tom kha gai soup: Silky smooth coconut milk and spicy red chili paste make a good tom kha gai a sublime pleasure-- especially if the cook resists the urge to overload the soup with stalks of inedible lemongrass.
chicken tikka masala: I don't believe I ever had Indian food before going to college. Once there, friends-- yeah, I'm looking at you, Springberg-- introduced me to chicken tikka masala, and it became the archetype. In my mental dictionary, the picture next to the "indian food" entry is this dish. You know what I love about Indian cuisine? Cream is not a four letter word. The tikka is tasty, but it's the tomato-cream sauce that makes the dish.
jambalaya: There are really only two vegetables I hate: brussel sprouts and okra. Gumbo, which I'd otherwise adore, is too often an excuse to foist okra onto an unsuspecting diner. So when it comes to N'awlins chow, I turn to jambalaya. Cajun andouille sausage, shredded chicken, plump shrimp, all nestled in a pot of zesty, gooey rice. It's a hearty one-pot meal that always brings the happy.
blackened salmon: Really, this could be blackened anything-- chicken, steak, whatever. There's very little in the way of protein that can't be improved with a healthy coating of cajun spices. Salmon fares particularly well, however, with its moist flesh providing a counterpoint to the charred exterior. Served up with grilled onions and a creole mayo and BAM-- your dinner's kicked up a few notches.
curried chicken salad: So simple, and yet sublime. Grapes, golden raisins, and granny smith apples provide sweetness and texture, while celery lends a satisfying crunch and red onion provides a little extra zing. Forget sandwich bread-- I'll eat the stuff right out of the tupperware. The perfect use for poached chicken meat produced by my favorite stock-making procedure.
jerk chicken: Someday I'll get to Jamaica and have the real thing, cooked in allspice leaves with scotch bonnet peppers. In the meantime, I have to content myself with off-the-shelf marinades and sauces.
chicken pot pie: The ultimate comfort food, especially since I learned to make it from scratch at home. As with so many things, a liberal application of Tabasco to the tender-flaky crust makes a good thing even better.
General Tso's chicken: The barometer by which all Chinese restaurants are measured. Nobody knows who the General really was, or if he ever existed, but in my book a General trumps the Colonel.
Posted by Peter at January 7, 2006 4:11 AM