Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sandwich. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query sandwich. Sort by date Show all posts
We eat a lot of chicken in our house and I am always looking for new things to do with it so that it doesn't get boring. I don't think that I, personally, could ever get bored of it, but my husband sure could! (Men!) I do like to please him if I can, so I am always doing different things with it to keep him happy about eating it!
Chicken is such a versatile ingredient. You can do so much with it and it easily adapts itself to a large variety of different flavours and textures. Today Todd brought home a rotisserie chicken from Costco for us to have for our tea.
I had seen a recipe on the TABLESPOON site for Thai Chicken Salad Wraps that ticked all of my boxes and that I was very keen to try and so I decided to adapt the recipe to what I had in the house and give them a go.
I didn't have any full size tortilla wraps, so I made do with smaller ones and made them as cones. This worked really well for me. I also cut the recipe in half as there are only two of us.
The original recipe used bagged coleslaw mix. I have never seen that over here, but that is not a problem because I have never minded shredding my own. I prefer to shred by hand as grating it would make it far too fine a texture for this purpose. I did grate my carrot.
The original recipe also called for using raw chicken breasts that you poach and cube, which you could certainly easily do. I had already cooked chicken, so I skipped this step!
I love chicken salad and I love Thai flavours, so this seemed like a win/win combination for me. I also love wraps.
The dressing for this salad is really delicious. It is a creamy peanut sauce, with sesame, soy, lime and coriander flavours, along with a bit of heat from some chili flakes. It uses soft light brown sugar, but as I am a diabetic, I used Sukrin Gold brown sugar substitute which worked fine.
Its actually pretty low carb, with the wraps so I would say fairly Diabetic friendly, with plenty of crunch from the vegetables and some from the peanuts, which (although high in fat) are a great source of additional protein.
They were really, really good, although if I make them again (and I really think I will as they are fabulously tasty) I will cut down a bit on the sauce/dressing as it was a bit too much for our liking. Overall however, I would call this a winner/winner chicken dinner!
*Thai Chicken Salad Roll Ups*
Serves 4
These tasty roll ups make a change from the usual chicken salad sandwich! Quick and easy to make as well as being delicious!
375g shredded cooked chicken (3 cups)
150g hand shredded cabbage (I use a mix of white and red) (1 1/2 cups)
1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
3 spring onions, thinly sliced
3 TBS chopped fresh coriander leaf (cilantro)
3 TBS coarsely chopped dry roasted peanuts
3 TBS creamy smooth peanut butter
3 TBS soy sauce
3 TBS lime juice
3 TBS soft light brown sugar (I use a brown sugar substitute)
3 TBS light sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh garlic
pinch hot pepper flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
lettuce leaves ( I like baby cos)
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add the cabbage,
carrot, spring onions, coriander leaf and chopped peanuts. Whisk
together the peanut butter, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, sesame
oil, garlic, hot pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste, until
smooth. Pour over the chicken and vegetables and toss to coat
completely.
These are so delicious and very easy to throw together. I just loved them and I think you will too!! Bon Appetit!
My very British Husband is quite fond of telling me that eating peanut butter and jam together is completely insane. That didn't stop him from scarfing down three of these as soon as I had them finished though! (Me thinks he is a bit of a porkie pie teller and that he secretly LOVES the combination as much as I do!)
Could it be that I have finally indoctrinated him to my wild and wooly North American ways???? Could it be that his veins are beginning to run a tiny bit with peanut butter and jam??? I like to think so at any rate! This is a combination I love soooo much! It's that sweet and salty thing!
Today I decided to indulge it by making little peanut butter cookie cups. I was going to make them snickers cups . . . but then I got sidelined by the Thames Jubilee Pageant and so I just filled them with jam before baking and then topped them with a quick buttercream icing. I wanted to sit and watch all the fun!
(Oh my but it was fabulous! I've never seen anything like it. Everyone was turned out beautifully. I thought Kate was just gorgeous, as always, and the Queen looked positively radiant!)
This is the type of thing I would positively make for Her Royal Majesty, did she ever chance to drop in for tea. I would want to bake her something to with her cuppa that was ludicrously North American and what can be any more North American than Peanut Butter and Jam!! (I don't think she'd enjoy porqupine . . . not really.)
