Snickerdoodles

Courtesy of Mrs. Sigg on AllRecipes.com

Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 10 Min
Ready In: 1 Hr

Yield: 4 dozen

Ingredients
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1/2 cup shortening
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
• Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.

Naan

Original recipe courtesy of allrecipes
Makes 14 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour (3 1/2 if using bread maker)
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional, helps make the bread bubble when cooking)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (for brushing)
  

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  (Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy.) Stir in milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared. 

Tip: If cooking in a pan on the stovetop, cover pan with lid to help create bubbles in the naan. Naan should be browned in spots, but majority should be pale in color. Do not overcook or thin parts of bread will become crispy.

Chicken Korma

We really like Chicken Korma and Tikka Masala, and ever since having it from the restaurant down the street, I've wanted to try making it at home. Armed with some extra time and new spices I got in my Christmas stocking, I decided to have a go using some recipes I found online.

The below is a combination of the following two recipes.
- Main Recipe followed is from AllRecipes
- It was slightly adjusted with information found from McCormick's

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cashew halves
• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic paste)
  
• 1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped (or 1/8 teaspoon ginger paste)
  
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled (or 4 whole and pulled out after)
  
• 1 stick of cinnamon (broken into two pieces)
  
• 1 large onion, minced
• 1 teaspoon garam masala    
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Gourmet Collection Curry Powder
• OR...
  
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - diced
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or lowfat coconut milk)
  
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with equal parts water

Directions

1. Place cashews in a small bowl, and pour the boiling water over nuts. Set aside for 15 to 20 minutes. Place garlic and ginger in food processor and blend until smooth; set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok over medium heat. Cook the bay leaves and cinnamon stick in hot oil for 30 seconds. Stir in onion, and cook until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in garlic/ginger paste, and season with garam masala, turmeric, and McCormick Curry Powder (cumin, coriander, chili powder). Stir in chicken, and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, place the cashews, along with the water in which they were soaked, and the cream and yogurt into food processor. Process until smooth.
4. Stir the cashew mixture into the chicken and onions. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cornstarch mixture, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes.

OPTIONAL...
Sprinkle with 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Serve over Basmati rice with a side of Naan.

Shakshuka

We use to have a really good recipe we got from The Hummus Place, but we seemed to have misplaced it, and they no longer have the recipe posted on their site. This looked like a promising alternative recipe to try/use as a base.

From: Recipe Zaar 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon jalapeno, minced and seeded (or more to taste)
• 2 red peppers or green peppers, roughly chopped
• 8 fresh plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 2 (28 ounce) cans Italian plum tomatoes, strained (peeled)
• 1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper, more to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup canned tomato juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 4 large eggs
• za'atar spice mix, for serving
• 4 pita breads, warmed

 Directions

1. Place large saute pan over medium heat, add and heat oil. Add onion and saute until lightly browned.
2. Add garlic, jalapeno and bell peppers, and saute 2 minutes more.
3. Add fresh and canned tomatoes, reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Add hot and sweet paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and sugar. Stir for 1 minute.
5. Add tomato juice and vegetable broth and bring to a full boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until mixture is very thick and has little liquid left, about 1 hour; stir occasionally to make sure vegetables do not stick to bottom of pan, and add more tomato juice or vegetable broth as needed. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
6. Gently crack eggs into pan, taking care not to break yolks. Simmer until whites solidify but yolks remain runny, about 8 minutes, or as per personal preference (I would put this under the broiler for a couple more minutes because I hate undercooked eggs).
7. Ladle equal portions of vegetables and eggs into 4 serving bowls. Sprinkle with zaatar to taste, and serve with warm pita bread.