Saturday, August 27, 2011

Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew (Koresht - e - Fesenjan)



4 pcs. chicken leg quarters
1 large onion, sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 lb walnuts, toasted and ground
1/2 cups pomegranate syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1-2 T sugar (depending on taste and sweetness of juice)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 T lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
3 T olive oil
**water if needed

Brown chicken pieces in a heavy bottomed pan in oil. Remove and set aside. Using the same pan, sauté onions and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg, stir and fry for a minute.

Mix in the walnut into the mixture. Add the browned chicken pieces and toss to coat. Stir in the pomegranate syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add little water if chicken needed more cooking. then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least an hour until the sauce is thickened, the walnuts release their oil and the sauce has reduced to about half..

Add and stir in lemon juice and sugar according to taste. Adjust seasoning if needed. Continue cooking for a 20 more minutes. Mix in the ground cardamom few minutes before serving.

I like to serve these with steamed rice but you can serve these with warm pita bread.

These taste better the following day.


Recipe adapted from

 Koresht - e -Fesenjan!

Friday, August 26, 2011

DC Challenge Edible Container Winner (SZECHUAN CHICKEN ON CRISPY CHICKEN SKIN BOWL)

Hello, i didn't have the chance to thank everyone for voting and making it possible for me to win the first Daring Kitchen Cooking Challenge Contest. 

FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART I THANK YOU ALL FOR THE UNTIRING SUPPORT. OH I KNOW HOW IT WAS TO VOTE AND VOTE AND VOTE  DAY IN AND DAY OUT FOR HOW MANY WEEKS? HA!HA!  BUT IT WAS GREAT!

THANK YOU TO THE DARING KITCHEN FOR THIS CONTEST. BEING A MEMBER IS INDEED A CHALLENGE. IT IS EXCITING TO WAIT AND SEE WHAT THE NEXT CHALLENGE WILL BE. WITH THE ADDITION OF THE CONTEST I'D LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT IT MADE US MORE ENTHUSED AND KEPT OUR CREATIVE MINDS GO THROUGH THE ROOF!!! EVERY ONES DISHES WERE EXCEPTIONAL. 




THE DARING COOKS’ JUNE, 2011 CHALLENGE: HEALTHY POTATO SALADS FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

Stunning photos, delicious recipe choices, and a whole lot of gumbo love is what you provided us last month, Denise, and we couldn’t be happier (we’re a lot fuller.. but nonetheless.. ) for it. Thank you for presenting a wonderful challenge that many people had never tried before. This was the first time I’ve had Gumbo and I’m TICKLED PINK to have these recipes as the seafood Gumbo I made was OUT OF THIS WORLD. I read pretty much the same the same sentiment from so many people.. I think we can all agree it was a great introduction into Creole cooking! Thank you so much!!
As promised.. we have our winners, courtesy of the Daring Kitchen readers’ votes! Grand prize goes to TaGa_Luto for her Szechuan Chicken in Crispy Chicken Skin Bowl! Congrats, PiaSmile
And our runner up is Monkey Queen for her Pear and Beet Dried Bowl Filled with Cheddar Cheese SoufflĂ©! Congrats to you too, Renee! Yay! I’ll email you both very soon! Big Grin
Many, many thanks and congratulations to all of our top 5 finalists.. the votes were SO CLOSE and I’m not just saying that.. the voters had a tough time picking the winners. Terrific job everyone!! Smile
Big thanks to everyone who has sent in their Member Spotlight questionnaires, and who have volunteered for cookbook/product reviews or FoodTalk articles! I’m good now for a bit on everything except FoodTalk Articles – still have lots of openings for the 2nd half of 2011 if ya’ll are interested! Just drop me a line at lamiacucina AT adelphia DOT net and I’ll get you on the roster.
This month we’ve got another fun challenge that is totally open to creativity.. and the lovely people at the United States Potato Board are sponsoring this challenge so we can help get the word out about what a delicious, nutritious and versatile vegetable potatoes really are! So have fun! Cook outside the box and outside your comfort zone.. let your imaginations run wild! Smile
Lis
xoxo