Crisp peanut butter cookie cups . . . baked with a sweet dab of jam in the middle . . . then topped with a peanut butter flavoured butter cream frosting. Oh so scrummishly moreishly decadently good!! Bet YOU couldn't eat just one either!
*Peanut Butter and Jam Cookie Cups*
Makes about 36
Printable Recipe
Tasty little peanut butter cookie cups, filled with jam and baked until crispy and then topped with a peanutbutter flavoured buttercream icing when cool. M-O-R-E-I-S-H!!
For the cookie cups:
280g of flour (2 cups)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt
172g of unsalted butter at room temperature (3/4 cup)
135g of creamy peanut butter (3/4 cup)
96g of caster sugar (1/2 cup)
100g of soft light brown sugar (1/2 cup packed)
1 large free range eggs
1 tsp vanilla
seedless raspberry jam
For the frosting:
6 TBS unsalted butter at room temperature
100g of icing sugar (3/4 cup) sifted
135g of creamy peanut butter (3/4 cup)
3 TBS heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready several mini juffin tins. Spray with some nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Cream together the butter and peanut butter until thorougly combined. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Whisk together the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda. Stir this in to make a soft dough. Shape the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place one in each muffin cup. Press in with the bottom of a rolling pin, or a pastry damper to make a shell. Fill the centres with about 1/2 tsp of jam. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They should be lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove and set on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
To make the frosting, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Spoon or pipe a little dab of this frosting into the centre of each cookie cup to cover the jam. Allow to set completely.
Alternately the cookie dough can be rolled into walnut sized balls and pressed flat with a fork on a lightly buttered baking tray. You can then bake them for about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Put together with a layer of jam and a layer of the peanut butter flavoured buttercream!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you can eat just one, you're a better woman than I am!!
In any case if you didn't want to go to the trouble of making these as cookie cups, you could just bake them as regular peanut butter cookies and then sandwich them together with some of the frosting and some jam!
If I had to sit and think about the one flavour I adore more than any other in the world, I would have to say that I yearn for the flavour of lemon the most of all. I am a true foodie and always have been. I have the utmost fondness for all sorts of foods, yes . . . but lemons are at the uppermost top of my list of edible passions!
I have been cooking, collecting, writing about food for a very long time now, even in the days before online journals and blogs. When I first started writing an online journal it was not very long before I discovered that the posts that most excited people were the ones in which I wrote about food and shared recipes. A lot of those recipes have never been posted anywhere else or even in this kitchen blog and so I thought today I would gather together the best of my lemon posts from those early blogs to share with you. The photography is not the best admittedly. Those were very early days and I have learnt a lot since then, or at least I like to think that I have. The recipes are very sound, despite how they may look and so I give to you . . . a Very Lemony Post.
First up a really great Lemon Curd.
Lemon Curd
Yield: 3 cups
This freshly made lemon curd is delicious and I use it a lot! It’s wonderfully delicious spread on bread, scones or muffins. Use it to fill lovely little tart shells, or sandwich it between the layers of a wonderful Victorian sponge. It’s so versatile I don’t think you’ll have any problems at all using it all up! (I could eat it by the spoonful)
ingredients:
- 1 TBS finely grated lemon zest plus
- 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (240ml)
- 1 1/3 cups sugar (55g)
- 4 large gree range eggs
- ¾ cup (180g) unsalted sweet butter, plus
- 2 TBS unsalted butter, cut into pieces
instructions:
How to cook Lemon Curd
- Whisk the zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt together in a medium sized, heavy bottomed saucepan.
- Add the butter all at once and cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly. Cook only until the curd is thick enough to hold the marks of the whisk when you pass it through and the first bubbles appear on it’s surface. This will take from ten to fifteen minutes.
- Immediately pour the curd through a fine meshed sieve into a bowl. Cover the surface with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic wrap directly onto it so that a skin doesn’t form. Chill, covered in the fridge until you are ready to use it. This keeps, covered and refrigerated for at least one week.
This is a delicious way to use up some of that lemon curd. Little Ginger Lemon Cakes.
