Oven Fried with a Dip

I've been playing with Panko and oven frying again and discovered another tasty chicken recipe I'd like to share. I was in the mood for something Asian. And spicy. I thought of different ingredients in the Asian kitchen and needed something that would stand up to the crispiness of the Panko. I opted for sesame seeds. I'm just recently a fan of these little morsels and have been trying them in various recipes lately. So then I thought about adding some heat. I didn't take the cayenne pepper route but decided a good sized helping of Dijon mustard might work. But the best part (as usual) was the dipping sauce that is Asian all the way and can be spiced up as much or as little as you like. And can be re-mixed until your heart's content.

I originally made this recipe with thin cut chicken breasts. I have now been cutting them into 1-1/2 inch slices and calling them fingers. They are great as appetizers, snacks or even a main course. So let's get cooking. As we did last time with Panko, you'll need to set up a dredging station with 3 dishes- one for the flour, one for the egg whites and one for the Panko.


Sesame Chicken Fingers with Asian Dipping Sauce

1 lb chicken breasts sliced lengthwise into 1-1/2 inch strips
1/4 cup AP flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
2 tsp Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Panko bread flakes
2 T sesame seeds (they can be either toasted or untoasted)
1-1/2 tsp dried minced onion
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 tsp kosher salt
cooking spray

Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp "hot" toasted sesame oil
1/2 scallion white and green parts, sliced 1/4 inch

To make the chicken: Pre heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Originally I had been using parchment, but if you don't have the highest quality parchment it begins to brown at about 425 degrees. Foil is safer and cheaper. And I use it now for most of my high temp baking. Anyway, take a wire cooling rack, give it a quick spritz with cooking spray and place it on top of your baking sheet. This is what you'll be cooking your chicken on. Wash chicken, pat dry and set aside.

On to the dredging station. In plate #1 combine flour, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. In plate #2 mix egg whites with mustard and whisk until emulsified. In plate #3 combine Panko, sesame seeds, minced onion, salt and pepper. Now you're ready for the dredge dance. Take your chicken and dredge it in the flour mixture. Shake off any extra flour. Take floured chicken strip and dip in the egg batter. Now dip into the Panko mixture. Make sure Panko mixture completely covers the chicken. Spritz both sides of chicken with cooking spray and place on rack. Continue the dance (I mean the process) until all chicken pieces are coated. Bake in center rack of oven for 12 minutes. Turn chicken over and bake another 8 minutes. Remove from oven.

To make the dipping sauce: While chicken is cooking, combine all ingredients (except scallion slices) in a small jar. Shake until incorporated. Pour into serving dish and garnish with scallions. If you've noticed, I've used 2 different kinds of sesame oil here.

One is very hot, enhanced with chili pepper. One is simply toasted. Use the measurements I've suggested and see if this is the right amount of heat for your taste buds. I'm a pretty spicy gal and this combo works for me. If you want it hotter, dip at your own risk.

How about a dip re-mix? Omit the scallions and add some peeled, thinly sliced ginger and chopped cilantro. Or float some sesame seeds in the dip itself. Carry the hint of mustard into the dip by adding a dollop or two and whisk or shake until emulsified. Not everybody's a fan of hot, so if that's you, use the regular toasted sesame oil and omit the other. And if you prefer a sweeter dip, add some honey. One last idea- (I'm trying not to get carried away), add the honey and the mustard at the same time. Play with some ideas and see what you like best.

Re-entry

Vacations are wonderful. Re-entry into the real world however is not so wonderful. I've been back from Aruba two weeks and am almost feeling like my old self again. I can't say that's good, but it's darn hard getting anything accomplished when you're still in that Caribbean state of mind.

Before we talk food, I'd like to tell you about my trip, with a little background to boot. Jeannine (from Canada) and I met about 15 years ago in a resort not too far from Aruba. She lives 500 miles north west of Toronto and craves the sun and sand as much as I do. We became fast friends and travel buddies since, and have visited Turks and Caicos, Mexico (a few times), Punta Cana, and Bermuda . And then we discovered Aruba. Ahh. Aruba. I believe this was our third trip there. We always stay at the Tamarjin Hotel where all the rooms (bungalos) are ON THE BEACH. Walk out your back door and take a dip in the sea. Yes. That is the allure of the Tam.


