Clementine Beef Stir-Fry

Clementines are pretty much the greatest. They’re like, all the things you like about oranges, without the things you don’t (like the hard-to-peel peel). And they are small so you can have two without feeling like a piggy. I like to take them to work for a healthy snack/paperweight. But, one thing that drives me crazy is that it seems like you can only buy them in crates. It’s difficult, in fact nearly impossible, for me to eat an entire crate of clementines before they start to go bad. So, I was pretty excited to see this recipe for clementine beef stir-fry on the Daisy’s World blog. She called it spicy but it really didn’t turn out spicy in the least so I eliminated that from my name. But it was delicious! And if you top it with some clementine zest, that flavor really comes through. They were just a little sweet with some saltiness and tanginess that was really nice and flavorful. She made hers with spinach but I used broccoli, and really you can use any veggie you like. I might add in some onions next time.

Ingredients:

3 Tbsps. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 1/2 pounds tri-tip, skirt or flank steak, sliced thinly

2 Tbsps. Shaoxing Rice Wine or dry Sherry

2 Tbsps. hoisin sauce

2 Tbsps. honey

1 Tbsp. Sriracha chili sauce

Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)

3 Tbsps. soy sauce

1/3 cup freshly squeezed clementine juice

2 clementines, for zest

3 to 4 Tbsps. vegetable oil, as needed

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsps. fresh ginger, minced

6 oz. broccoli (or other veggie)

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Start by mixing up the soy sauce and cornstarch in a bowl. You want to mix well to break up the cornstarch (a whisk helps). Add the beef strips and mix before covering and refrigerating for 30 minutes. Next mix up your sauce in a small bowl. Whisk rice wine or sherry, hoisin, honey, Sriracha, red pepper flakes, soy sauce, clementine juice and the zest of one clementine until combined. Set this aside for later.

Heat your oil on high in a pan or wok, and brown the beef. Work in small batches so you don’t crowd the pan. This makes sure your beef gets nice and browned. This is a dangerous step, since the oil is so hot it tends to spatter a lot. Be careful, and if you have to turn the heat down, the world will not end. Use a slotted spoon to move the beef to a plate and set aside.  

If you need more oil, add a little. We didn’t. Then add the garlic and ginger and cook about one minute. We definitely turned the heat down to medium for this because we didn’t want to burn the garlic. Add in the sauce mixture and cook until reduced and thickened which should take about 5 minutes or so. We added the broccoli back in after about two minutes because it will take a little longer than other veggies to soften up a little bit. After the sauce has thickened add the beef back into the pan for another minute, stirring to coat it in sauce. Serve over rice and garnish with clementine zest.

Mini Shrimp Cakes with Ginger Butter

These mini shrimp cakes were one of the recipes I tried for Iron Chef Ginger, and I almost made these instead for the big night. I thought they were very tasty, but a little greasy. I think I used too much oil to fry these little guys. The ginger butter really made it. I decided not to go with these for our Iron Chef, because I really didn't feel like frying anything at our Hostess' house. I do think these would have been hit had I decided to make them. But, if you are hosting a party these would make great little appetizers. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Shrimp Cakes:
3 tablespoons vegetable olive oil
5 large button mushrooms, stemmed, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces (about 4 ounces)
2 large shallots, minced
1 medium carrot, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 pound extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs
1 large egg
Zest of 1/2 large lemon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ginger Butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
One 1/2-inch-long piece fresh gingerroot, peeled and finely grated (about 4 teaspoons)
2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus extra as needed

To make the shrimp cakes, take out a medium sized skillet and saute in the olive oil the mushrooms, shallots, and carrots until softened.  Transfer the mixture into your food processor. Add in the shrimp, eggs, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, salt and pepper to the food processor. Pulse until combined but still chunky. Form the mixture into 15 patties, place on a cookie sheet lined with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

To make the butter, combine the butter, ginger, and soy sauce. Stir well with a rubber spatula and then place the butter on plastic wrap. Form the butter into a log and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the 1/4 cup of vegetable oil into a skillet, and fry the shrimp cakes until golden in color at least 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Serve the shrimp cakes while still warm and add a slice of the ginger butter on top. Enjoy.

