Kebabs!...

I made some chicken kebabs, this evening, in the rotisserie (too chilly to want to use the bbq). I had seen a recipe in an Indian cookbook for a very simple chicken kebab with honey, lemon, garlic, ginger, chile and a bit of soy sauce. Being me...by the time I went in the kitchen to cut up and marinate some chicken, it began to morph. We ended up with more of a Central Asian kebab that came out tender and moist, sweet and spicy. There's still a little tweaking needed, and I'd love to cook them over hardwood charcoal, but here's the basic idea right now...

SWEET-HOT SILK ROAD CHICKEN KEBABS

4 boneless, skinless half-breasts of chicken, cut into about 8 cubes each

1-1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root

1-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon crushed Sichuan chile, or to taste

1 tablespoon Silk Road spice mix (my adaptation of the Xinjiang spice mix bouncing around the Internet)

2 tablespoons peanut, sesame and/or vegetable oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce

2 tablespoons black rice vinegar (Gold Plum Brand Chinkiang is a good choice)

1 cup honey or agave syrup

Mix together the ginger, garlic, Sichuan chile, Silk Road spice mix, oil, soy sauce and vinegar. Put the chicken in a bowl, dump the marinade over and toss well. Set aside in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours, or as long as overnight.

When ready to cook, thread the chicken pieces onto skewers...not to close together, leave space between the pieces...and cook either on the grill or in the rotisserie for the recommended time.

Approximately 10 minutes before finishing, begin brushing the chicken pieces with the honey, working to build up a good glaze on the chicken.

Let sit a couple of minutes before serving. We served 'em with rice and coleslaw.

Dinner Last Night...

Gina made chicken and dumplings last night, of which I am a big fan. There's a healthy dose of white wine and herbs in her broth and it is so flavorful, plenty of chicken and veggies (onions, celery, carrots), and big, substantial dumplings...which are my favorite. I make chicken and dumplings sometimes, and make very light dumplings...which are what she prefers...lol. Funny how that works.

A Week for Carnivores...

We don't normally eat tons of meat, but we started this week off with Gina cooking a pot roast with oven-roasted root vegetables, gravy and homemade bread, all of which was yummy. I had this 8-lb. pork roast in the fridge...it was unthawed and needed to be used...so I oven-roasted it Tuesday, coated with an Italian mix of seasonings - lots of garlic, herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram), black pepper, lemon zest, coriander and fennel, mixed with extra-virgin olive oil - 'til it formed this delightfully savory crust. Finally, on Wednesday, we had a dear friend over and I made a pile of chicken-fried steaks, mashed potatoes, and garlicky green beans, which we topped with Monday's leftover gravy. Yesterday morning, breakfast was machaca - scrambled eggs, shredded beef, onions and peppers, with cheese and salsa, all rolled up in flour tortillas...

Its Good Stew Weather...

I've eaten a few bowls of our Vegetable Stew latey. I originally came up with the recipe. This last batch was made by my wife, Gina. Now maybe it was just that I didn't have to cook it, but I liked hers better than my own...it seemed subtly different. The weather has been gray and rainy of late. Today, the rain has been steady, and harder than the usual PNW drizzle. A good time for a bowl of something warm and filling. I'm going to make my own interpretation of Hopkins County Chicken Stew: a big pot of chicken, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and corn, seasoned with chili powder. So that the chicken meat doesn't dry it from all that simmering, I'm going to coat it with chili powder and cook it in the rotisserie, chop it, then add it at the least moment. I'll just use some good strong chicken stock to encourage the chickeny flavor. The potatoes are from the garden. The tomatoes are crushed, and some of the corn is in the form of creamed corn. Its supposed to be a perennial hit in East Texas. We'll top it with grated sharp cheddar cheese. Gina and our son have been making a lot of homemade bread lately. Tonight I'll make skillet cornbread. We like the first recipe in Crescent Dragonwagon's The Cornbread Gospels. Iced tea is a must. I really should throw together something in the way of a dessert, too. Hmmm...maybe some peach cobbler. Yeah...