Chicken in Orange-Scallion-Sesame Sauce and Big Fat Spicy Sate Noodles

Last night I didn't feel like cooking, but didn't want leftover pizza and the Hub had to be at practice at 6. UGH...what to do? I know Rachael Ray gets lots of flack by foodies, professional, and people in general; however, I like her because she accomplishes just what I need to do some days. I realize some things are quicker and easier; but, whenever a situation like this arises, she is my go to girl. Most of the time her recipes work for me, but I have had a few flops.

This was such a night. The recipe was great, however, when you account for the amount of sodium in the soy sauce and chicken broth, no extra is needed. I didn't think about that and salted my chicken(as directed). However, we aren't big salt fans[see:my parents] like some. We realize it's important for flavor, but we don't like excess. If I make this again; which I probably will, because I can imagine it being tasty minus all the sodium, I will use reduced sodium soy sauce and add no extra salt.

As usual, for living on island, with limited access to certain ingredients, I did a lot of substituting. When do I not do this? I actually prefer my tweaks though, I think. First, instead of coriander I used cilantro because I still haven't gotten a spice[or coffee] grinder. Instead of oranges, I used tangerines. You really do not want to see the "oranges" they had at the store. I also substituted soba for the bucatini because they don't sell those here, plus, I like the taste of soba better. And last, I used chicken tenders because I like them better than the breasts they sell here.

Chicken in Orange-Scallion-Sesame Sauce
1 tbsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 navel oranges
2-in. piece of ginger, peeled and grated
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
3 tbsp. tamari
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

In a bowl, combine the coriander, cayenne, and some salt and pepper. Season the chicken breasts with the mixture. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the vegetable oil, 2 times around the pan. Add the chicken and cook it on each side for 5 to 6 mins, or until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, zest both oranges and reserve zest. With a paring knife, slice off peel and pith. Slice each orange into 1/4 in. thick disks and reserve.

Remove chicken from skillet to a plate and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Return the skillet to the stovetop over medium-high heat and add the ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes--a little or a lot, you're in charge! Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 mins, then add chicken stock and tamari and turn heat up to high. Cook until you've reduced liquid by half. Add the reserved orange zest, orange disks, and the scallions. Continue to cooko for 1 mins to heat the oranges and scallions. Add the sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds.

Slice the chicken breasts and arrage on a mound of the Big Fat Spicy Sate Noodles. Top them with the orange scallion sesame sauce. 4 Servings.

Big Fat Spicy Sate Noodles

salt
1 lb. bucatini pasta
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3-in. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 c. chicken stock
1/3 c. tamari(dark soy sauce)
1/2 c. smooth peanut butter
juice of 2 limes
1 c. unsalted roasted peanuts
a generous handful of fresh cilantro or fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Bring a large covered pot of water to boil for the pasta. Add some salt and the pasta and cook the pasta to al dente. Right before you drain it, remove and reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Drain the noodles and reserve.

Rerturn the pot to stovetop over medium-high heat; add the vegetable oil, 2 times around the pan. Add the ginger, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for 2 mins. Add 1/2 c. of the reserved pasta liquid, the chicken stock, and tamari and bring it up to a bubble over high heat. Cook for 2 to 3 mins. Turn heat off, add peanut butter, and whisk to combine. If sauce gets too thick, add a couple more splashes of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Add the lime juice and the drained noodles, toss to coat the noodles, then add the chopped peanuts and cilantro and toss again. 4 servings.

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs

What do you get when the chicken takes a subway? Okay, corny, I know, but I'm desperate.

I made these last night. The Hub was working a late shift(till midnight) and him and his partner stopped in for dinner. They were really good, I enjoyed them thoroughly, as did my borderline picky toddler. They don't sell ground chicken here, so I just took some B/S chicken breasts and processed them. I actually prefer that because I know what kind of meat is going in rather than who knows what?

I will be making these again, they were easy, quick and really good relaxed eating. I served them with french fried sprinkled with tomato basil garlic seasoning and steamed veggies.

