Super Simple Chicken/Shrimp Pineapple Sake Teriyaki Stir Fry

This is a FANTASTIC sauce!
Goes with almost everything!

Put this together the other night – very simple, very quick.  The Pineapple Sake Teriyaki marinade I used by Earth and Vine is like a miracle sauce.  This stuff is awesome with chicken, fish, pork – you name it.  I reduce it and use it as a glaze on chicken or pork or salmon, I have even added it to meat loaf – yum! It is awesome as a finishing sauce as well.  Most fine food stores will carry it.

15 minutes to fantastic!  YUM.

Anyway – rummaged around in the freezer, and came up with the last 8 frozen shrimp (jumbo size – 21-25 per lb) a hefty frozen skinless chicken breast, and a bag of frozen Chinese stir fry veggies…..a nice new bottle of Pineapple Sake marinade….. and the last bag of brown rice…. hmmm, smells like dinner!  This was super simple, took about 15 minutes from start to finish, and tasted fantastic!  A great middle of the week quick dinner!  Plus, its not too bad calorie wise – almost all the calories come from the marinade – about 600 or so, but this made 3 servings…rough guess on calories was about 700 or so per serving.

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil

3 cloves garlic diced

1 large skinless chicken breast, cubed into about ½ inch pieces

8 frozen shrimp – de shelled, and cut in half so you have 16 pieces.

1 shallot diced fine

1 16 oz bag of frozen Chinese stir fry veggies

3/4 cup of Earth and Vine Pineapple Sake Teriyaki marinade

pinch of red pepper flakes (about ¼ tsp to taste)

3 portions of brown rice, cooked to the instructions ( I used the instant in a bag – quick and simple)

Instructions:

Brown Chicken

Saute veggies

Heat olive oil in pan over med high heat, and sauté garlic and shallot till translucent.  Add chicken, and sauté for about 5 minutes or so – till almost cooked through on the largest pieces.  Add about ¼ cup of the marinade to deglaze the pan, and stir well to coat the chicken well – about another 2 minutes.  Add the shrimp, stir for a minute or so, then add the veggies ( I added them frozen, not thawed for the moisture) and the rest of the sauce.  Turn heat up a bit, and stir well until veggies are hot, and brightly colored – about 5 or 6 minutes.  Serve over brown rice, and drizzle the last ¼ cup of marinade over the top.

  I made this in a 12 inch fry pan (because it was clean, and I didn’t feel like washing my 6 qt sauté pan….lazy cook, what can I say?) Clearly a wok would be better, but I don’t own one….  Regardless – it was a tasty treat to have while watching American Idol….

Enjoy!  Bon Appetit!

Thai restaurant quality Chicken Panang at home - super simple!

Home made Chicken Panang - YUM!

Boy, do I love Thai food!  We have a great restaurant here in New London, CT. and I have been trying for years to get a Panang (it is a coconut curry based cream sauce – totally amazing!) together that is as good as theirs.  I think with this combination, I have done that!  It takes a few specialty items, but if you like Thai cooking, they are ingredients you will use often.  The critical ingredient is the fish sauce…. don’t smell it when you get it – really nasty, (It's made from pressed anchovies....need I say more?.) but I have tried this without it, and you absolutely need it for the true Thai flavor!  This is a fairly simple recipe – and REALLY good!  You can make it as hot as you like with the red pepper flakes – I like it HOT, my wife not so much, so I usually add extra red pepper to mine.  The brown sugar is also a critical ingredient  - its amazing how much of a difference an additional tsp or so makes - use this to taste!  I should say - this recipe with one breast is enough for 2 people with some leftovers - use 2 breasts if they are small. 

Ingredients: 

2 tbs vegetable oil

4 – 5 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbs light brown sugar

1 large chicken breast, (2 if they are small) skinless, sliced thin into about ¼ x 1 inch pieces

1 13.6 oz can coconut milk ( use all the solids, about ½ the liquid)

pinch of red pepper flakes

1.5  tbsp fresh basil minced

2 tbs green curry paste (available in the specialty foods section of your market – same place as the coconut milk)

2 tbs fish sauce ( find it in the same place)

1.5 tbs yellow curry powder ( available in the spice section – this is handy for a number of recipe’s!)

1 cup diced 3 color frozen peppers

2 cups frozen green beans

3 tbs lime juice

(about ½ cup ½ and ½ if needed to cream it up)

For the rice:

½ cup dry rice

1 cup water

1 tbs butter

Bring water and butter to boil, add rice, stir, and lower heat to simmer.  Cover and heat for about 8 minutes till fluffy.

