Stir-fried Pork with Green Onions and Noodles

Last weekend, Wei and I drove up to the Baltimore/DC area for his brother's wedding. We had an excellent time celebrating and hanging out with his family! While we were over at his parents' house one day, my mother-in-law gave me a copy of Chinese Cuisine by Huang Su-Huei.

If you're interested in learning authentic Chinese cooking from a beginner's standpoint, this book is a great resource. It has a lengthy "how-to" section with tons of pictures depicting different cooking techniques and ingredients. Most of the recipes don't seem terribly difficult, and each page has a large picture of the finished dish to point you in the right direction. The author also notes in which region the dish is found. I'm really looking forward to cooking my way through it!

Last night I chose to make this simple stir fry from Beijing. Since I didn't feel like making rice, I boiled up some spaghetti noodles and tossed them into the wok at the end. You could leave the noodles out and serve this over rice instead.

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of excess fat and silverskin
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 really fat green onions, or 6 normal sized green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Soy sauce
Sugar
Rice wine or sherry
Corn or peanut oil
6 to 8 ounces spaghetti noodles, cooked
Ginger oil (or other flavored oil), optional
Sesame oil, optional
White pepper, optional

Cut the pork into 2/3-inch slices. Cover the meat slices with a piece of plastic wrap and bash them around a bit with a meat mallet to tenderize. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the garlic, cornstarch, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1/2 tablespoon each of rice wine or sherry, water, and sugar. Toss the pork slices in the soy sauce mixture and stir to coat the meat well.

Heat up a few tablespoons of oil in a wok over high heat. Add the pork and stir-fry until both sides are golden brown. Move the meat to one side of the wok and toss the green onions into the middle; stir fry until the onions are fragrant. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of sugar to the contents of the wok. Stir in the noodles and keep stirring until everything is mixed together. Finish off with a couple of dashes each of ginger oil, sesame oil, and white pepper. Remove and serve.


Rating: This is awesome

Though very simple, this dish was a satisfying dinner. I loved how it came together so quickly, and having all of my different bottles on the counter next to the wok made me feel like a witch concocting a potion!

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

(Dinner for one)

This might be my ultimate dish for solitary dining: it's fast, easy, somewhat decadent and full of garlic. Just what I want when I'm not trying to impress anybody! Of course, you can increase the amounts to feed as many people as you want; I'm a firm believer that heavy garlic consumption at dinner doesn't matter as long as both you and your date eat it.

10 medium (41-50 count) shrimp, shelled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 ounces linguine
A spritz of lemon juice or a splash of white wine
1-2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
Salt and pepper

Get a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, and cook the pasta for about a minute less than it says on the package, since you'll be finishing its cooking with the shrimp.

In a large skillet, warm up the olive oil and butter over medium heat. Add the onion and gently saute until soft and golden, about 15 minutes. Throw in the garlic and saute for another few minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and add to the skillet. Cook until pink on both sides.

Drain the pasta and add to the skillet. Toss thoroughly and stir in the lemon juice or white wine. Let everything simmer together for 2 or 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the parmesan and some chopped flat leaf parsley if you have it (I did not). Take off the heat and serve. You might want to light a nicely-scented candle in your kitchen at this point since it will be reeking of shrimp and garlic!


Be careful not to add the shrimp too early; overcooked shrimp are the worst. If the onion and garlic have to cook a little bit longer on its own while the pasta finishes, that's fine.

Rating: This is awesome

Just lovely :-)

Spaghetti with Turkey Meat Sauce

The weather has finally got chilly here. I'm actually having to put on a coat when I take the dogs out in the morning. Woo! I thought the humid air would never leave. Now I can start making some of my cold weather favorites! I looooove winter cooking like nothing else. There's something so primally satisfying about creating a warm, filling meal when the cold wind is whipping at your front door.

This tomato sauce is a variation of Giada's from Everyday Italian. Hers was the first homemade sauce I had ever made, and I thought I had died and gone to heaven after the first bite. I just didn't know it could taste like that--it's so bright and flavorful! Last night was the first time I tried making it with ground turkey instead of beef. I loved it; I think its light flavor actually went better with the sauce than beef's meatier taste does.