Iron Chef Ginger - Sweet & Sour Pork Sliders

I had a tough time trying to decide what recipe to use for Iron Chef Ginger. I tried a different pork slider recipe that just wasn't good. I tried latkes, sauteed shrimp, and shrimp cakes with a ginger butter. I normally always go with a recipe that I've tried. Well, I decided to wing it this time, and went with Giada de Laurentiis' Sweet and Sour Pork Sliders . It had 5 stars on Food Network, so I figured it had to be tasty. My question was whether it would have enough ginger in it to tell it was there. Well, the slaw didn't call for ginger, so I added it in to the mixture. The marinade was very tasty. The ginger didn't hit you over the head, but I thought it was nicely subtle. This pork slider was very tasty, and I really recommend it. Thanks for voting this one the winner! Sometimes winging it pays off!

Ingredients:

Slaw:
1 1/2 cups very thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1/4 cabbage)
1 1/2 cups very thinly sliced red cabbage (about 1/4 cabbage)
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 thinly sliced green onions (about 1/2 cup)

1 tbsp minced ginger (optional)

Pork:

1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 packed cup golden brown sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
One 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
Zest of 1 large orange
One 1 to 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
2 teaspoons arrowroot
10 to 12 mini Hawaiian-style sweet rolls, halved horizontally

To make the slaw, combine all the ingredients above. Stir well, and place covered in the fridge while you prepare the pork. By the way, for the cabbage I just used pre-packaged cabbage that you can find in the veggie aisle.

For the pork; combine the orange juice thru the zest of an orange in a medium-sized bowl. Mix well. Pour the mixture into a ziplock bag, and add in the pork. Place in the fridge for an hour at the least or overnight at the most. I let it marinade for about 3 hours. Be sure to turn the pork over a couple times while it's marinating. Set your oven to preheat at 425. Take out the pork, and pour the marinade into a small saucepan. Place the pork on a baking sheet, and cook in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the temperature reads 140 to 160 degrees. Next, cook the marinade over medium heat and add in the arrowroot to help thicken the sauce. If you don't have arrowroot, then use about a 1/4 cup of water and 2 to 3 tablespoons of corn starch. Mix and then pour into the marinade. Once the pork is ready, remove from the oven and let rest for a couple minutes. Cut into thin slices. Take your roll and cut in half. Add the pork to the bottom half of the roll, add some of the sauce, add the slaw, and top with top half of the roll. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Iron Chef Ginger

Ginger was a pretty great ingredient choice by our lovely hostess for this round, Cara. And it seems like everyone else agreed since this turned out to be our most well-attended Iron Chef competition ever! Twelve of our regular thirteen showed up to duke it out for ginger glory. And everyone brought their A game, as well. There wasn't a single dish that flopped, and everything tasted delicious, though it was harder to taste the ginger in some dishes versus others. It was also the first night that we instituted our new rule of trying to keep everything relatively bite-sized, and that was a huge success as well, especially since there were so many of us. We ended the evening feeling satisfied but not rolling around on the ground holding our full stomachs and groaning. Ok, enough of the preamble, let's get to the food!

Lee's Ginger Sweet Tea Tinis 

We started off with the drinks (we get right to business), and the first was Lee's Ginger Sweet Tea Tini. She even designed an adorable little label (presentation points!). These were dangerously tasty: one of those drinks where you tend to forget there is alcohol involved until you are doing something embarrassing. The ginger was subtle but definitely present, and we're in the South so sweet tea is always welcome!

Cara's Ginger Champagne 

Next up was Cara's Ginger Champagne, which was very elegantly presented with a sprig of thyme. Unfortunately, a mishap sent most of the glasses into the lap of one of our competitors (strategic move?), but there were enough left standing for everyone to get a taste. I really enjoyed how the ginger paired with champagne was almost like a play on ginger ale. Just a very elegant ginger ale. I was pretty glad I got my glass before the whole champagne shower went down.

Chelyen's Ginger Beef Bites 

We moved on to the appetizer round via Chelyen's Ginger Beef Bites. She took little phyllo cups, (perfect for appetizers, take note) and filled them with a tasty ginger beef and green pepper mixture. These had a hint of spice from the ginger and a ton of flavor, and made for a great little bite. For me, more like several bites (as I might have had more than one).

