Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

So I am kinda on an Asian food kick. Ok, that’s an understatement…if left to my own devices, I would be experiementing in the kitchen with Asian food every single day! I adapted this recipe from a recipe I found in Food and Wine magazine. It has Vietnamese flavors, and has a yummy balance of sweet, spicy, salty that is pretty addictive! I served it with steamed jasmine rice and some sauteed spinach with garlic, ginger, and a dash of sesame oil.

½ c dark brown sugar

3 T Asian Fish Sauce

¼ c water

3 T rice vinegar

1 t minced garlic

T 1 finely grated fresh ginger

1 t coarsely ground pepper

2 fresh Thai chiles, halved

1 T peanut oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 cilantro sprigs

 

1. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, fish sauce, water, rice vinegar and half of the ginger.
2. Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet. Add the shallot, ginger, and chiles and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the fish sauce mixture to the chicken and simmer over high heat until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with the cilantro.

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Blueberry Pancakes

This recipe is adapted from Saveur magazine. I thought it was so delicious and different from my normal breakfast routine that I thought I’d share with everyone. These are excellent with a dusting of powdered sugar and REAL maple syrup. (The thought of that high fructose corn syrup fake stuff is just gross!) This makes 12 pancakes.

 

2 cups flour

1 ¼ t sugar

½ t fine salt

1 cup sour cream

2 T milk (I used skim)

2 t baking soda

½ c seltzer water

2 eggs, lightly beaten

6 T unsalted butter

3 c fresh blueberries

 

Powdered sugar

Maple syrup

 

Place a sieve over a large bowl and sift together the flour, sugar, and salt. In another large bowl, stir together the sour cream, milk, and baking soda. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add the sour cream mixture, seltzer water, and eggs to the flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Add additional milk if the batter is too thick. Let batter rest 10 minutes.

 

Heat 1 T butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spoon about ¼ c batter into skillet, and spoon about 10-15 blueberries (1-2 T worth) into pancake, pressing down a bit to push the blueberries into the pancake. Cook until bubbles begin to form around the edges, about 2 minutes. Flip, and cook for another 2 minutes. Put on a plate and cover with towel or paper towel to keep warm. Continue with remaining pancakes, wiping the pan clean and adding more butter in between pancakes as necessary. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup.