Turmeric and Coriander Roast Chicken

Posted on May 24, 2018 by melsmosaic

The May 2018 issue of Food & Wine featured Restaurants of the Year and provided some of their recipes. One of them that I recently checked out/made was Maydan’s Turmeric and Coriander Roast Chicken.

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I just used 1 cup of olive, didn’t feel like buying the grapeseed)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup garlic cloves (about 10 cloves)
1/4 cup coriander seeds (used already ground)
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1 (3- to 4-pound) whole chicken
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt

Directions

Step 1

Place extra-virgin olive oil, grapeseed oil, garlic, coriander seeds, and turmeric in a blender. Process on high speed until smooth, about 35 seconds. — hello orange turmeric!

Step 2

Place chicken, breast side down, on a cutting board. Using poultry shears, cut along both sides of backbone; discard backbone. Turn chicken breast side up, and press down on breastbone to flatten chicken. Season both sides with salt. Place chicken in a large roasting pan, and rub all over with marinade. Cover and chill at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours or overnight. — I ended up doing mine overnight.

Step 3

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high (about 450°F) on one side, or push hot coals to one side of a charcoal grill. Gently blot chicken with paper towels to remove excess marinade. Place chicken, breast side up, on oiled grates over unlit side of grill. Grill, covered, over indirect heat until chicken is well browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest portion of chicken registers 160°F, about 20 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a carving board, and let rest 15 minutes before carving.

While cooking I ended up putting this closer to direct vs indirect heat because it was taking quite awhile to cook. The meat was nice and tender and the flavor was great. The overnight marinating definitely helped with that. When ‘carving’ I sort of tore it apart, make it into chunks, pulled chicken-like pieces, and more. I prefer using my hands when possible. It was so tender that it was simple to do it that way. So a nice easy dish with lots of flavor. Great for the summer!

Tuna Steaks, Ginger and Broccollini…oh yeah!

Posted on September 30, 2015 by melsmosaic

Dinner time, new recipe, bring it on. Found something with some Asian flair that had to be tested recently.

Pan-Seared Tuna Steaks with Ginger Vinaigrette, from Food & Wine

Ingredients

5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
5 tablespoons sake
2 1/2 tablespoons mirin
3 tablespoons minced shallot
1/2 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 bunch of Broccolini, trimmed
Two 1-inch-thick yellowfin tuna steaks (grabbed frozen Ahi from Trader Joe’s)
2 teaspoons toasted white sesame seeds
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

In a small saucepan, simmer the soy sauce, sake, mirin and shallot until the liquid is slightly reduced, 3 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in the ginger. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of the oil. Season with salt and pepper.
In a steamer basket set in  a large saucepan of simmering water, steam the Broccolini until tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to plates.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season the tuna with salt and pepper. Sear over high heat until golden brown but still rare within, about 30 seconds per side. — Ok, I actually had a BBQ to use to I did this thing called grill the tuna. Short, sweet, to the point. Delicious!

Transfer to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. (So didn’t have to do this part).

Slice against the grain and transfer to the plates. Drizzle with some of the vinaigrette and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.

Serve with lemon wedges and the remaining vinaigrette.

To be honest, I almost forgot the brocollini because there was so much going on in the kitchen and I don’t serve stuff just like the recipe, but then I realized something was missing. This was a great combo of flavors, and I often forget about brocollini. Was pretty quick to make, too. So, give it a try if you’re looking for something new.

Kangaroo Burgers

Posted on December 24, 2014 by melsmosaic

Am finding more good new stuff to try. In this great local store called Sprouts, while walking through the meat department I noticed some kangaroo (easy way to get to Australia, right?), distributed by Durham Ranch.

After trying warthog and ostrich earlier this year in South Africa, I had to consider this. I picked up the package to inspect. Very lean so decided to give it a try.

Looked up some recipes that evening and most said just to add some spices, an egg and breadcrumbs. Did that and the patties are cooked rare-medium rare. With all said and done, very good! Very unique, mild flavor. Tough to give it an exact description for taste because it doesn’t taste like anything else. You can tell it’s wild game, but it doesn’t come across ‘gamey.’ I definitely recommend picking some of this up if you enjoy trying new food!

Hot Temps Mean Refreshing Dinners

Posted on July 16, 2013 by melsmosaic

Washington, DC (All Summer) — It’s mid-July, I’m in the DC-area. What does that mean? HOT temps. And, it’s only going to get worse. This Thursday is going to be high 90s without factoring in the humidity. So, easy-to-make, refreshing dinners are the best way to go.

My brother told me about an Alton Brown Grilled Mahi Ceviche recipe that was top-notch, and it sounded great. Since it’s grilled you don’t have to remember to throw the fish in the lemon and/or lime juice many, many hours ahead of time. Just two and then you throw it on the grill. Decided to pair that with some easy oil-based coleslaw, chips, salsa and guacamole.

For the Mahi, you just put some basic ingredients together and let them sit for a couple hours. I bought the Mahi chunks from Trader Joe’s because they were half the price of the steaks!

After a couple hours, pat the fish dry and throw it on the grill.

You keep the ‘marinade’ from the fish, heat in on the stove, and eventually use it again on the fish.

For the ‘slaw, I grabbed a great bag of broccoli slaw mix from Trader Joe’s — super easy! No cutting or chopping required for the base. I did chop some cilantro and garlic and for the dressing, just did a quick vinaigrette of:

-lemon juice

-lime juice

-cumin

-coriander

-olive oil

-hint of chili powder

-S&P

Next step was prepping the pre-made guacamole (because the avocado would have required electrical equipment to mash). I always add some spice to the packaged stuff:

Now, it’s dinner time!!!! Mahi, coleslaw, tortilla chips, salsa, guac, red wine. All to wrap up a great weekend.

As I enjoyed this dinner, I kept thinking the guac was off. Well, I was house sitting and used what appeared to be salt for the guac. Yes, I was right when it tasted sweet the first time and added some more of the fine crystals. It finally occurred to me to taste the stuff. Oh, I was adding sugar not salt. Note: Sweet guacamole IS NOT good.