1 small onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 celery heart, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound ground turkey (preferably a mixture of white and dark meat)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
Salt and pepper
Olive oil

Warm up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a deep pan over medium heat. Put the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in the pan and saute until the onions are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the ground turkey, and season well with salt and pepper. Break up the turkey with a wooden spoon and saute until it is no longer pink.

Pour in the can of tomatoes and stir to combine. Sprinkle in the oregano and basil and add salt and pepper to your taste. Bring the heat down to low and let everything simmer and thicken for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve over spaghetti (or whatever type of pasta you want) with a little bit of freshly grated parmesan on top.

Rating: This is awesome

Chicken Marsala

I got the preparation ideas for my chicken marsala from Thousandthdish on xanga. He hasn't posted new recipes in almost a year, which is a shame--I miss him! Oh well :-( So, here's my version, which borrows very heavily from his:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Olive oil
1 small yellow onion, sliced into half moons
1/2 pound crimini (aka baby portobello) mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup dry Marsala wine
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
8 oz Linguine pasta
Parmesan

Get a large pot of salted water on to boil for the linguine. You will want to drain the pasta when it's about 2 minutes away from being done, since you will be letting it cook in the sauce for a couple of minutes before serving.

Add one tablespoon of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil to a large pan and warm up over medium-high heat. Throw in the onions, mushrooms and garlic. When the mushrooms first start to release their juices, season the contents of the pan well with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes from the start. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

Butterfly cut the chicken breasts open, and cut lengthwise down the middle, leaving you with 4 pieces total. Place the chicken pieces between 2 pieces of plastic wrap and pound to flatten. Liberally season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Spread the flour out on a plate and dredge each piece of chicken in it, shaking off the excess.

Add another tablespoon of butter and another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Once the butter is melted, lay the chicken pieces in the pan and don't touch them for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip them over, add a splash of Marsala to the pan, and don't touch them again for another 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to chicken to a plate.

Add the last 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and melt. Add a tablespoon of the flour that you used for dredging the chicken and stir into the butter, making a roux. Pour in the Marsala and chicken broth, and, working quickly, scrape up all of the burned bits from the pan with a wooden spoon to incorporate them into the sauce. Let simmer for a few minutes, then toss in the rosemary and parsley.

Add the mushrooms and chicken back to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce. Add the Linguine, and toss to incorporate. I know it seems a bit daunting, but the pasta will all fit, just keep stirring and tossing. Leave the pan alone for a couple of minutes to let the pasta absorb some of the sauce. Garnish with a bit more parsley and some freshly grated parmesan. Plate and serve.

Rating: This is awesome
It was seriously tasty; September ends well.

Chicken and Bean Thread Noodle Stir Fry

Wei threw a package of bean thread noodles into our cart the last time we went to the Asian market. After doing some research to find out what they were, I decided to try using them in a stir fry. On tasting the final product, he said that it reminded him a lot of a dish that his mom used to make. Woo! I guess I'm getting better at this cooking stuff after all.

Bean thread is reconstituted the same way as rice stick--put the noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot (not boiling) water. Let stand for 15 minutes and voila!

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
5.25 ounces bean thread noodles (half of the package we bought)
1 yellow onion, cut into half-moons
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch length of fresh ginger, grated
1 head nappa cabbage, cut into strips
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Peanut oil
Soy sauce
Thai fish sauce
Rice wine
Cornstarch
Chicken broth
Salt and pepper
White pepper (optional)

Put the bean thread noodles in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Set a timer for 15 minutes. When the time is up, drain the noodles and use a pair of kitchen shears to snip them randomly a few times to shorten the strands. Toss the chicken on the cutting board with about a teaspoon each of cornstarch, salt, and freshly ground black pepper.

Warm a couple of tablespoons of oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and stir fry until cooked, about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok, and add the onions. Toss around until they start to turn translucent and are softer, about 5 minutes. Throw in the shiitakes, garlic and ginger. Cook until the mushrooms are darker and have started to release their juices, about 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage to the wok. I know it looks like you have a massive amount of cabbage at this point, but trust me, it will cook down! Add about 1/4 cup of chicken broth to the wok--this will create a steamy environment for the cabbage. Toss the cabbage around with the other ingredients the best you can until it has wilted, about 6 or 7 minutes.

Add the bean thread noodles and chicken to the wok and toss to incorporate. Stir in about 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, and a splash of rice wine. Taste for seasoning and add more of the sauces if necessary. Thicken with a slurry of 1 tablespoon each of cornstarch and chicken broth. Finish with a sprinkling of white pepper.

