A sesame smash...Lighter Sesame Chicken

We like just about every kind of cuisine, but the top three have to be Italian, Mexican, and Asian. This meal was great. Last week, after so many other things taking up my time, dinner was the last thing on my mind. So what to do...well with chicken thawing and broccoli needing to be used, I turned to good old Martha Stewart. This recipe for Lighter Sesame Chicken was in Everyday Food awhile back and though definitely not authentic, this dish won high ratings with the hubby. The sauce contributes the flavor, so definitely double the sauce so there is enough to go around.

Easy, Delicious, light, and pretty on the plate, what more could you ask for...we'll be making this again, maybe even soon!

Lighter Sesame Chicken
(adapted from Everyday Food; changes in italics)
Serves 4

• 3/4 cup brown rice (we used white)
  
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed with a garlic press
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower (we used sesame oil)
  
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into large florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced (I also added cut up green beans)
  

1. Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, and fill with 1 inch water; set aside for broccoli. Cook rice according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, make sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add half the chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until golden and opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and chicken. Return all the chicken to skillet; add reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat.
4. Meanwhile, place saucepan with steamer basket over high heat; bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve sesame chicken with broccoli and rice.

A twist on the taco!

We are big fans of tex-mex, authentic mexican, and everything in-between. Last week we revisited a recipe I made last year, before the blog. The recipe is for Beef Carnitas and is from Cooking Light. We call it barbacoa, but only because carnitas to us screams pork. It's great, perfect for adding your own spice preferences and the end product turns out nice and tender, perfect for a taco.

We add homemade tomato salsa and serve cilantro lime rice on the side. Yum!

Beef Carnitas (adapted from Cooking Light)

(my changes in italics)

1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 pounds beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
large unpeeled orange wedge
1 T Cumin ( I added these spices)
1 t cayenne pepper
1/2 t chipotle chili powder

Preparation

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add beef; sauté 5 minutes or until beef is browned on all sides. Stir in broth, sugar, salt, and pepper; nestle orange section into beef mixture. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Remove and discard orange. Continue simmering, uncovered, 8 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

Yield

4 cups (serving size: 1/2 cup)

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 180(40% from fat); FAT 8g (sat 3g,mono 3.4g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 22.2g; CHOLESTEROL 71mg; CALCIUM 16mg; SODIUM 320mg; FIBER 0.4g; IRON 2.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 3.5g

TWD: Honey Pecan Sticky Buns!

This week for Tuesdays with Dorie, Madam Chow of Madam Chow’s Kitchen chose Honey Pecan Sticky Buns for our recipe of the week. These rich and delicious rolls are made from brioche dough that is made ahead first and then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, rolled and then cut. The resulting roll is rich, buttery and reminiscent of a French pastry.

The dough is quite time consuming but the result is a very tender, buttery loaf that I think tastes quite similarly to a croissant. My husband loved them, probably due to the large amounts of butter in both recipes! The taste is tender and almost melts in your mouth. I actually defied Dorie and split the recips in half. I don't think it made a difference in the overall end product, but getting the dough to release from the stand mixer was a little difficult. So half of my half became sweet rolls and the other a mini loaf of brioche. Just enough to satisfy!

These were quite good and rich, but I didn't think they were amazing. That is probably due to the fact that I don't really care for butter. Gasp! Probably because I grew up on margarine! Gasp! Now as an adult I prefer butter to margarine, but it's not a love relationship! If company were coming I would think about it, that is if I could find a quicker brioche recipe.

Next week with TWD Di’s Kitchen Notebook has chosen…French Chocolate Brownies on pages 92-93.

Pecan Honey Sticky Buns
Makes 15 buns

For the Glaze:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup honey
1-1/2 cups pecans (whole or pieces)

For the Filling:
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

For the Buns:
1/2 recipe dough for Golden Brioche loaves (see below), chilled and ready to shape (make the full recipe and cut the dough in half after refrigerating it overnight)
Generously butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan (a Pyrex pan is perfect for this).

To make the glaze: In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, and honey to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently to dissovle the sugar. Pour the glaze into the buttered pan, evening it out asbest you can by tilting the pan or spreading the glaze with a heatproof spatula. Sprinle over the pecans.

