Orange Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry

This was a super easy recipe. I used fresh (not frozen) stir-fry vegetables from Trader Joes. They have them all cut up and packaged for you, it's so easy! (find them in the section with the lettuce and veggies). I also used Trader Joes stir fry sauce but you could substitute any brand stir fry sauce, or hoisin sauce is also great. Enjoy!

1 lb. chicken breast, cut up in chunks

1 bag of fresh stir fry veggies from Trader Joes (Or you could do all the work yourself and cut up broccoli, snow peas, peppers, bok choy, napa cabbage, carrots, etc.)

1/2 cup (estimate) orange juice

1/2 cup (estimate) Trader Joes stir fry sauce

Cashew pieces (I don't know how much I put in, just put as much as you like)

Jasmine rice cooked

Brown chicken breast in skillet with a little bit of olive oil. When almost done cooking, add stir fry veggies. Sautee together until chicken is cooked through (just a few minutes). Add orange juice and continue sauteeing the veggies until they are cooked all the way through. Add the stir fry sauce the last couple of minutes. Continue cooking until all heated through and veggies and chicken are cooked completely. Add cashews and stir together. Serve over cooked jasmine rice.

Pizza Poppers

These pizza poppers are so easy and so delicious!
You just have to roll out your refrigerated pizza dough, put on any toppings that you want, fold them up, bake them, and enjoy them!
You can use whatever toppings you would like. I did one dish with just cheese and then one with cheese, pineapple, green peppers and turkey pepperoni.)
Pizza Poppers Recipe:

(I got these from OurBestBites and they call them Stuffed Pizza Rolls.)

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough
marinara/pizza sauce
2T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese, diced or grated
Pizza toppings of your choice: ie, ham and pineapple, pepperoni slices, sausage, etc.

*You can use regular pizza dough, or thin crust.

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees. If you make your own dough, 400 is usually a good heat as well.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after) Just eyeball how much. You just need to be able to enclose the toppings in the dough so keep that in mind.

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter (I've used both and there's not much difference in result) and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Keep an eye on them! Doughs vary, so I'd check them after even 10 minutes.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Ricotta Cookies

Ricotta Cookies

1 lbs. butter room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 lbs. Ricotta cheese

2 tsp. vanilla

4 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, Ricotta, vanilla and mix. Add flour and soda. Place small dough balls on baking sheet and sprinkle the tops with sprinkles. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.

*I thought these cookies were delicious. They tasted like little cakes. I would not put sprinkles on them though. I thought that sounded weird and so I only put them on a few batches and I definitely preferred them without sprinkles. Also, this recipe makes A TON of cookies. So unless you need a lot of cookies then I would definitely halve the recipe. I think next time I make them I will put a little lemon zest in the batter.

Tri-Colore Orzo

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (my best friend)

Ingredients
1 pound orzo pasta
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup
2 cups fresh arugula (about 3 ounces)
3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata cheese (or feta cheese)
1/2 cup dried cherries
12 fresh basil leaves, torn
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring
occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and put the pasta on a large cookie sheet. Drizzle the pasta with 3 tablespoons olive
oil, toss, spread out, and set aside to cool.
Once the orzo is cool, transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and toss gently to combine. Serve.

I realize my photography skills are blowing your mind.

sticky rice with mango

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Super-yummy Thai dessert, usually found in northern Thailand...

Yield: Serves 6

1 1/2 cups glutinous (sweet) rice
1 1/3 cups well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted lightly
1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into thin slices (at least 24)

In a bowl wash rice well in several changes of cold water until water is clear. Soak rice in cold water to cover overnight. (or, set it to soak in the morning, if you're making it that night)

Drain rice well in a sieve. Set sieve over a large deep saucepan of simmering water (sieve should not touch water) and steam rice, covered with a kitchen towel and a lid, 30 to 40 minutes, or until tender (check water level in pan occasionally, adding more water if necessary). (I use a large mesh colander for this, it fits exactly into my 8-quart stock pot)

While rice is cooking, in a small saucepan bring 1 cup coconut milk to a boil with 1/3 cup sugar and salt, stirring until sugar is dissolved, and remove from heat. Keep mixture warm.

