Do Elephants Eat Chicken?

 

When David commented on one of my past posts, he mentioned Chicken Shawarma - which inspired me to cook it since the Geek and I hadn't had it in quite a while. We both love Chicken Shawarma and I honestly don't know why we don't have it more often. It is so easy to make.

Chicken Shawarma is a middle-eastern dish - and this is all you need - plus a cup of Greek yogurt for making the sauce:

Chicken thighs (bone- and skinless), garlic, smoked paprika, coriander, cumin, cardamon, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, lemon and olive oil. The flatbread is for wrapping.

Combine all the ingredients (with the exception of the chicken thighs) and make a marinade. Put the chicken thighs in a ziploc bag, add the marinade and make sure that every piece is coated. Marinate overnight in the fridge.

The next day make the yogurt sauce with the Greek yogurt, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper and lemon juice. Put in the fridge. As you can see I added a little bit too much cumin to my yogurt.

You can grill the chicken thighs, but I prefer to bake them in the oven. Preheat oven to 425F (220C), spread the marinated chicken thighs on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes. The drink in my picture is not wine, but pomegranate juice.

When the chicken is done, cut it in strips and serve with tomatoes, lettuce and the yogurt sauce. Don't forget the flatbread.

Trader Joe's flatbread is not very big, so eating became quite messy. But who cares? It was delicious with a very good spice, but not too hot. (If you don't like too spicy, use less of the cayenne pepper; it really puts the heat in the dish.)

A chilled dry white wine like a Pinot Grigio is a nice companion.

You can find the full recipe here.

Of course we need dessert! When we were in Istanbul we often had Künefe. When I discovered it at Trader Joe's I had to try it. It was very good, but then unfortunately for reason unbeknownst to me, they stopped carrying it. One of the employees who knew how much we liked it warned me about that, so I could stock up. This was the last package... I will probably need to learn how to make it myself.

I'm joining Rain's Thursday Art and Dinner Date - please do yourself a favor and visit some of the other wonderful blogs.

My art for today is this happy patchwork elephant:

This was one of the Kaleidoscope Taster Sessions with Eulalia Mejia, an artist from Colombia. Thankfully she had provided a traceable elephant because I would not have been able to draw it - I'm hopeless at that. She was the only one of the "taster artists" who provided complete step-by-step instructions with pictures to download. Supplies used: acrylic paints and wax pastels.

And no - this elephant doesn't eat chicken.

Skillet Balsamic Garlic Chicken

 

When I wrote about the food we ate in the fall, some of you expressed interest in the recipe of the skillet balsamic garlic chicken. I got this recipe from my friend Liz who provided me with some wonderful recipes when our oven broke down last spring and I was limited to meals that you can prepare on the stovetop. I'm not sure where she got the recipe from, so unfortunately I cannot tell you the source.

This dish cooks up fast as soon as you are done with all the prep work.

Here's what you need:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, sliced or pounded 1/2 inch thick (I slice mine, and I also sometimes substitute the breasts for chicken thighs)
• salt and pepper
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced (I used crimini)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 TBSP butter, cubed

1. Season the raw chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and, when hot, place the chicken in the skillet. Cook it on one side for about 5 minutes until browned, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and the mushrooms to the pan and stir to combine. Work the mushrooms under the chicken, so it sits on top of the mushrooms. Cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms begin to soften. Add in the vinegar, broth, bay leaf and thyme.
4. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then uncover the skillet and cook for an additional 5 to 7 minutes to sligthly thicken the sauce.
5. Add in the butter and cook for 2 more minutes.
6. Serve over rice, pasta or potatoes. We like to eat it over couscous.

Don't forget to vote in my annual giveaway that is open until this weekend!