Rosie Gives You A Chicken Double Whammy.

The other day,
I was spending some quality time
on the sucking black hole of time-sink that is Facebook.

One of my imaginary friends posted this recipe
for Caramelized Baked Chicken Wings.

I happened to have chicken bosoms,
so we have our lunch.

Caramelized Baked Chicken Bosoms

3 chicken bosoms

drizzle of olive oil in bottom of baking dish

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 2/3 cup ketchup

3/4 cup honey

2-3 garlic cloves, minced

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

This was the basic recipe.

I added a one-inch knob of frozen ginger.

Place chicken in storage bag.

Mix marinade ingredients together and pour over chicken.

To prepare the ginger,

take a spoon and scrape the skin off the frozen ginger.

Nuke about 25 seconds

and squeeze ginger juice into marinade.

Place pulp into garlic press and
scrape off the first and second pressings into marinade.

Marinate, massaging every now and then, for two hours.

Bake in 350° oven until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°.

Extremely moist, flavorful chicken.
Well received by the Hawthornelets.

Now, for Moreover Caramelized Baked Chicken.

Rosie doesn't do "Leftovers."

Rosie does "Moreovers."

Here's my lucid explanation:

 Nothing goes to waste in the Hawthorne Household.
And I don't refer to the remnants as leftovers.
Immediately after writing the word "leftovers,"
I knew I needed another word
that was more real, more definitive, and positive.
First I thought of the word re-do's.
But that implies it wasn't done right
the first time around
when it certainly was.
Then I considered do-overs.
But, of course,
that, too, has a negative connotation.
I've put a lot of thought into this
trying to come up with just the right word which describes
the process of what I do
in the life chain of the produce and viande
I prepare and serve and consume.

And my word is moreovers.

Think about it:
You've already produced and served
a wonderful, satisfying, convivial repast.
So, what's next?
MORE is next.
When you say "Moreover,"
you're likely going to top what you previously said,
put an exclamation point there,
and/or put it in bold or italics.
So, I have no leftovers.
I have MOREOVERS!

We had one chicken breast left.

The next day,

Mr. Hawthorne made Moreover Chicken Lo Mein.

The Hawthornelets scarfed this down!

Mr. Hawthorne's Chicken Lo Mein

1 cooked Chicken Breast à la Imaginary FB BFF, thinly sliced

handful of rice noodles, boiled for 2-3 minutes as per instructions

Heat 2 TB peanut in skillet or wok

and sauté sliced baby zucchini,

chopped onions, sliced Napa cabbage,

 red, green, and orange peppers, and ginger slices.

Add in noodles, chicken, and toasted sesame seeds.

Toss with my sauce.

Asian Sauce

1/4 tsp dark soy sauce

2 TB soy sauce

3/4 tsp oyster sauce

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp rice wine

Mix all together.

Oh my.

So good.

It's gone.

Rosie Makes Egg Rolls

The Outer Banks is full of ChinaMacs

up and down the beach.

They all vary in quality - from mediocre to don'tevengothere.

The fried wonton strips for the soups are always stale.

And for the life of them,

they can't produce a decent egg roll.

If I want a decent egg roll,

I must turn to my trusty Mrs. Chiang's Szechwan Cookbook.

Mrs. Chiang, in case you haven't read my previous posts about her,

is a remarkable cook who the authors of the book,

Ellen and John Shrecker,

 met when they were studying Chinese culture in Taiwan.

Mrs. Chiang began as their cook and housekeeper.

The Shreckers were so impressed with Mrs. Chiang's Szechuan cuisine

that they brought her home with them to the United States

to continue cooking for them.

Eventually the Shreckers and Mrs. Chiang co-authored the book.

Mr. Hawthorne and I have both created several of the recipes

in this book and all were successful.

Ganshao Mingxia.

Hongshao Rou.

Gongbao Jiding. 

Caicai Chao Rousi.

Suanla Tang.

I love the Shreckers' first paragraph introducing

Mrs. Chiang's eggrolls:

"What a travesty most American egg rolls are!

They have the drab sour taste of overcooked celery;

any other ingredients are anonymous, flavorless, and mushy.

Authentic Chinese spring rolls like Mrs. Chiang's,

with their crisp skins and savory filling,

seem like a completely different order of food."