Emily's Sweet and Sour Pork Sliders 

Emily tried a few different recipes before deciding to throw caution to the wind and make these Sweet and Sour Pork Sliders that she had never tried before. Well, it was a good thing because she pulled out the Iron Chef Ginger win! These were really delicious little sandwiches with marinated pork slices topped with a nice crunchy slaw. The ginger was subtle in just the right way and the whole combination was very flavorful. Definitely a crowd pleaser (obviously)!

Sara's Gingered Goat Cheese Puffs 

My Gingered Goat Cheese Puffs were up next and, as always, I wasn't really sure about them. I also tried a few recipes before that turned out tasty, but didn't taste like ginger. Well, this one met the same fate, as the ginger seemed to be lacking, no matter how much I put in. The good news is, it still tasted ok. A little sweet, a little spicy and all in all, a good little bite.

Greta's Ginger Slaw 

As we moved into the sides and main courses, it was an awesome feeling to not already feel totally stuffed! Greta's Ginger Slaw was a really refreshing side, with sweet citrus flavor that paired well with the ginger and gave the slaw a nice brightness. I think pairing fruit and veggies can be a difficult line to walk but Greta did it really well with this dish. And it was nice to have something at least somewhat healthy as well.

Kim's Ginger Muffins with Ginger Butter 

The next side was Kim's Ginger Muffins, made with pears and crystallized ginger. She paired it with a tasty ginger butter. The muffin itself was nice and light, sweet but not dessert-like and overall had some good ginger flavor. The ginger butter was really good as well and definitely went well with the muffin.

Doan's Spicy Ginger Chicken with Soba Noodles 

On to the main courses! We started with Doan's Spicy Ginger Chicken and Soba Noodles which was a big hit! It was spicy (which is right up my alley) and had a ton of flavor, but the noodles didn't make it heavy. It felt light and healthy, and I don't want to know if it wasn't! I bet it would be great hot or cold.

Jen's Ginger Scallops 

Scallops are a pretty tricky thing to make at home, much less at a dinner party like this. But I think Jen's Ginger Scallops may have converted a few people over from anti-scallop to scallop fan because she pulled out a second place finish. These were pan seared with a nice crust and the ginger sauce was packed with flavor. You tasted the ginger in the sauce but it didn't overpower the delicate flavor of the scallop. And it was really gorgeous to look at, as well!

Shu's Ginger Banana Wontons with Vanilla Cream 

Shu "threw together" some Ginger Banana Wontons and homemade Vanilla Cream. She's definitely upping the ante on us by making her own whipped cream (which was worth it, in my opinion). The wontons were fun and unexpected, with a good combination of flavors, and everyone really enjoyed them! The wontons themselves weren't particularly sweet so putting the vanilla cream with them balanced out the dessert in a really smart way.

Kristy's Ginger Spice Cookies 

Kristy's Ginger Spice Cookies were one of the dishes where the ginger flavor was really pronounced, and she accented it with spices in a very nice way. They had that heat that you look for in a gingersnap, but these were nice and soft. I'm always a fan of cookies that play along the savory line, and these, while sweet, had some savory notes in them as well that were fun.

Morgan's Ginger and Peanut Butter Chip Cookie 

Finally, Morgan's Ginger and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. Although she said she nearly gave up and brought nothing but a bottle of wine, Morgan's cookies were really tasty. They didn't really taste like ginger, but that didn't stop me from having more than one! And I don't think I'm the only one who did, since she didn't have many to take home at the end of the night. Thanks Cara for hosting our biggest group yet! Looking forward to the next competition sometime in April or May.

Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken

Being a big fan of spicy food, of course Jerk Chicken is on my radar as something to try. However, it’s a pretty intimidating thing to try. Like a mole sauce, it has a lot of ingredients, a wide variety of flavors, and a lot of different versions (all of them claiming to be “the best!”). It’s also typically cooked for a long time over a flame. But when I saw this recipe on Baker’s Royale for jerk chicken made in a slow cooker, I thought I’d give it a shot. I liked that even though the majority of the cooking was done in the slow cooker, it finished under the broiler to get that somewhat charred, delicious crispy skin. It turned out to be extremely flavorful, although my batch was also extremely spicy. One thing I would definitely change is to not use the split chicken breasts at all and just stick to chicken thighs. The breasts turned out unforgivably dry (as breasts are wont to do). My husband and I generally prefer thigh meat anyway.