For the Panang:

In a large sauté pan, heat vegetable oil over med high heat, then sauté garlic till translucent.  Add chicken, cook till almost done, about 7 minutes, stirring often.  Add peppers, beans, curry powder and basil.  Cover, lower temp to med low, and simmer for about 5 minutes till the veggies are warmed. Add remaining ingredients and stir well – as for the coconut milk – add all the solids, and about ½ the liquid.  Simmer for about 8 or 10 minutes until all the flavors are mixed.  Serve over rice.

Again, as I have said before, all measurements are approximate – feel free to change to your taste.  I have added ½ and ½ if the sauce wasn’t creamy enough, the sugar is an important part as well.  I have even made coconut milk by simmering ½ and ½ with shredded baking coconut – strain out the coconut before adding, and it works fine!  This is Thai restaurant cooking at home –  my wife is a HUGE Panang fan, and she swears this is as good as anything we have had out!  Enjoy!

Bon appetite!

Pan Fried Almond Crusted Fish with Lemon Butter Sauce

This is a recipe sent to me by the wife of a friend in the Navy.  Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds really good!  He is in Iraq right now ( go figure, submariner in the desert.... only in America....)  Say a prayer for him to stay safe!  I think he has about 6 months to go till he can come home to his family...

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. of white fish (flounder, cod, tilapia, etc.)

Lemon Butter Sauce

1 cup dry white wine

½ cup lemon juice

2 T. minced garlic

1 T. minced shallot

1 t. salt

¼ t. black pepper

1 dash Worcestershire sauce

1 dash hot pepper sauce

½ cup heavy cream

6 T. butter, room temperature

Fish Spice Blend

½ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. black pepper

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. dried thyme

¼ cup almonds or pecans (finely ground in blender or processor)

¾ cup breadcrumbs

¼ cup buttermilk

Method:

Heat a large skillet over high heat.  Add the wine lemon juice, garlic and shallots; cook for 3 minutes.  Stir in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire and hot sauce; simmer until the mixture is somewhat syrupy, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the cream and cook for 1 minute.  Over low heat, whisk in the butter, a few pats at a time and continue whisking until all butter is incorporated.  Mix fish spice blend together except for the buttermilk.  Rinse fish and place in a shallow dish; pour buttermilk over fish.  Remove fillets from the buttermilk and dredge in the fish spice blend, coating all sides.  In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil and pan-fry for about 4 minutes on each side.  Drizzle lemon butter sauce over the fish and garnish with fresh parsley.  Serve with steamed vegetables and a glass of white wine.

Rigatoni Vodka - super simple - restaurant quality!

Rigatoni Vodka

Rigatoni Vodka- simply awesome!

We have a local restaurant that does probably the best Rigatoni Vodka I have ever had!  All of the ingredients are minced so fine, they almost render down in the cooking.  This is my version of the sauce – my son, who is a HUGE fan of the restaurant , says it is just as good – I guess I will have to go with his opinion!  This is a fairly simple sauce to make – again, the trick is to mince up everything as small as possible.  This is a great meal when you don’t feel like cooking – a little dicing, and simmer it for a bit – you are good to go!

Well, enough said, here is the recipe:

For the sauce:

1 tbs regular olive oil, NOT extra virgin

3 spicy Italian turkey sausages, de cased ( kind of a pain, but really necessary – usually you can just squeeze the meat out like toothpaste…. Sausage toothpaste…yummm)

1 jar tomato basil sauce

1 small onion, diced fine

½ cup red wine

1 cup (a handful) frozen tri color peppers, diced fine

1 14.5 oz can diced tomato’s, with the water

1 tbs tomato paste

5 large cloves garlic, diced fine

1 tbs fresh basil, (2 tsp dried)

2 tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

½ cup vodka

1 cup ½ and ½

3 cups Rigatoni

Directions:

In a large sauté pan, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. ( this is the first recipe where I don’t use a shallot – it’s actually a regular onion…lol)  Add sausage, mincing with a spatula as it cooks.  I use a really nifty tool by Pampered Chef – it has about 6 fins, and chops stuff up in a pan really well!  But a regular spatula will work fine.  Saute sausage until brown, then deglaze the pan with the red wine, stir until absorbed.

Add sauce, tomatoes, paste, basil, oregano and red pepper flakes.  Simmer on med low, stirring frequently.

In a medium sauce pan, bring about 4 or 5 cups water, seasoned with a tbs each of salt, basil and garlic powder to a rolling boil.  Add the pasta, and cook till al dente – about 7 or 8 minutes.

Add the vodka to the sauce when you put the pasta in the water, turn heat up a bit to bring the sauce to a boil.  Simmer for about 4 minutes.  Add ½ and ½, and simmer for another 4 minutes until pasta is done.

