Cooking for dummies (dudes)

Not everything I blog about here at The Red Mieni has to be as manly as football and reality TV shows like Big Brother. Knowing how to cook just a little can be handy when you're hosting people to watch a game or having someone over for a nice dinner.

Unfortunately, while I have been trying to add to my collection of kitchen gadgets, utensils and essentials, I am in dire need of a dining table since my ex won custody of my old one, and my fill-in card table makes it a little embarrassing to entertain. Luckily, somebody at DiningRoomsDirect.com must have been peaking through my window (which is strange, since normally I'm the one peaking through somebody else's window) and noticed that void, as they have been kind enough to authorize me to give away a $35 gift certificate to DiningRoomsDirect.com or any of their sister sites that are affiliated with CSN Stores.

So assuming that I snatch that gift certificate for myself and get a replacement dining room table (kidding, of course, this give-away is on the up and up and will go to the first person to comment as specified below), it's always good to have a few signature dishes on file for when the need to entertain arises.  A tasty dish that serves many, yet one that I find relatively simple to make is coconut lemon grass chicken. Here's how you make it:

-Melt 2 tbsp. butter over medium heat.
-Add half of a diced sweet onion (I prefer Vidalia onions from Georgia).
-Add 3 cloves of minced garlic.
-Saute for 7 minutes.

-Add 1 tbsp. kosher salt.
-Add 1&1/2 tbsp. minced ginger root.
-Add 2 tsp. black pepper.
-Add 1 tbsp. sugar.
-Add 2-3 pounds of diced boneless chicken (raw).
-Cook 15 minutes at medium-high heat until the chicken browns.

-Add the other half of your sweet onion.
-Add 1 red chili pepper for mild, 2 for medium, or 3 if you like your food hot.
-Mince and add the white bulbs from 3 lemon grass stalks.
-Add 2 tbsp. curry powder.
-Add 3 tbsp. soy sauce.
-Add 4 tbsp. fish sauce.
-Add 4 ounces coconut milk.
-Stir and cook while covered at medium low heat for 10 mins., then simmer uncovered for another 10 mins.

OK, so I should have added some garnishment for color contrast, but you get the idea...

Once complete, this dish can be served on its own or over rice. The left-overs are even better cold, and also make for great sandwiches on toasted bread.

Now, if anyone is interested in the free $35 CSN Stores gift certificate just be the first person to post a comment (with your email address) to claim your prize. If you don't want to publicly post your email address in the comment section just email me privately at TheRedMieni@gmail.com. I'll announce the winner next week in the comment section of this post, and I promise not to give away anybody's email address for any reason other than to allow you to claim the winner's gift certificate.