This was one of the recipes chosen by Jill for her dinner club tapas menu.  It was a real hit. From Coastal Living, September 1999

6 medium-size dried shiitake mushrooms (about 1/2 ounce)
1 cup hot water
6 green onions
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds skinned and boned chicken thighs
1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided
1 serrano chili pepper, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Thai curry paste
1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 medium carrot, shredded
1 small Granny Smith apple, peeled and chopped
1 cup frozen tiny sweet green peas
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons cold water
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
2 heads romaine lettuce

• Soak mushrooms in hot water 30 minutes; drain, reserving liquid. Rinse mushrooms in cold water; pat dry. Remove and discard stems; thinly slice tops. Pour reserved liquid through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a measuring cup; reserve 1/2 cup.
• Slice green onions, separating green tops from white portions. Set aside.
• Remove excess fat from chicken. Cut chicken into 1-inch cubes.
• Saute chicken in 2 tablespoons hot oil in a large skillet 5 minutes or until done. Remove from pan; cool. Coarsely chop chicken. Set aside.
• Saute white portion of green onions and serrano pepper in remaining 2 tablespoons hot oil in a large skillet 1 minute; add mushroom liquid, curry paste, coconut milk, and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, carrot, and next 3 ingredients; simmer 3 minutes. Stir in chicken.
• Whisk together cornstarch and cold water until smooth; stir into chicken mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; boil, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Stir in basil and green onion tops. Serve over romaine lettuce leaves.

Yield: 20 appetizer servings

I like having this on an evening when we’ve been out on the bay sailing all day as it goes together in just a few minutes, perfect when all you want to do is stay kicked back and relaxed. 

4 chicken thighs w/skin & bones
flour seasoned with salt  pepper
2 T EVOO
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T tomato paste
1/2 t dried rosemary, crumbled
1/4 t dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 C dry white wine
2/3 C chicken broth
chopped fresh parsley for garnish
buttered egg noodles as an accompaniment, if desired

• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and dredge it in the flour, shaking off the excess.
• In a flameproof casserole heat the EVOO over moderate heat until it is hot but not smoking.  In it brown the chicken and then transfer to a plate.
• Add to the casserole the onion, mushrooms, garlic, tomato paste, rosemary and thyme and cook over moderate heat, stirring, for 1 minute.  Return the chicken, skin side up, to the casserole; add the wine and broth, and bring to a boil.
• Braise the chicken, covered, in a pre-heated 400 oven for 20 minutes or until it is tender.
• Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve over hot noodles.  

Homemade stock is so much better than canned and wonderful to have on hand to throw together a quick bowl of soup. Your frugal side will enjoy using every last little bit of the bird. I keep a plastic bag in my freezer where I collect onion, celery and carrot trimmings (cleaned) to add to the stock pot next time I have a carcass on hand.
   
16  C water 
1  turkey carcass, bones, skin 
 leftover prepared stuffing 
1  large onion, in chunks 
2  stalks celery, in chunks 
2  carrots, in chunks 
2  bay leaves 
10  peppercorns 
4  T salt, to taste 
1/2  tsp dried thyme 
1  garlic clove, sliced 

• Break the carcass into pieces in a large stock pot. Add water, dressing, vegetables and peppercorns. Heat to boiling, skim off any foam on the surface, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 4 hours. Stir from time to time to make sure there aren’t any ‘hot spots’ scorching on the bottom.
• Add salt to taste as you go along, not all at once. After four hours, remove large chunks to a bowl and discard.
• Carefully drain stock through a colander lined with cheesecloth into a large mixing bowl.
• Ladle into freezer containers, cover and set in the fridge overnight.
• On the following day, skim off the fat that has congealed on top.   Cover the containers, label and date and freeze until needed.

If you just can’t wait until Thanksgiving for a taste of turkey, this quick and tasty recipe should tide you over.  Simple and satisfying; serve over either cooked noodles or rice.

