Chicken Tikka Masala with Chickpeas

When the weather gets hot, I long for curry. Since my neighbor gave me a lot of fresh jalapeño peppers, I decided to make tikka masala.

Usually I roast chicken, which is marinated with yogurt, ginger, garlic and species over night, and add it in tikka masala. This time I boiled marinated chicken wings along with my homemade tikka masala paste, vegetables and chickpeas. Of course, I used a lot of jalapeño peppers, which make this dish extremely hot and flavorsome :)

Stuffed Turkey

A deep-fried turkey is a landmark in Cajun cuisine. Every year, our neighbor, Janet, makes a deep friend turkey and I join and enjoy a few bits. At the same time, my husband and I also cook a turkey for Thanksgiving. It is a traditional stuffed turkey with my unique Mediterranean / Cajun seasonings and Japanese / Mediterranean stuffing.

First, pour a lot of red wine, lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil over the turkey. Then season it all over the turkey with salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, freshly ground allspices and a pinch of cinnamon. Put the turkey in a large Ziploc or cover it with plastic wrap and marinate it over night. All fragrances of the seasonings go into the meat and no injection is necessary.

My stuffing is not the traditional bread stuffing but rice stuffing. I first cook chicken liver risotto using Japanese medium grin rice (“Nishiki” rice) with lots of herbs and red wine. Do not over cook because it will be cooked more inside of the turkey. The turkey aroma extends to inside of the risotto and vice versa. I do not discard this stuffing but serve it as a side dish. Some people sprinkle Parmesan cheese and others enjoy it just as a risotto.

Seasoning and stuffing are very important factors for a truly delicious turkey. But the most important aspect is using a fresh turkey. I used an organic, non-frozen turkey this year. It was a good choice. The meat did not have the typical turkey odor and it was lean and yet juicy.

Thanks to my new gas oven, all of the gravy stayed inside of the meat. So it did not require a gravy sauce or any sauce.

A 15.5 lb big turkey was left with only bones and little meat. “You can make delicious gumbo soup with them,” said Janet. That sounds like another cooking adventure in Louisiana.

Chicken Ham

My husband, who is very health conscious, wants us to avoid eating processed meats, such as ham, sausages and bacon. Processed meats are high in fat and sodium. Also many researches show strong connections between processed meats and cancers of the digestive system (liver, intestines, etc).

I know that I should stay away from processed meats. But I like them. They give nice flavors to sandwiches, salads, soups and many other dishes.

Luckily I found a local famer selling organic and freshly harvested chickens. Instantly, I knew their meats would be wonderful for homemade ham.

I got this homemade chicken ham recipe from a friend, who is a professional nutritionist. She also gave me a few useful tips. First, use honey instead of using sugar. Honey/sugar make meats tender. But only honey eliminates the typical odor of chicken meat. Second, do not discard the water, which is used to boil chicken breasts. It would be a fantastic chicken broth to make a soup, stew or gumbo (I usually freeze this tasty broth for later use)! Third, add different kinds of herbs and seasonings to make specially flavored ham.

Indeed, homemade chicken ham is extremely delicious and very easy to prepare/cook. After I tried it, I cannot think of eating again ham from any store.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 tablespoon of honey/sugar
1 tablespoon of salt
A pinch of freshly ground black pepper
Optional: Herbs such as thyme, oregano, rosemary and etc.

Directions:
1 Wash the chicken breast and remove the fat. Pat it dry.
2. Spread the honey first and then the salt around the chicken breast. Season it with a pinch of ground black pepper.
4. Put the chicken breast in a zip lock bag and remove the air from the bag as much as possible. Let it marinate from overnight to 3 days in a refrigerator.
5. Take out the chicken breast from the bag and soak it into water for 30 minutes. Pad it dry. Sprinkle the herbs. Roll the chicken breast and compactly wrap it with plastic wrap. Tight it with cooking twine.
6. Boil it into water for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it there from 4 to 6 hours until the water completely cools down.
7. Slice the ham and enjoy it!

