Chicken Cashew Lettuce Wraps, Roasted Chicken Risotto with Caramelized Onions, Orange-scented Olive Oil Cake, and Two Types of Dinner Rolls

So, last Monday I moved to a new apartment in downtown Chicago for my job, which starts June 7th. As a result, I have had a LOT of free time to cook! Therefore, this post may get a little lengthy, but eh, deal with it.

First off, we have a Mu Shu-type chicken lettuce wrap. To start off, cook a couple sliced chicken breasts lightly seasoned with pepper in canola oil until they begin to brown. Then, add 2+ cloves of garlic, a little cayenne pepper and grated (or dried, as it was all I had) ginger to taste and whatever vegetables you want to add and sauté for a minute or so (I used red bell pepper, but pretty much anything would work; water chestnuts would be great). Then, add 3T honey and 3T low-sodium soy sauce and continue to cook until the chicken is well done and the veggies are softened. Serve in large lettuce leaves, and drizzle some sauce from the pan over the top for added bonus. This was really good and came together in about 15 minutes, so would be great for a busy evening. A little messy to eat, but that just added to the fun!

Next, we have a roasted chicken with Risotto and caramelized onions. This ended up to be absolutely delicious, and made 5-6 servings. I started off with a rotisserie chicken, which I picked the meat off of and saved, then made a stock from the carcass (sauté onions and carrots in olive oil, then add carcass, water, garlic, thyme, parsley, basil, salt, pepper and simmer for 2 hours, strain, refrigerate and skim). Then, to make the dish, heat 2T olive oil in a pan and caramelize an onion or two, then set aside in a dish with 1/4C balsamic vinegar. Heat 2T more olive oil in a pan, stir in 1.5C uncooked rice and stir well for 2 minutes, then add 1/2C dry white wine. Then, reduce heat and add 7C chicken broth one cup at a time (waiting until it is absorbed to add more). Once all the broth is absorbed, add the onion and vinegar mixture, 2C of the roasted chicken (chopped), and 2T butter. Looks a little ugly, but is absolutely delicious.

Next up is the orange-scented olive oil cake. This didn't turn out quite as well as I had expected, but was quite good nonetheless. To start, you basically candy some oranges after making them not quite as pungent. To do do, quarter 2 oranges and add to a pot of boiling water for a couple minutes. Discard the water and repeat. Then, add the orange quarters, 4C water and 1C sugar to a saucepan and boil until the orange rinds can easily be pierced with a fork. Discard the syrup, and food-process the orange quarters to form a chunky puree. Then, add to the food processor 2.5C flour, 2t baking powder, 1t baking soda, 1.3C sugar, 1t vanilla and 4 eggs and process until well incorporated. Then add 6T olive oil and process more until combined. Pour into 9''-10'' buttered and pam'd pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Make sure the center is done; that seemed to be the part that bakes slowest for me. When it comes out, drizzle with a reduced syrup made from 1/4C orange juice and 1/4C sugar that have been simmered for a couple minutes. If you'd like, sprinkle with coarse sea salt to finish. Flavors meld well, and none of them are overpowering to the rest. A good dense cake that is not too sweet either. The liquid around the base of the second picture is the glaze.

Finally, I made 2 different types of dinner rolls to have on hand in the freezer so I could have fresh rolls in short order.

First, sweet dinner rolls (the ones of the left). To make the dough, combine 1/2C warm water, 1/2C warm milk, 1 egg, 1/3C softened butter, 1/3C sugar, 1t salt, 3.75C flour and 1.5t activated yeast and knead until kneaded. Then, divide dough in half and press each into a ~12 inch circle. Then, cut each into 8 wedges and roll up from large end to small end. I rolled a small pat of butter inside to make them extra-tasty. Then, let rise for an hour and either bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or freeze for later baking. When freezing rolls, place them on a pan or place and freeze individually, then place together into a bag once frozen for storage. These come out of the oven (after being frozen) soft and buttery, and are very tasty.

Next, the honey wheat sandwich rolls. To make, combine 1.25C warm milk, 1 egg, 2T softened butter, 1/4C honey, 2/4t salt, 2.75C bread flour, 1C whole wheat flour and 1.25t activated yeast and knead until kneaded. Form into rolls sized appropriately for what you want to do with them (sandwiches, dinner rolls, etc), let rise for an hour and either bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or freeze as described above. These come out of the oven (after being frozen) tasting like your standard fresh homemade whole-wheat bread. Certainly more healthy than the previous recipe, and I think would be awesome for a cold-cut sandwich.

Peanut Noodles and Parmesan Pasta

Now that the semester is winding down more, back to some recipes. First up today is an easy and filling peanut butter, noodle, chicken and vegetable dish. To start off, cook 3-4 chicken breasts in a pot of boiling water until cooked, about 11 minutes. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, start on the sauce. To make, combine 1/2C creamy peanut butter, 2T low-sodium soy sauce, 2t minced garlic, chili powder to taste, and ginger to taste and whisk until combined. Then, cook pasta until not quite done, then add whatever vegetables you want to the boiling water for a few minutes until both are cooked. Save 1C of the cooking water to add to the sauce and drain the remainder. Add cooking liquid to the peanut sauce, them toss in with pasta, vegetables and chicken. Great warm or cold, and I like adding quite a bit of chili powder to give it a solid kick.

Next is a dish made with smoked sausage, which keeps for quite a while, so is good to have on hand. Cook your choice of pasta in salted water in a large pot, then drain and set aside in a temporary dish. Then, put either sliced smoked sausage or some other sausage in the same pan you cooked the pasta in as well as olive oil and 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook until warm or cooked, depending on the type of sausage used. Then, add 5 or so handfuls of baby spinach and cook until wilted (it goes down a lot). Then, add the pasta back into the pot as well as 1/2C Parmesan and stir until combined and gooey. I had and enjoyed this fresh or reheated, but if reheating, it helped a lot to very vigorously shake the container I stored it in to break up and clumps and distribute the sauce before dispensing.