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Archive for February, 2009

Thai Chicken with Cashews

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Last weekend I finally went through my google reader to get inspiration from my starred recipe.  I’ve had this one starred since last summer and Tyler cooked it up for dinner on Monday night.  It was good but a little too spicy for me (I blame that on Tyler who often dumps spices in without measuring!)  I enjoyed it, but with a big glass of milk to cool my tastebuds!  I love munching on the leftover cashews!

Thai Chicken with Cashews (from Annie’s Eats)


Ingredients:

1 bunch scallions

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 ½ tbsp. finely chopped peeled fresh ginger (or 1 ½ tsp. dried)

¼ tsp. roasted red pepper flakes

¾ cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 ½ tbsp. soy sauce

1 ½ tsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. sugar

½ cup salted roasted whole cashews

cooked white or brown rice for serving

Directions:

Chop scallions, separating white and green parts. Pat chicken dry, then cut into ¾ -inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes and scallion whites to wok and stir-fry until peppers are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch and sugar, then stir the mixture into the vegetables in the wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cashews, scallion greens and chicken along with any juices accumulated on plate. Serve with rice.

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Tyler made this recipe last Saturday as a bit of a Valentine’s surprise.  I had to work that day and informed him that I did not want to have to do dishes at the end of the day, so while a nice elaborate romantic dinner would be great, I’d rather we just get pizza!  Instead he chose to make this pasta salad which was filling and required minimal cleanup.  He knows me well!  Tyler made this salad with canned chicken but you could use the “real” thing too of course.  It was delicious and I think it would be great for picnics and bbqs in the summer months.  You can add different veggies to it as well, we just used what we had on hand, which was sugar snap peas.

Sesame Chicken Pasta Salad (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sesame seeds
16 oz pasta
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 t sesame oil
3 T white sugar
1/2 t ground ginger
1/4 t ground pepper
3 cups shredded chicken meat
1/3 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1/3 cup chopped green onion

Directions:

  1. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add sesame seeds, and cook stirring frequently until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente. Drain pasta, and rinse under cold water until cool. Transfer to a large bowl.
  3. In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine vegetable oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, sesame seeds, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.
  4. Pour sesame dressing over pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Gently mix in chicken, cilantro, and green onions.

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Feta and Mushroom Bread Tarts

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I had these at Cooking Club this month and decided they’d be a good appetizer for Valentine’s Day.  Tyler surprised me with dinner on V-Day though so we actually didn’t have them until Sunday night.  We just made a whole batch and ate it for dinner!  Yum!

Feta and Mushroom Bread Tarts

Ingredients:

2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for sprinkling
8 slices white crusty bread
8 portobello mushrooms, stalks removed
4 large tomatoes, quartered and seeded
8 oz feta cheese, about 1 cup crumbled
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
basil or sage, chopped to serve

Put the garlic into a small bowl, add olive oil, and mix.  Smear or brush over both sides of the bread and transfer to a roasting pan.  Put a mushroom on each slice of bread.  Put 2 tomato quarters on each mushroom and sprinkle with crumbled feta.

Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper, then cook in preheated overn at 350 for 25 minutes until the bread is golden  Top with your chosen herb and serve hot or warm.

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Jules hosted our Cooking Club this month and we had a huge turnout and some seriously delicious food!  On the menu for the evening:

chicken, fig, and pancetta bites
feta and mushroom bread tarts
asparagus salad with walnut oil vinaigrette
cream of asparagus soup
beef en croute with mushroom sauce
mashed sweet potatoes with marsala
mashed minty potatoes and peas
molten chocolate cakes

It was all DELICIOUS.  My favorites were probably the feta and mushroom bread tarts, asparagus salad, and the asparagus soup.  I only got a few pics since I got caught up chatting with friends and eating the food!

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all of us milling around chatting while Erica actually does some food prep, lol.

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I believe Emily is hosting the next Cooking Club in March or April, and then I’m hosting in May.  Any ideas for a theme?  I need to choose one but I’m unsure.  I’d like to try making pasta from scratch, but I should probably learn how before teaching others! I will probably head over to Joelen’s blog for inspiration, since she is the queen of foodie gtgs.  Maybe I should just fly her in to help ;)

head over here to read Julie’s wrap up and see more pictures and links to recipe!

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