Chinese Chicken Salad

When I decided to make salad for dinner I got a dubious response from my boyfriend. Salad, really? I'm sure he was probably expecting to need a Taco Bell run after dinner or something. But I went ahead with it and boy am I glad I did! The original recipe says it serves four but I made the whole batch expecting to have leftovers for the next day. Nope. We devoured the whole thing between the two of us in one meal! So without further ado...

Heat the oven to 425 F. While the oven is heating, line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack inside. (You might notice, my baking sheet is NOT lined with foil. Hopefully you can learn from my error :) Lightly spray the rack and place two chicken breasts on top. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the rack the let cool. Reduce the oven temp to 375 when you remove the chicken.

When the chicken is almost done, slice eight fresh wonton wrappers into four strips each. Around here, grocery stores have their wonton wrappers in a cooler in the produce section. Once you've taken the chicken off the rack, remove the rack and replace the foil in the pan with fresh foil sprayed with cooking spray. Separate the wonton wrapper strips and lay them out on the wrack. If you want them to be pretty, you can scrunch them up a little bit. Spray the wrappers lightly with cooking spray and then sprinkle with salt. Bake them at 375 for 7-9 minutes or until golden and crunchy. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 when you take them out.

Now lift the foil with the wonton wrappers off the baking sheet and set aside. Spread the almonds out evenly on the baking sheet and roast at 350 for 6-8 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and set aside.

While the wonton wrappers and almonds are toasting, go ahead and chop up half a head of romaine lettuce, half a head of napa cabbage, and three green onions and toss together in a large bowl. It's a good time to shred the chicken and toss it in with the lettuce as well.

For the dressing, mix together rice vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chile sauce, garlic, ginger, hot chile sauce, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper. Then whisk in the sesame and peanut oils.

If you're not familiar with buying rice vinegar and chile sauces, you can find them in the Asian section of the grocery store. I like using sambal oelek for my hot chile sauce. 

Also if you've never bought fresh ginger root, I'd highly recommend!! Dry ginger and ginger paste from a jar just don't have the same zip....and it's not as hard to work with as it looks like after a little bit of practice. The easiest way to peel ginger is to cut of a chunk about the size you'll need and use a spoon to scrape off the outer papery layer. Once that's done, a microplane grater works best but if you don't have that available you can chop it really fine or even throw it in a food processor to make a coarse paste.

By now everything should be cooled off so toss the greens with the chicken, almonds, sesame seeds, and about half the dressing. (I didn't want a particularly “wet” salad so I only used half the dressing, but suit yourself.) Serve, garnishing with the wonton strips. Enjoy!

Chinese Chicken Salad

2 chicken breasts

8 square fresh wonton wrappers

½ cup sliced almonds

1 Tbsp sesame seeds

½ small head napa cabbage, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips (3-3 ½ cups)

½ head romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into ½ inch wide strips (1 ½-2 cups)

3 large green onions (white and green parts), thinly slice on the diagonal

¼ cup rice vinegar

1 ½ tbsp soy sauce

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp fresh ginger, grated

½ tsp hot Asian chile sauce

¼ cup peanut oil

1 tbsp Asian sesame oil

Heat the oven to 425 F. Season the hcicken with salt and pepper. Roast on a rack set in a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil for 40-45 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven and reduce oven temp to 375 F. Let chicken cool and then shred.

Stack the wonton wrappers on a cutting board and cut them into ½ inch wide strips. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray. Separate the strips, lay them on the baking sheet, and mist them lightly with the cooking spray. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Scrunch each strip to give it a wavy shape, if you like. Bake at 375 F for 7-9 minutes or until golden. Remove and reduce oven temp to 350 F.

Spread the sliced almonds on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes or until golden.

In a medium bowl, combine the vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chile sauce, garlic, ginger, hot chile sauce, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp black pepper. Gradually whisk in the peanut and sesame oils.

In a large bowl, toss the cabbage, romaine, chicken, green onions, sesame seeds and almonds together. Add enough dressing to coat well. Serve, garnishing with wonton strips.

Enchiladas Verdes

I have a serious thing for Mexican food but since tomatoes do a serious number on my stomach I don't get to eat a lot of the dishes that I enjoy. One of the amazing things that I do get to eat though is enchiladas verdes. Enchiladas made this way have a green sauce with a base of tomatillos rather than tomatoes. The sauce is typically mild with a somewhat smoky taste but I have had a spicy version that is quite good as well. This recipe yields a mild sauce but if you prefer more spice you can simply add a jalapeno (or two) depending on how hot you would like it.

