Recipe of the Week: NoTakeOut

I was recently introduced to a website called NoTakeOut.  It is perfect for too-busy hipsters and yuppies who are just learning to cook.  NoTakeOut sends an email every day with the featured recipe, which spells out every ingredient you need to purchase, as well as outlines  the "game plan" for prepping and cooking.  However, I realized three things while I was experimenting with this recipe:

1) I am a little more advanced than the average beginner
2) The recipe's proportions were somewhat incorrect
3) I don't understand how to follow "game plans"

... so I did it my way.


Braised Manhattan Studio Chicken over Couscous
my take on braised farmhouse chicken, served with a crisp mixed salad
Original recipe on NoTakeOut

INGREDIENTS

Shopping List

• 2 yellow onions, diced 
• 1 fennel bulb, diced 
• 1 bag mixed lettuces from Dole (it was on sale) 
• 3 cubes frozen cilantro from Trader Joe's (I love their frozen herbs!) 
• 1 15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed 
• 6 chicken thighs 
• 1 cup couscous

Pantry Items

• Balsamic vinegar, 1 - 2 tbsps 
• Black pepper, a sprinkle 
• Chicken broth, 3 1-cup serving boxes from Pacific Natural (a real pantry must have!) 
• Extra-virgin olive oil for vinagrette 
• Canola oil for browning
• 4 garlic cloves, minced/diced/crushed 
• Ground cumin, 1 1/2 tbsps first, more later 
• Ground ginger, 1/2 tsps 
• Red pepper flakes, a pinch 
• Sea salt, a sprinkle

INSTRUCTIONS
Turn on computer. Visit NoTakeOut. Read recipe in its entirety. Get annoyed that a website that targets super busy people would list ingredients without measurements and educate folks to prep everything first, then cook - as if we have the time to do things separately. Decide to go against the grain.

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Heat canola oil in frying pan. Place chicken skin-side down and begin to brown. The chicken should make a sizzling sound once it touches the pan. If it does not, remove and count to 10, then try again. Brown about 5 - 6 minutes on each side and just listen to it snap, crackle, pop.
2. While chicken is browning, dice onions and garlic. Dodge the crazy bits of oil jumping out of the pan. Realize that canola oil heats at a higher temp than olive oil and it hella stings when it hits your skin. Curse the chickens and their mothers. Move chopping board farther away from frying pan. 
3. Once chicken thighs are crispy and golden on both sides, remove from pan and place on plate, season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Add to the pan diced onion, garlic and spices. Stir and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Wonder if you've added enough cumin, as the color seems light. Note that you did not use the a precise measuring spoon and sometimes eyeballing it isn't always accurate. Decide to think about it later. 
4. Add 4 chicken thighs back to the pan. Wonder if braising in a clay pot would bring about a different result and place two thighs in there. In both pots, cover with chicken broth (about 3 cups, instead of the 4 that the recipe recommends) and add chickpeas. Simmer for 30 minutes. Begin to watch the premiere of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. 
5. During commercial breaks, prep salad: open bag, rinse salad and place into large bowl. Make vinaigrette: Whisk together 1 tbsp. vinegar, the minced garlic and salt and pepper in a bowl. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil. Taste and want it to be more vinegar-y, add another 1/2 tbsp. Dice the fennel and stir into the vinaigrette. Toss into salad with fun giraffe utensils that mom got from South Africa. 
6. Check on the chicken. Notice that it looks too watery. Taste chicken sauce and notice that is really bland. Panic. Add more cumin to both until it is a golden brown color. Remove Trader Joe's cilantro cubes from freezer and mix in bowl with 1 clove garlic. Microwave to melt cubes and stir together. Add cilantro/garlic to both pots. Partially uncover and return to watching Food Revolution. Cross fingers and hope that the spices create their own revolution. 
7. At next commercial break, prepare couscous by bringing to boil one 1-cup serving of chicken broth in a small pot. Add a bit more water and couscous. Set aside 5 minutes and fluff with fork. Briefly remember the couscous in Morocco. YUM. 
8. After sauce has thickened, taste once more and marvel at the ability for a dish to make a complete comeback due to an extra 10 minutes of simmering. Decide the meal is ready to be served. Place on plates with couscous. Serve with a perfectly tossed salad. 

Optional step: Do a blind taste test with your dinner guest. You may notice that the clay pot version is more flavorful and sauce is thicker, but the chicken is a little tougher. On the other hand, the flavors in the pan version are a more subtle, although the chicken is more tender and juicy. Learn that guest prefers the pan version, eats a second helping and even offers to do the dishes. Feel happy that everything turned out okay.

