What to do when you burn $150.00 worth of spare ribs.

There is a cabin in Cumberland, WI that is cursed. Evil spirits are lurking in the oven, and in the electrical box, and in the vintage Weber gas grill. Last summer, the spirits decided I was doomed to cook dinner with no power, in the dark with a flashlight, having to cook everything on the grill. This summer, they wanted to play with fire, and play with fire they did.

The theme for this year's summer cabin weekend was "Lets burn everything!!". Stefanie burned the pizza bread, Heather burned the bacon, and I burned the crap out of $150.00 worth of spare ribs. I have made these before, on the same grill, under the same conditions, but this year just wasn't my year. I think this grill hasn't really been cleaned thoroughly since about 1972, and there were uncontrollable grease fires, which then led to very unstable temperatures. I thought after the first two rounds of: fire-take the ribs off the grill-tame the fire-put the ribs back on the grill-try to get the grill hot again, that we were golden. Oh boy was I wrong. I put the ribs into stage two: wrapped with tin foil with liquids for steaming and went and played a very competitive game of bocce ball. When I came back about 45 minutes later, they were burnt to a crisp, stuck to the tin foil.


It was awful. This is something I am usually good at, and not only did I screw it up, they looked inedible. After a few tears, a LOT of swearing, and a large glass of wine to calm me down, I told someone to grab me two sheet pans and 8 forks. My team got to work, pulling the burnt bits off, and shredding the rest of the meat that was salvageable. I tossed all the meat with the vat of glaze that was supposed to go on during phase three, and put them back on the grill to bake for about an hour. The rest of the cooking went off without a hitch, smashed potatoes and cheesy corn rounded out the meal.

The verdict? It tasted exactly the same as last year, but now you could eat it with a fork, which I personally think is much less fun than tearing it off the bone with your teeth. It did however, make for a less messy and more civilized meal, but all I cared about was saving dinner. I mean, there isn't exactly a large selection of take-out places in Cumberland, WI. Most of all, I was happy to be with my best friends in the world, enjoying and laughing about yet another meal that almost didn't happen.


 
The best part of the shredded rib meat? Making sandwiches the next day. The ribs have a lot of Asian flavors in the glaze and the rub, so I made a big 'ol batch of this spicy cilantro coleslaw. Put the two together and you have some of the best sandwiches ever. Make this coleslaw regardless though, it is seriously amazing.


Spicy Asian Coleslaw
adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen


**This makes an absolute ridiculous amount of slaw, so I mix all the veggies, onions, and cilantro and freeze half of it for a later date.


Also, I use my food processor to shred all the vegetables. You can core and cut the cabbage into 2-inch slices then put though the slicer blade. I then use the slicer blade for the peas, and the grater blade for the carrots. If you don't have a food processor, you can just chop and grate everything by hand, it will just take longer.**


1 head green cabbage, shredded
4-5 medium carrots, shredded
1 bag sugar snap peas, sliced thinly
1 bunch green onions, white and green parts sliced thinly
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
1 cup peanuts, chopped


4 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
4 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sriracha (a spicy red chili paste that you should have in your fridge at all times, trust me)
1/2 cup canola or peanut oil


Combine all shredded vegetables with the green onions and cilantro in a large bowl. In a small mixing bowl combine the vinegar, honey, mustard, sesame oil, soy sauce, sriracha, and peanut oil, and whisk to emulsify.


If you are making this for a large group, you can dress the cabbage mixture and toss with the peanuts right before serving. If you are making this for yourself and plan on eating it for lunch all week like I do, you can store the cabbage mixture in one container, the dressing separately, and the peanuts in a ziploc bag. I only combine what I am going to be eating immediately before consumption. This allows you to store your slaw for much, much longer than if you mix it all together, as cabbage can get soggy quickly.

You can eat a big bowl of this on its own, add some grilled chicken, or top your shredded rib meat on a french roll with it like I did. This winter, if you ever have leftover braised beef, this would be a great way to liven up your leftovers.

When something goes very wrong in the kitchen, keep calm (I myself don't usually take that advice, I admit) and get creative. Know that it will still probably be delicious, and if not, well you have a funny story to tell later. If anyone has any kitchen disasters that turned into a triumph, please let me know in the comments!

Finally.

There has been a hole in my life since moving out of Lincoln Park. I lived close to the lake for two years, on the north side of Chicago. I was steps from Wrigley Field, near the Belmont harbor where mini sailboats bounced about during their Saturday morning lessons, and just a block away from the lakefront path where I used to ride my bike.

All of these conveniences and attractions were great, but I don't feel I took advantage of them enough while I was there, leaving me not missing them all that much. They are still there when I want to visit. One of the things I do miss however is being in the small delivery area of Thai Classic Restaurant.

Yeah, I know this sounds a little extreme. But you do not want to get between this woman and her curry. I am sure there are better Thai places in Chicago, and there may even be some in my new hood, but I just loved the solid, dependable, consistent panang curry entree from the Classic.

For years I have been making 'curry' at home. I use the quotes because it never tasted anywhere close to what I have been enjoying at Thai and Indian eateries. It started with a recipe on the label on the back of a Thai Kitchen curry paste jar, and pretty much went downhill from there. Don't get me wrong, a little curry paste and coconut milk mixed with some veggies and rice were okay for a while, but I think I hit my limit of half-assed curry. I needed a real curry, and I needed to be able to make it myself.