8 chicken thighs (skin on, bone in) or 4 thighs, 2 split chicken breasts

½ cup vegetable oil

3 habanero chilies, de-stemmed

1 (1-inch) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons molasses

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tablespoon fresh thyme

2 teaspoons allspice

1/2 teaspoon cardamom

2 teaspoon coarse salt

lime wedges for serving

If you don’t like things really, really spicy, I suggest seeding them and maybe only using one or two. You could also sub in jalapeno. In your food processor or blender, mix up all the ingredients except the chicken and lime wedges until they are blended into a sort of puree or sauce. Put your chicken into the slow cooker and spread half of the puree on it, reserving the other half for basting. Cook the chicken on low for 4-6 hours until it’s tender. I did it for 5 hours, which was maybe a bit long and could explain why my breasts were so dry.

Move your oven rack about 10 inches away from the broiler and turn the broiler on high. Line a baking sheet with foil, and put a wire rack on top of that. Place your chicken skin side down on the wire rack, and baste the other side with half the remaining puree. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until this side is a little charred and crispy. Flip the chicken over and baste with the rest of the puree, and then cook another 5-10 minutes until this side is also lightly charred and crispy. Then serve with some lime wedges, which can help cut down the spiciness if it’s too much for you. 

Grilled Cabbage with Spicy Lime Dressing

Ok, I know what you're thinking. Cabbage. Cabbage? But don't judge. Don't give up on this humble veggie without giving it another, newer (and tastier) try. I've always been a fan of raw cabbage, although I know that puts me in the minority. In fact, as a kid I remember we used to ask my mom for the cabbage core whenever she was making cole slaw. If you've never tried the core, please do. It's a little like a radish without the bite. Very tasty. But I digress. I saw this recipe for grilled cabbage on The Kitchn and knew that I wanted to try it immediately. I also knew that I would meet with some resistance from the Hubs, but I thought the spicy lime dressing might bring him around. Well, he admitted he had his doubts, but in the end said that he was "pleasantly surprised." Hey, I'll take it. This is a great, flavor-packed side dish that is surprisingly filling, considering it's pretty much just cabbage. The dressing is very citrusy, but pairs nicely with the mellow cabbage and the garlic and cilantro also stood out. If I had one complaint it would be that I didn't get spiciness from this at all, so next time I might add a jalapeno to the dressing. We used half a head of cabbage for two people, but I'm including the recipe for the whole head below. 

Ingredients
1/4 cup lime juice (2-3 limes)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 head green cabbage
Grapeseed or canola oil

For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients except the cabbage together in a small bowl. The original recipe said to "whizz" them in a food processor, but to be honest, I didn't feel like dirtying up my whole Cuisinart just for this little bit of dressing. So I used my trusty garlic press and I feel like it turned out just fine. Set the dressing aside and prepare your cabbage. Get rid of the outer layers of tough leaves until you get to the tasty good cabbage inside. Cut it into 8 wedges and brush the edges with oil. To grill it, put the wedges on for about 5 minutes or so with the cover closed until the edges start to get some good color. Flip them on the other edge and cook for another 5-7 minutes with the cover closed. We kept the cabbage relatively crisp in the center, but if you want to soften it up even more just cook it for longer.  Then just pour the dressing over the wedge and serve with a knife. Give cabbage a chance! You might find yourself pleasantly surprised as well.

(Semi) Cuban Quesadillas

I’m calling these “semi” Cuban because I know my Blogmate, (is that a word? It is now.) Emily, is a big fan of Cuban sandwiches, and these are definitely not authentically Cuban. I don’t want Emily coming after me Cuban-style. That wouldn’t end well. So anyway, these are in the style of Cuban sandwiches, just in a quesadilla form and I found the recipe on a blog called Culinary Colleen. The ingredients are simple, a tasty marinated pork, whole grain mustard, pickled jalapenos, Gruyere cheese and prosciutto. My husband, who is also a Cuban sandwich fan, liked these a lot, particularly the pork, which was flavorful and citrusy. For me… I’m not sure it’s a flavor combination that is totally in my wheelhouse, but that’s certainly not to say it wouldn’t be in yours.

