Thai Girls Night

It was my turn to host Girls Night last night, so you know what that means: new recipes! I decided on a Thai-themed meal, with Chicken Satay and a simple and refreshing green rice salad. Oh, and hummus with pita chips for an appetizer (NOT Thai, but tasty!). And wine, yes, always wine! The Chicken Satay recipe is from Parents magazine (that's their lovely, stylish photo above) and it was REALLY REALLY GOOD!

Chicken Breast Satay with Peanut-Coconut Sauce (adapted from Parents magazine)

1 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk, shaken

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3 Tbl. lime juice, divided

2 Tbl. brown sugar

1 1/2-2 Tbl. red curry paste

4 tsp. soy sauce

2 Tbl. vegetable oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, peanut butter, 2 Tbl. lime juice, brown sugar, 1 Tbl. red curry paste and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a simmer.  Cook, whisking occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon; about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 Tbl. lime juice, 1/2 to 1 Tbl. red curry paste and vegetable oil. Slice each of the chicken breasts in to 4 or 5 long pieces. Add the chicken "strips" to the bowl with the curry mixture and toss to coat. Thread the chicken onto 10-inch to 12-inch wooden skewers (2-3 pieces per skewer). Preheat grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill skewers, in batches if necessary, for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside, turning occasionally to brown evenly. Drizzle each skewer with 2 Tbl. sauce, if desired, and serve extra sauce on the side.

*For the sake of convenience, and due to a lack of prep time, I did not make the peanut-coconut sauce (but I promise to try it at another time). I tossed the chicken in the curry mixture and then served the grilled skewers with bottled Thai peanut sauce and bottled Teriyaki sauce.

I found a great side dish/salad recipe on Pinterest, of course, and it received rave reviews from my girlfriends. Even my 3-year-old had a big 'ole spoonful!

Green Rice Salad (thanks to http://eclecticrecipes.com)

3 cups cooked rice
9-ounce package fresh spinach (I only used 2/3 of the package)
small bunch fresh cilantro
juice of one lime (I used 3 tablespoons of bottled lime juice)
3 Tbl. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced

Pulse spinach, a little at a time, in a food processor until finely chopped.  Add cilantro to food processor and pulse until finely chopped also.  Combine rice, chopped spinach and cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and diced onion in a large bowl.  Serve at room temperature or chilled.

I finished up the meal with this awesome ice-cream-like dessert made by Haagen-Dazs called "Five", meaning there are only five ingredients. I served the lemon version, which contains milk, cream, sugar, eggs and lemon.  It tastes like sorbet/ice cream and is AMAZING! Yay for Girls Night! Boo for dirty dishes afterwards, but it's worth it!