Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Pad Thai

When we lived in Provo, we used to LOVE this little Thai restaurant called Thai Ruby. They made the best Pad Thai ever. This is the closest I have come to recreating it!

1/2 lb dried rice noodles (or linguine noodles if you can't find rice noodles, but rice noodles are the best. You don't want the super skinny 'glass' rice noodles, you want the ones that are about the same size as linguine)
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tablespoon peanut oil (or extra light virgin or canola, if you don't have peanut oil)
1/8 – ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (depending on how much of a peanut-y taste you like...i use 1/8)
2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup milk
¼ cup brown sugar (add a little more if you like it sweeter)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 ½ tsp paprika or curry powder (i like curry better)
cayenne pepper to taste
½ lb mung bean sprouts
½ cup shredded carrots
2 Tablespoons chopped green onions
¼ cup chopped, unsalted dry roasted peanuts
1-2 chicken breasts, or 1/2 lb shrimp, (de-tailed and shelled)
lime juice and cilantro to garnish

1. Prepare the rice noodles or linguine noodles per the package directions.
2. Pour ½ Tablespoon of oil into large skillet and add eggs. Scramble into medium-sized pieces, and transfer to plate. Set aside.
3. Sauté cubed chicken or shrimp, set aside.
4. In a saucepan, mix together peanut oil, peanut butter, water, soy sauce, milk, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Season with garlic powder and paprika or curry powder. Heat until sauce is smooth. Season liberally with cayenne pepper.
5. Drain noodles. Heat remaining 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan or wok. Cook noodles in oil, stirring constantly, until they are tender, about 2 minutes. (if using rice noodles, the easiest way to keep them from sticking is to sprinkle water on them while you are stir-frying them). Stir in peanut sauce, sprouts, carrots, scallions, chopped peanuts and the scrambled eggs. Continue to cook over low heat until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 4- 5 minutes. You definitely don't want to over cook the veggies. Garnish with limes and cilantro.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Lemon Sour Cream Pie

This is my favorite lemon pie ever. It is amazing. I've not made a better homemade one yet.

Bake pie crust:
1. Combine 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbes, 1/4 cup sugar and 5 TBSP melted butter, press into 9 inch pie pan, bake at 350 for 6 minutes.

For Pie:
1 cup white sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch
1 cup milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks beaten
1/4 cup butter
1 TBSP lemon zest
1 cup sour cream

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in milk, lemon juice, egg yolks. Cook over medium heat until thick, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter or margarine and lemon peel. Cool Slightly. Fold in sour cream. Spread filling in baked crust. Refridgerate for 2 hours until set. Store in the refridgerater.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Chicken Cordon Bleu

My mom's recipe. It's amazing.
Get:
4 chicken breasts (flattened with meat mallet)
4 slices ham
4 slices swiss cheese

Combine bread crumb mixture:
Good Seasons Garlic Cheese powder (in dressing isle, VERY hard to find. If you find it, buy all that the store has)
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
1/2 TBSP parsley

2 eggs beaten with 1 TBSP water
1 cup flour

Sauce:
1 cup cream
1/4 cup white wine
1 TBSP curry

1. roll up swiss cheese inside ham; roll that up inside chicken breast, secure with toothpick
2. roll chicken roll in flour, then eggs, then bread crumb mixture
3. brown chicken in skillet in butter, on all sides
4. bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes.
5. on stove combine sauce ingredients, bring to boil, boil for one minute.
6. serve sauce over chicken and rice.