Chicken-Cabbage Salad with Pineapple & Apple

This recipe, from Better Homes & Gardens (along with the photo at right), was the inspiration for my lunch today. I used canned pineapple, and made my own sesame, ginger & peanut butter dressing, but all the flavors were basically the same. Just linking it here so it'll pop up when I search my own blog for ideas!

Bourbon Chicken

Yum! Largely inspired by Cook's Country's recipe published Aug/Sept 2021.

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken cut into bite-sized pieces

1-2 T cornstarch

¼ C soy (or tamari or amino acids)

¼ C brown sugar

2 T bourbon

1 t toasted sesame oil, plus more for cooking

      (or use vegetable oil for cooking)

½ t Sriracha or a pinch of red pepper flakes

1 lg clove garlic

1 t grated or fine minced fresh ginger

1-2 t apple cider vinegar

1 T butter

Optional for serving/garnishing: toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions, rice...

Directions

Whisk together soy, brown sugar, bourbon, 1 t sesame oil and Sriracha/pepper flakes in a small bowl. Heat, as needed, to dissolve sugar.

Toss the chicken pieces with cornstarch. Preheat skillet over medium-high heat; add 1 T sesame (or vegetable) oil to coat; add chicken. Cook, stirring and turning as needed, until browned and cooked through. (10 minutes, more or less, depending on the size of your chicken pieces)

Add garlic, ginger and sauce. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened to a syrupy consistency (6-8 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in cider vinegar and butter.

Serve ...over rice, garnished with sliced scallions and/or sesame seeds.

Tempura - light & crispy, with whipped egg whites

Most really light and fluffy tempuras, in my experience, have relied on carbonation. This version uses whipped egg whites for a slightly more stable batter...and some added protein, too!

(Note: The photo is not my own. I'll try to remember and take one next time around; every time I make tempura, by the time I've fried everything, I'm hungry and ready to eat while it's still hot and crispy!)

Ingredients

½ C flour

¼ C + 2 T cornstarch, divided
¼ t cayenne

¼ t garlic powder

½ t salt

2 T sesame oil

2 large egg whites, room temp

sliced vegetables or shrimp (or whatever you want to prepare with the tempura)

oil for frying -- vegetable oil, peanut oil, sesame oil...

sauce for dipping (plenty of options, including store bought varieties)

Directions

Combine flour, ¼ C cornstarch, cayenne, garlic powder and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in 2 T sesame oil, and 2/3 C cold water until batter is smooth. Refrigerate until well chilled (about an hour).

Slice and prepare vegetables, shrimp, etc. Toss with remaining 2 T cornstarch.

Heat frying oil in a large, wide pot to 375° F.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold in chilled batter in a wide, shallow bowl. A few at a time, drop vegetables (shrimp, etc.) into tempura batter; transfer to hot oil. Cook until golden brown, turning as needed. Using tongs, remove from oil onto paper towel lined plate. Season with salt, if needed.

Serve with dipping sauce.

Rhubarb Salsa

This is a pretty pickle-y, vinegary salsa...a little more relish-like. But since I love pickles, I like it!! I had it over a sautéed chicken thigh with some extra lime-honey pan sauce, but it would also be good on pork or fish, or used as a relish on sandwhiches or burgers too. Personally, I choose to leave out the cilantro (I'm not a fan!) and use a very small jalapeno.

Ingredients

1 T honey

1 t olive oil

1 lime

1 C rhubarb

½ red bell pepper

2 T red onion

salt & pepper to taste

optional: 1 small jalapeno, 1 T fresh chopped cilantro

Directions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, oil and the juice and zest of the lime.

Small dice (¼ inch - or smaller) the rhubarb, bell pepper and onion (and jalapeno, if using; and chop cilantro, if using). Add to honey-lime mixture, stirring to combine. Season with salt & pepper.

Funnel Cakes

It's fair week in the PNW...so here's a recipe for some traditional "fair food" that you can make at home in case you missed it at your local county fair!

