ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD

  Many moons ago, when I was still a poor drone in Corporate America in Far Away Silicon Valley, my co-workers and I would often hop over to the Tau Tau Restaurant in Sunnyvale for lunch.  They had two dishes there we always ordered, The Tossed Shredded Chicken Salad and the Tau Tau Beef.   To this day I still remember those dishes and crave them from time to time. Since I happened to have a bunch of cilantro and some cooked chicken in my fridge I decided to try to make my own version of the chicken salad. I have to say it turned out pretty good but not quite the same as Tao Tao's recipe.  Still I enjoyed the whole plate and had another serving for dinner!    I didn't have any fried rice noodles so I just quick fried some Basmati rice which I also had already cooked in the fridge and I plated the salad over the rice.  I tossed the dressing together with the ingredients I suspected were in the original though I didn't have the ratios.  Here's my recipe:
ASIAN CHICKEN SALAD inspired by the Shredded Chicken Salad from Tau Tau Restaurant
Dressing
1/4 C. Lime Juice
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Tbsp. Honey
1/8 - 1/4 Tsp. Powdered Ginger
1 Tsp. Trader Joe's 21 Salute Seasoning
2 Tsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tsp. Peanut or Sesame Oil (The Sesame adds nice flavor!) 1 C. Chopped Cilantro
1/2 C. Toasted Black Sesame Seeds

Chicken
2 Cooked Chicken Breasts, Cubed
1/2 Lemon
1/2" Piece of Fresh Ginger
3 Garlic Cloves
Salt

Garnish and Presentation
Your Favorite Type of Crispy Asian Noodles (Mine are Fried Rice Noodles)
Bag of Cole Slaw Mix

Crush the ginger and the garlic cloves and toss into your pot filled with enough water to cover the chicken breasts.  Zest the lemon and reserve zest for salad later, squeeze the juice of the lemon into the water, then toss the lemon rind in as well.  Poach your chicken until tender by bringing to boil, then cooking over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, let the chicken stand in the water until it reaches a temperature of 160 degrees, about 15 minutes. Take chicken out of water and put in a covered container and allow to cool until ready to make the salad.

Warm together the lime juice, sugar and honey for a few seconds to thin the honey for blending, put this in a large mixing bowl. Add the powdered ginger, the TJ's 21 Salute Seasoning, the soy sauce and the oil and whip until well blended.  Add chicken, stir until well coated, toss in the coleslaw mix and the chopped cilantro. Serve on a bed of the crispy noodles, sprinkle on a handful of the toasted sesame seeds and serve. This would go really nicely with my Cilantro Martini.
HOW TO TURN THIS INTO A "TINY FOOD" Deep fry some wonton wrappers then spoon a bit of the salad on top & garnish with the Rice Noodles. Enjoy & let me know if you try this recipe! Tweet
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TORTILLA ENCRUSTED TILAPIA with FIESTA RICE

How About This for Your Sunday Supper?

TORTILLA ENCRUSTED TILAPIA

with FIESTA RICE & CHIPOTLE TARTER SAUCE

This Tortilla Encrusted Fish recipe makes your Tilapia fillet crunchy on the outside, tender & flaky on the inside and puts a nice little zing on your tongue from the spices in the crust!  The Fiesta Rice is a perfect side and I served them both up with a Chipotle Tarter Sauce!

Here's how I did it:

THE TORTILLA ENCRUSTED TILAPIA

4 Tilapia Fillets, washed and dried

1/3 Bag of Tortilla Chips (I used White Corn)

2 Lg. Eggs

Juice of One Lime

2 Tsp. Cumin Powder

2 Tsp. Chili Powder

2 Tsp. Onion Powder

1 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Tsp. Marjoram

1/2 Tsp. Smoked Paprika

2 Tsp. Kosher Salt

1 Tsp. Black Pepper

4 Tbsp. Flour

Parchment Paper

Aluminum Cooking Sheet

3 Dishes, all slightly larger than the fillets

Food Processor

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Crunch up about 1/3 of a bag of tortilla chips and toss these into your food processor.  Add in 2 Teaspoons of Cumin, Chili Powder and Onion Powder, 1 Teaspoon of Cayenne, 1/2 Teaspoon of Marjoram and Smoked Paprika, 2 Teaspoons of Kosher Salt and 1 Teaspoon of Black Pepper, then give this a few pulses until you get it roughly ground. You want it small enough to stick to your fish but not so small as a powder.
3. In one of the dishes mix together the lime juice and the eggs. In another add the flour and in the last pour in your spicy tortilla crumbs.
4. Set up your coating station: Flour, then egg mixture, then crumb mixture last.  Dip each fillet in the flour to coat completely then tap off all the excess. Dip next in the egg mixture and then last into the crumbs and set each fillet on a parchment lined cooking sheet.  Let these rest for about 10 minutes so the coating adheres to the fillets.
5. Bake for 15 minutes in your pre-heated oven.

