Come On Down to Devi!

Yesterday I was privileged again to take photos of Devi's food; in this case, only three dishes: Tandoori chicken, lamb chops and biriyani. I had my new light box and the shoot went very well. Why don't you get down there soon and join me? I'll shoot you too.

Lamb chops

Tandoori chicken

Chicken biriyani

Shrimp Primavera

Here is another Brigitte triumph: Linguine Primavera with Shrimp. But she won't let me disclose her recipes, so I'll have to reverse-engineer them.

I'm willing to bet that this involved cremini mushrooms, red peppers, onions, garlic and fresh tomatoes with lots of basil and topped with freshly sautéed shrimp in garlic butter. Yep, that's what I'd say it was.

Food Weekend

It was a great food extravaganza this Valentine's weekend.

On Saturday I was relieved of (most) kitchen duties when Brigitte made her Moroccan feast: kuftas in pitas with tabouleh, hummous, trinah and chile-tomato dip, with crème brulée to finish. (I'll get the kufta recipe from Brigitte and post it here later). Pictionary with Arlette and Alex ensued!

The following evening I made my signature "Nick's Homemade Spicy Potato Chips" (recipe to follow) which we enjoyed with some delicious filet mignon.

From top left, clockwise: Tabouleh, (white wine!) chile-tomato, trinah

Kuftas

 

Kufta in pita . . . yum!

 Arlette brulées the crème! It was a gas.

 

 Nick's spicy homemade potato chips

Nick's Spicy Homemade Potato Chips

Ingredients

2 large russet potatoes, peeled

1 container duck fat (about 2 cups)

2-3 cups peanut oil

Cayenne

Ground cumin

Salt

Method

You are going to need a mandoline. Apart from being essential to making potato chips, this will prove useful in many tasks in the kitchen, including making fingertip chips.

Adjust blade to about 1.5 mm cutting width -- too thick and the chips will be soggy, too thin and they'll be too crispy -- and slice the two potatoes, holding them at approximately 45 degrees so that the chips will mostly be medium diameter as opposed to lengthwise, where they would be too long, or vertically, where they would be too small.

Dissolve about three tablespoons of sugar in some hot water, add to a bowl, add ice water and soak the chips for about half an hour.

In a medium saucepan,  heat the oil and duck fat on medium heat. You want about 1/2 - 3/4" depth.

When the chips have soaked for 30 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water. With layers of paper towels, dry all the chips.

When a drop of water causes the oil to sizzle vigorously, add the potatoes in batches, making sure not to crowd the pan. Stir frequently to separate the chips. Cook each batch for about four minutes, then remove with a spider and set aside in a bowl. There is no need to remove stray oil from them at the moment.

When all the potatoes are done, reduce the oil temperature to minimum and let the potatoes come to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

When the potatoes are cool, increase the oil to medium, and when the water-drop test tells you it's ready, repeat the previous step with batches of chips. Stir frequently and do not leave unattended. When the edges of the chips start to become golden brown, about 4-5 minutes, remove with the spider to a basket lined with paper towels. Cover each batch with a paper towel to keep warm/soak up excess oil.

When all the batches are done -- the chips should be just on the verge of crispy, with some still bendable -- remove all but the bottom layer of paper towels and sprinkle liberally with cayenne, cumin and salt. Serve with mayonnaise or your favorite dip.

Bona-Fide Food Photog!

I just received my lightbox! Now I can take truly good pics of my food! Or your food, for that matter!

I was so excited, I grabbed the first food item I could out of the fridge, which happens to be Nick's Ultra Garlic Bread, that I made last night and haven't baked yet. (I'll use the new box to shoot the bread once it's baked and provide the recipe).

Pretty cool, huh? I messed with it in Photoshop and gave it a fake Gourmet Blur (that's what I call that narrow-depth-of-field look that their photographers loved) in Photoshop, but nice! Now I don't have to film my food on the kitchen stove any more.

 

Here's a pic I took of one of Brigitte's vases. The box has no fill card (something that bounces the light onto the other side of side of the object). Below is with the fill card:

And here is the complete setup:

Now if I can only get Molly the goat to stand still long enough I'll take a picture of her! And all my guitars and GI Joes and, and, and!

And remember Valentine's Day is Sunday!