Well I FINALLY found it. This recipe for chicken curry with cashews was recommended on a forum on Serious Eats, which is a food website that I am a daily visitor to. It may be a little more demanding, but this recipe hits all the right notes. The layers of flavor, the different textures, the heat, it all adds up to a dish that will cure me of my longing for Thai Classic any day.

Of course I toyed with it quite a bit, but that is the best part about this recipe, it just begs to be messed with. The base for the sauce is the key here, but the additions are up to you. As for me, I went light on the meat, and heavy on the veggies. This abundance of vegetables, combined with the yogurt addition, led me to believe that this is a healthy meal, we will just ignore the 1/2 stick of butter and the giant mound of jasmine rice shall we?

Chicken Curry with Cashews and Yogurt

adapted from Gourmet Magazine

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

2 medium onions, halved and sliced thinly (2 cups)

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger

3 tablespoons curry powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

4 boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 large tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped - if tomatoes are not ripe/in season you can omit the chicken stock and use 1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes and their juices.

2 cups chicken stock

1 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 can bamboo shoots, drained

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3/4 cup cashews (1/4 pound)

3/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat, until it starts to bubble. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic and ginger and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the curry powder, salt, cumin, and cayenne and stir to combine. Add the chicken thighs and cook just until browned on all sides, about 6-8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, chickpeas, bamboo shoots, and cilantro and simmer over medium-low heat until the chicken and all the vegetables have cooked through and sauce is reduced, about 30-40 minutes.

Feel free to add more chicken broth if the sauce reduces too quickly, I believe that the long slow simmer is where you get a lot of your flavor from here, so give it some time.

While curry is cooking, pulse the cashews in a food processor or spice mill until finely ground, almost to a powder, but careful not to go to far otherwise you will end up with cashew butter. Just before serving, stir the yogurt and most of the ground cashews into the curry to thicken the sauce.

Garnish with come chopped cilantro and reserved cashew powder, and serve over jasmine or brown rice.

Who needs you anyway Thai Classic. It may not be traditional panang, or even Thai, but it sure is delicious and feeds that little guy that lives in my tummy that screams 'feed me curry!!' every now and then.

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas

Confession: I LOVE Mexican food. I could probably eat it every single day (sometimes I do) and have been known to take down an entire jar of salsa in one sitting. This love is also shared by my boyfriend, Steve, and so when deciding what to grill one night, he suggested quesadillas.

At first I thought that sounded a little tricky, I have enough trouble keeping the cheese inside the tortilla when I'm busting quesadillas out on my George Foreman. But then I thought of spicy grilled chicken sandwiched between two charred crispy corn tortillas smothered with smokey cheese, and I was in.

This is a great weeknight dinner, it came together pretty quickly with just a one-hour marinade for the chicken. We grilled the chicken with some onions and bell peppers first, then assembled the quesadillas and threw them back onto the grill. The combinations are endless, but whatever you put inside, it beats any quesadilla made in the oven or on your Foreman any day.

Grilled Chicken Quesadillas
(makes 4-6 medium sized quesadillas depending on how much filling you use)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Marinade
2-3 Tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo, reserve the rest for later use, or freeze)
juice of one lime
2-3 cloves garlic - minced
handful of cilantro - chopped
salt and pepper
Olive oil (just enough to thin out sauce enough to coat chicken, probably 1/4 cup or less)

8-12 Corn tortillas
Cheese (I used one package of Mexican blend shredded cheese, because that is what was on sale)
Cilantro Leaves (about 1/2 cup)
Bell Pepper
Red Onion
Olive oil (to brush the tortillas with)

Put chicken breasts and marinade ingredients into ziploc bag and mush it around to coat. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour while you prep the rest of the meal.

Pre-heat your grill for medium-high direct heat.

Chop the bell pepper in half or quarters and the onion into thick rings. If you keep the pieces big enough you can put them directly on the grill. If you have a veggie basket, feel free to chop the veggies smaller. Toss with olive oil and salt and pepper.

Grill the chicken for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken breasts) until no longer pink in the center. When the chicken is just about done, throw the veggies on over direct heat until cooked through. Remove from grill and put the cover back on the grill.

Let the chicken and veggies cool just enough to handle, then slice them thin. Assemble the quesadillas with cheese, chicken, cilantro leave, and veggies (and whatever else you feel like throwing on there).

I try to make sure my first and last layers are both cheese, so that it melts and traps all the meats and veggies inside. the tortillas, reducing your chances of spillage.

Once your quesadillas are assembled, brush the top tortilla with olive oil. This will help it to not stick to the grill, and also help it crisp up very nicely.

Take the assembled quesadillas out to the grill, and, moving quickly and gently, flip your quesadillas onto the grill using two hands so that the oiled side is down. The faster you go, the less time the fillings have to fly out. It has something to do with gravity I'm sure but let's not get into that here. Brush the tops with olive oil, and after 2-3 minutes flip the quesadillas over using a large spatula, again do this quickly. The cheese should now be metled so they should be a bit more cohesive and easier to manuver.

When the bottom is crisped up and the cheese is fully melted take them off the grill and let them rest for a minute or two to let the cheese cool a bit.

Cut into quarters and serve with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, and any other fixings you see fit.