Christmas Recipes

Elfin Shortbread

Source: www.ellesnewenglandkitchen.com

http://www.ellesnewenglandkitchen.com/blog/2008/9/29/holiday-baking-elfin-shortbread-cookies-first-in-a-series.html


Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups flour
3 TB sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 TB red and green sprinkles
Directions:
Mix the flour and sugar in a medium bowl.

Cut in the butter until you get fine crumbs.

Stir in the sprinkles and knead until smooth.

Pat the dough out into an 8x5 inch rectangle on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares, and separate them on the baking sheet. (A bench scraper works really well for cutting them.)

Bake at 325 for 12-14 minutes, and then transfer the cookies on the parchment to a cooling rack.

Store in a tightly covered container at room temp for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.



APPLE PIE


Next up, I wanted to make a really good apple pie.  This started out as Grandma Olpe's apple pie on allrecipes.com.  So many people claimed it was their grandma's recipe, I just decided to make my changes and call it apple pie.



Ingredients:
Two pie crusts (I use the Pillsbury premade kind)
1 egg white
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
2 t cinammon
1/2 t nutmeg
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer. Add vanilla.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Brush bottom crust with beaten egg white. Fill with apples, mounded slightly.

3. Pour about 2/3 of sugar mixutre over the apples.

4. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour remainder of sugar mixture over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Rene's Chicken Kurma

 Decided to repost the Chicken Kurma recipe.  We fixed it again last night, just like this and it was pretty awesome.

2 lbs chicken, cut up in small pieces
3-4 medium onions
Butter
Garlic
1 T ginger/garlic paste
1 T coriander
2 T garam masala 
1 ½ T turmeric
1 t Indian hot chili powder (or 2T cayenne pepper and 2T red chili powder)
6oz plain yogurt
½ cup cashews, ½ of them ground
2 c cream
½ can stewed tomatoes
SALT!
Cut onions up and sauté ¾ of them in butter with garlic. Remove from pan. Add more butter, chicken, ginger paste and remaining onions. Cook until done but not brown. Remove chicken from pan.

Add onions back to pan and add yogurt and combined spices. Stir well until warm. Add chicken,1 c cream, tomatoes and cashews. Stir frequently. Simmer about 30 minutes (long enough to cook rice).

Add another cup of cream and heat until warm.

This was spicy!! The flavor was awesome!!

We eat this with basmati rice.

Cream Tarragon Chicken

I used to make a dish like this a long time ago.  It was the only fancy thing that I made way back then.  I thought of it a couple weeks ago and went in search of a recipe.  I found several (of course) but none exactly right.  So I made my own.

4 T butter
3 lbs boneless chicken thighs
3/4 t salt
1/2 t ground pepper
1 c chopped onion
1 c sliced fresh mushrooms
3 T flour
1 c dry white wine
1 t dried tarragon (or 3 t chopped fresh tarragon)
1 c heavy cream
1 c half and half

Melt butter over moderate heat.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pan.

Cook the chicken until brown, about five minutes.  Turn and cook until just done, about five minutes longer.  Remove chicken from skillet and place in baking dish.

Reduce heat.  Stir in onion and cook until starting to soften.  Add mushrooms and cook until done.

Sprinkle flour over the onion/mushroom mixture and stir to combine.

Increase heat to medium.  Whisk in the wine and the tarragon and cook until the sauce starts to thicken.

Stir in the cream, half and half and any accumulated chicken juices.

Pour sauce over chicken.

Keep warm in 250 degree oven until ready to serve.  Cover baking dish with foil if it will be in the oven long.

Spudnut Donut Success!

As many of you may know, I get obsessed on occasion with learning to cook something new.  It happened with Chicken Kurma.  I cooked it over and over and over again until I got it just right.  Same thing happened with Thai Spicy Basil Chicken.
The most recent of these obsessions is donuts.  I tried to make them from scratch a few weeks ago and was not pleased at all with the results.  My husband started talking about a donut shop that used to be here in Utah called Spudnuts.  We looked it up on the internet and discovered a recipe and a local place that sells Spudnut mix.  That seemed the best way to proceed. 
So, this past week my husband stopped by this place and bought a bag (a 25 lb bag!)
Today was the day for my first attempt.  I need to write down the recipe and some important notes.

