very nutty

I love it when a recipe I try out for the first time works. Love it when we're all finally seated at a table for dinner. It was a very enjoyable Mother's Day. I found two good recipes from my two favorite cook books.

I love
Martha Stewart's Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook and
Ruth Reichl's The Gourmet Cookbook.

From Hors D'Oevres, there was a recipe for "Bisteeyas". Imagine the taste of chicken cooked with garlic, onion, turmeric and saffron inside a phyllo dough package along with raisins, cinnamon and almonds. Very tasty!

And for dessert, a strawberry treat without the shortcake. "Frangipane Tart" from Gourmet. All those strawberries layered on top of frangipane made from sugar, egg, butter and almonds. I think I'll forever insist on the combination of strawerries and almonds.

There were also teriyaki chicken and pineapple kabobs on the barbecue and pasta with a very simple, yet delicious, peanut sauce that I found on the SlimFast website, of all places. This meal was very potpourri - Moroccan appetizer, Hawaiian kabobs, Thai peanut sauce and Italian dessert. Very nutty. Almonds in the Bisteeyas and tart and peanuts in the pasta.

Here is the recipe for that simple peanut sauce (great in pasta, even better for dipping kabobs):

1 garlic clove, minced (I always use more - can't imagine that one is enough!)
1/2 t. fresh, minced ginger root
1 T. dry roasted peanuts, chopped
1 t. canola oil
2 T. chicken broth
1 T. peanut butter
1 T. soy sauce
2-1/2 t. brown sugar
1/2 T. white rice vinegar
1/8 t. chili powder

Saute garlic in canola oil for 1 minute, then add remaining ingredients. Continue cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until smooth, stirring continually. Remove from heat. For pasta dish, add green onions and carrots to cooked pasta along with peanut sauce.