2 t EVOO
4 turkey cutlets
1 shallot, chopped fine
8 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/3 C dry white wine i.e. Chardonnay
1 can  cream of mushroom soup
1 t dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1/3 C water
several dashes of Worcestershire sauce

• In a large skillet, heat EVOO over medium heat.   Add cutlets and cook briefly, only 2 to 3 minutes per  side, or just until they lose their pink color.  Be careful not to over cook!
• Add shallot and mushrooms to skillet and cook about 5 minutes until tender. Add wine, stir and simmmer for an additional minute. Stir in soup, thyme, salt & pepper, water and several dashes of Worcestershire sauce. 
• Return the cutlets to the pan along with any accumulated juices. Turn cutlets over to coat, heat briefly just until heated through.  Remove from heat and serve over either cooked egg noodles or rice.

This is my adaptation of Justin Wilson’s in his book “Homegrown Louisiana Cooking”.  I substituted andouille sausage which makes it super hot and spicy, just the way I like it.  Ice down your favorite beer and let the good times roll!

1/4 C EVOO
2 1/2 C finely chopped onions
3/4 C thinly sliced scallions
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced diagonlly
3/4 C chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
20 oz. canned tomato sauce
5 t finely chopped garlic
2 1/2 C raw rice
5 C chicken stock
5 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 t dried marjoram
salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce to taste
2 1/2 lbs. raw shrimp, peeled & deveined

• In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Saute the onions, scallions, andouille, parsley and bell pepper until the onions are clear.
• Stir in the tomato sauce and garlic, and continue cooking until the tomato sauce starts to boil
• Stir in the rice and mix well, and then add the chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaf, marjoram, salt, pepper and hot sauce.  Stir in shrimp.  Continue cooking on medium high, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking.
• After all the stock has disappeared from the top, turn the heat to low, cover tightly, and let steam undisturbed for about 45 minutes.
• Stir to make sure that all the rice is well cooked.  If it’s not, cover again and let it cook until all the rice is tender, but not mushy.

Serves at least 10

Every now and then a recipe on a label catches my eye and I give it a try.  This is one I tried years ago from a Rosarita Enchilada Sauce can and it has become an all-time favorite. It goes together quickly, and tastes even better the second day. 

1 10-oz. can Rosarita Mild Enchilada Sauce
1 10-oz. can cream of mushroom soup
6 fajita size wheat tortillas
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 x 1/4 x 2″ strips (easier to do if you put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before slicing)
1 12-oz. jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 1/2 C shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
1 2.5-oz. can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 C sliced green onion

• Combine enchilada sauce and soup; set aside. Lay 2 tortillas side by side in 11 x 7 inch baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.
• Spread half the chicken and half the peppers and 1/2 cup each of sauce mixture and cheese over tortillas.  Repeat layers and top with remaining 2 tortillas.
• Spoon remaining sauce and cheese over top.  Sprinkle with olives and onions.  Bake, covered, at 350 for 45 minutes.

Doc said to cut back on the red meat so I’ve been looking for more poultry and seafood options.  Tried this recently and it was simple to fix and really tasty. 

3 T flour (Wondra works great)
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
4 turkey cutlets, about 4 to 6 oz. each
2 T olive oil
1/2 C thinly sliced scallions
2 cloves minced garlic
1/3 C chicken broth
1/3 C Marsala wine or dry white wine
salt to taste
2 t fresh rosemary, minced
2 T Italian flat leaf parsley, minced

• On a piece of wax paper, combine flour and pepper.  Lightly drege each cutlet in the seasoned flour. Dredge right before cooking or they’ll get gummy.
• In a 12″ skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add cutlets and saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to platter.
• Add scallions to skillet, turn heat to low, and cook, scraping any brown bits left in the pan, and cook until the scallions are just barely wilted, about 2 minutes.  Do not let them brown.  Add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the chicken broth and wine.  Increase heat to medium and cook until sauce is reduced to half, about 4 minutes.  Season with the salt and rosemary.  Return cutlets along with any accumulated juices to the skillet.  Spoon sauce over the cutlets, reduce heat to low, and simmer until heated, about 2 minutes.
• Transfer turkey to a platter, spoon sauce over cutlets, garnish with parsley and serve.  

This is a super fast, easy and delicious all purpose marinade. We use it constantly as it’s just as wonderful on flank steak as it is on chicken. 

½ C soy sauce
¼ C sugar or 1/8 C Splenda
¼ C mirin or dry sherry
¼ C salad oil
1 T grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Combine all ingredients. Marinate meat or chicken for several hours or overnight and then grill.

Enough for 2 - 3 pounds of meat or chicken.