Fresh Basil Ginger Chicken with Clear Noodles

 

Welcome summer with this refreshing dish from ingredients freshly from your garden. 

Marinate your chicken (any variety is fine, I used chicken drumsticks here) with some soy sauce,white pepper, rice vinegar, sea salt and sesame oil. Peel and chop up a cup of fresh ginger and a little garlic powder. Mix well and let chicken sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. 

Sauté chicken in a large pan with medium heat. When meat starts browning, slowly pour in the remaining chicken liquid into the pan. Chop up some fresh sweet basil, sweet onion and a few cherry tomato. Stir in tomato and half of basil leaves into the pan. Turn down to low heat, put a lid over the hot pan until the chicken is fully cooked through (about 15-20 mins for me). 

While chicken is cooking, boil up some water in a seperate small pot. Cook any of your favorite noodles. Drain noodle when it's ready. Spread it evenly in a bowl. Place chicken pieces on noodle carefully. Spoon sauce and vegetables over the chicken. Garnish the plate with the rest of the raw basil. 

Enjoy!!

Cupcake Contest August 2013!

My mom wasn’t a big fan of sweet food, so growing up, my siblings and I really didn’t have much exposure to desserts. I remember vividly how shocked people used to get when we refused their candies as little kids. Don’t get me wrong though, we did have plenty of birthday cakes and occasional ice-cream every now and then, we were just not that crazy about sweet food in general. As I got older, I got more and more interested in cooking, I discovered the magic of sugar. Wow, what an eye-opener! I have to admit I’m still an amateur in this area, but I'm getting better. I never knew there was such a huge craze with cupcakes until my recent years of my life here in America. At my job, I have gained a group of friends/coworkers who love to cook like me. We cook for each other for different occasions and and sometimes compete in cooking for fun. Here’s the most recent one with CUPCAKES again! Turned out that we have a lot of "PROS" around.  Yes, did I mention that I like sugar now? Ha!

First Place: Sarah Wolff 
Entry: Kahlua Cupcakes
What's in it? Wow, a true winner of a piece. A chocolate cake with a mocha mousse filling and a Kahlua soaking syrup with caramel icing and a caramel and chocolate drizzle topped with a caramel bliss chocolate. Just listing out the ingredients is enough to make my mouth water for more!

 

Second Place: Casaundra Bronner & Faye Smith
Entry: Mochaccino Cupcakes (Casaundra), Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes (Faye)
What's in it?  
I was surprised by how light these 2 cupcakes were. They were fluffy and full of flavor. I could easily eat more than one at a time. Goes perfect with a cup of hot coffee or tea. 
Mochaccino Cupcakes: Coffee flavored chocolate cupcakes, topped with coffee butter cream, drizzled with vanilla salted caramel and garnished with a vanilla pirouette cookie.
Lemon-Blueberry Cupcakes with Honey-Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:  Delicious combination of fruit flavors - lemon and fresh blueberries - all wrapped up in a buttery batter. The cupcakes use the lemon zest from 4 lemons; 3 in the batter and 1 in the frosting, which gives these guys a wonderful flavor and sparkle. Topped with a delicious cream cheese frosting enhanced with honey and lemon zest, this cupcake is a refreshing delight.

Third Place: Cindy Graham

Entry: Chocolate Caramel Cupcakes 

What's in it?  

So beautifully decorated that I almost hesitated to put my fork into it. This chocolate caramel filled cupcake was moist and delicious. The cupcake is a rich and moist chocolate cake with mini-chocolate cups floating in it with a soft caramel filling. Really great with a cold glass of milk or a hot cup of coffee. It’s a great way to sink into chocolate bliss. Mmmm, yum yum, Cindy. Great job as usual!

More delicious entries!!

Contestant: Christy Massie

Entry: Deluxe Peanut Butter Cupcakes

What's in it?  

These cupcakes are my personal favorite. I don't like peanut butter that much normally but somehow these cupcakes really worked. Christy outdid herself with these absolutely perfect cupcakes. She combined chocolate cake and peanut butter cake and topped it with a smooth peanut butter icing, chocolate ganache, and cruchy chopped peanut butter cups. OMG, sooooooooo good.

Contestant: Casaundra Bronner (2nd entry!)

Entry: Raspberry Chocolate Cupcakes

What's in it? 
These classy cupcakes reminded me of a beautiful ice-cream sundae from my childhood. They were yellow cakes with raspberry whipped cream filling, topped with a tier each of chocolate, vanilla and raspberry whipped cream icing, a raspberry and chocolate sprinkles. So light and delicious that you don't want to stop at one.

