DOUBLE DUTY DINNERS
Rollover meals that save you time (and your sanity) in the kitchen
Hi friends! We don’t know about you, but as the year gets busier—and our bodies acclimate to the hustle-and-bustle of a new season—we find ourselves getting lazier in the kitchen. It’s just so easy to order takeout or pick up something on the way home. But we all know that we a) don’t make the best nutritional choices in this scenario, and b) probably spend way more money than we would have by preparing what was already at home (lookin’ at you rotting vegetable drawer!).
So this week, we’re giving you ideas to cook once, and eat twice. Okay, technically you’ll have to cook twice, but the point is that the second meal will come together faster than a pot of boxed mac ‘n’ cheese. And while the concept of “rollover meals” is hardly new, we think you’ll feel so virtuous and satisfied after eating these, you won’t even remember how to get to the drive-thru!
PRESSURE COOKER BUTTER CHICKEN GETS TRENDY
AU: First, let me say I’m obsessed with my pressure cooker. It creates long, slow-simmered flavored dishes in a fraction of the time. Dried beans transform into perfectly creamy specimens without soaking, tough cuts of meat become meltingly tender and spoonable within an hour, and homemade chicken stock can be yours on a school night.
One of the first recipes I ever tried in my pressure cooker was a recipe from Priya Krishna’s New Yorker article in 2018 that lauded the Instant Pot for cooking Indian dishes at home. I love Indian food, and never made it at home because I always thought you had to have a long list of spices, etc. Not true! In this streamlined version of Murgh Makhani—also known as Butter Chicken—you take a few spices, along with some garlic, ginger, and canned tomatoes to create a rich and layered dish that tastes like its been simmering all day on the stovetop.
AU: As the name “Butter Chicken” suggests, you finish the sauce with a hefty amount of good butter and heavy cream. This accomplishes two things: one, the dairy tones down the spice factor, and two, creates a luxurious sauce that stays on your tongue.
EK: Yummy! I have never made Butter Chicken before, but when you lay it out like that, it is so simple that there is no excuse not to make it! Every so often, I make a Masala sauce for chicken, but I’ve never done it all together in a pressure cooker. This is at the top of my list for this weekend, which is going to be really rainy here in Charleston!
AU: Here’s the bonus of this recipe, though… it makes enough sauce for two servings! Typically, I would put half of the sauce away in the freezer for a rainy day (which you can do, too, EK!)… but lately, I’ve noticed a lot of “Indian Mashup” restaurant concepts popping up in LA, and that got me thinking...
There’s Badmaash which blends North American casual dining favorites with punchy Indian flavors. Dishes like Chicken Tikka Poutine and Chili Cheese Naan share the menu with more traditional favorites like Goan Pork Curry and Channa Masala. The newest kid on the block, Pijja Palace, is a combination of sports bar staples and Indian classics. Think Dosa Onion Rings, Saag Pijja (Pizza), and Aloo Tiki Sliders.
AU: I took a cue from Pijja and decided to take the leftover sauce from the pressure cooker butter chicken and toss it with some pasta! I added some seared halloumi (standing in for paneer) and cilantro… and dinner was done! All I had to do was boil some pasta.
SMOKED CHICKEN & LOADED ‘TATERS
EK: When I first started Girls at the Grill, I created a category of meals that I called “grilled-overs.” They were based on what I was doing at home to make weekday dinners easier and tastier. A little planning meant that I had a great satisfying meal at the end of a busy work day, instead of ordering take out or eating cheese and crackers for dinner!
AU: Listen, we all love snacks for dinner, but it’s hard to make a nourishing meal from scratch when you’re tired. I think GRILLED-OVERS is an amazing idea!
EK: If you have been reading along with us for a while, you know that I love a spatchcocked/butterflied chicken and that Beer-Can Chicken is my comfort food.
Since I went to the launch of the new Traeger Timberline XL smoker/grill and started cooking on one in my backyard, I have become obsessed with smoked butterflied chicken. And the best part of smoked chicken is the leftover/rolled-over/grilled-over meals!
Smoking a chicken is very easy, and I prefer smoking it butterflied because everything cooks at the same rate. Because it is flat, the chicken absorbs the smoke well, and it is very easy to cut and serve. I say “cut and serve” instead of carve because I love to use kitchen scissors to cut the chicken into parts instead classic carving. The benefit is that the meat stays warm, juicy and intact, and you can serve parts of the chicken like fried chicken instead of slices of meat.
You can buy the chicken already spatchcocked or do it yourself with a pair of good kitchen scissors. If you want to do it yourself but can’t remember how, you can refresh your memory with my step-by-step guide at the bottom of this newsletter.
Next you need a smoker. There are all kinds of outdoor smokers at all different price points. If you don’t have a lot of space, you might consider purchasing the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Grill.
AU: In the interest of full disclosure, Elizabeth and I both worked on the launch campaign and some development for the new Ninja Woodfire Grill. We think it’s an incredible product, and great for people who can’t have a giant smoker!
EK: I like to start at a low temperature and infuse the chicken with extra smoke using the “super smoke” setting on my Traeger for the first 30 minutes. You can cheat this by how many pellets or chips you use on another grill, and some other pellet grills have followed Traeger and created a similar setting.
Next, I raise the temperature to 325 which is a classic roasting temperature for the rest of the cooking time. The rest of the cooking time will be between 60 and 90 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. Because size matters, it is best to use a meat thermometer and remove when the thigh meat is close to 180F and the breast is 160F.
And, it bears repeating that the smoke will create a pink color in the chicken—so don’t be alarmed when you cut into the chicken and you can see a rosy hue. That just means that it is good and smoky!
AU: I just love a smoked chicken. After seeing this, I’m gonna smoke two just to turn into other dishes!
EK: You can use this recipe as a guideline. You can also make this in your grill and add soaked wood chips to get that kiss of smoke.
EK: Sunday night, I had friends for dinner and we ate half of the smoked chicken. I stored the rest and on Monday, I picked the cold chicken off the bones as I prepared to make my roll-over Smoked Chicken Loaded Baked Potato!
EK: This would be such a great party dish that you could prep in advance and let everyone customize how they want. I’m thinking tailgate parties and other casual fall and winter get togethers.
AU: You and Kathy Hilton are baked potato hostesses with the mostesses! (To be fair, she was only serving hers with crème fraîche and caviar).
EK: No shame in her game! (I too love a caviar and crème fraîche potato sitch but serve them on thick-cut potato chips instead of baked potatoes)
But back to the tater at hand, the beauty of this dish is that you can even bake the potatoes in advance and pop them back in a 400F oven to re-heat and re-fluff up. Sounds like a RHOBH touch-up
The first time I bake them, I place oiled-and-pricked potatoes on a rack in the oven at 350ºF. (I know that a lot of people use a higher heat, but I find that they are fluffier if I bake them at 350ºF instead a higher temp). I bake them for 60-75 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the potato goes in smoothly without any resistance. If I want to serve them later, I let them cool to room temp and refrigerate in a resealable container.
When I want to serve them, I reheat them for about 15-20 minutes in my 400ºF oven until they’re warm throughout. You can also reheat them in a microwave on the reheat setting, if you prefer.
When you are ready to serve, set out the “pulled” smoked chicken, all your favorite loaded toppings and let everyone make their own Smoked Chicken Loaded Baked Potato!
That’s it for this week! As always, if you make our recipes, tag us on the ‘gram (@kitchensitch & @elizabethkarmel), and use the hashtag #whats4dinner. Happy cooking!!