Not really red chicken curry

I am an avid collector of cookbooks.  I have well over 150 of them, but I have cooked out of most of them and one of my goals is to go back through them and cook more things out of each of them.  Sometimes they just get a random recipe or two made from them.  Sometimes, I really find a lot of recipes to love in them and I want to make many so cook from it for some time.  I was never all that interested in Jamie Oliver's cookbooks until a friend of mine sent me two of them for my wedding.  I sat down with one of them and read it nearly cover to cover.  These are the cookbooks that I remember what is in them and come back to them frequently.  The other one is where is recipe is based off of - Meals in Minutes.

One thing I like about this cookbook is that is doesn't give you just one recipe at a time, but three to five so you can coordinate a whole meal during one time and don't have to think about what to do next as it is all integrated.  I don't think any of my other cookbooks are like this.  Sometimes I still pick and choose, though I don't think I have ever made all the things from one of the recipes either as it is a lot of food.

This recipe is titled Thai Red Curry, but there is not any curry in the recipe hence my name no really red curry.  Curries generally have turmeric in them in addition to a lot of other spices.  This recipe has the lots of other spices hence the name curry, but it does not have turmeric.   The blend is delicious, and I encourage you to try it out.

Thai Red Curry Chicken
2 lemongrass stalks (or 1 -2 tablespoons lemongrass powder)
1 fresh serrano chile, seeds removed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
cilantro
2 roasted red peppers (I bought a jar and used the equivalent)
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon fish sauce (buy a good quality one)
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 inch piece of ginger (peeled)
1 pound of chicken, cut into 1 1/2 inch sized pieces
about a handful sugar snap peas
5-6 stalks of asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 can (14oz.) coconut milk
olive oil
salt
pepper
2 limes for serving, cut into wedges
Serve with rice (cook while making the sauce)

In a food processor blend together the chile, lemongrass powder (or stalks), garlic cloves, the bunch of cilantro, roasted red peppers, tomato paste, fish sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger.  Mix until like a pate.  Put a frying pan over medium heat.   Add a few tablespoon olive oil and heat until shinny.  Season chicken with salt and pepper and fry over medium heat just until it is no longer pink.  Add 1 -2 tablespoons of the paste you just made.  Remove to a bowl and set aside.  Add more oil to the pan and add the asparagus and sugar snap peas.  Cook just for a minute and then add the rest of the spice mixture to the pan.  Cook for an additional minute and then add the coconut milk.  Once incorporated, turn the heat to medium low and simmer.   Add the chicken back to the pan and simmer until heated throughout.  Season as needed.  Serve over rice and with the lime wedges.

Tortellini Salad

I am always trying to find more ways to get my husband to eat more vegetables.  It isn't that he doesn't like them, but it is easier to eat crackers or just a hamburger without any sides than to go to the troubles of adding vegetables to the mix.  I was reading through super natural every day by Heidi Swanson.  (Her 101cookbooks blog is excellent.)  I tried to pick out a couple of recipes which I could try out and even have my husband request again.  This recipe for Tortellini Salad was one of the recipes I made, and which he requested to eat again.  Fortunately, both broccoli and asparagus were fresh in the grocery store and so I happily got both.  I had been thinking about what to do with them both when I read this recipe again which contained both of the chosen ingredients.

This is a super simple recipe to prepare, and particularly when I am being a little lazy or don't have much time during the week.  I even went through some of the steps with my husband as I am always trying to find recipes which he will take up cooking so I can continue to experiment with more.

Tortellini Salad: adapted from super natural every day
about 16 oz fresh tortellini filled with cheese
12 thin asparagus spears (cut into 1.5-2 inch pieces)
1 small crown of broccoli (more if you really like broccoli)
1-2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoon lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)
1/4 cup good quality olive oil

fresh parsley (equivalent to about 1/4-1/2 cup finely chopped)
1/3 cup pine nuts - roasted
1 medium avocado

Method:
Bring a pot of salted water to boil and cook tortellini according to package directions.  About a minute before the tortellini is done, add the broccoli and asparagus to quick cook them.  Drain everything and place under cold water to stop the cooking.  Make the dressing: press the garlic and mix with a little salt,  add lemon juice and olive oil.  Whisk together.

When ready to serve, toss the tortellini, broccoli, asparagus, and parsley with the dressing.  Add the pine nuts and avocado.  Toss gently to mix ingredients.

Serves: about 4

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Light lunch in winter - Swordfish with lemon butter sauce

Canal House Cooking has amazing recipes and great cookbooks.  I highly recommend their cookbooks to anyone who likes to cook.  Many of the recipes are things they say they eat with their families, which to me means that they are fairly easy and not very time-consuming to prepare.  I altered this recipe as they serve the sauce over salmon, but when we went to buy fish the swordfish drew us in and that became the fish of choice for us.

Keep in mind too that Canal House's cookbooks are based on seasonal fare and this particular cookbook (volume number 4) came out last summer.  I was looking for something lighter for lunch, but we were also lucky as the asparagus was looking really good this week and worked very well with the lemon-butter sauce.

Swordfish with Lemon-Butter Sauce

For the Lemon-Butter Sauce:

2 large egg yolks

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) cold Irish butter, cut into 8 pieces

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Salt

For the fish:

Salt

1 1/2 pounds swordfish (or whatever kind you want), cut into four pieces

Fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

Fresh chives, minced

Whisk together the egg yolks and 1 tablespoon water in a medium saucepan.  Cook over low heat, whisking continuously so the yolk won't scramble.  Add the butter one tablespoon at a time before adding the next one.  If the sauce separates, remove it from heat and add the next tablespoon of butter and it should come back together.  Once all the butter has been incorporated, remove from heat and whisk in the lemon juice.  Season with salt.  Keep the sauce warm by setting the pan in a larger pan of hot water.

Fill another pan with salted water, add the fish and simmer over medium heat until the fish is just cooked, about 20 minutes (depending on the fish).  Transfer to individual plates.  Spoon the lemon butter sauce over the fish and serve garnished with tarragon and chives.

Serves 4