http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/cfG9BJdqjPs/next-up-chicken-satay-burger.html

That's right, it's going to be a three video week! Stay tuned for this thrilling experiment in turning a fabulous Thai appetizer into a mediocre chicken burger.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/YfrEWN7Nx4w/hello-from-dunsmuir-california.html

Just a quick note to let you know we're up in beautiful Dunsmuir, California celebrating my father-in-law Al's 70th birthday. We'll be back at it Monday, so pardon any delays in responding to comments and emails. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and as always, enjoy!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/R-tHFFR6nJ4/chicken-satay-burger-10.html

Hello from beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea, California! Michele and I are here to tour a couple family farms as guests of knowacaliforniafarmer.com. Hopefully, I'll have some photos and more info to share when I return to San Francisco on Sunday evening, but in the meantime I wanted to post this experimental chicken satay burger video.

I've been thinking about how to do a chicken burger using some of the same flavors found in Thai-style chicken satay, and this was my first attempt. I thought it was pretty good, and benefited from some seasoning adjustments, as you'll hear. I think the concept is solid, but I'll continue to try and perfect the execution.

This is one of those videos where I especially hope some are inspired to take the idea and run with it. Then, come back and share your incredible success with the rest of us. This is a fun jumping off point in regards to doing burgers inspired by other classic dishes. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Enjoy!

For the burger (4):

1 pound ground chicken

1 1/2 tbsp coconut milk

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp sambal chili sauce

1 tbsp bread crumbs

2 tsp soy sauce

3 cloves minced garlic

pinch of cayenne

For the peanut sauce:

Peanut butter thinned with a squeeze of lime, seasoned with more sambal or hot pepper

For the slaw:

1/2 cup grated or julienne carrot

1/2 cup grated or julienne cucumber

2 tbsp sliced jalapeño

2 tsp Asian fish sauce

1 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/1CUIhp27BQ4/stump-chef-with-average-betty.html

One reason I don't interview celebrity chefs is because I feel so sorry for them. I can't imagine having to answer those same inane questions, over and over. And that's from the real food journalists; imagine how brutal us bloggers' questions are.

However, there is one interviewer that does things a little differently; my buddy, Average Betty. Here she is at the Los Angeles Times and Food & Wine "The Taste," breaking the modern record for most chefs stumped in 5 minutes or less. You can see her full post on the event here. Enjoy!

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/sBff/~3/QzjQsC6Ro1Y/next-up-spicy-cornell-enductaed.html

100 Perfect Pairings Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love

Developing new and enticing recipes that will bring out the best in a variety of wines is a challenge I relish. I have a huge collection of food and wine pairing books, not only because I am fascinated by it but also because for several years I developed recipes for MyWinesDirect, an online wine retailer. Coming up with new recipes to go with yet another Cabernet or Chardonnay required not only creativity but also a deeper understanding of how food and wine interact.

I have only written about a few of the books in my wine pairing collection because frankly, not very many of them are worth telling you about. The bible is of course What To Drink with What You Eat. It's where I go first for inspiration. But I also love the 100 Perfect Pairings books by Jill Silverman Hough. The first was 100 Perfect Pairings Small Plates to Enjoy with Wines You Love and the second out now is 100 Perfect Pairings Main Dishes to Enjoy with Wines You Love. She not only provides recipes, but really digs into how to pair and the tricks to making matches that sing.

The format of the two 100 Perfect Pairings books are the same, as is the general overview information about each wine. Each chapter features a different wine, and dishes that pair well with it. There are six white wines and six red wines (ok one is rose). They are the most common wine varieties you're likely to find. While the first book focused on small plates, the second in the series is all about main dishes. Each recipe has a tip, some insight into what makes it a good dish or a good pairing or even suggestions for how to round out the meal. On my list to try: Buttermilk Oven-Fried Chicken with Garlicky Ranch Sauce with Viognier, Chicken 'Cocoa' Vin with Merlot, and Steak and Radicchio Caesar with Cabernet Sauvignon. If you are new at pairing food and wine or do it all the time, these books will be welcome additions to your cookbook collection since they function as reference books too. Jill Silverman Hough makes pairing food and wine easy and fun.

DO NOT REPRINT WITHOUT PERMISSION! ©2011 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may NOT be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission. If you are reading this post somewhere other than Cooking with Amy, the Oyster Local blog or Gather.com, then the site where you found this post is illegally publishing copyrighted material.

Pea and Bean Stew

With the cooler weather coming in, it's great to have a hearty dish that can be whipped up in under 1/2 hour.  A few weeks ago I was given a jar of Feisty Mama Medium Salsa.  I had never tried the salsa before, because I don't eat raw onions and garlic, but the owner of Feisty Mama is a collegue of mine, and I use salsa sometimes to save time in cooking, so I was thrilled to receive a jar from her.  Before I put anything in my cooking, though, I always taste it straight out of the jar.  Let me say, that I was bowled over by the fresh taste of this jarred salsa, that tasted like someone had just made it.  Kudos to you, Debra, for coming up with a recipe and technique to make this salsa so refreshing and fresh-tasting.  If I ate salsa and chips, I would get on that website and order a case! 



http://www.feistymamasalsa.com/

You can see from the label that the salsa is all natural, and fat free.

If you plan on cooking with salsa, you need to use at least the medium hot kind, and even the hot, if you want the spice to shine through when you are done cooking.  I prefer, not spicy, so the medium worked fine for me. 

In this 'chili' type stew, I used frozen baby peas, frozen baby lima beans and canned kidney beans.  I loved this mix because the canned kidney beans are soft and velvety, while the lima beans are firm and a little grainy, and the peas, which were barely cooked, sort of pop in your mouth.  The mix was terrific.   To make the stew spicier, you can add more salsa, use the hot salsa, or you can add the salsa just before serving to preserve the spicy taste.  These are all variations you can use to make the stew the way you like it, and after all, that's part of the point of cooking something yourself!

Here are all of my ingredients: 
For 6 servings
2 jars of tomato sauce
1/2 cup Feisty Mama Medium Salsa
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
1/2 - 1 cup of canned pumpkin ( in the baking aisle, but make sure it isn't filling that contains brown sugar, etc)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen baby lima beans
1 cup frozen baby peas
1/4 raisins
water, as needed

In a medium saucepan, combine the tomato sauce, salsa, kidney beans, pumpkin (adding the larger amount makes it thicker and sweeter) and spices. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the lima beans, cover and cook for 6 minutes.  Add the baby peas and raisins, and cook for 3 minutes.  Serve immediately, or refrigerate and serve within 5 days. If you want the stew to be thicker, you can always boil it uncovered until it is thick enough.  If you want it thinner, add some water.  The stew gets thicker as it sits, and up to 1/2 cup water may need to be added.  It also gets milder as it sits, so take that into consideration.  I like it best the day after I make it.

We like the stew served over brown rice, with cheese and sour cream, or in tortillas.  I thin it a little for the rice variation, and leave it thick when using for tortillas.