Grilled Chicken with Rosemary

When I was a kid, eating chicken legs with bare hands was one of my ultimate pleasures. While I bit into the chicken legs I felt like I was one of the ancient wild Viking fighters. The chicken legs were simply seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled or fried. But using bare hands added a special flavor on this simply dish.

So when I found freshly harvested young chickens and hens at the local farmers’ market, I suggested grilling the whole chicken and/or hens on charcoal and eating them with bare hands like the Vikings. My husband agreed. Therefore, we purchased one chicken and two hens.

Since our rosemary tree (it is huge and no longer called just a plant!) is having a lot of new leaves, I decided to use them for seasoning the chicken. Rosemary originally came from the Mediterranean area. This plant has been variously used for medical purposes and cooking. This healthy herb is necessary in the Mediterranean cuisine.

Rosemary’s remarkable flavor matched with the wine marinated chicken and hens. The chicken and hens were incredibly tender and juicy with a marvelous charcoal aroma. My husband and I enjoy the amazing taste and also eating them with bare hands like the wild fighters, which satisfied not only my stomach but also one of my childhood fantasies.

Ingredients:
1 whole small chicken
2 cloves of sliced garlic
¼ cup of red wine
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2 tablespoon of dried rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice

Directions:
1. Wash the chicken and drain well. Put it in the large oven pan or bowl.
2. Insert the sliced garlic between the chicken skin and meat.
3. Pour the red wind and olive oil over the chicken. Season with salt and black pepper. Add the 2 springs of fresh rosemary and marinate it for one hour in the room temperature.
4. Prepare the charcoal for barbecue.
5. Before grilling, insert the rosemary between the chicken skin and meat.
6. Grill the chicken until it is well done.

7. Transfer the grilled chicken to a serving plate and sprinkle them with lemon juice. Serve with French fries and salad!

Chicken with Okra (Kotopoulo me Bamies)

Fanni, my husband’s cousin living in Greece, was the first person to introduce me to this gorgeous Greek dish; okra in olive oil / tomato sauce (“bamies laderes”). “This is one of my favorites,” she said and served us this delicious food. It had a little bit of vinegar taste, which went very well with the okra and tomato sauce. Since then the dish became one of my favorites, too. Of course, I knew okra and ate them many times when I was a kid in Japan. But this vegetable had never fascinated me until the time we visited Greece. Today’s recipe includes chicken along with okra. If you are vegetarian, just ignore adding chicken. Remarkably, okra comes with lots of health benefits. It is rich in dietary fiber, which helps reduce high cholesterol. Moreover, it contains vitamins A, B1, B2, C, various minerals, calcium and potassium, which helps to beat the summer heat. Also for women who expect to be pregnant, it is a good source of folic acid. Thanks to Louisiana, where Cajun people frequently use okra in many kinds of dishes, I am able to find this vegetable easily almost anytime and at any market. Okra is a summer vegetable. It will be in season, soon. Please try when you find this vegetable in your local market!

Ingredients:
40 – 50 pieces of okra
¼ cup vinegar
4 legs of chicken
1 chopped onion
3 cups chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
3 cups red wine (or water)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf

Directions:
1. Wash the okra and cut off the stems. Place them along with the vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl and fill it up with water. Leave it for 10 – 15 minutes.
2. Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the olive oil and add the garlic in a large pot and fry the onion until it becomes transparent.
4. Add the chicken legs and fry them till they become brown. Add the tomatoes and okra and fry them for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the wine, tomato paste and bay leaf and stir. Bring to boil on high heat.
5. Reduce the heat to low after it started boiling. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Cover the pot and simmer for 40-50 minutes. Serve hot with bread or rice!

