What's cooking at Jerk Castle . . .

Linguine with asparagus and pine nuts

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/linguine-asparagus-pine-nuts-00000000031206/index.html

i love a quick pasta dish every now and then for during the week . . .especially one which includes pine nuts and a vegetable. This recipe, which was featured in last months real simple magazine as a quick weeknight meal, did fit that bill. . . besides cutting the asparagus and shaving the parmesan there was very little prep work involved and it was very satisfying after a long day at work- fresh and salty and cheesy. . .

 

April is a peak month for asparagus, artichokes and peas so we are right in season . . lots of artichoke and pea recipes to come. . . .and matzo meal of course since Passover begins Monday night. . . 

Enjoy your Saturday. 

Turkey and Bean Chili

Yes. . I know it is gorgeous out and the chili season has ended. . . but I made this last weekend. If you remember last weekend, it was a storm here in New York and the thought of weather like today was just a dream. So here it is- if you are looking for a good one pot dish that you can eat all week this is it. . . .put out some tortilla chips and you are good to go. . . and really- chili is good whenever and works perfectly as a side dish for a bbq.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/turkey-bean-chili-00000000027199/index.html

I tweaked this recipe from real simple to make it a bit more spicy and added some other veggies. . .and more meat. . . basically i bulked it up. If you would like to make it like ours (which i think you should) add diced red and orange pepper, chopped celery, more onion (wing it), pink beans and kidney beans, and 1lb of ground turkey meat instead of just a 1/2. We then added in some more chili powder and a splash of hot sauce. . .loved it.

Send me links to your one pot go to dish recipes. . . 

Thai Ginger Chicken

As you may realize by the recipes posted here, i am a huge asian food fan and am always looking for simple Thai dishes to make at home. . . this recipe posted on real simple's web site called out to me with its use of cilantro, jalapeno and coconut milk. . .and was a good way to use eggplant, a vegetable that i usually neglect. 

Tips:

1) we used low fat coconut milk which was a little bland and had a watery consistency so if you can handle the fat, go for the real thing.

2) when we heated up the leftovers i mixed in the rice with the chicken mixture and it was better that way. . . next time i will mix the rice right in instead of serving it over the rice. 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/thai-ginger-chicken-10000001167922/index.html

It was very tasty. . .not as slop-like as the picture would make it seem. . . i promise.

  

Pineapple Glazed Chicken with Jalapeno Salsa

 

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/03/pineapple_glazed_chicken_with_jalapeno_salsa

After having a Friday night dinner binge at Freemans in the LES, (a fabulous dinner which included appetizers of artichoke dip and spicy and delicious buffalo wings), we decided we needed to slow down the rest of the weekend and eat at home. I chose this recipe for dinner Saturday night because pineapple and jalapeno together sounded perfect to me and we also needed a somewhat low fat option. The chicken breasts were very juicy and the glaze stood out . . . the salsa also had a good kick from the jalapeno. . . our only problem was that our pineapple was not fully ripe so the salsa was not as sweet as it should be. . .. still, we enjoyed it and would make it again. . . hopefully with a much riper pineapple. 

Tips: 1) we thought the salsa needed some liquid so we added a small amount of pineapple juice and a drizzle of olive oil and 2) 15 minutes in the oven was not long enough in our oven for it to be ready for the 5 minute broiling step- the skin was burning from the broiling but it was not cooked thru so we needed to put it back in the oven and bake for an additional  7 or 8 more minutes.  

Tonight, we will have the leftover chicken breasts for dinner. . .  I am  thinking of grilling our extra pineapple on our grill pan to bring out its sweetness and then adding it into the salsa . . . .here is a grilled pineapple relish recipe that i think would also be wonderful with these glazed chicken breasts:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/throwdown-with-bobby-flay/rum-glazed-pork-tenderloin-with-grilled-pineapple-relish-recipe/index.html

Enjoy the weather and your Sunday!