Bacon-wrapped dried apricots with sage

Details here: https://www.reluctantgourmet.com/bacon-wrapped-dried-apricots-sage-recipe/ We didn’t have enough sage, so we cut the sage leaves into 2 pieces and then placed one piece of sage on each apricot before wrapping it in 1/3 piece of bacon. We found 375 too low to crisp up the bacon, so we increased to 400. (May 2019) Note: While making… Continue reading Bacon-wrapped dried apricots with sage

Hanjan Restaurant’s Korean chicken wings

We had 5 leftover wings (each split into 2 joints, for 10 total pieces), so we felt inspired to try a NYT recipe. Details here: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016872-hanjan-chicken-wings Our modifications: first, the marinade proportions are: ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce, 3 Tbsp sake, nearly 1 Tbsp mirin, and 1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic (we kept the… Continue reading Hanjan Restaurant’s Korean chicken wings

Chinese smoked tofu with celery and roasted peanuts

We tried this recipe from Fuschia Dunlop: https://www.vegkitchen.com/smoked-tofu-with-celery-and-peanuts/ Our modifications: first, we increased the amounts to 5 oz smoked tofu, 4 celery stalks, and ¼ cup (about 2 oz) peanuts. To destring the celery stalks, we used a serrated vegetable peeler to scrape off 1/8" of the outer layer of each celery stalk. To roast… Continue reading Chinese smoked tofu with celery and roasted peanuts

Greek-style lemon dill rice

We tried this recipe:  https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/lemon-dill-rice-250959 We used 1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed and drained to remove excess starch. We used juice from ½ a lemon but zest from the whole lemon. We added fresh dill (about ¼ cup chopped from the freezer), plus an additional 1 Tbsp for garnish. We also added ½ of the… Continue reading Greek-style lemon dill rice

Chinese five-spice peanuts, pressure cooker style

We devised this recipe for shelled raw peanuts as follows: first, place 2 cups raw shelled red-skinned peanuts in the bottom of a small (8-quart) pressure cooker, add 4 cups water, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1 whole star anise, ¼ tsp fennel seeds, 1/8 tsp Sichuan peppercorns, 1/16 tsp cloves (we used ground cloves), and… Continue reading Chinese five-spice peanuts, pressure cooker style

Chinese celery and carrot tossed with sesame oil and five-spice peanuts

To recreate an appetizer we tried at a Montreal dumpling house, we tried this Andrea Nguyen recipe as our base: https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2012/07/celery-and-carrot-tossed-with-sesame-recipe.html We used 4 large celery stalks and 2 medium carrots (orange and purple). We increased the sesame oil to 2 tsp. We then added ½ cup drained, Chinese five-spice boiled peanuts (http://piglettedc.tumblr.com/post/182349694281/chinese-five-spice-peanuts-pressure-cooker-style), tossed with… Continue reading Chinese celery and carrot tossed with sesame oil and five-spice peanuts

Baked mac and cheese

We tried this recipe from Food Network, which calls for only American cheese rather than creamier cheeses: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chef-joes-baked-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe-1915004?soc=itksocialshareSMS%7Cios%7Cp Our modifications: first, given the size of the 9x12" casserole dish, the amount of elbow macaroni seemed off. So instead of cooking ½ lb (2 cups) macaroni, we made the full 1 lb box. In retrospect, this… Continue reading Baked mac and cheese