Eggs with Curry Leaves

This is the second version of scrambled eggs that we have made from Mangoes and Curry Leaves: Culinary Travels Through the Great Subcontinent.  Sadly, neither Alex nor I can remember the other scrambled eggs recipe well enough to decide which one we liked better...  I remember being pleasantly surprised by how palatable I found the tomatoes in the Andhra Scrambled Eggs.  But what I really remember from that meal was being blown away by the Andhra Spiced Eggplant.  Speaking of that eggplant, we need to make it again ASAP because it was delicious.  I have one minor criticism of this particular scrambled eggs recipe; I prefer my eggs cooked gently and slowly over a moderately low temperature, rather than scrambled quickly over a higher heat.  That way the eggs remain light, fluffy and moist.  Because the eggs here were poured in a much hotter pan than I usually use to scramble eggs, they were a little dry.  They also felt a little... heavier and more filling than typical scrambled eggs (both because of the cooking method and the amount of ingredients in the eggs).  On the plus side, the flavors here were quite interesting and were fun to experiment with.  These eggs were heavily spiced with curry leaves, cayenne chili, shallot, ginger and scallions.  In terms of sheer flavor, they packed a wallop.  And I usually love that kind of thing.  But part of me would have preferred a really simple plate of pale or golden yellow, fluffy scrambled eggs with just a few chives on top for color.  Simple, but satisfying.

Recipe after the jump!

Cincinnati Skyline Chili

Alex has been wanting to make chili in our slow cooker for some time now.  We actually planned on making chili tonight, but we didn't have our act together early enough today to do that, so we decided to make chili on the stove top instead.  And since Alex has family in Cincinnati he wanted to make Cincinnati chili, rather than Texas style chili.  I really wanted to make a chicken chili (I had this recipe flagged), because I have never been a particularly big fan of chili (partially due to the fact that many chili recipes are chock full of beans and I am just not into kidney beans).  Granted, I think I have eaten chili a grand total of 3-4 times in my entire life and it tends to be from random ski lodges so this isn't a particularly well-informed opinion.  But I do like chicken chili.  And for some reason, I like white beans, so that might be a contributing factor in why I like chicken chili, but not beef chili.  

I still don't particularly like beef chili.  This experiment was no exception.  Sorry Alex.  It was an uphill battle from the start.  I don't really like chili, I thought that chili could not possibly be improved by the addition of cinnamon and other exotic spices like cardamom, and I thought that chili served over spaghetti just sounded weird.  Alex told me I was overthinking it.  That I should essentially think of the chili like a meat sauce served over pasta.  So I did.  And it just didn't do it for me.  I believe my response was that I have had better pasta sauces.  Alex on the other hand, did enjoy the chili.  And was more than a little sad that I didn't.  I might try again tomorrow because I have it on good authority that chili is better the second day.  Alex thought that the chili could use a little more cinnamon.  I thought it could use a little more heat.  And a different texture.  It just felt very grainy...  I read somewhere online that you're supposed to serve Cincinnati chili with oyster crackers.  I think I would really have liked that addition.  But I have to admit that nothing would have made me fall head over heels in love with this dish.  I can't help it.  I just don't like chili.  But it did make the apartment smell delicious!

Recipe after the jump!

Chicken "Chili" with Hominy and Buttery Cornbread

I'm not sure whether or not I can legitimately call this a chili recipe, since it has no beans in it and no chili powder, but that's what it reminds me of so that is what I am going to call it.  Alex and I both have head colds right now and in my congested stupor all I could think of was chicken soup - chicken chili in particular.  But I didn't like any of the chili recipes I kept coming across, nor did I have any canellini or navy beans that I had soaked overnight to make a chicken chili.  Enter plan B.  I figure soup is one of the best vehicles for using up random produce or canned goods, and I always have a ton of random produce and canned goods.  So I climbed up on the counter to see what was in my cabinets (I admit, the top shelf is a pipe dream for me if I'm standing on the ground - the only way for me to see what is up there is to climb up on the counter like a little kid) and started pulling everything down I thought I could work with.  That included a large can of white hominy, a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, chicken stock, and various spices.  Then in the fridge I had two bone-in skin-on chicken breast halves, garlic, scallions, cilantro, limes, and a bag of frozen yellow sweet corn. Perfect!

The chicken chili was great - perfect since it is once again freezing outside.  It definitely makes the list as one of my favorite soups I have made.  And with the addition of several teaspoons of Tabasco, it did a great job of temporarily clearing my sinuses up.  Unlike a lot of chilis, it wasn't overly heavy (which is something I usually attribute to the surplus of beans used in most chili recipes).  Instead, with the addition of corn, hominy, cilantro, lime and tomatoes, the chili was very fresh.  While San Marzano tomatoes aren't the tomatoes usually used in chili recipes, their slight sweetness went very well in this soup.  Maybe next time I will try one of the cans of tomatoes with chilis, etc. already mixed in, but then again, probably not.  I really liked the San Marzano tomatoes in here.

Nothing appeals to me more with a bowl of chili than a nice piece of cornbread.  And as far as cornbread goes, it has to be moist and a little on the sweet side.  Biting into a dried out hunk of cornbread is terribly sad.  Our last few experiments with cornbread haven't been the best, but I knew we were on the right track.  I wanted to try to replicate the cornbread they serve at Momofuku Milk Bar, only cornbread with white cheddar, caramelized onions and apples didn't quite seem appropriate with chicken chili.  Oh well, there's always next time.

Recipes after the jump!