Spicy Coconut Grilled Chicken Thighs

This is another incredible and full-flavored grilled meat dish. I used the marinade on boneless, skinless chicken thighs but it would also be wonderful with shrimp or flank or skirt steak according to the original recipe. I love that the residual marinade is cooked down into a sauce for serving.

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Molly Baz. I marinated ten chicken thighs but would add up to five more next time. I also used a mixture of harissa and sambal oelek for heat. Fabulous.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

• 1 3-inch piece fresh ginger
• 5 large garlic cloves
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup hot chili paste (such as sambal oelek and/or harissa)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp Morton kosher salt
• 2 T vegetable oil, plus more for grill
• 2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs (use 10 to 15 thighs)
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves with tender stems
• lime wedges, for serving

1. Prepare a grill for medium heat.
2. Finely grate ginger and garlic into a medium bowl.
3. Add coconut milk, chili paste, lime juice, brown sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil and whisk to combine.
4. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let sit at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.
5. Remove chicken from marinade, letting excess drip back into bowl, and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.
6. Pour marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 2–3 minutes.
7. Clean and generously oil grate of grill (if there are a few flare-ups while you do so, not to worry, they will burn off).
8. Grill chicken, turning once and basting occasionally with marinade, until you see some good grill marks and chicken is cooked through, 8–10 minutes.
9. Transfer chicken to a platter. Brush with remaining marinade. Top with cilantro and serve with lime wedges alongside.

Spicy-Sweet Sambal Pork Noodles

This tasty and quick dish is listed as one of Bon Appétit’s Most Popular Recipes of 2019. It’s a great list! 🙂 The dish is inspired by pad kee mao, known as drunken noodles.

I used fresh noodles from an Asian grocery that were the most similar to fresh ramen noodles. This dish was adapted from Bon Appétit, contributed by Chris Morocco. I modified the proportions and method. Great.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8

• 2.5 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 1/2 lbs ground pork, divided
• 1 2 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into thin matchsticks or finely chopped
• 10 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 1/2 T granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 T tomato paste
• 2 sprigs basil, plus more for serving
• 6 T hot chili paste (I used sambal oelek)
• 5 T soy sauce
• 5 T unseasoned rice vinegar
• 2 lbs fresh ramen noodles or 16 to 20oz dried spaghetti
• Kosher salt
• 2 1/2 T unsalted butter

1. Heat oil in a large wide heavy pot over medium-high. (I used a large enameled cast iron Dutch oven.)
2. Add half of pork to pot, breaking apart into 6–8 large chunks with a wooden spoon. Cook, undisturbed, until well browned underneath, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until pork is browned on 2–3 sides, about 5 minutes longer.
3. Add ginger, garlic, sugar, and remaining pork to pot and cook, breaking up pork into small clumps, until meat is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes longer.
4. Add tomato paste and 2 basil sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until paste darkens, about 2 minutes.
5. Add chili paste, soy sauce, vinegar, and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened and flavors have melded, 30–45 minutes.
6. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute short of al dente. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water. (I cooked 1 pound of noodles at a time for 1 minute each, removing the first batch with a bamboo strainer.)
7. Add to cooked noodles to the pot with sauce along with butter and a splash of pasta cooking liquid. Simmer, tossing occasionally, until sauce begins to cling to noodles, about 1 minute. Pluck out basil sprigs.
8. Adjust consistency with additional pasta water, as desired.
9. Divide noodles among plates. Top with torn basil.

Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Spicy Cilantro Sauce

I have a lot of kitchen gadgets- a LOT- but until recently, I didn’t have a good pair of kitchen shears. I was thrilled to be able to halve this chicken with my new shears. Just like all of the chefs on television. 😉

This recipe was adapted from The New York Times, contributed by Melissa Clark. I used ancho chile powder instead of pasilla chile powder, used dried aji amarillo powder instead of paste, increased the amount of garlic in the marinade, and lowered the roasting temperature.

I incorporated my CSA cilantro into the incredible creamy green sauce. I served the chicken on a bed of sautéed CSA leeks and greens (collard and turnip) with roasted CSA potatoes on the side. It was a celebration of my vegetable share. 🙂 Spectacular.

Yield: 4 servings

For the Chicken:

• 10 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste or another chile paste such as sriracha or sambal
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (from 1/2 of a lime)
• 1 teaspoon aji panca paste or 1 teaspoon pasilla or ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 (3 1/2- to 4 1/2-pound) chicken, halved (see Note) or 4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts
• extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

For the Sauce:

• 1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 3 to 4 jalapeños, seeded and diced
• ¼ cup/1 ounce crumbled feta cheese (I used sheep’s milk feta)
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice, more to taste
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or basil
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, more to taste
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• ½ tablespoon aji amarillo or other chile paste (I used aji amarillo powder)
• ½ teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• lime wedges, for garnish