 FIESTA RICE

2 Cups Low Salt, Fat Free Chicken Broth

1 Cup Basmati Rice

1/4 Each Red Bell Pepper, Orange Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Diced Medium

1 Can of Diced Green Chilis

1/2 Red Onion, Diced

1 Tsp. Crushed Garlic

1/2 Tsp. Cumin and Chili Powder
Zest of One Orange

1 Cup Frozen Corn, Thawed*

1 Cup Diced Tomatoes*
1 - 15 Oz. Can Black Beans, Drained*

3 Lg. Sprigs of Fresh Chopped Cilantro,

1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

Lidded, Medium Sauce Pan

1.  Add your olive oil to your sauce pan over a medium-high heat until it shimmers, then add in your bell peppers and onion and saute until slightly caramelized.
2. Add in your diced green chilis, the crushed garlic and your rice and saute for a minute.
3. Pour in the chicken broth, orange zest, diced tomatoes and rice, bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer.
4. Cook for ten minutes or until the rice is tender.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the corn and the black beans.
6. Cover and let this stand for 10 minutes.
7. Just before serving sprinkle in the chopped cilantro.

*I choose not to add the tomatoes, black beans and corn this particular evening as I wanted a lighter rice side dish - plus I'd used up my last can of diced tomatoes the night before, lol. 

CHIPOTLE TARTAR SAUCE

1 Cup of Mayonnaise

1/2 Cup of Cholula Chipotle Hot Sauce

2 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish

Blend all the ingredients together until mixed. Keep chilled until serving.

GARNISH

Several sprigs of Chives

ORDER OF STEPS

1. I made Blood Orange Margaritas for everyone. What? I'm also The Martini Diva, you think I wouldn't serve a cocktail???
2. I pre-heated my oven.
3. I set up my coating station and baking sheet and got my fish ready.
4. I chopped all the veggies for the rice and got them sautéing. 
5. I coated all my fish fillets and set them on the parchment lined cooking sheet to rest.
6. I added the rice and chicken broth to the rice pot and brought that to a boil then reduced to simmer. (You would also add the tomatoes here but remember I didn't have any.....)
7. I made more Blood Orange Margaritas.
8. Five minutes into the rice cooking I put the fish in the oven to bake.
9. I made the Chipotle Tarter Sauce and chilled it in the fridge.
10. I took the rice off the heat - this is where you would add the corn and the black beans (but I didn't because I just wanted a savory rice.....)
11. I plated and garnished.
12. I served. We ate.
13. I made Spiced Chocolate Martinis for dessert.
14. We drank them.

¡Buen apetito!

(& Salud!)

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CHOCOLATE CAKE TRUFFLES - CAKE POPS RECIPE

  CHOCOLATE CAKE TRUFFLES   These little gems are REALLY easy and are very popular as a pot luck selection.  You can freeze a few for yourself too!     You can also poke a lollipop stick into these (dip the stick in frosting first) and make cake pops. Then get some little cellophane bags & some pretty ribbon and tie up the bag!
Here's the instructions:   INGREDIENTS 1 Box of Chocolate (or whatever flavor you want) Cake Mix 1 Can of Chocolate (or whatever flavor) Butter Cream Frosting 1 Package of Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips 1 Package of White Chocolate Chips Crushed Nuts, Crushed Candies, Sprinkles, Cocoa Powder Etc. 1/4 C +/- Chocolate Liqueur, Raspberry Liqueur, Etc   DIRECTIONS

