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By mlb, on March 4th, 2013%
Does cinnamon and chicken sound weird? Well, maybe just a little at first (although, probably not as weird as tuna meatballs with cinnamon), but, honestly this chicken dish is so amazing. The chili flakes keep the cinnamon-sugar marinade from becoming too sweet and it all just really seems to work with the juicy, roasted chicken thighs. Plus, when you think about it, just because cinnamon seems to be typically used (at least in the U.S.) in sweeter recipes, the spice itself isn’t sweet at all. It’s paired with lamb all the time. See, not that weird at all.
Also, I seriously love chicken thighs. Even the skinless, boneless ones aren’t bad but the bone-in thighs are just the best, so you can probably imagine how much I enjoyed this meal. This harissa, while I’m not sure how authentic it is, pairs excellently with the chicken. The caraway adds a very unexpected flavor and the roasted bell peppers are all smokey and rich — a flavorful partner for the spicy, cinnamon-y, crispy skin.
On the side we had some cumin roasted carrots (carrots, sliced and tossed with cumin, salt, pepper and olive oil, roasted . . . → Read More: Cinnamon-Roasted Chicken Thighs with Harissa Sauce
By mlb, on February 7th, 2013%
This week’s French Fridays with Dorie was fairly interesting — pork tenderloin, cut into pieces, browned and then cooked quickly in orange juice, zest and segments, cardamom and onion. So, um, I changed a few things.
Originally, the diced onions were to be added with the orange, but I caramelized those a bit first thing, then removed them and browned the pork. I added the onions back in when I added the rest of the ingredients. I just wasn’t really into the idea of boiled diced onions, when I could brown them at the beginning and give them a sweeter flavor.
Also, I only made a half recipe and I put my cardamom seeds in a spice bag so I wouldn’t have to fish them out before serving.
Oh and I only cooked my pork for about five minutes in the sauce, as I wanted to pull it out before it overcooked (plus, I think I cut my pork a bit smaller than I should have). I just kept it warm under foil while I finished the sauce.
Everyone’s posts are here and my photos are below.
 . . . → Read More: FFwD: Fresh Orange Pork Tenderloin
By mlb, on November 25th, 2012%
After a super filling meal of turkey, stuffing, roasted vegetables and pumpkin pie it always seems like a sensible idea to eat some fish, right? Especially when you think back on all the cheese, crackers and wine that was part of the holiday (week) too. Or maybe it’s just me? Or maybe it’s just that when you spend Thanksgiving in Fargo, North Dakota you need a lot of snacks to keep warm?
It doesn’t matter which really, because this tuna is awesome! A crusted, flavorful piece of fish with a spicy, minty sauce. And while I normally prefer my seared tuna with an Asian twist, this (Latin-Mediterranean-Middle Eastern-fusion type) spice blend makes a wonderful compliment to the richness of the tuna. With some whole wheat pearl couscous and kale chips on the side you’ve got a delicious meal that isn’t going to make you want to take a nap afterwards (unless you’re already very tired, I guess). Like all of the recent fish dishes I’ve been posting about lately, the tuna came from Flying Fish Company on Hawthorne.
The original recipe used four different types of chili powder but I just . . . → Read More: Twelve Spice Seared Tuna with Mustard Mint Sauce
By mlb, on April 2nd, 2012%
I think this is one of my new favorite tuna meals. It can be served warm or cold, making it a perfect meal year-round. Since we are still a little cold out, I opted for warm, but you could just as easily making everything earlier in the day (up to actually slicing the tuna), refrigerate it and just plate it all before eating.
One other change that I made was to use Whole Wheat Pearl (Israeli) Couscous instead of regular couscous. If you do this, the cooking time will be a little longer, just follow the instructions on the package, but you’ll probably have to simmer it all for about 15-20 minutes.
Also tuna and fennel? Wow, such a wonderful combination. I even made this with some frozen, Trader Joes’s wild Ahi Tuna (I popped it in the fridge the night before to defrost). Really good and the price makes this an official “cheap fish project” meal. Hooray!
We had a little tuna leftover (I started with about a pound of tuna), so I tossed that with some whole wheat pasta, some sauteed broccolini and olive oil/lemon juice for lunch the next day.
Fennel Crusted Tuna with Lemon . . . → Read More: Fennel-Crusted Tuna with Lemon Aïoli Over Couscous
By mlb, on June 12th, 2011%
So, this last week’s French Fridays with Dorie was for Cola and Jam Spareribs, which sounds good but neither jwa or I are big rib eaters. But here’s what I thought — I’ll take the cola and jam idea, but just use them on another kind of meat. How about chicken drumsticks? Perfect! Sounds like a winner! And then…that’s not what actually happened.
1. After not being able to find the Coke with sugar in it instead of high fructose corn syrup, I found an organic-hippie cola brand with sugar. Great. I put a can of that in my cart. But then when I got home, discovered I accidentally grabbed the Diet Cola instead.
2. After seeing this, I think, um, okay. I can still make this work. At this point I have the jam, orange juice and Chinese 5 Spice Powder already simmering in a pot with the cola to make a glaze. I grabbed the unopened bag of brown sugar from the cabinet, thinking I can just add a spoonful or two and I add a little in with the jam and orange juice.
3. Ants. There are ants in the brown sugar bag. . . . → Read More: Blog Post that was Almost an FFwD, Then Became This – Roasted Chicken Legs with Chorizo, Potatoes and Spinach
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