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic minced

Juice of 2 limes

Juice of 1 large orange

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coarse salt

1 tsp. fresh black pepper

1.5 pounds pork tenderloin

2 Tbsp. olive oil

4 flour tortillas

4 slices prosciutto

4 oz. grated gruyere cheese

Pickled jalapenos

Mustard

Start with your marinade. Mix your garlic, lime juice, orange juice, cumin, salt and pepper in a gallon freezer bag (or your favorite marinating dish). Add in your pork and marinate for up to 4 hours. We actually couldn’t find a pork tenderloin that would be reasonable for two people, so we just got thinly sliced pork chops on the bone and marinated those. If you go with a thinner sliced pork, you don’t need to marinate it for quite as long.

Heat your oil in a skillet over medium high heat and then brown the pork on all sides, which should only take a few minutes. Then cook in on a broiler pan at 350 degrees. A tenderloin should take about 20 minutes or so. Ours was done in ten. Slice the pork into quesadilla size slices.

Now, to assemble your quesadilla. Do NOT do what I did and think you can save time by making a two tortilla quesadilla. It just doesn’t hold together at all. The easiest way is to use one tortilla and fold it over. For some reason, this method held it all together much better. So fill half the tortilla with pork, cover it with a slice of prosciutto, a good number of pickled jalapenos (spread them out) and a sprinkling of Gruyere. For some reason, the only Gruyere I can find is smoked, which I do not like. So I used Gruyere for my husband but sharp white cheddar for myself. Anyway, spread the other half of the quesadilla with some nice mustard, and then fold over.

Heat your skillet (which you’ve wiped out since browning the pork), and put in the quesadilla with the cheese side down. I find that this melts the cheese faster and helps the whole thing hold together better. Cook until the cheese is melted and both sides are nice and browned (usually about 3-4 minutes a side). Then slice your quesadilla in half and serve! It may be only semi Cuban, but it’s wholly delish! 

Thai Soup: Tom Kha Gai

I’m on a kick. A soup kick. You may have noticed. Here’s another good one to add to the list that I found on The Daring Gourmet. It’s spicy, and if that surprises you, then you haven’t been paying attention to my recipes. Even with plenty of (light) coconut milk, it’s more of a brothy soup than a creamy soup. It’s easy, filling and even somewhat healthy. Overall, both my husband and I really enjoyed it, and definitely recommend you try it. However, one word of warning… it does not keep. So eat it all the first day. (You’ll want to!)

½  Tbsp vegetable oil

1 ½  Tbsps Thai red curry paste

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups unsweetened coconut milk (I used “light”)

1 large lemongrass stalk, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

6 thin slices fresh ginger

2 Thai chilies, cut in thin slices

3 Tbsps fresh lime juice

2 Tbsps Asian fish sauce

1 lb chicken breast, cut into thin strips

1 cup white button mushrooms, sliced thinly

1 cup frozen yellow corn (optional)

Cilantro or basil leaves for garnishing

We couldn’t find Thai chilies at Kroger (it’s hit or miss) so we used two habaneros. We did not seed them, but if you are sensitive to spice, you may want to. Start by warming the oil over medium heat in your soup pot. Add in the curry paste, and stir about a minute to a minute and a half.  Next, stir in the chicken broth, coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, chilies, lime juice, and fish sauce and bring it to a simmer, about 5 minutes.  We were out of fish sauce so we just used soy sauce. Then add in the thinly sliced chicken and simmer for 15 minutes. We added the corn in at the same time as the chicken because we felt like it needed some more veggies. Pay close attention and don’t let it boil! I didn’t and I think that my coconut milk ended up doing weird things because of it. Add the mushrooms and simmer for another 5 minutes.  Salt to taste. Remove the lemongrass and ginger before serving. This is the hide and go seek portion of the dinner—have fun with that.  Serve with a garnish of fresh Thai basil leaves or cilantro.

