The kids have long gone to bed and so has my hubby dear. Laundry and chores are done. and I finally fine some rare alone time with nothing to do. (granted, I could go to bed lol but my mind wont let me) I have a hard time knowing what to do after kids have gone to bed and chores have been done (in all honesty...when ever are all the chores ever completely done???. So tonight I'm going to catch up to some much needed blogging ;-)       I'm sitting here with steaming earl grey in hand and an amazing recipe ready to share...A dear blogging friend (you can check her blog out here) sent me two boxes of absolutely amazing cookbooks. She had very sweetly written all her favorite recipes on a paper for each book. This recipe is from one of these books "Fine Cooking Annual" volume 1 pg 154. I'm continuing with her idea of writing down which recipes she liked. This one got 5 ***** !!! (stars...not cussing!)

       This recipe seriously is the bomb!!!!

Growing up I remember eating authentic Indian curry, all I remember was thinking it was very dry and spicy (not all curries are, but the yellow curry we were served def. was). I remember dreading "curry" night and finding unique and creative ways to make the yellow stuff go down...
One day a friend of a friend in college invited us over. She was Indian and an amazing cook I might add.
She taught me this wonderful trick of adding yogurt and bananas to my curry (I know...I know, I'm back with the banana craze, read more here) but I can honestly say..this made curry so much more enjoyable! I would go as far as saying that I didn't mind "curry" night as much any more, providing there was sufficient yogurt and bananas (you can imagine some peoples faces at the request of sliced bananas lol yogurt is comonly asked for, it cuts the spiciness).
Know at this point in life I had never been introduced to "Thai" food! a huge loss if you ask me! But don't worry to much, I quickly remedied that ;-)
I remember the day I tried authentic Thai curry....no...words...can ... describe what was going on in my mouth! It was AMAZING!!!
How could I have gone through life without ever knowing about Thai food???, Thai food became one of my favorite foods, i just absolutely LOVE the coconut milk mixed with the curry...divine!
I have successfully converted my husband to Thai food and we now love love love the dishes we've been served.

In my opinion this recipe is a mix of Indian and Thai curry. The coconut brings a creamy softness to the curry, and the potatoes add a unique touch. Of course I'm a huge cilantro fan and this dish definitely wore the cilantro well ;-)
Definitely try this recipe out...it is soooo worth it!

TIPS:

• I found that using a spoon to peel the ginger works wonders, I used to use a knife, but would loose chunks of good ginger because of it. The spoon scrapes just the peel off...really easy!
• You don't have to use the jalapeño, I have a 2 and 3 year old and I highly doubt they would have appreciated the added heat. I tasted absolutely amazing without it.
• You can also just use the whole can of coconut milk. I stuck to the recipe and used the rest of the coconut milk for another recipe.
• I just used regular yellow curry (not the red hot curry or the madras curry!)
• Serve over basmati rice...mmmmmm

Chicken with Potatoes, Peas & Coconut-Curry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 3) 
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper 
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil;  more as needed 
• 1/2 medium onion, finely diced (to yield about 1/2 cup) 
• 1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger (look at tips above)
• 2 tsp. seeded, minced fresh jalapeño (optional, I didn't add this)
• 1 Tbs. sweet curry powder (not Madras or hot, I used regular yellow curry)
• 1 cup homemade or low-salt chicken broth 
• 1 medium (6-oz.) red or yellow potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (to yield about 1 cup) 
• 5-1/2 oz. can coconut milk, well shaken ( for a thinner sauce, go ahead and add the whole 14-15oz can)
• 1/2 cup frozen peas 
• 2 Tbs. roughly chopped fresh cilantro 

Directions

1. Trim the chicken, removing the tenders and slice on an angle into 3/4-inch pieces; season generously with salt and pepper.

White edges signal that it's time to flip the chicken
Picture courtesy of  fine cooking

1. In a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until it's hot enough to shimmer. Add half of the chicken and cook, flipping once, until lightly browned and just barely cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate; repeat with the remaining chicken. Cover with foil to keep warm.
2. Return the pan to medium heat and, if it looks dry, add another 1 Tbs. oil. Add the onion, ginger, and jalapeño and sauté, stirring almost constantly with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables soften, about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and sauté for 30 seconds. Pour in the chicken broth and scrape the pan with a spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the potato and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the potato is barely tender, 7 to 8 minutes. 
3. Add the coconut milk and peas; simmer uncovered until the peas are thawed, the potato is fully tender, and the sauce is somewhat thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. 
4. Taste the sauce; add salt and pepper as needed. Add the chicken along with any accumulated juices to the sauce and turn to coat with the sauce. 
5. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the cilantro.

Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking Annual volume 1 pg 154