Chicken in Creamy Tomato Curry: Chicken Tikka Masala

Last weekend our friends Matt and Adrianne had us over for dinner. I had mentioned that I had been in the mood for some spicy Indian food and so Adrianne came across this recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala by Aarti Sequeira. We both love Aartie and her show Aartie Party on Food Network, so she was pretty sure this dinner would be a hit. OH. MY. GOODNESS. I have found a brand new love. It is super spicy, creamy, rich and impossible to stop eating. Serve over rice and along side some wonderful Naan or crusty bread is essential for sopping up all the sauce. You don't want any of that stuff to go to waste. I loved it so much I made it myself that same week- which I never do. This recipe will be in constant rotation in our household for sure. LOVE, LOVE!

When Adrianne made this, she used the two Serano Chili's, seeded and deveined and it was clear-your-sinuses spicy!  We all loved it, but if you are sensitive to heat you may only want to use one instead of two. When I cooked the dish, my grocer didn't have Serano Chili's so I used two Jalepanos.  This produced pretty much no heat at all, but still a lovely flavor.  I was in the mood for heat so I added a bit of chili powder and a little cayenne pepper and that did the trick to kick it back up a notch.

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Chicken in Creamy Tomato Curry: Chicken Tikka Masala
recipe courtesy Aartie Sequeira

Marinade:
1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, put through a garlic press or finely minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-size chunks

Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch thumb ginger, peeled and minced
2 serrano pepper, minced (seeds removed if you don't want it spicy)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon garam masala
8 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves, optional
1/2 cup heavy cream
Fresh cilantro leaves, minced
Serving suggestion: Cooked rice, warm naan bread or crusty bread.
For the marinade:

In large bowl, mix the yogurt, ginger, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Poke chicken with a fork, then add to marinade. Fold to cover and marinate at least 30 minutes, at most refrigerated overnight.

For the sauce:
When you're ready to make the curry, place a large skillet over medium heat, and add the butter and olive oil. When butter has melted, add the garlic, ginger, and serrano pepper. Saute until lightly browned around the edges.

Add the tomato paste and cook until the tomato has darkened in colour, about 3 minutes. Add the paprika and garam masala, and saute for about 1 minute to draw out their flavours.

Add the tomatoes, salt, and water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer, and cover. Cook for 20 minutes. Take the pan off the fire, and allow the sauce to cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, fire up your broiler, and cover your broiler pan in foil. Pull the chicken thigh chunks out of the marinade and place on the sheet. Place under the broiler, and cook about 7 minutes on each side, until charred and cooked through. Cook's Note: Don't worry if the chicken is still a little uncooked, but very charred on the outside; you can finish cooking the chicken in the sauce.

Pour sauce into a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Pour back into the pan, and bring back up to a boil. Add the chicken and fenugreek leaves, if using. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.

Add cream and stir through. Garnish with minced fresh cilantro if you like, and serve over rice, with naan or a crusty piece of bread!

Fridays, Feasting With Friends- Featuring Adrianne Bailey

"One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating.  And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends."

~Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'


Adrianne Bailey

Adrianne and I at our friend Jessica's 30th Hippy Themed Birthday Party

Do you  have a friend that you have known you your whole life?  One that has seen you grow up into the person you are today- and still likes you?  One that you love even more now after all the bumps, up-downs, joys, laughs, cry's and brutal honesty.  One that is way more family then many blood relatives are.  Because your DNA might not be a match, but your souls do.  I am so blessed to have that friend in Adrianne.  We met when we were in kindergarten and looking back on my childhood it is hard to think of a time when she wasn't a part of it!  We went along on each others family vacations, spent the night at the others' house for not just a night here and there, but days on end. There was a short time when we drifted apart, for no real reason except attending different schools. A few years drifted in between us, but right after graduation we reconnected like no time had past.  My mom has a beautiful way of explaining this.  She says that in real, true friendships the space between seeing each other, no matter how long, is just a comma in your life.  So you never have to start all over, you just take a pause and begin again.  So for todays segment of Fridays, Feasting with Friends I bring you my BFF, Adrianne Bailey.  

