Fancy Fruit Salad

Want to impress your friends but not really work hard to do it? Have I got just the thing for you - fancy fruit salad. Let's test this out in a few scenarios:

Is your friend hosting a brunch and you need to bring something but don't want to work that hard?
Fancy fruit salad.

Do you have an interview and you want to impress your potential-future employers?
Fancy fruit salad.

Are you planning to go out this weekend and want to be the most popular person at the bar?
Fancy fruit salad. 

Oh my God, that's so fancy

See where I'm going with this? It's appropriate for all occasions!

So what makes this fancy, you ask? First of all, you've only got the good fruit in there. No apples, no melon, no oranges - those don't make the cut. I'm talking premium fruit here, people. The good stuff. Secondly, we really amp up the fanciness but adding some chopped fresh herbs. This takes you from Kimmy Schmidt to Lady Mary from Downton Abbey really quickly. 

You'll need:
- Pineapple (1 package of spears)
- Strawberries (1 carton, tops removed and cut in half)
- Mangoes (2, diced)
- Grapes (2 cups)
- Raspberries (1 carton)
- Blackberries (1 carton) 
- Fresh basil (start with 2 minced tablespoons and add more if needed)
- Fresh mint (start with 2 minced tablespoons and add more if needed)
- Juice from 1/2 lemon

Really, just pick any fruit that people actually want to eat. I made about 10 cups worth because this was for a 10 person brunch. Combine the fruit in a bowl and then gradually add the herbs until you reach your desired level of fancy. I suggest more herbs for brunch at a friends house, but less for an interview/night out at bars (because, you know, they might get stuck in your teeth). Finish with a squeeze of lemon. Voila!

Pinkys up

Indian-Inspired Chicken Burgers

Warning - all of the photos in this post are really bad. I'm talking blurry, off-centered, haphazard shots. No, I was not drinking while taking the photos, and no, I wasn't even really distracted by other things. I'm just really bad at taking photos, apparently. Don't let that stop you from making these awesome burgs!

Photography at it's finest

I was inspired to make these by a few turkey-burger posts I saw floating about on the internet. I did a quick mix of classic good stuff (onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeno) and threw in an Indian spice (garam masala) and determined that was enough to call this Indian-inspired. After a quick cook on the stove top, I served these in a pita (that wishes it was naan) with an herby citrusy yogurt sauce (that wishes it was raita). I chopped up some red onion and cucumber to throw in there as well, and had some spring mix in the fridge that also was allowed to participate. I then made my friends eat it and tell me it was good. Works like a charm!

If you don't want to go through with the whole recipe, I'd say the 3 ingredients you can't leave out are ginger, garam masala, and the yogurt sauce (counting that as 1 ingredient, muaha). If you aren't feeling the burger-in-a-pita approach you can totally eat these with normal buns, or sandwich bread, or over some veggies, or plain. Do what you want what you want with your burger! Let's move on!

You'll need:
For the burgs 
1 lb ground chicken (or turkey, whateva)
1 jalapeno, minced, with 1/2 of the seeds removed
1/4 cup (or a small handful) of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 inch knob fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 of a large yellow onion, chopped
3 tsp garam masala (also used here)
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
Toasted pita (cut it half), cucumber slices, red onion, lettuce for topping


For the sauce 
1/2 c Greek yogurt
Juice from 1/2 lime
5-10 minced mint leaves
1 T minced parsley
Salt

Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat (7 out of 10) on the stove top. Combine all of the burger ingredients (except the pita and toppings...) in a bowl and mix to combine. You should probably just use your hands for this! Form into 4 large or 6 small burgers - I do six, and I make them super flat so they cook quicker. Slap some oil in the pan (I used coconut), let it heat up, and cook the burgers until cooked through-about 4 minutes a side. Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

While your burgers are a-sizzlin, combine the sauce ingredients and season with salt to taste. Feel free to mix up the herbs here - basil and cilantro would both be excellent substitutions for the parsley.

When it's time to mangia, cut open a toasted pita and fill with a burger, sliced cucumber/red onion/spring mix, and drizzle a lot of the sauce in there. Finish with a squeeze of fresh lime and enjoy! If you make these and take a better photo, please text it to me so I can replace these awful ones! :)

I wish I was pretty

 

Becoming Biryani

I love this recipe. I love it! It's so good!