Ingredients (makes 6-8 funnel cakes, 8-10 inches)

1½ C AP flour

2 T sugar

2 t baking powder

pinch salt

1 egg

½ C milk

½ C water

½ t vanilla extract

oil for frying

powdered sugar

Directions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until evenly blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, milk, water and vanilla. Beat liquid mixture into flour until smooth.

In an electric frying pan or deep skillet, heat about 1½ - 2 inches of oil to 375°F. (I heat the oil to nearer 400°F; as soon as you add the batter, the temperature drops significantly. If it drops below about 350°F, your batter is soaking up oil before it cooks.)

From a few inches above the oil, drizzle batter* (about 1/3 C) in circular, spiral pattern into the hot oil. Fry until golden brown -- about 2 minutes each side. Use tongs to remove from oil onto paper towel lined plate or pan to drain.

* Using a funnel is traditional (though not necessary): Cover the spout/bottom of the funnel with your finger; load the funnel with 1/3 C of the batter --  or a little more since some will remain coating the sides the funnel. Release your finger holding the funnel a few inches over the oil, drizzling in a circular, spiral pattern...

Dust with powdered sugar to serve.

        ...or go all out and drizzle with your favorite syrup or top with ice cream!

'Churro Cake' with Spiced Chocolate Sauce

I've made this 'churro cake' before (recipe courtesy of Food Network). Just now I'm playing with some of my recipes--reducing the ingredient amounts and adjusting the baking times so my Baking & Pastry students can get baking experience without making full-sized cakes and pies every day...both for health and budgetary reasons! 😁

The cakes are brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with sugar-cinnamon, and drizzled or served with a spiced chocolate sauce. I like the flavors, but I'm not wild about how the sugar-cinnamon adds a 'gritty' texture into the sauce. Personally, I'd just throw a little extra cinnamon into the cake; there's already plenty of sugar and sweetness. But, it IS very churro-like to have the sugar-cinnamon coating.

Just a note: The mini-bundt pans we have in the student kitchens do NOT have a hole in the center, just an indentation; I have not completely filled a center-hole with chocolate sauce. (Not that that would be bad, of course...!)

Chocolate 'Shell' Ice Cream Topping

If you have a small crowd, the amounts below will work. Since I was just testing this out, I reduced things to about 3 oz of chocolate, 2 T coconut oil and a pinch of salt. I used dark chocolate (well, a semi sweet), but milk or white would probably work too. White chocolate may not get that hard, and may not need quite as much coconut oil. I've also seen versions with add-ins (peanut butter, extracts, freeze dried berries, etc.). I just went basic here, but it could be fun to experiment. The secret to it hardening is because of the coconut oil -- kind of a misnomer since coconut 'oil' is a solid at room temperature (soft, but not a liquid).

Ingredients

12 oz chocolate, chopped

½ C coconut oil

¼ tsp salt 

Directions

Melt all the ingredients in a double boiler (or in the microwave) being careful not to cook the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Let rest at room temperature at least 15 minutes before spooning over ice cream.

You could also dip your ice cream into the chocolate shell mixture...

Quinoa Strawberry Salad with Basil & Citrus-Maple Vinaigrette

The basic idea for this salad comes from Eating Well magazine (April 2020). I didn't follow it exactly--what I threw together is listed below--but it's all the same thing, really. It's the citrus-maple vinaigrette that really tempted me. The fact that our local strawberries are available now, and my basil plant is growing gang-busters right now were definitely contributing factors...fresh, local summer flavors at their peak!

Ingredients

¼ C olive oil

2 T lemon juice

2 T maple syrup

pinch each salt & pepper

2½ C cooked quinoa

1 C chopped, fresh strawberries

½ C crumbled feta

3 T packed, chopped or torn fresh basil leaves

Directions

Cook the quinoa according to pkg directions (I used only water and a generous pinch of salt) and chill.

Whisk together first 4 ingredients for the vinagrette.

Pour vinagrette over strawberries, feta, and 2 T of the chopped basil in a bowl; gently stir into chilled quinoa. Garnish with remaining basil to serve.

This amount would serve 3-4 as a side. Put it over a bed of greens (including some more basil--yum!) and it could easily be stretched to feed more diners.

