Thai Wings

Every since I saw this amazing article, I've been making chicken wings for almost every football game. (I'm not really into football, so it gives me a tasty project while Jamie's screaming at the TV and checking his fantasy football scores.) Last night was the first wing-dinner of the season, and I decided to try a new one. Grace Parisi's recipe has a basic formula, then you add a few things to customize it. Our favorites have been the Maple-Chipotle, Jamaican Jerk, and Old Bay. This time, I thought I'd use the same formula but add a spicy, sweet, sour Thai twist. Big hit! They are totally joining the wing roster.

They're spicy and sweet and tangy and super addictive. And the basil and cilantro add a nice fresh contrast. Can't wait to make them again.

Thai Chicken and Spicy Asparagus Stir Fry

After Cinco de Mayo tamales (recipe coming soon) and other fun eating with Chip and Siobhan last weekend, once again, Jamie and I found ourselves craving healthy, fresh food on Monday night. I picked one recipe from the Times and one from Food & Wine, partially from the mouthwatering pictures printed alongside them - Thai Chicken with Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Sauce (also, can you resist that name?) and Stir-Fried Spicy Asparagus because asparagus is fresh, healthy, and so delicious this time of year. It's also nice that the asparagus takes less than 2 minutes to cook. It's delicious! The asparagus is extremely fresh and light, and the chicken is juicy. The real star is the dipping sauce. I want to make a gallon of it and pour it on everything. It's pretty much a winning combination of all of the tastes. Yum!

Thai Chicken, serves 4
Ingredients:
Marinated Chicken:
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp Asian fish sauce
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 whole chicken legs
Dipping Sauce:
1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate dissolved in 1 tsp water (or 1 tsp tamarind paste)
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 small  Thai chili (or jalapeno) seeded and minced
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Summer Rolls

After a very fun weekend in Seattle full of eating and dancing and sightseeing at the wedding of our friends Charley and Andrea, we needed something healthy and veggie-full. Light and crunchy and fresh, summer rolls sounded perfect. I found a tasty recipe and whipped some up. They're not very hard, except it takes some time to assemble everything. They were so good that we ate them two nights in a row. I even found rice paper at the grocery store. They're colorful and full of fresh flavor and the spicy peanut sauce is amazing.

Ingredients:
Sauce:
3 tbsp finely chopped yellow onion
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp water

Thai Style Mussels

I had friends over for dinner last night and wanted to cook something that wouldn't be terribly expensive or time consuming and I settled on mussels. They're cheap, easy to cook, and generally delicious. This Thai-style version is so tasty - lots of flavor in the rich, orange broth. It's a little spicy but not overwhelmingly so, and has a great zing from the limes and earthiness from the red curry paste. It's also pretty healthy. Definitely going to make it again - perfect week night meal - plus Jamie was jealous he missed it, so need to repeat for him too.

BYOB Thai

(This restaurant has moved across the street and changed its name to Potjanee, and has also acquired a liquor license. Still a great spot, but no longer BYO)



Having a delicious dinner at Morakote Siam on Carmine. It's my favorite neighborhood standby for cheap food and BYOB - great for friends. The veggie springrolls are amazing. Also love the Thai chili beef.




I also love any BYOB for budget reasons. Try it for a casual dinner.




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