My ruminations on my life, my family, cooking, baking, and whatever else comes to mind
Tonight, I made Chinese pork lettuce wraps, very similar to my Chinese chicken lettuce wraps, but using a pork tenderloin instead of the chicken thighs. We like the chicken version slightly better, but this was very good, and a great way to use up a pork tenderloin we had sitting around.
An easy and delicious side. I got a two pound container of pre-cubed butternut squash at Costco and roasted it up. Some of it will probably end up as soup, if I don’t eat it all first 🙂
Roasted Butternut Squash
Serves 4
2 lbs pre-cubed butternut squash
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Toss the squash with the olive oil and place in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 45 minutes or until fork tender. Serve hot.
Tonight we tried Katsu Chicken again. This time I kept the pan over medium heat, and the chicken cooked perfectly. 🙂 I served this with some sautéed zucchini.
Katsu Chicken
Serves 4
1.5 lb thinly sliced boneless skinless chicken breast
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/8 cup canola oil (enough to fill the skillet to about 1/8 inch deep)
Tonkatsu sauce
Pour the oil into a heavy skillet over medium heat and let it warm up all the way, about 3-4 minutes. When a panko crumb dropped in the oil sizzles vigorously, it’s ready. While the oil heats, lightly coat each chicken breast piece in flour seasoned with the salt and pepper. Shake off any excess, then coat in egg, then finally in the panko. Place the pieces in the skillet and fry until deep golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Serve hot with tonkatsu sauce.
Dinner tonight was my beer roasted chicken. I went with a rub of kosher salt, black pepper, pressed garlic, and fresh thyme, with a bit of canola oil to hold it together. It was quite good as always 🙂
I steamed myself an artichoke today to go with dinner. Shaun’s not a fan, so more for me 🙂 Artichokes are easy to prepare – just cut off the top inch, trim the stem a bit, and steam for about 15-20 minutes, or until the base is fork tender. To eat, peel off each outer leaf, dip in your choice of sauce (I did ranch dressing tonight, but mayo, hollandaise, or melted butter are also very good), and use your teeth to scrape of the tender bit from the bottom of the leaf. As you work your way in, more and more of the leaf will be tender and edible. When you get to the last few inner leaves, just pull them off and set aside and get a spoon to scrape out the fuzzy choke in the center. You’ll be left with the little cup shaped heart to dip and devour 🙂
Here’s what else we’ve been eating this weekend:
This easy recipe is very similar to the tonkatsu pork recipe. Baking reduces the fat. I just did these in our toaster oven so I wouldn’t have to wait on the large oven for such a small recipe. They are quite bland, so after taking the picture and trying one I mixed up a little of my peculiar brand of cocktail sauce – ketchup, lemon juice, and wasabi paste 😛
Baked Panko Breaded Shrimp
Serves 2
10 oz peeled deveined large shrimp (I used 26/30 shrimp – i.e. 26-30 shrimp per pound), defrosted and patted dry
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
non stick spray
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with non stick spray.
Lightly coat each shrimp in flour, shaking off any excess, then coat in egg, then finally in the panko. Place each shrimp on the baking sheet, leaving a quarter inch spacing between each one.
Bake for 5 minutes, then flip over the shrimp and bake for another 5 minutes or until the shrimp are just cooked through. Serve hot with the dipping sauce of your choice.
Today’s dinner was inspired by this one on AllRecipes. It was indeed fast, and I’m sure it would be kid friendly. Just the thing for a couple slightly upset tummies 😛 I served this with some quick braised brussels sprouts. Since they were so small, I left them whole, just peeling off the outer couple leaves and cutting a shallow x into the core.
Turkey Meatballs
Makes 18 meatballs – 4 dinner servings or 8-9 appetizers
20 oz ground turkey (93% lean)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
non-stick spray
Place a 9″ x 13″ inch baking sheet in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
While the oven and the pan are preheating, mix together the turkey, egg, bread crumbs, and spices in a mixing bowl. When the oven is hot, pull the baking sheet out of the oven and spray it with non-stick spray. Use a #40 disher (or an ice cream scoop) to form meatballs, placing them on the hot sheet about 1/2 inch apart.
Bake the meatballs for 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees F. If desired, move the meatballs to a marinara sauce to simmer for a few minutes, or just serve as is.
Teriyaki chicken with mushrooms and stir fried broccoli tonight 🙂
Tonight I made my pork tonkatsu and broiled some broccoli to go along with it. I managed to forget about it for an extra minute or two, and it got rather singed, which left an interesting flavor – not bad, but not something I’ll replicate on purpose 😛
