I’ve been eating chicken pretty much all week.  This is due to learning the hard way that you have to separate the chicken breasts before you throw them in the freezer…  Tonight was the final one.  Happily.

Jean-Georges’ Curried Sauteed Chicken Chunks with Coconut Milk

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 – 1 inch dice

1 teaspoon curry powder

salt

1 teaspoon minced fresh chili or red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon minced lemongrass

3 tablespoons butter or neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed

1 cup canned unsweetened or fresh coconut milk

2 tablespoons nam-pla (Thai fish sauce)

1 cup salted peanuts or cashews

1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1.  Toss the chicken with the curry powder, salt to taste (I forgot this), chili (I used the red flakes) and lemongrass (I forgot this too – mind is full of Crim Pro)

2. Place the butter (margarine worked too) in a medium skillet, preferably non-stick, and turn the heat to medium high.  When it melts, add the chicken.  (This was quite fun, the smell was lovely, and the chicken turned this great yellow color). Cook the chicken, stirring occasionally, until it loses its raw color,  Add the coconut milk and turn the heat to medium.

3. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until cooked through, then stir in the nam pla and the nuts (is there a way to chop cashews so they don’t fly all over the kitchen?) and cook for another 30 seconds.  I threw in a little more coconut milk here as it had gotten a less saucy than I thought by this stage.  Garnish with the cilantro (I didn’t have any – so used the only other green thing in the fridge – I think its thyme), and serve.

This was super quick to make.  Bonkers quick in fact.  Completely recommend it.  I remember making curry with a pre-made sauce at college for a boyfriend once, and having a slight issue with the rice, something bad happened and I had to carve it to serve it.  Happily, 10 years on, my  cooking skills have improved.  That – or, its impossible to screw up 3 minute-microwave-rice…

Its been a while…  A few trips, and then back into finals and then the holiday party season means I’ve eaten little else but canapes and late night (early morning) Chinese takeout.

This evening it is very snowy in NYC.  One week before Christmas and its time for eggnog.  I pride myself on mine.  First learned from my mother’s Belgian husband, Midnight Mass was always very merry.

I showed up at Lee-Sean’s armed with ingredients, and a stash of holiday music to play – we had a lot of fun making this, except our arms nearly falling off trying to whisk up the egg whites.

Arriving at LS’ apt to make eggnog, doorman v amused at my snowy-ness.

We used this recipe from the Food Network as sadly, I couldn’t remember the quantities for the homemade Belgian version….

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ounces bourbon (we added rum and brandy too – and a bit more than 3 oz….)
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 egg whites

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the 1/3 cup sugar and continue to beat until it is completely dissolved. Add the milk, cream, bourbon and nutmeg and stir to combine.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat to soft peaks. With the mixer still running gradually add the 1 tablespoon of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

Whisk the egg whites into the mixture. Chill and serve.

Hugely successful judging by the fact after three cups we were heartily singing along to Mariah Carey holiday tunes with no shame….  And I realized why my mother’s husband’s eggnog was so good – he used a really decent single malt scotch.  Mmmm.

Happy holidays, I hope you have a relaxing and fun break.

And, no cooking… I went to dinner last night! Fun and inventive Brit food at the Spotted Pig’s new venture: The Breslin (http://www.thebreslin.com). Including deliciously rare lamb-burgers with feta cheese and red onion, which also makes for a yummy lunch the next day.  I  wasn’t quite adventurous enough to try the stuffed pig’s foot…

Butter, as needed (lots – trust me on this one)
1 cup sugar (I used regular white sugar)
1 cup chopped cashews (unsalted best)
4 tbl spoons butter (the more the better)
4 ripe bananas
2 tbl spoon brown sugar
Vanilla ice cream, lightly whipped heavy cream, or creme Anglaise (or Haagen Daz Vanilla Honey Bee ice cream)

Its beginning to be both enjoyable and yet a hard slog at the same time. Just like being a lawyer. This is J-G’s 3rd of 4 banana recipes (look how confident I’m becoming) – I’ve had no real dinner except for some hurriedly snarfed gyoza at 5 pm. Essentially make a caramel sauce – then coat the cashews, then add to the oven-warmed ‘nanas.

1) Use the butter to grease a baking sheet with a rim (I had one of those disposable turkey ones left from the 2 butternut squash recipes). Place the sugar in a large heavy skillet and turn the heat to low. Cook without stirring until the sugar turns liquid. Then stir until golden but not brown. (OMG – SO much fun, need to stir way before all brown though – it’ll go liquidy around the edges, take off the heat, stir, put back on, repeat – you’ll smell it if it burns – this is how I imagine the ER of culinary-school… Oh, realized how sad that must sound – trust me, I was leaping around the kitchen).

2) Stir in the cashews (read – hop across the room in Neo-Matrix-esque manner, grab pan, shake – and stir, they look so beautiful when coated in the melted sugar), and immediately pour onto greased baking sheet (STOP – lick spoon at this point). Cool completely, then break into large pieces and put ina plastic bag, and smash into pieces about the size of granola. (If you’ve had a tough day – this is immensely satisfying – I put it in a Ziplock and whacked it against the countertop, so noisy… Be careful not to thwack it into smithereens though – you don’t want powder here).

3) Pre-heat oven to 450 F. Place an ovenproof nonstick skillet (I used a saucepan) over medium-high heat and add the butter. When butter melts and the foam subsides, add the bananas. Quickly turn once, then sprinkle with half the brown sugar (this is SO much fun, had to crinkle sugar with fingers, mixing with the sweet bananas… delicious), and turn again, sprinkle with the remaining sugar. Place in the oven. (If you did this right, you and half your kitchen will be covered in brown-sugar-banana-mush….)

4) Roast for 5 minutes, or until browned on one side. Turn and cook for another 5 minutes or so. (Your whole kitchen will smell so unbearably delicious at this point). Carefully remove and turn in the craquelin (it looks SO yummy as the cashews and caramel get coated in the melted banana and hot sugar). Serve with ice cream, whipped cream or creme Anglaise.

Hugely long day, the type where when you wake up in the morning, you can only dream of the next time you are in the same position – and wondering how on earth you’ll make it back there.  10.30 pm just arrived home, glass of wine in hand and only butternut squash soup in the refrigerator. Ugh. So – I made the bananas. Cooking I’ve discovered is a bit like sailing – apart from the obvious similarities of copious alcohol consumption and being a great way to bringing dear friends together, its also good because when you’re doing it, you think of nothing much else. And New Yorkers – this is a perfect late night recipe, as it calls for over ripe brownish bananas – so the painfully limp Gristedes specimens are just perfect.

I have to say, this was so very much fun to make, from the amazing turning of the white solid sugar to runny boiling brown syrup, to the violent thwacking of the cashews and caramel, to the sticky bananas in the oven. Leaping around the kitchen – half in control of the nearly buring-not quite burning things on the stove, and the taste…. One word: oy.

Always enlist the help of someone who actually knows what they are doing….

Butternut squash cooking with Thai green curry paste, nam pla (Thai fish sauce), and butter

Cooking is aging me….

As seen in the kitchen.

Cilantro and lime

The shrimp being cooked for the second time

B-School Comp team buddies… And good sports…

So – the soup goes over the shrimp. Incidentally – blender prevents soup from looking like baby food – look how runny it is! Vast improvement on last night’s effort.

Dinner

Garnished with cilantro and lime

2 tbl spoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic (I bought ready mashed)
2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 cups chicken stock
3 tbl spoons freshly grated Parmesan

The not very ’soupy’ soup (promise it was better when it came out of the pan)taken with the delightful 8-Bit Vinters’ winter red, its an ITP favorite at the moment: http://www.8bitvintners.com

1) Preheat oven to 450 F. Place the oil in a large ovenproof skillet,
preferably non-stick (again, I used the dodgy Ikea saucepan, and
transferred into a sort of china rectangular dish for the oven, it was
fine) and turn the heat to high. Add the garlic and squash, then the
red pepper flakes (go easy here, I added too much due to a slight
transatlantic pounds/ounces/stones conversion ‘issue,’ the result
being it was quite perky when I served it – err on the side of caution
- they are zippy little things). Add the thyme, and salt and pepper to
taste (I added some more at the end too). Cook, stirring frequently,
until the squash begins to brown, about 10 min (was a little longer, just made sure it was getting a little mushy).

2) Transfer to the oven for another 15 minutes, shaking the pan once or twice.

3) Return the skillet to the top of the stove over medium heat and add
the stock (J-G has his own stock recipe, but I didn’t have time, so
just used store bought stock, and made it up in my coffee maker – note
to self, might be time to buy some more utensils….). Cook until the
squash is very tender, another 15 minutes or so; carefully puree in a
blender (or mash like a fruitloop over the stove with a masher).
Reheat, garnish with Parmesan and serve (I had a mixture of 3 Italian
cheeses, in a tub pre-grated and that worked well). Makes 4 servings.

Ok – so I think a blender is quite important for this one. It was
runny (ish) when I served it, but – well, in the picture taken after
dinner, you could carve it and serve it to someone mini before the
arrival of their baby teeth… It was alright, but I totally drowned
out the subtle roasted flavor by being quite enthusiastic with the
pepper flakes…

Next week, I have an expert coming over for dinner to help me make the
serious-difficult version: curried butternut squash soup with shrimp.
He’s a great cook, so hopefully, that soup will firmly in the liquid
rather than solid state….

