These are my recent recipes that I try to remember to take pictures of as I'm cooking, with my critiques and comments. I like to do something new almost every day, at least as long as Kris doesn't get sick of my recipe experimenting.
Chicken Scallion Rice bowl
I modified this recipe from Food Network a bit because I don't really like fish sauce, I didn't have mirin, and I couldn't find jicama in the store.
Ingredients:
6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tablespoons mirin (substitute dry sherry)
1 tablespoon fish sauce (substitute soy sauce)
1 bunch scallions (about 6) (I used some of the ones I'm growing by the window!)
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, caps thinly sliced, stems reserved
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 small bunch basil, plus basil leaves, for serving
1 large chicken breast (about 12 ounces)
1/2 to 1 red jalapeno, thinly sliced (seeds and ribs removed for less heat, if desired)
1 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed
3 ounces (1 cup) julienned jicama (I left this out)
Kosher salt
Combine the broth, water, sherry, and soy sauce in a large saucepan ( I used a wok. That thing always comes in handy).
Cut all but one scallion into 1-inch pieces and add to the broth with
the mushroom stems, ginger, garlic and bunch basil.
Bring to a simmer
over medium-high heat and continue to simmer until reduced by half, about 45 minutes. (I think 45 minutes may be too long. By 30 minutes my broth was already too reduced. Taste along the way to make sure it's not getting too salty.)
Remove the solids from the broth using a strainer or slotted spoon and discard.
Add the chicken, sliced mushroom caps, and jalapeno to the broth;
adjust heat to keep the broth at a gentle simmer and cook 12 to 14
minutes or until the chicken is just cooked through. Transfer the
chicken to a cutting board and slice into 1-inch pieces.
Scoop 1/2 cup of the cooked rice in each bowl and ladle some of the soup over it. Slice the reserved scallion on an angle and sprinkle over each bowl along with the basil leaves.
(I didn't remember to take pictures of the finished product because I was scarfing it down, but I recommend this dish! Try adding your own flavors or veggies!)
Tilapia Masala
Adapted from Food Network
Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed (Who has time to rinse rice? I didn't rinse)
Kosher salt
1/2 cup frozen peas (I had peas and carrots)
3/4 cup plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt, yummm)
1 small clove garlic, chopped
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 6-ounce tilapia fillets (I only used 2)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the broiler. -I moved this to the beginning, because they had it right before 'put the fish in the broiler' which is very inconvenient when you could have had the thing preheating this whole time.
Cook the rice per instructions, stir in the peas and set aside.
Puree 1/2 cup yogurt, the garlic, ginger, lime juice, cumin, cayenne and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a food processor.
You'll note that I didn't finish reading the instructions and put it all in the blender. Much messier this way.
 |
| This is not a food processor |
Transfer all but 3 tablespoons (don't forget to reserve some!) of the mixture to a large bowl. Pierce
the fish a few times with a fork and season with salt; add to the bowl
and toss. Marinate 15 minutes.
 |
| Marinating fish |
Place the fish on a broiler pan (It helps with cleanup to line with foil first); top with the
marinade and butter. Broil until opaque, 6 to 8 minutes.
Mix the
remaining 1/4 cup yogurt and salt to taste with the
yogurt mixture (I hope you didn't forget to save some. I didn't forget and was very proud of myself). Serve the fish and rice with the yogurt sauce.
 |
| Beautiful fish |
Alpine Mushroom Pasta
Adapted from Eating Well
Ingredients:
8 ounces whole-wheat fettuccine (I made enough for 2)
6 cups shredded Savoy cabbage, (about 1 small head) (I just chopped enough for 2)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, thinly sliced (I used shiitake)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup diced smoked cheese, such as smoked mozzarella, Cheddar or gouda (I used mozzarella)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage, or 3/4 teaspoon dried (I used fresh from our garden, of course)
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta for 4 minutes. Add
cabbage and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta and
cabbage are tender, about 4 minutes more. Reserve 1/2 cup of the
cooking liquid and drain the pasta and cabbage.
I had fresh pasta that cooks in 2 minutes, so I cooked the cabbage first, then cooked the pasta, then forgot and drained all the water.
 |
| Boiling cabbage |
 |
| Onion and mushrooms |
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add
mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until the
mushrooms are tender and beginning to release their liquid, about 5
minutes.
I hate 'meanwhile's in recipes. Because by the time you get to 'meanwhile', you've already taken that time to have another sip of your cocktail and to try to catch what's going on on American Idol.
 |
| Cooking my mushrooms |
Whisk wine and flour in a small bowl. Add to the pan along with salt and
pepper; cook, stirring, until the mixture thickens, about 1 minute. (Or about the time it takes to frantically cut your tomatoes that you forgot to cut.)