Chicken Parm Meatball Subs
by Rachael Ray

1 1/2 lbs. ground chicken
1 tbsp. grill seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1 c. grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
1/2 c. italian bread crumbs
handful of chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
3 tbsp. EVOO, plus some for liberal drizzling
2 large garlic cloves, cracked from skins and split
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1-28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 c. chicken stock
salt and pepper
8 to 10 fresh basil leaves, torn or shredded
4 crusty sub rolls
1 1/2 shredded provolone

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in bowl and season it with grill seasoning. Add the egg, half of grated cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and a serious drizzle of EVOO. Combine the mixture and form 12 large meatballs, placing them on a baking sheet. Squish the balls to flatten them a bit. Be careful not to form balls wider than your bread. Bake the meatballs for 15 mins., or until golden and firm. Switch broiler on.

While chicken bakes, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add 3 tbsp. of EVOO and garlic and cook them for 5 mins. Discard the garlic, add red pepper flakes and tomatoes, then stir in chicken stock. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 mins. Adjust the seasonings and stir in basil.

Use a spatula to loosen chicken meatballs from baking sheet and add to sauce, turning to coat.

Cut sub rolls, making bottom a little deeper than top. Hollow out a little of bread and lightly toast sub rolls under broiler. Fill bottoms of bread with meatballs. Combine Provolone and remaining parmigiano cheese. Cover meatballs with cheese and return to broiler to melt cheese until golden. Set the roll tops in place. Pour any leftover sauce in bowl for dipping. 4 servings.

Rachael Ray's Park City Chipotle Cashew Chicken

Excuse the bad picture, my camera was on it's last bit of battery and my flash refused to work, so it's very dark. I made this for dinner and was ready to eat and didn't want to wait to charge a battery.

This is very good, a bit too spicy for me, almost unbearable. I do not have the highest tolerance for heat, but, I consider myself fairly tolerant. I used Chipotle chili powder because we do not get the actual peppers here. Odd, I know. I do wonder if she just threw the measurement in and guesstimated without testing with powder first; or if she used a milder pepper, nevermind. I'll go with my theory of not testing it first. Who would if they could get the real deal?

Anyway, other than that, it was very good, I'll make it again and tweak a little to get it just right. I used the recipe out of 365:No Repeats, however, I looked it up on Food Network(which I posted below) and this one is different.

I didn't make the brown rice because I have a rice cooker and it's that much easier for me. Not to mention, boiled rice tastes so odd to me. So, I served with Jasmine rice.



What do you do with all the leftover dinner rolls from Thanksgiving? Bread pudding! This recipe came from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. Very good. After it baked, I sprinkled toffee bits and chocolate chips over and drizzled with toffee sauce. Sooo good and so easy. It tasted a lot better after sitting overnight than it did fresh, so I will remember this next time. I'd say a good way to use borderline stale bread.




Chipotle Cashew Chicken with Brown Rice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, 1/4 onion finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
2 cups quick cooking brown rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds chicken meat: tenders, boneless, skinless breasts or boneless, skinless thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning blend by McCormick)
2 to 3 tablespoons tamari dark soy sauce, eyeball it [the recipe I had did not ask for this]
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
10 to 12 water chestnuts, whole [this was not included]
1 cup frozen green peas [this was not includede either]
3 tablespoons chipotle in adobo (2 peppers and their sauce), available in cans on the international foods aisle or substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons ground chipotle powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin, a palm full
2 to 3 tablespoons honey, 2 healthy drizzles
1/4 to 1/3 cup real maple syrup, eyeball it
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves, your preference
1 cup raw cashews

In a medium pot over medium heat combine 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, and 1 tablespoon butter. When butter melts into oil, add in the chopped onion, cook 2 minutes, then add rice and cook 3 minutes more. Add stock and cover the pot. Raise heat to bring stock to a rapid boil. Once the stock boils, reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is tender, 17-18 minutes.
While rice cooks, make the chicken. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add vegetable oil, 2 turns of the pan, then the chicken. Season the chicken with grill seasoning. Brown the chicken on both sides, season with soy sauce then move off to one side of the pan. Add the remaining onions, garlic and peppers. Cook 2 to 3 minutes then add water chest nuts and green peas and mix vegetables and meat together. Add the chipotles and cumin. Toss to coat. Glaze the mixture with honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add in the chopped cilantro or parsley and the cashew nuts. Top rice with cashew chicken and serve.

Gearing up for Christmas!!

Just like most families, we put our Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. This year I spent most of the morning in the kitchen and rested the rest of the afternoon and did a little shopping. I did not want to do the early morning Black Friday thing; mainly because we aren't doing a lot in way of gifts this year and also with only 5 main stores on island to shop at, I didn't want to even attempt it.



