Tabbouleh - yeh

Materials:

• 1 c. bulgur
• 1 2/3 c. boiling water
• 1/3 c. olive oil
• 1/3 c. fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
• 1-1/2 c. chopped fresh green onions
• 1 c. chopped parsley
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh mint
• 3-4 tomatoes (I use 4 on-the-vine), chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 tsp. salt + more to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Methods:

1. Combine bulgur with boiling water in a large bowl. Cover and set aside to soak for 1 hour.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Chickpea Tagine With Chicken and Apricots

Materials:

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 skinless chicken thighs, bone-in
• salt & pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. minced fresh ginger
• 3 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 c. dried apricots
• 1 c. chopped tomato (fresh or canned or boxed, with juice)
• 2 c. cooked or canned chickpeas, drained
• 1 to 2 c. chicken stock (or reserved bean liquid), or more as needed
• 3/4 c. bulgur
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Methods:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Put oil in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken and brown well on both sides; remove from pan and set aside.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, dried apricots and tomato. Cook and stir long enough to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
5. Add chickpeas and 1 cup of stock to the pan and turn heat back to medium-high.
6. When mixture starts to gently bubble, return chicken to the pan. Cover pot, turn heat to low and cook, checking occasionally to make sure the mixture is bubbling gently, for about 15 minutes, or until tomatoes break down and flavors begin the meld.
7. Stir in bulgur, adding more stock if necessary so that the mixture is covered with about an inch of liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Cover and cook until chicken and bulgur are both done, about 10-15 minutes.
9. Taste, adjust the seasonings, and serve in bowls garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Cornish Game Hens with Garlic and Rosemary

Materials:

• 4 Cornish game hens
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 24 gloves garlic
• 2/3 c. white wine
• 2/3 c. low sodium chicken broth
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary, for garnish

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Rub hens with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil. Lightly season hens with salt and pepper.
3. Place 1 lemon wedge and 1 sprig of rosemary in the cavity of each hen.
4. Arrange hens in large, heavy roasting pan with garlic cloves surrounding.
5. In a mixing bowl, whisk together wine, chicken broth and remaining 4 Tbsp. of olive oil.
6. Pour ~1/2 the broth mixture around the pan.
7. Roast hens in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
8. Pour remaining broth mixture over hens.
9. Reduce temperature to 350F. Continue roasting for about 25 minutes, or until hens are golden brown and juices run clear. Baste with pan juices every 10 minutes.
10. Transfer hens to a platter, pouring any cavity juices back into the roasting pan.
11. Tent the hens with aluminum foil to keep warm.
12. Transfer the pan juices and garlic to a medium saucepan and boil until liquids reduce to a saucy consistency, about 10 minutes.
13. To serve, cut hens in half lengthwise and arrange of plate, spooning sauce and garlic overtop. Garnish with rosemary.
14. Great with roasted asparagus, some great crusty bread to soak up the juices, and a good Chianti wine.

Modified from: Allrecipes.com

Blue Cheese Scallion Drop Biscuits

Materials

• 2-1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 T. (3/4 stick or 3 oz.) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes
• 1-1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese
• 4-8 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 c. well-shaken buttermilk*

*make your own using 1 T. vinegar or lemon juice in 1 c. milk, allowed to set 10+ minutes)

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Make buttermilk, if required*.
3. Whisk together four, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
4. Blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles a coarse meal.
5. Stir in blue cheese and scallions.
6. Add buttermilk, and stir in until just combined (will be sticky still).
7. Drop dough into 12 equal mounds about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet, or one lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake in middle of oven until golden brown, 16 to 20 minutes.

Make-ahead option

Biscuits are always best the day they are baked. However, you can freeze them ahead by dropping them onto a baking dish, freezing until they are firm, and placing them into a freezer bag or container until ready to bake. Bake right from frozen, but add a few minutes to the baking time.

Notes

Had these for breakfast before Dave's somerville open studios. Paired them with scrambled eggs with dill cut from our new herb garden. Lovely. Would also be great with soup and salad for dinner.

