Halal Style Chicken and Rice

As a new New Yorker, I was unaware of the phenomenon that was the halal cart on practically every street corner in Manhattan until moving here a few months ago.  So tonight's dinner is inspired by the chicken and rice you can buy off the street for $5 a pop, 24/7, with that oh-so-divine yet oh-so-mysterious "white sauce".

To construct my "knockoff chicken and rice" I created a lettuce base, topped with saffron infused rice mixed with cilantro, and finished with my chicken and veggies.  But let's not forget the white sauce garnish.  We had "dined" at one of the halal carts a few nights earlier, so we had leftover white sauce in a to-go container perfect for adding to our own meals throughout the week. 

For this version I used romaine lettuce.  (Here's an unnecessary picture of the pre-assembled lettuce on the plate.)

 

I prepared the yellow saffron rice according to package directions but added in about 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro toward the end of the cooking.

For the chicken, I chopped some yellow onion, mushrooms, scallions, garlic, and chicken breasts.  Add a little olive oil to a skillet, saute the onion, garlic, and mushrooms until softened.  Throw in your chicken.  Now at this point I added my spices: cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, and ground black pepper. 

I went for cooking over a dry heat with dry spices to mimic the fresh-off-the grill aspect of the halal carts.  I threw the scallions in toward the end to cook a little.  But ultimately, the chicken and veggies were quite darkened and had a nice kick to them. 

I scooped my rice on top of the lovely bed of lettuce showcased above.  Then came the chicken/veggies.  And finally what street food meal is complete with the sauce?  A little googling yieldss mixed theories as to the contents of this sauce.  Some say mayo/vinegar.  Some say cucumber/yogurt.  Our version of the sauce had many black specks in it (and no cucumber to be found), and the taste was reminiscent of ranch dressing.  So use whatever sauces/dressings you like.  The lettuce lets you pretend you're having a salad, while the rice reminds you that you're having a heartier meal. 

Fish Tacos

Typically made with fried fish, this grilled fish variety makes for a lighter version of a delicious mexican inspired taco that always makes me think of San Diego.  We had some tilapia in the freezer and what better way to utilize it than with some cilantro, lime juice, and avocado?

You can marinade your fish with whatever you like, but I opted for my standard ziploc bag filled with diced white onion, chopped cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Throw your fish in, put in the fridge and let it sit for 30 minutes to several hours.  

Next, prepare your grill.  If you aren't using a grill, go for a grill pan.  If you are lacking a grill pan, a flat skillet works well too (what I used in this case).  Add a little oil to the skillet and throw on your tortillas.  We opted for small corn tortillas, since these are soft tacos, but if you want flour or crunchy taco shells, by all means, do your thing, but I highly endorse soft tortillas for this meal.

While these are grilling I made a lime mayonnaise with 1 cup mayo, 1 tsp milk, 3 tbsp lime juice, and a dash of the fresh cilantro.  Remove your heated tortillas from the grill/skillet and coat with your desired amount of lime mayo. 

Next, grill your fish on the same pan, with a little excess marinade still suck to the fish.  I'm not really a fan of patting dry, because I don't want to lose the extra flavor.

Since tilapia is a very thin white fish, it will cook rather quickly.  Turn after a couple minutes on one side, and once done, you can break it into smaller pieces to fill your tacos.  I arranged the sliced lettuce on the bottom of the tortilla, topped with the fish, added some fresh avocado, drizzled with about a tbsp of the leftover marinade from the baggy, and topped with a little bit more of the lime mayo. 

Simple, delicious finger food that makes for a good lunch or dinner.

Rice and Beans

This was one of those "what can I throw together with existing ingredients, but that is very dense because I'm very hungry" meals.  Lacking tortillas, I figured I could make what I would normally put in a burrito, but eat it like a stew-y mush.

