Hayashi Rice (from the packet)

Made this hayashi rice using premade mix and microwavable brown rice. Overall, it was tasty. I even had seconds. The one thing I didn't like: the sauce mix had monosodium glutamate. Sad. It was on sale for $1.69 at the Japanese market, which is why I bought it. I'm going to try and find a different brand without MSG. I also want to try making hayashi rice from scratch. I hope it's not too difficult. Anyways, the directions for this particular one is on the box. This is how I did it:

Hayashi Rice (premade mix)
Serves 4

1 medium yellow onion
1 lb. beef for stew (I cut the pieces into smaller pieces, I know at some Asian markets they also sell beef for curry which you can buy)
1 2/3 cup water
4 squares hayashi premade mix
2 packs microwave brown rice

1. Heat some oil in a pot. Add the onion and beef. Cook until browned.
2. Add the water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Add hayashi mix. Stir until dissolved. Simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Microwave rice according to package instructions.
5. Serve in bowls.

Blackberry Smoothie

Whipped up this blackberry smoothie really quickly because I needed something to do with all the blackberries my dad had bought me. I just stuck some:
Blackberries
1 Banana
1 Cup Soy Milk

1. Blend it all together in a blender and enjoy.

I know, not much of a recipe but whatever, it tasted clean and fresh.

Saffron Vanilla Snickerdoodles

Saffron Vanilla Snickerdoodles recipe I got from 101cookbooks. I really love these cookies. They have a wonderful saffron flavor and they are addictingly good! I could not stop myself from eating one after another.

White Clam Pizza

I really liked the flavors to this pizza. They were tangy and nice. My only problem was with the pizza dough. I used the Pillsbury thick crust. First off, I don't like thick crust or deep dish pizza, there is just way too much bread. Thin crust is the way to go for me. And I later found out that the Pillsbury pre-made pizza dough has partially hydrogenated oils, which means trans fats! Horrible. I would never purchase that particular dough again. I would have liked to make the dough myself in my breadmaker but I was just short on time. Also, the Pillsbury dough didn't need kneading, which I also didn't read before I started to kneed it, because I was rushing and being careless.

White Clam Pizza
Serves 4

3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. refrigerated pizza dough
All-purpose flour, for kneading
Cornmeal, for dusting
Kosher salt
1/2 cup thinly slice mozzarella cheese (4-oz.)
2 6.5-oz cans chopped clams, juice drained and reserved
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
2 tbs. grated Parmesan cheese
2 cups baby arugula
Juice of 1 lemon
Red pepper flakes for topping (I love this stuff on all my pizzas!)

1. Preheat oven to 500F. Place a pizza stone or upside down rimmed baking sheet (what I used) on the bottom rack.
2. In a small bowl, mix the garlic and 1/4 cup olive oil. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough about 6 times. Roll and stretch into a 12-in round. Place dough on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal.
3. Brush half the garlic oil over the dough and season with salt. Spread mozzarella and clams over the crust. Drizzle 2 tbs. clam juice and remaining olive oil on top. Sprinkle oregano, Parmesan, and salt to taste.
4. Slide the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or upside down baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes or until the crust is light brown.
5. Right before the pizza is done, mix the arugula with olive oil and lemon juice. 
6. Slice the pizza and top each piece with arugula and season with red pepper flakes.

 

Adapted from Great Easy Meals

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I got this recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies off of the Quaker Oats can lid. They are my mom's favorite cookies, so I make them for her every once in a while. They are nice, soft, and chewy. Sometimes they look a little underdone when I first pull them out of the oven, but let them sit a cool for a bit and they come out pretty.

 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes 48 cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 6 tbs. butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 cups old fashioned Quaker oats

1 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.

2. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt. Mix well.

4. Add the flour mixture into the butter mixture and beat to combine. 

5. Mix in oats and raisins.

6. Spoon dough onto ungreased cookie sheets, dividing the dough so you end up with 48 equally sized cookies. 

7. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. The cookies should be a light golden brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheets then store in an airtight container.

Mac and Cheese, Roast Beef Sandwich, French Bread

I made this meal a while ago. I can't remember where I found the macaroni and cheese recipe or the french bread recipe. But I remember the mac and cheese wasn't that good. The family didn't like it, said it tasted too much like herbs, which is something I'd have to agree with. And the cheese was too bitter tasting for the kids. The kids did, however, like the sandwich. My brother liked it enough to ask for seconds, which never happens! So I was pretty stoked!