Contestant: Stacie Eftink

Entry: S'mores Cupcakes

What's in it? 
Cute cute cute. S'mores on a cupcake. Who can say no to that? These are chocolate cake topped with a toasted marshmallow, Hershey's chocolate and graham cracker on top of a dollop of marshmallow créme with a piece of Hershey's chocolate and a graham cracker crust bottom. Wow, talk about childhood, this one sure is a winner.

Contestant: Frances Wun

Entry: Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

What's in it? 

These cupcakes were elegant. They were easy to make yet have a sophisticated appeal. The simple cheesecake was made from natural ingredients, topped with a homemade raspberry jelly and fresh raspberries. Sprinkled with powder sugar.

Contestant: Rica Kirn (Scott Kirn's Wife)

Entry: Oreo Chocolate Cupcakes

What's in it? 
Oreo, yes, I knew this would come up in this competition. Oreo is increasing in popularity in today's desserts. Scott's wife Rica took a creative turn with the yellow oreo cupcakes chocolate cake mix with a cream filling and mini Oreo’s inside. I smell love in the air.

Contestant: Mandi Stone

Entry: Meatloaf Cupcakes

What's in it? 

Let me say this, these were delicious. So good that they would go with any meal. Mandi actually didn't enter the competition with these cupcakes, but she really should have in my opinion. While we were chowing down on the pot luck, I looked around and almost everyone in the room had one of these meatloaf goodies on their plate. So inviting that you just had to taste it. Mandi's words, "You just make the meatloaf in foil cupcake liners. I used 90% lean beef. Topped with gold mashed taters, ketchup and bacon." 

That's it for now. More to come soon!!!
 

Carabao/Champagne Mango Smoothie

Mango Mango! One of the best ingredients for smoothies on those hot summer days, hands down. Carabao/Champagne mangos are extremely sweet and juicy when riped. When you make it in a drink, you won't even need to add sugar to it. The fruit is so good that you really can't go wrong with it...so many varieties you can make it into a drink. A friend of mine liked her mango drink with yogurt and honey. Here's how I made mine tonight. Really simple ingredients and so refreshing. Thumbs up from my family!

 Ingredients: (makes about 24 regular cookies)

• 3 riped Carabao or Champagne Mango
• 1 cup of condensed milk
• 3 cups of ice
• 1 big scoop of vanilla ice-cream (Yes!)
• Whipped cream topping

Step 1: Wash the mangos and wipe dry. Cut down both sides of the mango to the part where your knife touches the seed to get the mango flesh.

Step 2: Place the mango flesh in the blender with ice-cream, condensed milk and ice. Put the lid on and turn on the blender high until it's smooth. Pour into glass containers and top with fresh whipped cream. Serve immediately! Enjoy!

Grammie's Seven Layer Bars! by "The Naptime Chef" - Kelsey Banfield

Check these out! I really wanted to share this recipe with you guys. Perfect for social gatherings! A great, tasty treat for everyone of all ages. Even picky kids will fall in love with these yummy bites. Way way better tasting than commercial chocolate bars. The consistency of the coconut worked very well with the sweetness on top. I wouldn't want to change the combination of the ingredients for that reason. So easy to make and so happy to find the recipe. The result was superb. I will sure make it again and again. Thank you Kelsey!

 Ingredients: (makes about 24 regular cookies)

• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 8 crackers pused in the food processor)
• 1 shrededed sweetened coconut
• 1 (12oz) package semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (12oz) package butterscotch chips
• 1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F.

Step 2:  Pour the melted butter into the bottom of a 13x9 inch bakery dish and swirl the pan so that the bottom is evenly coated with butter. paying special attention to the corners. sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the butter and press down with your fingertips to form a very thin crust .

Step 3: Create even layers on top of the graham crackers with the remaining ingredients in this order: shredded coconut, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, sweetened condensed milk, and chopped pecans on top.

Step 4: bake the bars for 35 mins, or until the ingredietns have completely melted together to form one uniform batter.

Step 5:  Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature. Then cover it to cool to room temperature. Then cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refirgerator for 2 hours. or until the bars have chilled and are completely solid.

Step 6:  cut the bars into 2" squares with a sharp knife and store them in a container lined with waxed paper.

Enjoy!

Supreme Cookies with Mint, White, Dark Chocolate Chips and Pecans!