It worked! Jean-Georges is 3/3 at the moment for foolproof-safe-for-blondes recipes. Here is today’s effort: scrambled eggs with tomato and basil…

5 eggs
1 1/2 tbl spoons butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup roughly chopped basil

1) Combine the eggs, butter, and salt and pepper to taste in a saucepan or skillet (I used a frying pan) preferably one with sloping sides. Turn the heat to medium-high and begin to beat the egg mixture with a whisk (discovered no whisk so used a fork, it seemed to do just fine), stirring almost constantly, but not too fast; you do not want it to become foamy.

2) After the butter melts, the mixture will begin to thicken, and then to lump up in small curds; this will take between 3 and 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pan and the heat level (my pan was paper thin, and I’d halved the recipe so this was all much quicker – I kept the heat low). If the mixture begins to stick on the bottom, remove the pan from the heat for a moment and continue to whisk, then return to the heat (did this lots).

3) When the eggs are creamy, with small curds all over – not unlike very loose oatmeal – they are just about ready. Immediately stir in the tomato and cook for another minute, just to warm the tomato. Stir in the basil, along with some more salt and pepper if necessary, and serve. Makes 2 servings.

I made this version because I had a ton of basil left from Wednesday’s eggplant chicken – but sadly it turned out to look more like seaweed by today. I fished around and managed to find some that looked as thought it could limp from the refrigerator to the saucepan. This was totally delicious, really creamy. In the past I’d always made scrambled eggs with milk as well as butter – it seemed to taste richer without the cow juice. Served with hot coffee and buttered wholewheat toast. Expect your invitations for brunch soon…

Hmmm, am finding cooking to be quite relaxing… Here is the latest Jean-Georges recipe, I made it just now – sauteed chicken chunks with onions.

2 tbl spoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbl spoons butter (or use all oil)
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 to 1-inch dice
sal…t and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup torn parsley leaves

The concept of J-G’s cookbook (‘From Simple to Spectacular’) is to take one basic recipe and add 4 increasingly sophisticated variations. I’m firmly in the learner pool on this here and this is the most basic of the chicken ones. I had some extra chicken from the other evening, and am zonked from turkeyday fun, but have a party later, so wanted to make something fast now. This is super easy – and was super quick too.

1) Put the oil and butter in a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter melts, add the onion and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring frequently but not constantly, until the onion is brown and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2) Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Turn the heat under the skillet to high and add the chicken; brown well on all sides, a total of about 5 minutes. Return the onions to the pan, along with 1/2 cup of water, stirring until saucy. Stir in the parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings.

It may have looked like gourmet cat food, but it tasted of holidays in France.

Utterly delicious, I ate it with some buttery toasted brown bread. I hate to say it, but that’s 2 recipes, and am really enjoying this… More to come.

It was good! Here’s the recipe for Jean-Georges’ Sauteed Chicken with Eggplant… (with my annotations, sorry, J-G).

1 lemon
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 to 1-inch dice
2 bell peppers
1 lb eggplant
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup roughly chopped basil

1. Cut …the lemon in half and segment as you would a grapefruit (blank looks all round in my kitchen initially – we got it eventually), discarding the seeds and reserving the juice. Marinate the chicken (note, apparently, this just means letting it sit, NOT cooking it – I stopped – quickly) with those segments and the juice while you prepare the vegetables.

2. Peel the peppers (yes, really – but do it, it works), use a regular vegetable peeler to do this (we did it with knives and still have all 20 digits on our hands between us), then core, seed and cut into 1/8 strips. Peel the eggplant (he looks SO different naked! Green and not purple – amazing…) and cut into 1/2-inch chunks.

3) Put 2 tbl spoons of the oil into a large skillet (or alternatively, the largest of the 3-for-$9.99 pans from Ikea), preferably non-stick (he has a good point here), and turn the heat to medium high. A minute later, add the peppers and eggplant (or aubergine in Brit-speak, it nearly became a zucchini dish as I can never remember which is which), turn the heat to high. Cook, frequently but not constantly (we recommend constantly if you have a $2.99 pan), until the vegetables are tender and begin to brown, about 10 min.

4) Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tbl spoons of oil in a separate skillet. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Turn the heat on the skillet to high, and add the chicken, brown well on all sides, a total of about 5 min.

5) Stir the cooked vegetables into the chicken. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook, stirring, until saucy. Stir in the basil and serve.

NB – can make into a pasta sauce by adding 2 cups of diced tomatoes (or a can) in place of the water, cook an extra 5 min, thin with a little water if necessary (I wanted to do this, had the tin of tomatoes all ready, then discovered had no can opener…)

Serve with bread, olive oil seasoned with pepper and salad dressed with basalmic dressing. Dessert: M&S mini-rolls and Cadbury’s giant buttons… And coffee, yey.