First adjust the oven racks so 6 inches from the top and the other is in the middle. Turn on the broiler. Chop up the onion, mince the garlic and slice the chicken breasts into pieces about 1 inch thick. This is completely optional I just liked to do it since they cook faster this way.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium saucepan until shimmering. Then add the onion and and cook until it is just beginning to soften. Stir in the cumin and two of the garlic cloves until fragrant. Decrease the heat to low stir in broth. Add chicken, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  

  When the chicken is done, transfer to a plate and place in the refrigerator to cool. Reserve ¼ cup of the broth and set aside. This is what my “broth” looked like.

While the chicken is cooking, wash the tomatillos and peppers, dry them completely, and toss them in the leftover 2 teaspoons of oil. Arrange the peppers and tomatillos cut side down on a foil-lined aluminum baking sheet. Broil on the top rack until vegetables are soft and turning black (don't pull them out when they're brown, wait till they're really truly black). Decrease the oven temp to 350.Let the vegetables cool slightly and and then peel the skin off the peppers only. If the skins don't want to come off you can put the peppers in a ziploc bag for about 10 minutes and the steam will make the skins peel off quite easily.

Once the skins are off the peppers, place the peppers, tomatillos, any juices that accumulated on the baking sheet, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 clove garlic and reserved chicken broth into a food processor. Process until it is only slightly chunky, season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust tartness by adding sugar 1 teaspoon at a time. Even if it seems really tart ½ teaspoon makes a world of difference so take my word on this one and don't just dump a whole bunch of sugar in even if it tastes really tart.

Now remove the chicken from the refrigerator and shred into bite-size pieces. Stir in cilantro and 1 ½ cups cheese.

Spread ¾ cup of the tomatillo sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Have the chicken filling ready to fill the tortillas.

Now for this awesome little trick I found for rolling corn tortillas without having t hem fall apart like they always seem to do. Lightly spray both sides of half the tortillas with cooking spray and place in a flat layer on a baking sheet. Now place them in the oven for 2 minutes, until just warm.

While the tortillas are still warm, fill with 1/3 cup chicken filling and roll, placing them in the baking dish with the seam side down. Repeat with the other half of the tortillas. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is completely melted. Serve with sliced green onions and sour cream on the side.

4 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 onion, choped

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and sliced into 1 inch-thick pieces

1 1/2 pounds tomatillos (16-20), husks and stems removed, washed and dried well.

3 poblano chiles, halved lengthwise, stems removed

1-2 teaspoons sugar

salt and pepepr

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 oz shredded queso or Monterey Jack cheese

12 (6 inch) corn tortillas

cooking spray

Adjust oven racks so one is 6 inches from the broiler and one is in the middle of the oven. Heat broiler. Heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat till shimmering. Add onion and cook until soft and lightly browned. Stir in cumin and 2 garlic cloves until fragrant. Turn heat to low and stir in chicken broth. Add chicken, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 15-20 minutes. When chicken is finished, put on a plate in refrigerator to cool. Reserve 1/4 cup cooking broth.

While chicken is cooking, toss tomatillos and peppers in remaining oil. Arrange them cut side down on an aluminum-foil lined bakings sheet and broil on top rack until vegetables are blackened and soft.

Remove tomatillos and peppers from oven and let cool slightly before removing skin from peppers. Reduce oven temp to 350.

Transfer vegetables and any juices to a food processor. Add 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 clove garlic and reserved chicken broth to food processor and process until only slightly chunky. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust tartness by adding sugar 1/2 teaspoon sugar at a time.

Now remove chicken from the refrigerator and shred. Add cilantro and 1 1/2 cups cheese.

Spread 3/4 cup of the tomatillo sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spray both sides of tortillas with cooking spray and spread flat on a baking sheet. Warm tortillas in oven for 2-4 minutes. Spread 1/3 cup chicken filling down the center of each tortilla and roll tightly, placing seam side down in the baking pan. Repeat with the other half of tortillas. Pour remaining tomatillo sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. 

Cover with foil and bake at 450 for 20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted. 

Skillet Southwestern Mac and Cheese

The other night for dinner I had planned to try this awesome new recipe but the closer it came to dinner time the less I felt like tackling a new recipe. So of course the next logical step would be to invent a recipe from nothing right? Well that's what I decided to do and it turned out to be quite delicious! My apologies in advance for the poor photography; I had no idea what I was doing till it was done so it was rather scattered.

First trim the chicken and place it in a pot, and cover with water. Place on the stove and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. I only had two chicken thighs on hand so that's what I used but you can use whatever cut of chicken you like and add more for a heartier dish. This is a good time to get the pot of water on the stove to cook the pasta in.

