Recipes

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Thai Cucumber Salad

To round out the Thai trifecta, here’s a recipe that’s great with the Pad Thai and Chicken Satay recipes I shared recently. This cool and slightly sweet salad is the perfect complement to any Thai dish, especially if you like your food spicy. Prepare it the day before you serve it to really let the dressing soak into the veggies.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 1 cup Hot Water
  • 1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 2 Large Cucumbers
  • 1/2 cup Red Onion, coarsely chopped

Directions

  1. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together sugar, water, vinegar, and salt.
  2. Peel, slice, and quarter cucumbers, and place in bowl with vinegar mixture.
  3. Add chopped onion to bowl, and toss to combine.
  4. Refrigerate at least one hour (preferably overnight) before serving.
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Spinach & Mushroom Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This is a fancy-looking dish, that is nevertheless quick and easy to make. Wrapping the chicken in bacon is a bit like an inside-out Cordon Bleu, and keeps it nice and moist. As an added bonus, you get to vent any latent frustrations while pounding out the chicken breasts! 

Ingredients

  • 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • 1/4 cup Finely Chopped Mushrooms
  • 1/3 cup Frozen Spinach, defrosted and drained
  • 1/4 cup Sour Cream
  • 1/4 cup Shredded Monterey Jack  Cheese
  • 1 Clove Garlic, finely minced
  • 4 Strips Bacon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
  3. Slice chicken breasts most of the way through into top and bottom sections, and fold open.
  4. Using a tenderizing mallet, pound out the chicken breasts until 1/4-inch thin or less throughout.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together mushrooms, spinach, sour cream, cheese, and garlic.
  6. Spoon a large strip of spinach mixture onto each chicken breast, and roll chicken around it.
  7. Wrap each chicken breast with two strips of bacon, and secure with toothpicks if needed.
  8. Place chicken breasts in prepared baking dish, and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.
  9. Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees and bake for an additional 5 minutes to crisp bacon.
  10. Remove from oven and transfer to a plate immediately. (i.e. Don’t let the chicken breasts soak in a pool of bacon grease while cooling. Ew!)
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Spinach & Parmesan Orzo

My daughter is a self-described “carb-ivore” and it was always a struggle to get her to eat her vegetables (or anything other than starchy foods) as a kid. After one ill-fated attempt to convince her that cauliflower au gratin was made from noodles, I started improvising with recipes like this one. That said, this is a simple but satisfying side dish for many meals.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Orzo Pasta
  • 1 Large Clove Garlic
  • 1/4 cup Butter or Margarine
  • 1/2 cup Frozen Spinach (thawed and drained)
  • 1/3 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

  1. Boil orzo per package directions. Drain and keep warm.
  2. Peel and finely mince garlic.
  3. In a large skillet, melt butter or margarine over medium heat.
  4. Add garlic to skillet and saute for about two minutes.
  5. Add spinach to skillet and cook until hot, stirring to mix well with garlic and butter or margarine.
  6. Reduce heat to low, and add cooked orzo to skillet. Mix vigorously until pasta is well combined with spinach mixture.
  7. Add parmesan to skillet and mix well.
  8. Remove from heat and serve, adding a little sprinkle of extra parmesan on top of each serving.
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Chicken Satay

I shared my Pad Thai recipe a few weeks ago, and you know what goes fabulously with Pad Thai? Chicken Satay! The great thing about this recipe versus buying a marinade at the corner grocery is that you can customize the spiciness. This version is to my liking, and I’m a spice wimp, so increase the hot chili garlic sauce if you like to pant and say, “Hoooo! Oh, oh…. my…  whoooo!” while you’re eating supper.

