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This is a recipe that my family has been making for years. It is a ridiculously tasty dish that also happens to be insanely nutritious and low in fat. Ok, so what’s the downside to all that? Well, it is a bit labor intensive. Like many great Asian-American meals, there is a fair bit of chopping involved.
I have, however, solved that dilemma as well! If I know I’m going to be pressed for time when I make this, I just do the prep on the veggies ahead of time. And if in a real pinch, half of the veggies in this dish can be bought from the grocery store pre-sliced and cleaned. I have yet, however, deigned to purchase any pre-chopped veggies from the grocery store. I just can’t do it. A bag of chopped, washed lettuce is about as far as I’ll go. But I digress; here is the recipe! (Without rice, this dish clocks in at about 350 cals per serving, and 10g of fat. Bit high on the sodium at 918 mg but there’s the soy sauce for ya)
 Sweet & Spicy Chicken
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch of salt and pepper
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped fine
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 red or yellow onion, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 green or yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin on the bias
2 cups blanched snow peas (optional)
The Sauce:
1/2 cup ketchup
4 tbsp soy sauce, low sodium
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth or stock
1) Dice the chicken into 1″ cubes. In a bowl large enough to hold the chicken, combine the cornstarch, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss with the chicken until well coated.
2) Heat the oil over medium high heat and add the chicken. The chicken should be lightly browned on all sides, this’ll take 2-3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from the pan, leaving as much oil behind as possible. Don’t worry if it’s not totally cooked, it’ll finish in the sauce.
3) Add the onions, garlic and ginger to the pan with the residual oil. Cook for 3-4 minutes over medium heat until fragrant and the onions are mostly cooked. Add the carrots and continue cooking for 2 minutes.
4) Combine the sauce ingredients in a separate bowl, and mix well to combine. Add the sauce to the cooking onion, garlic, ginger and carrots. Add the chicken and the peppers. Bring the mixture to a boil, allowing the sauce to thicken and the chicken to finish cooking. Season the sauce with salt and pepper and add more cayenne if needed. Cook for 2-3 minutes then serve over hot basmati rice.
5) Garnish your chicken with toasted and chopped cashews, or sliced green onion. YUM!
Almost always in the mood for pasta, I was scrounging around trying to figure out what to make for dinner while at the same time using up bits of things that were in the fridge and freezer. I’m a horrible bit keeper. I’ll keep a bit of this, and a bit of that and before long I’m drowning in bits. Of course, a bit is not enough to do anything stand-alone with and must be incorporated into something else.
As I stood there considering my options, I was reminded of a Malcom in the Middle episode where the mom would take all the bits of leftovers and at the end of the week throw them into a casserole pan and bake it. They had a hilarious name for this casserole, and while this particular gourmand couldn’t possibly go that far I could, with all certainty, incorporate my bits into a stunning pasta dish. Hey, it was even easy on the waist, what could be better?
Pasta with Asparagus, Chic ken, Tomato Concasse and Rosé Sauce
1 pound of your favorite pasta, we used farfalle here
1 lb asparagus, cleaned and chopped on a diagonal into 1 inch pieces
1 lb leftover rotisserie chicken (or leftover grilled chicken, baked chicken breast, whatever you have)
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
2 plum tomatoes
1 cloves of garlic sliced thin
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
Shredded parmesan for garnishing
Sauce:
2 cups of milk
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp garlic powder
1. Cook the pasta according to package directions, leaving it a bit on the firm side. Reserve about 1/2 a cup of the pasta water. Cool the pasta under cold running water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan and with the heat on low add the flour and combine into a paste. Allow to bubble for 1 minute then slowly add the milk into the butter/flour paste whisking as you go. Continuing to whisk, allow the mixture to bubble for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, red wine and garlic powder. Cook at a bare simmer for 5 minutes then set aside.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the asparagus for about 2 minutes or until tender crisp. Cool under cold water and set aside.
4. In a tiny drop of olive oil, cook the red onion and garlic slices until fragrant. Remove from heat.
5. Make a tiny x in the top and bottom of each plum tomato and blanch briefly in boiling water until the skin splits and peels. Remove the tomatoes and peel the skin off. Seed the tomatoes then chop them into a small dice. Add to the cooked onions and garlic.
6. In a large saucepan combine the pasta, the chicken, the asparagus, parsley and pine nuts. Add enough of your sauce to coat, thinning it as needed with the reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the parmesan and dig in!
I admit to being a fan of just about anything pork. Granted, there are some bits of Wilbur that I am not interested in eating despite my half German heritage (think feet, tails, snout…) but on the whole I love me some pork! One of my favorite things to do with pork when I have the luxury of time, is to slow braise it until the meat is fall apart tender. Of course the benefit to this is that you can take the cheapest, nastiest-to-eat cut of pork and a few hours later it is fall apart tender. It really doesn’t get more economical than that.
Once braised, the pork has a variety of applications. You can slice it and eat it with mashers and gravy a la Sunday roast dinner, or my hands-down favorite is to pull the pork and use it in the following ways: pulled pork tostadas, pulled pork tacos, pulled pork bbq sandwiches, pulled pork in casseroles, pulled pork added to pork and beans…the list is pretty much unending.