I made Pumpkin Muffins for breakfast or snacks from Cooking Light. These were very moist and not too sweet, just sweet enough. I made mini's for Cam, the batter was enough to make 12 large and 12 minis.


Afterwards I made a batch of Watkin's Vanilla Sugar Cookies from The All-American Cookie Book. These were the best recipe for rolled sugar cookies I have found so far. They were a cinch to make and required very few ingredients.


I let Cam help me with decorating them and of course she had a blast. This is her looking very proud.

Thanksgiving

As I had mentioned, this year we decided to go from house to house rather than trying to organize anything at home, which saved me a LOT of headache. However, after four meals and hopping from house to house, we were exhausted by the time we got home. And for some odd reason, my body ached like I had been exercising, although, I sat around all day.


Before we left for our first party I made Gingersnap scones for breakfast. This recipe came from The Best of Cooking Light. So far, I have yet to have a recipe from them fail me, which is nice. All are very tasty too, considering. These were very nice with coffee and not to sweet. They served well to curb our appetite until afternoon.


I had been asked to make rolls for two parties, so I did. I made two batches. They were done in the bread machine. You can't get any easier than that and they never fail me.



For our first party I made an Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie from Paula Deen's Just Desserts book. I did not try this because I was trying to pace myself for the rest of the day. The rest of the food we had at this party was excellent though. I am sorry to say I didn't bring my camera, we had a brined turkey[which was excellent and moist], mashed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with chives, stuffing, green bean casserole, this pie, and two cheesecakes.


I made an Apple Buttermilk Custard Pie from Cooking Light for the third house, which was pretty tasty. However, there was too much of the custard mixture, so next time I will cut it in half.

For the last house, I made a Cranberry and Apple Crumble, also from Cooking Light; I forgot to take a picture. It was yummy, I ate some after we got home and topped it with some eggnog ice cream I made earlier this week.

Most of the houses had pretty much the same things. So I won't elaborate on all, mainly because torwards the end, things started to blend together.

Warm Apple-Buttermilk Custard Pie

Crust:
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
Streusel:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Filling:
5 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 pounds)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325º.
To prepare crust, roll dough into a 14-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch deepdish pie plate coated with cookig spray. Fold edges under; flute. Place pie plate in refrigerator until ready to use.

To prepare streusel, lightly spoon 1/3 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Place streusel in refrigerator.

To prepare the filling, heat a large nonstrick skillet coated with cookig spray over medium heat. Add sliced apple, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cook 10 minutes or until the apple is tender, sitrring mixture occasionally. Spoon the apple mixture into prepared crust.

Combine remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Pour over apple mixture. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300º (do not remove pie from oven); sprinkle streusel over pie. Bake at 300º for 40 minutes or until set. Let stand 1 hour before serving. 10 servings

Cranberry and Apple Crumble

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
6 cups sliced peeled Braeburn apple
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375°.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine apple and cranberries in a large bowl. Combine juice and remaining ingredients; pour over apple mixture. Toss well. Spoon apple mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with flour mixture. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Serve warm. 8 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

I have been so busy with Thanksgiving and everything that I haven't had a chance to even think about blogging. Wednesday evening I made lasagna for dinner. The recipe came from The Complete Cooking Light cookbook. It was very tasty and we didn't miss the meat at all(not that we are huge carnivores). I actually prefer it over ground beef. It was perfect and as with any lasagna, resulted in plenty of leftovers!


This is a close up of all the layers. For Cam's lunch, I boiled extra noodles and laid them flat, placed cheese and pepperoni; rolled up and topped with extra sauce and baked until cheese was melted. She really enjoyed this, as would any 3 year old; and it was a good way to use up leftover noodles rather than having an open box sitting around.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1 one-pound eggplant, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
Cooking spray
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
5 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (15-ounce) carton part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (12-ounce) carton 1% low-fat cottage cheese
1 large egg white
1 (26-ounce) bottle fat-free tomato-basil pasta sauce
12 cooked lasagna noodles

Preheat oven to 450°.
Combine 2 egg whites and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Dredge 1 eggplant slice in flour. Dip in egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumbs. Repeat procedure with remaining eggplant, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs. Place slices in a single layer on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat tops of slices with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes, turning eggplant after 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheet; cool. Reduce oven temperature to 375°.

Combine 1 cup shredded mozzarella, 3 tablespoons Parmesan, oregano, basil, ricotta, cottage cheese, and 1 egg white in a large bowl.

