- Chicken Lettuce Wraps

CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS


Sauce:

¾ c Hoisin sauce
1½ tsp. rice vinegar
1 T liquid honey
2 T water
1 T fresh lime juice
2 tsp sesame oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tsp freshly grated ginger

Wraps:

2 boneless chicken breasts
⅓ c grated carrot
2 green onions, diagonally sliced
1 c dried steam-fried noodles
½ c unsalted peanuts, chopped

1 head iceburg lettuce, separated into whole leaves, core removed

In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, blend sauce ingredients. Set aside to cool. Poach chicken in a small amount of water until no longer pink. Cool. Cut each breast in half horizontally and then dice to about 6 mm. In medium bowl, toss chicken, carrots and green onion with enough sauce to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Add noodles and peanuts, gently toss with more sauce to coat.

To Serve:

Set out lettuce and chicken mixture. Let guests wrap their own. Serve extra sauce on the side.

Notes:

1. Delicious as an appy or a main – I love these and can’t believe I hadn’t posted them before!!!

- Strawberry Brown Butter Bettys

STRAWBERRY BROWN BUTTER BETTYS

Yield: 6

Just under ½ c unsalted butter
1 tsp sugar
6 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
¼ c brown sugar
½ tsp lemon zest, finely grated
1/8 tsp salt
½ c panko crumbs
2 c strawberries, stemmed and sliced

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a small pot, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, reduce heat to medium low. The butter will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is less than a minute. Remove from heat.

Lightly butter muffin cups with some of the brown butter, then sprinkle with the sugar. Roll bread slices with a rolling pin to flatten. Brush both sides with additional brown butter, then gently fit into muffin cups.

Stir together the brown sugar, zest, salt and panko then add the strawberries and toss to coat. Stir in remaining brown butter. Heap strawberry mixture into cups, pressing gently.

Cover pan with foil and bake 15 minutes. Uncover and bake until strawberries are very tender, about 10 minutes or more. Let stand 5 minutes before removed from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

1. This is one of those recipes that I had no faith in but it was actually good. Great way to use the strawberries that dwell in our fridge at this time of year.

- Oven Baked BBQ Back Ribs

OVEN BAKED BBQ BACK RIBS


2 racks of back ribs.

Sauce:
1 c. (250 mL) water
1 c. (250 mL) brown sugar
½ c. (125 mL) vinegar
½ c. (125 mL) ketchup
2 tbsp. (30 mL) soya sauce
2 tbsp. (30 mL) cornstarch

Boil the ribs for 1 hour before roasting (this can be done way ahead and the ribs frozen, the day ahead and refrigerated, or immediately before roasting.

Preheat oven to 325.

Add all the ingredients together in a saucepan and cook on medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Spray a shallow roasting pan with Pam (it will save a lot of clean-up because the sauce is sticky). Place a small amount of the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Place the racks in the pan and cover with sauce. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the tin foil. Using a spoon, re-distribute the sauce over the ribs and roast, uncovered, for an additional 20 minutes or longer.

Notes:

1. This recipe doubles and triples really well and they are delicious.

- Raisin Pecan Oatmeal Cookies

RAISIN PECAN OATMEAL COOKIES


1½ c pecans
1 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c brown sugar, lightly packed
1 c white sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1½ c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
3 c old-fashioned oatmeal (not the quick cooking or instant)
1½ c raisins

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place the pecans on a sheet pan and roast for 5 minutes, until crisp. Set aside to cool. Chop very coarsely.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into a medium bowl. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture. Add the oats, raisins, and pecans and mix just until combined.

Using a small ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop 2 inch mounds of dough onto sheet pans. Flatten slightly with a damp hand. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer the cookies to a baking rack and cool completely.

Notes:

1. I always make large cookies so if you do too you should be prepared to bake these for around 19 minutes.
2. Do not skip the step of roasting the pecans – it makes a world of difference. I always do a big batch and then keep them in the freezer.