Food News From Nowhere

The votes are in, and it looks like my devoted readers are calling for a recipe.  As with most recipes I try, this one came from Sunset magazine (July 2007).  It took me over a year to gather the ingredients to actually produce this food--not that is was really so difficult to locate smoked paprika (I found it at the "Heist")--mostly I'm just a lazy grocery shopper.  In fact, I'm a lazy shopper all together; that makes two luxuries I would have if I ever won the lottery:  a driver and a personal shopper.  But enough of this...on to the food. 

Grilled Chicken Kebabs

With Romesco Sauce

Chicken

8 skewers

2 lbs. boned, skinned chicken breasts cut into cubes

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 TBS olive oil

2 TBS fresh lime juice

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. each kosher salt and smoked paprika

Combine the above ingredients in a large bowl or plastic bag.  Toss to coat the chicken, then chill and marinate for at least 25 minutes. Meanwhile...

Romesco Sauce

1TBS minced garlic

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup peeled roasted red peppers

1/4 cup whole almonds or hazelnuts, toasted

1 slice crusty bread, toasted and cut into cubes

1/4 cup olive oil

1 TBS sherry vinegar

Put the above ingredients in a food processor and whirl them until pureed.  This sauce is thick.

Obviously, the chicken must be threaded onto the skewers and grilled before this meal can be served. So, do that, and enjoy!   

Food Notes:  One person in my house really doesn't enjoy chicken all that much, so I was a bit skeptical of even preparing this meal.  But, it was a big hit!  You can't even taste the bird in the chicken once it's marinated. And the romesco sauce...mmm.  If you like mole, you'll be smiling when you dip into this stuff. Also, if you are into impressing the neighbors with scents wafting off your grill, this recipe is sure to please; my neighbor actually popped her head over the fence to inquire as to what I was cooking.  

In other food news:  I have learned that preparing smooth (Mazza-like) hummus does not involve the labor intensive task of peeling the skins of each and every little garbanzo bean. This summer, I was stealing a read from Cook's Illustrated while I waited in line at the grocery store, and there was an article on getting this silky smooth hummus.  I catalogued the technique in the back of my mind where it remained until  yesterday when it popped into my conscious thought somewhere after mile 15 on the Jordan Parkway trail.  Long runs deserve whatever food the mind desires, so I obliged by making the hummus shortly after consuming a cheese danish (like I said, whatever the mind wants).  Magic!  Super smooth and creamy.  The trick, it turns out, is to leave the olive oil out until the very end, and then pour it into the mixture in a slow stream while it blends in the food processor.  Here's my recipe for simple hummus:

Hummus

One can garbanzo beans

2 TBS plain yogurt

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS tahini

Garlic (you be the judge on quantity)

Olive oil (use your best judgement)