Tag Archives: shallots

Buttery Peas with Shallots

There’s nothing fancy or brilliant about this recipe, but when I saw it listed on the “quick sides” page of America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook I immediately knew I wanted it. And I wanted to eat it alongside some baked mac and cheese.

It was the perfect combination. Something about the rich, crusty, cheesy bites of macaroni interspersed with those tasty sweet peas swimming in a buttery pool just hit the comfort food buttons of my being. It may not have been the most calorie-conscious meal of my life, but who’s counting?

Certainly not I.

With the Christmas chocolate and candy finally gone, I need something to take the place of all those excess fat calories that suddenly went missing from my diet . . . right?

Anyway, I feel like this is the type of side that probably everyone makes already, except for me. I may be late to the game with frozen peas, but better late than never.

Ingredients

(Serves 3-4)

1 lb frozen peas
2 TBS butter (unsalted)
1 large shallot, minced
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 baby

1.  Melt the butter in a 12’’ skillet over medium high heat.

2. Add the minced shallot to the pan along with the salt and sugar, and cook for about 3 minutes, until softened.

3. Add frozen peas to the skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, until heated through. Taste and re-season if needed.

4. Obtain baby from the baby store.

Any baby will do.

Who . . . me?

Yes. Sorry Alice–you’re the only baby we’ve got.

5. Kiss baby on cheek.

6. Kiss that baby again.

7. Again, again I tell you!

8. In fact, continue to kiss baby until baby squawks.

9. Temporarily relent from the kissing and serve peas hot.

At this point the baby may still be processing what the heck just happened.

What was with all that kissing, people? I thought we were making peas!

Hey, don’t blame me! I was just following America’s Test Kitchen’s instructions. I don’t question the masters at work. And neither should you.

So make those peas! And kiss a baby while you’re at it

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Thai Coconut Curry Soup

During my maternity leave I was super blessed by our church’s meals program for new moms. Basically, people sign up and bring you food. Heaven on earth. During those days when it seems like all you are doing is feeding an insatiable infant (lovely and wonderful, but dang do they eat a lot in those early days!), having a hot meal brought to your very doorstep is glorious.

It was especially glorious because of the number of incredible cooks in our congregation. We got fabulous lasagna from Traci. A savory and comforting brussel sprout and chicken sausage roast from Peter and Jamie. These awesome slow cooker pork chops from Jana that fell apart practically as soon as you looked at them. You can believe that I sent email after email asking for recipes during that time.

First up for recreation in my own kitchen was this fabulous Thai soup from Sarah. The soup has zip without being too spicy. It’s a burst of awesomeness on the palate that also sits lightly in the stomach–you won’t be going to bed with a rock in the gut after eating a bowl of this. And the lime juice–oh the lime juice. So bright! So zesty! In my mind, fresh lime juice is just another finger pointing to a loving Creator, and I’m not kidding either. (Any other lime juice fanatics out there?) And Sarah amped things up by adding shiitake mushrooms, which I happen to absolutely love. After emailing her and asking for the recipe, she said it came from America’s Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook. Irony of ironies, I had that very cookbook from the library sitting in my living room (also the source of the amazing Cajun Corn Chowder that I’ve already made three times in the past two months). So go Sarah! Go America’s Test Kitchen! And with some of Sarah’s modifications plus some of mine, here’s the recipe.

(Serves 6)

Ingredients

1 TBS vegetable oil
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 large shallots, minced
4 cups chicken broth
2-14 oz cans coconut milk
2 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS sugar
8 oz white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 carrots, sliced on the diagonal into thin ovals
8 oz snow peas, strings removed, cut in half
Juice of 2 limes
2 tsp Thai red curry paste
1 bunch green onions, minced
Salt, pepper, and more sugar to taste

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Just when it starts smoking, add the chicken breast and brown on both sides. Set the chicken aside.

3.  Add the minced shallots to the pot and cook over medium heat until softened.

4. Add the broth and coconut milk to the pot along with 1 TBS of fish sauce, the soy sauce and the sugar. Stir everything together, scraping up any browned bits.

5.  Add the chicken breast back in, cover the pot, and simmer the soup for about 10 minutes.

6. Remove the chicken breast to a cutting board and dice or shred into bite-sized pieces.

7. Add all the vegetables to the soup and simmer for 3-5 minutes, until just tender.

8. In a small bowl, whisk together the curry paste, lime juice and remaining fish sauce. Add it to the soup along with the chicken.

9. Taste, re-season if needed, stir in the green onions, and serve hot!

Thank you Sarah and thank you church friends for bringing such great food and being such a blessing to our little family!

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