Rating: This is awesome
I loved the texture of the bean thread; it was very different from any noodle I had eaten before.

Pork and Beef Ravioli

Ah, ravioli made with wonton skins. I've been wanting to make this since I first heard of it. It's perfect for me because I (a) am too lazy to make fresh pasta and (b) have a shitload of wonton skins in the freezer. So now that I have finished my first batch of them, I have to say, I don't think that dealing with the non-flavor of the skins is worth the convenience! Making the ravioli is still fairly time consuming, with the stuffing and the cooking, so why not just take some extra time to make the pasta by hand? Fresh pasta would taste much better. Of course, I say this having no clue how to make pasta and most definitely lacking the necessary kitchen hardware! So yeah, I'll probably keep making ravioli with wonton skins again anyway :-)

I made my ravioli by pressing two wonton skins together to make a big square ravioli with a lump of meat in the middle. I think that was a bad idea. My stomach is really annoyed with all the excess pasta that is in it right now. If I could do it again, I would form each one from a single wonton skin in a triangular shape like this guy did. So that's the method I recommend to you. If you still want to use the method with two skins, trim some of the excess pasta around the edges of your ravioli pieces at the very least--you don't need it, and it doesn't add any flavor.

I chose to serve mine with marinara sauce, but you could use any sauce you like, or even float them in a simple broth. For the meat filling, I used the 3 to 1 ratio of beef to pork because those are the amounts I had on hand. Feel free to vary the ratio however you want.

1 package square wonton wrappers
3/4 pound ground beef
1/4 pound ground pork
2 eggs
2 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Add the meats, bread crumbs, basil and parsley, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg, parmesan and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Lightly beat one of the eggs in a coffee mug (or similar vessel) and pour over the other ingredients. Mix everything together thoroughly.

Crack the other egg into a bowl and beat it with about 1/8 cup of water to make an egg wash. To assemble the ravioli, place one wonton skin, floury side down, on a cutting board. Place a scant tablespoon-sized lump of filling in the middle of the dough. Using a pastry brush, paint the edges of any two consecutive sides of the square wonton skin with the egg wash. Fold the skin diagonally in half over the filling and press to seal. Be sure to coax out any bubbles. Repeat until you run out of filling or wonton skins. If you run out of skins first, like I did, put your leftover filling in the freezer and save it for another time!

Bring a large pot of salted water to a fierce boil. Add the ravioli to the pot in batches of 6 or 8. Stir around for the first minute each batch is in the pot so they don't stick together. Leave the ravioli in the boiling water until the pasta and filling are both fully cooked, which took me about 5-7 minutes per batch. Using a slotted spoon, remove the ravioli, one by one, to a baking sheet. If needed, top off the pot with fresh boiling water from a tea kettle or microwave between each batch.

At some point during this, make your serving sauce of choice. I sauteed a chopped yellow onion with some garlic in a large pan until it was soft, then added a jar of store bought marinara and a splash of dry sherry. It simmered away on the stove while I was cooking the ravioli.


Sorry for another blurry picture!

Rating: This is awesome
I loved the filling! But just...too...much...pasta. All...blood...in...stomach...not...brain.

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian wedding soup doesn't actually get served at weddings in Italy. It's a mistranslation in English of the Italian name for the soup, which originally connoted that the flavors of the greens and meat go well, or marry well, together. I agree completely! This is one of Wei's favorite dinners, and I've grown pretty fond of it too over the past year as I've perfected my recipe. It's a great one pot meal, with lots of veggies, pasta, and tender meatballs.

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cups spinach leaves, chopped into strips
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup orzo pasta
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ounce of parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Put a couple of tablespoons of the olive oil to a large soup pot and warm up over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot to the pot and saute until soft, about 10 minutes.

For the meatballs, combine the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, cheese, herbs, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Form the mixture into bite sized meatballs and set aside.

Add the garlic to the pot and saute for about a minute, until fragrant. Pour in the chicken broth along with 4 cups of water and bring up to a boil. Add the orzo and meatballs and simmer until the orzo is cooked, about 15 minutes; stir frequently to keep the orzo from sticking together. Throw in the spinach and let cook until wilted, 2 or 3 minutes. Taste the broth for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.