Momofuko Compost Cookies

Back in October we had Iron Chef Chips and I was tasked to make a dessert utilizing the "secret" ingredient chips. Well, I tried a lot of recipes before I eventually settled on the Ice Cream Chipped Pie. One of the recipes I tried is this Momofuko Compost Cookie from Plumpie Cooks. It was actually a pretty big hit amongst my co-workers, but I didn't feel it tasted a lot like chips. However, it was a very tasty cookie. I enjoyed the saltiness that the chip brought to the cookie as well as the combination of reese's peanut butter chips and the variety of chocolate chips. Plus the fun thing about making momofuko compost cookies is you can use a variety of ingredients from oats to rice krispies to ritz crackers. It's all up to you and what you like as far as what to include in the cookie. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup graham flour (optional)
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 cup oats
2 1/2 cups your favorite baking ingredients (options: chocolate chips, other flavored chips, Rollos, Cocoa Krispies, m&m’s, reese’s peanut butter cups)
1 1/2 cups your favorite snack foods (options: chips, pretzels, yogurt covered pretzels, ritz crackers, etc.)

Set your oven to pre-heat at 375 degrees. Take a medium bowl and combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Take out your standing mixer with the paddle hook, and beat the butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup for two minutes until fluffy and pale yellow in color. Then add in your eggs and vanilla and mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as you see fit. Mix for an additional 5 to 10 minutes until the mixture becomes a pale color and kind of doubles in size.  Slowly add in the flour mixture. Mix just until the dough comes together being careful not to over-mix. On low speed, add in your favorite ingredients that you will be using; chip, chocolate chips, reese's peanut butter chips, pretzels, etc. Beat until it is just incorporated. Take out your baking sheets and line with parchment paper. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the dough onto the sheets.

Once your cookies are portioned onto you baking sheets wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour or up to one week. According to Plumpie Cooks; if you bake the cookies while they are at room temperature they will not set properly in the oven. Pre-heat your oven to 375. Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. You may want to turn the baking sheet half way thru the cooking process to ensure even cooking. Around 9 minutes the edges of the cookies will start to brown; let them bake a couple minutes longer especially if they still look doughy in the center. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Curry Soup

With the cold, rainy weather plaguing Richmond in the last two weeks, one thing is for sure: it’s full on Soup Season. Seriously, I think Winter should be late November through December, and then Soup season can be January and February. Maybe even March. Anyway, my seasonal suggestions aside, I made a really awesome soup last night. I found this Chicken Curry Soup on Will Cook For Friends and instantly knew it was right up my alley. Spicy, brothy, no beans—yeah that hits all my checkmarks. My only gripe about the soup, and it’s a small one, is that it probably could have used a few more vegetables. I know, that doesn’t sound like me, but it did need just a little bit more, maybe a daikon or some root vegetable. I thought it was delicious, my husband did too, and I’m looking forward to having the leftovers again soon!

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 large yellow onion

1 serrano chile (optional)

5-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 TBSP curry powder

1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger

1/4 cup honey

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 limes, juiced

Salt to taste

White or brown rice, for serving

The original recipe called for bone in chicken breasts, but I didn’t want to have to deal with shredding it off the bone, although I’m sure that brings more flavor. I didn’t feel like the chicken was lacking in any way, though. Start by trimming any excess fat off your chicken. In a small bowl, mix cumin, cinnamon, allspice and kosher salt, and sprinkle the mixture over the chicken, rubbing it in well. Heat your oil over medium heat and sear the chicken on each side, about 3-4 minutes a side. Then set it aside.

Add your onions and serrano into the pot and sauté for around 3 minutes. The original recipe didn’t call for serrano, but I wasn’t convinced the curry powder would bring enough heat. Well, the soup ended up pretty spicy (in a good way) so I would say if you’re not into that, leave out the serrano.

After about 3 minutes, add in the garlic, ginger and curry powder and mix well for about another minute before stirring in the honey and chicken broth. I use Swanson’s 100% fat free broth to make it even healthier. Put your chicken back in the broth and bring it to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer covered for about 30-40 minutes. If you use bone-in chicken it will need to go longer than breasts will to cook all the way through.

Once the chicken is done, pull it out and shred it, then return it to the pot along with your lime juice and cilantro. Taste it and salt it accordingly. If it’s not spicy enough, add in some cayenne pepper. If it’s too spicy, you can bring it down with some more honey or coconut milk. Serve it over a half-cup of rice. Happy Soup Season! 