Ingredients

  • 2 Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts
  • 2 tbsp. Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1/2 cup Light Soy Sauce
  • 1/2 cup Lime Juice
  • 1 tbsp. Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. Hot Chili Garlic Sauce

Directions

  1. Slice chicken breasts into long strips of equal width.
  2. If using bamboo skewers, submerge a number equal to the number of chicken strips in water. Set aside to soak. (Note: Even with soaking, bamboo skewers are still likely to singe, but at least they won’t flame up or completely turn to ash.)
  3. In a small bowl, blend together peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, and hot chili garlic sauce.
  4. Place chicken strips and half the sauce in a large, sealable plastic bag, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
  5. Put remaining sauce in a sealed container and refrigerate.
  6. When marinating is complete, skewer each strip of chicken lengthwise, and brush with some additional marinade from the bag if you squeezed a lot out while skewering.
  7. Grill or broil chicken skewers for no more than five minutes per side until cooked through, but not dry.*
  8. Stir the second half of the sauce briefly, warm if desired, and serve with chicken skewers.

*Now, don’t get me wrong: I’m not a fan of salmonella. But, I’m also not happy when chicken is overcooked. There’s nothing more disappointing than serving up a chicken dish that you slaved over the proverbial hot stove to make, only to have your dinner guests say, “Is there a sauce or something for this?” as they strain to chew and reach for their water glasses. Remember, you can always cook your chicken a little more, but once it’s dry, the party’s over.

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Fresh Blackberry Buttercream

My celebration of blackberry season continues with this fantastic buttercream recipe that highlights this delectable fruit that grows everywhere here in the Seattle area. The picture above features this frosting on a light and fluffy vanilla cupcake, cored and filled with a tart blackberry filling, which is a great contrast to the sweet, sweet buttercream.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 cup Fresh Blackberries
  • Approximately 4 cups Powdered Sugar*

*The volume of powdered sugar needed to get this to a good consistency for piping will depend on just how softened your butter is and how juicy your berries are, so follow your instincts.

Directions

  1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together butter, lemon juice, and blackberries.
  2. DON’T PANIC! The fat in the butter and the juice in the berries will not really combine until you start adding the sugar. Keep calm and carry on!
  3. Add powdered sugar one cup or less at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition, until the mixture is a proper consistency for piping.
  4. Enjoy on your favorite cake, cupcake, or in a graham cracker sandwich for a quick, sweet treat!
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Salmon in Puff Pastry

One of the great benefits of living in the Seattle area is the fantastic variety of fresh seafood. This easy recipe features the crème de la crème of the Pacific Northwest: Salmon! And, if you really want to treat yourself, serve this dish with Hollandaise sauce, which is the perfect complement to both the fish and the spinach.

Ingredients

  • 1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry (Or make your own if you want to show off!)
  • 1 cup Frozen Spinach, defrosted and drained
  • 1 tbsp. Finely Minced Garlic
  • 2 Large Salmon Fillets
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 2 tbsp. Melted Butter

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Defrost puff pastry sheet and cut into two equal pieces, each roughly double the size of the fillets. (Don’t worry if it’s not exactly right. You can always trim and patch the pastry, and then hide your patch-work on the bottom. It’ll be our little secret.)
  3. Add minced garlic to spinach and mix to combine.
  4. Spoon spinach mixture onto puff pastry in a size and shape roughly equal to the fillets.
  5. Place salmon fillets on top of spinach mixture, and salt and pepper fish to taste.
  6. Wrap puff pastry around both, sealing the edges well.
  7. Flip the puff pastry packets over to hide any seams.
  8. Coat a baking dish with cooking spray and arrange packets in the dish.
  9. Brush the puff pastry packets with melted butter.
  10. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until pastry is golden.
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Blackberry Crêpes

It’s blackberry season here in the Pacific Northwest! Hooray! When you return from berry picking with purple fingers and a few scratches, and you’re looking for a quick recipe that makes the most of your toil, this is just the ticket.