Drain pasta, add about 1 tbs olive oil, about 10 twists of fresh ground pepper, and a couple of tablespoons of parmesan cheese – and mix well.

Plate about 1/3 of the pasta, cover with a few ladles of sauce, top with parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

There will be plenty of leftover sauce – it serves 6 sauce wise, 3 pasta wise.  The sauce freezes very well.

Enjoy!

Bon Appetit!

Orange-sake glazed salmon - super simple, super good!

Orange-Sake glazed salmon

Salmon – my wife loves it, I think it’s only ok – and that ok totally depends on the way it is prepared!  Most times, we oven roast it with herbs on top – which always tastes awesome.  Thought I would try a little something different.  I recently received a great fruit basket from work – had some amazing oranges in it.  Had some sake and rice vinegar kicking around, so I made a nice brown sugar glaze for the fish.  Really tasted great – the sweetness of the brown sugar and orange zest was balanced by the sharpness of the sake…. Really nice, and super easy!  I keep some sake in the cabinet to cook with - if you don't have it, just use the white wine, it will still taste great. Use white vinegar if you don't have the rice vinegar as well.

Here is the glaze recipe:

Zest and juice from one orange

3 tbs sake

1tbs white wine

1 tbs light brown sugar

1 tbs rice vinegar

1 tbs Dijon mustard

¾ tsp corn starch

pinch of cayenne pepper

In a small sauce pan, whisk ingredients over medium high heat till they come to a boil.  Lower heat to medium, whisking constantly, until the glaze thickens up to a thick syrupy consistency.

For the fish, I took a couple of tbs of vegetable oil in a 12 inch sauté pan, and heated till shimmering.  I put a salmon filet flesh side down in the oil, and browned for a minute or two, then flipped it to skin side down and did the same thing.  I poured off the extra oil, and spooned the glaze over the fish.  I took the whole frying pan, stuck it in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes, until the fish was still a little rare in the middle.  I then put it under the boiler at low for about 2 minutes until the glaze…. Well… glazed….  Fish should flake with a fork when it is done.  Served it with some steamed mixed veggies (pretty cool – steam right in the bag you buy them in, and actually taste good!!  A little garlic powder, some lemon juice, and they are good to go! )

Easy, 20 minute meal, tasted great – the orange flavor of the glaze really complimented the fish.

No pics on this one!  Ate it too fast!

Enjoy!  Bon appetite!

Yummy Chicken Divan - easy comfort food out of leftovers!

 Chicken Divan

Had a bunch of leftover chicken meat from a huge chicken that Lynne roasted the night before – after looking around to see what we had in the house – decided on making Chicken Divan.  My mom used to make this all the time – and as a kid, I always thought it was pretty bland, and didn’t really care for the nutmeg she put in it….  So I thought I would ramp things up a bit.  I only used a pinch of nutmeg, and used some brandy, lemon juice and slivered almonds as well.  Came out awesome!  It is a super simple dish – it does require making a roux – which is butter and flour whisked into a thickened paste.  This is a great thing to know how to do – especially if you want to cook Cajun!

I had to use frozen broccoli – I would much prefer fresh in this dish, but hey, I was using what I had in the house.  Here is the recipe – I know it seems like a lot of ingredients…. But I was rummaging through cabinets at the time.  It really is super easy to make!

Yum, comfort food at its best!

2 cups rough chopped pre cooked chicken meat

1 package frozen broccoli – thawed in the microwave.

¼ cup chicken broth

4 tbs flour

6 tbs butter

1 small shallot

2 small cloves garlic, minced

½ sour cream

½ cup mayo

½ cup ½ and ½

1/8 tsp nutmeg

3 tbs brandy

¼ tsp thyme

1/8 stick cream cheese

1 tbs lemon juice

3 tbs parmesan cheese

½ cup shredded swiss cheese

¼ cup slivered blanched almonds

¼ cup Panko bread crumbs

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

In a large saute pan, saute the garlic and shallots in 2 tbs butter, add chicken and thawed broccoli and about 2/3 of the chicken broth, cover and let steam for about 2 or 3 minutes to heat through.  Remove from heat and set aside.

For the sauce, make a roux by melting 4 tbs of butter over med/low heat in a small sauce pan.  Slowly whisk in the flour a little at a time, until a smooth thick sauce results.  (if you put too much flour in, and it turns into a cookie dough consistency, whisk in a little chicken broth to loosen it up)  Stir in cream, then add the mayo, sour cream and cream cheese.  Stir until thick and smooth.  Add the brandy, about ½ of the swiss, all of the parmesan cheese, the lemon juice, thyme and nutmeg.  Stir until smooth and well mixed – do NOT boil. 

