Coconut Fried Chicken with Coconut Curry Rice

Selective taste buds.

We all have that one friend or family member that we would classify as having selective taste buds.  The person who hears or sees the name of a dish and instantly turns their cheek in disgust without first tasting the flavors.

I know way too many of those people.

I used to be one of those people.

In some ways, I still am one of those people.  I have tasted bacon, and I know I don't like it.  I've tasted pork sausage and been sorely disappointed.  Pork chops and ham?  I'm not sure exactly what they taste like, but I don't plan on finding out.  I've committed myself to the notion that I don't like anything porcine and I never will.

That being said, I'm still kind of pushy when people say they won't eat something I made because they are afraid they won't like it.  

When I serve something with coconut milk and curry powder, people are hesitant, to say the least.  Since one member of my household is allergic to coconut, I don't always get a chance to make this.  Since everyone else seems to think they will hate it before they try it, I almost never get to make this.

Luckily, I'm home all alone this weekend.  While everyone is away in Virginia beaching it up, I'm going to play in my kitchen.  So the coconut and the curry and all that good Thai flavor is coming out!

I did this with shrimp and grits a couple months ago, and now I'm taking on chicken and rice.  

I love the way this tastes and the mix of flavors and textures.  While it's not necessarily the healthiest with the fried chicken, I love the crunch of the fried coconut with the spicy, creamy rice.

This is a great way to spend the week by myself, eating all my favorite unconventional foods!

Coconut Fried Chicken with Coconut Curry Rice

Coconut Fried Chicken:

1 lb. chicken, cut into 1-1 1/2" cubes

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 cup flaked coconut

1/2 cup flour

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 cups vegetable or coconut oil, for frying

For the chicken, heat the vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Use a thermometer to achieve a reading of approximately 350F.

Whisk the eggs and milk together in a shallow bowl.   Pour flour and flaked coconut into another shallow bowl.

Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, then toss into flour, pressing into the coconut to coat evenly.

Drop into frying oil and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.

Coconut Curry Rice:

(loosely adapted from My Recipes)

2 cups water

1 cup rice

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup chopped green onions

3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tsp minced ginger

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp curry powder

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp sugar

1 14oz. can light coconut milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

Place water and rice in a pot over medium heat.  Bring water to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the water has absorbed into the rice.

In a skillet, saute garlic, ginger, pepper and onions in olive oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink.  Add curry paste, soy sauce, lime juice and sugar and cook an additional minute.

Add coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.  Season to taste.

Pour the coconut curry sauce over cooked rice.  Top with coconut chicken.

Buffalo Fried Chicken with Bleu Cheese Rice

My body hurts.

I recently went on vacation.  Well, by vacation, I mean that I escaped my job for a whole four days so I could travel to Pittsburgh and watch my beloved Steelers play.  It's no tropical beach getaway, but it definitely felt good to get away and do something fun.

What was not fun was coming home.  Not only did I have to jump right back into the swing of things- work, school, responsibilities, bills... All of the things I'd managed to forget about for a whole weekend.  On top of that, I came back three pounds heavier than when I left.  This prompted me to jump out of the car after a long trek home and start running my butt back into shape.

That two-mile trip didn't feel fulfilling while I was running it, and it sure doesn't feel good twenty-four hours later, when my muscles are screaming in pain.   Running on those muscles again today didn't help anything.

So, as I sit here typing, I have to tell you that I am extremely proud of myself, and hoping my beautiful internet friends are proud of me, too.  I managed to not only run two days in a row (I am, by definition, a non-runner.  A hater of running.  A hater of being out of breath.), but I also got up off my exhausted little tush and made dinner.  Specifically, this chicken and rice dish.

I'll admit it: while this is easily a one-person job, I did have some help.  I put some extra hands to use frying up the chicken.  Even though it's insanely easy, I just wanted to sit by the stove and watch rice cook.  It's pretty much all I had the energy for.

Sooo... maybe you're not as proud of me as you would be if I had done it all myself.  But hey, I did it.  We did it.  Plus, I managed to keep my eyes open long enough to write this recipe up so I could share it with you.

That's definitely something to be proud of!












Buffalo Chicken with Bleu Cheese Rice

Buffalo Chicken:

1 lb.chicken breasts, diced into 1-1.5" cubes

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups flour

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

1/2 cup hot sauce

Heat the vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Use a thermometer to achieve a reading of approximately 350F.

Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together in a shallow bowl. Pour flour into another shallow bowl.

Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, then toss into flour. Coat evenly.

Drop into frying oil and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a saute pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 3-5 minutes and stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.

Combine chicken and hot sauce in a bowl.  Toss to combine.