Strawberry Daiquiri

When I was in my early twenties; one of my favorite alcoholic beverages was Strawberry Daiquiri's. I hadn't quite discovered the deliciousness of coconut rum, white wine, or Mojitos. So, whenever I would go to a restaurant or a local bar that would be one of my favorite beverages to order. Eventually, I did graduate to malibu and diet cokes as my go to beverage, but strawberry daiquiri's have always held a special place in my heart. The other night I wasn't really in the mood for wine, and didn't have mint for strawberry mojitos. So, I decided to make strawberry daiquiri's since I had the ingredients for it. I have to say this really hit the spot, and it was really delicious. I kind of made up my own recipe, but I think you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients:
1/2 a bag of frozen strawberries
2 or 3 shots of light rum
1/8 cup of simple syrup (optional)
1/2 banana
juice of half a lime

Throw all of the above ingredients into your blender and mix well. Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy!

Tuna Melt Bites

Before the holidays, I found myself with a little bit of time off. And despite my long to do list and ambitious plans of what I’d get done, I did little more than hang out around the house and make cookies. What was most difficult about being home during the week, however, was lunch. I am not normally much of a lunch planner. Either I have a Slimfast shake (when I’m being good) or go out around my office (when I’m not). At home on the weekends, the husband and I usually have a late breakfast and a somewhat early dinner and skip lunch altogether. Thus, our house is not exactly the haven of lunch-type foods. So I stuck my head in our overstuffed pantry to see what I could make and heard the stack of canned tuna calling my name.

I’ve always been a fan of canned tuna, by my aforementioned husband is not. So, a few cans have been sitting, abandoned, in my pantry for awhile now. I pulled one out and decided to make an impromptu tuna salad based on what I had around the kitchen. It turned out really tasty! And since I didn’t want to just eat the tuna salad cold, I decided to use up some ciabatta (my favorite kind of baguette) and make little mini tuna melts. They were so easy, made with on-hand ingredients, and filled me up.

1 can Tuna in water, drained

1 celery stalk, diced small

2 Tbsps red onion, diced small

1 pickle spear, diced small

1 ½ Tbsp mayonnaise

1 Tsp Dijon mustard

Pinch of salt

1/8 Tsp cayenne (optional)

1 Tbsp fresh dill (optional

A few slices of Baguette

Sliced cheddar

It’s really simple. Preheat the oven to 400, then just mix the ingredients together. If it seems like it needs a little more mayo to hold everything together, just add it. Taste and add salt (or any other spice) as needed. I tried adding a little Italian spice mix to it once and didn’t like the way it turned out. But dill was great, and even a little lemon juice adds some brightness.

Once you have the salad made, spoon it out onto your slices of baguette. Try to balance the bread and tuna ratio. Top with a slice of cheese. I used cheddar but use any kind you like (pepperjack, maybe?). Then bake for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You want the cheese to melt and get a little bubbly without burning, and the bread should get a little crunchy but still soft in the middle. And that’s it! A nice, simple but delicious lunch, even for the most lunch-challenged people among us. 

Salmon with Lemon Dill Dressing

I’m constantly on the look out for simple, yet flavorful meals. Because despite my best efforts, there are nights where I have to work late, or my husband does, or where I’m just too beat to spend much time on a meal. Those are the nights where we end up ordering something unhealthy like Chinese or pizza, unless I have a simple, quick meal on hand to make. This salmon recipe that I found on Drizzle and Drip fits the bill perfectly. It’s very quick and easy to make, with ingredients that for the most part you would generally have on hand, and best of all—it packs a lot of fresh, delicious flavors. Lemon and dill with a perfectly cooked salmon are the perfect complements to each other.

2-4 salmon filets

olive oil

½ cup sour cream

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 ½ tbsp finely chopped dill

juice of 1/4 of a lemon

ground black pepper and salt to taste

The original recipe calls for crème fraiche, but I think sour cream worked well as a substitute, and if you wanted to make it healthier, I don’t think a low-fat sour cream would hurt it. You could also cut the mayonnaise entirely, in my opinion. I did cut the recipe down some because it made way too much for just two people. All you really need is a tablespoon or two at most for each fillet.

Simply mix together the sour cream, mayo, dill, lemon juice and salt and pepper in a small dish and set it aside. Rub salmon lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Pan fry it over medium high heat, starting with the skin side down for 2 minutes. Flip it over for 3 minutes, then back on the other side for the last two minutes. If you like your salmon cooked completely through (shame on you!) you might have to cook it longer.

