Lemongrass Chicken

Last year, Matt's aunt and uncle gave us the Williams-Sonoma Savoring Meat and Poultry cookbook.  It's one of those cookbooks that just makes you drool all over yourself while flipping through it, and when we got it we immediately started picking out recipes that we wanted to make.

And then we got lazy and couldn't find some of the ingredients and the cookbook ended up at the bottom of the stack. 

But in the last few weeks, we've rediscovered it, and since our Publix recently pimped out its ethnic food aisle, we decided to give it another whirl.

I'm so happy we did.  So far we've made three recipes from the cookbook, and they've all been really delicious.  And since we're in the middle of gluttonous fattastic month, sometimes it's nice to have a meal that's a little bit lighter.

So I give you Lemongrass Chicken.  It's spicy and it's flavorful and it tastes authentic.  And you'll fight over who gets to eat the leftovers.

Note: After handling jalapenos, refrain from touching your eyes or your face or from wiping your nose (which you should probably be doing anyway if you're making dinner).  I always forget to, and end up with a face afire.

Lemongrass Chicken (adapted from Savoring Meat & Poultry)

Marinade

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Everything Else

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (we used breasts) cut into 3/4 inch cubes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

3 lemongrass stalks, tender midsection only, finely chopped (we used lemongrass paste stuff from the produce section)

1 green jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/4 cup julienned carrot (we used matchstick carrots from Publix)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon caramel syrup (below)**

1/4 cup chicken stock or water

Directions

1.  To make the marinade, in a large bowl, stir together the garlic, fish sauce, sugar, cornstarch, pepper, and the 1 tablespoon of begetable oil.  Mix well.  Add the chicken, toss to coat evenly, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.  When the pan is hot, add the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and swirl to coat the pan.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass and stir-fry slowly until they turn a light gold and the shallots smell sweet, 3-5 minutes.

3.  Add the chicken with its marinade, the chile, bell pepper, and carrot and stir-fry until the chicken turns opaque and feels firm to the touch, 3-4 minutes.

4.  Add the fish sauce and caramel syrup and stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked, about 1 minute longer.  The sauce will be sticky, so add the chicken stock or water to dilute it, mixing well.  There should be only a little gravy left in the bottom of the pan.

5.  Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve immediately.

**Caramel Syrup.  To make the caramel syrup, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat; do not stir.  Swirl the pan to help dissolve the sugar clinging to the pan sides.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.  When the syrup turns a deep brown, remove from the heat and slowly pour in 1/4 cup hot water.  Return the pan to medium-high heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the caramel dissolves and is thick and syrupy, 3-5 minutes.  Stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  Let cool, then store in a jar in a cool, dark place.  Makes 3/4 cup.

Peppermint Marshmallows

I've been itchin' to make peppermint marshmallows ever since I watched this video featuring Cheryl Day, the owner of Back in the Day Bakery, my idol.



And ever since I decorated my kitchen to look like Christmas threw up all over the place (but in a good way), I've been feeling really Christmas spirity.  And since it's been super cold here, a.k.a. "the perfect weather for hot chocolate drinking," I knew that the time had come for me to tackle an intimidating task: marshmallow making.

Now, Cheryl hasn't posted her recipe for peppermint marshmallows on the internet (at least that I could find--she's likely saving it for her upcoming cookbook), so I had to go to my second-favorite baking goddess, Martha.  I used her recipe for Candy Cane Marshmallows, and made a couple of slight adjustments.

And now marshmallow making is my favorite thing to do.  I want to sleep on a mattress made of marshmallows and put marshmallow insoles in my shoes.  And then I want to make beds of marshmallows for all of my friends to sleep on.  And then I want to eat my bed of marshmallow in a swimming pool of hot chocolate.

Matt says it's some crazy Willy Wonka shit.  It kind of is.

Two notes, though, before you start.

1. Timing is everything.  You can basically do each of the main parts simultaneously. 
2. You'll probably want to have a stand mixer for this job.  You could do it without, but your arms would be pretty tired after mixing the marshmallows for 15 minutes.

And one last note.

   3.  THESE ARE AWESOME! They're light and fluffy and have an amazing flavor and they're so creamy and melty when you put them in hot chocolate.

Peppermint Marshmallows (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe)

Ingredients

Vegetable-oil cooking spray
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
4 packages (1/4 ounce each) unflavored gelatin
3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 large egg whites
red food coloring

Directions

1.Coat an 9x13-inch square pan with cooking spray; line bottom with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray, and set pan aside. Put sugar, corn syrup, and 3/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Stop stirring; let mixture come to a boil. Raise heat to medium-high; cook until mixture registers 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.

2. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over 3/4 cup water in a heatproof bowl; let stand 5 minutes to soften. Set the bowl with the gelatin mixture over a pan of simmering water; whisk constantly until gelatin is dissolved. Remove from heat, and stir in extract; set aside.