To make the filling: Mix the sugars and cinnamon together in a bowl. If necessary, in another bowl, work the butter with a spatula until it is soft, smooth and spreadable.

To shape the buns: On a flour-dusted work surface, roll the chilled dough into a 16-inch square. Using your fingers or a pastry brush, spread the softened butter over the dough. Sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar, leaving a 1-inch strip bare on the side farthest from you. Starting with the side nearest you, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the roll as tight as you can. (At this point, you can wrap the dough airtight and freeze it for up to 2 months . . . . Or, if you want to make just part of the recipe now, you can use as much of the dough as you'd like and freeze the remainder. Reduce the glae recipe accordingly).

With a chef's knife, using a gentle sawing motion, trim just a tiny bit from the ends of the roll if they're very ragged or not well filled, then cut the log into 1-inch thick buns. (Because you trim the ragged ends of the dough, and you may have lost a little length in the rolling, you will get 15 buns, not 16.) Fit the buns into the pan cut side down, leaving some space between them.

Lightly cover the pan with a piece of wax paper and set the pan in a warm place until the buns ahve doubled in volume, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The buns are properly risen when they are puffy, soft, doubled and, in all likelihood, touching one another.

Getting ready to bake: When the buns have almost fully risen , center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Remove the sheet of wax paper and put the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. Bake the sticky buns for about 30 minutes, or until they are puffed and gorgeously golden; the glaze will be bubbling away merrily. Pull the pan from the oven.

The sticky buns must be unmolded minutes after they come out of the oven. If you do not have a rimmed platter large enough to hold them, use a baking sheet lined with a silicone mate or buttered foil. Be careful - the glaze is super-hot and super-sticky.

What You'll Need for the Golden Brioche Dough (this recipe makes enough for two brioche loaves. If you divide the dough in half, you would use half for the sticky buns, and you can freeze the other half for a later date, or make a brioche loaf out of it!):

2 packets active dry yeast (each packet of yeast contains approx. 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch water
1/3 cup just-warm-to-the-touch whole milk
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature but still slightly firm

What You'll Need for the Glaze (you would brush this on brioche loaves, but not on the sticky buns):
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

To Make The Brioche: Put the yeast, water and milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and, using a wooden spoon, stir until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and salt, and fit into the mixer with the dough hook, if you have one. Toss a kitchen towel over the mixer, covering the bowl as completely as you can-- this will help keep you, the counter and your kitchen floor from being showered in flour. Turn the mixer on and off a few short pulses, just to dampen the flour (yes, you can peek to see how you're doing), then remove the towel, increase the mixer speed to medium-low and mix for a minute or two, just until the flour is moistened. At this point, you'll have a fairly dry, shaggy mess.

Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula, set the mixer to low and add the eggs, followed by the sugar. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes, until the dough forms a ball. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter in 2-tablespoon-size chunks, beating until each piece is almost incorporated before adding the next. You'll have a dough that is very soft, almost like batter. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue to beat until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean bowl (or wash out the mixer bowl and use it), cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes, depending upon the warmth of your room.

Deflate the dough by lifting it up around the edges and letting it fall with a slap to the bowl. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator. Slap the dough down in the bowl every 30 minutes until it stops rising, about 2 hours, then leave the uncovered dough in the refrigerator to chill overnight. (After this, you can proceed with the recipe to make the brioche loaves, or make the sticky buns instead, or freeze all or part of the dough for later use.)
The next day, butter and flour two 8 1/2-x-4 1/2-inch pans.

Pull the dough from the fridge and divide it into 2 equal pieces. Cut each piece of the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece into a log about 3 1/2 inches long. Arrange 4 logs crosswise in the bottom of each pan. Put the pans on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat, cover the pans lightly with wax paper and leave the loaves at room temperature until the dough almost fills the pans, 1 to 2 hours. (Again, rising time with depend on how warm the room is.)

Getting Ready To Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
To Make the Glaze: Beat the egg with the water. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the tops of the loaves with the glaze.