1. Bake your cake as instructed on the box and allow this to cool completely.
2. If you're adding a liqueur drizzle this over the cooled cake and allow to soak in for half an hour. (Drop the amount of frosting down to one tablespoon if adding liquor or leave out entirely!)
3. Once the cake is cooled, crumble it up loosely, stir in 2 tablespoons of the butter cream frosting and mix together until the mixture forms a nice ball in your hand.  Don't squish the ball too hard, just roll it until it holds the form.
4. If you're making cake POPS instead of truffles it's at this point that you will dip your lollipop stick in some frosting then poke into the ball halfway.
5. Place the balls individually on a sheet pan and place them all in the freezer for an hour.
6. Melt your semi-sweet chocolate in the microwave or double boiler until completely melted, smooth & creamy.
7. Dip each cake ball completely into the melted chocolate. For the cake truffles I used 2 forks and let them drip through until the dripping stopped. For cake pops just tap the stick on the side of the bowl until the dripping stops.
8. If you plan to dip your truffle/pop into nuts or candies, do so now. 
9. Set these on a parchment lined sheet pan and place in the fridge so the chocolate will set up quickly.
10. Once the chocolate coating has set you can then melt the white chocolate, put this into a small baggie, clip off a small point on one corner & drizzle over the pops/truffles.
11. When this final drizzle has set up you can bag your cake pops or place your cake truffles into small candy papers.

You can make the cake and the frosting from scratch if you like, though that makes this a less easy/quick recipe.  I used a German Chocolate Cake Mix, Kahlua, Chambord and Milk Chocolate Frosting but imagine the possibilities of using different cake + frosting + liqueur recipes, adding some food coloring to the white chocolate or white frosting and having some fun!    These also make great hostess gifts to take to parties!
Enjoy!   Tweet
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ITALIAN SAUSAGE & HASH BROWN SOUP - Winter Warm Up!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE & HASH BROWN SOUP

Why Hash Browns? Because I'm lazy!

I had some friends coming over for cocktails and a light dinner last night and, frankly, I was not up to a big meal production. It was a last minute invite to thank them for some help and a bit of a farewell as they are moving back to California tomorrow. (Sniff, Sniff).  At this time of year I'm really busy with all my online stores & businesses and I don't have a lot of time to cook but I had some spicy Italian sausage and I thought I would do a variation on my Tuscan Soup ripoff recipe from The Olive Garden that I love so much.

Unfortunately, I didn't have kale, I didn't have any bacon and I didn't feel like peeling and dicing potatoes!  What I did have in my fridge was frozen broccoli pieces (accidentally picked up instead of florets), mire poix and - thank you food fairies! - a package of shredded hash browns I keep on hand for a quick breakfast! Hallelujah!

So I threw together this soup and the guys loved it so much they had seconds, so did I, and I only had enough left for a bowl at lunch!

Here's the recipe:

 1 Lb. of  Bulk Spicy Italian Sausage

1 - 20 Oz. Package of Shredded Hash Browns

(Next time I'm using 2 packages - I like potatoes!)

1 - 12 Oz. Package of Frozen Broccoli

2 Large Onions, Diced

1 Cup Mini Carrots, Sliced in Half

4 Stalks of Celery, Sliced 

Olive Oil

12 Cups Water

4 Cloves Garlic, Crushed

1 Tsp. Pollen Ranch Chef Bernard's Blend Fennel Pollen

Fresh Chives for Garnish

Salt & Pepper To Taste

Instructions:

• Brown the sausage in olive oil on medium heat in a medium soup pot until the it gets a nice, caramelized crust on it.
• Remove the sausage and drain on a paper towel, then place in the fridge but LEAVE IN all those nice little bits of sausage and the fat in your pot! These will add lots of rich flavor to the base of your broth!
• Add a little more olive oil to the pot then toss in the onions, celery and carrots (mire poix) and sweat them on low-medium heat until translucent - usually about 20 minute to half an hour depending on the size of the pieces.
• Remove half the mire poix and set aside with the sausage for later.
• Add the crushed garlic and cook for an extra minute or so to bring out the garlic.
• Pour in 10 cups of water, reserving the other 2 to add as needed.
• Add your spices and bring this all to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to lo and simmer for a minimum of 2 hours.  I did mine for 4 hours, adding more water as needed. What you're doing here is creating a broth for your soup and broth takes a little time to develop it's flavors!
• 1 hour before serving pull out the cooked veggies with a large slotted spoon (you can toss these) then put in the other veggies from the fridge.
• Add the frozen broccoli and simmer for 1/2 an hour, then add the hash browns and continue to cook for another 1/2 hour to an hour, checking the potatoes and broccoli for tenderness.
• Keep on lo until ready to serve then dish up & sprinkle on some fresh chives

I served this up with some whole wheat crackers because I didn't have any great, crusty loaves of bread which would have been my preferred side!  No one seemed to care, they crumbled in the crackers and scarfed up nearly the whole pot of soup! I wish I'd made a bigger pot!

