My brother Michael never stops creating new recipes. When I heard that he was in a Middle Eastern ‘food mood’ (I love Middle Eastern food—the blend of sweet and savory spices is unexpected and totally amazing!), I asked what he had up his sleeve. He tells me that this is his ‘latest and greatest’—I’ll let the readers of ITS help decide!

Moroccan Chicken

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 T. olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. alleppo pepper or cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 14 oz. cooked, shredded chicken 8 green olives, sliced
• 8 black olives, sliced
• 1/3 cup dried prunes, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 T. tomato paste
• 1 T. white wine vinegar
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 tsp cornstarch

1. In a large saucepan, sauté onion in oil just until starting to brown.  Add the celery, garlic, and red pepper and sauté for 2 minutes longer. 
2. Add the spices, chicken, olives, and dried fruit; add the stock, tomato paste and vinegar.  Cover and cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes. 
3. Mix cornstarch and 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl.  Add to saucepan and stir to thicken.  Serve over rice, couscous, or flatbread.  Add chickpeas to make a heartier meal.

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OK… this isn’t an ‘original’ recipe by my Mom (Bobbie), but she does love Caramel Rice Krispie Bars with all her heart. Be prepared for a ‘grown up’ version of everyone’s favorite childhood treat and remember… share the love.

Bobbie’s Caramel Rice Krispie Bars

Makes 1 large pan of bars

For the Caramel Filling:

• 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1-14 oz package soft caramels
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine

For the Rice Krispies and Assembly:

• 1.5 lbs (1 1/2 bags) miniature marshmallows, DIVIDED
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter or margarine
• 8 cups rice krispie cereal

1. Make caramel filling by melting all caramel filling ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat or in the microwave.
2. Make rice krispie mixture by melting 1 lb. marshmallows and butter in a large bowl in the microwave; stir in rice krispie cereal to coat.
3. Place 1/2 of rice krispie mixture in 15 x 10” jelly roll pan. 
4. Place remaining 1/2 lb (remaining 1/2 bag) of mini marshmallows on top of rice krispie layer.
5. Pour caramel filling on top of marshmallows.
6. Make sure you hands are slightly damp and press remaining rice krispie mixture on top of the caramel.
7. Allow bars to set up in the refrigerator before cutting (spray your knife with cooking spray so it does not stick).

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Just so you all know, I basically pull most of these recipes out of my ass.  So, you might want to be a bit diligent in reading it all the way through and SERIOUSLY adjusting the seasonings to your taste.  On the other hand, they usually work out pretty good!

Roasted Poblano Peppers with Spicy Pumpkin Puree

Roasted Pablanos:

Pre-heat oven to Broil:

• 4 Large Pablano Peppers

• 1 T. Vegetable Oil

• S&P to taste

Rinse peppers and pat dry with a paper towel.  Lay peppers on a baking sheet and coat with the vegetable oil.  Place 1 rack down from the broiler element.  I leave the oven door open and smidge so I don’t forget to check them.  Let them do their thing until the skin blisters and is black.

Remove from oven and place in a Ziploc bag for about 10-15 minutes.  Keep the stem on and gently pull the skin off.  Set aside.

Pumpkin Puree:

Pre-Heat oven to 275 degrees:

• 1 Medium Sized Pumpkin

• 1 T. Vegetable Oil

• ½ C. Yellow Onion, Small Dice

• 2 T. Garlic, Minced

• ½ Cup Shaved Carrot

• 1 T. Cumin Powder

• 1/2 t. Red Pepper Flakes

• 1 Cup Vegetable or Chicken Stock (approx.  depends on the yield you get from your pumpkin)

• S & P to taste

• ¼ C. Heavy Cream – optional

• 2 T. Fresh Cilantro for Garnish

Slice the pumpkin in half and scrape out seeds and all that stringy stuff.  Just cover the bottom of a baking sheet with water and invert the pumpkin halves (face down) on the tray.  Put in the oven and bake until a knife easily slides through.  About 40 minutes.

Remove from oven.  When cool enough to handle, spoon out the meat into a glass bowl and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, sauté the onions and garlic until translucent.  Reduce heat and add the carrot, cumin and red pepper flakes – stir constantly for 3-4 minutes.  Add the pumpkin, stock and salt and pepper reduce to low and let cook until the flavors meld and the liquid has evaporated.  Add the cream (if desired) and puree with an immersion blender or put in a food processor.

