Month: September 2011

Categories
Main Dish

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef Recipe:

makes 2 servings

You will need:

 

1 lb of flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise

¼ cup of cornstarch

3 teaspoons of canola oil

½ teaspoon of grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)

½ cup of water

½ cup of soy sauce (I use low sodium)

½ cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes

3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

 

 

Prepare the meat:

First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch (see picture bellow).

Make the sauce:

Heat half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don’t worry if the sauce doesn’t look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.

Cook the meat and assemble dish:

Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.

Serve it hot with rice.

Categories
Main Dish

Archibald’s Lemon Garlic Chicken

I’ve been on a non-stop quest to find a delicious chicken to serve at my son’s wedding coming up in September. I get close, but haven’t been totally satisfied with the results. I posted my wish about three weeks ago, and Barbara (of BarbaraBakes) sent the request to Kathy Stephenson – Salt Lake Tribune food writer. She had the right clout and was gracious enough to get the recipe to share in the Trib on July 21, 2009 – thank you Kathy! The link is HERE for a little more info than I will give here.

If you’ve never eaten at Archibald’s – give it a try. This chicken is to die for… I’ve been trying to duplicate it for years, and haven’t done so until now.

What I was missing was the right bread crumbs. “Panko” crumbs are made from bread without crusts – in other words, from the soft center of the loaf that we all like best. Panko crumbs add a special crunch – nothing heavy, but airy. After quick pan-frying in a small amount of butter and fresh garlic, the chicken is topped with a lemon butter sauce. Since you pound the chicken thin before coating it, the cooking time is reduced and the chicken is so tender you barely need to chew.

Be sure to keep the heat at medium, as the garlic has a tendency to burn easily. I pounded my chicken with a large chef’s knife, being careful not to pulverize it by pounding too long. This tenderized it as well as flattened it.

Since I can’t normally consume 8 large chicken breasts, I adapted the recipe down to two servings (the full-size recipe is first, the adaptation is below…)

Ingredients:

8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

3 cups panko breadcrumbs

6 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 to 4 tablespoons butter

5 to 6 garlic cloves, minced

Lemon sauce

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup fresh lemon juice

½ cup (1 stick) butter

¼ cup cornstarch

Fresh basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Place chicken pieces between wax paper, flatten with a mallet. Place flour in a shallow bowl. Place eggs in a separate bowl and beat until combined. In a third bowl, add breadcrumbs. Coat both sides of chicken with flour, shake off excess. Dip in egg and coat with breadcrumbs. Place on a piece of wax paper. Repeat with remaining pieces.

Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic. Place coated chicken pieces in pan (you may have to do this in batches). Cook until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook another 4 to 5 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove from pan. Cover and keep warm.

For lemon sauce, combine broth, lemon juice and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in a small amount of cold water until smooth. Gradually pour cornstarch into hot liquid, stirring until it boils. Cook one minute until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in fresh basil. Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, place one chicken breast on each plate. Top with lemon sauce.

Servings » 8

Adapted for 2-3 servings:

Ingredients for chicken:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

¾ cup panko bread crumbs

1 egg

¼ cup flour

2 Tbs butter

1 clove garlic – minced

Lemon Sauce:

½ cup chicken broth (I used a bouillon cube in ½ cup water)

2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs butter

1 Tbs cornstarch

Fresh basil (I used dried basil leaves)

Categories
Side

Hasselback Potatoes

Smashed Potatoes

  • 12-15 baby red potatoes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (PW said 450° but I used 400°). Boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes or until fork tender. Place on a cooking sheet coated with cooking spray or drizzled with olive oil. Place the potatoes on the baking sheet and with a potato masher, gently smash each potato. Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper (add a bit of your favorite dry herbs if you like).

 

Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Eat plain or top with a little sour cream and green onions (my kids loved them this way). Enjoy!

Ingredients

6 Medium Size Potatoes
2 – 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
30 g Butter
Maldon Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.

Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

 

Ingredients

  • Baking Potatoes
  • Oil
  • Garlic Salt
  • Seasoned Salt

Directions

Potatoes may be peeled or have skins left on. Cut the raw potatoes lengthwise into wedges. Brush oil onto the cut sides and place on a cookie sheet. Season to taste with garlic salt and seasoned salt. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

 

3 tablespoons salted or unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt
½ to 1 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)(I used aleppo, which is milder and can therefore be used more generously)
4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled (smaller diameter potatoes are great, if you can find them)
4 shallots, peeled
8 sprigs thyme
Garnishes (optional): Bits of goat cheese, crumbles of bacon and/or bits of crisped pancetta

Preheat oven to 375°. In a small bowl, combine butter and oil. With a sharp knife or manoline, slice potatoes crosswise very thinly. Figure out what baking dish you’d like to use [see Note above]; Martha suggests a 9-inch round baking dish (a deep dish pie pan would fit this bill) though I think you could go an inch bigger, an oval 1 ½ to 2 quart casserole dish might also be pretty.

Once you’ve picked the dish that seems the best fit for your slices, pour a tablespoon or so of the butter/oil mixture in the bottom and spread it evenly. Sprinkle the oil mixture with a few pinches of coarse salt and red pepper flakes, if using; this will allow you to season both the top and underside of the potatoes. Arrange your potato slices vertically in the dish.

Thinly slice shallots with your mandoline and slide shallot slivers between potato wedges, distributing them as evenly as possible. Brush with remaining oil/butter mixture. Generously season your dish with salt; go easier on the red pepper flakes, if using. Bake 1 1/4 hours, then arrange thyme sprigs on top and bake until potatoes are cooked through with a crisped top, about 35 minutes more. If casserole seems to brown too fast, cover it with foil to slow it down. Add any garnishes, if using, and serve immediately.