If you like a creamy soup you can add some half & half at the same time as you add the second group of veggies or just top off the soup in the bowls with some sour cream!

P. S. I also served up my newest Pumpkin Cream Pie Martini for dessert. You can find it over at The Martini Diva Blog this morning.

 

 ENJOY & Let me know how you like it!

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EASY APPLE DUMPLINGS for National Apple Dumpling Day

  HAPPY NATIONAL APPLE DUMPLING DAY!   Here's a recipe I found and tweaked a bit using Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and - get this - Mountain Dew! It sounded to weird I had to try it.  Now I keep the ingredients around all the time for an easy and delicious dessert!  It's amazing! Whoever thought of this recipe is a food genius, lol.   EASY APPLE DUMPLING RECIPE   INGREDIENTS 2 Good Baking Apples* 2 - 8 Oz. Cans of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls 2 Sticks of Butter 1-1/2 Cups Sugar 1 Tsp. Vanilla 1 Tsp. Cinnamon 1/2 Tsp. Nutmeg 1 - 12 Oz. Can Mountain Dew Soda   TOOLS: Measuring Spoons, Medium Saucepan, 9x3 Baking Dish DIRECTIONS: Peel and core your apples then cut into 8 even slices. Roll each apple slice in a Crescent Roll and place in your baking dish. Melt your butter in a saucepan then add the sugar and stir slightly. Add the vanilla, stir then pour this mixture over the apple "dumplings". Pour the Mountain Dew around the dumplings in the pan. Sprinkle on your nutmeg and cinnamon. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.   *I did this recipe with Gala Apples because that's what I had on hand. Feel free to use whatever baking apple you prefer!   Now, head over to The Martini Diva Blog for my APPLE DUMPLING MARTINI RECIPE!   Tweet
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POACHED TROPICAL FISH with ORANGE COCONUT CURRY SAUCE

A lot of my recipes come from what is hanging out in my larder and my fridge. This is one of them.  I had a taste for some nice fish that wasn't heavy or fried and I wanted something a little sweet.  I happened to have some coconut cream in my bar fridge, coconut milk and about a cup or so of some Sunny Delight plus my frozen Tilapia fillets, Basmati rice and my spice rack so I was off and cooking.

Because I'm not cooking for a family, I always buy fish in individually vacuum sealed frozen packets so I can take out one or two for a meal.  The nice thing about that is that you can quickly defrost the fillets simply by putting them in some warm water and you'll be ready to go in less than half an hour or so.  Yes, I buy frozen fish because true fresh fish is pretty hard to come by in desert areas, plus I like to have a variety of fish available for the whim of my palate.  I also stock up when varieties are on sale or in season. 

Feel free to use the fish of your choice - I would have done this one with catfish (which I love) but I didn't have any so next time I might have to call it POACHED BOTTOM FEEDER FISH, lol.

POACHED TROPICAL FISH

with ORANGE COCONUT CURRY SAUCE

POACHING LIQUID - SAUCE
1 Cup Sunny Delight Original Juice
1/4 Cup Cream of Coconut
1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
1/4 Tsp. Fresh Ginger
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder
Dash or Two of Chipotle Hot Sauce
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt

DIRECTIONS: Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook on low until it coats the back of a metal spoon. Keep an eye on this and stir often so it will not reduce too much and/or burn.

POACHED TROPICAL FISH:
2 Mild White Fish Fillets
(I used Tilapia)
Butter
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS: Saute fillets over a medium heat in a combination of EVOO and butter until lightly brown on the surface. Pour in the poaching liquid/sauce. Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to continue to reduce as the fillets poach in the liquid.

CONFETTI RICE
1/2 C. Basmati Rice
1 C. Coconut Water
Dried Cranberries
Dried Apricots, Diced
Toasted Pistachios, Chopped
Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Fleur du Sel

DIRECTIONS: Bring coconut water, salt and rice to a boil then immediately reduce heat to low and simmer according to the package instructions. When the rice is fully cooked add in your cranberries, apricots, pistachios and sunflower seeds, mix in and fluff rice.

