Happy New Year! Can you believe it’s already 2011? I smile every time I think about 2010 because we made it a great year. The highlight was our big vacation when Apolinaras and I visited his home country of Lithuania over our anniversary. On the career front, Apolinaras joined Pixability, a company he really loves, and I finally figured out that I’d like to be a professor and have begun taking steps to do just that after my postdoc. I also finally got back into working out regularly and did my first, second, and third 5Ks, and first half marathon and sprint triathlon. I’ve grown to love racing! Oh yeah, and I was on the Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown!  I still can’t believe my recipes are on the Food Network site.  I’m already excited to see what adventures lay ahead in 2011.

Has anyone made any foodie resolutions? I managed to accomplish three of my original five culinary resolutions last year, which isn’t too bad. I whipped up a lot of Indian dishes, including saag paneer, co-hosted Thanksgiving, and tried at least one new recipe a week from the blogosphere or my cookbooks. But, I only made pasta once and I still haven’t learned how to cook all the different cuts of meat, so I need to keep working on those two. And of course, I have a few new ones I’d like to add to the list! I want to improve my Asian recipe repertoire and become a master of whipping up fancy breads and pastries (croissants are first on my list!).

I started the New Year off right by visiting HMart, an incredible Asian grocery store, for the first time. Apolinaras and I spent 2 hours wandering all the rows and having lunch at their yummy food court. About 20 minutes were spent just trying to figure out which dumplings to try – I felt like a kid in a candy store! I also ended up picking up a bunch of ingredients for a lighter Thai green curry. I decided to use both chicken broth and coconut milk in the curry (but if you want a richer curry use two cans of coconut milk instead!) and packed it with Asian veggies and shrimp. I used Chinese eggplant, red pepper, and broccoli rabe, so it was really colorful. I actually hadn’t cooked broccoli rabe before, but thanks to Martha, learned that it’s best to boil it for a minute first to reduce the bitterness and then saute it, so, I did just that and it turned out perfectly. I’ll definitely be making this again, especially if it means I can go back to HMart!

Thai Shrimp Green Curry
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 pound broccoli rabe, ends trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 medium Chinese eggplants, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
2 tablespoons green curry paste (or to taste)
1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk (I used regular full fat)
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
3 3-inch pieces lemongrass
1 cup sliced bamboo shoots, drained from a 20-ounce can
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups cooked brown rice

Directions:
Prepare the vegetables. Place broccoli rabe in a large pot of boiling water and stir well. Boil one minute, drain in a colander, and rinse gently with cold water. Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Sauté eggplant and red pepper for 6 to 8 minutes or until veggies begin to soften; add broccoli rabe and sauté 3 additional minutes or until all veggies are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, prepare curry by heating one remaining tablespoon canola oil in a large stock pan over medium high heat. Add red onion and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender; add garlic and ginger and sauté one additional minute; add curry paste and sauté one more minute, or until fragrant. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, and lemongrass to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lemongrass and add bamboo shoots, shrimp, and salt, and cook 3 to 4 to minutes, stirring frequently, or until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Remove from heat and stir in cooked veggies. Serve over brown rice. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition: 697 calories, 33.0g fat, 9.7g fiber, 32.7g protein per serving
Cost: $4.60 per serving

I tune everything out when I’m reading, which can be a good or bad habit depending on the situation. Good because I can read in any environment and not get distracted, but bad for the same reason because I keep missing my bus stops! I have a 45 minute commute, and like many in Boston, take public transportation. Unlike most though, I miss my bus stops a couple times a month – it’s rather ridiculous, but I have no sense of time passing when I’m reading and regularly am completely disorientated when I peek up and realize we’ve gone much farther than I thought. It’s worse when it’s dark out and I’m heading home, but one time when I was taking the 47 bus to work at the Longwood Medical Campus, I ended up by Boston Medical Center, which is a good 20 minutes after my stop! I ended up just waiting until we hit the red line and then circled back on the T and was a good hour late for work. Oops.

Anyway, I was gobbling up the November issue of Food and Wine magazine on the bus recently and was struck by the description of the BBQ sauce at Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas – “a sweet-tart-bitter blend of ketchup, cider vinegar, and coffee.” It sounded so brilliant that I was inspired to make my own version with these ingredients as the base. I don’t think I’d be able to guess there’s espresso powder in the sauce I made if I didn’t know, but it has a level of complexity that I really enjoyed. I mixed my BBQ sauce with spiced rubbed chicken and served it on corn tortillas with sautéed red onions and crumbled queso fresco cheese. Very yummy. And now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to get back to my latest read!