Mmmmm, chocolate chips cookies, who can refuse them? They are everybody's favorite, especially during the holidays. I have to admit that I was somewhat skeptical when I came across this recipe from Southern Living Cookbook by accident few weeks ago. I attempted to look it up online for this post, but no luck. This recipe was the closest I could find if you would rather want to stick with the traditional version: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/all-time-favorite-chocolate-chip-cookies-10000001831998/

But if you want to go WILD, here's one MONSTER COOKIES recipe for you. The secret ingredient apparently is the INSTANT VANILLA PUDDING MIX! Some of you experienced bakers might already know the trick. It was easy and it worked. The pudding mix made the cookies really moist and completed the melt-in-your-mouth effect! While dark chocolate chips and pecan were not a new combination to the cookies world, I also added mint and white chocolate morsels for a crazy holiday touch.

Yep, I know, there were a lot of goodies in these babies. That's what I wanted to do one day when I woke up on one cold morning ... It's like a SUPREME PIZZA with everything on it!! The slight minty flavor was subtle, yet the taste and color suggested these cookies were no ordinary chocolate chips cookies.

So, what do you say? Lets forget the rules and put away the store bought chocolate bars. Make these beautiful cookies, pour some nice, cold milk and REJOICE to 2013!

Ingredients: (makes about 24 regular cookies)

• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (3.4oz)package vanilla instant pudding mix
• 2 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 oz dark chocolate morsels
• 6 oz  mint chocolate morsels
• 6 oz white chocolate morsels
• 1 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
• Parchment paper

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter, shortening and sugars at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Add eggs and 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla, beating until blended.

Step 2:  Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Beat in morsels just until combined. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.

Step 3:  Bake at 350° for 10 to 14 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. Remove to wire racks, and cool completely (about 15 minutes).

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cupcake Wars - Christy's Wedding!

Cupcakes, who can say no to them. So pretty, so tasty and so so cute. Inspired by Food Channel's TV show, Cupcake Wars (Ok, we have taken the name literally), we as a food-loving group of people at work, decided to accept a cupcake-making challenge for our beloved co-worker Christy's wedding, who is by the way, getting married this weekend!!!!

The theme is wedding, and it's going to be beautiful and followed by a romantic honeymoon in Hawaii. So jealous but so happy for her at the same time. While we were excited for her big day, we were also busy preparing our best sweet goodness. 
So, here are the results:

Professional Award is granted to John Sydow, our awesome chef at work:

A glamorous, golden cupcake with a white cream cheese icing, sitting on a tasty, spiced up carrot cake. perfect cupcake with a grown-up taste.
 
1st Place Winner!! Faye Smith!!

Pumpkin Ginger cupcake made with finely chopped crystallized ginger which gives a nice spicy bite and butterscotch pudding mix for added moistness and flavor. Cupcakes are topped with browned butter, cinnamon cream cheese frosting. Browning the butter adds just a hint of caramel flavor.

2nd Place Winner!! Frances Wun!!

Fajita Nacho Cupcake made with a cinnamon, cream cheese butter cream (nacho cheese) and rich coffee chocolate cake. It is complimented very well I must say with the tangy strawberry (salsa). The tortilla chips were cut to tiny triangles with a pizza cutter, toasted with cinnamon sugar and sprayed cooking oil! One word, CUTE!! I got the recipe here: http://sweetsimplestuff.com/2012/02/03/nacho-cupcakes/ with slight alterations which I will describe in a separate post at a later date to provide more details.

3rd Place Winner!! Stacie Eftink!!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcake with Cheesecake Frosting and Candy Seashells!! A colorful, welcoming display of fun, delicious cupcakes for Christy's honeymoon at the beach in Hawaii.
  
Colorful contestant!! Renee Biss!

A Pink Champagne Cupcake filled with Fresh Strawberry and Champagne Filling topped with a duo of Champagne and Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.

Creative contestant!! Ant Schwallbert and Liz Destajo!

I guess great minds think alike. Amy and Liz picked the same yummy goodness for our awesome competition! Oreo cheesecake cupcakes.  The recipe was found here: http://housewifeglamour.com/baking/oreo-cheesecake-cupcakes/.

The only thing Amy altered was baking time which was about an extra 10 minutes since she had two cupcake trays. She used reduced fat neufchate cheese instead of cream cheese.  She recommended breaking up the cookies by hand, as a blender makes the pieces really small and turns the batter a darker color. She thought it looked more presentable with bigger cookie chunks.

 Congratulations everyone. What a fun event! Wishing you all the happiness there is!

