Spicy Peanut Sauce

I am actively trying to teach myself to make Thai and Chinese dishes.  Some days I do well and some days I don't.  I have a long way to go.  I made this spicy peanut sauce a few days ago and served it with chicken skewers.  It was surprisingly delicious.

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup very hot water

4 tsp seasoned a rice vinegar

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp light molasses

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper

In a small bowl combine all ingredients and whisk until smooth.  

Makes 2/3 cup.

 

Cool Cucumber Relish

This is a simple recipe that is good on burgers, with a chicken dish or any other summertime dinner.  I use this frequently each summer when I have an abundance of cucumbers.  It's so good!

4 medium Kirby cucumbers (about 4 oz each), finely chopped

1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.

Chill in the refrigerator for one hour to combine flavors,

Serve with your favorite dish.

 

Mini Crab Cakes with Lemon Sauce

 

These are crispy delights!  Who doesn't love a crab cake?  This is one recipe you'll make again and again.

2 Tbsp butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 Tbsp sour cream

2 tsp grainy Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb lump crabmeat, picked over

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread)

Lemon Sauce

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

In a 10" skillet, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion and celery.  Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Let cool.

In a large bowl, stir mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, lemon zest, salt, and cayenne until blended; stir in breadcrumbs just until mixed.  Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 4 hours. 

Meanwhile, prepare lemon sauce.  In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest, and juice, salt and cayenne until blended.  Makes about 1/2 cup.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.  Drop level tablespoons of chilled crab mixture, pressing lightly onto prepared cookie sheets.  Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.  

Top each crab cake with about 1/2 tsp lemon sauce.  Serve hot.   

Bacon Bow Tie Crackers

I love any recipe that revolves around bacon.  Honestly, you may just want to double this recipe.  Trust me, these yummy snacks will not last long at any gathering.  

8 thin bacon slices

24 rectangle-shaped buttery crackers (I like Club crackers)

That's it, two ingredients.  Not bad, huh?

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.  

Cut each bacon slice crosswise into thirds to make a total of 24 pieces.  Wrap 1 bacon piece around the narrow center of each cracker without overlapping ends.  Arrange in a single layer, seam side down, on a lightly greased wire rack set in a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until bacon is crisp and center edges have pulled in to resemble a bow tie, about 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack 5 minutes before serving.

Trust me . . . I always double this recipe and there are never any leftovers.  

 

Healthy Caesar Salad

I do love a Caesar salad!  I came across this recipe for a healthy, lower calorie recipe, and let's just say, it's a keeper.  It's the perfect addition to my favorite dinner -- a ribeye, baked potato and a Caesar salad.  YUM!!

1/2 loaf (4 oz) Italian bread

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp Olive oil

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp Anchovy paste

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 pkg (18 oz) Romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Cut bread int 1/2" cubes and place in a bowl.  Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil and add the minced garlic.  Stir to coat well.  Place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.  Cool croutons on the pan.

Meanwhile, in large salad bowl, with wire whisk, mix together mayonnaise, Parmesan, lemon juice, 1 Tbsp olive oil, anchovy paste, and pepper.

Add lettuce and croutons to dressing in bowl; toss to coat.

Top with some shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Shrimp Risotto with Baby Peas

This is another really impressive looking dish, and it is just as delicious as it looks.  Be sure to buy shrimp in the shells for this dish.  Making a quick stock with the shells gives this pretty risotto a more complex flavor.  

4 cups water

1 3/4 cups chicken, vegetable, or homemade broth

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined, shells reserved

1 Tbsp butter

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup frozen baby peas

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a 3-quart saucepan, combine water, broth, and shrimp shells.  Heat to boiling over high heat.  Reduce heat; simmer 20 minutes.  Strain broth into a bowl and measure.  If needed, add water to equal 5 1/2 cups.  Return broth to same clean saucepan; heat to boiling.  Reduce heat to maintain simmer, cover.

In a 4-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp, 1/2 tsp salt, and pepper; cook, stirring, until shrimp are just opaque throughout, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl.

In the same saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add rice and remaining 1 tsp salt; cook, stirring frequently, until rice grains are opaque.  Add wine; cook until wine has been absorbed.  Add about 1/2 cup simmering broth to rice; stir until liquid has been absorbed.  Continue cooking, adding remaining broth 1/2 cup at a time and stirring after each addition, until all liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender but still firm, about 25 minutes.  (Risotto should have a creamy consistency.)  Stir in frozen peas and shrimp and heat through.  Sprinkle on parsley and serve.