BBQ Chicken Tacos
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken:
1 tablespoon ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
1/2 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

BBQ Sauce:
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple cider
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon espresso powder

For Assembly:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large red onion, cut into strips
8 corn tortillas, warmed (I used the small ones from Trader Joe’s)
6 ounces queso fresco, crumbled

Directions:
Heat oven to 350˚F. Mix ancho chile powder, oregano, brown sugar, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt in a small dish. Rub chicken breasts evenly with spice mix and place chicken breasts in a greased 13×9-inch pan. Bake chicken at 350˚F for 22 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center. Cool chicken 10 minutes, cut into small chunks, and place in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place ketchup, apple cider, apple cider vinegar, mustard, Worcestershire, and espresso powder in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened. Mix BBQ sauce with chicken in the large bowl.

Heat canola oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and sauté onion strips for 5 to 7 minutes or until tender.

To assemble the tacos, place BBQ chicken evenly in corn tortillas. Top with sautéed onions and queso fresco. Makes 4 servings of 2 tacos each.

Nutrition: 605 calories, 17.2g fat, 4.1g fiber, 64.2g protein per serving
Cost: $2.28 per serving

Well it’s somehow November, which I’m in denial about, but the good news is that it’s finally time to share squash recipes! I actually buy winter squash out of season occasionally (yep, I’m a bad food blogger…) because sometimes I crave it even in the middle of the summer. But, I’ve managed to resist posting any recipes until now, since I figured it would be best to wait until other people were pining for squash too!

Stuffed acorn squash is one of my favorites because you can combine your veggies, protein, and starch all into one cute portable package. I really enjoyed this Moroccan inspired version because I liked the way the spiced ground turkey and sweet squash and golden raisins complemented each other. And the quinoa and spinach pack a nutritional punch, which is much needed after you’ve spent several weeks indulging on various cakes and scones!

Moroccan Stuffed Acorn Squash
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
5 acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise with seeds and pulp removed
1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 red onion, chopped
1 pound ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup golden raisins
Juice of one lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375˚F. Place squash cut side down on two large cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 375˚F for 35 to 40 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, place quinoa and chicken stock in a stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until all water is absorbed and quinoa is tender.

Place onion and ground turkey in a large nonstick skillet and use a spoon to break up ground turkey. Heat over medium high heat for 8 to 10 minutes or until turkey is browned and cooked through and onions are tender. Add garlic, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg and cook one additional minute, stirring frequently. Add spinach and stir until well combined.

Stir cooked quinoa, sausage mixture, raisins, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl. Pile quinoa and sausage mixture evenly into cooked squash. Makes 10 servings.

Nutrition: 343 calories, 6.1g fat, 6.6g fiber, 17.4g protein per serving
Cost: $1.54 per serving

I was a really picky eater growing up, like sort of embarrassingly picky looking back…but I was always up for chicken strips or nuggets. In fact, even if they weren’t on the menu, I’d do my best to find a way to order them. At Chinese restaurants, for example, I would order sweet and sour chicken without the sauce and dip the fried chicken pieces in ketchup – yep, I was that kid. In high school, I always inhaled a plate of chicken tenders with my girlfriends at our favorite hangout, T.G.I. Friday’s. And even though I enjoy just about every kind of cuisine now, I still love chicken strips, and recently decided it was finally about time to make a grown-up version at home!

I coated my chicken strips with ground walnuts and bread crumbs. While they were baking in the oven, I whipped up a fall-inspired dipping sauce with apple cider. I stuck a spring of rosemary in the juice and simmered it on the stove under it reduced a bit. Then I added in some mascarpone cheese and a roux of butter and flour to thicken it up. The sweet sauce complimented the walnut flavor really well! I served the meal with some roasted butternut squash, but I think sweet potato fries would be even better!

Walnut Chicken Strips with Rosemary Cider Sauce
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Walnut Chicken Strips:
1 1/2 cups walnuts, pulsed in the food processor until finely ground
3/4 cup bread crumbs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into strips (I had 4-5 per chicken breast)
3 eggs, beaten

Rosemary Cider Sauce:
1 cup apple cider
1 small sprig of rosemary
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
To make the chicken strips, heat oven to 350˚F. Mix ground walnuts, bread crumbs, and salt in a shallow pan. Put the flour in a shallow dish and lightly dredge both sides of the chicken in it. Place the beaten eggs in another shallow dish and dredge both sides of the flour coated chicken in the egg mixture; place chicken in the walnut mixture and coat well on all sides. Place coated chicken strips in a greased 13×9-inch baking dish and bake at 350˚F for 20 to 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the center.

Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the apple cider and rosemary sprig in a small pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until reduced to 1/2 cup. Strain mixture into a small bowl and whisk in mascarpone cheese until smooth. Heat butter over medium high heat in a small pan until melted. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook one minute or until mixture starts to brown. Add in apple cider mascarpone cheese mixture and salt and whisk until smooth. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture thickens, whisking constantly. Serve sauce with chicken strips. Makes 6 servings.

Nutrition: 591 calories, 33.2g fat, 2.7g fiber, 47.3g protein per serving
Cost: $1.58 per serving