1. For the marinade: In a large bowl, whisk together garlic, soy sauce, aji amarillo paste, lime juice, aji panca paste, mustard, cumin, pepper and salt.
2. Add chicken halves, turning to coat them all over with marinade. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 12 hours. (I marinated the chicken for 10 hours.)
3. Heat the oven to 425 degrees, preferably on convection roast. Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Arrange skin-side up on a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil.
4. Roast until skin is golden and chicken is cooked through, tenting with foil after 30 minutes, for 35 to 45 minutes (if using chicken parts, remove the breasts after 25 to 35 minutes), or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees. Remove from oven and let sit, loosely covered with foil, for 10 minutes before serving.
5. While chicken is roasting, make the sauce. In a blender, blend cilantro, jalapeños, feta, garlic, lime juice, oregano, salt, mustard, aji amarillo paste, honey, and cumin until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in oil until mixture is emulsified. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt or lime juice or both.
6. Carve the chicken and serve with the sauce and lime wedges on the side.

Note: To cut a chicken in half, use a sturdy pair of poultry shears to cut lengthwise through the breastbone. Turn over and cut again, along the backbone. If desired, cut along the other side of the backbone and remove it.

One Year Ago:

• Turkish-Spiced Halibut Skewers with Yogurt Sauce
• Salmon with Salsa Fresca

Two Years Ago:

• Scallops & Polenta

Three Years Ago:

• Indian-Spiced Chicken

Four Years Ago:

• Black Bean & Roasted Poblano Tacos
• Corn Tortillas
• Chili-Lime Pork Tenderloin with Corn Salad

Roasted Squash with Cherry Tomatoes & Eggs

Similar to my last post, this is another lovely breakfast, lunch, or dinner dish. A nice vegetarian meal! I (almost) always make roasted acorn squash with maple syrup, so this was also a nice change of pace. The chile paste made it amazing.

This recipe was adapted from Martha Stewart Living. I used my CSA acorn squash and festival sweet dumpling squash and added roasted potatoes. We ate it for dinner with a green salad on the side.

I’m sharing this dish at Angie’s Fiesta Friday #139, co-hosted by Antonia @ Zoale and Sandhya @ Indfused. Enjoy!

• 2 small acorn squashes (up to 1 1/2 pounds each)
• 2-3 T extra-virgin olive oil
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, plus 6 sprigs
• 2 cups (12 oz) mixed cherry tomatoes
• 2 tsp sambal oelek (or other chile paste), plus more for serving
• 4 large eggs
• 1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved crosswise

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees, preferably set to convection roast, with racks in the center, upper, and lower thirds of the oven.
2. Line 3 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. Toss potatoes with olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Rub squashes all over with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Prick inside surface all over with a fork. Season with salt and thyme leaves.
5. Place squash cut side down over thyme sprigs on a prepared baking sheet. Place on upper rack of oven and roast for 10 minutes.
6. Along with the squash, add potatoes to oven on the lower rack. Roast for 10 minutes as well.
7. Meanwhile, toss the tomatoes in the remaining tablespoon of oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread on the third baking sheet in a single layer.
8. After the initial 10 minutes of roasting is complete, add the tomatoes to the oven on the center oven rack and roast about 20 to 25 minutes more, or until tomatoes are beginning to collapse. The squash should be tender and the cut surface of the potatoes lightly brown.
9. Remove tomatoes and potatoes from the oven. Set aside, in a warming drawer, if possible.
10. Turn the squashes cut side up and roast 5 minutes more.
11. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon chile paste into each hollow, then crack an egg into each. Season with salt.
12. Return to oven and bake until whites are set but still a bit wobbly and yolks are soft, about 10 minutes.
13. Let stand for 3 minutes. Then, serve garnished with roasted tomatoes, more chile paste, salt and pepper with roasted potatoes on the side.

One Year Ago:

• Lobster & Corn Chowder
• Clams Casino #2

Two Years Ago:

• Baked Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes & Feta

Three Years Ago:

• Eggplant & Wild Mushroom “Meatballs” in Tomato Sauce
• Cornmeal Summer Berry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Slow Cooker Barbecued Pulled Pork

I try different recipes for pulled pork all of the time.  This one is really EASY and great.  I love that it is made in a slow cooker!  I used Sriracha hot sauce instead of sambal oelek.  This recipe is from Food and Wine.

• 2 small onion, finely chopped in a food processor
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons sambal oelek or other Asian chile sauce such as Sriracha
• 4 1/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 4 pieces (or up to 5 pounds of Boneless Pork Shoulder Country Style Ribs)
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Season the pork with salt and pepper and place in a slow cooker.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the onion with the ketchup, brown sugar, cider vinegar, molasses, mustard and hot sauce. Cover the pork with the ketchup mixture.
3. Cook on high until the pork is very tender, about 6 hours. Transfer the pork to a work surface and, using 2 forks, shred the meat.
4. Pour the sauce into a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over high heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. Stir the shredded pork into the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Make Ahead: The pulled pork can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. It may be best to store the meat and sauce separately and combine prior to serving.