Accidental Recipes

4-6 chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs) Olive oil 2 onions, finely diced 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 1 tablespoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon paprika 1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon) 1 cup apricots, sliced in half 1/2-3/4 cup raisins 1 cup lentils, rinsed 3 cups chicken stock 1) In a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. ) Brown the chicken parts thouroughly on both sides ) While chicken is browning, toast cumin and coriander in a small frying pan over a medium heat until heated through and aromatic ) Mash the coriander, paprika, garlic, cumin together in a pestel. If using ground cinnamon, add this as well) ) Remove the chicken to a plate, and pour off the drippings ) Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan ) Cook the onions until transluscent ) Add the garlic mixture, cook for 1 minute while stirring ) Add the lentils, raisins, and apricots and stir until coated ) Add the chicken stock, bring to

6-8 Sweet Potatoes 4-6 Granny Smith or other tart apples 2 Onions 1 can pumpkin (or 1 small pumpkin) Olive oil 5 tablespoons butter, melted 1 cup plain Greek yogurt Salt Freshly ground pepper Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a baking dish (or 2) which will fit the potatoes, apples and onions. Wash the potatoes and apples and cut in half Peel the onion and cut in half If using fresh pumpkin, cut into quarters and remove seeds Place all cut side down on the baking dish, and roast until each is very tender. The apples will be done first. With fresh pumpkin, turn to other cut part down. Remove from the oven and cool. Scoop out the flesh of the potatoes and apples (removing the core of the apple), and place in a bowl with the onions. Add pumpkin (from can or from baked). Using a hand blender or food processor, process together until smooth. (You can do this step up to 3 days before) Add remaining ingredients, and mix well. Put into a lightly buttered pan. Dot the top wi

Hard to do something wrong here, but this is a successful one. 1-6 apples (or more), cored Put in each apple: - 1 tablespoon or so raisins - a few drops of walnut oil - brown sugar - a dash of allspice - 1/2 tsp butter bake at 350 until apples are soft you may want to pierce the top of the apple skin in a few places with a fork so the skin does not explode.

Ok, so I have not even tried this yet, but it sounds too good to miss out on.... 3 sweet potatoes 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon cloves 1/2 teaspoon cardamom 2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups sugar 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Peel, then cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Roast in a buttered pan at 375 degrees until soft. Mash. Combine flour, spices, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside. Beat sugar with olive oil, add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add mashed potatoes. Add flour mixture. Bake in buttered pan at 375 degrees until done. Yes?

3 Cups flour 3 Cups sugar 6 Eggs 1 lb butter (room temperature) 8 oz cream cheese 3 tsp vanilla 1 tsp lemon extract Butter and flour a large tube pan. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix butter and cream cheese well. Add sugar, mix well. Add eggs one at a time Add flour slowly Add extract last Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees, then 1 hour at 350 degrees

4 cups canned pumpkin 4 tsp melted butter 1 tsp salt 2 cups sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cloves 1 tsp mace 1 tsp ground ginger 4 eggs 3 cups half and half 2 pie shells, pre baked for 8 minutes or so 1) Beat the eggs together 2) Add everything together in 1 large bowl and mix well 3) Pour into pre-baked pie shells 4) Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees 5) Bake for 50 minutes at 350 degrees They are done when the pie completely sets. Remove, cool, and store in a refrigerator until 1 hour before serving. Serve with whipped cream only if necessary.

Easy. 2-3 fresh figs per person 1 walnut half per fig Honey Butter Preheat broiler. 1) Trim stems off of figs, and cut crosswise down from the stem end almost to the bottom. Open the figs up slightly. 2) Place figs on broiler-safe pan. 3) Add one walnut half inside of each fig 4) Place a 1/2 tsp of butter on each walnut. 5) Drizzle with 1 talblespoon of honey. 6) Broil for 5-10 minutes until figs are very soft. 7) Serve.

Pretty simple. Preheat broiler. 2-3 figs per person Blue cheese Honey Slice off the stems of each fig, and cut crosswise down almost all the way to the base. Open each fig up, keeping them  together at the bottom. Crumble 1 tsp of blue cheese inside each opened fig. Drizzle 1 tbsp honey on each fig & cheese. Place on a pan and broil until the blue cheese melts. Serve. Try some walnuts as well.

2-3 boneless chicken breasts 1 cup dry white wine 1 celery stalk, chopped, reserving leaves 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme 1 cup carrots, chopped 1 large sweet potato, cubed into 1/2 inch cubes 1 cup peas (frozen) butter 1 package mushrooms (button or similar), sliced 2 Tbsp flour 1/2 cup cream salt pepper For the pastry 1 cup flour 4 Tbsp butter 1/4 cup cold water Prep - preheat oven to 400 degrees - butter a casserole dish or large, deep pie dish. Alternatively, butter 6 deep ramekins or chili bowls - chop all vegetables, have flour, butter and cream ready (except butter for pastry, keep that cold!) 1) Combine the white wine and 1/2 of the thyme sprigs in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer, add the chicken breasts & celery leaves, cover, and gently simmer until the chicken is just done. 2) Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Remove the celery leaves and thyme and discard. Pour the remaining wine and juices into a bowl and reserve. 3) Using the same pan, melt 2 tbsp of butter. A

Or prosciuotto, or bacon, or what you have on hand. Soak 2-3 cups of cannelini or other white beans overnight. Drain, rinse, and cover with cold water. Add 1-2 bay leaves, salt, and gently bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover, and cook the beans until tender. Do not drain! Tried it with raisins and the honey. Perfect. Put 1-2 tbl olive oil in a dutch oven or other heavy pan. Add the beans and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the following: - 3-4 tbl honey - 1/2 tsp fennel seeds - 2-3 slices ham of your choice - 2-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped - 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped - salt and pepper Bring to a gentle boil, then simmer with the cover on for an hour or more. Serve with a side of spinach with ham, or pasta, or both. You may want to try baking this instead of cooking the beans on top of the stove. Just make sure the pan is tightly covered, else they will dry out. May try raisins instead of the honey next time. Also am thinking about a few fresh tomatoes.

Inspiration from a meal out tonight: Spinach risotto w/ asparagus, morels, and a poached egg. Worth trying out. I would cook the risotto with water left from soaking the morels and what was squeezed out of some quickly sauteed spinach. Add the chopped, sauteed spinach, and already cooked asparagus spears and morels during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Could also use some of the water used to steam the asparagus...

Take your favorite, but basic, chocolate chip cookie recipe. I did this with the recipe from the Nestle Tollhouse bag of semi-sweet chips.  Add 1/2 tsp cardamom and 1/4 tsp mace to the dry ingredients. Just a little something...

Sometimes I open the cabinet and just start cooking. Othertimes, I have a specific flavor or thought in mind, and manage to realize it in the kitchen. This is one of the latter. Great for a summer night, or to remind yourself that summer will be back. Prepare 1/2 hour or longer in advance Time to prepare: 10 minutes Time to cook: 10 minutes Any dense, white fish - (did this with cod) 2 lemongrass stalks 2-3 tbl fresh cliantro 1 clove garlic 1-2 tbl vegetable oil (not olive oil) Ground fresh pepper Soft flour tortillas Avocados Chop lemongrass, clilantro and garlic together. Mix with oil, and spread over both sides of the fish. Add a little black pepper, cover, and let it sit for 1/2 hour or longer. Chop up avacodos and heat up the tortillas 5 minutes before you want to start to cook. Grill or broil the fish for 5-10 minutes.  Flake fish into tortillas and wrap. Serve with avacados on the side.