Spicy Thai Noodles with Chicken

We had another lovely Downton Dinner last night, though all of the usual suspects were either sick, tired, or otherwise engaged. So it was just me and BA, but this dinner was a hit anyway. It could easily be expanded, and can be served at room temperature or even cold, so you don't have to time it precisely. It came together really quickly and requires about the same skill set as making spaghetti, so I highly recommend it.

Original source here, via Pinterest. I added the chicken and modified the rest somewhat.

Spicy Thai Noodles with Chicken

I grabbed a pack of chicken tender strips at the grocery (easier than cutting up chicken breasts) and marinated them beforehand. I just made up the marinade, but it was approximately like so:

juice of one (leftover fridge straggler) lime
1/4 cup hot chili oil
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ginger (in any form)

mix it all up

toss in a bag with the chicken and marinate in fridge for however many hours you have

For the noodles:

1/2 cup sesame oil -- found in international/specialty section of grocery store

1-2 tbsp red pepper flakes/crushed red pepper -- I used 1 tbsp and it had plenty of kick, so don't be heavy handed with this unless your crew can handle the heat

6 tbsp soy sauce

6 tbsp honey

1/2 cup sliced green onion

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup peanuts

1 box linguine -- I used whole wheat

Put the water on to boil. Cook pasta and drain while you make the rest. 

Heat red pepper flakes in sesame oil over medium heat for 2 min, stirring. Remove from heat.

Strain out pepper flakes, reserving oil.

Add to oil: 6 tbsp soy sauce and 6 tbsp honey. Whisk together.

Toss the noodles with the sauce in a large bowl until well coated. 

Chop and combine the peanuts, green onion, and cilantro. As you can see, I just threw it all in the mini Cuisinart.

Cook that chicken. 

Put chicken on noodles and top with peanut mixture.

and there you have it. A quick and easy dinner, and it was even better (cold) for lunch today.

The only changes I might make would be to make it a little peanuttier--perhaps whisk in a bit of peanut butter with the soy sauce and honey. Also, if I'd had another lime on hand, it would be good to squeeze some lime juice over the top of the whole thing before serving. All in all, definitely a keeper. 

It's BAAAAACK!

Downton Abbey, that is. We're just past episode 2 in the third season and it's still as thrilling as ever! Naturally, we had to get the gang back together for our Tuesday night viewing parties. We missed the first week (it's tough with those 2-hour episodes) but got back on track last night.

I don't think the menus are really worth writing about at this point, as I'm eleventy months pregnant and just trying to cook what I can that doesn't involve being on my feet for hours at a time, so just a quick run through...last night we had queso and Chi O enchiladas (in honor of Miss Miller's Rush week--she is now the happiest new baby Kappa Kappa Gamma you ever did see). What makes these enchiladas Chi O, you ask? Apparently they used to be the late-night snack of choice at the Vanderbilt Chi O house, after the house mom would make them. Kate--our friendly neighborhood Chi O--made them for dinner one night when we all went on our Florida vacation. It seemed like a good recipe to feed a crowd, and less complicated than other enchilada recipes, so I stole it.

I feel like I should not post this recipe on the interwebs, in case it's, like, one of their mystical sister bonds or something. I don't want a bunch of sorority girls hitting me with their koozies or baby owls or whatever...but it was good, worked well, and we have a whole pan left over.

As I do not have pictures of our feast, I present you with this image, which I found amusing.

Warning: CONTAINS SPOILERS. If you have not watched the most recent episode, you may not want to scroll further.

If all of episode 2 took place on FB...

Recipe Roundup, Pumpkin Edition

This isn't really an installment of Cooking with Baby, as I've been uninspired by the size referents lately. We could perhaps stretch it a bit and say that it's likely that Baby is the size of some pumpkin somewhere in the world--pumpkin is what all these recipes have in common. But I made a lot of stuff this weekend, so I wanted to share.

the size of a pumpkin.

I am not quite sure what spurred the pumpkin-a-thon...perhaps the cooler temperatures had me zeroing in on fall recipes, or (more likely) maybe it's just that pumpkin is really a vehicle for cinnamon and sugar and other delicious things. Whatever the reason, it happened.

First up: Pumpkin Poppers. I used this recipe, which was sent on by Kate. I made some modifications that she had suggested (more pumpkin, less flour) to make them less cakey and more moist. BA liked them, but I'm not sold. They were better when Kate made them. Maybe I'll have to eat a couple more today to see if they improved with age.