3. Also meanwhile, beat egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Whisk gelatin mixture into sugar mixture; with mixer running, gradually add to egg whites. Mix on high speed until very thick, 12 to 15 minutes.  While mixing, add red food coloring until you reach desired color of pretty pale pink.

4. Pour mixture into lined pan.  Let marshmallow stand, uncovered, at room temperature until firm, at least 3 hours or overnight.

5. Cut into squares with kitchen shears covered in corn starch (the marshmallows can be pretty sticky). 
Toss cut marshmallows in powdered sugar and tap off excess.

Have at it, friends!  And enjoy your Monday!

Dogs and Couches and Food

Here's what life's been looking like around here lately, in a pre-Christmas decorations kind of way.  But I'll tell you one thing: Christmas is fixin' to explode up in here.  Brace yourself. 

Today, though, it's just about dogs and couches and food, which is kind of like saying that it's about some of the best things in life.

Ginger beef stir fry.

The box of ornaments creeps out of the closet and haunts me with its clutter.  The tree comes next week. 

 Big dog checks on the pot roast.  Little dog pre-washes the cutting board. 

Parmesan-crusted chicken cutlets. . .yum.

New whisk in action.

Happy day to you!  The weekend is fast approaching!

P Cubed

Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas--or P Cubed as we've taken to calling it--has made its way onto every meal list we've made in the last few months. (Seriously--we've eaten it almost once a week.)  The original recipe is from Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast (an awesome cookbook I'd highly recommend), and it took us over a year to finally try it out, mostly because Matt doesn't like peas.  But guess what?  He loves them in this. 

And why wouldn't he?  They're mixed with fancy bacon, and cheese, and cream, and shallots, and lemon zest and juice, and pasta.  What's not to love?

This dish is just perfect--absolutely perfect.  We've made a few slight changes--including baking the prosciutto beforehand and adding crushed red pepper for a little heat.  Oh, and don't skip the lemon zest or juice; they really tie the room together.

And I'm pretty sure that when garlic and onion have a baby, it's called a shallot.  Why are they so good?

Matt loves following directions.

Mitch loves begging for treats.  He is not as obsessive about following directions.

Here's the recipe.

Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas (Adapted from Martha's recipe)

Ingredients

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound angel hair (or whatever pasta you prefer)
1 tablespoon butter
1 shallot, finely chopped (1/4 cup)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
8 slices prosciutto (about 4 ounces total), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise, about 1 cup
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving (optional)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1.In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and return to pot.

2.  Spread prosciutto evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 350, until edges are slightly crispy.

3.Meanwhile, make sauce: In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat; add shallot and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add cream, peas, and prosciutto; bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Simmer until peas are heated through, 3 to 4 minutes.

4.Stir in lemon zest and juice. Pour sauce over pasta; add Parmesan, and season generously with salt and pepper. Add enough reserved pasta water to thin sauce as desired. Serve immediately; top with additional Parmesan, if desired.

Making Lemonade. . .

. . .out of pizza.

I'm here to share the final two meals included in Operation: Cook New Stuff.  New recipe #4 was Jonathan Waxman's Pizza with Bacon, Parmesan, Scallions and Tomato.  It looked a little bit amazing on the picture, and it sounded like the process part would be fun, too.  So, Sunday, before the herd of little girls came over, I made the dough, chopped up the rest of the ingredients for the toppings, and shredded about a half of a block of parmesan cheese. 

And then the girls and I made cupcakes and I put them in the oven--the broken oven.  Mother effer.

It was annoying enough that I couldn't enjoy a purple vanilla bean cupcake (and I feared a mutiny from the little ladies), but then when I realized that the broken oven would preclude me from making dinner, too, I was VERY annoyed.  Mother effer.

So Matt and I brainstormed, and I did some research on the Google, and we decided that we could grill the pizza.  We found a little tutorial, and embarked on our pizza grilling adventure (not quite as "livin' on the edge" as lighting the oven from underneath when the whole kitchen already smells like gas, but an adventure nonetheless). 

Grilled pizza #1 was a bit of a trainwreck, but a learning experience.  Pizza #2, well that baby was awesome. 

Here's Waxman's recipe for the pizza.  If you're like us, you'll laugh out loud at the part where he suggests putting 1/4 cup of cheese on two pizzas.  We used much more than that.  Of course, we hadn't gotten our parmesan from Parma as he suggested.  I won't be there again until the end of the month.

And, new meal #5 was this one from my friend Martha: Pasta with Prosciutto and Peas.  Mmmmmmmmmmm. 