Original Spudnut Donuts (Makes about 30 donut)
2 1/8 Cups warm water (100-100 degrees)
2 Tablespoons dry instant yeast (that's the rapid rise kind)
pinch of sugar
6 cups Original Sputnut Donut Mix
extra donut mix, as needed
Parchment paper or waxed paper cut into 30 - 4inch squares
Olive oil/and or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil)

Glaze:
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup hot water
2 drops vanilla extract


In a large mixing bowl, add water, yeast and a pinch of sugar.  Gently stir.  Cover bowl and let stand 5 to 8 minutes or until foamy.

Add Spudnut mix to the yeast mixture.  Blend together for 5 minutes.  If using an electric mixer, use the dough hooks.  Constantly scrape sides of bowl.  Add extra Donut Mix if needed (1 T at a time).  Blend again for 5 more minutes until smooth and elastic.  (Rene's notes:  I used my Kitchen Aid with the dough hook.  I used a flat wooden spatula to keep pushing the dough off of the sides.  I didn't discover that I needed any "added donut mix" until I took the dough out of the bowl.  It was a little too sticky so I put it back in the bowl, added 1 tablespoon of mix and blended it.)

Turn dough into a light greased bowl.  Cover.  Let rise for 30 minutes.

Punch dough down and let rise again for 30 minutes.  While dough is rising, cut waxed paper into 30 - 4 inch square.

Punch dough down.  Spray counter with cooking oil.  Turn dough onto greased counter.  Divide dough in half.  Roll each half of dough to 1/2" thickness.  Let rolled dough rest for 3 minutes.  Cut with a floured donut cutter.  Press down in the middle of the donut cutter so the center hole makes a clean cut.  Remove dough from center cut.  Flour donut cutter before each new cut.  Gently place donuts on the paper pieces.  Place them on large cookie sheet pans.  Cover.  Let rise until very light and fluffy (45 to 60 minutes.  Rene's note: I think it's actually more like 60 to 90 minutes) 

While donuts are rising, make glaze.  Put powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Add hot water and vanilla extract.  Mix until smooth.  Set aside.

While donuts are rising, prepare oil.  Heat oil to 375 to 380 degrees.  (If oil is smoking, it is too hot!  Use a cooking thermometer.)  Make sure the oil doesnt cool down while you're frying.  Check oil temperature often.  Carefully add 1-2 donuts and fry about 20 to 25 seconds until golden brown.  Use long wooden sticks to turn donuts over and then fry about 20 to 25 seconds on the other side.  Use the long wooden sticks to remove the fried donuts and place on paper towels to cool.

Using the long wooden sticks, gently place each fried donut into the glaze.  Place on cookie sheet.  Serve while fresh and warm.

Rene's notes (and I have a lot):

• I questioned the reason for the individual pieces of waxed paper.  But I did it anyway.  Thank goodness.  Do NOT skip this part.  Having the dough on its own piece of paper allows you to pick it up to fry it without disturbing the other donuts.  The donut dough is pretty fragile after it has been cut into donuts and risen.  The less handling the better.  The way that I got the donuts into the oil was to use the flat scoop that came with my Fry Daddy.  I took one of the donuts on its little piece of waxed paper, and gently placed it paper side up on the scoop/spatula thingy.  I then peeled the wax paper off of the back and slid the donut off of the spatula into the oil.
• I bought the Fry Daddy for this venture.  Smartest $20 that I ever spent.  It was perfect.  After every two or three donuts, I'd stop for just a minute or two to let the oil heat back up.
• Rather than dipping the donuts in the glaze, we painted it on them with a pastry brush.  We did this when they were warm.  My husband wanted them with more glaze, so we let them cool and brushed another layer on them.

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken

I have been working on this recipe for a while.  This is the dish that got me hooked on Thai food.  I don't know why it took me so long to try to make it.  It's not difficult.  Doug and I worked on it together, trying to tweak different ingredients to make it perfect.  The last attempt was simply amazing...so, here it is!  Note: as gross as fish sauce sounds (and smells!), you cannot leave it out.  It doesn't taste anything like it smells and it makes this dish!

6 T peanut oil

8 T minced garlic

1 c sliced onion

4 shallots, sliced

2 lbs ground chicken (or pork)

1 T ground thai chiles

6 T soy sauce (we use 4 T mushroom soy sauce and 2T other)

2 T peanut sauce

2 C (or more) fresh basil

1 dash ground pepper

2 T sugar

1/2 c water

2 T flour, for thickening

1. Heat oil in wok and coat surface.  It should be very hot.  Stir in garlic, followed by onions and shallots.
2. After 15 to 20 seconds, add chicken.  Stir fry until no longer pink.
3. Add ground chiles.
4. Add soy and peanut sauces and sugar.  Stir fry 15 to 20 seconds.
5. Season with fish sauce.  Stir in basil (leave leaves whole but discard hard stem).  Toss well.
6. Dissolve flour in water and stir into pan.
7. Stir fry until chicken is done and basil is wilted.  Sprinkle with ground pepper.

Chicken Korma update

In January, I posted my version of a Chicken Korma recipe.  I've been making it regularly and am still really pleased with my recipe.

However, I've made a couple adjustments.  We really like a lot of flavor.  So, I use Tablespoons instead of teaspoons for all of the spices.  (This is with about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken).  But, be careful.  Four tablespoons of cayenne/chili pepper is a lot.

Also, I ordered spices from an Indian food store...they are awesome.  Among the things I got was a ginger/garlic paste.  I added that to the butter that I used to saute the chicken.  I used about a tablespoon or two.

I think that's it for now.

Really need to update!

Since my last post, I made Thai Basil chicken, Duff Goldman's French Buttercream, an amazing Coffee cake, Homemade Strawberry sauce and, hands down, the best cheesecake I've ever made. I promise to blog about them soon.

Basil, Gorganzola Cream Sauce

The other night I had a bunch of fresh basil in the fridge and it was "burning a whole in my pocket".  I also had sausage and hamburger thawed out.  So I decided to see if I could make a passable cream sauce with the basil and some gorgonzola cheese.  (A few weeks ago, Doug and I ate at a restaurant here in Salt Lake City called Confetti's.  We had two dishes with their gorgonzola cream sauce and it was to die for!)

Here's what I used (measurements are approximate.  I don't really measure anything):

2 lbs ground meat (I used 1/2 sausage and 1/2 hamburger)
4 - 6 c cooked pasta
1 c cream
1/2 c gorgonzola cheese
1/2 c shredded parmesan cheese (or whatever you like)
1/2 c fresh basil
salt and pepper
1/2 - 1 c chicken stock
1 onion, diced
olive oil


Brown meat and cook pasta as set aside.
Saute' onion in olive oil until soft.  Add chicken stock and cream and simmer about 3-5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper at any point.  Add cheeses.  Stir and simmer until melted.  Add basil and simmer 2 minutes.
Mix sauce with meat and pasta.  Heat thoroughly

Rene's Cinnamon Rolls

For quite some time now, I've wanted to tackle cinnamon rolls.  Doug loves them.  His Grandma used to make them all the time.  So, I've been searching for a recipe.  I've found lots, as you can imagine.  I finally settled on two and decided to take what I liked from each.  Therefore, this is really my recipe.  (I've tried them twice.  Today was the second attempt.  They were very successful so I'm ready to tell you about them.

Ingredients

For the buns:
2 c milk
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter, melted
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 egg, beaten
For the filling:
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
cinnamon
For the icing:
1/4 c butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, soften
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 T milk
1/4 t vanilla

1. Combine milk, sugar and butter.  Warm over medium heat (or in microwave) until hot but not boiling.  Let cool until lukewarm.
2. Sprinkle yeast on top of milk mixture and let it sit for one minute.
3. Stir in egg.
4. Add 4 to 5 cups of flour.  Dough should be very moist but not too moist to work with. (I start with 4 cups and add a little at a time.)
5. Knead dough into large ball, using your hands that have been lightly dusted with flour.
6. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled in size.
7. Take dough out of bowl and knead for about 1 minute
8. Roll out on lightly floured surface until about 1/4 inch thick.
9. Spread softened butter over dough.
10. Sprinkle sugar over butter.
11. Sprinkle cinnamon over sugar.  I use quite a bit but you can adjust to taste.
12. Starting from the edge closest to you, roll dough.  The roll needs to be fairly tight.
13. Cut the rolled dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch slices.
14. Place rolls into buttered baking dish, about 1 to 2 inches apart.
15. Brush top of rolls with softened butter.
16. Let rolls rise until doubled in size.
17. Bake in 375 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
18. While rolls are cooking, cream butter and cream cheese together.  Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla.
19. Let rolls cool for 10 minutes before icing.

Sausage roll

Last night's dinner was one of those things that my husband raved about. Of course, I was pretty sure he'd like it because it had many of his favorite ingredients.  I started out with "Mom's Sausage Roll" from allrecipes.com.  But I knew it needed modification -- primarily because my husband does not eat anything egg related.  So, I didn't use egg at all except to brush on the outside of the loaves.

First, I scaled the recipe. It says that it's 18 servings for the allrecipes.com version.

Ingredients

2 1-lb loaves frozen bread dough
2 pounds Italian pork sausage
1/2 pound sliced pepperoni
5 green onions
2 1/2 c shredded italian blend cheese  (any type would work)
1/2 c shredded parmesan
2 eggs, well beaten

1. Thaw frozen bread dough.  (I took mine out of the freezer before work and let it thaw in the refrigerator during the day.  It was perfect)
2. Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown.  Add chopped green onions. Drain and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish. (I cooked my two loaves together and they kind of morphed into one big loaf.  Next time, I will use separate baking dishes for each loaf or a cooking sheet.)
4. One loaf at a time on a lightly floured surface, roll the bread dough into a sheet approximately 1/4 inch or less thick. Spread 1/2 of the sausage,1/2 of the pepperoni and 1/2 of the cheese evenly over each dough sheet. Roll into a loaf.
5. One at a time, place rolled loaves into the prepared baking dish, brush with 1/2 of the beaten egg mixture and bake in the preheated oven 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown.

 There are a couple things that I may try differently next time.  First, any combination of meats and cheeses would be great.  I may add sauteed onions and mushrooms.  I also might do something different with the pepperoni, like brown it first.  Also, I may try smoked sausage in place of pepperoni (because I like it better).
There would be lots of ways to change this.

I may try making smaller loaves -- individual size.


It's definitely a keeper.

Sliced Pork Tenderloin and Onions

The other day I was on the internet searching for a recipe for Caramelized Onions and Pork.  There are lots of recipes out there for pork chops but that wasn't really what I wanted.  I wanted something made with sliced pork tenderloin.  I ended up finding two candidates.  One of them was called Pork Chops (i know, i know) Smothered in Caramelized Onions.  (I decided that it would work fine with sliced pork tenderloin.  And it got great reviews).  The other was called Pork Tenderloin with Caramelized Onions from Saveur.com.  Sounded perfect -- but the onions weren't really caramelized.  Anyway, I decided to use these recipes as guidance and create my own.  So, here's what I did.

Ingredients:

3/4 c butter
2 T vegetable oil
4 onions, peeled and sliced
1 cup plus 1 T flour
1 T garlic powder
1 t ground sage
1 t ground thyme
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
3 lbs pork tenderloin, cut into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices
1 c half and half (or cream)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Melt 8 T butter and 1 T oil in large skillet. Add onions and cook, stirring often until deep golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Season to taste with salt.  Transfer half of the onions to a large baking dish and the remaining half to a small bowl.

Melt remaining butter and oil together in the same skillet.  Season 1 c flour with sage, thyme, salt and pepper.  Lightly dredge pork slices and brown in skillet, 2-3 minutes per side (or until no longer pink).  Put pork on top of onions in dish and top with reserved onions.  Cover dish and keep warm in oven.

