made this chicken curry during the last snow storm using what I happened to have in my pantry and fridge. Of course, I sometimes have a wacky assortment of items, but there's nothing too exotic in this dish, and it's very satisfying and cheering on a dreary night. 

2 tablespoons good quality curry powder (or more if you like it hot)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound chicken cutlets, cut into 1" pieces

1 onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 small slice of ginger, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1" pieces (about 2 cups)

2 carrots, sliced

5 small red potatoes, quartered (about 1- 1 1/2 cups)

1 can coconut milk (not the sweet kind!)

1/2 pound snow peas, cut in half if desired

Red pepper flakes to taste

In a medium sized bowl, combine chicken, curry powder, salt and pepper. Let sit for up to 30 minutes or refrigerate for an hour.

Meanwhile, in a dutch oven or large saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil and saute onions until softened about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, and ONE HALF of the diced eggplant, potatoes, and carrots. Let cook for about 6 more minutes until veggies start to soften. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Wipe skillet, add remaining oil and cook chicken in a single layer (you may need to do two batches) until browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside.

Do not wipe skillet. Over medium low heat, add coconut milk to pan and carefully scrape up any browned bits that may have gathered. Return vegetables to the pan and let cook until the potatoes and carrots are softened. The eggplant will almost melt away, and the milk will cook down and thicken.

Return chicken to the pan with remaining eggplant and snow peas, and cook until tender. Season with hot red pepper flakes to taste. Serve over rice. Even better the next day.

Shrimp Scampi with Roasted Cauliflower

This time of year I roast vegetables frequently and have found they work beautifully with seafood. This tasty dish is flexible and a snap to prepare. Add any winter veggies you like. I added two sliced carrots for my cauliflower averse child which added a nice bit of color on a cold night.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 cauliflower cut up into small florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 scallion, sliced fine

Shrimp Scampi

1/2 pound linguine

1 tablespoon butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

5 garlic cloves, minced

1 pound large shrimp, cleaned 

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 1 1/2 lemons

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

Directions for Both

Heat oven to 375. In a 9x13 glass pyrex or corningware dish, toss cauliflower, salt, pepper and olive oil. Don't worry if the pan is a little crowded. Shake dish to distribute veggies evenly. Roast for 25-30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add scallions 5 minutes before finishing.

Meanwhile, cook linguine according to package instructions. In a large skillet, heat oil and butter, add garlic and let brown for about 1 minute. Season shrimp with salt and black pepper; add to pan and cook until just curled and opaque. Turn off heat; stir in remaining ingredients. Drain pasta, and toss with shrimp mixture. Serve with cauliflower and a dry Chardonnay from Macon. Lovely

A Month in Food

I may not have blogged in January, but I certainly ate, experimented and cooked up a storm. Here are a few delicious highlights:

Sapporo Restaurant's Pork Ginger. This is one of my favorite spots for a quick meal in midtown (152 W49th Street near 7th Ave). It's no nonsense, inexpensive, and best of all, the food shines like a star. Do not skip the Ramen! The counter seats that look into the kitchen offer a better cooking show than the Food Network.

Homemade Turkey Stock. Cover roasted turkey bones, carrots, onions, celery, and a bunch of herbs with water; cook at a slow simmer for a few hours to create a lovely stock for gravy or soup. I made one with white beans, left over turkey, Andouille sausage, and veggies. Delicious.

Chicken Paillard with Curried Oyster Mushrooms from The New York Times. On January 12, the paper published a great article by Melissa Clark on uplifting the lowly chicken cutlet. One recipe looked better than the next. The oyster mushrooms were a tad pricey, so I stretched them with some white buttons.  I also cooked the Olive Oil Chicken Confit with Anchovy Parmesan Dressing to rave reviews. Created by a fabulous restaurant chef, it calls for 3 cups of olive oil to poach the chicken in. Not really affordable for the home cook on a budget. I did manage to reuse some of the oil for a spectacular shrimp scampi the next day, however.

