I'm on a recipe roll!

The Airman's sister knows I like to post photos of the food I cook on Facebook  so she invited me to join a group where people do exactly that. I'll admit that I was pretty standoffish for for the first few months definitely a lurker more than anything. Then, for some unknown reason I got kind of competitive. The more I looked at other people's postings the more I thought, "My dinner is better than that!" What can I say, I'm kind of an asshole. So, I started posting me meals this past week. I'm a pretty good cook and lately, recipes on the internets have not been satisfying my taste buds. Earlier this week I posted my recipe for Spicy Pork Stew and Cheese Grits. Today I give you Moroccan Spiced Chicken with Toum.

Food and Wine  had a recipe for Moroccan Chicken that was way too busy (I'm sure it's delicious). So I cut out all the steps except for the  mixing the butter and all the spices together and then coating the chicken with the mixture inside and out. I also, for good measure, put a lemon in the cavity of the chicken. I have this terrible habit of basting my chicken with melted butter. So there's that too. I don't use too much--no need to clog all the arteries but I also like to put a last coat on the bird when it comes out of the oven.

Toum on the other hand, is something I was taught to make by my good friend and wifey extraordinaire, Manal.

I could eat this stuff all day. In fact I only made the chicken because of the Toum. Toum is a a Lebanese dipping sauce and to be honest I have no idea what the exact amounts of any ingredient used so I'm giving approximations.

Labna (in English, it's often written as Labni) is a Kefir cheese (basically a really think yogurt) Toss the entire contain in (i think the one I got was 16oz) a food processor.

Start with 5 cloves of garlic, peel them and toss them in.

Add a teaspoon of salt and a a tablespoon of olive oil.

A squeeze of lemon juice (I forgot this last night and no harm was done)

Blend until smooth.

Taste: It should have a spicy garlicky kick and it should not taste overwhelmingly like yogurt. This is probably not the best way to describe the flavor because I know other places online will say you can use any old Greek yogurt...Trust me, you can't. So if it's still tasting like yogurt add some more garlic and salt to taste.

Serve with the chicken and pita. It will change your world for the better.

My first recipe: Spicy Pork Stew with Cheesy Corn Grits

I'm not an expert cook but I can follow a recipe.

Yesterday morning I woke with a taste for spicy pork stew. I've never made spicy pork stew....I've never even had spicy pork stew. But that's what I wanted! So I spent a good hour in the morning (and a little bit of time at the end of the day at work) looking for a recipe.The Food Network, Food and Wine, Williams-Sonoma, and Martha Stewart all had some good recipes but nothing stood out. That, and my local market didn't have any tomatillos. So....I did what any self-respecting lady would do. I made it up.

Here are your ingredients:

1 1/2 to 2 lbs of boneless pork. ( I used boneless pork ribs because they were on sale and because they are delicious)
1 cup of corn grits (I like the Bob's Red Mill brand. You can find it in the natural foods aisle of the market)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
2 tbs of half and half
4 medium sized red potatoes diced
1 can of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom (i just tossed in a cardamom pod because again, that's all I had)
16 oz of canned tomatoes Muir Glen is my preferred brand.
4 garlic cloves minced
1 small red onion minced
1 -2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
vegetable oil
flour to coat the pork
1 cup of stock

Step 1: Cut your pork into medium sized cubes and pour the cider vinegar over the pork to cover. Let it marinate for about 15 minutes.

Step 2. While the pork is marinating cut up your potatoes, onion, and garlic

Step 3: Heat some oil in a pan, then cover your pork with a light dusting of flour. Shake off the excess flour and brown the meat in the pan. Remove the pork and set aside

Step 4: (if you want, you can de-glaze your pan with a little bit of red wine) I added a little more oil to the pan and then added in my garlic and onion. Let it cook until fragrant and then add in your spices. Mix well before adding in your tomatoes.

Step 5:Add your pork back into the pan. Mix well. Add in your cup of stock, the chipotle chillies and  your potatoes.*I used veggie stock but I would have preferred to use chicken stock but I forgot to buy it.

Step 6. Cover and let it simmer over a medium hear for about an hour and a half.

I tossed in a little bit of salt and extra cumin but you should add seasonings that you  prefer.

I was going to serve this with jasmine rice but....my roommate took that with him when he moved out (it's okay, it was his). Then I was going to use regular old white rice but.....I think it had been in the cabinet for a long, long time. So I used corn grits instead. Cheesy corn grits to be exact.

Cheesy Corn Grits

Cook according to package instructions when they're done add in 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and 2 tablespoons of half and half.

YUM.


Sorry that there aren't any pictures. It was delicious.