Roasted Tomato and Garlic Sauce- The Wrong Way

I toyed with the idea of lying to you all. I was going to get up here and tell you that the bowl of food featured above was Amazing, in effect perpetuating the lie I started telling myself a few days ago.

Softball sized tomatoes have a way of speaking to a cook. Like a freak challenge staring me in the face these vegetable-stand sirens beckoned; and I fell for it.

Roasting automatically came to mind.

They looked right -prepped with olive oil, salt and pepper. A whole garlic head completed the mix and I was totally optimistic.

Shriveled, shrunken and browned in places, my tomato project looked like a success . They cooled for an hour and I began to peel away the skin licking oil from my fingers. Infused with salt and garlic juice it was warm and fragrant. And the tomatoes smelled sweet. I was in the home stretch. All I had to do was blend it up and season to taste.

The first indication that things weren’t so fabulous was the post-blend salmon pink color. I offered Zack a taste and he responded, “I don’t like cream sauce.”

“Cream! There’s no cream in this.”

But dairy wasn’t a bad idea. If anything was going to save this pale tasteless goop, it was going to be parmesan and fresh basil.

Blended all together with al dente pennette, it looked pretty, but still tasted blah.

So here’s the big lesson: good food begins with good ingredients and no amount of culinary strong arming can make up for poor product. But that doesn’t mean you should give up tomato roasting altogether. If your neighbor just slipped a shopping bag of garden tomatoes around the handle of your front door, go ahead and preheat the oven. The rest of us need to take a look at the canned veggie section.

Click here for the original roasted tomato sauce recipe on RecipeZaar.

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Thai Red Curry- You Can Make This

Up until about a year ago I was convinced that one of my favorite Thai dishes would be relegated to the confines of restaurant dining and take-out. My understanding of the cuisine was minimal and the ingredients were just too numerous, but then I made an invaluable discovery.

Curry paste’s long shelf life and semi-homemade appeal make it ideal for home cooks that like to dabble in Asian cuisine without a full pantry overhaul. Found in most Asian markets, it comes in re-sealable plastic tubs or cans. For some reason the cans gross me out. The quality seems lesser and storing leftovers is a huge hassle. Buy the tub and you can use a tablespoon here and there with very little effort.

I love impressing guests with this curry recipe. Chopping veggies and slicing chicken is the most difficult part, but everyone will think you are a culinary genius when you bust it out at your average Thursday night dinner party.

Be prepared, your leftovers will definitely draw jealous glances from adjoining cubicles at the office the next day.

Thai Red Curry with Chicken

1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breast (sliced thin)
1 pound green beans (halved with ends removed)
½ pound carrots (julienned)
1 can coconut milk
2 cups chicken broth (heated)
3 large tablespoons curry paste
honey

Combine coconut milk and broth in a large pot and bring to a slight boil.

Add green beans and cover the pot allowing it to return to a slight boil.

Add carrots and return to the slight boil adding two of the three tablespoons of curry paste to the mixture.

This is the point where you have to get out your tasting spoons. I usually end up using about three large tablespoons of curry paste and 2-3 teaspoons of honey, but this is your curry and one of the best things about making it homemade is tailoring it to your own taste. Don’t forget, you can always add but never take away so be conservative with your additions. Remember you still have to add the chicken so make the broth slightly stronger to compensate.

Once the broth is to your liking, add the chicken. Simmer with chicken fully submerged until it is cooked through (4-6 minutes).

Makes 6 helpings if rice is served on the side.

Additional Notes
Slice the chicken while it is semi-frozen. Your cuts will be easier and cleaner.
For this recipe I use average bouillon cubes for the broth. Sorry cooking snobs, the salt content is perfect.
Both the veggies and protein can easily be substituted to suit your needs. Shrimp would be nice and firm tofu would also work. Add the tofu just before the curry paste to give it more time to absorb the flavors.

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