The Greatest Day

This morning, I did a 60 minute yoga practice to my favorite yoga podcast on iTunes: Yoga to the People. The theme of the class was to make each moment "the greatest" moment, to make each yoga class the greatest yoga class you have ever experienced. So, this morning, I committed to making today the greatest day.

I am writing this at the end of my day. Was it the greatest day? In some ways, it really wasn't.

This afternoon, my bag was stolen while I was eating in a restaurant. In it was "everything" - my wallet, my credit cards, my money, my cell phone, my driver's license, my favorite sunglasses and a library book. What made it bittersweet was the fact that my bag had been stolen in Barcelona a few months ago in almost the same exact way... and I told myself that I should have known better.

An hour later, I had filed a police report and canceled all of my credit cards. I learned that the thieves had purchased several Unlimited Ride MetroCards - why? Maybe they needed to get somewhere or maybe they just really needed the money. I felt angry and violated, but also strangely calm and forgiving. In that moment, I was thankful for my new friend who lent me his iPhone to look up the phone numbers in order to cancel my cards. I was also thankful for the restaurant manager who sympathized with me and gave me free desserts. I was thankful for the patrons in the store who came over to see if I was okay and who respectfully kept a close watch on their own purses afterwards.

My new friend looked in every garbage bin in the area because I had said that maybe they had just taken my wallet but thrown the rest of my stuff away. He was also nice enough to take me home in a cab because I had no money, no ATM card, no way of getting back on my own.

When I reached my front door, I shared the news with my doorman who found the spare key and opened my door for me. I told him that I was afraid the thieves might break into my apartment because they have my address and my house keys. I was thankful that he asked my super to change the lock.

When I got home, I called a girlfriend who just happened to be in her office - one of the only phone numbers I know by heart - and she took me out to dinner and walked me to her ATM where she gave me $100. Then, she came over for tea and girltalk while I searched the internet for a new cell phone. I was thankful that she happened to be in the only place where I knew where to find her and that she was willing to come to my rescue (again, after having rescued me in Barcelona).

When I shared the news with my two close friends over Gchat, they asked if I was okay, did anything happen, was I hurt. They joked and said that the thieves were probably looking at my photos on my phone at that moment. haha. There were some pretty weird ones on there. They also joked that they didn't want to be around when I told my parents, who would likely say "I told you so." I was thankful that my close friends helped me to see the levity in the situation AND that my parents did not say "I told you so."

Here I am now, after having lost my bag and everything in it, after having lost what I thought were such important pieces of my life... after having gained a new perspective. Here I am, realizing that life is not about the things you can carry with you in your bag. It's about the people who carry you when you fall.

And so, was today the greatest day? I'd say, yes, I do believe it really was.

My heart goes out to all of you mentioned here. You know who you are.

Recipe of the Week: Chow

In order to improve my culinary talents, I decided to experiment with one new recipe a week. Tonight, I cheated a bit because I used only what I had in my pantry and some of the ingredients were pre-made... but if Sandra Lee can build an empire on semi-homemade cooking, then I say this counts too.


Linguine with Clams and SPAM

my take on linguine with clams and chorizo
The Original Recipe on Chow.com

INGREDIENTS

• Steamer clams in butter and garlic sauce (frozen, from Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 pound whole wheat linguine (I prefer DeCecco, it always turns out perfectly al dente)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 can of SPAM, diced (I didn't have chorizo on hand and thought it would be fun to see what might happen)
• 1 small shallot, finely chopped
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• Pinch of dried Italian parsley
• Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (some things in my fridge are real)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill a large pot with heavily salted water and bring to a boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain. Return pasta to the pot and set aside.


2. While the pasta cooks, heat olive oil in a large, straight-sided pan with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the SPAM and consider tasting a piece, but wonder if it is safe to eat SPAM from the can. In the end, decide that it is not worth it and will Google it afterwards. Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 6 minutes. Add the shallots and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 3 minutes. 


3. Remove the frozen clams from your freezer. Thank Trader Joe's for being so ingenious as you peel open the box. Read instructions on how to reheat clams via stove top. Remove a sizzling piece of SPAM to taste. Marvel at how nicely spicy SPAM and shallots go together. Remove another to be sure. 


4. Add frozen clams in garlic and butter sauce to pan, cover, and steam until the clams open and completely defrost, about 5 to 8 minutes. (Discard any that don’t open.) Stir to heat through. Uncover and simmer to thicken sauce. Check Facebook updates and Google the ability to eat SPAM from can. Learn that it is precooked and ultimately, quite safe. Duly note this fact for future ventures. 


5. Add clams, SPAM, and parsley to the pot with the pasta and stir to combine. Serve on plate with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Mangia.

Optional step: As you delight in the tastes and the ease of your creation, be inspired to start a blog to share your weekly culinary adventures and other musings.