Macaroons

Baking for the troops!

I usually bake Chocolate Chip or Salted Oatmeal cookies, but lately I've been baking S'mores Bars and Rum Cake because I know they'll stay moist during the long journey - I've heard it can take anywhere between 2-4 weeks for the troops to receive their packages. GAH.

This time, I wanted try macaroons into the mix.

Preheat Oven to 350F
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
(make sure you do this, or the cookies WILL STICK to the pan)

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 C milk
1/4 C + 2T flour
1 bag Sweetened Shredded Coconut



Stir together Sweetened Condensed Milk and Milk.
Add flour and coconut. Combine well.


Drop by the tablespoon, 1 inch apart


Bake for 16 minutes, or until it turns golden around the edges.
Cool and then transfer to rack.

Of course I had to 'taste test' one, and they came out very good.

Crispy on the edges and moist and chewy on the inside. Success!

Late Night Snack: Mozzarella Sticks

Every once in a while, Dev and I have a craving for mozzarella sticks, but we've never enjoyed the frozen variety from the supermarket or the ones we've ordered for delivery. They've all been typically dried out, mushy and have an unpleasant rubbery fake cheese texture.

So, we decided to make our own!

YaMadzzarella Stix! (Dev came up with the name. HA!)
1/2 block Mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1/3 C flour
2 T cornstarch
1 tsp Lawry's Season Salt
2 T water
1 Egg
3/4 C Italian Seasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese

Peanut Oil



Dish 1: flour, cornstarch and season salt
Dish 2: breadcrumbs, cheese and salt
Dish 3: water and egg, mixed until frothy
Slice up your block of cheese into sticks

Dust cheese sticks with flour mixture.

Dip sticks into egg, then breading...

... then egg then breading one more time. (Double Dip!)
Lay sticks on a cookie sheet and put into the freezer for 1 hour.


Heat oil (350-375).

Fry sticks until gold brown. This will only take a few min.
Cool on paper towels. The freezing and double breading helps keep the cheese in tact.


These came out really tasty. Make sure to add the Season Salt to the flour - otherwise, it will be a little bland. I also suggest serving these with a little marinara or your favorite spaghetti sauce. Enjoy!

Late Night Pizza Snack

Dev and I don't always feel like cooking and eating a big meal when its late, so we decided to make 3 small pizza's with half of the pizza dough I made a couple days before. (These were about 3 in wide, 9 in long?)


BBQ Chicken.

YUM! A new favorite of mine! ...Dev on the other hand, wouldn't touch it.

I used pre-cooked, diced chicken breast mixed with bbq and tomato sauce, diced onion, fresh mozzarella slices and topped with freshly chopped cilantro once I took it out of the oven. This pizza was only half bbq, and the other half was ham. Darn. Next time, it's ALL BBQ.

Dev's favorite, pepperoni!

Topped with a 3-cheese blend and topped with fresh mozzarella slices.

Dev's other favorite, Cheese!

Fresh Mozzarella, Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses.

Mexican Corn and Bean Salad

I came across this recipe in Fine Cooking Magazine about a month ago. Thankfully, we've managed to squeeze in a few late summer BBQs and I've been able to make this salad a few times. I think this salad looks so beautifully colorful and vibrant on a plate and I love how fresh it tastes. This past time, I decided to add a jalapeno pepper to the dressing for a little kick.

Preheat oven to 425F

Chopped Mexican Salad (Fine Cooking Mag)
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
3 ears of corn
4-5 Vine-Ripe tomatoes
2 avocados
1 can black beans
cilantro

Dressing
1 shallot, minced
1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
3 T orange juice
3 T lime juice
1 T honey
3/4 t cumin
1 jalapeno (optional)
salt and pepper


Cut peppers in half and place on baking sheet cut side down.
Coat corn ears and peppers with a couple tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for about 20 min., rotating corn after 10 min. The peppers should have dark spots.



When cool enough to handle, peel the skins from the peppers. They should slide right off. Chop peppers into small pieces.



Cut corn from the cobs and seed and dice the tomatoes.
Start layering the corn, peppers and tomatoes on a platter.



Rinse and drain beans. Add to platter.

Dressing



Grate the garlic, mince the shallots and jalapeno and add to the juice. Add honey and whisk together. Slowly add olive oil until combined well.


Peel and chop avocado and roughly chop cilantro. Add avocado to platter and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. When ready to serve, drizzle the dressing over the platter and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.


I wish my photo wasn't so blurry! But, it is delicious. Give it a try!

General Tso's Chicken

Marinade & Sauce
1/2 C hoisin sauce
1 T tomato paste
1/4 C white vinegar
3 T soy sauce
3 T sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 C water
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 in chunks

(I used just 2)

Whisk together marinade. Reserve 3T of marinade for the coating.


Take out 6T of marinade, place in ziplock with chicken and marinate for 30 min.

Sauce
1 T oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T ginger, grated
1 t red pepper flakes
2 C marinade (take out 3 T for coating)

Heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger and pepper flakes until fragrant for 1 min.
Add almost 2C marinade, whisking until dark and thickened.
2 min. Cover and keep warm.

Coating
2 large egg whites
3/4 C cornstarch
1/4 C flour
1/4 t baking soda
3 T of remaining marinade
oil
Remove chicken from marinade and pat dry.

Whisk egg whites until foamy. Combine coating ingredients and remaining hoisin mixture. Toss chicken in egg whites until coated and dredge in cornstarch mixture.

Heat oil to 350F.


Fry until golden brown - about 3min.
Drain on paper towels.

Warm sauce until simmering and mix with chicken.

This came out very good! I wish it had a little more heat/kick, so I think next time I'll try cooking with chili pods.

I fried half of the chicken with beer batter and the other half with this coating recipe for a taste test. Dev and I enjoyed Both! The beer batter was light and crispy and the General's coating was denser, but crispy as well. Neither tasted oily and both coatings held up well with the sauce. I'd definitely make this again.
ENJOY!