A Post-Rapture Feast, Part 1: Thai Green Curry & Tandoori-Style Wings

Since Thursday, I've been watching the news and reading Facebook commentaries about the approaching Rapture, predicted to arrive yesterday, May 21, 2011, promptly at 6:00 pm (6:00 pm everywhere). I loved the idea of a rolling Rapture, like a rolling blackout, that ripples around the globe like a 24-hour tsunami. Being 99.9% certain that I'd be one of the ones left behind, however, I didn't change my plans for the weekend. My real concern was this blog. I needed a meal idea that was not particularly fussy or time-consuming (since I have many other things to do and write at home this weekend) but a meal, nonetheless, that is worthy Post-Rapture Party fare.

Inspiration came early yesterday morning, about 12 hours prior to the Rapture in Ohio, when I asked myself whether those being taken up into Heaven later in the day would need wings, or would they rise spontaneously, released from the pull of gravity to float slowly (gloriously!) upward on shafts of brilliant, unearthly light? I didn't know who to turn to for an answer, so I went back to thinking about more practical things, like cooking and writing and making my weekly pilgrimage to Youngstown's north side.

And then it hit me: Those of us left behind will be the ones needing wings! Yes, indeed: Wings, heavenly wings! Baked rather than deep-fried, they'll be the healthier wings of the new millennium.

Thai Green Curry Wings

Tandoori Wings

(We'll need other comfort food, too--a silken soup and some homemade flat bread--sturdy food that will console us for not having been chosen for the ultimate transition team. I'll post those additional recipes--Indian Sweet Potato Soup and Onion & Bell Pepper Focaccia--soon).

Thai Green Curry Wings

• 2 cups buttermilk
• ¼ to ½ cup Thai green curry paste (depending on how spicy you like your wings)
• 2 limes
• 3 lbs. raw chicken wings
• salt
• cilantro leaves (or flat-leaf parsley), for garnish

This is absurdly easy. Add the zest of one lime and the green curry paste to the buttermilk. Pour the green curry buttermilk over the chicken wings and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (or overnight),

Line a half-sheet baking pan with foil or parchment paper (for easy clean-up). Set a cookie rack or baking rack on top of the cookie sheet. Arrange chicken on the rack. Bake in a 375-degree oven for about an hour (or longer), until the wings are done.

While the wings are still hot from the oven, squeeze the juice of the zested lime over them and sprinkle with salt (to taste). Garnish with cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

(Today I was too timid with the green curry paste, using only 1/4 cup. For those who like some zing to their wings, I recommend using 1/2 cup of the curry paste instead.)

Tandoori Chicken Wings

• 3 lbs chicken wings
• 2 tablespoons each red and yellow food dye (optional)
• 1/2 cup water (optional)
• 2 cups plain yogurt
• 2-inch piece of peeled ginger root, finely grated or minced
• 5-6 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
• 2 tablespoons garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (optional)
• juice of 1 lemon
• lemon wedges, to garnish
• coriander leaves or parsley, to garnish

For a really good, traditional red color, mix the red and yellow food coloring in 1/2 cup of water, then pour the colored water over the chicken wings. Keep turning and turning the pieces over until they are a bright, almost obnoxious red. Drain the chicken and discard the colored water. (Of course, the dye job is not really necessary, so skip it if you like.)

To the yogurt, add the ginger, garlic, and all the ground spices. Mix well. Pour over and coat the chicken pieces well, then cover and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours or over night.

As we did with the Thai Green Curry wings, line a half-sheet baking pan with foil or parchment paper (for easy clean-up). Set a cookie rack or baking rack on top of the cookie sheet. Arrange chicken on the rack. Bake in a 375-degree oven for about an hour (or longer), until the wings are done.

While the wings are still hot from the oven, squeeze the juice of a lemon over them and sprinkle with salt (to taste). Garnish with cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

Wings with a bit of cucumber raita on the side.

Mother's Day Brie en Croute

Val, who enjoyed the Brie and Peach Até de Durazno en Croute last October, asked me a few months ago about creating a baked brie that wasn't sweet, but savory. Immediately, I thought about substituting a bruschetta topping or olive tapenade for the jam or sweet chutney that is usually found in Brie en Croute. A quick check on the Internet told me that I am not the first to think of this.

I'm an olive lover and so is Valentine, so I decided on tapenade for our Mother's Day brie-in-a-blanket. Tapenade is an olive spread from southern France, great on crackers, toast (bruschetta), or as a condiment in a veggie wrap or a cheese sandwich. Though it's readily available in stores, tapenade is also very easy (if not exactly cheap) to make at home. As with any dish, the key to success is to use only the best ingredients. The method itself is almost brainless.

Mel's Tapenade Provençal

• 2 cups pitted kalamata olives (canned ripe black olives also make a great tapenade)
• 2 tablespoons of capers, well rinsed
• 2 (or more) cloves of garlic, rough sliced
• 4 anchovy fillets (Be brave! They will not overpower the olives, I promise!)
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (Do not use regular yellow mustard as a substitute. Skip the mustard completely if you don't have dijon.)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 5-6 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, leaves only

Even though the olives may be pitted, be sure to rough chop them with a knife or squeeze each one by hand because sometimes pitted olives contain pits. Shattered pit shards will ruin your tapenade. Trust me; I learned from experience.

Put everything into a food processor and pulse 8, 10 maybe 12 times. Do not over-process. There should be a somewhat chunky texture to the spread. And that's it. You're done!

(Note: The recipe above makes about 1 1/2 cups of tapenade. The recipe below requires only 2/3rds cup of tapenade.)

Exploded Brie En Croute with Tapenade

• 1 small wheel of brie (The "mini brie" I used today was 15oz, which was probably a bit too big)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 2/3 cup homemade or store-bought tapenade
• 1 egg, whisked

Let the puff pastry defrost, then roll it out a bit. Trim some of the rind off the brie, then cut the wheel through the middle, so that you end up with 2 disks of cheese. Center one disk on the puff pastry. Top with 1/3 cup tapenade. Cover with the second disk of brie, spread it with the last 1/3 cup of tapenade.

Wrap the puff pastry around the cheese decoratively. Seal seams and brush the entire top and sides of the pastry with the whisked egg. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the pastry is puffed, flaky, and golden.

This is what happens when you put too big of a brie wheel into too little puff pastry and don't seal it well or turn it over so the seams are on the bottom: It explodes in your friend's oven! (Sorry, Val!) Such things never happen on the Food Network, but they happen pretty regularly here in the real world.

The exploded Brie en Croute was a wonderful addition to our Sunday meal outside in the backyard with the dogs and sunshine and the birds (and, yes, the other humans). While it was still hot, we dipped apple slices and multi-grain chips into the molten goodness. Later, when it had cooled, we tore off bits of the olive-y, cheese-y bread to enjoy with the rest of our meal.

Happy Mother's Day, everyone!