Curry-Inflected Dinner

I love Indian food, but can only get Jeannene to go out for it if I catch her in the right mood. Madhur Jaffrey's skill as a writer & cooking instructor aside, I just don't have oodles of confidence in being able to produce delicious, authentic Indian food at home. I'm sure if I really tried, I could do okay. It's one of my mom's favorite cuisines to cook and she does a lovely job of it. But, Sunday night, I was tired from a longer than anticipated work day & was trying to think of a good excuse to go out. When Jeannene made it clear she was too piled up with work to leave the house, I relented and made this tandoori-inspired chicken. Of course it was nothing like the real thing, but it was amazingly tender and delicious! It made the whole house smell fabulous, too! I served it with basmati rice to which I added whole cumin seeds and with green beans I tossed with olive oil, salt, & pepper before blasting them in a 500 degree oven for about 5 minutes. That's my favorite way to do green beans! Works beautifully with asparagus, too. Dessert was quartered strawberries brought to room temperature and tossed with a tbsp. of melted butter, a healthy splash of balsamic vinegar, a good grinding of black pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar.

Tandoori-ish Chicken:
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. paprika
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tsp. oil

Mix everything but the chicken & the oil. Rub on the chicken. Cook in oil until cooked through. Serves 3.