Pour off fat from skillet then heat skillet over mediem-high heat.  Whisk the remaining flour and 1 1/2 c water together in a bowl until smooth. Add to skillet and cook, scraping brown bits from bottom of skillet, until slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add half and half, season with salt and pepper to taste, and boil for one minute.  Pour sauce over pork and onions and serve.


This dish was yummy.  My family loved it.

Pasta, Cream, Sausage and Tomatoes

First, I'd like to thank Michelle of http://www.bigblackdogs.net/ (Twitter @BigBlackDogs).  This is her recipe.  I saw it on Twitter yesterday and realized that it was a perfect way to use the italian sausage that I had thawed in the refrigerator for dinner last night!

Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

2 TBL Olive Oil
1 LB Sweet Italian Sausage sweet
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (I use 1/4 tsp Hot Hungarian Paprika)
4-5 Green Onions, diced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can Italian diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c whipping cream (I use light cream)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb shaped pasta
3 TBL fresh minced Basil

Heat oil in large heavy skillet over medium heat. Remove casings from sausage, crumble and cook in oil with crushed pepper until sausage is no longer pink, about 7 minutes.

Add onion and garlic and cook another 5-7 minutes until tender. Drain tomatoes, chop coarsely and stir into sausage along with cream, salt and basil. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, about 4 minutes.

In a separate pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta al dente. Drain pasta and add to simmering sauce. Garnish with Parmesan and parsley.


My changes were minimal.  I had hot italian sausage, so I didn't add the crushed red pepper.  (Besides, 17-year-old C really doesn't like spicy food.  I'm not sure how ended up as a member of our family!)   And I cut the amount of tomatoes in half so that my family wouldn't protest their presence.  That's really all I did differently. (Oh, I didn't have cavatappi pasta, so I used some other cool shape!)  It was awesome.  It was easy.  Family loved it.  And, I usually have most of these ingredients.  This is definitely in the rotation for weeknight dinners!!

The only changes I'll make from now on is to add black pepper and increase the amount of green onions and skip the parsley.

Thanks again, Michelle!

Tater Tot Casserole

Based on Tater Tot Casserole recipe from MaryBeth, http://dunkincookingthesemi-homemadeway.blogspot.com/


1 2-lb package tater tots
1 Lb. hamburger
1 lb hot italian ground sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2/3 Cup Milk
2 c grated cheese
2 1/2 Tbs. chopped garlic
1 Cup French fried onions

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Place the tater tots in a single layer on the bottom of a 13x9 pan, bake at 400 for 25 min.
2. Fry the hamburger, sausage, onion & garlic until the meat is fully cooked then season to taste and drain the fat.
3. Place hamburger mix over the top of the tater tots.
4. In a small bowl mix the soup and milk then pour over the meat layer.
5. Cover with foil and bake at 400 for 20 min.
6. Uncover and top with the grated cheese then back for another 10 min to melt the cheese.
7. Sprinkle French Onions over top and bake for another 5 minutes.

Turkey Pot Pie

Pot pie is a problem for my family. Doug doesn't like peas. I don't like carrots. The boys don't like vegetables (except carrots!) So, when I found a big tupperware container in the freezer with leftover turkey in it, I became determined to create something that my family would eat.

1 package pre-made pie crusts
1/2 stick butter
1/2 c finely diced celery
1 finely diced onion
1/2 c chopped mushroom
1T chopped garlic
1 can chicken broth
2 to 3c turkey, cut in small pieces
1/4 c flour
splash of white wine
1 to 2 c heavy cream
sage, thyme, salt and pepper

Melt butter. Add celery, onion, mushrooms and garlic. Saute until soft.

Add turkey and stir. Sprinkle flour over mixture and school. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Pour in chicken broth. Add wine and stir. Pour in cream.

Bring to a slow boil and allow to cook and thicken. (My family like the non-soupy version so I also dissolved some corn starch in 1/4 c of the liquid and added it back to the mixture.)

Add herbs to taste.

Place bottom pie crust in pie pan. Pour in filling. Add top crust. Bake 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Potatoe Sausage Casserole

I got this idea from a recipe in my MasterCook software. This version is with my modifications. Family loved it.