Everything at the hotel is low key and relaxing. If you're a beach bum, you're in heaven. And if you have a hankering for reptilian critters, you'll make a lot of new friends.

There's a lovely downtown area 5 minutes from the hotel with a marina, gazillions of high end jewelry shops and boutiques, restaurants, casinos, and a colorful 2-3 block bazzaar with stalls filled with everything from junk you'd never buy to very nice clothes and accessories. And the bus trip costs $2.30 round trip.

And in the evening, the sunsets are spectacular. Every. Night.

The first weekend I was home I had no desire to food shop, cook or unpack my bags. But a girl's got to eat something other than peanut butter and crackers. So after a quick trip to the market to get cat food and a few essentials I decided to make one of my simple, go-to dishes. A Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad. Simple. Healthy. And quite tasty. Almost all the ingredients are in your pantry, and if not, definately in your local supermarket.

Mediterranean-Inspired Pasta Salad

1 cup penne pasta, uncooked

4 scallions sliced 1/2 inch

10 to 12 pitted Kalamata olives halved

1 14 oz can quartered artichokes in water drained

1 pint grape tomatoes halved

1 T capers drained

1 5 oz can tuna, drained and flaked

Dressing

1 clove garlic minced

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 cup plus 1 T red wine vinegar (I add more)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp salt

To make the salad:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain. Place pasta in large mixing bowl and add the rest of the salad ingredients.

To make the dressing:

Combine all ingredients in a medium size jar and shake until combined. *note- I like my dressings a little more acidic than some, so I often add another T of vinegar. Taste the dressing to see if it's to your liking, before you add too much. Pour dressing over salad ingredients and toss. It's perfect at room temperature or refrigerate until you're ready to eat.

Remix-Sometimes I don't add tuna and use a can of drained, rinsed cannellini beans. Then I add 4 ounces of crumbled goat cheese. The goat cheese adds a tangy creaminess that is so complementary to all the ingredients. I also suggest adding 1/2 tsp dried oregano and/or crushed red pepper flakes to the dressing. My simple rule with a pantry salad like this is to have at least 2 fresh vegetables in the mix. In mine I chose the tomatoes and scallions.

Still Havin' a Ball

In my never-ending quest to find new recipes that fit my favorite eating style (that would be grazing-is it still called grazing?) I decided to try the Noble Pig's recipe for Chicken Meatballs with Chipotle Honey Sauce. Let me tell you a little about Cathy of Noble Pig fame. First of all I don't know her, but I do read her blog which makes me feel like I actually do know her. Anyway, a few years ago I stumbled across her Highly Addictive Lemon Squares and she had me hooked. Not only is Cathy an enthusiastic blogger (she posts almost daily), but her writing, photography, attention to detail and recipes are fabulous. I think I was most recently impressed when she did a post around Super Bowl time that featured nineteen! yes nineteen appetizer and party suggestions and one of the dishes I bookmarked in my head was the Chicken Meatballs. I finally got around to making them and they are as tasty as I expected. The sweetness of the honey combined with the smokey bite of the chipotles makes your taste buds dance and then dance some more. All the ingredients are easy to find in the regular grocery store and in true Noble Pig style, the recipe is easy to make.

Cathy's original recipe made 48 meatballs. I cut the recipe in half because I didn't need that many meatballs and (unfortunately) wasn't having a party. I made a few minor changes along the way for the sake of convenience, but all in all, this is one fine recipe.