Source

smittenkitchen.com, originally from Gourmet magazine

Lamb Sausage Rolls with Orange and Fennell (Sausage & Pastry? Yes please)

Materials

• 1 lb. ground lamb
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. fresh bread crumbs
• 1 shallot, minced (or 1/4 cup onion)
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 T. chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tsp. crushed fennel seeds (use a coffee grinder!)
• grated zest of an orange
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• salt & pepper
• 1 pkg (450 g) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• beaten egg, for brushing tops

Methods

1. In a large bowl, mix the lamb, egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, parsley, fennel seeds, orange zest, coriander, salt and pepper; set aside.
2. Divide pastry in half. On a lightly florued surface, roll out each half into a 10" square; cut each into 2 equal strips.
3. Spoon the filling down the center of each strip, right to the edges. Fold pastry over filling and press the edge to seal.
4. Cut each roll into 3 smaller rolls ~2-3" long.
5. Arrange rolls, seam side down, on a rimmed coffee sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and chill for about half an hour.
6. Preheat oven to 400F.
7. Brush the tops of the rolls with a little beaten egg.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Make-ahead option

After rolling out and cutting the rolls (step 4), you can layer the rolls between waxed paper in an airtight container and freeze up to 2 months.

Notes

Used some wonderful ground lamb from a local farm that we picked up at a "meat meet" (i.e. some folks with a cooler in a parking lot)

Source

Dinner with Julie, adapted from Canadian Living

Ham & Bean Soup (Great for leftover ham)

Materials:

• 1 lb. dry great Northern Beans
• 4 c. low fat, low sodium chicken stock
• 4 c. water
• 1 ham hock
• 1 c. chopped carrots
• 1/2 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 c. chopped onion
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 c. chopped ham
• 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper

Methods:

1. Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discarded ones.
2. In a large pot over high heat, bring water and chicken stock to a boil.
3. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let the beans sit in the hot water and stock at least 60 minutes.
4. After the 60+ minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mustard powder and bay leaves in the pot.
5. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 60 more minutes or until beans are done (tender).
6. Remove ham bone and discard.
7. Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 minutes or more longer.
8. Season with ground white pepper to taste.
9. Great served with a rosemary sourdough loaf.

Notes:

Be warned - this is heavy soup!

Fruity Garlic Curry Chicken with Coconut Rice (thanks to my little sis)

Materials

Curry:

1 Tbsp. oil

2 lbs. chicken meat, chopped

4 Tbsp. flour, seasoned

32 baby onions, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed with a little olive oil

3 cooking apples, diced (granny smith works)

1 pineapple, diced

3/4 c. golden raisins

1 Tbsp. honey

1-1/4 c. chicken stock

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbsp. hot curry paste

2/3 c. sour cream

salt and pepper

orange slices, to garnish

Coconut Rice:

1 oz. chopped creamed coconut*

I can coconut milk*

1 cinnamon stick

2-1/4 c. water (total volume, use coconut milk and use remaining volume in water)*

1-3/4 c. basmati rice

* for creamed coconut, take a can of coconut milk that has rested, and carefully remove the lid without mixing. The cream at the top is the creamed coconut.

Methods

Curry:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Coat the meat in the seasoned flour and cook for about 4 minutes, until it is browned all over. Transfer the chicken to a large deep casserole nad keep warm until required.
2. Fry the onions, garlic, apples, pineapple, and golden raisins in the pan juices over low heat.
3. Add the honey, chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, and hot curry paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Pour the sauce over the chicken and cover the casserole with a lid or cooking foil.
5. Cook in the center of a preheated oven at 350oF for about 2 hours. Stir in the sour cream and cook for a further 15 minutes. Serve the curry at once with rice, garnished with a slive of orange.

Coconut rice:

1. Place creamed coconut, cinnamon stick, water and coconut milk in a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Stir in rice, cover and simmer gently for 15minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
3. Remove and discard the cinnamon stick before serving.

Source: What's cooking chicken, Tom Bridge