Next: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls. We went to a lovely dinner at the home of some friends, and I was searching for something to take (we no longer have a stash of wine in the house that I can grab for this purpose). BA reminded me of the time we had a party and someone brought a coffee cake for us to eat the next morning--how nice it was to not have to worry about breakfast on top of the dinner/party dishes. So I set out for a breakfast recipe, and this is what I came up with. This makes two pans/batches/circles/whatever.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
for the rolls:
2 pkgs Pillsbury Crescent dough (if you can find it, use this new nifty version they have called "recipe version" or something that is seamless, so you don't have to press the seams together. Otherwise, the original kind works fine) (If I were really good, I'd make pastry dough, but...not there yet)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. Unroll crescent roll dough (you'll do one roll at a time). If necessary, pinch seams together to form one long rectangle. Put cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into a bowl. Mix with an electric mixer until well combined. Spread half the mixture over the dough, leaving a 1/2" border around the edges. Starting at the long end, roll the dough up. Cut into one-inch pieces. Place around a 9" cake pan (see picture below). Bake for 26-30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Remove and allow to cool slightly before frosting.

for the frosting:
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp canned pumpkin

Mix all ingredients until smooth. Spread over warm rolls.

So, I wanted these to have more cinnamon, but I don't have the capacity to gauge whether this is normal or just my current taste-bud situation. You could add more, or sprinkle over the top before frosting. Or not, if that's weird.

The only annoying thing about this recipe is that it uses relatively little pumpkin, so if you've opened a can, you have most of it left over. I wanted to use the leftover pumpkin before it got gross, so I dug out this little recipe. It's based on one I pulled out of a magazine several years ago, but I've made changes.

Ravioli with Pumpkin Sauce
1 package ravioli (such as Buitoni) (I used tortellini because I had some at home)
1 can (approx) pumpkin
1 1/2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp minced garlic, or 1 clove
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup sour cream, plain Greek yogurt, or heavy cream

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the ravioli according to the package directions. Be careful not to overcook. Drain and set aside (drain well, because these pastas retain water in their little crevices and that can water down the sauce).

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and briefly saute the garlic until soft (I've also cut up an onion and put it in at this point). Stir together the broth, pumpkin, sugar, and all the spices. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until heated (10 min or so).

Remove from heat and stir in the cream or whatever dairy you are using. Add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon ravioli onto plates and top with sauce. If you'd like, add grated parmesan on top, or some fresh herbs, or whatever makes you feel fancy.

Perfect Roast Chicken

So the little turnip posed a bit of a challenge...I found yet another source that likened baby to an onion (this week is just a bust, really), so that worked much better with the dinner plan.

 I made this roast chicken, via Martha, which really does turn out just about perfect. I followed the recipe almost exactly, so I've just linked to it here. I served it with risotto, sauteed spinach, and salad.

The recipe calls for discarding the onions at the end, but I kept them for other uses because I thought they were nice and roasty. I used some to make an onion risotto that was underwhelming, so we'll just move on from that.

I also used more of the onions and the leftover spinach to make a quiche (my new favorite way to breathe life into leftovers), so I thought I would make good on a promise and share my favorite "lighter" quiche base.

This one had the aforementioned onions and spinach with some chopped breakfast sausage (also leftover), some red pepper flakes, and a little garlic. I used cheddar cheese because that's what I had on hand, but you can amend depending on what you're tossing in. Turned out pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

"Lighter" Quiche Base
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 small (personal size) container nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup shredded cheese

premade pie crust: I use a regular Pillsbury one or a Wholly Wholesome whole-wheat one from Whole Foods if we're feeling healthy.

Prebake crust at 400 for about 10 minutes.

Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl. Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 40-45 min or until set. Ta da!

Let it cool a bit before cutting. Cut out one piece and throw in the trash because the dog may or may not have licked it.

Lemon Chicken

The current fruit of the week led me on a search for a quick and easy dinner, because I wanted to whip up something relatively healthful now that I feel like cooking again. I did indeed make this tonight, and it was simple and tasty. I particularly liked that it requires relatively few ingredients.

Lemon Chicken
original source, via Pinterest

2 tbsp lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (buy 2 large lemons)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp rosemary, finely minced
2-4 lbs of bone-in, skin-on chicken (the grocery did not have bone-in chicken, so I used boneless, skinless breasts. Changes noted below)
2-3 tbsp butter, melted
salt + pepper

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and salt/pepper--about 1 tsp each--in a large Ziploc bag. Seal the bag and shake well to blend. Place the chicken pieces in the bag, press out the air, and seal. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the chicken (skin side up, if relevant) in a baking dish. Reserve the marinade in the bag. Brush the top of each chicken piece with melted butter.

For boneless, skinless breasts, bake for about 40 minutes. For bone-in, bake 50-55 minutes until skin is crispy and brown. Halfway through baking, pour the reserved marinade over the chicken. Remove from the oven and let rest.

then take an unfortunate iPhone pic due to dead camera battery

I served it with brown rice and sauteed spinach. 