Rating: This is awesome
It was a perfect hearty soup for the first full day of autumn (even though it was still in the 90's here today)!

Bay Scallops with Orecchiette

This is a bit of a MacGyver dish. I bought the scallops yesterday when we were at the Asian market with the intention of using them for a different recipe, but I never made it to the grocery store to pick up the other ingredients I needed. I didn't feel like going shopping this evening after spending all day cleaning the house. However, I was not going to mess around with letting the scallops sit in the fridge for too long after my turkey meatball incident! I came up with this tasty little pasta dish using ingredients that were already in the kitchen.

A note about the scallops: I specify bay scallops, but you could easily use the bigger sea scallops instead. You should be advised, though, that the bay scallops fit snugly inside the bend of the orecchiette, which makes for a very cute forkful!

3/4 to 1 pound bay scallops
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cup chicken broth
Juice of half a lemon
8 ounces orecchiette pasta
1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano
A pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.

Put a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, deep-sided pan and warm over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and saute until it is soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and garlic, and season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Cook until the tomatoes start to break down a bit, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add the chicken broth, sugar, and lemon juice and bring up to a bubble. Let it simmer away until the liquid thickens somewhat, about 10 minutes.

Warm up a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the scallops to the skillet and cook on each side for 2 minutes. If you bought frozen scallops, like I did, you won't get a good sear. The heat will just cause the liquid to cook out of the scallops, preventing them from browning. Fresh scallops are preferable for flavor, but ehhh, do what you've gotta do. Remove the scallops to a plate.

Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the tomatoes and onions. Sprinkle in the basil and oregano and stir to combine. Taste the sauce for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary. Add the scallops to the pan and let everything simmer together for a minute or two. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan on top.



Rating: This is awesome
Not bad for a MacGyver meal!

Chicken Lo Mein

I make no claims that this is authentic lo mein; I don't even know what authentic lo mein would entail. I set out to make a stir fry that included noodles. However, my finished product actually tasted quite a bit like the flavor of the ubiquitous brown sauce that Chinese restaurants use for their lo mein, something I've never quite been able to replicate. Hence, it shall be known as chicken lo mein!

I used our wok to make this. I alternate between being scared of our wok and itching to use it. It's a huge carbon steel monster of a thing that we picked out of the piles and piles of woks in the back of our local 99 Ranch. Sometimes it can be too exhausting to even think about wrangling food in it, but tonight I loved it. Everything does cook quicker in it, and I get a much better flavor with searing than I do in our big, nonstick skillet. Maybe it was the holiday weekend that gave me strength to conquer the wok! If you want to give it a shot sometime, check out the selection of woks at your local Asian grocery store. You can usually buy them for less than $20. Remember to season it before using it to cook; do an internet search for "season a wok" and you'll find a bunch of different methods.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 onion, sliced into half moon shapes
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets with the stem cut into coins
8 ounces spaghetti
Soy sauce
Thai fish sauce
Peanut or corn oil
Cornstarch
Salt and pepper

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti.

While the chicken is still on its cutting board, sprinkle a teaspoon or so of cornstarch on top and season with salt and pepper. Toss the chicken around on the board with a spoon to spread around the cornstarch. Warm a tablespoon of oil in a wok or large, deep sided skillet on high heat. Add the chicken and stir-fry until it is cooked, about 4 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the wok and throw in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft enough to be cut from the pressure of a wooden spoon, about 7 minutes. Add the broccoli, red bell pepper, and mushroom and stir-fry for another 7 minutes, or until the broccoli florets are tender-crisp and the bell pepper is soft. Add the chicken and any accumulated juices back into the wok and stir to combine.

Drain the pasta and start adding it to the wok a little bit at a time, tossing to combine after each addition. Add 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of fish sauce to the wok and stir around. Throw in a slurry of 1 tablespoon corn starch and 1 tablespoon water (chicken broth if you have some handy); stir until the sauce thickens up, about 30 seconds. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

Rating: This is awesome
Fresher, cheaper, and less greasy than the stuff from our local Chinese delivery place!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Not long after Wei and I started dating, he made shrimp one night when I was hanging out at his place. We stood at his kitchen sink, peeling and eating. I matched him shrimp for shrimp. After a little while he said "Damn, I've never dated anyone who likes shrimp as much as me." I smiled and licked the Old Bay and shrimp juices off my fingers. So as you can see, when we got married last month, it was truly a marriage of soul mates :-) I share this story as a way of explaining why there's so many shrimp dishes in here. We love the crustaceans. Also, they cook really quickly, which make them perfect for weeknight cooking.

