February « 2009 « DinnerCakes

Simple Pad Thai, a Quick Fix for Luxuriously Lazy Nights

February 5th, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

So, I had been saving an empty boxed Pad Thai kit that I used to make dinner the other night, but it seems as though my husband does not value saving empty food boxes in the same way that I do, and he threw it away! Hopefully we’ll be able to make do here anyway.

We picked up the pad thai box in the international section of the grocery store a few weeks ago. Back when the two of us were lazier, these little kits were an excellent choice for quick dinners and a welcome change from spaghetti.

Well, we were feeling lazy again last Friday, and we had half a rotisserie chicken left from when I made Sante Fe Soup earlier in the week. But as I was cooking the noodles and about to open the spice packet, I turned over the box to read the ingredients –

(Peanuts, Pure Cane Sugar, Salt, Corn Starch, Spices [Chili, Cinnamon, Pepper, Cumin, Clove], Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Yeast Extract, Green Onions, Citric Acid, Peanut Oil, Sesame Oil, Silicon Dioxide [To Prevent Caking])

I already had on hand chili powder, cinnamon, pepper, cumin and cloves, so I thought I could do without this processed version. I picked out a few of the peanuts from the spice packet (woops, that was one thing I didn’t have), threw the rest in the trash and embarked on a journey to recreate it.

I knew this wouldn’t be an authentic pad thai – though I have taken a Thai cooking course, this just wasn’t the night to break out the tamarind and fish sauce. I still have nightmares about working with fish sauce; in my Thai cooking course the instructor told us that it’s made by packing a barrel with fish and then collecting the water and liquid that runs off them… voila, fish sauce (shudder).

My attempt at recreating the boxed pad thai was pretty good, but I think I went a little wild with the level of spice. It’s possible that Edwin’s self-proclaimed “spicy wussiness” is making me overcompensate, and noodles are pretty good at retaining spice. I toned things down a little bit in the recipe below. If you have recreated a simple box pad thai with luck, please let me know!

Thai Kitchen Pad Thai
(revisited especially for lazy Friday nights after a long week!)

1 box Thai Kitchen original pad thai
1/2 rotisserie chicken
handful of peanuts, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables (or if you prefer fresh vegetables, shop for fresh snow peas, sliced carrots, sliced red and yellow peppers, onion, and broccoli or mushrooms)

Combine peanuts, salt, pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, cloves and cayenne in a small bowl. Set aside. Remove rotisserie chicken from bone and cut bite size pieces. Set aside. Soak banh pho noodles according to directions on box. In the meantime, heat your wok to medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons oil. Stir fry defrosted or fresh vegetables until desired tenderness is reached.

When noodles are finished soaking, drain and rinse well. Add noodles to the wok, along with the pieces of chicken and spice mixture. Stir-fry for approximately 5 minutes, until fully combined and noodles are tender. Serve hot, garnish with extra peanuts.

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Food Photography: Black and White Cookie

February 4th, 2009

by Chef Edwin

Good morning, loyal DinnerCakes readers. Time for another installment of food photography where we whet your pallet with some tasty art.

Today’s picture is from quite a while ago when a friend of mine was leaving the area for the greener pastures of New York. After conducting a little spy work to learn her favorite cookie I decided on a recipe by Baking Bites. The rest, as they say, is delicious history.

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Baked Shells & Chicken with Spinach, Almonds, Mozzarella and Vermont Cheddar

February 3rd, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

As you’re probably already aware, the Steelers won their 6th Super Bowl on Sunday! It was an amazing game; Morgan and I were jumping up and down all the way until the end. My heart is still slowly (very slowly) coming back down to its regular speed. Please excuse me in this post if I’m not able to form complete sentences yet!

This recipe is originally from 101 Cookbooks, but when I first made it last year I didn’t like it very much. I had high hopes because the recipe and photos looked amazing, but I thought it could be a little more flavorful. After a few changes, this recipe is now one of mine and Morgan’s favorites.

