Chicken Tagine

The completed dish!

For the opening meal of the summer (almost summer) it turned out quite well.  It definitely took all of, and a little more, 2 hours to make.  Even with some help, thanks Ben the sous chef, I was working pretty much the whole time.  The good thing about this recipe is it has to simmer for 30-45 minutes at the end which gives you enough time to do a quick side dish; timing is everything.  The sugar snap peas fit perfectly into that time frame but I'll get to those in a minute.  The spice rub needed to be doubled because there was not enough to coat 3 lbs of chicken.  I also recommend that you do NOT overcook the almonds.  They need no more than 5 minutes otherwise they become somewhat charred.  The apricots took about 10 extra minutes to become tender and then boil down the honey water to a sauce.

The sugar snap peas were not nearly as spicy as I thought they would be but then I should have followed my rule of thumb when it comes to using spicy sauces/hot sauces: when it's hot enough for you or just right, double that amount because it becomes tame the longer you cook it.  If you like a good kick to your food then I suggest using 1/2 tbsp to 1 tbsp.  The snap peas are very quick and easy to make, about 20 minutes.  Cook to tenderness preference.  I decided to serve it over couscous since this is a Moroccan dish.  I recommend using some broth with the water to add a little flavor to the couscous.  This recipe makes enough to feed 5 with a little extra chicken left over.  Since the recipe came from a magazine and it did not make sense to post it as a photo, if you would like the recipe just email me and let me know.  I have scanned them into pdf form to make it easy for emailing.

Monday's meal: Entree will be Tri-tip w/ Parsley Cherry-Tomato Sauce
Side dish will be Orzo w/ Artichokes and Pine Nuts
Dessert will be Strawberry Clouds

SUCCESS!

Beginnings

I'm not quite sure why I'm starting this or how successful it will be but perhaps that's not really the point. For right now I'm just looking to share thoughts, ideas, photos, advise, whatever, and with whomever is willing to read and listen. I can tell you for a fact that a good portion of this will be a food blog. I'm looking, starting with the summer and perhaps further, to expand and grow my cooking skills and repertoire. At least once a week, I will have a featured entrée and side dish that is either a new cooking style, brand new recipe, new/different ingredient, or new food category all together. For those who do not have the pleasure or option of being a guest diner for these featured culinary explorations will have the pleasure and benefit of posted photos of each meal. Mind you, this is not in any way biting off of Julie and Julia for mine won't be just about cooking. I plan to post and share photos and perhaps biking updates on how my training is progressing towards my goal of riding a metric century miler by the end of the summer.

Without further adieu, let me share with you my first culinary challenge for this blog and the summer: Chicken Tagine w/ Apricots and Almonds. This recipe came out of "Gourmet: The Magazine of Good Living" May 2006 which I bought when I was living in Texas. I cooked a grand total of two recipes from this magazine and shelved it. What a shame that was because after dragging it half way across the country and four years later, I opened it up to find a wealth of great recipes with which for me to start my cooking extravaganza. This is a sweet, Moroccan-spiced dish that is defined partly by the tagine (tajine by some) which is a big circular pot with a lid that allows for the cooking of stews and slow braised meats. For this challenge I will be using a big metal skillet with a lid since I do not own a tagine or know anyone that owns one. The side dish that is accompanying this entrée is Snap Peas w/ Chile and Mint. This dish is meant to be quick and easy but also complement the Chicken Tagine. "Gourmet" describes this recipe as "enlivened with Southeast Asian flavors...a versatile side dish [that] complements nearly any kind of meal." Tomorrow, Thursday evening around 7 pm we will see how the first of, hopefully, many culinary experiences turns out.

I will be looking and needing two things: recipe suggestions and guest diners to be guinea pigs. These will most often be intimate and small gatherings so I can't take everyone, all the time, every time. But good food should be shared with good company and often times the food becomes better as the company that is shared is better. I chose the background of this blog, for starters, as a toast to new beginnings, new challenges, good food, good wine and good times!