Bake the loaves until they are well risen and deeply golden, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the pans to racks to cool for 15 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the pans and turn the loaves out onto the racks. Invert again and cool for at least 1 hour.

Baking up a storm!

Happy Memorial Day~

Thanks Grandpa for fighting in World War II and to all the other soldiers/veterans who have served our country!

During the past week there has been some action in the kitchen at our house! With Alex working more on the house and more lunches to be packed, cookies have become a favorite for him. Not much of a sweet tooth, the work he has been doing has been changing that. Watch out Cookie Monster. Last week he chose Magic Blondies for his dessert! These were full of chunks: chocolate, coconut, walnuts, and dried cherries. They were delicious out of the oven, but as the days wore on, they became a little dry. If made again, I think I would make them as cookie bars!

Well, I can't just lay all of this on him, we have had quite a few guests out to our house. A couple of weeks ago, some friends from our small group came out to help Alex put our dock and boat lift in. Cookies were our dessert, the Dark Chocolate Cherry cookies...yum! These are a dark chocolate cookies chock full of tart dried cherries and rich bittersweet chunks. They were good, but I thought they could have been better.

This week we had his parents over for dinner and his mother requested cookies. Well here favoite ice cream is Caramel Cashew, so what better cookie to make than the Caramel Cashew Cookie. (photo to come) These were so delicious. Toothsome, chewy and full of flavor. A winner for everyone!

I am a little sick of cookies, but we shall see what this short week holds!

Dark Chocolate Cookies with Sour Cherries
Source: Martha Stewart

1 ¾ cups flour
1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch-process
2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
¾ firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon vanilla
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 1 cup of Ghirardelli bittersweet chips)
1 ½ cups dried sour cherries, firmly packed (9 ounces) (I used 1 cup of peanut butter chips)

Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined. Do not overbeat. Fold in the chocolate and cherries with a wooden spoon.

Form balls of dough, each about 1/4 cup; place balls on baking sheet and bake until puffed and cracked, 9-11 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, and store in an airtight container up to 3 days.

* Dough can be frozen up to one month ahead. Thaw completely before baking. __________________

Find Magic Blondie Recipe in Martha Stewart's Cookies-The Very Best Treats to Bake and to Share
__________________
Cashew-Caramel Cookies

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups roasted, salted cashews
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon canola oil
1 stick unsalted butter, softened - 8 tablespoons
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
24 cubes soft caramel candy
1/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, sift flour and salt together. Coarsely chop 1 cup cashews and set aside. Process remaining 1 1/2 cups cashews in a food processor until finely chopped. Gradually pour oil into the feed tube. Process until mixture is creamy, about 2 minutes.

Put cashew mixture, butter, and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture. Mix in reserved chopped cashews.

Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place on parchment covered baking sheets about 2" apart. Bake 6 minutes; gently flatten with a 1 cup measuring cup. I tried using a spatula but it was too big - a metal cup worked much better. If they begin to stick when you are pressing down, make sure to wipe the bottom before moving to the next cookie. Bake until bottoms are just golden, 6 to 7 minutes more. Let cool completely on sheets on wire racks.

Melt caramels with cream in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring. Let cool. Using a spoon, drizzle caramel over cookies; let set. The caramel will not get hard so you can't stack these. Store them in single layers for the best result.

Makes 36 cookies

Seoul-ful Chicken and Minted Cucumbers

This dish was delicious! I found this recipe in my Cooking Light magazine and I knew that I would try it. It included flavors we love and it looked like it would come together quickly.

About a month ago we bought an investment property, a house to be exact. Alex being a remodeler was excited to get his hands dirty and start renovating. It is so much fun to watch it all come together and to see him so happy. Because of this we have had to make some of our meals more portable. You see, the new house and our house are about 45 minutes apart in traffic and I work five minutes from the new house. With a mini charcoal grill and a microwave, there are only so many hamburgers and leftovers to be made.

That's where this delicious recipe comes in. I was able to marinate the meat overnight, make the cucumbers and the rice the night before, and transport all of this the next day to the fridge at the new house for dinner. The chicken took about 15 minutes on the grill. Pop the rice in the microwave and spoon on the cucumbers, and voila, there's dinner!