*Little Ginger Lemon Cakes*
Serves 4
I love these little
cakes. Crisp and spicy ginger cookies sandwiched together with the tart
and mellow flavour of a lemon curd flavoured whipped cream, these little
babies are a delight both to make and to eat! I have put quantities
here for four, but it is easily multiplied and divided. It's a quick way
to put a lovely dessert on the table for a whole crowd of people!
ingredients:
- 1 cup of double cream (240ml)
- ¼ cup of lemon curd (2 heaped dessertspoons)
- 1 package of thin crisp ginger biscuits, such as Anna’s (my personal favourite)
- Powdered sugar for garnish
instructions:
How to cook Little Ginger Lemon Cakes
- Whisk the double cream until it holds soft peaks and then gently fold in the lemon curd.
- Place one ginger biscuit on each of four plates. Spread with some of the whipped cream and lemon mixture. Top with another ginger biscuit and repeat at least 2 more times. Dust the tops with powdered sugar and serve.
Who doesn't love cake? Not me! This is a fabulously tasty gingerbread filled with blueberries. I like to split the cake and then fill the centre with lemon curd for a spectacular treat!
*Blueberry Gingerbread*
Serves 12
Serves 12
This is an unusual version of gingerbread in that it is studded with lovely pockets of blueberry. Who knew the two things would go together so well! This is really moist and delicious and only gets better every day!
½ cup sunflower or canola oil (120ml)
1 cup sugar (caster* or granulated) 190g)
½ tsp salt
3 TBS mild molasses (or equal parts of golden syrup and dark treacle)
1 large free range egg
2 cups plain flour (280g)
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (120g)
1 cup buttermilk (240ml)
2 TBS Demerara sugar for sprinkling on top
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*C. Lightly grease and flour a deep 9 inch cake tin and set aside.
Beat together the oil, 1 cup of sugar, salt and molasses with an electric mixer. Beat in the egg, mixing it in well.
Sift together the flour, spices, and baking soda. Remove 2 TBS of the mixture and dredge the berries in this.
Add the remaining flour to the beaten mixture, alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Fold in the blueberries and remaining flour.
Spread in the prepared pan. Smooth the top and sprinkle the Demerara sugar evenly over top.
Bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes, or until well risen and the top springs back when gently touched with your fingertips. a toothpick inserted in the centre should come out fairly clean.
Set on a rack to cool. Cut into wedges to serve, either warm with butter of with some whipped cream on top. OR…you can do like I do, and split the slices in half and dollop some lovely lemon curd in the middle and then put them back together.
Did someone ask for a Lemon Tart? I served this one with a blackberry coulis, some fresh berries and softly whipped cream.
*Caster sugar is a finer type of granulated sugar.
I have not made it in ages. I remember at the time it was most delicious! But don't take my word for it. You really need to make this!
*Lemon Tart*
Serves 8
Printable Recipe
1 1/2 lemons scrubbed and dried (I used un-waxed)
1 1/2 cups sugar (285g)
1 large free range egg, at room temperature
2 large free range egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 TBS cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream (120ml)
4 TBS melted unsalted butter, cooled
1 (9-inch) tart shell, partially baked and cooled
Whipped cream, creme fraiche for topping (optional)
icing sugar for dusting (optional)
Centre a rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Place the partially baked tart shell onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
Grate the zest from your lemons. Slice the whole lemon in half. Remove the seeds from all the lemon halves. Taking a sharp knife peel away all the white pith. (this is the bitter part) Cut the lemon halves into small bits. Put it all, the zest, the lemon flesh, and any juice into your blender along with the sugar. Pulse and blend until you have a smooth mixture. Add the remaining filling ingredients and pulse and blend until you have a smooth homogenous mixture. Remove the blender jug and rap it down on the counter a few times to work out any air bubbles and then pour it into the partially baked crust.
Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 180*C/350*F and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes. (Dorie says not to worry if the filling begins to bubble up or bubble over the edge of the crust.) It is done when it is set, but a bit shaky in the centre. There should be a slight sugar crust over top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve with some cream, creme fraiche and a dusting of icing sugar. (Or with berries as I have done!)
Enjoy!
1 1/2 lemons scrubbed and dried (I used un-waxed)
1 1/2 cups sugar (285g)
1 large free range egg, at room temperature
2 large free range egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 TBS cornstarch
1/2 cup heavy cream (120ml)
4 TBS melted unsalted butter, cooled
1 (9-inch) tart shell, partially baked and cooled
Whipped cream, creme fraiche for topping (optional)
icing sugar for dusting (optional)
Centre a rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F. Place the partially baked tart shell onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Set aside.
