Ranch Dressing & Some Fried Chicken, Too

OK, confession time: I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I love Deb and her quirky stories and how she takes beeeeeeeeeauuuutiful photos of everything she makes. But, in the absence of (a)An expensive camera and (b)A lot of time to edit/retake/learn about how to take great pictures, you will have to live with these sorry ones. But maybe her chicken recipe will make it up to you? And if you decide to click on her link above, make sure you type "Devil's Chicken Thighs" into the search engine, make it for your family/friends, and prepare to receive lots of compliments, commendations, and requests for the recipe.
Panko Fried Chicken
Wash, dry, & pound your chicken until thin. Set out three shallow bowls or rimmed plates: one for flour, one for 2 beaten eggs, one for Panko Bread Crumbs--Seriously, the best bread crumbs for breading! Dredge your chicken in each, then either put them right into the hot oil or pile them up high on a cookie sheet and pop 'em in your fridge until you're ready to cook 'em. Make sure you make nice, neat rows, cuz it'll cook better. Just kidding--like I said, I pile it.

I like to use a little Grape Seed Oil to shallow-fry them in, it has a very high smoke point and EVOO is too heavy for this. These cook very fast (remember how you pounded them?), like 3 minutes or less per side.

Dig in--Jon and I pop them on a salad, that way we don't feel like we're going to have a heart attack right away after (We can only speak for tonight, folks). Speaking of salad...
This Ranch is yum. You'll want to eat it with a spoon...or ladle it out that way, at least.

E's Favorite Ranch

1 C Mayo (appx--I never measure this, so I'm just guessing)
4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Honey
1/2 tsp dried Dill
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
Whisk all ingredients in your bowl--if it's too thick, add a Tbsp or so more of vinegar. If it's too tart, add a tad of Buttermilk.
Enjoy!

Day 3, er 4--A Little Vietnamese

I was craving a little Pho Van (the BEST Vietnamese in town) tonight, but instead of spending $80 for our family to eat out I dug in the fridge and went off a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe I have and we ate some yummy yummy food...but I didn't even think of taking a picture until I literally ate the last bite on my plate, so you'll just have to trust me when I say this is not only a delicious dinner but a beautiful one, too. :). The colors on your plate will make your evening happier. Believe it.
Here's the recipe:
Dressing/Marinade:
In a medium bowl combine:
4 thinly sliced scallion whites
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C Rice Vinegar (I was out so used 2Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar and a scant 1/4 C Sweet Rice Cooking Wine)
2 Tbsp honey
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 Tsp fish sauce
Spicy option: add 1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Take about half of this and save it to pour over your dinner.
Thinly slice 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs and pop them in the remaining marinade in a ziploc bag in the fridge for about 30 minutes or even up to overnight.

The Rest:
Rice Noodles (in the Asian aisle) and/or Rice
Get your skillet really hot, add a couple Tbsp EVOO then about half the chicken. Do not touch it! Let it get all nice and brown and happy. The sugar from the honey will caramelize and make it sooo happy. This will cook very quickly if you sliced it thinly. Stir it once and cook until done on both sides.
Earlier on I did this stuff:
Using your vegetable peeler, shred 2 carrots
Chiffonade 1 cucumber
Chop up extra scallions
Bowl of peanuts or cashews
Throw some fresh cilantro or basil or mint or all three in a bowl
Cooked the rice and rice noodles

Put it all on the table and let the kids go crazy creating their own "Pho Van". Ours had some very spicy "Rooster Sauce" on it and my, oh my...

Bubble Bubble!!

Oh. My. Word.
Jon and I are so thrilled!!
We figured out how to make our favorite treat right at home:
The Japanese school-girl obsession that is Bubble Tea (to quote my friend Steve).
There is an Asian Supermarket right down the street from our house, so after doing a bit of online research we figured out our list and headed down to "Fubon". When we walked in it reeked of fish--I think our kids thought they had just stepped into a foreign country!
We quickly found what we needed: the tapioca "pearls" (called Boba--this is what makes it Bubble Tea), the flavoring we wanted (Mango!), and of course, big fat straws to drink it with.

We got home, I made some sweet iced tea, mixed in some half & half (it has to be milk tea for me to drink it),

cooked up some delicious Boba (10 minutes boiling time, 10 minutes to steep with the lid on),

stirred in a little mango flavoring and voila! (oops, can I use French to describe this Asian delight??) it was ready. For the price of 3 bubble teas at a tea shop, we can enjoy about 50.
Now the only drawback is all the calories involved...