Peach Barbeque Sauce

After reading the Week 11 Cooking with Baby, my mom emailed to say that they had a bunch of fresh figs they'd been given by a family friend (and fig farmer, apparently). The letter of the week is F. So Figgy Focaccia made its debut at Sunday family dinner and a delicious time was had by all.

sans bleu cheese pour moi.

We can now enthusiastically recommend that recipe.
-----

As one of my favorite aunts pointed out, peaches > shrimp. This is true, so this week I opted to go with a peach recipe. However, I also acknowledge that peaches are seasonal, which limits the frequency with which one could enjoy this recipe. For a less seasonal option, I point you to this shrimp recipe, which we have made and enjoyed.

I have not made this exact peach barbeque sauce, but I did make a large batch of peach-bourbon sauce 2 or so years ago that I canned and gave as gifts—this recipe is very close, but probably better. If you make this (or any other featured recipe), send me a picture and I’ll post it.

This would be a good recipe for the kitchen-shy, as the chopping is really the most complicated part, and the measurements do not have to be exact. It looks like a long list of ingredients, but the recipe has only two steps. You can do it.

This sauce is from the Blackberry Farm Cookbook and would be excellent with pork—including ribs—or chicken. Or anything, really.

Peach Barbeque Sauce

makes about 1 quart

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 Vidalia (or other sweet onion), finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

6 peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped

½ cup bourbon (you don’t have to use your best bourbon, but make sure it’s something drinkable*. If you’re stuck, email me or BA)

not everyone has a bourbon bar? oh.

½ cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup honey

¼ cup Dijon mustard

2 tsp chili powder

1. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add the onion and jalapeno and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the onion is very soft. Increase the heat to medium-high and stir in the peaches, bourbon, vinegar, honey, mustard, and chili powder. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, covered, for 10-12 minutes until the peaches are tender.

2. Transfer the mixture into a food processor and process until very smooth. Cool to room temperature before using.

*As is the case with wine, you generally want to cook with something you would drink. From this spread, I would probably use the Maker’s or the Buffalo Trace (in decanter). If you only have Jack Daniel’s, as many people do, that will work just fine. Just know that it’s Tennessee whiskey, which is not the same thing as bourbon. For this purpose, that’s a technicality. That concludes this lesson.

Les Bons Temps

The themes continue...

Another Tuesday Downton Dinner on a holiday (semi-holiday? I'll take 'em where I can get 'em)...Mardi Gras was too good to pass up. I got some cheap beads and scrounged up some other multi-purpose gold decor and planned a reasonable approximation of a New Orleans menu.

(Disclaimer: while I've got New Orleans roots somewhere in the family, I don't claim to be authentic and I wasn't looking to go all out. So don't judge us for opting out of mudbugs and marchin' the saints in via Pandora instead of a real jazz band.)

Bead "centerpiece" plus a candy buffet for an attendee who is giving it up for Lent

L'entree: Chicken Gumbo

I suspect this is a fair-to-middling gumbo. First, it contains only chicken and sausage--no seafood. This is not a seafood crowd, and I wasn't feeling like investing a seafood budget. Second, it doesn't even contain okra*, so purists would likely object to it being called gumbo at all. But it fit the bill and fed a crowd (with leftovers). Plus, I made a real roux so I am high-fiving myself and moving on. It's a bit more hands-on than a typical weekday recipe, but I think it's justifiable because it gets better after a day or two--so I actually made it on Monday and only had to re-heat on Tuesday, which saved time. 

*"Gumbo" likely comes from the African Congo word for okra, quingombo.

Combine in a small bowl and reserve:

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers

Combine in a large plastic (or paper) bag: 

2 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

Add and shake until completely covered:

1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs), cut into serving pieces

Whole chickens were on sale at Whole Foods, so we grabbed one of those and had the butcher cut it up.

Add and shake again:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Heat 2-4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large cast-iron skillet (I did it right in the pot). Add and brown the chicken pieces on all sides. Cook in batches if necessary. Remove and set aside.

Add about 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I'd probably have used less), scraping up the browned bits. Whisk in 1/2 cup all-purpose flour. Now you are making a roux, so pay attention. It's delicate work. Cook, stirring often, over medium-low heat until the roux turns a deep reddish brown--about the color of an old and dirty copper penny. This takes about 5-6 minutes and some furtive Google-imaging to make sure it looks right. I don't have a picture because I was afraid to take my attention away for too long. 

Remove from the heat, add the reserved vegetables, and stir for a minute or two until the roux stops bubbling.

Whisk in 8 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil, whisking. This takes longer than you think. Your arm will be sore. Hope you've been working out. 

Reduce heat and return the chicken to the pot. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 30-45 min.