Grate the zest from your lemons. Slice the whole lemon in half. Remove the seeds from all the lemon halves. Taking a sharp knife peel away all the white pith. (this is the bitter part) Cut the lemon halves into small bits. Put it all, the zest, the lemon flesh, and any juice into your blender along with the sugar. Pulse and blend until you have a smooth mixture. Add the remaining filling ingredients and pulse and blend until you have a smooth homogenous mixture. Remove the blender jug and rap it down on the counter a few times to work out any air bubbles and then pour it into the partially baked crust.
Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 180*C/350*F and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes. (Dorie says not to worry if the filling begins to bubble up or bubble over the edge of the crust.) It is done when it is set, but a bit shaky in the centre. There should be a slight sugar crust over top.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve with some cream, creme fraiche and a dusting of icing sugar. (Or with berries as I have done!)
Enjoy!
You are going to positively love these Raspberry Lemon Bars. They are fabulously tasty!
Makes 15 squares
Printable Recipe
These delicious squares combine a buttery shortbread crust and a tangy lemon curd topping, all sandwiched together with sweet and fruity strawberry jam. A batch of these baked in mid-winter is a sweet and satisfying reminder of warm summer days.
2 cups plus 3 TBS plain flour
1/3 cup icing sugar, plus extra for dusting
¼ tsp salt
8 ounces chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 ¼ cups caster sugar
½ tsp baking powder
3 large eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest (I use un-waxed lemons,
if you aren’t using these wash your lemons
well in warm soapy water)
¾ cup good quality strawberry preserves (you can also use raspberry)
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F. Grease and flour an 11 X 7 inch baking pan. I then line it with greaseproof paper lengthwise, leaving a one inch overhang either end so that I can lift the squares out after baking for ease in cutting into squares.
Stir together 2 cups of the flour, 1/3 cups of the icing sugar and salt. Rub in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into the prepared baking pan evenly and bake for about 16 minutes until just firm.
Stir together the sugar, 3 TBS flour, and baking powder in a bowl. Stir in the eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice, mixing well.
Remove the pan from the oven and spread with the strawberry jam evenly. Pour the lemon mixture over top and return the pan to the oven. Bake for another 25 to 30 minutes until set. Remove from the oven. Let cool in the pan before removing and cutting into squares. Lightly dust with more icing sugar before serving.
Cupcake anyone? These are a really nice cupcake. Moist and lemony.
The batter has cream cheese in it for richness, and they are also filled with lemon curd and topped with a lush frosting.
*Lemon Cupcakes*
makes 12
I love cupcakes. They
are like eensy teensy little baby cakes just big enough for one, and
who doesn't like a cake that screams "Just for You!" These ones are
exceptional. Moist and lemony, with a tiny secret tucked inside.
ingredients:
- 1/2 cup butter at room temperature (120g)
- 3 ounces of cream cheese
- 1 TBS grated fresh lemon zest
- 2/3 cup sugar (127g)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 7/8 cup flour (123g)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1/2 cup lemon curd to fill
For the frosting:
- 2 TBS butter
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar (195g)
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1/4 tsp lemon extract
instructions:
How to cook LemonCupcakes
- Pre-heat the oven to 160*C/325*F/ gas mark 3. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Beat in the sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, incorporating each one fully before adding the next.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add gradually to the creamed mixture, beating on low speed until just combined. Divide the resulting batter equally amongst the muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely, removing them from the pan, and placing them on a wire rack.
- When they are completely cooled, make a little hole in the top of each and down into the centre. Fill each hole with about a tsp of lemon curd.
- Beat all the frosting ingredients together until light and fluffy and smooth. Spread frosting evenly over each cupcake to cover the hole you made. Decorate as you wish and serve.
Who wants a piece of cake! I do! I do! Especially when its a delicious Lemon & Poppyseed Bundt Cake!