I love you; you're so good

Biryani is an Indian rice dish that warriors used to eat before battle. Or at least, someone once told me that warriors used to eat it before battle. There is a large chance this isn't true, but let's continue. Naturally, I made biryani the night before Curtis had a swim test at work.  Swimming in a pool = hand to hand combat, right? Anyway, it only needs one pot which is what really gets me hyped up about it.

A couple of notes:
1. The original recipe calls for white basmati rice, but I sub it out with long-grain brown in the recipe below. This requires extra chicken stock and a full 50 minutes of cooking time. If you'd prefer to use white basmati rice (and I really think you should at least once!) you'll need 14 oz of chicken broth and only need to cook for about 15 minutes, or rice is tender. 
2. You could easily make this vegetarian - leave out the chicken, and sub vegetable broth for chicken broth. Booya!

Let's become biryani

You'll need:
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced. Removing the seeds removes most of the spice, so leave the seeds in if you're feeling adventurous!
1 inch piece of fresh minced ginger 
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 1/2 t garam masala (this is a ground mix of a bunch of other spices - definitely don't skip this!)
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
2 plum tomatoes, chopped 
1/3 c raisins (golden or regular)
2 c chicken broth
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 c uncooked brown rice (I used long grain - you can use any kind you want. Just follow the recommended liquid to grain ratio and cooking time!)
1/4 c sliced or chopped almonds
Lime wedges

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and saute 3 minutes before adding onion and jalapeno. After three more minutes add the ginger, garlic, and spices. Let cook through a few more minutes then add in tomatoes, rice, raisins and broth.

It gets better, I swear

Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for about 50 minutes (if using brown rice) and stir occasionally to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan. At the end sprinkle on the cilantro, layer on the almonds, and serve with lime wedges. Make this prior to battle! Or swim tests!

Successfully became biryani!

Not-Laura Leek and Mushroom Chicken Skillet (with bonus ingredients!)

The other day I made my version of Iowa Girl Eats Leek and Mushroom Chicken Skillet. This recipe is really not me. It isn't spicy, there's no curry powder, and there isn't even that much garlic. I had to buy fresh tarragon. This is not something I would normally make.

leeks = fancy

But you know what? I got out of my comfort zone, and it was delicious! My good friend Kathryn recommended I try this out and I'm so glad she did. The pounded, almond-flour dusted chicken cooks quickly and has a delicious crispy crust. The leek and mushroom "pan sauce" seems fancy and indulgent, but is really just a quick chop of veggies in chicken broth. The fresh tarragon lent an unexpected, almost licorice-y flavor - and made me feel sophisticated, to boot. Wins all around!

I've gotten some feedback that my posts tend to have too many ingredients - this is because I don't know when to say when. I'm of the "more is better" mindset (SHOUT OUT MAMA J).  Going forward I'll try to differentiate between "gotta have" and "nice to have" ingredients to show when recipes can be simplified! I added sun dried tomatoes and bacon to this recipe, because why not?

You'll need:
1 lb chicken breasts, pounded thin
1/4 c all-purpose flour (I used almond flour)
Salt and pep
2 T butter, divided
Drizzle of olive oil
3-4 pieces bacon, chopped*
1/3 c chopped sun dried tomatoes (I like these from TJ's)*
6 oz sliced mushrooms
2 leeks, white and green parts only, thinly sliced (verbose but thorough leek cleaning & slicing tutorial)
1 shallot or 1/4 small onion, minced*
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 c chicken broth
1 packed T chopped fresh tarragon
juice from 1/2 lemon
* = nice to haves

We begin by pounding the chicken. This is always a good idea so the chicken cooks evenly, and in MUCH less time. My preferred method is putting the chicken in a large Ziploc bag, sealing it, and wailing on it with the heel of my hand. This time I was a little more refined and used a tenderizer. 

Action shot

 Add 1 T butter and a drizzle of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow dish and dredge chicken breasts before adding to skillet. Make sure you allow the pan to come to temperature before you add the chicken! Or you will feel regret!