Bleu Cheese Rice:

2 cups water

1 cup rice

2 T butter

1/2 Bleu Cheese dressing

2 tsp hot sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/3 cup sliced green onions for garnish

Bleu cheese crumbles for garnish

Place water and rice in a pot over medium heat.  Bring water to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the water has absorbed into the rice.

In a separate saute pan, saute butter, hot sauce and seasoning over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.

 Stir sauce into rice and cook until everything is warmed through.  Remove from heat.  Stir in bleu cheese dressing.

Ladle a serving of rice in a bowl.  Top with Buffalo Chicken.  Garnish with green onions and crumbled bleu cheese.

Almond Butter Fried Chicken with Amaretto Rice

Yesterday, I made an unusual meal.

Shrimp and grits is already pretty not-standard in my life.  When you add almond butter and amaretto liqueur, my BLECHHH factor reaches max level.

At least, until I tasted it.

Then... it became a revolutionary thing in my life.  Like, these weird foods mixed together with completely unconventional ingredients should be disgusting.  In my mind, it's gross.  I feel like it should be gross.

I know.... not much of a saleswoman over here.

But, the thing is... it's not gross.  Or disgusting.

It's a little spicy.  And, a little sweet.  And, nutty.  And creamy.  And completely umami.

If you've ever successfully described umami, then you're a way better person than me.  I can't describe it, but I know it when I taste it.

This is it.

So, after the shrimp and grits was so successful, I decided to apply it to something I'm a little more familiar with:  chicken and rice.

I'm pleased to say that this is equally as delicious on chicken and rice, so if you're apprehensive about shrimp and grits, this is a great way to experiment with these flavors.

I can't wait to figure out more ways to incorporate this flavor into my dinner recipes!















Almond Butter Fried Chicken with Amaretto Rice

Almond Butter Fried Chicken:

1 lb.chicken breasts, diced into 1-1.5" cubes

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1 cup flour (or almond flour)

1/2 cup pulverized almonds

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Almond Butter Sauce:

2-3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat the vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Use a thermometer to achieve a reading of approximately 350F.

Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together in a shallow bowl. Pour flour and almonds into another shallow bowl.

Dip the chicken into the egg mixture, then toss into flour. Coat evenly.

Drop into frying oil and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a saute pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 3-5 minutes and stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.

Combine chicken and almond sauce in a bowl.  Toss to combine.

Amaretto Rice:

2 cups water

1 cup rice

2 T butter

1/2 cup Amaretto

2 tsp hot sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds for garnish

Place water and rice in a pot over medium heat.  Bring water to a boil, then reduce to simmer.  Cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the water has absorbed into the rice.

In a separate saute pan, saute butter, amaretto, hot sauce and seasoning over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.

 Stir amaretto sauce into rice and cook until everything is warmed through.  Remove from heat.

In a dry pan, toast slivered almonds over medium heat just until fragrant.  Remove from heat.

Ladle a serving of rice in a bowl.  Top with Almond Butter Fried Chicken, and slivered almonds.

Almond Butter Fried Shrimp with Amaretto Grits

This is... different.

Anybody who follows me knows I'm not 100% on the shrimp bandwagon.

And mixing shrimp with one of my favorite liqueurs did not seem to help me any.  I couldn't fathom mixing almonds, amaretto and shrimp.

I was wrong...

Since I still require a deep fryer to make shrimp edible for me, I deep fried these shrimp and coated them in a sauce this is reminiscent of a spicy peanut sauce found in Thai cuisine, but substituted almond butter for the peanut butter.  Then I made an amaretto glaze for the grits.  To finish it off, I garnished it with some toasted, slivered almonds to complete the nutty trifecta of flavor.

While it might sound a little iffy, I gotta say... I'm converted.  I'm on the bandwagon.  I'm down with the almond goodness flooding this dish.  I'm even down with the shrimp, even if it's not my favorite food ever.

I'm contemplating the idea of substituting the shrimp out for some seared scallops next time...

What do you think???












Almond Butter Fried Shrimp with Amaretto Grits

Almond Butter Fried Shrimp:

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and cleaned

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

1 cup flour (or almond flour)

1/2 cup pulverized almonds

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Almond Butter Sauce:

2-3 tbsp butter

1/4 cup almond butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat the vegetable oil in a pot over medium high heat. Use a thermometer to achieve a reading of approximately 350F.

Clean shrimp by peeling the shells off, de-veining them and rinsing them under cold water.

Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together in a shallow bowl. Pour flour and almonds into another shallow bowl.

Dip the cleaned shrimp into the egg mixture, then toss into flour. Coat evenly.

Drop into frying oil and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a saute pan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cooking for 3-5 minutes and stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.

Combine shrimp and almond sauce in a bowl.  Toss to combine.

