Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Cabbage Salad ... aka Oriental Salad

small to medium size head of cabbage (or use the slaw mix in a bag)
8 green onions
1/2 cup roasted peanuts or other nut, chopped
1/2 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 pkgs ramen noodles, crushed
1/2 red pepper, chopped

Dressing (for easiest way, put all in jar with tight lid & shake):
4 tbs sugar
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup veg or canola oil
2 tsp salt (recommend less)
6 tbs rice wine vinegar
*if using the seasoning packet, omit the pepper & salt*

Finely shred or chop cabbage & mix with onions & red pepper.

Before serving, mix seeds, nuts & noodles with salad. Pour dressing over all & mix well to coat.

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

½ cup soy sauce
3 tbs brown sugar
4 tbs sherry
4 tbs rice wine vinegar
2 tsp garlic
½ tsp red pepper flakes (more or less)
2 tsp sesame seeds
Squeeze of ginger (ok, this is when I use the minced stuff in a tube – or a nice grate of fresh or a few tsp of dry)
Chicken thighs (I use boneless/skinless from Costco, about 10 total)

Mix all except sesame seeds & thighs. Pour over thighs in zip bag or baking dish. Allow to marinate at least 1 hour, up to 4.

Bake chicken (or grill) til cooked through. You can turn the broiler on at the end if you are looking to make it crispy on the outside, just be careful as it will burn quickly. I generally bake mine for 1 hour or so at 375 as hubby will NOT eat chicken unless it’s 100% cooked. Sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Serve with rice or sesame noodles

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy Pizza Sauce

1 can tomato sauce
2 tbs parmesan cheese
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp honey
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp Italian seasoning
1/8 tsp pepper
DASH of cayenne pepper (we learned hard way, NOT a sprinkle!)
Salt to taste (not really needed IMO)

Mix all together & let sit while you prepare the dough. Can be simmered on low for a little to thicken up if desired but not necessary.

Pizza Time!

Chicago Style Pan Pizza (usually made in a LARGE round pan with a thicker crust)

2 cups water
¾ tsp yeast
1 tbs salt
7-8 cups flour
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup cornmeal

Toppings of choice

Dissolve yeast in warm water in bowl to mixer (if you don’t have electric mixer, that’s ok, but takes a lot of muscle). Add all other ingredients EXCEPT cornmeal. Mix on low and once in a ball, mix on high 2 to 3 minutes til smooth and elastic like. NOTE: I had to take the dough out & do on countertop by hand as my KA sounded like it was going to blow it’s motor. 8 cups is way too much dough & this stuff is DRY.

Place in bowl coated with olive oil, cover & let rest for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, dump dough out on counter and stretch out. This is not your typical dough. It’s tough. It’s heavy, not light & airy at all. Once patted out, sprinkle cornmeal on a large rimmed baking sheet. Place dough on sheet & form crust, carefully forming corners as you do.

Dress your baby. Add cheese FIRST, then your toppings & then your sauce (sauce is on top). Bake at 425 30 to 40 minutes til done. Let cool a bit before cutting (I removed mine from pan as I was using my BEST pan just in case the dough was going to try & stick).

This was the first time I made this dough. I was very very skeptical of it once it was kneaded. After 2 hours, told dh maybe I need to just make my normal dough as a backup. Boy was I surprised that it actually tasted ok. Whew.