Nice Food Recipe

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium to large butternut squash, halved and seeded

3 tbs butter or vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped roughly

1/2 tsp ground ginger

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 tsp salt

parsley or cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

1. Preheat your oven to 400. Place squash with the cut side down on an oiled baking sheet. Roast for about an hour until it can be pierced easily with a fork. Once cool, remove and discard the skin, leaving only the pulp.

2. Heat butter or oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and the ginger, and cook, stirring, until tender (about 5 minutes).

3. Stir in the roasted squash and the stock. Simmer and cook, breaking up the squash a bit, for around 20 minutes.

4. Puree the soup until smooth. I use my immersion blender (which I adore!) because that involves the least amount of clean up. You could also use a blender or food processor. Add salt to taste, and reheat. Add your garnish, and serve!

Molten Chocolate Cake

Recipe

Serves 4

1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch salt
2 Tbsp flour

Prep: Preheat oven to 450. Butter & flour four 6 oz ramekins.
Gently melt the butter with the chocolate. Whisk until smooth. Do this in a double boiler if you have one. Or a poor man’s double boiler (bowl balanced over pot of boiling water) if you don’t. You’re in good company, that’s how we do it!
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolks, sugar and salt until thickened and pale.
Fold the chocolate mixture and flour into the egg mixture. Spoon the batter into the ramekins and bake at 450 for 8-9 minutes. (Food & Wine recommends 12 minutes but we found that to be too long, but possibly because of high altitude issues. We’re at 5,000 ft. If anyone gives this a try please let us know!)
Let the cakes cool in the ramekins for 1 minute, then cover each with an inverted dessert plate. Carefully turn each one over, let stand for 10 seconds and then unmold. Serve immediately.

Carrot Muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Pinch fine salt

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups (ish) of grated carrots (3-4 medium carrots) Preheat oven to 350
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a medium bowl, then add to dry mixture. Stir until just combined, then add carrots & stir until incorporated.
Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups and bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes

Grilled Peaches with Bourbon Butter Sauce

2 ripe peaches (optionally peeled)
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
optional topping – whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Peel the peaches if you’d like, then cut each in half and remove the pit. Put peaches aside on a dish to await grilling.
Combine butter, brown sugar, bourbon, and cinnamon on the stovetop over medium heat. Heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and the sauce is hot and bubbly. Pour into a small pitcher to await serving.
Grill peaches on a hot oiled grill for approximately 3-4 minutes. Remove from grill and serve with warm bourbon butter sauce and whipped cream or ice cream.

Homemade Raspberry Ice Cream

Raspberry Ice Cream

3 egg yolks

3/4 cup half-and-half

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup heavy cream

3/4 pint raspberries

2 tbs sugar

a couple drops vanilla extract

pinch of salt

Whisk the egg yolks briefly in a small bowl. Set a strainer over a heat-proof bowl. Heat the half-and-half and 1/2 cup sugar in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, until sugar dissolves. When hot whisk a little of the hot half-and-half into the egg yolks and then whisk warm yolks into the hot mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Do not let it boil. Remove from the heat and quickly strain. Add the heavy cream. Cover the mixture and chill. Puree the raspberries in a food processor, and strain the puree to remove the seeds. (It will take some help from your fingers to press the raspberries through while the seeds remain in the strainer.) Stir in the 2 tbs of sugar, and once the sugar has melted, add the berries to the cold cream mixture. Add vanilla and salt. Chill thoroughly and then freeze according to your ice-cream maker's instructions.

Homemade French Fries

4 large russet potatoes
1/4 c. peanut or canola oil (chosen for its high smoke point)
generous sprinkle of salt

Preheat oven to 450.
Cut the potatoes into 1/4” strips. We found the thinness did a lot to prevent these from tasting like regular roasted potato chunks.
Toss the cut fries into a bowl of cold water as they are cut. Let soak for 15 minutes, then drain away the cloudy starchy water. Rinse very well, then dump the wet fries onto a dish towel and blot them dry. If you were to roast too-wet fries they’d steam instead of roast, and be mushy in the end. Ew.
Toss the dried fries with the 1/4 c. oil, then spread them in a single layer – we used two large rimmed baking sheets, that we spread thinly with oil. We’d recommend against using un-rimmed cookie sheets…you don’t want to start a grease fire! Sprinkle generously with salt.
Roast for 15 minutes, then retrieve the baking sheets and toss the fries around with a spatula. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or so (you may need an extra 5 to 10 minutes -- one of our batches required more time, possibly because of the type of cookie sheet), until the fries are golden brown and blistered in spots.

Crazy Good Indian Butter Chicken

I'm not kidding, this dish is amazing. For years I have wanted to duplicate Indian Masala dishes found at my favorite Indian restaurant, The Bombay House, in Utah. My girls and I ADORE masala. Nothing made at home ever came close, I never found good recipes in books or online.

Sigh...

