Boston Baked Beans

Boston Baked Beans was always this mysterious food that I tried only once before and it was a dismal failure.  Maybe I didn't read the recipe properly but the end result was a fine dinner for the garbage. How could this happen?  It's not even a complicated recipe!  Baked beans is such a great warm with a little bit of tang type food that has game day written all over it.

I checked so many recipes and all of them seem to have their own little twist on what makes the perfect final product.  I found a recipe from Alton Brown that had really amazing reviews and decided that if this one doesn't work out I'll go down in the books as the blogger who couldn't prepare beans.  AND, in the spirit of sportsmanship, I decided that I'm dedicating this one to my SIL "R", a dyed in the cloth Ottawa Senator fan and always has something "not so pretty" to say about our own Toronto Maple Leafs.

Ingredients

1 pound dried Great Northern beans
1 pound bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup molasses
Vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons kosher salt


Directions

Heat oven to 250 degrees F.

Soak beans in a plastic container overnight in just enough cold water to submerge them completely.

Place a cast iron Dutch oven over medium heat and stir in the bacon, onion, and jalapenos until enough fat has rendered from the bacon to soften the onions, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, dark brown sugar, and molasses.

Drain the beans and reserve the soaking liquid. Add the drained beans to the Dutch oven. Place the soaking liquid in a measuring cup and add enough vegetable broth to equal 4 cups of liquid. Add the liquid to the Dutch oven and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in cayenne, black pepper and salt. Give them a stir and cover with the lid. Place the Dutch oven in the oven for 6 to 8 hours, or until the beans are tender.

Notes: 

 I don't have an oven proof dutch oven so I did the original prep in a regular pot and then transferred it all to a large oven proof casserole dish 9x13 and deep.
The reviews on this one were very accurate - delicious, easy and were gone in no time.

Thai Red Curry Chicken

Do you believe that your sense of taste changes?  There was a time that spicy food for me was a recipe for an upset tummy.  I'm not sure where the changes happened but I'm drawn to food that has a kick to it.  Maybe it has something to do with familiarity and just having your stomach develop tolerances.  No idea.

This Thai Red Curry Chicken dish started as an experiment and was a no brainer in preparation.  The end result was a big hit.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp canola oil
3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced in strips
1/2 yellow pepper, sliced in strips
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 tin light coconut milk
1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions

1.  Heat oil on medium in a large skillet.  Add chicken and cook until chicken is no longer pink (approximately 5 minutes)

2.  Add onion and peppers to start the cooking process.  Add red curry paste stirring to coat and infuse the flavour.
3.  Mix the cornstarch with the coconut milk and add to skillet stirring to combine.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer until the sauce thickens.

NOTE:  I added vegetables that I felt like having but there are really no vegetable boundries.

Veggie Samosas

My interest in making elaborate recipes has really waned.  Everything involved in preparing these recipes (picking the recipe, grocery shopping, prep, cooking, cleaning) just sounds like a huge energy sucker when a good portion of my energy already goes to caring for E.  I am too deep into toddlerhood to imagine a time when E will be more independent.  But I hear it happens.  

This recipe was R's initiative and his never-ending quest for vegetarian recipes. 

Potato Vegetable Samosas

source

Dough

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ cup warm water

Filling

2 ½ cups peeled and diced Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces

1 tablespoon fennel seed

1 tablespoon cumin seed

2 teaspoons coriander seed

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ cup finely diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 package (1 lb), frozen chopped spinach, thawed and excess juices squeezed out

½ cup frozen peas, thawed

salt and pepper

vegetable oil for frying

Dough

1. For dough, combine flour and salt. Stir in oil, then stir in warm water. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured worksurface and knead until dough is elastic, about 5 minutes.

2. Cover and set aside while preparing filling.

Filling

1. Boil potatoes uncovered in salted water until tender, then drain well and set aside.

2. In a large sauté pan, toast fennel, cumin and coriander seeds for 2 minutes (until a fragrance is noticeable). Add oil, then onion and sauté for 4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add garlic and ginger and sauté one minute more. 

Stir in spinach, peas and cooked potatoes, mashing lightly to combine and warm, then season to taste. Let filling cool.

3. To assemble samosas, divide dough into 12 equal portions and shape each portion into a ball. On a lightly floured surface,roll out 1 ball into a 6-inch circle. Cut circle in half. Fold 1 corner of semicircle up and over middle. Fold second corner over to make triangle, and pinch corners of triangle to seal (leave rounded side open). Hold triangle in your hand with open rounded side facing up and let dough fall open to make cone. Fill cone with approximately 2 tablespoons potato mixture, then pinch along rounded side to seal.

4. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Cover and chill samosas until ready to cook.

5. Fill a pot with 2-inches of oil (make sure oil fills pot not more than halfway) and heat to 350 F. With tongs, place samosas in oil, leaving an inch between them, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn over and cook other side until brown, then remove onto a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

6. Samosas can be served warm or at room temperature with mango chutney.

7. TIP: Alternately, the samosa can be brushed with an eggwash and baked at 375 °F on a parchment-lined baking tray for 30 minutes. (that's what we did)

Verdict:  Just okay....My spices could have been fresher. Tonne of dishes.  Good for freezing....though I haven't really felt like defrosting them.