The actual braise for the pork will help guide you toward what you’ll eventually do with it. For a roast dinner I would use red wine, bay, thyme, onion, garlic, celery and pull the meat out before it is falling apart. For a variety of different pulled pork recipes, I like to use the following braise, and the recipe is for Pork Tostadas that are just about so yummy I can hardly stand it.
Pulled Pork Tostadas
2-3lb pork picnic shoulder roast, bone in or out, it doesn’t matter
3 cups of water
4 cloves of smashed garlic
1 whole yellow onion, quartered
juice of 1 lime
bay leaf
2 tbsp or so of cumin
salt and pepper
vegetable oil
10 white (or yellow) corn tortillas
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
diced sweet onion
sour cream
your favorite taco sauce or pico de gallo
cotija or other Mexican cheese
lime for garnish
1. Wash any bone chips from your pork then pat it dry with paper towels, then season it liberally with salt, pepper and cumin. Add enough vegetable oil to the bottom of a heavy frying pan and heat it until it is VERY hot. Sear the pork on all sides then remove it to your crockpot.
2. Add your onions and garlic to the frying pan and lightly brown the veggies. Then add them to the crockpot. Deglaze the frying pan with 1 cup of water, then pour the deglazed liquid into the crock pot along with the remaining water. Add the lime juice and bay leaf. Set the pot to high and let it cook for 3 hours or so and then turn it down to low for an additional hour or two until the meat is falling apart tender. When your meat is cooked remove it from the liquid, let it cool, then shred it with your fingers.
3. While the meat is cooking, crisp your tortillas in a frying pan with enough oil to coat the bottom. Cook over medium high heat on both sides until golden brown.
4. To assemble: Top each corn tostada with desired amount of pork then garnish with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo or any of your other favorite toppings.
YUM!
Being half German I grew up eating a wide variety of both eastern and western European foods and must say that some were definitely better than others. German food in and of itself is not particularly stunning, but the influences of other European cuisines has helped make German food recognizable the world over.
Originating in Austria, schnitzel is now commonly referred to as German food, and as such it is one of the better dishes attributed to this country.
What is not to love about schnitzel? Made of chicken, veal or pork the thinly sliced meat is breaded and pan fried. Of course I have to add a few of my own goodies to it and boy oh boy does it turn out GREAT every time! For those of you who don’t experiment much with cooking or have much experience, this is a great, tasty and simple dish to prepare.
Pork Schnitzel
1 lb thinly sliced pork, about 1/4″ thick or less (I use thin slices from the sirloin but you can use tenderloin, or loin, just slice on a sharp angle to get larger slices)
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped very fine
pinch of salt and freshly ground white pepper
vegetable oil for frying.
1. Combine the milk and egg in a shallow dish, whisking to combine. Set aside.
2. Combine the panko bread crumbs with the garlic powder, salt, pepper and parsley in a shallow dish. Set to the side.
3. Prepare your pan. Add enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a heavy bottomed large frying pan and heat it until very hot. Turn the heat down to medium high and prepare your meat.
4. Working with one piece of meat at a time, dip it into the egg wash and then into the bread crumb mixture, making sure the crumbs coat evenly. Press it down to stick more crumbs to the meat. Then transfer the meat to the frying pan. Repeat until your pan is full but NOT crowded.
5. Using tongs or a fork, check the underside of the first cutlet. If it is golden brown then turn it over. Continue doing this until all the meat is browned on both sides, transferring them to a plate as they finish. Continue dipping and crumbing your meat until it has all been coated and cooked.
6. Serve with lemon wedges and bite into goodness!
Winter isn’t quite done with us yet here in Central Texas. A few days ago we were all thinking spring as we were frolicking in the 75 degree sunny weather, and then just yesterday we had snow! Snow is almost unheard of here in Austin, but the white fluffies did fall and even accumulated enough for snowmen to spring to life on every lawn that I child plays on.
I guess this last burst of winter has put me in a mind for soup. This is a good thing considering I really can’t handle hot creamy soups when it’s 100 plus degrees outside. So I was roaming around looking for inspiration when I found this recipe that comes courtesy of Lido Restaurant and Chef Evan Treadwell. I plan on making this soup as soon as I can but if you beat me to it please do tell how it turns out (though my recipe will have garlic in it!!).
Winter Vegetable Soup
2 cups sliced leeks, clean and thinly slice the white parts only, about 3 whole leeks
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
2 bay leaves
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
3 parsnips, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
1 celery root, peeled and diced into 1/4 inch cubes
4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
salt and pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1. Sautee the leeks in the butter over medium heat until tender but not brown. Add the thyme and bay leaves and continue cooking about 1 minute more.
2. Add the potatoes, parsnips, celery root and broth and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and add the cream. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the veggies are very soft. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.
3. Puree the soup then if you want to get really fancy strain it through a chinois or fine mesh strainer. Check the seasonings, and garnish with a few drops of truffle oil.
Each of 8 servings: 299 calories; 4 grams protein; 33 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams fiber; 17 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 58 mg. cholesterol; 5 grams sugar; 602 mg. sodium.
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