Kitchen-Sink Curry

In the spirit of utilizing leftovers and embracing what's available in your kitchen, we present to you a delicious and versatile leftover curry recipe. This recipe is designed to use up those odds and ends in your fridge and pantry, resulting in a flavorful and satisfying dish. Today, we'll be creating a Leftovers Curry with yellow curry powder, featuring olive oil, white onion, broccoli, bell peppers, zucchinis, garlic, coconut milk, and some pantry staples.

Charleston Chest Service - the best private chef service in Charleston whips up a quick recipe utilizing kitchen leftovers. Here is a super delicious and easy and simple and cheap but amazing coconut vegetable curry recipe by the best private chef in charleston

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets

• 1/2 cup sliced bell peppers (any color you have)

• 1 yellow zucchini, sliced

• 1 green zucchini, sliced

• 3 tbsp yellow curry powder

• 2 tsp minced garlic

• 1/2 can coconut milk

• Red pepper flakes (to taste)

• Salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

1. Gather all your leftover vegetables. Don't worry if they're not in perfect condition; we're going to transform them into a delightful curry.

2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the diced white onion and sauté until it becomes translucent and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes.

3. Stir in the minced garlic and yellow curry powder. Allow them to cook for another minute or so, until the spices become aromatic.

4. Add the broccoli florets, sliced bell peppers, yellow zucchini, and green zucchini to the pan. Mix everything well to coat the vegetables with the flavorful curry mixture.

5. Pour in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the curry simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly. If it becomes too thick, you can add a little water to reach your desired consistency.

6. Season the curry with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to taste. Start with a small amount of red pepper flakes, and then add more if you prefer a spicier curry.

   Serve it over cooked rice, quinoa, or noodles for a complete meal.

This Leftovers Curry is a versatile dish that can be customized to your taste and what ingredients you have available. Feel free to get creative and adapt it to your preferences. Embrace the art of improvisation in the kitchen, and savor the delicious results of using what's available to you in the moment.

Classic Pesto Recipe

Well…. look who we have here. You were having a good day and volunteered to host a party for your friends. But you don’t know how to cook! How are you going to feed a crowd without leading them on to your culinary faux pas?

You’ll be well on your way to “Wowing” your guests if you just follow these few simple steps and trust your instincts!

---

Mise En Place

Us Culinarians have a term in the kitchen. It’s called “Mise En Place” and it is very important for any chef to be successful in the kitchen. First, lets go over what ingredients you need (which is a delightfully small quantity) and which substitutes might be acceptable to make your own pesto creations.

The Base

The base of a pesto is typically the following:

• Basil

• Pine Nuts

• Parmesean

• Olive Oil

A pro-move would be breaking this down a step further. So a “pesto” is essentially just a combination of herbs, nuts, cheese, and fat. If you wanted to get a little crazy you could substitute some of the basil for carrot stems and use almonds or even bread crumbs in place of the pine nuts. BOOM! you have a dish that is now uniquely YOU!

BUT, as much as you love your friends, their connoisseurship doesn’t involve food, so it’s best to start with the classics to keep things moving nicely.

The Process

Simple blend together your basil and pine nuts while slowly adding an olive oil drizzle. Once the sauce begins to thin out and looking like a pesto, begin to add the cheese, and black pepper to taste.

ENJOY!

Keep spreading love, good people!

Best,

Chef Jake

Instagram

Tips for Pretty Plating

Hi Friends,

The Holiday season is fast approaching. That means lots of family gatherings, playing host, and entertaining people. You’ve gone the catering route already. Now you wan’t to make something homemade for your dinner guests and show them what you’ve got! Wether you’re a good cook or not, the final presentation of the plated food is very important in how the taste of the dish is perceived, believe it or not. Here are some tips and tricks to “wow” your guests with beautifully designed plates…….and hopefully the food is good too. heh

Build on your Starches

A typical balanced dinner meal will include a starch of some sort. “Build on your starches” means add it to the plate first. I usually will put it right in the center of the plate. For example, a big spoonful of rice or potatoes neatly mounded in the center of the plate.

Add a variety of Color

Be mindful of the different colors that will be in your dish. For this example plate, We’re building off a base of roasted diced potatoes and our main entree is roasted airline chicken. Those are two ingredients with very minimal color. If we presented these items on the plate by themselves, no one would be excited to eat it. So, We’re going to add a bright vegetable to the mix. It could be something green like broccoli. Red like beets. White like cauliflower. It really could be anything. For the example dish we’re building, we’re going to add broccoli and keep a fresh lemon, as well as some fresh chopped parsley handy for later.