Teriyaki Chicken

Teriyaki sauce is very popular among not only Japanese but also non-Japanese. I am glad to see many kinds of Teriyaki sauce are available in regular American supermarkets. However, unfortunately, none of them pleases me. It is not right that garlic is in Teriyaki sauce. Moreover they are too sweet! It is very easy to make delicious homemade Teriyaki sauce without putting any chemical. The sauce can be good with grilled, broiled, backed, roasted and BBQ seafood, meats or vegetables. I personally like backed Chicken Teriyaki because it is extremely simple but yummy.

Ingredients:
4 chicken legs
2 onion, sliced and separated into rings
3 tbsp olive oil

Teriyaki sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sake (or mirin, which is sweet rice wine with a low alcohol content)
4 tbsp honey
2 tbsp ground fresh ginger

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 360 F degrees.
2. Prepare Teriyaki sauce. Place all of the ingredients for Teriyaki sauce except honey in a small bowel and mix well.
3. Spread the honey on the chicken legs. Place the chicken legs and onions in a backing pan and pour the Teriyaki sauce. Sprinkle the olive oil.
4. Bake in the preheat oven for about 40 to 50 minutes till the chickens are done and become brown.
5. Transfer the chicken legs and onion to serving plates.

Tandoori Chicken

I love curry, especially curry rice, which may NOT be served in regular Indian restaurants. I have seen this dish as “Japanese curry” in a few American restaurants. Using curry roux and curry mix sauce, which are available in any Japanese or Asian supermarkets, makes so easy to make this dish. Also you can mix with a lot of vegetables. Many Japanese mothers cook this curry in order for their kids to eat vegetables.
This tandoori chicken recipe is from my sister in Japan. She uses many kinds of Indian seasonings. I make simpler to use curry powder and paprika since I am not able to find some of the seasonings. She learns Indian cooking from an Indian cook. So this is not Japanese Tandoori. But the chef may arrange for Japanese people. Therefore this may not be the same as the one in India.
Anyhow, I found it is very easy and tasty. This is quite different from tandoori chicken in Indian restaurants that I have been. But I love this more than the ones in restaurants!

Ingredients:
8 chicken drumsticks
1tsp minced garlic
1tsp minced ginger
1 cup plain yogurt
3 tsp curry powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tsp lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
Ground pepper

Directions:
1. Place all of the ingredients except the chicken drumsticks in a bowl and mix well.
2. Pour this mixture over the drumsticks and marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate overnight.
3. Preheat oven to 370 F degrees.
4. Cook in the preheat oven for about 30 to 40 minutes till the drumsticks are done.
Serve with rice, Nan or bread!

Lemon Chicken

When I walk into our garden, I immediately smell sweet lemon flowers. Lemon flowers in March? This is unbelievable for me, a person who has lived in NYC for 12 years and just moved in this semi-tropical state, Louisiana! There is an 8-feet lemon tree in our garden. A few years ago only one small lemon grew. My husband almost forgot it was a lemon tree. This year we have tons of fruits that we are unable to pick to use. Some of them already went bad and miserably felt on the ground. If we do not pick within a few weeks, they would be absolutely gone! So I decided to cook Lemon Chicken, which requires a lot of lemon. This recipe comes from my husband’s hometown, Greece. It is extremely easy and delicious. Ingredients (for 4 servings):
5-6 potatoes (I use big Yukon potatoes)
4 legs of chicken
Salt and pepper (or Cajun seasoning, which contains salt, pepper, red pepper, paprika, chill pepper, garlic and so on.)
1/2 cup of lemon juice
Olive oil
*Optional: Some herbs such as theme or oregano

Directions:
Preheat the oven to F degrees.
Cut potatoes 1/4-inch wide wedges and season with salt and pepper (or Cajun seasoning). Put them on a baking pan and sprinkle lemon juice olive oil.
Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper (or Cajun seasoning). Set them on the baking pan and sprinkle olive oil, ¼ cup of the lemon juice and herbs.
Cook in the preheat oven for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the lemon juice. Cook, again, for about 20-30 minutes until chicken legs are well done and potatoes are soft.

My husband adds a lot of olive oil when he serves.