Tonight I felt like a Chef

to show my appreciation to russell for my amazing birthday gift...(tickets to comedian brian regan, which was amazingly hilarious), i wanted to make him a special dinner. he loves coconut curry and instead of spending money at this yummy Thai restaurant, he agreed to me making dinner for him. now as a disclaimer, i do like to cook, but russell is head chef in our house. i am really good at cleaning :) anywho, tonight we switched hats and i made this delicious Peach and Coconut Chicken Curry. So just in case you want to be wowed and delighted i'm posting the recipe and a picture of our meal. yeah for me, i felt like a chef bc russell LOVED it!!! yes!
Fruity Curry
A mild, but strong, Indian style (more or less) curry with an intriguing fruity touch.
This is a recipe I came up with after trying a curry recipe I found in Men's Health magazine a few months ago. I have tried this with a few fruits, but the one that gets the most interesting reaction when I offer to make it is "Peach Curry." I've also tried raisin and mango, and expect that papaya and grape would work. I have also considered plum, apple, and pear, though there are likely other fruit that would work.
Peach Curry
Serves about 6

* 3 Acorn squash
* 4 Tbsp. olive oil
* About 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
* 2 medium onions
* 2 large red bell peppers
* 2 peaches (or other fruit, about 1 cup)
* 4 Tbsp. curry powder
* 16 oz. coconut milk
* 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
* 2 kaffir lime leaves
* ground cumin
* ground turmeric
* black pepper
* salt

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Cut the squash in half and clean out the seeds. Apply about 1/2 Tbsp olive oil to each and rub over the surface of the meat. Season with salt, black pepper, and cumin to taste. Place squash halves face up in a baking pan and roast in oven for 25 minutes, checking periodically. Tips should be brown when done.
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Coarse chop onions and peppers. Chop fruit into small pieces as necessary and set aside.
Heat remaining olive oil (about 1 Tbsp.) in a large, heavy skillet or dutch oven. Add chicken and season with salt, pepper, turmeric, and cumin to taste. Brown over medium-high heat, turning continually until chicken is nearly done. Add onions and peppers and continue browning, stirring to keep from sticking, until onions just begin to go soft.
Stir in coconut milk, curry powder, cilantro, and fruit, add lime leaves. Raise heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. As soon as it begins boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
Remove lime leaves before serving. Serve curry in squash halves, one per person.
To spice this up, add some chopped Thai peppers or some hot pepper sauce with the coconut milk and curry powder.
Serve with sticky rice.
(i didn't use the lime leaves)

Russell wanted his rice separate from the squash, but i used my squash as a bowl and put rice and the curry on top...it was really good like that. i reccommend it that way.