Firecracker Eggrolls

I took this picture on my iPhone at Scott and Cindy's house last weekend.  Technology is amazing.  These are easy appetizers to make with leftover (squeak) pork and habanero pesto from my previous blog.  I also made a pineapple soy dipping sauce to go with these egg rolls. 

The Ingredients:

shredded pork

habanero pesto

egg roll wrappers

1 package shredded cabbage

cilantro

vegetable oil for frying

2 cup pineapple juice

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 inch of ginger, peeled and sliced into rings

4 tbsp soy sauce (I use reduced sodium soy sauce)

1 tbsp siracha or Thai chile sauce

The method:

Smear a teaspoon of the habanero pesto on the bottom of the wrapper, top with shredded pork, cabbage and cilantro.  Fold the wrapper closest to you over the ingredients, fold in the sides and roll.  Repeat many times until you run out of ingredients.  Add oil to heavy skillet, enough to come up halfway on the egg rolls.  Heat over medium high until bubble form when you dip a corner of an egg roll in the oil.  Add egg rolls to the pan in batches, cook until golden on both sides.  Drain on paper towel line plate.  Serve warm with dipping sauce.  To make the dipping sauce:  Add pineapple juice, garlic and ginger to a saucepan, heat over medium high until boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half.  The sauce should be thick, like a glaze.  Remove from heat, remove garlic and ginger with a slotted spoon.  Add soy sauce and siracha.

Firecracker Pork with Habanero Pesto

This is my version of a dish from a local restaurant called Fuzio's.  It is the signature dish on their menu and while it doesn't sound like the ingredients go together...they do.  This is one of Benjamin's favorite meals now.  I made this on a weekday but I wouldn't recommend that unless you want to eat at 8pm like we did.  This is a low and slow kind of meal that is perfect for a weekend because most of the cooking is in the oven.  This makes enough pork to have leftovers but that is another post!  Try this and let me know what you think...that's what the comment section is for!  Don't be shy!

The Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, cut into 3" pieces
Olive Oil
6 cloves garlic
4 green onions
1 yellow onion, cut into chunks
2 bunches of cilantro, cut off stems
5 tbsp ginger, sliced
5 cups pineapple juice
1-2 cups low sodium soy sauce

Habanero Pesto
2 bunches of cilantro, cut off stems
5 cloves garlic
2 habanero peppers
about 1/4 cup of ollive oil

1 1/2 lbs cavatelli or large elbow macaroni
sour cream

The Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare the sauce.  Put garlic, green onions, yellow onion, ginger and cilantro in a food processor.  Pulse 8-10 times until paste forms.  Put mixture in a large pot, add pineapple juice and 1 cup soy sauce.  Bring to a simmer.  Taste, if needed, add more soy sauce.  Brown the pork on all sides and when well browned add to the large pot with the sauce.  Bake for 2 hours until pork is fork tender.  Remove pork from the sauce.  Bring the sauce up to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.  In the meantime, shred the pork, cover with foil to keep warm.  Make the habanero pesto: add the garlic, cilantro, and 2 habanero's (seeds and membranes removed...carefully), pulse 3-4 times.  Slowly add the oil until the consistency is like pesto.  Set aside.  Make the pasta...cook for 2 minutes less than package recommends.  Drain the pasta and add to the reduced sauce.  Cook for 2 minutes.  To serve:  place pasta in individual bowls, top with shredded pork and a dollop of habanero pesto and sour cream. 

Obsessed with Buffalo Chicken Pasta

Not long ago, I posted buffalo chicken burgers and last week we had buffalo wings and now this?  We are obsessed.  Andrew wanted buffalo chicken burgers again but I wanted to make something with pasta.  As a compromise, I came up with this recipe.  For the meatballs I just followed my recipe for the buffalo chicken burgers but shaped into meatball shapes...well, duh.  The bleu cheese cream sauce was AMAZING.  Please give this one a try you will not be disappointed!

The Ingredients:
2 lbs ground chicken (or 1 lb ground chicken and 1 lb ground turkey)

1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp grill seasoning
1 egg, beaten
1/4c buffalo wing sauce ( I use Franks)
1 c panko bread crumbs

2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp grill seasoning
1 tsp Lawry's Season salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 c white wine
1 c chicken stock
1/4 c buffalo wing sauce
1 c heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
2-3 tbsp good bleu cheese (add more if you love bleu cheese; taste as you go)
1 package pasta (shells or penne)

The method:
PreHeat oven to 425 degrees
Place chicken/turkey and next 6 ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss and mix gently until ingredients are combined. Don't over mix or squeeze or the meatballs will be tough. Divide into equal portions and shape into meatballs. They will be sticky so wet your hands in between each one and have a sheet pan lined with foil ready to put them on. Chill for at least one hour to firm up before baking.

