Chicken Tikka Masala

A few years ago, I was part of a group at work who would bring in ingredients and start making Masala in the break room at 9:00 am so that it would be all nice and blended by lunch time. Two people were always tasked with bringing in the spices (not me), so I've been on the lookout for a good Masala for a while. If you like yourself some good Masala, give this a try. I didn't mix the Masala spices (just used the prepared Garam Masala you can get at any grocery store), but it sure tasted like what we made for lunch. Good memories. Now I just need to find me a good Garam Masala recipe so I can make that up myself.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken tenders
salt
ground coriander
cumin
1/2 C plain yogurt
6 Tbs butter
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 2" piece fresh ginger root, pealed and finely grated
3 Tbs Garam Masala
28 oz. canned diced tomatoes
1 Tbs sugar
1-1/2 C heavy cream
2 C Basmati or Jasmine rice
1 Tbs ground turmeric
4 C water
1 C frozen peas

Line a baking sheet with foil and place a large, oven-safe cooling rack in it that will hold all of the chicken. Season the chicken with some salt. Sprinkle on all sides with coriander and cumin. Coat the chicken completely with the yogurt. Place chicken on the cooling rack.

Place under the oven broiler on high about 10-12 inched below the heating element. Broil for 5-7 minutes per side. Watch carefully so the chicken doesn't completely char. Some blackening on the edges is normal. Chop chicken into chunks.

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tbs of the butter over medium-high heat. Toss in the onions and sauté until they are slightly browned. Add garlic, ginger, and 1 Tbs salt to the onions. Next, add the Garam Masala and tomatoes. Continue cooking and stirring, scraping the bottom of the pan to deglaze it.

Add sugar. Let mixture simmer on medium for about 5 minutes.

In a medium sauce pan, mix rice, 4 Tbs butter, 1 tsp salt, turmeric, and water. Cook as you normally cook rice. You can also use a rice cooker.

After the sauce has simmered for 5 minutes, add the heavy cream and chicken. Stir until the chicken is thoroughly coated with the sauce. Continue simmering while the rice cooks.

Once the rice is cooked, remove it from the heating element and add frozen peas. Cover again. The steam from the rice will cook the peas.

Serve the chicken and sauce over the rice.

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Lemon Curd

I was asked to make a trifle for a family Christmas party this week. I decided on fresh berries, and found a great recipe for it. It also called for a lemon curd. I didn't know if I could buy a curd, but I found this great recipe for it online, so I thought it was a good thing to learn how to make as well.

Ingredients
3 large eggs
3/4 C granulated white sugar
1/3 C fresh lemon juice (2-3 small lemons or one large lemon)
4 Tbl unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbl finely shredded lemon zest

In a stainless steel or glass bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended.

Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a Hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F). This will take approximately 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps.

Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted.

Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools.

Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

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Pumpkin Cake

Happy Halloween, everyone! I'm really excited for this post for two reasons:

1. I finally got a holiday-themed post in before the holiday was over!
2. This is just so cute!

I saw a pumpkin-shaped cake on facebook and thought "Hey, I could do that!" So I bought a basic (aka cheap) bunt pan, and, yay! Here it is!

Ingredients:
2 Devil's Food bunt cakes (I recommend Duncan Hines -- oh so moist!)
2 Devil's Food cupcakes
Frosting ( I used the Raspberry Coconut Dream frosting with orange extract instead of raspberry) divided into 2/3 orange, 1/6 green, and 1/6 black colors

Make the bunt cakes following the box directions. Make one cupcake from each of the mixes.

A trick I learned from my mother is to fill any empty slots in your muffin pan with water to help it bake evenly and not ruin your pan.

Cool the cakes completely. Cut the bottom of both bunts so that they are flat.

Place one cake on your cake plate cut side up. Frost it. Place the other cake cut side down on top and line up the ridges from the bunt pan.

Starting at the top of the cake, carefully draw the orange frosting down the sides. This helps to avoid any crumbs getting in your frosting. You can also do a crumb coat on your cake, if you have time.

Lightly frost one of the cupcakes and put it in the bunt hole top-up to "plug" the hole. Fill the hole with some of the cake cut off the bottom of the bunts.

Carefully frost across the plugged-up hole. Frost the second cupcake green, and place it top-down in the center of the cake.

Add finishing touches such as leaves, curly vines, and Jack-O-Lantern face with remaining green and black frosting.

Place the remaining crumbs around the bottom for a dirt effect.

This makes a very, very large cake. It served 30 people, and we still had some left over.

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Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

I found this recipe on Jamie Cooks It Up. It was an experiment for a church ladies' social, and it went over so well, I was barely able to save a piece to bring home to my husband (who really deserved it, because he helped make it).

Ingredients:

1 pre-baked 9" pie crust

Filling:

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 C powdered sugar

3/4 C sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 pint whipping cream, whipped

dash salt

Topping:

3/4 C sugar

1/4 C cornstarch

10 Tbl water

2 Tbl fresh lemon juice

3 C fresh or frozen blueberries

dash salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbl butter

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well. Add the sour cream, whipped cream, and dash of salt. Mix until well combined, and set the mixture aside.

In a medium sized saucepan mix the cornstarch and sugar together.

Add the water and lemon juice and stir until smooth.

Bring to a slow boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir in the blueberries.

Note: If you are using frozen blueberries, heat them in the microwave for a couple minutes so they aren't ice cold when you add them to the saucepan.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. It should thicken up after a couple of minutes. You want it to be the consistency of canned pie filling.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the dash salt, vanilla and butter. Set it aside to cool.

Pour the cream filling into the pie crust. When the blueberry topping is cooled to room temperature spread it over the filling. Chill for at least 2 hours.

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