Thai-Style Chicken Satay and Peanut Dipping Sauce

My mom came to visit and I've been wanting to make her Indonesian/Malaysian food since I recently learned a couple recipes.  This one was from a trusted source (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt) and while the chicken was popular the Peanut Tamarind Dipping sauce was the star of the show that day.  It's easy to make and great on everything.

Thanks, Kenji!

Thai-Style Chicken Satay and Peanut Tamarind Dipping Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon (4g) coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon (4g) whole white peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon (12g) palm sugar, plus more to taste (see note above)
• 3 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped (about 12g)
• 1 (1/4-inch) disk of ginger (about 12g), peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, roughly chopped (about 1 ounce; 25g), plus more sliced shallot for garnish
• 1 (1-inch) knob fresh turmeric, peeled, or 1 teaspoon (4g) dried turmeric powder
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, bottom 4 inches only, finely sliced (remove dry outer leaves before slicing)
• 1 (15-ounce; 425g) can coconut milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Asian fish sauce
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds (680g) boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 recipe Peanut-Tamarind Dipping Sauce, for serving
• 1 small cucumber, cut into bite-size pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. 1.
   Toast coriander and white pepper in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Alternatively, place on a heatproof plate in the microwave and microwave at 15-second intervals until fragrant. Transfer to mortar and crush to a powder with pestle. Add palm sugar, garlic, ginger, shallot, turmeric, and lemongrass and crush to a paste. Transfer paste to a medium bowl and stir in half of coconut milk, all of fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon (4g) salt. Taste and add more salt or sugar as desired. The mixture should be quite sweet and salty.
2. 2.
   Add chicken and turn to coat. Transfer to a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, remove as much air as possible (you can use the water displacement method for this) and refrigerate for at least 1 and up to 8 hours.
3. 3.
   Remove chicken from bag and thread onto bamboo or metal skewers, using an onion or potato to help you do so faster and more safely. Pack chicken in tightly on skewers as you go.
4. 4.
   Light 2/3 chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the medium-high heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.
5. 5.
   Place chicken directly over hot side of grill and cook, turning occasionally and brushing with remaining coconut milk every minute, until chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes total.
6. 6.
   Remove from grill and serve immediately with peanut-tamarind sauce, cucumber, and sliced shallot.

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Classic mac and cheese in the Instant Pot!  The only thing I don't like is that when you quick release the IP it bubbles/froths out of the pressure release and you have the wash the lid well.  It's really not a big deal.

And careful- it yields a LOT of mac and cheese.  My kids have no problem with this.

Thank you, Active Hip Momma!

Instant Pot Mac and Cheese

Ingredient List

• I box (16 ounce of elbow macaroni)
• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream ( 1 can of evaporated milk(12 ounce) would work or even whole milk)I think I added a little more till I got the consistency I was looking for- (Tablespoon at a time)
• 3 Tb of butter
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
• 4 cups of water

Inside the instant pot, place the macaroni, water, salt and butter. Set instant pot on 4 minutes manual , manual release pressure(quick release).  After that is done, take lid off and set pot on saute and add whipping cream, and stir. Then slowly add cheese as it melts! enjoy!

Instant Pot Beef Stew

I had heard about the Instant Pot and was intrigued because I had never cooked with a pressure cooker.  I liked that it was electronic and less scary than stovetop pressure cookers and the Instant Pot seems to have a cult following.  Amazon Prime Day sealed the deal- W and I both saw the IP for a great price and texted each other at the same time.

I've had a good amount of success with the IP thanks to Facebook groups and online recipes, and I appreciate the amount of time I've saved with it.  I made this Instant Pot Beef Stew for some friends and it got rave reviews.  

Thanks, Jennifer Robins of Predominantly Paleo!  I didn't make this recipe paleo but it was great as written.

Instant Pot Beef Stew

Ingredients:

• 16 ounces tenderloin, cut (or stew meat -aka chuck roast)
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 zucchini chopped
• 3 yukon gold potatoes chopped (replace with sweet potatoes for AIP)
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 cups beef bone broth, organic or homemade (make sure AIP compatible if observing)
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil, ghee, or lard (stick to avocado oil or lard for AIP)
• 1-2 teaspoons sea salt (or more to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon pepper (omit for AIP)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (omit for AIP)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste (omit for AIP)
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour - I used cornstarch
• Worcestershire sauce to taste (omit for AIP)
• Optional: sweet potato, parsnip, turnips

1. Turn your Instant Pot onto “Saute” and put in your oil and tenderloin
2. Saute until the meat is no longer pink then toss in your remaining veggies
3. Stir to combine then add in the broth and seasonings
4. Stir once more then place the lid on your Instant Pot and press “Stew/Meat”
5. The setting should automatically set itself for 35 minutes on high pressure
6. Make sure your steam valve is closed and let it cook as indicated by the display
7. Once cooking is complete, your Instant Pot should automatically switch over to warm – You can leave it as is or quick release the pressure. I let mine rest and release the pressure on its own slowly.
8. After about 20 minutes passed on the “Warm” setting, you can then open the top
9. Carefully ladle out about 1/4 of the liquid and combine that in a small bowl with the arrowroot flour
10. Add the slurry back into the pot and stir to thicken
11. At this time you may taste the stew and see if you’d like to add in additional salt; it is better to start low and add then to over-salt from the beginning
12. At this time you may serve the stew or leave it on the “Warm” setting until ready to enjoy