And The Winner Is.......

Way back in June, FoodPorn.com turned 10 years old and I held a recipe contest to celebrate. It took me way too long to cook the recipes but I now have a winner (unanimous among the family too I might add!):

ADRI!! You can choose anything you'd like from the FoodPorn store.

This was so good! Simple, fresh, lovely and tasty. The only thing I had a problem with was remembering to marinade in advance but I finally got it going early and I'm glad I did. YUM! And paired with it was the only potato salad I've ever liked (although it's not a specific recipe she sent, I used her ideas and it was great). I substituted basil for dill in the salad though. I could do that since it wasn't part of the official entry ;-)

Winning Recipe:

This is a super easy, summery chicken recipe that looks /great/ on the plate and is very flavorful. I like to serve it with a vinegar-y cucumber-potato salad (chunked cukes, chunked potatoes pan fried or broiled until crispy on the outsides, slivers of red onion, tossed with vinegar and dill).

Herbed Chicken Skewers

Ingredients

1/2 c low-fat plain yoghurt
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp ginger, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (omit and replace with chipotle powder to taste and 2 tsp lime zest, if desired)
large handful freshly chopped cilantro leaves
small handful freshly chopped mint leaves
juice of 2 limes
salt to taste
2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

Method

Blend first 10 ingredients together in mixer or blender until smooth

Toss chicken with spice/herb mixture & marinate in fridge 4-6 hours as time permits

When ready to cook, thread chicken onto skewers and grill 8-10 minutes, turning twice, until lightly browned. (I use an indoor grill/broiler for this, but it would be fabulous on a wood-burning grill; just be mindful not to go too hot or the herbs will burn)


Honorable Mention:

This one unfortunately gets no prize but pride in being mentioned (yes, be proud). And it earns this prestige because I didn't think I was going to like it at all! There were no ingredients that I hate in it but it didn't sound exciting to me. I was pleasantly surprised when each bite was a mouthful of rich, fresh, flavors. I did use fresh ingredients as she suggested except the lima beans which I could only find frozen. I served it over israeli couscous.

This goes to OneSockShort for:

Tomatican

In the summer, I've made this with all fresh vegetables, instead of frozen and canned, which is even better. But this is a nice winter treat if you live here in the frozen north. I've added okra before, which I love, but I know few others do. I think it would also be good with small white beans instead of limas, but haven't tried that yet. The thing that makes it is the cumin, so if that's not a flavor you like, pass on this.

2 c chopped onion
1/2 t cayenne
2 T oil
2 t ground cumin
2 c frozen lima beans
3 c canned diced tomatoes
2 c frozen cut corn
1/4 c fresh chopped cilantro

Saute onions and cayenne in oil 5 min or till onions soften.
Add cumin and lima beans and saute 2 min.
Add tomatoes, corn, and cilantro and simmer covered 10-15 min or till vegetable are tender.
Serve over pasta, rice, polenta, or other grain.


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Thanks to everyone who entered!!