Rice and beans.  A good starting point.  I only had brown basmati rice, though, so we'll call this a bit of a fusion dish.  Basically I cooked the rice according to the directions.  In a separate skillet I heated a little olive oil to cook the garlic and onions.  Then I added a can of black beans, which I partially drained.  As the beans cooked, the liquid diminished, so I thought I'd maybe treat this like a black bean soup, and I added some chicken broth, which too cooked off eventually.  I added the sliced chicken to basically poach in the liquid, and once no longer pink I added the rice.  I now had a soupy mixture, so I added the juice of 1/2 a lime and cooked until the liquid was reduced completely (only about five minutes or so).  To finish it off I added a bunch of fresh cilantro and scallions, poured it in a bowl, and melted some cheese on top.  It definitely did the trick and filled me up.

Spiced Shrimp with Avocado Corn Salsa

My friend hosted a dinner party last weekend and I volunteered to bring an appetizer.  The entree was turkey chili, so I wanted something that could compliment that and provide a little something different.  Now I'm embarrassed to say I did not take a picture of my finished product (mostly because it was in her kitchen surrounded by people I just met and I didn't feel the need to whip out my camera to document a bowl of shrimp).  So here's a stock photo from the internet, but if you look below you can see the blurry image of my bowl of salsa with shrimp dangling around the rim!

Look at that lovely bowl of appetizer holding it's own amidst a sea of lavish tableware.  Ok, enough about my lack of photography, here's how you make it.

Take your raw, peeled, deveined, butterflied jumbo shrimp and put them in your dry rub with a little olive oil and garlic.  I used cayenne pepper, paprika, ground coriander, dried oregano, cumin, pepper, diced garlic, extra-virgin olive oil.  Toss the shrimp to coat and place in the fridge until ready to grill (at least 30 minutes). 

Next prepare the salsa.  Dice your red onion and tomato first.  Then add your corn and chopped scallion.  I added the avocado, cilantro, and lime juice last, so as to avoid browning of the avocado.  Again, toss to coat and store in the fridge until ready to serve.  

I brought the uncooked shrimp and salsa to the dinner party and grilled the shrimp on the stove there.  You don't really need to oil the skillet since there's oil in the shrimp marinade.  Using tongs and a grill pan, cook about 2-3 minutes on each side until the shrimp is cooked through.  Arrange shrimp surrounding the salsa.  Rather than scoop the salsa with the shrimp and eat with your fingers, I recommend a fork.  The spiciness of the shrimp coupled with the cool and citrusy salsa make for a perfect pairing, and also go nicely before a hearty turkey chili. 

Cilantro Chicken over Saffron Rice

I have dubbed this meal "Chicken Irene" in honor of last night's impending hurricane while the meal was being consumed.  Luckily there was no damage and my 6 gallons of bottled water did not need to be utilized.

So this is pretty simple.  Prepare saffron rice according to package instructions.  The package looks like this:

I then chopped 1/4 of an onion, about 10 mushrooms, 2 cloves of garlic, 2 large chicken breasts, and 1/2 cup cilantro.  Add some butter to a saute pan and cook the garlic, onion, and mushrooms first.  Once softened add your sliced chicken.  Cook until no longer pink and add a pinch of the cilantro, salt, and pepper, to the pot.

I added about 1/2 of the remaining cilantro to the fully cooked rice and mixed.  Plate the rice, then top with the chicken mixture, and garnish with the remaining chopped cilantro.  I was lacking any sort of sauce for this dish so for a little extra flavor we gave ourselves the option of mixing in hummus.  These portions served 3 people.

Black Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad

This salad fix I seem to be on is getting a little out of hand (yes, 2 salads constitutes a fix).  This one was made for a picnic and was primarily consumed atop chips, like a salsa.  It's one of my go-to picnic dishes because it's quite simple.

Combine 1 can black beans, 2 diced fresh tomatoes, 1 cup corn kernals, 3/4 cup diced red onion, and 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped cilantro.  Now again, I never measure these recipes, so that's approximate.  Add more or less of the items you like. 

For the dressing I add a little cumin and coriander (probably about 1 to 2 tsp worth of each) and fresh lime and lemon juices.  Just enough to coat the salad but without leaving a puddle of juice in the bottom (probably 2 to 4 tbsp total citrus juice).  And that's it!  Toss and serve.

