Wilted Spinach Salad with Warm Feta Dressing

A salad recipe from epicurious.com, http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wilted-Spinach-Salad-with-Warm-Feta-Dressing-240677.

So simple, only a few readily available ingredients.

9 ounces of fresh spinach

5 TBS olive oil

1 medium red onion, cut into 1/3" thick wedges

7 ounces feta cheese

2 TBS sherry wine vinegar

Wash and remove stems from spinach, place in large bowl. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add onion; sauté until brown and softened, about 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl with spinach; remove skillet from heat. Add remaining 3 tablespoons of oil and cheese to skillet. Stir to melt cheese slightly, about 1 minute. Stir in vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over spinach; toss to coat and wilt slightly.

I didn't measure the feta or olive oil really, and used red wine vinegar because we didn't have sherry wine vinegar. Turned out great, served it with hamburgers.

Chicken in Lemongrass Sauce

Thai-inspired main dish, per Ashley and Sandra's request:

12 ounces green beans

2 TBS vegetable oil

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast or thigh, cut into 1/2" strips

1 medium onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/3 cup lemongrass

3 TBS fish sauce

3 TBS sugar

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 cup chicken stock or broth

2 TBS spicy oyster sauce

Cook beans in large saucepan of boiling salted water just until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, onion, and garlic; stir-fry until chicken is partially cooked, about 4 minutes. Cut lemongrass into rounds (so that you can remove them easily), add to skillet, along with fish sauce, sugar, coriander, and turmeric; stir 2 minutes. Add beans, stock and oyster sauce (I used shrimp paste and roasted chili paste instead of oyster sauce); reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens and chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe comes from epicurious.com, originally printed in Bon Appétit, September 2000. Here are my modifications: added lime zest and juice of 1 lime. You want to balance the flavors of hot, sour, sweet, and salty, so you can adjust the amount of chilis or chili paste, citrus, sugar and salt (or fish sauce).

Chicken Madras

Here is a convoluted Indian recipe. It is convoluted because I have never followed the printed recipe, but no worries, this one turns out pretty well and can survive your experimentation. This one is for Brian and Jessica, so good luck to them finding fenugreek, methi leaves and mango powder in Brooklyn! Don't worry about all the variable ingredients: just use the flexibility as a opportunity to experiment, and let the dish turn out a little differently each time!

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 tsp ginger paste (I use fresh)

1/2 tsp garlic paste (I use fresh)

1/2 c. tomatoes, diced (or up to 1 c)

1/2 c. water

SPICES 1

1/2 tsp garam masala (or a little more)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp red chile powder

at least 1/2 tsp of black pepper

1 Tbsp coconut milk (plain yogurt is better, I use 1/2- 3/4 cup)

1 lb boneless chicken, cut into 1" cubes (I prefer breasts, thighs, or a combination of the two)

SPICES 2

1 pinch mustard seed

1 pinch fenugreek seed (I use much more, up to 1 tsp)

1 pinch cumin seed (I use more, maybe 1/2 tsp)

1 pinch whole, pre-soaked white lentils (optional, I use about 1 tsp)

5-6 whole dried Thai red chiles

5-6 curry leaves (I find these optional)

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro (this really should be a handful of dried methi leaves)

1 tsp salt

mango powder to taste

Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a pan. Add diced onions; stir until they are golden in color. Add ginger and garlic, fry for 1/2 minute. Add tomatoes, water, and SPICES 1 and cook for a minute or two. After it starts to boil, let it simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a fry pan. Add mustard seed, fenugreek seed, cumin seed and lentils, then fry until the mustard seeds start popping. Add whole red chiles and stir until the mixture turns a darker color. Add curry leaves. When the leaves become soft, take them out. Add tomato puree and cooked chicken to pot and mix all the ingredients together with a ladle. Add salt, methi, and mango powder to taste, for tartness.