Mandarin Chicken

This is one of my favorite dishes that my mom made for me growing up. Shea and I are in Yankton for a week over Christmas, and my mom has spent every day cooking something that I loved. She made this dish for us on our first night in town, and it was even better than I remembered. I have never actually made this dish myself, so I was sure to get the recipe for it from her so I can now reproduce it at home!

Mandarin Chicken
Courtesy of Carol Williams (although she claims she got this recipe from The American Heart Association)

Ingredients
1 frying chicken (2 /1/2 - 3lb) cut into serving pieces
1/4 cup seasoned flour
2 Tablespoons margarine
2 Tablespoons oil
4 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 Teaspoon powdered ginger
1 11oz. can mandarin oranges with juice

Directions
Wash and dry the chicken and remove the skin. Shake in bag with seasoned flour. Heat oil and margarine in skillet and brown chicken. Drain oranges and set aside. Mix juice from can and lemon juice, orange juice, honey, soy sauce, and ginger. Pour sauce over chicken in skillet. Cover and simmer 30 minutes or until tender. Add mandarin oranges 5 or 10 minutes before chicken is done. Serve with rice. 

Chili-Dusted Pork Chops

This is another dish that Seamus made this month. This dish was the perfect utilization of our cast iron skillet; Shea browned the chops in the skillet and then finished them off in the oven. They turned out tender, moist, and well seasoned. I would definitely use this recipe again!


Chili-Dusted Pork Chops
Courtesy of Food and Wine at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chili-dusted-pork-chops

1. 1 teaspoon chili powder
2. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
3. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5. Four 1/2-pound boneless pork loin chops, cut 1 1/4 inches thick
6. 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
7. 2 garlic cloves, minced
8. Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
9. 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. In a small bowl, mix the chili powder with the cumin, salt and pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the pork chops.
2. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the pork chops and cook over high heat until browned, about 1 minute per side. Add the garlic, lime zest, lime juice and cilantro to the skillet and roast the chops in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, or until rosy throughout. Transfer to plates and serve.

Salmon with Thai Rice Salad

Seamus thinks this is the best dish he has ever made.

He called me when I was at work, and told me to hurry home because of this dish. I dropped everything and came home, and I was glad I did.

This dish was great!


Salmon with Thai Rice Salad
Courtesy of Food and Wine at http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/salmon-with-thai-rice-salad-qfs

1. 1 1/2 cups long-grain rice
2. 3 tablespoons lime juice (from about 2 limes)
3. 3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam)
4. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
5. 3 1/2 teaspoons sugar
6. Pinch cayenne
7. 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
8. 3 carrots, grated
9. 4 scallions including green tops, chopped
10. 6 tablespoons chopped cilantro or fresh parsley
11. 2 pounds skinless center-cut salmon fillet, cut into 4 pieces
12. 1/4 teaspoon salt
13. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1. Stir the rice into a medium pot of boiling, salted water and cook until just done, about 10 minutes. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain thoroughly.
2. In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the lime juice, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of the oil, the sugar, and cayenne. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Stir in the rice, cucumber, carrots, scallions, and cilantro.
3. Heat the broiler. Oil a broiler pan or baking sheet. Coat the salmon with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Put the salmon on the pan. Broil until just barely done (the fish should still be translucent in the center), about 5 minutes for a 1-inch-thick fillet. Put the rice salad on plates and top with the salmon.

NOTES Asian fish sauce is available at Asian markets and many supermarkets.

French Onion Toasts

Seamus and I were invited to a Holiday party at our friend Marco's house this year, and we wanted to bring something delicious with us. Everyone loves french onion soup, and this dish does a creative appetizer version with the same flavors.

My mom and dad were in town when we made this; I spent about an hour caramelizing the onions and our tiny apartment filled with the smells building in our anticipation of the party. When we did arrive, the toasts got eaten up right away; I wish I would have made more!

