Chicken Dill Sauté

I love thumbing through old magazine issues and finding a great recipe.  This one comes from the May issue of GH.

Chicken Dill Sauté

Yields 4 servings

1  lemon

1 pound(s) skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

3 teaspoon(s) extra virgin olive oil

1 small (4- to 6-ounce) onion, thinly sliced

2 large peppers (orange and yellow), sliced

1/2 cup(s) water

Salt

Pepper

8 ounce(s) sugar snap peas, strings removed, cut in half

1/3 cup(s) fresh dill, chopped

From lemon, grate 1 teaspoon peel; set aside. Into pie plate, squeeze 1 tablespoon juice. Add chicken; turn to coat.

In 12-inch skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil on medium-high. Add onion, peppers, 2 tablespoons water, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and freshly ground black pepper. Cook 3 minutes or until softened, stirring. Transfer to large plate.

In same skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil on medium-high. Add peas, 2 tablespoons water, and 1/8 teaspoon each salt and black pepper. Cook 2 to 3 minutes or until beginning to brown, stirring occasionally. Add to pepper mixture.

In same skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil on medium-high. Add chicken; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook 3 minutes or until golden, stirring once. Return vegetables to pan; add remaining 1/4 cup water. Cook 1 minute or until saucy, stirring. Stir in dill, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and reserved peel.

You could serve this over rice, or just eat it by itself!

Holy cannoli!

There is an Italian deli/bakery pretty close to the office, and they have some fabulous things on the menu.  But one thing I NEVER leave without, is some cannoli.  On a good day (if I'm being good), it is only a single mini cannolo (cannoli is actually the plural form of the word).  I could eat much more.  And if you have never had the pleasure of consuming cannoli...SHAME ON YOU!  Anywho, I just came across this recipe for the easiest do-it-yourself cannoli, aside from buying the kit at Costco.  Those are good too.  So if you know how to make pie crust, and if you know how to mix a few ingredients together, you too can share the goodness that is cannoli.

Mini Cannoli cream cups

1 recipe pie dough - or you can buy the refrigerated pre-made kind
3 T sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

1 (15 oz.) container whole-milk Ricotta cheese (if you're going to eat cannoli it has to be fattening.  Sorry.)
1/2 c. powdered sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on finished product
2 T sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
(if you care to add a smidgen of orange extract you can do that as well)
1/4 c. mini chocolate chips

To allow for adequate chilliness of cream, make it first and let it chill in the refrigerator.
Mix all ingredients except for chocolate chips in your favorite electric mixer.  Or if you haven't worked out in awhile, you can feel free to mix it by hand.  Go for it.  Mix until creamy, then transfer to a pastry bag or large ziplock bag.

Preheat oven to 425.  Break out the pie dough and roll until nice and thin - like a pie.  Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the dough, then roll it in for good measure.  Take a 3" circle cookie cutter or drinking glass (approximate diameter), and press into the dough, creating circles.  With the cinnamon sugar side up, gently press each dough circle into an ungreased mini muffin/cupcake pan to create a nice little cup.

Bake for 10 minutes or until the cups are nice and crispy, golden brown in color.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.  Remove your filling from the ice box and prepare to pipe.  Fill the cups as you see fit, then sprinkle with mini chocolate chips and dust with powdered sugar.  Cannoli is frequently topped with chopped pistachios or maraschino cherries.  Yuck to the cherries, hello to the pistachios!  And the chocolate.

Don't fill the cups too far in advance to serving or they run the risk of becoming soggy.  Eat, and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Wings

If you like it hot, this one's for you!

Buffalo Chicken Wings
Serves 4 (4-6 wings per person)

3 1/2 lbs chicken wingettes

8 c. water
1 1/2 T salt
1 1/2 T ground black pepper
2 T lemon juice

1 1/2 oz. Habanero peppers
1 1/2 oz. Serrano chili peppers
2 T butter, melted
1 1/2 T white vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 T cayenne
1/2 c. Frank's Red Hot Sauce (we put that on everything)

Vegetable oil for frying

Rinse wings in cool water.  In a bowl, combine first 4 ingredients for marinade.  Add wings and marinade for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  Drain and dry wings thoroughly.

Core and seed the peppers - be careful not to touch your eyes!  I would recommend wearing disposable gloves (or you could wrap your hands in plastic bags).  Place the peppers in a food processor and chop till fine.  In a large container with a lid, mix together pepper puree, butter, vinegar, paprika, cayenne, chili powder and hot sauce.  Set aside.

Deep fry wings in vegetable oil at 350 for 10 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  Add wings to sauce - shaking to thoroughly coat.

Sugar Ray Pork Ribs

I found this recipe a few years ago, then I lost it. I contacted the company and they were kind enough to send it to me.....then I lost it again. Well, today, I FOUND IT!!!!! So, in all his wisdom, Eric suggested I put it in a place where if I should lose the recipe card again, (which is likely) we will still have the recipe accessible! These are the best ribs I have ever had, and I can no longer order ribs at a restaurant because nothing compares.

3/4 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Granulated Sugar
1/4 C Salt
2 TBSP Ground Black Pepper
3 TBSP Paprika
Dash of Cayenne
1 TBSP Garlic Powder

Rub all over ribs, wrap in plastic wrap and marinate 8 hours- overnight.
Cover on cookie sheet and bake at 275 degrees for 2 hours. Baste with BBQ sauce for another 30 minutes of cooking (this portion can be done on a grill if desired). Yummy!!!! Do you want to know how it will feel in your mouth to taste the deliciousness of these ribs? See the photo below......yes, it will be like a crazy, awesome party in your mouth!

Peach Shortbread Bars

A girl at work brought these in this morning, and they are simply delicious. I'm looking forward to making some once the peaches come in on my neighbor's tree! Recipe by smittenkitchen.com. Note: my friend did not make the browned butter version.

Peach Shortbread Bars

I browned the butter when I made these bars and for once, I felt I could actually taste it in the final cookie (when so often it gets buried under other ingredients). By that measurement, it is absolutely worth it. Still, you can make it with straight-up non-browned butter if you are pressed for time. Simply cut softened butter into the flour (instead of frozen brown butter) and increase the flour by two tablespoons, bringing it to three full cups of flour.

I cut mine into 24 2 x 2 1/2-ish squares. You can halve this and bake it in a 8 x 8 pan instead.

1 cup (7 ounces or 200 grams) white sugar
1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking powder
2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons (12 5/8 ounces or 359 grams) cups all-purpose flour (or you can measure 3 cups and remove 2 tablespoons flour)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces or 227 grams) cold butter
1 large egg
2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced (between 1/8 and 1/4-inch thick)

Brown your butter: Melt butter in a small/medium saucepan over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Keep your eyes on it; it burns very quickly after it browns and the very second that you turn around to do something else. Set it in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

[Don't have time for all this brown butter madness? Check the head notes to use regular softened butter instead.]

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips, blend the solidified brown butter and egg into the flour mixture. It will be crumbly. Pat 3/4 of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly. Tile peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Scatter remaining crumbs evenly over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.

Keeping: I’ve kept mine in the fridge and they’ve held up great there since Monday. I imagine that these would freeze well, between layers of waxed paper, with the container sealed well in plastic wrap.