*Lemon & Poppyseed Bundt Cake*
makes 16 servings
A deliciously moist cake with a double blast of lemon flavour!
ingredients:
- 1 pkg (2-layer size) lemon cake mix
- 1 pkg(3 oz.)Lemon flavor powdered Gelatin dessert (4 serving size)
- 1 1/4 cups water (300ml)
- 1/2 cup oil (120ml)
- 4 large free range eggs
- 4 TBS poppy seed
- 1/2 cup Cream Cheese (120g)
- 2 TBS butter, softened
- 1 cup icing sugar, sifted (130g)
- 2 TBS shredded zest and 1 TBS juice from 1 lemon, divided
instructions:
How to cook Lemon & Poppyseed Bundt Cake
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter a 12 cup fluted tube pan of 10 inch tube pan very well. Dust lightly with flour. Set aside.
- Place the cake mix, gelatin, oil, water and eggs into a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until well blended. Stir in poppy seed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Loosen the cake from the sides of the pan with knife. Invert cake onto wire rack and gently remove the pan. Cool cake completely before proceeding.
- Beat the cream cheese spread and butter with a mixer, using clean beaters, on low speed until well blended. Gradually beat in the sugar and lemon juice. Spread this mixture over top of the cake. Garnish withthe lemon peel. Cut into slices to serve.
Lemon and berries are a beautiful marriage made in heaven . . .
Especially when you bake them into a delicious scone! Put the kettle on, you'll want to enjoy a nice hot cuppa with these light and fluffy babies!
Makes 12 to 14
Printable Recipe
Deliciously moist, flavored with lemon and stogged full of lucious blueberries!
2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (8 ounces) lemon yoghurt
1 large egg
1/4 cup butter melted
1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries
Glaze:
1/2 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
Preheat the oven to 400*C/200*F/ Gas mark 7. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat together the yoghurt, egg and butter. Add all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir to moisten evenly without over mixing. Fold in the berries.
Drop by heaped tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space in between each. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned and well risen. Remove from the oven.
Whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle over top of the warm scones. Serve warm.
Lemon is not just for baked goods (although it is fabulous when baked) its also for wonderful savoury main dishes as well, such as these tasty Lemon & Oregano Pork Chops!
With their crisp and flavourful crumb coating and the lush lemon mayonnaise for serving, these always go down a real treat!
*Lemon & Oregano Pork Chops*
Serves 4
These tasty chops are
quick, easy and flavourful. I have included a simple recipe to make
some lemon mayonnaise, just using ingredients to hand, which is the
perfect accompaniment. Sometimes the simplest meals are the tastiest!
ingredients:
For the chops
- Finely grated zest and juice of one large lemon
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs (120g)
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 boneless pork loin chops
- 2 TBS sunflower oil
For the Lemon Mayonnaise:
- 4 TBS good quality mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
- the juice of half a lemon
- the zest of half a lemon
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- freshly ground black pepper
instructions:
How to cook Lemon & Oregano Pork Chops
- To make the lemon mayonnaise, mix together all the ingredients with a fork or small whisk until well incorporated and seasoning to taste with a good grinding of black pepper. Set aside and keep cool.
- Take a shallow plate and on it mix together the bread crumbs, lemon zest and oregano. Set it aside.
- Squeeze the lemon juice iinto another shallow plate and set it aside.
- Place the pork chops into a plastic bag, one at a time, and beat it with the length of your rolling pin on each side until they are half as thick as they started out. Season each one generously with some salt and pepper on each side. Working with one at a time, dip them first in the lemon juice and then into the bread crumb mixture until they are well coated.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and cook the pork for about 3 minutes on each side, until the crumbs are crisp and nicely browned and the pork is just cooked through.
- Serve each on a heated plate with some lemon mayonnaise. Boiled new potatoes and a simple steamed vegetable such as green beans or carrots go very well with these
One of my favourite Chinese dishes is Lemon Chicken!
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
This has always been my favourite kind of chicken. I just love the tanginess of the lemon sauce.
2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, sliced
1 cup cornstarch (150g)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 cups peanut or vegetable oil
Lemon slices (optional)
White sesame seeds (optional)
Marinade:
3 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2-inch piece of ginger, minced
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1/4 cup chicken stock (60ml)
1/4 cup sugar (45g)
1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup (60ml) water
Whisk together the soy sauce and sesame oil for the marinade. Coat the chicken with the marinade, cover and then place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least half an hour.