Tip:  Add all ingredients to the bowl first and mix. Then add chicken/turkey and panko. Less mixing means tender meatballs.

The Method Continued:

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Cook just until firm or al dente.  Do not overcook. Drain and save 2 ladles of pasta cooking water.

To a large saucepan, add the olive oil and heat over medium.  Add the carrots, celery and onions to the pan and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes until well caramelized.  Add the garlic, grill seasoning, Lawry's and pepper. 

This is what the vegetable should look like before and after.

After the vegetables are caramelized, add the white wine,  Bring to a boil and reduce by half.  Next add the chicken stock and buffalo wing sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Reduce heat and add the cream and butter. Cook for another 3 minutes.  Add the blue cheese.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.   Add the pasta and mix to combine, about 1-2 minutes.  If the sauce is too thick add 1-2 ladles of the pasta water.  Serve immediately with the meatballs and extra buffalo sauce.

Melon and Arugula salad and Pounded Chicken

 

Watermelon, orange and arugula..oh my!  Dinner last night was healthy but tasty.  A peppery salad made with arugula and sweetened up with watermelon and oranges.  A lemon vinaigrette lightly dresses the whole yummy thing.  The pan fried chicken is easy and fast because it's pounded to cook quickly and a pan sauce is optional, especially when served with a salad.

The Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Lawry's Season salt or sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Package of arugula
1 c watermelon, diced into 1/2" cubes
1 orange, peeled and sliced into 1'2" pieces
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
10-12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1-2 lemons, juiced (about 1/8 cup)
2 tbsp champagne or citrus vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp Dijon mustard
about 1/2 cup olive oil

The Method:
Make the vinaigrette: Add first 7 ingredients to small bow. Whisk together.  Slowly drizzle olive oil while continuously whisking until emulsion forms.  Taste and adjust seasoning.
Prep the chicken: Place chicken one at a time in resealable plastic bag and pound to 1/2 inch thickness with a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Season with Lawry's and pepper.  Heat skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Sear chicken (may need to be done in batches) 3-5 minutes on first side until golden.  Turn over and sear remaining side.  Repeat with all pieces.  Transfer chicken to serving platter and cover with foil until ready to serve.
Add salad ingredients to medium bowl and toss with 2-3 tablespoons of vinaigrette.

Pasta Alla Carbonara

Well, I am back after a lengthy break due to lack of planning meals with enough time to write a recipe and take pictures before scarfing it down.  I've never made this Pasta Carbonara before but lately I've been craving eggs so I gave this a shot.  I added peas and chile flakes because, well...it sounded good.  Turns out it was.  I served this with an arugula and cherry tomato salad with a lemon vinagrette.  Perfect summer meal.

Ingredients:


1 pound dry spaghetti (I used thick spaghetti but you could also use fettucine)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta or slab bacon, cubed or sliced into small strips
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/2 to 1 tsp chile flakes
3 large eggs
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
Freshly ground black pepper (lots and lots)
1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1-3 ladles reserved pasta water

Directions:

Prepare the sauce while the pasta is cooking to ensure that the spaghetti will be hot and ready when the sauce is finished; it is very important that the pasta is hot when adding the egg mixture, so that the heat of the pasta cooks the raw eggs in the sauce.

Bring a large pot of salted water (and I do mean salted...to taste like the ocean) to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 8 to10 minutes almost tender but still firm (as they say in Italian "al dente.") Drain the pasta well, reserving 1 cup of the starchy cooking water to use in the sauce if you wish.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium flame. Add the pancetta and saute for about 3-5 minutes, until the bacon is crisp and the fat is rendered. Toss the garlic and chile flakes into the fat and saute for 1 minute to soften.  Add the peas and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Add lots of pepper.

Add the hot, drained spaghetti to the pan and toss for 2 minutes to coat the strands in the bacon fat. Beat the eggs and Parmesan together in a mixing bowl, stirring well to prevent lumps. Remove the pan from the heat and pour the egg/cheese mixture into the pasta, whisking quickly until the eggs thicken, but do not scramble (this is done off the heat to ensure this does not happen.) Thin out the sauce with a bit of the reserved pasta water, until it reaches desired consistency. Season the carbonara with several more turns of freshly ground black pepper and taste for salt. Mound the spaghetti carbonara into warm serving bowls and garnish with chopped parsley. Pass more cheese around the table.