Monday, August 11, 2008

Day 11 - Recipes 18 & 19

Today I was a traveling chef. Monica is back from the states and her and the kids are jet-lagged, so I took my cooking show on the road! I loaded up everything for dinner and dessert and went over to her place to cook her dinner so that she wouldn't have to eat out. We had Curry Chicken with Rice and Naan (thanks for the recipe, Britteny!) and Lemon Blueberry Shortcakes.

The curry chicken isn't really a recipe. It is so quick and easy and very flavorful. I cut up some chicken breasts and cooked them in a pan. Then I added a jar of curry paste and about 3/4 of a can of coconut milk. I let the mixture simmer while I grilled up the naan. I am including the recipe for the naan below. I took Britteny's suggestion and ate it as a Naan Taco. SO GOOD!

Dessert was freakin' amazing!!!! I literally gorged myself. I felt so full after dinner, but it was totally worth it! I found the recipe on another food blog. Shocker, I know. But when I am feeding Eric at 3 am, food blogs keep me awake! Anyway, the recipe was for Lemon Blueberry Shortcakes. I decided to make my shortcake recipe that I use for Strawberry Shortcakes and just use Gourmet Girl's blueberry compote. Monica and I just ate in complete silence, other than a few "Oh my goodness... this is amazing" comments. Go pick up some fresh blueberries and make this ASAP!






Naan

1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast

1/2 cup warm water

2 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP plus 1 1/2 tsp milk

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp salt

2 1/4 cups bread flour

1 tsp minced garlic

2 TBSP butter, melted

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6-8 minutes on a lightly floured surface or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch dough down and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls and place on tray. Cover with towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, preheat griddle to high heat.

At griddle side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil griddle. Place dough on griddle and cook 2-3 minutes or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with melted butter and turn over. Brush cooked side with melted butter and cook until browned, another 2-4 mintues. Remove from griddle and continue process until all the naan has been prepared.



Lemon Blueberry Shortcakes


Shortcakes:
2 cups flour
2 TBSP sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup milk

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening until mixture is in fine crumbs. Stir in milk until blended. If not completely moistened, stir in additional milk. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 450 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
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Blueberry Compote:

1 pint fresh blueberries, divided

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons lemon zest

In a small non-reactive pot, combine 1/2 pint blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon zest and juice. Cook over medium heat stirring, just until sugar is completely melted. Do not overcook. Remove from heat and add remaining berries mix and set aside.
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Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
3 TBSP sugar

Beat cream and sugar until stiff peaks form.
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To assemble:

Split shortcakes. Spoon blueberries and whipped cream on bottom half. Put top half back on. Garnish with lemon zest, if desired.

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for cooking for me! It's like my own personal chef! I know there are some very jealous people that I get to reap the rewards of your new challenge to yourself!! Dinner was awesome and dessert was just ridiculous! Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete

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