Spread 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles slightly overlapping over the pasta sauce; top with half of cheese mixture, half of eggplant slices, and 3/4 cup pasta sauce. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining pasta sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Cover and bake at 375° for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 35 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand 5 minutes. 9 servings.

Cinnamon Twists with Chocolate-Peanut Butter Sauce

I was feeling rather snacky after lunch today and seem to crave pastry's or anything baked more than anything lately. I had some puff pastry in the freezer that I had gotten for something, but never made. Am I the only one that does that? Anyway, I decided to look in Gale Gand's book because her recipes tend to be a success everytime and always suit my cravings. I came across these and knew they were just what was ordered. They were crunchy and reminded me sort of churros. I used butter and Saigon cinnamon since it was such a simple recipe, I knew I had to pack in the flavor and not skimp. I used Nestle chocolate for the sauce since that was what I had. The sauce was a perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter. As a bonus, my three year old got to dip her food, which is always fun. So we sat at the table and enjoyed these together. It took 30 minutes top to make, so it was a nice quick fix, with little mess. Well, except for my daughter's mouth.

Black Bean and Rice "Stoup" and Cake?

Thanks to a fairly well stocked pantry our family will not starve. Tuesdays evenings are usually spent at our friend's Noelle's house for Bible study and we have a potluck. However, this week, this was not the case. My husband calls me to tell me he's on an ambulance run and is currently on the other side of the island, so needless to say, he would be late getting home, which means we would be late for everything else that night. So, already assuming we'd be going to Bible study I made no dinner plans (and it's close to grocery shopping day, which means we're low on everything), I wonder what to have. I made a cake(see below) for Bible study, however, that was not going to suffice for a full meal. I have a few cans of black beans in the pantry, so I set off in search of something to use with those. I opened up Rachael Ray's Express Lane Meals book, and this leaped out at me. I made her Black Bean and Rice soup, with a fair amount of improvising because I didn't have everything on the ingredient list. However, we were fully and happy and it wasn't cereal or sandwiches.



This recipe was from Paula Deen's Celebrate book. Typically when I want to bake from scratch, I turn to my aunt's cookbook. She gave it to me as a wedding gift and it's filled with all kinds of stuff she cooks as well as various family members and many from my grandma. So, naturally, I really treasure this book.

Anyway, upon looking at this book and comparing it to Paula Deen's recipe, they are nearly identical. Funny. I say Mrs. Deen ripped off my family, but I am sure it's just one of those southern recipe that circulate and circulate. My Aunt's was titled Apple Pound Cake and Paula's was Fresh Apple Cake.

The main differences I saw was Paula greased her pan and coated it with a cinnamon-sugar mixture, my aunt, just uses flour. Paula had a cup more apples, less nutmeg, more cinnamon and gave the option of coconut for raisins. Then the directions differ some. My Aunt uses a glaze/soak on top after baking as well, which sounded great, but I was feeling apathetic and didn't want to mess with that. She tops it with a mixture of apple juice, brown sugar, and butter. Sounded good, but with 1 1/2 c. of vegetable oil in the cake, I figured I should stop there. However, maybe this is one of those instances where you should just go all out and not care?

Anyway, in the end, it was very good, very moist and tasty. Perfect for this time of year because I need all the help I can get in feeling more holiday-ish(remember we live on an island, but I'm not complaining).

Spinach Ravioli with Tomato Basil Sauce and Tossed Salad

This was a salad I threw together last minute because I wanted salad and the lettuce was looking pretty fresh that day at the store. Just green leaf lettuce, cheese, carrots, tomato. I topped it with a Creamy Red Wine Vinagrette dressing, I can't for the life of me remember what I put in it other than obviously, red wine vinager and shallots, olive oil...I wish I could remember because it was really good.



This was an attempt at making my own ravioli, they recipe was in The Best of Cooking Light. Instead of pasta, you use wonton wrappers, which made it very simple, however they were delicate and broke semi-easily. The filling was just spinach, ravioli, nutmeg, parmesan(or romano?), and egg for binder. I really liked the filling, but I really like spinach. If I ever get a pasta roller for my KitchenAid, I'd like to try to make pasta myself. However, this was fun too!

