Chicken, chicken, lamb

No, not my take on duck, duck, goose, but the proteins of three new and scrumptious recipes from my favourite birthday present - and new favourite cookbook.

I am in chilli heaven when I read this and the beauty of it is it's not one cuisine, so there are chilli-filled dishes from Thailand, Mexico, India, China, and many more, including the Caribbean - which is where I started my journey through the hundreds of pages of this book...

For the obligatory family dinner for my birthday this year we went to Atico Cocina - a new South Ameican and Caribbean restaurant near Victoria Park which serves Caribbean and South American tapas style dishes, delicious cocktails and is in a very cool, funky space. Check it out at http://www.atico.co.nz/restaurant-auckland.html

One of the highlights of that meal (and there were many) was the jerk chicken wings. They were spicy and cinnamony-allspicy, as they should be, and for want of a better, non-fast-food-chain term, finger lickin' good.

So when I thumbed through the cookbook for the first time, jerk chicken definitely stood out and was recipe number one to try.

At Atico Cocina one of the sides we had was fried potatoes with garlic butter and spring onions (sounds much cooler with the proper name - something Spanish - which escapes me now), so I decided to recreate those to go with the chicken.

All of these recipes serve two.

Jerk Chicken Drumsticks

• 6 chicken drumsticks
• 1 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 Tb finely chopped onion
• 1 Tb finely chopped spring onion
• 1 Tb vinegar
• 2 Tb oil
• 1 Tb lime juice
• 1 hot chilli, finely chopped (I rehydrated one of our dried habaneros to use)
• Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Cut some slits in the chicken and rub the marinade into them. Leave the chicken to marinate overnight (or for an hour if not as prepared as one should be).

Put on the barbie, or if unable due to nasty Auckland weather, brown in a frying pan (just sealing them) with a little oil, then cook in a 180°C oven for 30 minutes, basting a couple of times with the marinade that's in the oven dish.

Serve with potatoes that have been cut into small pieces and then fried in garlic butter and mixed through with chopped spring onions (yes, they are miniature spring onions, not chives). Chipotle mayo is the perfect accompaniment.

I also served the chicken topped with a little salsa of tomato, red onion, coriander and lime juice just to add some freshness.

Twas delicious - so delicious that Elliot didn't realise the chicken was slightly undercooked until the second drumstick (but as advised above, 30 minutes will see these cooked well).

Last week saw me craving a Sunday roast so the question became, what should I do with the leftover chicken on Monday night? The answer for Elliot and I is invariably quesadillas, and growing up, was always chicken fricase.

However, a quick look in my new bible and a Sichuan dish was found (however I had to substitute Sichuan peppercorns for black peppercorns and I did not cook the chicken using their method, so not quite sure it qualified anymore).

This dish is called Bon-Bon Chicken, however I did not use a "bon" - which is where the name of the dish comes from - so I guess I shall call this dish Chicken. Well, Chicken with Spicy Sesame Sauce.

This is a super easy recipe - perfect for leftovers and a nice warm winter dinner (with the warm chicken and rice and warming, spicy sauce), but still light and fresh.

(Bon-Bon) Chicken with Spicy Sesame Sauce

• 2 Tb soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tb finely chopped spring onion
• 1 tsp chilli oil (I just used 2 chopped red chillies and a tsp of olive oil)
• 1/2 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 2 Tb sesame paste (or 2 Tb peanut butter creamed with a little sesame oil - which is what I did)

Mix everything together and ideally put in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

Pour over heated shredded chicken on top of a bed of rice and place slithers of cucumber around the edge.

Sprinkle some sesame seeds and chopped spring onions over the top.

So, this is my new favourite thing to eat. The sauce is divine and you could make it without the chilli component and it would still be delicious. The peanut butter/sesame combination is delicious and you could put this on top of a number of meats, but is such a great use of leftover chicken. Eat it now.

Oh, and for those wondering about the bon, the chicken should be poached and then the meat is pounded with a stick or "bon".

The third and hottest recipe of the week was the Fire Fry. It is made with lamb but I can't bring myself to call it Lamb Fire Fry as all I hear is lamb's fry.

The blurb for this recipe sucked me in straight away - "Here's one for lovers of hot, spicy food. Tender strips of lamb, marinated in spices and stir-fried with a top-dressing of chillies, really hits the hot spot".

Sold. And boy did it live up to it.

Fire Fry 

• 400g lean lamb
• 3/4 c plain yoghurt
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp hot chilli powder (I used habanero for a change)
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tb honey
• 1 Tb vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 onions, diced
• 1/2 green capsicum, diced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 c water
• 2 red chillies, chopped into fine strips
• 2 green chillies, chopped into fine strips
• Handful of coriander

Cut any fat from the lamb and cut into strips.

In a bowl whisk the yoghurt, cardamom, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, garam masala, salt and honey (my addition as thought it needed a touch of sweetness to cut through the salt) and a squeeze of lemon if you've got it.

Add the lamb and marinate for at least an hour.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion (oh yeah, I had to use some red and some brown as ran out of brown) and capsicum (recipe actually just calls for 2 onions, but was out so added the half capsicum, which I would definitely do again) over a medium heat until golden brown (about 4-5 minutes).

Add the bay leaves and the lamb and yoghurt mix and toss over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Pour over the water and cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, turn the heat up to high and stir until most of the water evaporates and a good amount of thick sauce is left.

Strew the red and green chillies and coriander over the top, with some rice and serve with a cooling yoghurt dip (which was much needed). I made this by using some of the leftover plain yoghurt and mixing it with a bit of lite sour cream, a squeeze of lemon, some grated cucumber and a pinch of salt.

This was extremely delicious, the meat was tender and the sauce was super spicy and fragrant and just yummy.

The meat could easily be changed to chicken or beef if lamb's not your thing.

There are hundreds more recipes for me to try - and a spicy cocktail section at the back. Bring it on.