Archive for ◊ September, 2010 ◊

28 Sep 2010 Chinese Pasta Salad
Author:  |  Category: Pasta, Salads, Side Dishes, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 5 Comments

Chinese Pasta Salad?  Is there such a thing?  I doubt it.  So what is this?!  I don’t know what else to call it! Chinese Pasta Salad is the name it came to me with and I welcome all suggestions for a new name 🙂 This cold pasta side dish is good.  Very good.  I made it for a potluck last night, and three people asked me to post the recipe.  Always glad to oblige! Cold noodles, in a sauce of sesame oil, maple syrup (Chinese?  I think not!), and soy sauce with chopped dry roasted peanuts (again, Chinese?  I think not), green onion and cilantro. I wouldn’t have made this if I hadn’t tried it first.  Believe me, with this dish, the whole is better than the sum of it’s parts!

An old coworker of mine, Mary Lou Stuart, brought this to an HR potluck at LifeScan on Tuesday, September 20, 2005.  I know the date because I still have the email with the recipe (and that horrible name).

I changed the method a bit, just to make it easier, but other than that, I made no changes. Please forgive me for mixing up my cultures and photographing this Chinese Noodle Salad (which isn’t) on a Japanese cloth.  Also, the cilantro looks a little old, in the picture, doesn’t it?  It is.  I forgot to take a picture the day I served this. This is a picture of what was left in the refrigerator container because it wouldn’t fit into the serving container.  So that cilantro has been sitting in the dressing for three days.  Yours will look much better. The world is out of alignment today.

Chinese Pasta Salad (not..)

1 lb. angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
1/2 cup pure maple syrup (Grade B, if you can find it)
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/4 cup soy sauce (I have also used teriyaki)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 bunch chopped green onions (6-8)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts.

Blend the maple syrup, sesame oil, and soy sauce in the blender.  Pour over cooked and drained noodles.  Add in chopped cilantro and green onions. Refrigerate overnight.

Just before serving stir in the chopped dry roasted peanuts.

Mary Lou said she sometimes adds about 2 cups of chopped cooked chicken to the salad (she uses a cooked rotisserie chicken).  I’ve done this once or twice (with a chicken breast poached in a bit of soy sauce and water/broth), but actually prefer this salad without the chicken.  Plus, it’s always nice to have something on the table for the vegetarians and vegans in the group.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.  If you know Mary Lou Stuart, please forward this message to her. I have lost track of her.  If she is uneasy with her name being on this post, I will use a pseudonym.

25 Sep 2010 Baked Chicken Taquitos
Author:  |  Category: Appetizers, Main Dish, Poultry  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 3 Comments

Yes!  You can bake taquitos!  Who knew?  My kids loved taquitos when they were growing up.  They were always happy when there was a box of them in the freezer. I wish I knew then what I know now.  I could have made batches of these and had them in the freezer for them to reheat.  I could have been my own Costco!  I could have served them real food, and it could have been baked, rather than fried.  Oh well.  I can make these now and my daughter is heading back to her college apartment with two dozen of them (frozen), and the knowledge of how to make them for herself.  Hey, I AM my own Costco!

I was afraid this would be a bit spicy for my tender palate.  Not at all.  In fact, if you want a bit of a kick you should probably add in a few chopped chilies.  We made most of these with corn tortillas, but tried a few with flour, too.  We didn’t like the flour ones nearly as much. BTW, I’ve found a really good brand of corn tortillas, they don’t crack when folded (even when taken right out of the refrigerator).  They are  “La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas”.  Here in San Jose they are at both Lucky and Safeway. I found this recipe at Our Best Bites.

Promise me you won’t skip the sprinkling of Kosher salt before baking.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

4 oz cream cheese
1/4  cup Salsa Verde (green salsa)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons sliced green onions
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
1  cup grated pepperjack cheese

16-20 small corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray (Pam) or oil placed in an oil mister

Heat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir (but not melted).

Stir salsa verde, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, cilantro, green onions, chicken and grated cheese into softened cream cheese and combine well. You can easily prepare  this mixture ahead of time and store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Working with a few tortillas at a time, place between damp paper towels and heat in microwave (20-30 seconds) until soft enough to roll without cracking (not necessary if you are using La Tortilla Factory Hand Made Style Corn Tortillas!)

Place 2 tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Roll tortilla as tightly as possible.  Secure with a toothpick if desired, but it’s probably not necessary (Now would be the time to freeze, if you want to save and bake at a later time). Place rolls seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. The rolls should not touch each other.

Spray taquitos lightly with cooking spray or oil in a mister.  Sprinkle tops lightly with kosher salt. Don’t you dare skip this!

Place taquitos  in preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Serve hot, with dips that suit you–guacamole, sour cream, salsa…

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today, I hope you enjoy this recipe!

25 Sep 2010 Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Author:  |  Category: Breakfast & Brunch  | Tags: , , , ,  | 9 Comments

Love these!  There have been a couple of recipes floating around the web for the last six months or so for Cinnamon Roll pancakes.  I have tried several of them, hoping to find a perfect recipe, but it wasn’t to be found.  This one is the best of the lot, but it’s not perfect.  The pancakes taste really good, but they are not pretty, and they are probably not the best choice for a beginner cook.  You have to know how to cook pancakes, when to flip them and when to take them off the heat.  The first flip is critical, be sure the edges are dry and the batter is cooked as much as possible, without burning the outside of the pancake.  Cooking the second side is important, too.  Cook it too long, and the cinnamon sugar mixture will caramelize and burn (in a second), and you’ll loose the ooey-gooey cinnamon roll swirl.  Undercook it, and you’ll have uncooked pancake batter which is never a good thing.  I’ve made this recipe a few times now (hah! Who am I kidding…I’ve made them six times or more), so I am pretty good at it.  Jump in! I have faith that you can do it, too! Just don’t make your first batch for guests, practice a little first! (Disclaimer, the photo above is of a trial batch…one that looked good, but didn’t taste as good.  To get  your pancakes to look like this, stir 1/3 cup of the pancake batter into the cinnamon swirl batter, then continue as outlined below.)

I am not going to credit anyone in particular for this recipe, as it is on a lot of websites-although I will say I first saw the pictures posted on Foodgawker. Some of the websites have a buttermilk syrup or a cream cheese topping to put on the pancake.  I’ve made them, too, and found them to be totally useless.  The pancake is sweet enough as it is.  No need for more sweetness.  If you DO need more sweetness, nothing will top maple syrup! I also doubled the cinnamon swirl part of the recipe. I hated making more swirl after I used up the first and still had batter leftover (just to be clear, the recipe below has been doubled).

My guess is that any pancake batter could be used to make these pancakes…, but I haven’t tested that.

If you don’t have the buttermilk for this recipe, mix 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or plain vinegar with milk.  In 5 minutes you’ll have buttermilk.  If you bought buttermilk just for this recipe, and now have some leftover, freeze it to use next time.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon honey

Cinnamon swirl:

1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 -3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour

Combine dry ingredients for pancakes in a medium size bowl. Combine wet ingredients in another bowl and then whisk into flour mixture. Batter should be lumpy and not too thin.

In another bowl, combine ingredients for the cinnamon swirl and pour into a plastic Ziploc bag. Snip a tiny triangle off the end of the Ziploc bag for piping. Set aside (The size of the hole determines how much swirl goes into the pancake.  Cutting the Ziploc corner the right size is part of the trial-and-error method of learning this recipe.)

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Grease with butter, if desired, (I use Pam) and pour on a 1/2 cup of batter. Quickly, use the Ziploc bag (freezer thickness is the best, it won’t burst) to swirl the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the batter.

Now watch the pancake carefully. When the bubbles on the surface of the pancake begin to pop and no longer fill in with more batter and the edges of the pancake are dry, flip and cook for 30 seconds more. Repeat with remaining batter.

I serve the pancake upside-down, so people can see the swirl.  They are not pretty.  They are yummy, though.  In my book, yummy trumps pretty every time.