This dish was tasty, quick and easy. My changes are in blue!

Seoul-Ful Chicken and Minted Cucumbers (adapted from Cooking Light)

Ingredients

Cucumbers:
1 English cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced (about 2 1/2 cups) used regular
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup minced shallots omitted, used minced garlic instead
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint omitted
1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
added salted peanuts

Chicken:
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds) used skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Cooking spray
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
4 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Preparation

1. To prepare cucumbers, place cucumber slices in a colander; sprinkle with salt, tossing well. Drain 1 hour. Place cucumber slices on several layers of paper towels; cover with additional paper towels. Let stand 5 minutes, pressing down occasionally. Combine cucumber, shallots, and next 6 ingredients (through chile) in a large bowl; toss gently. Cover and set aside.

2. To prepare chicken, place each chicken thigh between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet. Combine soy sauce and next 5 ingredients (through garlic) in a large zip-top plastic bag. Add chicken to soy sauce mixture in bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag occasionally.

3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag; discard marinade. Place 4 thighs in pan; cook 6 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining 4 thighs. Place 2 thighs and 1/2 cup cucumbers on each of 4 plates; sprinkle each serving with 1 tablespoon green onions and 1 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Information

CALORIES 262(31% from fat); FAT 8.9g (sat 1.9g,mono 3g,poly 2.8g); PROTEIN 29.9g; CHOLESTEROL 115mg; CALCIUM 40mg; SODIUM 502mg; FIBER 1.5g; IRON 2.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.9g

TWD: Going back, Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

These are so yummy! I joined TWD after they had chosen these and knew I would have to make them some time soon. I am a biscuit lover, in fact the first Dorie recipe that I tried were her biscuits. I love her word imagery, using your fingers to meld the butter into the dry ingredients. This type of cooking takes me back...makes me excited...I am creating something with my own hands that will taste so delicious. It's right up there with making your own bread by scratch, no mixer involved:)

This week Tara from Smells Like Home chose madeleines. Because I do not have a madeleine pan, I decided that this was the week to make the biscuits. While Alex was away meeting with the guys, I whipped these up in no time. The only substitutions I made were to use walnuts instead of pecans, only because I had them on hand and I added a dash of cinnamon.

Try them with jam or jelly, butter or cream cheese, these are seriously good and just sweet enough.

Next week: Pecan Honey Sticky Buns chosen by Madam Chow of Madam Chow’s Kitchen
Last week: Florida Pie chosen by Dianne of Dianne’s Dishes

This week: Madeleines or an old recipe

Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
(Source: Dorie Greenspan “Baking: From My Home to Yours” p.25)

(Makes about 12 biscuits)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You’ll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between– and that’s just right.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you’ve got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading– 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don’t worry if the dough isn’t completely even– a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting– just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

The perfect spring dinner!

Last week, Alex and I had one of the easiest and yet tastiest meals for dinner. It started out as a brainstorm of fajitas during the day, but they just sounded too dull and ordinary. So once I arrived home from work I asked Alex to throw the chicken on the grill and came up with some tasty salsa to top the fajita tacos.

This meal comes together in no time, perfect for a spur of the moment dinner. Since we have been carpooling lately, dinners need to be relatively quick. So the night before we ate I threw some chicken in the refrigerator with some mesquite marinade. The same Lawry's marinade I used earlier in the week. Usually I would put some things together to make a marinade but when life is busy, nothing beats a bottle to save time. After 24 hours in the marinade the chicken comes out so moist and delicious.

While the chicken was being grilled I tossed some corn on the cob in some water to cook and sauteed some yellow bell peppers and red onions in some EVOO. While they were cooking on the stove, it was time to make the salsa. Tomatoes, avocado, cilantro, and jalapeno...yum!
Perfect Spring Salsa

1/2 avocado, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1/4 red onion diced
1/2 jalapeno, diced
1/4 C cilantro, minced
salt and pepper
lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, salt/pepper/lime juice to taste. Serve over chicken with lettuce, in a tortilla. yum. or enjoy with chips:)