Thursday, April 01, 2010

Misadventures in Cooking

Yes, I double posted. So sue me.

Last night, I was craving something sweet yet spicy all at once. Then I started thinking, "How would a curry with peaches in it taste?" So I set to experimentin'. I modified another recipe for curry I found, sauteing some garlic cloves and half a sweet onion, then adding sausage links, curry powder and dried mustard powder. Then I added some chicken broth, put a lid on it and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Then I added a can of sliced peaches, recovered it and let it simmer for 8 more minutes. I didn't think it tasted too bad, but still wasn't quite what I was looking for. Also, Jamie apparently didn't like it at. all. I had forgotten one all important thing: Jamie hates peaches (unless it's my peach cobbler). If I experiment again with this, I'm going to try it with orange slices or mangoes instead of peaches and I'll add some red bell pepper strips and/or tomatoes, as well as a green vegetable of some sort (asparagus maybe?) to add some color and extra nutrients. I'm also going to use chicken instead of sausage. I'm also going to use more spices. I want my mouth to feel hot from the spices but cool from the fruit all at the same time. Any suggestions from my cooking friends on how to accomplish that?

1 comment:

Becca said...

I love experimenting with curry.

Two suggestions to get to what you want:
1) You need a bridge between the heat of the curry and the sweetness of the fruit. Ginger. It can go sweet or savory and pairs well with curry. Use a bit of ground or fresh ginger to carry both sides of the flavors.
2) Yogurt. Plain or vanilla, preferably whole milk. Marinate your chicken in yogurt with curry, ginger, and a bit of salt and pepper before you cook it. When everything is done, stir a bit of yogurt into the sauce to thicken and bind everything.

Good luck!