26 September 2008

- Tandoori Chicken Pitas

Dear Fans of Hounds Who Cook,

We have eaten the most excellent lunch and can't wait to share it with you. It all came about because our Person has been in a most frenetic state about papers. She's been sifting through papers and making more papers and pouring over papers. We've been left utterly to our own devices. So, after a nice sleep in the sun this morning, out on the grass, we came inside with quite a houndish appetite.

We had been thinking for days about the marvelous tandoori sandwiches that our girl Me has been making since before we pups had even been born and Guthrie was all ready to launch full on into our usual recipe. Then, I , Eli, out of sheer expedience to eat before my blood sugar dropped one more bit, made a magnanimous suggestion to my brother, The Gute, and he received it well and we were swallowing our sandwiches whole inside of 15 minutes. Read on, hungry fans, read on.

Tandoori Chicken Pitas
Me's Independent Rating: 3 of 3

4 cooked chicken thighs or 1 whole breast (or see Tandoori Chicken for Sandwiches post)
3-4 whole-wheat pitas
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons raw cider vinegar (for your good health)
3 tablespoons chopped onion (not for pups)
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves (or a tablespoon dried)
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves (or a tablespoon dried)
minced hot pepper, if you must (not for pups)

We started with moist and meaty cooked thighs that our Person had cooked and frozen previously. She had thawed them the day before in anticipation that dogs would be fending for themselves today.

Take all the luscious tender meat off the bone, saving the cartilage nubbins for the dogs (but toss the cooked bones, which splinter in our innards.). Shred the chicken a bit so it's small pieces. Set aside to come to room temperature.

Pluck the leaves of the herbs to the needed quantity and use a little salad spinner to wash them. Chop in a food processor, or Magic Bullet, if you bought one in a weak moment of late-night TV. (We like ours since pups don't have excellent dexterity with knives.) Mix the mayonnaise and vinegar until smooth. Add the onion, herbs, and pepper if desired. Add salt to taste. (Or wait to salt it until the sandwiches are assembled so the salt is foremost on the sandwich when the tongue hits it. These little nuances matter.)

Cut each pita in two and toast lightly in the oven or a few at a time in the toaster. Fill each half of a pita with about 1/4 cup chicken and 1 (very) generous tablespoon of herbed mayonnaise. Eat immediately - before you even sit down, if possible.

Serves 4 people or 1-2 hounds.

Tips from Eli: You could heat the chicken up but we prefer the sensory contrast of a toasty hot pita and room temperature chicken. We find the chicken most flavorful at that temp.

Tips from Guthrie: On happenstance, we had fresh mint from the farmer's market, and this is what we always think of making when we have it. If you are relegated to only dried herbs, we are sorry about that and advise you to make the mayonnaise ahead of time so the herbs have time to wake up and permeate the mayo before you eat. Leave all things at room temperature - meat and mayo - for the tastiest experience. Also, the cat will eat any very small odd looking pieces of chicken meat that would be unappetizing to a person - such as veins. Dogs will too, but we know even a cat needs to eat.

Postscript: We wanted to include a picture of this most satisfying lunch, but ate everything so all we can do is include a snapshot of how pleased we are. You can be this pleased too, if only you eat a tandoori chicken pita.


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