Ingredients

Crêpes

  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1-1/2 cups Whole Milk
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 2 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt

Filling

  • 4 cups Fresh Blackberries
  • 1 cup White Sugar
  • 2 tbsp. Corn Starch
  • 2 tbsp. Butter

 

  • Powdered Sugar to garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to warming temperature (170 – 180 degrees) and insert a heat-proof plate.
  2. Lightly oil a skillet with rounded sides* and place over medium heat.
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together flour, milk, eggs, oil, and salt until completely combined and smooth.
  4. Pour a little less than 1/4 cup of batter into hot, oiled skillet.
  5. Immediately lift skillet and tilt in a circular motion to distribute batter as widely, thinly, and evenly as possible across the bottom of the pan.
  6. Return the skillet to the heat.
  7. When the top of the batter is no longer shiny throughout, carefully insert a thin spatula underneath and flip.
  8. Cook for an additional minute, and then turn crêpe out onto warm plate in the oven.
  9. Repeat steps 4 through 8 until all the batter is cooked. (Makes 8 – 10, depending upon the size of your pan and how skillful you are at swirling the batter.)
  10. Rinse blackberries, and place in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat.
  11. In a small bowl, combine sugar and corn starch.
  12. Add corn starch mixture to blackberries and stir to combine.
  13. Cook and stir frequently until blackberry mixture thickens.
  14. Remove blackberry mixture from heat and add butter in small clumps.
  15. Stir until butter is melted and well combined.
  16. Assemble crêpes by spooning a generous scoop of blackberry filling in a long strip onto each crêpe, and folding the sides of the crêpe over the filling.
  17. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve immediately.

*A 10-inch or larger, light-weight, non-stick pan works great for this. Unless you fancy a sprained wrist, you definitely don’t want to use a heavy cast-iron skillet as you will be lifting the pan and swirling the batter to distribute it evenly.

Sneaky Trick: Wiping the warming skillet with a paper towel to evenly distribute the oil and avoid pooling will help the crêpes brown evenly. If you can hear the batter sizzle when you put it in the pan, you’re using too much oil.

 

A little encouragement…

If you’ve never made crêpes before, I guarantee you that the first one you attempt will be a disappointment. It will be too thick, or stick to the pan, or break, have chunky batter, or even singe. Be brave and keep trying! After a few attempts, you will get the hang of it. And, crêpes are so versatile that you will be making them for every meal before you know it.

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Lemon Meringue Pie

What’s not to love about this time-honored dessert? It’s one of my all-time favorites. I’ve amped up this traditional recipe with a bit of extra lemon juice, a ton of fluffy meringue, and a lightly sweetened crust. The only down-side is the long cooling time required between preparation and om nom noms, but it’s definitely worth the wait.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt
  • 1/3 cup Shortening
  • 2 tbsp. White Sugar
  • 3-4 tbsp. Ice Cold Water

Filling

  • 3 Egg Yolks
  • 1-1/2 cups White Sugar
  • 1/3 cup plus 2 tbsp. Corn Starch
  • 1-1/2 cups Water
  • 3 tbsp. Butter or Margarine
  • 3/4 cup Lemon Juice

Meringue

  • 5 Egg Whites
  • 1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  • 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 9 tbsp. White Sugar

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl or stand mixer, blend together flour, salt, sugar, and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
  3. Slowly add water and mix until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and is fairly moist.
  4. On a heavily floured surface, roll dough into a large circle of a suitable size for your pie tin. (I’ve been known to make this pie in a round cake pan instead, to accommodate lots of filling and meringue.)
  5. Turn rolled dough out into pie pan and flute or crimp as desired.
  6. Prick the dough several times with a fork, on both the bottom and sides.
  7. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until light brown.
  8. Remove crust from oven and set aside.
  9. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees.
  10. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks and set aside.
  11. In a medium-sized saucepan, mix together sugar and corn starch.
  12. Add water and place the saucepan over medium heat.
  13. Stir constantly and be patient! It will seem as if nothing is happening, and you will start to lose hope, and then suddenly the mixture will start to turn translucent, thicken, and bubble.
  14. Once bubbling, boil for 1 additional minute.
  15. Put a large spoonful of the hot corn starch mixture into the egg yolks, and quickly mix together.
  16. Stir egg mixture into corn starch mixture, and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
  17. Remove from heat, and add butter or margarine and lemon juice.
  18. Mix until butter or margarine has melted and lemon juice is completely incorporated.
  19. Pour filling into baked crust. Use a rubber spatula to get every delicious drop into your pie. (Then lick the spatula. Yum!)
  20. In a large bowl or stand mixer, whip egg whites, cream of tartar, and vanilla until foamy.
  21. Gradually add sugar and whip until stiff and glossy.
  22. Pipe meringue on top of filling, ensuring that the meringue is touching the crust all the way around, and the filling is completely covered.
  23. Bake in preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes, until meringue is light brown.
  24. Cool for at least 2 hours before transferring to refrigerator.
  25. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.*

*I know this is difficult, and that the pie with all of it’s lemony-fluffy-goodness is calling to you from the fridge, but cutting into this pie before it has completely set is a decision that is sure to lead to disappointment.

