Chicken Satay and Curried Rice Pilaf

Following a very busy week, which included an afternoon of picketing at Yucaipa’s busiest intersection and a school board meeting, I traveled out of town for a working retreat with a group of teacher-leaders from around San Bernardino and Riverside counties. We were up in a mountain town called Idyllwild, which sits at about the same elevation as my town (6000 feet). I had the French Country room at the Idyllwild Inn, which has rooms with various themes, such as West, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, and Farm. We spent most of the weekend working, but did enjoy free evenings. Last night we ate at the Creek House Restaurant, and I had another great fish dish (wow! 2 in one week!). I’m going to replicate it sometime soon. We came out of the restaurant to a very light snow, which quit after about 15 minutes. But this morning, we woke up to a heavier snow, which left a little over an inch on the ground. It wasn’t very cold outside, and when the sun came out around 9 am, all the snow quickly melted. It sure was pretty, though.

I came home this morning and put the chicken in to marinate in my Foodsaver marinating dish, and had a dinner with numerous exotic flavors.

Chicken Satay

2 t lemon zest
2 med. shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t grated gingerroot
2 t ground coriander
2 t ground cumin
1 t turmeric
1 T brown sugar
1 1 t salt
1 T soy sauce
2 t sesame oil
4 boneless chicken thighs

In a processor, combine all ingredients except chicken. Whirl to a paste. Place chicken in a marinating dish or ziploc bag and spread with paste. Marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours, up to overnight.


Return meat to room tempearature before grilling. Skewer meat; preheat grill to high. Grill skewers 2-3 minutes on each side and serve with peanut sauce. (I didn’t skewer it this time–I just cooked it on my George Foreman grill.)



Peanut Sauce:
1/3 c creamy peanut butter
1/4 c chicken broth
2 T chili paste
2 T brown sugar
2 T soy sauce
1 t grated gingerroot
1 clove garlic, minced

Place peanut butter in heavy medium saucepan. Slowly add chicken broth, then all other ingredients. Stir over medium heat until smooth and thick, about 6 minutes. Can be stored in refrigerator 3 days until ready to use. Reheat before serving.

Needing a good side dish, I turned to my rice recipes and changed one of my favorites a little by adding curry powder and pine nuts.

Curried Rice Pilaf



1/4 c pine nuts
2 T butter
1/2 c chopped onion
1 t curry powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c converted rice
2 c chicken broth
2 T orange juice concentrate
1/3 c raisins, plumped in hot water and then drained

Toast pine nuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat for about 5 minutes until golden. Set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and sauté onion until softened but not brown, about 4 minutes. Add curry powder and garlic to onion, and sauté another 30 seconds. Add rice, and continue to sauté about 3 more minutes, or until rice begins to appear translucent. Add chicken broth and orange juice concentrate; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer over very low heat until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Add raisins and pine nuts. Fluff with a fork and serve. 4 servings.


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