Sticky Lemon Chicken

Ingredients
1 lb chicken leg, about 8-10
salt and pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 -4 tablespoons honey
1 head garlic, each clove sliced in half
1 whole lemon, Sliced
1/4-1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon thyme
1/4 cup fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried parsley


Directions
In a large skillet pan, add the oil to Med/High Heat. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for about 5-6 minutes, turning each piece.
Add the garlic cloves, soy sauce, and honey to the pan, making sure to get all the chicken in the sauces. Coninue to cook for a 5 minutes.
Add the water and lay the slices of lemon on top of the chicken in the pan. Put a lid on the pan and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes.
Season the chicken with thyme and parlsey. Continue to cook until the chicken cooked through and no longer pink.

Notes: 

To make the sauce sticky, we had to remove the lid on the pan for the last 10 minutes so that the sauce would cook down. It could be because our pan was overcrowded. 

Spicy Honey Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 - 2.5 lb pork tenderloin

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a ziploc. Let marinate over night.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pork tenderloin from bag and reserve marinade. Cook pork tenderloin on a grill pan on a baking sheet. Cook until internal temp is 145 degrees (about 60 minutes).

While pork is resting, boil the marinade until reaches a sticky bbq like consistency.

Feta and Herb Crusted Salmon (from HomeChef)

Ingredients:
3 Dill Sprigs
2 Parsley Sprigs
3 oz. roasted red peppers
1 cucumber
2 oz kalamata olives, pitted
1 lemon
2 salmon fillets (approx 6 oz each)
2 oz feta cheese
3 oz arugula


Directions:
Prep:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with foil or use a nonstick baking sheet. Thoroughly rinse produce and pat dry. Stem dill andparsley, gather into a pile, and roughly chop the two herbs together. Stemoregano and mince separately. Cut roasted red pepper into thin strips (julienne). Thinly slice cucumber into 1/4" rounds. Halve Kalamata oliveslengthwise. Zest and halve lemon. Mince zest. Rinse salmon, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper.

Crust and bake salmon:
Combine dill, parsley, feta, and lemon zest in a bowl. Place salmon on baking sheet. Top salmon with feta-herb mixture and bake 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

Make the vinaigrette:
While salmon bakes, whisk juice from half of lemon, chopped oregano, and 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss the salad:
Add arugula, roasted red pepper, kalamata olives, and cucumbers to bowl containing vinaigrette and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Arugula will add a spiciness that complements the fat of the cheese on the salmon.

Plate the dish:
Serve dressed salad on a plate. Top salad with salmon and squeeze remaininglemon half over salmon just before serving.

Chicken Pad Thai (from HomeChef)

Ingredients:
3 cilantro sprigs
1 lime
2 garlic gloves
2 scallions
1 oz roasted peanuts
2 chicken breasts
8 oz rice noodles
2 carrots (cut into matchsticks)
1 Tbsp hot chili oil
4 oz sweet chili sauce
2 tsp fish sauce

Directions:
Prep:
Bring medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place a colander in the sink. Thoroughly rinse produce and pat dry. Stem cilantro and roughly chop leaves. Quarter lime. Mince garlic. Trim and thinly slice whites of green onions. Sliceremaining green onions at an angle (bias). Coarsely chop peanuts. Rinsechicken breasts and pat dry. On a separate cutting board, slice chicken into even 1/4” strips.

Cook Noodles:
Put colander in the sink. Add noodles to boiling water and cook 4 minutes, stirring often. Drain noodles in colander and run cool water over them to stop cooking. Transfer back to pot, toss with 1 tsp. olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Cook Chicken:
Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in a medium non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Seasonsliced chicken with 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper. Add to pan and cook for about 5-6 minutes total, or until lightly browned and a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees is reached. Transfer chicken to a plate and wipe pan clean. Return pan to heat.

Saute Vegetables:
Add 1 tsp. olive oil to pan and add garlic, whites of green onions, and carrots. Cook for about 2 minutes.

Finish the pad thai:
Add noodles, chicken, chili oil (to taste, it can be spicy), sweet chili sauce, andfish sauce to pan. Stir and toss until all ingredients are combined and heated through, about 2 minutes.

Plate:
Divide finished Pad Thai between 2 plates or bowls. Garnish with chopped peanuts, green parts of green onions, chopped cilantro, and lime quarters.

Crusty Broiled Cod with Littlenecks and Chourico

Andy's dad gets really good chourico and linguica in Mass, but we just used fresh chorizo from Whole Foods, which we both agreed we liked better in this recipe than the smoked kind because it crumbles more and melds better with everything else.  We also got some yukon gold potatoes and roasted them for a few minutes (maybe 10-15 at 375), and just added all this stuff in to cook with them under the broiler, and it was really good -- it added a starch to the meal and also the potatoes absorbed some of the juices/flavor, making them extra delicious.


Ingredients:
½ cup panko, lightly toasted (forgot to toast it, still delicious)
¼ cup chopped parsley
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon lemon zest
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 5-ounce pieces cod fillet, about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
1 lemon, quartered
2 tablespoons medium or hot smoked paprika
Salt
Cracked black pepper
½ pound chouriço, diced medium
12 littleneck clams, well washed
½ cup dry white wine
3-4 yukon gold potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces

Directions:
Heat oven to 375.  Toss the potatoes with a little olive oil in a 9x12 roasting pan and put them in the oven.

Combine panko, parsley, garlic, lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl, mix well and set aside.

Rub cod and lemon quarters all over with remaining oil, sprinkle with paprika, salt and pepper.  (Just toss everything into a bowl and mix it around until everything is well coated).

When the potatoes look almost done, take them out of the oven and turn the oven up to the high broiler setting.

Put the cod and lemon quarters in the roasting pan with them, along with the chourico and clams.  Pour in the wine and put the pan back in the oven, about 3-4 in from the flame.  Turn the dish back to front after 5 minutes (we forgot to do this) and keep cooking until fish is almost opaque and littlenecks are open, 10 to 12 minutes.

Sprinkle panko mixture over the cod and return to broiler until crumbs are crispy golden brown, another 2 to 3 minutes. 

Serve.

Thai Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce

This was really good and pretty light tasting despite the coconut milk.  It definitely could have used some more heat to balance the coconut milk and citrus flavors; next time I'll add some red pepper flakes, chili powder, or something when I put the curry paste in with the garlic/ginger.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken (used turkey, I think it was a little tastier/more meaty)
4 scallions, sliced thin (both green and white segments)
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, divided
3 tablespoons red Thai curry paste, divided
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 limes, zested and juiced
1 (15-ounce) can light coconut milk
1 cup chicken stock
4 cups chopped spinach or baby bok choy
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the chicken, white parts of the scallions, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tablespoon of grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of curry paste, panko, cilantro, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. I actually just put everything except the chicken into the food processor for a second and then mixed it into the chicken.  Use your hands or a wooden spoon to thoroughly mix all the ingredients together until just combined. Try not to overwork the meat.

Spoon out a piece of the chicken mixture and gently roll between your hands to form 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place on a large plate or baking sheet. Continue shaping until all the meat is formed into meatballs. You will have about 16 meatballs. (I did this while the sauce was cooking and then just put them straight into the pot as I made them)

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining garlic and ginger, stir to combine with the oil, and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the remaining curry paste, and cook for another 30 seconds, then stir in the lime zest, coconut milk, and chicken stock. Bring the sauce to a simmer.

Gently place the meatballs into the sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meatballs reads 165°F.

Stir in the spinach or baby bok choy and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, until wilted. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the lime juice, and add additional seasoning, as needed.

Served this over brown rice.

Wine