Cornmeal Waffles

I think regular Belgian waffles are great. But after making Strawberry Cornmeal layer cake recently, I was curious to try this recipe for Cornmeal Waffles (recipe from Brown Sugar Kitchen, published in Sunset magazine and other places online). It uses both yeast and a chemical leavener (baking soda); the waffles are nice a fluffy, but it does require chilling the batter overnight. I don't mind; but I'd like to experiment with a true/pure quick bread (chemical leavener only) recipe that uses cornmeal and wouldn't need to be made in advance...ideally without sacrificing texture. For now, here's Brown Sugar Kitchen's version:

Ingredients

1 tsp active dry yeast

½ C medium-grind cornmeal

1 C flour

¾ tsp salt

¾ tsp sugar

1 large egg + 1 egg white

 C whole milk

6 T melted, unsalted butter

¼ tsp baking soda

vegetable oil to brush the waffle iron

* I used salted butter this time, and reduced the added salt

Directions

Combine active dry yeast with 6 T very warm water (120°). Let stand until foamy (about 10 min).

Whisk cornmeal with flour, salt and sugar in a bowl.

In another bowl, whisk together egg, egg white and milk; then whisk in yeast mixture. Gradually whisk in butter until just combined. Chill batter overnight.

Heat oven to 250°; place a baking sheet in the oven -- with a wire rack on it, if you have one that's oven safe.

Heat waffle iron to hottest setting. Whisk baking soda into batter. Brush oil onto hot waffle iron; pour or scoop batter about 1 C at a time (depending on the size of your waffle iron) and cook until golden brown -- usually 5-8 minutes or until they stop steaming.

Transfer waffles to bakign sheets as they're done to keep them warm and crisp.

Brown Sugar Kitchen has a variety of toppings on their menu including Praline Bourbon Bacon Syrup and Rosé Strawberries with Vanilla Cream. I had some strawberry-blackberry compote and whipped cream to top mine this time around.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients

½ lb rhubarb

½ lb strawberries

3½ oz sugar

1½ tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

pinch salt

Directions

Chop both the rhubarb and strawberries into ½" pieces (separately).

Toss half of the sugar with the strawberries in a bowl; add lemon juice. Place berries in a strainer over a saucepan and let sit for ½ hour, stirring occasionally.

Return berries to bowl. Add rhubarb and remaining sugar to the strawberry juice in the saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce ehat and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until fruit is softened (about 10 minutes). Add strawberries and cook an additional minute or two. Remove from heat.

If desired, mash fruit to desired consistency. Stir in vanilla and salt.

Serve on toast or muffins; stir into yogurt, spoon over pancakes, waffles, angel food cake, ice cream...

Strawberry Cornmeal Layer Cake

Eating Well just published this recipe (June 2021) for a cornmeal cake...layered with strawberries and yogurt whipped cream.

I've tried a few different corn-cake recipes in the past; still haven't found one I'm really in love with. This one tasted fine; it includes a bit of orange juice and zest (as have others), and I used an oragne-infused olive oil -- which wouldn't be necessary, but boost the flavor even a little more. Flavor is fine, but it's a very 'hearty' cake. Dense. Heavy. It is a cornMEAL cake, so I suppose that's to be expected.

I'm still looking for a lighter version, still big on corn-y flavor. I'll post one if I find or develop a good recipe! But this does get props for the zing that comes with the orange as well as the yogurt that's folded into the whipped cream layer, which was better than I thought it would be!

Chocolate Cookies

With a thin crust for a little crunch around the edges and a soft, fudgy center...I LOVE these cookies!

Ingredients

1 C + 2 T butter, softened

1 C sugar

½ C brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

2 C flour

¾ C cocoa powder (I use dark)

1 t soda

½ t salt

optional: 1-2 C chocolate chips

  (semi sweet, milk, dark, or peanut butter chips...

     this time I used toffee bits)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add, all at once, to creamed mixture.

Stir in chips, if desired.

Spoon or scoop onto ungreased baking sheets. (I use parchment paper.)

Bake 10-12 minutes.