Amaretto Grits:

2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cups grits
2 T butter
1/2 grated mild cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Amaretto

2 tsp tabasco sauce

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds for garnish

Bring milk to a boil over medium heat. Add butter.

Slowly add grits and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add cheese and stir until completely melted into the mixture.

In a separate saute pan, saute butter, amaretto, hot sauce and seasoning over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir the amaretto sauce into the grits and cook until everything is warmed through.  Remove from heat.

In a dry pan, toast slivered almonds over medium heat just until fragrant.  Remove from heat.

Ladle a serving of grits in a bowl.  Top with Almond Butter Fried Shrimp, and slivered almonds.

Peanut Butter Cup Cake

No such thing as a successful diet in this house.

Especially when you see something like this - a rich. chocolatey cake recipe combined with sweet peanut butter buttercream, chocolate ganache and peanut butter cups...

WHAT?

There is literally just too much going on for words here.  So, I'm going to keep it short and let the flavor do the talking.

I love chocolate.  I love peanut butter.

I love the combination of different flavors and textures in this cake.  And, I love how the chocolate ganache makes this really taste like a legit peanut butter cup.

I want to say more, but... my mouth is currently packed full of cake.

Sorry...

Not sorry.














Peanut Butter Cup Cake
(loosely adapted from Brown Eyed Baker)

Chocolate Cake: 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup strong coffee
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs

Candy Bar Filling:
1 cup very finely chopped peanut butter cups

Peanut Butter Buttercream:

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups Confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy cream

FInely chopped candy pieces for decorating

Preheat oven 350F.

Combine all cake ingredients in a stand mixer.  Mix until smooth,

Distribute the batter evenly between 3 greased 9" pans.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool completely.

While the cake is baking, mix ingredients for the buttercream together in a bowl.  

For the ganache,  place chocolate chips in a mixing bowl.  Bring heavy cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat and pour cream over chips, letting it sit for about a minute to soften the chips.  Stir until the ganache is smooth and glossy.

Once the cake is cooled, spread 1/2 the buttercream over the top of two layers.  Sprinkle finely chopped candy over the buttercream.   Stack the cake layers on top of each other to form a three-tier cake with the plain, uncovered tier at the top.  Cover the top and sides with the cake with the buttercream.  

Slowly pour the ganache over the top of the cake while it is still slightly warm, starting at the center and lightly spread outward, letting the ganache cool and harden.

Sprinkle extra candy pieces over the top of the cake.  

Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Walnut Glaze

I bought an acorn squash.

It's not in season, and I've never had acorn squash before.

Impulse buying is a gift.

I bought this strange looking gourd with no understanding of what I was going to do with it.  But, I knew I liked summer squash.  I liked spaghetti squash.  I liked butternut squash.

I had a feeling I'd like acorn squash.

Since roasting it gives it a slightly nutty and slightly sweet flavor, I decided to go with a nutty and sweet glaze to use after.  

This is a really good side for a hearty meat like pot roast or steak.  I'm sure pig-lovers out there would definitely chow down on this if paired with some pork chops, but that's just not my style.

After this, I'll be buying up a lot more acorn squash soon!

Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple Walnut Glaze

 

1 acorn squash

Olive oil for drizzling

Salt & Pepper to taste

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup walnuts

 

 

Preheat oven 350F.

 

Halve the squash and scoop the seeds out.

 

Lightly drizzle oil over the cut sides of the squash and season each with salt and pepper.

 

Place halves face down and roast in oven for 30 minutes.

 

In a dry saute pan, toast walnuts over medium heat until fragrant.  Remove from heat.

 

Mix butter, syrup and walnuts in a bowl.

 

Pull squash from oven and flip halves upside down.  Drizzle the maple glaze around the inside of each half.

 

Return to oven for 10-15 minutes.

Carrot Casserole

Who has two green thumbs and a boat load of home-grown rainbow carrots?

This girl.

I can't tell you how excited I was to head out to the garden this morning with no hopes of harvesting anything edible, and walked away with a bucket full of these multi-colored beauties.  

When it came to deciding what to do with them, I sort of drew a blank.  I don't really like cooked carrots; I'd prefer the crunchy, raw version, but I wanted to come up with some way of cooking these up for dinner.  A quick search of the internet brought me to a version of this casserole.  I wanted something with a little sweet and savory flavor and some crunch.

I love this recipe because it's easy to assemble and there are only a few ingredients so you don't feel like you're going overboard trying to construct a weekday dinner option.  

With all these carrots, I'm sure I'll be looking for other suggestions for delicious sides!

What do you like to do with cooked carrots?