  Bon Appétit   Tweet
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SMOKIN' GOOD MEXICAN LASAGNA with HOMEMADE ENCHILADA SAUCE

  I had a huge bag of tortilla chips that were going stale and I hate to waste food so I decided I would use them in a Mexican Lasagna Recipe.  Normally I use regular corn tortillas as the "noodles" for the lasagna but hey, tortilla chips are tortillas just crispier and salted, right?  Feel free to use regular tortillas as your noodles if you choose!    I didn't have any canned enchilada sauce though and I almost abandoned this whole idea until it dawned on me I might be able to make my own!  So I Googled for some Enchilada Sauce Recipes and went from there.  I rarely use a recipe as is, I am always putting my own little twist to it.  In the case of my Smokin' Sweet Enchilada Sauce I changed up the spices (a lot!) and added some agave syrup.  I never make marinara sauce or any tomato sauce without added a little bit of sugar or sweetness of some kind to balance the acid in the tomatoes so here I used agave syrup!  BTW, you can make enchilada sauce without any tomatoes or tomato sauce at all but I like the added body it lends to the finished sauce.
I also added Italian Sausage instead of just using ground sirloin/hamburger because I love that in this recipe for the best Taco Salad ever!
Smokin' Good Mexican Lasagna

1 Large Bag of Corn Tortilla Chips*
1 Lb. Sweet Italian Sausage
1/2 Lb. 80% or higher Hamburger/Ground Sirloin
1 Can of Black Beans
1 Medium Onion, Diced
2 Anaheim Chilies, Spit and Seeded, Roasted, Diced
1 Pint Low Fat Cottage Cheese (or Ricotta!)
8 Oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
8 Slices Smoked Gouda Cheese
Smokin' Enchilada Sauce*

TOOLS: Large Non-Stick Saute Pan, Baking Sheet, Measuring Spoons, Large Baking Dish

CREATE YOUR SMOKIN' GOOD MEXICAN LASAGNA 
Here's exactly the steps I took in order to create my Smokin' Good Mexican Lasagna:

• Grease your Baking Dish and set aside.
• Split and seed the Anaheim Chilies then place them in the oven on a baking sheet at 450° to roast while you prepare the Smokin' Sweet Enchilada Sauce - Recipe Below* and cook your meats.
• Put the hamburger (sirloin) and the Italian Sausage into a very large non-stick skillet.  Brown to get a nice bit of caramelization on the meat then reduce heat and cook through. You don't need to add any oils here as the meats will produce their own fat.
• Remove the cooked meat and set aside in the fridge, leaving the drippings in the pan.
• Add your diced onion and sweat down in the savory fat from the meats, then scoop out the onions and set those aside with the meat.

YOUR SMOKIN' ENCHILADA SAUCE IS READY, RIGHT?

• Pour a third of the sauce into the greased baking dish.
• Crush your bag of tortilla chips into fairly large chunks and layer half of the bag on top of the first sauce layer.
• Then LAYER in half the cooked meats, black beans and onions.
• Then all the cottage cheese (or ricotta) and all the Anaheim Chilies.
• Then another third of the sauce.
• Then layer on the slices of smoked Gouda.
• Then the rest of the crushed chips.
• The rest of the meats, beans and onions go next.
• Then the whole package of shredded cheddar.
• Top the whole thing off with the remainder of the enchilada sauce and set in the refrigerator to "marinate" and to allow sauce to soak in.

Bake at 350° for an hour and serve with a nice green salad and some of my Tangerine Salsa or Pico de Gallo, Avocado, Sour Cream and bowls of additional toppings like chopped Jalapenos, Sliced Olives, Extra Shredded Cheese and whatever else you can think of to dress it up.     *Smokin' Sweet Enchilada Sauce

2 - 14 Oz. Cans Tomato Sauce
2 Cans Water
6 Tbsp. Chili Powder
2 Tbsp. Smoked Paprika
2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
2 Tsp. Onion Powder
2 Tsp. Cumin
1 Tsp. Marjoram
1 Tsp Coriander
4 Tbsp. Flour
2 Tsp. Sea Salt
Black Pepper to Taste
2 Tbsp. Agave Syrup
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil*
   MAKE THE SMOKIN' SWEET ENCHILADA SAUCE 

• by adding the 4 tablespoons of flour to the meat drippings in the skillet. *I added only 1 extra tablespoon of olive oil here because the drippings were about a tablespoon of fat. Blend the flour into the oils until smooth.
• Add in all your spices and blend into the roue of flour/fat.
• Add in your can of tomato sauce, stir in.
• Fill tomato can with water and stir that in.
• Heat this together over a medium heat until all is well blended and smooth.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes on lo, stirring occasionally.

Your Anaheim chilies should be nicely roasted by now with a nice bit of char on them so remove from the oven and chop in to chunks about 1/4" in size. (I tossed mine into a Bullet blender and gave them a couple of pulses, shaking in between each pulse)
VIVA EL CASSEROLE!
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