Skewers of grilled meat are a staple at Thailand night markets as the aromatic smoke from satay stands lure in hungry customers. These are also perfect to serve at soirees or as part of a dinner menu. The oven broiler can stand in for the grill when the weather outside is not so tropical.
1 cup (250 mL) coconut milk
4 Tbsp (60 mL) coconut palm sugar or honey, divided
2 Tbsp (30 mL) fish sauce
1 Tbsp (15 mL) reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp (10 mL) grated or finely minced ginger
2 tsp (10 mL) ground coriander
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground turmeric
1 lb (450 g) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2 in (1.25 cm) cubes
10 wood skewers
1/2 cup (125 mL) rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 dried Thai bird chilies, crushed, or 1/4 tsp (1 mL) red chili flakes
Stir together coconut milk, 2 Tbsp (30 mL) palm sugar or honey, fish sauce, soy sauce, ginger, coriander, and turmeric in large container. Add chicken pieces, toss to coat, cover, and let marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour or more.
Soak skewers in cold water for 30 minutes to prevent them from burning under the broiler.
Preheat oven broiler. Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto skewers. Place chicken skewers on lightly greased baking sheet and broil for 3 minutes. Turn skewers and broil for additional 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
To make dipping sauce, place rice vinegar, remaining sugar or honey, garlic, and chili pepper in small saucepan. Bring to simmer and heat for 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature. Sauce can be made up to 3 days in advance.
Serves 4.
Each serving contains: 234 calories; 23 g protein; 10 g total fat (6 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 11 g total carbohydrates (9 g sugars, 0 g fibre); 540 mg sodium
source: "Stir-Up Delicious Thai Food", alive #364, February 2013
Tourtière is, for me, the dish that best represents Québec. It can be traced back to the 1600s, and there’s no master recipe; every family has their own twist. Originally, it was made with game birds or game meat, like rabbit, pheasant, or moose; that’s one of the reasons why I prefer it with venison instead of beef or pork. Variation: If you prefer to make single servings, follow our lead at the restaurant, where we make individual tourtières in the form of a dome (pithivier) and fill them with 5 ounces (160 g) of the ground venison mixture. Variation: You can also use a food processor to make the dough. Place the flour, salt, and butter in the food processor and pulse about ten times, until the butter is incorporated—don’t overmix. It should look like wet sand, and a few little pieces of butter here and there is okay. With the motor running, through the feed tube, slowly add ice water until the dough forms a ball—again don’t overmix. Wrap, chill, and roll out as directed above.
My love of artichokes continues with this classic recipe, one of the best ways to eat this interesting, underrated, and strange vegetable. Frozen artichoke hearts are a time-saving substitute, though the flavour and texture of fresh artichokes are, by far, much superior and definitely preferred.
Cervelle de canut is basically the Boursin of France, an herbed fresh farmer’s cheese spread that’s a speciality of Lyon. The name is kind of weird, as it literally means “silk worker’s brain,” named after nineteenth-century Lyonnaise silk workers, who were called canuts. Sadly, the name reflects the low opinion of the people towards these workers. Happily for us, though, it’s delicious—creamy, fragrant, and fresh at the same time. Cervelle de canut is one of my family’s favourite dishes. It’s a great make-ahead appetizer that you can pop out of the fridge once your guests arrive. Use a full-fat cream cheese for the dish, or it will be too runny and less delicious.