Day 1: Unskewered Red Curry Chicken Kebabs

Happy New Year! We rang in 2011 at a wedding in Charleston, S.C., and drove back to Atlanta on the 1st. It was late afternoon when we got home, so we knew better than to try anything too ambitious for our first dinner. Instead we turned to an old standby, unskewered chicken kebabs in a red curry marinade, served over jasmine rice with a yogurt-mint dressing.

I discovered this recipe last year from Food and Wine: Red Curry Chicken Kebabs with Minty Yogurt Sauce. I was drawn to the simple ingredients, most of which we keep on hand (we keep Thai red curry paste in the pantry at all times for another recipe). I made the dish once as written, and then the modifications began. For starters, in the marinade I use less oil than the recipe calls for and probably more thai curry, I put almost no honey in the dressing (a teaspoon or so) and more lime and mint to taste, and at this point I don't measure anything.

For six months or so, we grilled the kebabs, until one night last winter I went out to light the grill and found a hungry creature looking for crumbs inside it. That was the night we learned that the oven broiler works just fine. Better even, since we can skip the skewers and just dump the chicken pieces on a big tray, making this quick dish much, much quicker. We do cut way back on the oil when we broil, since it has nowhere to drip away. This makes the dish spicer, which is just fine with us.

It takes only about two minutes to whisk the marinade together, and I usually throw the chicken in the oven once the rice is cooking, turning it every few minutes until nice and crispy. The yogurt dressing can be made ahead or while the chicken is cooking. It's simple to make yet completely satisfying and complex. (The picture below doesn't do it justice...)

Last night's dinner was served with Citrus Squeeze cocktails (our version of the Sunshine Squeeze served at Craftbar Atlanta: fresh lemon, lime and ginger mixed with vodka and agave nectar). Delicious!