Remove the chicken from the pot. Allow to cool, remove the skin, and shred off the bone. Stir into pot 12 oz andouille sausage, cut into pieces, and 1 tbsp chopped garlic. The sausage I bought was pre-cooked, so no need to worry about cooking through.

Stir in the reserved chicken meat with 1/2 cup chopped scallions and salt to taste. You may also add Tabasco or a similar sauce, but taste before you do--it's got a kick already. I served over white rice. 

-from Joy of Cooking

Of course, Mardi Gras would not be complete without a King Cake. I briefly entertained the notion of attempting to make one, but then snapped out of it. Whole Foods did just fine. The cake was BYOB (bury your own baby), so I knew where they were hidden and could not participate in the hunt. One sister got the baby, and the other got the bean**.

**The handy insert in the Whole Foods box explained that king cakes have included a bean or coin since at least the 12th century. This bean was a Christmas Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus), an heirloom variety dating back to the 1840's. Many questions remain, including "why??"

not to scale.

A Very Downton Valentines

This year, Valentine's Day fell on a Tuesday, making a Very Downton Valentines a no-brainer. This was actually the continuation/evolution of a tradition that began over a decade ago (ouch) in college. Our dear friend the cheesemonger would gather all the ladies, single or attached, and make a lovely fondue dinner. Some new faces are present now that we have relocated, but I wanted an homage to the fromage of yore. This year's cheesy Valentines had a Tex-Mex twist and did not exactly meet the bar of "healthful and/or nutritious." Sometimes girls just need some cheese.

To start: Chicken Tortilla Soup
This recipe was largely lifted from the one on this site, which I found via Pinterest. I'll include it here with the changes I made and my pictures, but I credit the original source. Predictably, I made mine in a...wait for it...Crock Pot.

Ingredients
3 cups chicken stock
2 skinless, chicken breasts
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ancho chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
4-6 jalapeno peppers, minced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup tomato paste
8 oz cotija cheese, crumbled
8 oz pepperjack cheese, divided
1 cup cilantro, chopped

All the fixin's.

Add the chicken stock (well, I used broth) to the pot. Heat over medium. 

Add chicken breasts, cumin, chili powder, and cayenne. Simmer until chicken is cooked through.

They're in there, I promise.

Remove chicken and set aside. 

 

Add tomatoes, jalapenos, bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pot. 

I didn't worry about mincing as finely because I used an immersion blender later

Simmer about 30 min, until the tomatoes have begun to break down. Add black beans, corn, and tomato paste. Stir to incorporate.

Add the cotija cheese (crumble it) and half the pepper jack. Stir until melty. A note on cheeses: in my grocery store, the cotija was with the "fancier" cheeses (e.g., brie, goat cheese, spreadables) and not in the shredded cheese section. But if my Kroger had it, you can probably find it. Also, I added the cheese before blending this time; I don't remember how I did it the first time. I might blend first, then add cheese the next time I make it.

After it looks like most of the cheese has melted, bust out the trusty immersion blender and blend that baby down. I initially did this because a) it made the consistency more like I wanted it and b) picky eaters (the little sisters) would not recognize offending ingredients like black beans. Or anything resembling a vegetable, for that matter. I suppose you could also transfer to an actual blender, but that seems like way too much work. Finally, I added the cilantro and some tortilla strips and let them soften before blending again. This thickened the soup nicely. Serve with more tortilla strips and pepperjack on top.

For no reason, an arty picture of the cilantro.

The main course consisted of chicken enchiladas. I stayed true to the recipe in The Best Make-Ahead Recipe, so I'm not going to include the instructions. Behold, an enchilada photo montage.

I always forget to take a photo of the finished product. Don't want to get between ladies and their cheesy goodness.

Finally, for dessert, some fabulous Valentine's cookies (by popular request). These are made by a lovely young lady here in town who uses fresh local and organic ingredients. Many times decorated cookies look cute, but taste underwhelming. These are adorable AND delicious! Some of the custom ones she has done for us probably merit their own post someday. 

Because no gathering would be complete without party favors, all the ladies in attendance got to take home Sweetheart Cookies in a jar. As one kitchen-phobic friend exclaimed, "even I can make these!!"

All the dry ingredients are layered together in a mason jar. When you're ready to make them, you just add egg, butter, and vanilla. As we say around here, le voila, y'all!

I printed the instructions on PowerPoint slides (print as handouts, 2 slides per page, and cut out). Punch a hole and tie with ribbon. I used a doily for VDay, but go buck wild. What I love about these favors is that they can suit any occasion--just switch up the M&Ms and the trimmings. I did "Cookies for Santa" at Christmas with the holiday M&Ms and gave them to friends with little kids. The possibilities are really endless, considering that you can order M&Ms in any colors you want. Original post from Bakerella, via Pinterest. 

Go ahead. Take your cookies.