What is your favorite thing to cook?
Stir-fry and curries! Cooking with veggies makes me happy, and makes me feel good about what I’m cooking. I love that I can always swap veggies that I love for those I’m not too fond of. I also love that I can throw ingredients together at the last minute and have a fabulous dish to serve to my family and friends. These are always great if I’m in a hurry or don’t really feel like cooking.

How about your least favorite thing to cook?
Meatloaf!  I don’t eat beef, so I don’t make this too often, but when I make it for my husband I can never get it right! My turkey meatloaf on the other hand is fantastic

What is your favorite local restaurant and what is one you are dying to try out?
Momocho is definitely my favorite local restaurant. I’ve never had a bad meal there. Fabulous taquitos and the best margarita I’ve ever had. One restaurant that I’m dying to try out is the new Chocolate Bar restaurant that just opened downtown.

You are hosting a dinner party, what your top 5 Dinner Party Songs?
I like to play a random mix depending on the mood of the party and who the guests are.

What would you choose to be your last meal on earth?
I’d choose either my dad’s special stewed chicken with mashed potatoes and corn, OR as many crab legs as I can fit into my stomach!

What are you currently reading?
Right now I’m having trouble sticking to just one book, so I’m bouncing between 3.  I’m reading “Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist" by Michael J. Fox, “All We Ever Wanted Was Everything”  by Janelle Brown, and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan

What is your favorite Kitchen Gadget?
Definitely my Magic Bullet!  It’s great for everything from making smoothies, to chopping nuts, to pureeing fruits and veggies. It’s also super easy to clean up, and doesn’t take up a ton of room on my kitchen counter.

Do you have a signature go-to dish?
My signature go to dish would have to be chicken fajitas, I found an awesome recipe a few years ago, and have added and subtracted ingredients to make it my own.

What is your favorite thing about Cleveland?
I’d have to say my family and friends. I couldn’t imagine living in a place without the ones I love the most. I also love our selection of markets and fun local restaurants.

Do you have a favorite meal from your childhood and do you cook it today?
I have 2 that I can remember always loving as a child. My first favorite childhood meal is Stewed Chicken. My family always looked forward to this dinner, and my brother and I still request it for our special birthday dinners. I’ve only cooked it 1 time in my life. It just tastes so much better when my dad makes it. My second favorite childhood meal is friend noodles. My mom always made them for me in place of regular spaghetti, and I still make them as an adult. It’s my favorite way to eat pasta.

Top 3 Movies of all time?
That’s a tough one since I love so many movies. I think that I’d have to say my 3 favorite movies are Top Gun, A Christmas Story, and Failure to Launch.

Where do you do your grocery shopping?
Aldi, Giant Eagle, and sometimes Target. I try to do as little running around as possible when it comes to grocery shopping, but the deals at some stores are just too good to pass up!

What is your favorite guilty pleasure when it comes to food?
I love rich foods; anything with butter, cheese, sour cream…those are definitely my downfall when it comes to food.  Also dessert, there’s ALWAYS room for dessert!!!

Do you have Culinary Resolutions that you would like to accomplish this year?
I’d like to start using my crock pot more.  I love the way slow cooker meals taste, and how easy they are. I always forget about using it though!