IRON CHEF BATTLE LEMON!!

It's time for my workplace's IRON CHEF BATTLE again. This time, the secret ingredient was LEMON! What a tasty, refreshing challenge!

1st Place Winner!! Mun!! 

Lemon Panna Cotta with Lemon Marmalade

YES!! Me for the first time! Somehow, I always came second. Now that I had a taste of winning, not sure if I could go back ;) I must say, it turned out well and quite addictive.

This is a popular dessert in Italy called Panna cotta. It is usually served with sweet fruits like strawberries and cherries, but since today is all about the lemon, I made the creamy Panna cotta with fresh lemons.  It is
served with a homemade lemon marmalade from the lemon juice and peel. The sweet and creamy flavors balance out each other. Yummy!

I got the recipe from http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/05/lemon-panna-cotta-with-lemon-marmalade with a few little twists on my own. The step-by-step guide (recipe and pictures) will be followed shortly after this post.

2nd Place Winner!! Faye Smith!! 

Lemon Cream Pie with Raspberry Sauce

Really really tasty. Tangy lemon cream pie. The candied lemon peel was delicious.You simply just couldn't resist it.

.

Here's her recipe (combination of several different ones):
Yield: Makes one 9-inch pie, or 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:
6 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 prepared crumb crust

1. Combine the eggs, sugar, and lemon zest in a heavy medium-size saucepan and whisk the mixture until it is smooth. Add the lemon juice and butter and cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it is thickened, 7 to 9 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to come to a boil.

2. Pour the lemon curd through a fine mesh strainer into a glass bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the lemon curd until it is cold and thick, at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

3. In a medium-size mixing bowl using an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the lemon curd and scrape the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until the filling is completely set, at least 6 ho urs and up to 1 day.

Crust
The crust is a traditional vanilla wafer crust with the addition of almond extract.

Dressing it up
Make candied peel:
Remove zest (peel) from 2 lemons in wide strips with a vegetable peeler, then cut lengthwise with a sharp knife into 1/8-inch-wide julienne strips. Reserve lemons for juicing. Fill a 2-quart heavy saucepan halfway with water, then add julienned peel. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes. Drain peel in a sieve and rinse. Bring water (1 cup) and 1 cup granulated sugar to a boil in saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Add peel and gently simmer until translucent, about 15 minutes.

Remove peel from syrup with a slotted spoon, letting syrup drain off into saucepan. Spread out on a sheet of wax paper and cool to room temperature. Toss peel with remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, stirring with a fork to coat and separate. Transfer sugared peel to clean dry sieve and shake off excess sugar, then spread out on a fresh sheet of wax paper to dry slightly.

Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients
2 pints raspberries
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. Crush the raspberries with water in a saucepan.
2. Add sugar and cornstarch.
3. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
4. Reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes.
5. Push through a foodmill or strainer.

Tom's Chicken Picatta: Tom Gardner!

 A hearty, tasty chicken dish that you would not want to miss. I loved it so much that I ate more for lunch. Thank you Tom!

"Chicken Picatta is very easy to prepare.  I used chicken tenders as opposed to the whole chicken breast.  "I dredge the chicken in a milk/egg mixture and then roll them in Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs.  I melt half of a stick of butter (to start) and place the breaded chicken in the hot skillet until golden brown on both sides.  Once all of the chicken as been browned and removed from the skillet and placed in a casserole dish, I add 1/4 cup of white zinfindel wine and let evaporate.  Then add a cup of chicken broth and simmer on low to medium heat.  I add about a whole stalk of diced celery, sliced mushrooms and squeeze half of a lemon ov4r the mixture.  Once the starts to become translucent, pour over the chiken and cook at 375°

for 30-35 minutes.  Enjoy!" Tom.

The Big Lemon Meringue Sundae: Alisa Benson
A colorful, welcoming dessert that no one could or wanted to refuse!

Ingredients:
4 egg whites
1 c sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 jar maraschino cherries
1 can pineapple (chunks are better than crushed)
Pistachios
1 big container of cool whip
Dark chocolate candy bar if desired for garnish.

1. Beat the egg whites until they are fluffy, then beat in the sugar and lemon juice.
2. Spoon the meringue into cookie-size mounds on a slightly greased cookie sheet.
3.Bake at 300 for 10 minutes or so until brown on top.  Allow to cool.
4. Layer meringue, cool whip, fruit and nuts.
5. Can garnish with shredded dark chocolate.


What a wonderful lemon day!