Pro tip - I do find that the juice from the can of beans and the freshly chopped tomatoes can accumulate in a less than desirable fashion.  To deal with that, I poured the beans and chopped tomatoes into a sieve while I cut the onions and cilantro.  I was amazed by how much liquid dripped into the sink, but I find that the extra five to ten minutes I allowed for drainage really improved the overall taste and texture of this salad later.

Quinoa Salad with Shrimp

What?  Salad for dinner again? Yeah, don't worry, I'm not turning healthy, as evidenced by the bacon overload.  But the first time I sampled quinoa it was in a salad and I was sold, so rather than serve it as a side dish, I present to you quinoa as the main event.  Perhaps this would make a great lunch salad.

This one is pretty simple.  As you may be able to tell, I was lacking in the lettuce department, so it's heavy on the quinoa, light on the greens.  I cooked the quinoa in chicken broth and threw the raw shrimp and frozen corn kernels into the pot to cook together.  I created a dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper, and cilantro.  To that I added the cooked quinoa, shrimp, and corn and mixed to coat.  I added the lettuce, chopped red onion, herbed goat cheese, and of course the crumbled bacon.  And there you have it.  Add quinoa to any of your favorite salads and you'll get a nice texture addition.  Though you probably want to add a lot less than I did if you're just using it as an accent flavor.  

Cilantro Lime Soy Marinated Beef Strip Stir Fry over Couscous

I had some beef tips in the freezer that I bought for the sake of stir frying at some point.  Not feeling too inspired to do a typical teriyaki beef over white rice, I decided to change it up with some couscous and a marinade with a bit of a bite.  The couscous cooks in five minutes according to package directions, and the stir fry is very quick as well.  Here's what I used.

Marinade - Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Lime Juice, Fresh Cilantro
Veggies - Zucchini, Mushrooms, Onions, Garlic

The glamorous start to this meal is the act of marinating the meat in a plastic bag.  I used about 3 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro. 

While that sits we prepare the veggies.  I heated some olive oil and added the garlic and onions.  Now tell me, would this be a legit stir fry without a wok?  I think not.  

Rather than throwing all the veggies in at once, start with the ones that take the longest to cook/soften and work your way forward.  That means the zucchini was next up.  

Followed by mushrooms. 

And last, but not least, your meat. 

As it cooked I added more cilantro, soy sauce, and lime juice because I'm a huge sauce fan and I wanted some extra to pour over the couscous.  Notice I didn't add more sesame oil because it has a strong flavor and only a little was enough to achieve the effect I was going for.  Cook until your meat reaches your desired doneness, plate your couscous with stir fry on top, and drizzle the extra sauce over.  This was a good marinade and brought a little fusion cooking into my stir fry.

Shrimp Quesadillas with Mango Salsa

This was the featured dinner item at my 4th of July shindig this year.  We spent all day stuffing ourselves with chips, guac, cookies, and a failed attempt at frozen yogurt, so we really weren't all that hungry.  Thus something simple and quick to hold us over before the fireworks.

Sadly, I do not have any more pictures for you.  So imagine if you will, a skillet on medium heat.  Take your flour tortilla and place it in the skillet to warm it on the side that will be holding your fillings.  Remove said tortilla and lightly butter your skillet.  Place the tortilla back in the pan, this time facing the other way so the outside is cooking nicely in the butter.  Having a pre warmed interior means faster cook time, which results in a less burnt exterior.

You can add your cheese almost immediately and watch it melt.  I then added shrimp which I poached in chicken broth, but you can use any pre cooked shrimp you have.  After only a minute or two the cheese should be mostly melted.  You can put a lid over the skillet for 30 seconds or so.  Then fold the tortilla over, heat about another 30 seconds, slide onto a plate, and slice into thirds.

No microwaves or toaster ovens allowed.

The salsa is much more exciting.  Get a fresh mango.  Chop it into small cubes.  Similarly chop some red onion and cilantro.  Put it all togeter with some fresh lime juice and toss to coat.  Proportion to your own tastes.  I had about 1/3 cup red onion, 1 1/2 to 2 cups mango, 1/3 cup cilantro, and maybe a tbsp or 2 of lime juice.