I love the fact that almost every time we get together with our families we do Dinner Nights In. Sure it is fun to go out to eat, but there is something so cool about trying out new recipes on each other. We have so many fun memories thanks to this (fondue night... eating stir-fry outside on your deck in the balmy summer nights... homemade pizzas... and one of your specialties- desserts! You definitely make some of the best!...goodness the list goes on!) Luckily I think that we have been almost 100% successful. I think we run on the same philosophy, if it stinks we can always order take out! So my big question to you is in all of your entertaining, have there been any times that you made a dish and it didn't turn out the way you had hoped? What did you do?! Any disasters you were able to fix on the fly or did you just "order take out"?
Wow, we sure do have a great time when we have our monthly dinner get-togethers.  Lots of terrific memories, and food that has been out of this world!  I’m trying to think back to all of the entertaining that I’ve done, and meals that I’ve cooked for family and friends, and I don’t think that there is a meal that I’ve completely screwed up while entertaining (hopefully I didn’t just jinx myself)!

I can remember making a birthday cake for my father in law, that tasted wonderful, but looked absolutely awful. I was making snicker-doodle flavored layer cake, with this special frosting. My layers were crooked, I didn’t have enough frosting, and when I did frost the cake, chunks of it started falling off. Ugh, what a disaster! We ended up making due with what the cake looked like, and ate it anyways. The cake was amazing, if you could get past what it looked like.

I’ve definitely messed up many times while cooking for Matt though!  On the occasion that I do make a disaster out of a meal, we either just find something random in the fridge to eat, make breakfast for dinner, or run out and grab something. 

Citrus Soy Stir Fry
(Rachael Ray)

Salt
1 pound whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup stock, chicken or vegetable
1/2 cup Tamari - eyeball the amount
1 inch ginger root, peeled
1 cup orange marmalade
1 teaspoons coarse black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
2 tablespoons high temp oil such as safflower, peanut or vegetable
1 pound thinly sliced chicken
1 cup shelled edamame
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/4 pound pea pods, halved on angle
1 small bunch of thin scallions, thinly sliced on an angle 2 inch pieces, whites and greens

In medium pot, combine chicken stock, tamari, knob ginger and orange marmalade.  Boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in juice from lemon.

Meanwhile, heat canola oil in skillet and cook chicken.  When chicken is cooked, set aside on plate. In same skillet you used for chicken, cook veggies.  When they are almost done, add chicken and sauce.

Serve over noodles.

**Veggies in this recipe can be substituted with any vegetable of your choice. More vegetables (leeks, water chestnuts, zucchini, mini corn, etc can also be added in addition to those in recipe.**

Thank you so much Adrianne for taking the time to do this interview for me! I loved reading your answers.  Here's to the rest of our life long friendship!  I can't wait to see what the future will bring us.  And for all of you looking for a super yummy and super easy recipe, Adrianne's Citrus Soy Stir Fry is a perfect one to try.  This was one of the fun recipe's she made for us when Scott and I came over for dinner one night.  It is delish!

Birthday Dinner at Bar Symon

On Friday night Scott and I went out to dinner with our amazing friends, Matt and Adrianne.  Matt and I celebrate our birthdays two days apart from each other, so they suggested we all go out for dinner. This is something we never do together.  Don't get me wrong, we all love going out to restaurants.  But we usually have our children in tow, and it is just easier going to one another's house so the kids can play and be put to bed so we have adult time later.  This is always super fun, and we have tried out lots of cool recipes on each other.  But variety is the spice of life, right?!  So we got the babysitters all lined up and out we went.

For dinner we head out to Avon Lake to try out one of Michael Symon's new restaurants, Bar Symon.  Having dined at two of his other ventures, Lola's on E 4th downtown and Lolita's in Treemont, and loving each of them we were pumped to give this one a go.  Symon is known for his love of the pig.  In fact he even sports a few tattoo's of them including a "Got Pork"one on his chest above his heart.  So when we were headed there I knew immediately that would be the meat I would have to try out this time around- it could only be fabulous.  

First impression was very cool.  It has a kind of warehouse feel to it, but yet warm and cozy at the same time.  They don't take reservations except for parties of six or more.  Being as there were only four of us we had an hour wait even coming after eight o'clock in the evening.   They have a great bar and their Beer Menu is very extensive.  But be warned, check the menu prices before ordering.  On tap they can go as high as $11 a pint and their bottles reach up to $65!  But don't worry the prices start low- $1 for a P.B.R. and many are quite reasonable, I just don't want you to be shocked at your bill.

