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How to Velvet Chicken

How to Velvet Chicken
The word "velvet" is a verb... sometimes. ;-) It's the almost-secret poaching technique that's used to produce tender, succulent chicken, beef and pork at your favorite Chinese Restaurant. If you've been frustrated by less-than-stellar stir-fry results at home, simple velveting will take your stir-fry from mundane to extraordinary. Your family will swear it's take-out. ;-) Here's how it's done with chicken: Ingredients: 1 lb boneless, skinless Chicken meat, cut into thin strips 2 teaspoons Rice Wine (Saki) or Seasoned Rice Vinegar 1 large egg white 1 Tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 Tablespoons Canola or Peanut Oil- divided WaterTools: Medium bowl Whisk Colander large skillet Slotted spoon Preparation: Whisk the egg white, cornstarch, rice wine, salt and 1 Tablespoon of oil in a medium bowl until smooth. Add the sliced chicken and stir until coated. Refrigerate (marinate) 30 minutes. Add 1-2 inches of water plus 1 Tablespoon oil to the skillet.

Brown Butter Double Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cookies Little bit of a mouthful there. But it’s like a cookie on top of another cookie! Yeah. Except these ones down below wanted to try a few different positions. I dunno… they’re all mixed up. In order to solve a common I-want-a-chocolate-CHOCOLATE-cookie-but-he-wants-a-plain-chocolate chip-cookie dilemma that happens like, every single weekend here… I made both. Some of them smashed up against each other while others sat on top of each other but in the end, they all tasted… fantabulous. And then they tasted extra delicious after I spent two hours cleaning out the contents of our bar (take that as you will), after he spent three hours organizing the pantry (that was weird) and after we both needed to severely eat our emotions immediately post-Boardwalk Empire finale. WHAT was that. ??????? Why??? Then I tried to dunk a cookie in milk and failed. I need cookie dunking lessons, a redo on season 2 (thanks HBO), and a salad. Brown Butter Double Fudge Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cookies makes 24 cookies

Black Pepper-Garlic Chicken Here's one on my favorite Stir-fry recipes, inspired by Black Pepper Chicken served at Panda Express Restaurants. The savory sauce took a bit of tinkering, but I think this copycat version is really close... and it's delicious, too! Please... don't forget to start this recipe with Velveted Chicken. It's a very simple technique that'll turn any Chicken Stir-fry into a mouth-watering Asian masterpiece! Ingredients: 1 lb. Stir all of the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, allowing about 10-15 minutes for the flavors to mingle/mature while you slice the vegetables. Stir-fry: Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the sliced red/yellow onions to the skillet, stirring constantly for about one minute. Add the sliced celery, green onions and chopped garlic to the skillet. Add the stir-fry sauce. Add the velveted chicken, reduce the heat to medium and stir to coat. Serve over prepared Basmati or Jasmine Rice. Enjoy!

Kitchen Helpers I found these helpful charts last week and just had to share! Both of these beauties are from Chasing Delicious (aka one of the most fab foodie blogs out there)! Aren’t they faaaaabulous?! Buy them here. (Note: There are lots of little charts like this online, but these are my favorites). I love tea, but I’m no expert. For people of the UK, have this one with you while you’re meal planning or grocery shopping! I’ve fond some other helpful charts that I’ll share in another post! Yay charts!

Make Your Own Ice Cream in Five Minutes Photo Credit: Sarah Fernandez I have such fond memories of making homemade ice cream in the summer when we were kids. We used to go pick fresh strawberries and blackberries and then come home and pull out the electric machine and load in the ingredients. Watching the ingredients solidify into a delicious dessert had our eyes glued to the spinning bowl. I keep wanting to do it with my kids, and that old machine is still sitting at my parents house for us to use, but it always seems like such a production to pull it out so I was thrilled when I came across a recipe for how to make individual servings of ice cream using just a few ingredients, zip top bags, and a little man power. Photo Credit: Sarah Fernandez Ingredients:1/2 cup whole milk or cream (you can use 1 or 2% milk, but you will get some crystalization due to the water content)1 tbsp sugar1 tsp vanilla extract6 tbsp Kosher salt2 cups ice Supplies:1 quart size zip top bag 1 sandwich size zip top bag Step 2: Now for the fun part!