Serve as a garnish with chips, dillas, or any white fish, especially if the fish is blackened or spicy because the mango and lime provide a nice contrast.

Enchiladas

This was my first foray into enchilada making, and I wanted to make everything from scratch, including the enchilada sauce. I never really knew what went into the sauce, but now I'm pretty much an expert.  And yes, they were delicious so I will make these many more times in the future.

The roommate and I made these the other night at midnight.  Perhaps we are insane, but midnight enchiladas are something everyone should try at least once.  And they reheat well too, making for good lunch the next day. 

For the sauce, I basically followed this recipe.  I heated oil in a saucepan, added the flour, then added the chili powder.  I didn't have any chicken stock or broth, so I ended up just using water.  And instead of having ten ounces of tomato paste, I only had six.  But I did have oregano and cumin!  So this is what it looked like:

While the sauce simmered and thickened, it was time to prep the filling.  First we sauteed 1 tbsp garlic with 1 chopped shallot in a little olive oil.  Once nicely softened and lightly browned I added the corn.  

After about a minute to heat through I added a can of diced tomatoes.  I then washed, peeled, and sliced the raw shrimp into halves and added the raw shrimp to the skillet.  After about five minutes the shrimp were pink and the filling was ready.


Now I apologize for the lack of pictures at this point.  It was midnight. I forgot about my camera while my hands were coated in enchilada sauce, but just pretend you can see what I did next.  First coat the bottom of your baking dish with some of the enchilada sauce.


Microwave the tortillas for half a minute to a minute to soften them and prepare them to be rolled.  We in total used five flour tortillas.  Coat the tortillas on both sides with a thin layer of enchilada sauce.  We did this on a plate so as not to make too much of a mess elsewhere.  We then sprinkled fresh monterey jack cheese over the inside of the tortilla.  Next, scoop about 1/2 cup of the filling into the center of a tortilla.  Roll/fold the tortilla to encase the stuffing, and place into the baking dish, seam side down.  Repeat for the rest of your tortillas.  Once your baking dish is full, cover the enchiladas with the remaining enchilada sauce.

Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese generously on top and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.  

A peak inside the enchiladas after coming out of the oven

Sprinkle freshly chopped scallions and cilantro on top of the enchiladas once out of the oven.  When serving, add a dollop of sour cream, or perhaps some guacamole/avocado and enjoy your midnight fiesta!

Salmon with Spinach and Bacon Quinoa

Last night was one of those nights I was convinced I had no food for dinner, until I looked in my freezer and put together this little ensemble.  Half a bag of frozen spinach and some salmon inspired this dish.  I realized I had been neglecting the quinoa in my pantry, so rather than rice or potatoes, that was my side.  But since quinoa is incredibly bland when cooked solo, I made sure to spice it up the best way I know how...with bacon.  I'm typically a fan of poaching salmon, to ensure moistness, but last night I decided to go wild and bake the salmon.  The result? Still juicy and delicious.  Phew.  

For baking the salmon: salt, pepper, coriander, cumin, olive oil

For the quinoa: 1 cup red quinoa and 2 cups water, 1/2 bag frozen spinach, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1 tbsp garlic, 3 slices bacon, 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, fresh chopped cilantro, lime/lemon juice ~ 2 tbsp

Preheat oven to 375.  Cook the quinoa according to package directions.  I often like to cook in broth rather than water, but last night I stuck with water since I was adding so many other flavors later.  

Fresh spinach would obviously be preferable, but if you're using frozen like I was, wilt/thaw it in a saute pan over medium heat with a little water until heated completely.  Set aside in a small mixing bowl and when cooled, drain any excess water.

You can take this time to prepare the salmon for the oven.  Line a baking sheet with foil for easier cleanup.  I then sliced the fish into the serving pieces, coated with salt/pepper and a light sprinkling of the cumin and coriander (use whatever spices you like/have) and drizzled with olive oil.  Put in the oven and cook until your desired doneness.  Mine finished exactly as I finished the quinoa/everything else, probably about 15 minutes. 