Carrot Casserole

 

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 2" quartered sections

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 stick butter

2 tbsp milk

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

2-3 tbsp stick butter, melted

24 butter crackers, crushed

 

 

 

Cook carrots in a sauce pan over medium heat until fork tender.  Remove from heat.

 

Preheat oven 350F.

 

Mash carrots in a bowl with brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, milk, salt and pepper. 

 

Pour carrot mash into a greased casserole dish

 

Mix butter crackers and melted butter in a bowl.

 

Drop over the top of the carrot mixture.

 

Bake 20 minutes.

Black Pepper Caramel Sauce (Vietnamese Nuoc Mau)

We're a game meat kind of family.

I come from a hunting family.  Not like famous African lion hunting (RIP Cecil), but hunting for the sake of putting food on the table.  I grew up that way and continue to support conservation so if you're a animal rights activist or vegetarian, chances are this post is not for you.  

Don't worry, though.  You can still visit my recipe index for some meat-free choices.

For the rest of you carnivores, I have a sauce here that might literally change your point of view on cooking.  

This sauce is derived from two sources.  First, Nuoc Mau is a traditional Vietnamese caramel sauce that I had never heard of until a few months ago.  Turns out, I'd been making this sauce without realizing that a culture halfway around the globe had already created it many many many years ago.

My family always buys a game rub each year that consists of most of these ingredients.  This rub is mostly brown sugar with a little extra savory seasoning to it.  We would let venison sit in this rub for a few hours and then grill or pan-fry it to get the sugars caramelized.

From that, I decided to make a caramel sauce that would give me the same flavor by just tossing the meat in the sauce before serving.  

That's why you will notice this Nuoc Mau has a few more ingredients than the original Vietnamese version.  It's a combination of a caramel sauce with this game rub I grew up with.

If you're not a wild game fan, I think this would still be perfect on beef or chicken.  This is a neat twist on an Asian classic and makes my venison dishes super sweet and spicy all at once!

Black Pepper Caramel Sauce (Vietnamese Nuoc Mau)

 

3/4 cup water, separated into 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup

1 cup water

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cayenne powder

 

 

Fill sink halfway with cool water.

 

On medium heat, combine 1/4 cup water and sugar in a pot. 

 

Stir mixture occasionally and monitor the mixture as it changes.  It will turn from opaque to clear, then turn color as it simmers.  When it reaches a dark amber color,  Submerge the bottom of the pan in the sink to stop cooking.

 

Add 1/2 cup water and stand back as the mixture will spit and bubble.  When the bubbling subsides some, stir the mixture until its cooled and smooth.

 

Stir in black pepper, salt, garlic powder and cayenne powder. 

 

Store in airtight container in refrigerator.  Use as a glaze for meat before or after cooking.

Chocolate Cake with Candy Bar Filling and Peanut Butter Buttercream

So... there is this candy. 

It comes in bars.  It comes in minis.  It comes in an ice-cream treat.

And because I don't 100% understand how the laws of copyright infringement work, I refrain from putting the name on here for you.  However, I can describe it to you and you can take a guess for yourself what I've modeled this cake after.

Let's see, I would characterize this candy bar as a creamy nougat-ey center topped with a mixture of caramel and chopped peanuts.  Oh, and then completely covered in a delicious coating of milk chocolate.

Sound familiar?

If so, you have the inspiration for this cupcake.  If not, my advice is to make this cake, and taste the similarities for yourself.

Either way, make this cake.

Since I'm relatively new at baking and creative cake-building, the decorating of this cake took wayyyyyyyy longer than I anticipated.

But, in the end, it managed to turn out really nice. 

And, may I say, super delicious!

If you like candy bars, even the nameless ones, you'll love the blend of peanuts, caramel and chocolate that bring this cake to life.










Chocolate Cake with Candy Bar Filling and Peanut Butter Buttercream


Chocolate Cake: 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup strong coffee
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 eggs

Candy Bar Filling:
1 cup finely chopped candy bars (I used "Snickers")
1/2 cup caramel topping

Peanut Butter Buttercream:

1 stick butter

1 1/2 cups Confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

 

FInely chopped candy pieces and caramel topping for decorating

Preheat oven 350F.

Combine all cake ingredients in a stand mixer.  Mix until smooth,

Distribute the batter evenly between 3 greased 9" pans.

Bake for 30 minutes.  Let cool completely.

While the cake is baking, mix ingredients for the buttercream together in a bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the candy pieces and caramel.

Once the cake is cooled, spread 1/2 the caramel candy mixture over the top of two layers.  Stack the cake layers on top of each other to form a three-tier cake with the plain, uncovered tier at the top.  Cover the top and sides with the cake with the buttercream.  Ice the cake with any design you choose.

Sprinkle extra candy pieces over the top of the cake.  Lightly drizzle caramel topping over the top.