Experimenting with a childhood favorite

Ironically, after starting a cooking blog, I went most of a week without any interesting meal ideas. Instead of experimenting with recipes, I spent a few days tweaking easy food, which is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. For example, the other night we had very cheap frozen pizza for dinner. But I topped it with pepperoncinis (salad peppers) and salt, pepper, oregano and basil halfway through the baking, and suddenly it's not just a boring frozen pizza at all. We also had a delicious Macaroni Grill-brand basil and parmesan dinner from a box. A little added flair here and there makes a big difference.

Wednesday night, though, I made a meal I've been wanting to try for a long time: my mom's curry. Disclaimer: I've never eaten real Indian food and have zero concept of what curry  meals are actually like. All I know is the chicken or pork curry and rice that was one of my favorite meals growing up. It's basically a curry-flavored gravy you put over rice. The basic ingredients are simply flour, butter, oil, milk, chicken, curry powder, rice, salt and pepper. I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trim them down and cut them into chunks. Then heat a tablespoon or so of olive oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a touch of curry, then sautee it in the oil. Fresh garlic or onion is a good possible addition at this point. After I sear the chicken and get it lightly browned, I'll put the lid on the pot to create steam and help cook the chicken through. This usually creates some boiling liquid in the pan.

Don't worry about the liquid, just take the lid off and let it go, stirring occasionally. This is when the magic I mentioned in my initial post happens. Just make sure it never starts sticking, and at some point, the liquid will start reducing and thickening, and before long, your chicken will be beautifully coated in flavor and color, and that liquid in the pan will be gone. I make chicken like this every chance I get. I usually find 10 or so chicken boneless, skinless breasts for about $10, and chunking it up myself is the best way to get rid of any undesirable parts.

Magic, I tell ya.

Once the chicken is done, set it aside and in the same pan over medium low heat, melt a few tablespoons of butter. In case you couldn't tell, all these amounts are rough estimates. These days, I prefer to not measure things out, adjusting as I go and teaching myself to fix it if amounts don't work out right. You'll also want to make rice at this point. Ross and I always just eat Minute Rice, probably about two cups for a meal. Back to the main pot, slowly add flour a tablespoon at a time, stirring to make a roux. I was gradually adding curry powder as I went, along with salt and pepper and a touch of onion powder to get to my desired flavor. When it comes together (it will look like a doughy solid) turn up the heat a bit and add milk about a half-cup at a time, stirring. That will thicken up each time you add more milk, until the clumps of butter and flour are gone. The rest is up to you, adding curry powder as you see fit, building the flavor until it's as strong as you like. If it feels bland, add salt or soy sauce. I always use soy sauce once I've made my plate. Add the chicken and maybe some chopped green onion and let it cook for a few minutes to help pull the flavors together.

As a side for this meal, I made sugar snap peas (which you can buy fresh in convenient dinner serving-size bags at Wal-mart) sauteed in olive oil with red onion and a touch of worcestershire sauce (one of my favorite kitchen ingredients!) with some basic spices. We love simple green veggies like this. Peas and green beans both come in those easy packages, and frozen broccoli is super easy to cook up, as well. So fresh and so much healthier than some of the potato sides we love.

Ross was skeptical at first, but it was a hit! Reminded me so much of my mom's, so thanks to her for her basic guidance on how she always made it.

The best part? All the leftovers!