Transfer cooked rice to a bowl and stir in coconut-milk mixture. Let rice stand, covered, 30 minutes, or until coconut-milk mixture is absorbed. Rice may be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead and kept covered at room temperature.

While rice is standing, in cleaned small pan slowly boil remaining 1/3 cup coconut milk with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and chill until cool and thickened slightly.

To serve, mold 1/4 cup servings of sticky rice on dessert plates. (use a small bowl, dipped in water is easiest) Drizzle desserts with sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired. Divide mango slices among plates.

from Gourmet | June 1994, courtesy Epicurious

 

Classic Gougeres

 

Produced in both France and Switzerland, Gruyère is a cow's milk cheese with a subtle, nutty flavor. It shreds easily and melts beautifully, making it excellent for cooking, and is a superlative table cheese. Swiss Gruyère is one of the traditional cheeses used in fondue. The French version of this cheese, also called Gruyère de Comté, or simply Comté, is aged longer than Swiss Gruyère. Hence, it has a deeper flavor that is preferred for gougères and other French dishes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into
   small pieces
• 1 tsp. fine sea salt
• 1⁄8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1⁄4 tsp. sweet Hungarian paprika
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 5 eggs
• 3⁄4 cup shredded Gruyère cheese
• 3⁄4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 tsp. milk

Directions:

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of an oven and preheat to 425°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, butter, sea salt, cayenne and paprika. Bring to a boil and cook until the butter melts. Remove from the heat and quickly add the flour all at once, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon until completely blended. Place the pan over medium-high heat and beat until the mixture forms a mass in the center of the pan and the pan bottom begins to be coated with the cooked mixture, 1 to 2 minutes; do not heat the mixture above lukewarm.

Remove from the heat and use the spoon to make a well in the center of the mixture. Immediately add 1 of the eggs and beat with the spoon until completely blended, then beat in 3 more of the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the Gruyère and one-third of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese until melted and thoroughly blended.

(I did this in a separate bowl, because I got my mixture too hot, and I was 

afraid that plus the heat of the pan would cook the eggs)

To form the gougères, spoon the paste into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip 1⁄2 inch in diameter. (If you don't have a pastry bag and tip, use a teaspoon.) Pipe mounds of the paste about 1 inch in diameter and 1⁄2 inch high onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the mounds 2 inches apart.

In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with the milk. Brush the gougères with the egg mixture, taking care not to mash them down, and sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the tops. Place the sheets on the racks in the oven and bake until the gougères are lightly browned and doubled in size, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven but leave the oven on. Using a small, sharp knife, cut a small slit in the side of each gougère. Return the sheets to the oven for 5 minutes to partially dry out the inside of the puffs. Transfer the gougères to wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature, piled into a large bowl or passed on trays.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Christmas, by Carolyn Miller (Simon & Schuster, 2003).

(shared/made by Jennie)

Israeli Couscous Salad

1 cup Israeli couscous

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

4 T olive oil, divided

2 cups dried cranberries (craisins)

1 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup spring onions, white parts only, chopped

1/2 medium sized red onion, finely chopped

1 oz cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1 shallot, minced

1/2 lemon

sea salt to taste

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, heat 1 T olive oil over medium high heat.
Add the couscous and stir about 1 minute, until the couscous is lightly browned.
Stir in 2 cups of broth.*
Cover with a lid and reduce heat to low.
Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the couscous has absorbed most of the liquid and is al dente.
Drain in a colander but do not rinse.
Once cooled, stir in the remaining 3 T olive oil to coat and separate the grains.

In a serving dish, combine the couscous with craisins, pine nuts, spring onions, red onion, cilantro, lemon zest and shallots. Spritz with lemon juice and adjust seasoning with the sea salt to taste.

Note: This can be a very seasonal dish; simply dice additional fresh vegetables (butternut squash in the fall, zucchini in the summer) and toss in.
* Of course, you can always boil it in plain water as you would pasta and drain it; but I prefer the extra boost of flavor that comes from using a broth.

This recipe courtesy of this blog.