Greek-Style Chicken Kebabs
August 28, 2014
Margaux says…
We recently got a new gas grill, which replaced an ancient double hand-me-down (it was handed down to us from someone who had it handed down to them). Our new one is also a hand-me-down, but much much newer, with no rust and *GASP!* it actually evenly cooks the food. The other bonus to the new one is I can use it! The old one had all these quirks, and it wasn’t easy to get started. I could do it, but not very easily, and definitely not on a weeknight with two crazy kids hanging on me. This new one is easier to use than the stove! So I’ve been grilling every other night…no pan to clean up, and the kitchen stays nice and cool. This is one of my favorite grilling recipes, an adaptation from the recipe magazine I use all summer long. It’s not as quick as some of them, and doesn’t take 30 minutes like the magazine says, but it’s still quick enough that I can do it on a weeknight. Plus, I kind of make it more complicated by doing veggie skewers for my vegetarian son along with it. The recipe calls for serving it along with grilled pita, but I usually also serve with grilled veggie skewers and a green salad.
Greek-Style Chicken Kebabs with Grilled Flatbread
adapted from America’s Test Kitchen 30-Minute Suppers, Fall 2010 edition
1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and finely diced
1 1/2 cups plain Greek-style yogurt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2″ chunks (about 1 1/2 lbs)
2 red onions, cut into 1″ chunks
4 pita bread rounds
1. Whisk yogurt, 2 tbsp oil, garlic, lemon juice, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper in bowl. Toss oregano, cayenne, and chicken with half of yogurt mixture.
2. Thread four 12-inch skewers with chicken and onions. Grill over hot fire, turning skewers every 2 minutes, until onions and chicken are cooked through, about 12 minutes. Transfer skewers to platter, tent with foil, and let rest 5 minutes. Brush both sides of pita rounds with remaining oil and grill until lightly charred and warm, about 1 minute. Transfer to platter with chicken.
3. Toss cucumbers with remaining yogurt mixture. Season with salt and pepper and serve with chicken and pita.
Cincinnati Chili
March 12, 2011
Margaux says…
Aunt Suzy got me a subscription to Bon Appetit, so you’ll probably be seeing a lot of posts with recipes from it. I love this magazine! It gives me tons of (much needed) ideas for weeknight dinners, and this one was one of them. The minute I saw the photo of it when I turned the page, I knew I had to make it. See, I grew up in Steak N’ Shake country, and this looks exactly like one of my favorites, Chili 5-Way. Of course, once I looked at the ingredients I knew that Cincinnati chili is much different from the Steak N’ Shake classic…I’m sure S N’ S doesn’t put cocoa powder in theirs…but that made me want to make it even more. And it is DELISH (I hate to say it, but worlds better than S N’ S Chili 5-Way)!
There’s only one small change I made to the recipe-I’m not from anywhere near Cincinnati, so I’m not sure if this small step makes it unauthentic-but the recipe calls for mixing the beans with the spaghetti noodles, and I’m recommending stirring the beans into the chili mixture instead. The small beans did not mix well with the long noodles, and it was difficult to get a good ratio of beans-to-noodles going in each bowl. Also, because I was on a budget, I made it with ground beef instead of ground lamb, which is what the original recipe calls for. I’m sure that would be fantastic, and I will be trying it sometime!
Aunt Suzy says . . .
Margaux’s post inspired me to run right out and to get the ingredients for this so I could make it immediately! The recipe had also caught my eye in Bon Appetit – I’m a Steak N’ Shake girl, and I’ve loved Skyline Chili when I’ve had it in Cincinnati . This is a “fancied-up” version – you can see more about authentic Cincinnati chili on this episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I made some adaptions as well. I cooked the meat first without the olive oil, then removed from the pan, sauteed the onions and garlic in a little olive oil, put the meat back in and proceeded with the recipe from there. I used a combo of ground chicken/ground turkey and chicken stock. It worked out well, which I thought it would since I do the same for sloppy joes. Be careful about the spices! I inadvertently added 1 teaspoon of cloves, so the whole thing had slight clove overtones – it’s one strong spice! I agree with Margaux that this is delicious and a fun Saturday or Sunday supper.
Cincinnati Chili
adapted from Bon Appetit
serves 4
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lamb, turkey or chicken
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- scant teaspoon ground allspice
- scant teaspoon ground cinnamon
- scant teaspoon cayenne pepper
- pinch ground cloves
- 2 1/3 cups (about) low-salt beef broth or chicken stock, divided
- 2 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- scant tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon (packed) brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
- 1/2 pound spaghetti
- 1 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed, drained
- Coarsely grated goat’s-milk Gouda cheese or goat’s-milk cheddar cheese
- Chopped onions
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Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large deep skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic; stir 1 minute. Add the meat; cook until browned, breaking into pieces, about 15 minutes. Add cocoa and next 4 ingredients; stir 3 minutes. Stir in 2 cups broth and next 6 ingredients. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until thickened, stirring often, about 1 hour. Spoon fat from top of chili. Season with salt and pepper. Thin with broth by 1/3 cupfuls. Stir in beans and 1 tablespoon parsley.
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Meanwhile, cook spaghetti in pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Transfer to large bowl. Toss with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt and pepper.
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Divide spaghetti among bowls. Top with chili. Garnish with cheese, onions, and parsley.
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