Mussel in Tomato-Basil Broth and Mini Fudgey Chocolate Cakes

I made these for dinner a few nights ago. This was my first attempt at mussels. They are very good, I overcooked them just slightly so they were a bit chewy. I will definetely not be doing that next time. Other than that, they were great. I did not have any bread so I served it over angel hair pasta. They were very simple and tasty. I'll make them again, with the exception of overcooking them.



This was dessert, which somewhat salvaged the meal and made up for the fact that the mussels were chewy. So simple to put together, it took me about 30 minutes tops from start to finish. I forgot ice cream or anything creamy to top it with, but they were still really good. I just prefer dairy personally to cut through rich chocolate because I am not a chocoholic. Either way, they were good and I'll keep this in mind for last minute company and easy desserts.

Pumpkin & Chipotle Corn Chowder and Pizza

I made this chowder last night for dinner. Perfect for fall time and very satisfying. The recipe came from Dave's Dinners. I really like this cookbook because everything I have ever made out of it has been successful with a few exceptions(One recipe did not turn out well and the other needed a longer cooking time). But overall, everything has been excellent. Food is simple and my grocery bill has gone down quite a bit[$50] since I have started using this book.

Pumpkins mysteriously disappeared within a weeks time from the Commissary so I substituted acorn squash. This was a bit sweeter than I imagined the pumpkin would have been, but very good and suiting for what I wish the weather was outside. I also, had to substitute dried thyme for fresh and chipotle chili powder for the chipotles because they do not sell those at our store. Boo to living overseas, but I only feel that way sometimes. So I guess you could call it Acorn Squash and Powdered Chipotle Corn Chowder. I will include the original recipe with my notes in parenthesis. The picture was the Hub's heated over after not being able to eat dinner with us(I forgot to photograph when we ate).

Pumpkin and Chipotle Corn Chowder
3 tbsp. butter
Flesh from 3 to 4 lbs. pumpkin, cut into 1 in. cubes(I used acorn squash)
1 large onion, diced
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
1 qt. reduced sodium chicken stock
1/2 lb. frozen corn kernels
2 chipotle peppers, roughly chopped(used powder, to taste)
1/2 c. heavy cream
5 thyme sprigs(I used dried, to taste)
salt and pepper
1 small bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat butter in large pot over medium heat. Add pumpkin and onion and cook 5 mins. Add flour and stir into onion and pumpkin. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring all the while. Add the corn, chipotle peppers, cream, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer about 20 mins. or until pumpkin is fork tender. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in most of the cilantro, reserving some for garnish. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with remaining cilantro.




And....Pizza again. I finally have gotten my pizza sauce just like I like it, I think. It really made this pizza. The Hub and I both agreed this pizza would not have been the same without it. The crust turned out amazing as well, perfectly crisp on the outside, flavorful, and tender on the inside. I don't know exactly how all this happened, but let me just say, MMM!!!

The toppings were shiitake mushrooms, eggplant, chopped basil, spinach, onions, and chopped grape tomatoes. So good, we also made it rectangular just for a change.

Green Tea Panna Cotta with Strawberries

Green Tea Panna Cotta with Strawberries

1 tsp. unflavored gelatin
3 tbsp. sugar
1 c. half and half
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. matcha
1 pint strawberries, sliced and sweetened to taste

Soften gelatin in 1 tablespoon cold water. In small saucepan, heat sugar and half and half until sugar dissolves. Whisk in softened gelatin and vanilla extract. In a small bowl, whisk matcha with 2 tablespoons of half and half mixture until smooth. Mix in remaining half and half mixture; strain and divide among four 2/3-cup ramekins or custard cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until gelatin sets, at least 2 hours. To serve, fill medium bowl with hot water; dip ramekins in hot water for 30 seconds. Invert, shaking gently to release panna cotta. Garnish plates with strawberries.
4 servings.

Bon Appetit suggests you can also use raspberries if strawberries are not available.

Sugar Spot Banana Muffins

I made these this morning for breakfast. I was a bit skeptical for some reason. The recipe came from The Best of Cooking Light. They were so moist, crumbly, not too sweet, and tasty; everything you want in a breakfat muffin! I will be making them again. Plus with 2/3 c. of wheat germ, I really couldn't feel that guilty!

Sugar Spot Banana Muffins
2/3 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
1 egg white
3/4 c. mashed ripe banana
1/3 c. fat free milk(I used 1 % *gasp!*)
1 1/3 c. AP flour
2/3 c. honey-crunch wheat germ(I used plain)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 4 ingredients in large bvowl; beat with a mixer at medium until well blended. Add banana and milk; beat well. Combine flour, wheat germ, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add to sugar mixture; beat just until moist. Spoon batter evenly into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake for 22 mins. or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in cener. Cool in pan 5 mins. Place on a wire rack.

