Spicy Orange Chicken Stir-Fry

I had this crazy momentum yesterday evening at 7pm.  Usually Lars and I will go out to dinner on Saturday night--but I was totally craving a night in so took it upon myself to look up a recipe on my iphone via the epicurious app after impulsively buying Tess of the D'Urbervilles at Borders to try and find something quick and easy to make for dinner.  I think I may have been manic, but the results ended up quite nice!

This was VERY easy to make and had a lot of kick to it.  Lars wished it was a little sweeter.  He likes the SWEET and the SPICY but to me it was just right.  I think, what he was really wishing for, was that I discovered the secret recipe for Chang's Spicy Chicken at PF Chang's and made that.  Yeah, good look with that, honey buns.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice or long-grain white rice (10 to 11 ounces) 3/4 cup orange juice 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon cornstarch 2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 small red onion, halved, thinly sliced Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper 1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips 1 8-ounce package stringless sugar snap peas

Preparation:

• Cook rice according to package directions. Cover to keep warm; set aside.
  
• Meanwhile, whisk juice, soy sauce, and cornstarch in medium bowl until cornstarch dissolves. Mix in orange peel.
  
• Heat oil in large wok or nonstick skillet over high heat. Add onion and crushed red pepper. Stir-fry 30 seconds. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to wok and stir-fry until onion is crisp-tender and chicken is just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Add sugar snap peas and juice mixture. Toss until sauce thickens and comes to boil and peas are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice.
  

Fake Bakes=My New Best Friend

Sometimes you forget a recipe--and then you remember it--and then you remember that you liked it and so did your husband and that it provided ample leftovers. This is that recipe. We made it this past week and it was sooo good. Its from a Rachael Ray show I saw eons ago (don't be a hater until you've tried it!). I think the first time I made it tried so hard to follow all the directions it took a lot longer than expected (as with most of her recipes). Once I got the hang of it, though, I feel like could make this as a very quick week-night dinner with leftovers for probably 2-3 more days (depending on how hungry Lars is)....

Chicken, Sausage, Pepper & Onion Pasta Fake Bake

Ingredients

• 1 pound rigatoni
• Salt
• 1 pound cooked chicken sausages (we use jalapeno-flavored from Trader Joe's)
  
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
• 1 green or red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 1 cubanelle pepper, seeded and sliced (if I can't find this, I just use another bell pepper)
  
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock, a couple of glugs
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, (recommended: San Marzano)
• Handful chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, 10 leaves, torn or shredded (I also just shake in a couple dried herbs if I don't want to go out and get fresh basil)
  
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus some to pass at table

Directions

Place a pot of water on the stove to boil for pasta. When the water boils, salt it and cook pasta to al dente, with a bite to it.

Prick sausages with a fork. Place chicken sausages in a large skillet and add 1 inch of water. Add 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to the skillet, 1 turn of the pan. Bring water to a boil then reduce heat a little. Allow all the liquid to cook away then brown and crisp the casings, 5 to 6 minutes.

Preheat broiler.

While pasta and sausage cook, heat a deep skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan. Add the peppers, onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper. When the sausages are cooked through, slice them on an angle and add them to the peppers and onions. Cook together until peppers and onions are tender and sliced sausages are crisp at edges then deglaze the pan with white wine or chicken stock. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring to a bubble, reduce heat to low.

Drain rigatoni and return to warm pot. Add ricotta cheese, salt and pepper, parsley and basil and half of the Parmigiano, a couple of handfuls, stir to combine.

To assemble the "fake bake," place half the sausage, peppers, onions and sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Top with all of the pasta and then the remaining sausage and sauce. Cover the top of the dish with the grated Parmigiano and place until broiler 2 minutes to brown cheese and set pasta.

Keen-wah

Given recent TPIW quinoa enthusiasm, I have to share the Peruvian Quinoa Stew I made yesterday. I love it, especially because it seems pretty healthy and it's easy. This seemed a little blander than I remembered, but I would just add pepper to taste, and bump up the cheese and cilantro. We had it with yummy summer peaches, strawberries and fancy chocolates.

From Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water

2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (i used olive b/c it was at the front of the cupboard)
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 carrot, cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch-thick-slices
1 bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup cubed zucchini
2 cups undrained chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
2 cup water or vegetable stock (ok, i used chicken stock b/c that's what i had)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch of cayenne (or more to taste)
2 teaspoons fresh oregano (1 teaspoon dried)

chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
grated cheddar or jack cheese (optional)

Using a fine sieve, rinse the quinoa well. Place it in a pot with the water and cook, covered, on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, until soft. Set aside.

While the quinoa cooks, in a covered soup pot, saute the onions and garlic in the oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the celery and carrots, and continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the bell peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, and water or stock. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander, cayenne, and oregano, and simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Stir the cooked quinoa into the stew and add salt to taste. Top with cilantro and grated cheese, if you wish. Serve immediately.

Special thanks to Sarah for holding baby G while I did the prep work!

OMG. That was way too easy.

Yesterday I cooked what will probably be our last real meal here at Black Walnut: pan fried rib eye steak, spinach salad and...creme brule. Ryan and I luv us some creme brule and we pretty much order it for dessert at every restaurant that has it on the menu. I've never attempted it at home but decided to give it a try because it's Ryan's favorite and it was Father's Day.

