Project Pastrami…

I love spices… probably too much. I have a whole drawer full of spice jars and another shelf of random spices. I came across this recipe for Pastrami-Style Salmon and thought the spice mix was rather interesting.

Since I didn’t have any salmon on hand, I did have some ground turkey to use for dinner. Combining the pastrami spice mixture and ground turkey was truly an experiment that turned out to be delicious! I decided to use this spiced ground turkey and stuffed some large portabello mushrooms and voila… dinner is served. I accompanied my stuff mushrooms with roasted asparagus and tomatoes.

Here’s my recipe for Spiced Turkey Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms:

2 large portabello mushrooms
8 oz. ground turkey
garlic, minced
onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
cooking spray for browning turkey
2 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup feta cheese (I used fat free)

Remove stems from mushrooms and gently brush off any debris.
In a large bowl, combine garlic, onion, sugar, and the spices and mix thoroughly.
In a saute pan, brown seasoned turkey.
Once browned, remove from heat and toss in cheese and green onions.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place mushrooms gill side up and top with the turkey/feta/onion mixture.
Bake stuffed mushrooms in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

*I’m also submitting this to the “Go Ahead, Honey – It’s Gluten-Free” blog event started way back in the wintry depths of February by Naomi of Straight into Bed Cake-Free and Dried. This month, Rachel of The Crispy Cook is hosting and the focus is seasonal veggies. Be sure to check out Rachel’s site in early September for the round up!*

Sixteen Spice Chicken w/Cilantro Cream Sauce

So what’s for dinner? Well, we couldn’t decide on whether to have burgers or BBQ. I figured chicken would be our best bet and decided on Bobby Flay’s recipe for 16 Spice Chicken. This was the entree I ordered when I visited his restaurant, Mesa Grill, in Vegas this past January. It was so wonderfully seasoned, I definitely wanted to try recreating it at home. Why not today?
Here’s Bobby Flay’s recipe for Sixteen Spice Chicken:

3 tablespoons ancho chile powder
3 tablespoons pasilla chile powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
3 tablespoons ground coriander
3 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon allspice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon ground fennel seed
1 teaspoon chile de arbol
3 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Canola oil

Combine spices in a bowl. Rub chicken breasts on both sides with rub. Marinate at least an hour or overnight. Oil up the grill until well coated (so it won’t stick) and grill for 10-12 minutes.

With the chicken entree I ordered, I recall having a cilantro cream sauce. So with that, I also made this great Cilantro Cream Sauce.

My husband is a big fan of cilantro and it worked out perfectly with the chicken! Eek, blurry pic, but trust me with how well it tastes! It would work as a great dip with chips and salsa too.
Here’s my slightly adapted recipe for Cilantro Cream sauce, using some of the great Florida food gifts I received:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 cup prepared salsa verde
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon bottled or fresh key lime juice

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, pepper, celery salt, cumin, garlic powder, cilantro and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Place in a serving bowl.

Fragrant Korma Curry

Our palattes were in the mood for something exotic tonight. One of my favorite ethnic cuisines is Indian and the fragrant spices seemed to be just what we needed. Tonight I made a lamb korma curry.

Korma is a type of mild curry dish from Indian and is often made with a yogurt sauce, cream or peanuts. The flavor is based on a mixture of spices, combined with yogurt and/or cream kept below curdling temperature and incorporated slowly and carefully.

Here is my recipe for Lamb Korma Curry. Note there are a few traditional Indian ingredients, which I purchased from an Indian market:

1.5 lb lamb chops

1 large onion, chopped
2oz ghee
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek

2 cardamom pods, crushed
1 teaspoon hot chilli powder

1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups water or beef broth
1-2 baking potatoes, chopped
1 cup frozen peas

1 cup plain yogurt
salt & pepper, to taste

In a dutch oven, heat ghee and saute onions, garlic.

When onions have softened, add lamb and brown.

Add the remaining ingredients except the potatoes, peas and yogurt.
Stir and cover, allowing the lamb to simmer on low.
Simmer for about 30-45 minutes to ensure the lamb is tender.
After 30 minutes, add chopped potatoes. Cover & simmer.
After 45 minutes, add frozen peas and stir.
Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.
Allow it to rest covered for 5-10 minutes before serving.

I served this over couscous cooked in beef broth and a side of garlic naan.

Enchiladas with Sweet Surprises

After having leftovers and boring hot dogs the past couple days, today I made dinner using a unique recipe shared by my friend Cara. She introduced me to the idea of using sweet potatoes and black beans as fillings for burritos. Well, I felt adventurous and made pork filled enchiladas using sweet potatoes and black beans.
Popular in the American South, these yellow or orange sweet potatoes are elongated with ends that taper to a point and are of two dominant types. The paler-skinned sweet potato has a thin, light yellow skin with pale yellow flesh which is not sweet and has a dry, crumbly texture similar to a white baking potato. The darker-skinned variety (which is most often called “yam” in error) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a vivid orange, sweet flesh and a moist texture.
Here is my recipe for Pork, Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas:

1 can peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 can cooked black beans
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. ground cumin
4 tsp. ground coriander
1 1/2 cup roasted, shredded pork
12 eight-inch soft corn tortillas
tomato salsa, sour cream, and cheese for topping

- Preheat oven to 350.
- Rinse sweet potatoes with water in a colander to wash
away any light syrup it was packed in.
- Rinse black beans with water as well.
- Combine potatoes, beans, garlic, onion and lemon juice
and process in food processor.
- Place sweet potato mixture in a bowl and add seasonings.
- Add shredded pork and fold into mixture.
- Spray with nonstick spray a large baking dish.
- Spoon about 2/3 to 3/4 C. of the filling into center of
each tortilla, roll closed, and place seam side down
in baking dish.
- Cover tightly with foil & bake 30 min or until hot.
- Serve topped with salsa, yogurt and cheese...
or any of your fave toppings.

I topped my enchiladas with Fage greek yogurt
and shredded cheese, along side of a
sweet corn, black bean and tomato salad.