Vegetable Thai Curry and Pumpkin Pie

This is a red vegetable curry that I make frequently. We prefer this over chicken, or meat curry, for whatever reason. I vary the vegetables I use depending on what is fresh and looks good. This particular one included broccoflower, carrots, potatoes, eggplant, and onion. It was good as usual. The recipe is pretty easy.
1 can coconut milk
Curry paste, to taste
brown sugar, to taste
fish sauce, to taste
1/2 c. chicken stock
veggies
basil

Just simmer coconut milk and curry paste for about 5 mins. Stir in sugar, fish sauce, stock, and veggies. Simmer until veggies are cooked through, toss in fresh chopped basil and serve over rice.

Very easy, and comforting, for some odd reason considering I didn't grow up eating anything remotely close to this.



For dessert, I made a pumpkin pie. This was just the recipe from the label on the pumpkin puree. I did add in a little nutmeg and cut back on the cloves. I used Gale Gand's recipe for Crumbly Pie Crust, rather than a typical pie crust. I don't know why I never did this before either. So much easier when you just don't feel like rolling out a crust(as I did not on this particular Sunday afternoon). It is a tad bit sweeter than a normal crust, but oh so good! However, next time I would bake it for a bit before hand as the bottom was not as crisp as I prefer.

Happy Birthday

So, November third was my Hub's birthday and I knew I wanted to make something special for him for the occasion. I had been looking at this menu in Bon Appetit's September issue for a while and decided upon that. I really love the idea of the menu and will definetely do it again for a dinner party. It was very easy and I love the idea of having guest cook themselves. Who wouldn't? It's very fun too, because it's interactive.



I set the table with the salad in place. And yes, the skimpy plate was for my 3 year old. She likes lettuce, but in moderation.



I started out with Tea Crusted Tofu over Greens from The Best of Cooking Light. Bon Appetit suggested a Japanese Cucumber Salad, however, this sounded a little more fun.



Then the rest was done at the table. The dish was called Shabu Shabu, I of course, googled this and found that it actually means "a Japanese dish prepared nabemono style, and consists of thinly sliced meat and vegetables usually served with dipping sauces. The dish is related to sukiyaki in style, but is starkly different in taste; shabu-shabu is more savory and less sweet than sukiyaki.[thank you wikipedia]". Interesting...

Anyhow, you chopped your ingredients, this included spinach, leeks, shiitakes, tofu, napa cabbage[they didn't have any at the store that day, so I just used plain cabbage, bummer].



And, thinly sliced sirloin.



So basically at the table you place 8 c. boiling water, or you can do it at the stove if you don't have a little table top burner. Each individual places their ingredients in and cooks it for a few seconds(until done) and eats....easy, right?

I served it with a sesame sauce, teriyaki and some tofu-miso sauce I picked up at the store. They suggested ponzu(which I couldn't find and didn't want to search the island for it), and momiji oroshi, however, the daikon I picked up frightened me. It was limp and not healthy looking, the produce guy informed me that it's normal, but I don't know if I believed him.

I served it with steamed rice on the side.

After you are finished with the veggies and meat you can take the leftover broth and stir in rice, couple of beaten eggs, and scallions, resulting in sort of a soup. Yummy!



We ended with a Green Tea Panna Cotta with strawberries. Yum! I will be making this again. It did not turn out as green as I had anticipated though.

All in all, I would say it's an overall success and I will plan to do this again, would be a great stress-free dinner party.

Tea-Crusted Tofu over Greens

Vinaigrette:
1/2 c. boiling water
2 tsp. green tea or 2 tea bags
2 tbsp. minced scallions
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Salad:
1 package reduced fat extrafirm tofu, drained
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. green tea
1 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds
1/8 tsp. salt
4 c. salad greens
2 c. cubed Asian pear
1 c. halved cherry tomatoes

To prepare vinagrette, pour boiling water over tea bags in a medium bowl. Steep for 3 mins, discard tea bags or strain tea leaves. Combine tea, onions, and next 4 ingredients; set aside.