Combine the cornstarch and white pepper in a shallow bowl. Remove the chicken from the marinade, allowing any excess to drip off. Roll the chicken pieces in the cornstatch mixture, shaking off any excess before frying.
Heat the three cups of oil in a large pan, until just smoking, then add the first batch of chicken pieces and deep-fry until cooked through. This will take about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.
Turn off the pan with the oil in it, removing 1 tablespoon of the oil into a medium-sized pot and heat over medium-high. (You can save the used oil for later use by allowing it to cool, then straining into an aluminum can or other container.)
Add the garlic and ginger to the 1 tablespoon of the oil, and cook briefly until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, chicken stock, and sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and cook to thicken.
Remove the sauce from the heat. Add the fried chicken pieces and toss them in the sauce. Garnish with lemon slices and white sesame seeds, if desired. Serve with white rice and maybe some steamed broccoli or snow peas on the side.
So there you have it, enough Lemon recipes to keep you busy for a while I reckon! High in vitamin C and fibre, its been said that eating lemons can reduce the risk of stroke in some people. They fight free radicals, help to lower blood pressure, and they also say that drinking a cup of hot water and lemon in the water is a great aid to reducing weight. Somehow I don't think these benefits transfer very well when consuming them as cake, but oh well . . . why quibble about something so very tasty! Now where's my fork!
Here I am again with another Meals of the Week post, this one for the first week of May. Temperatures were not overly warm this week, so I am still enjoying a bit of comfort food. A few days were absolutely frigid actually. That is what this time of year is like. Very transitional.
We will soon be complaining about the heat and eating nothing but salads, but in the meantime, I am enjoying some lovely comfort food and simple dishes that are not only simple to make, but inexpensive for the most part as well as being delicious.
I have challenged myself as a single person living on my own to eat as best as I can. I don't want to be that person who eats out of packets and cans. I want to eat good food, honest food, and food that isn't filled with salt and preservatives, so I want to cook my own meals from scratch, as long as I am competent and capable enough to do so!
Challenging myself to do so is inspiring to me and I hope it will be inspiring to you also! Maybe you will also want to cook good, economical, and tasty meals for yourself also.
This is only my suppers. I do also eat breakfast and lunch. Breakfast is usually toast or cereal, sometimes yogurt granola and fruit. Lunch is a sandwich most of the time, sometimes cheese and crackers and fruit, or sometimes a delicious salad. I do so enjoy my salads!
So here we go, my meals from the past week. Enjoy!
SUNDAY, April 30th - Pot Roast
Most Sundays I go to my sisters for Sunday Dinner. This week was no different. She had cooked a pot roast again. They have had beef roasts on special at the shops these last few weeks. Usually she does hers in the oven with potatoes, carrots, parsnips, etc. This photograph here is from Another Pot Roast recipe that I cooked at home in the UK a few years back.
For this I used a Rolled Beef Brisket, which I cooked with loads of onions to make a rich onion gravy. When it comes to pot roasting, you really don't get much better than a nice Brisket. On this occasion we enjoyed it with mashed potatoes, mashed swede (turnips) and carrots.
I had brought over some of Grandmother's Five Cup Salad for us to enjoy for dessert, and enjoy it we did!
MONDAY May 1st - Cranberry Baked Ham Steak
I had picked up a Ham Steak for a really good price at the shops, so I cut it down into four serving sized pieces and I froze three pieces. The fourth I cooked this way. Its a really simple thing to do. You just spread the steak with some mustard (I used Dijon), add a layer of cranberry sauce and bake it in the oven.
It turns out really delicious. Tender and juicy, with a bit of heat from the mustard and a bit of sweet from the cranberry sauce. I enjoyed this with some boiled potatoes and tender stem cauliflower. Delicious!
TUESDAY, May 2nd - Skillet Parmesan Chicken for two
This is one of my favorite skillet meals. This tasty Skillet Chicken Parmesan has all of the flavors and tastes of the original, but it is down sized to feed only two people and cooks all in one skillet. Yes, everything, including the pasta.
I think when pasta gets cooked in the rich tomato sauce like this does, it has even more flavor. Add to that tender pieces of chicken, cheese and crispy crumbs on top of the chicken and you are spelling, Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! No fuss, no muss, and all in one pan. Count me in!