As an Appetizer we had an order of the house chips served with a three cheese fondu and chives and also an order of the Pork Cracklings.  We always hear about how awesome cracklings are on our food shows, along with Michael Symon, these are one of Anthony Bourdain's favorite snacks.  We just had to give them a try.  They were crunchy, a bit salty and with the Malt Vinegar they serve with it, absolutely delicious.  We are converted.  For dinner Matt and I both enjoyed the Slow Cooked Pork Shank which sat on top of soft polenta (which was the creamiest and most delicious polenta I ever tasted).  The pork was beautiful, and with just a light touch from the fork, fell right off the bone.  Neither of us could eat it all and were lucky enough to have doggie bag's to take the rest home.

Slow Cooked Pork Shank

Adrianne decided on the Dortmunder Lake Perch Fish Fry.  It was served with house chips and a crunchy slaw.  All of it was crisp, delicious and just plain yummy!!!  She also was quite pleased with the House Pickle Tarter Sauce for dipping. She said that it tasted homemade and not at all what you would get out of a bottle.

Dortmunder Lake Perch Fish Fry

And lastly Scott ordered the Duck Paprikash.  It was a duck confit, served with dumplings, turnips and paprika. The duck itself was super tender and went lovely with the sauce.  He said the turnips, although what seemed like a strange addition actually worked together really well with the dumplings and gave a nice earthiness to the dish.

         

Duck Paprikash

We all decided that Bar Symon is a definite Do-Again.  There were lots of dishes that each of us wanted to come back to try, and the atmosphere is really great.  Next time maybe we will bring along a few more friends so we can make reservations.  But honestly though, for a Friday night it isn't anything that you wouldn't expect anywhere else.  Especially a place with food that is so delicious.

Later that evening we made a stop off at Fat Head's Brewery and Saloon in North Olmsted.  It is relatively new in the same location that Danny Boy's used to be.  We hear the food is great, but after such full bellies, we just wanted to try out some of their home crafted beers.  Matt had the Fest Bier.  He said it was very smooth and just a good drinking beer.  Scott ordered the Head Hunter IPA.  It was a good thing Scott ordered this one and not me.  One sniff and the Hops just about knocked me off my chair.  This was a very strong beer, very full bodied and lots and lots of Hops.  Although I personally didn't like this one, it was right up Scott's alley.  He completely liked the aggressiveness of it.  I ordered the Weizenbock.  This was hands down the weirdest beer I have ever had in my life.  It is described as being an unfiltered wheat, with a spicy aroma that hints of raisin, clove, banana, and bubble gum.  Yes, you read right- bubble gum.  I don't know what possessed me to try it in the first place.  I guess I was intrigued.  I figured now how much bubble gum would you really taste.  It is rare when I can actually pick out all of the flavors that a beer is supposed to "hint" at.  Well this one was 100% bubble gum.  That is all I smelled and all I tasted.  Think Double Bubble or Bazooka.  I felt like I had a huge wad of gum in my mouth the entire time I was drinking it.  Halfway though it got a little better after my mouth got used to the flavor.  But I can tell you one thing, I wouldn't order this again.  But on the other-hand, the Bumbleberry Honey Bluberry Ale is calling my name for next time.  Being as Adrianne is a beautiful five months pregnant, there was no beer for her tonight.  But instead she enjoyed some bread pudding for dessert instead. It is made very different then any of us had seen before, it was made more like a loaf instead of the more chunky style we were all used to.  Due to this, it was very dense.  But the coconut and pineapple that was mixed in made for delicious flavor.  Yum!

Friday was a great night out with best friends, delicious food and fun drinks.  A perfect way to spend a birthday if you ask me!