I took this recipe from Everyday Italian. I decided to use shrimp shell stock instead of recipe-stipulated white wine in the sauce, and I was very pleased with how it turned out. I used the easy Mark Bittman method: throw all the shells in a pot, cover with water, and let it boil away. After only ten minutes of boiling, the stock was intensely flavored and fragrant. I would definitely make it again to use in any shrimp dish! I chose to serve this with fettuccine; you could also omit the pasta and eat it with slices of rustic bread to dip in the juices at the bottom of the bowl.

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved for stock
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use 1/2 teaspoon or omit entirely if you don't want it spicy)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 cup shrimp shell stock
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
6 ounces fettuccine or linguine

Start a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, if you're using it. Put the shrimp shells in a small pot and cover with water. Bring it up to a boil, and let it simmer until you need it.

In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with 1 teaspoon salt and the red pepper flakes. In a large, heavy skillet, warm the oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and saute until they turn pink, 2 or 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate and set aside. Add the onion to the same skillet and cook until soft and translucent, 6 or 7 minutes.

Drain the shells out of the shrimp stock and reserve a cup of the liquid. Add the tomatoes with their juices, 1 cup of shrimp stock, garlic, and oregano to the pan, and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. Return the shrimp and accumulated juices to the tomato mixture and toss to coat. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed. If using pasta, add the drained strands to the pan and toss thoroughly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the parsley and basil.


Rating: This is awesome
I love how this dish is elegant, but still very easy and delicious.

Poisoned Darts of Pleasure Avocado Pasta

I got the inspiration for this dish from a chapter in Alex Kapranos' book Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand:

There's a wok full of pasta tubes glistening green on the stove. They're delicious. Jessica is cooking tonight. Her husband Bill is rewiring a 10-channel Flickinger pre-amp into Sly Stone's old mixing desk. Sly's old roaches still lie among the circuitry. Bill and Jessica own the Key Club Studio in Benton Harbor, Michigan, where we are recording for a few days.
I can't work out what's in the sauce that makes it taste so good. Jessica says that she just heated up some cloves of garlic in oil and then mixed in the pasta with mashed avocado: "It's an easy vegan version of macaroni cheese."


I made it un-vegan by adding chicken to the mix. I had planned on tossing in some cubes of fresh mozzarella as well, but the boccioni I had in the fridge from last week had gone sour. It didn't really need it, though; I think the cheese would have added too much bulk.

Unfortunately, I think I had an allergic reaction to the avocado. My tongue got all prickly and burn-y and swollen-feeling when I got half way through my bowl. I've had similar reactions to kiwi in the past, and both kiwi and avocado are triggers for natural latex allergies. The mushy green stuff has never bothered me before, but I've also never eaten so much of it at one time. I guess I won't be making this anymore, which is a shame. Really, it was as comforting and tasty as a big bowl of mac n cheese.

1 16-ounce box of medium length tubular pasta, preferably a variety with ridges on the outside (I used rigatoni)
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, sliced
3 ripe avocados
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta, then do your prep. To time this right, you should start the pasta cooking at the same time as the chicken.

Pre-heat a grill pan on medium-high heat. Butterfly cut the chicken breasts in half like a book, then cut in half lengthwise so you have four roughly equal sized pieces total. Season with salt and pepper on both sides and cook on the grill pan until done, 5 or 6 minutes per side. Remove the chicken pieces to a cutting board and let them rest.

Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Throw in the garlic slices and cook until they start to change color, 3 or 4 minutes. Keep them moving around in the oil to be careful that they don't burn. Drain the pasta and put it right back in the pot in which it cooked. Pour the oil and garlic over the pasta and toss together.

Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits, and hollow out the meat into a bowl. Mash with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper until it reaches your desired smoothness. Add to the pasta a large spoonful at a time, mixing after each addition. Chop the cooked chicken and toss in with the pasta. Finally, scatter the cilantro over and mix together. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if you want.

Rating: This is awesome
It was delicious, but I guess my lame body didn't like it. Boo.