Build “Up” on the Plate

Alright, so we’ve got our mound of diced potatoes in the middle of the plate and our steamed broccoli on the top right side of the potatoes in a nice neatly presented mound. Now we’re going to take our nicely caramelized airline chicken and lay it over the potatoes on an angle. Making sure we build the plate up high and not letting the potatoes flatten under the chicken. Building “up” on a plate with the focal point at the center is more of a southern style of plating. It creates for an interesting contrast of depth that catches the eye.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of Garnishes

Alright, lets review this again. So now we have our neat mound of potatoes in the center of the plate stacked nice and high. Our bright green steamed broccoli in a neat mound to the top right of that. And we just added the chicken atop the potatoes in a visually interesting way. This plate is already quite pretty by itself but it is missing a little something. Take the fresh parsley you chopped earlier and sprinkle it on the plate - dusting the chicken, potatoes, broccoli, and exposed part of the plate. Now take your lemon and zest some of the lemon rind over the chicken and the broccoli. Once satisfied, slice the lemon in half and drizzle some of the juice over the food on the plate.

Finishing Touches

Alright, now my mouth is watering. The only thing left to do is get a damp paper towel and gently wipe around the edges of the plate where juices may have dripped or unwanted parsley or zest may have fallen. Finish with a little salt and pepper, take a step back, and be proud of the edible piece of art that lays before you.

pro tip: You could even take the presentation up a notch further by adding a quartered wedge of salted tomato or a very light sprinkling of some smoked paprika to give it an extra pop.

Keep spreading love, good people!

Best,

D.B.

Instagram

Spaghetti Squash & Turkey Meatball Recipe

Hey friends,

Fall is here! That means squash of all varieties can be found in grocery stores across America. Today, we’re going to talk about a type of squash you’ve probably already heard of before. Spaghetti Squash. This versatile root vegetable is known for its uniquely stringy texture and traditional squash flavor.

For our recipe, we took an Italian staple, “Spaghetti & Meatballs”, and lightened it up a bit for a feel good alternative to a carb heavy classic. Just follow these easy steps below to make this delicious dish!

Yields: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 Spaghetti Squash

• 1 Package of Ground Turkey

• 1 Can Crushed Tomatoes

• 2 Tbsp. Tomato Paste

• 1 Sweet Onion

• 2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic

• 1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

• 2 Tbsp. Honey

• 3 Tbsp. Salt

• 2 Tbsp. Pepper

• Red Pepper Flakes, to taste

• Bonus: 2 Tbsp. Calabrian Chili Pepper Powder, if you have it

For the sauce:

1. Dice half of the onion. Reserve other half for turkey meatballs

2. Place onions in lightly oiled pot on medium high heat. Sweat onion

3. Add the can of crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, minced garlic, honey, half the salt and pepper, and Calabrian chili powder, if you have it. Mix together and taste. Adjust seasoning to taste.

4. Once sauce begins to bubble, adjust the heat and bring sauce to a very gentle simmer. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally so sauce doesn’t burn the bottom of the pot.

5. When ready to eat, add lemon juice and mix in.

For the meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 375 Degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Grate other 1/2 onion into a bowl.

3. Mix ground turkey with 1/2 the salt, pepper, and grated onion. Add any additional seasonings to taste.

4. Make approximately 3 oz. meatballs. Rolling in your hand, then placing on a sprayed cookie sheet.

5. Place cookie sheet in oven and cook for 15-20 minutes.

6. Once the meatballs have browned, remove from the oven and add to the sauce to finish cooking.

7. Turn pot up to medium and cook while spaghetti squash finishes cooking

For the squash:

1. Preheat oven to 425 Degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Cut Spaghetti squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and season with EVOO, pinch of salt & pepper.

3. Place squash in a baking dish cut side up. Wrap the dish in aluminum foil and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Then remove foil and cook for additional 30 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and allow to cool enough to handle.

5. Once cooled, grab a fork and scrap the spaghetti-like inside of the squash into a bowl.

Assemble all of your ingredients, top with parmesan and/or red chili flakes and enjoy!

Keep spreading love, good people!

Best,

Chef Jake

Instagram