Ready to Bake!

Spread chicken/broccoli evenly

In an 8x11 baking dish, evenly spread chicken and broccoli.  Sprinkle almonds evenly.  Pour sauce over everything, covering it all, and smooth out.  Sprinkle remaining swiss, and panko bread crumbs over the top.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are crispy.  ( you can throw it under the broiler on low to speed that process up at the end)

This came out great – creamy, tasty – real comfort food!

Enjoy!

Bon Appetit!

Petit Sirloin with a home made demi glace, mushroom onion risotto - and an awesome ten buck Pinotage!

The road to a great demi-glace steak sauce!

I have always been a fan of a good demi-glace sauce for a beautiful steak.  A local restaurant, Franks Gourmet Grille, where I live on the East Coast, has a demi glace to kill for….. just a beautiful, silky, rich, fatty sauce that completely compliments the meat.  Restaurants generally simmer a base stock of veal bones, vegetables and wine for this sauce for a good 6 hours or more.

Petit Sirloin, Onion Mushroom Risotto

But really, who has time for that?  I recently came upon a recipe in Cooks Illustrated Magazine – (subscribe if you like to cook – this magazine is a definite keeper) that makes it fairly simple to do your own demi-glace in about 45 minutes.  It tasted great – not in Franks class, but definitely restaurant quality.  A few caveats – it ain’t cheap…..the ingredients cost about $8 bucks for about ¾  of a cup of finished product….and it’s a bit of a pain to make, but it is VERY good, and a little goes a LONG way.  It freezes well, and is simple to re-heat.  This is probably NOT a beginner recipe, but it really isn’t rocket science either.  Make sure you have a good fine mesh strainer for the end – I did not, and used coffee filters – which was fine, but messy.

Anyway, here is the recipe.  I served it over some petite sirloin steaks, with a simple mushroom/onion risotto, and an amazing South African Pinotage that I found for ten bucks – More on the wine:

A few years back, I exhibited my artwork at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.  That was an interesting story in and of itself, but while there, I met a guy repping South African wines… every night, when the show closed, all the vendors would gather around his booth and drain off all the open bottles.  This was some seriously good wine.  I ended up buying several cases over the years, and since then have always had an affinity for SA wines.  This one is no exception:

The Bean, Pinotage, 2009; Mooiplaas, Western Cape.  Pinotage is a cross between Pinot Noir and Cinsault (essentially Hermitage).  This wine was amazing – again for $9.99.  It was a dark purple color, with light manageable tannins, and an amazing aroma.  It tasted of herbs, cherry, blueberry, hard candy – was almost sweet in the finish, but very complex – just a riot of flavors.  After decanting, and with the steak, the taste firmed up to dark chocolate, coffee, some light oak – with an amazing berry finish.  This wine just explodes with flavor.  If you can find this – BUY it!!  A steal at ten bucks.

I grilled the steaks on the barby, and served them with a mushroom, green onion risotto.  Prior blogs cover the risotto – I added a handful or two of chopped baby bella mushrooms, and a couple of green onions  diced, with a bit of the green part left over for garnish.  Yum. 

Here is the recipe for the sauce:

The Beginning

1 small onion, peeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces

1 small carrot, peeled, and cut into ½ inch pieces

8 oz cremini or portabella mushrooms, cleaned and halved

2 medium garlic cloves peeled

1 tbs olive oil

8 oz 85% lean ground beef

1 tbs tomato paste

2 cups dry red wine

4 cups low sodium beef broth

4 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

2 tsp whole peppercorns

2 pkg unflavored powdered gelatin

1. Process onion, carrot, mushrooms, and garlic in food processor till diced fine.  About 10 or 12 pulses
2. Heat oil in 3 qt sauce pot over med high heat till shimmering.  Add beef and tomato paste, and cook, stirring frequently until beef is well browned, and moisture is evaporated – about 8 minutes.  Add wine, and scrape bottom with spoon to remove brown bits.  Add beef broth, thyme, bay leaves, peppercorns, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and gently boil, scraping bottom regularly, and skimming fat from surface, until reduced to about 2 cups.  About 20 – 25 minutes.



Simmer down to about 2 cups

3. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh strainer over a sauce pan, pushing with a rubber spatula to remove as much liquid as possible.  Should be about a cup or a cup and a quarter of liquid.  Sprinkle in gelatin stock and stir till dissolved.  Gently boil, reducing to about 2/3 a cup – about 5 to 7 minutes.  Spoon over meat and serve.  Remaining sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.  Reconstitute in a sauce pan over low heat.

This is a really good home made demi-glace for steak – I would definitively make it for company – ahead of time! 

Enjoy, and Bon Appetit!