Teriyaki Ginger Lime Noodles with Shrimp

I'm not going to post about the slow cooker chicken tortilla soup I made last night. It was so not awesome that I'm not even going to write about it and tag it as "This is not awesome." Blech. Why is it so hard to find a good slow cooker recipe?

I'm going to post the weekly menu tomorrow. I went rafting all day yesterday, and I was too exhauted to work on the menu when I finally got home. Thus, tonight I had to throw something together from the odds and ends laying around. This is what I came up with!

1 pound shrimp
1 broccoli head, cut into florets, with the stem sliced into coins
2 carrots, sliced into coins on the bias
3 green onions, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
8 ounces spaghetti
1 lime, juiced
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
Sugar
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons peanut, corn or vegetable oil

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the spaghetti. You should probably do this while you're still prepping, since the dish doesn't take very long to cook. Add the pasta when the water is boiling, and drain when it's just this side of al dente.

Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok over high heat. Add the broccoli, carrots, green onion, and garlic. Stir fry until the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes. Throw in the shrimp and cook until they turn pink. Put the lime juice in a small bowl, whisk in a teaspoon or so of sugar (use more if you want!), and add the grated ginger. Pour contents of the bowl into your pan or wok and stir to combine.

Add the noodles to the pan, a little bit at a time. Toss everything together with the noodles as they're added. Add the teriyaki sauce and stir around. Add a few grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Taste to see if it needs salt--it probably won't as there's a lot of sodium in teriyaki sauce!



Rating: This is awesome

It was light, fresh, and tasty--an easy, summer-y weeknight dinner!

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells

The term "stuffed shells" is frozen in my memory as a nasty school lunch item that was on pretty heavy rotation at my elementary school. Whenever it was on the menu, I would opt for the tragic mini pizzas that were available everyday instead. I saw Giada De Laurentiis make these on her show when I was getting my teeth whitened several months ago for the wedding. I went to one of those fancy places where they zap you with light for an hour. Thankfully, they have little TV's you can watch so you don't go crazy. Her stuffed shells so changed my opinion of stuffed shells that I wanted to go home immediately and make them, despite the fact that I wasn't allowed to eat anything that would stain a white shirt for the next 36 hours.

I forgot about them until I saw the recipe in Everyday Pasta. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be making them again for a while, since Wei and dairy products aren't the best of friends (or fortunately, since this is pretty fatty and it probably shouldn't be eaten all the time!). This is a great "company" dish, since it makes a big pan-ful and is a crowd-pleaser. Giada recommends making a quick, slightly spicy Arrabbiata sauce to use in the dish. I decided to make it since it calls for pancetta and I had some leftover from Monday night's soup. It added a great flavor, but it's not necessary--regular marinara would work just fine!

1 12-ounce box jumbo pasta shells
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound ground turkey, preferably a mix of white and dark meat
Salt and pepper
1 can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and chopped
1 15-ounce container ricotta cheese
3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped basil
5 cups Arrabbiata sauce or marinara sauce
1 and 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese

For Arrabbiata sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves
1 jar of store bought marinara or 5 cups homemade

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and continue to cook until the turkey is completely done. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Put the mixture in a large bowl and let cool.

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta and, if you're using it, get on with the Arrabbiata sauce in the meantime. Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until it turns deep red and starts to crisp, about 6 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down to low and let it mellow on its own until you're ready to use it.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and partially cook until tender but still very firm, stirring occasionally, 4 or 5 minutes. Drain. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the turkey mixture. Stir to combine.

Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of the Arrabbiata sauce. Hold a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of the turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full; you should have about 24 shells. Spoon the remaining Arrabbiata sauce over the shells and top with the grated mozzarella. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 25 minutes.

Rating: This is awesome
I mean, just look at the picture up there.

Breaded Chicken Breasts and Spaghetti Aglio e Olio with Raw Tomato Sauce

I took the inspiration for this dish from a few different recipes in my Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition. I wanted to create a summertime version of Chicken Parmesan, which was my absolute favorite thing to order at restaurants when I was a kid. I've branched out since then, but it was still really nice to make this for myself after a not so great day at work. I guess it's still one of my comfort foods!

