Indian Spiced Chicken Croquettes

    As many of you know, Priti is the real cook in our family :)   I asked her to guest blog since most of my inspiration comes from her.  Check out her latest creation!

  Hi Leena Lovers -   I am forever cutting out recipes from the many food magazines I love to read.  I must have hundreds of recipes just waiting for an occasion to try them out.  I was making dinner for a friend's birthday and decided to sift through my pile for some inspiration and found this unique take on the Indian kabob from Food & Wine magazine.  It takes a bit of time to chop everything up but once you do that, it's not too hard to make. I added an extra jalapeno and kept a few seeds in to make them a bit more spicy.  You can prepare this ahead of time, refrigerate and then fry them up when you are ready to eat so they are nice and hot.  I served them with some Major Grey's Mango Chutney which added the perfect sweet and spicy touch. They are a little on the heavy side so you really only need 1 -2 per person. If you end up with more than you need, you can also freeze them before you bread it and then defrost them to use later. The original recipe uses Amul cheese instead of cheddar, so next time I go to India I'll have to bring some back so I can make them the same way they do there.  Hope you enjoy! ~Priti

What you'll need:

1 1/2 pounds ground chicken

1 cup shredded mild cheddar (4 ounces)

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped onion

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped mint

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, preferably black 

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs

Vegetable oil, for frying

Mango chutney, for serving 

    

1. In a large bowl, knead the chicken with the cheddar, onion, cilantro, mint, ginger, garlic, jalapeño, cumin seeds, paprika, garam masala, salt and cardamom. Using lightly moistened hands, roll the mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls.
2. Put the beaten eggs and bread crumbs in 2 separate pie plates. Roll the balls in the egg and then dredge in the bread crumbs, pressing to adhere.
3. In a large, deep skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil to 350°. Working in batches, fry the chicken balls over moderately high heat, turning once, until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel–lined baking sheet. Pierce each kebab with a short skewer and transfer to a platter. Serve with mango chutney.

Smoked Salmon and Chive Popovers

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Holiday with family and friends!  I know I did and was thankful for many things this year - in particular, having a family that loves to cook and cooks really well!  I thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their labor.  Priti decided to try this recipe (http://www.theurbangatherer.com/) for an appetizer and I have to say it was a hit.  It's much easier than it looks and will make your guests think you spent a lot of time in the kitchen :)

What you'll need:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1tbspn melted and the rest to grease muffin tin(s)   
1 cup all purpose flour
1-2 teaspoons salt
A few grinds of black pepper
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup 2% milk (room temperature)
2 ounces of cream cheese
2 ounces of smoked salmon
Chopped chives
1 or 2 mini muffin tins

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Grease each muffin tin very well with butter (if not, will stick to tin!).  In a bowl - mix butter, salt, pepper, flour, eggs and milk and whisk to combine thoroughly.  Transfer into a measuring cup and fill each muffin tin until 1/2 full.  Add salmon, a pinch of chives and a small spoon of cream cheese into each cup (can also add jalapenos for a little kick).   Top each tin with a little more batter and then bake for 20-25 minutes until they are puffed and golden brown.  After removing, with a knife pierce each one to release steam.  Serve warm - Enjoy!

Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil

Fall is here and nothing warms me up more than....Soup!  I made this tonight and served it with a baked sweet potato.  It's so easy and takes no more than 30 minutes, tops. Trust me, it's worth the effort - Enjoy!

Mushroom Soup with Truffle Oil
Serves 4


What you'll need:
1 small onion,  thinly sliced
2-3 garlic cloves
5 tbsp butter
2 packages of mushrooms (mixed or whatever you like)
2-3 cups vegetable (or chicken) broth
1 tspn Truffle Salt
Truffle Oil (optional)
Heavy cream (optional)
Chives and Croutons (optional)

In a saucepan, on medium heat, melt half of the butter and add onions. After a few minutes, toss in the garlic and saute until onions are transparent (make sure not to brown).  Add the mushrooms and remaining butter and saute for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat. Add the broth and bring to a boil.  After boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 min.  Turn off heat and let cool for a few min.  Add the mixture to blender (or use hand blender) until smooth.  Return back to saucepan and and season with salt/pepper and truffle salt and bring to a simmer.  I add a little bit of heavy cream at the end for a bit of texture, but completely optional.  Top with croutons, chives and truffle oil.  Serve immediately.

Meatless Monday

Since the beginning of this year (and even more so after watching Food Inc), I've decided to go Veg every Monday.  I've actually looked forward to the beginning of the week and researching/figuring out new recipes to try.  My wonderful roomie, who also loves to cook, had the day off and kindly made a veg-friendly dinner for us!  She found the recipe below in Cooking Light (and added some of her own twists). It was delicious and will definitely be making this again soon. Thanks, S!

Southwestern White Bean Pita Pockets
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
4 tspn extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tspn cumin
1/4 tspn salt
1/4 tspn ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic (S added this to the recipe)
2 15 ounce cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced plum tomato
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced, seeded, peeled cucumber
1 avocado diced (S added this and was a great addition!)
3 tbspns diced red onion (we used around 1/2 an onion)
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 small jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced
Pita (6-inch) cut in half
Boston Lettuce
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco (we substituted white queso from whole foods that worked equally well)
4 Lime Wedges

Combine 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp oil, cumin, salt, red pepper, garlic and white beans into a food processor; process until smooth texture and set aside in bowl

Combine all the vegetables and add 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice, 2 tspns olive oil, salt & pepper to taste, into a bowl and toss well

Spread the white bean mixture into the pita along with the veggies (you can also include lettuce, if desired).  Add 2 tbspns of cheese inside each pita half and top with cilantro.  Serve with lime wedges.
Enjoy!