All you need on the side is a nice mixed salad. If you are a hearty eater or your partner is, you might want to add a crusty roll or some garlic bread.
WEDNESDAY, May 3rd - Tomato & Rice Soup (small batch)
Normally on Wednesday nights I go out for supper with my father and his friends. This week they decided to go for a Chinese meal and I didn't want to drive all the way to the next town for that, plus I am a bit short this month having paid my taxes, and so I stayed home and made myself a delicious batch of Tomato & Rice Soup.
This is one of my favorite soups. I love tomato soup. Making it from scratch is a life changer, and when you add some rice and other bits to it, it really is delicious. I enjoyed this simply with some crackers and was a very happy camper. It is very hearty and very tasty. I froze the second serving for another time.
THURSDAY, May 4th - Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers
Sheet Pan Sausage and Peppers is another quick and easy meal that is cooked all on one baking sheet and is perfectly sized for just two people. I love the smokiness from the sausage and the way the peppers and onions caramelize. Caramelized vegetables are one of my favorite things.
Sometimes I will have this with rice, and sometimes with potatoes, but on this occasion I served it simply spooned into a crusty roll. Kind of like a sausage and pepper sandwich. Need I say it, delicious! I ate the rest of my salad from the other day on the side.
FRIDAY, May 5th - Tuna Patties for Two
Fish for Friday. Old habits die hard. I have enjoyed fish on Fridays for years and years. In the UK it we used to treat ourselves to fish and chips on Fridays. Oh my but they were some good!! Fish bars all over the UK usually have lineups out into the streets with people wanting their fish and chips fix on Friday nights!
No fish bars here in Canada. A fish bar is a fish and chips takeaway. You can't eat inside, but you can get fish and chips, wrapped in unprinted newspaper, to take home for your supper. They also have things like meat pies, sausages, Kebabs, etc.
For my fish this week I made my favorite Tuna Patties. This is a real store cupboard favorite with me. You can use tinned salmon if you prefer. Also very good. Crisp and buttery on the outside, tender inside, these went down a real treat with a dollop of Homemade Tartar Sauce on top. This week I served them with steamed brown rice and vegetables, but a favorite way I like to enjoy them is with mac and cheese.
SATURDAY, May 6th - Beans on Toast
After getting up super early Saturday morning to watch the Coronation of King Charles III, I didn't really feel like making a big deal out of supper. I was hungry however and so I fell back on an old favorite of mine, Beans on Toast. You can't get more British than good old Beans on Toast.
Beans on Toast was not something I had ever eaten prior to moving to the UK. Beans on Saturday night with hotdogs was quite common, but never on toast. I fell in love with the concept. Comfort food. Simple, easy and delicious.
Of course I make a cheeky cheese and spring onion toast to enjoy my beans on. Sometimes I will add a layer of grainy mustard beneath the cheese. Very tasty!
And those were my meals of the week, the sometimes cheeky, always tasty suppers that I enjoyed for the first week in May. Next week promises to be every bit as interesting and exciting as I try out a week of eating totally from my store cupboard.
Yes, you heard that right. I am challenging myself to eat totally from my store cupboard. I have fresh milk, eggs, butter in the fridge and I am challenging myself to not go to the shops all week and see if it can be done! Wish me luck! I do so love a good challenge!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
One of the things I really love as a food writer is the opportunity I have to try new things. Its a perk that I never get tired of. I was recently contacted and asked if I would like to try out some bread from GRADZ Bakery, finely crafted artisanal breads, crafted in London by Master Bakers.
My sister and I were talking earlier today. She was telling me that she had had to throw away a dozen cans of out of date Salmon from my mother's larder.
There were still about half a dozen that were still in date but that she was taking to the food bank. She wouldn't have dared throw it away while mum was alive, but now mum is gone, there is no point keeping it.
Mum did love a bargain, and tended to hoard things like tinned salmon, toilet paper and shampoo. I don't think my sister will have to buy toilet paper for years, (LOL).
The local charity shop has been gifted with a nice box of shampoos and creams for their employees to share. The things that get left behind when someone passes. It is food for thought for sure.
My sister and I were remembering how in the summer when it was hot sometimes my mom would open a tin of salmon for our supper. We would each get a spoonful on our plate along with some potato salad, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, etc. and that would be supper.
