What's cooking at Jerk Castle . . .

Sesame Chicken and Shanghai Noodles

Time to leave BBQ for a bit and get back to soy sauce and ginger. . . .i found this recipe in an asian cookbook that i had forgotten i had . . . .we loved it and ate the leftovers for lunch two days in a row. . The dish has a good ginger flavor without it being too overwhelming. . . and i love baby bok choy but never really know how long to cook it for when i make it on my own without a recipe. .  .

Recipe Adapted from The Complete Asian Cookbook - Edited by Helen Aitken:

Ingredients:

-600g (1 1/4 lb) Shanghai noodles (i just cooked the full package of noodles and then added a portion at a time to the wok until i felt it was the right amount- we couldn't find shanghai noodles so we used other chinese noodles- seems like any chinese noodle should work) 

-1 tblspn olive oil

-1 tblspn fresh ginger, cut into matchsticks

-1  long red chili, seeded and finely chopped (i used a seeded jalapeno)

-500g (1 lb) chicken breast fillets, thinly sliced (i used thinly sliced chicken cutlets cut into bite size-stir fry size pieces)

-2 cloves garlic, crushed

-1/4 cup salt reduced soy sauce

-3 tspns sesame oil

-700g (1 lb 7 oz) baby bok choy, sliced length-ways into eighths

-2 tblspns sesame seeds toasted

1) Cook the noodles in a saucepan of boiling water for 4-5 minutes, or until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain again.

2) Heat the oil in a wok and stir to coat. Add the ginger and chili and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the chicken and stir-fry for a further 3-5 minutes, or until browned and almost cooked.

3) Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the soy sauce and sesame oil and toss to coat. Add the bok choy and noodles and stir-fry until the bok choy is tender and the noodles are warmed through. Place in individual serving bowls, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Enjoy!

barbecue sauce. . . Happy 4th!

 

Although we all know it is going to be super sweltering hot today here in new york. . . many of us are going to still venture outside for the July 4th bbq-ing, including Steven and I.  . . we will take out the umbrellas and 'the sun block and try and prepare to sweat while stuffing our faces. . . today's menu at our place includes turkey burgers, burgers, corn, potato salad and coleslaw (recipes for the potato salad and coleslaw  to follow over the next couple of days). . . .and bbq chicken with homemade bbq sauce. . which is seriously one of my favorite parts of summer. .. .

I recently tried this bbq sauce recipe which was featured in the July issue of real simple bc it called for a few less ingredients than some of the others out there and i was looking for a simpler and fast way to whip up some sauce. . . the sauce was pretty perfect actually- nice simple bbq flavor with a little kick from the cayenne. . . .and most of the ingredients you probably have at home. .  . . 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/simple-homemade-barbecue-sauce-recipe-00000000036427/index.html

Happy BBQ-ing!

Breaded Flounder Fillets

I can't remember where i first read this easy way to bread chicken or fish but it has changed my my life. . .forget all the dipping in egg and flour. . . all you need to do is brush on mustard or honey mustard, whatever you prefer, and then dip in bread crumbs. . .so much easier and less dishes and then you have a wonderful mustard flavor to the fish or chicken. 

Makes for a super quick week night meal. . . i think i mustard, bread crumb and bake chicken cutlets probably once a week. . .

here is a look at a flounder fillet which was basted in honey mustard (i usually use annie's organic honey mustard), dipped in panko (i add salt and pepper to the panko) and then pan fried in just a little olive oil:

 

as for sides, a very lazy salad of cut cucumber with left over rice worked just fine. 

Roasted Corn and Radish Salad with Avocado-Herb Dressing

Not only does summer mean BBQ's are back, it also means summer salads with roasted corn and crispy radishes. . .don't skip the radishes as they are at their peak right now. 

we bulked up the salad from this recipe (adding almonds, dried cranberries, cucumbers, and peppers) and could't stop eating the avocado herb dressing which was creamy, tangy and refreshing. . 

 

add some grilled fish or chicken you'll have a perfect warm summer evening meal. 