While the chicken is cooking, chop half of an onion, half of a green pepper, a jalapeno and a handful of fresh cilantro. When chicken is done cooking, remove chicken from broth and set aside, reserving any accumulated liquid. Don't forget to get your pasta cooking! (I did and had to scramble at the end ;)

Next heat the olive oil on medium-high heat till it is shimmering. Add onion and green pepper and cook till it is tender and beginning to brown. Stir in garlic. Now stir in a heaping tablespoon of flour.

When the vegetables are completely coated with flour add reserved cooking liquid and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add black beans, corn, cheese, pasta and shredded chicken and cook till heated through and cheese is melted. Season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro.

FYI when I made this I add my beans way early so quite a few of them broke and made the dish have that gray tint.....and much more of a bean flavor.

½ yellow onion, chopped

½ green pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

handful of chopped cilantro

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

2 chicken thighs (or breasts or whatever suits your fancy), cooked and shredded, reserving the broth

7 oz black beans

1 cup frozen corn

2 cups sharp cheddar

1 tbsp flour, heaping

½ cup canned tomatoes

½ lb pasta, cooked and drained (I had farfalle but lots of other pastas would be good too)
salt and pepper
dash cumin

Chop onion, green pepper, jalapeno and cilantro. In a large pan, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and peppers and cook until tender and beginning to brown. Add flour and stir until vegetables are coated. Add reserved broth and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Add beans, corn, cheese and shredded chicken and continue cooking until heated through. Season with salt, pepper and cumin to taste. Remove from heat and garnish with cilantro. Enjoy!

Blackberry Mini Pies

Since baking is my absolute favorite thing to do in the kitchen I thought it was fitting that I should start out by sharing the best pie crust recipe I've ever come across. I decided to make several mini pies to freeze but once the dough is made do whatever suits your fancy. One recipe makes 4 mini pies, 2 single crust pies or 1 double crust.

To start out with put a few ice cubes in a small cup and fill with at least ¼ cup of water. Set aside for later. Next measure out the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the chunked butter like so.

Use a pastry blender or a fork if you don't have a blender to cut the butter into the flour until it becomes the texture of wet sand or coarse cornmeal. There should be no big chunks of butter left.

Next add the milk, oil, water and my secret ingredient.....vodka!! No seriously, vodka makes pastries super flaky and here's why. Flour forms gluten very easily in water but too much gluten makes for a really tough crust. Vodka however has a high percentage of ethanol in it which does not form gluten with flour but still provides moisture to help the dough stick for rolling it out. In the baking process, all the alcohol vaporizes, leaving an incredibly soft, flaky pastry. If your dough isn't sticking together with the amounts given add water 1 tsp at a time until the dough just starts sticking together.

Now sprinkle plenty of flour on a large clean counterspace. For mini pies, separate a piece of dough about the size of your fist, form into a ball and place in the middle of the flour. Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top and start rolling! A few tips: roll from the center to the perimeter in one direction at a time, not back and forth; as the crust gets bigger make sure to lift the edges and push more flour underneath to prevent it from sticking to the counter...and keep sprinkling the top so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin. Roll the dough until it is about 1/8 in thick. Carefully lift up the dough and set it in the pie tin making sure it reaches all the way down to fill the corners. Repeat four times for the bottom crusts.

For the filling place the washed berries in a medium mixing bowl and add the flour and sugar. Mix together and you should have this odd looking mess on your hands.

Spoon the filling into the pie crusts you've all ready made. Now roll out the tops and lay them over the filled bottom crusts. Crimp together the crusts with your fingers or you can use a fork to press them together. Lastly, use a butter knife to cut around the edge of the tin to remove the excess dough and cut vents in the top of the pie. Just a note: I used the extras I cut off from around the edge to make my fourth pie so if you seem to be running out when you're making your tops just cut of the extra and keep going.

If you can't resist having a pie right away or made one large one just skip ahead to the baking instructions and enjoy!! Otherwise place the pies in separate freezer bags and freeze for future enjoyment.

Blackberry Mini Pies

Crust:

3 cups flour

2 sticks butter, cut into chunks

¼ cup oil

¼ cup milk

2 tbsp ice water

2 tbsp vodka

Cut butter into flour. Add all liquids and stir until dough begins clumping together. Using a fist-sized lump of dough, roll dough into four crusts. Fill crusts with blackberry filling. Roll remaining dough into four more crusts, place on top, crimp, and cut vents. Place pies in freezer bags. To bake, let pie thaw overnight in the refrigerator with the bag tented so it is not touching the crust. Once thawed, baste the top of the pie with milk and sprinkle generously with sugar. Bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 375 and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until golden.

Blackberry Filling:

5 cups blackberries

½ cup flour

½ cup sugar

This makes enough filling for four mini pies or 1 large pie.

Now what are you waiting for? Get in the kitchen and try it!!