 Lastly, chop the bacon and heat in the saute pan you used for the spinach.  Once rendered (cooked to a light crisp), remove bacon to paper towels to drain and add garlic and onion to the bacon grease in the skillet.  About this time my quinoa had absorbed all the water so I threw that in the bowl that was holding the spinach.  When the onions/garlic were sauted nicely, I threw them in the quinoa bowl, with the remaining bacon grease, since I love the flavor and it was only about a tbsp.  Add the parmesan cheese, chopped cilantro, and citrus juices.  Mix it all up so the flavors meld and then add the cooked bacon.  

Plate some quinoa, throw a slice of salmon on top, and enjoy!  You could even mix the salmon in with the quinoa for more of a salmon salad sort of feel, but this way you can take some bites of just salmon, just quinoa, or a bit of both.

Ground Beef Nachos

Dear blogosphere,

I apologize for my lack of dining/cooking at home.  This past week has been full of restaurants and microwave dinners.  I will make it up to you with fabulous home-cooked amazingness.  But that won't be tonight.

Sincerely,
LND Rookie Week

I was tired, but I told myself I had to make something that utilized the stove and at least one vegetable.  So I went for Mexican.  Nachos.  Simple.  You probably don't even need me to tell you how to make these.  Well, I will anyway, because then I can tell you all about the key ingredient: taco seasoning.  Browning ground beef is half the battle, but the taco seasoning takes it across the finish line (yes, I am mixing my metaphors).

Taco seasoning comes in packets near the rice/pasta/soup section.  The package says to brown the beef, drain the fat, add the package, then add a cup of water.  I leave a little fat and add about 1/2 cup of water.  Then I'll add more water if it's too dry.  Last night's taco beef then saw the addition of corn, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro (the first pruning of my new herb garden!).  Spoon the beef mixture over chips, add some shredded cheese, and a dollop of guacamole (sour cream if you're so inclined).  Straight from the cafeteria to your kitchen! (It's not one of my prouder home-cooking moments.)

Tortilla Soup

I apologize for the less than glamorous "dishware", but sometimes it's more important not to dirty extra dishes.

Ingredients: Olive oil, Scallions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, oregano, chicken broth, corn, chicken
Garnishes: tortilla strips, cheese, avocado, fresh cilantro

This is my favorite recipe for tortilla soup.  I made enough soup for dinner and two lunches at work for this week, so the ingredient portions reflect that.  First, chop 6-12 small scallions and saute with 4 - 5 tbsp chopped garlic in a little olive oil.  Once tender, add 2 chopped tomatoes.  Add chicken broth (5-6 cups) and about a cup of chopped cilantro.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 15 min. Add corn and chicken (i sauteed the chicken in oil and finished by poaching in broth before adding to the soup) and serve once heated through.  Garnish with freshly made tortilla strips (tortilla + olive oil in a hot pan), fresh cilantro, avocado, and grated cheese that will melt over the heat of the soup.  Perfect for leftovers when you add fresh garnishes each time.

Skewers and Quinoa

My food discovery of the summer has been quinoa (keen-wah).  I decided to finally brave the world of cooking it for myself and have pretty much used it as a rice replacement.  I realize I prefer the red variety to the white variety, but accidentally purchased a box of white and last night finally finished it.

For last night's dinner, Safeway had a sale on marinated skewers so i figured, why not.  In my humble San Francisco apartment I do not own a barbecue.  I have a grill pan for the stove that works wonders, but is a huge hassle to clean.  So instead I opted for an initial pan-sear followed by 15-20 minutes in a 425 degree oven to achieve the perfect medium rare.  Using the leftover marinade, I sauteed some mushrooms, garlic, and scallions and threw in some cilantro for a kick.  Once the quinoa had been cooked according to the package directions, I tossed in my mushroom marinade saute to give flavor to my new favorite chenopod.  Fun fact: quinoa is not actually considered a grain because it does not actually come from the grass family.  And there you have it, a gussied up store-assembled meal.