Food Friday: 3 of our Favorite Family Dinners

Thai Red Curry

Braydon and I adore Thai food. It is probably our favorite “ethnic” cuisine. We would eat it 3 times a week if we could. We first really fell in love with Thai food when we were both in graduate school in Boston. There were lots of Thai restaurants in Boston, but our favorite was a little cafe not far from our apartment called Brown Sugar. We went there often and I think that over time we tried everything on their menu, but our favorite was always the red curry. Since we moved from Boston in 2001 we have continued exploring Thai food but our favorite dishes always seem to be red curries no matter where we go. We have a fabulous Thai restaurant here in PA that we really love (and they do an incredible rack of lamb with red curry) called The Cafe. While we were waiting for the boys to come home we ate there about once every two weeks, becoming definite ‘Regulars’ there. The owners waited with us for Kyle and Owen– always asking to see the latest photos, and always wanting to know everything they could about our adoption. When our waiting days were extra tough they’d often give us an extra glass of wine or lovely desserts on the house. When the boys came home we did bring them to The Cafe to meet everyone. But having kids quickly ended our restaurant-going stint and definitely ended our status as ‘Regulars’ at The Cafe. And sadly, The Cafe does not do take-out. Over all those years pre-kids we had kind of become Thai Food snobs– in the sense that so-so/just-o.k. Thai food (i.e., much of the take-out Thai food we have access to) just didn’t cut it for us anymore… and still doesn’t. We’d rather not have it at all than to have mediocre Thai Food. During our first couple of years as parents Thai red curry was one of the things we missed most about our life pre-kids. So, a couple of years ago I set my mind to figuring out how to make a decent red curry. ~~~ My favorite recipe is one that is based on the “Coconut Curried Chicken” from At Blanchard’s Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook by Melinda and Robert Blanchard. Blanchard’s is a famous restaurant in Anguilla. My parents have been spending two weeks in Anguilla for the past several years, and one year they brought me back this cookbook. I have yet to cook anything from it that hasn’t been amazing. Anyway…  my red curry recipe is basically Blanchard’s with just a few tweaks and additions. All five of us J-Ms love love love this dinner.

• 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 2 cups sweet potatoes (or regular white potatoes if preferred)
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1-inch chunks (or 2 pounds shrimp or other seafood  — or just skip altogether if vegetarian is preferred — I’ve done it all these ways and it is great no matter what)
• 1 can chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 scallions, white and green parts included, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 heads baby bok choy, white and green parts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound shiitake mushroom caps, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 big splash of fish sauce
• juice of 1/2-1 lime (depending on taste)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of brown sugar
• salt & chopped fresh basil and/or cilantro to taste

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add curry paste and cook 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add potato and chicken and cook for 2 minutes to coat. Stir in broth and coconut milk, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch the scallions and bok choy in the boiling water until bright green and crisp-tender (1-2 minutes), then drain. Heat oil in a small pan and saute mushrooms quickly, just to soften. Add all vegetables to the chicken pot. Add a big splash of fish sauce, the lime juice, and the brown sugar. Stir together for just a minute or two longer. Season with salt and garnish with basil. Serve with jasmine rice.

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Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos

This recipe is a fusion of two “Sweet Potato Burrito” recipes. ~~~ Recipe #1 = For at least two or three years now I’ve had sitting in my recipe book a print out that appears to be a screen shot from a Facebook page. At the top it says “Jennifer Faust’s Notes” and then it gives a recipe for “Black Bean and Sweet Potato Burritos.” For as long as I can recollect I have thought that my mother gave me this recipe. And I’ve been meaning to try it for as long as I’ve had it (I’ve always thought the recipe looked great and that we’d all love it). But I recently found out, because I was talking about it with my mom, that she, in fact, did not give me this recipe. She’s never heard of it and knows nothing about it. Honestly, I have never heard of anyone named Jennifer Faust. And I have absolutely no clue, now, where this recipe came from or how it ended up in my kitchen notebook!  ~~~   Recipe #2 = We spent New Year’s Eve this year with the Slavins (click!), and for dinner they served us Sweet Potato Burritos. Braydon and I loved them so, so, so much! I immediately remembered that I had that from-who-knows-where recipe at home and even told Jen that night that I had been meaning to try it for the longest time. Jen gave me her recipe and I knew it was going to be a regular dinner at our house. ~~~ During the first three months of 2010 I made Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos for our family a bunch of times– I have sort of fused together the two recipes (they are basically the same, but have variations and slight differences) and we’ve now got a dinner that all five of us love. We’re having it tonight, in fact!!!!

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes (depending on how large)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 big bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 cups Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
• 8 large, burrito-style, fresh tortillas

Place sweet potatoes on a baking sheet, pierce with fork, and bake at 35o for an hour or so until very soft [this can be done the day before]. Let cool, remove skins, and place sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Saute  onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until tender and translucent. Add onion to sweet potatoes. Add everything else (except cheese and tortillas) to bowl. Mash with potato masher to mix. Divide mixture and cheese among tortillas and roll up burrito-style. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes until crispy and hot. Serve with sour cream, salsa, guacamole, etc.

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Greek Chicken & Potatoes

When Braydon and I lived in Charleston, South Carolina we used to frequent this great little Greek restaurant there that we loved. We always, always, always had the same thing– the house special– which was roasted chicken, potatoes, brussels sprouts, and a greek salad. When we moved to Boston we searched the city for a replacement for our Greek hole-in-the-wall. We never found one that even came close to comparing to that place in Charleston. And we would crave that Greek chicken! So, over time, I worked and worked at replicating it. And eventually, I perfected it. I would often make this meal for dinner parties pre-kids. Everyone we served it to loved it! Now that we have kids, this continues to be a regular meal for us… and our kids (all three of them) love this as much as us. It is also a great meal to prepare together because every aspect of it is simple enough for young kids in the kitchen.

• 1 cup of onion, diced
• about 5 cups unpeeled red potatoes, quartered
• 2-3 pounds of chicken pieces, bones in and skin on
• 3/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1.5 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 chicken bouillon cube

Place onions in bottom of large shallow baking dish. Layer potatoes on top of onions. Layer chicken pieces on top of potatoes. Mix all other ingredients together until bouillon is completely dissolved. Pour lemon mixture over all. Bake at 350 for 1-1.5 hours, or until done (bubbling ‘sauce’ and chicken browned and crispy on top). Serve with steamed brussels sprouts and Greek salad!

P.S. our easy Greek salad = red leaf or romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, red onion, kalamata olives, feta cheese // dressing = shake together in a jar 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 2/3 cup olive oil, 1-2 teaspoons oregano, salt and pepper to taste —  toss dressing with salad before serving.