To qualify this as a "summertime" version, I used a simple raw tomato sauce instead of a hot marinara, and I tore up a piece of fresh mozzarella instead of (ugh) turning on the oven and melting shredded cheese over the cutlets. To make the pasta a little more interesting, I used an aglio e oilo (or garlic and oil) sauce.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup dry Italian or plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded parmesan
Salt & pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 egg, beaten with a splash of water
1/4 cup flour
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 3 tablespoons
8 ounces spaghetti
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 large or 4 small tomotoes, seeded and chopped
2 medium sized boccioni of fresh mozzarella, torn or chopped into bite-size pieces

Get a large pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.

Combine the chopped tomatoes, 1 tablespoon each of basil and olive oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and freshly ground black pepper in a bowl. Set aside.

Remove any fat around the edges of the chicken breasts, and butterfly cut them open (like a book), then cut in half lengthwise down the middle, so you have two pieces of equal size. Place the chicken pieces between two sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and pound each with a blunt object (mallet, rolling pin, heavy trivet, etc.) to flatten.

Combine the bread crumbs, parmesan, 1 tablespoon basil, 1 teaspoon salt (omit salt if you're using Italian bread crumbs--they already have enough sodium!), and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a wide, shallow bowl, pie plate, or round cake pan . Put the egg in another shallow bowl, and spread the flour on a plate. Coat the chicken with the flour and shake off the excess. Dip in the egg, then coat with the bread crumb mixture, patting with your fingers or tongs to make sure the crumbs adhere. Set aside on a plate.

Throw the pasta in the now boiling water, and heat 1/3 cup of olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side. The time will depend on how thinly you pounded the chicken. When it's done, drain the chicken on a plate covered in paper towels.

In a small skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic. Cook, stirring, until the garlic just starts to turn color, about 2 minutes. Be very careful not to burn it. Drain the pasta over a small bowl in the sink to capture the cooking water. Put the pasta back in the pot and toss with the oil and garlic, adding a ladle-ful of the pasta cooking water. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, place a serving of pasta in a shallow bowl or plate, and top with one of the chicken pieces. Spoon over the raw tomato sauce and pieces of fresh mozzarella.

Rating: This is awesome
It was a bit decadent with all of the olive oil going on, but it was very tasty. The only bad part is that I made such a mess making it! Time to go clean the kitchen I guess...boo!

Fiery Singapore Noodles

I saw Ching He-Huang make this recipe in an episode of Daily Cooks! on BBC America about a month ago, and I knew I had to try it! Besides the fact that Singapore Noodles is one of my husband's favorite dishes, it has a lot of my favorite ingredients. Turmeric is amazing in its flavor, vibrant color, and health properties. It is like, Super Spice. I love getting the chance to use it :-)

One of the great things about stir fry is that you can customize it however you want. If you don't want this to be spicy at all, omit the chiles! If you want it extra spicy, leave the membranes in when you chop the peppers! Don't have any sesame oil? Leave it out! You get the idea. Never forget that you are the one in charge of what you're cooking, not the recipe. My only tip for making this dish is to get all your prep done before you start cooking it. By which I mean, have all of the elements sitting on the counter next to your range so you can grab them and keep cooking with minimal running around.

1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 pound thin, dried rice noodles
2 tablespoons peanut, corn, or vegetable oil (peanut is best)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 chiles, seeds and membrane removed, finely chopped
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled
2 teaspoons turmeric
4 green onions, finely sliced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 egg, beaten
A couple of pinches crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (freshly ground black pepper is fine if you don't have white)
A few drizzles of sesame oil

Put the rice noodles in a big bowl and submerge in hot (not boiling) water for 10 minutes. I try to time this right so that the 10 minutes are up when I'm already cooking, so I can pull the noodles out of the bowl with a pair of tongs and put them straight into the skillet.

Heat the peanut oil in a wok or deep skillet over high heat. Throw in the garlic, ginger, and chiles and cook for a minute, until the garlic begins to change color. Add the mushrooms and shrimp and stir until the shrimp turns pink.

Add the turmeric and stir around until everything is coated. Add the noodles to the skillet and use a pair of kitchen shears to randomly snip them several times to shorten the strands--this will make them much easier to work with. Toss together with the shrimp and mushrooms so that everything gets combined.

Toss in the green onions and soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice wine vinegar. Stir to combine. Pour the beaten egg over the noodles, turn down the heat, and let the eggs set for 30 seconds. Stir gently.

Turn off the heat and sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes and white pepper over top. Finish with a few drizzles of sesame oil.