 Saute until golden brown on both sides, which took me about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside. Note that chicken doesn't need to be cooked through at this point.

Dredge thumbs up!

So golden, so brown

 
Now it's time to get to business. I highly recommend prepping the veggies prior to starting the pan sauce. Prepped? Ready? Onward!

Add the chopped bacon to the skillet and cook until almost crispy - about 4 minutes. Add the shallot, mushrooms, leeks, and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and saute until mushrooms are golden brown and tender - the recipe says 5 minutes, but I think this took me more like 10. Don't forget to stir!

Leeks on fleek (too much?!?)

Add the other T of butter and the garlic and saute for one more minute. Disclaimer - this butter was totally gratuitous and you probably don't need it, but I had it out and was just feeling it. Add chicken broth and tarragon, then nestle (yes, nestle!) chicken back into skillet and simmer until sauce has thickened and reduced, and chicken is cooked through, 3-4 minutes. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over the skillet and stir to combine. 

Shown: nestled

To serve, I ended up removing the chicken from the pan, cutting into portions, and spooning the sauce on top. In the end...this isn't really a sauce. It's more like an awesome...hash? Veggie bacon compote? If you come up with an adequate description, please let me know! We had these with easy roasted brussels, but this would also be great with a simple salad, roasted potatoes, or just some crusty bread (crusty bread is always appropriate). Hope you like it!

gimme gimme

Rosemary-Sriracha Chicken

I trespassed on private property in the early morning hours to make this rosemary-sriracha roasted chicken. 

Allow me to elaborate.  

It's 6:15 in the morning and I want to make this marinade before I go to work, so the chicken can sit in it and get delicious all day. I have all of the ingredients, but no rosemary. At my old apartment I could hop over to the traffic circle across the street and take as much as I wanted (rosemary grows EVERYWHERE in Seattle). But in my new neighborhood I haven't seen any "public" rosemary...instead, the closest bush is in my neighbor's yard, bordering their front door entry.
  

Do I wait and pick some up from the store? Do I swing by the old hood and snip a few branches from a perfectly respectable public source? No...I throw my coat and shoes on over my PJs, grab some scissors, and sneak into my neighbor's yard. I creep up to their front door and breathe a sigh of relief that they don't have motion-activated floodlights. I keep my head down, snip a solid five rosemary branches, and then book it down their pathway, across the street, and back into the safety of my apartment. Isn't cooking exciting??? 

Worth it

Sometimes cooking chicken gets boring. Especially if you are trying to be healthy. ENTER: rosemary-sriracha chicken (adapted from here). It comes together quickly, has a delicious, earthy, and unexpected flavor, and can sometimes cause unexpected petty crime. Let's get on with it, shall we?

You'll need:
Bone-in, skin on chicken drumsticks, thighs, or breasts.  I always do drumsticks for myself and white meat for Curtis.
1/2 c plain Greek yogurt
4 T olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
4 T finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 T sriracha
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and peppa (about 1/2 t each)

Generously salt and pepper chicken and place in a large ziploc. Combine all ingredients (except chicken, silly!) in a medium bowl, and then pour into the bag. Do what you gotta do to make sure the chicken is evenly coated. Place in fridge and let marinade for at least an hour...as you can read from above, I prefer if the chicken is marinated for at least 8 hours/overnight.

Frantically thrown together before going to work

Forgot about the ziploc trick - more dishes for me

Preheat oven to 375 F and line a baking sheet with foil (if you're smart and don't want to scrub dishes). Arrange the chicken evenly in a single layer - I recommend putting the bigger pieces on the edges, and the smaller pieces inside. Bake 35-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. At the end, broil on high for about 5 minutes, or until the skin is crispy and golden. 

I like to boil the remaining marinade and spoon over the chicken when it is done. The sauce looks pretty weird after it is boiled, but I promise it still tastes good!

Looks aren't everything???

I served this with some easy bacon-broc, which I'll post soon!