 

Asian Style Chicken Soup.  I intended to try another recipe from the same NY Times article, but realized I didn't have many of the ingredients, so I had to improvise quite a bit. Good thing. I ended up with a video worthy dish. I'm still testing, but I put two 1 inch discs of ginger, three scallions, 6 crushed cloves of garlic, 1 cup chicken stock, 3 cups water, and 3 tablespoons of (light) soy sauce into a pot. I brought it to a boil, let it simmer for 10 minutes then I sprinkled three chicken cutlets with salt and pepper and slipped them into the pot as well.

I brought the pot back up to a simmer, covered it, turned off the heat and let it sit for 12 minutes. After checking the chicken for doneness, I removed the cutlets and cooked the broth an additional 10 minutes. To a soup bowl, I added some of the chicken, white rice and string beans which is what I had on hand, and poured the strained broth over it. A clean and tasty soup with a hint of spicy ginger. 

Sweet Shrimp Rolls. This time of year Maine produces some lovely sweet shrimp. Luckily, my neighborhood fish market carries them. Tiny and delicate, they take seconds to cook. I saw a recipe for a shrimp roll in New York Magazine, and thought I'd try a version of my Warm Lobster Rolls, swapping out the lobster for the shrimp.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a large pan, add sliced celery and cook for 2 minutes. Season shrimp with salt and pepper, add to pan and cook until opaque and curled, about 2 minutes. Add a squeeze of lemon, and a healthy pinch of chopped parsley. Layer toasted hot dog buns with romaine lettuce, and top with shrimp mixture. Great with Chardonnay.

Roasted Winter Vegetables from the Farmer's Market. Turnips are delightful this time of year. That's right, I said Turnips. Ditto Brussel Sprouts. Especially with Butternut Squash and Shallots. I make them once or twice a week in various combinations. Halve the brussels, cut the rest of the veggies into 1/2 inch pieces, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and cook in a 375 oven for about 20-25 minutes. Use either a regular sheet pan or pyrex/corningware baking dishes. Yummy with everything.

Early Spring Cleaning

Hi Everyone!

Thank you all so much for reading and watching SoGood.tv. To make it easier for you (and search engines) to find what you want, I'm spending January cleaning up the blog and organizing my index. See you in February with something yummy and romantic! Best, Heather

VIDEO: Pumpkin Cake w/ Chocolate & Orange Sauces, Colonial Williamsburg & Monticello

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Great New Year.Thanks to you all for watching! Peace and Love, Heather

Video Recipe: Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate and Orange Sauces

Pumpkin Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus some for greasing pan
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus some for dusting pan
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 teaspoons spices such as cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin (not pie filling)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs

Heat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together pumpkin, 3/4 cup buttermilk, and vanilla in another bowl.

Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs and beat 1 minute. Reduce speed to low and add flour and pumpkin mixtures alternately, starting and ending with flour. Mix until batter is just smooth. Take care not to over beat.

Pour batter into pan, smoothing to fill eveniy. Bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Chocolate Sauce

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

In a small pan, bring cream and butter to a low boil. Meanwhile, add chocolate to a bowl. Pour cream mixture over the chocolate. Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. It will thicken when cooled. 

Orange Sauce or Creme Anglaise with Grand Marnier

• 2 cups half and half
  
• 1 vanilla bean with seeds
  
• zest from one orange
• 5 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

In a medium sauce pan, heat half and half. Split vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seed with a knife. Place vanilla bean, seeds, and orange zest into half and half. Bring to a low simmer. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks and sugar until a pale yellow color. Carefully add one spoonful of half and half mixture to the bowl, whisking constantly. Repeat until about 1/2 cup has been incorporated. Add the tempered egg yolk mixture to the half and half in the pot and stir over low heat, almost constantly, until the cream coats the back of the spoon. If you like a creamier sauce, feel free to cook it longer.

Strain the cream into a bowl, stir in Grand Marnier, and chill immediately. Serve with pumpkin cake, chocolate sauce and a Tawny Port.