Georgia's Cole Slaw

Its finally summer and we celebrated its return by having my brother and sister in law over for a lobster feast on our deck. . . lucky for us we live near the red hook lobster pound, where they drive to Maine each week and bring back fresh lobsters (doesn't get any fresher than that for us new yorkers). . . . the lobster was sweet and delicious (and i am not even a huge lobster fan although i like almost anything dipped in melted butter).

of course we needed some sides. . . .  steven found this recipe online after some google searching. . . because this slaw is vinegar based it is a perfect compliment to a potato salad or other mayonnaise based salad .. . it was tangy and refreshing and will definitely be made often this summer here at jerk castle. 

 

http://southernfood.about.com/od/coleslawcabbagesalads/r/bl30623w.htm

 Have a great memorial day weekend. . . and try this slaw!

Coconut Scones with Coconut Glaze

 

We were traveling North Carolina visiting friends last weekend. . . Our friend Heidi made these for breakfast and when we woke up the entire house smelled fantastic. . . they were delicious. . moist and buttery with a wonderfully rich coconut glaze. . . i had to get a picture and the recipe up here on the blog for those of you who would also like to impress your visitors. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/coconut-scones-with-coconut-glaze-recipe/index.html

Roasted Pepper Appetizer

these roasted peppers are a seriously easy yet impressive appetizer- serve with slices of a crusty baguette or crostini. . . thanks to friends of ours who had us over for dinner (you know who you are) and served us this appetizer (with delicious homemade bread), we are now making these peppers whenever we have people over for dinner. . . our friends also let us know about Costco's bags of baby peppers which are just perfect for roasting- with the small ones you don't have to worry about the seeds getting in the way.

Simply put the peppers in a glass dish, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast away- we roasted ours at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. . . . i want these in the fridge all of the time. 

Barley, Corn, Red Pepper, and Green Onion Pilaf

 

i've tried my fair share of barley recipes and until now i have just been unable to embrace this little grain- however, this tasty recipe from bon appetit's little booklet of recipes from around the world changed my view. . .the barley (which we ate as a side with sautéed chicken cutlets) was nutty and almost like a very healthy fried rice (this might be a stretch) with lots of green onions and other veggies to add flavor and crunch.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit- Tastes of the World (Middle East):

Makes 6 servings 

Ingredients:

1 tbls olive oil

1 large red pepper, chopped

2 bunches green onions, chopped, divided

11/2 cups pearl barley

2 141/2 oz. cans vegetable broth or chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn

1/2 cup sliced basil 

-Heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped bell pepper and half of green onions and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add barley and stir to coat with olive oil. Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until barley is tender stirring occasionally about 40 minutes. Add corn and stir until heated through, about 5 minutes. Mix in sliced basil and remaining green onions. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

So for all of you trying desperately to eat something other than brown rice all the time . . .here is your chance . . . .

Southwestern potato salad

 

This week was a long anticipated boxing match- Mayweather v. Mosley (Mayweather kicked Mosley's ass if you haven't heard) . . . Steven is a huge boxing fan so naturally we needed to having a BBQ and a fight watching party. . . 

That meant potato salad- this recipe, a classic Bobby Flay special, is tangy and spicy- fairly easy to put together except for just a lot of ingredients (but nothing really complicated except getting them all in the bowl). . . it definitely has a kick but what else would you expect from Bobby? and i got a lot of compliments. . . .

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/mesa-grills-southwestern-potato-salad-recipe2/index.html

BBQ season is back!

Chicken Paillard w/Arugula Salad and Sweet Potato Mash

After watching the french bistro episode of Boy Meets Grill, Steven was dying for mussels and I was craving the chicken paillard. We ended up eating out Friday night at Belleville in Park Slope. Steven had his share of mussels but i was out of luck as chicken paillard was not on the menu. . .this meant we needed to make it the next evening for dinner.

Flay's recipe was simple and delicious- the chicken was tasty with a good lemon flavor and the dressing on the arugula salad was also super easy to put together and perfect on top of the chicken. Adding some sweet potato mash was a healthy way to add some starch to the meal.

Here is the recipe for the paillard that we used and definitely will make again:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/grilled-chicken-paillard-with-lemon-and-black-pepper-and-arugula-tomato-salad-recipe/index.html

And for the sweet potato mash, we used this recipe:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-and-sweet-potatoes-with-shallots-recipe-00000000028088/index.html

We are thinking that french onion soup better be next in our bistro attempts here at the house. . .