Mark Bittman wrote an article in today's New York Times about using shrimp shells to make a simple stock to use in shrimp based dishes. I was going to make some to use in this dish, but I realized too late that I had bought the already peeled shrimp by accident. D'oh! I probably would have thrown in a 1/4 cup or so of the stock at the same time as the sauces. Maybe next time. Let me know if you try it!

Rating: This is awesome
Mmmm, so awesome. Simple cooking with tasty flavors, my favorite kind of food to make and eat. Definitely a keeper! My husband's verdict was that while it tasted good, it wasn't "greasy enough." Uhm, I can live with that, thanks!

Grilled Flank Steak and Orzo with the Works

I have such a love-hate relationship with Rachael Ray.

I love that she encourages people to get in the kitchen. I love it when she creates recipes that boil down the essence of a classic dish so you get the flavor without all the fuss. I hate it when she throws way too many ingredients into a big pot and calls it a "stoup." I hate that in the book from which I got this dish, 365: No Repeats, she advocates feeding meals to dogs that include onions, which happen to be toxic to dogs. She says that her dog used to love the flavor of onions. WTF?! Her dog liked the flavor of death?

But I digress. This was one of her better recipes. Also, it included a vegetable that I had never used before: fennel! I had to modify it a bit; it originally called for skirt steak, not flank, but there was nary a piece of skirt steak to be found in Publix when I was there yesterday. She suggested using 1 pint of grape tomatoes in the orzo, but honestly, I think grape tomatoes are twee and overpriced. Regular seeded tomatoes worked quite well instead! Also, I had to omit the flat leaf parsley that she specified for the orzo because I didn't have any. I didn't really miss it, either.

1.5 - 2 pound piece of flank steak
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus some for drizzling
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound orzo pasta
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
A couple of pinches (or more if you like it spicy!) of crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Marinate the steak for 10 minutes in the balsamic vinegar, a good drizzle of olive oil, and lots of freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat your grill pan or outdoor grill to as hot as you dare.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the orzo. Cook until al dente, about 12 minutes.

While you're getting the pasta water started, preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, fennel, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Season the steak with salt and grill for 5 -7 minutes per side. [Disclaimer: I don't know anything about using an outdoor grill, as I've never owned one. This time works on my stovetop grill pan to produce a rare steak. I highly encourage you to use the touch test otherwise: if the meat feels like your cheek, it's rare. If it feels like your chin, it's medium. If it feels like your forehead, it's well done.] Remove the meat to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Add the chicken stock and tomato to the pan and bring it up to a bubble. Add the cooked orzo, basil, and parmesan cheese and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper until it's how you like it.

Slice the meat very thinly on a sharp angle against the grain. Plate and serve!

Rating: This is awesome
I totally didn't expect it to be awesome. I was iffy about using balsamic vinegar on steak, and I thought the orzo would be blah. But it wasn't! I would probably make it again.

Italian White Bean, Pancetta, and Tortellini Soup

Having soup for dinner is still a relatively new thing in my life. When I was growing up, the only soup we had came from a can and was generally eaten with a sandwich for lunch. My husband introduced the concept of dinner-sized soups to me with his rustic versions of Chinese classics like wonton and chicken corn when we started living together a few years ago. Now I love making a pot of soup on nights when I want something filling but not overly engorging!

I had the ends of a big bag of cheese tortellini from Costco in the freezer, so I was psyched to see this recipe when I was flipping through Everyday Pasta! I modified it a bit, swapping her shallots for onion and increasing the amount of liquid.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-15 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch of Swiss chard, chopped
8 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1/2 pound of frozen cheese tortellini
Salt and pepper

In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, onion, and carrot and cook until the vegetables are soft and the pancetta is crisp, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, beans, chicken broth and water and bring up to a boil over high heat. Throw in the Swiss chard and let it wilt, about 3 minutes.

Add the tortellini and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the tortellini are tender, about 8 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

If you've never cooked with Swiss chard before, don't be put off by its size! It's delicious, and it has so much good stuff in it. Take each leaf and run your knife along both sides of the thick rib in the middle to remove it. Chop the leaves coarsely and it's ready to put in the soup!

Rating: This is awesome
It was very yummy and relatively easy. I would repeat it, especially if we succumb to the allure of the big bag of tortellini at Costco again.