******Update: At the time this was posted, I have found a more appropriate neighborhood rosemary source that does not require trespassing.******

Peruvian-ish Halibut

I moved to Seattle from DC almost 3 years ago, and the food I miss most - hands down - is Peruvian chicken. Specifically from Pollo Rico. Specifically specifically quarter dark meat, extra green sauce, fries, coleslaw, with a Sprite, eaten cross legged while sitting on the floor in front of my coffee table on a Sunday afternoon POTENTIALLY suffering from being over-served the evening before. (It's happened). Who's with me?!?

You think this would be a recipe for Peruvian chicken, right? It's not. We recently won the friends of friends of friends lottery and got a bunch of freshly frozen halibut, spot prawns, and dungeness crab from a family who goes on a yearly Alaskan fishing trip. They haul in so much fish that somehow even we get a piece of it - trickle down fishenomics. I was looking up different halibut recipes, but I just kept thinking about how I really wanted to eat it with this green sauce. So I made a few adjustments to my favorite Peruvian-style roast chicken marinade, threw the fish in, whipped up the green sauce, and hoped for the best!

Thankfully it was delicious - you should make it too!

You is kind, you is smart, you is important

You'll need:
For the fish:
 3 T extra virgin olive oil
Juice from 2 limes
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 T kosher salt
2 t paprika
1 T cumin
1 t dried oregano
1 t sugar
1-2 lbs halibut (cod or swordfish would work, too)

For the green sauce:
 [Note - the original recipe calls for sour cream and mayonnaise, but I use all Greek yogurt and it is still super delicious]
2 or 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded (I keep about half of the seeds)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 t salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 F, and place rack in the center. Combine all of the marinade ingredients in a blender/food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over your halibut. Simple enough. You think I could've remembered to take a picture before putting it in the oven, amirite?

Epic food blogger styled photo

 Note that fish doesn't need to be (and really shouldn't be) marinated for a long time, like beef or chicken. I think it would be ok if the fish was marinated for about 30 minutes or so, but if you go much longer the lime juice might start "cooking" the fish. 

Cook the halibut for about 15-25 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. This hunk-o-halibut took about 20 minutes. 

While the fish is a-bakin, combine all of the green sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer sauce to a bowl and allow it to thicken up in the fridge while you wait for the fish to bake. 

After the fish is done, allow to rest for about 10 minutes. I don't know if this is necessary, but I just did it. 

See? Peruvian-ish!

I served mine alongside some roasted root veggies and steamed broc, and went nuts with the green sauce.

So nice I posted this picture twice

Asian-ish Lettuce Wraps

 Ah, Asian-ish lettuce wraps. These come together super quick and are great for a weeknight dinner. I usually end up making these a lot during Bachelor/Bachelorette season, because I can mindlessly chop while watching 24 year old nannies chase love. I toss the fixins in a tupperware so everything comes together even quicker the next day. Additional bonuses include:
1. You only need one pan
2. You can add a bunch of extra veggies or none at all
3. You don't HAVE to watch the Bachelor to make these
4. This is another adapted HungryMom recipe, so you know it's good
5. This is healthyish, so you might lose 3 lbs
 

Thank you, Chris Harrison!

You'll need:
1-2 T coconut, sesame, olive oil - whatever you have 
1 lb ground turkey or chicken (sometimes I go crazy and use half and half)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 inch knob of ginger, minced
1 8 oz can water chestnuts, drained and chopped  
1-2 cups assorted chopped veggies (think carrots, celery, bell peppers, mushrooms...let your imagination run WILD)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c hoisin sauce
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce (Sambal Oelek or sriracha both work!)

to serve:
1/4 c fresh cilantro
lime wedges
Romaine hearts

 I don't have pictures of the process because it all just happened so fast. 

Heat a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the 2 Tbsp of oil and bring to temp, then add ground turkey and let brown for a few minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and the rest of the chopped veggies and continue to stir for another 5 minutes or so, until meat is cooked through and veggies are cooked to desired level. 
Sauce time! Heyo! Add in the soy sauce, hoisin, and chili-garlic sauce and stir to combine. Throw in the drained, chopped water chestnuts and some salt (for kicks). Ok, you're done! Serve these up on romaine leaves and top with fresh cilantro, lime juice, and more sriracha.
 

Neeeki, do you assept this lettuce wrap?