Roast Beef Sandwich with Watercress and Horseradish Sauce
Serves 4

Sauce
1/4 cup plain Greek nonfat yogurt
1/4 cup prepared horseradish
2 tbs. mayonnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Sandwich
1 bunch watercress, thick stems removed
4 small french baguettes, or (two large-ish ones cut in half)
3/4 lb. lean roast beef, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced

1. Sauce: combine yogurt, horseradish, mayonnaise, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir.
2. Sandwich: spread sauce on the bottom and top halves of the bread. Start building the sandwich by layering the bottom piece of bread, then 1/4 cup watercress, a few slices of roast beef, tomato, and onion to your desire. Top with the top half of the bread. You're good to go.

Slow Cooker Texas Chili

For some reason, the meat in this chili came out dry. And I was really sad because it seemed like it would've taste really good. I don't know what happened. Maybe I just picked a bad batch of meat? It was too old or something? Would that affect it? I don't even know. I was also surprised at the gigantic amount of chili powder the recipe called for, and it wasn't even spicy. I made the chili with a side of boxed cornbread mix, which I decided I don't like because it tastes like chemicals. I'd rather make my cornbread from scratch.

Slow Cooker Texas Chili
Serves 6

2 1/2 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 2-in. cubes
2 tbs. packed light brown sugar
Kosher salt
2 tbs. vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed
2 4.5-oz cans chopped green chiles, drained
1 tbs. ground cumin
3/4 cup chili powder
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with chiles
2 tbs. green hot sauce
Sliced scallions, fresh cilantro, sour cream for toppings

1. Toss the beef with 1 tbs. each of brown sugar and salt in a large bowl. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the beef in batches for 4-5 minutes until browned. Transfer to 5 to 6 quart slow cooker.
2. Reduce heat to medium, add onion to skillet and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Stir in garlic, chiles, cumin, chili powder, and cook for 3 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups water and tomatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes, scraping bits from the bottom. Transfer to slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours.
3. Add 1 tbs. brown sugar and hot sauce to the chili. Add desired toppings.

 

Adapted from Great Easy Meals

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Made this pumpkin gooey butter cake because I was getting into the fall mood. Fall and winter have got some of the best dishes. The cake part is extremely dense, so much so that my friend thought it was a pie crust. The taste is good but I think my pan was too small. The pumpkin topping overflowed. I used the correct size as specified by the recipe. However, I think next time I'll use one of those clear glass dishes because they have higher sides. All the better to hold in the pumpkin-y goodness!

Greek Salad Pitas

Greek Salad Pitas from Ellie Krieger's So Easy. The pita bread I used started to fall apart. But the taste was really good. I'd make this again. It's pretty quick as well. Just make the sauce then assemble.

 

Spread

3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 oz.)

3 tbs. nonfat plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)

1 tbs. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Sandwich 

4 whole wheat pitas

4 large pieces of romaine lettuce, torn in halves

1 English cucumber, sliced in half moons

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves

3/4 lb. thin sliced turkey breast

1.  Combine the feta cheese and yogurt in a medium sized bowl. Mash with a fork. Add lemon juice, oregano, lemon zest, and pepper. Stir.
2. Cut the pitas in half. Stuff each half with lettuce. Add the spread, then fill with cucumber, mint leaves, and turkey. Dividing the ingredients evenly among the pita pockets.

Poached Ginger Chicken

I'm going to start off by saying I didn't really like this salad at all. I didn't like the vegetables in it, I didn't like the flavor (too gingery), and making the chicken was a pain. I thought poached chicken was supposed to be easy, but for me it was just messy (water getting everywhere). I wouldn't make this again but I'll post the recipe for your enjoyment.

Poached Ginger Chicken
Serves 4

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 3/4 to 2 lbs)
Kosher salt
1 2-in. piece ginger, peeled
1 large shallot
4 tbs. peanut oil
1 tbs. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
1 tsp. Asian chili sauce (I used sriracha)
1 bunch watercress, trimmed
Juice of 1 lime

1.  Place the chicken in a medium pot and add just enough water to cover it. Add salt. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook 15 minutes until chicken is firm. In the meantime, prepare a bowl of salted iced water. Drain the chicken and put it in the ice water for 30 seconds to stop the cooking and drain again.
2. Grate the ginger and shallot into a small bowl. Stir 3 tbs. peanut oil, the sesame oil, and 1/4 tsp. sugar in a large bowl. Add watercress and toss.
3. Divide salad on 4 separate dishes. Slice the chicken and add to plates, topping with ginger mixture. Sprinkle with lime juice.