Using a paring knife or kitchen shears, cut the pablano up the middle and remove the seeds and pith.  Spoon the pumpkin puree into the cavity and garnish with fresh cilantro.  At this point, you could also sprinkle the pepper and puree with a Manchego or Queso Blanco and broil until bubbly.

This would go nicelywith a gently seasoned green or bibb leaf salad and some ripe tomato slices.

You know when that glass of wine before dinner gives you the inspiration to create…and then, by the third glass, you’ve done some serious creating….and then completely forgot how you did it? Well, that’s kind of the case with this particular recipe. However, I’ve been perfecting this beauty for about 4 years – changing up flavors, adding new elements and, Watson, I do believe we’ve got it!!!

To all of our fans, friends, sponsors and colleagues who have helped to make into the Soup such a great success, this is my own way of saying thank you…so very much! I LOVE MY JOB!!!!!

Naan with Herbed Goat Cheese, Pineapple Chutney and Roasted Shrimp

Ingredients:

Herbed Goat Cheese:

• 1/2 Pound Goat Cheese (Chevre)
• 1/4 Pound Cream Cheese
• 3-4 T. Sour Cream
• 4 T. Fresh Cilantro – fine mince
• Juice of 1 lime
• S&P to taste

1. Get out your Cuisinart!  Let the goat cheese and cream cheese stand at room temperature until soft, about 20 minutes.  Put all ingredients in your mixer and pulse until well incorporated.  You don’t want this to be too stiff, so add a little heavy cream if you need to; otherwise it will be difficult to spread on the Naan.
2. Let sit, covered, in the frig at least two hours, overnight if you can.  When ready to prepare the dish, let it come up to room temperate, thin if necessary and adjust your seasonings.

Pineapple Chutney:

• 2 T. Vegetable Oil
• 1 Small Yellow Onion, small dice
• 1 each Medium Red Pepper and Yellow Pepper, small dice
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1 T. Fresh Ginger – finely diced
• 2 14 oz. cans crushed pineapple, with juice
• 1 T. Rice Wine Vinegar
• 1 bottle Sweet Chile Sauce (you can find it in the Asian section of your grocery store)
• 3-4 T. Curry Powder
• S&P to taste

1. In a large sauce pan, sauté the onion, peppers and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the ginger and cook another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
2. Add pineapple (with juice), chile sauce, vinegar, curry powder and S&P.  Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook down for at least 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently.  Your goal here is to meld the flavors and reduce the amount of liquid in your chutney.  Feel free to spice this up with red pepper flakes, jalapeno…whatever you like.  Don’t make it too hot, though, or the chutney will overshadow the shrimp and goat cheese.

Yogurt Cilantro Sauce:

• 1/2 Pound Greek Yogurt
• 1/4 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/2 C. Finely minced Cilantro
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1-2 T. Cumin Powder

1. Drain the yogurt in a thin mesh colander over a large non-metallic bowl.  Make sure there’s enough room underneath the screen for the liquid to drain freely.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in the frig for at least two hours, overnight is best.
2. Bring it out, drain off the liquid and return to the yogurt to a clean glass bowl.  Add the whipping cream, cilantro, lime juice and Cumin.  Mix well and let sit in frig for another 30 minutes to an hour.

Roasted Shrimp:

**Pre-Heat the oven to 410 degrees

• 1 pound 16-20 shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 T. EVOO or Virgin Olive Oil
• S&P to taste

1. Clean the shrimp, pat dry and place in a large non-metallic bowl.  Add the olive oil, juice and seasonings and toss well with your hands.
2. Place the shrimp in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for approximately 10 minutes ~ watch closely.  Test doneness by cutting into a shrimp and eating it.  Remove from oven and set aside on a cool plate.

TIME TO ASSEMBLE!!!

1. Make sure that your goat cheese mixture and chutney are at room temperature before you start.
2. Cut your Naan into triangular pieces.   Place the goat cheese mixture and your cilantro cream sauce in separate pastry bags, or Ziplocs with the tip cut off.  Trust me, this is the most efficient way to assemble this dish.
3. Lay your naan pieces out on your serving tray and top each with a dollop of the goat cheese mixture, then the chutney, a single shrimp and a zig zag of the cream sauce.  These go like wildfire whenever I make them ~ enjoy!!

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