The Best Way to Grill Sausages: Poach Them Right on the Grill I prefer to cook mine dry. Not too close to the coals/burners, or as the article mentions, you risk the skin bursting. I also don't want them close enough to the heat that the grease dripping from them is going to cause flame ups that will engulf them. If I am cooking for a large number of guests, I might have a beer bath going on the grill at the same to let them rest in when they are done and I am still manning the grill. The sausage skin should be firm when fully done and have a kind of snap to it when you bite into it and the juicy goodness fills your mouth and runs down your chin. In recent surveys, 3 out of 4 porn stars approve of that last sentence.

60 Second Chocolate Chip Cookie A la Mode I had so much fun developing this recipe. Talk about kinda dangerous though. This baby is baked in 60 seconds, no lie!! The cookie dough recipe is prepared right in your ramekin, so we are also talking about minimal dishes. You know those fabulous pizzookie’s you order at certain restaurants? In any case, Enjoy my friends!! Start by creaming your butter and sugars right in your ramekin. Just like so, light and fluffy. You’ll add a couple tablespoons of beaten egg next. A splash of vanilla please. Give another good stir of the spoon until combined. Once combined, add your dry ingredients right to the ramekin. Flour, salt and baking soda all set! Give a few stirs then…. Time for some fabulous chips! Oh yah! Top with a lovely scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with my homemade magic shell! Mmmmm. To share or not to share? 60 Second Chocolate Chip Cookie A la Mode Ingredients Directions Place butter and sugars into a 2-cup ramekin, beat with spoon until well combined. Other recipes you may enjoy...

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries. What? Yes! - SugarBlog - SugarDerby Um... ok. Why didn't I think of this?!?!?! Of course you can hollow out a strawberry and stuff it full of cheesecake. Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries Here's what you need: About 20 strawberries... this was a little over one carton for me. 8 oz pkg softened cream cheese 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 sleeve of graham crackers 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional) First you will want to wash the strawberries and cut off the tops. Now core them! A thin ended apple peeler.... And a small knife.... I liked the knife better! The easiest way to core the strawberries is to hold the entire berry in your hand (wrap your fingers around it) and literally just core out the center. Um... Now to make the filling.... Beat the cream cheese. Now to fill the strawberries!!! I didn't want to hurt my zip lock baggies feelings so I used one to crush the graham crackers in. Now fill the strawberries, leaving just a bit coming out the top... then sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs. So...... These were amazing!

Bacon! Never once, in all my years of eating bacon , had I considered even once that it could be improved upon. Nothing on the planet is better than bacon! Butter and chipotle come close, or maybe a flourless chocolate cake with fresh raspberries. Perfectly cooked kobe beef and a garlicky escargot with lots of bread to soak it all up is right up there, too. Until now, I’ve never given much thought to bacon other than I prefer it thickly-sliced and crispy. Here’s a fun list from Bacon Magazine : 3 million pounds of Bacon would be worth 3 million dollars if Bacon was worth a dollar a pound. What about this article on Bacon Vodka? Or how about some Bacon Bandages ? My really awesome cousin Britt, who knows all about my love affair with all things chipotle, emailed me a couple of months ago with a recipe for chipotle bacon. It…was… heavenly !! And this is where it gets really twisted (HA!). Tip: The thicker your bacon, the harder it will be to both twist it and have it retain the twist.

Cajun Chicken Pasta Note: Since this recipe is featured on the Food Network episode this morning, I’m bringing it to the front for easy reference. This really is one of my favorite recipes here on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, and I regularly hear from people who’ve made it with great success. Crowd-pleaser! This is an exceedingly yummy, decadent pasta dish with chicken, vegetables, and lots and lots of scrumptious carbs. Just remember: part of the deliciousness of this pasta dish is the spicy kick. Here’s how you make it. The Cast of Characters: boneless, skinless chicken breast, olive oil, butter, Cajun spice (make your own or buy the prepared stuff; whichever you prefer), salt, pepper, red onion, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, fresh parsley, low sodium chicken broth, white wine, and heavy cream. Oh. Start by slicing the veggies: Lop the top and bottom off of the red pepper… Then slice the pepper down the middle. Rip out the innards… Then make slices—not too thick, not too thin. Be generous! Yum. Enjoy!

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