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Softilicious Peanut Butter Cookies

One of my ex-husbands actually told me that he fell in love with me when he tasted my peanut butter cookies. Maybe if I had made them more often he wouldn’t be my ex. Ha! This recipe produces two dozen scrumptious cookies, that are soft, moist, and perfect with a big glass of milk.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) Margarine, softened
  • 1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar, packed
  • 1 Large Egg
  • 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  • 1-3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp. Salt
  • 2 to 3 additional tbsp. White Sugar

Directions

  1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together margarine and peanut butter.
  2. Add white sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla, and beat until well blended.
  3. Add flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until well combined. The dough will be stiff and crumbly.
  4. Cover dough and chill in refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.
  5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  6. Line two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Set aside.
  7. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll into 24 tight balls, a wee bit smaller than ping pong balls.
  8. Squish the balls between your palms to flatten and arrange on baking sheets.
  9. Using the tines of a fork, press down on each cookie twice, turning the fork ninety degrees between the first and second press to create a cross-hatch pattern.
  10. Sprinkle cookies with a little additional white sugar.
  11. Bake in preheated oven for 9 to 11 minutes.
  12. Remove from oven and immediately slide foil off of the baking sheet and onto a heat-resistant surface to cool.*

*Why is it important to get the cookies off the baking sheet A.S.A.P.? There’s nothing worse than a dry, hard, over-baked cookie. As long as the cookies are still on the sheet, they’re still baking! Removing them immediately so they can cool quickly keeps them moist and soft, and they won’t require dipping in milk to make them edible. In my opinion, dipping anything in milk is just plain disgusting. All of those crumbs, detritus, and sludge at the bottom of your glass?? Yuck!

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Not-Too-Spicy Chicken Enchiladas Suizas

I love a bit of spice, but it doesn’t love me! I’ve tweaked this recipe to suit my sensitive stomach, but you can add more chilis of various pain-inducing varieties to please your palate; just saute them along with the onions.

Ingredients

  • 3 Large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
  • 1/4 cup (half-stick) of Margarine
  • 1 cup Chopped Onion
  • 1 can Mild Green Chilis (4 oz.)
  • 1 cup Shredded Colby, Monterrey Jack, or Cheddar Cheese (or a blend of these cheeses)
  • 8 Flour Tortillas
  • 1 tbsp. Corn Starch
  • 1 cup Chicken Broth
  • 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
  • Additional 1/2 cup Cheese
  • Sour Cream and Fresh Cilantro to garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
  2. In a large pot, boil chicken breasts until just cooked through.
  3. When cooked, remove chicken from water an cut into small cubes. Place in large bowl and set aside.
  4. In a skillet, melt margarine over medium-high heat.
  5. Add onions to skillet and cook until translucent.
  6. Add cooked onions, chilis, and 1 cup cheese to chicken and mix to combine.
  7. Spray a baking pan* with cooking spray.
  8. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture, and arrange in pan.
  9. In a large bowl (or a plastic juice pitcher works great for this) combine corn starch and chicken broth and whisk until thoroughly combined.
  10. Add whipping cream to broth mixture and whisk.
  11. Pour chicken broth mixture over filled tortillas.
  12. Sprinkle with an additional 1/2 cup of cheese.
  13. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
  14. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving. Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a sprig of cilantro if you’re feeling fancy.

*Any size that will accommodate the width of your tortillas and will hold eight of them will do. The best part of this recipe is the creamy sauce, so leaving a little space for extra sauce is a good idea.

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