Berry Sangria

Once upon a time, when it was fall, someone's birthday, and someone's turn to go study abroad, we made sangria in 25 liter batches. Yes, you read that correctly.

These days, birthdays are not the excuse for debauchery they once were (and my liver thanks you for that, Lord!), but they still make an excellent occasion for some sangria. In general, I find restaurant-made sangria too sweet (and if you're drinking the pre-made Sutter Home stuff, please check yo'self) so I endeavored to make my own with all the flavor, but not so much sweetness. Enjoy!

Grown Up Berry Sangria Fit for a Birthday (but not a Rubbermaid Vat)

Ingredients

• 750 mL berry vodka (I used Ciroc)
• 1 bottle Sweet Red wine (I used Barefoot--it does not need to be a medal winner)
• 1 juggo red wine (don't pretend not to know EXACTLY what size bottle I'm describing) of a sweetish variety (shiraz is easy found and affordable)
• 1 pint of strawberries, sliced thin
• teensy bit of honey 
• 1/8 cup water

Assembly
1. Put sliced strawberries in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan and drizzle (seriously, people--not a lot) honey over. Let sit in the pan (no heat yet) if you have time for about 15 minutes--apparently sugar brings out the juices and flavor of berries.
2. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally and let this simmer for 12-15 minutes, until berries take on a stewy consistency. Remove from heat, let cool.
3. With a bowl under a strainer, separate what solid fruit is left from the juice--yes, some of it looks like goop. That is right.
4. Put the solid parts of your berry stew (even the goopity-goop) in the bottom of your containers. Mix together your berry juice, vodka, and wine, and add to the berry stew in the containers. Chill and enjoy!

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Chicken Tikka Masala with veg options + Gluten-Free Flatbread even a bread-lover will eat

It's spring break here in KefiLand, which made time for one of life's great pleasures-- a double date with my dearest friend on the face of the planet and our respective boyfriends (who ought to get Congressional Medals for putting up with us on these "dates").  I could go on for days about the hilarity about some of our adventures, but instead I will simply illustrate my point: we go back like peas and carrots.

Not sure what we're doing but we sure are having a good time doing it.

I made one of my favorite dishes for entertaining: Chicken Tikka Masala.  This is a pretty easy dish with a minimal prep that is both creamy and spicy, so it suits most taste buds.  It is most often associated with Indian cuisine, but I'm pretty sure it was created by Bengali  restaurant-owners to cater to a British palate (and was controversially declared the national dish of England--move over, Fish 'n' Chips!).  Politics aside, it's pretty damn delicious.


To take the place of Naan, I also whipped up some grain-free flatbread, which I have been eating pretty much every night since the first night I made it. This is hands down the most versatile gluten-free bread I have made, and I've enjoyed it as pizza dough, a gyro wrap, the "bread" on an egg-and-cheese sandwich, and as a vehicle for eating 17lbs of hummus a day.  It's really easy, cheap, and delicious. 

We were too busy eating to even pretend to care about presentation.

Gluten-Free Flatbread


Ingredients

• 2 cups chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (Bob's Red Mill brand is pretty widely-found, check your baking or natural food section in your grocery store. It only costs $2.99!)
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 tsp salt

Assembly
1. Mix everything together well, try to remove as many lumps as possible. Let it sit for 2 hours. If you don't have that long, it's not that deep, but the longer it sits, the better the texture.
2. Turn on your broiler. Lightly grease a skillet with olive oil (NOTE-- IT NEEDS TO BE OVEN SAFE! NO RUBBER HANDLES! I LEARNED THIS THE HARD WAY!). Stick it in the heated oven for 2-3 minutes.
3. Carefully remove the pan and pour in about half of the batter.  Remember that the handle is hot (it is counter-intuitive and I have 3 new burns on my hand from repeatedly forgetting). Try and distribute batter evenly.
4. Cook for 11-12 minutes. It might look burnt around the edges, but it isn't.
5. Repeat with remaining batter


A few notes about this recipe:
This is best eaten while still hot. It gets soggy as it cools. I have not tried re-heating it yet--please let me know if you do.
I have tried to make half batches by decreasing all the ingredients by (you guessed it) half, but for some reason it does not work as well and the texture gets a little screwy.  You can, however, increase it proportionately and it does just fine. Can't explain that math.


Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

• Enough prepared rice for whoever you're feeding. I made 3 cups for 3 people and somehow had about 10 c left over- it's all very Strega Nona.
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•  Enough cubed chicken/tofu/fake Chicken/shrimp for whoever you're feeding. I used 1.5 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breast because I love my boyfriend and he loves meat.
•  1 c plain yogurt
• 2 TBS lemon juice (which is about the juice of 1 lemon)
• 2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
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• 1 TBS unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 oz tomato sauce (as a rule, I use the cheapest tomato basil sauce I can buy)
• 1 c whipping cream
• 1/4 c fresh cilantro, chopped 

Assembly 
1. Mix together all ingredients from chicken through ginger. This is your marinade. Set it aside. Before you start working on the sauce, cook whatever meat/meat substitute you're using until it's almost-but-not-quite done. I just broiled the chicken for about 8 minutes. Set aside again.
2. About 35-45 minutes before you want your meal to be done, start on the sauce. Melt butter in a sauce pan, then add garlic and jalapeno.  Saute for 1 minute.
3. Stir in coriander, cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt. Let it saute 2-3 more minutes, making sure to distribute all that spicy goodness around.
4. Stir in tomato sauce, allow to simmer (not boil!) for about 15 minutes.
5. Stir in the cream, let it simmer for about 5 more minutes and the sauce will get a little
thicker. 
6. Add the cooked meat/meat substitute. Simmer for 5 more minutes.
7. When ready to serve, garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice and flatbread "naan."

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Muppets Go Greek

Happy Tuesday, good people! Enjoy this little bit of Greek love.

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