Nicken Pot Pie (With Kind Regards to Knatolee's Hens)

I'm sorry the photo isn't as appetizing as it should have been, but the results were most assuredly delicious! The ingredient list seems long (I should just draft a disclaimer to put in all my recipes, beginning with "the ingredient list seems long, but . . .") BUT have a few beers and a couple of glasses of wine and you'll be cooking in no time! Here we go:

Nicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

Pastry:

You should use commercial pastry dough (NOT Pillsbury) or pâte feuilleté (puff pastry). Making your own is simply too time-consuming. I got mine from Quality Kosher on Victoria.

Filling:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 can chicken broth, with water added to equal 2 cups (or use 2 cups homemade chicken broth)
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
2 small ribs celery, cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup crème fraîche mixed with 1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons dry sherry
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Method

For Pie Filling: Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Put chicken and broth in small Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat. Cover, bring to simmer; simmer until chicken is just done, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer meat to large bowl, reserving broth in measuring cup.

Increase heat to medium-high; heat oil in now-empty pan. Add onions, carrots, and celery; sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. While vegetables are sautéing, shred meat into bite-sized pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.

Heat butter over medium heat in again-empty skillet. When foaming subsides, add flour; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken broth, crème fraîche mixture, any accumulated chicken juices, and thyme. Bring to simmer, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in sherry.

Pour sauce over chicken mixture; stir to combine. Stir in peas and parsley. Adjust seasonings. (Can be covered and refrigerated overnight; reheat before topping with pastry.)

Assembly

Roll dough on floured surface to approximate 15-by-11-inch rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. If making individual pies, roll dough 1/8-inch thick and cut 6 dough rounds about one inch larger than pan circumference.

Pour chicken mixture into 13-by-9-inch pan or any shallow baking dish of similar size. Lay dough over pot pie filling, trimming dough to 1/2 inch of pan lip. Tuck overhanging dough back under itself so folded edge is flush with lip. Flute edges all around. Or don't trim dough and simply tuck overhanging dough into pan side. Crimp down in an attractive pattern with a fork around the lid. Cut at least four 1-inch vent holes in large pot pie or one 1-inch vent hole in smaller pies.

Bake until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 minutes for large pies and 20 to 25 minutes for smaller pies. Serve hot.

Note: There was a fair amount of sauce and pastry dough left over, so Brigitte added some more chicken to the sauce and instead of doing individual ramekins, somehow made a chicken pot ROLL! I'm not quite sure how she did it, but it was fantastic! I'll try to find out and post with pics next time she makes it.

Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

Is this not insanely tasty-looking, my flock? Well, rest assured that it's one of the best curries I've ever made, and I've probably made over 3,000 in my lifetime. This is the ULTIMATE Butter Chicken!

Here's how it went down: I was heavily inspired after being at Devi yesterday so I arbitrarily decided to make Butter Chicken. Good move!

I found a base recipe that looked pretty good and I modified it, as I am Wont To Do.

Here's a shot of the recipe and my chicken scratch alterations:



I basically just upped everything up a notch but kept the framework intact. You'll need an immersion blender or a standing blender for the sauce. N.B.: BRINE THE CHICKEN, always brine the chicken!

Then proceed as follows. The ingredient list may look long but at most the whole thing will take about two hours:

Ingredients

Chicken
2 teaspoons grated ginger
4 teaspoons minced or pureed garlic
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, brined for 30 minutes, patted dry and cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup crème fraîche
1 tablespoon Garam Masala

Sauce
4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
4 teaspoons grated ginger
4 teaspoons minced garlic
4 green cardamom pods
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 cup chicken stock
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup (about 2 heaping tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, diced
4 teaspoons. grated ginger
1/3 cup whipping cream

To Finish
2 tsp. Garam Masala
4 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Whipped cream

Method

Chicken
Combine ginger, garlic, salt, cayenne and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Let chicken marinate for 20 minutes at room temperature. Add yogurt and Garam Masala and let marinate for 20 minutes longer.

Preheat oven to 450. Place chicken on a rack over a roasting pan (or baking pan) and roast for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Reserve.

Sauce
Combine tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and chicken stock in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to boil. Turn heat to medium-low and simmer for 25 minutes or until tomatoes have completely broken down. Remove whole spices. Puree in a blender (or use an immersion blender).

Bring sauce to a boil. Add cayenne and simmer until sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in butter. Add the chicken and any juice and simmer for 5 minutes. Add (1 tsp.) ginger and cream and simmer another 5 minutes. Taste and adjust spiciness by adding up to 3/4 tsp. more cayenne. Stir in Garam Masala and sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

With spoon, drizzle whipped cream in swirls over each portion, garnish with cilantro, and serve over rice or naan bread.