Butter Paneer (or Chicken) Quesadillas

So I was on set late one night, and a friend was texting me, trying to tempt me out for food and drinks after I got off work.  First he mentioned Indian food, and then in a subsequent text mentioned a “boss taco truck,” and left me with cravings for both of those foods.  Which got me thinking, why can’t I have both Indian food and Mexican food in the same, easy to eat, drunk-food style meal?  Thus, the idea for an Indian-Mexican food truck was born.

Now I don’t own a food truck (yet), but I have a kitchen, so I got to work on a few recipe ideas.  This one stemmed from two dishes I love, Butter Chicken and Quesadillas (obviously), which seemed like natural companions.  The first time I made them vegetarian and used Paneer, which was delicious since the Paneer adds another cheesy note to the dish.  But chicken works amazingly as well. 

A quick note about the cashew paste, which is a staple for the butter sauce recipe:  To make it, simply soak cashews in hot water for 30 minutes, then blend until smooth.  Unfortunately, in the time since I developed this recipe and got around to making this blog post, one of my roommates moved out and took the blender, so I had to used store-bought cashew butter.  It’s essentially the same, but thicker and more oily, so I needed to add a bit more water to smooth the sauce out. 

Butter Paneer (or Chicken) Quesadillas

Makes 3 Quesedillas

2 tbsp Oil

2 tbsp Butter

1 in Ginger, minced

4 cloves Garlic, minced

4 oz Tomato Puree or Paste

½ tbsp Chili Powder

1 tbsp Curry Powder

1 tbsp Garam Masala

1/2 tbsp Coriander

1/2 tbsp Cumin

1/2 tbsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

2 tbsp Cashew Paste

1 Serrano Pepper, sliced thinly

½ cup Red Onion, diced

8 oz Paneer OR Chicken (boneless, skinless breasts), shredded or cut as thinly as possible

6 Tortillas

Shredded Cheese (optional) (Any cheese works well here, but I used Mexican Blend to keep with the theme)

Sour Cream

Cilantro

Butter Sauce:  Heat butter and 1 tbsp of the oil in a pan.  Add minced ginger and garlic, and fry for a few minutes.  Add tomato puree, cook and stir for five minutes.  Add spices and cook for 10 minutes.  Add cashew paste and sauté for 3 minutes.  To smooth out sauce, add a few tbsp of water. 

Paneer or Chicken:   Heat oil in a pan.  Fry Serrano pepper and diced onion for 1 minute.  Add paneer and fry for 2-3 minutes, until slightly softened.  For chicken, add the slices to the fried Serrano peppers and onion and cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned on all sides and cooked through. 

Assembling the Quesadillas:  Lay out flour tortillas, these will be the bottoms.  Spread butter sauce, and then sprinkle fried paneer or chicken mixture on top.  Add shredded cheese if desired. Cover with top tortilla and fry in small amount of butter or oil until golden brown on both sides (about 1 minute per side). 

 

Serve with sour cream and cilantro, plus any additional butter sauce for dipping.

These will keep for about 3 days in the fridge, or seemingly indefinitely in the freezer.  Just reheat in the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes if refrigerated or 10 minutes if frozen. 

Homemade Lemonade with Ginger and Lavender Variations

Homemade Lemonade

with Ginger and Lavender variations

Homemade Lemonade

1 cup fresh lemon juice (approximately 5 lemons)

¾ cup sugar

4 cups water

First, juice your lemons.  I used fresh lemons from a tree in my backyard for the lemon juice.  It’s really worth it to juice the lemons yourself, whether with a hand juicer or an electric juicer, rather than using store bought. 

If you have a cute helper like me he'll peel the lemons for you

Then, make the simple syrup.  You can do this by boiling 1 cup of water and stirring in 3/4 cup sugar until it dissolves.

In a pitcher, stir together lemon juice, simple syrup and remaining 3 cups of water. 

Serve immediately over a lot of ice or chill in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

For Lavender Lemonade 

1 tbs dried lavender buds (I bought mine from the The Spice Merchant)

When making the simple syrup, add 1 tbs of lavender buds to boiling water and sugar mixture.  Let simmer for 10-20 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve before adding to the lemonade. 

For Ginger Lemonade

1 in fresh ginger root

Ginger can be added one of two ways. 

If you have an electric juicer, simply put the ginger root through with the lemons. 

Without a juicer, the easiest way is to finely chop the ginger root, and add the boiling water and sugar while making the simple syrup.  Let simmer for 10-20 minutes.  Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve before adding to the lemonade. 

Creamy Peach Pie

I always knew I was summer when my mom would make Creamy Peach Pie.  She had gotten the recipe from her mother, who had heard it from one of the ladies she sat with at the Hellertown pool. 