We both hated it . . .with the bones in it, the skin, etc. Just the thought of it makes me cringe.
I am still not fond of it served that way, and I confess when I buy tinned salmon, I always buy the one without any skin or bones. I don't care how much more it costs.
I am not fond of tinned salmon just sitting on my plate, on its own. I like it in a sandwich, or as a loaf, patties, etc. Not on its own.
On its own I would much rather have a nicely cooked fillet of salmon or salmon steak. Those can be very nice if cooked properly.
I do love tinned salmon in a casserole, loaf or pie. My mother made the nicest salmon pies.
It would be a shame to use a nice fillet of salmon in this way. One feels no compunction or guilt about using a nice tin of salmon for dishes such as this.
Or even if you had leftover cooked salmon. It would be nice done this way.
Simple salmon patties. Flaked and mashed tinned salmon, mixed with some breadcrumbs, milk, egg, parsley, grated onion (I use my micro plane grater) and seasoning, mixed together and spooned into well buttered muffin cups.
Make sure the muffin cups are well buttered. That way they don't stick. There is nothing more annoying than stuff stuck on muffin tins.
These are baked until set and golden brown. They have a nice crisp and buttery crust, which I love.
You could add some finely minced green pepper if you wanted to, which would be nice or even some finely chopped green olives.
I try not to pack them into the muffin cups. I want them to be light and fluffy. Compacting them would result in something heavy and leaden I fear.
I really do love the little crispy bits that you get from the uneven texture on the tops of them. My favourite bits. I love crunchy things in case you hadn't guessed.
I always like to make a sauce to serve with them. There is a nice lemon butter sauce that I make sometimes. It is a bit on the sweetish side.
Sometimes I will use creamed peas, which is very old fashioned. Old fashioned and quite delicious!
Today I made a creamy lemon sauce, which is different than my usual Lemon Butter Sauce. It is rich and creamy.
It is not translucent, but rather opague. I really liked it.
Its like a basic bechamel sauce but with the addition of lemon juice and cayenne pepper. You cannot beat a good bechamel sauce.
People think that they can't make one, but if you have made macaroni and cheese, you have made basic bechamel with cheese added.
The sauce gets spooned over the baked patties. I love that they are not fried. This can cut back on the fat.
If you are cutting back on the fat by not frying you don't mind being a bit indulgent with the sauce.
Such a simple dish, but so flavourful. I served them with some scalloped potatoes and steamed baby peas.
Peas and salmon. They are perfect partners in my opinion!
Lemon Sauced Salmon Patties
Yield: 4
Simple and delicious. This is a store cupboard family favourite.
ingredients:
- 1 tall can of pink salmon, drained well, skin and bones removed & discarded and flaked
- 180ml milk (3/4 cup)
- 2 sliced white bread, made into soft crumbs
- 1 large free range egg, beaten 1 TBS minced fresh parsley
- 1 tsp grated onion
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt and black pepper to taste
Lemon sauce:
- 2 TBS butter
- 1 TBS plain flour
- 180ml milk
- 2 TBS fresh lemon juice
- pinch salt
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
instructions:
How to cook Lemon Sauced Salmon Patties
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter 8 non-stick muffin cups really well. Set aside.
- Mash the salmon in a bowl really well, then add the breadcrumbs. Season lightly. Beat together the egg, milk, grated onion, parsley and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the salmon and bread crumb mixture. Mix all together well. Spoon into the muffin cups. (I tend not to pack them down. I like them a bit fluffy. You get more crispy bits that way.)
- Place into the pre-heated oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until set and golden brown.
- While the patties are baking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring to make a smooth paste. Slowly whisk in the flour, whisking constantly. Bring to the boil, and then cook for several minutes over low heat, stirring continuously until nicely thickened and smooth. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the lemon juice and cayenne pepper.
- Serve the patties hot, with the lemon sauce spooned over top.
I think today we can be a bit snobbish when it comes to things like this . . . thinking that tinned fish and corned beef are beneath us . . . but really these were mainstays in the kitchens of our mothers and grandmothers.
They were affordable ways to get some protein into our families and provide a bit of variety. There is a time for a whole piece of salmon . . . and there is a time for things like this. Simple and yet very, very tasty.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons