Thai curries might be one of my favorite quick meals to pull together. While one can make their own curry paste, I find the pre-made Thai Kitchen curry pastes to be pretty good. When making a bowl of curry I will usually add some extra Thai peppers and ginger to the pan, but for a quick, weeknight meal like this salmon, I keep the extra flavors minimal. This is about being quick and easy after all!

If you haven’t baked in parchment before, it might look at first glance to be complicated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Simply make up your packets of meat, add some sort of liquid and seasoning, crimp the edges, and bake! The crimping is simply folding edges of paper over on top of each other to hold. Or in my case, not so much folding as cramming paper together quickly and hoping it holds (it always does, knock on wood!). (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Quick and Easy, Thai by Courtney

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a tropical kick, so I’ve had more than my fair share of pineapple hanging out in my fridge. As I grew tired of enjoying the sweet flavors, I happened to have a bit of leftover rice hanging out in there too, and I decided to try my hand at pineapple fried rice. A hint of sweet, a lot of savory, and just the right amount of salty with the ham and soy sauce makes this recipe tick all the right boxes for me. (more…)

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Asian, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Side Dish, Thai by Courtney

Last year my husband and I stopped into the tasting room for VML wines in Russian River Valley, and I discovered what has become my go to wine to pair with foods that have Thai, Malaysian, or Vietnamese flavors. As soon as I tasted the 2011 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc, hints of lemongrass and lime hit my palate. I picked up a single bottle at the tasting room, but after enjoying it at home with this Thai beef salad, I quickly placed an order for a case of the wine. It didn’t just pair well with the tangy fish sauce and lime juice dressing that goes on this salad, the combination really elevated the flavors into something new for me. One might think I’m a little off for pairing a white wine with beef, but this salad comes off with such a light flavor thanks to the citrus, mint, and cilantro, and the chili and fish sauce beg for something that doesn’t compete with their strong, unique flavors.

The best part about this meal is it comes together in the time it takes to cook and rest the beef. There’s minimal chopping, and if you fire up the grill, you not only don’t heat up the house, but you get to enjoy the outdoors before what I think is the perfect al fresco meal! (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Salad, Thai, Wine pairings by Courtney

Despite the fact that I had decided my previous grilled chicken wings were hands down the best chicken wings I’d ever had, I couldn’t help but wonder how they could be topped. Grilling the wings is a must – it gives the skin a nice crispness and the chicken a smoky flavor that I love. As for the flavors, I’ve long toyed with some Asian-laced chicken wing, and being on a Thai kick, I started thinking about flavors that would lend lots of flavor, a little spice, and taste oh so nice. (more…)

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Appetizers, Cooking outdoors, Dairy free, Gluten free, Lunch, Snack time, Thai by Courtney

I’ve been on a bit of a Thai kick lately. Earlier this week I played around with a couple of recipes for Thai beef salad, and while I was perusing my Thai recipes, I came across a recipe for Tom Khaa Kai, or Chicken, Coconut and Galangal soup.

As I read through the recipe, I realized I had most of the items I needed already in my pantry or freezer to make the tropical-flavored soup. Originally I was going to make the soup to go with the Thai beef salad, but I ended up not being that hungry the other night, so I decided to put my soup and sandwich tray to good use, making monster spring rolls to go with the soup.

And that’s how this recipe became more than a variation on the cookbook recipe. (more…)

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Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Sandwiches, Soups, Thai, Vegan, Vegetarian, World traveller by Courtney