 

Adapted from Great Easy Meals

Whole Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole

I love capers. They're salty and sour and tangy. I typically have them with a bagel, cream cheese, and salmon. So this was my first time with pasta. I liked this recipe but the kids didn't. I think it's more for adults. The original recipe calls for whole tomatoes which you then crush and reserve the liquid. I just used canned crushed tomatoes because I'm much too lazy to crush them myself.

Whole Grain Pasta with Chickpeas and Escarole
Serves 4

2 cups whole grain penne
1 head escarole, roughly chopped
4 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup capers, drained and patted dry
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15.5-oz can chickpeas, drained, rinsed, patted dry
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare pasta according to the box it comes in but add the escarole the last 2 minutes, cover, and don't stir. Use tongs to remove the escarole and set aside. Drain pasta; save 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
2. Heat 1 tbs. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add capers and fry 2 minutes. Move to a paper towel lined plate.
3. Add 3 tbs. oil to skillet. Cook garlic, parsley, and red pepper flakes for 1 minute until the garlic is slightly toasted. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, pinch of salt, and bay leaves. Cook for 6 minutes until tomatoes and chickpeas brown. Add escarole and cook 4 more minutes until sauce thickens. Remove and throw away bay leaves.
4. Add cooked pasta to the skillet and toss with sauce. Season with salt and pepper. If the sauce is too thick, add some of the reserved pasta water. Stir in cheese, top with fried capers, and sprinkle some more cheese on top.

 

Adapted from Great Easy Meals

Panzanella with Italian Sausage

Panzanella with Italian Sausage

This is a favorite of mine. From Ellie Krieger's So Easy. Really simple to make and tastes fabulous. So it's perfect for days when you don't have a lot of time. I buy usually buy the bread pre-sliced so I don't have to do it myself. I used white bread here instead of whole grain since that's all that was in stock at the store at the time.

 

8 medium ripe tomatoes, cut in wedges

1 small English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise then sliced

1/2 medium red onion, cut in half then thinly sliced

3 tbs. olive oil

1 tbs. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 small baguette, cut into 3/4 in. chunks (I buy mine pre-sliced then cut the slices in half)

1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped

1 12-oz. package Italian sausage (I use Aidells Italian Sausage)

1. Toss the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add bread and basil, toss well.
2. Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium heat. Cook the sausage for 8 minutes, turning halfway through, until grill marks form. Serve sausage with panzanella.

cookingwithdog: Black Sesame Drink

I've been making this drink for a while now. I've just forgotten to take pictures and post it up every time that I've had it.

Today I used a really ripe banana so the drink was sweeter than I'm used to. It probably didn't need the touch of honey. I omitted the ice today because I'd rather have a drink than a smoothie; plus it's already cold here. I make the drink in single servings. Here's my version.

Black Sesame Drink
1 banana
3/4 cup milk
1 tbs. black sesame powder
A touch of honey
2-3 ice cubes (optional)

Add banana, milk, black sesame powder, and honey into a blender and blend until integrated. Add the ice cubes and blend until smooth.

Here's the link to the original video, I also posted it below.

Black Sesame Drink

The original video

Thanksgiving Dinner

My mom and I spent the whole day today making Thanksgiving dinner. It was pretty fun actually but tiring at the same time. It tasted good. But when I ate so much during the day that when it was finally time to have dinner I wasn't hungry much anymore. So I only had one plate of food and some pie.

Japanese Curry Rice

 

Made this curry for lunch today. I typically use the instant curry bars, but we didn't have any on hand. Rather than making a trip to the store I decided to make the curry from scratch considering I had all the ingredients available. I followed a recipe I found here. I substituted curry powder for garam masala and added 1.5 tsp of  cayenne pepper because I like my curry nice and spicy. Whenever I've made curry at home I've had a hard time getting it to the right spice level but this time I was very satisfied with the results. If you like to watch videos, there's also a video of how to make the curry rice on the same site.

Hearth Bread

 

Got this recipe from the back of a flour bag. Not too bad tasting.

Ingredients:

3 1/3 cups bread flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 1/3 cups water
1 teaspoon honey

Directions:

1 . In a medium bowl, stir together flours, salt and yeast. Stir in water and honey. Knead dough until smooth and springy, but still slightly sticky. Add a little flour or water as necessary.
2 . Lightly brush oil inside of large bowl. Place dough in bowl, turning to oil all sides. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3 . Line cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper or lightly sprinkle with cornmeal. Gently push fist into dough to deflate. Shape dough into a round ball. Place on cookie sheet, cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes.
4 . Place baking stone on lowest oven rack and heat oven to 475°F Carefully cut an X-shaped slash on top of dough; spray with cool water. Place cookie sheet in oven on baking stone; place one cup water in a shallow pan on the other rack.
5 . Bake 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 425°F Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until bread is golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on a cooling rack.
6. NOTE: Stir-ins can include: 1/4 cup of 1 or 2 of the following--Kalamata olives, roasted garlic cloves, cut-up sun-dried tomatoes, slice chives, shelled sunflower seeds, 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs such as rosemary or thyme.

Grilled Pork with Grape and Arugula Salad

 

I got this recipe from Great Easy Meals by Food Network Magazine. This is an awesome book I use a lot to make food for my family. Most of the meals can be finished relatively quickly and this is one of them. It took me about 35-45 minutes from start to finish. Maybe it doesn't seem like that fast, but compared to food that takes 4-5 hours, like my failed ravioli attempt, 35-45 minutes is pretty quick. 

Grilled Pork with Arugula and Grape Salad

adapted from Great Easy Meals

1 medium shallot

2 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 5-oz boneless pork chops (I like to use thin cut)

3/4 cup red seedless grapes, halved

4 cups baby arugula

1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese

1. Mix together the shallot, vinegar, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil.
2. Put the pork chops in a bowl. Add 1 tsp thyme and 3 tbs of the dressing. Use your hands to coat the pork with the marinade and let it sit for 5 minutes. Note: You can also season the pork chops with salt if you like before you marinade, but I don't because I think they are salty enough with just the marinade. I've made this recipe before where I have salted the chops and they come out too salty for my preference.
3. Heat the grill pan on medium-high. Grill the pork about 4-5 minutes per side so that it is cooked through. Plate the pork on individual small plates or on a single large plate depending on how you like to serve your meals.
4. In a large bowl, toss the grapes, arugula, and gorgonzola together. You can add the dressing to the salad but I like to serve it separate so my family can portion their dressing to their preferences.

cookingwithdog: Melon Pan

I've been wanting to try to bake melon pan for a while now. There's a bakery in my area that used to make really good melon pan, but they changed their recipe or something so it doesn't taste good anymore. This particular recipe was a big hit with my family but the cookie was not hard or sugary enough for me. It might be because of my family's unreliable oven. That's why the melon pan didn't brown on the top as nicely as it should have. Whenever I bake things in our oven they always come out pale even if they are fully cooked.

I got this recipe from the youtube channel cookingwithdog. It's a great channel that I really want to try out all the recipes from. You can also watch the original video here. Since the recipe is in video form, I transcribed the recipe so you can read it and follow along in the video. The process is time consuming and took me about 5 hours from start to finish.

Melon Pan
(5 pieces)

- Bread Dough -
140g Bread Flour (4.94 oz)
25g Sugar (0.882 oz)
1/3 tsp Salt
5g Non-Fat Dry Milk Powder (0.176 oz)
3g Instant Yeast (0.106 oz) - a little less than 1 tsp
1 tbsp Beaten Egg
70ml Warm Water (2.37 fl oz)
15g Butter (0.529 oz)
Bread Flour for dusting

- Cookie Dough -
25g Unsalted Butter (0.882 oz) Room Temp
35g Sugar (1.23 oz)
25g Beaten Egg (0.882 oz) Room Temp
80g Cake/Pastry Flour (2.82 oz)
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Bread Flour for dusting

Directions

1.  Cookie dough: whisk butter in a bowl until creamy. Gradually add sugar and dissolve into butter. When the color turns white, slowly add the beaten egg. Do not add it all at once or the mixture will separate.
   
