FNCCC1 – Aaron McCargo, Jr. – Curry Chicken Skewers

Xeo and I decided that it would be fun to partake in the Food Network Chef Cooking Challenge, but when we decided that, it was the last week.  So we decided that we’d just start a new one of our own!  This first week, our chef is Aaron McCargo, Jr who is also known as Big Daddy.  He won the fourth season of “The Next Food Network Star” which was amazing because he was actually my pick for that season.

Anyway, as I was looking through his recipes, I found a few that sounded pretty good to me, but I had to narrow my choices down to something that I thought my family would enjoy.  I found a recipe for Curry Chicken Skewers, and thought it would be perfect.  I did make a couple of modifications to the recipe, but I tried really hard to keep it as close to the original as possible.  Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

• Wooden skewers
• 2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 tablespoons minced lemongrass
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Steamed white rice, for serving

Directions

Soak wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, add the chicken and all the remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. Remove the chicken from the marinade and thread onto the wooden skewers.

Preheat the grill to medium.

Put the skewers on the grill. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skewers to a serving platter and serve with white rice.

The first modification I made was out of necessity.  You just can’t get lemongrass in this small town I live in.  I looked high and low to no avail.  So I left it out.  The second modification I made was to leave the chicken off the skewers.  If I were cooking this on the outdoor grill, I would definitely have used the skewers.  My outdoor grill, however, has developed a leak in the gas line somewhere, so it’s out of commission for the foreseeable future.  Instead I used a grill pan on my stovetop.  Finally, I didn’t serve the chicken with white rice.  Instead I bought some pita bread and served it with a yogurt and cucumber salad and grilled onions.

What this picture doesn’t show is the tragedy that occurred with my pita bread.  I left it in the oven just about a minute too long and it wasn’t soft.  At. All.  In fact it was crunchy like a cracker.  After this picture was taken, I scraped all of the toppings off of the pita and ate it separately.  I would have preferred to have naan, but stupid Wal-Mart discovered that I love their bakery naan and decided to stop carrying it just to spite me.  Curse you Wal-Mart!  I was already holding a grudge against you for not carrying my Ore-Ida O’Brien potatoes!

Sorry… just a little rant there.  In all, this chicken was really good.  It had a great flavor that my family loved.  Next time, I think instead of using the grill pan, I might just try sauteing the chicken in a little oil.  The amount of smoke the excess marinade created on the grill pan was insane.  It looked like my house was on fire!  My hubby gave the recipe a 9 out of 10, so I know he’ll be asking for it again.  The only thing I really missed with this was the sauce that you get with a regular chicken curry.  If it were a little more saucy, I’d definitely serve it with some rice.

Not bad, Big Daddy, but I see a little room for improvement.

Pineapple Grilled Pork Chops

I got a really great deal on loin chops at the grocery store today.  I managed to pick up 12 fairly thick chops for $9.99!  So what am I going to do with 12 chops??  Well I’ll break that up into at least two suppers.  Since I already have a package of chops in the freezer in the marinade I use for the pork tacos, I decided to do another of our favorites.  Pineapple grilled chops.  These couldn’t be easier.

Pineapple Grilled Pork Chops

• 6 loin chops
• 1 small bottle zesty Italian salad dressing (I use Wishbone)
• 1 large can pineapple
• 3 Tablespoons soy sauce (more if you love soy sauce)
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Drain the juice from the pineapple into a bowl and set the pineapple slices aside for grilling with the chops later.  Add the salad dressing, soy sauce and brown sugar to the juice.  Pour the marinade over the pork chops in a zip top bag.   Allow to marinate for at least 2 hours — overnight gives the best flavor.  When you’re ready to grill, cook over medium-high heat.  DON’T overcook the chops or they will dry out! Serve with grilled pineapple slices.

This works great in the freezer.  Just put the chops in the zip top bag with the marinade and toss in the freezer.  When you’re ready to cook them, let them thaw overnight and then drain off the marinade.  In this case, I usually just add a small can of pineapple juice to the marinade and open a can of pineapple when I’m ready to grill.