Egg Rolls

1/4 cup dried mushrooms

1 cup boiling water

1 pound ground pork

8 scallions

2 TB soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 TB cornstarch

1/4 head cabbage, shredded

3 eggs

1 tsp peanut oil

3 TB peanut oil

1 tsp salt

1 TB soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground roasted Szechwan peppercorns

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl

 and pour boiling water over them.

Let soak for at least 15 minutes.

Chop the scallions

and add a third of the scallions to the pork,

along with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch.

Drain the mushrooms,

picking over them to remove any impurities.

Chop into small pieces.

Beat eggs in a small bowl

Heat a wok or skillet over moderate high

and pour in the teaspoon of peanut oil.

When the oil is hot, pour in the beaten eggs.

Let them cook, without stirring until they are almost firm,

then turn them over and cook about 10 seconds.

Remove omelet from pan and slice it into shreds.

Heat the 3 TB peanut oil over high flame,

then add in the ground pork, stir-frying, about 30 seconds.

Remove meat from pan and add the shredded cabbage.

Stir-fry the cabbage about 30 seconds, then add in the mushrooms 

and the rest of the scallions.

Cook another minute, 

stirring to make sure all the cabbage gets cooked.

Return meat to the pan and stir-fry another 20-30 seconds.

Add egg shreds and cook one more minute.

Finally add the salt, soy sauce, 

ground roasted Szechwan peppercorns, and sesame oil.

Stir-fry another minute.

Let cool for a few minutes before stuffing the egg rolls.

While the mixture is cooling a bit,

make the dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

2 garlic cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp hot pepper flakes

1/4 tsp sesame oil

3 TB soy sauce

Smash the garlic cloves with the flat side of your knife,

then peel.

With a mortar and pestle,

mash the garlic and salt together into a thick paste.

Add the vinegar, hot pepper flakes,

sesame oil, and soy sauce to the garlic paste.

Stir well.

Place a bit of the pork mixture in your egg roll skins.

Do not over-fill.

Brush the edges with a beaten egg.

Roll up tightly and seal.

Heat peanut oil to 350°

and fry egg rolls until golden brown, maybe 2-3 minutes.

Do not crowd the pan.

Drain on paper towels,

then serve with dipping sauce.

Now that's a proper egg roll.

If you have any leftover egg roll,

cut into strips and fry until golden.

See, ChinaMacs?
It ain't hard to get fresh wonton strips.

Rosie Makes Apple Empanadas.

 I had one of those refrigerated pie crusts 

in my fridge just begging to be used

and I stumbled upon a recipe for apple empanadas.

The rest, as they say, is history.

 

 I love powdery confections.

These are apple empanadas.

I even love the way the name sounds.

Appleempanadas.

Appleempanadas.

Appleempanadas.

 Apple Empanadas

pie dough

For the apples:
4 apples (I used 2 Galas and 2 Granny Smiths)

juice of 1 lemon

1 cup water

1 TB cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt

Core, peel, and dice apples.

Drop into small sauce pan

with water and lemon juice.

Add in cinnamon.

Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally,

 until apples have cooked down and water has evaporated.

 Season with kosher salt.

For the caramel:
2 cups sugar
1/8 cup water
1 TB lemon juice
1 cup raisins, softened in hot water and drained.

In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, water, and lemon juice.
Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly.
Slowly bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
Bring sugar to about 335°,
until sugar is melted and is a dark gold color.
Stir in cooked apples and softened raisins.

Let filling cool a bit.
Cut out dough circles, about 3" in diameter.
Place about a tablespoon of the filling in the center.
Use a fork to crimp edges together to seal.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Fry empanadas in 350° oil until golden brown,
about 2-3 minutes.

Drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

And if you really want to take this over the top,
add a dollop of whipped cream.

Here's what the apple sauce should look like after it cooks down.

Now I'm starting on the caramel mixture.

Melt it down.

I added in the soaked and drained raisins.

I used golden raisins, 

since I had a hard block stuck together in the fridge, 

but you could use regular raisins.

Add in the applesauce mixture.

Remove from heat and let cool a bit.

Add filling and crimp to seal.

Fry any little pieces of pie dough you have leftover.

Don't waste!

Fry until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels

and sprinkle with powdered sugar.