I get stubborn about these things sometimes... I again did my research, and still did not find what I was looking for. BUT, I decided to start with a basic Indian gravy and work from there. I knew I wanted a creamy, buttery tomato base. I did not want to taste an over abundance of cumin, which most home made recipes have. I also did not want the sauce to be acidic tasting from the tomato, again, most home made sauces are too sour. I wanted a harmonious marriage of exotic Indian spices, peeking their way through, delighting the taste buds. The sauces I love also have a subtle sweetness to them too and I wanted to duplicate that.

I cooked and tasted carefully, adding more spices and "stuff" until the sauce "officially arrived".

The sauce turned out so rich and flavorful. The chicken was so moist and tender, with a touch of tang that perfectly complimented the decadent sauce. Served over basmati rice, and garnished with cilantro, it was perfect. We enjoyed it more than the version served at most Indian restaurants. I usually have to have tamarind chutney on the side to fully enjoy this dish, but this has such a nice flavor that I didn't need it at all. We fell into a blissful Indian food coma after this incredible meal. We were SO happy, just sayin'.

This is a sauce you can add any meat to, not just the marinated chicken recipe below. You can make it vegetarian, by adding Paneer (an Indian cheese). Oh, how I love paneer... I tried making it once - epic fail. I'll figure that one out too some time.

This makes enough sauce to serve about 8 people, or 2 meals of 4. I like to make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge until needed. Restaurants also make their sauces in advance, in big batches, to save time. They will then customize it to order for their patrons. Marinating your meat ahead of time makes for quick meals come dinner time.

This recipe is surprisingly easy to prepare. How great is that?

Serve with basmati rice for authenticity and true deliciousness. I like to garnish with fresh chopped cilantro too.

Garlic Naan is a natural to serve with Indian food, My recipe is not gluten-free (yet), so I will not share it with you here.

Here is my original prized recipe, I now present it to you...

Marinated Chicken:

3 to 4 fresh or thawed skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 T. mashed garlic
1/2 T. grated fresh ginger
1 T. plain yogurt (Greek yogurt works too)
1 t. garahm masala powder (recipe on this blog)
1/2 t. tumeric powder
1/2 t. chili powder
1 t. BioSalt (recipe on this blog)

Method:

Mix the marinade with the chicken in a heavy duty Ziplock bag. Coat the chicken evenly.

Let marinate in your refrigerator for at least 4 hours, overnight is even better (you may store in your refrigerator up to 3 days this way).

Makhani Masala Sauce (a thick buttery tomato based sauce):

2 T. virgin coconut oil
1/2 c. pureed onion
1 T. fresh grated ginger (paste)
1 T. smashed garlic (paste)
1/2 to 1 T. kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves), optional to taste (Indian food stores)
1 1/2 t. Graham masala powder
1 t. Ancho red chili powder
1/2 t. plus 1/8 t. Saigon cinnamon
1/2 t. cardamom powder
1/2 t. tumeric powder, optional (I left it out this time)
1 pinch red hot pepper flakes
1 green chili, minced, optional (I left it out this time)
3 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
1 c. hot water
1 c. heavy cream (Dairy-Free Version: omit cream and water, add 2 cans full-fat coconut milk)
2 t. xylitol
1 1/2 t. BioSalt, to taste (recipe on this blog)
1 T. butter (omit if dairy-free version is desired)

Method:

Heat 2 T. coconut oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat..

Add ground onion and saute until it starts looking translucent.

Add the ginger paste, garlic paste and kasuri methi, if using (I did not have any).

Saute until the mixture until it starts to sizzle and let it sizzle a few minutes. Don't let it burn.

Add a touch of water if you feel the onion is sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Add the graham masala, chili powder, cinnamon, cardamom, hot pepper flakes, and green chili.

Mix well in the pan. Add the tomato sauce and 1 c. hot water.

Turn the heat down to medium, cover and let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 1 c. heavy cream and 2 t. xylitol, stir and then bring up to a boil again, uncovered.

Add 1 1/2 t. BioSalt and 1 T. butter, stir in and remove from heat.

Taste for seasoning. It should have a subtle sweetness from the xylitol and sweet spices.

Use the sauce immediately or pour into a quart jar and store in your refrigerated until needed.

There is enough sauce to prepare 2 batches of the marinated chicken above.

To Prepare The Meal:

Prepare the basmati rice according to the directions for your rice cooker, using 3 cups rice, the amount of water called for, 1 T. butter and a heaping t. BioSalt.

In a large frying pan, heat the 2 T. coconut oil and fry the chicken pieces for about 3 minutes on each side, until starting to brown. don't over crowd the chicken in the pan.

Once the chicken is done, Add the prepared sauce, about 2 cups worth.

Stir together and gently heat through. Thin with a little water as needed.

Top with fresh chopped cilantro.

Serve over hot cooked basmati rice.

Notes:

In the future I may puree the sauce to make it even more velvety.

I used our home made Garam Masala spice blend recipe found on this blog.

See pictures of the cooking process: