So, springtime and the first real weekend sunny weekend of the Spring and I decided to go for a picnic. But instead of making a sandwich, I decided to go with these hand pies and a bunch of salads. I really like hand pies, as they are an “enclosed” sandwich of sort. Or a mini-pot pie without a serving dish. Either way, delicious.
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poultry
So it’s soup. Just soup. Really not all that exciting.
But when something so simple turns out so amazing that you even surprise yourself, you know it’s good. It’s still chilly and damp here in Greater Boston these days (at least it’s not presently snowing!), so I decided to make some Veggie and Chicken Soup, and I threw in some Sacchetti pasta (which is tort of like tortellini, but prettier!). Even my dinner guest, who hasn’t had much of an appetite recently had seconds and even wanted to take some home to have for lunch the next day. I’d call that two thumbs up. Simple. Easy. Good. Soup.
I was having a conversation the other day with a close friend about one-pot meals. OK, the conversation was actually more about hating to wash the dishes, but along the same lines. He shared with me a Jambalaya recipe (not this one) which reminded me that I hadn’t made Jambalaya myself in a a while. GReat dish and this feeds an army of people. Shrimp / prawns are optional, but I like them, so in they went. Start to finish in under an hour.
In the last week or so, the topic of Peri Peri Sauce, or even more specifically “Nando’s Chicken” has come up at least 5 times … twice with acquaintances from South Africa and the remaining time with UK friends. That signaled to me that I should make my own. And then fate decided to tell me that I should really use the peppers from my own garden … which are mostly joloquia (ghost peppers) and habaneros, because actual peri peri chilis are near on impossible to find here. Anyway, voila … homemade Peri Peri Sauce. Spicy as all get out. Can be used on chicken (obviously), but also with veggies, fish or smear it on toast… 🙂 Be forewarned: recipe as written is crazy hot. If you want less spicy peri peri sauce, use less chilis or pick a variety that won’t kill you.
In my attempt to expand my “flavor-profile” horizons, I decided to make these “Moroccan” meatballs. For the record, I don’t know that they have turkeys in Morocco (I am guessing more lamb?), so it’s more the flavors that I am going for in this recipe: cumin, coriander, paprika, nutmeg and cinnamon. An interesting combination, to be sure. But they turned out quite lovely. I’ve frozen a batch so when I have visitors in the next few weeks, they might be good as an appetizer or a snack. If going for the whole meal thing, service with cous cous. Nom.