(Martha's picture, not mine)

It was so good that I ate two bowls at dinner, and then had to muster up every ounce of willpower to quit.  Then I ellipted for forty minutes and decided to eat another bowl.  Then I had it for lunch today and was in heaven.  And, guess what?  We're making it for dinner again on Friday.*  Clearly, I highly recommend it.  (Also, I am a pea addict.  I will sometimes just eat pea sandwiches as a snack.  They're the healthier first cousin of the potato chip sandwich.)

*Do I really have to wait that long?

I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie.

Sorry.  Couldn't resist.

Here's why yesterday was awesome.

1. I got to read "The Invalid's Story" with the ninth graders and The Crucible with the eleventh graders.  I really like both of those works, and they're just racy enough to keep the kids interested (dead body smell and dirty Puritan affairs always keep me engaged, too). 
2. I was crazy productive at school, so I get to go into the weekend with nary a care.  (Except for the pile of laundry that's taunting me and the tumbleweeds of Mitch fur that are surrounding me and the nagging knowledge that I've fallen really behind on watching The Real Housewives of D.C.)
3. Our landlord told me to deduct the cost of the kitchen makeover materials from the rent (that was actually a few days back, but I'd forgotten to share it here), so that beautiful and happy kitchen was free!  Horray!
4. I ate a doughnut.  (And not some crappy doughnut, either.  It was from Baker's Pride.  Yeah, Baker's Pride is no Back in the Day Bakery, but they make a hell of a doughnut.)
5. My pants felt a little loose.  (That could be because I haven't washed them, or it could be because I've lost weight.  Who knows.  Eating the doughnut, then, was probably not the best course of action.)
6. I was running errands around school during my planning period (remember, super productive), and my last errand was to pick up a case of paper and carry it back to my classroom.  Now, normally such a task would be a piece of cake for me (I'm freakishly strong), but today it was painful.  It was painful because I injured my pinky toe (big gross blood blister that may or may not have exploded) on a cart at Kroger over the weekend, and today I made a poor footwear choice.  Each little step was excruciating, and here I was walking across our super spread out campus with a 50 lb. box of paper on my shoulder.  After I'd gone only a short distance and managed to get to the front of the school, I saw a Staples delivery guy leaving the school.  Now, I had way too much pride to ask for help, and I had way too much pride yesterday morning to even act like I needed help (you know, by struggling in that girlish way girls do when they want someone to help them or to talk to them).  But the Staples guy, as soon as he realized that it was a full box of paper and not an empty box, insisted on carrying it for me.  I don't really believe in angels, but if angels are real, this guy is one.  I and my toes both thanked him. (Did that just sound like I only have two toes?)  Really, we did.  I wrote to Staples as soon as I recovered from the walk to gush about how kind he was.
7. I haven't been to Target in almost a week.  What's awesome about this is that I've been exercising self-control.  But I think I'll go today.  Self-control is overrated.
8. I had to go downtown after school to get this stupid bar card thing so that I can serve alcohol in the City of Savannah (decidedly NOT awesome), but I did get a parking spot directly in front of the building.  And I didn't even have to parallel park!  (Which I am, by the way, pretty good at doing.  I'm in the 80th percentile of parallel parkers.  It's because I'm good at shapes.)
9. And, finally.  Yesterday was awesome because we ate Boston Butt for dinner.  Mmmmmm.  I adapted the recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  I say "adapted" because I am, apparently, completely incapable of following directions.  Like, when Matt read that it said "be careful not to cut into the meat," he looked over at me only to see me stabbing the whole shoulder with a long knife.  And when it said "cook at 325" I somehow decided that the recipe meant to cook at 300.  So, anyway, this is an "adapted" recipe, not because I'm better or more innovative, but because I don't know how to read.

First, make yourself a rub.  This one was 1/3 cup of kosher salt, 1/3 cup of light brown sugar, some freshly ground pepper, some cumin, oregano, and crushed red pepper.

Next, put your butt on your fanciest plate (I believe that these were 4/$1 at Target a few years back) and rub the rub all over it.

Wrap your butt in saran wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight.

Here's what it'll look like the next day.  Bake on a makeshift baking rack (or a roasting pan if you have one. I don't for some reason, so I improvised with a baking rack in a Pyrex dish.) at 300 for seven hours. In the meantime, take a long nap.

Try to resist picking the delicious meat off before taking the "after" picture.  Clearly, we failed at this step.

Give the big bone to the cutest dog on the planet.**

Talk to him and assuage his fears that neighborhood dogs or other creatures are after his bone.

And then. . .enjoy your tasty sandwich.  We ate ours with some BBQ sauce, but it'd be really good without the sauce, too.

Ingredients

1 big ol' bone-in Boston Butt (a.k.a. pork shoulder)

1/3 cup kosher salt

1/3 cup of light brown sugar

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper

Directions

Stab the shit out of the meat with a long knife and make little x's with it.  It's fun.

