Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

If you are cooking for the big game, I humbly suggest this fabulous recipe. This week has been very hard for me to come up with recipes- so the night before, I have been asking my husband and daughter for ideas. They have come up with some great ones. The night before last my husband suggested a dish with polenta. It got me thinking of the big game and maybe I should post another chili recipe for this weekend.

I went to the market and bought some fresh chicken thighs and drumsticks. I also bought a can of beans because that is what one adds to chili- right? I love beans in chili but it kind of bothers me that both the meat and the beans have the same mushy texture. So, I decided to keep them separate. That is how I came up with this very delicious dish.

I made a sauce with three different dried chillies and cooked the chicken till the meat was falling off the bones. In the meantime, I put the relish together. I am not sure how I came up with the apple idea. I was looking for the crunch factor and since apples are in season- it was an easy choice. I also made some yummy guacamole which I served on top.

Did I mention I served the chili on polenta? Yup, and it was delicious. For the big game, I would suggest corn bread or tortilla chips. Lots of garnishes including shredded cheese, chopped onions and of course the fabulous relish and guacamole. Have fun eating, drinking and watching this Sunday!

• 1 large yellow onion, quartered
• 1 head of garlic, drizzles with olive oil and wrapped in aluminum foil
• Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the onion and wrapped garlic on a small cookie sheet. Drizzle the onion with some olive oil and salt. Bake for about 30 minutes or till the onion is tender. Squeeze the garlic out and keep aside with onion.

• 1 large dried New Mexico Chili, deseeded
• 1 dried Ancho Chili, deseeded
• 1 dried Chipotle Chili, deseeded
• 2 cups chicken broth

Add the chilies and the broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for 30 minutes.
Add the chilies and liquid into a blender. Add the roasted onion and garlic. Blend till smooth.

• 4 chicken thighs on the bone
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• Salt

Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour and sprinkle with salt. Heat a saucepan with olive oil. Brown the pieces on both sides on high heat. Keep aside and add the tomato sauce and blended sauce. Bring to a boil and add the chicken pieces back into the pan. Bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cover with lid. Cook for 45 minutes or till the chicken is falls off the bone. Take the chicken out and take the meat off with a fork, shredding it at the same time. Discard the bones and add the meat to the sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil and test for seasonings. Add salt. Cook till the chili reaches desired consistency. Serve with Spanish rice or some creamy polenta.

Pinto Bean and Apple Relish

• One can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 small Pink Lady apples, chopped
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 teaspoons agave
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Add the pinto beans and apples into a small serving bowl. Add the lemon juice, agave, olive oil, cumin seeds, salt and cilantro. Mix well and taste for seasonings. Let sit for at least an hour before serving. Serve a few tablespoons on top of the chicken chili and maybe a ladle of guacamole.

Recipe number two. I made this dish at a cooking class for a gentleman who wanted to learn vegetarian dishes so he could feed his family healthy food. I suggested a Moroccan dish called Tagine. It is typically made with meat and cooked in ‘Tagine‘, which is a special ceramic cooking pot with a cone like lid. It is nice to have one at home but it isn’t necessary to make a delicious tagine  at home.

We started with a spice mix consisting of cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper. We then sautéed some onions, garlic, tomato paste and harissa- a moroccan hot paste. We added potatoes, turnips, carrots and chickpeas to the mix including some broth.

This is a delicious dish for a crowd, especially with some whole wheat couscous. Try it next time you are entertaining…
Click here for the recipe… »

This is one of the best dished I have had in a long time. I know what you are thinking- she is not very modest. I am my worst critic but I do know when something comes out really delicious and this is definitely one of those dishes.

I wanted to make two things I had never tried before. Short ribs and gremolata. I combined both in one dish. A gremolata is used as a condiment for stews, soups, etc and mostly consists of citrus zest and some herbs. In this case I used a lemon and orange zest. I also used a mixture of parsley, rosemary, thyme and garlic. This super aromatic mix wakes up any dish and makes it irresistible.

I started by marinated the short ribs with salt, olive oil, rosemary and thyme overnight. I took it out an hour before cooking the next day and started with browning the ribs. I added onion, garlic, celery and carrots. I also added tomato paste, chicken broth and red wine. It roasted in the oven a couple of hours and resulted in a tender, fall off the bone dish. Once I added the gremolata on top- the smell and flavor was amazing.

I would highly recommend this dish for the holidays. I served it with polenta and it was an amazing dinner. Oh, and don’t forget a copious amount of red wine…
Click here for the recipe… »

As I was looking at the different dishes I have posted for Thanksgiving, I realized I was missing a soup. I usually don’t serve a soup for the big feast but a lot of people do – I thought I should come up with one that will echo the fall, holiday flavors.

Of course butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes came to mind. I initially toyed with a chilled soup idea – which would be a great when you are expecting an army of people and making tons of other things. It would also be convenient if you are taking it to someone’s home- but then I felt, cold weather calls for a warm soup.

I am especially proud of this concoction. It has couple of my favorite ingredients- chipotle and smoked paprika. I wanted to make a soup with Latin flavors and so of course I thought of the smoked jalapenos that complement the sweet potatoes beautifully. To make it more holiday like, I wanted to add a cranberry compote on top. I simply made it with orange juice, paprika and a bit of brown sugar. I finished it with cilantro- yum!

The soup is healthy with just a quarter cup of half and half. You can even eliminate that and substitute more broth. Speaking of broth, my vegetarian friends can use vegetable stock instead of chicken and keep it completely vegetarian.

Serve this soup to your guests… they may never leave your house.
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This is a delicious dish for a chilly weeknight or even weekend evening. When I hear ragu- I think of red wine. In fact I used the same red wine for cooking as I did for drinking. That is one of the secrets to a successful dish. If you use a subpar wine for cooking, it will intensify in the dish and taste really bad- but if you use a reasonably good quality wine- it results in a delicious dish. By good quality I don’t mean a super expensive wine. It is amazing what $10 to $15 can get you.

Anyway, this is kind of like a coq au vin but a lot easier. Also it is served on top of creamy, herb polenta. My daughter is not a big fan but my husband and I love it. I made it with chicken broth and milk and added fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme. The combination of the herbs and Gruyere made the polenta super flavorful and creamy.

Overall the dish was fabulous…
Click here for the recipe… »