OmniVeggie

Due to the balmy 64 degree weather in New York City today, we experienced a slight change of palate this evening. I met Matthias at our train stop and we made our usual rounds to our various local markets to gather food for two recipes that struck my fancy at epicurious. Usually our evenings begin with a hug, an exchange about our respective days, and proceed inevitably to, 'What did you have in mind for dinner?' On a good night, one of us will have been pondering this question during the day, or have a particular flavor in mind. On a bad night, I have been known to sit down in the pasta aisle on an empty crate with my head in my hands and a panic attack on the horizon.

Fortunately, my answer to this question tonight was, 'I don't know I was thinking maybe something like couscous with apricots and pistachios and then a Moroccan-type chicken for you, and salad, of course?' Flabbergasted by my uncharacteristic specificity and certitude, Matthias agreed.

At our last stop we noticed a large, even chubby, pit bull complete with metal choker collar and intimidating bark, tied outside. We winced in pity at the poor dog tied to the metal post, and darted quickly out of the raindrops, and out of the range of his menacing bite.

Our experience in this particular grocery store often proceeds like a game of 'Doom' (Abbie, I'm looking at you. You know you loved it.) At every turn around every narrow aisle there is ahhhhh! an old lady painstakingly ticking items off of her list, eeeeeeekkkk! a screaming child, or *argh dead end...someone stocking what is most likely a mystery food labeled entirely in Greek onto a low shelf. Attempting to get what you need and get out is damn near impossible, so we usually relish in the quirkiness of our neighborhood. Tonight, as we nimbly snatched our couscous from the shelf, we experienced an encounter between a 4 year old and a jar of spaghetti sauce. You can imagine how that ended...
I'll give you two choices: 1) a broken jar of sauce and a serious scolding or 2) a barking dog.

The answer is both of the above.

As we were checking out, a mother with two small children in tow approached our checker and said in a thick Eastern European accent, 'There was this dog outside, you know, one of those dogs that attack people? Well it broke loose from his chain and now he is inside the store!'

We escaped glass shards, and a pit bull to make this dinner. Hyperbolic? Yes. But, when I tell you that Matthias said this might be one of the best ways to eat chicken in the world, I am not exaggerating. Cross my heart and kiss my elbow.




Couscous with Dried Apricots and Pistachios
adapted from Bon Appétit, June 1996
Yield: 4 generous servings

Ingredients
1.5 cups water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup couscous
¾ cup dried apricots, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

½ cup unsalted pistachios, toasted, chopped
3 small chopped green onions
a good handful of thinly sliced fresh basil

Combine water, oil and salt in medium saucepan; bring to boil. Combine couscous, apricots and spices in large bowl. Add boiling liquid. Cover immediately; let stand until water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff with fork.

Mix nuts, green onions and basil into couscous. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm with an extra drizzle of olive oil if your couscous isn’t sufficiently fluffy.



Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Paillards
Adapted from Gourmet, February 2006
Yield: 2 servings

Matthias has assured me that even though this dish required a multitudinous amount of dishes, it was completely worth it because it results in perfectly juicy, sweet, tangy, smoky (like the smell of roasting chickens at the Lion's Club during the summer, except it actually tastes as good as it smells) tender bits of meat that leave that perky, spicy tingle in the back of your throat.

Ingredients
For sauce:
1/4 cup orange juice (juice of 1 orange)
1 tablespoon mild honey
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
scant 1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For paillards:
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika (not hot)
pinch of black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 boneless chicken breast sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 teaspoons salt

For sauce:
Simmer sauce ingredients (except butter) in a small saucepan, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Set aside while cooking chicken.

For paillards:
Cook cumin, paprika, and pepper in oil in a small skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, reserving skillet for sauce (do not clean). Brush some spiced oil on 1 side of each paillard, then sprinkle with some salt. Arrange paillards in grill pan, oiled sides down, and brush tops with some of spiced oil, then sprinkle with some salt. Grill 2 minutes, then turn over and grill until just cooked through, about 3 minutes more. Transfer to a plate. Let rest for several minutes.

Finish sauce:
Add any juices from chicken accumulated on the plate to the sauce and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, then add butter and swirl skillet until butter is just incorporated. Season sauce with salt and spoon over chicken.

*My sincerest apologies for the horrid images, we are still struggling with our lighting situation. Please bear with us, and do not let them deter you from making these recipes.