French Onion Toasts
Courtesy of Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perlman

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Pounds yellow onions, cut into dice of about 1/3 inch (about 4 1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Pinch of sugar
1 Tablespoon Cognac, brandy, or vermouth (optional)
1 cup low-sodium beef, veal, or mushroom stock or broth
Freshly ground black pepper
Thirty-two 1/2 inch thick slices form a long baguette
Finely grated Gruyere cheese (you might want a little extra)

Directions

1. Melt the butter and olive oil together in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions to the pan, toss them gently with the butter and oil, reduce the heat to medium or medium-low, and cover the pan. Cook the onions for 15 minutes, then remove the lid, stir in the salt and sugar, and saute without the lid for about 10-15 minutes, until the onions are fully caramelized and have taken on a deep-golden color. Pour in Cognac, if using it, and the stock, then turn the heat all the way up and scrape up any brown bits stuck to the pan. Simmer the mixture until the broth almost completely disperses (a small amount of slosh is okay; you don't want to cook it off so much that the onions seem dry), about 5-10 minutes. Adjust the salt, if needed, and season with freshly ground black pepper.

2. Preheat your oven to 75 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil. Dollop each round of bread with most of a tablespoon of the onion mixture. Add 1 tablespoon grated cheese to the top of each toast, mound it a bit so it all stays in place. Bake the toasts for about 15 minutes, until bubbly and a bit browned. Serve immediately.

Grandma Peg's Swedish Meatballs

Several years ago, Seamus, his brother Brian, and I all spent an afternoon with their Grandma Peg to learn how to make her famous meatballs. We watched carefully as she completed each step, and took detailed notes so that we could re-create this delicious dish.

These meatballs continue to be one of our favorite go-to dishes that we make often for friends and family when they are visiting. In fact, Seamus and I even wont a cooking competition among our friends with a variation on this dish (we made a Hawaiian loco-moco style twist).

Every time I make this dish, I feel like something must be wrong with the recipe. You really do but an entire can of sweetened condensed milk right into the meatballs, and you really do use molasses in the gravy. It always tastes a little bit weird on its own, but the final results are incredible. Trust the process and you will end up with sweet and savory meatballs that everyone will love.


Grandma Peg's Swedish Meatballs
Courtesy of Grandma Peg

Meatball Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds beef or pork (not sausage)

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

1 egg beaten slightly

2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 small can condensed milk

1 small onion cut up and sauteed in butter

Directions

Mix together and form into balls; brown slowly; remove from pan.

Sauce 

2 cups water and 4 Tbspns flour in a jar and and shake! Then add 2 Tbspns molasses and stir. Add the liquid to the meat pan. Heat and add meatballs.  Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Gnocchi in Tomato Broth

My all-time favorite food is pasta with red sauce (the way my mom makes it). This dish is quite similar to that, but with a twist. Instead of pasta, you make gnocchi, and instead of using petite diced tomatoes, you use a tomato broth. I had never made home made gnocchi before this, and I was pleasently surprised at how simple it was!

In fact, we made this dish right before Thanksgiving, and I thought that it would be the perfect way to use left-over mashed potatoes. So the day after Thanksgiving, Shea's mom, aunt, and I used a variation on this recipe to make two versions of gnocchi; one with regular potatoes, and one with sweet potatoes, and both were delicious. I think we may have a new Thanksgiving leftover tradition!


Gnocchi in Tomato Broth
Courtesy of Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perlman

Ingredients
Tomato Broth
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Medium carrot, chopped
1 Medium stalk celery, chopped
1 Small yellow onion, chopped
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1/2 Cup white wine
1 28-ounce can whole or chopped tomatoes with juives
Small handful of fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 Cups chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Gnocchi
2 Pounds Russet potatoes (3 or 4)
1 Large egg, lightly beaten
1 Teaspoon table salt
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting surface

Bake Potatoes - Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Bake potatoes for 45 minutes to one hour, depending on size, until a thin knife can easily pierce through them. Meanwhile, make your tomato broth.

Make Tomato Broth - Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium high heat. Once it is hot, add the carrot, celery, and onion, and cook together for 5 minutes, reducing the heat to medium if they begin to brown. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. Pour in the wine, and use it to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan, then cook the wine until it is reduced by half, for several minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, mashing them with a spoon if whole, and the basil and stock, and simmer until the tomato broth thickens slightly, for about 45 minutes. Strain out the vegetables in a fine-mesh colander, and season with salt and pepper to taste.