After that, just serve with a dollop of dressing on top. It is bright and lemony with lots of dill flavor to complement the unfussy salmon. And it’s so easy! 

Vietnamese-Style Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been fighting a cold for the past couple days. And, I was feeling pretty awful yesterday. So, I decided that I really wanted soup for dinner. I browsed thru some recipes on the web for the best soups for colds, and didn't really find anything that appealed to me. Next, I looked thru a couple of my favorite cookbooks. I really like my Cook's Illustrated cookbook. It's pretty similar to my favorite New Best Recipes, but this cookbook has a lot more recipes.

I had heard that Pho is really good for colds, so I decided to make this chicken noodle soup from Cook's Illustrated. Wow! It was really good and really spicy since I decided to add Sriracha and red chili peppers from my garden. It really helped to open my sinuses. Plus, it was very flavorful. I also decided to add a cinnamon stick to the broth since I saw that was added to another Pho-style soup. If you have a cold you are trying to kick; I highly recommend you try this soup. And, even if you just want a warming soup on a cold, winter day this will do the trick. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
8 oz wide rice noodles

Broth and Chicken
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
12 oz boneless, skinless check thighs (about 3 thighs), trimmed (I used 2 chicken breasts)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into 1/8 inch rounds, and smashed
2 star anise pods
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
Salt

Vegetables
4 cups shredded napa cabbage
2 scallions, sliced thin on bias
1/2 cup fresh mint, large leaves torn in half
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
2 tbsp chopped unsalted roasted peanuts
lime wedges
1 tsp diced jalapeno peppers
Sriracha

For the noodles, I followed the directions on the box to make pasta out of them. Basically, you bring salted water to a boil, add the noodles, stir, and let cook for 4 to 6 minutes until al dente. Drain and immediately rinse with cold water. Drain and set aside. Or, you can go ahead and distribute the noodles into bowls.

For the broth and chicken, take a large pot and add all ingredients except salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and then simmer, partially covered, so that the flavors can meld about 10 to 15 minutes. Or, until chicken is cooked thru. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and when cool enough to handle slice thin. Continue letting the broth to cook for an additional 10 minutes. Then, strain the broth thru a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Then, return the broth to the pot and discard the ingredients in the strainer. Season with salt to taste. Cover broth and keep hot over low heat until ready to serve.

For the vegetables, divide cabbage and chicken among bowls with noodles, and ladle in the broth. Sprinkle each serving with scallions, mint, cilantro, peanuts, sriracha, peppers, and lime wedges.

Carrot Cupcakes

It was our friend's birthday on January 2nd, and we wanted to do something nice for her since she's always doing nice things for us. I found out from her husband that one of her favorite desserts is Carrot Cake. Since we were going to celebrate the night we played volleyball; I thought it would be a great idea to make these into cupcakes. I found this recipe from Simply Recipes and I thought it turned out great. My only gripe, and really I was the only one who noticed, was the abundance of cardamon in the cake. I think 2 teaspoons of cardamon is a bit much, so the next time I make these I will cut it back to just a teaspoon. Overall, the birthday girl really liked the cupcakes, and I think they were a big hit. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of chopped walnuts
• 1 pound of carrots
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of buttermilk (or add a teaspoon of lemon juice to regular milk and allow to stand for 10 minutes)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 cups of sugar
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons of ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

First, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and place the chopped walnuts onto a baking sheet. Put the walnuts in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Next, rinse carrots and peel and grate. Set aside. Take out the bowl from your standing mixer and add the carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar, vegetable oil, and orange zest. Whisk thoroughly. Take out a large bowl and add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and cinnamon. Gently stir the flour mixture into the carrot mixture. Be sure not to over-mix. Then, fold in the toasted chopped walnuts. Scoop the cupcake batter into your cupcake muffins using an ice cream scoop. It should make about 24 cupcakes. Place in your 350 degree oven and bake for about 20 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cupcake) making sure you rotate the pans halfway thru the baking time. Allow cool in the muffin pan for about 5 minutes then remove the cupcakes and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:

To make the frosting; beat a cup of softened butter and 16 oz of softened cream cheese in your standing mixer until well combined. Sift in 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. I added a teaspoon of vanilla to give it a flavor boost. Spread onto cooled cupcakes.