It was SO easy that it's a little scary. Will I be tempted to make creme brule for dessert all the time now? Only time will tell.

This recipe makes 6 smaller servings or 3 larger servings. Our ramekins are on the bigger side and it was pretty rich, especially after the rib eye, but I was still trying to surreptitiously lick the bowl when no one was watching. Adapted from a recipe on epicurious.com.

Creme Brule
6 egg yolks
6 tbs of sugar
1 vanilla bean with the seeds scraped out
1 1/2 cups of whipping cream
More sugar for the carmelized topping.
Hot water

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Whisk eggs and sugar. Add vanilla bean seeds and whisk to combine. Gradually add the whipping cream until well mixed. Divide evenly among 6 small (or 3 large) ramekins and put into large roasting pan. Add hot water to the pan until it comes about halfway up to the ramekin dishes, being careful not to splash water into the dishes. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand in the water an additional 30 minutes. Chill for at least 4 hours.

After the custards are thoroughly chilled, sprinkle sugar (about a teaspoon?) over the tops and swirl the dishes to evenly coat with sugar. We used one of those torches to burn/melt the sugar on top but you can also use the broiler of your oven. (Put rack on the highest position and broil for just about a minute, keeping an eye on the tops to avoid over burning.) Refrigerate for another two hours and serve with fresh berries and mint.

Cusp of Summer Dinner-Pesto, Watermelon, Chicken Sausage & Ginger Cooler

I have been pretty uninspired lately on the cooking front. Its mostly been "hey what goes with cut up watermelon?"...

Well, that was kind of the case tonight except I went a little crazy and made homemade pesto, grilled up some chicken sausage, cut up some watermelon AND made a "Lemon-Ginger Tea Cooler" (which was actually the hardest part of the dinner but SO worth it). I have made this Kate before....like FOUR YEARS AGO. This recipe has been in hibernation for far too long.

Lemon-Ginger Tea Cooler

Ingredients
1 Lemon Thinly Sliced
1 1/2 cups of water
3 Regular size red zinger tea bags
3 (1/8th of an inch) slies peeled gingerroot
1/4 cup of sugar
2 2/3 cup of ginger ale, chilled
Ice cubes

Prep: 5 Minutes; Chill: 1 Hour
1) Reserve 4 lemon slices and set aside. Combine remaining lemon slices, water, tea bags, and gingerroot in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Let cool completely; chill at least 1 hour.

2) Strain tea mixture, discarding tea bags, lemon slies and gingerroot. Stir in gingerale. Place ice cubes and reserved lemon slices in glasses and poor tea over ice. Serve immediately.

So refreshing and kind of feels like an indulgent drink I'm not supposed to have right now---gin & tonic anyone? Anyone? I mean, it doesn't taste like a gin & tonic but its a fancy summer drink so a girl can dream, right?

Cinnamon Bun Ebelskivers

I broke down and bought the Ebelskiver pan from Williams-Sonoma because these just looked so fun and delicious. We brought them out post-community garage sale and the neighbor kids gobbled them up. I know you girls have limited kitchen space but these are as fun and tasty as they looked--so go get the pan!
A few notes: I would recommend halving the recipes for the filling and icing. They are both pretty sweet and we found that a little went a LONG way. I did not get a chance to take pictures but you can sneak a peak here. The recipe is on the Williams-Sonoma site and is a little more labor intensive than I bargained for, not difficult but there were a lot of steps. I tried to reduce some of the calories by using fat free milk and reduced fat cream cheese with good results.

Ingredients:

For the cinnamon filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 Tbs. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes,
at room temperature

For the cream cheese frosting:

3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 Tbs. milk

For the pancakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. granulated sugar

4 eggs, separated

2 cups milk

4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking

Directions:

To make the cinnamon filling, in a bowl, still together the granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and, using the back of a spoon, mash the butter into the flour mixture until all of it is absorbed into the butter, forming a paste. Set the cinnamon filling aside.

To make the cream cheese frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, reduce the speed to low and beat until combined, 1 to 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add 3 Tbs. of the milk and beat until combined, about 1 minute. The frosting should be thick but still pourable; add more milk if needed to thin it. Transfer the frosting to a small bowl; set aside.

To make the pancakes, in a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg yolks, then whisk in the milk and the 4 Tbs. melted butter. Whisk the egg yolk mixture into the flour mixture until well combined; the batter will be lumpy. Using an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff but not dry peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter in two additions.

Put 1/8 tsp. melted butter in each well of a filled-pancake pan. Set over medium heat and heat until the butter begins to bubble. Pour 1 Tbs. batter into each well. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of the cinnamon filling into the center of each pancake and top with 1 Tbs. batter. Cook until the bottoms are golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Using 2 skewers, flip the pancakes over and cook until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes more. Transfer the pancakes to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.

Drizzle the pancakes with the frosting and serve immediately. Makes 35 to 40.

Quinoa...Where Have You Been All My Life?!

Probably hiding in Co-Ops and Health Food Stores...

In any case, I had my first quinoa salad today and it was SO SO excelent and not that unhealthy to boot. I liked it because it didn't taste so much like yucky grain but had a really neat texture without being too aggressively healthy. You know that health food that you eat and it just TASTES like health food and its totally unsatisfying...yeah, that was not it. Anyway, I was inspired to try and find a recipe and I think I will try this bad boy on for size.

Maybe its just a pregnancy fad and by the time I make this I will hate it again. True story.