2. Add baking powder to cake flour and mix with a spatula. Sift the flour mixture into a bowl. Sift again into the bowl.
3. Add 1/3 of the cake flour mixture into the butter mixture. Mix with spatula. Repeat with the remaining cake flour mixture. Stir until all the flour is thoroughly mixed. Do not over mix the dough.
4. Place dough on cooking tray covered with plastic wrap. Flour your hands. Shape dough into cylinder. Wrap up the cylinder with the plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator for about 1 hour.
5. Bread dough: add sugar, salt, non-fat dry milk powder, and yeast to the flour. Mix well. Add the beaten egg to the warm water. Gradually pour into the flour and stir with the spatula until evenly mixed. Clean spatula with a pastry scraper and place flour mixture onto a pastry board.
6. Gather the crumbled flour mixture and form it into a ball. Briefly knead with hands. Throw dough onto board, fold it away, grab side of dough and throw again. Gather with scraper; knead dough with hands using body weight. Repeat process until dough is less sticky. Flatten dough and spread on the butter in the center of the dough. Grab outsides of dough towards center and knead in the butter. When the butter is mixed in, gather the dough with the scraper and form a dough ball. Continue to throw dough on board and knead. Repeat throwing and rolling process for 10 minutes. The dough should be smooth and glossy. Shape the dough into a ball and put in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm place (80F) for 40 minutes. Dough should rise by 50%.
7. Remove plastic wrap. Dip finger in flour then poke a hole in the dough. If the hole quickly disappears the dough needs more fermentation.
8. Weight the dough on a kitchen scale. Flatten dough to remove the gas inside. Roll the dough into a long cylinder. Divide dough into 5 pieces; make sure they are equal in weight. Shape into a ball. Line up balls on a cooking tray lightly dusted with flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
9. Divide cookie dough into 5 equal pieces making sure they are equal in weight. Flour hands. Shape pieces into a ball. Place a 3.5 inch diameter drawing of a circle underneath a piece of plastic wrap to use as a guide. Place the cookie dough ball on top of the circle and cover with another piece of plastic wrap. It helps to lightly flour the plastic wraps on the sides touching the dough so the dough will be easy to remove from the wrap. Flatten the dough ball into a circle to match the guide. Lightly dust a cooking tray with flour and place the cookie dough circles on it. Cover with plastic wrap. Set in the fridge in order to make the cookie dough easier to work with.
10.  Shape bread dough into a ball. Cover with the cookie dough circle. Hold ball upside down to bring cookie sheet near to center. Pinch the center and dip the ball upside down into the sugar. I like to roll the top of my dough around in the sugar to make sure it’s nicely coated. Hold melon pan on palm of hand and make a diamond pattern on top with the scraper.
11. Put the melon pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Let melon pan sit in a warm place for second fermentation for 40 minutes at about 100F. Should double in volume.
12.   Preheat oven at 340F, bake for 12 minutes. Should be slightly brown on top, remove from oven. Place on cooling rack.

Melon pan before baking

Close up of melon pan before baking

Melon pan after baking

Tandoori Chicken, Saffron Rice, and Side Salad

 

Tonight I made tandoori chicken with saffron rice and a side salad. I've made the chicken before and it's always very flavorful. This was my first time making saffron rice. I got the recipe here, which requires the use of a rice cooker. There is also a stovetop version. But heck, my family has a rice cooker, might as well use it. The rice was a big hit with everyone, especially my brother. I'd make it more often for him except saffron is expensive!! It cost about $20 for the saffron which I had to go to Ralph's to get since they sold out at the Albertson's nearest my house.  

Tandoori Chicken

Serves 4

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs

Juice of 1 lemon

Kosher salt

1/2 cup plus 2 tbs. plain yogurt

1 tbs. vegetable oil

1/2 small red onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 2-in. piece ginger, peeled and chopped

4 tsp. tomato paste

2 tsp. ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 3/4 tsp. hot paprika

2 tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat broiler. Make shallow cuts into the chicken thighs. Toss the chicken in a large bowl with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 tsp. salt.
2. Add 2 tbs. yogurt, the vegetable oil, onion, garlic, ginger, tomato paste, coriander, cumin, 1 1/2 tsp. paprika, and 1/2 tsp. salt in a food processor and pulse to make a paste. 
3. Toss the chicken in the paste and marinate for 15 minutes.
4. Line a broiler pan with foil. I make little slits in the aluminum with a knife where the holes in the top part of the pan are so the juices will drip down into the bottom of the pan. Otherwise, I feel the chicken gets all soggy. 
5. Broil for 5 to 6 minutes until slightly charred. Turn the chicken pieces over and broil for another 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/4 tsp. paprika, cilantro, and pinch of salt into a bowl.
7. Top the chicken with the yogurt mixture and serve with rice.

Failed Ravioli Attempt #1

 

My dad got this recipe from a different cookbook my aunt gave him for his birthday. The filling inside the ravioli is made of several different kinds of mushrooms. The taste of the filling was very good with strong flavor. However, what makes this dish a failed attempt is that the pasta skin was way too hard. It wasn't fun to eat at all. The walnut sauce that accompanies the ravioli was also weird tasting. I don't think it complemented the dish very well.