Add
tomatoes and cook until just beginning to break down, about 1 minute
more. (Or about the time it takes to frantically dice the cheese you forgot to dice.)
 |
| Added the wine |
 |
| Diced the cheese |
Return the pasta and cabbage to the pot.
This went badly. The pot was still hot, so when the pasta hit it it went 'hissssssssss' and smelled like burning. Don't do it like that.
Add the mushroom sauce, the
reserved cooking liquid, cheese and sage; gently toss to combine.
I'm not sure about this part. I used some water since I threw out my cooking liquid, and I probably missed something, but the added liquid makes the whole thing runny and doesn't seem to add anything good. Next time I'd leave it out.
 |
| Stir it all together |
The cheese melted nicely, though it seemed a bit odd thrown in there.
On the website it says the dish is Italian, influenced by Austria and
Switzerland. I suppose they just took a good Italian dish and threw in
some cabbage to make it their own. I suspect it would be just as
successful without the cabbage.
Overall it was ok, though not so visually appealing. It tasted mainly of sage and mushrooms, and could definitely stand to be punched up with some spice.
 |
| Alpine mushroom pasta |
Yet another Food Network recipe- they're just so darn good!
Orange Sherbert Recipe, from Alton Brown
This is his orange sherbert recipe, and it does not disappoint. It tastes better than any orange sherbert you've had.
This is the first time I've ever made ice cream. Last weekend, Kris, Ainsley and I were at a festival in the Heights where there was a silent auction. I saw the basket with the ice cream maker and multicolored ice cream towels and squealed at it, so Kris put down his name. The next day we got a call that we had bought an ice cream maker.
Never silent auction while drinking.
Ingredients:
7 ounces sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, approximately 2 to 3 pounds oranges (or buy the delicious, fresh squeezed orange juice from HEB like I did)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups very cold whole milk
 |
| Ice cream maker! |
In a food processor combine all of
the ingredients except the milk and process until the sugar is
dissolved, approximately 1 minute. So easy!
Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl
and whisk in the milk. People use 'whisk' too easily. I get out my whisk when I could have just as well used a fork and now I've got my whisk all dirty for nothing.
Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator
until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 1 hour. I just realized it said 'cover the bowl'. Skipped that part.
The waiting part is the most difficult. I suggest having your cocktail in front of the season finale of American Idol and loudly proclaiming your choice for the winner, jumping up and down when they win, spilling your cocktail, and cleaning it up with that cleaning spray you bought. Oh look, the mixture is already ready.
 |
| My sherbet! |
It probably would have been prettier if I had used the ice cream scoops we won, but we were too anxious to eat it for that. So keep in mind it tastes a LOT better than it looks. Kris finished off the quart that night.
Chicken Piccata with Pasta and Mushrooms
Ingredients:
6 ounces whole-wheat angel hair pasta
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, divided
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 chicken cutlets
3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 10-ounce package mushrooms, sliced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed
2 teaspoons butter
Cook the pasta.
 |
| Pasta |
Meanwhile, (there's that meanwhile again... I'm not organized enough for meanwhile) whisk 5 teaspoons flour and broth in a small bowl until
smooth.
Place the remaining flour in a shallow dish. (Or just sprinkle it right on the chicken.) Season chicken with
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and dredge both sides in the flour.
Heat 2
teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. (If you have an electric stove like mine, put it on 'medium', smell it burn, curse the stove, turn it to 'low', grudgingly turn it back up to 'medium low', while muttering insults at said stupid stove.)
Add the
chicken and cook until browned and no longer pink in the middle, 2 to 3
minutes per side. Transfer to a plate; cover and keep warm. (Keep warm? Now I have to turn the oven on and put them on an oven safe plate? Why couldn't we have been doing this during a 'meanwhile'?)
 |
| Chicken cutlets |
 |
| Cutting up my veggies |
 |
| Cooking the mushrooms |
Transfer to a plate. (Again? I'm starting to think we could've just used 2 pans...) Add garlic and wine to the pan and cook until reduced by half, 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the
reserved broth-flour mixture, lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon
salt. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, until the sauce is
thickened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in parsley, capers, butter and the reserved mushrooms. Measure out
1/2 cup of the mushroom sauce.
Toss the pasta in the pan with the
remaining sauce. Serve the pasta topped with the chicken and the
reserved sauce. I just left all the sauce in the pan and stirred in the pasta. Janet: The Lazy Cook strikes again.
The chicken piccata was a success. It's a really good, easy to make dish with yummy flavors of lemon and caper. I did think it was a tad heavy on the lemon, both the lemon and wine added acidity, so it ended up being a little too much. I might experiment with adding less lemon juice next time.
 |
| Chicken piccata with mushrooms |
