Indian Deliciousness

UPDATE: When I originally wrote this, I forgot to tell you that when Tony was asked his opinion of this meal, he said it made him want to dance in a train station.

I bought some okra from the farmers market this weekend, and decided to try this okra/tomato curry recipe. It was ok, but nothing special- it needed a little less of the cinnamon-y flavor and a little more heat, I think.

The other dish fared a little better: spicy Indian potatoes. Chuck made these and they were really tasty. We used a pound of small mixed potatoes- purple, red, etc.- rather than the 2 Russets the recipe called for. We didn't peel them.

Neither dish is much to look at, as you can see from the photo. But the potatoes are definitely worth making again! Served with rice and some garlic naan from Whole Foods.

Phyllo Cups with Brie, Jam and Pecans

So... I made these a couple years ago for Barbara and Mark's engagement party. However, I used pre-made phyllo cups then. Today, for Meagan's going-away party, I wasn't able to find the pre-made cups, so I bought a package of frozen phyllo dough and made my own, using a Googled recipe. Not too bad, although maybe I would cute the squares smaller next time to eliminate some of the excess dough, which flailed all around uselessly.

My aim in making the cups was to fill each with tiny square of brie, 1/2 tsp of jam and a pecan, which I did. Mmmm. I used peach jam from my CSA, but you could use whatever- raspberry, apricot, etc.

Melon Skewers with Lemon Mint Dressing

Inspired by the cantaloupe that came in my CSA share last week, as well as this Giada Delaurentis recipe, I made these watermelon and cantaloupe skewers with a lemony/mint dressing.

I didn't follow Giada's instructions to the T by any means- I winged it. No amaretto, eyeballed the amounts, etc. Also, I fashioned it as a fingerfood rather than a salad since I didn't want to bother with forks.

Everybody ate them up. Definitely a pretty addition to any summer party.

Warm Creamy Crab Dip

So each the McCarthys knows this recipe like the back of his or her hand... but for those non-McCarthys reading this: make this crab dip for your next party. It's super easy and everybody loves it.

I usually double-down on the onion and horseradish. You can serve it with toasted baguette slices or crackers. Delicious.

Crab Dip

8 oz cream cheese

1 tbs milk

1 can of crab, drained

2 tbs finely chopped onion

1/2 tsp horseradish

1/4 tsp salt

dash of pepper

Mix all ingredients

Put into oven-safe dish (we like one with more surface area to get brown and bubbly)

Bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees

Serve!

Stovetop Mac & Cheese: Partial FAIL

So... Chuck was craving mac & cheese this week, so I thought I would try out this stovetop method I found online. It was super easy- akin to boxed mac & cheese.

Out of laziness I used some American cheese that was in the fridge because I didn't have any cheddar. Bad idea. I thought using American would be fine... not gourmet, for sure, but fine. It was icky, though. Gummy and tasteless.

I think the method would work if I had used nicer cheese, though. I'll try it again some time when I want mac & cheese quickly. If I have more time, though, Ina Garten's baked mac & cheese is fabulous- I made it for Tim's birthday party and it was a hit. I used panko bread crumbs as the topping, and omitted the tomatoes- awesome.

Garlic Parmesan Swiss Chard Bread

I saw this recipe on the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day website... and I had a bunch of CSA Swiss chard on the verge of going bad in the fridge, so I gave it a try. It uses the challah dough that we like around here and adds garlic and parmesan- how could it be bad?

I was worried after my last stuffed bread experiment went awry, I was worried about this one cooking all the way through. But it worked! It was really good, too.

Tony's Low Fat Hot Legs

Tony's no-longer secret recipe:

1) bring large pot of water to a boil

2) salt the water

3) add chicken drumsticks

4) boil for about 45 minutes

5) pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

6) remove skin and fat from chicken drumsticks

7) place drumsticks in pyrex baking sheet

8) liberally sprinkle with Texas Pete hotsauce (approximately 2 cups for 10 huge drumsticks)

9) season each drumstick with Old Bay

10) place pan in oven

11) bake for 15 minutes or until top of drumsticks look dry

12) flip drumsticks

13) season with Old Bay

14) continue to cook for another 10 minutes, or until drumsticks are dry

15) remove from oven

16) coat drumsticks in sauce

17) serve with extra sauce