1 pound ground sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 c milk
salt and pepper
1 large diced onion
1 package frozen hashbrowns (the diced kind)
1/2 pound shredded mozzarella cheese (or whatever kind you have)

Brown sausage. When mostly done, add onions and cook until soft. Mix soup, milk, salt and pepper. Add sausage/onion mixture and 3/4 of cheese. Put in large casserole dish. Dot with butter. Bake covered pan at 350ºF for 30 to 45 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and melt in oven.

Recipe Number 1 from the holidays (i'm a little behind!)

Utterly Deadly Pecan Pie.

This is my mom's recipe. It came out of her recipe box. It's awesome.

4 eggs
1 1/4 c corn syrup (recipe calls for dark. I use half light/half dark)
1 cu sugar
1/4 c butter, melted
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c broken pecan halves(or pieces)
1 unbaked 9 inch pastry shell (yes, I cheat and use the already made stuff)

In a medium bowl, beat eggs slightly. Stir in corn syrup, sugar, butter, vanilla and pecans. Pour into pie crust, Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350 degrees and continue baking until crust is browned and filling is puffy -- 40 to 45 minutes. Filling will be slightly less set in the center than around the edges. (Don't overcook!). Cool before serving.


That's it. It's very simple. But my husband and in-laws RAVED about it. I made it at least three times over the holidays. This pie is what Doug wanted to take to every Christmas potluck that he had.

Roast Beef Hash

Just something I threw together...

2 onions, diced
5 potatoes, cubed
3 c leftover roast beef, cut up in little pieces
1/2 c gravy
1 c shredded cheese

Saute onions until soft. Add potatoes and continue to cook over medium heat. I covered the pan for the first 10 or 15 minutes so the potatoes would cook and get soft. After that, I took the lid off and let them brown.

Add meat and stir it all up together. Let heat for about 5 minutes, until meat is warmed through. Add gravy. Mix well. Stir in cheese.

It was really good!

Rene's Chicken Korma

I love Indian food. And I really love spicy Indian food. I don't, however, like coconut. And the Chicken Korma (or Kurma) served in a lot of Indian restaurants has coconut milk. However, one of our favorite places, Royal India in Sandy UT, has a version that isn't coconut-y.

After becoming addicted to their version, I decided that I had to try to make it. Tonight was my third attempt. The other two were successful -- but not spicy enough.
The flavor has always been good. (I spent quite a bit of time researching the right spice combination on the internet).

Tonight's version was awesome. Last time we were in Royal India, I asked one of the guys there how to make it spicy enough. He said just keep adding chili pepper. I took his advice to hard and quadrupled what I had used before.

Here's what I did tonight:

2 lbs chicken, cut up in small pieces
3-4 medium onions
Butter
Garlic
ginger
1 t coriander
2 t garam masala (I actually made my own)
1 ½ t turmeric
2 t chili powder
2 t cayenne pepper
6oz plain yogurt
½ cup cashews, ½ of them ground
1 c cream
½ can stewed tomatoes
Cut onions up and sauté ¾ of them in butter with garlic. Remove from pan. Add more butter and garlic and add chicken and remaining onions. Cook until done but not brown. Add ginger (try to use minced fresh ginger)
Remove chicken from pan.
Add onions back to pan and add yogurt and combined spices. Stir well until warm. Add chicken, cream, tomatoes and cashews. Stir frequently. Simmer about 30 minutes (long enough to cook rice).

(Next time, try something to make this saucier…add another cup or so of cream/water or half and half. That may make it necessary to increase amount of spices by ½ or so).

This was spicy!! The flavor was awesome!!

We eat this with basmati rice.

Recent events = upcoming blogs

I am really behind on blogging. I have done lots of cooking lately and I need to get it documented. I thought I'd start with a list of everything that I need to do so I could keep track of it.

• Chicken Korma
  
• Coconut Cream Pie
  
• Pecan Pie
  
• Apple Pie
  
• New Christmas cookies
  
• Christmas cake
  
• Pumpkin cake
  
• Northern beans
  

I think that's it for now. It seems like there is more but I can't think of any more at the moment.