Chai Tea

I posted about this yummy homemade Chai Tea on facebook, and a few people asked for the recipe. I got it from a catalog I subscribe to at Beeyoutiful.com.
So I thought I would post it here.
Here goes:
4 Cups Water
3-4 T Evaporated Cane Juice or Rapadura
1 Toe of fresh ginger, grated or diced finely
2-3 Cinnamon sticks
8-10 Whole Cloves
1 tsp Cardamom
1 tsp Nutmeg
Pinch of Tumeric
Pinch of Black Pepper
4 T Loose Black Tea or Black Tea Bags
1 tsp Pure Vanilla (a vanilla bean would prob work, too)
Cream or Milk

Add water, Rapadura or other sweetener and spices to a 2-3 quart pot and bring to a slow boil. After about 15-20 minutes, add loose tea or tea bags and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes (I covered my pot at this point so I didn't loose too much of the liquid). Remove from heat and strain through a tigh mesh strainer into a 4 cup measuring cup. Stir in vanilla. Some of your liquid may have boiled away. Add back enough hot water to make 4 cups of tea. Serve with 1/4 cup warm cream or milk in each cup. I cooled mine in open jars and stuck it in the fridge to enjoy for a couple of days. Makes about 5-6 cups of Chai.
UPDATE: I will definitely make this stronger using more black tea and trying to save my liquids in the beginning rather than adding water back in. Also, just add a teensy bit of cream.

The Easiest Bread EVER

Last fall I started making baguettes from scratch. Pre-pregnancy, you know. Since I've been feeling consistently better these past couple of weeks, I wanted to try my hand at this easy bread recipe I found online (my notes are in bold).
No Knead, Dutch Oven Bread
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting.
You may use white, whole wheat or a combination of the two.
1 1/2 tsp salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran for dusting
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended. The dough will be shaggy and sticky. Seriously sticky.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.

Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it. Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal. Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours. Or three, which I should have done because my kitchen is c-c-c-cold. I was afraid it was never going to rise!!
When it’s ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic--I used my stainless stock pot) in the oven as it heats.
When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that’s OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don’t worry if it’s not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes. I sprinkled the top with course salt cuz it's yummy.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned. Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. I opened the lid and took the above picture. I couldn't believe how rustic and pretty it was for the little amount of time and fuss involved. We couldn't wait and dinner was ready, so we dove right into it and it was delish.
Easy no-fuss, no-knead, through-it-together-and-forget-about-it-for-a-day bread.
Let me know if you try it!

Did I Miss Something. . . ?

Since I have to bring a dessert for the moms in Friday School tomorrow morning, I thought I would utilize some of the delicious D'anjou pears that are in our garage and whip up a Fresh Pear Cake.
It was looking so good. . .

But it fell (insert dum dum dum music here). . . Jon came home right as I was making it. . . and I started talking to him. . . I think I might have forgotten to put in the baking powder. . . Or maybe put in only half. Oh, well. At least Jon's not a picky eater.

A Windfall of Fruit...continued

In between Impala and carjack now lays half of the fruit. Bartlett and D'anjou pears, Golden Delicious and Macintosh apples, and plums (i don't know the variety; the kind they make prunes out of). Hopefully it will keep there until we get back from our trip this weekend. I forgot to include what Ava said regarding all the fruit in the back of the van: "But Momma, all that fruit won't fit in our fruit bowl." :)

The finished chutney, cooling and preserving in the jars. I guess I'll make more once I restock my supplies (I ran out of sugar, raisins, and vinegar after the second batch)

When Life Gives You Pears, Plums, and Apples...

The back of my van yesterday.
All organic, all from Louise and her neighbors.
Oh, yes...

I made some chutney this morning. This didn't even make a dent in the plethora of fruit we have. I am going to share the wealth with some fruit lovin' friends.

An Indian "relish" made with any kind of fruit. I made this one with plums.

My hubby's cousin Richard's recipe for super yummy chutney:
1/2 t cayenne
2 t salt
1 3/4 C red wine vinegar
6 mashed cloves garlic
2 1/3 C sugar
1 T garam masala
1/2 C golden raisins
2 1" pieces grated ginger
6 C chopped fruit
Cook at least one hour until thickened. Seal in clean jars.

What's For Dinner Tonight

Well, this is dessert...Dutch Butter Cake (yes, I broke down and put nuts in it!) Melody gave me this recipe (her hubby's Dutch, too). This cake is great because it's not super sweet. It only has 5 ingredients in it and is an easy alternative to making "Ban Ket". It gives you that yummy almond-y taste without all the work.
Dutch Butter Cake:
2 C butter, softened
2 C sugar
1 egg
2 t almond extract
4 C flour
sliced almonds
egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 T water)
Combine the butter and sugar and cream until fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract. Fold in the flour. Press into 2 round greased cake pans. Sprinkle with almonds and press them in. Brush lightly with egg wash.
Bake at 350 for approximately 35 mintues.

Homemade chili made from the rest of the prime rib my mum-in-law made last weekend...yum!
I rough chopped the prime rib in the food processor, then caramelized onions and garlic, added the meat and some chili beans, black beans, beef broth, and some spices. This was even "Ava-approved" because it wasn't spicy.