Sesame Chicken with Rice Noodles

I'm on an Asian kick right now, mostly because my addiction to cheese requires me to try to cut out saturated fats and cholesterol in other areas and I find Asian food is terrific for avoiding old standbys like butter and cheese without even missing them.

This my twist on a Joy of Cooking recipe.

Ingredients:
6 chicken tenders or 3 breasts
1 large cucumber, halved, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch slices
4 servings of Asian rice noodles

Sesame sauce:
1/2 cup toasted sesame paste (tahini) or peanut butter
3 tbsp sesame oil (enough to liquify the sesame paste or peanut butter)
4-5 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp distilled white vinegar or rice vinegar
2 tsp hot chili oil, or to taste (or skip)
1 1/2 tbsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
2 tsp sugar
2 scallions, chopped
Sesame seeds

1. Pan fry or broil the chicken and season with salt and pepper (i.e., prepare as you wish). Cut into strips, then halve those (fork-sized pieces).

2. Meanwhile, prepare the rice noodles by soaking in water (see manufacturer instructions) and make the sesame sauce by thoroughly mixing the first two ingredients (use a food processor if you have one), then adding the remaining 6 ingredients.

3. Toss the cooked chicken, cucumbers and sesame sauce together with rice noodles, preferably in a pan, sauteing it lightly to warm it up somewhat and distribute the sauce most evenly. (It will be cold at this point but you can enjoy it lukewarm.)

4. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top when you serve it for some added pizazz.

Serves 4

Polenta with Beef Ragu

I either invented this recipe, or tried it somewhere long ago, then forgot it, then remembered it again as if it was my own invention. Really easy but not in that white trash, Hamburger Helper way.


Ingredients:
1 tube of premade, plain polenta or whatever form of polenta you can find
One jar of ready-made tomato sauce, fairly neutral since we will add more flavor
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
Lean ground beef -- half of one of those tubes or butcher packs you get at the supermarket
Dried porcini or other wild mushrooms -- awesome if you have them, otherwise skip
1/3 cup of white wine
Real Parmesan cheese (not green canister of Kraft gunk)
2 tsp. each fresh basil and/or oregano if you are lucky enough to have an herb garden, or just dried oregano

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in white wine for 15-20 minutes

2. Saute the onions for a minute, then add the lean ground beef to brown it. Once the beef is almost cooked through, add the mushrooms and a couple of tablespoons of the white wine they were soaking in. Let the alcohol cook off, about 2 minutes.

3. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a near boil, adding salt, pepper and dried oregano. Remove from heat and add chopped fresh basil and/or fresh oregano.

4. Meanwhile, heat a tbsp or two of olive oil and a dab of butter in a pan on medium heat and throw a clove of garlic on there for a bit of added flavor. Cut the polenta into 1/2 or 3/4 inch slices and lay out on the pan, cooking approx. 3-5 minutes on the one side. Flip them over, then put a thin slice of parmesan cheese on each one and cook 3 more minutes on this side. If you need to hurry the cheese melting along, put a lid on it for a minute, but not too long or the polenta will get soggy.

5. Remove the polenta from the pan and plate them, about 3 pieces per person. Then spoon the meat ragu over and voila! I served this with wilted spinach.

Serves 3-4

Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars

I rarely bake. It's a slippery slope, and with all those shows on TV about morbid obesity...

Moderation, you say?  I know no such thing.

Whenever I bake, the treats sit in my kitchen and stare at me, beckoning me, until I've eaten every last morsel. Therefore, rather than downing an entire pan of brownies or cookies in at best two days, I avoid an ugly scene altogether.

If you are bonkers for pecans like I am, I suggest you make this easy recipe, eat a couple of pieces yourself, and then bring in the remainder to work and offload it on your naively appreciative coworkers.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature; plus 2 tbsps melted
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, leveled
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/ cup corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 package (11.5 ounces) chocolate chips (2 cups)
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Beat together 1 stick room-temperature butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt until coarse crumbs form. Pour mixture into prepared pan; press firmly into bottom.

Bake until lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool, 10 minutes.

In same bowl, mix eggs, corn syrup, granulated sugar and melted butter until well combined. Add chocolate chips and pecans; spread over crust. Bake until set, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely in pan before lifting out (using foil to lift). Cut into bars.

Makes 32 pieces according to the original recipe, or 12 according to me.


This recipe comes from Everyday Food magazine and was submitted by a reader named Anne Royal from Port Orchard, Washington. (Go Anne!)

Cashew Chicken with Rice

Try to always have cashews and scallions around, so you can throw this together when you're busy and uninspired. So easy!

(From an old issue of Everyday Food)

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes. (pork chops work too.)
1 tablespoon cornstarch (or flour)
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves
8 scallions**, chopped, with green and white parts separate
2 tbsp. rice vinegar (or just plain vinegar)
3 tbsp. hoisin sauce*
3/4 cup or whatever quantity raw, unsalted cashews you have on hand
white rice

1. Toast the cashews -- do not even think about skipping this step. Spread them on a baking sheet or frying pan and cook in a 350-degree oven until you smell their deliciousness, about ten minutes.

2. In a medium bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch/flour until it is evenly coated. Add salt and pepper.

3. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp. oil over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, tossing often, until browned but not fully cooked through, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

4. Add remaining oil and chicken to skillet with the garlic and white parts of scallions. Cook, tossing often, until chicken is browned, about 3 minutes. Return first batch of chicken to pan. Add vinegar; cook until evaporated, about 30 seconds.

5. Add hoisin sauce and 1/4 cup or less of water; cook, tossing, until chicken is cooked through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in scallion greens and cashews (which you hopefully remembered to remove from the oven and haven't now burned.) Serve immediately over rice.

*You can get this in the Asian section of the supermarket and it's worth having around just for this recipe, as it lasts forever. If not, just use low-sodium soy sauce. But please don't use full sodium soy sauce. I care too much about you to let you do that. You can even try adding a little bit of brown sugar, since hoisin sauce has a sweetness to it. But I haven't tried that.

**I had this epiphany once that at less than $1 per bunch, it's worth it to buy scallions every time you go shopping, just in case.