Chicken Meatballs with Chipotle Honey Sauce

Meatballs
1 pound ground chicken
1 egg slightly beaten
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 T fresh lime juice -about 1/2 a lime
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 chipotle peppers chopped-they come in a small can labeled "with adobo sauce"
1 T adobo sauce
1/2 tsp salt
cooking spray

Sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 T honey
1 chipotle pepper
2 T chicken broth -I used water
2 T tomato paste
1 T lime juice - use the other half of the lime
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp salt

To make the meatballs: Combine all ingredients (except cooking spray) and mix well. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Form chicken into 24 meatballs, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To make the sauce: In a blender combine all ingredients and process until smooth. Set aside.

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove meatballs from the fridge and lightly mist with cooking spray. Bake 12 minutes and remove meatballs to a baking dish. Add sauce with a spoon or brush until all the meatballs are coated. Bake another 12-15 minutes. I did not use all of the sauce but saved it in case I need more when I reheat the rest.


And what beverage would you like with these tasty little morsels I pondered. A cold beer might be nice. Maybe a glass of white wine. I think I'll have a Skinnygirl Margarita. I couldn't resist. I saw Bethany Frankel's (almost) life size cut out at the liquor store and decided to give this concoction a try. Now I'm not much of a margarita drinker, but for about 12 dollars a bottle, this ice-chilled Skinnygirl tastes pretty darn good and definately complements the meatballs. Thanks Bethany. Thanks Cathy. I'm havin' a ball.

Note-I'll be taking a week or two off from blogging since I'll be entertaining my friend Jeannine while she visits from Canada. See you in a few.

Havin' a Ball

My friend Jeannine from Canada is coming for her annual visit in a few days. Since we're wine and cheese gals I've been doing some prep work. Have you ever bought a cheese ball at the store? Eh, they're okay. Have you ever made a cheese ball at home? Well there's no comparison to the store bought and totally worth the small effort it takes. Here's my recipe.


Three Cheese Ball
1 8 oz package Neufchatel cheese- it's cream cheese with 1/3 less fat
1 12 oz package Wispride sharp cheddar (spreadable) cheese- I try to look for low fat since I can't tell the difference
1 6 oz package crumbled blue cheese

Unwrap cheeses from packaging and place in a large bowl at room temperature to soften. Cover with plastic wrap. Sometimes softening can take one to two hours. When soft, mix cheeses together until they are combined. I use a heavy spoon, rubber spatula and some good elbow grease. When the cheeses are well incorporated (don't hurt any limbs doing this) put the softened mixture in the refrigerator to harden slightly. A half hour or so.



When the mixture has hardened a bit and is easy to handle, you're ready to form the balls. As you can see, this is quite a bit of cheese and you have to decide how many balls you're going to make. I usually opt for two, although I have made more, as well as an occasional gigantic one if I really want to make a statement. On a cutting board or flat surface, pour out 1 cup of finely diced walnuts since you'll be coating your cheese balls in some crunchies. Roll away and have fun.




Now wrap the balls loosely in plastic wrap, store in the refrigerator and wait until cocktail time. Serve at room temp. And as great as they are at cocktail time, the leftovers are fabulous too. Use as a spread on a roast beef sandwich. Slather on a bagel with lox and onion. Toss on top of a baked potato. Oh yeah. This is good stuff.

How about some re-mixes? To the cheese mixture add jarred horseradish (drain any liquid). It offers a nice bite. If you like spicy, try a small, drained jar of pickled, chopped jalapenos. I've also added Worcestershire sauce and it's earthy and warm. Instead of walnuts, try chopped pistachios. Now if you're not a nut lover, roll the balls in finely chopped herbs like parsley or cilantro. Whatever way you make these, I know you'll have a ball! Enjoy

Cookie Heaven

I spent a good part of last weekend baking cookies for my friend Jonathan's birthday. He requested my Strawberry White Chocolate Chip Birthday Cookies which I was delighted to make. But I wasn't going to stop there so I baked up some Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies as well. A bit of a chocolate fest, so you know I was happy. I used my trinity flour mix in every batch I made, and NO WAY can you detect the ground oatmeal and whole wheat flour in these cookies. And, what's even better is that these recipes are no fuss, no fail and delicious.

Here are the proportions for the flour mixture again in case you missed it the first time.