Rub your rub all over the meat.  Wrap it in saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator overnight.

Place the butt in a roasting pan (or Pyrex baking dish with a baking rack inside of it if you're classy) on the bottom rack in the oven and cook at 300 degrees for 6-7 hours--until the meat falls off of the bone when you jab at it with a fork. 

Allow meat to rest for one hour before pulling it.

Whoop, whoop!  It's the weekend, and it's beeeeee-you-teee-ful!  Enjoy it!

**Please don't go all bananas on me about giving the dog a bone (with a knick knack paddy whack?).  I know that Mitch is not going to choke on this bone because I know that he's hardly going to even chew on it.  Mitch is neurotic, and grew up during the Depression, apparently, and only has a bone for about 10 minutes before he buries it in the back yard (or in our bed if the back yard is unavailable).

Guinness Steak

Matt and I decided that this week we will cook all new recipes (with the exception of Pioneer Woman's Cajun Chicken Pasta, which is on the menu for tonight).  We have all of these cookbooks, see, and it is just too easy to make the same things over and over again (Even if they are delicious.  I'm talking about you, Red Pepper Chicken).

So while Matt did [one of] his fantasy football draft[s] this weekend, I sat in the Lagoon with him and thumbed through the pages of some of our cookbooks.  We put together a little menu for ourselves, and headed to Publix (with every single slow and in-the-way person in Savannah--I thought I was going to start running people over with my cart).*

First up was last night's Guinness Steak.

You should know that Matt has a love/hate relationship with Guinness.  Love, because, well, it's beer.  Hate, because right after we left JMU, he and his family took a trip to Ireland.  They were in Dublin visiting the Guinness brewery at St. James Gate.  The brewery was on the way to the hotel, so instead of first going to the hotel to drop off their things, they went straight to the brewery.  The neighborhood didn't seem so shifty, so they parked on the street.  A fine young chap offered to watch their car, but they declined, opting instead to trust the good-natured Irishmen.  That was a decision that they quickly came to regret, when they left the brewery armed only with their gift shop t-shirts and the clothes on their backs, and found their car--broken into, empty.  Everything, gone.  The police tried to help out by giving them even more Guinness apparel.  Obviously, that ill-fated side trip ended up putting a damper on the family trip to Ireland.  Now, though, Matt's family can dress a small country with the amount of Guinness clothing they own.  **

Back to the steak.  This is actually one I saw on another blog, The Way the Cookie Crumbles, and emailed to Matt just a few days ago.  It was easy to make, used common, easy-to-find ingredients, and was really, really good.  We had it with Matt's famous grilled onions and parmesan polenta (also a first. . .mmmmmmm).  We both agreed that Guinness Steak goes in the "make again" column.

(We didn't eat the dog; I just can't resist it when he, as Opal put it, "sits on the couch like a person.")

Guinness Steak (The Way the Cookie Crumbles)


Ingredients
2 1⅓-pound flank steaks
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Coarse kosher salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1¼ cups thinly sliced green onions (about 6)
1 12-ounce bottle Guinness (You'll only need six of those ounces.  Drink the other six.)
½ cup Worcestershire sauce***


Directions
1. Using sharp knife, lightly score flank steak about ⅛ inch deep on both sides in a crisscross pattern at ½-inch intervals. Place steak in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle steak on both sides with oregano and cumin and generous amount of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Drizzle olive oil over both sides of steaks, rubbing oil and spices into meat. Add green onions, beer, and Worcestershire sauce, turning steak several times to coat both sides. Cover and chill at least 3 hours, turning occasionally. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

2. Prepare grill (medium-high heat). Brush grill rack lightly with oil. Grill steaks to desired doneness, 4-5 minutes total per side for medium-rare, turning steaks ¼ turn after 1½ minutes to form crisscross grill marks, if desired. Transfer steaks to cutting board; let rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice steaks across grain. Transfer to platter and serve.


*Also, F you, Georgia for not selling beer or wine on Sundays.  Your silly rule  forced me to make a trip to Kroger this afternoon just for ingredients for meals.  While at Kroger, I somehow jammed my pinky toe against the wheel of the cart.  Now I have a big blood blister on my toe (and probably rabies), and shoe-wearing is going to be a bitch come morning.  I blame you, Georgia, and your asinine laws.

**When Matt returned from Ireland, he and I were talking on the phone.  Like a moron, I asked, "Ooh, did everyone there have Irish accents?"  Matt explained to me that they really didn't have Irish accents, since they watch so much American TV.  He was lying (obviously now), and I bought it. . .completely. 

***We used the last of our Worcestershire for this steak.  I told Matt we needed Morcestershire.  He shook his head, wondering perhaps why he married someone who believed that Irish people don't actually have Irish accents, and who makes such terrible jokes.