We ate it a lot more when I was a child—growing up in Peachtree City, Georgia (aka the “peach state”) allowed more access to peaches than I have now in the Midwest.  Here there is only about a month of time where the peaches are juicy enough to make a satisfying pie, so I always leap at the opportunity when it arises.
   

Ingredients:

9” unbaked pie crust

3-4 ripe peaches (enough to make 3 cups when sliced)

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup flour

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400˚

Prepare pie crust (we’ve always used the refrigerated store bought type, but feel free to use your own homemade recipe here) and place in a 9” pie pan.

Peel and slice peaches into a large bowl.  You should have approximately 3 cups. 

Combine ¾ cup sugar, ¼ cup flour, ¼ tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. nutmeg. Add to the peaches and toss lightly.  At this point the peaches will start to release their juice and a delicious syrup will form.

Pour peach mixture into the pie crust.  Pour 1 cup heavy whipping cream over top. 

Bake at 400˚ for about 35-40 minutes (until firm)

Cool well before serving.

Spanish Paella

I just went to Aventura, a relatively new tapas restaurant in Ann Arbor, and after tasting their paella I was inspired to dig out the recipe my mom gave me ages ago and try to make it myself.

Now, this recipe is simple to make and tastes amazing--which made it perfect for my high school international fair, the event for which my mom originally made it.  While all the other kids brought in store bought tacos and churros, I came in with a steaming serving tray of homemade paella.  It's so authentic that my spanish teacher asked me (enthusiastically, but doubtfully) if my mom was hispanic, to which I had to admit, no, we're German/Irish.

Ingredients:
3-5 lbs of chicken (I recommend skin-on, bone-in thighs or drumsticks for maximum flavor)
1 lb shelled and deveined shrimp (if frozen, thaw under cold water before beginning)
8 oz chorizo
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
3 tbs butter
2 cups rice
4 cups chicken broth
Salt and pepper
1 tsp chili powder, plus extra dash
Cayenne pepper (optional)

In a large pan, heat ¼ cup olive oil. Wash 3-5 lbs of chicken.  Rub the chicken with salt and pepper, and sprinkle Cayenne to taste, depending what level of spice you're going for.  Add chicken to olive oil and brown on all sides.  Add ¼ cup water and cook 20 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, melt 3 tbsp butter and mix with 2 cups rice in a large saucepan, oven-safe and big enough to contain all the ingredients.  Stir over low heat for 5 minutes, and then add 4 cups chicken broth.  Bring to boil, cover, and cook slowly for 17 minutes.  When cooked, add 1 tsp chili powder.

Remove chicken pieces from pan and layer over rice.  To juices in pan, add ½ cup chopped onion and 2 cloves garlic.  Cook slowly for 3 minutes (do not brown).

Add the 1 lb of shrimp, sprinkle with chili powder, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.

Layer shrimp, onion, and garlic mixture over chicken and rice, along with any remaining pan juices.  Cook 8 oz of chorizo in the pan until crumbled, and then layer over remaining ingredients. 

         Bake at 350˚ until heated through, approximately 20 minutes.

Modge-Podge Sandals Tutorial

I went to London earlier this summer for six weeks, and after stuffing my wellies into an already oversized bag, I had enough room for only one pair of club-appropriate shoes.  Needless to say, my poor wedges were looking a little worse for wear after six weekends of riding escalators, scrambling onto the tube, and running around Leicester Square.

Wedges + Escalators = Sadness

I decided to both refurbish my trusty dance shoes and commemorate my trip by modge-podging photos of London onto the wedges.

1. Materials 

-Photos (I've found that photos printed on computer paper adhere better to curved surfaces.  Also, printing in black and white will prevent discoloration due to the glue.)

-Modge-Podge

-Sponge Brush

-Wedge sandals 

2. Glue on Photos

It helps to have a rough idea of where you want the photos before you start cutting and gluing, but it also helps to be flexible about placement.  

Glue the photos one at a time.  Using the sponge brush, put modge-podge on the wedge (no need to be perfect here) and then place the photo.  Trim the photo if it sticks out over the edge of the wedge.  Smooth out any air bubbles.  After the photo is placed to your satisfaction, use the sponge brush to apply another coat of modge-podge on top of the photo (make sure you take special care to paste down the edges).  The glue will go on slightly opaque, but it will dry completely clear.  

Repeat this with the rest of your photos until the whole wedge is covered.  Don't be afraid to overlap photos, but make sure to apply a layer of modge-podge both underneath and on top of each photo you add.

To ensure a good seal, go over the entire wedge again with a final layer of modge-podge.