Trinity Flour Mix

• 4 cups AP flour
• 2 cups old fashioned oatmeal ground in a food processor or spice mill
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

In large bowl combine ingredients. I don't sift or do anything besides use a whisk to incorporate. Then I pour the flour into a large re-sealable bag and it's ready when I'm ready. Okay... on to the cookies.

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies
This is a Giada recipe that I've been making for a few years now. She originally made these for a Halloween episode and rolled the uncooked dough in orange turbanado sugar. I have done this using plain old Sugar in the Raw and it's nice- offering great crunch and eye appeal. I didn't do it this time though.

3 1/2 cups trinity flour mix

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 sticks softened unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar (I used no calorie Splenda)

1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda Blend brown sugar for baking)

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup Nutella

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (my addition)

Pre heat oven to 375 degrees. In medium size bowl combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well. Then add the Nutella. When everything looks yummy and incorporated add the dry ingredients. I don't add it all at once, maybe in two or three stages. Now fold in the chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1 to 1-1/2 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Leave a good few inches between cookies because these babies spread. Also-if you want to coat the cookies in raw sugar, do it before you bake them. Bake 10 minutes. The cookies might not look done at 10 minutes, but they are.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
This is an Ina recipe. What can I say? The woman rocks and hasn't led me astray yet. Her original recipe called for toasted pecans and raisins. I've made that. Delicious. But I'm a chocolate gal and took the walnut/chocolate route. I think I now use more brown sugar and less granulated than her original recipe, and the end result is chewy and crunchy and simply heaven. And by the way, this makes a lot of cookies. I think I got close to 4 dozen.

2 sticks softened butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar (I used 3/4 cup Splenda Blend brown sugar for baking)

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used Splenda no calorie sugar)

2 eggs- Ina uses extra large eggs but I use large and I haven't had a problem- I guess either size will do

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups trinity flour mix

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp Kosher salt- Ina specified Kosher salt, so that's what I do. If you don't have any- use 3/4 tsp table salt (I'm guessing)

3 cups old fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups finely chopped walnuts

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and vanilla extract. Now this next step may sound a bit unorthodox, but add baking powder, cinnamon and Kosher salt to the egg/sugar mixture and combine. These are not Ina's directions, but they're easy and they work just fine. Now add the trinity flour mixture in batches and mix. Stir in the oats. Add chips and walnuts. With a large spoon scoop out about 1 tablespoon of batter per cookie and place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Ina says to flatten the cookies with damp fingers. I have forgotten to do this many times, and it hasn't made too much of a difference in the end result, so if you forget, you'll still be okay. Bake 12 to 14 minutes.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Panko Madness

Remember that Panko-coated, oven fried chicken I made a few weeks ago? Well, the Panko bread crumbs have taken over my life and become a new obsession. I feel like that guy on the TV commercial that gets a label maker and labels everything in sight. I just can't stop rolling my food in Panko. The good news is- just about everything tastes great with a coating of these crispy little flakes. However I don't recommend using them in meatballs or as a filler in burgers or casseroles. You don't get the benefit of the crunch. But for coating fish, chicken, or vegetables, they are simply perfect.

Two of my favorite Panko-coated, oven fried veggies so far are zucchini and eggplant. For these two vegetables I used the same coating procedure as I did with the chicken, but I made a few changes in the seasonings. Instead of the paprika and Adobo, I substituted oregano and minced onion. Yeah, minced onion. I'm sure you have some lurking somewhere in your spice cabinet. I know my little jar has been hanging around for years. I admit it was a last minute thought, but it turned out to be a super flavor booster. Another change- I lowered the oven temp to 400 degrees, but stuck with the wire rack to prevent the vegetables from getting soggy. I cut the eggplant in 3/8 inch rounds, but with the zucchini I cut them (1/4 inch) on the bias as well as in rounds. I like the combination of the two shapes piled on the plate.