To prepare salad, cut tofu into 8 squares. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add 2 tsp. tea leaves, sesame seeds, and salt; stir fry 30 seconds or until fragrant. Arrage tofu on tea leaf mixture; saute 6 mins. or until golden, turning after 3 mins. Place tofu on paper towel.

Combine greens, pear, and tomatoes in alrge bowl. Drizzle with vinagrette; toss well. Arrage 1 1/4 c. sald on each of 4 plates. To each serving with 2 tofu squares.
4 servings.

Crepes!

Upon returning from the grocery store yesterday I got home to realize "I FORGOT SOMETHING FOR LUNCH!" Most of the decent places on island close at about 2 pm for lunch so that was not an option and I had no clue what I would do. I had yet to bake a loaf of bread and didn't buy any...Hmmmmmmm......

"Do you want pancakes honey?"
"Sure."

Me, being me, couldn't settle for pancakes. I had bought some fruit, so I settled on crepes. This was my first time making them although I had bought a pan well over a year ago. I know...I know...

Anyway, I set to work and found a recipe I liked in Mark Bittman's book. I had all the ingredients and crepes are super simple. They take on average five ingredients or less and all you need is a bowl and whisk, and of, course pan(really any skillet will do).



Couldn't resist, isn't she too cute? Here is my little sous chef chopping bananas for me for our smoothies and crepes.



This one is filled with apples and topped with toffee sauce. I realize now you can't see the fillings, so sorry, but you can imagine. I just made sorta a mock apple pie filling/baked/cooked apples.



This was banana, peanut butter, topped with chocolate sauce. We forgot to snap a picture mid bite. That's how GOOD they were!



And my satisfied family sans son.

Pea Soup and 4 Layered Cake...

This is what happens when I haven't had groceries for four days and I begin to get desperate. I begin to run out of resources and ideas. Luckily my freezer and pantry are fairly well stocked.



Had to bake a cake last minute(don't ask), so this is what I came up with. Okay...sort of dry, but no one was complaining. Any tips on cakes from scratch? Mine always end up sorta dry and dense(like pound cake density).

Easy Mushroom Risotto

Dinner from the other night out of Dave Lieberman's book, Dave's Dinner's. Very good, full of flavor. I liked the fact that I didn't have to stir, stir, stir...it really was easier. I substituted glutinous rice for arborio because we can't find it on island; or can we? Either day, wasn't quite the same, but it did in a pinch.

Mocha-Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

I have recently subscribed to Bon Appetit magazine and got the 50th Anniversary addition in the mail just last week(true to Guam form...late of course). This is why I have been hesitant to get a subscription to anything because I knew I would never get it at the right time. Oh well. Anyway, the other night the Hub was wanting a snack late at night and I was wanting something warm and filling. This fit just the occasion. I halved the recipe because it was just the two of us and it was plenty rich.

Mocha-Cinnamon Hot Chocolate

1/3 c. chilled whipping cream
4 tsp. plus 6 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. plus 5 tbsp. instant espresso powder
4 c. milk
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1/4 c. cocoa powder
3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
ground nutmeg
additional cinnamon sticks(optional)

Whisk cream 4 tsp. brown sugar,and 1 1/2 tsp. espresso in medium bown until peaks form. Cover and refrigerated whipped cream.
Bring milk and cinnamon sticks to simmer in heavy large saucepan over med-high heat.
Add 6 tbsp. brown sugar, 5 tbsp. espresso powder, and cocoa. Whisk to blend. Add chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Discard cinnamon sticks. Ladle hot chocolate into 4 mugs. Top with whipped cream. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Garnish with cinnamon sticks, if desired.

Dinner, Lunch, Dinner....

What's this you ask? It's a close up of a roasted chicken I did the other night. It was cut in half, roasted in olive oil, garlic cloves, rosemary, sun-dried tomatoes, and chorizo sausage. Very very good, flavorful and tender. It was served with black beans. Yum. We barely polished off a fourth of the chicken, so I had some left. What do I do? Don't throw it away of course....

The next day I made chicken salad, which is very easy and not much of a recipe itself. I usually just mix together: shredded chicken, celery, mayo, dijon mustard, something oniony(whatever I have), and something sweet(whatever I have, grapes, apples, dried fruit).



The next night I boiled the whole chicken for stock with bay leaf, garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Strained the mixture and added chicken and veggies back. I then made some dumplings and threw them in to cook and ended by tossing in some fresh parsley. Very good for a "fall" day when you want comfort food and don't have many groceries in the house.