I wanted to bring you a photo tutorial of chicken curry today, but we had an impromptu home improvement project in the kitchen over the weekend.
Six years ago, we built our house. I went to the appliance dealer and picked out (what I considered) top of the line appliances-KitchenAid and Jenn-Air. Both brands are part of the Whirlpool company. In those six years, every.single.appliance in my kitchen has needed multiple major repairs. I am beyond disgusted.
The first year, they were all under warranty, so there was no skin off my nose, and no money leaving my wallet. Unfortunately, year after year, these appliances continue to let me down. My cooktop was the worst offender. Within a month of moving in to our home, it sounded like a pair of crickets had taken up residence in my kitchen island. That was a fan malfunction. Then, the dials began to fall apart. The first batch was replaced under the warranty. By the end of the first year, I needed a new set. Whirlpool wanted $25 apiece for replacements. I voiced my disappointment loudly, and was able to get three at half price. By the time I needed the third set, Whirlpool had discontinued the little pieces of crap and I managed to get all five dials for half off. That was a year ago. In the last twelve months, three of the dials have fallen apart. Then one of the burners crapped out-a week before Thanksgiving. The cost to repair it would have been half of the replacement cost-oh, and the cricket chirping sound returned. Steve had enough. Decision made.
Steve and I went over to Appliance Smart and found a model with touch controls-no more of those cheap plastic dials.
The cooktop was half off. I wasn't keen on the idea of yet another Jenn-Air going into that space, but I relented after purchasing an extended warranty. The cooktop was six inches wider than its predecessor, but I married the right guy. Steve cut the granite top to accommodate the bigger appliance and I was back in business. Unfortunately, there was an inch of dust coating everything in the kitchen, so that needed attention before any cooking was done.
Also in the last few weeks, the door to my dishwasher broke-for the second time in six months. One of my wall ovens is out, the second time that has happened in three years. Aaaand the icemaker is shot. I can work around these failures and space out the repairs so that they don't break me financially, but I can't believe all four appliances have been such colossal letdowns.
Okay, so this was supposed to be a post about hummus. Sorry about the rant!
This makes a great appetizer for your pre-Thanksgiving pigout, and is reasonably healthy. Hummus is about the easiest thing in the world to make-all you need is a good food processor. My thirty-year old La Machine is up to the task! (The Whirlpool Corporation should take note of the durability and longevity of that countertop appliance!) Plain old hummus is fine, but there's not many dishes that can't be improved with the addition of roasted red peppers.
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- 16 oz. can garbanzo beans (chickpeas) drained and rinsed
- 1/3 C roasted red sweet peppers (I use them from a jar)
- 3 TBSP fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 C cilantro leaves (if you don't like cilantro, and a lot of you don't-use flat leaf parsley instead)
- 2 TBSP olive oil (I prefer a light, delicate flavor olive oil)
- 1/4C tahini (usually found in the ethnic food section, or near jars of olives)
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 3 cloves roasted garlic
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
- 1/8 tsp red pepper (preferably Indian)
Process all ingredients in a food processor until completely smooth. Spoon into a serving bowl and let the flavors intensify for at least an hour. If you don't have time to roast the garlic, you can use raw garlic, but reduce the number of cloves to one. If you use more than one, your breath will reek for at least two days after eating this stuff.
I serve this with Trader Joe's Pita Crackers.
Sam's Club has an identical product, but the cost is less at TJ's. They're addictive on their own, but a great vehicle for delivering goat cheese, hummus or any other spread into your mouth.