Have a great weekend.  I have a feeling these will be served at your house one weekend morning in the VERY near future!

24 Sep 2010 Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Author:  |  Category: Main Dish, Pasta, Red Meat, Teaching Boys to Cook Series  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 9 Comments

Who eats jarred spaghetti sauce?  I hope no one.  I don’t. Not ever.  Well, I’ve had a spoonful here and there, so I do know how bad it is.  Too much vinegar.  I like wine, tomatoes, onions, fresh mushrooms and fresh meat in my spaghetti sauce.  I’ve never used a recipe.  I learned from watching my Dad, who learned from watching the Galloping Gourmet (I think he also got permission to drink during the day from the Galloping Gourmet, but that’s a whole other story.)

My daughter, Abby, has asked me to write down my “recipe” for Spaghetti Sauce.  I put the word recipe in quotes because when I make spaghetti sauce, I just go for it.  It’s never really the same twice, but it always works out  (I’m not Italian, so I make no claims to an authentic Italian sauce).   Last week, when I made a big batch of spaghetti sauce, I carefully wrote down what I did so Abby can make her own spaghetti sauce while she is away at college.

If you haven’t made spaghetti sauce before, perhaps this “recipe” can be your starting point. Use this as a guide to add and subtract ingredients to suit your tastes. Over the years the amount of meat in my sauce has decreased.  I’d like to cut it my 1/3 more, but my son would get upset.  We all like mushrooms, so I use a good amount.  I don’t like green or red peppers, so I leave them out completely.  One thing I wouldn’t change is the “Super Six”, the must-haves for seasoning spaghetti sauce:  sautéed onions, garlic, celery, parsley, basil and oregano.

After the sauce is made, I let is sit overnight and then we usually have it for dinner. And, if I give in to the pleading of my older daughter, I’ll make a tray of lasagna, too, and then we’ll eat that for the next few days.  The remaining sauce I freeze in 3 or 4 cup batches.  This recipe will makes 10-12 cups of sauce.

I hope you never buy jarred sauce again.  Nasty stuff.  Too many preservatives.  Not enough flavor. This is so much better, so much better.

My Mom Polly’s Spaghetti Sauce

Olive oil, as needed for sauteing
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 cups diced celery
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup minced parsley
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes (recently I have use the “Muir Glen” brand, but for years I used whatever was on sale at the grocery store.  If you have them, use blanched, chopped tomatoes from your garden.  If you don’t like  chunky spaghetti sauce, then substitute the same amount of tomato sauce.)
2 16-oz cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt (add more later if needed)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 ½ lbs to 2 lbs of ground beef (or a mixture of your choice of ground beef, sausage, pork, veal.  Use at least 50% ground beef.  I have used ground turkey before, and don’t recommend it. I found the flavor to be too mild for this robust sauce)
1 lb sliced mushrooms
2 cups red wine (any robust red wine), optional, of course

Heat about 2 T. olive oil in a large skillet.  Stir in chopped onions and sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and starting to caramelize. Stir in chopped celery and sauté for another 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and parsley and sauté for another minute.  Do not let the garlic brown or burn.  Pour mixture into a large stock pot, and turn on heat to medium.  Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, basil, oregano, brown sugar, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 30 -60 minutes, stirring occasionally (the longer the simmer, the richer the sauce). Meanwhile, in the skillet, add another tablespoon or two of olive oil and sauté the sliced mushrooms.  Add the mushrooms to the tomato sauce after the sauce has simmered at least 30 minutes.  In the same skillet that browned the onions and the mushrooms, add the ground meat.  Brown the meat, and then drain the fat off (to drain put the cooked meat in a colander over a bowl).  Stir drained, cooked meat into the tomato sauce, along with 2 cups of red wine, and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Taste, and more salt, pepper and brown sugar if needed. Serve immediately over hot noodles and topped with grated Parmesan cheese, or let cool, refrigerate, and chill overnight. Warm up only as much sauce as needed for your next meal.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today, I always like it when you stop by!  Leave a comment and say HI!

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