Oven Fried Eggplant
You can make this recipe using 2 small to medium zucchini- the amount of dredging ingredients will be the same

1 small/medium eggplant cut in 3/8 inch rounds- I semi peeled my eggplant so I had attractive purple stripes running along the sides
1 cup Panko bread flakes
1/4 cup AP flour
1 egg white whisked
1 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt
freshly ground black pepper
cooking spray
marinara sauce

Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Set up your dredging station: flour, egg white, and Panko. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the flour and mix. Stir together Panko, minced onion, oregano, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Dip eggplant slices in flour, then in egg white and then in the seasoned Panko. This can seem rather tedious, probably because it really is. So when I'm dipping and dredging I keep my mind on the end result, and get through this boring task. Lightly coat the dredged eggplant with cooking spray on both sides and arrange on wire rack. Place the rack on top of a baking sheet (lined with parchment or foil) and bake 20 minutes. Turn eggplant over and bake 10 minutes more.

While the egplant is baking, heat up some marinara sauce for drizzling or dipping. I've been liking Classico tomato and basil. Not just because it tastes good, but it comes in small jars (14 oz) that are perfect for one or two people. Not too much waste.


If you make a double batch of these goodies, you'll probaby have some left over. Cold eggplant doesn't sound very appetizing. But mock pizza does. To your eggplant add a tablespoon or two of marinara sauce and top with shredded parmesan cheese. Microwave until cheese melts (about 1 minute). Instant snack.

Bon apetito.

Double Chocolate Triple Sec Cake

I picked up my mail today and along with the usual magazines, bills, and junk, there was a box shaped like a book with a return address from Reiman Publications. Uh oh. My thoughts immediately went back to 11th grade when I ordered what I thought was a book on Impressionism from the Time Life Company. It soon became clear that every month an additional art book would show up in the mailbox as part of the "series" I ordered. I could keep the new books or bring them back to the post office to be returned to Time Life. As I can be lazy now, I was even lazier back then and ended up with a collection of books I had no interest in. After this little life lesson I swore I would never order a series of anything again. And I haven't. It was my good fortune today to have received the Healthy Cooking 2010 Annual Recipes book for free. It's very similar in style to the Southern Living Annual I picked up a few weeks ago at Marshall's.



Last year Healthy Cooking published a recipe of mine in their April/May issue, and this annual is their gift to me. The recipe is called Chocolate Orange Cake and was the lead recipe in their "Eat to Beat Diabetes" section. Since it's geared towards those with some serious health issues, I'm especially proud to have succeeded in creating something that's really tasty and works for people that have dietary limitations.

Anyway, I originally called the cake "Double Chocolate, Triple Sec" but leading off with liquor in the title wasn't too conducive for the diabetic crowd, so the name was changed to something more generic. I do love that little play on words, so I had to mention it at least once in print. Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Orange Cake aka Double Chocolate Triple Sec Cake

2 tsp plus 1/3 cup baking cocoa, divided
1/3 cup quick cooking oats
2/3 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/3 cup Splenda sugar blend
2 eggs
3 T Triple Sec or orange juice
2 T butter melted
5 tsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
2 tsp grated orange peel

FROSTING:
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp grated orange peel
2 tsp orange juice

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8 inch square baking dish with cooking spray and sprinkle with 2 tsp cocoa; set aside. Place oats in a small food processor, cover and process until ground. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat the sour cream, sugar blend, eggs, Triple Sec, butter, oil and vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and remaining cocoa; gradually beat into sour cream mixture until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and orange peel.
3. Transfet to reserved dish. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
4. For frosting, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, orange peel and juice; beat until smooth. Frost top of cake. Refrigerate leftovers.

I think you'll really enjoy this cake. I haven't made it in a while, probably because when I was testing it I made it over and over and over again, and didn't want to see it for some time. I'm ready now!

One more thing- I quickly looked at the recipes in this annual and they look pretty interesting-especially their desserts. Plus every recipe has nutrition facts such as calories/fat/carbs/sodium/fiber. You get the idea. And if you don't pick up the book this year, you'll probably see it at Marshall's next year for a song.