Spice!

As an Idaho Girl by nature, I can appreciate the classic Sunday dinners I enjoyed every week of my young girl life: mashed potatoes, roast, glazed carrots, gravy, and green salad. Simple. Beautiful.

Bland.

Maybe it's the infiltration of asian and indian restaurants that dot the land. Maybe I'm trying to force culture through food. And maybe, just maybe, I'm trying to lure The Mister of the House away from the office and his 12+ hour workdays....

....because today I made a quadruple batch of his favorite dish Chicken Tikka Masala.

Sorry people, time to invest in some spices!

I just had to dot my fingers with the many flavors that made up this dish: cinnamon, cumin, ginger, paprika, red cayenne pepper, and black pepper. How pretty is that?

First, cut 3 breasts into tiny bite-size pieces and throw them in with this marinade for at least an hour:

Marinade
1 cup plain yogurt

1 TBL lemon juice

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 TBL minced fresh ginger

* cut this down, or out if you want it more mild. Try it!** 2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

3 tsp salt

Now the recipe told me to skewer them and grill them. Where do they think I live, India? It's winter here, which is why I just threw them on my George Foreman Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine. You could probably throw them in the skillet. Who cares? Just cook it about 5 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. Then set your chicken aside.

Now time for the sauce. More spices!

In a large skillet, throw in this first, saute 1 minute:

1 TBL butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped*

** make sure you deseed this puppy unless you want to get an involuntary nosebleed during dinner

Into this buttery delight, throw in these spices:

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp paprika

more salt, to taste

coat the garlic and peppers real good

Now here's the saucy addition:

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.

Lastly:

add grilled chicken and simmer 10 more minutes.

Can you feel the love? The spice?

I can.

If I hadn't been so excited, I would have remembered to garnish it with cilantro. But doesn't it look per-ty on my batik tablecloth?

This sauce goes a looong way, it's so full of flavor. Cook up a big batch of fragrant rice, add some sides of neutralizing foods like: broccoli, fruity milky smoothie, or if you're lucky...naan bread.

5 minutes later...

What can I do with all this spice?

I just love planting a kiss into the soft skin of my offspring. Here Vanilla Wafer is getting attacked in that sweet spot: little behind the ear, little above the neck. Don't you just love that cute little shoulder cringe?