I’ve read that a trick to make macaroni and cheese more filling (so that you don’t eat as much) is to use a sharper cheese. Keeping this in mind, I added some sharp Vermont cheddar to the casserole. I also added chicken, which really made a huge difference (I’m not good with vegetarian meals, sorry Edwin!).

The only thing that I don’t love about this recipe is that it is time-consuming. There are several different steps including cooking the chicken, cooking the pasta, softening the veggies, combining everything and then baking it all together. I’d suggest making it on a Sunday night so that you have leftovers to enjoy throughout the week!

Also, I beg you to grate the cheese yourself and use only freshly grated cheeses. The times I’ve made this recipe with pre-shredded cheese it is never, ever as good. Fresh cheese makes a huge difference!

Chicken and Pasta Baked Casserole
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

3/4 pound pasta shells (101 recommends whole wheat pasta shells, but my grocery store never has whole wheat)
salt, to taste
1 lb. chicken, sliced (I recommend my recipe to bake the chicken, using 2 tablespoons white wine, paprika, salt, pepper, Montreal chicken seasoning, cayenne, to taste)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 bag fresh leaf spinach, chopped
1 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
6 ounces fresh mozzerella, grated
4 ounces fresh Vermont cheddar, grated

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter/spray a large, rectangular casserole dish (I’ve found this works a lot better than round CorningWare).

Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions. Drain, toss with a two tablespoons of olive oil. Set aside.

In the meantime, cook chicken in a baking dish. I use my standard method to bake the chicken, which you can find here.

Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a skillet or wok. Saute the onions and a bit of salt for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, then spinach, cooking for approximately 20-30 seconds. Remove skillet or wok from heat and stir in almonds. Combine spinach mixture with pasta in a large bowl and carefully stir. When chicken is done cooking, slice and add. Set aside. (If you like to sneak in more veggies, I’d recommend sliced mushrooms which I have also added before)

Grate cheese and combine in a medium bowl. Begin by adding a layer of pasta to the casserole dish, followed by a layer of cheese. Continue alternating layers, finishing with a layer of cheese. Sprinkle just a dash of cayenne and paprika over the top. Cover dish with foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes.

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Taking a Favorite Vegetarian – Chinese Eggplant Szechuan with Bean Sprouts

February 2nd, 2009

by Chef Edwin

I think I’ve become a bit obsessed with stir-fries lately. My visits to the asian market has become quite frequent and I always find myself buying more than a I need. It’s sad when you’re like a kid in a candy store in a supermarket. Alas…

This recipe was inspired by a dish I came across recently thanks to Tastepotting, which reminded me of another dish I had when I took a class by Rebekah Lin Jewell a couple years ago. I’ve never liked eggplant but this dish was amazingly good. However, it and many other Szechuan dishes I’ve seen always have ground pork; not much, just for flavoring. However, I’d always inevitably end up with a back of unidentifiable meat in my freezer six months later.

So here is my vegetarian adaption and I’m quite happy with it. As usual, keep my spicy-wussiness in mind when you read this recipe.

Chinese Eggplant Szechuan with Bean Sprouts

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1-2 tablepoons hot bean paste (1 was perfect for me; two had me going for liquid relief)
1 tablespoon bean paste
3 medium-large chinese eggplant; chopped via roll cut
2 red bell peppers; cut into slices
3 garlic cloves; minced
1 tablespoon ginger; minced
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 cups bean sprouts

Preheat the oven to 450. Toss the chopped eggplant with two tablespoons olive oil and one teaspoon salt. Roast for 15 minutes on a metal baking sheet. While roasting, prepare the other ingredients. Wait until the eggplant is out of the oven and cool enough to work with before continuing.

Heat the remaining oil in a wok and saute the red bell peppers until soft; 1-2 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and bean pastes, tossing and stirring constantly to prevent burning; approximately 20 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry until everything is heated and mixed; approximately 1-2 minutes. Serve with rice and enjoy.

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Happy Super Bowl Day!

February 1st, 2009

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Here we go, Steelers!

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