Cajun Shrimp Linguine

This recipe turned out quite spicier than expected but very good and very cajun-y.

Original recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cajun-shrimp-linguine

Ingredients:

6 ounces whole-grain linguine or fettuccine
1 1/2 teaspoons salt-free Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere's)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
3/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 bay leaves
1 (14.5-ounce) can unsalted diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup half-and-half

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup pasta cooking liquid.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Combine Cajun seasoning and shrimp in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add shrimp mixture to pan; cook 2 to 3 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove shrimp mixture from pan. Wipe pan clean with paper towels.
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and 1 tablespoon thyme; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add red pepper and garlic; cook 3 minutes. Add reserved 1/3 cup cooking liquid, salt, bay leaves, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaves. Remove pan from heat; stir in shrimp and pasta. Stir in half-and-half. Cook 1 minute over medium heat or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme.

What we liked:

It was a fun new recipe to try 

What we didn't like:

It was a little spicy. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

Too spicy for the children!

Next time:

Not sure if we will make it again. .

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka With Basmati Rice and Peas

From our indian night, the main dish was the slow cooker chicken tikka masala and basmati rice and peas. We have never made Indian food before that night and were very very pleased with the outcome. Everything tasted delicious.

Original Recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-tikka-masala

Plated

Basmati Rice with Peas

Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 (14.5-ounce) cans unsalted diced tomatoes
1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, bone-in chicken thighs
Cooking spray
1 cup light coconut milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Basmati Rice:
cook according to directions - 3 cups rice
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 teaspoon turmeric

Directions:

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic to pan; cook 6 to 7 minutes or until starting to brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in tomato paste and tomatoes; bring to a simmer, and cook 3 minutes. Combine 1/3 cup water and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture, garam masala, paprika, curry powder, salt, and pepper to pan; stir well. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute.
Place chicken thighs in a 6-quart slow cooker coated with cooking spray. Add tomato mixture to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW 7 hours or until chicken is very tender and sauce has thickened. Turn slow cooker to HIGH; uncover and add coconut milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes. Turn cooker off; stir in cilantro. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve over rice. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream if desired

Basmati Rice:
Cook according to directions - with the addition of turmeric. Add peas after the rice cooker is done.  

What we liked:

The meal was absolutely delicious. The slow cooker option is great for throwing it together in the morning and coming home to a delicious meal!

What we didn't like:

The coconut milk was over-ridden by all the other flavors - perhaps add another can?

What Kaspian thought about it:

He liked the rice and peas. 

Next time:

No changes needed

Indian Garlic Naan

We tried a garlic naan recipe and it also exceeded our expectations. We tried both baking and frying it and baking definitely worked out much better.

Here's the original recipe: http://www.chefdehome.com/Recipes/560/homemade-restaurant-style-indian-garlic-naan

Naan!!!

Ingredients:

2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
3 1/3 Cups  Flour
2.5 tbsp Canola Oil
1 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Milk
1/2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Garlic (paste - garlic cloves grated)

Toppings
minced garlic
Butter ­ Salted (melted, for brushing naan)

Directions:

1. Lukewarm 1 cup water, add sugar and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Let it sit until foamy. (about 10 minutes.)
2. Add milk, 3 cups flour, garlic paste, oil, salt over bloomed yeast.
3. Mix all ingredients with a dough hook until thoroughly mixed. Add 1 tbsp remaining flour at a time until dough comes together.  Dough should not be very dry.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and then with clean kitchen towel. Leave to rise at warm place until double in size. (1­ to 2 hrs)
5. Preheat oven at 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Microwave and melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl for 15 secs, add chopped garlic and set
aside. Divide dough into 10 equal parts.
7. Roll each dough to a (about 6" wide ­ 10" long) oval shape (or round if you prefer).
8.  Place rolled naan on hot sheet tray, two or three, depending on size of sheet tray.
Bake for 4 minutes, remove, bush butter, put back in oven with broiler until brown - about 2 mins

What we liked:

It was really good!

What we didn't like:

It was a little bit of a hassle, but well worth it

What Kaspian thought about it:

He loved the bread

Next time:

no change

Samosas with Cilantro Lime Chutneys

Samosas are one of our favorite appetizers and we always get some when we get indian food. There is just something about these potato and spice and pea filled pockets of goodness that keeps you coming back. We have been wanting to make these for a while and they did not disappoint. They were absolutely delicious and much easier to make than anticipated!
We kind of combined a few ideas from the internet to form this final result. The chutney was also delicious and went with these perfectly!

Recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/indian-samosa-15348
Cilantro Chutney: https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/cilantro-chutney

Served!

steamed potato and pea mixture

potatoes mashed up

Samosa Dough

Ready to Fry

Cooking!

Lime Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients:

Dough
2 cups flour
4 tablespoons oil

Filling
5 medium sized potatoes - steamed. We used yukon golds
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger grated
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 tbsp oil
2 cups peas - fresh or frozen

Chutney:
1 large bunch cilantro, washed and roughly chopped (about 2 ounces)
6 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 hot green chile peppers (such as Serrano or Thai), roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons peeled, chopped fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Mix together the dough ingredients. Add water until a nice dough forms. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes

Filling
1. Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add ginger and garlic. Fry for a few minutes then add the onions and sautee until soft.
2. Add cilantro, lemon juice, turmeric, red chili, salt and garam masala. Stir Fry for a few minutes.
3. Add peas.
4. Crush potatoes in a different bowl and add to the spice mixture.
5. mix together and let cool

6. Divide dough into 20 portions.
7. Roll out each piece of dough into a long oval.
8. Cut the oval in half
9. Add filling and pinch the edges together to make a cone
10. Deep fry the samosas on low to medium heat until light brown.

Chutney:
Place all the ingredients except olive oil in a blender. Blend at medium speed, slowly drizzling in the olive oil, until smooth. Store refrigerated, in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

What we liked:

These came out perfect!

What we didn't like:

Nothing, they were great!

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was too suspicious. Astrid, however, loved them. 

Next time:

More dough. We had filling left over. 

Wasabi Tuna Deviled Eggs

This recipe held so much promise, yet it was not very good. The eggs were too salty or perhaps the tuna fish just did not go well in it all. Anyways, the overall result was less than perfect. They looked absolutely beautiful, but simple deviled eggs minus the tuna would have been better. On top of that, the furikake added some strange sugar-sweet flavor which was also not very harmonious. The original recipe was from the Costco Magazine

Ingredients:

8 large hard cooked eggs, peeled
1/4 cup mayo
2 tablespoons minced green onions
2 tablespoons minced celery
1 teaspoon wasabi paste
1 7 ounce can of tuna, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper
furikake or black sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Cut eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and transfer to a medium bowl.
2. Mash the egg yolks with mayo, scallions, celery and wasabi paste.
3. Mix in the tuna and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spoon the tuna mixture into the egg white halves.
5. Garnish with sesame seeds or furikake. 

What we liked:

The idea was so great. 

What we didn't like:

The end result fell far short of expectations

What Kaspian thought about it:

He didn't touch these. 

Next time:

Perhaps incorporate wasabi into the deviled egg mixture but leave the tuna out for sure!

Orange Salmon & Green Onions with Mixed Green Salad with Oranges

This was a super quick light dinner with lots of citrusy goodness! The salmon and salad were quick to throw together. The juice from the salmon would have actually made a much better warm salad dressing than what the salad recipe called for. This would also be great with a heaver side such as mashed potatoes.
The original reicpe for salmon is here: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/orange-salmon-green-onions/
The original recipe for salad is here: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mixed-green-salad-oranges

Served!

Ready to bake

Another baking view

Salad

Salad

Cooked salmon just out of the oven

Ingredients:

Salmon:
2 navel oranges, sliced into circles
2 limes, juiced (1/4 cup)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
12 green onions, trimmed
1 pound boneless salmon fillet (skin on)

Salad:
Dressing:
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
Salad:
Spring Mix salad
3 oranges, peeled, white pith removed, fruit segmented

Directions:

Salmon:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2.  Juice one orange to get 1/3 cup juice. Cut remaining orange into circles; set aside.
3. In a small bowl stir together orange juice, lime juice, tamari, ginger, and 2 tsp. of the oil.
4. Drizzle the bottom of a 3-quart au gratin dish with the remaining 2 tsp. oil. Place green onions and orange wedges in dish; toss to coat. Place salmon, skin side down, in center of dish. Drizzle with orange juice mixture.
5. Bake 15 minutes or until salmon is opaque and starting to flake. Remove. Turn oven to broil. Baste salmon with sauce. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat 5 to 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork and onions are beginning to brown, turning onions once or twice.

Salad:
1. Make dressing: In a bowl, combine shallot, vinegar, juice, mustard and sugar. Slowly drizzle in oil, whisking constantly. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Make salad: Add lettuce to a large bowl. Add orange segments. Toss with dressing.

What we liked:

It was very quick, light and delicious!

What we didn't like:

The salad dressing

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was not too into either the fish or the salad. But he loved the orange pieces by themselves. 

Next time:

love the fish. Try a different side.