Grilled Fish Tacos

Coated with a bold, Baja-style rub of cayenne and oregano and then char-crusted on the grill, the Cod in these taqueria-worthy tacos tastes anything but fishy.  A from scratch salsa with corn and avocados rounds out the meal.  

1 lemon

2 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

1/2 tsp salt plus a pinch

2 ears corn, husked

1 avocado, cut in half and pitted

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 lb Cod fillets

12 crunchy corn tortillas

1 large tomato, finely chopped

Fresh cilantro leaves and lime wedges

Prepare grill (indoor or outdoor) for grilling over medium-high heat.  From lemon, zest 2 tsp of zest and squeeze 2 Tbsp juice.

On plate, rub 1/2 tsp oil and pinch of salt all over corn and cut sides of avocado.  On another plate, combine garlic, oregano, cayenne, lemon zest, 1/4 tsp salt, and remaining 2 tsp oil.  Place fish on plate and rub all over with spice mixture to coat.  

Place fish, corn, and avocado halves, cut sides down, on hot grill grate.  Cook fish 3 - 4 minutes or until opaque throughout, turning over once.  Cook vegetables 5 minutes or until charred, turning occasionally.  

Transfer fish, corn and avocados to cutting board.  Let cool while waring tortillas.  Place tortillas on grill in single layer and cook 1 minute, turning once.  Stack on large sheet of foil and wrap tightly.  

Cut corn kernels from cobs.  Peel and finely chop avocado.  Break fish into large chunks.  In large bowl, mix together tomato, corn, avocado, lemon juice, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt.  Divide fish and tomato mixture among tortillas and serve with cilantro and lime wedges.  

Roast Pork Loin with Apricot-Cranberry Sauce

This recipe is perfect when you want to serve a dinner to impress.  It looks fantastic and it's not that tough to prepare.

1 Pork-loin roast (6 lbs trimmed)
2 large lemons zested and juiced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

1 small white onion, finely chopped

18 oz chicken broth

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

                                                 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Pat pork loin dry with paper towels.

From lemons, grate 2 1/2 tsp zest and squeeze 1 Tbsp lemon juice.  In a cup, mix the zest and juice, garlic, oil, pepper and salt.  Rub mixture on pork.  

Place pork on rack in medium roasting pan.  Roast pork for 1 1/2 - 2 hours until internal temp reaches 155 degrees.

While pork is roasting, prepare fruit sauce.  In a 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until tender and golden, about 10 minutes.  Add broth, wine, cranberries, and apricots; heat to boiling over high heat.  Boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is reduced to about 2 2/3 cups, about 8 minutes.  Remove saucepan from heat.

When pork is done, transfer to warm large platter; keep warm.  Let stand 15 minutes to set juices for easier carving.  

Meanwhile, skim fat from drippings in roasting pan and discard.  Add fruit sauce to pan and cook over medium heat, stirring until browned bits are loosened from bottom of pan, about 1 minute.  Stir in parsley.

Add any meat juices from the platter to sauce.  Serve roast with apricot-cranberry sauce.  

Pineapple Firecracker Stir Fry

Surprisingly enough, I discovered this recipe on the top of Dole pineapple chunks and I love it!  It's quick . . . it's fresh . . . it just a little spicy.  Just the way I like it.  

1 lb chicken breast, thinly sliced

1/4 cup cornstarch

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 Tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup sweet chili sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pkg (15 oz) Dole pineapple chunks, drained, juice reserved

1 cup broccoli florets

2 scallions, thinly sliced for garnish

Combine chicken, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a bowl.  Toss well to coat.  

Heat oil in wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and stir fry until cooked through.  Add broccoli and cook until it starts to soften.

Add sweet chili sauce, minced garlic, pineapple chunks, and 1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice to wok.  Reduce heat to low and continue to stir until sauce is slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.  

Garnish with scallions and serve with rice, if desired.  

This is soooooo good!

Freezer-Friendly Blueberry BBQ Sauce

Oh my, this recipe came into my life quite by accident.  I had a pint of blueberries in my fridge that really needed to be used.  I asked Chat GPT for some ideas and this is where we landed.  It's fantastic on chicken or pork.  Give it a try.  You won't be disappointed.  It's unique and very tasty!

1 pint of blueberries

1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (don't make it spicy)

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Combine everything in a saucepan.

Simmer gently, uncovered, 20 - 25 minutes, stirring occasionally

Lightly mash berries as they soften

Taste and adjust sweet/tang

Cool completely