Chicken Tikka Masala, Marsala Pork Chops, Red Peas & Rice, Roast Turkey, Drunken Noodles & Shrimp Chowder

We had a lots of delicious meals recently, including many for my family visiting from Wisconsin. We managed a nice mix of proteins with chicken, pork, turkey, tofu, shrimp and clams and lots of seasonal veggies, too.

Chicken Tikka Masala, Black Eyed Pea Dal & Cauliflower Rice

I almost never take chicken parts out of inventory, but rather break down whole birds if I want a cut like breasts.

And I almost always underestimate how long it takes me to break down and cut up the birds!

I think part of it is that when you’re doing it faster for chicken processing, you’re ok with leaving some breast meat on the wings and the carcass in the name of efficiency, but I get obsessive of getting every last bit off!

I have an Indian home cooking cook book that I loosely based this Chicken Tikka Masala off of, as I’ve made it so many times over the past 18 years! I briefly marinated the cut up breasts and tenders in tomato paste, creole cream cheese, lemon juice and a bunch of seasonings including turmeric, coriander, cumin and garam masala. Once it was finished cooking, I added a little heavy cream.

Then I seasoned the legs, wings and remaining skin to roast separately and got the carcasses going with some frozen cooked chicken bones for broth.

For the sauce I started with onions, garlic and ginger and then added more tomato paste, seasonings, canned tomatoes and some frozen pureed pumpkin.

And then for the black eyed peas, I soaked them for 36 hours or so and then cooked in the Instant Pot with salt and turmeric and chicken broth. Then, like I do for Indian lentils, the main seasonings for it came from a tempering oil with coriander and cumin seeds, plus minced garlic and ginger and lots of lemon and lime juice to stop cooking.

We also did cauliflower rice and some naan to round it out. It was delicious and made for great leftovers all week.

Marsala Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes & Strawberry Salad

We are on a pork chop kick lately and these marsala pork chops were outstanding.

I used pearl oyster and maitake mushrooms, plus a bunch of onions, garlic and fresh thyme for the sauce. I deglazed with Marsala wine and then added broth and finished with heavy cream.

We had it with mashed potatoes and a salad with strawberries, pistachios, goat cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette. It was great Saturday night at home date night vibes! (Especially after a long day of being on edge with severe weather threats).

Family Visit Pork Fest: Spare Ribs, Red Peas with Andouille & Smoked Hocks + Cauliflower

For the first night my parents, sister, brother in law and niece were in town last week, we did it up with a bunch of our pastured pork.

I did some easy oven spare ribs with yellow mustard, brown sugar and a bunch of seasonings — coriander, chili lime seasoning, chili powder, garlic and onion powders, a little nutmeg (trust me) and a mushroom seasoning with dry mustard and thyme.

We marinated them overnight and then cooked at 400 degrees to get a brown crust and then turned down to 275 degrees for a couple of hours.

Meanwhile, I also decided to give a New Orleans style red beans treatment to the Sea Island Red Peas we get from Marsh Hen Mill. These are like a combination of red kidney beans and black eye peas and we absolutely love them.

So I soaked the peas as usual and then browned some andouille in a cast iron skillet. I added the peas and defrosted broth to the Instant Pot with a bunch of smoked pork hocks. Then in the skillet I used for andouille, I sautéed onions, leeks and celery and later added garlic, then seasoned with tomato paste (sacrilege probably, but good), paprika, thyme and garlic and onion powders.

We had it with simple steamed cauliflower, Jasmine rice and (not pictured) a usual spring salad with strawberries, goat cheese and pistachios.

Red Pea Breakfast Burritos

Then the next morning, we had plenty of peas left for delicious breakfast burritos!

We reheated some peas, scrambled some eggs and combined them in flour tortillas with sharp cheddar cheese, cashew almond sauce, salsa, hot sauce and fermented radishes. They were as big of a hit as the ribs and peas meal the night before.

Roast Turkey with Orange Rosemary Gravy, Polenta, Fried Brussels Sprouts & Salad

Family in town called for roasting one of the turkeys we got from J&L Green Farm!

My bother in law did the honors of breaking the big bird down and then I got broth going in the Instant Pot with the carcass and some cooked chicken bones from the freezer.

For the breasts, thighs, legs and wings, I rubbed the outside with mayonnaise (helps with browning) and seasoned with the usual suspects — coriander, garlic and onion powders, Smokey Shiitake & Black Garlic seasoning and paprika.

Then for the gravy, I used the drippings, plus turkey stock and flour and then finished it with fresh rosemary, orange zest and orange juice.

On the side we did fried Brussels sprouts, creamy polenta (cooked in more stock) and more salad. Felt like a holiday meal, except in the spring!

Drunken Noodles with Tofu & Kale

These were a great Sunday lunch and meal prep for the week!

I had half a clamshell of Il Supremo’s hand cut fettuccine in my freezer, which are also great for Asian dishes.

I had some crumbled sautéed tofu to use up and I scrambled a bunch of eggs and sautéed some kale and garlic to go with it.

I mixed up a quick sauce with soy sauce, coconut aminos, chili paste and honey to drizzle on top and topped it all with chili crisp. Came out great!

Shrimp, Clam & Veggie Chowder

Another quick weekend meal for Grant and me — we’ve had a lot a visitors lately, so there’s been less of these!

A farmer friend and soil customer (Homegrown in Folsom) had given us some salad greens and gorgeous Dino kale. I had originally planned to make a shrimp and corn chowder, but I figured extra veggies is never a bad thing and it sure wasn’t.

I started by sautéing onions, celery and carrots, eventually adding garlic. I often have canned clams and mussels on hand to help us eat more bivalves and get our zinc and B vitamins and canned clams are an easy thing to add to seafood pasta dishes and soups.

So I deglazed the veggies with the clam juice and some white wine, then chicken broth and the last of the leftover mashed potatoes from the pork marsala. Towards the end of cooking I added the kale and then the raw shrimp, canned clams and frozen sweet corn. We topped is with fresh grated parmesan and lots of black pepper. Really tasty!